Magicians

Compared to the Demon God Believers, the righteous side looked even stranger. At least the Demon God Believers dressed similarly, making it obvious at a glance that they were up to no good. But the righteous side wore all kinds of things.

Medieval armor, magic robes, suits, long dresses, even work uniforms—it was a complete mishmash. What they talked about was equally bizarre.

"It’s finally starting. I took ten days off. If it didn’t start soon, I’d have to go back to work."

A man in a suit said, "Taking leave is too hard. That damned boss keeps blocking my vacation requests. If I didn’t have kids to support and couldn’t quit, I’d definitely report him."

"I’m doing all right. I opened a little shop myself, so it doesn’t matter if I close for a few days. It’s just that business is hard these days. Technology’s developing too fast. Everyone’s used to shopping online now, and nobody comes to physical stores anymore."

A fat man in casual clothes sighed. "I heard delivery robots will be widely introduced soon. If that happens, my shop will probably go bankrupt."

Someone echoed, "It’s too hard. Everything keeps advancing except my salary. Those Super Heroes are awful. Why do they have to develop things so fast?"

"Hey, are you people really here to vanquish evil and uphold justice?"

A Magician in a robe asked unhappily, "Also, I remember your ancestors all belonged to famous magic families. How did you end up like this?"

"Because we’re poor. Practicing magic consumes enormous amounts of money. Ever since Kamar-Taj established the Defense Net, magical energy has dropped sharply. The investment required for magic has greatly increased, while the returns have plummeted. At first, we could barely maintain things, but after several generations, we went bankrupt."

The fat man spread his hands. "Descendants like us basically only know a few little tricks."

"That’s right."

The man in the suit took a short wand as long as his forearm from his bag and said, "If this hadn’t involved the survival of the world, I wouldn’t have brought the Sacred Object left behind by my ancestors to New York."

After a pause, the man in the suit continued, "There isn’t much energy left in this wand. This will probably be its last battle. Afterward, my family will be completely erased from the magical world."

Silence fell inside the bus. In truth, everyone’s circumstances were similar—after Kamar-Taj sealed off the world and gave humanity freedom, the decline of magic families had become inevitable.

"It’s all because Kamar-Taj is too overbearing. Not only did they seal off the world, they also forbade us from interfering in mortal affairs. Otherwise, how could we have fallen so low?"

One Magician complained bitterly, "In the Middle Ages, magicians had everything they wanted. They never needed to worry about money. They were practically gods."

Several people nodded in agreement, but some objected. For example, the fat man who had been complaining earlier said, "Kamar-Taj was right. If they hadn’t sealed off the world, how could we have today’s brilliant civilization?

"I may hate online shopping, but if I had to choose, I’d definitely choose the modern world."

"Exactly. What was so good about the Middle Ages? No movies, no entertainment, no television, not even toilets."

The man in the suit nodded as well. "Besides, magicians are human too. They’re not some damned gods. Humanity doesn’t need gods."

"That’s right. We’re human."

Quite a few people nodded. The Magician who had spoken earlier snorted disdainfully. These people had all fallen.

"I heard there’s a Magician from Kamar-Taj in the hospital. Looks like Kamar-Taj has fallen too. Not only are they refusing to eliminate the Demon King’s reincarnation, they’re even helping evil."

The Magician rolled his eyes and proposed, "Everyone, it’s time to establish new rules for the magical world. For instance, open the Defense Net and restore the golden age of magic."

Many people frowned. Just as they were about to argue, a golden ring of light showering sparks suddenly appeared beneath the Magician’s feet. Then a powerful suction force came, and the Magician was pulled straight inside.

The ring rapidly shrank and vanished, as if nothing had happened.

"A Kamar-Taj portal?"

Everyone cried out and turned toward the caster. They discovered a mysterious Magician dressed in yellow with his face covered.

The mysterious Magician did not respond to anyone. He sat with his eyes closed as if resting. No one dared ask further questions, though they all began to ponder.

"It seems Kamar-Taj is divided internally over the Demon King’s reincarnation."

This was undoubtedly good news for them. If Kamar-Taj insisted on protecting the Demon King’s reincarnation, they could only go home and sleep.

"Kamar-Taj won’t intervene."

The Grand Elder watched everything coldly and said, "My Lord and the Demon Kings of Hell will both send people to hold back the Blood God and Kamar-Taj. This time, it is only a matter of the mortal world. Gods and demons will not enter the fray."

"That’s good."

Everyone breathed sighs of relief. They did not dare truly face the Blood God. That man had even killed gods.

Meanwhile, Wang Bert’s projection was drinking tea with Ancient One. Wang Bert boiled the water, rinsed the tea, and poured it with smooth, practiced movements. He was clearly an old tea drinker.

"Not bad. Your technique has improved."

Ancient One took a sip of tea and said in satisfaction. Wang Bert smiled. "My technique hasn’t improved. The tea leaves are simply better. I specially set aside a place on a Resource Star to grow tea."

"Too extravagant."

Ancient One shook his head and said, "Three gods who don’t know their place have arrived. Aren’t you planning to act?"

"No. I’m resting this time. The main body can go loosen up."

A cold gleam flashed through Wang Bert’s eyes. "They come every single time. Do they really think Earth is a soft target? This time, none of those three will be going back."

"You still need to kill a chicken to scare the monkeys. Once enough are killed, they’ll naturally stop coming to our door."

Ancient One looked calm and detached, but his words were exceptionally ruthless. Wang Bert smiled faintly. If he did not kill a few gods, why would he be called the Sorcerer Supreme?

Outside the hospital, the convoys of the righteous and the Demon God Believers arrived almost simultaneously. Then everyone got out as fast as they could and began vomiting.

Yes, vomiting. It stank so badly here that it was a hundred times worse than a clogged sewer.

"Quick, cast Gale Spell and Air Freshening Spell!"

Someone immediately shouted. Several magicians took out their wands and cast spells. At the same time, the Demon God Believers scattered seeds over the nearby grass. Soon, the seeds broke through the soil and bloomed into flowers that looked incredibly bewitching.

These were Blood Flowers nurtured with human blood. They emitted a peculiar fragrance that made people unable to stop smelling them. Many Demon God Believers liked to grow a few at home because it looked classy.

With the Blood Flowers blooming and the earlier spells in effect, the stench was quickly covered up, and the surrounding area returned to normal.

"Finally, we survived."

The righteous people and the Demon God Believers both sighed in relief. Then, while separating into two clearly distinct camps, they cursed loudly at the hospital. "You’re too despicable! Using such a disgusting tactic!"

"As if you’re any less despicable?"

Tony Stark flew out in his armor with a group of Super Heroes. He swept his gaze across the enemy forces and frowned slightly. Over a hundred righteous people, more than three hundred Demon God Believers, plus spies hidden nearby and special human organizations—this battle would not be easy.

"This is seriously screwed up."

Tony ignored the Demon God Believers and loudly questioned the righteous side. "Since you’re magicians representing justice, why are you trying to kill my son?"

"I’ve said it many times. We are doing this to protect the world."

The Grand Elder said righteously, "Tony Stark, as long as you are willing to give up the Demon King’s Son, I can apologize with my life. In addition, we will help you deal with these Demon God Believers. Not one will be left alive."

The considerably aged Holy Light Warriors shouted together, "You can have our lives too!"

The Demon God Believers sneered. One of them shouted, "Do you think we’re afraid of you? Once the Demon King descends, all of you will die!"

The magicians had no intention of risking their lives. The man in the suit said, "Iron Man, you’re a Super Hero. You should save the world."

Tony shouted, "My son will not bring disaster upon the world. The Blood God and Kamar-Taj can guarantee that."

No one in the magical world cared about Tony’s reputation, so he could only invoke the Blood God and Kamar-Taj as guarantors. Still, those two carried some weight, and quite a few magicians began to waver.

"The Blood God is a Vampire. He cannot be trusted."

Seeing this, the Grand Elder hurriedly shouted, "As for Kamar-Taj, if the Sorcerer Supreme comes in person, I will leave immediately. But I cannot trust anyone else. Kamar-Taj has had traitors before."

Strange’s face darkened. Wasn’t that obviously referring to him?

However, Strange did not refute it, both because he disdained to and because he had little prestige in the magical world.

"The Blood God can’t be trusted?"

Tony was extremely disdainful. "What right do angels who collude with demons have to say that?

"Hmph. I’m saying all this not because I fear you, but because I don’t want to hurt good people. But if you truly intend to harm my child, don’t blame me for being ruthless. A father can do anything for his child."

The magicians hesitated. At that moment, several screams suddenly rang out from afar. Then a Fake Nose Demon God Believer flew over, carrying more than a dozen people in Black Qi.

It was worth mentioning that the candidate was among those dozen people. Unwilling to accept defeat, he had wanted to continue his speech, only to be captured by the Demon God Believers. As for the others, some were bodyguards and some were reporters.

After the Fake Nose Demon God Believer flew over, he was just about to act arrogantly when he noticed that everyone was keeping far away from him, their faces full of disgust.

The reason was simple: the candidate reeked—Quicksilver had directly thrown a Stink Bomb onto him.

The Fake Nose Believer asked unhappily, "What’s wrong with you people? These are hostages I worked hard to capture."

One Believer cursed, "Can’t you smell how bad they stink? Hurry up and throw those things away."

"My sense of smell was sacrificed long ago. You people are truly useless. You can’t even endure a little stink."

The Fake Nose Believer looked at them with contempt. Everyone snorted at once. That was not a little stink.

The Fake Nose Believer could not be bothered to say more. He shouted toward Tony Stark inside the Defense Shield, "Iron Man, open the Defense Shield immediately and hand over the reincarnated Demon King. Otherwise, I’ll kill him right now."

As he spoke, the Fake Nose Believer wrapped the terrified candidate in Black Qi and continued shouting, "This is one of your American candidates, practically a president-in-waiting. A genuine big shot."

"A candidate?"

Tony blinked and sneered. "Hmph, even if I gave you a hundred times the courage, you wouldn’t dare kill a candidate. If you kill him, you’ll become an enemy of America. America will never let you go."

"You say I don’t dare?"

The Fake Nose Believer became enraged. Black Qi wrapped around the candidate’s neck and constricted sharply. The candidate immediately cried out in agony, his hands and feet flailing wildly like a huge Toad.

Tony said arrogantly, "You think that can scare me? You absolutely don’t dare kill him. No one dares offend the great America."

The Super Heroes looked at one another. They had not expected Iron Man to be this kind of person. Could he really do something like this? Did he even have a conscience? Why had he not invited them to join in? The next second, Wind Demon shouted as well, "That’s right! You definitely don’t dare kill him. I’ll bet you—if you dare kill him, I’ll become a vegetarian from now on."

"You definitely don’t dare kill him. He’s a president-in-waiting, a big shot who can make America shake three times with a stomp of his foot."

Electro and the others shouted as well. Spider-Man blinked and asked quietly, "Isn’t this a little inappropriate?"

Harry said with a straight face, "You have to believe in America’s strength. He definitely won’t dare kill a candidate."

Spider-Man wanted to roll his eyes. Outside, the Fake Nose Believer was furious. He roared, "I’ll show you whether I dare kill him or not!"

With that, the Fake Nose Believer controlled the Black Qi and viciously tightened it around the candidate’s neck. The candidate struggled desperately, but it was completely useless. His large face grew redder and redder, and he looked as if he were about to die.

Just as Tony and the others were preparing to pop champagne in celebration, a green beam came whistling over and severed the Black Qi. The candidate fell to the ground with a smack, his pants covered in an unknown liquid, making the stench around them even worse.

The Fake Nose Believer turned and glared furiously at Viper. "What do you mean by that? Were you scared by America?"

"Idiot."

Viper looked disdainful. He did not even realize he was being used. She could not be bothered to explain. Green Qi enveloped the remaining dozen or so people as she shouted, "Tony Stark, hand over the Demon King’s reincarnation. Otherwise, I’ll kill these people, then lead everyone into the city for a massacre."

"Kamar-Taj will not allow such a thing."

Strange rapidly formed hand seals, intending to pull the dozen hostages into the Mirror Dimension. At that moment, the mysterious magician cast a spell as well. Two waves of magic collided, and both magicians vanished at the same time.

"You’re a Magician from Kamar-Taj?"

Strange stared at the mysterious Magician and shouted angrily, "You actually dare betray Kamar-Taj?"

"I haven’t betrayed Kamar-Taj. You are the ones who betrayed Kamar-Taj."

The mysterious Magician shouted, "Not only have you refused to kill the Demon King’s reincarnation, you are protecting him instead. Is this still Kamar-Taj? I came today to set things right and uncover the darkness within Kamar-Taj."

"Kamar-Taj may be overbearing, but it has never indiscriminately killed innocents."

Strange said coldly, "Who exactly are you? Surrender immediately, or don’t blame me for showing no mercy."

"You? I’d like to see what makes you worthy of serving as acting Sorcerer Supreme."

The mysterious Magician shouted with envy. Then he formed a magical whip and lashed it fiercely toward Strange.

Strange condensed a golden magical shield to block the whip. Then he pulled back with his left hand, rapidly dragging the space occupied by the mysterious Magician toward himself.