Natasha read the sorcerer's mind to understand the general situation of this dimension and get the information on recent events. "These people are mad."
"What did you find out?" Banner asked.
"This dimension is ruled by a cult called Erytras, meaning worshipper of death in their language. They held a large ceremony to summon inter-dimensional beings and control them."
"Are these people crazy?" Sam asked. During his training, he learned the danger of randomly summoning interdimensional entities.
"Their plans seemed to have lured a Celestial traveling through the Blank Realm," Natasha continued.
"Is that why Arishem and the others came to this timeline?" Sam analyzed.
"It would make sense if they were searching for the cause of one of their own," Banner added.
"I think we need to hurry," Tony said. "My sensors had detected intense energy signatures, many of which are Celestials."
"It must be Arishem and the others. Give me the coordinates and I'll take you there," Wong suggested. He then secured the sling ring on his fingers before opening the portal. The team arrived not far from the battlefield to see the spectacle. Arishem and the other Celestials were battling these colossal skeletons.
"The Celestials are holding back. Why?" Sam commented after observing the battle. The Skeletons were only Tier 6 and were boosted by their connection to this dimension. So, why could they stop the Tier 10 Celestials?
"Don't forget they have a hostage," Natasha analyzed. It made sense for the Celestials to show restraint when their priority is rescuing their companion.
"What's the plan?" Sam asked.
"Tony, how is your suit?" Natasha asked.
"What do you mean, how is my suit? There is nothing wrong with it."
"I mean, whether it's also affected by the strange rule of this dimension," Natasha explained.
"My physical strength is weakened, but there is no issue with the suit," Tony explained.
"Good. You will be on point in case we become too weak and too soon," Natasha nodded. "Sam and I will accompany you to infiltrate these cults and save the hostage. Banner and Wong will stay here." She looked at them.
"I want all of you to remember this timetable. The rescue mission will take 10 minutes, and in that span, we don't see any hope of rescuing the hostage; we will abandon this mission. We will take another ten minutes to return, and if we don't make it in time or something happens to us, Wong, you need to open the largest portable possible and forcefully take the Celestial away and return home.
"Banner, your job is to protect Wong at all costs."
"Isn't 20 minutes too tight of a window?" Sam asked.
"Yes, we have plenty of time to accomplish our mission," Banner agreed.
"I have a sense of urgency and foreboding," Natasha said. One of the primary lessons she learned from her training was to trust her instinct/intuition.
"Now that you mention it, I do have a feeling of impending doom," Banner added.
"Really?" Sam said before summoning a creature. He closed his eyes to link with the creature. "She's right. Something is off."
"In that case, you guys should get a move on," Wong said, and the infiltration team nodded. Natasha released a large shadow that swallowed her, Tony, and Sam before disappearing from sight. Less than a minute later, Wong and Banner heard sounds of battle and explosions deep in the cult's headquarters.
"I hope nothing goes wrong," Banner sighed. However, as soon as he finished his words, a terrifying booming sound echoed in the sky, followed by an enormous black hand that tore through the void. A colossal eye then observed this dimension from the tear.
"That energy level — it's Tier 9," Wong said with an ugly expression.
"What do we do now?" Banner asked. However, someone else had an answer to his question. A man wearing a dark-red hood floated above the sky and started chanting something. As soon as he appeared, all the cult members started praising their leader in a voice of respect and slight worship.
Cult Leader Ma'tras ignored these people and cast his spell, which created a protective barrier around the void tear. The barrier tried to close the tear with no success. However, it had a significant effect: it prevented the Tier 9 entity from entering. The colossal invader snorted coldly before summoning his minions to break through forcefully.
Millions of these blood-red winged demonic creatures flew into the void tear. The barrier tore them apart, but that did not stop them. In a matter of seconds, millions of these creatures died. However, for every million that died, another million successfully entered this dimension, blocking the sky with their numbers.
"Is this what the Sorcerer Supreme meant by the horror of a Hoard Civilization?" Wong asked in shock. He had fought his share of large-scale battles with plenty of dimensional creatures, but they never blocked the sky with their number.
The winged blood creature immediately started ravaging this dimension. They killed and swallowed the blood and soul of any living creatures in sight. "I think these are the creatures that turned Earth into hell," Banner said as his right arm turned into a giant green arm and smashed the beast.
"Do you think that matters now?" Wong asked as he used a spatial cut to dismantle a creature.
"True," Banner nodded. Time passed, and soon, it reached the nine-minute mark of the ten minutes allotted. Wong was worried, so he contacted Natasha. "What is the current situation?"
"We…We've encountered the second-in-command of the cult," Natasha said while breathing heavily. "He has gained some control over the captured Celestial."
"Will you be able to meet the deadline?"
"I don't know… Tony is holding him back, but Sam and I are weakened at an alarming rate. It won't be long before we're completely useless."
"How about I enter the mirror dimension and pull you guys into it with the target to escape," Wong suggested.
"This is too risky. Keep at your post, and we'll figure something out," Natasha said before ending the communication link.
"Banner, I'll go save them," Wong said.
"No problem. I'll keep watch on the situation here."
"You won't try to stop me?"
"Natasha has put too much pressure on her shoulder for this mission," Banner shook his head. It was apparent that she needed help, but she did not ask, trying to bear everything alone.
"Alright," Wong nodded before entering the mirror dimension. Banner stays around, killing the small fries coming his way. He did not worry about his strength diminishing because his mind granted him immense control over his power, and as long as he allowed himself to be angry for a short period, he could recover his lost strength.
A few seconds after Wong's departure, the winded blood-colored demons started acting strangely. All of them suddenly opened their mouths to release an intense red light into the sky. The light congregated together into a red light pillar that instantly destroyed the barrier around the void.
Then, the invading colossal demon slowly walked through the tear. First was its arms, followed by its head with two faces and horns, then its torso with its lower limb behind. Banner's expression turned ugly after seeing this, and he knew he had to do something.
So, he removed the limits on his mind. An ungodly amount of negative energy rushed into his body as he transformed into the Hulk. His aura rose like a comet, alarming everyone in the dimension. The void around him twisted as this dimension could barely contain his rage.
Hulk's aura continued to rise as if he had no limit. For a moment, it looked like he had lost his mind and was about to turn into a mindless beast of infinite wrath. Luckily, this was not the case. After reaching a certain level, the artifact in his soul activated, and Banner regained control of his mind.
His intelligent mind glanced at the demonic creature invading this place, and he roared, showing that his savage nature still existed under the wisdom. He flew into the sky, meeting the demon for a head-on clash.