Seeing this, Kaecilius flicked his wrist, sending an invisible blade slicing through the air straight toward Strange. Forced to react, Strange hastily deflected it with his whip, then turned and ran toward the three doors he had seen earlier.
Kaecilius followed at an unhurried pace. Forming a seal with his hands, he twisted the air—and the entire corridor began folding and rotating. To Strange, the hallway seemed endless; no matter how fast he ran, the end never came any closer. Meanwhile, Kaecilius rapidly closed the distance, even sprinting along the walls and ceiling as he gave chase.
Caught in a panic, Strange conjured two shield-like magic circles in front of him, barely managing to fend off the attacks from Kaecilius and his two followers.
Suddenly, the corridor began spinning. Caught off guard, Strange slammed into the wall, his head cracking against a glass window.
As Kaecilius kept rotating his hands, Strange spun wildly like clothes in a washing machine, while the surrounding walls became the drum.
Then, with another motion from Kaecilius, the corridor flipped upright. Strange immediately fell toward the three glass doors at the far end.
He knew those doors were made of glass—if he crashed into them, they would shatter instantly, and he'd fall into whatever unknown place lay beyond.
At the very last moment, just before impact, Strange desperately grabbed the doorframe, stopping himself from falling through. But Kaecilius's female follower wasn't so lucky—she plunged straight through the doorway into the desert on the other side.
The corridor returned to normal. Strange scrambled back inside and immediately spun the knob beside the door. Just as the woman tried to charge back, the scene beyond the door suddenly changed—and in the desert, the door itself vanished.
A sudden gust of wind came from behind. Strange dodged instinctively as Kaecilius's male follower lashed out with a kick.
Strange grabbed the man's leg and hurled him into a doorway leading to a dense jungle. With a quick twist of the knob, the scene shifted again—this time into a canyon.
Kaecilius charged forward with his invisible blade. Strange dodged and blocked as best he could, but his combat skills were no match. Seizing an opening, he fled again, with Kaecilius close behind.
The two rushed up to the second floor. Strange spun his hands, summoning a golden energy whip. With nowhere left to run, he was forced to engage Kaecilius once more.
Driven back step by step, Strange suddenly grabbed a nearby object that looked like a trophy. Inside it, a thick golden light swirled like liquid.
Kaecilius abruptly stopped, staring at the object with clear wariness. But Strange just held it there, making no further move.
"You don't know how to use it, do you?"
Kaecilius instantly saw through him and relaxed.
Strange hurled the "trophy" at him. Kaecilius dodged effortlessly and immediately thrust his blade toward Strange's chest.
Strange blocked with his whip, then snapped it forward, wrapping it around the blade. With a sharp pull, the weapon flew out of Kaecilius's hand and embedded itself in the wall nearby.
But Kaecilius followed up instantly, driving a punch straight into Strange's chest. Caught off guard, Strange slammed backward into a glass display case and collapsed to the ground.
Kaecilius seized the opportunity, stepping forward to deliver a killing blow. Strange rolled aside just in time—only to be met with a brutal kick.
The impact sent him flying.
With a crash, Strange smashed into another glass case—this one containing a blue cloak.
He lay sprawled on the ground as Kaecilius approached again, blade poised to strike.
Suddenly, a strip of blue fabric shot out, wrapping tightly around Kaecilius's wrist. No matter how hard he pushed, he couldn't advance an inch.
Frustrated, Kaecilius grabbed Strange by the hair, his other hand reaching for his throat.
In an instant, the cloak lashed out again, binding his arm. Enraged, Kaecilius flung Strange aside before calmly stepping toward him once more.
Strange staggered to his feet, blocking the blade with both hands—but Kaecilius kicked him again, sending him crashing through the stair railing and tumbling down from the second floor.
At that moment, a streak of blue flashed past Kaecilius—it was the very cloak that had helped Strange twice.
Kaecilius moved to leap down after him—
—but suddenly, a surge of crimson energy burst forth like a shockwave, slamming into him midair. The force hurled him back up to the second floor, where he crashed into a glass cabinet with a loud shatter.
Wanda stood before him, having appeared out of nowhere. Her eyes glowed scarlet, chaos energy swirling around her hands.
"Kaecilius. I didn't expect you to betray Kamar-Taj—and even destroy the London Sanctum."
Her voice was icy cold.
She had deep ties to Kamar-Taj. Anyone who tried to destroy it was her enemy.
The moment Kaecilius saw her, his pupils shrank. He knew exactly how powerful Wanda was—she was practically unmatched in Kamar-Taj. Neither he nor Wong could stand against her, sometimes not even managing to fight back at all. Chaos Magic far surpassed the sorcery they had learned.
As Kaecilius tried to rise, crimson energy suddenly wrapped around his throat. A crushing sense of suffocation hit him—like an iron grip tightening around his neck.
With a lift of Wanda's hand, his entire body rose into the air, struggling helplessly.
Just then, a figure slowly floated up from the staircase below.
It was Strange—now draped in the blue cloak. The Cloak of Levitation billowed behind him, spreading wide as if to cover the massive skylight.
At that same moment, a burst of flame flared—
A red cloak swept through the air as Karl appeared beside Wanda.
"It's been a while, Kaecilius."
Karl looked at the struggling man, a playful smile on his face.
Only when Kaecilius saw Karl did his expression finally change—
for the first time, a trace of guilt appeared.
He remembered what Karl had once said to him.
And in the end… he had still walked this path—embracing the darkness, becoming its servant.
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