Alex and Laura's next destination was the New York Sanctum.
Leaving the mind-controlled Sanctum Master unconscious after freeing him from his influence, Alex created a tiny portal that led directly to their destination. However, it was far from enough for him and Laura to go through.
"What's wrong?" Laura asked.
"We're going to be walking into a trap," Alex said. "I just want to know if we can handle it or not."
"Isn't Wanda the Source of all Chaos magic in this entire universe now? What do you have to worry about?"
"She just got that power a few hours ago, going by the time difference. This new power is still in its infancy," Alex said. "I don't want to bet everything on it just yet."
"Understandable," she said. "So? Is Agatha waiting for us there?"
"She's waiting in the Hong Kong Sanctum. But the people here are just as prepared; she will appear the moment we appear in the vicinity of either of the two cities. They have our signatures."
"So what are we going to do?"
"We're going to continue our plan," he said. "I want to see just how big of a deal Death energy and necromancy are to have been restricted and forbidden so heavily."
"When I fought her, that gray, lifeless mist seemed like it would kill me if I even got close to it. It was pretty dangerous, in my opinion. Maybe if Bioenergy had any offensive applications, then it would probably be the exact antithesis to death energy."
"I could try to replicate the effects of Qi with Bioenergy, but I can't make it work."
"Why?"
"At its base, Qi is an impure form of Bioenergy," he said. "Think of it as a version of Bioenergy with certain additives. Those additives are what give Qi the offensive power that Bioenergy lacks. Now, I'm not an expert in different kinds of energies, so I don't know what those additives are. Nor can I replicate its effects with my abilities and knowledge."
"Have you tried mixing it with Chaos energy?" She asked. "Chaos energy could manipulate reality and give the offensive power to Bionenergy that it lacks."
"I already tried that," Alex said. "It could be possible if Wanda tries to use the Source of Chaos to achieve it, but with what I possess, I can't do that."
"Pity," Laura said. "So, what is the plan? I'm assuming that you aren't planning to dive headfirst into the fray if Agatha is prepared to battle you."
Alex turned to look at her and smiled.
"Laura, honey. I may call you a battle maniac, but I am the one who enables those tendencies. I'm going to strike such fear in that woman's heart that she won't have any other thought than to call for help."
Suddenly, Laura felt her thoughts clouding as a second consciousness melded with hers. Alex disappeared from her vision and melted into a mass of black slime that wrapped around her. She grew taller and got slightly bulkier while maintaining her slender look as red streaks coursing with Chaos energy appeared on her black and yellow Apex suit.
"I wonder how much better the integration would be if we went to the next step," Apex spoke in a slightly demonic voice that had hints of Laura's original voice.
They walked toward the portal as it grew larger, finally getting detected by the Sanctum's defences.
As Apex was about to pass through, the portal warped and started flickering, yet they were undaunted. The destination of the portal was forcefully shifted to make them appear in the center of the main hall.
With the appearance of Apex, several sorcerers appeared all around them as crimson lines started moving around on the floor around them. Within seconds, the massive magic formation covered the entire hall as Apex calmly stood in the center.
"A symbiote," a female voice spoke just as the magic circle was completed under Apex. "A truly terrifying lifeform. Or at least that's what the historical records we have of you told me."
In front of Apex, purple mist appeared and quickly coalesced into an oval shape. Agatha walked through the portal and stood facing them. At the same time, from inside the portal, thin bands emerged and wrapped themselves around Apex, restraining the duo completely.
"Tell me, how did you come to possess such a mastery over Chaos magic? I read that you can devour a person and gain their powers. Is that what you did with one of the copies of the Scarlet Witch?"
"Why don't you call your boss for help?" Apex spoke. "You are out of your league against us."
"I sent you running with your tail tucked between your legs twice, girl," Agatha said as the tens of sorcerers around her prepared multiple different spells. "What makes you think you can win now?"
"This," Apex said demonically as the red streaks on their suit pulsed bright crimson. Suddenly, the bands restraining them loosened up and separated. Immediately, the sorcerers shot multiple spells at Apex, yet identical bands appeared underneath all of them and restrained them, preventing any spell casting.
The same bands attempted to restrain Agatha, but they withered and turned to dust just as they got close to her gray mist.
"This evens out the playing field, I think," Apex said.
Agatha's lip curled as her eyes gained a cruel glint. Purple light radiated from her hands as her fingers moved with such fluidity that they seemed to have a mind of their own. Purple strings shot down toward the magic circle under her and Apex as it turned from red to purple.
A purple mist rose all around Apex from the magic circle as it started sucking away the Chaos energy coursing through the suit.
"You might not be aware, but I only started working with necromancy later in life." Agatha exuded smugness. "My innate ability has always been to devour. And the moment you entered this sanctum, I was ready to unleash the full power of this planet's magical network upon you. Regardless of what power you possess, you can only helplessly wait as you are reduced to a mere husk, powerless to do anything against me as I take everything you have."
"A cute plan." Apex didn't seem concerned in the slightest as Agatha's devouring took not only his reserves of Chaos energy but also traces of Bioenergy. "But I was prepared for this and more."
Apex released a similar purple light as Agatha and immediately countered her devouring force with their own.
"You said that the weight of this entire planet is behind your devouring, correct?" Apex said. "Let's see how far we can go against the foundation of a Dimension as old as time."
Apex roared loudly as their stature and frame grew even larger while the purple light of devouring intensified.
‹Soul Devour›
They called out in a deep, primal voice, and instantly, Agatha's spell was turned on her.
She was the first person to be affected and screamed in pain as a look of horror replaced her smugness entirely.
Apex's devouring force was augmented not only by the vastly superior mental energy that Alex possessed but also by the underlying Chaos energy that coursed through everything magical that he did. Apex easily scaled up the devouring force exponentially compared to Agatha.
Not only was Agatha going to be devoured by Apex, but at the current pace, the planet's ley lines weren't too far off from being sucked away entirely.
Within seconds, Agatha was the one who was left as a husk of her former self. Yet she was still alive. She was the medium between Apex and the planet's ley lines. She wouldn't die until the planet was completely devoured.
The whites of Apex's eyes glowed purple as the suction force was enhanced even more. The barrier surrounding the planet flickered as the main factor of its stablity was being sucked away by a dangerous alien.
Minutes passed, and the first major effect of the ley lines being devoured appeared in the form of a massive earthquake under the Pacific Ocean. As the ensuing tsunami took form, another earthquake formed under the African continent. Unlike the previous one, this one's effects were evident within minutes as the entire land mass shook violently and split apart through the center, and its effects extended up to Europe as well.
Millions of people were on track to die from the destruction that was caused by Apex's unrelenting devouring, yet there were no signs of him planning to stop.
As the destruction approached a level that would lead to the planet's collapse, the space above the sanctum warped. A red mist spread around and formed into a portal. Through it emerged a woman.
With a golden halo around her and a generally holy aura surrounding her despite the crimson power surrounding her, Scarlet Witch had appeared on this planet to investigate the disturbances that had occurred here.
***
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