Dormammu's physical form couldn't compare to Malrick's.

His strength stemmed almost entirely from Dimensional energy.

But now, with the Space Stone in his grasp, Malrick sealed off the small pocket dimension, severing Dormammu's connection to the Dark Dimension.

With each spell cast, Dormammu's energy waned.

In this evenly matched duel, his strength only continued to dwindle.

Malrick, by contrast, grew more formidable with every blow. His mastery of the universe's laws deepened with each clash.

Unbeknownst to Dormammu, Malrick carried with him a fragment of the Sun—its radiant energy mending his wounds mid-battle.

Dormammu simply felt his stamina slipping away.

He launched a devastating attack, one capable of vaporizing a star, but in doing so, drained much of his remaining strength.

Malrick, unfazed, battered him across the cosmos like a comet.

Yet even in the face of such overwhelming force, Dormammu refused to yield.

He rose again from the shattered void, his scorched body knitting itself together slowly.

"Perhaps it's time we had another conversation," Malrick said, floating in midair, his cloak billowing around him.

Dormammu sneered. "I have nothing to say to you!"

Malrick gave a casual shrug. "Suit yourself. I hope you enjoy the next act."

With that, he vanished into the stars.

"Act?" Dormammu muttered, frowning. What was that mortal plotting?

Then, without warning, a colossal figure materialized in the void before him—over a thousand kilometers tall. Dormammu, standing hundreds of meters high himself, looked like a speck in comparison.

"A Celestial?" he gasped. "No... that's not right. They don't look like this. Wait, what are you—?!"

The towering figure crouched and extended its hand, gripping Dormammu in its palm.

As the giant's face moved closer, a horrifying realization dawned on Dormammu.

"You... You're that Sorcerer Supreme, aren't you?!"

The giant didn't answer. It merely smiled—and then burst into radiant energy.

Dormammu screamed, "You're going to self-destruct!? Wait—!"

Boom.

The massive figure exploded in an instant, releasing an energy force equal to that of a planet.

The sheer force of the detonation warped space itself, distorting light, matter, and gravity in a vortex of destruction.

Malrick descended from the heavens as the aftermath of the explosion raged below. A breath escaped his lips, stirring the vacuum around him like a windstorm.

Only once the last ripple of chaos had faded did the impact become visible—a crater tens of thousands of kilometers wide.

At the bottom, barely clinging to form, Dormammu's upper torso began to regenerate.

Malrick hovered over the devastation and nodded, satisfied. "The Blood Sea clone really is the perfect tool for self-destruction."

Though it was his consciousness guiding the clone, Malrick felt nothing from the blast.

Immense power, zero consequences—the Blood Sea clone was practically a walking superweapon.

Once he grew stronger, its explosion might even generate a black hole.

Within his inner world, another clone took shape.

With a flick of thought, Malrick summoned it—another giant, a thousand kilometers tall—and hurled it toward the recovering Dormammu.

Boom.

Another detonation.

He repeated the process. Again and again. Clone after clone. Explosion after explosion.

Only when the massive continent had been shattered into five fragmented landmasses did Malrick finally stop.

On one jagged landmass, Dormammu's trembling hand emerged from the rubble.

"We… need to talk!" he groaned.

Dormammu's defiance had withered. His fury had drained. He lay quietly in the ruins, staring into the cold vastness of space.

Malrick floated beside him. "Talk about what?"

"As long as you don't mention control of the Dark Dimension, I'll listen…"

Dormammu pushed debris off himself and exhaled slowly.

Malrick raised an eyebrow. "So, you acknowledge me as your superior?"

He had obtained a soul-binding technique from the Beast God of the Starry Sky World. If Dormammu willingly opened his mind, he could enslave him.

But force wouldn't work.

As a World Lord, Malrick lacked the soul strength to dominate a Dimensional Demon God by force.

If he tried, Dormammu would likely self-destruct and seek vengeance upon resurrection.

Naturally, Dormammu refused. "Never. You might as well destroy me. But if you do, you better protect Earth—because when I return from the Dark Dimension…"

Malrick scowled. Even in defeat, the demon dared to threaten him.

He leapt forward and struck Dormammu across the face.

The blow silenced him.

"Return? Don't forget how many Hell Lords are salivating over your throne," Malrick snapped.

"When you die and resurrect, do you think you'll have the strength left to fend them off?"

"By the time you return, Mephisto might already own the Dark Dimension."

The flicker in Dormammu's flames betrayed his thoughts—he knew it was possible.

"…I can't give you the Dimensional authority," he muttered, "but I'll allow Kamar-Taj's Sorcerers to borrow my power—without a cost."

"You expect Sorcerers who follow the Vishanti to use dark magic?" Malrick scoffed.

Then a thought struck him. "Does that include me?"

As he advanced within the Starry Sky System, he'd need unimaginable energy. At some point, he might even have to drain an entire Universe.

Free access to the Dark Dimension's power would keep him supplied until he reached multiversal levels.

Once drained dry, the Dark Dimension's master wouldn't matter.

Dormammu, oblivious to Malrick's plan, nodded. "Of course. You are the Sorcerer Supreme."

"Good," Malrick said. "That's one condition. What else?"

Dormammu blinked. "Else? That's not enough?"

"The defeated party pays reparations and cedes territory," Malrick said plainly. "You've only done one."

Dormammu's flames dimmed. "You're still after my authority!"

"I'm warning you—let me return to the Dark Dimension now, or you'll regret it."

Malrick raised his fist. "Still threatening me?"

Dormammu hesitated. "I didn't come here for war. I only intended to consume a single world."

He exhaled. "Right now, in the Dark Dimension, your timeline's main-universe Strange is trying to fix a universal collision with my niece, Clea."

"If I don't get back soon and the Hell Lords find them, the whole operation will collapse!"

He tried to sound reasonable. "If you let me return, I'll help them fix the crisis. That helps your Universe too!"

"A Universe collision?" Malrick's eyes narrowed. "How? And how do you stop it? Explain."

Dormammu raised his hands. "It's a mess caused by Strange hopping between realities, destabilizing the Multiverse."

"The easiest fix is to destroy one of the colliding Universes."

"But Strange and Clea think they've found another way—something they're working on secretly."

"If you let me go now, I can aid them."