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"You foolish mortal, you will pay the price of your life for your arrogance!" Kaecilius, his face contorted into a snarl, roared. "I will chop off your head, then use dark magic to transform it into a vessel, and lock your soul inside it for all eternity!"
Kaecilius raised his hands high, with a fanatical, pilgrim-like obsession.
He, Kaecilius, was originally the First Disciple under the Sorcerer Supreme, the best candidate for the next Sorcerer Supreme, but in the end, he could not resist Dormammu's temptation.
The two words, "Immortality," were enough to lure Kamar-Taj's chief disciple into the Dark Faction.
Tony fell silent, contemplating. In the middle of the street, countless Transformers swarmed out. War machines of all sizes began driving away the bewildered pedestrians, some even snatching people up and tossing them aside, while another group of Transformers was dispatched to form a perimeter.
Tony had never fought a sorcerer before and knew little about their strange and unpredictable magic. However, the principle was the same—he just had to treat this guy, Kaecilius, as a Super Mutant with multiple abilities.
He refused to believe it. No matter how powerful a sorcerer was, could they really keep fighting after being decapitated?
When facing a sorcerer from Kamar-Taj, the biggest danger was being thrown into the Mirror Dimension. Once there, you were helpless, your only hope being rescue by someone else.
Or starve to death, or die of old age inside.
What was worse, Kaecilius, having been empowered by Dormammu, was an expert at creating the Mirror Dimension.
A Transformer, acting as cannon fodder, was controlled by Tony to charge forward. Its metallic form, over three meters tall, was quite imposing, but its actual combat effectiveness remained questionable since it had been transformed from an ordinary vehicle.
Several more Transformers immediately followed, swarming in to surround the diminutive Kaecilius. Except for the first one that charged, the others all raised their turrets and commenced a bombardment.
A violent barrage thundered from the Transformer squad. A massive volley of bullets and shells completely enveloped Kaecilius. Explosions erupted, sending dust and debris flying. The sudden, intense blasts in the middle of the street tore up the high-quality asphalt, and jagged cracks radiated outward from Kaecilius's position like a dense spiderweb, engulfing the entire area.
Electro dissolved into several streams of electricity and rushed silently toward Kaecilius. Amidst the flying debris and dust, he changed direction multiple times. The sizzling of his currents was drowned out by the louder explosions, making his advance seem eerily quiet by comparison.
Electrokinesis—this was Max's ability. If Kaecilius were to be struck head-on by Max in this energy form, he would be gravely injured even if he survived. It was a direct assault on the bio-electric field. Unless Kaecilius had transcended the bounds of a human, he would definitely be affected.
Tony attacked decisively, directly bombarding Kaecilius's position until a sunken crater was formed, the ground beginning to cave in. Howitzers, armor-piercing shells, and short-range burst fire were all mercilessly unleashed upon the enemy.
Kaecilius's expression grew even more disdainful. He beckoned with a finger, then gently slapped his palm against the air as if striking a solid object. Every particle in the air, stirred by a mysterious energy, began to grow restless and agitated. The very space of the entire area began to shift, becoming more violent and unstable.
In a silent process that took less than a hundredth of a second, just as the dense barrage of attacks was about to cover his mortal body, a layer of transparent prismatic constructs appeared without warning in the air where Kaecilius's palm had touched. They were like irregular, transparent prisms. An astonishing number of these prisms assembled themselves, instantly forming a perfectly square barrier. Each prism connected with the others in an identical fashion.
This was something filled with a structural beauty that perfectly aligned with human aesthetics. This mystical wall, created by the channeling of magic, seemed as if its every line adhered to the truth of the universe, amplifying the mysteries of creation and compressing them all into a single, thin, transparent wall.
The first shell struck the wall in front of Kaecilius. This thing, as beautiful as a crystal prism, was nowhere near as fragile as one might expect. A powerful bomb slammed into it and exploded, but it failed to affect the structure in the slightest, not even causing a minor tremor.
"Foolish."
Kaecilius curled his lip in contempt, his dark pupils gaining a few more traces of eeriness and cruelty. If the other mages from Kamar-Taj were to see Kaecilius now, they would surely be shocked. This Kaecilius, who had gone from one extreme to another... was this truly the same responsible person they knew, the one who had wholeheartedly protected Earth?
The first shell exploded, and more shells came screaming in. As far as the eye could see, Transformers with a blinding metallic sheen surrounded Kaecilius in layer upon layer, looming over him to crush him.
Kaecilius scoffed. Unhurriedly, he extended his arms and waved them slightly. The wall of structural beauty that had only been in front of him immediately expanded from his position, tightly encasing him within it.
Even through this unknown magical effect, Tony could see the condescending and disdainful gaze Kaecilius directed at him from behind the barrier.
Kaecilius had the right to be arrogant. With just this one move, he had nullified ninety percent of all attacks within Tony's understanding. Although it was unclear how long he could maintain it, as a dark energy conduit, there were very few who could outlast him in a battle of attrition.
Not to mention, Kaecilius was a magical expert from Kamar-Taj. He could use space magic to escape at any time, simply by drawing a sparking portal in the air.
These crystal prism-like walls were, unsurprisingly, another application of space magic.
"Tony, you know nothing of true greatness, and you know even less of the cruelty of time!" Kaecilius spoke from behind the crystal wall, yet his voice reached Tony's ears completely unimpeded.
Tony didn't understand this trick, either.
Tony could sense that magical energy capable of drawing upon the power of all things, but he couldn't stop it. He had only heard of interrupting a sorcerer's casting, never of reversing a spell that had already been released—the Sorcerer Supreme could do it, of course, but not Tony.
His knowledge of magic was too limited, and his understanding of its principles was a complete blank. Magic, dimensions, and souls—these three aspects each represented a different path of developing higher energy, and Tony knew very little about any of them.
(end of chapter)
Kaecilius raised his hands high, with a fanatical, pilgrim-like obsession.
He, Kaecilius, was originally the First Disciple under the Sorcerer Supreme, the best candidate for the next Sorcerer Supreme, but in the end, he could not resist Dormammu's temptation.
The two words, "Immortality," were enough to lure Kamar-Taj's chief disciple into the Dark Faction.
Tony fell silent, contemplating. In the middle of the street, countless Transformers swarmed out. War machines of all sizes began driving away the bewildered pedestrians, some even snatching people up and tossing them aside, while another group of Transformers was dispatched to form a perimeter.
Tony had never fought a sorcerer before and knew little about their strange and unpredictable magic. However, the principle was the same—he just had to treat this guy, Kaecilius, as a Super Mutant with multiple abilities.
He refused to believe it. No matter how powerful a sorcerer was, could they really keep fighting after being decapitated?
When facing a sorcerer from Kamar-Taj, the biggest danger was being thrown into the Mirror Dimension. Once there, you were helpless, your only hope being rescue by someone else.
Or starve to death, or die of old age inside.
What was worse, Kaecilius, having been empowered by Dormammu, was an expert at creating the Mirror Dimension.
A Transformer, acting as cannon fodder, was controlled by Tony to charge forward. Its metallic form, over three meters tall, was quite imposing, but its actual combat effectiveness remained questionable since it had been transformed from an ordinary vehicle.
Several more Transformers immediately followed, swarming in to surround the diminutive Kaecilius. Except for the first one that charged, the others all raised their turrets and commenced a bombardment.
A violent barrage thundered from the Transformer squad. A massive volley of bullets and shells completely enveloped Kaecilius. Explosions erupted, sending dust and debris flying. The sudden, intense blasts in the middle of the street tore up the high-quality asphalt, and jagged cracks radiated outward from Kaecilius's position like a dense spiderweb, engulfing the entire area.
Electro dissolved into several streams of electricity and rushed silently toward Kaecilius. Amidst the flying debris and dust, he changed direction multiple times. The sizzling of his currents was drowned out by the louder explosions, making his advance seem eerily quiet by comparison.
Electrokinesis—this was Max's ability. If Kaecilius were to be struck head-on by Max in this energy form, he would be gravely injured even if he survived. It was a direct assault on the bio-electric field. Unless Kaecilius had transcended the bounds of a human, he would definitely be affected.
Tony attacked decisively, directly bombarding Kaecilius's position until a sunken crater was formed, the ground beginning to cave in. Howitzers, armor-piercing shells, and short-range burst fire were all mercilessly unleashed upon the enemy.
Kaecilius's expression grew even more disdainful. He beckoned with a finger, then gently slapped his palm against the air as if striking a solid object. Every particle in the air, stirred by a mysterious energy, began to grow restless and agitated. The very space of the entire area began to shift, becoming more violent and unstable.
In a silent process that took less than a hundredth of a second, just as the dense barrage of attacks was about to cover his mortal body, a layer of transparent prismatic constructs appeared without warning in the air where Kaecilius's palm had touched. They were like irregular, transparent prisms. An astonishing number of these prisms assembled themselves, instantly forming a perfectly square barrier. Each prism connected with the others in an identical fashion.
This was something filled with a structural beauty that perfectly aligned with human aesthetics. This mystical wall, created by the channeling of magic, seemed as if its every line adhered to the truth of the universe, amplifying the mysteries of creation and compressing them all into a single, thin, transparent wall.
The first shell struck the wall in front of Kaecilius. This thing, as beautiful as a crystal prism, was nowhere near as fragile as one might expect. A powerful bomb slammed into it and exploded, but it failed to affect the structure in the slightest, not even causing a minor tremor.
"Foolish."
Kaecilius curled his lip in contempt, his dark pupils gaining a few more traces of eeriness and cruelty. If the other mages from Kamar-Taj were to see Kaecilius now, they would surely be shocked. This Kaecilius, who had gone from one extreme to another... was this truly the same responsible person they knew, the one who had wholeheartedly protected Earth?
The first shell exploded, and more shells came screaming in. As far as the eye could see, Transformers with a blinding metallic sheen surrounded Kaecilius in layer upon layer, looming over him to crush him.
Kaecilius scoffed. Unhurriedly, he extended his arms and waved them slightly. The wall of structural beauty that had only been in front of him immediately expanded from his position, tightly encasing him within it.
Even through this unknown magical effect, Tony could see the condescending and disdainful gaze Kaecilius directed at him from behind the barrier.
Kaecilius had the right to be arrogant. With just this one move, he had nullified ninety percent of all attacks within Tony's understanding. Although it was unclear how long he could maintain it, as a dark energy conduit, there were very few who could outlast him in a battle of attrition.
Not to mention, Kaecilius was a magical expert from Kamar-Taj. He could use space magic to escape at any time, simply by drawing a sparking portal in the air.
These crystal prism-like walls were, unsurprisingly, another application of space magic.
"Tony, you know nothing of true greatness, and you know even less of the cruelty of time!" Kaecilius spoke from behind the crystal wall, yet his voice reached Tony's ears completely unimpeded.
Tony didn't understand this trick, either.
Tony could sense that magical energy capable of drawing upon the power of all things, but he couldn't stop it. He had only heard of interrupting a sorcerer's casting, never of reversing a spell that had already been released—the Sorcerer Supreme could do it, of course, but not Tony.
His knowledge of magic was too limited, and his understanding of its principles was a complete blank. Magic, dimensions, and souls—these three aspects each represented a different path of developing higher energy, and Tony knew very little about any of them.
(end of chapter)
