On the busy streets of New York, Jean and Wanda walked side by side along the sidewalk.
The weather was pleasant, with a few white clouds drifting in the sky. Occasionally, a gentle breeze swept through, bringing a refreshing coolness.
But despite the cool winds, neither of them felt uncomfortable. They used magic to block the cold.
They kept walking.
Jean and Wanda were preparing to collect more books for Aaron. From past experience, this was a routine task.
But today, Jean frowned.
"Wanda, has your perception arrived yet?"
"What a disgusting smell," Wanda responded, her face scrunching. "I sense decay and pitch-black darkness!"
"That's the scent of the devil," Jean explained, her eyes calm and easygoing. She had unconsciously switched to her Dark Phoenix form. "Be ready to fight. Demons are watching us."
"Quickly contact Aaron," she urged.
Wanda gave a nonchalant "hmm," without nodding, her expression remaining neutral.
After everything they had been through, plus the training from Amora and Sif, Wanda had grown far beyond the average teenage girl.
Without alerting the enemy in the shadows, she and Jean exchanged information, then reached out to Aaron via the magic net.
The magic net served more than just the transmission of magical energy; it was also a means of direct communication. Through it, they could contact Aaron at any time, as well as anyone else connected to it.
Typically, only those with high-level authority had this privilege. And that authority was restricted to the owner of the communication magic net.
As long as they were within the magic net's range, they could communicate with Aaron instantly. This method was highly discreet, nearly undetectable to outsiders.
With their strength, neither Jean nor Wanda feared anyone threatening them. Though Jean was not directly connected to the magic net, her Dark Phoenix persona made her nearly invincible when the two personalities worked together. The power she could wield could destroy anything.
Wanda, with her Origin Magic Power, was also formidable. Even though she hadn't yet fully mastered the Dark God Book, she had connected to the magic net to absorb Agatha's magic, boosting her power.
Both were confident, but they always followed Aaron's advice. He had told them from the beginning that they should contact him immediately if any doubts arose—never act recklessly. Even if Wanda wanted to test her strength, Aaron insisted she contact him first to avoid any "one in a million" chances of things going wrong.
Once Aaron received Wanda's message, he immediately arrived in the area, hidden from view. No one noticed him.
Despite the large energy boost the Dimensional Lord believers had received, they were still novices, relying on borrowed power. They hadn't had time to refine or properly understand it. Their magical knowledge was limited.
No one could detect Aaron, who was far stronger than them and a master of magic.
Meanwhile, the believers remained oblivious to the fact that their target had already noticed them. They continued observing, waiting for their prey to step into their trap.
The trap itself was a magic circle set up by Kaecilius, designed to obscure the perception of the outside world and delay detection. Although it was a standard method, it was still beyond the believers' abilities to handle.
Their magic was fragmented, and Dimensional Lords had only infused them with a minimal amount of useful power.
In the eyes of Dimensional Lords, these believers were mere disposable pawns.
The Dark Phoenix's malice was stirred. Either they would be dealt with by the Phoenix or eliminated by the rushing god of magic. Either way, they were doomed.
"What's going on?" one of the believers muttered. "When do we act?"
Aaron silently moved forward and tapped the shoulder of the person in front of him.
"Don't speak! Wait a moment, they'll step right into the trap in two more steps!"
The believer didn't respond. He was too engrossed in his new power to notice anything unusual. With their newfound confidence, they didn't believe anyone could approach them undetected.
"Get ready! They're going in!" someone shouted excitedly.
Wanda and Jean were about to cross the threshold of the magic circle, but something caught their attention—two children playing nearby.
"Damn it! Just a little longer!" one of the believers cursed. "When did two children appear over there?"
"I told you, we should've had Kaecilius create an illusion to make all those common people vanish!"
Aaron followed their gaze, a strange look crossing his face.
He realized this batch of Dimensional Lord believers was the worst group he had encountered. They had made it so obvious, yet they didn't even look back.
And there were no children—just a low-level illusion created by Wanda.
These believers had been completely deceived.
Aaron confirmed their energy signatures again. They were all emitting dark energy—about a sub-god father's level. They had once been considered strong in the Nine Realms, but now, they looked completely incompetent.
What was the use of such power without the knowledge to wield it properly?
It seemed these believers had been sent to cause trouble for Aaron. Were the Dimensional Lords really thinking this would work?
Aaron felt insulted by the Dimensional Lord's underestimation of him.
He thought to himself, Do they think their strategy will work? They've sent these weaklings to do their bidding? It's absurd.
Wanda and Jean, meanwhile, stood on the edge of the magic circle, casually chatting. They had several times been tempted to step into it, but each time they hesitated.
The Dimensional Lord believers, already anxious, began wondering if the two had noticed the magic circle or sensed their presence. Why were they playing around instead of walking into the trap?
But the believers quickly dismissed the thought. They had used every trick in the book to conceal their aura, and they had been given a "gift" by the gods to help hide their presence. It couldn't be that two girls could see through their scheme.
"What's the matter, Wanda? Are you scared?" Jean asked, sensing her thoughts.
Wanda smiled, unfazed. "I'm not scared at all. Actually, I think this is really amusing. These demons are completely stupid! They don't even compare to what's in the magic books. They're so far from being smart."
She was enjoying herself, using illusion magic to effortlessly trick the dark devils. She had created multiple coincidences and toyed with them near the magic circle.
The thought of the demons, who were supposed to be legendary, being fooled by her made Wanda grin.
"And Aaron's already here," she added, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "I can smell him. With him around, no demon is a match for us."
Jean smiled, shaking her head. Wanda's playful attitude was in stark contrast to the seriousness of the situation.
Still, Jean didn't say much. If Aaron wasn't acting immediately, they would observe from the shadows.
They knew it wasn't a serious threat—otherwise, Aaron would have acted by now.
"When are we going to act?" Jean asked, her patience thinning. "This has gone on long enough."
With Dark Phoenix's power, these delays were growing boring for her. If it weren't for Wanda, she would have already hunted down every one of their spies and crushed them.
"Let's hurry up!" Wanda urged, smiling.
But unnoticed by the Dimensional Lords, Wanda began subtly directing the transformed figures to various positions around the magic circle. There was a faint red light in the eyes of these illusions, flowing into the ground and merging with the magic circle.
She quickly controlled the figures to leave, as if nothing had happened.
Jean looked sideways at her. "What are you doing?"
Wanda shrugged nonchalantly. "Just practicing some knowledge from the magic book. The magic circle they prepared was crude. I thought I'd add a little touch of my own. I'm sure they'll be... impressed."
Wanda concentrated on tweaking the magic circle Kaecilius had created, displaying a highly academic side to her magical skills. Even Kaecilius, a seasoned mage, would have been outclassed by her mastery of the magic circle.
He didn't even realize that the magic circle he created was no longer the one he had crafted.
Aaron, however, noticed Wanda's modifications immediately. He smiled, impressed by her progress.
It had only been a short time since she started studying magic, yet she could already modify the Kamar-Taj magic system and introduce runes to transform a low-level circle into a forbidden one.
The new circle, designed by Wanda, could only be used by her, and it was far more powerful than Kaecilius's original.
Although it would be challenging for higher-level mages to break, against the Dimensional Lord believers—who barely knew any real magic—it was practically invincible.
"I don't care! I'm going in!" one of the Dimensional Lord believers finally snapped, unable to hold back.
They charged forward, but as soon as their magic touched the circle, it had no effect. There was no blood, no explosion—nothing. The "people" they thought they were attacking simply dissipated.
"Damn it! It's a trick! We've been found out!" one of the believers shouted.
"Go, go together!" they yelled, rushing in a panic.
But as they entered the circle, one by one, their magic was drained. They were trapped, unable to use any power.
The last believer who entered froze, his face paling in realization.
"Where's my magic? What did you do to me?"
The others rushed in, oblivious to the trap, only to face the same fate.
One by one, they fell—completely immobilized.
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