"That child is forging her soul into a weapon!"
The ruined, alternate-universe Strange watched Illyana with wide, horrified eyes. He lunged forward. "We have to stop her! If she burns through her life force, she'll never be able to turn back into a human!"
Earth-616's Stephen Strange didn't move. He crossed his arms, watching the battle with cold, clinical approval. "A blade forged from a mutant's own soul and life essence is arguably the most lethal countermeasure against a magical entity. She's a very clever girl."
"Are you insane?!" the depressed Strange roared. "She didn't need to do that!"
"She didn't need to," 616-Strange corrected smoothly. "But it was her choice. She was angry. She used necromancy and dark magic, fueled by the energy of her own burning life force, to create the one weapon that can actually put Belasco in the ground. It's a tactically sound decision."
"It's inhumane!"
"It's a war," 616-Strange said flatly, ignoring his counterpart.
He watched the newly demonized Illyana clash with Belasco. The duel was heavily lopsided. Illyana was essentially a novice mage who had spent three years learning how to swing a sword from Wolverine. Belasco was a dimensional lord with tens of thousands of years of combat experience. If Thor hadn't been taking the brunt of Belasco's fury, Illyana wouldn't have stood a chance. As it was, her Soulsword was the only thing keeping Belasco on his toes.
We need a permanent solution, Strange thought, his mind racing. We need to sever him from Limbo, or at least deal enough critical damage to force him back into his dimension.
A plan rapidly began to assemble in Strange's mind.
Meanwhile, Kitty Pryde pushed herself up from the scorched, glassy dirt. She finally understood why the feral, Limbo-mutated Shadowcat had shoved her out of the way. The variant had spent years fighting Belasco. She knew exactly how lethal a direct confrontation would be. She hadn't pushed Kitty to steal the glory—she had pushed Kitty to save her life. The variant had essentially committed suicide by hellfire so Kitty wouldn't have to.
Kitty gritted her teeth. She wasn't going to let that sacrifice mean nothing. She started to sprint toward Belasco again.
Kitty Pryde. I need you to locate Spider-Man.
Kitty stumbled, startled. "Oh. Okay. Uh, weird question, Dr. Strange, but shouldn't I have telepathic resistance while phased?"
This is a mystical transmission, not mutant telepathy, Strange's voice echoed dryly in her head.
"Right. Cool." Kitty phased through a demonic Cyclops variant. "What about the amulet?"
Ignore the amulet. Retrieving it now will only provoke Belasco further, and the window has shifted. Magik is currently incapable of eliminating him alone. We are moving to a secondary strike plan. We need to physically cripple him. That requires your abilities.
Kitty ducked under a stray energy beam. "My abilities?"
Find Spider-Man. Coordinate with him to execute a lethal strike on Belasco. You will need his specific power set to make this work.
Kitty blinked. Spider-Man? Not Thor? Not the Hulk? Not the Sorcerer Supreme himself? She shook her head, deciding not to question the magic doctor.
She wove through the chaotic battlefield, phasing past a roaring Hulk who was currently busy ripping a massive gargoyle in half. She bypassed Emma Frost, who was coldly using telepathy to force three demonic versions of herself to snap their own necks.
Kitty finally spotted Peter. He was surrounded by a massive horde of Limbo demons, fighting back-to-back with Cindy and Ashley Barton. Venom had morphed Peter's hands into massive, razor-sharp scythes, and he was currently turning demons into deli meat.
"Spider-Man!" Kitty shouted, phasing through a demon to reach him. "Dr. Strange wants you to kill Belasco!"
Peter cleanly decapitated a demon, his white lenses widening. He stared at Kitty. "Are you absolutely sure he meant me?"
"Uh... yes?"
Peter opened his mouth to argue, but Strange's voice suddenly pierced his mind, outlining the exact physics and timing of the maneuver. Peter's jaw clicked shut. He instantly understood the math.
"Right," Peter muttered. He glanced over his shoulder. "Silk? I'm gonna need you to cover my six in about ten seconds."
Cindy kicked a demon in the chest, tilting her head. She didn't know what he was planning, but she gave a sharp nod.
A shower of golden sparks began to form a Sling Ring portal right in front of Peter and Kitty.
"Okay," Kitty said, bouncing on her toes, equal parts terrified and thrilled. "What's the plan? We jump through?"
"Nope," Peter said, stepping away from the sparking circle. "We're taking the scenic route."
With a sickening, tearing sound, Peter ripped a jagged spatial rift directly into the fabric of reality.
Across the battlefield, Belasco was losing his patience. He was fighting a two-front war against a very angry God of Thunder and a wildly unpredictable demon girl. Even though he had destroyed the Deadpool-universe Mjolnir, Thor's combat efficiency hadn't dropped an inch with the two remaining hammers. Worse, Illyana's Soulsword was forcing Belasco to constantly retreat and parry.
Suddenly, a golden Sling Ring portal sparked open directly behind Belasco.
The demon lord sneered. He had anticipated this. He whipped around instantly, unleashing a devastating, hyper-concentrated torrent of hellfire directly into the portal. Thor braced himself behind Mjolnir, while Illyana used her Limbo connection to blindly teleport out of the blast radius.
The hellfire vaporized the portal and scorched the earth for fifty yards in every direction.
Now, Peter thought.
The split second the hellfire died down, Peter tore his spatial rift open directly inside the blast zone. He lunged out, aiming straight for Belasco.
Belasco's reflexes were terrifying. Despite just unleashing a massive attack, the demon lord instantly snapped a clawed hand forward, aiming to rip Peter's heart out.
But Kitty had grabbed Peter's left arm just before they crossed the threshold.
Belasco's lethal strike passed completely and harmlessly through Peter's phased chest.
Still phased, Peter drove his right hand directly into the space occupied by Belasco's torso.
Then, Kitty let go.
Peter's hand solidified. He immediately unleashed the full, destructive force of his spatial tearing ability point-blank.
The air inside Belasco cracked like a mirror hit by a sledgehammer. A horrific, shattering sound echoed across the battlefield as the spatial tear violently ripped the right half of Belasco's body completely apart.
Despite having half his torso annihilated, Belasco didn't die. He didn't even scream. The demon lord simply raised his remaining arm, preparing to retaliate.
Thor didn't give him the chance. With a deafening roar, the God of Thunder brought Mjolnir crashing down with the force of a falling meteor, caving in Belasco's remaining chest cavity.
A millisecond later, Illyana materialized behind him, swinging the Soulsword in a vicious arc that cleanly severed the top half of Belasco's head.
The demon lord's body collapsed into the dirt. His severed half-head rolled across the glass, its jaw still moving.
"This... is not over..." Belasco rasped, his voice bubbling with black blood. "You can never truly kill... a dimensional lord..."
Stephen Strange floated down, landing gracefully next to the remains.
"You're right," 616-Strange said coldly. "It isn't over."
Strange raised his hands. With a complex twist of his fingers, he forced open a massive, permanent gateway directly into the heart of Limbo. He turned to the assembled heroes.
"We just thwarted a dimensional invasion," Strange said, his voice carrying over the quiet battlefield. "Do you know what the standard protocol is for that?"
The heroes stared at him.
"We make absolutely sure this bastard never thinks about trying it again," Strange declared. "I am going into his lair. I am going to sever his connection to Limbo, and I am going to wipe him from existence."
Strange stepped toward the portal, then paused, looking back over his shoulder.
"Now... who wants to come with me?"