Unlike his female counterpart who operated from the shadows, the male clone of Samael was relentlessly executing his plans.
First, he corrupted Obadiah Stane and turned him into the founder of a secret cult, composed of the wealthy and influential.
Then, he extended his influence to the Hand organization and led this ancient group into corruption.
The leaders of the Hand—Alexandra Reid, Madame Gao, Bakuto, Murakami, and Sowande—all surrendered and were brainwashed.
Now, with the merger of the Hand and the Sons of the Devil, a new and extremely powerful organization had been born.
An organization that ruled from the shadows, with the male clone of Samael as the mastermind behind these developments, working tirelessly.
"It's time to face the Ancient One..."
Samael—or rather, the Lord of the Devil—whispered softly.
The Ancient One, the guardian of Earth, was the greatest obstacle to his plans.
A being who, as the protector of Earth, was naturally considered an enemy of an extraterrestrial entity like Samael.
So he wanted to seal the Ancient One.
But why not kill her?
A foolish question.
The Ancient One-that bald old woman-had for years humiliated countless next demons across the multiverse.
Her power was irrational, to the point that it frustrated even her enemies.
Moreover, she possessed the Time Stone, and killing someone who controlled part of the origin of the cosmos was nearly impossible.
As long as she had the Time Stone, no one could destroy her.
But there were other reasons why Samael preferred not to kill the Ancient One:
1. Backers in the Shadows: The Ancient One was not alone. Beings like Eternity—one of the gods of creation—supported her.
And Eternity was millions of times more powerful than Samael and even connected to the Eternity (Multiverse). Who would want to fight the abstract embodiment of the multiverse?
2. Lingering Emotions from the Original Samael: The male clone of Samael had inherited the memories and emotions of the original version.
He knew the original Samael admired the Ancient One.
Still, the time for hesitation had passed.
Samael released his chaotic aura and revealed himself.
The Ancient One had long sensed temporal anomalies.
A mysterious force was manipulating the timeline. But when Samael appeared, everything became clear.
The moment the Ancient One appeared, Samael felt a spatial distortion.
With a single glance, he realized the Ancient One had drawn him into the Mirror Dimension—a realm separate from the main world.
They stared at each other.
The Ancient One saw a being that was both demonic and sacred, as if he were both god and devil.
Unlike the Asgardians, this being had pure divinity, like the ancient gods who had lived in the material universe for billions of years.
But his demonic side was even stronger than his divinity. It was as if she were staring not at a demon, but the the devil king.
"Who are you?"
The Ancient One tried to speak calmly, but she knew some enmities were inevitable.
Samael laughed: "Good question... I was once part of the 'Oak King'. But now, I am the one who corrupts and destroys everything."
The Oak King was an identity Samael had chosen for himself. Whatever happened could be blamed on the Oak King. I am the god of reincarnation—what does the Oak King have to do with me?
The Ancient One's gaze turned cold.
This being reminded her of someone—Mephisto, the demon king of Marvel, the trickster everyone was always angry with.
"Let's end this quickly... I want to show you my ultimate power."
Samael's red eyes gleamed, and the symbol of infinite reincarnation appeared in them. He had connected to the divine realm of reincarnation.
The Ancient One sensed a force beyond her comprehension forming. This power belonged to a multidimensional demon.
"Let me introduce my greatest power... 'Omnipotent and Omniscient'."
Samael smiled. He did not underestimate the Ancient One and used this ability directly.
The void was torn open.
An irresistible force pulled the Ancient One toward it.
She tried to resist, but in the face of Omnipotent and Omniscient, all efforts were futile.
Even Odin—with all his godly claims—could not withstand such power.
Only beings at the level of Dormammu or Mephisto had any chance.
"You are a master of space and time. Even if I exile you to another dimension, you'll quickly return... so I will imprison you in endless void."
The Ancient One realized she had been caught in a trap. No matter how much she used the Time Stone, she could not escape this fate.
Under Samael's heavy gaze, the Ancient One was pulled into absolute darkness.
She was no longer in the material world.
"You won't be a nuisance for a while... even Odin is just a dying old man."
Samael spoke softly, but the cost of this victory was heavy.
"I lost 470 kilometers..."
Using Omnipotent and Omniscient had a price: a portion of his divine realm was permanently lost.
Even though he had used this power for only a few minutes, it had caused him great harm.
Now, he just had to wait. With each reincarnation, the lost part would gradually return.
That was why Samael always avoided using this power.
But now the Ancient One was removed from the path... and no one remained to stop his plans.