Sorcerer in the Marvel Universe

Outside the castle, the battle raged.

Inside, the ritual continued with remarkable order.

In fact, the ceremony had begun well before the fighting outside ever started.

Locke and Danny knelt at the center of the castle. Around them stood tobacco executives, drug traffickers, and third-rate politicians, all dressed in black robes with pointed hoods that concealed their faces.

They swayed as they chanted, their voices rising together.

The gunfire and explosions outside didn’t distract them.

If anything, the violence seemed to sharpen their concentration.

They all understood the stakes.

If the ritual succeeded, their new master would appear and get them out of here.

If it failed, they were probably all going to die.

So they focused harder.

"Descend, Lord of Darkness! Awaken, Lord of Darkness!"

The ritual responded.

Everything was going perfectly.

Danny’s eyes had already turned completely black.

Locke’s shadow writhed across the floor, stretching and twisting as it slowly climbed Danny’s body.

One more moment.

Then possession would be complete.

"Hmph."

A quiet chuckle suddenly came from somewhere within the crowd.

It vanished almost immediately, as though whoever had made the sound had desperately tried to suppress it.

It didn’t work.

The laughter returned, louder this time.

"Hahaha!"

Everyone turned.

The rhythm of the ritual shattered.

The moment of possession slipped away.

Locke’s connection with Danny’s shadow broke.

"GRAAAH!"

Locke snarled in fury and spun around.

Who had the nerve to laugh at a moment like this?

The cultists immediately scattered beneath his furious gaze, revealing two figures they’d been standing in front of.

Both wore black robes with their faces concealed.

But from their builds and the unmistakably feminine laughter, there was no mistaking them for anything other than women.

"I’m sorry."

One of them waved her hands, desperately trying to suppress another laugh.

"I didn’t mean to laugh, but..."

Her shoulders shook.

"The Lord of Darkness..."

She broke down again.

"It’s just so ridiculous!"

The second woman doubled over, clutching her stomach.

"Have you ever actually seen real darkness?"

She struggled to speak through her laughter.

"You, this pathetic little nobody..."

Another burst of laughter escaped her.

"You actually have the nerve to call yourself the Lord of Darkness?"

"Who are you?!"

Locke roared.

Then he spotted the man standing beside the two women.

"Guler! Are they yours?"

Guler actually took a step backward from the force of the shout.

Then he straightened, removed his hood, and spoke with complete confidence.

"They aren’t my people."

He gestured toward the two women.

"They are my masters."

His voice became almost reverent.

"They come from the heart of the universe’s darkness. They are the Lords of Flame and Shadow, here to bury a decaying relic like you."

The two women exchanged satisfied glances.

This was why having servants was useful.

Some titles sounded unbearably dramatic when you announced them yourself.

Coming from someone else, they suddenly sounded much more impressive.

"Pain. Betrayal. Confusion. Hatred. Suspicion. Chaos."

Flame and shadow erupted simultaneously.

The disguises covering the women were torn apart.

Their true forms emerged.

Beautiful, sinister faces.

Curved horns.

Bodies that were unmistakably demonic.

And hooved feet that made their nature impossible to mistake.

Demons.

The other servants of the dark master stared in shock.

Several of them nearly cried.

Why hadn’t these two demon queens shown up earlier?

If they had, who would have bothered following that old man?

"Demons..."

Locke’s voice became a low growl.

Demons and devils had never exactly gotten along.

Their rivalry went back ages, and encountering one another without immediately starting a fight was practically a violation of natural law.

Especially when these two demons had just interrupted his most important ritual.

Sacrolash smiled.

"Honestly, considering we’ve been alive for tens of thousands of years, this is probably the second funniest thing we’ve heard."

She looked directly at Locke.

"The first was a warlock who pointed at his two-story house and proudly called it his mage tower."

Alythess stared at Locke’s darkened face as though he were a particularly amusing clown.

"A fragment that can’t even achieve independence dares to call itself the Lord of Darkness."

She shook her head.

"How pathetic."

"Don’t get angry."

Sacrolash narrowed her eyes.

"You’ll shorten the lifespan of that body."

Her smile widened.

"And that bulldog expression you’re making..."

She tilted her head.

"Are you planning to attack us?"

"I think you should deal with her first."

Alythess pointed behind Locke.

"Take a look."

Locke’s instincts immediately screamed that this was a trap.

Of course.

Demons.

Did they really think he’d fall for something that obvious?

If she told him to look behind him, naturally he wasn’t going to look.

Then he noticed something strange.

The other people in the room were all staring at his back.

Locke hesitated.

Fine.

He turned his head.

Nothing.

He visibly relaxed.

"I looked. There’s nothing there."

"Above you, idiot."

Sacrolash shook her head.

Were you seriously this stupid?

Locke slowly looked upward.

And immediately wished he hadn’t.

A bald woman wearing yellow robes floated above them, her hands folded behind her back.

She hadn’t made a sound.

She simply hovered there, looking down.

Locke’s face went pale.

"The Sorcerer Supreme!"

The name came out as a terrified shout.

The Ancient One might have been human, but her reputation was legendary even in Hell.

Any demon unfortunate enough to cross paths with her rarely lived long enough to regret it.

"Why are you here?"

Locke’s mind was in chaos.

Until recently, he’d considered himself extraordinarily lucky.

He’d escaped Hell.

He’d found the Son of Darkness.

The ritual had proceeded without a hitch.

Everything had gone perfectly.

And now, right before the final step, his luck had apparently evaporated.

First, two demons had shown up to ruin his ritual.

Now the Sorcerer Supreme had arrived.

This was ridiculous.

How was he supposed to survive this?

"Soldiers against soldiers. Generals against generals."

The Ancient One slowly descended.

"The children are outside getting some practical experience."

She looked calmly at Locke.

"So I’ll deal with you personally."

"The people attacking outside..."

Locke’s face twitched.

"Those are your mages?"

He knew there was fighting outside.

He just hadn’t realized who was responsible.

"Your aging body appears to have weakened your senses."

The Ancient One’s expression remained calm.

"That means you don’t have much strength left to resist either."

She gestured lightly.

"Surrender."

"Never!"

Locke’s expression twisted.

His previously heavy body suddenly withered.

His flesh collapsed against his bones until he resembled a living skeleton.

Then he opened his mouth and released a massive cloud of black poison.

His current body was far too ordinary to contain his power safely.

Every spell inflicted severe damage upon him.

But he had no choice now.

The poisonous cloud couldn’t hurt the Ancient One.

It could, however, obscure her vision.

That was enough.

Locke staggered forward, grabbed Danny, threw him into an SUV, and climbed behind the wheel.

The vehicle roared to life.

He sped away.

"He ran."

Sacrolash shook her head.

"What a coward..."

She suddenly stopped.

Darkness descended around her.

A figure shot through the darkness toward her at incredible speed.

It was Kerrigan.

Locke had ordered him to hold off the two demons.

Kerrigan wasn’t remotely confident about his chances, but the contract binding him to Locke left him little choice.

He attacked.

Sacrolash didn’t even blink.

Her right hand shot out.

She caught Kerrigan by the throat.

The darkness vanished instantly.

She stared at him with genuine pity.

"Are you serious?"

Her fingers tightened.

"You actually thought using shadows against me would work?"

She looked almost sympathetic.

Apparently, the stupidity really did travel downward from the top.

If the boss had a broken brain, it was hardly surprising that his subordinates weren’t exactly geniuses either.

"Let’s begin."

Sacrolash glanced toward the castle entrance.

"I think our friend has started fighting outside."

Her hand tightened.

Snap.

Kerrigan’s neck broke.

Sacrolash slammed him into the ground.

Then she raised one hoof and brought it down.

His body shattered like a plaster statue.

Alythess’s eyes lit up.

"He’s started?"

A grin spread across her face.

"Excellent."

She looked toward the direction Evenson had gone.

"I can’t wait to see him..."

She paused.

"To teach him a lesson."

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