Chapter 262

Laura entered the restaurant, and the first thing she saw was an old man looking at her.

"Laura! The usual?" said the old man, greeting her with a smile.

"Make it a double this time," Laura replied cheerfully.

The old man was about to joke about her increased appetite when he saw the man behind Laura.

When he recognized the man, he felt his heart stop for a moment, and his jaw nearly hit the floor.

"Y-Your Majesty," the old man stammered.

"Today, I'm just a customer," said Damian with a slight smile.

The old man looked between Laura and Damian hesitantly before nodding and starting to cook. As the two sat down, they could hear things falling in the kitchen, causing them to laugh softly.

"The old man must be nervous," said Laura, sure she would remind him of this in the future.

"How did you meet him?" asked Damian, smiling at her. Laura wasn't exactly the most sociable person.

"That was a long time ago when Ophelia was still the dictator of Madripoor," Laura said, resting her arms on the table.

"At that time, there wasn't much order in the outer zones of the city. It was a 'survival of the fittest' kind of place."

"I was a tomboyish kid, always getting into trouble. I was agile and quick to attack and escape."

"Some guys tried to steal food from the old man, and I helped him. He gave me food occasionally to thank me, and as I gained a bit of a reputation, I was able to protect him," Laura said, laughing slightly.

"Wow, makes me wonder how you looked as a kid," Damian said, nodding with a smile.

"I wasn't cute like the princesses," Laura laughed.

"You'd just see a dirty kid with a badly cut haircut and a fierce look," Laura said, shaking her head.

"If you hadn't shown up, who knows? Maybe I would have died in some street fight or become the leader of a criminal group," Laura laughed.

"I think the latter is more likely. After all, you're really good. It was a big surprise for me to see you cutting bullets," Damian said, smiling.

"After a genetic upgrade, it's not that hard," Laura said, shaking her head.

"But you were the only one who could do it at that time," Damian insisted. It took months for the other soldiers to do something similar.

At that moment, the old cook approached them timidly and carefully placed several plates on the table.

"Wow, it looks great as always," Laura said, looking at the dish.

Damian looked at the plate and saw it was pasta with meat that looked very juicy. In his opinion, it did look tempting.

"Enjoy your meal," said the old man with a smile before quickly leaving, not wanting to interrupt their conversation.

Laura took her fork and wrapped a small mound of pasta around it, bringing it to her mouth.

"Hmm, it's really delicious," Laura said, savoring it.

"It's quite good," Damian said, nodding after tasting it.

"But tell me, did you never think about joining Ophelia?" Damian asked, looking at her curiously.

"No, I had no way of trusting her, and I might have been forced to do things I didn't want to. I was better off alone," Laura said casually.

"Also, Ophelia's reputation wasn't that good, and her power was limited. Despite being very skilled, she was ultimately a normal person. Her control over Madripoor wasn't absolute," Laura explained.

"And your parents?" Damian asked, looking at her.

"I never knew them. I grew up in a sort of orphanage, but it was really just an old lady taking care of abandoned babies. Once we turned eight, she kicked us out," Laura said.

"At the time, I was angry with her, but I later understood. I wasn't the only one who needed help."

"If I had stayed there until my teens, I would have grown up weak and surely been taken for other purposes," Laura said with a slight smile.

"In the end, the old lady took care of us when we were helpless, and then we had to learn to fend for ourselves. She was kind but ruthless," Laura laughed softly.

"When I was able to take care of myself, I tried to visit her, but she had already died."

"You had a tough childhood," Damian said, sighing, imagining how hard it must have been for her to survive.

"I wasn't the only one. It was the reality for most people living here, which is why I say you changed everyone's life here, not just mine," Laura said, smiling at him.

"In this place, life is very cheap but of the highest quality. For people who lived in the old Madripoor, it's nothing short of paradise, and it's all thanks to you. That's why they act that way when they see you."

"Honestly, I hadn't thought of it that way. It was more of a whim of mine than anything else. But if I'm honest, it feels good," Damian said, recalling the way people looked at him on the tram.

"Alright, let's not talk about such depressing things. I hope you can eat a lot since we're just getting started," Laura said, smiling before taking another small mound of pasta into her mouth.

...

While Damian was on a date with Laura, Jen, who had no idea about the matter, appeared at Kamar-Taj.

"What happened?" Jen asked, sitting down and looking at the masters around her.

The masters exchanged hesitant glances before Mordo started speaking.

"Ancient One, Kaecilius has betrayed us," Mordo said, looking at her.

"What?" Jen said, frowning.

"He attacked the temple and stole the Eye of Agamotto," Mordo said, lowering his head, and looking ashamed.

Jen remained silent, her head bowing slightly as she sighed. She thought this wouldn't happen. She had done everything possible to prevent it, but it still occurred.

"That's unfortunate," Jen sighed before looking up with a firm and unwavering gaze.

"How was he able to steal the Eye of Agamotto?" Jen asked, looking at Mordo.

"Somehow, he could control the Mirror Dimension, manipulating reality on a small scale," Mordo said.

"Did he have black marks on his forehead?" Jen asked, looking at him.

"Yes," Mordo nodded.

"I see. Start the search, find out where he is, and I'll take care of him," Jen said, looking at the masters.

"Ancient One, how could he do that?" another master asked.

"He must have made a pact with a being from the Dark Dimension, Dormammu. All these things are written in the Book of Cagliostro, which I suppose he read," Jen said. Usually, the masters didn't read those books, despite them not being forbidden.

They did it out of a kind of respect, so it was normal for them not to know about the mark on the forehead and the ability they gained.

''He took that book before leaving,'' said the master in charge of the library.

''I see. If you find him, show no mercy. Kill him if you can,'' said Jen, causing many of the masters to feel uncomfortable.

Kaecillius was their friend; they had spent many years together. Suddenly knowing that he had betrayed them and that they had to kill him was difficult for them.

''Yes, ma'am,'' said Mordo finally, before leaving first. Seeing this, the other masters also left.

''Kaecillius,'' Jen whispered softly. With the existence of Damian, she always thought that destiny did not exist, and that everything could be changed.

Now she didn't know what to think.

Jen gave a final sigh before standing in the center of the room and starting to form a large orange magic circle that grew until it covered the entire room.

Jen's brow furrowed as she tried to scan the surroundings with her magic circle.

It was easier before when almost everyone was ordinary people; now almost everyone had magic, and there was too much interference during the search.

The magic circle kept growing as the range of her search increased. She didn't think Kaecillius had gone too far, especially after realizing that the Eye of Agamotto was empty.

It was just a useless necklace without the stone. After giving the stone to Damian, she placed the necklace on a small pillar simply to give it a bit of symbolism.

She hadn't thought it would provoke Kaecillius's greed.

''Need some help?'' Cortana suddenly appeared next to Jen.

''That would be nice,'' said Jen, nodding without being too surprised before canceling the magic circle.

She had scanned the entire city but hadn't found any traces of the necklace. Even if it was empty and useless, after thousands of years carrying the stone, it emitted a certain aura she could track.

Of course, there was no reason to struggle if Cortana could help her.

''Kaecillius is 6111 kilometers in that direction,'' said Cortana, pointing.

''He seems to be after Amelia's weapon, the... servant... caretaker? I'm not sure what she is, but the woman who follows Hela,'' said Cortana.

''You're talking about the Dark Scepter?'' said Jen, frowning, remembering that she had seen the weapon in the hands of the woman Cortana was talking about.

Since she was Hela's follower, she hadn't said anything about it.

''Yes, that thing that can absorb magic. It's quite impressive,'' said Cortana honestly.

''I guess he wants to become stronger,'' said Jen, frowning at the same time as she seemed confused.

''This isn't how Dormammu operates; it's strange,'' murmured Jen.

''Let's go find out then,'' said Cortana, looking at her.

''Sure, let's go,'' said Jen, nodding.

Cortana made them appear in the northern region of Europe, specifically in Hela's city.

When Jen looked forward, she saw they had arrived at a normal-looking house.

''They're here, but not in a good mood. They think the necklace is fake,'' said Cortana, chuckling.

''They planned to use it to attack the city and steal the scepter before escaping quickly,'' said Cortana, looking at Jen.

''Hm, let's find out what's going on,'' said Jen, nodding as a magic circle appeared in her hand, forcibly opening the door.

Upon entering, several sorcerers she recognized quickly stood up, ready to attack her.

Jen immediately saw the corruption on their foreheads and couldn't help but sigh. It was already too late.

Without hesitation, hundreds of orange swords emerged from the void before piercing them.

Jen walked among the bodies without looking at them as she ventured deeper into the property.

Jen's attack had made enough noise, alerting everyone.

Finally, Jen stood before Kaecillius, although the man in her memories was very different from the one in front of her.

A black mark on his forehead and the areas around his eyes seemed full of dark energy.

''You... how did you find me?'' said Kaecillius, unconsciously taking a step back.

His closest followers reacted similarly; there was a complete chasm of difference between them and the Ancient One.

A chasm they weren't close to bridging even with the power Dormammu had given them.

''Why did you do this, Kaecillius?'' said Jen, looking at him before sighing.

Jen's question seemed to turn Kaecillius's fear into anger, causing him to respond aggressively.

''In Dormammu, I found the answer to the void in my heart, the answer you couldn't give me! Now I see everything so clearly, it's a pity my family couldn't see it,'' said Kaecillius, looking at Jen with hatred.

''But I will make sure no one has to suffer what I suffered. I will give the gift of immortality to all of humanity''

''People like you or Damian, who have the gift of immortality, will never understand what death is''

''It seems you can say that because you haven't seen the Dark Dimension,'' said Jen, looking disappointed before waving her hand, causing swords to emerge from the void and pierce her former disciples.

They turned out to be much more skilled and used the Mirror Dimension to shield themselves and try to escape.

To their surprise, the swords suddenly changed direction in midair before impaling them.

Kaecillius was the most skilled and seemed to stretch space in the form of a weapon before blocking Jen's swords.

Before Kaecillius could feel relieved, Jen appeared behind him and grabbed his neck.

The energy running through his body was immediately paralyzed by Jen.

''Your soul has already been absorbed by the Dark Dimension. You know... I feel really sad about this,'' said Jen before breaking Kaecillius's neck.

''I didn't know you cared so much; I'm sorry,'' said Cortana, looking at her. If she had known, maybe she could have prevented it.

''Hm, he allowed himself to be tempted and joined the dark side. His will wasn't strong enough; it would have happened at any moment,'' said Jen, shaking her head.

''I feel sad and disappointed. For a long time, I tried to guide him so he wouldn't end up this way, but I couldn't change anything.''

''You can take it out on Dormammu. Ask Damian for help; I'm sure if he cuts a bit of his dimension, it'll hurt him,'' said Cortana, smiling, trying to cheer her up.

''It's not necessary. Dormammu doesn't dare invade this universe. Let's just go home,'' said Jen, looking at Cortana.

''Hm,'' said Cortana, nodding, making them both appear back in Madripoor.

At the same time, all the corpses and any trace of the fight were eliminated.

----

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