New York, which had never been particularly peaceful, was gradually becoming more chaotic. People slowly realized that the area around the Weyland skyscraper was actually one of the safer places. As long as the Xenomorphs didn't kill indiscriminately, their presence patrolling at night somehow provided the greatest sense of security.
Some people who frequently used binoculars to observe every floor of the Weyland skyscraper through its glass windows often caught glimpses of Xenomorph figures moving inside. This further confirmed that Xenomorphs were scattered across every level of the building.
Gradually, some of Adam's admirers had mustered the courage to consider settling in the surrounding area.
Weyland was also continuously hiring construction crews to build extensively around the area... of course, all legally. This could be bought with money. Not to mention that with Adam's power, simply asking for some surrounding land meant certain people wouldn't dare refuse. Moreover, Adam possessed something money couldn't buy: extended lifespan.
Countless people were eyeing the Xenomorphs, wanting to obtain them to secure a stable supply of secretions for developing longevity drugs. Unfortunately, no one had succeeded yet.
Even if they took risks to hunt lone Xenomorphs, success was rare. They could only face the Xenomorphs' desperate fight to the death, watching helplessly as many skilled operatives were corroded by sprayed blood, their bodies mutilated, dying miserably on the spot.
Capture alive? Impossible. Unless Adam specifically ordered it, Xenomorphs would fight to the bitter end or commit suicide. There was no concept of retreat or surrender.
However, people gradually discovered that Adam's forces had achieved far higher live-capture efficiency during hunts than ever before.
This was completely different from the past.
In the past, even when hunting vampires, it was always a bloodbath with severed limbs everywhere. To prevent vampires from resisting or committing suicide, the Xenomorphs would first remove their limbs, bringing back only living heads and torsos for parasitization.
Now it was different.
Because Adam's faction had gained a psychic master called Druig, they no longer needed to go through such trouble.
When Elektra and Daredevil walked out of the Weyland skyscraper, discussing how to find Stick, they saw a neat line of people approaching. Only a few Xenomorphs were scattered on the sides of the procession, escorting them.
"These are all vampires, right? How did they end up like this…"
"Look at the fangs at their mouths. They must be vampires. Did they lose their minds and voluntarily surrender to Adam?"
"These people's eyes look completely dazed, like they've been scared senseless. I've never seen vampires like this before... and so many of them."
Many people whispered among themselves.
Thanks to Adam, the existence of vampires in this world was no longer a secret. The citizens weren't blind. They saw the Xenomorphs that appeared and disappeared throughout New York every day.
Even gods and superhumans had been repeatedly defeated and captured by Adam. Hunting vampires seemed almost normal by comparison.
"This is Druig's doing. Only he has psychic power at this level." Elektra glanced over and said.
"Druig… the one who can control over twenty vampires at once. It seems he worships Adam extremely. Otherwise, he wouldn't have betrayed his comrades." Daredevil said softly.
"That's nothing. You didn't see him at his most fanatical. As long as Adam nods, he's even willing to control tens of thousands of humans, line them up to be bitten by vampires, and ultimately turn all of them into Xenomorph hosts." Elektra said.
Daredevil's heart jumped, and his expression grew grave.
Psychic abilities were already hard to defend against. Adding that Druig was a brainwashed fanatic of the dangerous Adam... if someone like Druig were truly unleashed… He suddenly realized that Adam's existence was itself a crucial restraint on these dangerous individuals.
"So Stick is also a vampire. If Druig targets him…"
"That's why we need to hurry. In Druig's eyes, vampires only deserve to become Xenomorph hosts." Elektra said.
"You both follow Adam. Can't you cooperate? Have him use his psychic abilities to find Stick."
Elektra gave Daredevil an odd look. "You still don't understand what I mean. For Druig, turning everyone into one of us... whether alive or dead... is the best way to solve problems."
Daredevil felt a chill.
Just as Elektra said, Druig was working extremely hard right now... bordering on desperate.
No one could understand the exhilaration in Druig's heart... except Adam.
To Druig, even simply closing his eyes let him feel as if he were in a sea of flowers in a pure world. These were all pure consciousnesses. Druig was deeply enamored with it all.
To let more people experience this beauty, Druig worked tirelessly to send everyone to Adam.
Yes, literally. Alive or dead didn't matter. Even if they died by chest-burst, in Druig's eyes, that was still an important way to reach the truth.
To transform into pure consciousness and guard Adam... wasn't that a rare, supreme honor?
Druig deeply believed this. He led dozens of Xenomorphs roaming New York, searching for vampires.
While Elektra went to find Stick and the Sorcerer Supreme over the next few days.
Druig took over perfectly.
This left the last batch of hidden vampires in New York with nowhere to hide. Under Druig's psychic abilities, they couldn't resist at all and would eventually "voluntarily" head to the Weyland skyscraper to offer their bodies.
"There are fewer and fewer. Why are there so few vampires in such a big city?"
Druig sensed everywhere, gradually growing somewhat anxious. He longed to earn Adam's praise through hard work... mainly on the mental and conscious level.
If not for Adam holding him back, he would have long tried turning groups of ordinary people into vampires and then having Xenomorphs parasitize them.
"Hm? Dark sorcerers?"
Druig had found a dark sorcerers' stronghold. After all, the city was huge and the population massive. No matter how thoroughly they cleaned, there would always be opportunists launching new operations.
Hunting vampires was hunting. For dark sorcerers, killing them was fine.
Druig immediately attacked the stronghold. He was met by over a dozen dark sorcerers on high alert. The leader had a strange smile on his face that gave Druig an extremely dangerous feeling.
"Lord Kaecilius, this guy is the one who defected to Adam. He's almost finished clearing out all the vampires in New York." One dark sorcerer said.
If he had a choice, Kaecilius wouldn't want to fight either.
Having just spent over half a month in bed after several rounds of being repeatedly cleaned out by Kamar-Taj and the Xenomorphs, Kaecilius had no choice but to act. He stared seriously at Druig before him, paying special attention to the psychic energy emanating from him.
Eternals... Kaecilius naturally knew of them. But precisely because he knew, he was even more curious why Druig would do something as crazy as defecting to Adam and working so diligently.
"Who are you?" Druig looked coldly at Kaecilius.
Kaecilius regarded Druig with dangerous eyes. "A pilgrim pursuing truth. And you, old man? A coward who deserted mid-battle and is now living in shame?"
"You think you're worthy of mentioning truth?" Druig shifted his gaze.
"Of course. Since you could defect to Adam, why not defect to the great Dormammu? He will grant you immortality. This world will have no more regret or despair... only eternity." Kaecilius said.
Druig looked at Kaecilius's expression and posture and found it somewhat familiar. After thinking for a moment, he remembered. He looked the same when mentioning Adam. More importantly, this guy was discussing truth in front of him, but it was the boring concept of immortality.
"I am nearly immortal. Why would I seek immortality from Dormammu? Who is Dormammu anyway? Probably some boring, weak false god."
Honestly, Druig really didn't know who Dormammu was. Despite living on Earth for several thousand years, he had spent the entire time hunting Deviants under Ajak's leadership and never interacted with other superhumans if he could avoid it.
Druig looked impatiently at Kaecilius. "What you pride yourself on is worthless in my eyes. How dare someone with such a broken mind use the word 'truth' for Dormammu?"
"You know nothing of Dormammu's power and majesty. Having lived on this planet for thousands of years, you are at most a beautiful but outdated canary." Kaecilius's gaze turned icy. "Then who deserves to be called truth?"
"Undoubtedly, Adam."
"What is Adam? You've gone mad. As a noble-born Eternal, you actually sing the praises of an ordinary human?"
"You don't understand. That's fine. When you become a Xenomorph, you will." A deep killing intent flashed in Druig's eyes. He could accept being insulted himself, but he couldn't tolerate this bastard insulting Adam. This grudge was enormous.
To a pilgrim, insulting their faith was a blood feud.
Kaecilius sneered. "I want to say the same thing. When you become one of us and I offer you to the great Dormammu, you will personally witness Dormammu's holiness and power. No need to thank me when tears of joy flow."
What he valued wasn't Druig himself, but the Xenomorph embryo inside him.
An unburst incomplete Xenomorph might be exactly the kind Dormammu needed.
That said, Druig himself was also an extremely rare offering.
If he could offer Druig... this rare creation of the Celestials... along with the Xenomorph embryo, Dormammu would surely be pleased. When He was pleased, He would grant Kaecilius even greater power, ultimately advancing the plan to devour Earth.
Kaecilius was currently in severe pain and not in good condition. He needed Dormammu to repair his body.
Both sides immediately clashed, and an intense battle erupted in an instant.
Druig directly invaded Kaecilius's mind with psychic power, but Kaecilius grabbed a dark sorcerer to block in front of himself while using his other hand to create an energy whip. He lashed Druig away, then followed up with another dark magic blast.
Several dark sorcerers were controlled by Druig and turned against Kaecilius, trying to disrupt his actions.
"Useless. Even if you can control their minds, can you casually control the dark magic they use? In dark magic, I am Earth's second strongest... only slightly below the Ancient One."
Kaecilius let out a sinister laugh. He immediately summoned several black mists to shield himself, which then erupted and took down several dark sorcerers before spreading across the entire stronghold and killing over a dozen Xenomorphs.
Druig frowned, his face showing caution. He realized the man before him was ridiculously strong.
After all, he had been in seclusion for six hundred years, too detached from the world. Six hundred years was a long time. Even the Ancient One wasn't six hundred years old.
Dark sorcerers and Xenomorphs kept dying. The smile on Kaecilius's lips grew more and more eerie as he gradually suppressed Druig step by step.
"I only need to protect my mind. In dark magic, there are many spells that maintain mental strength through inflicting pain. Besides, I can also use white magic."
Kaecilius placed a shield made of golden lines around his head, repeatedly blocking Druig's psychic invasions.
This made Druig realize he was no match for Kaecilius.
Aside from relatively weak physical fitness, the man before him was stronger than him in almost every other aspect.
Even that weak physical fitness... frankly, Kaecilius also mastered some powerful protective magic that could grant his body a magical armor.
After all, Kaecilius was once the Ancient One's chief disciple and was now Dormammu's top lackey. Dealing with a Druig wasn't actually that difficult.
But Druig didn't see it that way. He had been in seclusion for six hundred years and knew very little about the world. He didn't even know who Dormammu was, and he knew nothing about the Ancient One either.
The longer they fought, the more passive Druig became. The relentless powerful magic gradually constricted his space for survival, slowly forcing him into a corner.
Xenomorph after Xenomorph died before Druig, filling him with rage.
He watched helplessly as the terrifying chains woven from intertwined black and white magic pierced the bodies of the Xenomorphs, linking them together.
Under normal circumstances, Druig would soon join them.
But the next second, a terrifying golden beam descended from the sky, carrying astonishing power capable of pulverizing a city. Countless golden lightning bolts scattered in all directions.
At this critical moment, the Sentry had arrived.
"I rushed over the moment I received the order. Kaecilius, you damned bastard. Adam has had his eye on you for a long time. This time he gave me a direct order: I must kill you."
Reynolds floated in midair with an excited expression, looking down at Kaecilius from above.
Ever since defeating Magneto and the Eternals, Reynolds had been looking for opportunities to challenge even stronger opponents to determine his position in Earth's food chain.
If he didn't specifically fight the strong, how could he prove he was capable? If he didn't prove he was capable, how could he earn the world's gasps and adoration? Without gasps and adoration, Reynolds felt too miserable... unbearable.
Reynolds looked around at the magical chains that had pierced so many Xenomorphs and let out a low, cold laugh. His body shook violently as golden energy beams erupted outward. He raised his head, his eyes already pure gold, and instantly fired powerful heat vision. Energy collided with magical particles, forcibly severing the countless magical chains.
"Robert Reynolds... the one who defeated Magneto." Kaecilius's brows furrowed slightly.
He could tell Reynolds was on a completely different level from Druig... extremely troublesome.
Druig looked at Reynolds and communicated mentally. "Why are you here?"
"Adam sensed you were in danger and ordered me to come handle it." Reynolds explained verbally.
If someone else heard those words, they wouldn't find anything strange. It was simply a superior sending another subordinate to help when one was in danger.
But to Druig, it was different.
"I clearly didn't tell anyone, yet he knew… I understand. He's using Xenomorphs to achieve instant perception and message transmission. This is the collective consciousness of the Xenomorph主体."
Reynolds beside him glanced carefully at Druig, feeling the man's expression had suddenly become extremely frightening... a kind of ultimate frenzy where one poured their entire being into something and viewed it as a sacred mission.
Reynolds was least skilled at dealing with this kind of person. He couldn't understand Druig's thought process.
That said, when Reynolds looked at Kaecilius, he found him much more agreeable. At least he could go all out without restraint. Killing him was fine.
Kaecilius, meanwhile, was rapidly assessing the situation.
How was he supposed to deal with these two? Druig was manageable, but Reynolds was truly difficult, and he seemed to have almost no weaknesses.
Continue using his most powerful magic to blast these two to pieces? But his body hadn't recovered yet. He might end up bedridden for another period after the fight.
This would displease Dormammu, because he hadn't produced any outstanding results for Dormammu in a long time.
Kaecilius knew very well that Dormammu wasn't a patient or good-tempered demon lord. On the contrary, He was extremely irritable and cruel.
"I can't abandon the Eternals and Xenomorphs, but I must deal with the Sentry. Then I can only throw them into the Mirror Dimension. At least that will buy some time."
Kaecilius decided to take the initiative and advance.
Powerful magic instantly brewed in his hands... this was magic from the Kamar-Taj school.
But Reynolds seemed to have anticipated it. He grabbed Druig and, with several flashes, took away several surviving Xenomorphs. With exaggerated speed, he appeared in the distance, looking down imposingly at Kaecilius from afar.
"Mirror Dimension. I've been on guard against that from the start." Reynolds said with a cold laugh.
Boom!
Reynolds immediately fired a heat vision blast at Kaecilius from afar.
Kaecilius frowned and instantly flung out an energy shield.
After several more exchanges.
Kaecilius discovered that Reynolds was even more cunning than he had imagined. It was as if someone was remotely directing him, with various tactical countermeasures prepared in advance specifically against him.
This made Kaecilius feel like he was fighting several people at once.
He glanced around. He only had a group of half-dead, mostly useless dark sorcerers. They were more than enough against ordinary superheroes, but completely inadequate against an opponent like Reynolds.
Reynolds moved at blinding speed, turning into golden streaks of light in the air. Each time he appeared, he either swung heavy fists wrapped in golden energy carrying terrifying force equivalent to billions of tons, or fired heat vision everywhere, constantly cutting off Kaecilius's magic.
When Kaecilius finally prepared several big moves to ambush Reynolds, Reynolds was instead extremely vigilant and had already retreated far away, watching coldly as Kaecilius wasted his magic power for nothing.
Once the magic was mostly spent, he would flash back with lightning speed.
The battle between the two sides grew increasingly violent. Even casual energy waves or magic blasts could easily pierce nearby skyscrapers.
This successfully caused many terrified screams, but when they saw that one side of the fight was Adam's people and Xenomorphs, they inexplicably felt a slight sense of relief and hurriedly hid in the distance.
Some even fearlessly used recording devices for remote filming.
It seemed the nonstop vampire-hunting operations and several public fights had shaped public opinion about Adam quite well.
Though in reality, it was completely different from what they imagined.
"Who is giving you advice? Someone like you... how could you possibly understand my magic so well?!"
Kaecilius finally couldn't endure any longer. His face grew even paler, and a more terrifying pain vaguely came from his stomach and intestines.
If he were dealing with those champions of justice, Kaecilius felt he could take ordinary people around them as hostages and force the opponent to compromise.
But Adam's people, in most cases, mainly targeted enemies and didn't care much about surrounding civilians.
Killing enemies could protect more civilians. Failing to kill enemies meant more civilians would die horribly in the future.
Adam's side calculated this ledger very clearly, so they could act without any psychological burden.
Not to mention Reynolds himself was something of a show-off villain with relatively low moral limits.
As for Druig... trying to discuss the lives of ordinary people with Druig? In the past, he would have cared deeply. Now, for ordinary people who wouldn't become Xenomorphs, he cared very little.
The battle between the two sides grew more and more intense. Druig was also doing everything possible to interfere with Kaecilius's mind using psychic power, leaving Kaecilius unable to defend.
Boom!
The violent disturbance shook several nearby streets.
It also successfully attracted the attention of several interested parties.
A golden portal suddenly opened.
Kaecilius's face showed no surprise. He simply swept his icy gaze over quickly.
Who would it be? Mordo or Wong?
No matter who came, it didn't matter as long as it wasn't…
"Dammit!"
Kaecilius keenly sensed something. A trace of anger and fear appeared in his eyes.
He also began creating a portal, wanting to escape.
For this, he even used a powerful spell... the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak... creating dozens of duplicates.
"Kaecilius, don't forget... this move was something I taught you. You think you can escape from me using this?"
A bald woman in a yellow sorcerer's robe appeared on the battlefield.
"…"
Kaecilius's face turned extremely ugly. He manipulated countless duplicates and created countless energy whips, all of which wrapped around the Ancient One at once. The next second, he followed up with another dark magic blast.
But the Ancient One's expression didn't change. She simply shook her hands, and the space around her underwent strange changes, appearing like prisms stacking one after another.
The Hoary Host of Hoggoth!
This was one of the top two defensive spells in all of magic.
The Ancient One blocked all the magical attacks with one move and countered with force, pushing the many prisms in all directions. In an instant, she turned countless magical particles into fluttering azure butterflies.
Reynolds thought it was beautiful.
Kaecilius felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave.
His body was about to enter the portal, but unfortunately, he was also facing Reynolds... with his super speed... and Druig... with his psychic abilities.
Sizzle!
A golden heat vision blast came, forcefully staggering Kaecilius.
That single moment caused him to miss his best chance to escape. The Ancient One had already sealed his movements in the first instant.
Even without using the Time Stone, she was still a skyfather-level powerhouse. Once caught by such an existence, Kaecilius had no chance of turning the situation around.
"Ancient One! Why are you here?"
Kaecilius was both shocked and furious, his face full of unwillingness.
This was too strange. First he encountered two enemies who knew his magic extremely well, and then the Ancient One personally arrived.
He had clearly been ambushing Druig. How had it turned into a perfect trap targeting him instead?
At least that was how Kaecilius saw it. He believed the Ancient One and Adam had joined forces.
"Many people want you dead, Kaecilius. The harm you've caused this planet has left more and more people dissatisfied." The Ancient One's voice carried that same characteristic calm and peace.
But it was precisely that tone that completely enraged Kaecilius. "Dissatisfied with me because I harm this planet? Do you even hear what you're saying? I'm clearly doing the right thing! I only need to let Dormammu devour Earth, and this entire planet will have no more pain or separation!"
He continued, "Besides, you say Adam's side is here because I harm Earth? Are you sure it's not because I targeted the Xenomorphs, so they want to kill me?!"
"You've confused cause and effect."
Druig suddenly spoke. "Many people have ideas about the Xenomorphs, but very few actually dare to act... especially someone of your level. Because you wanted to move against us, we must do everything possible to kill you before you cause even greater trouble. This is what Adam just had me convey to you. He said, 'Send you to see Dormammu.'"
"I will not die. I will gain immortality in Dormammu's Dark Dimension... without despair or sorrow! Why is everyone trying to stop me? I'm clearly doing something beneficial for the entire planet. I'm saving humanity!" Kaecilius said through gritted teeth.
The Ancient One gazed at her former beloved disciple with peaceful eyes.
The old Kaecilius had been like the current Mordo and Wong... full of justice, determined to use magic to protect Earth and repel all extradimensional demon lords.
But after witnessing the fragility of mortals time and again, combined with Dormammu constantly tempting him with dark magic, Kaecilius had finally fallen.
Undoubtedly, this was a tragedy. The Ancient One felt she bore some responsibility for not properly watching over her beloved disciple, allowing Dormammu to take advantage.
"You won't be alone, whether in life or death. Because one day in the future, I may come to see you too."
"Of course you will. You hypocritical champion of justice who secretly steals dark magic to extend your own life! When you die, you'll reunite with me in the Dark Dimension!"
The Ancient One remained silent. She immediately created a Sword of Vishanti and swung it from afar.
This magical slash cut through space and froze time, halting every particle around it... from atoms to molecules. It was about to split Kaecilius in two.
Kaecilius's face filled with unwillingness as he channeled all his dark magic to resist.
But at this moment, Reynolds and Druig also acted, launching dual attacks from the physical and mental levels that drove Kaecilius into the abyss. His body instantly turned incorporeal and dissipated.
The strongest dark sorcerer who had ravaged Earth for many years had finally met his end.
"I'm very interested in what Kaecilius said before he died. You, the Sorcerer Supreme, have been secretly practicing dark magic?" Reynolds looked curiously at the Ancient One.
He had some understanding of this incredibly powerful being but felt little fear. Instead, he seemed eager to test himself.
As for stealing dark magic or whatever, Reynolds didn't see it as a big deal. He was simply curious.
"Reynolds, that kind of questioning is very rude." Adam's voice entered Reynolds's mind.
The Ancient One seemed to hear it and said calmly, "It's fine. That news will reach everyone sooner or later anyway. But it's not time to spread it yet. I need you to help me keep it hidden for now… Adam."
"With pleasure, Sorcerer Supreme. Elektra and the others did well. This allowed us to have a successful cooperation. It's a good beginning. I think using Kaecilius's life as a greeting gift, you must like it."
Adam stood in the Weyland skyscraper, gazing into the distance, and said slowly.
The Ancient One glanced at Reynolds and Druig. "Perhaps it's a bad beginning. Dormammu won't let this go. He will soon launch a fierce attack on Earth. In any case, let's return to the Sanctum first."
"Druig will go with you. He needs to work with Elektra to monitor Stick... this vampire you've sheltered. But Reynolds cannot." Adam said.
Reynolds was his ace. Adam would never allow Reynolds to go to a place like Kamar-Taj, which was filled with all kinds of terrifying magical arrays.
"If used properly, in a worst-case scenario, we could even…"
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