Robert's ki blast was terrifying in its power. As the explosion echoed, the entire Earth trembled once again, even more noticeably than when the Dark Dimension had first descended. This time, the explosion occurred within the material-dimension passage.
The Earth's dimensional consciousness could now confirm that Robert's ki blast indeed had the potential to destroy Earth. It had been right to intervene earlier.
As for the Dark Dimension's warriors, they were caught completely off guard. Some were turned to ash instantly by the blast. This wasn't entirely their fault—they had been too confident. Before sending them to Earth via the eternal full moon, the Dark Lord had assured them that without the Earth's dimensional restrictions, no one on Earth could stop them. All they needed to do was capture Morbius and the others, thereby fixing the Dark Dimension's flaw. Once that was done, their power would skyrocket, allowing them to dominate many dimensions.
Filled with excitement and confidence from this promise, the Dark Dimension warriors never expected to walk straight into an ambush. So, with high spirits, they followed the moonlight path to Earth, only to meet their end.
At least they had died well-fed, rather than starving to death.
"You tricked me?!" In the space between dimensions, the shockwaves from Robert's ki blast even disrupted the energy surrounding the Dark Dimension. The Dark Lord was furious, realizing that he had been played by Earth's dimensional consciousness.
In response, the previously calm Dark Dimension's power surged again, pressing even more terrifyingly against Earth's dimension.
"Wait! That was the Saiyan acting on his own, not my plan. He was actually trying to destroy Earth... Hm?! If you continue, don't blame me for retaliating. I'll personally wipe out all your warriors, ruining your plan entirely!" Earth's dimension felt the pressure of the Dark Lord's wrath and hastily tried to explain. Moments earlier, it had been pleased with Robert's actions, but now it resented how swiftly he had acted, forcing it to exert even more energy in resisting the Dark Dimension.
"Grant me partial access. Let me observe what's happening inside Earth's dimension. I trusted you to keep things fair, but now I'm having my doubts…" The Dark Lord pushed further, his power pressing down harder on Earth's dimension.
"Fine. I never intended to interfere anyway. I won't close your moonlight passage, but we need to work together to stabilize the space and minimize the damage caused by the fighting," Earth's dimension offered a compromise. It realized that if Robert and the Dark Dimension's warriors fought too fiercely, it could destroy Earth entirely. By giving the Dark Lord some access, he could also help protect Earth.
With that, the two warring dimensions once again intertwined their powers, as if the previous battle had been nothing more than a joke.
Now able to peer into Earth's dimension, the Dark Lord spotted a familiar figure hovering in mid-air: Robert. The Dark Dimension had sent many warriors to Earth before, but they had all failed. Through the memories of Grant and others, the Dark Lord had identified a key figure—Robert.
The Dark Lord felt a desire to kill Robert, thinking that eliminating him would guarantee the success of this invasion. The other key target, of course, was Clark.
However, the Dark Lord didn't act immediately. Even though he could now observe Earth, directly attacking through the Earth's dimension was difficult. He also wasn't aware of the strained relationship between Earth's dimensional consciousness and Robert's group.
"Go! All of you! Be careful—Earth's warriors are ready. If you fail this time, don't bother returning!" The eternal full moon within the Dark Dimension grew brighter as the Dark Lord's voice echoed in the ears of his minions.
Dark Dimension warriors once again stepped onto the moonlight path toward Earth. This time, those who survived the ki blast were on high alert, their energies surging in preparation for battle.
"What? So many died, and they're still coming? Are there really this many powerful beings in a single dimension?" Robert frowned. He had hoped that his previous ki blast would at least slow down the arrival of the Dark Dimension's forces. While many had perished, it hadn't slowed the invasion.
"Prepare for full combat! It looks like Earth has set the stage!" Robert's eyes flashed coldly as he turned to the apprentices of Kamar-Taj. "No need to keep controlling the dimensional formation. The door's already open, and the enemy is inside. What's the point of guarding the windows? Whatever reserves Kamar-Taj has, now's the time to use them. Otherwise, you might not get another chance..."
"Understood!" Baron Mordo and the others nodded gravely. They abandoned their efforts to guard the sanctuary's formation and rushed to the vault to arm themselves with magical artifacts.
"What's going on here? We've been fighting tooth and nail to repel these invaders, and now you're telling me someone opened the door for them?" Doom was still struggling to grasp the situation and shot an annoyed look at Mordo and the others.
"This wasn't documented in Kamar-Taj's history," sighed Kaecilius. "We've guarded Earth for so long, but this is the first time anything like this has happened. Even the Ancient One may have vanished because of this…"
Kaecilius continued quietly, "Earth's dimension has developed a consciousness, and it seems to be eyeing certain powers. Earlier, it didn't fight back with full strength, probably reluctant to expend its energy. The Saiyan was threatening Earth's dimension, and it seems Earth decided to let the enemy in rather than risk its own power…"
"What?" Doom's eyes widened, struggling to accept what he had just heard. He now understood Robert's comment about the emperor not worrying, but his eunuchs fretting. While they were all fighting tooth and nail to defend Earth, the Earth's dimension had simply allowed the enemy to enter.
What was this? We're ready to fight to the death, and the emperor surrenders?
Doom felt nothing but frustration, wondering how any of this made sense.
"Earth doesn't just belong to its consciousness; it's ours as well. It can act recklessly, but we can't stand by and do nothing. Unless..." Mordo trailed off as he grabbed a magical artifact and patted the bewildered Doom on the shoulder. "But unfortunately, we don't have the power to do anything about it. Hurry up and find something suitable for yourself. We can't leave the Saiyan to face all those enemies alone. Even if we're outmatched, we still have to do our part!"
Though Mordo didn't say it directly, Doom understood. He now had a new goal. If he survived this event, he would continue to increase his power so that he'd never again face such a humiliating situation. If possible, he even wanted to eliminate Earth's dimensional consciousness.
With a hum, a cloak flew onto Doom's shoulders, and several magical artifacts quickly attached themselves to him, enhancing his magical abilities.
"Open the portals. Bring in the Avengers, and another set of coordinates..." As Mordo and the others finished equipping themselves, they heard Clark's voice.
Clark wasn't on Earth at the time. He was in space, beside the Kryptonian spaceship he had found and hidden on the Savage Island.
Though the Savage Island was a special subspace, reinforced by Jor-El, Clark couldn't guarantee that it would remain safe if Earth were destroyed. And Clark understood Robert's intent—this dimensional invasion was a life-or-death battle. If they lost, at least their families had to survive.
Thus, the Kents and the Danvers had been moved onto the Kryptonian ship. Even Lana Lang wasn't with them but had stayed on Savage Island, helping to evacuate Kong and the others.
That's right—seeing the ongoing arrival of Dark Dimension warriors and sensing the strengthening of the surrounding space, Robert had decisively contacted Clark, enlisting the help of Kong and the Tyrannosaurus Rex.
The dinosaurs from the Savage Island were stronger than normal dinosaurs, but only Kong and the T-Rex were powerful enough to participate in a battle of this magnitude.
Compared to Kong, the T-Rex was weaker, but it still contributed to the overall battle strength. In fact, it was stronger than many werewolves, vampires, and even Pietro or Barry Allen.
Robert hadn't forgotten the Guardians either. Constantine and Clare were also called in. Though not exceptionally powerful, they could still serve as valuable support against the Dark Dimension, especially with the anti-Dark Dimension gear provided by the Avengers.
Soon, one after another, portals of flame opened around Robert. Aside from those he couldn't contact—like Mera and the Atlanteans—most of the extraordinary individuals and organizations that had fought alongside Robert were there, including even the undercover Martian Manhunter.
Compared to the Skrull infiltration and the "deep cover" plan, the immediate threat of the Dark Dimension invasion was far more urgent.
As everyone arrived, Robert didn't sit idly by. He continuously fired ki blasts, bombarding the moonlit passage. However, this time, his attacks didn't inflict as much damage, as the Dark Dimension's warriors were now prepared.
Still, Robert wasn't concerned with casualties. As long as he could deplete the Dark Dimension's forces, it was a victory for Earth. After all, healing wounds still required energy.
Moreover, the continuous barrage stoked Robert's fighting spirit. His combat power continued to rise, and rather than weakening from the use of ki blasts, his aura grew stronger.
"It's a pity that Themyscira is hidden, and I don't have time to contact them. Otherwise, they could've joined the battle," Diana murmured regretfully as she watched Earth's extraordinary forces gather.
"No worries, this is enough!"
Robert's eyes gleamed with excitement as he finally paused his barrage. He looked at the many Dark Dimension warriors stepping out from the moonlight passage. "Last time, I didn't get to fight Damian properly. This time, I'm going all out. You'd better stand back—now that the surrounding space is reinforced, I don't have to hold back!"
With a flash, Robert disappeared from sight before Diana or the other Avengers could respond.
"Wait! You didn't even put on the gear we prepared!" Tony Stark shouted, but Robert had already vanished from view.
"Such audacity! Charging in alone—ugh!" A Dark Dimension warrior sneered at Robert's bold move but was cut off as he suddenly felt a devastating blow to his body.
Most terrifying was the strange, unfamiliar energy surging inside him—a force that filled him with fear and unease.
With a hiss, Robert reappeared, his energy now transformed. He had shifted to a light-based form, which directly countered the Dark Dimension warriors, catching them completely off guard.
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