Chapter 214: The War God's 'Evil Ritual' (1st Update)

The New York Sanctum of Kamar-Taj.

As the newly appointed Sorcerer Supreme, Doctor Stephen Strange was extremely busy.

Originally, he was just a half-trained sorcerer, but with the Ancient One dead, all the responsibilities fell on him—because all the guardians of the New York and London Sanctums had been killed by Kaecilius, he was forced to select a new team of defenders.

To make matters worse, his strongest ally, Baron Mordo, had ultimately fallen into darkness and left Kamar-Taj. Even though he understood the Ancient One's well-meaning intentions, and knew that she had to draw upon dark forces to extend her life in order to protect the world, he still couldn't resist the temptation of the darkness.

Why could the Ancient One control dark powers, but he couldn’t?

The series of losses, coupled with the departure of the Ancient One and Mordo, left Kamar-Taj nearly devoid of mid-to-high level combat power.

So, Stephen had to take on the role of a half-baked teacher, continue training new recruits, personally guard the New York Sanctum, and even manage Kamar-Taj's finances.

With thousands of mouths to feed, 90% of them being apprentice sorcerers, keeping Kamar-Taj running was a challenge.

The success rate of apprentices becoming full-fledged sorcerers was incredibly low.

Until they became official sorcerers, they were nothing but a financial drain.

In the past, Kamar-Taj relied on showing miracles (basically tricking people) to attract large donations from believers. This sometimes forced Stephen to play the part of a third-rate magician, showing off his powers to wealthy Nepalese nobles.

This situation frustrated Doctor Strange, who originally belonged to the elite class.

At this inopportune moment, his only capable assistant, Wong—originally in charge of guarding Kamar-Taj's library—came to see him.

"Wong, what's up?" asked Strange.

"Sorcerer Supreme, you need to see this. It's very important."

"Mm?" Stephen rarely saw Wong look so serious. The last time he had seen that expression was when he had read the Ancient One's forbidden books and almost caused a time paradox with the Eye of Agamotto, prompting a stern warning from Wong.

Leaving the New York Sanctum through a portal, Stephen arrived at Kamar-Taj's headquarters, where he saw the mystical globe used to monitor space-time anomalies worldwide for the first time in a while.

“We’ve just detected that space-time has been secretly interfered with by a powerful unknown entity.”

“Where?” Stephen asked.

Wong pointed toward the Aegean Sea: “Somewhere around here, and it’s recent—no more than a hundred years ago. Whoever did it was very careful, even reconnecting the disrupted space-time. If we didn’t have constant monitoring in place, we would’ve missed the subtle fluctuations.”

As Wong spoke, the four sorcerers responsible for monitoring space-time anomalies nodded in agreement.

“Can you track it?” Stephen asked.

Wong grimaced: “It’ll take some time. We’ll need to compare our unaffected memories with historical records to find the altered point in time, then assess the damage. But more pressing than that, there’s a bigger threat looming.”

Stephen’s expression hardened.

The term “major threat” was something he hadn’t heard in a while.

The last "major threat" involved him dying over 10,000 times, using the Eye of Agamotto to loop time and ultimately forcing the dark ruler Dormammu to give up and retreat.

Hearing this, Stephen immediately perked up.

“This is a rule set by Agamotto, two Sorcerer Supremes ago—Earth will not tolerate direct rule by extraterrestrials. In ancient times, they were often referred to as 'gods' by mortals. As a courtesy, we allow them to retain their titles and followers but prohibit them from drawing power from Earth’s laws. In the past, we called this method of drawing power ‘channeling divine power through divine offices.’”

Stephen frowned: “Like the Asgardians, who claim to be protectors of Earth but don’t actually rule it?”

“Exactly. Take Thor, for example, who visited Earth not long ago.”

“Who’s breaking the rules now?” Stephen asked.

“We detected war-related divine power. It’s likely Ares, the god of war from the Olympian pantheon,” Wong replied, recounting the history of Ares and Zeus.

When Stephen learned that Ares had driven Zeus away, his expression became complex: “Why didn’t the Ancient One deal with Ares?”

“He probably went into hiding, secretly siphoning power in more discreet ways,” Wong suggested.

“So, you’re telling me I need to deal with a powerful rebel god who overthrew an entire pantheon?” Stephen sighed.

Wong lowered his head, feeling guilty: “It is the duty of every Sorcerer Supreme to prevent gods from recklessly draining Earth’s power and ruling the planet.”

This put Stephen in a tough spot.

Already a self-taught sorcerer, Strange wasn’t entirely comfortable with his new responsibilities yet. Having to fight Dormammu and now face Ares was giving him a headache, as if a hundred trains were speeding through his mind.

Rubbing the Eye of Agamotto hanging around his neck, Doctor Strange muttered, “I hope I don’t die as many times this time.”

It seemed he was getting used to taking hits.

Seeing that Strange had agreed, Wong quickly grabbed his gear. He knew his new friend too well—Doctor Strange was never one for heroism or justice; he was a refined egotist at heart. The only certain thing was that his magical talent was once in a millennium.

Worried Strange might back out, Wong hastily said, “Sorcerer Supreme, the War God’s ritual is taking place here…”

“The biggest indoor stadium in Gotham? Gods are causing trouble that openly now?” Stephen frowned.

Given the opponent’s strength, being so public suggested they were confident. Strange decided to confront them head-on.

Interrupting a ritual gathering divine power was something best done quickly. If they waited until the ritual was complete, they’d just be walking into a trap.

Without much preparation, Stephen opened a portal and descended directly into the stadium.

As soon as they arrived, the sounds of battle surrounded them.

“Left wing, fire a volley of arrows!”

“Hurry! Take out the wizard squad on the hill at 120 degrees! My men can’t hold on!”

“Where are the thieves? Did all our thieves die?!”

Amid the clashing of weapons and cursing, the entire area was shrouded in fog, obscuring the view.

They could hear the battle but couldn’t see it.

The tension among Wong and the Kamar-Taj sorcerers grew.

But Doctor Strange, with his modern mindset, sensed something was off: “Wait! This isn’t a battle, it’s…”

Before they could react, the fog lifted, and the spotlight hit them from four different directions.

In the next moment, they were greeted by the sight of thousands of gamers sitting at desktop computers, shouting as they played.

Stephen looked up and saw two massive banners hanging in the indoor stadium:

*“Cross-server Battle!”*

*“Celebrating the Launch of Elder Scrolls—Swords and Sorcery!”*

(End of Chapter)