Soon after, the heavy wooden door of the Ancient One's building closed with a soft thud. Nolan, encased in his Hunting Lord armor, stood for a moment, his breathing a quiet, mechanical hiss inside the helmet. He took a heavy, clanking step forward and started down the stairs built from stone slabs.
He needed to find Mordo, who was responsible for receiving guests at Kamar-Taj.
The trip to Asgard was decided; for reasons both public and private, Nolan could not escape it. Therefore, he needed to do two things.
The first was to find Mordo and ask him to send him back to the base to change equipment and carry more supplies.
Second, before that, find Thor, God of Thunder, and beat him up.
Moreover, according to the Ancient One's arrangement, this mission would include Thor, Nolan as the envoy of Midgard, and a sorcerer named Wong, who would escort them on behalf of Kamar-Taj.
Of course, the Ancient One, who had a great sense of humor, had also told Nolan with a smile that the main reason for arranging Wong to follow them was that Wong was the only sorcerer disciple who had actually been to Asgard. Even if he was simply responsible for opening the portal, he was necessary.
Nolan didn't have any objections to this. After all, having an extra helper was a good thing. He also wanted to see if he could make friends with Wong and form a cooperative relationship.
Nolan, wearing the Hunting Lord armor, stepped down the stone slabs, their edges slick with thin moss. In the cold, moist air, wisps of white mist streamed across the armor's shoulder pads and gauntlets, leaving behind drops of icy condensation.
The entire architectural structure of Kamar-Taj was built on the mountain. The densely packed ancient buildings were wreathed in a snow-white mist that persisted all year, as if he had arrived in a real wonderland.
At this moment, as Nolan emerged from a blowing bank of white mist, he vaguely saw Mordo standing on the stone steps below.
Then, he heard another man's voice, strained and excited, shouting up.
"Mordo, get out of my way! I want to see the Sorcerer Supreme!"
Nolan narrowed his cyan wolf eyes inside his helmet. He took a few more clanking steps downward.
Only then did he see a middle-aged man with long gray hair tied back, wearing dark red sorcerer clothing, standing on the stone steps below Mordo. The other person raised his chin slightly, looking up at the tall figure in front of him with a face tight with anger.
At this time, Mordo, who had his hands clasped in the sleeves of his wide robe, shook his head slightly. His voice was calm and low.
He said slowly to the middle-aged man, "Kaecilius, the teacher is receiving an important guest from the mortal world. You cannot disturb them. This is the way of hospitality and the most basic courtesy. As a sorcerer, surely you understand?"
The middle-aged man named Kaecilius sneered, the sound sharp in the cold air. He subconsciously put his hands behind his back and said, "Okay then. Give me the Book of Cagliostro, and I'll leave now. I'll never trouble you again!"
"Do not be presumptuous, Kaecilius! The ancient knowledge recorded in the Book of Cagliostro is too obscure and dark, and can easily lead to corruption. You are neither mentally strong enough nor knowledgeable enough to read this book. The Ancient One prohibits you from reading it without permission for your own good!"
Mordo's eyes suddenly opened wide. There was a hint of fleeting anger on his expressionless face.
But he still suppressed the emotional fluctuations in his heart and patiently persuaded the middle-aged sorcerer below, "Kaecilius, go back. Do not continue to indulge your desires. If you are willing to persist in meditation practice, I guarantee that in three years, you can..."
However, Mordo didn't get to finish.
Kaecilius, a cold smile on his face, suddenly raised the hands that had been hidden behind his back. Accompanied by bursts of harsh, crackling sounds rolling in the white mist, an energy whip filled with orange-yellow mana appeared between his palms.
"Haha... three years?! The Ancient One told me the same thing three years ago! Now it's three years, and three years again? Do you think I am a fool?"
Kaecilius roared and took quick steps, rushing upwards. He waved the energy whip in his palm vigorously, the tip snapping as it struck down at Mordo's head.
The next second, Mordo, his face filled with anger, also threw open the sleeves of his dark green robe.
Two magic shields, the Rings of Raggadorr, constantly rotating with complicated, glowing incantations, appeared in his palms in the blink of an eye. He brought them up, and the whip struck them with a loud thwack and a shower of sparks.
He withstood the constant bombardment of the energy whip.
"Kaecilius! Wake up! You have fallen into delusion, do not be obsessed with it!"
"Awake? Deluded? Hahaha, I'm very awake. I've never been so awake!"
At this moment, Kaecilius, his expression ferocious, saw that the energy whip had no effect. Being well prepared, he immediately freed up one palm and quickly changed his gestures.
The next moment, a crimson chain, the Chains of Cyttorak, which was constantly emitting a dull red halo, instantly condensed from his palm!
The repeatedly twisting red magic energy was like a terrifying poisonous snake waiting for an opportunity, rushing towards Mordo.
Mordo, his expression solemn, quickly dodged sideways. At the same time, he waved the Rings of Raggadorr to swat down the jumping crimson chain.
However, due to Mordo's dodge, the crimson chain completely missed its target and flew straight towards Nolan, who was standing above, watching the spectacle.
Even though Kaecilius, who was in control of the spell, had seen the opponent's tall, armored figure through the white mist, he was so angry that he showed no sign of removing the spell. He didn't care about the life or death of others at all.
In a flash, Nolan's squinting eyes suddenly widened. Even the fangs hidden in his mouth bared in a snarl.
He quickly activated the Refractor Field of the Hunting Lord Armor, a low, shimmering humm cutting the air. At the same time, a huge fist covered with red armor shot out.
He grabbed the crimson chain that arrived in front of him.
The strands of red magic energy hissed and sizzled violently as they collided and rubbed against the invisible Refractor Field. At the same time, Nolan's foot suddenly crushed a thick stone slab. The countless electro-fiber bundles and servo devices wrapped around his body suddenly contracted with a high-pitched whine and exerted force.
He yanked, dragging Kaecilius clean off his feet and up the steps.
Just as Kaecilius panicked at the sudden, huge force, Nolan, still standing in place, had already wrapped the crimson chain around his sturdy, red-armored arm. He was rapidly shortening the distance, and in the blink of an eye, he pulled the other man right in front of him.
Accompanied by the crisp, wet crack of human bones breaking, Nolan's other huge gauntlet quickly stretched out. The five fingers, covered with metal shells, mercilessly crushed Kaecilius's thin arm used to cast the crimson chain.
Instantly, Kaecilius's face distorted with muscle-twitching agony. His eyes flew wide. A tragic howl followed. A lot of sweat continued to seep from his forehead, dripping onto his dark red sorcerer clothes.
The next second, the crimson chain condensed by red magic energy quickly dissipated in the moist, cold white mist. It also freed Nolan's sturdy arm.
Kaecilius, his expression ferocious, was about to raise the energy whip in his other palm, which had not yet dissipated.
But Nolan, with a stern face, did not give him any chance to fight back.
Accompanied by another crisp crack of human bones breaking, Kaecilius's only intact arm was also easily broken by Nolan. Countless bone fractures even pierced his shoulder, exposed to the air.
Then, Nolan's huge gauntlets suddenly grabbed Kaecilius's dark red robes.
He threw his opponent heavily onto the broken stone slab with a sicking thud.
However, just when Nolan, a grim smile on his lips, subconsciously wanted to crush his opponent's head as usual, the anxious voice from Mordo suddenly reached his ears.
"Dear guest! He is not guilty of death!"
Before the words had faded, Nolan, his grim smile gone, brought his heavy foot down.
WHUMP.
He stepped heavily on the stone slab right beside Kaecilius's head. A clearly visible boot print was left in the thick stone.
Nolan, his expression returned to normal, first turned his head to look up at the Ancient One's residence, hidden in the white mist. He then looked at Mordo, who was running up the steps, his face pale.
Finally, he looked down at Kaecilius, who had fallen into a coma from the severe pain.
"I just wanted to see the sorcerer fight with spells. Why did you bother to provoke me?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Writing takes time, coffee, and a lot of love.If you'd like to support my work, join me at [email protected]/GoldenGaruda
You'll get early access to over 50 chapters, selection on new series, and the satisfaction of knowing your support directly fuels more stories.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~