Agatha froze on the spot.
She had never expected the Dark Witch before her to actually invite her to join.
What was she up to?
Hermione found the shifting expressions on Agatha's face rather amusing.
She reined in her magical power, her black wizard's robes fluttering gently. Her tone remained calm. "Your 'Star-Absorbing Technique' doesn't work on my magical power, does it?"
Agatha's aged face stiffened. She said nothing, tacitly admitting it. Their brief exchange had already proven that much.
"In that case, there doesn't seem to be any fundamental conflict of interest between us," Hermione continued. "You just want to become stronger and absorb greater power, don't you? Wanda Maximoff certainly has enormous potential, but Chaos Magic isn't so easy to control or absorb. The risk is too high."
She paused, then dangled some bait. "I happen to know a place with all the energy you could want. And right now, it just so happens to need a master."
Agatha's eyelid twitched. Wariness rose in her heart, but she couldn't help asking, "Where?"
"The Dark Dimension," Hermione said casually.
"What?!" Agatha bristled instantly, her voice rising in pitch. "The Dark Dimension? You're trying to get me killed!"
Although her Star-Absorbing Technique made her practically the bane of mages, it still depended on whom she faced.
If she actually tried to absorb the Dark Dimension's power, either Dormammu or the Ancient One would crush her.
Picking fights with other mages was one thing. Getting mixed up in those two's feud was practically suicide.
It was like practicing the Northern Darkness Divine Art for a single day, then running off to drain the Sweeper Monk.
Dormammu aside, the Ancient One was the nightmare of every mage on Earth. Neither Agatha nor anyone in the Salem Coven dared approach Kamar-Taj, for fear