Chapter 816

Evenson hadn’t made the decision to empower Lily Grant on a whim.

It had been sudden, yes. But reckless? Not anymore.

Unlike when he’d first started experimenting with fel magic and human enhancement, Evenson now had years of experience and a mountain of experimental data behind him. He was no longer the clueless beginner he’d once been.

And then there was Melinda.

Seeing what she had accomplished with her strange martial application of magic had been enough to convince him that fel energy could potentially be circulated through the body according to principles similar to those behind traditional internal martial arts.

The theory wasn’t completely insane.

More importantly, empowering Lily had nothing to do with their teacher-student relationship.

It was simply one piece of a much larger plan.

A plan involving Casilius, the transfer of his soul’s "residency," revenge, and making sure someone else took the blame when everything went spectacularly wrong.

Evenson and Clea had already agreed on the general strategy. They would disable the defenses protecting the three Sanctums and allow Dormammu to reach Earth.

The problem was that neither of them could be the one to do it.

If Clea personally sabotaged the Sanctums, the other masters of Kamar-Taj would inevitably turn against her. Even if she eventually defeated Dormammu and justified the entire affair as a desperate gamble to permanently eliminate the threat of the Dark Dimension, the damage to her reputation would be done.

The other sorcerers would see her as reckless. As a leader who made unilateral decisions and gambled with everyone’s lives.

She might have won this time.

But what about the next gamble?

Clea couldn’t afford that stain.

If she ever needed to make morally questionable decisions for the greater good, there would always be ways to justify them. Necessary sacrifices. Necessary evils. History had a way of forgiving those who acted in the name of saving the world.

But a reckless plan mixed with personal grudges?

That was better left to someone else.

Fortunately, there was an obvious candidate.

Kaecilius was already desperate to destroy the three Sanctums. All Evenson had to do was stop interfering.

The only question was whether Kaecilius actually had enough power to breach them.

If he didn’t, Evenson could always give him a little help.

Watching Kaecilius throw himself into an abyss of his own making would be satisfying enough. It was revenge, after all.

The problem was what would happen to the sorcerers defending the Sanctums.

Kaecilius and his followers wouldn’t exactly be gentle.

Evenson needed someone acting in Clea’s name to rescue those sorcerers before they were slaughtered.

Someone who could make them understand that Clea wasn’t the inexperienced girl they’d once known.

She had grown into someone powerful enough to protect them.

And for the London Sanctum, Evenson had already chosen his representative.

Lily Grant.

"That’s the situation. No, you didn’t hear me wrong."

Evenson spoke into the magical communication spell, sounding remarkably casual for someone proposing something completely insane.

"Don’t worry. I’ve already made arrangements. So... I need you to completely disable Kamar-Taj’s defensive system."

He paused.

"I already sent you the equipment. It should’ve arrived by now, so keep an eye out for the delivery."

Another pause.

"And yes, it’s cash on delivery. Come on, I’m in Nepal right now. I’m using West Wind Express to ship it all the way to America. Do you have any idea how expensive that is?"

He ended the call.

There was no cell service where he was.

Evenson was currently standing in a remote valley on the outer slopes of the Himalayas, somewhere around six thousand meters above sea level.

It was one of Kamar-Taj’s burial grounds.

The frozen earth and extreme altitude made it an excellent place to preserve the dead. Few people ever came here, and even fewer animals survived this high up.

The location also had excellent feng shui.

Or, at least, Evenson assumed it did.

He’d climbed the entire way up himself during the night.

"Yeah, it’s me. I have a favor to ask."

Another magical communication.

"Come on. This is the first time in my entire life I’ve seriously tried to settle a personal grudge. You could at least pretend to support me."

He paused, listening to the response.

"Don’t put it like that. I’m not playing favorites with Clea. The problem is, who exactly can hurt you people? Even if I wanted to avenge you, I don’t exactly get many opportunities."

Evenson continued talking as he wandered through the cemetery, searching between the ancient graves.

After a while, he finally found what he was looking for.

He ended the conversation.

Then he pulled out a military entrenching shovel.

"All right."

He rubbed his hands together.

"Time to dig."

Three days later, around noon, Stephen Strange arrived at the Kamar-Taj observatory with Wong.

Strange had already completed his training.

Wong was now explaining the true purpose of Kamar-Taj, the importance of the three Sanctums, and the role they played in protecting Earth from supernatural threats.

He was so confident in their defenses that he practically pounded his chest while explaining it.

The Sanctums were impregnable.

Their defenses were extraordinarily powerful.

The sorcerers stationed there were experienced veterans.

There was no way anyone could simply storm one of them.

Then the observatory’s peaceful silence was shattered by the deep, resonant toll of a bell.

Wong’s expression changed instantly.

"London..."

He turned toward the permanent portal leading to the London Sanctum.

The portal suddenly activated.

A line of sorcerers emerged.

Their faces were grim.

At their head was the Sanctum’s leader, Margani.

He brought bad news.

"Kaecilius attacked London."

Wong’s expression hardened.

"The London Sanctum has fallen."

Ever since Kaecilius had received power from Dormammu, he had been obsessed with destroying the three Sanctums.

He genuinely believed Dormammu was humanity’s only salvation.

Under Dormammu’s rule, the world could become an eternal paradise where no one would ever again suffer from the passage of time.

And London had been his first target.

Of the three Sanctums, Hong Kong was the strongest.

London was the weakest.

If you were going to crack three fortresses, there was no reason to start with the hardest one.

The portal opened again.

Kaecilius and his followers had changed dramatically since receiving Dormammu’s power. The London Sanctum’s defensive enchantments could no longer prevent them from teleporting inside.

Kaecilius and six followers appeared directly on the lawn of the Sanctum’s estate.

He looked around.

"Looks like they weren’t completely unprepared."

The enormous lawn was deserted.

Not a single sorcerer was visible.

They had clearly withdrawn into the main building and were preparing to make their stand there.

One of Kaecilius’s followers gave a disdainful laugh.

He was a blond man with his hair slicked back.

"Serving Dormammu has increased my power beyond anything I possessed before. Now I’ll show these self-proclaimed gentlemen what I’m capable of."

He flexed his fingers.

"My shields are stronger. My attacks are sharper. Whether they want to fight with fists, engage in close combat, or drag their souls into the spirit world, it makes no difference."

His smile widened.

"And if they try to run, that’s fine too. The spirits I’ve been cultivating are already waiting."

He spread his arms.

"Let us settle this with sorcery inside their own Sanctum."

The man had once been a sorcerer of the London Sanctum himself.

He had been hunted by Kamar-Taj after learning forbidden dark magic and using spirits for his own purposes. During his escape, he’d eventually joined Kaecilius.

That also meant he knew the London sorcerers better than anyone.

In his opinion, they were pampered aristocrats who spent their days pretending to be superior while enjoying comfortable lives.

How much combat experience could people like that possibly have?

Ironically, despite his contempt for them, he had inherited the same obsession with a sorcerer’s dignity and elegance.

Kaecilius found the contradiction deeply irritating.

"Then you can lead the way."

The blond man smiled.

"As you wish."

He took one step forward.

His foot hadn’t even touched the ground when—

BOOM!

A deafening explosion erupted from the distant estate.

Something warm splashed across Kaecilius’s face.

He froze.

Then slowly turned.

The blond sorcerer was missing everything above his chest.

Blood, organs, bone fragments, and pieces of his skull were scattered across the lawn.

Kaecilius stared.

This was supposed to be the weakest Sanctum?

The main building was nearly two hundred meters away.

His follower had obviously been struck by some kind of powerful explosive spell.

At that range, the London Sanctum had somehow launched an attack with enough force to obliterate a sorcerer before he could even react.

Since when had London become this powerful?

"How did it go?"

High above the estate, inside an attic overlooking the battlefield, Jamie Moriarty lay prone on the floor with one leg raised behind her.

In front of her was a Barrett anti-materiel rifle.

Beside her, Sherlock Holmes was lying flat against the floor as well, peering through a high-resolution scope.

"One shot. One kill."

Moriarty’s lips curled into a satisfied smile.

"Good."

She glanced at the rifle.

"Do you know how much effort it took to get all this equipment on such short notice? And how much money I spent?"

"You won’t be left out of pocket."

Holmes casually brushed a strand of hair away from Moriarty’s face.

"The two ladies have agreed that when they establish their British branch, you’ll be put in charge."

Moriarty’s smile widened.

"Now that’s compensation."

Then—

BRRRT!

Several windows of the estate suddenly opened.

More than a dozen Browning heavy machine guns were pushed through them.

The London sorcerers emerged behind the weapons.

They were still wearing their traditional robes.

They were also wearing steel helmets.

Two sorcerers operated each machine gun.

Then the entire estate erupted into gunfire.

Kaecilius and his followers instantly began casting defensive spells.

Magical shields appeared in front of them as bullets hammered against the barriers.

For several seconds, nobody spoke.

There was only the deafening roar of automatic weapons.

Kaecilius stared in disbelief.

This wasn’t the mystical battle he’d expected.

This was a military assault.

One of the Asian-American female sorcerers cautiously raised her head above her shield.

Her eyes widened.

"Incoming RPG!"

A rocket streaked across the battlefield, trailing a long plume of smoke.

Then—

BOOM!

The explosion swallowed the battlefield.

Judging from the blast, it was carrying an armor-piercing high-explosive warhead.

"God save the Queen!"

Margani stood at the front of the estate wearing a World War II-era British military helmet.

A cigar hung from the corner of his mouth.

He looked less like a sorcerer and more like a furious lion.

He casually tossed aside the Chinese-made rocket launcher he’d been carrying.

"Nobody invades the British Empire!"

He pointed toward the armory.

"Bring out my collection!"

His voice thundered across the battlefield.

"And let’s give these bastards something to remember!"

"Artillery!"

One of Kaecilius’s followers shouted in horror.

Kaecilius shot him an irritated look.

"Watch your language."

The man stared at him.

Then pointed.

Kaecilius followed his finger.

His expression changed.

The doors of the estate had opened.

Something enormous and black was being rolled into position.

A seventy-five-millimeter Italian cannon.

A genuine relic from the First World War.

It had once been nothing more than one of Margani’s prized family possessions, a piece of military history sitting in his collection.

Thanks to Holmes’s preparations, it was now considerably more useful.

Margani raised his hand.

"Fire!"

He brought it down.

BOOM!

The cannon roared.

Smoke and flame engulfed Kaecilius and his followers.

"Incoming mortar!"

"Grenade launcher!"

"Panzer!"

"There’s a Tiger coming down the hill!"

Holmes watched the battlefield with his hands clasped behind his back.

Moriarty had already abandoned her sniper position and joined him.

"This is going remarkably well."

Margani gave a grim smile.

"We have you two to thank for that. Without your intelligence and strategic planning, I wouldn’t have known what to do."

He wasn’t exaggerating.

Margani knew exactly how powerful his own people were.

If Kaecilius had caught them completely unprepared, the London Sanctum would have been wiped out.

Every sorcerer would have been killed.

Holmes shook his head.

"Don’t thank me."

He gestured toward the battlefield.

"Lady Clea received the intelligence beforehand. The defensive strategy was her suggestion as well."

Margani’s expression became thoughtful.

"Olifan’s adopted daughter..."

He stared toward the battlefield.

"I can’t believe how much that little girl has grown under the Ancient One’s guidance."

He sighed.

"The next generation really does surpass the old."

"Save the sentimentality."

Moriarty’s expression was cold.

"Surely you don’t actually believe those weapons and defensive positions are enough to defeat Kaecilius."

"He was caught off guard. Once he adjusts, conventional weapons won’t be enough to hurt him."

Margani gave a bitter smile.

"I’m not that stupid."

He glanced toward the estate.

"So while we have the advantage, we’d better proceed with the Dunkirk plan."

Moriarty had been right.

Kaecilius had initially struggled to adapt to the barrage of modern weaponry.

The sudden assault had caught him completely off guard.

But that advantage was disappearing.

He was learning.

And now he understood.

These weapons weren’t nearly as dangerous as they’d first appeared.

It was time to strike back.

Kaecilius stepped backward.

He brought his palms together.

Then sharply separated them.

Ever since receiving Dormammu’s power, he had become capable of manipulating the Mirror Dimension with a skill approaching that of the Ancient One herself.

The machine guns continued pouring bullets across the battlefield.

Then reality shifted.

The guns suddenly rotated through space.

Their firing angles changed.

The weapons that had been suppressing Kaecilius now pointed somewhere else entirely.

A gap opened in the wall of gunfire.

Kaecilius immediately seized it.

A section of ground beneath his feet suddenly rose into the air.

The stone platform carried him and his followers rapidly toward the estate.

But as they approached, Kaecilius noticed something strange.

The machine guns were still firing.

Yet nobody was operating them.

Their triggers had been tied down with wire.

The sorcerers who had supposedly been manning them were gone.

Kaecilius’s face darkened.

"They tricked us."

He led his followers onto the second-floor balcony.

One of them kicked open the door.

Snap.

Something broke beneath someone’s foot.

A transparent fishing line.

The room exploded.

Statues shattered.

Decorative vases detonated.

Thousands of steel pellets ripped through the air.

The followers barely had time to react.

Fortunately, they’d learned to be cautious.

Only one careless fool was turned into a human pincushion.

The rest emerged untouched.

Kaecilius’s eye twitched.

"I will make them pay."

His veins stood out along his forehead.

He had been deceived again and again.

The humiliation was becoming unbearable.

"That’s everything."

Margani stood inside Kamar-Taj with the entire surviving contingent of the London Sanctum.

He had already explained the situation to Wong.

"After putting up a fierce and determined resistance, we made a strategic withdrawal in order to preserve our forces."

Wong’s hands trembled.

"You..."

His face was turning red.

"You’re telling me you abandoned the Sanctum?"

Margani remained perfectly composed.

"Precisely."

"You left the Sanctum’s core behind!"

Wong looked like he was struggling to maintain his dignity.

"Do you have any idea what that means?"

"Don’t get so worked up."

Moriarty walked over carrying a tablet.

"Come look at this."

The screen displayed grainy black-and-white footage.

A security camera.

More precisely, several concealed pinhole cameras installed throughout the London Sanctum.

Moriarty tilted her head.

"I realize this isn’t exactly my place to say this, but you people really should try keeping up with modern technology."

She tapped the screen.

"These cameras transmit everything electronically. They don’t produce any magical signature whatsoever. Kaecilius can’t sense them."

Her smile sharpened.

"So we can watch everything he does."

On the screen, Kaecilius and his remaining followers entered the chamber containing the Sanctum’s core.

Watson watched the footage carefully.

She closed her eyes for a moment, calculating.

"Considering the delay in the video feed and the transmission time between London and Nepal..."

Her eyes opened.

"Now should be perfect."

"Thank you for the reminder, dear Watson."

Moriarty smiled warmly.

She had tremendous respect for the woman who had once defeated her.

Then she took a cigarette from her coat.

She lit it.

Took a slow, elegant drag.

And pulled out her phone.

"This is it."

Kaecilius stared at the glowing Sanctum core.

"This is the first step toward humanity’s salvation."

He reached out.

His fingers were almost touching the core.

Then a phone began ringing.

A shrill, completely mundane ringtone echoed through the chamber.

Kaecilius froze.

"What—?"

BOOM!

The Sanctum exploded.

Moriarty casually lowered the tablet.

The screen was filled with static.

"Forty plastic explosives."

She exhaled smoke.

"More than enough to blow the entire London Sanctum into the sky."

Margani patted Wong on the shoulder.

"That was my family’s ancestral estate."

He sighed dramatically.

"I’ve sacrificed my entire inheritance for the country."

He gave Wong an innocent look.

"Surely you aren’t going to hold that against me?"

Wong stood there, completely speechless.

For once, he had absolutely no idea what to say.

In the ruins of the London Sanctum, Kaecilius sat covered in white dust.

He stared blankly at the wreckage surrounding him.

He had arrived with six followers.

Now, including himself, only three remained.

He slowly looked around.

Then looked back toward the ruins.

Someone, anyone, needed to explain what the hell had just happened.

Kaecilius had come here expecting a battle of sorcery.

Instead, he’d been shot, bombed, shelled, ambushed, deceived, and finally buried under the remains of the building he’d intended to destroy.

He stared into the distance.

"The world..."

His voice was hollow.

"...you’ve changed so much that I don’t even recognize you anymore."