Theft, Analysis

"I’m neutral."

Vishanti smiled. "I won’t interfere. Besides, even if I did, I might not be able to take him down."

"A true mage never begs for others’ power. They simply seize it directly."

Strange continued casting with an eerie expression. The next moment, a great river appeared out of nowhere between heaven and earth. Then, one Dr. Strange after another walked out of the river and surrounded Arishem.

This was not the Shape of Isaac. He was directly pulling people from the River of Time. The difference was that the clones created by the Shape of Isaac could not create further clones, while these temporal clones could continue multiplying and were almost no different from the original.

"Sorcerer Supreme, you dare steal my power?"

A roar came from above. It was Chthon, the God of Black Magic. Strange had stolen His power.

"So what if I stole it? I’m an apostle of the Blood God and an apostle of the Scarlet Witch. If you don’t want to die, get the hell out of here."

Facing Chthon’s accusation, Strange said arrogantly, "This is a game between Creator Gods. Trash like you thinks you deserve a place here?"

Silence fell across heaven and earth. Even Arishem was stunned for a moment. This Sorcerer Supreme was far too arrogant, wasn’t he? Back then, even Ancient One had never been this wild. At most, she would beat up anyone who came looking for trouble.

"Sorcerer Supreme, you’d better pray that the Blood God and Scarlet Witch keep standing behind you forever."

Chthon gritted His teeth and chose to retreat. It was not that He was timid; the two behind the Sorcerer Supreme were simply too terrifying. He did not dare provoke them.

"What the hell does that have to do with me? Once this battle is over, I’ll disappear immediately. Whatever happens after that, the Sorcerer Supreme of this era can deal with it himself."

Strange snorted. "Right now, I’m the biggest boss. I’ll do whatever I want, and I’ll steal from whichever ancient god I want."

Even Vishanti was speechless. This was the legendary kind of ruthless person who would screw himself over too.

"You really won’t have to take responsibility, but do you think such trivial methods can truly deal with me?"

Arishem sneered. Boundless golden light burst from His body, sweeping away all the sword light. Even the Seven-Colored Holy Sword was covered in cracks.

"Why not? I’m the Sorcerer Supreme!"

All the Stranges laughed loudly at once. Then, one-third of them raised their hands and constructed Magic Arrays. The arrays vanished, replaced by enormous eyeballs.

There was no doubt that these were the eyeballs of the Eye Demon. Without a word, they all fired all kinds of rays at Arishem, dense as an ocean.

Arishem had no choice but to control the golden light to block the rays. But that was not all. Another third of the Stranges cast spells, releasing countless crimson chains. On every chain floated the phantom of a demon god.

Cyttorak’s Crimson Bands! Countless chains wrapped around Arishem’s body. Not only was Arishem unable to move, but His power was also heavily suppressed. He roared and tried to break free, but demon god phantoms drifted out from the chains and forcefully suppressed Him.

That still was not all. The final third of the Stranges clapped their hands together, and snake phantoms emerged from the void. They opened their mouths in unison, swallowing vast amounts of golden light flying from Arishem’s body.

This was the Devouring Concept of Serpent God Set.

Vishanti, the God of White Magic; Chthon, the God of Black Magic; Serpent God Set; Eye Demon Shuma-Gorath; and Cyttorak, the Crimson God. Strange had stolen the power of all five mighty ancient gods. Well, calling it robbery would work too.

Even Arishem was overwhelmed by the combined assault of so many demon gods and could only defend himself.

Arishem roared, "Chthon, Shuma… You ancient demon gods are being bullied like this, yet you’re doing nothing?"

Embarrassingly, no one answered Arishem. All the demon gods acted as if nothing had happened, allowing Strange to seize their divine power. It was not that They were cowards, but the two behind Strange were beings They truly could not afford to offend.

On the first day of the Blood God’s descent, They had discovered that the Blood God was filled with the resentment of ancient gods. In other words, that guy had killed many ancient gods.

That alone would have been one thing, but among those resentments were quite a few auras identical to Their own. Under those circumstances, how could They dare provoke Him?

"This feels great. It feels incredible."

Strange laughed loudly. Although he was a blasphemous mage, he had previously only been able to secretly steal a little power before cutting off the connection before the other side noticed. But now, he could kick open the door and rob them openly. The feeling was simply amazing.

"You’re enjoying yourself now, but once this is over, you’ll be in deep trouble."

Vishanti shook His head. Ancient gods like Chthon were famously petty. In the future, They would definitely retaliate against Strange, and it would be especially cruel.

Simply put, the more arrogant Strange was now, the worse he would die later. Perhaps there would even be a book called A Thousand Ways Strange Could Die.

"This opportunity is rare. Should we go bigger? Killing Arishem won’t be easy."

Strange’s eyes flickered as he looked at his temporal counterparts. They exchanged glances, then nodded together. Why not? They would not be the ones suffering the consequences anyway.

An opportunity like this came only once in a lifetime.

"Then let’s do it."

Strange grinned and sent his magic power into the void, reaching the deepest part of the universe. There, six powerful beings were sleeping: the Living Tribunal and the Five Creator Gods.

That was right. The bold-as-hell Strange was preparing to steal the power of a Creator God. After all, the target was a Creator God. He did not dare rob one openly, so he could only steal.

"The Living Tribunal is definitely off limits. It’s far too powerful. Of the remaining Five Creator Gods, only Galactus and Death are suitable. The other three are too abstract, making them difficult to target."

After hesitating for a moment, Strange quietly sent his magic power into Galactus’s body.

While Strange boldly stole the power of a Creator God, Tony finally completed his work. The golden liquid fused with the Ikaris-brand crystal, turning into a mass of gold-and-red liquid.

"System, activate!"

Tony shouted. The gold-and-red liquid flew into his body and completely fused with him.

That was right, completely fused. This armor was a semi-Biological Armor and would form a symbiotic relationship with Tony from now on. It offered many advantages. First, it would be much easier to control, and he would not even need Friday’s assistance.

Furthermore, Tony would share life with the armor, much like Eddie and Venom. From now on, Tony would possess a long lifespan and a powerful body, like a true ancient god.

Tony Stark would never suffer domestic abuse again!

"This feels great."

Tony chuckled as countless Nanoparticles emerged from his body and formed a gold-and-red Mark Armor. Then, he shouted, "Sorry to keep you waiting. The protagonist, Tony Stark, has officially arrived! Whether it’s Arishem or the Eternals, leave them all to me!"

Tony had expected cheers, but to his surprise, no one paid him any attention. Suspicious, he looked toward the battlefield and found that the situation was looking extremely good.

That was right, it was looking extremely good. Sersi and the other awakened Eternals had beaten the puppet Eternals into constant retreat. Victory was only a matter of time.

Steve and the Super Heroes had also beaten the replicas into continual collapse. Their victory was likewise only a matter of time.

Over a hundred Stranges were ganging up on Arishem, leaving Him with only the power to defend. Although the outcome had not yet been decided, Strange clearly held the upper hand.

In other words, no one had been waiting for Tony. Whether he came or not made little difference.

"How could this happen? What happened to me being the Most Handsome Guy?"

Tony was dumbfounded. He felt as though a crow had flown across the sky, cawing, "Idiot! Idiot!"

"What do I even need this Anti-Iron Man Armor for?"

Tony nearly smashed his helmet. This was unscientific. Shouldn’t he, the protagonist, have displayed his might and saved everyone? What the hell was this total advantage?

"I just don’t have that kind of luck. Even if they were picking people, it wouldn’t be my turn…"

Though annoyed, Tony still honestly flew above Arishem. Then, red light shone from his eyes as two bowl-thick laser beams blasted toward Arishem.

Although Tony sounded listless and obviously lacked motivation, his lasers were extraordinarily powerful. They pierced even time itself and struck Arishem the instant they were fired, nearly burning two massive holes through His chest.

Arishem did not dare be careless. Red light lit up in two of His eyes and blasted toward Tony. He possessed every ability the Eternals had. In fact, the Eternals had been designed using Him as their template.

Arishem’s red beams were more than ten meters in diameter, but Tony showed no fear. He fired his own lasers against Arishem’s red light. The surrounding space-time was completely incinerated, and even Golden Rice Star was set ablaze, with flames everywhere.

Fortunately, the Lokis had moved the Farmers to Earth in advance. After this battle, Golden Rice Star would be no more.

Seeing Tony make his move, Strange nodded in satisfaction. "Iron Man, well done. Help my clones hold Arishem back."

"Wow, wow, wow. Look who it is. The big shot himself!"

Tony sneered. Strange arrogantly replied, "With the Blood God absent, I’m the big shot. Iron Man, recognize your place. You’re just a supporting character, the comic-relief kind."

Tony’s nose nearly twisted with anger. If he did not have the bigger picture in mind, he would have blasted Strange with a laser long ago.

"Why are you so angry? This is how you always talk to people. Oh, and you need to add that chin-up, nostrils-in-the-air gesture."

Strange said this because he hated Iron Man. No matter which universe it was, he hated him. That guy loved stealing his spotlight.

"No wonder so many people want to punch me. Screw you. I’m a genius, I’m a billionaire, and I have privileges. What the hell do you know?"

Tony cursed. At that moment, red light lit up in Arishem’s other four eyes. Four enormous laser beams carrying shattered space-time blasted toward Tony.

"What, having more eyes makes you special?"

Tony snorted. Four cannons emerged from his shoulders, and four laser beams met Arishem’s red light.

Although Arishem was firing at full power, Tony was not at a disadvantage at all. Cosmic Energy was continuously pouring into his body, where he converted it into pure energy.

This Anti-Iron Man Armor had extremely low requirements for an energy source because it could automatically absorb the surrounding Cosmic Energy.

"Another troublesome one."

Arishem’s expression darkened slightly when He saw Tony block His attack. These Super Heroes looked like ants, but when they truly fought, every one of them was a nuisance.

"If I were merely an ordinary ancient god, I might really lose this time. Fortunately, I’m not an ordinary ancient god. I’m a Celestial."

Arishem’s thoughts shifted. Through a special network, He began absorbing the power of the other Celestials to ascend to a higher level.

It had been mentioned before that Arishem was half a step into the Creator God realm. That half-step did not refer to His own strength, but to His ability to absorb the other Celestials’ power and become a temporary Creator God.

Though He had only just touched the threshold of a Creator God, it was enough to deal with Tony and Strange.

Although Arishem had not expected Strange to force Him into His strongest form, that did not matter. What mattered was that Strange was doomed.

Tony keenly sensed Arishem’s change and transmitted his voice to Strange. "Magician, that big guy is about to use his ultimate move."

Strange replied, "Help me buy time. My ultimate move is almost ready."

"Fine."

Tony nodded at first, then became furious. Had he really become a supporting character? Though displeased, Tony did not let the team down. He took a deep breath, countless streams of data flashing through his eyes as his brain analyzed them at an astonishing speed.

A moment later, Tony finished his analysis. Numerous gun barrels emerged from his body, and then over a hundred lasers shot toward Arishem at once.

While Arishem continued absorbing the power of the other Celestials, He controlled His six giant red beams, splitting them into over a hundred smaller red beams to meet Tony’s lasers.

Just then, Tony’s lasers suddenly changed direction, striking the six giant red beams one after another. Under their impacts, the six red beams gradually twisted, collapsed, and even dissolved into specks of light.

"That’s impossible!"

Arishem stared in disbelief. They were merely a hundred or so lasers. How could they destroy His red beams?

The reason was simple: the landing points of those lasers were precisely the weakest points of the six red beams.

Concept Ability—Analysis. It analyzed all surrounding data at an unbelievable speed, making it even more useful than a quantum computer.

That was right. Tony had also obtained a Concept Ability. He was the smartest man in the universe, at least according to himself. If others could comprehend one, then naturally he could too.

"This is only the beginning."

Tony stopped firing his lasers and raised both hands. Vast numbers of Nanoparticles assembled into a massive machine in the air. Then, with a boom, the machine fired a giant one-meter-wide beam at Arishem. It was red tinged with blue, making it look somewhat eerie.

Arishem was focusing most of His attention on the Stranges. Faced with Tony’s attack, He could only fire another enormous red beam from His eyes.

The two beams soon collided, but astonishingly, nothing happened. They passed through each other as if they were only illusions.

The next moment, the red-and-blue beam struck Arishem’s chest. A huge hole was blasted through His crimson-gold armor, and even more terrifyingly, the edges of the hole rapidly disappeared under the effects of the red-and-blue light.

"That’s impossible."

Arishem had no choice but to stop absorbing power and activate His self-healing ability to repair His body. However, the red-and-blue light was extremely stubborn. Even He could not eliminate it all at once.