American comics: Starting with Luke the Maker

Asgard.

The Immortal Palace.

The Hall of Meetings.

Odin sat upon his throne, with his two sons, Thor and Loki, standing beside him.

Luke sat in his seat with Nick Fury, facing Mephisto. Unlike previous dimensional energy conferences, Gu Yi was not present this time, replaced by a relatively new face.

"So, the Supreme Mage of Midgard has changed?" Mephisto asked, his soul fire flickering in his eye sockets, staring intently at Stephen Strange, drawing out the syllables.

"The purpose of this meeting is to transfer the power of the Ancient One. This is part of the succession of the Supreme Mage's power," Luke said, tapping his fingers on the stone table, pointing a finger at Stephen and saying, "This is Master Stephen Strange, you should all be familiar with him."

"He wants to inherit the Ancient One's share in the energy bank? I don't think that's acceptable." Mephisto rotated his head three hundred and sixty degrees on his neck, objecting, "I recognize the Ancient One, although I hate her, she does have the strength, and she has a lot of information we need to know. But him? Has he proven himself?"

Odin remained silent. The death of Gu Yi, or rather, her sudden withdrawal, had greatly affected him. Although his body had been rejuvenated by the new energy, allowing him to bear more energy without worrying about his body being unable to withstand it, he still had to face the enormous burden that the rising energy placed on his body. At the moment, he was merely delaying the consequences.

"He directly expelled Dormammu," Luke casually dropped a bombshell.

Hearing this, Odin and Mephisto immediately looked at Strange with much more seriousness. As the master of the Dark Dimension, Dormammu was also well-known in the multiverse. Unlike Gu Yi's reputation, which mostly circulated among the dimensional demons, Dormammu had many fanatical followers in the multiverse.

Even Mephisto and Odin at their peak would not dare to say that they could overwhelm Dormammu. Regardless of what method Strange used, as long as he had indeed directly expelled Dormammu, then his strength and achievements were worthy of being spread throughout the multiverse.

"Without the Ancient One's help?" Mephisto made no secret of his skepticism.

"The Ancient One died at the hands of Dormammu's zealots before Dormammu invaded," Wong, standing behind Strange, replied with a sorrowful expression.

"Come on, I don't believe the Ancient One would die so easily, especially at the hands of Dormammu. That's even more ridiculous." Mephisto chuckled twice, he didn't believe that the Ancient One would die so silently and inexplicably.

Speaking of which, Mephisto looked at Odin on the throne, "Do you think the Ancient One is really dead, Odin?"

"It seems my life and death are still of concern to people." A soul body passed through the walls from outside the Immortal Palace and floated directly in. Under the surprised gazes of Strange, Wong, and Mordo, and the expected gazes of Mephisto and Odin, it came to the empty seat next to Strange and sat down on a solid energy high seat.

"It seems you really are dead." Seeing that Gu Yi no longer had a physical body, Odin's speculation was confirmed. When people from Asgard and the Nine Realms die, their souls return to Valhalla or Hel.

"What kind of game are you playing?" Mephisto's gaze swept back and forth between Gu Yi and Strange, his brows furrowed.

"Just want to change to a new job." Gu Yi gave Strange and the others a reassuring look, then looked at Mephisto and said, "We will be working together from now on."

"What do you mean?" Mephisto vaguely felt uneasy.

"Literal meaning. The Ancient One is no longer the Supreme Mage, and matters such as Midgard and the invasion of dimensional demons are no longer her responsibility. Her former responsibilities and burdens will be inherited and borne by Master Strange, along with her power in the new energy.

Considering the Ancient One's great strength and connections, I have decided to rehire her as the guardian of the energy bank." Luke said, propping up half of his cheek with his hand, uttering words that made Mephisto furious.

"This is dividing my power!" Mephisto slammed the table and stood up. He had always been the one to take advantage of others, how could he allow anyone to share his power?

"The energy bank doesn't belong to you alone, Mephisto. It is our common property! In the future, we may have to accept new partners. Your greed in treating it as your own is unacceptable." Luke didn't care about Mephisto's energy raging due to anger. Anyway, with Odin in the Immortal Palace, they wouldn't be able to fight.

"I object!" Mephisto raised his hand.

"Voting? Since everyone is here, please raise your hand if you agree with my proposal." As Luke spoke, he raised his hand. Strange, unsurprisingly, also cast his vote inherited from Gu Yi. Nick Fury next to him hesitated, he couldn't figure out whether he had the right to vote in this situation. If he didn't, he was indeed one of the earliest shareholders, even if his share was extremely small. Back then, the energy bank didn't even exist. If he did, it seemed that no one had ever truly regarded him as a partner, but in this situation, he tentatively raised his hand.

Odin seriously looked at the calm-faced Gu Yi, then at Strange and Luke, and finally at his two sons behind him, sighed secretly in his heart, and also raised his hand, casting his vote.

"See, four to one." Luke gestured a four-to-one to Mephisto, and Mephisto's face instantly wrinkled like a bitter chrysanthemum.

"Okay, let's move on from the new handover ceremony and talk about serious matters. Is my technology useful?" Luke didn't wait for Mephisto to find a way to salvage something, but changed the subject and turned the topic in another direction.

Asked by Luke, the thousands of thoughts that had just emerged in Mephisto's mind stagnated for a moment, and he said sullenly, "The technology is good, although it can't eradicate the abyss energy, it has successfully contained its spread."

"Then it seems we can start the next plan?" Luke looked at Odin and Mephisto with a questioning gaze.

"The technology is fine, but what about the final confirmed candidate?" Mephisto temporarily stopped thinking about those annoying things. Anyway, he couldn't drive Gu Yi out for the time being. As cunning as he was, he understood that Luke and the others would definitely not allow him to take sole control of such a huge behemoth that was gradually becoming formalized. The people he had placed before were just probes, and the current Gu Yi was a clear card. In the future, even that old thing Odin might not even enter Valhalla, but like Gu Yi, come to the energy bank to contribute his remaining energy or something.

Although he had this premonition when building the energy bank, he thought that it would be a situation he would face after hundreds or thousands of years. He didn't expect that only a few years had passed, and they were already eager to occupy the pit!

"What about Dormammu?" Luke exchanged a glance with Gu Yi and gave an unexpected but not so surprising candidate.

"The Dark Dimension is indeed a good choice. It is a connecting hub for many dimensional universes, with the characteristics of connecting many dimensional fields, so it is not difficult to do something with it." Mephisto nodded, recognizing Luke's proposed candidate.

The Dark Dimension under Dormammu's control is itself an expanding dimension. It is normal to encounter a tough or tricky thing when expanding and devouring other dimensional fields and universes. It can be said that from the selection of people, Luke has obviously done his homework.

The target volume is large enough.

There are many weaknesses and loopholes.

Even if they really have to fight first, the four of them are sure to win against Dormammu. Maybe it's hard to kill Dormammu, but there's no problem in becoming the winning side and collecting some [spoils].

"I can donate a team of abyss demons for free." Mephisto said very generously. He already found those demons infected with the power of the abyss very unpleasant. Anyway, they would be expelled sooner or later to fend for themselves, so it would be better to make use of waste and throw them to Dormammu, so that he could also experience the suffering he had experienced.

"It doesn't matter, but if there are no accidents, the abyss energy should have already taken root in the Dark Dimension." Luke did not deny Mephisto's proposal, but bluntly said a message that made Odin and him look at each other.

"You've already done it?" Mephisto leaned forward, tentatively asking Luke. Odin on the throne also cast an inquiring look. The two were surprised by Luke's action.

"Yes, the opportunity was too good, I couldn't help it." Luke spread his hands and sighed.

"Will there be any hidden dangers?" Mephisto asked.

"The other party took the initiative to absorb the trouble, what hidden dangers can there be?" Luke gave Mephisto a strange look and explained it to him.

After listening to Luke's explanation, Mephisto and Odin, including Nick and Strange, who heard it for the first time, all widened their eyes, and each cursed in their hearts.

"So, you did something to Dormammu's fanatical followers, and Dormammu finally took the initiative to absorb those fanatical followers into his Dark Dimension?" Mephisto's face was full of unbearable directness, feeling that this way of being tricked was extremely familiar, wasn't this his version back then?

Dormammu is simply a replica of himself! He didn't know whether to gloat or feel sympathetic.

"How can you say that I did something? Obviously, his fanatical believers themselves were infected with abyss energy. It's just that the energy attribute is similar to the energy of the Dark Dimension, and it was not noticed and distinguished by his fanatical believers." Luke shook his head and denied Mephisto's slander: "In terms of losses, my Book of Energy was also taken away by Dormammu. This is a huge loss!"

Odin and Mephisto looked at each other again, good fellow, this is even the excuse for subsequent contact and development does not need to be found!

It is very normal to discover the abyss energy in the process of asking for the Book of Energy and to have some exchanges and negotiations with Dormammu, right?

According to the energy attribute, Dormammu's Dark Dimension is even more suitable for abyss energy than Mephisto's Hell Dimension. The energy attributes of the two are closer, and the affinity is higher. It is an excellent breeding ground for nourishing abyss energy. That is to say, the speed of abyss energy diffusion and assimilation is faster than the Hell Dimension, and it is more difficult to deal with.

"When are you going to take the next step?" Mephisto mourned for Dormammu for a moment and imagined the beautiful scenery of cutting leeks. In the past, how could he let Dormammu willingly hand over the leeks? If he dared to have this intention, it would be strange if Dormammu didn't collide with him fiercely.

Mephisto couldn't wait to fast-forward to the point where he could negotiate with Dormammu.

"Don't worry, now he should have discovered the abnormality in his fanatical followers and discovered the existence of abyss energy. According to Gu Yi's understanding of Dormammu, Dormammu may think this is the energy of a new dimension. The other party may be interested in this new dimension and use the characteristics of the Dark Dimension to find it. Then he discovered Nidavellir, the moving abyss portal.

Of course, during the process, he will also try to control the abyss energy, after all, the characteristic of the Faltine race is to devour all kinds of energy, although he and his sister are outliers, and their interest in matter is greater than energy.

In this case, if we come to the door, not only will we not achieve our goal, but it will arouse his suspicion and resistance."

Luke obviously had a complete plan, and he talked eloquently to Mephisto and Odin: "When he has a bad stomach and finds that he has exhausted all means and is unable to do anything about the abyss energy, and even the existence of the abyss energy has seriously threatened his control of the Dark Dimension, making him feel embarrassed, that is the time for us to contact and negotiate. It is also the best time for him to fully agree to our conditions and requirements. At that time, you can make the conditions harsher and ask for more. Under internal and external troubles, I believe Dormammu is very knowledgeable about current affairs. After all, like you, he is a rational dimensional demon with the ability to think and understand the pros and cons."

Of course, Luke would not say that during this time he could also take the opportunity to get more wool from the Dark Dimension. After all, his Book of Energy fell into the hands of the other party, it's okay to collect some custody fees in advance, right?

Odin and Mephisto had no objection to Luke's suggestion, but it was just waiting for a while, they had plenty of time to wait. As for how long to wait? The time of the Dark Dimension and the time definition of the universe may not be the same. This negotiation time may not be far away.

"Let's choose a few more candidates." Mephisto proposed with full motivation.