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Responding to Kaecilius was a surge of immensely pure dark energy.
But the instant the dark energy descended, Kaecilius instantly shed his confusion.
Wrong, wrong!
Oh, right, right, now everything is right!
Empowered by Dormammu, Kaecilius grabbed at the air, and space shattered like dominoes. A blade formed from flowing spatial currents appeared in his hand.
But the moment Gwen threw her second spear of holy light, Kaecilius, with quick reflexes, swung his spatial blade and immediately cleaved the spear in two.
This boosted his confidence significantly, and he couldn't help but sneer:
"Is that it? Is this the successor you've been waiting a thousand years for? This little girl looks far inferior to me."
Seeing his smug expression, Ancient One merely shook her head:
"A frog in a well."
This display of completely disregarding Kaecilius clearly infuriated him:
"Don't give me that look, you selfish, self-serving old hag who steals from the very thing she guards!"
"Just watch, I will kill this so-called successor of yours first, and then I will let you..."
Before he could finish, a golden Spider Web shot out with a whoosh and stuck to his wrist.
Kaecilius was stunned for a moment, instinctively shaking his hand, only to find he couldn't break free at all.
And then...
Whoosh~
His ears were filled with the sound of rushing wind, and he suddenly felt himself flying.
Immediately after, Thud! Thud! Thud!
Gwen pulled on the Spider Web, exerting a little strength in her arms, and swung Kaecilius around like a ragdoll, repeatedly slamming him against the ground.
A tribute to a legendary classic scene: the Hulk Smash.
After slamming Kaecilius a good seventeen or eighteen times, Gwen coldly looked down at him, now swollen like a pig's head, and said:
"If magic hasn't taught you the meaning of respect, then I also know a thing or two about fisticuffs."
Having said that, she turned back to look at Peter. The coldness on her face vanished in an instant, replaced by the pure, bubbly excitement typical of a young girl:
"As expected, this fighting style suits me better~!"
On the ground, black mist surged from Kaecilius's body.
This dark energy rapidly healed his wounds, while also making his thoughts increasingly violent and paranoid:
"It's always like this. You only keep the good things for your own people, and you're always secretive with us outsiders, all while claiming that my will couldn't bear the silent darkness."
Seeing his extremely paranoid state, Ancient One shook her head helplessly:
"Look at where you've ended up now. If you remain obsessed and unrepentant, no one can save you!"
"Shut up!" Kaecilius roared, and suddenly slammed his hand heavily onto the ground.
"I only want to resurrect my wife and daughter, what did I do wrong?"
"If you won't give me what I want, then don't blame me for turning to the darkness just like you!"
Following his strike, the ground rippled like ocean waves.
Space twisted, and gravity reversed.
The entire World seemed to have been flipped upside down, tilting 90 degrees.
Kaecilius had assumed that this maneuver would at least catch Gwen off guard, allowing him to pounce and easily kill the young girl in whom Ancient One placed so much hope.
Unexpectedly, even though the World had reversed by 90 degrees and the walls had become the "ground," the young girl stood there on both feet as if nothing had happened.
She just stared straight at him, her expression seemingly mocking him for even conceiving such a self-humiliating idea.
"Damn it, what kind of magic is this again?"
The infuriated Kaecilius charged at Gwen regardless.
Yet he realized that even though he had run a long distance, the distance to Gwen remained unreachable.
Finally realizing something was wrong, he looked down and discovered that the wall beneath his feet had somehow been shaped by Strange magical structures into stairs resembling a hamster wheel.
No matter how he moved forward, he was always just running in place.
"Just a friendly reminder, this is what magic really is. As for why I can stand here just fine..."
Gwen gave him a faint smile, and her black and white symbiote suit instantly covered her body:
"spider totem, kid!"
At this point, Kaecilius was completely helpless.
Because he finally realized what kind of opponent he was facing.
The opponent wasn't a proper sorcerer at all.
Rather than calling her a sorceress, it would be more accurate to call her a magic warrior!
Facing such a monster, Kaecilius already wanted to retreat, but the will of Dormammu in his mind simply wouldn't allow him to back down.
Controlled, Kaecilius recklessly lunged forward, using all his might to try and grapple with Gwen.
But Gwen acted with absolute composure; she turned her hands, and the Shield of the Seraphim appeared in them.
She steadily blocked Kaecilius's spatial blade, then immediately used her far superior close-combat experience to pin him down completely.
Peter watched Gwen's battle from the side, nodding continuously.
Having been personally taught by Ancient One for three years, Gwen was truly reborn.
She had not only mastered the magic within the book of vishanti and the Book of Cagliostro, but had also elevated the light magic she mastered through her artifact bracers to an almost incredible level.
Kaecilius, a minor villain who, in the original work, could give Strange a headache even without being enhanced by dark energy, was suppressed so thoroughly by Gwen that he couldn't even put up a fight.
Moreover, looking at Gwen, it was clear she wasn't taking it seriously; the entire process was obviously her deliberately holding back just to show off her skills to Peter.
After a dazzling magical brawl, Kaecilius finally lay on the ground.
Gwen glanced at Peter, then, under his gaze which was clearly encouraging, said:
"Kaecilius, I can give you a chance. Open the portal to the Dark Dimension, and I will let you see the true face of Dormammu."
Kaecilius, who had been preparing to close his eyes and await death, couldn't help but open them upon hearing this.
He stared blankly at Gwen, seemingly doubting if this girl had taken the wrong medicine.
What did he hear? This woman was actually planning to face Dormammu directly?
Kaecilius instinctively wanted to sneer, but after glancing at Ancient One on the side, he silently closed his mouth.
Regardless, this was a god-given opportunity.
Since they chose to seek their own deaths, why should he complicate things?
Once they were killed by his great master, and once the Dark Dimension descended upon the World, he would be able to reunite with his wife and daughter!
Thinking of this, Kaecilius nodded instinctively.
He then immediately began the dark ritual.
With the lifting of the seal on the Hong Kong Sanctum and the initiation of the dark ritual, massive cracks rapidly appeared in the sky.
Countless deformed Mindless Ones poured out from within.
But before they could begin to wreak havoc, a storm of cherry blossoms swept past, slicing these monsters into countless fragments in the blink of an eye.
Casually retrieving his Senbonzakura, Peter turned back to look at Gwen, Ancient One, and Hela, and said:
"Let's go, it's time for us to go meet that Dormammu!"