Bang! Bang! Bang!
"Open up, you old coot! I know you're in there! I have an emergency! Open the damn door!!"
Bang! Bang! Bang!
New York, 177A Bleecker Street, outside the Sanctum Sanctorum.
Luca stood there, an orange Haro tucked under one arm, while his other fist relentlessly hammered against the door.
At first, Luca had been relatively polite and respectful. He figured that since he was the one asking for help, he should act the part—addressing the Ancient One as "Sorcerer Supreme" or "Master Ancient One" and knocking gently and rhythmically.
But after nearly half an hour of this, Luca's terminology had become significantly less refined.
If he could just curse that old bastard enough to make her come out, he'd happily smash his face against a keyboard in apology later!
As for why Luca was so sure he had the right place and that someone was inside?
"Haro! Is the Wi-Fi still connected in there?!"
Luca glared down at the little round bot in his arm, hoping for a different answer this time.
Originally, Luca hadn't known the exact location of the New York Sanctum.
His previous two meetings with the Ancient One had been rushed—the old mage never volunteered the address, and Luca hadn't had time to ask.
However, during the Spot's invasion of the school, Luca was worried about triggering a Multiversal event, so he had Hajimi run a big data analysis to narrow down a few potential locations.
Although he didn't end up using them because he wanted to catch the Spot himself, this time, with Mephisto involved, he had checked those addresses one by one.
Eventually, he locked onto this place.
A completely ordinary-looking townhouse. No house number on record.
Full utilities—water, electricity, internet—all running perfectly, yet no bills had ever been paid.
Of course, the clincher that convinced Luca this was the Sanctum was the front door. It looked like plain wood, but no matter what tech or tricks he tried, he couldn't force it open.
"Network connected. Network connected!"
"Downloading movie. Downloading movie!"
Hearing Haro's chirpy reply, Luca practically exploded with rage.
"Oh, that is rich! I'm out here losing my mind with worry, and you people are in there downloading movies? You old geezer, you think I can't handle you?"
Luca couldn't physically breach the Sanctum, but since he could detect a Wi-Fi signal, he could certainly...
"Haro! Cut the internet to this house! And tell whoever is inside that I'm here!"
Thirty seconds later.
Creeaaaak.
The doors of the New York Sanctum swung open.
A bald, chubby man in modest monk robes stepped out, sticking his head out and looking around with a baffled expression.
"Hey! There's a whole living, breathing person standing right here! What are you looking around for?!"
Hearing Luca's voice, the Asian sorcerer's confusion instantly vanished, replaced by a stern expression.
He clenched his fists and snapped them outward.
Whoosh!
Two circular mandalas of sparking, golden energy materialized around his fists.
He looked at Luca with extreme vigilance.
"Are you the one who declared they were here to pick a fight?"
"???"
Luca looked down at the orange Haro in his arms with a face full of question marks.
The little bot bounced happily.
"Announcing Luca's arrival! Announcing Luca's arrival!"
...
Inside the Sanctum Sanctorum, in the reception room.
"So, you're saying the Ancient One isn't here? No, wait—even if she isn't, I was knocking for ages..."
Before Luca could finish complaining, Wong rolled his eyes and gestured around the massive, cavernous interior of the Sanctum.
"I'm the only one here right now. This place is huge. If you just knock on the front door, who's going to hear you?"
"Okay... fine. My bad..."
Beggars can't be choosers, Luca reminded himself repeatedly, forcibly suppressing the urge to punch the guy. He adopted a gentle tone.
"Then, Master Ancient One, she..."
Luca was cut off again.
But this time, it wasn't Wong interrupting him.
Upon hearing Luca's words, Wong looked around in panic. Seeing that nothing had changed, he let out a long sigh of relief.
Considering this young man seemed to actually know the Sorcerer Supreme, Wong offered a somewhat disdainful explanation.
"Master Ancient One isn't on Earth right now. And she made it clear: the Sanctums and Kamar-Taj are not accepting visitors during this time."
"So, if you have business with the Master, come back later."
Seeing that Wong clearly didn't want to talk and was getting ready to kick him out, Luca spoke up quickly.
"I really do have urgent business with the Ancient One. Don't you have any way to contact her in an emergency?"
Mystical types always had weird tricks.
Even though this was one of the three Sanctums, without the Ancient One present, Luca wasn't about to say Mephisto's name out loud.
He didn't want to risk a situation where saying the name held power and drew the demon's attention to himself.
However, when Luca mentioned "emergency contact," Wong shook his head again, his tone still laced with disdain.
"I told you, Sorcerer Ancient One isn't on Earth. Her cell phone doesn't have signal right now, so how could we possibly reach her?"
Luca was dumbfounded.
A retort almost slipped out of his mouth.
"Wait... Ph... Phone??"
"Don't you guys have any magic spells to contact her??"
A strange look crossed Wong's face, but he explained patiently enough.
"Communication magic is difficult to learn and not particularly useful. Very few people at Kamar-Taj bother mastering those kinds of spells nowadays."
" Besides, Master Ancient One said she was going 'beyond the world.' Among all the sorcerers of Kamar-Taj, no one except the Ancient One herself is capable of cross-dimensional communication."
"So, if you want to talk to her, you'll have to wait for her to contact Earth, or just wait until she gets back."
Luca felt stumped.
The last time the Ancient One had sought him out, it seemed to be via a projection or clone.
And that was only because he had accidentally created a "dimensional wormhole" while synthesizing the [Hex Core].
To get the Ancient One to contact him now... he couldn't exactly tear open another dimensional wormhole, could he?
Luca didn't think he had the skill for that.
After hesitating for a while, Luca decided to vaguely explain his situation to Wong, leaving out some specific details.
After all, this guy would eventually become the Sorcerer Supreme himself. Maybe he could help?
But as soon as Luca finished speaking, Wong's reaction was immediate.
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"