Ancient One still maintained that calm and composed demeanor.
However, Peter noticed that her complexion was much worse than it had been three years ago; the fine lines around her eyes were deeper, and her lips had turned a somewhat bruised blue.
Clearly, she had reduced the frequency with which she drew power from the Dark Dimension, and this action had exacted a heavy toll on her.
"Good afternoon, Mr. The Arbiter." Ancient One greeted Peter with a smile.
"Congratulations, Gwen has officially completed her training. From today on, she is the new Sorcerer Supreme."
Hearing this, Gwen turned to look at Ancient One, the smile on her face suddenly fading.
Peter also fell into a brief silence.
The three people present knew full well what Gwen's graduation meant.
A new Sorcerer Supreme had been born, and the predecessor, who had barely managed to survive by breaking taboos, naturally ought to let go.
In other words, Ancient One was preparing to die.
Noticing the hesitant expressions on Peter and Gwen's faces, Ancient One smiled freely instead, and in turn comforted them:
"There is no need to make such expressions; for me, this is actually a relief."
"From the day I found you, child, I have been looking forward to this day."
Gwen bit her lower lip, saying nothing.
Her mother had passed away early in her childhood, and over the past three years, she had long since come to view her Master, Ancient One, as family.
For Gwen, who had not yet experienced the parting of life and death, this sudden farewell was somewhat too heavy to bear.
Ancient One gently hugged her, her gaze soft as she comforted her:
"Gwen, you are already strong enough. I believe that you and Peter can protect Earth well."
"The only thing I am worried about now is Dormammu; that guy has been waiting for an opportunity to invade our home, and that traitor Kaecilius has yet to be found..."
"After I die, he will certainly try to open a portal to the Dark Dimension; you must guard the seal well when that time comes."
Gwen gently wiped the corner of her eye, then nodded firmly:
"Rest assured, Master, I will protect the Sanctum and the seal."
Ancient One nodded in satisfaction, then looked at Peter and teased:
"With Mr. The Arbiter here, I presume this matter will not cause you too much trouble."
Peter had been listening silently on the side, and only spoke up when Ancient One mentioned Dormammu and Kaecilius:
"Senior Ancient One, since Dormammu and Kaecilius are your final concerns, why don't we set off now and take care of them?"
"That way, you can leave this World without any burdens."
As soon as these words were spoken, Gwen and Ancient One both looked at him.
Ancient One gave him a surprised look, then shook her head with a chuckle:
"I appreciate your good intentions, but Dormammu is not the kind of opponent that can be easily defeated as you imagine..."
Upon hearing this, Peter did not argue with Ancient One, but spoke directly:
"A Lord of a Dimension, I understand."
"Huh?!"
This time, Ancient One was truly a bit stunned. She looked at Peter, genuinely curious about what interesting thing Peter could say next.
Meeting Ancient One's gaze, Peter grinned, showing a sunny smile, and said:
"Remember Mephisto?"
Ancient One nodded subconsciously:
"Of course, he is also a troublesome opponent. Right, that guy also controls a small dimension and is not an easy existence to deal with, especially since you ruined his plans. You must be careful in the future, in addition to guarding against Dormammu..."
Ancient One admonished Peter like a concerned elder.
But Peter did not wait for her to finish speaking, shaking his head:
"There is no future; Mephisto is already dead."
"What?!" Now Ancient One was truly shocked, then she shook her head repeatedly:
"That is impossible! That demon controls a cosmic dimension that belongs exclusively to him. Although it cannot compare to Dormammu's Dark Dimension, their power in their respective home turfs is similar."
"Theoretically, it is impossible for anyone to kill him within his own domain, and once he is killed in the outside World, he will quickly regenerate in his own domain."
Peter knew well the principle that hearing is believing, but seeing is truth, so he didn't waste words; he simply took out the Underworld Token Hela had given him and slashed it through the void.
The next second, a spatial rift opened beside Ancient One:
"Please, Senior Ancient One."
As he spoke, Peter walked into the rift first. Gwen and Ancient One looked at each other, then followed in Peter's footsteps and walked inside.
Just after walking into the rift, the World before them suddenly opened up.
A desolate hell, where dark green hellfire burned everywhere, presented itself before the two.
"Welcome to Hell!"
Peter said, arrogantly spreading his arms; his expression was as if he were the Master of this dimension.
Just at this moment, Hela, sensing that someone had entered her domain, appeared instantly. The moment she saw Peter, regardless of Ancient One and Gwen's reactions, she came right up and kissed Peter:
"My Queen, why have you come again? Did you miss me?"
"Cough, cough, cough..."
Peter coughed twice in embarrassment, then introduced Hela to Gwen and Ancient One:
"This is Hela, Thor's sister, and currently the Goddess of the Underworld for both Asgard and Earth."
There had always been no secrets between Gwen and Peter; she had known about Peter and Hela's affair early on, so she wasn't jealous. She greeted Hela generously, then teased Peter with a mocking look:
"Nice title, Your Highness Queen."
Peter rolled his eyes helplessly; it seemed this joke wasn't going to go away.
Compared to Gwen, who was still flirting with Peter, Ancient One was truly deeply shocked.
She looked at this so-called hell, sensing that there was no longer even a shred of Mephisto's aura here, and for a moment, she couldn't help but be dazed.
After a long time, she finally recovered from her shock, looked at Peter, and couldn't help but ask with a trembling voice:
"You, how did you do it?"
Peter smiled and answered her questions:
"Actually, the principle is very simple. It's just utilizing Hela and Mephisto's shared authority as Lords of the Underworld to force our way into this Universe and bit by bit plunder all of Mephisto's origin power."
He spoke lightly, but it made the corner of Ancient One's eye twitch wildly.
Is this a method a human could think of?
One can only say that he is worthy of being Mr. The Arbiter, who acts without any taboos.
However, one has to admit that this matter does sound quite promising.
Peter successfully killed Mephisto in Mephisto's hell, which at least showed that he possessed the basic ability to confront Dormammu.
Even if he couldn't find someone to devour Dormammu's authority over the Dark Dimension like he did with Mephisto, at least he could beat Dormammu into submission, making him realize that invading Earth would not have a good outcome.
Is this not also a method to protect Earth?
Even if some accident really happens at that time, she still had the Eye of Agamotto; at worst, she could break the taboo one more time before dying, reversing time back to before they broke into the Dark Dimension, treating it as if this had never happened!
With this thought, Ancient One's resolve also began to waver strongly...
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