Demons and Caelius

A Sanctum Sorcerer's duty was to prevent magical creatures from Otherspace from invading. If Li Feng brought back any magical creature, it would certainly trigger the Sanctum's alarm. Even if Li Feng knew how to evade the Sanctum's detection, he could hide for a while, but not forever.

My goal is to collect the Infinity Stones, then open a door and go home. For now, I have no plans to bring any creatures into the Marvel Universe. Big shots like Merlin are just fantasies anyway. Even if I wanted to take someone across worlds for fun, they might not be willing.

Agreeing to Ancient One's registration requirement was no big deal. After all, who could predict the future? If I really did bring back some creature, I could consider it registering them. You needed a passport to travel abroad, so there was no reason not to get one for interdimensional travel.

Rather than being hunted down by a bunch of Mages, it was better to register with Ancient One and save himself the trouble.

Li Feng nodded firmly and said, "Should I notify Mordo now? How about a spontaneous trip?"

Ancient One shook her head. "In a few days. Mordo still has important matters to handle."

Setting down her teacup, Ancient One indicated that while Mordo was away these next few days, Li Feng should raise any questions he had about spells and let her indulge in being a mentor.

Since Ancient One had said so, Li Feng naturally would not stand on ceremony. Anyone who acted polite at a time like this was an idiot.

Opening the Magic Book, Li Feng pointed at a passage he did not understand and scratched his head. "Regarding spells that revive inanimate objects like metal bulls and stone-carved rats, I only understand that you use a bit of an Astral Body to attach to a dead object and control it. But I still don't understand the exact principles behind how it works, even after reading it for ages."

Ancient One took the Magic Book and answered Li Feng's questions one by one with a smile.

Time quietly slipped into night amid their questions and answers. Even Ancient One, who controlled the Eye of Agamotto, could not stop time from passing.

Back in his room, Li Feng glanced sideways at the Magic Longsword and thought, Should I find a coach sometime and properly practice my swordsmanship? I can't just rely on being ruthless and hacking wildly whenever I fight. What if I run into some swordsmanship master who disarms me barehanded? Wouldn't the longsword I worked so hard to modify have to say goodbye to me?

But who in the Marvel Universe was skilled with a blade yet kept a low profile?

Not wanting S.H.I.E.L.D. to find him easily, Li Feng immediately ruled out people like Hawkeye. What difference was there between learning swordsmanship from Hawkeye and walking right up to Fury?

After thinking for ages without coming up with anyone to learn from, Li Feng decided he should go to another world and find an expert there. No matter how famous someone was in another world, even if S.H.I.E.L.D. knew such a person existed, they could neither investigate nor do anything about it. S.H.I.E.L.D. could not travel between worlds, after all. It was not Li Feng's fault for secretly learning swordsmanship from another world.

With that in mind, Li Feng sorted through his belongings and prepared to make a spontaneous trip once Mordo returned to Kamar-Taj. Of course, before crossing over, he needed to inform Ancient One.

After all, his departure point for traveling to another world was Kamar-Taj. If Li Feng, who was staying at Kamar-Taj, concealed the energy fluctuations from his crossing, that would be disrespectful to Kamar-Taj itself. Who had ever seen a guest deliberately hide their Mana fluctuations from their host?

But if he did not conceal his Mana fluctuations, then when Li Feng returned, he would definitely trigger the Sanctum's alarm for magical creatures from Otherspace invading. When a group of Mages gathered around Li Feng's room, how was he, as a guest, supposed to face Ancient One?

He would make the Mages protecting their native world panic, thinking some unbelievably powerful world had dared to invade Kamar-Taj directly. If Li Feng then bowed and apologized, would it really be excessive for all those Mages to beat him up to vent their anger?

Several days later, Mordo returned to Kamar-Taj looking haggard. Li Feng, who had long since grown impatient waiting, entered Mordo's room and frowned at him.

Li Feng could tell that Mordo had encountered something troubling during this outing, and his condition was clearly poor.

Leaning against the doorframe, Li Feng softly asked, "Are you all right? You look—"

Mordo looked up at Li Feng, forced a smile, and let out a long breath. "It's nothing."

After saying that, Mordo rose and poured Li Feng a cup of tea. "Did Ancient One tell you that I wanted to visit another world and broaden my horizons?"

Li Feng nodded, then tilted his head to study Mordo's face, which was full of conflict. "Can you tell me what happened during this outing?"

Before leaving Kamar-Taj, Mordo had not been carrying such heavy worries. Yet now that the mission was complete and he had returned, he was clearly preoccupied. Something unexpected had obviously happened during the trip, and Li Feng was curious.

Mordo felt that this was an internal matter of Kamar-Taj and should not be discussed too much with an outsider. But Li Feng was familiar with Kamar-Taj and highly regarded by Ancient One. With the connection to Li Feng's grandfather, and since Li Feng now ate and lived at Kamar-Taj, Mordo subconsciously treated him as a Mage of Kamar-Taj. After hesitating, he still explained what had happened.

This mission to locate and eliminate a Demon had been undertaken by three Masters leading six apprentices. It was both a mission to protect Earth and an opportunity for the three Masters to evaluate the apprentices' performance in real combat, making a preliminary selection for future focused training.

Such missions were common at Kamar-Taj. In Mordo's view, with three Masters holding the line and six apprentices fighting a weak Demon to hone their spells, there should not have been any casualties.

Unfortunately, an accident still happened. The seemingly weak Demon had actually learned to hide its strength. Surrounded by the six apprentices, it suddenly unleashed power far beyond Mordo's expectations and killed three apprentices on the spot. By the time the three Masters reacted and prepared to act personally, only Kaecilius had escaped disaster by nimbly dodging.

After that, the Demon was beaten to the brink of death by the three Masters. Just when victory was within reach, it turned and fled. Mordo and the other two Mages naturally pursued it, leaving Kaecilius behind to wait.

Demons were called Demons because they excelled at deception, and their methods were not something ordinary people could detect. Just like now, what Mordo and the others had pursued was merely one of its illusions. Its true body had remained hidden where it was.

While the heavily injured Demon hid in place, the cautious Kaecilius discovered it. Kaecilius knew he was no match for the Demon, even if it was seriously wounded.

After realizing that the Demon had noticed him as well, Kaecilius decided to stall it with words and wait for Mage Mordo to realize he had fallen for the Demon's trick and return to rescue him.

But before the Demon attacked, Kaecilius felt he needed to put on an act first. As long as he bluffed the Demon into believing he was a hard bone to chew, that would be enough.

Kaecilius clasped his hands behind his back and pretended to possess profound Mana. Looking at the Demon with pity, he said, "Your leader is truly brain-dead. He knew he was no match for Master Ancient One, yet he still brought you cannon fodder to invade."

The Demon curled its lips, finding Kaecilius's acting far too poor. It saw through his bluff at a glance. But it knew that killing Kaecilius would create enough commotion to bring Mordo and the other two back early. If they disrupted its spell to return to Hell, it really would be sleeping forever on Earth.

Besides, its leader had not come to Earth intending to invade at all. He had merely been sent by a powerful figure to check how deeply the Dark Energy within Ancient One had corroded her. Otherwise, with so many forces eyeing Earth, if it came down to forces capable of invading Earth, its leader's strength was nothing. Being able to follow behind the powerful figures and drink a little soup would already be good enough.

For now, the mission had been completed fairly well. Its leader had used his own life to discover Ancient One's exact condition.

The Demon looked around and thought, Though I've spent a few days enjoying Earth's dazzling world, Earth truly is a juicy piece of meat in the eyes of countless powerful figures. So many beautiful women, and before I could enjoy power, I have to return to Hell. But...

The Demon narrowed its eyes at Kaecilius. But before I return to Hell and report in, it wouldn't be a bad idea to toss a little rat droppings into the pot of you damned Mages.

With that thought, the Demon said eerily, "Ancient One being powerful is nothing special. After all, we both use Dark Energy. And Ancient One's talent truly exceeds my leader's. At least my leader cannot seize Dark Energy from Dormammu's hands. It is perfectly normal that my leader is no match for Ancient One."

Tilting its head, the Demon gave a faint, mocking smile. "Look, the fact that my leader can live for countless years, and that old immortal Ancient One can remain so lively, only proves the power of Dark Energy."

What kind of person was Ancient One in Kaecilius's eyes? Calling her his reborn parent would not be an exaggeration. How could someone who radiated such saintly light be the kind of person the Demon claimed used Dark Energy?

Kaecilius immediately retorted, "You're talking nonsense. Ancient One is powerful and has lived so long because no one can match her understanding of Time Spells."

The Demon spread its hands. Feeling that its spell to return to Hell was nearly complete, it looked somewhat regretful that it could not fully tempt Kaecilius. It glanced at Mordo and the others racing over from afar and said, "Is that so? I thought you knew that Dormammu is an existence beyond time. Naturally, Ancient One can live a long, long time by drawing upon Dormammu's Dark Energy."

When Mordo returned, he naturally could not hear what the Demon and Kaecilius had said. All he saw was the Demon escaping back to Hell and Kaecilius's even more bewildered eyes.

On the way back to Kamar-Taj, Mordo kept feeling that Kaecilius had something on his mind after speaking with the Demon. Demons ranked among the top three races when it came to temptation, and he feared Kaecilius had been tempted by one.

But he had no evidence, only a suspicion based on intuition, so he could not directly tell Ancient One. People might suspect him of being jealous of Kaecilius's talent or of trying to undermine unity among the Mages.

After hearing Mordo's account, Li Feng did not know how to comfort him either. After all, he had no idea the Demon would tell Kaecilius that Ancient One used Dark Energy.

"Forget it. If you think Kaecilius might have been tempted by the Demon, just keep a careful eye on him from now on. Pretend you're concerned about Kaecilius's magical training. Then no one can say anything about it."

Mordo thought for a moment, then nodded. "That's the only way. By the way, when are we leaving for another world?"

Li Feng spread his hands. "I'm ready anytime. It depends on you. Oh, and one reminder: when crossing over, you can only bring items with magical power. If you don't want to be naked in another world, don't wear ordinary clothes. Change into Mage robes instead."