Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The howling wind echoed through the darkened skies of Hell. A slender yet enormous rift in the void suddenly materialized, hanging suspended in mid-air. It resembled a painted scroll with an abrupt tear down its center—jarring and profoundly ugly.
"Ancient One, what brings you to trespass upon my territory today?" Mephisto demanded, his tone barely suppressing his rage as he fought to control his voice.
Had it been anyone else breaching his domain so forcefully, he wouldn't have wasted words—he would have attacked immediately. But this was the Ancient One. Not only was the Supreme Sorcerer stronger than him under normal circumstances, but Mephisto was currently in a severely weakened state. And he still bore the scars of his previous defeat at the Ancient One's hands.
He could only swallow his anger. If conflict could be avoided, he would try to prevent it.
Beside him, Dormammu stared intently at Lockhart, who stood next to the Ancient One. Though Dormammu hadn't spoken, his vigilant gaze communicated everything.
"Mephisto, is your question truly interesting?" The Ancient One glanced down, casually picking at her fingernails. Her tone carried a hint of frivolity and disdain.
"You repeatedly come to Earth without so much as a greeting. Is it so strange that I might visit the Hell dimension in return?"
With these words, the Ancient One gestured toward Lockhart beside her, her voice taking on a proud tone.
"Mephisto, Dormammu, allow me to make an introduction. This is my disciple. In the near future, he will also be the next Supreme Sorcerer."
She added with a half-smile, "I should thank you both. If not for your repeated interferences, I might never have discovered Lockhart's excellence."
As the Ancient One finished speaking, both Mephisto and Dormammu's expressions froze. However, Mephisto's face quickly shifted to a congratulatory mask.
"Congratulations to the Supreme Sorcerer for finding a worthy successor," he offered, seeming to understand what the Ancient One intended to do. A sense of foreboding grew within him.
Suddenly, the Ancient One tilted her head and called loudly into the void beside them: "You evil gods of Hell! Hiding is rather dull—you'd best reveal yourselves."
The moment these words left her lips, an aura of darkness, chaos, and malevolence erupted with the Ancient One at its center. Nearly ten evil gods of Hell had surrounded her and Lockhart.
Lucifer, Satan, Bell, and others appeared one by one.
"Ancient One, your courage is remarkable," growled Satan in his hoarse voice. "You dare come directly to our Hell?"
"Our Supreme Sorcerer is naturally both gifted and bold," Lucifer added with disdain, his gaze fixed on the Ancient One's face.
"Hahaha! I don't know if I'm particularly artistic, but I am indeed brave!"
"Don't let the Ancient One escape this time. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity..."
The surrounding lords of Hell chattered and laughed amongst themselves.
Was the Ancient One powerful? Undoubtedly. In one-on-one combat, perhaps none of them would prove her equal. But with all the evil gods of Hell gathered, they didn't believe she could possibly escape—especially on their home ground.
The Ancient One paid no attention to their malicious stares and discussions. Instead, she turned to Lockhart and said, "Lockhart, I will now give you your first lesson. Don't be deceived by these evil gods' apparent power. In truth, they merely bully the weak and fear the strong."
"Watch carefully how I use the Eye of Agamotto. It will serve you well in the future."
With these words, the Ancient One, surrounded on all sides, began to move her hands. The Eye of Agamotto around her neck slowly opened.
Buzz!
A dazzling green light flashed forth.
For a moment, everything fell silent. The previous sounds of discussion and laughter vanished completely. Only faint green ripples remained around the terrifying evil gods of Hell.
Whoosh!
Surrounded by complete silence, the Ancient One and her student Lockhart slowly floated forward. They approached a tall, muscular figure with crimson skin and a pointed head.
Ignoring the fury in his eyes, the Ancient One introduced him as though presenting a museum exhibit: "Lockhart, let's get acquainted. This is Satan. You've likely heard of him—he's quite notorious and possesses considerable strength. He has accumulated the most original power."
As she spoke, the Ancient One extended her right hand and thrust it directly into Satan's chest. A faint golden light flashed, as though her hand had plunged into water. Her right hand penetrated to his heart, gripped it firmly, and began to withdraw.
Satan, bound tightly in place, experienced an enormous change in his expression. He endured the pain and glared at the Ancient One with hatred.
He wasn't present in his true form but had arrived as an incarnation. Upon hearing of the Ancient One's arrival, he had brought his strongest cultivated avatar.
The result...
Buzz!
The Ancient One slowly withdrew her hand, revealing a dark red orb of original power. Without ceremony, she tossed it directly to Lockhart.
"Lockhart, keep this safe—this is your first gift from your master," she said, casually clapping her hands as though cleaning away debris.
Lockhart quickly secured it. This was original power—though the system no longer required it, such power still represented a supreme treasure to him.
"Come, Lockhart. Let's examine this one and become familiar with him. He could be considered an old acquaintance of our Kamar-Taj," the Ancient One continued. "This is Lucifer!"
The Ancient One and Lockhart approached Lucifer, evil god of Hell. Observing the handsome figure before him with enormous black wings extending from his back, Lockhart couldn't help but swallow nervously.
Truly...
"Lucifer, I'll relieve you of your gift," the Ancient One stated coldly. Once again, she reached out and extracted an orb of light, a mixture of black and white, and handed it to Lockhart.
Afterward, she proceeded to each evil god in turn, extracting their original power and passing it to Lockhart, who caught each one swiftly.
To be honest, he felt somewhat overwhelmed by this generous bounty. Although the system had nearly shut down and no longer required original power, this couldn't diminish the value of what he was receiving.
Looking at the green temporal ripples surrounding them, and the furious expressions of the evil gods struggling vainly against their bonds, Lockhart couldn't help but marvel. The Time Stone was truly remarkable!
Yet...
Noticing Mephisto who had fled into the distance, Lockhart felt a slight pang of regret, though he didn't dwell on it. After all, this was Mephisto's dimension. On the opponent's territory, and without being the primary target, escape was naturally easier.
Besides, Mephisto had little of value to offer at present. On this point, Lockhart—having obtained nearly all of Mephisto's memories—felt quite certain.
Thank you for the memories, Mephisto! Lockhart silently expressed.
Buzz!
After draining the original power from the final evil god, the Ancient One waved her hand. The green ripples suddenly contracted, returning to the Time Stone.
Then...
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The incarnations of the evil gods exploded and fled, whether by choice or by force. All that remained at the scene were fierce energy fluctuations and the oppressive atmosphere of Hell.
Gazing at the now-empty space, the Ancient One nodded with satisfaction. She patted Lockhart's shoulder and declared:
"Come along, Lockhart. Let's continue collecting gifts!"