Chapter 823

"What a view. Practically a front-row seat."

Evenson leaned back and looked down at the battle unfolding in the streets below.

"Wouldn’t you agree, Clea?"

The restaurant they had chosen occupied the upper floors of an extravagant building overlooking the battlefield. It was one of the most famous restaurants in Hong Kong, and Evenson and Clea had arrived precisely at 8:30 p.m.

Unfortunately, the time difference between New York and Hong Kong had forced them to wait far longer than expected.

At least the food was good.

The entire restaurant had also been closed to the public for the evening. Once the kitchen had finished preparing their meal, the chefs, waiters, and owner had all been sent home.

That was Lily Grant’s doing.

She had called in a local gangster boss named Big D and had him reserve the entire restaurant.

Big D was normally an arrogant, troublesome sort of man, but Lily was one of the senior figures in the local underworld. When she asked him to reserve a restaurant, he had two choices: cooperate or start a fight.

He had wisely chosen the first option.

Evenson glanced at Clea.

She had been silent all evening.

Something was clearly wrong.

He hesitated before speaking.

"There’s something I wanted to tell you."

Clea didn’t respond.

Evenson looked back toward the battle.

"About today..."

He paused.

"Actually, with the time difference, I suppose it was yesterday."

"The Ancient One..."

"She’s gone, isn’t she?"

Clea’s voice was quiet.

Evenson looked at her.

"You already knew?"

She nodded.

"You don’t seem surprised."

That alone was remarkable.

The Ancient One had existed for so long that most people associated her with Kamar-Taj itself.

To the sorcerers who followed her, she had seemed almost immortal.

They had grown accustomed to the idea that she would always be there.

Now.

A hundred years from now.

Even after everyone currently alive had turned to dust.

The Sorcerer Supreme would still be standing.

The idea of her actually dying was so alien that announcing it to most people would probably get you laughed out of the room—or declared insane.

Clea merely lowered her gaze.

"I’ve known the Ancient One for a very long time."

"To her, that amount of time was insignificant."

"But to me..."

She closed her hand slowly.

"It was my entire life."

"I knew her."

"And now I’ve inherited the power she once carried. I’ve also been entrusted with the responsibilities she handled from the shadows."

She gave a small, bitter smile.

"I’ve barely begun carrying half the burden she once carried, and I already understand how heavy it is."

"I can only imagine what she endured."

Clea looked down at her hands.

"I suspected something was wrong long before this."

"The things she arranged. The way she spoke."

"I could tell that she had begun thinking about death."

She corrected herself.

"No. About release. About peace."

"I thought I was simply being too sensitive."

"I assumed I still had years before anything happened."

"I was wrong."

Evenson was silent.

Apparently, women really were more perceptive than men.

He was sensitive too.

At least according to the mirror.

But he’d never been able to read the Ancient One as clearly as Clea had.

If he had, perhaps he wouldn’t have spent the moment after her death staring blankly into space.

Still...

He couldn’t deny that the Ancient One had lived an exhausting life.

She had spent centuries protecting Earth.

The longest-serving human guardian Evenson could think of from his own knowledge was Aegwynn, Guardian of Tirisfal.

Even Aegwynn had only served for roughly eight centuries.

And that immense power and responsibility had changed her.

Twisted her, in some ways.

The Ancient One had carried a similar burden for even longer.

Yet she had never become arrogant because of her power.

She had never broken beneath the pressure.

That alone was extraordinary.

Perhaps that was one reason the Council of Tirisfal periodically replaced its Guardians.

Yes, keeping immense power from remaining in the hands of a single person was certainly part of it.

But perhaps there was another reason.

Perhaps they wanted their Guardians to be allowed to stop.

To escape the responsibility.

To finally break free from the curse called protection.

Evenson looked at Clea.

And suddenly, he was extremely concerned about her future mental health.

"Why didn’t you stop her?"

Clea looked at him.

"Why should I have?"

"Why should I be sad?"

Evenson blinked.

Clea’s expression remained calm.

"Once I understood how much she had suffered, why would I stop her from seeking release?"

"She finally put down that burden."

"She finally reached eternal peace."

"Shouldn’t I be happy for her?"

Then her expression changed.

"If there is one thing worth mourning..."

She turned toward him.

"...it’s what you did."

Evenson’s stomach tightened.

Clea’s eyes were cold.

"The Ancient One sacrificed so much for this world."

"For so long."

"And you are forcing her to sacrifice again."

"No."

Her voice trembled.

"You’re dressing it up in noble language and placing her back on the altar of protecting the world."

"You’re turning her into a sacrifice all over again."

Evenson lowered his head.

"I..."

He sighed.

"I’m sorry."

When he’d taken the Ancient One’s soul, he’d been thinking about necessity.

Potential benefits.

The future.

He hadn’t stopped to consider what that act meant to Clea.

To her, the Ancient One wasn’t merely the woman who had protected Kamar-Taj.

She was family.

Almost a mother.

"If you believe this is wrong, then I can—"

"Don’t."

Clea raised a hand.

Evenson stopped.

"I’m angry."

"But I know you had your reasons."

"I don’t want to know all the details."

"I only want you to promise me one thing."

Her voice softened.

"If you can’t promise me..."

A tear finally escaped.

"...then I don’t think I could ever face you again."

Evenson’s chest tightened.

Never face me again?

That sounded disturbingly permanent.

"What is it?"

"I’ll promise."

Clea reached out and took both his hands.

"Don’t let her suffer like that again."

"Let her learn how to enjoy life."

"Let her live quietly, like an ordinary retiree."

"Don’t burden her with another responsibility."

"Don’t turn her into another person trapped by work and duty, still living like a slave long after everyone else has gone home."

"Let her live."

"Let her be happy."

"Can you do that?"

Evenson immediately clasped her hands.

"I can."

"I promise."

He nodded several times.

"I’ll do it."

Internally, however, he was already exhausted.

Because if there was one thing Evenson knew about the Ancient One, it was that she wouldn’t remain idle for long.

If she came back to life and didn’t immediately try to die again, she’d probably find some other catastrophe to involve herself in.

But that was a problem for later.

Right now, the important thing was making sure Clea never again said she couldn’t face him.

If she wanted him to treat the Ancient One like his own mother, he’d do it.

Actually...

After marriage, wasn’t your wife’s mother supposed to be your mother-in-law?

Maybe treating the Ancient One like his mother-in-law would be appropriate.

Then again...

I somehow acquired a mother-in-law without even getting married.

This feels like a terrible deal.

"You’ll keep your promise?"

Clea wiped away her tears.

"You really are an awful person."

She looked away.

"And somehow, you’ve become so awful that I can’t bring myself to leave you."

Evenson wisely decided not to comment.

"Right."

He pointed toward the battlefield.

"Why don’t we watch the fight?"

The atmosphere remained painfully heavy.

He needed another subject.

"Who would have expected Lily to bring a bunch of street toughs to help out?"

"Quite the unconventional choice."

There was unmistakable amusement in his voice.

If Lily had heard him, she probably wouldn’t have been pleased.

What’s wrong with gangsters?

If they get the job done, they get the job done.

Lily might have held an important position within Kamar-Taj, but her particular line of work meant she’d always operated somewhat independently.

She knew the Hong Kong underworld far better than she knew most of Kamar-Taj.

And commanding gangsters came far more naturally to her than commanding sorcerers.

Besides, Lily didn’t see that much difference between the two organizations.

Neither was officially registered.

Both were highly active underground groups.

The Ancient One was the Sorcerer Supreme.

Lily was one of the leaders of the local underworld.

Really, Kamar-Taj was just a much larger, much more sophisticated gang.

At least, that was Lily’s perspective.

And honestly, the similarities weren’t entirely imaginary.

Sorcerers trained every day and learned increasingly elaborate ways to kill people.

Gangsters did the same.

Some of the more ambitious ones apparently even hired physics tutors to learn things like the most efficient angle for stabbing someone.

In terms of practical experience, the gangsters arguably had the advantage.

They couldn’t compete with sorcerers in raw power.

But that wasn’t the point.

Used properly, ordinary people could become an extremely effective wild card.

The Hong Kong Sanctum’s sorcerers were skilled and disciplined.

But they fought like sorcerers.

Kaecilius knew how to fight sorcerers.

He would expect magical attacks.

He would prepare for them.

He would take them seriously.

The gangsters were different.

They were ordinary humans.

And Lily knew exactly how sorcerers viewed ordinary humans.

Unimportant.

Low-level.

Harmless.

Something that could be ignored.

But being ignored meant being invisible.

And attacks coming from somewhere your opponent didn’t even consider a threat could be devastating.

More importantly, gangsters didn’t possess the dignity, restraint, or refined combat etiquette of sorcerers.

They fought dirty.

A Kamar-Taj sorcerer wouldn’t think to disguise himself as a drunk, sneak close, and steal his opponent’s Sling Ring.

Even if he wanted to, he probably couldn’t pull it off.

They wouldn’t throw powdered lime into someone’s eyes before dousing them with cold water.

They wouldn’t use Molotov cocktails.

They certainly wouldn’t consider running someone over with a truck or dropping something heavy from a rooftop.

Gangsters didn’t fight fair.

They fought to win.

That was why a group of ordinary street thugs had managed to bring down a female sorcerer who had been empowered by Dormammu and was considerably stronger than the average mage.

When individual strength wasn’t enough, numbers and unconventional tactics could bridge the gap.

Unfortunately, there was still a rather substantial difference in power.

The fallen sorcerer suddenly unleashed a desperate spell from the ground.

She twisted around, snatched two machetes from her attackers, and began swinging wildly.

Several gangsters were cut.

The others stumbled backward.

One person fighting for their life could be terrifying.

The gangsters knew better than to rush her again.

They simply surrounded her.

"Let’s see how long she can keep that up."

"When she gets tired, cut her down."

She was already nearing her limit.

Powdered lime.

Cold water.

Firebombs.

Her hair was burned black.

Her eyes had been blinded.

Her face was horribly scarred.

And while she had been lying on the ground, several gangsters had managed to slash her repeatedly.

Blood dripped from her wounds.

She knew she might not survive.

But she refused to accept it.

She was one step away from accomplishing everything she’d fought for.

To die here because a group of filthy ordinary humans had ambushed her?

Unacceptable.

Even blind, she knew she was surrounded.

Her hand slipped toward her waist.

A row of throwing blades flashed outward.

Several gangsters dropped.

"苗仔強!"

"Your turn!"

"Got it!"

A dark-skinned man hurried forward, his accent thick and unusual.

A large silver earring hung from one ear, and a huge sack was slung over his shoulder.

Judging by his appearance and accent, he was apparently from one of the local ethnic communities.

He grinned.

"You like hidden weapons?"

"Then let’s see how you handle the Five Poisons."

He ripped open the sack.

Then threw its contents over her.

Snakes.

Scorpions.

Centipedes.

Toads.

A writhing mass of poisonous creatures landed across her body.

The woman didn’t even have time to scream.

Her skin darkened.

Her body convulsed.

Then she collapsed.

"Get her!"

"One slash each!"

"Everyone gets a turn!"

The gangsters surged forward.

Then the street shook.

A deafening crash echoed through the district.

Everyone stopped.

They turned toward the sound.

A towering old building at the end of the street had collapsed.

Dust billowed into the night.

The darkness above them seemed to deepen.

Then strange purple spheres of light appeared in the sky.

It looked as though someone had torn a hole through reality itself.

The gangsters stared upward.

A figure slowly emerged through the haze.

Kaecilius.

He walked toward them.

One of his arms had withered into something resembling a bird’s claw, twisted at an unnatural angle.

Blood stained the corner of his mouth.

The right side of his chest was visibly caved inward.

He should have been barely standing.

Instead, he didn’t even seem to notice his injuries.

His eyes were fixed on the sky.

He looked almost entranced.

"So beautiful..."

His voice trembled with awe.

"He’s here."

"The Great One has arrived."

His smile widened.

"Millya..."

"I did it."

"We’ll finally reach the promised land."