Mordo

That night's celebration ended with Stephen getting completely drunk.

To Lu Mingyu, Tony and Stephen were nothing more than two idle drunkards. It was not hard for him to imagine what they had been like before becoming superheroes. But Stephen was a doctor—was it really alright for him to drink so much?

"Alright, Tony, I'll take you back. Where's your room?" Lu Mingyu supported Tony's body, afraid that he would collapse onto the floor and vomit at any moment. He could not stand the smell of Tony's drunken vomit. At the very least, someone should be looking after his daily life, right?

Nearby, Stephen was boxing with his Cloak of Levitation. His eyes were full of seriousness as he said to it, "Come on, Tony, let me see what you've got. Come on! What's wrong? Are you scared?"

The Cloak of Levitation smacked Stephen to the ground as though it were dealing with an idiot, then kept fluttering about outside the tower as if it were drunk too. Watching this bizarre scene, Lu Mingyu suddenly felt like he had become a nanny. Under Jarvis's guidance, he tossed Tony into his own room.

Then, lightning surged across Lu Mingyu's body as he raced over to Stephen. He felt that a drunk sorcerer was especially terrifying. Afraid that Stephen might do something outrageous, Lu Mingyu pinned him to the ground and said, "Stephen, it's time for you to sleep. Stop messing around. Don't forget, your spells are dangerous!"

Stephen's face was full of drunkenness. Clearly, he had not been this drunk in a long time. His eyes were filled with pain, as though he had lost the woman he loved most. Before becoming Doctor Strange, he had abandoned a woman named Palmer, who seemed to be a surgeon. Seeing his expression, Lu Mingyu knew that Stephen probably missed Palmer.

Behind Lu Mingyu, rings of crimson-gold circles slowly appeared—the sign of a Sling Ring opening a portal through space. A fat man stepped out from the portal, the Sling Ring on his chubby finger seeming as though it would cut the finger off.

Lu Mingyu stared at Wong in shock and pointed at him with a trembling hand. "I-I-I know you! You're... you're..."

For a moment, Lu Mingyu could not remember the man's name. Looking at Wong, he said, "You're Bieber?"

Wong looked utterly helpless. Glancing at Stephen lying on the floor, he said, "I'm taking him back. I know you recognize me. I'm guessing Stephen has been telling everyone stories about his fat assistant."

"Really? But he didn't say anything. He just kept drinking." Lu Mingyu sounded doubtful as he picked Stephen up, intending to hand him over to the fat man before him.

Stephen's face was flushed with drunkenness. Looking at Wong, he seemed to see a giant basketball and muttered, "A basketball can actually get slapped flat."

Wong stared at Doctor Strange with a dark look in his eyes, then studied Lu Mingyu. "Who are you?"

In an instant, Doctor Strange's eyes suddenly became clear, and all traces of drunkenness vanished. The Cloak of Levitation blocked Wong's retreat at the portal as Stephen walked up to him. "If I remember correctly, the real Wong should have seen this kid in the spell projection. Yet you don't know?"

Lu Mingyu broke out in a cold sweat. He had never expected Doctor Strange to sober up so instantly. Or had he merely been pretending? As the thought crossed his mind, he stared hard at Wong. If this was not Wong, then who was he?

A cold smile appeared on Wong's face, and the fat all over his body seemed to tremble with excitement. A glowing wand suddenly appeared in his hand, and Lu Mingyu blurted out, "The Wand of Watoomb!"

"Mordo..." Golden light flashed in Stephen's eyes. At that moment, his spell became a golden dragon that charged straight toward Wong. In an instant, the boots beneath Wong's feet, seemingly formed from golden disc spells, carried him out of the golden dragon's attack path. At the same time, the Wand of Watoomb in his hand appeared above Stephen's head like a short club.

Blue lightning flashed beneath the Wand of Watoomb, and its attack missed. Wong's form continually shifted and twisted until, at last, a Black man appeared before Lu Mingyu. He cried out in surprise, "Mordo, that fallen sorcerer!"

Mordo looked at Stephen. "You really trust people, don't you? You even told others about this?"

Doctor Strange did not answer. Two crimson-gold spinning discs abruptly appeared in his hands, their patterns resembling exceptionally complex magic circles. Mordo looked at Doctor Strange and said mockingly, "You have magic, yet you don't dare use it. Are you afraid I'll come settle the score with you?"

"I don't want to fight you, Mordo. You know you can't beat me. Also, where is Wong?" Stephen sounded angry, yet he assumed a defensive stance. Clearly, he truly did not want to fight Mordo.

Mordo said, "Ancient One peered into Dormammu's power and gained immortality. Do you know what I learned? There are simply too many people with magic, and they have drawn countless evil forces here. Those who seek great power also use magic to commit evil. Gradually, they become dissatisfied with their current state, then take extreme paths in search of even more terrifying power. There are simply too many sorcerers. Without magic, Dormammu would not have been drawn here. Without magic, ignorant people would not summon even more enemies. As I said, there are too many people with magic!"

Doctor Strange sighed softly. He knew that Wong's magic had probably been absorbed—or rather, devoured—by Mordo. Still, as long as Wong was unharmed, that was enough. Looking at Mordo and sensing the magic within him, he said, "You already have enough magic in your body. You're also a sorcerer. If you have so much magic, doesn't that contradict your theory that there are too many sorcerers?"

"I am the only one who realized that there are too many sorcerers, which is why I must shoulder this responsibility rather than someone else. I am not special. What is special is that you still have not realized this." The Boots of Valtorr carried Mordo soaring through the air. He leaped forward and swung the Wand of Watoomb like a longsword toward Stephen's head.

Blue lightning surged over Lu Mingyu's body. In an instant, everything seemed to freeze. His body vibrated as he rushed toward Mordo at high speed, kicking the airborne Mordo away. He immediately followed up, landing a right hook squarely on Mordo's face, then sent him flying into the Cloak of Levitation with a kick. Blue lightning danced continuously, like Lu Mingyu's most loyal followers, trailing after his every step.

The Speed Force protected Lu Mingyu from harm, but he was struck by a trace of magic scattered from Mordo's Wand of Watoomb. He was instantly blasted backward and discovered that the Speed Force was slowly weakening!