It could be seen that Stephen Strange was truly saddened. Yes, there was nothing more painful than a doctor watching an injured person die right before his eyes.
In fact, Blaine had thought just now that the Ancient One should have said something before she died. For example, she should have told Stephen Strange how to shoulder responsibility, or how to protect Earth. At the very least, she should have said something to Blaine. After all, Blaine had given her a level-five star core, but the matter had not been settled yet. Was she not afraid that Blaine would simply run away with everything?
Moreover, Blaine had also seen some of this meaning in the Ancient One's eyes just before she died. It was just that this damned Ancient One did not follow the usual routine. It was clearly supposed to play out like this in television dramas. Wouldn't it be a little too disrespectful to die without saying a few words?
Also, for some reason, although Blaine had watched the Ancient One die right in front of him, he still felt that she was not dead. Otherwise, why was there no blood flowing from the wound? Was the Ancient One not a human from Earth?
Moreover, normally speaking, even if the blood loss was severe and the wound was fatal, her life should not have vanished so suddenly.
Besides, who was the Ancient One? The Sorcerer Supreme, the previous Sorcerer Supreme of Earth, and someone who had inherited the mantle of Agamotto. There was no reason for her to be stabbed to death by Kaecilius's dark energy after only a few strikes.
No matter how fragile the Ancient One's body was, she was, after all, an old monster who had lived for hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of years. She was also an old monster who could survive by absorbing energy from the Dark Dimension. Even if her physique was not as abnormal as Blaine's, it should at least have been close to indestructible.
All in all, according to Blaine's speculation, as well as his understanding of the Ancient One, rather than saying that the Ancient One had died, it was better to say that she had been liberated.
By "liberated," he meant that the Ancient One had grown tired of this kind of life and had the same restless heart as Blaine. She did not want Earth to bind her, but she could not leave without someone to protect it. Therefore, after finding Stephen Strange as her successor, the Ancient One had decided to use this method to deceive everyone's eyes and ears, quietly and sneakily disappearing from everyone's sight, then flying off somewhere to enjoy herself.
After all, the Ancient One had always possessed the ability to exist in astral form. Even if her body was gone, she could still live in the state of a soul. Or she could go directly into outer space, wander freely, and find a suitable host, directly beat the other party's soul out, and claim the body for herself.
She could even go to the cosmic entity Eternity, because there had once been some connection between the Ancient One and that cosmic being.
In any case, no matter what, Blaine did not believe that the Ancient One had died so easily and for no apparent reason.
Forget it. Since the Ancient One no longer seemed to be attached to this world, Blaine could simply take over what came next. Without the Ancient One's supervision, could he not do whatever he wanted?
In the past, Blaine had always felt that he was already an invincible existence on Earth. Of course, there was one exception. Every time Blaine thought about it, he felt that the Ancient One was always pressing down on him, which made him extremely uncomfortable. Now, the Ancient One was gone, and on Earth, did that not mean that Blaine, the bounty hunter, would have the final say?
"Hmph..."
"In that case,"
"Then it's up to me to change the plot of the Marvel Universe."
Thinking about it, Blaine had a wicked smile on his face, as if he were planning some mysterious scheme.
"Hey,"
"I say, Doctor Stephen Strange,"
"Go back and check on your Sanctum."
"Don't let Kaecilius take the opportunity to destroy your stronghold again."
Looking at Stephen Strange, who was still sitting on the ground, Blaine could not simply stand by and watch. After all, this was one of the tasks he had accepted from the Ancient One. He could not let Stephen Strange keep sitting dazed in the middle of the road, only to be hit by a car later.
After speaking, Blaine did not wait for Stephen Strange to agree. He directly raised his hand and suddenly released a burst of flame, burning the Ancient One's body on the ground. Even the heavens seemed to cooperate, blowing a gust of wind that left not even the last bit of ash behind.
The ground remained as it had been before, spotless. From this moment on, a generation's Sorcerer Supreme had fallen on Earth, and Blaine had once again witnessed a master-level figure disappear before his very eyes.
However, since Blaine had chosen to accept this task, and the commission had already been received, then according to the professional ethics of bounty hunters, Blaine had to continue this mission until his employer's goal was achieved.
Stephen Strange, who had been sitting on the ground beside him, heard Blaine's warning, quickly stood up, and then ran in the direction of the Sanctum.
It seemed that he was truly afraid Kaecilius would launch a sneak attack on his base.
That was right. The New York Sanctum, no matter how one looked at it, was the only thing the Ancient One had left for Stephen Strange. No matter what the Ancient One had been like, she was dead now. But her spirit, the responsibility of protecting Earth, and the duty of using magical abilities to save more people from dire situations had already fallen onto Stephen Strange's shoulders.
Suddenly, Blaine seemed to think of something and turned his head to look around.
Huh?
There seemed to be one person missing.
Yes, that was right. At some point, the Ancient One's apprentice, the black magician from Kamar-Taj, had disappeared.
Blaine did not know when the black magician had vanished, nor where he had gone. In any case, he had mysteriously disappeared.
Of course, Blaine did not take it seriously. After all, even if this black magician turned into a villain again, and no matter how evil he became, the one who would face him in the future would be Stephen Strange, not Blaine himself.
Besides, even if this black magician stood on the opposite side of Blaine, with his meager, half-baked skills, unless some miracle occurred, if Blaine wanted to kill him, it would not be much harder than crushing an ant.
Shaking his head, Blaine threw away all those complicated thoughts. Then his eyes lit up, as if something was about to happen.
Blaine directly activated his soul-tracking technique and immediately locked onto Kaecilius's location. In the next second, Blaine's body disappeared from where he stood.
After Blaine, Stephen Strange, Kaecilius, and the black magician—the ones who were still alive—had all disappeared from this area, calm returned once again.
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