The sea breeze blew gently, but the Mirror Dimension was thick with killing intent. The Golden Armor figure held its greatsword crosswise, blocking left and right. Amid repeated bursts of flame, its body swayed from side to side.
But just as it thought it had knocked aside Ancient One's attack, the bald mage suddenly changed her hand seal. The discs that had been deflected immediately turned into illusions of Ancient One, and they cast spells in unison. Dozens more Crimson Bands of Cyttorak shot from their hands, tightly binding the Golden Armor figure's limbs and neck.
Once she had gained the advantage, Ancient One unleashed another string of spells. First, she froze its body in ice, then sealed off time and space. Finally, she had Starlight lay down seal after seal, covering every possible angle.
If magic power alone were considered, Scarlet Witch's Chaos Magic was undoubtedly first, Doctor Doom's Blood Magic second. Since Ancient One rarely used Dark Magic, the destructive power of any one of her spells might not even surpass Monark's.
But her former status as Sorcerer Supreme was proof enough that she was Earth's greatest mage. The key lay in her vast combat experience and the sheer variety of magic she commanded, all of which became perfectly integrated in her hands while taking on countless variations.
In the time an ordinary mage needed to cast one spell, she could often cast three. Those three spells could also work together, producing an effect where one plus one plus one was greater than three.
Moreover, as the Sorcerer Supreme, she had the Vishanti backing her up. Ancient One might indeed have died when she had once been bent on seeking death, but now that she wanted to live, the Vishanti naturally welcomed it.
The logic was simple: two