Chương 133: Chapter 133: Kaecilius Returns 

Stephen and Mordo rapidly stepped through the portal and arrived inside the London Sanctum. However, instead of the chaotic sounds of a massive magical battle or alarms blaring, the entire Sanctum was eerily, terrifyingly silent. 

Mordo immediately noticed a Kamar-Taj sorcerer slumped motionless on the floor next to the primary alarm console. 

Exchanging a highly tense glance with Stephen, Mordo quickly approached the body. He placed two fingers against the sorcerer's neck. 

Mordo looked up, his expression grim. 

Stephen sighed, shaking his head. "He's gone. My medical expertise is entirely useless here." 

"I knew this man. He was one of the senior defenders of the London Sanctum. If he is dead, the enemy has undeniably breached the perimeter." Mordo stood up, drawing his enchanted staff. 

"It's just the two of us right now. Shouldn't we secure the perimeter and wait for the Kamar-Taj reinforcements?" Stephen suggested, his eyes scanning the shadowed corridors. 

"We cannot wait. If the enemy successfully locates and destroys the Sanctum's primary magical core while we are waiting, the entire planetary defense grid will be critically compromised," Mordo replied, his tone absolutely resolute. 

"Right. Okay. I suppose the two of us are playing the heroes today," Stephen muttered sarcastically, glancing back at the dissipating portal. 

"Focus, Doctor. I have already transmitted a highly prioritized distress signal. The Masters of Kamar-Taj will arrive momentarily." 

"That's somewhat reassuring." 

After a brief, tense tactical assessment, the two men began carefully advancing deeper into the silent Sanctum. 

The silence was incredibly oppressive, stretching their nerves to the absolute limit. 

Sensing the suffocating tension, Stephen moved slightly closer to Mordo, lowering his voice to a whisper. "So... exactly where are we going?" 

Mordo kept his eyes locked on the shadows ahead. "We are heading directly toward the primary magical core. As long as we actively defend the core, the enemy cannot permanently cripple the Sanctum." 

"Okay, that sounds like a solid objective. I assume this 'primary core' is hidden in a highly secure, incredibly remote location deep within the building?" 

Mordo shook his head. "Actually, the primary core is located directly in the main entrance foyer. However, the Sorcerer Supreme cleverly concealed it within a localized, overlapping pocket dimension." 

"That's actually a brilliant tactical misdirection," Stephen nodded approvingly. "The enemy will waste hours desperately searching the deepest, most secure vaults, completely oblivious to the fact that they literally walked right past the core the moment they entered the building. How many people actually know this secret?" 

Mordo glanced at Stephen. "Only the senior Masters of Kamar-Taj are aware of its general location. Furthermore, while we know it is in the foyer, only the Ancient One knows exactly which localized pocket dimension contains the actual core." 

"Well, that's incredibly comforting." 

The two men continued their tense advance. 

Meanwhile, in the grand entrance foyer of the London Sanctum... 

Kaecilius floated casually in a cross-legged meditative posture directly in the center of the room. A highly complex, rapidly rotating dark magical array hovered before him, continuously transmitting localized spatial disruptions into the surrounding void. 

After several minutes of intense concentration, Kaecilius slowly opened his eyes. The area around his eyes was terrifyingly dark and heavily corrupted, resembling a grotesque, cracked mask. 

He looked down at his massively mutated, heavily armored, pitch-black right arm and smiled a twisted, sadistic smile. 

The Ancient One was incredibly clever hiding the core within a shifting dimensional fold right at the entrance. But with the supreme, infinite cosmic knowledge bestowed upon me by the Great Dormammu, her pathetic parlor tricks are easily deciphered. 

He raised his mutated arm. A massive, terrifyingly dense sphere of highly concentrated dark energy began rapidly accumulating in his palm. Looking at the apocalyptic power swirling in his grasp, Kaecilius let out a maniacal, echoing laugh. 

This infinite, pure, absolute cosmic power... could that pathetic 'Lord Luke' ever possibly offer this level of strength to the Kamar-Taj sorcerers?! 

He vividly remembered how Master Lucian had effortlessly humiliated and defeated him and his zealots during the library raid simply by utilizing Luke's dark energy. But now... the sheer volume and potency of the dark energy Kaecilius currently wielded completely dwarfed Lucian's pathetic display. 

Abandoning the hypocritical, hoarding Ancient One and pledging eternal loyalty to the Great Dormammu was undeniably the most brilliant, glorious decision of my life! 

Just as Kaecilius was reveling in his newfound supremacy, Stephen and Mordo cautiously entered the massive foyer. 

Spotting the floating, corrupted figure, Mordo froze in absolute disbelief. 

"Kaecilius." 

"Who?" Stephen asked, completely lost. 

Mordo's face darkened with absolute fury and profound betrayal. "He was formerly one of the most highly respected Senior Masters of Kamar-Taj. However, after Lord Luke explicitly refused to grant him a magical contract, he selfishly, arrogantly defected from the order." 

Stephen nodded, casually observing the deeply unhinged man. Noting the heavy, corrupted bags under Kaecilius's eyes and his grotesquely mutated arm, Stephen shrugged. "Well, it certainly appears that his defection hasn't exactly led to a healthy lifestyle. He looks terrible. Also, why does his localized magical signature feel slightly... similar to Lord Luke's dark energy?" 

Mordo shook his head grimly. His enchanted staff hummed, the protective runes flaring to life. 

"That is pure, corrupted dark energy. When Kaecilius defected, he violently assaulted the Grand Library and successfully stole the forbidden pages detailing the ritual to summon Dormammu. Dormammu is the absolute Lord of the Dark Dimension—a terrifying, apocalyptic cosmic parasite whose singular, eternal goal is to completely devour Earth and drag our reality into his chaotic realm." 

"We must absolutely stop him right now. If he successfully cripples this Sanctum, the planetary defense grid will fall, and Dormammu will instantly consume the planet." 

Mordo offered a brief, highly alarming tactical summary. Gripping his staff tightly, he instantly drew a localized portal and aggressively lunged directly toward Kaecilius! 

He emerged from the portal mere feet away from the floating traitor. Mordo had channeled a massive amount of his magical energy into the strike; it was a devastating, fully committed attack intended to end the fight instantly. 

However, just as Mordo closed the final distance, several blurry figures violently erupted from the shadows surrounding Kaecilius! 

The figures aggressively intercepted Mordo mid-air! 

Realizing he was completely surrounded, Mordo gritted his teeth and attempted to forcefully push through the ambush to reach Kaecilius. 

But the speed and sheer physical strength of the intercepting figures were absolutely terrifying! They flawlessly blocked his path and simultaneously launched a devastating barrage of brutal, uncoordinated strikes against his body! 

Clang! 

Mordo's heavy staff violently collided with one of the figures, the enchanted steel easily slicing deep into its flesh. However, the other attackers completely ignored the injury to their comrade. Their fists violently slammed into Mordo's chest and back. The seemingly wild, uncoordinated punches carried terrifying, superhuman kinetic force, instantly launching Mordo violently backward! 

Mordo crashed heavily against a stone pillar, violently coughing up a mouthful of blood. He desperately forced himself to his feet, staring at his attackers. 

They were humans, but their skin was completely covered in jagged, pulsing black veins. Their eyes were pitch-black, entirely devoid of pupils or humanity, and highly sharp, bone-like protrusions pierced through their flesh. 

"You absolute monster! You utilized forbidden dark magic to violently corrupt innocent civilians?!" Mordo roared furiously, gripping his staff tightly as he glared at Kaecilius, who hadn't even bothered to move. 

"They should consider themselves incredibly honored to become a permanent, glorious extension of the Dark Dimension," Kaecilius sneered dismissively, continuing to channel energy into the massive sphere floating above him. He casually glanced toward the shadowed corridor entrance. 

"It appears there is more than one pathetic rat scurrying in the shadows. Show yourself!" 

Several of the corrupted berserkers immediately turned their dead, black eyes toward the corridor. Knowing he was exposed, Stephen sighed helplessly and stepped out into the open. 

"I still strongly believe our optimal tactical maneuver was simply waiting outside for the highly trained reinforcements," Stephen yelled over to Mordo, carefully eyeing the terrifying, mutated monsters. 

Mordo rolled his eyes in profound exasperation. He locked his furious gaze back onto his former colleague. 

"The Masters of Kamar-Taj will arrive at any second, Kaecilius. Your pathetic rebellion is absolutely doomed to fail." 

Kaecilius laughed mockingly. "Do you honestly believe I fear those pathetic, hypocritical fools after receiving this absolute, cosmic power from the Great Dormammu?!" 

Mordo scoffed dismissively. "Do you genuinely, arrogantly believe that pathetic parlor trick is sufficient to defeat the Sorcerer Supreme?" 

Hearing the Ancient One's title, Kaecilius instinctively swallowed hard, a brief flash of genuine terror crossing his corrupted features. However, the terror was instantly replaced by explosive, fanatical rage! 

"DO NOT SPEAK THE NAME OF THAT LYING HYPOCRITE!" Kaecilius roared! 

Sensing the massive dark energy sphere was fully charged and stabilized, Kaecilius released his grip, allowing the apocalyptic bomb to hover ominously near the ceiling. He aggressively channeled energy into his mutated, armored arm, instantly manifesting a massive, crackling spatial blade. 

Wielding the terrifying weapon, Kaecilius slowly descended toward Mordo. "The Ancient One is nothing more than a pathetic, cowardly liar! She hoards eternal life and cosmic power for herself while preaching asceticism to the rest of us!" 

Enraged by the blatant insult to his revered Master, Mordo roared and charged! He swung his enchanted staff with lethal intent, aiming directly for Kaecilius's neck. 

However, Kaecilius casually raised his mutated, heavily armored arm and effortlessly blocked the devastating strike! The enchanted steel sparked harmlessly against the dark energy armor. With a cruel smirk, Kaecilius violently retaliated, his spatial blade flashing in a deadly arc. 

SLASH! 

The spatial blade effortlessly sliced completely through the heavy wooden shaft of Mordo's staff, severing the weapon in half. Before Mordo could recover, Kaecilius delivered a devastating, dark-energy-infused punch directly to Mordo's chest, violently knocking him unconscious. 

Watching from the sidelines, Stephen panicked. He frantically executed a series of complex somatic gestures, successfully conjuring a basic magical array. A highly concentrated, glowing fireball erupted from the array and hurtled toward Kaecilius. 

Kaecilius didn't even flinch. He casually threw his spatial blade! 

The spinning blade effortlessly sliced completely through Stephen's fireball, instantly extinguishing it, and continued its deadly trajectory directly toward Stephen's head! 

Stephen yelped in terror and threw himself violently to the ground, narrowly avoiding decapitation. 

"RUN, STRANGE!" Mordo, barely conscious and bleeding heavily from his chest, desperately yelled. He miraculously forced himself up, drawing a hidden combat dagger from his boot, and aggressively lunged at Kaecilius from behind! However, he was instantly violently intercepted and pinned to the ground by several corrupted berserkers. 

Hearing Mordo's desperate warning, Kaecilius paused his pursuit of Stephen. He turned back to the downed Mordo. Why bother chasing a pathetic, inexperienced novice when he could casually torture the Ancient One's beloved, loyal right hand? 

"Tear the novice apart," Kaecilius casually commanded the remaining berserkers, pointing toward the fleeing Stephen. He then turned a highly sadistic, cruel smile toward Mordo. 

"That pathetic doctor won't survive ten seconds against the zealots. As for you, Karl... I believe we have plenty of time for some highly entertaining, incredibly painful 'discussions' before you finally die..." 

Stephen sprinted frantically down the labyrinthine corridors of the Sanctum. The terrifying, guttural roars of the corrupted berserkers echoing closely behind him provided absolutely terrifying motivation. He didn't dare stop or even look back. 

Taking a sharp corner, Stephen caught a brief, horrifying glimpse of the monsters rapidly closing the distance. Panic surged through his veins. 

His physical stamina, having spent years relying entirely on his intellect rather than physical conditioning, was already nearly depleted. Even if he could miraculously maintain this sprinting pace indefinitely, the supernaturally augmented berserkers were undeniably faster. 

He desperately glanced at the Sling Ring on his hand. His initial instinct was to immediately draw a portal and escape! However, he was still an absolute beginner at portal creation. The highly complex, time-consuming mental focus required to stabilize a portal would easily give the pursuing monsters more than enough time to literally tear him into pieces before he could step through. 

With absolute escape impossible, Stephen was forced to desperately navigate the winding corridors, desperately hoping to somehow lose his mindless pursuers in the maze. 

Spotting a massive, heavy, ancient wooden display cabinet lining the wall, Stephen desperately grabbed the edge as he sprinted past, violently yanking it downward! 

The massive cabinet crashed heavily to the floor, violently landing directly on top of the leading berserker! 

Stephen glanced back, hoping the massive weight had crushed the monster. To his absolute horror, the berserker was entirely unharmed! It violently erupted from the wreckage, effortlessly shattering the heavy wood into splinters with a single, aggressive flex of its muscles! 

Are you absolutely kidding me?! How are they that physically durable?! 

Stephen desperately resumed his sprint. However, the brief delay caused by the falling cabinet had allowed the other berserkers to significantly close the gap! 

Damn it! 

Stephen frantically turned around, walking backward while aggressively waving his trembling hands, desperately trying to conjure another fireball. 

However, his sheer, overwhelming panic completely disrupted his mental focus! The magical array violently sputtered and instantly dissipated into useless, glowing sparks! 

Watching the two terrifying monsters aggressively lunge toward him, Stephen desperately relied on his recently acquired, localized affinity for dark energy. Abandoning complex arrays, he aggressively, violently utilized sheer willpower to force a massive clump of raw dark energy into a dense, chaotic ball, and violently hurled it directly into the leading berserker's face! 

Although the berserker was heavily mutated by Dormammu's dark energy... the incredibly pure, highly concentrated dark energy supplied by Lord Luke was fundamentally superior! The pure dark energy violently reacted with the corrupted flesh, aggressively corroding and melting a massive, horrific crater directly into the monster's skull! 

Stephen exhaled a massive sigh of relief. At least that bought me some time. It can't possibly survive missing half its head, right? 

However, his relief was instantly shattered. The second berserker completely ignored its fallen comrade and continued its terrifying charge! 

More horrifyingly, Stephen watched in absolute disbelief as the corrupted, black veins on the fallen berserker's body violently writhed! The horrific crater in its skull rapidly filled with dense, black, hardened scar tissue, and the monster slowly, terrifyingly rose back to its feet! 

What the hell are these things?! Are they immortal?! 

Stephen retreated frantically, realizing he was now completely surrounded by three unstoppable, immortal monsters. He desperately glanced around, suddenly realizing he had inadvertently sprinted in a massive circle. He was back near the primary teleportation nexus! 

Spotting the massive, ornate wooden door leading back to Kamar-Taj mere feet away, Stephen desperately lunged toward it! 

However, a berserker anticipated his move! It violently tackled Stephen mid-air, aggressively slamming him backward onto the hard stone floor! 

Stephen gasped for breath, the wind completely knocked out of him. The three terrifying, mutated monsters slowly loomed over him, preparing to tear him limb from limb. 

Damn it! Stephen frantically waved his hands, desperately trying to conjure any sort of defensive magic, but the monsters were simply too fast. He had absolutely zero time! 

"GET AWAY FROM HIM!" 

A thunderous, incredibly commanding roar suddenly echoed through the corridor! 

A heavy, enchanted bo staff violently swept through the air in a devastating, horizontal arc, brutally smashing into the three berserkers and violently launching them backward! 

Stephen stared up in profound, absolute joy. 

Wong stood triumphantly before him, his enchanted staff glowing with power. Behind Wong, dozens of highly trained, battle-hardened Kamar-Taj combat sorcerers poured into the corridor, projecting an aura of absolute, disciplined military might! 

"Thank God! Your timing is absolutely flawless!" Stephen scrambled to his feet, quickly retreating behind the heavily armed line of sorcerers. 

"We must secure the main entrance foyer immediately! A traitor named Kaecilius is actively attempting to destroy the primary magical core! Mordo is currently trapped with him!" Stephen urgently briefed Wong. 

Wong's expression instantly hardened into absolute fury. He shot a highly aggressive, commanding glare at the sorcerers behind him. Several highly skilled combat mages immediately stepped forward, drawing their enchanted weaponry, and aggressively engaged the recovering berserkers, effortlessly pinning them down with coordinated strikes. 

"We are heading to the foyer right now! That traitor will absolutely face the Sorcerer Supreme's ultimate justice!" 

Wong declared with absolute, terrifying authority. He aggressively swept his hands through the air, instantly, effortlessly tearing open a massive, stable portal leading directly into the main entrance foyer. The entire battalion of sorcerers aggressively charged through. 

Stephen watched the highly skilled Kamar-Taj combat mages effortlessly dominate the terrifying berserkers, finally breathing a profound sigh of relief. 

With an entire battalion of elite sorcerers here, that arrogant traitor Kaecilius doesn't stand a chance, right? 

Stephen confidently stepped through Wong's portal, entering the massive entrance foyer. 

However, the foyer had already devolved into absolute, chaotic magical warfare! The Kamar-Taj sorcerers were aggressively engaging the remaining corrupted berserkers in brutal, close-quarters combat. 

In the center of the room, Wong and a squad of elite Masters stood in a tense, highly aggressive standoff with Kaecilius. 

"Kaecilius! Your pathetic, corrupted zealots are completely outmatched! Furthermore, you absolutely cannot defeat all of us simultaneously! I strongly advise you to surrender immediately! The Sorcerer Supreme will determine your ultimate fate!" Wong commanded, his voice echoing with authority. 

However, Wong's eyes were locked entirely on Kaecilius's terrifyingly mutated, pitch-black arm. He had already harbored dark suspicions upon encountering the corrupted berserkers in the corridor, but seeing the horrific, cracked black flesh around Kaecilius's eyes confirmed his absolute worst fears. 

A highly respected, deeply learned Master of Kamar-Taj—a man who had dedicated his entire life to battling extra-dimensional demons—had ultimately betrayed everything they stood for and willingly submitted to their absolute greatest enemy: Dormammu! 

Kaecilius stared back at Wong. Despite Wong's incredibly stern, highly intimidating exterior, Kaecilius knew the man was genuinely kind and deeply loyal to his comrades. During his time at Kamar-Taj, Kaecilius and Wong had actually maintained a highly respectful, friendly relationship. 

Remembering their past friendship, Kaecilius slowly lowered his mutated arm slightly. 

"Wong. You must understand. The glorious, inevitable arrival of the Great Dormammu is absolutely, fundamentally unstoppable! Your pathetic defense grid will inevitably fall! I urge you: abandon this doomed, hypocritical sanctuary! Join us, and become a true, eternal disciple of the Lord of the Dark Dimension!" 

Wong shook his head firmly, his expression resolute. "There is absolutely no one in this universe who comprehends the catastrophic, apocalyptic horror of Dormammu manifesting in the material plane better than we do. It would herald the absolute, eternal destruction of everything we hold dear." 

Seeing Wong's absolute, unwavering dedication to Kamar-Taj, Kaecilius sighed heavily, genuine regret flashing across his face. 

"It appears you are all entirely, hopelessly committed to your own ultimate destruction. You are all so incredibly..." 

"Foolish." 

Kaecilius's expression instantly hardened into absolute, fanatical determination. "Then this conversation is officially concluded." 

With a sharp, violent gesture, he aggressively yanked his hand downward! 

The massive, terrifyingly dense sphere of highly concentrated dark energy he had been charging earlier violently plummeted from the ceiling! 

"What are you doing?!" Wong yelled, staring in absolute horror at the apocalyptic bomb rapidly descending. 

"I AM BRINGING DOWN THIS PATHETIC SANCTUARY!" Kaecilius roared maniacally. 

"STOP HIM!" Wong screamed, aggressively charging forward, desperate to intercept the bomb! 

But he was entirely too late. 

The massive dark energy sphere violently slammed directly into the floor! 

An absolutely devastating, apocalyptic shockwave of pure, destructive dark energy violently erupted outward, instantly completely engulfing the entire massive foyer! 

Stephen, who had only just fully stepped out of the portal, was violently caught in the blast wave! He was aggressively, violently thrown backward, tumbling through the air! 

The devastating shockwave violently slammed into Wong, completely shattering his concentration, and the portal Stephen had just exited violently sputtered and vanished into thin air!