Chapter 32: A Once-in-a-Century Magical Prodigy
Wong estimated that even if it were him against Kaecilius, he couldn't say he would have done better than Du Wa.
"Don't worry about these. As long as there's a breath left in them, they will slowly recover." Du Wa, his clothes tattered, walked calmly up to Wong.
By the time he came to a stop, most of the wounds on his body had already healed.
"Your hands—"
"They'll grow back too."
Wong watched numbly, his eyes wide as the severed arms slowly grew back, bit by bit. Although it was slow, at this rate, they would eventually be fully restored. The more he thought about it, the more absurd it seemed.
Healing flesh wounds was one thing, but even severed limbs could slowly grow back? No wonder he dared to use such a radical method against Kaecilius.
"It's a good thing Kaecilius used the Maw of the Faltine..." Wong muttered. He suspected that Kaecilius had simply been too greedy. If he had used a different, less powerful spell, the outcome would have been uncertain.
"I might not win, but I won't die easily. I'm hard to kill," Du Wa said.
"My name is Wong. Kaecilius isn't one to let things go; he has an extraordinary obsession. I don't know what happened between you two... wait."
Wong's gaze fell upon a Xenomorph that looked unremarkable, but in reality, the power of black magic had not yet completely dissipated from it.
Intelligent as he was, he vaguely guessed what had happened, and a look of horror and anger appeared on his face.
"It's nothing. As you can see, this was my first time encountering magic, so I did some research. It seems the one behind Kaecilius noticed," Du Wa said nonchalantly.
"Enough! You're insane! To actually touch black magic! That is the most dangerous and malevolent power in this world. No matter what, you must never touch it. I don't want to see you among the black magicians in the future!"
"I know, I know. A guy told me something similar. He's currently being hunted all over the world by Magneto," Du Wa said.
"Don't bring disputes from the Mortal Realm into the Magical Realm—"
"Dormammu. I know of Dormammu, and I also know He is a Demon God from an Other Dimension," Du Wa replied. "I'm not some fool who knows nothing about magic."
Wong's gaze grew increasingly dangerous as he hesitated over whether he should eliminate Du Wa right here and now. "Every great mage who joins the ranks of the Black Magicians starts out thinking that way. What's more, you aren't even a mage."
"I've heard that speech before in an anti-drug PSA. Wong, you're quite knowledgeable. Perhaps you were a librarian before joining Kamar-Taj?" Du Wa looked calm, leisurely gathering his Xenomorph forces and counting his losses.
He had brought twenty-two Xenomorphs and lost eight. The losses were smaller than expected.
After all, his opponent was Kaecilius.
"To be precise, I was a salesman," Wong said, his tone unhappy.
He had no interest in finding out where Du Wa had gotten so much information, because the matter of Demon Gods from Other Dimensions was no secret to some ancient beings and organizations.
"Wong, send my regards to the Sorcerer Supreme."
After tossing out this sentence, Du Wa leaped onto the shoulder of the Abomination Xenomorph, gave a nod, and departed.
Wong watched the man's decisive departure, his brow deeply furrowed.
"Don't be ridiculous. Where does he get this confidence? The Sorcerer Supreme doesn't have time to deal with a small fry like you..."
But since this involved Kaecilius, Wong felt he should still report it to the Sorcerer Supreme.
Passing through a portal, Wong made his way to the Sorcerer Supreme's side.
"Sorcerer Supreme..." Wong began.
But Mordo hurriedly interjected, "The Sorcerer Supreme is communicating with external Deities. Do not disturb her!"
"It's fine. I already know everything. What Du Wa said was very interesting." The Ancient One's eyes were tightly shut, her body surrounded by a surging ocean of magical particles, eliciting a look of deep reverence from Wong.
Ordinary people could never know where the Sorcerer Supreme's limit lay.
After a long moment, the Ancient One finally opened her eyes. A trace of black magic flashed in the depths of her eyes, vanishing without a trace.
Wong said, "I don't know this Du Wa, nor do I understand where he gets the audacity to touch Dormammu's power. He even wants an audience with the Sorcerer Supreme!"
"What? Kamar-Taj does not welcome such arrogant fools! He can forget about ever stepping through the gates of the Sanctum in his lifetime!" Mordo's face darkened, even more angered by Du Wa's delusional fantasy.
"He will not come, not unless I grant him the qualification to use White Magic, allowing his Xenomorphs to also come into contact with magic," the Ancient One said in a gentle tone.
"How is that possible? How could we—to a group of animals—"
"Mordo, have you forgotten Kruger? He's been missing ever since he left us," Wong pointed out Mordo's mistake sternly.
Mordo refused to listen. Kruger was clearly a sentient being that looked like a humanoid fish, completely unrelated to animals.
Besides, Kruger had left Earth long ago and seemed to have joined a group called the Marauders.
"Those are not animals. They might be even 'smarter' than humans. Right now, they are nothing much, but in the future, they could cause an upheaval on the temporal plane."
The Ancient One quickly changed the subject. "There is a more important matter now. Odin just contacted me. He has decided to exile his son to Earth to begin a trial."
"Thor? I've heard that fellow is extremely hot-tempered and arrogant. A guy like that coming to Earth won't stay quiet. He'll kill a lot of people." Mordo was utterly disgusted; he hated things that were beyond his control more than anything.
The Ancient One said softly, "On the contrary, he will die on Earth."
The expressions on both Mordo's and Wong's faces changed drastically, filled with utter shock.
Thor will die on Earth? What kind of joke is that! By human standards, Thor's personality was extremely brutish, but as the offspring of the Skyfather-level powerhouse Odin, his strength was also top-tier.
A person like that would die on Earth?
"Time will provide the clearest answer. It wasn't supposed to be this way, but even the ripples caused by the slightest variable can trigger a tsunami across the infinite temporal plane," said the Ancient One.
"What should we do?"
"Mordo, Wong, for now, you will keep a close eye on Kaecilius. My greatest worry is Dormammu, who stands outside the dimension of time. History is most easily interfered with by Demon Gods who are not affected by time."
"What about Thor? We could arrange for a team of sorcerers to protect him and then find the person who is supposed to kill him..."
"There's no need. Some want him dead, and some don't. We only need to keep Odin placated."
The Ancient One's expression turned serious. Considering the variables involving Strange, she needed to make preparations early:
"Summon Dum Dum Dugan. Tell him he is a once-in-a-century magical prodigy and that I have high hopes for him. Therefore, I need him to arrange for a large batch of himself to continue participating in the selection for the Ascetic Monks. The quantity... the more, the better."
(end of chapter)