A fiery flash exploded, and rifles hit the deck as Dark Church fanatics stumbled back, having lost their weapons to Sebastian’s magic. The air was charged with leftover magic, the steel walls of the freighter vibrating with the pandemonium.

Kaecilius charged ahead, a burning longsword of flaming yarns appearing in one hand, a shimmering disk-shaped shield in the other. His strides were unyielding, sharpened by Kamar-Taj’s training and distorted by black magic’s violence. He cut down the zealots, their shouts chopped short as he felled them with merciless efficiency.

Sebastian waved his wand, the stuck captain’s room door splitting open in a sharp crack. The room was empty, or so it seemed. Sebastian was not deceived. A second wave sent a ring of light spreading outward, illuminating a concealed entrance—a secret room hidden behind a false panel.

Without hesitation, he blasted the entrance apart, shards of metal scattering. Beyond it, three high-ranking Dark Church leaders cowered, their faces pale. Sebastian and Kaecilius stepped forward, undaunted.

“Kill them!” one leader shrieked.

Four zealots, their bodies lighting up with energy from the Dark Dimension, charged. Crystalline spears took shape within their hands, shining with unearthly malevolence. Sebastian knew their potential—like enemies he’d battled before, when such enemies had pushed him to his limits. Now, they were no match.

His wand hand jerked, and four red beams shot out—Crimson Bands of Cyttorak, spelled with deadly accuracy. The beams struck, causing a thunderous blast that blasted the zealots back. A second blast from his wand hurled unseen blades at the air, severing their heads in a swift, ruthless arc.

Sebastian wheeled on the leaders, still being held against the wall by his previous spell. He pressed his wand lightly, holding them more securely, their bodies stuck against the metal. He examined them, his face twisted in disgust and amusement. “I thought the leaders of the Dark Church would be something great—mages, fighters, something fearful. But you are merely. ordinary filth.”

“We have power!” one stuttered, voice shaking. “Join us! Serve Dormammu, be our strength!”

Sebastian’s face turned cold. “Pathetic.”

They were unable to beg anymore as he snapped his wand. Their heads contorted at unnatural angles, spines shattering with a nauseating crack. They fell, dead, faces carved in frozen horror.

Kaecilius observed, a flash of relief crossing him. These rulers were a shadow of the Dark Church’s power—petty, weakened. If Sebastian had not discovered him, he might have pledged himself to such rubbish, his vision of peace warped into their filth. Thank the fates, he reflected. Thank Sebastian.

Unaware of Kaecilius’s deliberations, Sebastian knelt in the hidden chamber, scanning a hoard of crates. Paintings and sculptures, precious artifacts, shone within—booty of the Church’s spoils. His eyes rested on a biological tank, its contents a chill: a skull, humanoid but strange, suspended in gelatinous liquid.

Sebastian’s Asgardian training honed his awareness. This was not human. Its shape was reminiscent of the Atlantean wizard’s finger bones he had bought a year previously in New Mexico, a memento from a fortune-telling girl. A low, familiar energy emanated from the skull, piquing his interest.

He extended a hand to the tank, determined to examine it further, when a trident sliced through the air. It brushed Kaecilius, burying itself into the wall inches from Sebastian’s face with a hard metallic thunk.

A figure entered the entrance of the chamber—a black fish-scale vest and trousers, small white wings fluttering on his ankles, and a tall man. His presence was primal, commanding. With a casual wave, he ripped the entrance apart, steel bending like paper, and strode within.

His eyes focused on the skull, then shifted to Sebastian, narrowing with purpose. He launched himself, moving with predatory haste.

Kaecilius responded, calling up twin magic circles to defend him as shields against the man’s advance. But his assailant would not be deterred. He tore the shields apart like paper, grabbing Kaecilius and slamming him into the wall. Kaecilius fell, knocked unconscious.

Sebastian narrowed his eyes. He lifted his wand, a blue blast spell detonating in a dazzling flash. The explosion sent the man flying back, smashing through the secret room’s wall and into the freighter’s outer hallway.

Sebastian stepped back, staff at the ready, confronting the man as he stood up, unharmed. “Who are you?” Sebastian barked. “Another Dark Church fanatic?”

The man said nothing. With a bellow, he sprang off into the air, coming for Sebastian with chilling velocity.

Sebastian changed strategy. The resistance to magic on the man was unnatural—his explosion curse had had no effect. He flailed his wand in swift curves, firing a barrage of unseen knives—Sectumsempra, modified for deadly accuracy. The air rippled with their passage, cutting towards the assailant.

The man spun in mid-air, sidestepping with supernatural quickness, as if he felt the invisible blows. His arm flashed out, calling back the trident with an intangible tug. He arced it down, a massive blow aimed at Sebastian’s head.

Sebastian’s left hand was raised, the Ring of Harnessing Power blazing. With his fist clenched, he released a shockwave, its power rippling the air. The blast hit the man headfirst, sending him crashing through the captain’s room wall and falling out onto the freighter’s deck, the ocean’s spray glinting beyond.

Sebastian didn’t chase after the trident-wielding assailant. He went down beside Kaecilius, examining him for injuries. Kaecilius’ breathing was steady, his pulse strong—no vital damage. Sebastian got ready to create a portal to safety.

The freighter shuddered roughly, metal creaking beneath an invisible weight. Sebastian hastened to the hole in the captain’s room wall, looking out. Towering above the night sky was a giant wave, its crest shining with malevolence. At the top of it stood the assailant, trident held aloft, wielding the sea itself. With a wild swing, he drove the wave towards the ship.

Sebastian didn’t wait. With seawater churning through the rent, flooding the cabin, he seized Kaecilius’s arm. Space became a whirling vortex, and they disappeared, materializing in mid-air over the ocean.

Black smoke enveloped Sebastian as he hung, Kaecilius helpless in his grasp. Below, the ocean churned with unnatural life, engulfing the freighter in a churning maw. Even with the power to manipulate weather on a small level, Sebastian felt overwhelmed by the elemental rage—a power beyond the magic of mortals.

He stumbled on the Ring of Harnessing Power, its vibration stabilizing his concentration. A golden gateway blazed open, and he hurled Kaecilius through to safety. As Sebastian stepped to follow, a shadow fell behind him. The assailant attacked, trident crashing into Sebastian’s left arm. The impact sent him plummeting like a meteor and careened into the sea.

The water roared, creating a wide, hungry mouth to swallow him. But at the very last moment, Sebastian spun into a whirlpool, escaping the ocean’s clutches.

He materialized in mid-air, wand raised. A pale white light flared from its tip, spreading over his bruised left arm. The trident’s blow had battered beyond his hurried Protego shield, inflaming muscle and grating sinew. The bones were unbroken—small mercy—the pain was keen.

The attacker did not stop. He flashed towards Sebastian, impossibly quick, holding the trident like a dagger. Its thin prongs pierced vulnerable spots—heart, throat, eyes—with deadly accuracy.

Sebastian gave up on healing. His wand sliced through the air, calling up Protego Maxima to dull the attack. The attacker spun, darting behind him with effortless ease. A leg kicked out in a wide circle, heading towards Sebastian’s head, quick as a whip.

Sebastian used the Ring of Frost, and a huge ice wall formed, stopping the kick. The force cracked the ice, its shards sparkling like diamonds, but it gave him time.

Among the cascading frost, Sebastian backed away, weaving with his wand. White light surrounded him, suturing his arm’s wounds with Episkey. Pain receded, his concentration intensifying.

The attacker charged, covering distance in a blur. Sebastian held his position, not Apparating. He focused his will into the Ring of Harnessing Power, over the persisting pain in his arm. With a fistful of effort, he released a repulsion field—a three-meter wide spherical shockwave, rippling with brute force.

The field slammed into the attacker, its force overpowering even his super strength. He slammed backward, moving faster than he had arrived, crashing into the sea with a deafening splash.

Sebastian continued to heal, the light of the wand calming his arm until pain was but a distant recollection. He looked down, brows furrowed as the attacker surfaced, standing on a rolling column of water, trident shining.

Black smoke curled into Sebastian’s gaze, his patience fraying. Enough. This foe had struck without cause, exploiting Sebastian’s weakness in close combat. But Sebastian wasn’t defenseless. Even Thor, god of thunder, would hesitate to face him prepared. This winged-ankled warrior was no exception.

His wand disappeared with a snap, covered by mystical seals. Red threads tangled between his palms, weaving a spell he had perfected in the last year. Sebastian had steeled himself against his weaknesses, developing spells to defeat melee warriors. He extended his hands out, and many red threads blasted into being, splashing into the air. They created portals—wild, guttering gates surrounding the battlefield.

This was his gimmick, a three-dimensional labyrinth to eliminate hand-to-hand combat enemies. Sebastian entered a portal, disappearing.

The assailant’s gaze narrowed, surveying the dozens of gates. A crimson bolt burst from a portal behind him, striking his back with a detonation. He stumbled, turning to fight back. His trident fired a water arrow, cutting through the portal—but it struck nothing.

A shiver ran along his arm. A Sectumsempra sword sliced through unseen, leaving a shallow cut that welled up with blood before scabbing over. The face of the attacker grew harder. He could not remain here, trapped in this net of portals.

He dived into the sea, taking cover in his territory. Joy danced across his features as the water approached—but a giant portal opened up, and he was swallowed inside.

He burst forth in a searing desert, the air dry as bone, without water. His power wavered, the dry heat draining his strength. He flew without hesitation toward a portal in the heavens, seeking escape.

Sebastian stood within it, wand leveled. A flash of molten lightning—lava-like, burning—burst forth from its tip, slamming into the man’s chest with cataclysmic force. The crash resonated through the dunes, a final battle in the empty wasteland.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep