Chương 139: Chapter 139: Abandoning the New York Sanctum 

Luke violently swung the massive, pitch-black Death Scythe downward, aiming directly for the incapacitated Dormammu's neck. Seeing the colossal, apocalyptic blade rapidly descending, Dormammu completely abandoned defending his newly regenerated eyes, desperately crossing both of his massive, burning arms in front of his face to block the strike. 

Luke channeled the absolute maximum, unmitigated physical force of his Dimensional Lord form directly into the downward swing. 

CLANG! 

The massive scythe slammed into Dormammu's crossed arms with terrifying force. The impossibly sharp blade effortlessly sheared completely through the right arm, severing it completely! However, the sheer density of the cosmic magma significantly slowed the blade's momentum, allowing Dormammu's remaining left arm to successfully halt the strike inches from his face. 

Staring at his severed, burning stump, Dormammu roared in absolute, mind-boggling fury and agony! 

However, before he could retaliate, the Ancient One casually conjured a highly concentrated, incredibly dense bolt of Eldritch lightning and violently hurled it directly into his open, roaring mouth! 

Luke instantly recognized the tactical opportunity. He released his grip on the massive scythe, aggressively cocked his right arm back, and delivered a devastating, hyper-accelerated punch directly to Dormammu's lower jaw, violently slamming his mouth shut over the lightning bolt! 

BOOM! 

The highly concentrated Eldritch lightning detonated violently inside Dormammu's head! The apocalyptic, localized explosion practically obliterated his entire skull, completely exposing the highly complex, swirling, burning core of his internal Origin energy structure. 

"Don't get complacent! Against a pure energy entity, an injury like this is completely non-lethal!" Luke roared to the Ancient One, forcefully reminding her not to drop her guard. 

Currently operating in his own energy-based true form, Luke intimately understood the terrifying resilience of their biology. A simple, localized 'headshot' was absolutely insufficient to permanently kill a Dimensional Lord. 

To practically test his hypothesis, Luke aggressively grabbed Dormammu's remaining left arm and violently yanked it. He felt massive, overwhelming physical resistance. Even with his head practically blown off, Dormammu was still fully operational and aggressively fighting back. 

Warning the Ancient One, Luke aggressively utilized his massive serpentine tail to violently pin Dormammu's struggling arm to the ground. He reached over his shoulder, summoned his second massive Death Scythe, and brutally, relentlessly hacked directly into Dormammu's exposed, burning chest cavity, violently attempting to literally eviscerate the cosmic entity! 

The Ancient One didn't hesitate either. While her un-augmented physical body was significantly weaker than the two brawling giants, her magical output was utterly devastating. She hovered nearby, continuously, mercilessly bombarding Dormammu's exposed internal energy structure with a relentless barrage of high-tier, highly destructive spells. 

Under the coordinated, relentless, devastating assault from both Luke and the Ancient One, it appeared Dormammu was slowly but inevitably being ground into cosmic dust. 

However... 

Just as Luke prepared to execute a final, devastating horizontal slash to completely sever Dormammu's torso, a massive, terrifyingly dense wave of pure, absolute, unadulterated dark energy violently erupted directly from Dormammu's chest! 

Caught completely off guard by the sudden, overwhelming energy surge, Luke was violently blasted point-blank in the chest! The apocalyptic kinetic force violently launched him backward, sending him crashing incredibly heavily against the invisible 'ceiling' of the Dark Dimension. 

The Ancient One reacted instantly. She rapidly conjured a massive, multi-layered, maximum-density defensive array directly in front of her, barely managing to deflect the residual shockwave. If that raw energy pulse had hit her unprotected physical body, she would have instantly, permanently been obliterated from existence. 

Luke groaned, painfully peeling himself off the dimensional ceiling. He plummeted back to the ground, landing heavily beside the Ancient One. 

He looked down at his chest. The incredibly dense, impenetrable Crab Ninja armor was completely shattered, and his massive skeletal wings were tattered and broken. 

"Honestly, this armor acts like an impenetrable, absolute tank when the Crab Ninjas wear it, but the moment I put it on, it feels like I'm wearing wet cardboard," Luke complained helplessly, ripping the shattered armor plating off his chest. 

With a simple thought, he channeled a massive surge of ambient dark energy, instantly repairing the localized damage to his astral form and fully regenerating his armor and wings. 

Fully restored, Luke turned his attention back to Dormammu. 

The Dimensional Lord was currently entirely engulfed in a massive, terrifyingly dense, chaotic hurricane of pure dark energy, rendering him completely unapproachable. 

Luke frowned deeply. "I explicitly revoked his access to the ambient dark energy of this dimension! How is he still successfully projecting massive energy attacks?!" 

The Ancient One's expression was incredibly tense. She raised her hands, adopting a highly defensive combat stance, intensely observing Dormammu rapidly regenerating within the chaotic energy storm. 

"That is definitively not the ambient energy you restricted," she explained, her voice grave. "That is his absolute, pure, localized Origin Essence. By actively weaponizing his Origin Essence, it indicates Dormammu is completely abandoning caution. He is officially fighting for his absolute survival." 

Luke nodded slowly. "So, he's basically burning his own life force to power his attacks? Does that mean if we simply survive this onslaught and stall him out, he'll eventually completely burn himself out and die?" 

"Theoretically, yes," the Ancient One replied, looking up at Luke's massive, five-meter-tall true form. "However, localized Origin Essence is exponentially more potent, significantly more destructive, and highly volatile compared to standard ambient energy. We are about to face a significantly more powerful, highly desperate, cornered Dormammu. Do you genuinely believe we can successfully withstand the impending assault?" 

Hearing her assessment, Luke recalled how incredibly difficult it had been to subdue Dormammu before he entered his desperate, enraged 'berserker' state. Facing a fully unhinged, supercharged Dormammu was a terrifying prospect. 

"It sounds like you're officially suggesting a tactical retreat," Luke stated helplessly. 

"If the situation truly becomes completely unmanageable, our only viable option is to immediately retreat back to the material plane and rely entirely on the absolute protection of the planetary defense grid to repel him." 

Luke frowned, his tactical mind racing. "Wait... couldn't we simply intentionally deactivate the planetary grid, lure Dormammu into the material plane, and then completely annihilate him there?" 

The Ancient One stared at Luke in absolute, mind-boggling disbelief. 

Are you actually insane?! I spent centuries meticulously, painstakingly constructing and maintaining this massive planetary defense grid specifically to KEEP these apocalyptic entities OUT of Earth! And your brilliant tactical suggestion is to literally open the front door and invite the ultimate cosmic parasite inside for tea?! 

She suddenly felt a profound, deeply disturbing realization. If I die, he is going to be entirely responsible for Earth's defense. Is he actually going to accidentally destroy the planet within a week?! Should I actively seek a different, more responsible benefactor for Kamar-Taj?! 

Noticing the Ancient One staring at him with a mixture of profound horror and deep suspicion, Luke felt a sudden chill run down his spine. He quickly clarified his highly reckless strategy. 

"Uh... perhaps I didn't fully explain my context. I specifically meant we could intentionally lure Dormammu into the material plane, and then I could aggressively utilize the combined, absolute cosmic power of the Infinity Stones to permanently execute him." 

Luke quickly outlined his desperate, high-risk plan. 

The Ancient One listened carefully, slowly nodding in understanding. It was a terrifyingly massive gamble, but it possessed a degree of logical merit. Without the Time Stone, she could only passively defend the grid. However, Luke currently possessed four Infinity Stones. If they could successfully lure Dormammu into a localized trap on Earth, the combined cosmic power of the four Stones could theoretically permanently obliterate the Dimensional Lord. 

But... 

The Ancient One turned to Luke, her expression solemn. "I absolutely cannot withstand the catastrophic physical toll of simultaneously wielding four Infinity Stones." 

Luke frowned deeply. "Why not? Your mystical power is absolutely unparalleled. You are the Sorcerer Supreme." 

"I am still fundamentally human!" she explained patiently. "My absolute supremacy lies entirely within the realm of magical manipulation and spiritual fortitude. My physical vessel is entirely ordinary. Successfully wielding the raw, infinite cosmic power of even a single Infinity Stone requires not only a profoundly strong soul, but also an incredibly durable, practically indestructible physical body." 

Right. Fair enough. Luke sighed helplessly. I forgot that despite her terrifying magical power, her physical body is frail enough that a simple fall off a balcony can literally kill her. 

Furthermore, Luke understood the Ancient One's fundamental personality. She was inherently conservative, always preferring meticulous, highly calculated defense over reckless, high-risk aggression. 

Seeing her clear hesitation, Luke knew she wouldn't commit to the insane gamble. He shrugged, mentally summoning his dual Death Scythes back to his hands. 

"Alright. We'll simply remain highly adaptable and observe the situation. If it genuinely reaches the absolute breaking point, I sincerely hope you won't hesitate to execute the fallback plan." 

The Ancient One exhaled a slow breath of relief. "Agreed. We will adapt as necessary." 

Meanwhile, heavily shielded within the roaring cosmic hurricane, Dormammu rapidly, aggressively regenerated his physical avatar. 

However, as he felt the massive, catastrophic depletion of his internal reserves, he glared furiously at Luke and the Ancient One. 

His original, highly calculated strategy was simply to engage and stall the Ancient One. He had absolutely never intended to escalate the conflict to the point where he was forced to permanently burn massive quantities of his own, irreplaceable Origin Essence! 

Origin Essence wasn't something he could easily replenish by casually tricking a few pathetic mortal souls or devouring minor dimensions. It was the absolute, fundamental foundation of his existence! The sheer volume of essence he had just expended to violently repel the two of them would take his Dark Dimension several millennia to naturally regenerate! 

"KAECILIUS! EXACTLY WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! WHY HAVEN'T YOU DESTROYED THE REMAINING SANCTUMS YET?!" 

Furious and desperate to end the incredibly costly stalemate, Dormammu aggressively utilized his mental tether to violently roar at Kaecilius in the material plane. 

Back on Earth, Kaecilius flinched as Dormammu's furious voice echoed in his mind. 

He glared darkly at the massive, heavily fortified structure of the New York Sanctum before him. The corrupted, black veins around his eyes seemed slightly less prominent, indicating a massive expenditure of his own dark energy reserves. 

He surveyed the chaotic battlefield. He had deployed thousands of highly aggressive, corrupted berserkers to swarm the Sanctum. 

However, the defense was incredibly, surprisingly robust. 

Every single window, balcony, and accessible rooftop of the Sanctum was heavily manned by Kamar-Taj sorcerers. While the vast majority of them were merely intermediate or novice disciples, they were all heavily armed with the newly forged, highly enchanted weaponry from Mordo's armory! 

Utilizing the enchanted staves and ranged magical focus points, the novices were successfully unleashing devastating, continuous barrages of elemental magic, effectively matching the combat output of Senior Masters and successfully holding the swarming berserkers at bay. 

Realizing his cannon fodder was failing to breach the perimeter, Kaecilius drew his Sling Ring. 

He aggressively leaped forward, tearing open a localized portal mid-air. He seamlessly dropped through the portal, instantly teleporting directly onto the roof of the Sanctum. 

Landing amidst a squad of novice sorcerers desperately firing magical blasts down at the street, Kaecilius manifested dual, crackling spatial blades. Without a shred of hesitation, he executed a flawless, devastating spinning strike, violently instantly slicing two novices completely in half! 

The surrounding sorcerers gasped in horror, instantly abandoning their suppression fire to desperately engage Kaecilius. 

Kaecilius scoffed dismissively, easily dodging their chaotic, panicked attacks. 

If these novices were actually capable of independently, fluidly casting complex Eldritch magic, Kaecilius might have been slightly cautious. But these pathetic disciples were entirely reliant on the enchanted weapons to act as crude magical conduits. They had absolutely no fundamental understanding of magical physics, their targeting was atrocious, and they completely lacked actual combat experience. They were merely relying on numerical superiority to suppress the mindless berserkers. 

Against a true, highly trained Master of the Mystic Arts? They were nothing. 

Effortlessly side-stepping a clumsy, telegraphed blast of fire, Kaecilius smoothly closed the distance. He parried a panicked strike from an enchanted staff and retaliated with a blindingly fast slash, effortlessly severing the disciple—and his enchanted weapon—cleanly in half. 

"You pathetic, ignorant children completely disgrace the legacy of Kamar-Taj," Kaecilius sneered cruelly. 

Noticing several terrified disciples attempting to desperately flee toward the roof access door, Kaecilius raised his mutated arm. 

The dark energy rapidly condensed into highly complex runic arrays. A barrage of razor-sharp, pitch-black magical spikes violently erupted from his arm, effortlessly piercing directly through the fleeing disciples' hearts, killing them instantly. 

Having brutally slaughtered the entire rooftop garrison, Kaecilius casually flicked the blood off his spatial blades and coldly commanded the massive horde of berserkers below to launch a full-scale, all-out assault on the main doors. 

Down at the main entrance, the pressure on the defending sorcerers was rapidly becoming unbearable as the berserkers surged forward in massive numbers. 

Just as the frontline defenders were about to be completely overrun, a devastating, highly concentrated chain-lightning spell violently erupted from the doorway, aggressively paralyzing a massive cluster of berserkers and granting the defenders a critical moment to retreat. 

"Fall back! Retreat into the Sanctum! Secure the primary blast doors!" Stephen Strange roared authoritatively. 

Stephen, wielding two glowing, highly complex defensive mandalas, aggressively charged out of the Sanctum, leading a fresh squad of reinforcements. He violently bashed the paralyzed berserkers back, providing essential cover fire for the remaining exterior defenders to rapidly retreat inside. 

Seeing a massive wave of berserkers aggressively lunging toward him, Stephen executed a flawless, highly complex somatic gesture. He conjured a massive, multi-layered, absolute-density defensive array, completely blocking the entrance. 

He commanded the remaining sorcerers to gather behind him, rapidly preparing a synchronized, massive magical volley. 

The absolute microsecond Stephen deactivated the defensive array, the sorcerers unleashed an apocalyptic, synchronized barrage of high-tier offensive magic! The devastating, concentrated blast completely annihilated the frontline berserkers, reducing them to ash. 

"Quickly! Seal the doors!" Stephen yelled, exhaling a massive sigh of relief. 

The heavy, ancient wooden doors slammed shut with a deafening THUD. 

The doors were heavily inscribed with multiple layers of ancient, highly durable protective enchantments. While they wouldn't hold forever against the relentless, supernaturally augmented berserkers, they would absolutely provide enough time for an organized, tactical retreat. 

After quickly executing emergency medical triage on several wounded defenders, Stephen decisively ordered them to immediately evacuate through the primary portal back to the safety of Kamar-Taj. 

He then briskly walked deeper into the Sanctum. 

The massive, grand entrance hall, which was usually densely packed with display cases showcasing incredibly rare, ancient magical relics, was completely, eerily empty. 

A panicked, exhausted sorcerer ran up to him. 

"Have all the critical magical artifacts and relics been successfully evacuated to Kamar-Taj?" Stephen asked immediately. 

The sorcerer nodded frantically, causing Stephen to exhale another sigh of relief. 

"Are we... are we genuinely abandoning the New York Sanctum?" the sorcerer asked, his voice trembling with profound despair and disbelief. 

Stephen offered a highly sympathetic, yet pragmatic sigh. "We simply lack the sufficient, highly trained manpower to effectively hold the perimeter. If we remain divided, we will inevitably be completely overrun and slaughtered by the endless horde of berserkers. It is vastly more strategic to entirely consolidate our remaining forces and focus our absolute, total defensive capabilities exclusively on protecting the Hong Kong Sanctum. Remember, the planetary defense grid remains fully operational as long as a single Sanctum stands." 

Stephen gently patted the distraught sorcerer's shoulder. "Go quickly. Inform the remaining defenders on the upper floors to immediately initiate full evacuation protocols. Once everyone is through, we are permanently closing the portal." 

"I'm afraid they won't be evacuating anywhere." 

A cold, cruel, highly arrogant voice echoed from the grand staircase above them. 

Stephen and the sorcerer snapped their heads up in horror. 

Kaecilius stood at the top of the stairs, casually holding a terrified, violently struggling novice sorcerer by the throat, dangling him over the railing. 

"Release him immediately!" Stephen roared in absolute fury, his hands instantly blurring as he aggressively conjured two highly concentrated, offensive mandalas. 

He would absolutely never forget this man. This was the monster who had brutally murdered Karl Mordo! 

"Release him?" Kaecilius tilted his head, offering a highly sadistic, mocking smile as he looked down at the furious Stephen. "Very well." 

He casually tightened his grip. 

A sharp, sickening, incredibly loud CRACK echoed through the completely silent hall. The novice's neck was instantly snapped. 

"Catch," Kaecilius sneered, casually tossing the lifeless body directly down at Stephen. 

Stephen violently dodged the falling corpse, his eyes burning with absolute, unfiltered, murderous rage as he glared up at Kaecilius. 

However, his brilliant, hyper-rational mind instantly recognized the catastrophic tactical reality. Engaging Kaecilius—especially after he had been massively empowered by Dormammu—was absolute suicide. Stephen was still a novice; he simply didn't possess the raw power to defeat him. 

"We're leaving. Now," Stephen ordered the remaining sorcerer, his voice tight with suppressed rage. 

He glared at Kaecilius one last time, promising absolute retribution, before rapidly drawing a Sling Ring portal. The two of them immediately stepped through and vanished. 

Kaecilius watched them flee, offering a dismissive scoff. He didn't even bother attempting to pursue them. The distance was too great to close instantly, and chasing a pathetic, fleeing novice was a complete waste of time. 

His primary, absolute objective was the destruction of the Sanctum. He would completely obliterate the New York core, then immediately deploy to Hong Kong and finish the job. 

Dormammu was growing incredibly impatient. He had no time to waste on insignificant insects.