Dormammu stared at Malrick's fearless expression, and a familiar irritation surged within him. Doctor Strange had worn that same look every time they negotiated, and it never failed to trigger his rage.
Cautious, Dormammu scanned the surroundings, anticipating hidden tricks.
But there was nothing.
This so-called Sorcerer Supreme appeared to be just another arrogant mortal with a narrow view of the universe.
Dormammu's fiery eyes narrowed.
"Welcome? Then give me this world, and the Earth along with it, Sorcerer Supreme!"
Malrick calmly formed sigils with his hands. "This world is mine. Earth too. I protect them both. If you want them—come take them."
In an instant, mirror dimension magic erupted around them, engulfing the entire planet in shimmering reflection.
Dormammu's sneer cut through the air. "Mirror Dimension? How quaint."
"Then I'll kill you and devour every shred of you myself!"
He surged forward.
Dimensional energy exploded outward, cracking the mirror space like fragile glass.
A massive fist, larger than a mountain, tore through the sky and slammed into Malrick, sending him hurtling backward like a meteor. He smashed through mountains, reducing them to rubble, a cascade of destruction trailing behind him like toppled bowling pins.
From space, the planet's surface looked like it had sprouted jagged scars—ridges of dust and rock stretching for miles.
"You're just a Sorcerer Supreme" Dormammu roared. "Yet you dare to bluff!"
He raised his hands—and the very elements obeyed.
The winds howled, lightning cracked, the ground quaked. Flames surged, rivers twisted from their paths, and oceans convulsed. All of nature's fury was directed toward one man.
This was Dormammu's true power: absolute control of the elements.
Landslides, tsunamis, meteor storms, volcanic eruptions—any one of them could wipe out a civilization. But Dormammu hurled them all at Malrick.
Not just out of wrath—but because the sight of another defiant Sorcerer Supreme reminded him of every frustration he'd endured from Strange.
When the chaos subsided, the battlefield was unrecognizable. Craters scarred the terrain, and a bottomless chasm gaped where Malrick had stood. Seawater poured into the void from all directions.
Even the Ancient One would've perished from such devastation.
Dormammu floated to the edge of the abyss and peered down. No life stirred below. He was certain Malrick was dead.
"Strange, you'll join this one soon enough. I'll consume Earth—and you—with it."
He turned, ready to soar into space and resume devouring lesser worlds.
But then—
"Hey. Where do you think you're going?"
Dormammu froze.
That voice.
He turned, stunned to find Malrick rising from the abyss, completely unharmed. His suit wasn't torn, his hair wasn't even ruffled.
"Your attack barely scratched me," Malrick said. "You'll have to try harder."
Blue energy flared from Malrick's body, expanding outward in a massive wave, quickly enveloping the world.
"You're not leaving," he said coldly. "It's my turn now."
Dormammu's expression shifted as the energy surged. The areas tainted by the Dark Dimension began to restore themselves. Even the dimensional gateway he had opened was erased in a blink.
Worse, his connection to the Dark Dimension had been severed.
He could neither flee nor summon his power. His dimensional authority had been locked out.
"What have you done!?" Flames danced wildly atop Dormammu's head as true panic flared.
The entire small world was surrounded by a dense field of blue energy—raw spatial power.
He tried to tear through it, but it was unlike any space magic he had seen. Unlike the Mirror Dimension, this wasn't an illusion. It was real. Dense. Impenetrable.
To break it, he'd have to eliminate its source: Malrick.
"You really need to ask?" Malrick hovered above, relaxed. "I've caged you in. No more running, Dormammu."
Dormammu's rage erupted. "You dare!"
He launched a punch from above.
Compared to his titanic fist, Malrick looked like an insect—an ant crushed beneath a mountain.
But when the punch landed—
It stopped. Instantly. No recoil, no impact.
Malrick had extended one hand and caught the punch. Effortlessly.
His body didn't move an inch.
"What!?" Dormammu growled. "Impossible!"
"Nothing's impossible. It's just that your punches are weak."
Malrick pushed the fist away, folding his arms calmly across his chest.
Dormammu's fury ignited. "Let's see how many you can take!"
He launched another strike, one strong enough to pierce a planet.
But Malrick didn't even react. He let it land—and still didn't budge.
Dormammu unleashed a furious barrage. Jabs. Hooks. Blasts. The ground crumbled from the aftershocks. Mountains were obliterated. Rivers evaporated.
Yet Malrick remained still. Untouched.
Each of Dormammu's strikes felt like they were landing on vibranium. No, stronger. Uru metal, maybe. He couldn't even make him flinch.
Panting, Dormammu halted, realizing with horror that Malrick hadn't moved once during the onslaught.
"How can a sorcerer have a body like this!?"
He had ruled dimensions for eons, yet he had never seen a magician so indestructible.
Malrick smirked. "What kind of mage doesn't know how to fight up close? Now, it's my turn."
His body grew, almost instantly appearing in front of Dormammu's massive flaming head.
His fist looked tiny in comparison—barely a dot.
But when it connected, the impact sent Dormammu plummeting like a meteor, smashing into the ground with a shockwave that ruptured the sky.
He bounced, skidded, then crashed again, carving a trench hundreds of miles long.
His scream of agony shook the heavens.
Malrick hovered above, cape fluttering, his bio-force field now fully reactivated.
Then he dived, cutting through the atmosphere with a sonic boom, the wind and clouds spiraling behind him like a storm's eye.
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