"That's it." Ethan's eyes lit up as he finally grasped the inspiration forming in his mind while gripping the massive blade in his hands.
"Does changing the shape really matter that much?" Jarrett asked, eyeing the weapon skeptically.
"It looks more intimidating, sure, but the magic inside is the same."
"Not just important—crucial." Ethan smirked, raising the weapon high. He turned his focus toward the incoming wave of Wing Marks closing in from the side.
A powerful wind began to stir, swirling fiercely around Ethan—not around his body, but around the massive sword itself.
In mere moments, an air vortex formed, crackling with unseen energy, waiting to be unleashed.
"One swing. That's all it takes. Just a light swing... This is the real—" Ethan suddenly caught himself, nearly blurting out something embarrassing.
He coughed and quickly shut his mouth before mumbling the last part under his breath.
Ignoring the puzzled looks from the others, Ethan gripped the glowing weapon tightly and swung it in a clean, effortless arc.
"Wind Scar!"
A monstrous wave of razor-sharp wind erupted from the blade, tearing through the horde of Wing Marks like paper.
The slash didn't stop there—it carved through the monstrous tendrils forming in the black sky, cutting straight to their core and obliterating them in a single stroke.
"At least these things aren't as tough as they look," Ethan muttered, exhaling in relief.
"Don't get cocky," Jarrett called out. "They're fragile, sure—but they don't die easy."
As if on cue, some of the shredded Wing Marks writhed and twisted, dark red energy—like a sickening blood mist—binding their remains together.
The fragmented creatures merged into grotesque, even larger abominations, their deformed wings pulsing with unnatural life.
One such abomination lunged at Ethan with shocking speed, its twisted maw gaping wide to devour him whole.
A split second before Ethan could react, a fireball of black and red flames streaked past him, slamming into the monster and reducing it to a smoldering heap of ash.
Ethan turned in surprise to see John, grinning as he toyed with another sphere of hellfire in his hand.
"John, you actually pulled it off," Ethan said, genuinely impressed.
"Took a few tries, but yeah," John replied, eyes glinting with excitement.
"Hellfire's got a different feel from regular flames, but once you get the hang of it, it's kinda fun."
Ethan's expression shifted as an idea struck him. "Alright, then. Can you keep it burning?"
"Easiest thing in the world," John scoffed. "I'm a Pyrokinetic. Controlling fire is what I do."
"Good. Let's test that." Ethan suddenly reached out, and with a flick of his fingers, the fireball in John's hand surged toward him, carried by an invisible force.
John barely had time to react before Ethan pressed the swirling hellfire against his massive blade.
The surrounding air howled as wind and flame fused together, the hellfire swelling larger, twisting into a fiery vortex wrapped around the weapon.
John's confident smirk faltered as he felt the intensity of the fire growing beyond his control. "Uh... Boss? What exactly are you—?"
"Just hold it steady," Ethan commanded. "This is gonna be big."
But in seconds, the swirling hellfire had turned into a blazing inferno, spinning dangerously like a raging storm.
"Ghost Rider! Get straight to the gates of Kamar-Taj! Leave everything else to me!" Ethan bellowed over the roaring flames.
Ghost Rider hesitated for only a moment before nodding.
He yanked the Quinjet's controls, veering sharply toward the gates of Kamar-Taj.
The Wing Marks reacted immediately, shrieking in fury.
Attracted by the sheer concentration of magical energy, they abandoned Doctor Strange and his fellow sorcerers and swarmed toward the Quinjet instead.
Like a ravenous serpent, the creatures twisted together into a massive, writhing monstrosity, its gaping maw wide enough to swallow the entire ship whole.
But instead of an easy meal, all they met was destruction.
Ethan raised his blade, the hellfire coiling around it like a living beast. As the monstrous Wing Mark swarm closed in, he swung the weapon with all his might.
A tidal wave of hellfire and wind erupted from the sword, consuming the sky in a cataclysmic inferno.
The dark red hellfire erupted into a massive, burning crescent, slicing through the winged creatures like a blade through paper.
The sheer intensity of the flames, combined with their supernatural properties, made them an insurmountable force against the creatures.
As their charred remnants scattered through the air, Ghost Rider gritted his teeth, revving his engine before plowing straight through the disoriented wings, leaving a fiery trail in his wake.
For a brief moment, everything went dark inside the fighter.
Then, in a flash, light returned, and the group found themselves soaring towards their destination.
"We finally made it through," Ethan muttered, stepping toward Ghost Rider as the gates of Kamar-Taj came into view.
It had been a brutal flight, but they were almost home.
Katie, using her phasing ability, had blurred the top of the fighter mid-battle, allowing everyone to fall safely back inside without harm.
Just as relief settled over them, the ground below rumbled violently.
BOOM!
The very earth cracked apart, jagged fissures spreading out like veins as something enormous forced its way to the surface.
A towering, 30-meter monstrosity burst from the ground, its body a grotesque amalgamation of twisted muscle, jagged bone spurs, and pulsating tumors.
Its blood-red eyes locked onto the incoming fighter, filled with nothing but hunger and rage.
"Just our luck," Ethan muttered, his brows furrowing as he glanced behind them.
The remaining winged creatures had reassembled and were once again surging toward them.
"This is turning into a real pain."
"Then let me handle it," Ghost Rider growled, gripping the throttle with an ironclad grip.
Ethan narrowed his eyes, sensing something reckless in his tone. "What exactly are you planning?"
Ghost Rider didn't answer.
Instead, he slammed the accelerator to full throttle.
"Hope you're all buckled in!" he shouted over the roaring engine.
The fighter let out an ear-splitting boom as its engines flared with hellfire, pushing its speed to the absolute limit.
It became a flaming comet, aimed directly at the gaping maw of the monstrous creature before them.
"Wait, are you serious?!" Ethan's eyes widened as he braced himself.
CRASH!
The fighter, moving with overwhelming force, punched through the monster's skull like a bullet through glass.
Bone and flesh gave way under the sheer kinetic energy, the creature's body convulsing before collapsing in on itself.
Ethan, sensing the kinetic energy surrounding the jet, extended his hand, his fingers twitching subtly as he manipulated the forces around them.
He amplified the jet's momentum with precise vector control, redirecting external resistance and pushing the aircraft forward with an unnatural acceleration.
The surrounding air pressure bent to his will, stabilizing their trajectory as they surged ahead at breakneck speed.
The fighter, propelled by the enhanced momentum, hurtled past the remains and slid into the gates of Kamar-Taj.
Ethan then instantly seized every force acting upon the jet—the pull of gravity, the downward momentum, the shockwaves from the impact—and negated them all with precision.
The jet, which should have slammed into the ground with devastating force, instead came to a smooth, weightless hover mere inches above the surface before Ethan gently released his control, allowing it to land safely.
The jet's entrance sent a few dust scattering as the sorcerers stationed at the entrance instinctively raised their hands, prepared for battle.
They had been ready to provide cover for the incoming aircraft, but this entrance was beyond anything they had expected.
The moment of silence didn't last long.
The winged monstrosities, having lost their prey at the last second, slammed against the magical barrier of Kamar-Taj.
They shrieked and writhed in fury, unable to break through.
Their frustration turned to desperation as, in a gruesome display, they descended upon the remains of the giant beast that had fallen.
Within moments, they tore it apart, feasting in a grotesque frenzy.
The silence inside the gates was only broken when Ethan finally kicked open the cockpit door, stepping out with an unsteady gait.
He coughed, shaking his head. "Tell me something, Johnny. Do you ever enter a place without crashing into something?"
Behind him, the rest of the team stumbled out, their faces pale.
Some of the younger sorcerers barely managed to find a corner before vomiting.
Ethan took a deep breath, glancing around.
They had barely settled when he noticed that they were surrounded.
Dozens of sorcerers stood in formation, eyes filled with suspicion. The eerie, hellish appearance of the Hell Jet didn't exactly paint them as friendly visitors.
Even those unfamiliar with magic would immediately assume it was some demonic war machine.
If not for the direct orders from the Sorcerer Supreme and the presence of Jarrett—the respected guardian of the New York Sanctum—they might have been attacked the moment they landed.
Then, cutting through the tension, a familiar voice rang out.
"Welcome, visitors, and Master Jarrett."
Doctor Strange, his crimson Cloak of Levitation billowing behind him, strode toward them with a knowing smirk.
He barely hesitated before pulling both Ethan and Jarrett into a firm embrace.
"Quite the entrance you made," Strange remarked, his eyes glinting with amusement. "Let's hope the repairs don't come out of my budget."
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Word count: 1548
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