Two Darkholds

In the space beneath the bar.

Xu Mo slowly woke up.

After the copy of the Darkhold had been taken into the Astral Tower, he tried every method he could think of, but he still could not retrieve it.

Left with no other choice, he could only give up.

After all, strictly speaking, Agatha had also been destroyed by the Astral Tower. That counted as the Astral Tower's spoils of war as well.

When Xu Mo woke up,

Hill and the girl beside him were more alarmed than pleased.

They took several steps back, putting distance between themselves and him.

Hill even drew her pistol and aimed it at Xu Mo.

"Who are you?"

The witch's soul had entered Xu Mo's body. They could not be certain whether the person standing before them was Xu Mo himself or the witch who had successfully possessed him.

"Relax. The witch has been completely destroyed!"

Xu Mo answered listlessly.

Watching the Darkhold slip through his fingers still left him feeling somewhat depressed.

"How do you prove that you're really you?"

Hill did not trust him based on such a simple statement, and her gun remained trained on him.

"Uh?"

Faced with such an obscure way of speaking,

Xu Mo pondered for a long while before finally spreading his hands helplessly.

"Fine. How do you want me to prove it?"

Hill was stumped by the question as well. After thinking for a moment, she finally spoke.

"What color were my clothes when we first met?"

As she spoke, perhaps because the intense activity had made her too hot, she casually took off her jacket. Beneath it, she wore only a fitted workout tank top, fully displaying her impressive figure.

Xu Mo could not help taking a few extra looks, though his gaze was purely appreciative.

At the same time, he searched his memories.

The development of his mental power had made his memory dozens of times stronger than an ordinary person's, to the point where he could almost remember everything he saw.

"Black!"

Hill nodded.

"I'll believe you for now!"

With that, she turned and headed outside.

"Before the other vampires arrive, we'd better get out of here as soon as possible!"

Xu Mo watched her retreating figure, then caught up in two steps.

"That was awfully careless. You believed me just because I answered?"

He had thought he would need to explain a great deal, but he had not expected Hill to trust him after such a simple verification.

Hill turned and glanced at him.

"It had nothing to do with the question you answered!"

As she put her jacket back on, she explained,

"Just now, your eyes inadvertently glanced at my chest six times!"

"I don't think a witch would be interested in my figure!"

Xu Mo froze when he heard that, secretly impressed.

So this works too? No wonder she's a professional agent!

"Still, I think you're being a little careless, Agent Hill. Shouldn't you verify it a few more times?"

The group took the elevator back to the bar's basement level.

After what had happened earlier, the bar was now completely empty.

Just as they were about to leave,

a portal slowly opened in the air beside them.

The Darkhold controlled by Chthon flashed and shot into Xu Mo's brow.

"Again?"

He only had time to make that sarcastic remark before closing his eyes and fainting once more.

Fortunately, Hill reacted quickly and caught him.

The rescued girl helped Hill lay Xu Mo onto a nearby seat.

After hesitating for a moment, she turned to Hill.

"Did he open a bookstore inside his brain?"

Hill was equally helpless upon hearing that. In such a short time, one witch and two books had already entered Xu Mo's mind.

"Maybe!"

Inside his sea of consciousness.

After entering, the Darkhold did not pause in the slightest and charged directly toward the Astral Tower.

The closer it got, the more clearly Chthon could sense where his own power was flowing.

As the distance to the Astral Tower shrank,

the Astral Tower grew larger and larger in Chthon's eyes.

And the distance between them seemed to be growing ever farther.

"Damn it, what exactly is this thing?!"

Feeling the Darkhold under his control becoming increasingly insignificant before the Astral Tower, Chthon understood that if this continued, it might never reach the tower before it.

Gritting his teeth fiercely,

Chthon controlled the Darkhold and retreated along the way it had come.

By then, he had clearly realized that the other party was stronger than him.

If he continued, this portion of his consciousness would likely be lost here as well.

Noticing that the other party wanted to flee, the Astral Tower finally stirred.

A beam of light shot from the top floor of the Astral Tower and shone upon the Darkhold.

"NO!!"

As if ice and snow were melting,

Chthon's consciousness attached to it was instantly erased.

The authentic Darkhold that remained transformed into a stream of light once more and entered the Astral Tower.

Xu Mo, watching from the side, saw this scene.

He was secretly shocked.

Judging by the Darkhold's ancient appearance earlier, it was easy to infer that it was the genuine Darkhold.

Based on the timeline, the one capable of freely controlling the Darkhold at this time was most likely Chthon, the God of the Underworld.

"Is this God of the Underworld really that petty?"

"I read his pirated book, so he came all the way here to settle accounts?"

"But Agatha read it for over a hundred years. What about that?"

Unable to figure out the key to it, Xu Mo simply stopped dwelling on it and walked straight toward the Astral Tower.

"Come on, big guy, let's talk this out. You've got two nearly identical copies. At least leave me one. Even the pirated one is fine—I'm not picky!"

But the Astral Tower before him seemed completely unmoved.

Standing before the Astral Tower, Xu Mo tried to communicate with it. Since it was a treasure that had recognized him as its master, it ought to show its owner at least a little respect.

But the facts proved that either he did not have enough clout, or the Astral Tower had no intelligence at all. He rambled in front of the tower for half the day, yet it did not react in the slightest.

Helpless, Xu Mo could only withdraw from inside it.

Kamar-Taj.

Within an ancient grand hall, hanging above a circular platform in the center, was the most powerful artifact of the Sanctum Sanctorum: the Eye of Agamotto!

The instant Chthon mobilized the Darkhold,

the Eye of Agamotto slowly opened, releasing a wave of magical energy that spread outward from it.

"This is bad!"

Wong, standing guard nearby, changed expression.

Before he could send out a signal, a portal opened, and the figure of the Sorcerer Supreme, Ancient One, stepped out.

With a light wave of her hand, Ancient One caused the Eye of Agamotto to settle around her neck. She formed a hand seal, and streams of information flowed into her mind.

A moment later, Ancient One slowly opened her eyes.

Wong, who had been waiting anxiously at the side, hurried over.

"What happened?"

Ancient One slowly placed the Eye of Agamotto back onto its stand.

"Just now, Vishanti sensed the presence of the God of the Underworld in this world and used the Eye of Agamotto to warn us!"

"The God of the Underworld?"

Hearing that name, Wong's eyes flickered with shock.

"One of the Four Ancient Gods, Chthon, who is several times more powerful than even Dormammu?"

"That's right!"

Ancient One nodded.

"Unfortunately, we sensed him for only an instant before he vanished from Earth again. We don't know whether he left or concealed himself!"

As she said this, her gaze shifted to the mural carved into the hall wall, depicting the New York Sanctum.

"From here on, I fear the entire Earth will descend into chaos!"