The move Dormammu unleashed
was effortlessly broken by Karl.
Dormammu was thoroughly shocked.
But Thanos let out a mocking laugh instead.
"Dormammu, this is the power of a dimensional demon?"
"I'm trash? Then what does that make you?"
"Do you want me to step in and help you?"
Thanos sneered.
"Shut up, you piece of trash."
"Watch me peel this brat apart with my own hands!"
Dormammu shot Thanos an enraged glare.
Compared with Thanos,
Dormammu was even more arrogant.
As an energy lifeform that had existed since ancient times, he had always looked down on everything.
Nothing was worthy of his notice.
Now, not only had he failed to kill Karl with a single move, he was even being mocked by Thanos. It was both humiliating and infuriating.
"Sorcerer, you have successfully provoked my wrath."
"I will take you back to the Dark Dimension."
"And then I will make you wail there for all eternity."
Dormammu spoke coldly.
The powerful force of darkness began to stir.
That terrifying power, drawn directly from the Dark Dimension, made everyone present feel their souls tremble.
Several members of the Avengers immediately revealed expressions of horror.
Hulk was so frightened that he reverted straight back to Bruce Banner.
Even Tony Stark, who had always remained calm, now had an ugly look on his face.
What kind of power was this?
Why had all the instruments in his armor failed?
And what was that fear rising from deep inside him?
Could Sorcerer Karl really stop it?
Tony Stark was deeply worried.
And just as that worry peaked,
Dormammu moved.
Behind him, it was as if a domain of darkness had appeared.
An almost endless power connected itself to Dormammu's body.
A savage grin spread across his face.
He opened his mouth.
A deep-purple energy beam, as thick as a man's torso, shot straight out from his mouth.
That energy beam surged like crashing waves, like a tidal catastrophe.
Before the beam itself even arrived,
the overwhelming pressure had already crushed toward Karl.
For a moment, even the air was forced violently downward.
The surrounding atmosphere became so heavy it was almost suffocating.
The spiritual oppression, combined with the compression caused by the sheer force of that energy,
made the Avengers feel their breathing hitch.
Could an attack like this
really be blocked?
Several Avengers were tense to the extreme.
Yet Karl's expression did not change in the slightest.
He even yawned out of boredom.
Only when the purple beam was about to reach him
did Karl finally move.
He raised one hand and pointed forward.
Mysterious magical runes appeared.
Seven rings of different colors manifested one after another.
In the end, they fused into a red shield that floated before Karl, radiating an enigmatic aura.
Boom!
A deafening blast rang out.
The purple energy beam slammed directly into the red shield.
Its immense power erupted in full.
And yet—
Karl stood there like a towering mountain.
Let the storm come; he remained unmoved.
That overwhelmingly powerful energy could do absolutely nothing to him.
He did not even retreat half a step.
The small red round shield before him, clearly no larger than half a meter across, seemed to contain an inconceivable might.
"He blocked it..."
Tony Stark could not help but let out a breath.
He truly did not dare imagine
what would have happened if that attack had not been stopped.
They probably would have ended up like those wrecked remains—erased from existence on the spot.
Tony Stark had just relaxed a little when Baron Mordo spoke up beside him.
"There's also a higher application of laws involved here."
"Look at Dormammu's expression."
Tony Stark turned to look at Dormammu.
Although Dormammu's skin had never been a normal color to begin with, Tony could still tell that his face looked terrible.
And in truth, that was exactly the case.
Karl blocking his attack was not what surprised him.
If Karl did not even have that much strength, he would never have forced Thanos to call for help.
But—
that shield of the boy's was radiating a dense field of the Dark Dimension.
The power he had fired out
had been directly erased and nullified by those pure laws.
It was as if the energy had never landed an attack at all.
He was shaken to the core.
What exactly was wrong with this boy?
Why was a Kamar-Taj sorcerer so skilled in the use of the Law of Darkness?
Did the Ancient One know about this?
Had the world gone mad?
Fine, a Kamar-Taj sorcerer comprehending the Law of Darkness was already outrageous enough—
but his proficiency was actually on the same level as Dormammu's.
How was that reasonable?
Dormammu's shock was mixed with grievance.
He felt as sick as if he had swallowed a dead fly.
This brat was a monster. His talent was absurd beyond belief.
It got to the point that Dormammu could not even use the follow-up moves he had prepared.
In the end, all he could do was let out a furious snort.
"So the sorcerers of Kamar-Taj have also comprehended the Law of Darkness."
"The Ancient One truly trained you well."
"Pretending to be righteous on the surface while doing this kind of thing behind the scenes. What a bunch of hypocrites."
The mockery on Dormammu's face was practically written in bold.
Karl only laughed lightly when he heard that, then said,
"Why can't the sorcerers of Kamar-Taj comprehend the Law of Darkness?"
"Darkness and light are both part of the natural order."
"Are you the only one allowed to understand it, while we are forbidden?"
"As for you—you've occupied the Dark Dimension for all these years, devouring who knows how many powerful beings. You're a real piece of work."
When it came to verbal sparring,
Dormammu was no match for Karl.
After only a few exchanges,
Dormammu was already so furious he was practically hopping with rage.
"You damned sorcerer, I will make sure you die without even a grave to lie in!"
Dormammu roared angrily.
"Powerless rage."
"You get mad after just a few words."
"And you call yourself the Lord of the Dark Dimension. Tsk."
Karl's tone was calm.
But it was precisely because of that calmness that Dormammu felt his fury explode, to the point he nearly lost his mind.
He was the mighty ruler of the Dark Dimension, a great dimensional demon.
When had he ever suffered such humiliation?
"Go die!"
Dormammu bellowed.
The terrifying power of darkness erupted violently.
The surrounding space seemed to begin twisting.
In an instant,
a flash of black light appeared.
And in the air, two enormous spheres suddenly formed out of nowhere.
Those spheres looked like some hideous infection, grotesque in appearance and warped beyond measure.
Yet—
they carried an indescribable distortion.
No.
A distorted will.
One glance at them was enough to make a person feel that something inside their heart had been twisted.
As though some dark thing was beginning to grow within them.
The sorcerers behind Karl and the members of the Avengers all hurriedly lowered their heads, not daring to look.
And just then,
those spheres came crashing toward Karl...
(End of Chapter)
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