"You…"
"That's not possible! Impossible!"
Agatha stepped back in shock as soon as she looked at Aron, as if she were seeing a monster from some ancient horror. Her face turned pale, her eyes wide open in pure fear.
"???"
Aron merely raised an eyebrow slightly.
He had just told Wanda to deal with Agatha, deliberately concealing his own power.
Logically, given Agatha's abilities, she shouldn't have been able to even sense his true strength.
And he was right, Agatha couldn't sense his power.
But what truly startled and frightened her… was the aura she felt within him.
A faint trace, but recognizable enough.
It was the aura of Chthon, the ancient god of dark magic.
"Impossible… you're just a human! How can you carry his aura on you?!"
Agatha shook her head, as if trying to shake off the thought.
"I must have been mistaken… yes, I must be wrong."
As the holder of the Darkhold, Agatha knew well the power that Chthon had left in this world.
For a moment, as she looked at Aron, she felt as if she were staring at Chthon himself.
But she immediately tried to convince herself it was just an illusion.
After all, before her eyes Aron looked like an ordinary man, without any visible combat power.
The reason for this illusion was simple:
Aron was wearing the Great Shadow Demon Cloak, one of the few artifacts that Chthon had left on Earth, just like the Darkhold.
That faint but recognizable trace of its power was enough to shake Agatha.
"I'm just imagining things…" she muttered under her breath, trying to suppress her unease.
She looked at Wanda again, and in her eyes appeared a flash of greed when she sensed the familiar, raw energy — the Chaos Magic.
"Little witch…" she smiled wickedly.
"Your boyfriend scared me for a moment."
"What did you say?!"
Wanda had been calm until that moment, but as soon as she heard Agatha's mocking tone while speaking about Aron, red sparks flickered in her eyes, and a red aura began to shimmer around her.
"Hahaha…"
Agatha laughed even louder, feeling her plan unfold exactly as she intended.
The angrier Wanda got, the better, for she wanted to provoke her into using her chaos magic against her.
That way she could attempt to absorb that power for herself.
"Little witch… it looks like that boyfriend of yours matters to you," she said mockingly, raising her hands in a menacing threat.
"I wonder… if I kill him, will you cry?"
Wanda's expression immediately changed.
She looked at Agatha almost with disgust, as if at a fool who didn't understand what she had gotten herself into.
She shook her head and said coldly:
"Aron said to kill you."
"All right, Wanda, don't argue with her," Aron added with a half-smile.
"Otherwise she'll think you're the naïve one here."
Wanda frowned slightly and pouted.
"I'm not naïve."
There was no need for further words.
A red, swirling portal opened beneath Wanda's feet.
Chaos magic granted her the freedom to skip long rituals, incantations, and gestures required for casting spells.
Unlike other sorcerers, she could summon any form of magic with a mere act of will, instantly and without limitation.
"What?!"
She vanished in an instant.
A chill suddenly gripped Agatha's heart.
Wrong!
Something's wrong with her!
You, Chaos Magic, shouldn't you be my opposite? I should be able to absorb you!
But what are you doing, teleporting straight at me!?
But soon…
Agatha's doubts were answered.
Boom!
A crimson round portal suddenly opened behind Agatha, two to three meters above the ground.
Wanda fell through the portal!
In her hand gleamed a crimson energy sword!
"???"
Agatha, who heard the movement, quickly turned her head.
"Rrr—!"
The black panther that accompanied Agatha also roared.
But their movements were a moment too slow.
Puff!
Wanda's sword pierced through Agatha.
The black magic Agatha had prepared didn't even have time to activate.
Because Wanda hadn't engaged in a long-range spell exchange at all!
Good Lord!
Times had changed!
"This is… Kamar-Taj's combat magic?!"
Agatha lowered her eyes to the magical blade that had pierced her chest, a trace of confusion appearing in her gaze.
What?
Who taught you to fight hand to hand?
Isn't it better to attack from a distance?
You're Chaos Magic!
You can overturn everything with a flick of your finger, so why are you learning Kamar-Taj tricks and playing close combat?
"Do you think I'm stupid?"
"I've learned the Soul-Devouring Magic, the evil forbidden spell created by Chthon."
As Wanda withdrew her sword from Agatha, she pointed at the black magic dispersing around her.
The Ancient One had taught her well.
It doesn't matter whether it's white or black magic.
You have to know it all.
Even dark and dangerous techniques that shouldn't be used (because of dire consequences).
The Ancient One had taught Wanda how to recognize such magic and how to counter it.
"The Sorcerer Supreme is right, a mage must train the body!"
Looking at Agatha, who, pierced, fell to the ground and died, Wanda respected the Ancient One's teaching even more.
A mage must be in shape!
You have to strengthen your body, increase endurance and blood volume!
You have to master close combat!
No more of that old way, attacking powerfully from afar but defending weakly up close, so that when the enemy closes in, all you can do is wait for the end.
Agatha was a typical example of the old, outdated type of mage.
"Rrr—!"
Seeing her master lying on the ground, dying.
Agatha's panther roared and leapt at Wanda.
Buzz—!
A purple ray of destruction shot from Aron's fingers, instantly reducing the panther to nothing.
But instead of dying, the panther turned into a black cat.
"Meow~"
"Ebony…"
Agatha, with only a breath of life left, weakly uttered the name of her cat.
She stretched out her hand with effort.
And then, in the very next moment…
Buzz—!
"Sorry, I can't stand pathetic farewell scenes," Aron said indifferently.
He didn't want this book to contain unnecessary sentimental moments.
With another ray of destruction, Agatha was sent to reunite with her cat in death.
Aron: "A good deed a day, I'm truly noble."
Wanda: "…"
After dealing with Agatha and her black cat, Aron and Wanda entered the castle.
They passed by piles of cauldrons, skeletons, skulls, unfamiliar patterns, and stones they had never seen before.
Finally, in the castle's secret chamber, they encountered the legendary Darkhold.
That book was three to four times larger than an ordinary one, you had to hold it with both hands to read it.
Aside from its size, the cover constantly emitted an evil black-and-red energy.
When Wanda saw the Book of Darkness, her eyes briefly lost focus.
In the next moment, she came to her senses and quickly cast a layer of spiritual protective magic over herself.
"Aron, this thing is tempting me… trying to make me read it," Wanda said in fear.
"All right, then leave it to me. I'll keep it," Aron replied calmly.
Thanks to his holy soul, he felt no influence at all.
He reached out to take the book.
However, at the moment he touched it, the voice of the Ancient One echoed in his ears, transmitted by magic.
"Smelly brat, where are you?"
"I just returned from space, why can't I find you in the New York temple?"
"Where have you disappeared to? And why did you take Wanda with you?"
–––
Support me on Patreon:
patreon.com/_BlackRose
Enjoy 30+ advanced chapters for just $3.
Your support would mean a lot to me. ❤️