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Strange felt guilty under his gaze and quickly changed the subject.
"Teacher, I leave the Ancient One in your hands."
"I must rush back to the New York Sanctum immediately! Kaecilius could return at any moment, and with its defenses currently empty, I cannot stay away for long."
Having said that, he didn't give Homelander a chance to continue questioning him.
His right hand traced a circle rapidly; amidst flickering sparks, a Portal opened.
Strange dived in and disappeared from the rooftop.
Homelander watched the closing Portal, deep in thought.
The current situation seemed even more complex than he had imagined.
Homelander pulled back his thoughts and fixed his gaze on the unconscious Ancient One.
The Sorcerer Supreme's breathing was already very weak, and the penetrating wound on her abdomen was shocking to behold.
He picked up the Ancient One and casually opened a Portal.
Behind the door was the Vought Advanced Medical Center.
Homelander strode into the Portal.
Inside the medical center, several senior medical staff in white coats were checking patient records.
The sudden appearance of the Portal caused all their gazes to turn toward it.
When they saw clearly that the man walking out of the door was the one wearing the stars and stripes cape, the man they had been longing for day and night.
"Good heavens... it's Homelander!"
Upon hearing those words, the previously hurried footsteps in the hall instantly stopped; all the Doctors, Nurses, and security personnel froze in place.
"Oh my god! It's the boss!"
"Homelander is okay!!"
"The boss is finally back!"
An irrepressible exclamation erupted from the crowd, and ecstatic joy appeared on everyone's face, uncontrollable.
The dark clouds, rumors, and panic of the past few weeks were completely shattered the moment that red and blue figure appeared again.
Medical staff and patients instinctively straightened their backs; this was Vought's pillar of support, the invincible symbol of Earth.
Homelander smiled in response to their excitement while simultaneously issuing instructions.
"Prepare for emergency treatment. Use Vought's best technology to save her life."
"Yes! Boss!" The medical director, as if injected with adrenaline, responded loudly and excitedly.
"I'll go push the highest-spec life support pod over right now!"
The entire medical center instantly became like a precision machine wound up tight, operating with unprecedented efficiency.
Everyone wore an unhideable smile on their faces, their steps light and full of energy.
As long as Homelander is here, there is someone to hold up the sky if it falls.
...
London, St. Mary's Cathedral.
In the dim cathedral hall, a Portal opened.
Kaecilius stumbled out of it.
Recalling the scene from a few minutes ago still left him with lingering fear.
What had he seen in the Mirror Dimension just now?
That Doctor wizard named Strange did not flee when faced with the siege of numerous Mindless Ones of Dormammu.
Strange energy light erupted from his eyes and mouth, like a bottomless black hole, directly sucking all the Mindless Ones into his body!
This completely defied Kaecilius's understanding of magic.
He had traveled for many years and studied countless forbidden ancient books, but he had never heard of such a horrifying magic that could swallow Mindless Ones alive.
At that moment, out of instinctive fear, he had immediately opened a Portal and fled back to St. Mary's Cathedral.
"Damn it..." Kaecilius gritted his teeth and cursed in a low voice.
He steadied his breathing; Strange's unexpected change did not mean he had completely lost.
The Ancient One was dead, Homelander was missing, and The Glory Society's biochemical army was launching a full-scale attack on the Hong Kong Sanctum.
He would absolutely not let such a once-in-a-millennium opportunity slip by.
Kaecilius strode toward the cathedral's Underground Room. His last remaining followers were gathered there.
Seeing Kaecilius appear, the zealots stood up one after another.
"Mentor, has the New York Sanctum been taken?" a subordinate asked.
Kaecilius replied with a triumphant smile: "My brothers... the Ancient One is dead, and those hypocritical Guardians have met their end."
"But victory does not fully belong to us yet."
He walked straight to the altar in the center of the Underground Room and pressed his hands onto the cold stone slab.
"We need more power; Dormammu is waiting for us to summon him. Are you ready to welcome eternal life?"
The zealots, out of fanatical devotion, obediently gathered around and stood in a circle around the altar.
They lowered their heads and began to chant, dark energy gathering beneath their feet to form complex geometric patterns.
"Time is a tyrant... it brings death, it brings decay; only Dormammu can grant us Eternity."
The light of the magic circle became increasingly blinding, and iridescent black energy turned into mist, permeating around the zealots.
But this was not a prayer circle.
Kaecilius suddenly slapped his hands heavily onto the altar.
"Your sacrifice will forge Eternity!"
The zealots suddenly let out painful screams; the patterns beneath their feet turned into chains, tightly binding their ankles.
The energy mist turned into sharp blades, piercing into their bodies and crazily draining their life force.
"Lord Kaecilius... what is this..." a zealot looked in horror at his own shriveled arm.
"This is your honor," Kaecilius replied to them expressionlessly.
Screams echoed in the Underground Room.
The bodies of these zealots shriveled at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Their life force turned into pure dark energy, pouring continuously into Kaecilius's body.
"Ah—!"
Kaecilius tilted his head back and let out a painful roar.
This power was too immense, exceeding the limits of his body's endurance.
He did not hesitate to sacrifice half of his own life force to widen the magic circuits within his body, forcibly accommodating this dark energy.
The immense energy caused his skin to crack, black veins bulged on his cheeks, and his pupils turned into pure pitch black.
His body was on the verge of collapse, but he didn't care.
As long as he opened the Dark Dimension, the great Dormammu would grant him a brand-new body and true eternal life.
...
Lai Chi Kok Road, Mong Kok, Kowloon, Hong Kong.
The streets were ablaze with fire, and explosions rang out one after another.
The once-prosperous urban area was filled with ruins and broken walls.
But thanks to the timely reinforcements from the V.G.D. Headquarters heroes, the battle situation had been rapidly reversed.
Although the biochemical warrior legion sent by The Glory Society was well-equipped and tireless, they became NPCs in a mowing game when facing numerous superhumans with diverse abilities.
And although the zealots had powerful magic, once the heroes became familiar with their combat style, they also found ways to deal with them.
In mid-air, dozens of hummingbird drones shuttled flexibly across the battlefield, their high-definition cameras broadcasting the live combat situation to audiences around the World.
In front of big screens, in bars, and in family living rooms across the globe, countless people were watching the status of the battle, cheering loudly for every counterattack by the heroes.
In front of the gate of the Hong Kong Sanctum, Wong the Sorcerer watched the retreating enemies and let out a long sigh of relief.
The main body of the Sanctum was intact, and the defensive line had held.
...
Washington D.C., White House.
Galactic President Ellis, watching the footage coming from the front lines, finally eased his tense heart.
He walked to the wine cabinet and took out a bottle of vintage champagne.