Chapter 393: Silas vs. Doctor Strange
"Want to give it a try?" After a long silence, Strange looked up and spoke.
"Give it a try? How?" Silas could feel the surge of fighting spirit emanating from Strange.
Strange was incredibly curious. Why did his master, the Ancient One, treat Silas with such unique respect? Was the boy truly that powerful?
"Exactly how you think," Strange said, slowly standing straight and looking down at Silas.
"Probably not the best place for a fight, right?" Silas remarked, glancing at the bookshelves lining the room.
"Indeed." Strange waved his hand, and a portal swept past Silas. In an instant, they were standing in a vast, open clearing.
Silas looked around and stood up. "You've learned that trick well."
"I've learned better ones." Strange spread his hands, and crimson magical chains flew from his palms.
Strange's attack was sudden. Any ordinary person would have been restrained before they could even blink. But Silas was different; he had been ready for Strange's move since the moment they arrived.
BOOM!
A massive wall of solid earth erupted from the ground, blocking Silas. The red magical chains pierced halfway through the stone before grinding to a halt, unable to move an inch further.
CRASH!
Strange retracted his magic, and the stone wall shattered into rubble, thundering to the ground.
"Magic? Or a mutation?" Strange frowned. He didn't sense any magical energy circulating within Silas's body. Yet, that move felt remarkably like sorcery.
"No, not magic. It's called talent," Silas said, extending his right hand and closing it into a fist.
RUMBLE!
The earth beneath Strange's feet trembled violently, forming two gargantuan hands of soil that surged upward to crush him within their palms.
In a flash, Strange lowered his head and muttered a rapid incantation. An orange-gold magical shield flared around him, covering his entire body just as the hands snapped shut.
BOOM!!!
The earthen palms slammed together, sending plumes of dust and grit flying toward Silas. Silas didn't even flinch; as the dust approached, it seemed to hit an invisible barrier and flowed around him automatically.
As the dust settled, Strange emerged unharmed, passing right through the earthen hand. His body glowed with a yellowish light, looking somewhat translucent. At the critical moment, he had used an Intangibility spell to slip through the solid matter.
"That has some kick to it," Strange said, floating lightly back to the ground as his form solidified. He glanced back at the giant stone hands; being caught in that would have been unpleasant.
"That spell isn't bad either. Passing through objects is a bit of a bug," Silas waved his hand. The massive hands behind Strange crumbled into harmless clumps of dirt.
When the falling dust threatened to cover Strange, the Cloak of Levitation on his shoulders acted on its own, flapping once to blow the debris away.
Strange began to hover. "Time to get serious."
"I was hoping you'd say that." Silas could guess what was coming next.
Strange pinched his fingers, whispered a mantra, and then threw his hands outward. Hundreds of arms appeared behind him like a Thousand-Hand Buddha, creating a dizzying illusion. Then, with a broad sweep, dozens of copies of Doctor Strange erupted from his back, filling Silas's field of vision.
Zip!
Simultaneously, every clone lashed out with crimson magical chains, converging on Silas from every direction.
Silas didn't use a shadow portal to escape. He looked up, seemingly searching for the real Strange, ignoring the closing chains entirely.
"What is he doing?" The hovering Strange was confused.
But he soon realized the problem. His magical chains all stopped exactly one meter away from Silas. They hit an invisible, impenetrable wall, and no matter how much force Strange applied, they couldn't advance a single millimeter.
"Forget it, I can't find you." Silas had tried to pick out the real one, but the sheer number of red chains was making him dizzy. He stopped looking and raised his right arm. A destructive energy began to coalesce in his palm.
BOOM!
A series of explosions rocked the sky. Dozens of clones were caught in the blast and vanished instantly. Faced with the apocalyptic pressure of the blast, Strange quickly dispelled his remaining clones. As the explosion reached him, a wall of crystalline mirror-like glass appeared in front of him.
BANG!
The blast detonated against the Mirror Shield. Unable to find leverage in mid-air, Strange was sent tumbling toward the ground. His cloak rustled and fought the momentum, allowing him to land on his feet, though he had to skip back several steps to stabilize himself.
"I felt magic that time." Strange had detected the magical aura of the Dragon Talisman. He wasn't sure about the earth-moving power, but he was certain the explosion was mystical in nature.
"You're strong, Strange. But right now, you aren't on the Ancient One's level," Silas said plainly. It was the truth. Many of the Ancient One's spells were instantaneous, whereas Strange still needed to recite incantations.
"Maybe, but I'm strong enough for you!" Strange pushed both hands forward, and a massive, visible magical hand lunged toward Silas.
Facing the building-sized hand, Silas flexed his wrist, clenched his fist, and punched straight into it. Compared to the giant hand, Silas's fist looked like an ant challenging an elephant.
BOOM!!!
CRACK!!!
Strange thought the fight was over, but to his horror, Silas's punch shattered the giant hand into a thousand shimmering shards that dissolved into the air.
"This is a turn-based game. My turn now." Silas looked at his numbed fist; that had been a bit of a stretch even for him.
Strange's eyes narrowed with caution. Magical circles appeared around his hands, ready for whatever was coming.
"Here I go!" This time, Silas sprinted directly at him.
Strange expected some trickery and tried to take to the skies, only to find he couldn't lift off!
"What the—!" Strange suddenly felt a crushing weight on his body. His knees slammed into the dirt. If it weren't for the Cloak of Levitation pulling upward with all its might, he would have been pinned flat.
With Silas closing in, Strange made a split-second decision. He threw his astral form out of his physical body.
Whoosh!
The wind from Silas's punch ruffled the hair on Strange's physical body, which then slumped over.
"Astral projection," Silas said, looking up at the floating spectral Strange with a smile.
"You can see me?!" Strange was shocked. His astral form was supposed to be invisible to those not in the spirit realm, unless... unless the opponent was a powerful sorcerer themselves.
Realizing this was a bad situation, Strange tried to dive back into his body. But Silas reached out and snatched Strange's astral arm, holding him fast.
"How?!" Strange was beyond stunned. Seeing him was one thing, but actually grabbing a soul?
Silas had the Moon Demon Chi to thank for this. Beyond gravity control, the Moon Demon has the ability to interact with and physically restrain souls. The Rabbit or Sheep talismans wouldn't allow this without Silas projecting his own soul, but the Demon Chi allowed him to grab a soul while remaining physical.
"What do you think would happen if I destroyed your soul right now?" Silas teased.
Strange looked at Silas's smile, but he didn't find it funny. In his astral state, he was stripped of his physical tools and many of his defensive spells. In that moment, he realized that astral projecting in front of Silas Parker was the biggest mistake of his life.
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