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*****
Back when Fini had first arrived at Kamar-Taj, relying on the power of Incursio, he had challenged the Ancient One a few times. But back then, his strength was far too weak. Nearly every encounter ended in an instant defeat, leaving him unable to even farm experience points for his skills.
Although he grew progressively stronger over the years, Fini had never sought out the Ancient One for another battle. This was their first true clash in years.
Regarding the Ancient One's actual power, Fini only knew she was exceptionally strong, but he had no concept of her upper limit. He rarely saw her fully exert herself; the few times he had witnessed her magic were merely when he sought her guidance on spells or needed assistance.
Furthermore, up until now, with the sole exception of their trip to Vormir, Fini had never seen a problem that managed to truly stump the Ancient One.
Staring at the solitary figure standing calmly before him, Fini centered his breathing and calmed his racing mind. The Ancient One was formidable, yes, but a long time had passed, and he had grown too.
More importantly, they were currently inside his own dimension.
"Please guide me, Master!"
With that declaration, the battle began.
---
Three hours later.
When Fini finally resealed the Wicked Eye, his previous excitement had vanished without a trace. At this moment, he deeply questioned the original timeline—if the Ancient One hadn't chosen to die, could Kaecilius have even managed to scratch her robes?
This was easily the most intense, explosive, and grueling battle Fini had experienced since arriving in the Marvel world.
Although the Ancient One eventually called a halt to the fight, leaving it seemingly as a draw, Fini knew better. He was practically running on fumes; if they kept going, his defeat would be absolute.
The only saving grace was that the Ancient One could no longer defeat him with a simple wave of her hand like she used to.
During the clash, he had truly witnessed the terrifying reality of Kamar-Taj's sorcery. Or rather, he learned that when a melee mage is strong enough, their ranged output is equally devastating.
An energy blade spanning nearly forty meters, and a Ring of Raggadorr with a one-meter radius that could switch flawlessly between offense and defense while automatically tracking targets... It made Fini suspect that the Ancient One had been holding out on him. What garbage spells had he been learning all these years?
Aside from the standard magic he was familiar with, the Ancient One also utilized an array of unknown, esoteric spells that nearly caught him off guard several times. Had it not been for his heavily amplified strength within his pocket dimension, he barely would have held his ground.
Yet, after three full hours of continuous high-intensity combat, his mind, energy reserves, and physical stamina were pushed to their absolute limits, and he still couldn't overcome her.
However, looking at the fine layer of sweat coating the Ancient One's forehead, and the distinct mark of Dormammu surfacing from her use of Dark Dimension energy, it was clear that this victory hadn't come easily to her either.
Fini hadn't expected the Ancient One to actually draw upon Dormammu's power just to fight him. After the battle concluded, he couldn't help but wonder silently: If she didn't use the Dark Dimension energy, could I have beaten her?
But it was a fleeting thought. Throughout the entire duel, the Ancient One hadn't touched the Eye of Agamotto once—and that artifact was the defining weapon of a Sorcerer Supreme.
The outcome was a bucket of freezing water dumped over Fini's rapidly inflating ego. It clearly demonstrated that on Earth, the Ancient One was still the undisputed apex; he could only claim second place.
Nevertheless, aside from a bruised ego, the battle wasn't without its benefits.
At the very least, his understanding and mastery over his pocket dimension had deepened significantly, and he now possessed a crystal-clear gauge of both his and the Ancient One's current power levels.
On the other side of the clearing, the Ancient One was experiencing her own share of profound shock at Fini's strength.
To think he has already grown to such a degree...
Looking at Fini, who had deactivated Incursio and was now slumped on the ground gasping for air, the Ancient One marveled silently. At the same time, her mind drifted to Stephen Strange, the successor she had chosen to inherit the mantle of Sorcerer Supreme.
While Strange possessed exceptional talent—perhaps the highest among all the successive Sorcerers Supreme—talent was one thing, and raw power was another. In terms of combat capability, it would likely take Strange quite a long time to catch up to Fini.
But with them here, Earth will be much safer.
The Ancient One glanced back at Fini. Though Fini's circumstances were highly unusual, she chose to believe that he would protect Kamar-Taj and defend the Earth dimension.
Thinking this, a faint smile tugged at the corners of her lips. She realized that ever since she brought Fini back to Kamar-Taj, subtle shifts had begun happening within herself as well.
Although the two of them had just engaged in a clash of cataclysmic proportions, the physical world remained entirely unaffected because the battle took place exclusively within Fini's pocket dimension.
Now that the parameters of the Wicked Eye had been verified, the Ancient One no longer insisted that Fini remain cooped up at Kamar-Taj. She merely requested that he visit more frequently over the coming days.
She wanted to study the nature of the Wicked Eye further. Part of it was a sorcerer's innate pursuit of forbidden knowledge, but she was also concerned that other Dimensional Dreadlords might use a similar merging method to infiltrate Earth. She wanted to use this data to upgrade the Sanctums' planetary defense systems.
Initially, Fini was somewhat reluctant to play guinea pig. However, the moment the Ancient One promised that her modifications wouldn't interfere with his eye—and might even loosen the Sanctums' natural suppression on his Golden Alchemist reality warping—he immediately flashed a brilliant smile and pledged his full cooperation.
---
The following day, Fini left Kamar-Taj. After a moment of thought, he decided to check in on Wanda and Pietro. Arriving back at the laboratory, he found the twins in a completely different state than before.
Over the past few days, he had been monitoring their progress via phone updates, so he knew they were gaining a decent handle on their gifts. Pietro could now at least control his stopping distance when he decided to sprint.
Inside the laboratory's newly renovated training ward.
A state-of-the-art treadmill hummed loudly at maximum speed. Yet, even at its absolute limit, the machine failed to accommodate the user, who had blurred into a violent white afterimage.
A second later, the white streak zipped off the treadmill. After stumbling a considerable distance forward, the figure staggered back, repeating the clumsy maneuver several times before finally halting beside Fini. Turning to Helen Cho, Pietro asked arrogantly:
"This thing is still too slow. Don't you have anything faster?"
"It's already the most advanced model available on the market!" Helen Cho shrugged helplessly, indicating her hands were tied.
Fini shot Pietro an annoyed glare. "What you lack right now is control, not speed. What's the point of running fast if you can't stop? Learn from your sister."
Pietro curled his lip, turning his head to look at Wanda, who was sitting quietly on the floor playing with building blocks.
Not far away, a massive pile of wooden blocks sat on the floorboards. Wanda knelt in the center of the pile, using wisps of crimson energy to meticulously stack and arrange them.
Pietro wanted to zip over and say something to her, but he misjudged his distance. His sprint overshot completely, violently plowing into and collapsing a complex architectural structure that Fini couldn't quite decipher.
Clatter!
Seeing her painstakingly constructed 'building' instantly pulverized, Wanda glared furiously at Pietro. Her chaotic energy wavered in response to her spikes of emotion; with a sharp fluctuation, the remaining blocks instantly met the same fate as the building.
Looking at the headache-inducing pair of siblings, Fini let out a slow sigh. He turned to Helen Cho and said, "Go ahead and attend to your work. I'll handle them from here."
Helen Cho nodded. But just as she turned to leave, she remembered something and quickly asked:
"Right, regarding the partnership with Stark Industries..."
"Handle it however you see fit!"
Watching Fini wave his hand with complete indifference, Helen Cho felt an overwhelming wave of helplessness wash over her.
(End of Chapter)