The supervillains had been busy while the superheroes were away.
As soon as Stephen returned to Kamar-Taj, he began inspecting the seals on its Sanctums.
The guardian formation jointly maintained by the three Sanctums protected this world from invasions by other evil forces.
Yet the departure of the Sanctum Guardians and the brief absence of the Sorcerer Supreme had still exposed the world to external threats.
"How is the situation?"
"Sorcerer Supreme, we've dealt with some of them. With the wizards' help, we've eliminated most of the rest too."
Stephen stopped in his tracks. "Wizards?"
The sorcerer said, "Ever since the superheroes disappeared, the whole world has been caught in a crime wave. Faced with superpowered crime, countries have sought help from the Wizarding Kingdom.
While the superheroes were away, wizards became the main force fighting crime.
Of course, that was limited to unusual crimes. Terrorists and the like fell outside their jurisdiction.
Minister for Magic Percy Weasley repeatedly stated before the United Nations General Assembly that the Wizarding Kingdom had no intention of interfering in other countries and wished to maintain friendly relations with the world.
Even Kamar-Taj, with its elite ranks depleted, had been forced to seek the wizards' help.
It had begun when a demon from the Hell Dimension went on a rampage. Sorcerers encountered Aurors on a mission, and together they subdued the demon.
Stephen vaguely sensed that John might have planned all this before sending the superheroes to Titan. He asked, "Who did the wizards send?"
"Harry Potter, Head of the Auror Office in London."
Outsiders knew very little about the Wizarding Kingdom, but Harry Potter's name was familiar to Stephen.
That was largely thanks to two people who tirelessly promoted the Wizarding Kingdom's culture.
During interviews, Delfi never held back her praise for her