Chapter 28: The Sorcerers Forced into Melee Combat to Pay Off Debts
"You want me to kill someone who commands strange creatures? The price for my services is very high."
Kaecilius, with a few of his subordinates in tow, stared down at the vampires before him with a contemptuous gaze.
It was a truly contemptuous look. To those in the know, the dark circles under his eyes were the price for using dark magic. To those who weren't, they would just assume this band of Black Magicians were all obsessive grinders who hadn't slept for days on end.
In fact, Kaecilius truly hadn't slept in a very, very long time. Being one of the "sleepless" was just one of the insignificant prices one had to pay for using magic.
Other prices included offering one's own spirit, body, and lifespan to the various gods who bestowed magic upon them. This was the price of magic—if you borrow money, you must repay it.
Under his gaze, some of the weaker vampires subconsciously averted their eyes, though a few of a more noble birth managed to meet his stare.
"We truly don't know how we offended him, but he has destroyed seven of our strongholds in just two days! We've already had several hundred people die or go missing!" a nobly dressed vampire elder exclaimed.
"Be more confident. Missing means dead. The lucky ones become that human's food. The unlucky ones become hosts for a Xenomorph."
Kaecilius was a man of principles. Although he looked down on vampires, since he had accepted the job, he had done some research on Du Wa.
"I will dispatch one Black Magician to kill him," Kaecilius said.
"One?" The vampires present frowned. "We were hoping you would take action personally."
"Foolish. My primary target is Kamar-Taj. I will not waste a large amount of power on a minor character!" Kaecilius shook his head, his elegant ponytail swinging back and forth, attracting quite a bit of attention.
At least, the vampires present couldn't help but steal a few extra glances.
"But, he's not a minor character..."
"In my eyes, he is. You bats from the sewer have never witnessed a truly great being. Even my esteemed teacher—the Sorcerer Supreme—needs to borrow the power of that Being!"
Kaecilius sneered as he watched the vampires. "Even you all were born because of that Being. Without dark magic, how could a group of vampires like you even exist?"
The vampires all showed expressions of confusion.
But Kaecilius had learned from Dormammu that the origin of vampires lay in dark magic.
And since Dormammu was the god who could wield dark magic, Kaecilius naturally concluded that vampires were merely inferior products accidentally created by the great Dormammu, completely unworthy of mention.
Another elder was extremely dissatisfied, muttering under his breath, "We never should have sought out these Black Magicians! Paying money to get rid of Du Wa feels unreliable no matter how you look at it. We would have been better off finding Baron Blood..."
But he was quickly rebuked, "Silence! The Vampire Clan has its own ways!"
Crash!
At that moment, with the sound of a window shattering, Blade burst in, followed closely by a large number of Xenomorphs.
"It seems we had the same idea and both targeted this place. But the vampire you're looking for doesn't seem to be here."
Du Wa's voice drifted over.
Blade drew his twin swords and said, "My purpose is different from yours. When I strike, I leave no one alive. Even if they're human, if they stand with the vampires, they must die."
As Blade spoke, his red eyes stared directly at Kaecilius from behind his sunglasses.
A mocking smile tugged at the corner of Kaecilius's lips. He shifted his gaze, and it fell upon Du Wa, who was flanked by several powerful Xenomorphs.
"Those dark circles... a Black Magician? An unexpected bonus. But for vampires to collude with you, they've really lowered your standing," Du Wa remarked.
The Black Magicians were too easy to recognize. On the entire Earth, only this group of Dormammu's followers had such an appearance.
"Hmph, I think so too. It seems we agree on one point at least: vampires are the most suitable material to be consumed."
Kaecilius grinned malevolently and unleashed his dark magic. A vast black mist spread out, enveloping everyone present. The vampires who made contact first were devoured in an instant.
After a series of screams, their bodies dissolved into countless black particles, converging like a stream of water, as if flowing into an unknown domain before finally disappearing.
Kaecilius's expression improved slightly.
"Kaecilius!! What are you doing? We are allies!" a vampire elder screamed.
"Allies? You defective specimens are worthy of being my allies? Don't tell me you really thought I was after your money? You are only fit to be a sacrifice to please the great Lord Dormammu!"
The vampires wanted to kill Du Wa, but Kaecilius was different. He wanted to kill them all.
Everyone on Earth would belong to the great Dormammu.
"This guy is insane. Go," Du Wa said.
Blade, without a word, charged at Kaecilius with his blades.
Du Wa, however, took a different approach. He knew how troublesome the spatial magic of the Kamar-Taj lineage was. The glittering teleportation portals could not only be used for transport but also for "severing" by closing them instantly.
Therefore, from the very beginning, Du Wa directly targeted the other Black Magicians present.
Whoosh!
A peculiar-looking Xenomorph with several fleshy tendrils growing from its body quietly approached a magician, but its target was already prepared.
"Lower lifeform, let me show you the might of a professional magician!"
The Black Magician let out a sinister laugh. With a flick of his sleeve, he precisely caught a staff that slid down, and with nimble steps, he rushed toward the Xenomorph.
"This weapon of mine is made of Vibranium. I'm not afraid of your blood!"
Very good. A rare Black Magician whose brain hadn't been scooped out by Dormammu. He knew to use a weapon forged from Vibranium to resist the Xenomorph's most troublesome acidic blood.
But it seemed he didn't have much brain left.
Du Wa's expression changed slightly. Although he had mentally prepared himself for the fighting style of this group of magicians, seeing it with his own eyes still made it hard to keep a straight face.
Their defenses were clearly not much stronger than a mortal's, yet they loved to charge at enemies with blades and staffs for melee combat. And they were doing it against Xenomorphs, fighting machines that excelled at close-quarters combat.
This brought Doctor Strange to mind. Whenever he fought, he would madly unleash powerful magic as if it cost nothing—the Crimson Chains of Cyttorak, the Sacred Sword of the Vishanti, Hoggoth's Ancient Physique.
Look at that luxurious lineup of magical support. Cyttorak, the Vishanti, Hoggoth—all were deities of multiversal standing. Any single spell Doctor Strange cast was power borrowed from a host of multiverse-level gods.
It was worth noting that Hoggoth was one of the Trinity Vishanti.
"I feel like the magicians here are a bit different from what I imagined. Are they worried about racking up too much debt to repay? Your master is certainly not a generous fellow."
If magic isn't enough, fists will have to do.
After thinking it over, Du Wa still felt that these guys were just too poor—or perhaps it was because Dormammu had become poor, so they couldn't even use magic freely. Not to mention, the price of using dark magic was far higher than that of white magic.
They were completely incomparable to Doctor Strange, who had the backing of Kamar-Taj. It served them right that they would eventually be beaten to death by Doctor Strange.
"Hmph, so you understand magic too?" Kaecilius raised a hand and conjured the Ring of Raggadorr. A golden disc materialized on his palm, easily slicing an attacking Drone Xenomorph in half.
Facing the splattering acidic blood, Kaecilius raised his other hand, summoning a small teleportation portal in front of him to teleport all the blood away.
"If I wanted to, I could throw you all into the Undersea in an instant," Kaecilius said with great confidence.
He thought Du Wa was coming for him, but Du Wa knew it would be difficult to kill this guy who was extremely skilled at escaping. From the very beginning, he had targeted the other Black Magicians.
In the midst of the chaotic battle, a melee-obsessed Black Magician was already pounced on by a Xenomorph and, amidst his screams, dragged before Du Wa.
Du Wa expertly picked up a Xenomorph egg from the back of a Xenomorph behind him and forced a facehugger onto the Black Magician.
Du Wa was verifying something of crucial importance, and he was filled with deep anticipation.
Sure enough, the instant the implantation succeeded, a powerful magical fluctuation surged from the Black Magician's body, and a black substance began to slowly spread.
(end of chapter)