The sorcerers of Kamar-Taj finally understood why Lucci called their magic "beggar tricks."
Before an existence that could treat a dimensional lord like dinner, weren't their magical achievements exactly that—beggar tricks?
The gap between them couldn't be measured by words anymore.
The Ancient One looked at her utterly stunned disciples, then glanced at Lucci—expressionless from start to finish—and at the still-fawning mini Dormammu behind him.
A thought she had long carried became crystal clear and firm in this moment:
An era had ended.
A new era had to begin.
Kamar-Taj—and the whole world—needed a new, stronger guardian.
Taking a deep breath, she walked up to Lucci. This time, there was no bitterness or confusion—only unprecedented solemnity and relief.
She gave Lucci the highest salute.
"Lord Lucci," she said slowly, her voice clear and resolute, ringing in everyone's ears.
"Today, I, the Ancient One, in the name of the current Sorcerer Supreme of Kamar-Taj, formally request that you become Earth's new… Sorcerer Supreme—protect this world."
She made the decision without hesitation. She knew she was no longer fit to sit in that position.
Her protection, reliant on "borrowing" and "leveraging," was too fragile and ridiculous compared to Lucci's ability.
Earth needed someone truly strong.
A supreme existence whose name would make even demonic gods across dimensions tremble…
And Lucci was, beyond doubt, the greatest—and only—candidate.
Hearing her words, Lucci was slightly surprised.
But thinking carefully, her choice was reasonable.
After a brief pause, he said calmly:
"I am Asgard's crown prince, the future God-King, and the heir to the guardianship of the Nine Realms."
"Earth is one of the Nine Realms. Protecting it is my responsibility."
"This position—I accept."
He didn't refuse. He didn't feign humility.
To him, it was natural. The Nine Realms were his domain; Earth was no exception.
Being merely Earth's guardian was only a trivial milestone on a far longer road.
Hearing Lucci's answer, the Ancient One smiled sincerely in relief, as if the heavy shackles that had pressed on her shoulders for centuries had finally been lifted.
She faced Lucci, stepped forward, and knelt on one knee, speaking with the utmost respect:
"The Ancient One greets the new Sorcerer Supreme."
Behind her, the Kamar-Taj sorcerers—still half-petrified—snapped back after a short daze.
They looked at Lucci like a god, and then at the mini Dormammu behind him.
Their faces filled with genuine reverence and admiration.
Mordo and Wong led everyone in kneeling on one knee, bowing their heads.
Across Kamar-Taj, a neat, respectful voice echoed:
"We greet the new Sorcerer Supreme!"
"Rise," Lucci said, giving a slight nod.
"Kamar-Taj will still be managed by the Ancient One."
"I won't interfere in daily affairs—only act when Earth or Kamar-Taj is threatened."
The sorcerers all sighed in relief. If Lucci interfered in everything, they wouldn't know what to do. This was the best outcome.
After that, Lucci left a mark so the Ancient One could contact him, then took mini Dormammu and stepped back through a spatial rift—returning to Asgard.
Only the Ancient One, Mordo, Wong, and the sorcerers remained, watching the crack in the sky fade away, awestruck.
…
When Lucci returned to Asgard with mini Dormammu—
What greeted him was not the expected peace, but a rather intense "family dispute."
"I've told you how many times! It wasn't me! I didn't let him go!"
Thor's booming voice echoed through the empty hall, full of grievance and anger. Like an unjustly accused lion, he stood before Odin's throne, loudly defending himself.
Odin sat on the throne, wearing golden armor, holding the eternal spear Gungnir, staring at his failing son with his one eye burning with anger.
"You dare complain!"
Odin's voice rumbled like thunder, filled with unquestionable authority.
"I personally sealed Loki's divine power. The guards in the underground prison were strict. Besides you, who would dare release him without anyone knowing?"
"I didn't do it! Father, why won't you believe me?!"
Thor's face flushed red with anger, almost speechless.
Lucci's sudden arrival made the quarrel pause.
Thor rushed to Lucci like he'd seen a savior and started complaining:
"Brother! You're back! That bastard Loki is gone—I really didn't do it! Tell Father quickly—he's being unreasonable and only knows how to blame me whenever something happens!"
Seeing Thor's guilty look, Odin grew even angrier. He slammed Gungnir against the floor with a deafening boom.
"You good-for-nothing! Still daring to hide!"
Lucci looked at the scene and shook his head, asking helplessly:
"Father, what exactly happened?"
Odin sighed, fatigue mixing into his voice.
"Lucci, your timing is just right."
"After you went to Midgard, your mother Frigga and I returned to Vanaheim."
"Before leaving, I entrusted Asgard to Thor for a short time. I thought that after experiencing hardship on Midgard, he would grow up and learn what duty and responsibility mean."
As he spoke, Odin shot a sharp glare at Thor hiding behind Lucci.
"I didn't expect him to be so useless!"
"Before we even finished our business in Vanaheim, we suddenly heard Heimdall's distant voice—he said Loki, who was imprisoned deep underground… disappeared."
Lucci raised an eyebrow slightly.
"Disappeared?" he asked. "Do you know how?"
Odin shook his head, expression grave.
"No. That's the strangest part."
"The prison's magic prohibitions cannot be violated. The guards didn't notice anything."
"And most importantly…"
Odin lowered his voice.
"Even Heimdall didn't detect anything unusual."
Loki was as if he evaporated into thin air.
After hearing this, Thor immediately stuck his head out from behind Lucci to argue loudly:
"See?! Even Heimdall didn't know—how can you blame me for this?"
"And Father, can you be reasonable?! When I was on Midgard, that bastard Loki sent the Destroyer to kill me!"
"I want to press him into the ground and beat him again—how could I let him go?"
"You dare talk back!" Odin glared and stood up as if to chase him.
Lucci quickly stopped Odin.
"Father, don't be hasty."
"What Thor said has some truth."
"The truth may be different from what you think."
He glanced toward the dungeon and said calmly:
"Arguing won't solve it. We'll know once we go to the prison."
Go to the dungeon and check?
Thor froze—he'd already checked countless times with no clues.
But then Odin seemed to remember something, light bursting in his single eye.
"Yes!" He slapped the throne's armrest, suddenly enlightened. "How did I forget?! Lucci—you have the power of time!"
"You can… rewind what happened in that cell!"
Thor's eyes lit up.
"Yes! Brother, great idea! Hurry—let's go! Let's see who's playing tricks behind the scenes and making me take the blame!"
Lucci sighed slightly at the completely different reactions of father and son.
He was also curious how the God of Mischief vanished from the most heavily guarded place in Asgard.
So the three headed for the dungeon.
On the way, Thor suddenly noticed the small "Dormammu" floating and following Lucci.
"Huh?" Thor bent down curiously and poked it with a finger.
"Brother, where'd you get this purple jelly?"
Lucci glanced at Thor.
"This isn't purple jelly."
"This is Dormammu."
"Dormammu?" Thor frowned. "Why does that sound… a bit familiar?"
He felt like he'd seen the name in ancient Asgardian records.
Before he could recall more, Odin—walking ahead—stiffened the moment he heard "Dormammu."
He blurted out unconsciously:
"Isn't that the lord of the Dark Dimension?"
Then he snapped back, turned around abruptly, and stared at Lucci in shock, then at the purple jelly trailing him.
"Wait! Lucci… what did you just say?"
"This little thing… is Dormammu?"
Lucci nodded calmly at their ghostlike expressions.
Getting confirmation, Odin sucked in a sharp breath.
He rushed over and carefully sensed the aura.
The power of this small being was tens of thousands of times weaker than legend—almost negligible.
But its origin…
…was the chaotic, dark origin unique to a dimensional lord.
There was no way it could be wrong.
This really was Dormammu.
Seeing his identity exposed and no longer able to hide, mini Dormammu hurriedly forced a smile.
In the past, as a dimensional lord, he might have mocked Odin, even asked when Asgard planned to merge into his dark realm.
But now… times had changed.
Now he was merely something under Lucci's eaves, under his "roof," and he had to bow his head.
For the sake of his life, mini Dormammu smiled stiffly and said:
"Dormammu… greets the God-King…"
Odin felt dizzy.
He nodded blankly—then suddenly turned to Lucci with a monster-like, stunned expression.
"This… what… what happened?"
Thor finally reacted too, equally shocked.
"Yes! Brother! The majestic lord of the Dark Dimension… how did he become like this?"
Lucci replied lightly, as if it were nothing.
"Nothing much."
"I just went to the Dark Dimension and fought him."
Odin and Thor felt their hearts stop.
Entering the Dark Dimension… to fight Dormammu?
That was his true home ground—where he was immortal!
And Lucci not only went there…
…but forced him into this state?
This couldn't be explained as a "miracle" anymore.
It was simply unimaginable.
Dormammu, hearing Lucci's understated words, recalled that 90% of his dimension had been devoured. His heart ached so badly he wanted to cry—but to please Lucci, he endured it and added:
"And not only that! My lord—you don't know!"
"My master went to Kamar-Taj. The Ancient One offered him the Time Stone, and he even inherited the position of Sorcerer Supreme!"
"What? The Time Stone? Sorcerer Supreme?"
Odin and Thor were completely stunned.
They stared at Lucci blankly and asked together:
"This Midgard trip… what exactly did you do? Hurry—tell us in detail!"
Lucci looked at his shocked father and brother and could only sigh—he could only summarize what happened at Kamar-Taj.
Hearing the summary, Odin and Thor went numb.
Studying the Time Stone and completely controlling the law of time?
Destroying the Mirror Dimension in one move and creating a new universe?
Entering the Dark Dimension and "harvesting" Dormammu as a pet?
Becoming Sorcerer Supreme and guardian of Earth?
They felt like they were listening to a heavenly scripture.
Lucci just went to Earth—and accomplished all of that?
Wasn't that… too efficient?
After a long pause, the first to recover was Thor. He stared at Lucci, eyes blazing with fanatical worship.
"Brother! Amazing!"
"You're my idol!"
Odin, after the shock, felt incomparable pride—pride worthy of Lucci.
He said with relief:
"Lucci, now that you've become Midgard's Sorcerer Supreme, you must bear the corresponding responsibilities."
"The burden of a guardian is not light."
Lucci nodded calmly.
"Don't worry, Father. I understand."
Seeing Lucci's calm confidence, Odin's last worry vanished.
With a son like this, why worry the Nine Realms wouldn't prosper? Why worry Asgard's future wouldn't shine?
In the midst of their emotions, they finally arrived at the deepest part of Asgard's dungeon—heavily guarded, each cell made from special enchanted metal engraved with powerful sealing runes.
Thor pointed to an empty cell and told Lucci:
"Brother, it's here. This is where Loki was imprisoned."
Lucci nodded and stepped into the cell.
The power of time—activate!
In the next moment, fragments of the cell's past replayed like a film.
Time flowed backward continuously, until the scene stopped at a crucial node.
While Lucci had been traveling to Earth, and Odin and Frigga had left Asgard—
A strange, nearly undetectable distortion appeared in the cell.
Then a withered, hunched, shriveled creature—ugly like a bent alien—quietly appeared inside.
He held a double-bladed war glaive.
One of Thanos's Black Order, famous for strategy and telekinesis—
Ebony Maw.
...
Bonus Chapter at 100 PS
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