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"King!" Langlom stepped forward and greeted the Wizard King. He looked at Strange calmly and then stopped paying attention to him.
Strange was momentarily curious about Langlom's attitude. He figured if he knew the King, he should know him, at least in this universe. But Langlom displayed a distinct sense of distance and unfamiliarity, which struck Strange as somewhat unnatural.
"This is Master Strange." The Mage King pointed to Strange beside him. "I believe you have already seen that he comes from the multiverse. As a backup for Doctor Strange's team, he wants to understand the power we possess."
"Here?" Langlom seemed to be mentally prepared for this request, or he had experienced this kind of request before. He looked around and asked straightforwardly.
"Let's go to another place. This place isn't suitable." The Mage King drew a portal and motioned Langlom and Strange to follow.
After entering the portal, the three of them arrived in an open space, surrounded by a biting cold wind and drifting snowflakes. The temperature suddenly dropped. However, this harsh environment did not pose any threat to the three of them.
"Do you want to try it?" The Wizard King looked at the prepared Langlom with some anticipation, and gestured to Strange beside him.
"Experience what? Oh, I can." Strange looked at Langlom who was walking to the opposite side, and instantly understood. He agreed without resistance, walked to the front, and stood face to face with Langlom in a straight line. The Wizard King stepped back a distance to make space for the two of them.
"Come on," Strange said, mentally prepared. Lonrom's cold face flickered, and a black vertical crack suddenly appeared between his brows. As Strange watched with suspicion, the black crack suddenly split open to the sides, revealing an eyeball as black as ink, filling the entire vertical eye socket. It leaped as if squeezed out, capturing Strange's full attention and gaze.
A surge of powerful mental energy, along with the appearance of the eyeball, suddenly descended upon the area. Strange's mind was instantly drawn into the eyeball's incomparably powerful mental swamp, unable to extricate itself.
He only felt a surge of mental power suddenly piercing into his mind like a sharp spike, stirring it violently. His head instantly felt swollen and painful, and it was difficult for him to maintain his mental calmness and tranquility. The impact brought by his mind was also fed back to his body. The gathered magic power instantly rioted and dissipated, and his body also became limp and limp, and he could hardly even stand.
Complex mumblings continued to ring in his ears. The spiritual power containing the sound of corruption was forcefully corroding his soul, trying to twist and corrupt him.
Feeling this power that was somewhat familiar to him, the image of the monster called the Eye Demon involuntarily flashed through Strange's consciousness.
Although this sudden attack caught Strange off guard, it didn't cause him to surrender immediately, becoming a salted fish on the chopping board, at the mercy of others. In a very short time, Strange used the corresponding mind protection magic to cast a layer of barrier on his mind, temporarily offsetting the impact.
Langlom was also very clear that this was just an experiential exchange. At the moment when Strange lost consciousness, he did not launch an attack, but just stood there quietly waiting for Strange to recover.
"How about it?"
Seeing that Strange had broken free from Langlom's mental influence, the Mage King stepped forward, waved to Langlom to indicate that the competition was over, and took the initiative to ask Strange a question.
"Very interesting. Is that the power of the Eye Demon? How did you manage to seal the power of a demon god into a human being and still allow him to maintain his sanity and not turn to madness?" Strange rubbed his head and looked cautiously at Langlom, whose eyeballs were pushed back, his eye sockets closed again into a black vertical slit, and then disappeared between his eyebrows. He couldn't help but ask out of curiosity.
This phenomenon once again challenged Strange's perspective. He could sense from Langlom that he wasn't a mage, merely an enhanced human whose physical strength might have surpassed that of a normal human, similar to the Captain. Regardless, he should have difficulty resisting the erosion and influence of such a high-dimensional force.
Even a Kamar-Taj wizard, adept at lending power, wouldn't dare to use such a crude method of power. It's easy for the power's owner to follow the clues and come to collect the debt. After all, any demon god harbors greed and malice towards any life that dares to borrow their power, even if it's a fanatic!
And Langlom is obviously not a fanatic follower of the Eye Demon. He seems to have retained his sanity, and his soul and mind are not polluted. This is simply incredible!
"A demon god? No, no, no, that's an exaggeration. He can't bear the power of a demon god." The Mage King shook his head, "It's just a small fragment of power at most."
"That's amazing enough! It's incredible that you dare to graft the power of the demon into a human body and still maintain the other person's calmness and rationality. This is even more amazing than solving the erosion and pollution of high-dimensional life. Did you extract the power of an Eye Demon clone and then graft it onto this Langlom?" Strange asked speculatively.
"You can tell?" The Mage King was somewhat surprised by Strange's guess. He nodded and said, "This is essentially a form of deception. Simply put, it tricks the main body into thinking that the one wielding its power is still its clone. This way, as long as it doesn't encounter another Beholder face to face, Langlom's power won't spiral out of control."
"What about his mind? How do you protect his mind? No matter how much you deceive him, this power will eventually act on him and will inevitably affect him." Strange asked.
"Psionic energy! Psionic energy can protect and maintain a person's mental stability. Of course, this is still a bit unreliable, so after every mission, these grafters will come here for mental examinations. If there are any problems, they will undergo surgery or take potions. Kamar-Taj has extensive experience treating this condition." The Mage King reopened the portal. "In fact, if you can shoot out his soul, you will see that it is entangled with the Beholder. In my opinion, maintaining the balance between two unequal souls is the real difficulty. Maintaining that fragile balance and keeping it stable for a long time is something that people consider a miracle just by thinking about it."
"But he has no future," Strange sighed softly. Such is the nature of the power of the universe: for every gain, there is always a loss.
In Strange's view, the power Langlom possessed was merely a modified version of loan magic. At best, it replaced Kamar-Taj's loan system with a grafted system of unknown technology. Regardless, repayment was ultimately required.
This repayment date might be gradually extended with technological advancements, but it always existed, like a sword of Damocles hanging over their heads. Their situation was even more precarious than that of the mages of Kamar-Taj.
At least as long as the wizards of Kamar-Taj don't act recklessly, don't learn some forbidden spells, and don't come into contact with some terrifying magical entities and dimensional forces, they won't be easily in danger of corruption and erosion before their lives pass away.
But for a system like Langlom that relies on technology, its security and stability are entirely in the hands of the technology provider. If there is any mistake or loophole, the soul will be swiftly harvested by the source of power.
"That's not true," Langlom retorted, somewhat disapprovingly, after hearing Strange's words. "What does Master Strange think constitutes a future?"
Strange was stunned for a moment and did not reply immediately because he could see that Langlom did not want him to give an answer right now.
"I'm an agent, a spy, and a warrior. My life is in danger most of the time. For me, lack of strength means no future.
The world is changing so rapidly, so fast that even I'm dizzy. I used to be able to successfully complete mission after mission with only guns, ammunition, and S.H.I.E.L.D. technology. But now, if I still rely on those old-fashioned methods and technology, the next mission will be my death, and I'll be nothing more than cannon fodder. I might even retire and become a small-time police officer, but that won't guarantee my safety.
Langlom spoke calmly and earnestly, "For someone like me, whose life is always uncertain, I'm a natural pursuer of power! I can't stand an ordinary, dull life. I don't want to leave the battlefield that I long for and that thrills me. So I need to increase my strength."
Heybolon's technology can enhance us, allowing us to face those superior enemies without becoming mere cannon fodder. No one understands the dangers of technological experimentation better than I do, but I'm willing to take the risk. As for the future? I don't think it's as bleak and bleak as you imagine. As long as I survive a mission, Heybolon's technological advancements will guarantee my future.
"Even if the price is your soul and everything?" Strange asked.
"Of course. This kind of grafting surgery, which even Heberon can't guarantee a 100% success rate, is itself a huge gamble. But its technology is always improving, isn't it? If you knew a man named Bronsky, codenamed Abomination, you might understand that I've been quite restrained. He's the truly crazy one! And the true power-seeker! I can't be sure now how much humanity he still has in his soul. He even needs psychic fluid to stabilize his emotions and personality, and to nourish his patched-up, tattered soul, so that he can persist and not collapse or lose heart.
A veteran at least a century old, roaming the battlefields, not only satisfying his war addiction but also earning merit, then unreservedly giving everything he'd gained to Heberon in exchange for the next round of transformation. That's a madman! Even Hydra, known for its madness, is amazed. Langlom couldn't help but exclaim in amazement as he spoke.
That Bronsky has become a prominent figure who is highly watched and closely monitored in organizations such as S.H.I.E.L.D., Hyperion, the Space-Time Administration and Kamar-Taj.
For example, him? After careful consideration, he only dared to accept one single life force. He even conducted a test, selecting the one with the highest compatibility. Of course, this high compatibility was probably only around 20%. The weakness of the human soul, to achieve such a high percentage, was only achieved through numerous targeted adjustments and subtle transformations.
After the successful operation, he gained immense power, but at the same time, his soul felt like it was carrying a mountain. Every time he used this immense power, he would experience extreme fatigue. Only a specially formulated psychic fluid could alleviate this fatigue and allow him to feel relatively relaxed.
However, this power did indeed allow his strength to increase dramatically. After all, the Eye Demon's power was so high that it was enough for him to handle most crises and troubles. However, its strength also made Langlom tread on thin ice, and he dared not to undergo further transformation. He had already exhausted all his strength just to maintain the stability of his soul.
But Bronsky was different. His body and soul had been patched together like a rag doll, with various forces stitched into his body. Although these forces had been weakened and adjusted for the sake of balance and stability, it still couldn't hide his increasingly inhuman evolution.
Mechanical viruses, super potions, Hulk serum, hearts of rage, dimensional organs and limbs.
After each mission, the Abomination required a full-body checkup to prevent him from losing his mind and going on a rampage. Maintaining his stability and power balance was a delicate and challenging task. Compared to this person, Langlom felt that his transformation was nothing compared to the Abomination's, not worth mentioning.
"Master Strange just doesn't quite understand you. I believe that as he comes and goes more often and is exposed to more information, he will understand your psychology." The Master King turned around in front of the portal and interrupted the two people who were communicating.
"This is indeed a bit novel to me," Strange replied after blinking and pausing. He could tell that Langlom wasn't opposed to this transformation, and seemed to be willingly accepting it. However, he still harbored some doubts about the technology used to create artificial dimensional life. After all, only by understanding those dimensional beings can you truly understand how difficult and troublesome they are! Even a wizard with profound magical powers can be caught in a loophole in their mind and fall into depravity at a certain moment.