This incident was a wake-up call for Strange.
It made him realize just how green he still was.
He couldn't help wondering-if Noah had handled this personally, what choice would his mentor have made?
After thinking it through, Strange felt that if Noah had been the one involved, things probably wouldn't have gone wrong.
At the very least, there wouldn't have been a situation where a sleeping spell failed and had to be replaced with paralysis.
Still, Strange was starting to like this life.
It was dark. Often unpleasant.
But he could genuinely help people.
This time, though, didn't count.
This blow hit him hard.
He listened to Noah and didn't interfere with what happened in the house. Even so, he knew exactly what was happening inside.
Because his magic had gone wrong, Adam Lestrange had heard everything clearly.
The werewolf knew the truth.
And with Noah deliberately stepping aside, it wasn't hard to imagine how extreme Adam's reaction would be.
"The rest is up to you."
After the screams inside finally died down, Noah spoke calmly.
"As a sorcerer, you make your own choices. You messed up this time. So you clean it up."
"Mentor..." Strange hesitated, then sighed and nodded. "What should I do? And... are you leaving?"
"Follow your heart," Noah said as he casually opened a portal. "Do what you believe is right."
He tilted his head slightly.
"As for me? I'm going to deal with the aftermath. Good luck, Sherlock."
"I understand, mentor." Strange nodded and bowed slightly. "I'm sorry for causing trouble this time."
Noah didn't reply.
He only glanced at Strange and his roommate, then left quietly.
He was curious why Sherlock Holmes seemed to attract John Watson so naturally, bringing together the detective duo almost effortlessly.
But that could wait.
As for the werewolf's final fate, Noah had no intention of asking.
Strange had taken responsibility.
So the outcome was his to decide.
Sure enough, not long after Noah left with Nagini, Adam Lestrange staggered out of the house.
He was drenched in blood.
His mental state was clearly unstable.
Everett, who had been about to ask Strange something, immediately swallowed his words.
"Haha..."
Adam dragged himself forward step by step.
Then he dropped to his knees.
He raised his head, azure eyes locking onto Strange and Everett.
After a long moment, he closed them.
"Help me, exorcists," Adam said, his voice trembling, pleading. "Help me with something."
"What... what do you want us to help you with?" Strange swallowed.
The smell of blood was overwhelming.
Even for someone who had spent years in operating rooms, it was hard to bear.
Still, Strange kept his composure.
At least on the surface.
This was his mistake.
He had to face it.
"Kill me," Adam said softly. "Kill me. Please. End it."
"If you really want to die," Everett couldn't help saying, "find a strong rope and a big tree."
"Shut up, John," Strange snapped.
He looked directly at Adam.
"Why? I can erase your memories. I can help you forget."
"No." Adam sighed. "I've lost everything. I killed the person I loved most. Then I killed the person closest to me."
He laughed weakly.
"I wanted to end it myself. But I don't have the courage. I don't think I ever will. Please... do this for me."
Strange fell silent.
So did Everett.
They looked at Adam, kneeling there with his eyes closed, unmoving.
After a long while, Strange sighed.
He stepped forward slowly.
Golden hexagram runes appeared once more on his hands.
-
Crossing space, Noah brought Nagini back to Kamar-Taj.
To avoid attracting attention, he simply greeted the sorcerer guarding the teleportation array, left Nagini behind, and headed straight for Kaecilius's room.
This was Noah's first time entering it.
In the past, his relationship with Kaecilius had been ordinary at best.
They had never been close.
But the room itself wasn't what Noah had expected.
There were no chaotic scribbles. No bizarre spell arrays.
It was clean.
Tidy.
Spacious-likely because Kaecilius often gathered apprentices here.
Kaecilius sat in the center of the room, either meditating or lost in thought.
The space was silent.
Only the two of them were present.
"Archmage Noah Finiel."
Kaecilius spoke suddenly, still seated.
"I didn't expect you to trespass into my room."
"To be precise," Noah said as he walked behind him, a trace of disappointment in his voice, "long time no see, Kaecilius."
He paused.
"Honestly, why did it have to come to this?"
"Pursuit? Belief?" Kaecilius opened his eyes and slowly turned. "I'm different from you. You once had nothing. I once had everything."
"So you chose extremism," Noah said quietly. "You chose to fall."
He shook his head.
"Maybe in your eyes, what you're doing isn't falling. Maybe you think we're the ones who fell."
"But what you believe is right... isn't right for me."
Kaecilius smiled faintly.
He didn't answer immediately.
His eyes looked as if they had been scorched by flames-evil, terrifying.
The magic leaking from him confirmed it.
Dormammu's power.
Noah would never mistake it.
Dormammu had served as a power source for many Kamar-Taj sorcerers.
Most of them could feel it.
But Kaecilius was different.
His power was mottled.
Chaotic.
"Are you here to kill me?" Kaecilius finally asked, smiling. "I thought you and the Master wanted to see how far I'd go. I didn't expect you to be so impatient."
"Not impatience," Noah replied calmly. "You're not even a threat to me."
He shook his head.
"I noticed you years ago. I've been cautious ever since. Turns out I was right."
"Oh?" Kaecilius looked surprised. "You disliked me even when you were young. Later, your attitude toward me became distant. You tried to persuade me once. After I refused, you became indifferent."
He narrowed his eyes.
"You were guarding against me back then?"
Only now did Kaecilius realize it.
Looking back, Noah had always been distant with him.
Cold, even.
Yet Noah had good relationships with almost everyone else.
Those with potential.
Those without.
Only Kaecilius had been excluded.
There had been chances to reconcile.
When Noah mentioned his former professor, Kaecilius had been tempted.
Truly tempted.
But it wasn't what he wanted.
It wasn't the path he chose.
He had refused.
And in doing so, perhaps rejected his master as well.
From then on, he had fallen further.
Step by step, toward where he stood now.
Kaecilius sighed.
"Can you tell me," he asked softly, "how someone so young could see this coming? Can you see the future?"
Of course I know the plot.
Noah cursed inwardly.
But he couldn't say that.
He took a deep breath and answered solemnly.
"No. Without external help, no one can see that far."
He met Kaecilius's gaze.
"It was your will. It told me you would walk a path of no return."
"My will?" Kaecilius smiled. "Why do you say that?"
"Your will is unwavering. That's the foundation of a great sorcerer," Noah replied. "But yours goes beyond that."
He shook his head.
"You move forward whether there's a path or not. That's not resolve. That's fanaticism."
"A fanatic never deviates unless something truly breaks them."
"Yes," Kaecilius said, his smile finally blooming. "I am a fanatic."
He looked straight at Noah.
"But you're wrong about one thing."
"You're a genius. A true one. You'll never understand how I feel."
He raised his hand slightly.
"The path I'm on isn't a dead end. I've already seen the dawn."
As he spoke, a transparent, glass-like blade formed in his hand.
Dark.
Evil.
Flowing with corrupted magic.
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