Leaving behind a Limbo Avatar temporarily to guard against Loki’s sneak attacks, Tao Yu also chose to return first.
It wasn’t possible to keep wasting time here. The Big Boss had already been thrown deep into the mine, watched over by another of his Limbo Avatars, working to isolate and capture the spatial vibration frequency of fundamental particles while reducing interference as much as possible. This would take time to process.
"About time. Let’s go check on Casillas’s followers and see how they’re doing. Tch~ why hasn’t Dormammu let Casillas out yet."
Tao Yu thought of those Dark Dimension followers he had specifically instructed to release.
Previously, he’d done a bit of reconnaissance—they were like a bunch of headless flies. Up until now, they hadn’t even managed to gather together, each acting independently.
Without someone as commanding as Casillas stepping forward, those willing to borrow power from the Dark Dimension truly respected no one but themselves.
"It seems I’ll have to step in personally."
Just happened to learn a trick from Loki and memorized the energy signature of the Dark Dimension. Mimicking Casillas shouldn’t be too much of an issue.
"Dormammu, if you won’t release him, then I’ll do it myself. I’ll personally help spread your gospel—just make sure you repay me later..."
The Dark Dimension, though called "dark," was internally a dazzling, kaleidoscopic space, resembling the interior of a nebula.
It was visually distinctive from the style of the Current World.
And its master was the Dimensional Demon God, Dormammu.
In the Dark Dimension, Dormammu wielded nearly infinite Divine Power. In his domain, even Odin and the Ancient One at their peak would struggle to compete.
Dormammu delighted in pulling entire planets into the Dark Dimension, converting them into his power.
The more brimming with life a planet, the more it became his target.
As a mighty sovereign of the Dark Dimension, he also frequently loaned power out to his believers.
However, using that power came at a cost.
Casillas, after borrowing his power, ended up swept away when Dormammu severed ties to Earth, becoming just another inevitable outcome for many of Dormammu’s followers.
Reduced to slavery within the Dark Dimension...
Dormammu’s thunderous roar echoed through the hazy, dreamlike Dark Dimension.
It jolted Casillas, whose soul was continually being warped by black energy, back into consciousness.
Originally, after being reclaimed by Dormammu, he served as a corrupted soul here, adding bricks and mortar to the Dark Dimension’s energy supply.
All those moments when drawing on the Dark Dimension’s power had been exhilarating—now he was paying it all back with interest.
Like a human-shaped battery.
He had been drifting aimlessly, tormented by the distortion of his soul.
But this roar snapped Casillas’s awareness back into sharp focus.
As his mind returned and the unimaginably painful torment eased, Casillas’s face gleamed with a look of joy.
However, when he heard Dormammu’s furious bellow, he quickly dropped to his knees on the rough and jagged meteorite where he was, crawling rapidly on them all the way to the meteorite’s edge.
"Lord Dormammu, your most faithful servant awaits your command!"
Even though he had already experienced the price of borrowing dark power and continued to endure torment,
Casillas displayed a behavior reminiscent of Stockholm syndrome, his face showing a pious and tearful devotion, as if merely being summoned by Dormammu was an honor.
In the void of space ahead of the meteorite, endless energy began converging, forming a massive head hundreds of meters in diameter.
Saturated with a sense of majesty and brutality, that overwhelming aura made even someone as powerful as the mage Casillas feel as insignificant as an ant.
This made him bow even lower.
"What’s going on with your followers! Didn’t I tell you to completely sever the connection to Midgard? Why are more and more people praying to me!"
Dormammu appeared utterly enraged, his words brimming with fury.
This left Casillas momentarily stunned.
How is that possible...
"Lord Dormammu, I am not sure about that either. While I do have some followers, I’ve not openly renounced Kama Taiji. They likely don’t have much understanding of the Dark Dimension, nor such precise intentions..."
Casillas was also baffled, unable to figure out why this was happening.
And even if it was true, isn’t this a good thing?
As more believers embraced darkness, the Dark Dimension would grow stronger, and so would Lord Dormammu!
"I don’t care! I don’t want Midgardian believers! Not a single one!"
The immense head formed of energy seemed to screech irritably.
Terrifying energy waves erupted, utterly obliterating the surrounding meteorites and asteroids into dust.
If Dormammu hadn’t instinctively shielded Casillas with a thought, the mage himself—despite his strength—might have similarly turned to powder.
This display of Divine Power only intensified the fanaticism in Casillas’s eyes.
"Listen to me! I’m sending you to Midgard right now. Find every one of your followers—either kill them or stop their prayers! This is my command!"
Dormammu then forcibly suppressed his emotions, his massive orange-yellow pupils fixating on Casillas, making the latter bow his head in deference.