The Art of the Vishanti

"Mr. Alex, breakfast is ready."

An Apprentice Sorcerer's voice came from outside the door.

"All right!" Mercer answered, then turned to Galacta. "Come on, let's have breakfast. You eat that kind of food, right?"

"How rude. Of course I do! Before that hunger kicks in, I eat just like a normal person. Good food is one of the most irresistible things in this world," Galacta said with a little huff.

Mercer smiled sheepishly, mumbling, "Ah, yeah, right," as they headed to the dining hall together.

"Mr. Alex, please join the Ancient One for breakfast. She's waiting for you in the room from before." Mercer had been about to enter the dining hall where everyone else was eating when someone stopped him.

Mercer gave the sorcerer a friendly smile, then tipped his head toward Galacta behind him. The two changed course and headed elsewhere.

A little while later, they reached the Ancient One's room. Three breakfasts had already been laid out on the table in the middle.

Breakfast was simple: two slices of toast, a glass of milk, and a small half-bowl of nuts.

Mercer was about to enjoy his breakfast, but the moment he picked up a slice of toast, he felt someone staring at him from beside him. He turned to see that Galacta's plate was already completely empty.

"You've finished already?" Mercer asked in surprise.

"Mm-hmm..." Galacta nodded innocently, her eyes fixed unblinkingly on the toast in Mercer's hand.

It's only been ten seconds... Mercer grumbled inwardly, but silently placed the other slice of toast from his plate onto hers.

After a moment's hesitation, he passed over his milk and nuts as well.

"Eat slowly. Once it's gone, that's it."

Galacta drew the food toward her as though she had found a priceless treasure. She really did eat in little bites like an ordinary girl now, rather than sweeping everything away in a second as she had before.

Seeing her nibbling on the toast, Mercer looked at the Ancient One and asked, "What did you call us here for? It wasn't just for breakfast, was it?"

"As expected of Mr. Alex. You're very perceptive."

The Ancient One smiled faintly, raised her right hand, curled her fingers, and twisted it to the right. A three-dimensional triangular shape formed in the center of the table.

"Because you exposed Hydra's infiltration of S.H.I.E.L.D., the two sides are now fighting a covert war. Abomination was supposed to be their greatest asset, but you took him before they could."

An indescribable note entered the Ancient One's voice as she said this. It was from that very day onward that she had lost the ability to see the future.

"And Hydra certainly won't surrender so easily. Someone among them has learned a form of Ancient Evil Magic and is attempting to summon a Sub-Dimensional Being here.

"If they succeed, the situation will become serious. S.H.I.E.L.D. alone has no means of dealing with a Sub-Dimensional Being like that."

The Ancient One had been quite solemn as she explained, knowing how serious the situation was. But when she looked up at Mercer and Galacta, their burning gazes startled her.

"Galacta, did you hear that? We've got something delicious to eat!"

"Wow, that's great! When are we going?"

Rather than being frightened by the news, the two food lovers were excited.

"Could you two take this seriously...?" The Ancient One was at a loss for words. "It's still a Sub-Dimensional Being. If you don't take it seriously, we could be in real trouble."

A Sub-Dimensional Being?

Mercer cleared his throat and returned his attention to the matter. This was a field he had never encountered and knew nothing about.

In the Marvel Universe, a Sub-Dimensional Being could only be an entity like Dormammu.

"Why don't you go?"

Mercer asked because he could not possibly defeat an entity like that. With his current half-baked grasp of magic, he would not even be able to hurt it.

The Ancient One shook her head with a bitter smile. "I could have gone myself, but I can't leave this place unguarded. I'm afraid the Sanctum Sanctorum will be attacked if I leave.

"There are three sanctums. If the enemy breaches them, Earth will lose its magical protection."

"It's that serious?" Mercer frowned. That possibility had never occurred to him.

The Ancient One sighed. "That's why I want Strange to take over my position as soon as possible. At least then he can share my workload, and Earth will be safer."

Her words suddenly left Mercer stunned. "Share it? Aren't you going to die?"

Even with her composure, the Ancient One could not help rolling her eyes at that. "I'm perfectly healthy. Why would I die? I only meant that once I find a successor, I won't have to suffer through eternal life anymore. I can grow old and die naturally. Do I have to die the moment I find a successor?"

Mercer felt a little embarrassed. In his memory, that other Ancient One had died just that casually.

If she had not died so easily, that purple potato-head would never have dared come to Earth so soon.

After hearing her explanation, Mercer felt even more strongly that the original Ancient One's death had been terribly hasty. This Ancient One's way of thinking was what he would expect from a normal person!

He laughed a few times to move past the subject, then said, "Since it's a Sub-Dimensional Being, how do we subdue it?"

"Oh, what's there to discuss? With me around, there's nothing we can't handle." Galacta waved her little pink fist.

Mercer did not disagree with her, but relying on that alone was far too risky.

After all, this was a being from a magical dimension. Purely physical attacks might have a hard time subduing it.

"I already have a plan."

The Ancient One raised her left hand and swept it from left to right. An extremely ancient book appeared out of thin air, floating before them.

"This is the Book of the Vishanti. It contains the most powerful white magic and defensive magic in the world.

"Rather than leaving you to flounder through magic books like a headless chicken, I thought it would be better to choose one for you. The spells recorded within are very powerful. I hope you'll put it to good use."

Mercer reached out and took it. The spellbook was heavy, roughly a hand's width thick. He flipped through it and was greeted by extremely ancient writing, obscure and difficult to understand.

The Ancient One continued, "The magic inside is rather difficult. Try to see whether you can learn the first few spells. With my help, learning two in such a short time would be quite an achievement. As for the others, you can take your time... Are you listening?"

Seeing Mercer staring silently at the book, the Ancient One felt puzzled. Was he really that engrossed?

As soon as she finished speaking, Mercer raised his head. The Ancient One saw his eyes and froze.

A single tomoe slowly revolved within each of his blood-red eyes.

[Vishanti's Law, Punishment!]

Though Mercer had not opened his mouth, his voice rang out from every direction.

Then an appallingly powerful wave of magical pressure erupted from his eyes.

Galacta's mental strength was far too great for this magical intimidation to affect her for the time being.

The Ancient One was the only one affected. Even someone as powerful as her was forced back several steps by the pressure, unable to conceal the shock on her face.

"You... you've learned it?!"