[The Wasteland. The Corruption.]
"Then you will die with them."
Wanda Maximoff didn't wait. She thrust her hands forward. A wave of red annihilation—pure Chaos Magic capable of erasing reality—screamed toward them.
"Go!" Sebastian yelled.
He didn't try to block it. He tackled Doctor Strange.
Strange, reacting on instinct, spun his Sling Ring. A sparking orange portal opened beneath them just as the red wave crashed down.
They fell through the gateway, the heat of the Chaos Magic singeing the tails of Sebastian's coat.
[Kamar-Taj. The Courtyard. Moments Later.]
They hit the stone pavement of Kamar-Taj hard. Strange rolled to his feet, gasping. The portal snapped shut behind them, severing the connection to the wasteland.
"She's coming," Strange yelled, his voice echoing off the temple walls. "Raise the shields! Now!"
The fortress erupted into activity. Sorcerers ran to their positions. Gongs sounded.
Master Wong marched down the stairs. "Strange? What happened?"
"It's Wanda," Strange said, wiping ash from his face. "She has the Darkhold. She's fully corrupted. She wants the girl."
America Chavez ran out from the sanctuary, looking terrified. "Did you find her? Is she coming?"
Sebastian stood up, dusting off his suit. He looked at the sky. It was already turning black. Clouds swirled unnaturally, blotting out the sun. The smell of ozone and rotting souls began to fill the air.
"She is not just coming, Miss Chavez," Sebastian straightened his tie. "She is already knocking."
[The Defense]
"Shields!" Wong commanded.
Hundreds of sorcerers raised their hands in unison. A massive, interlocking golden mandala dome materialized over the entire mountain complex. It hummed with the combined will of the Masters of the Mystic Arts.
Inside the command center, Strange and Wong monitored the perimeter. Sebastian stood by a small table, pouring a cup of tea for the trembling America Chavez.
"Chamomile," Sebastian said calmly, placing the cup in her hands. "It helps with the nerves. And the impending doom."
"How can you be so calm?" America asked, her hands shaking so hard the tea rippled. "She's the Scarlet Witch. She can rewrite reality."
"I have served tea during an alien invasion, a robot uprising, and a titan's snap," Sebastian replied, offering her a napkin. "Panic is inefficient. It ruins the flavor."
BOOM.
A bolt of red lightning hit the shield. The entire mountain shook. Dust fell from the ceiling into the tea.
Sebastian sighed, looking at his cup. "How rude."
[The Whisper]
Outside, the Scarlet Witch floated in the air. She didn't shout. She whispered.
"Run."
The word slithered through the cracks in the shield. It entered the minds of the sorcerers. It was the Darkhold speaking, amplifying their deepest fears.
A young sorcerer on the front line dropped his hands, eyes wide. "She... she's in my head."
"Fortify your minds!" Wong yelled.
But the fear spread like a virus. The golden dome flickered.
Sebastian's eyes narrowed. He could hear the whisper too. It sounded like a scratching at the back of his skull.
Give her to us. We will give you the Stark back.
Sebastian took a sip of tea. He felt the temptation, but he crushed it with a century of discipline.
"Your sales pitch lacks creativity," he muttered to the voice. "And your pricing model is exorbitant."
[The Breach]
The shield shattered.
It didn't just break; it exploded inward. Sorcerers were thrown like ragdolls. The Scarlet Witch descended, walking on air, red energy trailing behind her like a bloody cape.
She walked straight through the courtyard, blasting masters aside with lazy flicks of her wrist. She turned a man into a pile of snakes. She erased another man's mouth.
"She's coming for America," Strange realized. "Go! Get her to the portal room!"
Strange flew out to confront Wanda, summoning a magical whip.
Sebastian grabbed America by the back of her denim jacket. "Come along, Miss Chavez. We are leaving."
"But—"
"No buts," Sebastian hauled her up. "Unless you wish to be turned into a reptile."
[The Chase]
They ran through the ancient stone corridors of Kamar-Taj. The air was thick with smoke and screams.
Suddenly, the wall to their right exploded.
Wanda stepped through the rubble. She looked bored. Her tiara was fused to her skull, black corruption staining her fingers.
"There you are," Wanda said. She reached out a hand.
America froze in terror.
SWISH.
Sebastian moved.
He didn't fight Wanda. He grabbed America and ran.
He accelerated instantly, moving so fast the air cracked. He scooped America into a bridal carry and sprinted down the hallway.
"Put me down!" America screamed.
"If I put you down, you die," Sebastian replied calmly.
Wanda teleported. She appeared in front of them in a cloud of red mist.
Sebastian didn't stop. He jumped.
He ran up the wall.
His boots clicked against the vertical stone. He sprinted along the ceiling, defying gravity, passing right over Wanda's head.
Wanda fired a bolt of chaos magic at the ceiling.
Sebastian leaped off, twisting in mid-air, landing cat-like on the floor behind her. He kept running.
"Stop running!" Wanda screamed, her voice distorting demonically.
She clenched her fist. The corridor began to warp. The floor turned to quicksand. The walls grew teeth.
Sebastian navigated the nightmare geometry with terrifying grace. He vaulted over a biting floorboard. He slid under a collapsing archway.
"This architecture is highly unstable!" Sebastian critiqued as he kicked a stone gargoyle out of the way.
[The Syntax]
They reached the reflection pool room. It was a dead end. The windows were sealed with magic.
Wanda emerged from the shadows. She wasn't running. She was floating, the Darkhold hovering beside her head, its pages turning rapidly.
"You can't outrun me, Butler," Wanda said. "I rewrite the rules."
She began to chant.
"Ghar-tosh-fel... Zhar-goth-rim..."
The air grew heavy. Red runes began to burn in the air—spells of binding meant to crush Sebastian and secure the girl.
Sebastian stopped. He set America down behind him.
He straightened his tie. He listened to the chant.
He frowned.
"Stop," Sebastian interrupted.
Wanda paused, confused. The chanting faltered.
"What?" Wanda hissed.
"Your pronunciation," Sebastian said, looking genuinely offended. "It is atrocious."
Wanda stared at him. "Excuse me?"
Sebastian pointed a gloved finger at the Darkhold.
"That incantation. It is from the Seventh Circle dialect of the Lower Hells. Specifically, the excruciating torture pits of Levistus."
Sebastian cleared his throat. His eyes flashed fuchsia, and his voice changed. It became a deep, resonant sound that vibrated the bones of everyone in the room.
"Zhar-GOTH-rim. The emphasis is on the second syllable, Madam."
The Darkhold shuddered. The book actually closed for a second, startled by hearing its native tongue spoken by a native speaker.
The red runes in the air fizzled out. The spell failed because the intent was broken by the correction.
Wanda looked at the book, then at Sebastian. She looked furious.
"You... you dare correct me?"
"If you are going to use dark magic," Sebastian smoothed his lapels, "at least have the decency to respect the grammar. It is simply professional courtesy."
[The Fall]
Taking advantage of the distraction, Doctor Strange flew into the room, battered but alive.
"America!" Strange yelled. "Open a portal!"
"I can't!" America cried, backing away. "I can't control it!"
Wanda snapped. She screamed, a sound of pure grief and rage. The Darkhold flared open again.
She blasted Strange backward into a pillar. She turned her full power on Sebastian.
"I don't need grammar," Wanda snarled. "I have power."
She unleashed a wave of red disintegration.
Sebastian crossed his arms in an X shape. He flared his demonic aura—darkness against the red light.
CRASH.
The impact sent him skidding backward. His coat smoked. His skin burned. But he held the line.
"Miss Chavez!" Sebastian yelled through the strain. "Now would be an excellent time to panic!"
America screamed in fear. She punched the air.
CRACK.
Behind her, the reality shattered. A massive, star-shaped portal cracked open, revealing a swirling vortex of the Multiverse.
"Go!" Strange yelled, throwing a magical lasso around America and Sebastian.
He yanked them toward the star.
"No!" Wanda flew forward.
Sebastian grabbed America. He looked at Wanda one last time.
"Class dismissed," Sebastian quipped.
They fell backward into the star.
[The Multiverse]
The world dissolved into a kaleidoscope of colors. Paint. Cubes. Water. Fire.
They were tumbling through the Multiverse.
Sebastian held onto his coat with one hand and America with the other.
"Keep your arms inside the vehicle!" Sebastian shouted over the cosmic roar.
They crashed through a universe made of living pipe organs. Then a universe made of cartoon animation. Then a universe where everything was underwater.
Finally, they hit solid ground.
[Earth-838. New York City.]
They landed on a rooftop garden. It was lush, green, and futuristic. The buildings were sleek and covered in plants. It was a utopia.
Strange groaned, standing up. "Everyone okay?"
America nodded, looking green. "I think so."
Sebastian stood up. He dusted off his coat. He looked at the city.
He froze.
He sniffed the air.
It smelled... clean. Efficient. Advanced.
And familiar.
He walked to the edge of the roof. He looked down at the street.
Floating robots zoomed by. Holographic billboards displayed news updates. They weren't Iron Legion bots. They were cleaner. Sleeker.
And on the largest billboard, a familiar face beamed down at them. A man with a goatee, wearing a sleek, white suit. He looked older, wiser, and alive.
THE ILLUMINATI WILL SEE YOU NOW.
FEATURING: THE SUPERIOR IRON MAN.
Sebastian stared at the screen. His breath hitched. His demonic heart skipped a beat.
"Doctor," Sebastian whispered, pointing at the screen.
Strange looked. His eyes went wide.
"Tony?" Strange asked.
"No," Sebastian corrected, his voice trembling with a mix of hope and terror. "That is not Tony Stark. That is... perfection."
He turned to Strange.
"We must find him. Immediately."
[End of Chapter 66]
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