Elsewhere, on a distant shore of the Universe.
The five Celestials transformed into five streaks of light, speeding towards Earth-616.
Celestial A: How did Lucas get involved with the Elder Gods again?
Celestial B: That's not important. What's important is whether he'll discover what we did to the Elder Gods. According to the collected data analysis, he possesses powerful energy manipulation abilities and is extremely sensitive to various energy changes.
Celestial C: So what if he discovers it? The Elder Gods are already mangy dogs with broken spines.
"Hahahahaha!"
The five Celestials laughed in unison, their laughter filled with mockery.
Celestial A: And that first-generation Eternity. The first Multiverse has already entered reincarnation, wouldn't it have been better for him to leave quietly instead of coming back to stir up trouble?
Celestial C: Yes, I really want to see his expression then. After waiting countless years, just when he thought the fruit was about to ripen, he discovered that even the roots were rotten.
"Hahahahaha!"
Another burst of laughter erupted.
But this time, accompanying the laughter was an almost imperceptible sound of space tearing.
Crack... Crack...
In just an instant, the six-colored, shimmering energy mass, previously on the far side of the starry sky, tore through space and suddenly descended.
The six-colored, shimmering energy mass continued its momentum unabated, crashing into one of the Celestials. In an instant, purple light burst forth, and destructive power erupted.
Boom!!!
This Celestial didn't even have time to react. His armor shattered and crumbled inch by inch, turning into subatomic dust smaller than atoms.
After destroying one Celestial, the purple light dimmed.
Immediately after, green light ignited. The green light, in a near-zero amount of time, swept past the remaining four Celestials.
Time instantly ceased.
The four Celestials stood frozen in place.
It's a pity, though, that no expression could be discerned on their faces. Otherwise, it would have been quite spectacular.
Celestial A: Infinity Stones! It's the power of the Infinity Stones. Who attacked us?
Celestial C: Infinite Ultron? But wasn't he already killed by Sorcerer Lucas?
Celestial B: Lucas! It must be him!
Before the four Celestials could continue their exchange, the five-colored, shimmering energy mass flickered with scarlet light.
As the scarlet light swept past, reality and illusion intertwined.
The four Celestials' massive armor, with its metallic luster and vast energy flowing within, instantly transformed into crimson petals, drifting into the depths of the starry sky.
After the four Celestials dispersed, the scarlet light and green light also dimmed.
The purple, green, and red colors, symbolizing the power of the Power Stone, Time Stone, and Reality Stone, faded from the original six-colored, shimmering energy mass.
Only the blue, yellow, and orange energies remained intertwined, continuing to drift aimlessly in the starry sky.
"Did these Celestials get into a car accident from drowsy driving? How did they suddenly disappear?"
In Strange's Sanctum Sanctorum in New York on Earth, Lucas exclaimed, looking at the five Celestials who had suddenly died mysteriously.
The Creator glanced at Lucas and shook his head with a wry smile.
He hadn't expected Lucas to act so decisively. But this was good. This way, everyone was in the same boat.
At once, the Creator's gaze towards Lucas became even softer.
"Sorcerer Lucas, you can only fool yourself with that. You can't fool the Celestials." Gaea's voice, both annoyed and amused, rang out.
She seemed to be complaining about Lucas, but her tone had unconsciously become much more familiar.
For Gaea, although Lucas's reasons for acting were not entirely pure, since he had taken action against the Celestials, he was undoubtedly making a statement with his actions.
In the confrontation between the Elder Gods and the Celestials, he would side with the Elder Gods.
That was enough.
Seeing that the others weren't cooperating, Lucas sighed.
He felt a bit bored and said listlessly, "Creator, let's discuss the details of the transaction, shall we? Is it payment first, then delivery, or payment first, then delivery?"
Starlight flickered on the Creator's face, like a human's eye twitching.
He said helplessly, "As Sorcerer Lucas says, payment first, then delivery."
"What do you mean 'as I say'? I clearly gave you the choice." Lucas mumbled, his eyes gleaming as he looked at the Creator.
Twenty percent of the World Tree's energy was enough for his power to get a major boost.
After absorbing this energy, he couldn't even imagine how strong he would become. He probably wouldn't have trouble punching Eternity and kicking Infinite.
Before the Creator could speak, Gaea spoke first, "Sorcerer Lucas, are you very short on energy? Would you like me to share some of the power of the Earth with you?"
As she spoke, she drew energy from Earth-616. With a wave of her slender hand, a vibrant green natural force surged from the ground.
"Thank you, Gaea, I am indeed very short on energy."
After thanking her, Lucas began to absorb this free power of Earth.
Lucas took a deep breath, and the green natural force transformed into a thin stream that entered through his nostrils, instantly circulating throughout his body.
As the green natural force circulated, waves of comfort spread throughout his body. It was as if a pair of slender hands were giving him a massage.
For a moment, Lucas almost couldn't bear to devour and convert it.
When had he ever eaten such fine energy?
The energy he had devoured before was either dimensional energy or the mixed energy given by the Watcher.
"Gaea, you're so good." Lucas couldn't help but exclaim.
He let himself be immersed in this natural force, allowing his body to instinctively absorb it slowly.
Gaea was puzzled. She merely smiled politely and then increased the intensity of drawing the power of Earth.
As long as Lucas didn't actively devour it, the power of Earth Gaea drew was within normal depletion, so she was exceptionally generous.
Aside, the Creator remained silent. He quietly drew a wisp of the power of Earth and swallowed it.
Then he frowned.
Was devouring the power of Earth really that enjoyable? Why didn't he feel it?
The Creator was puzzled, then a warning bell rang in his heart.
Lucas was so obsessed with the power of Earth. What if he absorbed the World Tree's energy? That would be disastrous.
The World Tree's energy was even purer than the power of Earth.
It's just that...
The Creator glanced at Lucas, a hidden hint of apprehension flashing in his eyes.
If Lucas went berserk, he wouldn't be able to stop him.
Not just him. In this special period, no one in the entire Marvel world could stop him, could they?
Fortunately, Lucas's character was quite solid.
"Sorcerer Lucas, gently, you're hurting me."
"Ah?!"
Lucas snapped out of his state of enjoyment, similar to soaking in a hot spring.
He looked at Gaea in surprise and said, "Gaea, don't be like that. I'm afraid Gwen and Wanda might misunderstand."
After speaking, Lucas noticed a huge green energy vortex enveloping the entire Sanctum Sanctorum in New York. At the center of the vortex were him and Gaea.
Unconsciously, he had once again grabbed Gaea's wrist, continuously drawing a green, gaseous substance from her body.
"Ahem! Sorry."
Lucas lightly coughed and quickly let go of her hand.
As Lucas released his grip, the green energy vortex surrounding the Sanctum Sanctorum slowly dissipated. Under Lucas's somewhat reluctant gaze, these green energies re-entered the embrace of Earth.
"What just happened here?" Strange pushed open the door and asked.
"Nothing."
Lucas responded perfunctorily, then his gaze shifted, and he noticed Strange's attire.
He saw that his head and exposed wrists were all wrapped in bandages. The bandage on his head was even tied into a bow.
"Pfft..."
"Stephen, what happened to you?"
Lucas couldn't help but laugh as he asked.
"Nothing."
Strange's face darkened, and he responded just as perfunctorily.
After that, he greeted the Ancient One, Gaea, and Atum, then hurried away again.
"Master, what happened to Strange?"
Seeing that Strange wouldn't say, Lucas asked Ancient One, who was nearby.
Ancient One smiled and casually made up an excuse, "Maybe he wasn't looking where he was going when he was going up and down the stairs and fell."
Lucas rolled his eyes in response.
Then he looked at Gaea and Atum.
Gaea's expression was somewhat complex, as if she was lost in thought.
Atum's face was calm, making it impossible to tell what he was thinking.
Atum noticed Lucas's gaze and said calmly, "Strange was challenged by many sorcerers on the last day of the Sorcerers' Convention recently and sustained some injuries."
"Is that all? Then what's with the bow on his head?"
Lucas was a bit disappointed. He had thought there was some hidden story behind Strange's injuries.
Atum shook his head. "I don't know."
After the interruption, Lucas began to finalize the transaction details with the Creator.
The Creator insisted on transporting and delivering the World Tree energy to Lucas himself, as he didn't trust Lucas to go to the World Tree energy pool.
Lucas, however, objected to this.
What if the Creator withheld his energy?
"Sorcerer Lucas, you know, lies and deception have no meaning for us." The Creator said helplessly.
He didn't explain, simply expressing his thoughts plainly.
"Alright."
Lucas reluctantly agreed to the Creator's unreasonable request, while also stating his own conditions.
The location for healing the Elder Gods would be Earth-404, working hours from nine to five, with weekends off and an additional day off on Wednesday. His reason was that he disliked business trips and overtime.
The Creator was helpless. He gave Lucas a deep look and ultimately could only nod in agreement to his unreasonable request.
At the same time, on the distant other side of the stars, a conversation between Celestials was taking place.
"Damn it."
"As expected, this sorcerer, like that damned Knull, is not a peaceful sort."
"They've forgotten who secured their opportunity for free evolution."
The news of five Celestials falling was immediately known to the other Celestials.
Although there was no evidence, the Celestials didn't need to rely on evidence. Based on intuition, they quickly identified the culprit.
"We must take stronger action to eliminate this unstable factor."
"Seconded."
"Seconded."