Do not forget, this was downtown New York. The Ancient One, Kaecilius, and the others had just fought here. If not for the Mirror Dimension, this street would have been destroyed long ago.
Now, when everyone had left and the Mirror Dimension had disappeared, this place was exposed to people's sight once again.
"What...?"
"Ahhh!"
"A corpse! A corpse!"
"There's a dead man!"
As soon as Blaine left, he heard several heart-piercing screams behind him. Someone must have seen the follower who had been stabbed to death by Kaecilius and used as a shield.
With just that scream, a crowd gathered here in no time, surrounding the place in three layers inside and three layers outside. It was estimated that after Kaecilius's follower's body was taken away by the police, it would either be dissected as some strange species or sliced up for research.
Behind the crowd, a shadow appeared from a corner, and a figure vanished from the spot with a whoosh.
That was right. This person was Blaine. At this moment, Blaine had not followed Stephen Strange back to the New York Sanctum. Instead, he had disappeared in another direction.
Do not think too much. Blaine was not planning to abandon the task issued by the Ancient One and simply walk away with the star core. Rather, Blaine had a more important plan to carry out.
Still in New York State, in the suburbs fifty kilometers away from the bustling downtown area near the New York Sanctum, there was a dilapidated small town. In an alley beside a small convenience store, the place looked like a paradise for garbage dumps.
The entire alley stank. From time to time, a few stray cats and dogs rummaged through the trash cans, casually picking through the leftovers people had thrown away.
Across the alley, one could even hear the clerks in the convenience store arguing loudly with customers dissatisfied with the prices of the goods, as well as the rumbling sound of a cheap air conditioner in the distant kitchen.
This seemed to be a place abandoned by people. No one cared about it, and there was no sign of life. Perhaps even if a shootout broke out here, no one would notice. All that existed were wild cats and dogs crying out for food.
Suddenly, in such a place, a villain wearing the robes of an ancient warrior landed here. For a moment, frightened by him, several little wild cats that had been fighting over food panicked and fled.
Why call him a villain, and why was he here? Because this person was not only dressed strangely, but also looked strange. Especially the dark circles under his eyes, black and red, as if they were about to rot, uglier than the spoiled meat in the garbage dump. Moreover, this person had suddenly fallen from the sky without anyone knowing what was going on. Those who did not know better might think some monster had dropped out of the heavens.
That was right. This person was Kaecilius. Even though not long ago, he had used a despicable method to stab to death the famous Sorcerer Supreme of Earth, his current situation was not easy.
Do not forget, in the battle just now, Kaecilius had not been able to defeat the Ancient One. The reason he had barely managed to kill the Ancient One through a sneak attack was because Kaecilius had used a special sacrificial method.
Because Kaecilius had used this method in order to obtain Dormammu's power during the battle, it now seemed that the backlash—the price paid for obtaining such a great amount of energy—was also enormous.
Looking at his half-dead appearance, he was probably only barely holding on. It might take ten days to half a month before he could return to a normal state.
Did that not mean Kaecilius, in his current condition, had no time at all to attack the New York Sanctum or the Hong Kong Sanctum? In that case, there was no need for Blaine to protect Stephen Strange for the time being.
Just as Kaecilius lay in the garbage dump, constantly moaning and trembling, he suddenly seemed to sense something. He quickly forced himself to stand up and stared firmly in one direction.
"Not bad vigilance."
"Pity."
It was the spot Kaecilius was staring at. At an inconspicuous location near the entrance of the alley, a man hiding in the darkness stepped out, wearing a black robe and a hood that covered his face.
Another person suddenly appeared, making the alley where no one usually passed through suddenly become lively. Even the small animals that had been making noise earlier all looked vigilantly at the two people facing each other. Perhaps they also sensed that the atmosphere was a bit abnormal, because all the animals immediately fled in desperation with their tails tucked between their legs.
Needless to say, the person who had come was Blaine. Possessing soul-tracking skills, even if Kaecilius ran to the ends of the Earth, Blaine could easily find him.
As for why Blaine wanted to find Kaecilius, of course there was a reason. That was right. Blaine had come to eliminate the roots. Regardless of whether the Ancient One had truly died in the previous battle or not, Kaecilius's mission could be considered complete anyway.
Of course, one could also say that Blaine was killing with a borrowed knife. But if the Ancient One had not died quickly, before Dormammu arrived, then Blaine would not have been able to complete the final task, nor would he have been able to upgrade.
If one wanted to say that Blaine was even more ruthless than Kaecilius, Blaine would not refute it. In any case, the Ancient One would die sooner or later. Sooner or later, she would not be able to escape the sanctions of the Marvel plot—not only sooner or later, but probably at noon.
Since she was already someone destined to die, why could Blaine not use her one last time? What was more, Blaine had done it without anyone knowing, and what Blaine had done was merely follow the development of the Marvel plot, ensuring that it continued normally. There was nothing wrong with doing so.
"You are..."
As for Blaine, Kaecilius actually did not know him. To be precise, he had never even met him. Although Kaecilius did not know Blaine, from the aura Blaine carried when he arrived, he knew that the person standing in front of him was definitely not simple, and the newcomer had not come with good intentions.
"The one who wants your life."
Blaine glanced at the surrounding environment. He had to say, Kaecilius really knew how to choose a place. This was probably his final destination. Being buried in these piles of garbage truly matched his status.
For Kaecilius, Blaine had nothing to say. He was only a minor character. If he killed him, then he killed him. Talking nonsense with him would be a waste of time.
If not for Kaecilius having some ritual to summon Dormammu, Blaine would not even have bothered to kill him.
"Kr—"
Before Kaecilius could say another word, Blaine arrived beside him in an instant and directly strangled his neck.
**************************************************
You can get access to early chapters on patr*on
If you like my work and you want to support me then you can become my patron on patre*n.
My patr*on account is Lord_Immortal_0170