Awaken, Usaless

"Hmm?" Evenson, who was presiding over the magic array, frowned and looked up at the enormous portal in the sky. "The Cosmic Cube’s energy output has become disconnected from the portal’s rate of expansion."

Others might not have noticed, but breaking through spatial barriers and establishing large-scale or even gigantic permanent portals was a Sorcerer’s bread and butter. Evenson therefore keenly sensed that the portal opened by the Cosmic Cube had been expanding more and more slowly, until just now, when it had stopped expanding altogether.

Yet the Cosmic Cube’s energy output remained steady. If this had happened, some other factor must have interfered.

"Those mages?" Evenson looked again toward the New York Sanctum. Sure enough, astonishing magical fluctuations were emanating from there. "But those third-rate mages couldn’t possibly achieve this." Evenson narrowed his eyes. "Has she come…? Hmph. After this is over, it’ll be time to meet her."

Within The Order of Mages, even their strongest members were worlds apart from the Sorcerer Supreme, Ancient One. That was because only Ancient One cultivated true Magic, while the others had merely learned a little of its surface.

It was not that Ancient One was selfish, afraid that teaching her disciples would leave her without a livelihood. It was simply because the path of true Magic was far too dangerous. The true Magic she wielded was not the arcane path used by the mages of Azeroth, but the drawing of energy from the Dark Dimension for her own use.

Rather than mages, those who cultivated this way were more similar to Azeroth’s Shadow Priests, who drew power from the Void.

But what became of those priests? A single misstep could leave their bodies warped beyond recognition, turning them into slaves of the Void, or drive them mad with the whispers within it. Even those strong-willed enough to temporarily control the power of the Void might suddenly die from becoming too intoxicated by that immense power in battle, or from using it improperly.

The Dark Dimension was likely a subsidiary realm attached beneath the Void, but it was scarcely any less dangerous. That was why Ancient One truly did not believe teaching these things to her disciples would be a good thing, and the appearance of those traitors only further solidified that belief.

"The portal has stopped."

"As expected of the Sorcerer Supreme…"

When the Sorcerer Supreme acted, the results were naturally extraordinary. The situation stabilized the moment she made her move, and the mages all breathed a sigh of relief.

"Don’t let your guard down…" Ancient One’s hands did not stop moving as she constantly adjusted her spell. Orange magical radiance illuminated her face, making the faint violet in her eyes less noticeable. "The artifact that opened that portal is no simple thing."

Ancient One was irritated as well. The Asgardians had not come to Earth for over a thousand years, yet the moment they did, they caused such a huge mess. If she were not tied down right now, she would definitely teach that antlered fellow a proper lesson.

"Sorcerer Supreme," Olivann said at that moment. "How should we deal with that dark wizard? Please give us your instructions."

As Evenson’s ritual progressed, the aura emanating from it made Olivann’s heart palpitate. Being able to oversee the New York Sanctum meant he was not someone lacking self-awareness. Though he hated to admit it, he knew he was likely no match for that dark wizard. Pride did not mean stupidity, and that dark wizard had clearly transcended the realm of ordinary mortals.

Now that the big boss had arrived, he followed his instincts and lodged his complaint. Since the situation had stabilized, perhaps when the old master had the time, she could hurry up and take care of that monster.

Ancient One looked toward Evenson. Her magical attainments far surpassed Olivann’s, so she could see much more. He was exceedingly dangerous, but… he did not seem to be an enemy.

She saw quite a few Chitauri attack Evenson, and she also saw Evenson’s subordinates mercilessly beat those alien humanoids half to death before throwing them into the magic array. "Leave him alone for now."

Ancient One was not only powerful, but broad-minded as well. Honestly, it was rather ironic that the most open-minded person in the entire Order was this oldest antique.

Then again, those who were arrogant because of their talent and believed themselves superior were usually fools with only half a bucket of water. Someone like her, with rich life experience and having witnessed the rise and fall of history, was better able to tolerate everything.

Moreover, she herself used power that had been defined as evil. Thus, she was extremely curious about this person who, like her, used evil power yet stood on the same side. "After this is over, I’ll meet him myself."

Evenson was chanting under his breath, and the sound of his staff striking the ground followed a rhythm. His magical ritual was proceeding very… poorly.

The quality of these sacrifices is far too terrible. They’re practically worse than ordinary humans, Evenson complained inwardly.

At first, Evenson had thought the souls of five Chitauri would be enough, but he had not expected their souls to be incomplete, containing only one-third of what an ordinary human possessed.

Under normal circumstances, the quality of the soul and body should be roughly equal. A deficiency in one would inevitably lead to a flaw in the other. Since the Chitauri’s souls were like this, there was only one possibility. These things aren’t a normal species at all. They must be manufactured weapons of war.

Since their quality was poor, he could only make up for it with quantity. Fortunately, Chitauri were everywhere now, making them easy to find. Some even crawled over here to offer up their heads without knowing any better.

"Almost there…" As more and more Chitauri were thrown into the magic array by Tyler and the others, the number of souls gradually reached the required amount.

"Awaken!"

"Awaken!"

"Awaken, Usaless!" Evenson shouted in Demonic Language.

For some reason, perhaps because Usaless had been left in his backpack for too long, it had actually entered a dormant state. Thus, before he could use it, Evenson had to wake it up first.

Following Evenson’s cry, a dazzling red light flashed across the scythe’s blade, and a terrifying presence surged into the sky. Even Ancient One could no longer remain calm. She felt that when she went to find this dark wizard, she ought to be more cautious.

A great deal of red blood mist spilled out from the scythe and gathered in the center of the magic array, gradually forming a huge figure.

"Hahaha." A hearty laugh rang out.

When the blood mist finished condensing, the phantom of a gigantic Fel Lord appeared before everyone. That posture of his… it truly was… sigh.

"The Holy Light will dirty you to death! Watch me raid your home… huh?" The Fel Lord was sitting cross-legged on the ground, one hand holding a fan of cards raised high, ready to slam them down. But he suddenly realized that the surrounding scene was wrong, then blankly turned his head to look at Evenson.

Evenson stared back at him with an equally baffled expression.