Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 1639 Kamar-Taj: Mirror Dimension

Stephen Strange, Sherlock Holmes, and the other sorcerers couldn't see Amon's movements at all. It was as if a blade enveloped in blue plasma flames had drawn an arc through the air, leaving a trail of afterimages as it sliced ​​into the smoke. But the next instant, a slender, neat finger pressed against the tip of the blade. No matter how hard Amon tried, he couldn't move the Spear of the Guard forward even a millimeter—to be precise, there was still a tiny gap between the blade and the finger, but that gap rendered the body forged by genetic alchemy and the machinery forged by advanced technology useless. Even the current from the disintegrating force field and the azure plasma flames couldn't penetrate this thin layer of air. The Emperor passed Amon, his flaming holy sword slashing straight at the hand. The owner of the hand smiled at the Emperor in the pale gray smoke, his relatively short figure vanishing without a trace.

Amon's movements were not distorted despite the instantaneous disappearance of his resistance.

He immediately adjusted his stance and pulled the trigger. The explosive bullet, specially crafted for the Royal Guard, pierced the spot where the target had disappeared, and he stepped forward to block in front of the emperor, his halberd held horizontally, ready to meet any possible attack. However, there was no sound of the bullet hitting flesh, not even the sound of the warhead exploding; the pale gray incense smoke seemed to have swallowed all sound. The flames of the holy sword burned through the smoke, and countless tiny, distorted faces floated in the air, only to be burned away by the pure flames, turning into the emperor's psionic fuel.

"Danger! Back off!" Athena rushed forward as well. "This isn't right, this is a mirror dimension!"

"Amon, come in with me!" The emperor didn't turn around. His expression was serious, and the tip of his holy sword trembled slightly. "Athena, I need you to make sure nothing escapes from inside. Mystics, chant exorcism spells to the best of your ability. I believe you've all passed your basic courses. Not exorcism spells for this courtyard, but for yourselves. Don't let anything in this courtyard affect you."

"What on earth is going on?!" Stephen Strange shouted. "Isn't the Sorcerer Supreme in there?"

"Yes, but the demons have attacked the Sorcerer Supreme, and we need to go and save him now."

Do not state any facts. In any case, the reputation of His Holiness the Venerable Master must not be tarnished.

The emperor glanced at Athena and issued a warning.

The Emperor and Athena's psychic communication was undisguised; every arcane mage could clearly sense the energy fluctuations, yet none could hear a single word uttered by the Emperor, only knowing that they had engaged in a secret conversation. Only Sherlock Holmes, after a moment's thought, nodded without objection, rebuttal, or inquiry. As the two golden-armored giants charged into the smoke imperceptible to the naked eye and even a second vision, Athena did not sheath her spear. She remained battle-ready, powerful psychic energy visibly burning in her eyes and around her.

"Now, all of you, retreat to the bottom of the steps," she said to the mages. "The situation here is not for you to interfere with. If you want to escape, do so quickly; the army below will allow you to rejoin the prisoners of war."

"I don't understand, what's going on? What happened to the Sorcerer Supreme?" Stephen Strange voiced the doubts in everyone's minds, but only he asked the question. Compared to other sorcerers, his personality was extremely impulsive, completely devoid of any semblance of caution. No one could understand why the Sorcerer Supreme would put this person on the shortlist. "We are the sorcerers of Kamar-Taj, and we have the right to know the truth."

"What kind of idiot would still believe that secular rights work here?"

Athena glared at him. Stephen Strange wanted to retort, but remembering the psionic spell Athena had cast with her spear not long ago, he wisely chose to remain silent. He didn't believe his Seraphim Shield could withstand such an attack; in fact, his intuition told him that even if he released a homing missile, it wouldn't hit the tall woman before him. A wiser choice was to avoid trouble beyond his control. Stephen Strange still needed to heal his hand, and it was best to avoid something that clearly seemed fraught with danger.

"Now, get out of here, the farther away the better. No one here will be responsible for your lives."

"Baron Mordo, I'm glad you made a wise choice. Now you'd better tell us what exactly happened up there, and why we can't contact the Imperial Guard?"

Baron Mordo hung his head, remaining silent and refusing to utter a single word no matter how Tatiana questioned him. Just as Tatiana was considering whether to proceed with the interrogation, the reconnaissance drone ahead reported that another group of arcane mages had descended from the mountaintop. According to the IFF (Identification Friend or Foe) system, these mages had been removed from the threat list, indicating that those authorized to do so had made the assessment and had contact with them. The list included Stephen Strange, Sherlock Holmes, and members of several arcane families. When the soldier read the names from the list to Tatiana, Baron Mordo, who had remained silent, finally raised his head, seemingly about to say something.

He spat on the ground.

"A bunch of traitors."

"Is this what you wanted to say, Baron Mordo?" Tatiana beckoned to the mystic loyal to the Royal Guard and the Emperor. "Give me a brief overview of the current situation."

"A large amount of psionic energy is gathered in the courtyard where the Sorcerer Supreme resides, and the psionic tides are extremely chaotic and dangerous."

“Now you know why we did this, Baron Mordo. The Sorcerer Supreme is not omniscient and omnipotent, and the one who gave you the orders was not the Sorcerer Supreme, but an ethereal entity posing as him,” Tatiana said. “You’d better offer us your help; only our Lord has the ability to resolve this.”

"How do you suddenly know so much?" another combat sister asked on the communication channel. "You're not usually that interested in academic subjects. I thought you were more interested in firearms than books!"

“I don’t know either, sister. It’s a feeling, a sense that I should know these things,” Tatiana said. “In the time of Catholic heresy, shepherdesses could gain knowledge of leading armies. Doesn’t my ability to know this prove that the path we are on is correct, and that’s why our Lord has enlightened me?”

As the planetary defense system gradually unfolded, people around the world, especially those near the three shrines and the Kamar-Taj headquarters, immediately felt the emotional shift. It was as if all joy had been sucked away; happiness, ecstasy, and passion were erased by an unseen hand. Loneliness surged in the sea of ​​the subconscious, flooding the streets of consciousness like sewage from a sewer. In the area closest to the planetary defense system's fulcrum, even souls stripped of all joy could not escape. The system created by the first-generation Agamotto had forged a layer of ice in the ocean of the collective unconscious, stripping away the emotional responses that the human race should have. Many people immediately felt a sense of mental suffocation, and then they could no longer remember what had happened. Aside from the most basic neural responses, they no longer reacted to any external stimuli.

"I assure you, this is temporary. We rarely activate all the functions of the planetary defense system, so it's normal to miss some details, really." Mage Daniel said earnestly, "Scale 162, continue. As you continue to immerse yourself in this machine, you'll find yourself inexplicably gaining a lot of knowledge... Forget it, you must forget it, don't be misled by that knowledge, and don't be contaminated by the emotions of the collective unconscious... Imagine yourself as an icebreaker, sailing on the ice of the collective unconscious."

"I don't think the process of using a planetary defense system has any similarity to hypnosis by a psychologist."

"You should read more books, Amphitrite. I really don't know what he created you guards for; how come such big bodies can't fit even a little bit of brains?"

"I'm referring to the method of instruction you used, Mage Daniel." Amphitrite maintained his usual calm, even though Mage Daniel's demeanor made one want to shut him up. This old man was infuriating enough as always. "According to feedback from the outside world, the planetary defense system seems to be operating too powerfully, affecting surrounding populations, including the arcane prisoner-of-war outside the walls of Kamar-Taj. We need to know if this effect is irreversible?"

"Um……"

"You don't know, do you?"

"Alright, I admit it." Sorcerer Daniel waved his hand helplessly. "The level of protection he requested is too high. Even when the ethereal entities summoned by the witches fought in the solar system a few years ago, we didn't fully activate the planetary defense system. Everyone who has ever seen the planetary defense system in its entirety, except for the Sorcerer Supreme, is dead, because no one can live that long, not even the half-zombies of those arcane families. The only thing we can be sure of is that since he requested the activation of the planetary defense system, it means that the system can provide him with assistance."

"Where are we, my lord? This isn't an ordinary mirror dimension. As far as I know, these things don't exist in mirror dimensions." Amon surveyed his surroundings, gripping his Guardian Spear diagonally against his breastplate. It was a defensive stance, requiring the user to taut their back, step forward half a step with their right leg, and lightly touch the ground with their toes for easy shifting. Compared to other genetically modified warriors, the Royal Guard's fighting style wasn't as brutal, focusing solely on offense. The Royal Guard's martial arts skills far surpassed those of other genetically modified warriors. As soon as he finished speaking, Amon immediately slashed downwards while simultaneously stepping forward and kicking at the second dangerous target—something resembling a human, or more precisely, possessing a humanoid form—except that this form had undergone numerous transformations, making it unrecognizable even to the most intelligent beings familiar with it. His attack only resulted in a shower of shattered glass, as if everything here were made of glass, from the terrain to the buildings, everything constructed angles beyond the material universe through irregular geometric movements.

(End of this chapter)