Marvel: Starting as a Time Criminal, Stealing Powers

Illusion?

Everyone was stunned when they heard this, and then they saw a dazzling green light shoot into the sky!

The dark red sky dimmed in an instant as lead-gray clouds gathered.

Snowflakes began to fall.

Wherever the snow passed, the once-rumbling volcanoes fell silent.

The boiling magma lakes froze over in a dull, icy crust.

The hideous hell creatures were turned to statues—frozen solid in place.

The cold wind howled, and the blizzard roared.

At this moment, winter had arrived!

Even though they had just been told that this was supposed to be an illusion, the mutants inside the castle couldn't help but feel a bone-chilling cold that came from deep within their souls.

Storm—who could temporarily control weather and celestial phenomena—was now certain: even if the scene before them was fake, her group would absolutely freeze to death if they were outside!

At that moment, a shocked voice rang out—

"Illusion magic!?"

"You… you're a magician from the Aesir clan!"

Mephisto, who had been towering ten thousand meters high, had returned to his normal size. A ball of dark red energy condensed in his hands, blocking the flaming holy sword in front of him!

That attack wasn't just an illusion—it was real!

Fortunately, he had reacted quickly enough to block it.

But just then, Russell tilted his head and grinned.

"Idiot. I told you it was an illusion, and you actually believed all of it was fake?"

"You, the so-called Lord of Hell… and you still fall for simple tricks like this? Are you only good at fooling the weak?"

As his words fell, Mephisto's expression changed drastically!

He suddenly realized—the snow covering his body wasn't fading away. In fact, it was piling up even faster, and an overwhelming chill was penetrating deep into his core!

His power began to stagnate. His entire body was turning stiff!

In desperation, Mephisto erupted with blazing blue magical flames. But the flames were instantly sucked away—drawn out of him by some invisible force.

Russell grinned again.

"Thanks for the energy. You really thought now was the time to give me a gift?"

Mephisto was so furious that he was literally smoking.

Thick black smoke gushed from his eyes, nose, mouth, and ears—twisting into hideous demonic phantoms that lunged at Russell.

Russell looked on with contempt.

"Getting desperate already?"

"Fine. Let me return the favor!"

As he said this, he took a deep breath and exhaled violently. A torrent of blue flames surged forward!

Mephisto sneered.

A magic flame from a mere magician? Burn him? How ridiculous!

Then his smile froze.

This wasn't magical fire—it was the breath of a Frost Dragon from Jotunheim!

Though it appeared as blue flames, the energy it carried was completely opposite—frost instead of fire!

A second later, Russell's eyes flared white, and a beam of light shot into Mephisto's eyes—directly piercing his soul!

For a moment, it was as if a scream echoed through the void, as though something ancient and terrible had just perished. All the mutants shuddered involuntarily.

Russell slowly dismissed the flaming holy sword in his hand. With a single thought, the ice melted, the snow vanished, and the illusion faded.

Everything returned to its original, still state.

Then came the sound of shattering glass—the sound of the mirror world breaking apart.

Reality restored itself in an instant.

The mutants blinked, momentarily dazed, as they found themselves back where they started. The bizarre and magical world was gone, replaced once again by normalcy.

Everyone turned to look at the same person—Russell.

Today, they witnessed what true power really was. Their entire worldview had been completely shattered.

It turned out that Mutants were neither that special nor that powerful.

Russell didn't care what these Mutants were thinking. He lightly tapped the ice with his fingers—and it shattered instantly.

Casually slinging the unconscious Mystique over his shoulder, he blinked at her once, then stepped forward and disappeared into a portal.

Kamar-Taj.

Russell teleported to one of the three Sanctum links.

Although he had just purged Mephisto's influence from Mystique's mind, that demon lord was extremely cunning. There was no guarantee he hadn't left behind some hidden trick.

It was best to consult the Ancient One. That guy had experience.

"Ahhh~~"

"Hissss... ahhh..."

Russell frowned as he saw Wong crying and Mordo groaning in pain.

The two spotted him at the same time. Wong wiped his nose and cried:

"Russell! Magician! You're finally back! The Sorcerer Supreme... she's dying!"

Russell looked even more confused, his tone rising:

"Dying? Are you sure?"

He thought to himself—even if Wong burned the entire kitchen down, the Ancient One wouldn't die from it.

Mordo nodded silently and whispered:

"It's true… we haven't dared to tell the other magicians yet."

"Russell, please come with me. The Sorcerer Supreme was waiting for you. She said she had something important to tell you."

He opened a portal that led to a hidden chamber.

After Russell stepped inside, he saw the Ancient One lying on the floor. Her face was pale, and her robes were soaked with blood at the chest.

"You… you finally returned…"

Her eyes lit up slightly. A hint of color returned to her pale face, as if she were burning through her final spark of life.

Wong immediately covered his face and burst into tears.

Russell said nothing. He silently walked over to the Ancient One, his eyes glowing with divine power that could pierce through illusions. After a few seconds of observation, he nearly burst out laughing.

Speechlessly, he said:

"Do you think I'm that idiot, Strange?"

Even though her body was frail and her energy weak, her soul was strong and overflowing with vitality.

The Ancient One pointed to her chest, feigning confusion:

"It's… it's not good. I'm bleeding internally. I think… I think my appendix ruptured."

"Ahem… but let's not waste time. I don't have long left…"

"Kamar-Taj doesn't have another capable sorcerer who can hold this place together. So now… it's all up to you."

"Russell… after I die, you will become the next Sorcerer Supreme. You'll inherit full authority over Kamar-Taj."

"As Sorcerer Supreme, you'll have unrestricted access to the forbidden magic books… and the hidden history."

"This… is my last will…"

"Ah… I'm dead!"

With that, the color vanished from her face, her soul left her body, and she dissolved into a wisp of white smoke.

Russell was stunned.

He had seen shameless people before, but this… this was on another level.

That old fox just ran away! Left him with Kamar-Taj like it was a hot potato… made him the free babysitter?

Wong and Mordo weren't fools. The entire scene had been suspicious from the beginning.

To be honest, the Ancient One looked pretty energetic when she said "ah" at the end.

Russell turned and looked at the two of them with a dark expression, suddenly regretting even coming back.

Wong and Mordo both trembled slightly and immediately lowered their heads, saying in unison:

"Sorcerer Supreme!"

Well—no matter what, it was best to grab the big guy's thigh and pledge loyalty.

Russell rolled his eyes at the title.

He had really been played. Not only did he have to fix the seams of this world, now he had to run Kamar-Taj for free too?

He didn't know if that old bald head had foreseen something and planned this in advance, or if she just wanted to retire the moment her feet hit the grave.

Fortunately, the forbidden magic books in the library might help balance the scales a little.

But regardless of the reason, that old woman shouldn't think she could get away with this so easily!

He stared darkly at Wong (a.k.a. Wang Dao in some translations):

"Hire a funeral band from Daxia. Set off some fireworks. Make them play 'Happy Times' for three straight days."

"Not one day less."

He then turned to Mordo and said:

"Go change Kamar-Taj's Wi-Fi password. Make it HHHHGYSL."

"If you mess up even one letter, I'll send you to Jotunheim to hang out with the Frost Giants."

After saying that, he turned and opened a portal to the holy chamber at the highest point of Kamar-Taj.

The more he thought about it, the more annoyed he became. First, he needed to drink all the fine tea the Ancient One had left behind.

In the secret chamber, Mordo shrank his neck and cautiously asked:

"What does HHHHGYSL mean?"

Wong patted him on the shoulder and said:

"Don't ask the Sorcerer Supreme too many questions. Just do it."

He could tell from Russell's attitude—the Ancient One wasn't dead at all.

It was like they were crying at the wrong grave. All that wailing was for nothing.

That shameless old bald woman!

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