Harry raised an eyebrow, sensing something off about Dormammu, and quietly wondered what that bastard was plotting.
He lifted his hand again and knocked on the "door" of the dimensional barrier. Wearing a gentle smile and speaking in a soft, coaxing voice, he murmured to Dormammu:
"Dormammu, negotiations require leverage. How about this—you let me in, and we'll have a nice, proper talk."
Dormammu's alarm bells exploded the instant he heard that. How could he possibly agree?
He immediately remembered that unlucky fool from before. That idiot had actually dared to let Harry enter his dimension-universe.
And what shocked countless forces across the multiverse even more was this:
From that day onward, the multiverse's Hell Dimension permanently lost one more fragment.
And all of it… happened because of Harry.
So from then on, the name "Harry" gradually became known among dimensional demon-gods.
Dormammu didn't doubt it for a second—if he allowed Harry into his dimension-universe, Harry would absolutely lose control in an instant, erupt with terrifying power, and heavily injure him.
Maybe a single injury would take hundreds of millions of years to recover.
If that happened, even if he successfully devoured the Celestial embryo, it would still be a net loss.
Dormammu shook his head slightly, doing his best to stay calm and hide the unease in his heart. He weighed his words, then said solemnly:
"Stop dreaming, Harry. You know I can't let you in. You should listen to me first—if you do, you definitely won't refuse my proposal."
The moment Harry realized he had no way of entering Dormammu's dimension, the fake smile vanished from his face.
The magic inside him surged, then slammed hard into the Dark Dimension's barrier.
In this special gap between dimensions, a heavy, muffled boom erupted, shaking the surrounding space into rippling waves.
Harry was genuinely irritated. Dormammu, that damned bastard—wasn't he just wasting Harry's time?
The more Harry thought about it, the angrier he got, until he couldn't help cursing out loud:
"FK U* M! If you're not letting me in, why the hell are you talking at all? You're wasting my time!"
He spoke at lightning speed, spewing out in a few short seconds the amount of profanity most people would need several minutes to finish.
When he was done, Harry looked up.
Inside the Dark Dimension, Dormammu's head was now wrapped in tangible black flames, trembling violently, his aura growing increasingly savage.
No need to guess—Dormammu had absolutely lost it.
Dormammu got mad, Harry got it out of his system. Since it was a win-win, Harry was about to withdraw this thread of consciousness and go look for Thor to ask whether he knew Loki's real objective.
As a dimensional demon-god, Dormammu had never been scolded like this before. He froze on the spot, genuinely at a loss for a moment.
But seeing Harry about to leave, he snapped out of it and hurriedly called out to stop him:
"Wait! Earth is about to face a major crisis. Many dimensional demon-gods are dissatisfied with you and the Ancient One. In the days to come, they may lend power to Loki. When you're facing so many demon-gods at once, even you may struggle to handle it.
"So cooperate with me. I don't have to devour Earth—I only want certain things inside it.
"As long as you allow my thralls to operate on Earth, and you do not interfere no matter what they do…
"Then I will cooperate with you to resist the other dimensional demon-gods. I can even stop holding a grudge over the energy the Ancient One stole from me.
"What do you say?"
Harry didn't answer right away. He thought it over.
Dormammu was probably telling the truth. After all, Harry knew exactly how hated Kamar-Taj was among dimensional demon-gods.
Just in the few years since Harry became the Sorcerer Supreme's disciple, he rarely even saw his teacher. Outside of teaching, she was either fighting… or on her way to a fight.
There were countless dimensional demon-gods hostile to Kamar-Taj—dozens that Harry knew of personally.
Among them, several were especially infamous.
Dormammu, ruler of the Dark Dimension—an ancient enemy of Kamar-Taj.
Then there was Nightmare of the Dream Dimension, the one-eyed demon-god Shuma-Gorath of the Chaos Dimension, Cyttorak of the Crimson Cosmos, Chthon of the Serpent Crown and dark magic, and Mephisto of the Hell Dimension…
Among them, the two most hostile toward Kamar-Taj were undoubtedly Dormammu and Mephisto.
Other sorcerers might not know it, but as the Sorcerer Supreme's most trusted, closest disciple, Harry knew the truth:
For the last few centuries—so she could better protect Earth and wait for the prophesied successor—the Sorcerer Supreme had secretly used the Dark Dimension's energy to extend her lifespan.
And she didn't borrow that energy.
She stole it.
Even worse, once Dormammu noticed, she relied on her overwhelming strength and beat the living daylights out of Dormammu—who had been greatly weakened after leaving his own dimension.
From then on, Dormammu and Kamar-Taj became mortal enemies.
As for Mephisto, his hatred of Kamar-Taj was no less—if anything, it was greater.
And lately, the relationship between Kamar-Taj and Mephisto had become increasingly tense. But the root cause wasn't the Sorcerer Supreme.
It was Harry.
For countless ages, the Hell Dimension had always been fractured.
It had never truly unified, and naturally, it had never produced a supreme overlord capable of ruling all of it—Satan.
Mephisto had always been ambitious, desperate to become the true master of Hell.
Because he was the strongest demon in Hell, he even styled himself as Satan to flaunt his "status."
Over the years, Mephisto had schemed relentlessly, continuously devouring weaker powers in Hell to unify it completely and truly ascend as Satan.
But because Harry had once destroyed a fragment of the Hell Dimension, it was like throwing a boulder into a calm lake—everything in Hell shifted violently.
Mephisto's carefully cultivated layout collapsed overnight, countless years of effort turning to dust.
So Mephisto came to truly hate Harry—wanting him dead.
Unlike Dormammu, however, as the strongest and most cunning demon in Hell, Mephisto wouldn't keep his hatred on his lips. He would quietly plan.
Dormammu's claim—that multiple dimensional demon-gods might be willing to burn vast dimensional energy to collectively empower Loki—suddenly made a lot more sense.
And the one behind that abnormal move… was very likely Mephisto.
Harry calculated quickly.
With the protection of the Trinity Array, it was extremely difficult for dimensional demon-gods to push their power into Earth. Ten parts of power might not even get one part through.
Add the vast distance between dimensions, and even less would arrive.
And given Mephisto's "status," he probably couldn't command Shuma-Gorath, Cyttorak, or Chthon—so it would most likely be a pack of weaker demon-gods invading together.
That meant it was dangerous, but not disastrously so. With the Sorcerer Supreme present, Harry would only need to handle a small portion of it—risky, but manageable, and it wouldn't even require him to enter an out-of-control state.
And even if Shuma-Gorath, Cyttorak, or Chthon suddenly got curious and decided to stick their hands in…
Wasn't Odin still around?
Odin was old, forced into the Odinsleep—but that didn't mean his power had weakened.
If anything, he slept because the older Asgardians became, the stronger the power inside them grew.
Odin's current body could no longer contain the ever-growing energy within, so he had to sleep to soothe it and prevent it from going out of control.
Odin wasn't weaker now.
He was at the strongest point of his life.
If Odin donned the Destroyer armor in his current state, he could even unleash power beyond a Celestial for a short time.
After thinking it through, Harry made one final attempt.
He knocked on the "door" of the Dark Dimension again, smiling gently as he said:
"Alright, I agree. Come on—open the door and let me in. I'll sign the contract with you immediately."
The flames in Dormammu's eyes flickered with subtle excitement, but he remained cautious. He tossed out a thread of flame from the Dark Dimension, turning it into a burning sheet of paper that floated before Harry, and said coolly:
"No need to enter my dimension. We can sign outside.
"You're a sorcerer—you can tell whether a contract is real. These terms don't disadvantage you. If anything, I'm the one taking more of the loss. So you can sign without worry."
Harry frowned slightly and tried to "persuade" him:
"Aren't you worried I'll alter the contract? Outside the Dark Dimension, your power isn't that strong. To put you at ease, it's better to sign inside."
Dormammu began to sense something was wrong.
Harry clearly had no intention of signing—he just kept trying to enter his dimension-universe.
Damn it. He knew it. Sorcerers couldn't be trusted.
As Dormammu's black flames grew more violent and his awareness swept across the entire Dark Dimension, Harry sighed. His plan had been exposed—there was no chance he'd be allowed inside.
Green magic flared in Harry's palm, instantly breaking down the contract Dormammu had produced.
He tossed the remains back at Dormammu, then spat a blob of magic onto the dimensional barrier in pure contempt.
"You're the most cowardly demon-god I've ever seen. When you finally grow the guts to let me set foot in your dimension—then we can talk about cooperation."
With that, Harry withdrew this thread of consciousness from the multiversal gap, leaving Dormammu roaring in the Dark Dimension, smashing one dark star after another while bellowing:
"Harry Potter! You will regret this! You will regret this!"
As Harry's awareness returned from the kaleidoscopic spiral of light, he glanced at the thrall he had pinned to the wall, then walked away without looking back.
The instant he left, the lightning sword exploded, turning into thick, viscous plasma that engulfed the thrall and melted him in an instant.
Turncoats deserved to die.
Thor, being Asgardian, naturally didn't have Midgardian currency.
And his girlfriend, Jane Foster—though a genius astrophysicist—poured every cent she earned straight into research funding. She was broke too.
So as their wealthy friend, Harry sponsored them so they could settle down in Manhattan, New York.
Ding-dong~
The doorbell rang. There was a startled yelp from inside, followed by a chaotic series of clatters and thumps, until several minutes later the door finally opened.
Thor yanked it open with irritation. Before he even saw who it was, he snapped impatiently:
"Who is it? What's all the noise?!"
With the door open, Thor appeared in front of Harry—clothes a mess. Harry didn't need a prophecy to know what the couple had been doing.
Seriously. What was with today?
He had just interrupted Tony's good time earlier… and now he'd walked straight into Thor's.
Harry awkwardly waved and sighed.
"Hi, Thor. It's me, Harry. I've got something I want to ask you."
The moment Thor saw it was Harry, his attitude did a full one-eighty. He broke into a wide grin, booming with easy warmth:
"Harry! I was wondering who it was! Come, come—since you're here, drink a few cups with me!"
At that moment, a slender figure appeared behind Thor—Jane Foster, also disheveled.
Because Harry didn't just sponsor her and Thor's Manhattan home—he was also the biggest patron of her lab, and unlike other investors, he didn't meddle or boss people around. So Jane had an excellent impression of Harry.
Once she realized it was Harry at the door, she hurriedly threw some clothes on and rushed over, greeting him brightly:
"Harry! Come in—have a couple of drinks with us!"
Seeing the half-dressed couple and hearing that invitation, Harry went completely speechless.
Go in for what? To admire the battlefield?
Or to serve as a stadium-sized third wheel and watch their "passionate duel"?
They weren't so deranged they'd invite him to join that "hot showdown," right?
Even if they wanted to, Harry sure as hell wouldn't agree. He didn't have that kind of kink—sharing a stage with someone else.
He forced a polite smile and declined:
"Not this time. Next time I'll drink with you. Today I need to ask Thor something—about his brother, Loki."
The moment Thor saw how enthusiastic Jane was toward Harry, a bad feeling surged in his chest.
Back when Thor first met Harry, he'd been NTR'd by Harry more than once.
So now Thor was extremely wary—he didn't even want Harry to catch a glimpse of Mjolnir.
But he realized he'd still miscalculated.
Forget Mjolnir—Jane absolutely couldn't get close to Harry either!
Had Harry just come after Mjolnir earlier, and now decided to set his sights on Jane?!
Thor's face went pale with panic. He quickly shoved Jane back inside and said urgently:
"Jane, we'll talk when I'm back. Harry's here because of Loki. If it concerns Loki, I have to go and see!"
Jane looked helpless, sighed softly, then nodded.
She leaned in, kissed Thor's forehead, and said gently, "Alright. Come back soon."
Once they stepped out into the hallway, Thor's tense nerves finally relaxed.
Whew… NTR crisis solved.
Only then did he fully process what Harry had said earlier, and excitement lit up his face. He asked eagerly:
"Harry, you have news about Loki? He's okay, right?"
"He's fine," Harry said. "But he's about to not be."
Thor's expression tightened. "What happened?"
Harry paused, organized his thoughts, and told Thor everything that had happened over the last two days:
"Last night, Loki used the Tesseract to build a portal and attacked a S.H.I.E.L.D. military base. He didn't just take the Tesseract—he also mind-controlled several agents and left with them. No one knows what he's planning.
"Even though we've captured Loki now, he refuses to talk. He sealed his mind so I can't extract anything from it. So I'm asking you—do you know what he's trying to do?"
Thor fell silent for a moment, then said, "I don't know either. But maybe we can ask Heimdall."
Harry nodded. He drew his wand lightly through the air, and together they stepped through a portal.
…
A moment later, a golden light flared on the Helicarrier. A circular portal opened slowly, and the Avengers turned to see Harry and Thor step out.
Nick Fury's face was grim as he strode up and asked:
"Any news?"
Before Harry could answer, Thor spoke first:
"Heimdall told us Loki has an army—the Chitauri.
"They aren't Asgardians, and they don't belong to any one planet. Loki plans to lead them to conquer Earth.
"And the reason the Chitauri are helping him… I believe the price is the Tesseract."
Steve's expression turned severe. It was hard to imagine worse news.
"An army? From outer space?
"WTF—why is it that the moment I wake up, I'm fighting aliens? I was fighting the Red Skull before. That's a ridiculous jump!"
Banner, in human form, stayed steady. Even now, he could think calmly. He removed his glasses, eyes sharp.
"So he wants to use the Tesseract to open a portal, letting the Chitauri bypass Asgard's defenses and enter Earth… that's why he took Dr. Selvig?"
"Selvig?" Thor clutched his head. "Oh, gods… Loki. What has he done?"
Because of Jane, Thor had a good relationship with Dr. Selvig. He didn't want anything to happen to him.
Banner looked annoyed and muttered, "I don't think we should spend more attention on Loki. His mind is impossible to read. Honestly, I think he's just insane."
Thor immediately bristled.
I can insult Loki—he's my brother. Who are you?
Thor said coldly, "Watch your mouth. Loki may be unreasonable, but he is of Asgard, and we are brothers."
Black Widow, off to the side, added calmly, "He killed eighty people in two days."
Thor froze, then added as if it solved everything:
"Oh. Right. But you should know—Loki is adopted."
Everyone: "…"
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