Arkham Batman was back.
Waiting for him, of course, was a joint tribunal. That blow had not merely blasted a hole in the Hell Dimension. Following the tiny fraction of Mephisto's power that had infiltrated Earth through the magical defense network to "go online," he had torn a small breach in the magical defense network above New York's Sanctum. The mages guarding the Sanctum had nearly been scared to death.
Fortunately, they eventually discovered that it had been internal sabotage. Even so, Strange urgently cut off every Demon God's "internet connection." Even the Sanctum Sanctorum's connection to the outside world was severed. After operating nonstop for more than a decade without a single day off, the Sanctum Sanctorum had, for the first time ever, been forced to take a vacation.
Before Arkham Batman returned, the one being collectively condemned was Schiller. After all, he was the one who had brought Batman here, leading to this accident. Nothing had actually happened, but it was even more frightening than if something had.
"Enough. Don't act like you've suffered after getting the benefit," Schiller said, perfectly justified. "Didn't I help you find the loophole in the magical defense network?"
"Could you not have used such an extreme method?!" Strange roared.
"This was already pretty mild." Schiller muttered under his breath. "If this had been before, I wouldn't have held back this much."
Hearing that, the others could not stay angry. They knew Schiller was telling the truth. Recently, Schiller had become much more emotionally stable. If it had been during his peak years, Strange had no doubt that he could have orchestrated a conspiracy, had something tear the magical defense network apart from within, then rolled it into a huge ball of yarn that entangled everyone on the magic side. No one would