*Chapter 187: The Next Sorcerer Supreme*

When Atreus saw Ancient One falling, his gaze was locked on her. He knew she was intent on dying and didn’t want him to stop her.

As a result, Ancient One essentially allowed him to alter the course of future.

"Sigh!" Atreus sighed.

At the horizon of his vision, Doctor Strange and another rushed frantically toward the direction where Ancient One had fallen.

Atreus withdrew his gaze and refocused on the unrepentant fallen sorcerer, Kaecilius.

"Bastard! You killed your master, and you’re proud of it, aren’t you?"

It turns out that trying to reason with a crazed zealot is a no-win situation.

"Hahaha! Everyone is bathed in glorious light of the Dark Lord, and I am his true servant! She was nothing but a hypocrite, stealing power! That’s why I’ll ascend to eternal paradise, while she’s doomed to the hell of destruction!" Kaecilius laughed maniacally, spewing a barrage of nonsense.

Atreus remained calm—at least outwardly.

He gave up arguing because he didn’t want to lower his intelligence to that of a fanatical madman and be defeated by their vast experience in lunacy.

As a master of space magic, Kaecilius was full of tricks. He slowly approached Atreus while secretly using the Sling Ring to summon a small portal behind him.

"Little..." Penthesilea had just begun to shout a warning, but she realized it was unnecessary.

Like a gust of wind, Kaecilius had crossed through space to attack Atreus from behind, only to have his hand fly off into the air.

As Atreus turned, he raised his left hand, brandishing [Hector], the blade still dripping with a few drops of dark blood. It was only then that everyone realized Atreus had just forced Kaecilius to take part in an early "Black Friday."

"AAAAHHHHH!" Kaecilius let out a terrifying scream of agony.

His two lackeys, hearing his cries, immediately jumped in, attempting to shield their 'beloved father figure' who had led them to ruin. Unfortunately, these third-rate combat mages were nothing but fodder against true powerhouses.

"AH!" "AH!" Two screams.

One was pinned down by Wonder Woman on this illusory mirrored square, and the other was punched by Faora, flying off like a home run—who knows which space rift they ended up in.

As Atreus steadily closed in, Kaecilius began to panic. Clutching his severed wrist tightly, he yelled, "You’re defying great Dark Lord Dormammu! Sorcerer Supreme is dead by my hand; no one is left to protect you!"

This hardcore plea for surrender amused Atreus, emphasizing how utterly delusional Kaecilius had become.

Atreus stared at him with intense hatred and spoke almost word for word: "Idiot! only reason Ancient One died at your pathetic hands was because she was tired."

What truly defines evil?

Is it the act of using evil powers? Or is it also evil when a good person uses those powers to do what they believe is right?

This is a difficult question to answer.

But one thing is certain—dabbling in dark forces is worse than addiction; you can't quit it easily.

Ancient One died at Kaecilius' hands because, at her core, she desperately sought release.

Of course, Atreus didn't expect this power-hungry maniac to understand.

With Ancient One gone, Atreus desire for vengeance surged.

Kaecilius, still not giving up, used the Sling Ring on his remaining hand to try and open a portal to escape.

There was no way Atreus would let that happen.

"Pathetic!"

With a shout that thundered like a storm, Atreus furious mental energy erupted like a deafening roar, pouring into Kaecilius' ears and mind.

This was the [Lion’s Roar], though not entirely.

It was an overwhelming mental shockwave, born from Atreus far superior spiritual force, that completely shattered Kaecilius' attempt to open the portal.

Teleportation is a mentally exhausting spell. Not only must you channel power from another dimension, but you must also imagine your destination and connect the spatial coordinates to this unstable mirror dimension.

Any mistake in this process could result in a failed teleportation, leaving you stranded in a spatial rift.

If you're lucky, you'd die instantly; if you're unlucky, you'd suffer a fate worse than death.

Atreus roar disintegrated Kaecilius’ portal into a puff of meaningless golden sparks.

Before Kaecilius could react, Atreus transformed into a gust of wind, passing by him.

"Whoosh..."

Kaecilius was turned into a puzzle—a series of rapid sword strikes sliced his body into countless irregular fragments.

His face, adorned with deep black eye circles and a mouth spewing vile curses, shattered in an instant.

By the time Atreus appeared ten meters behind Kaecilius, his entire body had already dissolved into a pile of blackened, minced flesh.

Even in death, Kaecilius’ half-remaining mouth continued to move, as if trying to spit out one last curse.

Atreus sneered, "Still trying to invoke Dormammu, huh? Too bad—that’s a task for the next [Sorcerer Supreme]."

system prompt arrived right on time:

【Congratulations, host, for killing the fallen sorcerer Kaecilius... Due to his incomplete soul, red soul rewards have been reduced...】

【Host’s teleportation skill has leveled up to Lv118, mirror dimension spell to Lv99.】

【Host has gained the following skills: Dark Element Mastery Lv45! Dark Element Resistance Lv36!】

【Host’s elemental pool now contains the following elements: wind, fire, dark. Usable magic points: 9999.】

"Hiss..." Upon seeing this, Atreus let out a small gasp of surprise.

The reward was substantial.

Kaecilius was undoubtedly a master of space magic. Although his performance paled compared to Atreus, that was only because he didn’t have a system helping him.

Kaecilius’ proficiency in space magic was definitely top-tier.

And Kaecilius also helped Atreus shore up his last two weak points. Now, his basic stats were [Intelligence 136, Perception 165].

Atreus was starting to resemble a well-rounded fighter, although his constitution and endurance remained his highest stats.

What can you do? Most of the enemies he’s taken down were muscle-bound bosses.

Besides, it seemed like his magic point cap was locked.

Atreus had a feeling he needed to defeat a powerful archmage or even a god to break through this limit.

At some point, the women had gathered around, with Wonder Woman looking the most concerned.

"Atreus, are you okay?"

"It should be fine. I'll start preparing once I return. But before that, let’s meet our next Sorcerer Supreme."

(End of this chapter)