Damn it! The straightforward and reckless Dormammu is starting to scheme!

"Richard!" Mordo shouted with worry.

Mage Camille said, "Don't worry about Richard, he should be injured, but it's not fatal."

"The most important thing right now is to drive this remaining group of demons back to hell!"

"Hell demons won't break through Earth's defense formation for no reason!"

"And the Supreme Sorcerer hasn't appeared until now, I'm afraid..."

Mordo was startled, and only then did he react.

He hoped the Sorcerer had just run into trouble.

Silently praying for The Ancient One in his heart, Mordo turned cold.

"Mage Camille, let's begin!"

"Alright!" Mage Camille and the other stationed mages canceled the defense formation together and launched a counterattack.

Having lost their reinforcements, the hell demons were beaten into a steady retreat by the overwhelming spells of the Kamar-Taj mages.

On the other side, Richard tumbled out of the portal, landed on the bed in Greenpoint Apartments, and fell directly into a coma.

Half an hour later, after Christine came home, she found him and immediately dialed an emergency call.

Soon, the ambulance rushed over and hauled Richard to Manhattan Presbyterian Hospital.

The distant dimensional rift.

The Ancient One stood with her hands clasped behind her back, floating leisurely in the chaotic space, surrounded by three famous dimension lords.

Mephisto the Hell Lord, Nightmare the Dream Lord, and Chthon the God of Dark Magic.

Mephisto revealed his true hell demon form, baring his full mouth of sharp fangs.

"Surrender, Supreme Sorcerer!"

A faint smile hung on The Ancient One's face. "Mephisto, you wouldn't want your avatar to be unable to reach Earth, would you~"

Mephisto:...

"The Ancient One~" Nightmare's body was like a wisp of blue smoke, flickering in and out of view, and his voice was ethereal, drifting near and far.

"Sign the defeat treaty, and I can let you leave."

The Ancient One still maintained her nonchalant smile. "Nightmare, don't let me see you on Earth next time."

Nightmare's smoke-like body suddenly exploded. "You—I want to see how long you can keep that expression up!"

The mysterious Chthon remained silent, merely putting on an expression of watching a show.

Meanwhile, the London Sanctum was shrouded in an ominous gray barrier.

Kaecilius and his subordinates stationed here closed their eyes and floated quietly in mid-air inside the sanctum.

A wisp of dark purple energy extended from the gray barrier and connected to their foreheads.

In some deep dream, Kaecilius led his people in a wild sprint.

A female mage with a long braided ponytail panted heavily. "Lord Kaecilius, we've been running for almost an hour, let's, let's take a rest!"

Kaecilius wore a poker-faced expression. He turned his head to look at the unstable mages and raised his right hand. "Halt, ten-minute break!"

"Yes, Lord Kaecilius!" the mages shouted joyfully.

While the others rested, Kaecilius did not. He drew a circle in the void, chanted incantations, and tried to open a portal, but after a few sparks, the spell failed.

"The space here seems to be sealed," said an honest and sturdy black mage.

"To be able to pull us into this world without a sound, it definitely isn't any simple character!"

"Lord Kaecilius will definitely find a way back!"

"What I'm most worried about right now is the London Sanctum..."

"Don't worry, as long as the Supreme Sorcerer is here, no dimension demons will dare invade Earth!"

Listening to the chatter of his subordinate mages, Kaecilius felt a lingering unease deep inside.

Over an hour had already passed since they were ambushed and teleported to this mysterious space, and Sorcerer The Ancient One still hadn't appeared to rescue them; she was likely facing tricky matters of her own.

"Kaecilius~" A majestic and imposing voice suddenly appeared.

The immense pressure accompanying the voice caused the other mages to roll their eyes and pass out on the ground.

Kaecilius drew the Wand of Watoomb, propped it against the ground, and struggled to maintain his standing posture.

"Do, Dormammu?! Impossible, why would you appear on Earth!"

"Hahaha~ What if this isn't Earth?" Dormammu laughed heartily.

"Void, chaos, boundless—this is the dream space!" Kaecilius was horrified.

"Quick to react, Kaecilius," Dormammu said with satisfaction.

"You actually chose to team up with other dimension lords, Dormammu—what a disgrace to the dimension lords!" Kaecilius said through clenched teeth.

"..." Dormammu fell silent after being cursed.

The next second, a pair of eyes comparable in size to a galaxy suddenly opened, coldly gazing at Kaecilius.

"How dare you, mock, the great Lord of Darkness!"

Kaecilius was pressed down onto one knee by the killing intent suddenly erupting from Dormammu.

"The Supreme Sorcerer won't let you go!"

"The Ancient One?" Dormammu laughed heartily. "Hahahaha, that shameless scoundrel is currently unable to look after herself!"

"As long as the Eye of Agamotto is here, the Supreme Sorcerer is invincible!" Kaecilius trembled all over, his remaining standing leg slowly bending at the knee.

"The Supreme Sorcerer? Bah! Scoundrel, shameless scoundrel!" Dormammu suddenly flipped his attitude, cursing loudly.

"Don't... you insult... my teacher...!" Kaecilius suddenly erupted; he actually withstood Dormammu's pressure and slowly stood back up.

"Kaecilius, you've been fooled by that shameless scoundrel The Ancient One!" Dormammu's huge eyes narrowed slightly.

"A mere mortal who has lived for hundreds of years—haven't you ever doubted it?"

Kaecilius was stunned. After hesitating for a moment, he slapped himself hard across the face and said firmly, "The Supreme Sorcerer is incomparably powerful, long transcendent of mortal limitations!"

"Living a few hundred years longer, what's wrong with that!"

"Hahaha~ Too ridiculous! The power of the Kamar-Taj mages is all borrowed from the Vishanti. Do you really think borrowed power can achieve transcendence..." Dormammu laughed loudly again.

Kaecilius's expression shifted; Dormammu's words shattered his worship filter toward The Ancient One.

Right, the power of Kamar-Taj mages had always been borrowed—how could it possibly transcend!

Could Sorcerer The Ancient One really...

No, impossible!

Seeing Kaecilius's constantly changing expression, Dormammu said with amusement, "Go find the truth, Kaecilius, and tear off The Ancient One's hypocritical mask to reveal her true scoundrel face!"

Dormammu's voice grew fainter and fainter until it was no longer audible. Kaecilius was dazed for a split second, then suddenly found himself back in the London Sanctum, with the other unconscious stationed mages lying beside him.

"Sorcerer, teacher, could it be that you really..." Kaecilius's expression was dark and uncertain.

In the dimensional rift, Chthon yawned and said lazily, "Nothing left to watch, time to break up."

With that, he vanished on the spot.

Mephisto and Nightmare were stunned. The two noble dimension lords exchanged glances and looked at The Ancient One, who had just pulled a folding fan out from behind her back.

"Supreme Sorcerer, count yourself lucky this time!" Mephisto dropped a harsh threat and scurried away ignominiously.

"The Ancient One, we'll see about this!" Nightmare dropped a harsh threat, turned, and floated away.

The Ancient One looked in the direction they left and muttered in her heart.

Kaecilius, which choice will you make this time...

The Ancient One flicked her hand casually, tearing open space, and returned to Kamar-Taj.

Manhattan Presbyterian Hospital.

Richard slowly opened his eyes.

Christine, who had been guarding him the entire time, threw herself onto him in pleasant surprise.

"Richard, you're finally awake!"