Dormammu’s Response

The sun rose over the horizon, bathing the earth in light.

At this hour, the city should normally have already been bustling with activity. But today, Greenwich was utterly silent, without the slightest sound.

In the vast city, only a gentle breeze moved through the streets, lifting scraps of paper, fallen leaves, and other debris to drift about recklessly.

Blood and dismembered bodies were scattered everywhere across the ground.

Last night’s madness had ended. After completing their mission, the Dark Disciples had all gone to assemble at the central square, leaving only corpses strewn across the streets.

Under the effects of the magic array, everyone in the city had lost control the previous night. Once the darkness in the human heart had been stirred up, all kinds of disgusting acts had taken place everywhere.

The city streets were now filled with ruined walls, shattered storefronts, vehicles burned down to their shells, and civilians who had died in all sorts of grotesque ways. Most of this had been the work of ordinary people. They had slaughtered one another, looted and destroyed everything in sight, and far more had died at the hands of their own kind than at the hands of the Dark Disciples.

Without superheroes to stop them, ordinary people were utterly powerless against supernatural forces.

All of these actions had been sealed within the magic array, leaving the outside world almost completely unaware of what had happened.

Even if someone discovered that Greenwich had gone offline, they would only assume that something was wrong with the signal towers. Even viewing the area through satellites would be useless, as the magic barrier around it would deceive them and prevent them from learning what had happened here.

By the time anyone realized something was wrong, Kaecilius’s sacrifice would most likely already be complete. By then, with Dormammu’s magical support, Kaecilius would believe himself capable of crushing everything in his path, even seizing the position of Sorcerer Supreme.

With the Time Stone in his hands, he would fear no one!

In the center of the square, Kaecilius took a deep breath. After calculating the timing, he began his sacrifice to Dormammu.

Decades of effort were finally about to bear fruit. Vishanti’s White Magic could not help him achieve his goal, but Dormammu’s Dark Magic could. Even the Sorcerer Supreme had to rely on Dark Magic to maintain her immortality. As expected, only Dark Magic was truly the strongest!

As Kaecilius steadily injected his magic into the array, waves of red light shone through the completed formation. With them came a bloody stench so vile it made people want to vomit. Yet to the Dark Disciples surrounding the array, the smell was like fine wine, leaving them intoxicated and floating in bliss.

The corpses, organs, blood, and other materials piled within the array gradually melted and blended together, transforming into some strange medium that connected Kaecilius’s magic with Dormammu in another dimension.

As the array operated, wisps of Dark Magic seeped out of the void and merged into it, accelerating its operation while assimilating the surrounding environment. The original urban landscape had now been infiltrated by the Dark Dimension. Rust covered everything, while buildings corroded and crumbled one after another.

The Dark Disciples knelt before the magic array one after another, loudly praising Dormammu’s name as they felt the Dark Magic within their bodies constantly growing.

Ollro was among them. He had been a mage for too short a time, and his foundation was weak. Aside from the basic teleportation portals that he could now use, he could barely cast any other spells. As for the extensive reading required of a mage, he had even less time to complete it.

He had no idea that this magic was borrowed power—a form of high-interest loan that would eventually have to be repaid with his soul.

Kaecilius knew this secret, but he no longer cared, since he wanted to resurrect his wife and child. Moreover, to gain Hydra’s support, he had deliberately kept these matters from Ollro.

Ollro only knew that the magic within him was growing rapidly, and that many spells he had previously been unable to use were now at his fingertips. Overcome with joy, he increased the speed at which he absorbed the power, praising Dormammu even more loudly.

To Hydra, they were all gods anyway. What difference did it make whether the power came from a benevolent god or an evil one? Whoever granted them power was their master!

They were willing to make a deal with the devil for power, so why would worshiping an evil god be any different?

The other Dark Disciples were probably thinking the same way!

A crowd of people joyfully absorbed the Dark Magic granted by Dormammu. Once the magic array reached a certain point and the surrounding magical concentration met the required level, a teleportation channel appeared out of thin air above the array. On the other end of the channel, dense Dark Magic surged forth like a raging tide.

Kaecilius’s spirits soared. They had connected to the Dark Dimension—Dormammu had responded.

On the other side of the teleportation channel, a gigantic eye turned its gaze toward them. The pressure that came with it already left every Dark Disciple struggling to breathe.

"Great Dark Overlord!" Kaecilius called out loudly.

"Your loyal disciple, Kaecilius, has prepared a lavish offering for you here. I hope to receive your attention and favor!"

A thought was transmitted through the teleportation channel and entered Kaecilius’s ears.

"An excellent offering! I can already feel your devotion. What is it you want?"

Kaecilius trembled all over with excitement. "Great Dark Overlord, I wish to resurrect my deceased wife and child!"

"Recreating their bodies and retrieving their souls from the Underworld will not be easy…" Dormammu did not refuse outright, leaving some room for negotiation.

"I will offer you the flesh and souls of this entire city! If that is still not enough, I am willing to offer you this entire world!" Kaecilius shouted fanatically.

A wave of magic rapidly swept through the city, taking in everything within it. Dormammu asked in surprise, "Is Ancient One dead? How could she have allowed you to slaughter an entire city as an offering to me?"

"Too many people have died on Earth recently, and she never intervened. Besides, I used the magic array to blind her eyes. Great Dark Overlord, you can descend here in your true form right now and take control of this planet!"

"Descend in my true form… No need for that. I will gladly accept your gift."

Dormammu said this mildly. Then, no one knew what magic he had used, but the corpses throughout Greenwich suddenly melted into liquid. Together with the blood, they formed several rivers of blood that rushed along the city’s main roads toward the center, pouring into the teleportation channel.

Meanwhile, throughout the city, the souls of the dead bound by the magic array let out shrill screams as they were all sucked into the spatial channel. They were drawn in so quickly that a whirlwind swept through the city, lifting debris from the ground and sending it drifting wildly through the sky.