American comics: Starting with Luke the Maker

"This is the power of the Book of Energy! It's far too neglectful to simply store it as a book." Feeling the unprecedented energy within his body, Kaecilius revealed a mad and gleeful smile.

The Book of Energy's form mode has increased the efficiency with which he extracts and utilizes Dormammu's energy by many times. If his efficiency was previously just a drinking straw, sipping some energy from the Dark Dimension bit by bit, then with the form mode assisting him now, it's equivalent to opening a water pipe in the Dark Dimension, continuously releasing a flood of water.

Generally speaking, such a massive influx of energy would cause him to explode from being unable to withstand it. After all, the energy of the Dark Dimension is indeed quite dangerous to mages, and Dormammu, as the master of the Dark Dimension, wouldn't bother wasting effort to purify and filter his power for Kaecilius and his ilk, so they could borrow it more efficiently. Being granted permission to borrow it at all was already a show of respect for him surrendering his soul and everything to Dormammu.

Of course, if it were the Ancient One, Dormammu would be very willing to put in more effort, and the conditions would be negotiable. After all, such a powerful disciple is a hot commodity even among dimensional demon gods, worthy of their wholehearted investment in nurturing, even to the point of discussing the terms of employment nicely. If demon gods are likened to bosses in the human world, and powerhouses like Odin and the Ancient One within a single universe are likened to employees, have you ever seen an employee who can slam the table on the boss, and the boss has to endure and appease them? The Ancient One is at that level. The Scarlet Witch of the future can also be said to be at this level to some extent.

But the Ancient One clearly has no intention of投靠(tou kao) Dormammu. She has the Vishanti behind her, as well as countless other backup options. Dormammu? Who's that?

Even with Dormammu's consideration, the amount of energy extracted from the Dark Dimension by ten Kaeciliuses tied together wouldn't equal one Ancient One. But that was before he was equipped with the Book of Energy.

Now, with the Book of Energy helping him filter, purify, store, and release the power of the Dark Dimension, like a valve, flexibly adjusting and providing the corresponding amount of energy according to his body and needs.

He can mobilize one share of energy himself, but in form mode, he can use the Book of Energy's technology to mobilize ten shares! To put it figuratively, Stark's combat power is not high without wearing the Iron Man suit, but with the Mark suit, his combat power will rapidly increase based on the Mark suit's technology, making it easy to take on a hundred enemies.

For Kaecilius, the various form modes of the Book of Energy are equivalent to Stark's various Mark suits. Yes, self-adapting, compatible, and self-upgrading to drive various dimensional and transcendent versions.

Kaecilius is now equivalent to having an external energy source. He only needs to mobilize one share of energy within his body, and the Book of Energy will naturally help him make up the other shares he wants.

Of course, because of the series of procedures such as self-adaptation, compatibility, upgrades, filtering, purification, and sensing, there will be a significant proportion of loss in the energy supplied to the user, which is understandable.

At least Kaecilius understands it well. He's not some ignorant low-level mage. Even if the Ancient One wants to use the power of the Dark Dimension, she needs to filter out the erosion inherent in dark power and other attributes that distort the user's mental consciousness, as well as bear the inherent losses in the process of converting it into pure magical energy for mages to use.

So even if the Book of Energy's loss rate is somewhat beyond the standard, Kaecilius only considers it to be the due price of use. After all, energy is also needed to drive and supply the Book of Energy's usage, right? The dimensional power of the master is as vast and boundless as the sea, and the amount he consumes is at most a negligible ripple in the seawater.

But this little consumption can allow his strength to rapidly climb to the point where he can fight with the Ancient One. Especially since the form mode also has various magical effects.

A huge array diagram covers the entire floating platform. All foreign dimensional forces within the array diagram will be restricted and reduced, and only the energy continuously stored and converted through the Book of Energy behind him will not be affected.

Transparent, ice-like, irregularly shaped space blades emerge from Kaecilius's hands. In the form mode of the Book of Energy, he has discovered that the surrounding dimensional forces and the magical energy within the Ancient One's body are rapidly decaying. He rushes towards the Ancient One, and the space blade in his hand stabs fiercely towards the Ancient One's body.

The light of magical collisions splashes across the platform. The two figures engage in a fierce and dangerous exchange. The Ancient One seems to be really affected. Under Kaecilius's attack, she retreats step by step. Not only can she not maintain her earlier suppression of Kaecilius, but she even shows signs of being suppressed by Kaecilius.

A surge of surging magical power erupts from between the two of them. Kaecilius, who bears the brunt of the attack, staggers back two steps again, but quickly steadies himself. This time, he appears much more composed about his repeated failures, and even has a hint of surprise.

"It seems you've realized that within this magic-禁魔(jin mo) field, your magical energy will only decrease as you use it. No matter how carefully you calculate, how long can that little bit of energy support you? You should die, Sorcerer Supreme." Kaecilius's gloomy and sinister face adds a bit of chill to his words. He wants to see emotions such as fear, terror, or despair in the face of death on the Ancient One's face, but after observing carefully for several seconds, he can only see the same unchanging calmness from the Ancient One.

Kaecilius once again rushes up with the space blade. This time, he appears far more ferocious and reckless than before, because he has discovered that his current magical resistance and defense are terrifyingly high, and he has a continuous supply of energy to use magic to repair his damaged body. On the contrary, the Ancient One will only become weaker and weaker within the magic-禁魔(jin mo) field. Like a fish that has been stranded on the shore, if it cannot quickly return to the water, it can only struggle weakly to face death.

Kaecilius's current plan is to exchange injuries with the Ancient One as much as possible, and crazily consume her remaining energy and stamina. Time is on his side!

And the development of the battle is gradually confirming his thoughts. The Ancient One is becoming weaker and weaker. In the past, a few moves would often cause him some injuries, or even stagger him and throw him out, but as time goes by, the time she entangles with him in one round is getting longer and longer, and the energy within her body is somewhat unable to keep up.

Kaecilius even senses that the mirror dimension opened by the Ancient One is trembling slightly. The surrounding platform is constantly collapsing. The entire space looks like it's about to fall into doomsday, presenting a sense of desolation.

All of this shows that the Ancient One's energy is on the verge of being completely exhausted, and she is unable to maintain even the mirror dimension.

Kaecilius is overjoyed and intensifies his offensive. Various kinds of magic cooperate with the space blade in his hand to attack the Ancient One, consuming her while also seizing the opportunity to stab the Ancient One's heart.

The nearly transparent space blade cuts through all obstacles, bringing a fatal injury to the Ancient One's heart. Under Kaecilius's ecstatic gaze, the mirror dimension accelerates its collapse. Soon, as the Ancient One's aura becomes weaker and weaker, they can use the portal to break free from the restraints of the mirror dimension and reappear outside the church where they were hiding.

At this time, rotating sparks flash from all around. Kaecilius and his remaining companions, who still want to do something, immediately open the portal and drill into it, sensing that the situation is not good.

When Mordo and the Master Wong arrive with their men, they only see Kaecilius and others disappearing into the portal, and the Ancient One falling in a pool of blood.

This scene shocks their minds, so much so that they have no intention of stopping Kaecilius and his ilk from leaving. They are surprised by the Ancient One's sudden death.

In their minds, the Ancient One is omnipotent and invincible! She is the strongest among all mages, and a formidable character that most dimensional demon gods are troubled by. Her existence is equivalent to the Sorcerer Supreme herself. It can be said that she is the spiritual pillar of all mages! For mages, no matter how bad things get, as long as the Ancient One is still there, they will always have confidence.

They never thought that they would see the scene of the Ancient One's death! The impact of this scene is no less than that of believers seeing their god being killed by heretics in front of them, which is unacceptable.

……

Silent City.

"Is this okay for you? They still seem a little unable to accept your death." What is being replayed in front of Luke is the expression of Master Wong and others surrounding the Ancient One's body, panicked and at a loss.

"They will eventually accept it. I have shouldered the responsibility long enough, and it's time for the next Sorcerer Supreme." The Ancient One's voice suddenly sounds from beside Luke. The Ancient One, in soul form, floats to Luke's left and watches the projected image with him, saying calmly.

"Do you need me to create a new body for you?" Luke turns his head to look at the Ancient One in soul form.

"No, if necessary, I can condense a new body at any time. The following matters should no longer be managed by me." The Ancient One is quite洒脱(sa tuo), and it is obvious that when she says she is letting go, she is completely and unreservedly letting go.

"Then you can go to the Energy Bank. I believe Mephisto will be very happy to see you appear there." Luke smiles with some meaning.

"He probably won't welcome me very much, but will instead think that I'm there to compete with him for power." The Ancient One shrugs indifferently. Anyway, according to her plan, she will not be permanently stationed in the Energy Bank, but will only be responsible for some dimensional affairs. What Mephisto thinks has nothing to do with her.

"Really don't need me to come forward for the rest? Don't need to say goodbye to them or something?" Luke looks at the picture again.

"No need, just tell them after things are resolved." The Ancient One shakes her head. "Later, if things go smoothly on your side, I still have to deal with Dormammu."

"Don't worry, haven't you already found the most suitable future through the Eye of Agamotto? Develop step by step, and what should happen will naturally happen." Luke says softly, sensing the traces of the Book of Energy.

"Peering into the future is not omnipotent, especially when there are powerful forces influencing it in the middle. No one can really be sure how much the power of time can take effect when facing dimensional demon gods." The Ancient One says. As the Sorcerer Supreme's artifact, the Eye of Agamotto should never leave her body, just like Odin's Gungnir and Thor's Mjolnir, but she has not used the power of time from beginning to end this time, and even left the Eye of Agamotto, which never leaves her body, at Kamar-Taj. After she decided to truly step down, it was already the treasure she left for the next Sorcerer Supreme.

……

The door of the New York Sanctum is violently pushed open from the outside, and Kaecilius, still in Asgardian form mode, strides in with his men.

The mages left behind, except for those providing support, have just stood up when Kaecilius uses the power of magic-禁魔(jin mo) to seal the circulation of their energy, and then uses space blades and magic to solve the opponents in three strokes.

"We don't have much time. After destroying the nexus of the enchantment, we must leave before they come back and destroy at least one other enchantment." Kaecilius shakes off the mage's blood stained on the space blade, dispels the magic-禁魔(jin mo) field, and orders his subordinates.

Following Kaecilius, the several mages who have been deeply eroded by Dormammu's power and whose souls can no longer escape the Dark Dimension immediately walk towards the nexus of the enchantment. Under the magical knowledge violently instilled by Dormammu, they know how to use destruction and stop the operation of the enchantment.

Soon, one of the impregnable three enchantments begins to flicker like a bad contact. But because of the Trinity, the three enchantments are interconnected and supported, so the destroyed enchantment can still exist for a period of time. If it undergoes emergency maintenance and repair during this period, it can quickly return to normal.

But Kaecilius knows that as long as he destroys another one, the enchantment's fragility will not be able to stop Dormammu's long-awaited intrusion. He only needs to destroy any other enchantment now to welcome his master. At that time, even if the Ancient One is resurrected, it will be of no avail in the face of Dormammu. Everyone will be able to enjoy eternal life under Dormammu's power.

"Quick, don't get entangled with them." Sensing new magical teleportation fluctuations appearing nearby, before the Master Wong and his party who have returned can walk out of the opened portal, Kaecilius leads his men towards the next enchantment's Sanctum without looking back.