Chapter 695: Sanctum Crisis (Continued)

Chapter 695: Chapter 696: Sanctum Crisis (Continued)

There are three Sanctums managed by the Kamar-Taj wizards: the London Sanctum, the New York City Sanctum, and the Hong Kong Sanctum.

The network of defensive barriers covering these three Sanctums, located in different positions, can perfectly envelop the entire planet.

This prevents demons from the dimensional space from invading Earth.

Therefore, the three Sanctums are equivalent to defensive gateways for Earth.

Once a Sanctum falls and its protective barrier is gone, the impact on Earth would be unimaginable.

The scene Mike witnessed upon arriving at the London Sanctum was that the entire Sanctum’s defensive barrier had been completely destroyed.

A faint dark aura still lingered in the air.

“What have you found?” Mike asked Mordo, who had arrived earlier.

At this moment, Mordo was frowning as he examined a damaged shackle on the ground. He replied, “The enemy is very strong, and they seem to know a lot about us.”

The chain-like shackle on the ground was actually called the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak.

It was a powerful magical item, not an exaggeration to call it a semi-artifact.

However, it was now severely damaged, indicating how powerful the enemy who attacked the London Sanctum was.

Moreover, the fact that the defensive barrier of the London Sanctum was destroyed so thoroughly made it hard not to suspect that this enemy was very knowledgeable about defensive magic.

Or rather, very knowledgeable about the abilities of wizards.

This gave Mordo a very bad premonition.

“Mordo, we have carefully inspected the central control room here. The defensive magic facilities inside are almost completely destroyed, and it will be very difficult to repair them…”

Just then, three old wizards returned, their expressions looking no better than Mordo’s.

Furthermore, they hadn’t even finished speaking; the defensive magic in this control room was not just difficult to repair.

To re-establish the magic network on these “ruins” would be no less difficult than rebuilding an entire Sanctum.

For all of Kamar-Taj, it was a major loss.

“I know the situation,” Mordo stood up and asked, “What about Stephen? Still no sign of him?”

The three old wizards all shook their heads.

The situation seemed even more serious than everyone had thought.

Although Stephen had been studying at Kamar-Taj for less than a year, his magical talent was undeniable, coupled with the careful guidance of Sorcerer Supreme Ancient One.

His current magical level was no worse than that of many old wizards at Kamar-Taj.

With such strength, even if he encountered a powerful enemy, it would be easy for him to escape, if not resist.

Yet now, he was neither seen alive nor found dead, leaving behind only a mess.

This situation intensified Mordo’s bad premonition.

“Clearly, this enemy planned this in advance and probably won’t be satisfied with just destroying this one Sanctum,” Mike reminded the four old wizards.

If he wasn’t mistaken, this time Kaecilius was taking advantage of Ancient One’s absence to incite a large number of Dormammu’s zealots, aiming to release the dimensional demon.

Thereby gaining powerful strength and immortal life.

“You mean, the enemy wants to destroy all the Sanctums and summon the dimensional demon?” After being reminded, Mordo’s face changed drastically.

He had basically come to believe this conjecture.

The other three old wizards were also startled by this guess.

“Isn’t that obvious?” Mike nodded slightly.

All three Sanctums, like Kamar-Taj, were protected by illusion magic, making them inaccessible to ordinary people.

Those who could come here to cause destruction obviously knew the purpose of the Sanctums.

With a little thought, their objective was not hard to guess.

“Damn it, if that’s true, the New York City and Hong Kong Sanctums are also in danger!” Although Mordo had a dark personality, he had lived in Kamar-Taj for decades.

Under the influence of Sorcerer Supreme Ancient One, he had long considered protecting the world his mission.

Now, facing such a grave situation, how could he not be anxious?

So, after exchanging glances with the three equally alarmed old wizards, The four quickly opened a spatial portal leading to the New York City Sanctum.

“Wanda, let’s go too. If I’m not mistaken, Stephen probably needs our help very much right now.” As Mordo and the four left, Mike also called out to the dazed Scarlet Witch.

As the heir to the Sorcerer Supreme, Stephen had likely fought Kaecilius and Dormammu’s zealots at the London Sanctum before.

And had temporarily restrained Kaecilius using the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak.

Then he went to the New York City Sanctum, preparing to rely on the magical barrier there to resist Dormammu’s zealots a second time.

However, if Mike remembered correctly, Stephen, after arriving at the New York City Sanctum, was subsequently ambushed by the zealots and was critically injured, hovering between life and death.

Fortunately, he was protected by another semi-artifact, the Cloak of Levitation, which transported his dying body to the New York City Hospital.

To receive treatment from his doctor girlfriend.

“Wanda, don’t space out. We need to go.” Mike, who had opened a spatial portal to the New York City Hospital, noticed the girl was still dazed and called out to her again.

“Okay, okay, coming now.” A red glow flashed in Wanda’s eyes, then she quickly lowered her head, avoiding Mike’s probing gaze.

Previously, Mike’s attention had not lingered on Wanda.

Therefore, he hadn’t noticed that the lingering dark aura in the London Sanctum was being absorbed by the girl bit by bit.

This also made Wanda’s negative emotions extremely unstable.

Absorbing demonic energy was clearly not a good thing.

For some unknown reason, the girl also did not want Mike to know about her negative condition.

So, she was deliberately concealing it… “Christine, listen to me, don’t be scared, I’m not a ghost…”

At the same time, Stephen, whose soul had left his body, used telepathic communication to have the Cloak of Levitation transport his severely injured body to the New York City Hospital.

Into the hands of his girlfriend, Christine.

But seeing Christine’s helpless expression, to survive, Stephen had no choice but to appear before his girlfriend in his soul form.

Wanting to guide her through the surgery.

“You, you’re Stephen… Are you human or ghost… Don’t come any closer…” Christine, who had never seen supernatural power, was startled by the sudden appearance of the soul form.

The girl incredulously looked at Stephen, who was in a deep coma from severe blood loss on the operating table, and then at the illusory Stephen floating in the air, almost dropping the surgical knife in her hand.

“Calm down, Christine. This is complicated to explain. You just need to know this is the power of magic…” Stephen comforted his girlfriend, assuring her that he was not dead.

All of this could be attributed to miraculous magic.

“So, you can still come back to life?” Out of concern for her boyfriend, Christine quickly calmed down.

Christine also knew about Stephen’s problem of constantly trembling hands after his car accident.

After that, Stephen, unable to solve his own problems medically, went alone to Kamar-Taj to seek supernatural help.

After nearly a year apart, he had clearly succeeded.

Most importantly, Stephen’s body, lying on the hospital bed, had severe penetrating wounds to his chest and abdomen.

For an ordinary person, such a situation would essentially mean preparing for the afterlife.

But with miraculous magic, Stephen clearly still had a chance to heal.

It was this conjecture that, while frightening Christine, also sparked a glimmer of hope in her heart.

“Yes, you just need to clean and stitch up my wounds, and then leave the rest to me…” Stephen said, “I will get better.”

Magic power had the function of nourishing the body; as long as his bodily functions did not continue to deteriorate, Stephen would find a way to recover.

The most urgent task now was to stitch up his body’s wounds, to prevent him from dying immediately due to excessive blood loss.

The operation was actually very simple; as long as one overcame their fear, even a general intern could do it.

“Are you sure?” Facing her boyfriend, Christine discarded her usual medical common sense and said, “Then I’ll operate on you now.”

Subsequently, accompanied by Stephen’s soul form, the girl quickly began to treat his body’s wounds.

The scene was slightly bloody.

But the rare alone time even inexplicably created an ambiguous atmosphere between the couple who hadn’t seen each other for a long time.

Just as the two were intimately and harmoniously working together, another wizard’s soul form suddenly appeared, instantly knocking Stephen’s soul away, then turned back with a ferocious expression, rushing towards Christine, who was stitching up the wound.

“Ah—!!”

The incident was sudden; even though she had accepted the existence of soul forms, seeing the ferocious, clawing soul form charging at her, Christine still screamed in fright.

Fortunately, Stephen in his soul state was equally agile, rolling in the air and returning to help in time.

He managed to grab the zealot’s soul just before it could seize Christine.

Then, the two soul forms wrestled together.

Christine also reacted quickly; after regaining her composure, she grabbed a surgical knife nearby, wanting to help her boyfriend.

“Don’t come over, Christine. Continue stitching up my wound…” Stephen saw this and called out to his girlfriend.

A wizard’s soul form exists between the ethereal and the tangible; ordinary people cannot touch it.

Christine coming over would not only be unhelpful but might also put herself in danger.

Moreover, compared to helping deal with the zealot’s soul, what Christine should be doing most now was stitching up Stephen’s body’s wounds.

As long as his bodily functions recovered, Stephen’s soul would be able to return to his body immediately.

With a body, it would not be difficult to deal with a zealot’s soul.

Of course, that was for later.

In fact, Stephen, with his powerful magical talent, also had considerable talent in the spiritual realm.

He had only been caught off guard by the zealot’s sudden ambush before.

Now that the two soul forms were confronting each other directly, he might not necessarily be afraid of the opponent.

Just then, Mike, who had arrived directly at the hospital via a spatial portal, happened to see Stephen in his soul state entangled with another soul.

There was nothing more to say.

Mike, who had come to help in the first place, immediately summoned a pure white magical whip, firmly binding the zealot’s soul.

The magical whip, imbued with the Power of Faith, soon caused the zealot’s soul to emit large amounts of black smoke.

Finally, amidst painful wails, it was purified into nothingness.

“Excellent, Mike. I need your help. Kaecilius has betrayed the Sorcerer Supreme and is leading a group of zealots to destroy the Sanctums’ defensive barriers. We must stop them…” Stephen’s soul form said with an anxious expression, “That soul form just now was one of the zealots. They want to release the dimensional demon Dormammu.”

It was clear that Stephen, having regained his composure, was able to think normally again.

“Don’t worry, Kamar-Taj has received the warning signal you sent back. Mordo should have arrived at the New York City Sanctum…” Mike said, “Right now, what you should be most concerned about is your body.”

With that, Mike condensed a ball of Healing Power in his hand and threw it onto Stephen, who was lying lifeless on the operating table.

As the white light flashed, Stephen’s injured chest and abdomen healed at a visible speed.

In a short while, except for being unable to move, Stephen’s body was no different from an ordinary person’s.

“Thank you!”

Stephen’s soul form, seeing this, expressed his gratitude and flew towards his body.

For normal wizards, soul-splitting was not a good thing, as it would consume their soul energy.

Unless one was as powerful as the Sorcerer Supreme, capable of autonomously absorbing energy to replenish soul energy, they could not use soul-splitting without cost.

“Indeed, it’s more comfortable when I have my body,” Stephen, whose soul had returned to his body, floated up again with the help of the Cloak of Levitation.

Compared to his previous ethereal state, he now had a sense of groundedness.

“This, is this magic?” Beside him, Christine, who had witnessed all this, had serious doubts about her medical common sense.

Saving people with magic was clearly more convenient than with a surgical knife, so what was the point of studying medicine?

Of course, she had fallen into a logical trap.

Not everyone could possess magical talent and become a wizard.

Moreover, the Healing Power Mike used was strictly speaking not magic.

At least, Stephen certainly couldn’t use such healing magic.

“Uh, don’t think so much, Christine. Mr. Mike is a special one…” Stephen looked at his girlfriend’s “crumbling worldview” and advised, “For ordinary people, if you want to save lives and heal the wounded, studying medicine is still more reliable.”

“Is, is that so? I understand.” Christine also came to her senses.

“Magic” was wondrous, but it wasn’t suitable for everyone.

Or rather, for ordinary people, they might never encounter “magic” in their entire lives.

This included Christine; if she didn’t have a boyfriend like Stephen, she might never witness the wondrous power of magic in her lifetime.

“Mike, I can feel that Kaecilius’s power is not simple, and with that group of Dormammu zealots, Mordo might not be their match. So, I would like to ask you to come with me to the New York City Sanctum to help stop Kaecilius and the others’ conspiracy.” After comforting his girlfriend, Stephen returned to the main topic.

“No problem, my purpose for coming to find you this time is to help,” Mike replied.

Having the opportunity to meet the dimensional demon Dormammu was actually quite interesting.

At least for Mike now, it wasn’t a big deal.

After Stephen said goodbye to his girlfriend again, the three, including the Scarlet Witch, once again went to the New York City Sanctum through the spatial portal.

At this time, inside the New York City Sanctum, Mordo and the other four old wizards looked at the completely destroyed defensive barrier around them, their faces already beyond grim.

Clearly, they, who had left earlier, were still one step too late.

The defensive barrier inside the New York City Sanctum, like the one in the London Sanctum, had been thoroughly destroyed by Kaecilius and Dormammu’s zealots.

When Mike and the other two arrived, they happened to encounter a grim-faced Mordo.

“Stephen, where were you before? I need an explanation.” An angry Mordo directly confronted Stephen…