Become a Homelander and a Marvel superstar

Strange breathed a sigh of relief and smiled happily, like a pleased mentor.

"Thank you, Emily. Your courage will save a life."

"Stand in the very center of the magic circle," Strange pointed to the red pattern on the ground. "No matter what happens next, don't leave that circle. It might be a little uncomfortable, but it's necessary to save lives."

Emily did as she was told and stood in the center of the red magic circle.

Looking at the twisted runes at her feet, she felt a sudden pang of fear for no reason, but out of trust in her homeland, she forced herself to stay where she was.

Strange retreated to the outer edge of the magic circle.

He raised his hands, his fingers curling into a strange spellcasting gesture.

With his movements, streams of dark magic surged from his palms.

"Buzz..."

The magic circle was fully illuminated by magic.

Magical chains formed from red energy suddenly shot out from the ground, climbing up Emilia's ankles like venomous snakes, tightly binding her wrists, waist, and legs.

"what!"

Emilia gasped in surprise, instinctively trying to break free, only to find the chains incredibly strong and tightening ever more.

"Master Strange, are you hurting me?" Emilia looked at Strange with some fear.

"Be patient, child. This is part of the traction ritual."

Strange answered expressionlessly, his eyes already glowing with an eerie red light.

He curled his fingers into claws and aimed them at Emily.

With just one final step remaining, the girl's ability to travel through the multiverse will be completely his.

He no longer cared whether the girl lived or died.

"Well done, Stephen."

A familiar voice suddenly rang in Strange's ears.

Strange's heart seemed to stop beating at that moment.

He shivered uncontrollably, and the dark magic that had been gathering at his fingertips almost went out of control on the spot.

He swallowed hard, his neck turning slowly, like a rusty gear.

The people of the motherland had unknowingly stood behind him.

Strange's heart began to pound wildly, like a drumbeat.

He had no idea when Homelander had arrived there.

With his sensory abilities, he could detect even a fly flying into the entire New York Temple.

But Homelander stood there silently, as if he had been there from the very beginning and witnessed the whole thing.

"T-Teacher." Strange's voice trembled uncontrollably as he forced a smile. "When...when did you get here? I didn't notice at all."

"We just arrived."

Ah Zu chuckled softly and stepped forward to stand in front of him.

"It's just a little trick, don't worry about it. What's wrong? Did I scare you? You look nervous, Stephen. You're sweating."

Strange hastily wiped the cold sweat from his forehead with the sleeve of his robe, forcing himself to calm down.

"No...no," Strange quickly explained, "It's just that this magic...is extremely energy-consuming. Searching for souls across universes requires extremely precise control of magical power. I'm just a little tired."

Azu walked to the edge of the magic circle, looking with great interest at the dark runes on the ground and Emilia, who was bound by magical chains and looked completely innocent.

When Emily saw Azu appear, the panic in her eyes immediately subsided, and a sense of security welled up in her heart.

"I must say, I'm quite impressed with you, Stephen," Azu nodded approvingly. "You've been very well prepared to save Wanda. You're a man of your word, which is excellent."

Hearing Azu's praise, Strange breathed a slight sigh of relief. It seemed that his attempt to withdraw his power had not been seen through.

"but……"

At this moment, Ah Zu changed the subject and adopted the posture of a strict teacher.

He extended a finger and gently shook it.

"You overlooked a crucial detail, Stephen."

"As a spellcaster, you should know very well that for any celestial attraction spell, the caster cannot be too far from the celestial body. Otherwise, the failure rate when the soul returns will greatly increase. You are casting the spell here right now, while Wanda's body is in Kamar-Taj. This is too reckless."

Strange smiled bitterly to himself.

Of course! Because this wasn't some kind of astral traction magic; he was preparing to kill and rob.

But he dared not refute it at that moment.

"Yes...yes, yes!" Strange immediately seized the opportunity, feigning sudden realization and regret. "I was so eager to save people that I only thought about opening the passage as quickly as possible, and I overlooked such an important point. Thank you for your guidance, teacher. If you hadn't appeared in time, I might have made a serious mistake."

"I will deactivate the magic circle now and take Emilia to Kamar-Taj."

Having said that, he raised his hand as if to dispel the magic on the ground.

All he wanted now was to get out of this oppressive, confined room as quickly as possible, and get as far away from his homelanders as possible.

Whenever he got to Kamar-Taj, he could always find an opportunity to distract the others and target the girl again.

"No need for that trouble."

Azu interrupted him directly, casually raising his right hand and drawing a circle in mid-air.

A golden portal, two meters in diameter, appeared out of thin air in mid-air within the secret chamber.

Through the portal, you can clearly see the quiet, antique-style room, and Wanda lying on the bed like Sleeping Beauty.

An invisible force surged forth, and Wanda's sleeping body slowly floated up from the bed, smoothly passed through the spatial passage, and flew into the dimly lit secret room.

Azu reached out and gently caught Wanda, then placed her steadily on a long wooden table against the wall of the secret room.

"Alright, Wanda's here now. You can continue, Stephen."

Strange stood frozen in place, feeling a chill run down his spine.

Continue? Continue what?

How could he possibly know any way to summon Wanda's soul?

Everything he had just done, including this magic circle, was a sacrificial ritual from the Dark Book used to extract the power of others.

Now, the lie has been cornered.

Strange's hands hung limply at his sides, his palms covered in cold sweat.

He felt Azu's gaze fixed on him, like a cold scalpel scraping away his disguise bit by bit.

If I admit now that I can't do it, if I admit that I was lying just now...

They will definitely be killed, without a doubt.

"What's wrong?" Azu tilted his head slightly, looking at Strange who was standing frozen in place, and asked in confusion, "Is something missing, Stephen?"

"No...no." Strange could only answer awkwardly when he heard Azu's urging.

There is no way out.

We had no choice but to try anything, even if it seemed hopeless.