Of course he pauses to gloat. But then he coughs up blood and realises that the dagger wound isn't healing. Strange utters a reminder that their bargain is binding.
KG doesn't know what he means, but
DrS says he wasn't talking to *him* but his master Shuma-Gorath. Gath had sensed
SG's blood on the blade but thought nothing of it. But Strange now reveals that he made a blood pact with the elder god (behind the scenes in
#23). Together they will kill Kulan Gath and Shuma-Gorath will get his power back and promise to leave Earth's dimension alone from now on. The bloody dagger delivered KG's fate ...
... and now SG's tentacles erupt from his chest and mouth. The wizard casts a portal spell with 1 hand to try to escape. But Conan chops the hand off and stops him.
Black Knight widens the chest wound with his
Ebony Blade and
Black Widow irritates it with her
Widow's Sting.
BK prepares a killing blow to the skull but
Juggernaut stops him as Shuma-Gorath bursts free of the body. Conan thinks they should kill them both but Strange warns that interfering might help Gath win. KG is now trapped *within* SG. He calls out for help, promising to leave this dimension peacefully. DrS doesn't trust either of them to keep their word, but Gorath is bound by the blood pact and if he breaks it then he will face these assembled warriors. The demon laughs as he leaves this plane, promising KG a very long slow painful death as he is consumed.
Conan says this rates a feast and
Dr Doom is the only 1 here who knows how to provide 1 so they retire to Doom's
Latverian castle.
Elektra (currently
Daredevil),
Ghost Rider (
Johnny Blaze) and
Wolverine are those at the table I haven't mentioned yet. (The Kangs are reduced from 2 to 1.)
Doom and Kang conspire together to persuade Conan that they need a more absolute solution to the Kulan Gath problem because he has cheated death before, and also travelled in time. But Dr Strange has overheard them and guessed their plan. He sends his astral self to warn them that he won't allow them to kill Gath as a child. When they hear this most of the others round the table seem to feel the same way. But Conan says he'll do it and Kang whisks them both off through time.
As we learned in
#11 the original Kulan Gath was a
Hyborian Age sorcerer who sorely abused his young slave boy. But the boy killed him and took his name and his magic and grew up to be the villain of this series. Now Kang and Conan arrive just after the original KG has bought the boy at a
Stygian market. And the 2 of them kill the old wizard with sword and big gun. Then Conan addresses the boy (as Kulan Gath which is surely wrong) and tells him that magic is evil and will corrupt him. But he gives the boy his sword and (the real) KG's purse of money. He promises to teach him how to survive, but also warns him that if he ever turns to wizardry he will kill him. The boy of course agrees.
For the special marvelite in you