CHAPTER 111

Doom was flung out of the building but he managed to stabilize himself midair, but this time instead of him rushing at me to kill me, he looked at me with caution. "Your strength. It has increased folds over since then. Your potential is astonishing, Cross." His voice sounded almost disbelieving.

I jumped out from the floor I was on and swung my axe overhead at Doom who dodged and sent a blast at me which I just shrugged off. 

That display seemed to set him off as different magic circles appeared in front of him and from them crawled out dark creatures with multiple limbs and eyes. 

"Dark Invocation. So this is how far you have fallen Doom?" We were in the middle of Hong Kong fighting and the resulting collision had already started damaging the infrastructure, and then there was the sorcerers and Kaecilius who were fighting a somewhat weary Ancient One. 

Ancient One… Dormammu. 

I knew it! Her magic felt stronger but somewhat weaker, as if she couldn't draw all of them out but only multiply the effects of the one she was given. She drew power from the dark dimension and right now that was what was affecting her. The ritual was halfway done with the symbols floating in the air due to the Ancient One's interference, hopefully she could hold her own while I try to wrap things up with my homeboy. 

"My source of power needs no criticism from anyone… least of all a dark spawn like you. History is written by victors, but with the power I shall gain from the dark dimension, reality will be what I wish it to be." His ever arrogant voice sounded out. 

Throwing my care for Hong Kong's infrastructure out of the way, the entire street and main roads around me were frozen, nearing ever closer to absolute zero. The frozen spawns suddenly burst out in a gore of flesh and ice spikes before the ice started receding. 

From the initial exchange, Doom knew that his technologies had minimal effect on me so he battled me with magic while using most of his weird techs for his support. 

The earth rose around Doom as his magic transformed them into chains with some sort of red runes on them. I didn't need my sense to tell me for me to know that they were bad news if they bound me. 

I dodged as I made my way to Doom, weaving through his attacks with a huge axe in my hand. Doom formed a shield to keep me back but I ignored it as lightning coated my axe as I brought it down with a bang, shattering his shield to motes of lights. Using the turning motion of my swing, I batted at his head with the flat part of the axe-head and followed him as he sailed through the air, only for him to see a red gigantic fist as I punched down on him. 

The impact and resulting explosion as my fist collided with the ground destroyed the cars and nearby buildings, but my sense told me that Doom escaped. 

I ducked as an Adamantium blade was swung at the previous location of my neck, my only saving grace being that he somehow was able to get into my range of perception in an instant. 

Demonic wisp serpents grew out from the ground and slithered their way to me. Due to the close proximity between me and Doom, some were able to bite me, somehow piercing my skin with ease. That was the prompt I needed to immediately distance myself with Doom and the serpents only for me to see that where they had bitten was growing grey, almost as if it was decaying. 

I formed an ice blade in my hand and quickly cut out the portion that were bitten while I dodged the serpents' venomous attacks and sent magic blasts to kill them. 

The part of my flesh I had cut away rotted away in seconds before turning to dust in front of my eyes. "Life draining demon spawns. What kind of eldritch monster have you made a bargain with, Doom?" First those summons and now this? They all had life extinguishing features to them.

"If knowing the answer will bring you closer to your assured demise then I shall oblige you… While the foolish zealots have tethered themselves to the being of darkness, I, with my profound intellect, was able to draw on the excess power flowing through its dimension to myself while also keeping my being away from his reach. Even without making a deal with one such as Dormammu, I have attained similar powers."

No wonder I hated Doom. Who the hell does something like that? He and Reed were the only people I knew who could use whatever bullshit they called science to create wonders that even Celestial technology failed at. 

I brandished my axe and was upon Doom at the next second, cleaving my way through the constructs he had made to strike against his chest. I prevented him from flying back due to the impact with ropes and drew him back to the axe once again, sending him flying away , only for him to pass through a portal and then be welcomed by my glowing fist. 

Doom shot forward like a rat on fire and smashed through a few buildings before stopping. I didn't stop however as a portal formed below my legs and dropped me meters above the building. My axe glowed red as I brought it down on the building, destroying everything in an explosion which unfortunately engulfed some people nearby. 

"Draul! Keep the destruction to a minimum… Please." I turned to see Strange floating a distance away with his cape, his eyes clouded with hateful resolve. 

"I'll try my best. Hurry up and destroy that spell but be careful. The space around it is… messy." I warned him and turned to look at Doom who was crawling his way out the fiery debris. Though there were few splatters of blood on his armor, he remained unhurt for the most part. 

"You are strong. Stronger than you were the past year, a mistake I failed to assimilate in my calculations. But one I nevertheless will rectify with your death." 

His armor lit up in green runes and the feel of magic I got from him told me that this dude was finally getting real. Well jokes on him since I've been the realest since day 1. 

"Draul St. Cross, this fight will not end like the last. The ultimate prize will not escape my grasp this time and your dying breath shall be the proof of it." He sounded sure, like he had already won but then again, when has Doom been anything but certain? 

"One question though. What happened to your arm? Did you grow a new one or is that cybernetics?" I was really curious. His other arm, I was sure, had been thoroughly destroyed, reduced to dust, during our last fight. I didn't get the chance to ask then so I figured now would be a good time.

It looks like I hit a nerve as this motherfucker pulled a taboo practice and absorbed all the green from the surroundings. Whatever that spell was seems passive, maybe one of those inscribed runes on his armor. 

He rushed at me with lighting speed, leaving a blur in his wake but I replied to him in the same fashion as red lines and steam appeared on my body. 

We clashed our weapons, his a mix of Adamantium and something else I couldn't figure and mine, a new mix of Adamantium and Vibranium. 

Shockwaves were produced from our fight due to our strength and the shock released from my axe which pushed back Doom. Unlike before on Christmas, I totally doominated Doom in a contest of strength as we traded blow for blow. 

Doom flexed his hand in a quick motion only for space to fold for a bit and explode out, destroying everything in a circumference. Spatial attacks were hard to defend against and I was sure my durability wouldn't hold but thankfully I had super-regeneration. 

I shot a thick beam at him which pushed him back for a bit before he held his own. I stopped the moment I knew this prick was somehow assimilating it, evident by the spike in power I felt from him. 

He rushed at me with greater speed than before but I was able to react. We locked our weapons in a deadlock which I used as a chance to summon some little creatures I've always found disgusting. 

Leeches. 

Energy eating leeches. 

Different from the life eating serpents Doom had summoned, these leeches only fed on energy and they stopped feeding either when they are full, which I've never seen, or when the energy of their host becomes distasteful or falls below a certain range. Picky pricks they were. 

Doom snarled at the little buggers that were clinging to his oozing energy. My body was a well of energy of its own so I wasn't bothered by them but Doom thought differently. 

"YOU DARE USE WORMS TO FIGHT DOOM?!!"

"Oops. Looks like someone is scoleciphobic."

Doom disengaged from me and slaughtered the little beauties on him and turned around to scowl ragefully at me. 

Something about the way Doom was powering up had me skeptical. Sure he said he didn't sell his soul to Dormammu but there had to be a limit right. He couldn't just keep powering up like that multicolor haired alien child and his posies from that Japanese fiction right? 

The reason I wasn't hulking up was due to the people hiding in buildings. That form of mine was total destruction as the Ancient One said. Central Hong Kong would be gone if I were to fight Doom in that form and he was to keep up with it and judging by the way our current fight was going, he could keep up for a while before he started losing. Oh Doom would lose for sure but it was how long it would take to lose that had me frustrated. I couldn't forget that an apocalypse was brewing a few kilometers away from me. 

I extended my senses to a kilometer radius, painting a 360° visual in my head as I confronted Doom again. With his passive green absorption, the already burning areas had a tinge of grey to it. Doom, seemingly forgoing all aspects of holding back, formed a red magic circle. 

The ground and debris cracked and floated around him, joining together to form something humongous. It looked like a humanoid giant, towering over buildings.

I felt a sense of foreboding as red lines started forming around the giant, as if lava was flowing through its veins as it came alive with a deafening roar. 

Doom floated above its head and commanded it to attack. 

I casted a binding spell to prevent its movement so as to reduce the magnitude of destruction that thing could cause but Doom was battling with me on that. 

"This is not power of your creation. I surpass your mastery in the Arts and in time I shall surpass all mortals and gods alike. Lay down your life for my new age, mutant with the name of Cross." His every arrogant voice thunder forth as the massive thing punched downwards, wanting to squash me in its might. 

If that thing was to continue with its attack then half of Hong Kong would be gone by the time we were done. 

That was the only thought I had which prompted me to drag both myself, Doom and his hulking monster into the mirror dimension. 

"The mirror dimension? Hahahaha, foolish move, Cross. Your death is all but assured here."

"Can you just shut it for more than a minute?"

"Humor will take you nowhere."

"But sarcasm will, I'm sure."

"Are those your final words?"

"Dude you've been speaking since the beginning. Shouldn't you be the one getting a timeout?"

It was the only prompt needed before we began our fight again.

I started releasing more of my power gradually as we fought. The giant was a prick to deal with as it had Doom as a vanguard who was doing his best to defend against any magic I was using on its fat ass. 

With red lightning around my body which extended to my axe, I swung it in a downward slash which produced a wave of red energy that collided with the giant, tearing a long gash on its chest but not completely killing it.

Manipulating the dimension, I cut the ground around the area on which its feet were balanced, causing them to be divided and then rolled the area of its right foot in a kaleidoscope and effectively destroying it. 

I could see Doom charging a spell at me but I didn't relent in my pursuit of the demise of the damned rock. I threw my axe at Doom with blinding speed to stop whatever he was doing while I formed a ball of chaotic energy in front of my fist which I punched into the head of the giant, destroying it in a red explosion. 

"Finally we are all alone, Doom." 

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