For Ancient One, the future holds infinite possibilities, but some futures are more likely than others. When influenced by other dimensions, these probabilities can shift.
However, Shimizu's frequent synchronization with his main body causes the original, predetermined trajectory to change frequently.
Even though each change is small, it still makes him feel uneasy.
The use of the two magical artifacts wasn't just because Ancient One really wanted to beat up Blizzard's game designers, but also because he thought it was necessary.
… …
… …
Shimizu had no idea what Ancient One was thinking.
Right now, he had the Web of Zoroaster tucked in his chest pocket and the Monocle of All-Seeing Eyes on his left eye as he walked into his home.
Following behind him were Mordo and two Kamar-Taj sorcerers wearing yellow robes and hoods.
"Oh, Walter, your manor is just like the ones I've seen in movies!"
A young, blond-haired sorcerer curiously examined the golf course and swimming pool of Walter's manor before following Shimizu's footsteps into the living room.
"He has more than just a manor. Alright, Carlisle, this is Sorcerer Walter's home. Let's not be too rude."
Mordo said to the young, blond-haired sorcerer behind him.
The other middle-aged Asian sorcerer, who was completely bald, remained expressionless as he twirled prayer beads in his hand, unmoved.
"Young Master Walter."
The butler, Jorge, brought a tray of tea to the living room and gave Shimizu a slight bow.
"Jorge, prepare some lunch and entertain my friends."
"Very well, Young Master Walter. Should I prepare some vegetarian options?"
Jorge glanced at the guests, who were dressed somewhat like monks.
Shimizu looked at Mordo.
"No need, we eat meat, but we generally don't drink alcohol or eat anything with too strong a flavor, lest it disturb our inner peace."
Mordo shook his head.
"No, no, no, Mordo, I think you should eat some. Tranquility is a state of mind, a state of not being moved by external things. Only by learning to find tranquility in chaos can you ensure that you maintain inner peace at all times."
Shimizu said to Mordo.
Sorcerers need to concentrate highly when casting spells, so some sorcerers believe that they need to reduce the interference of external substances on their own desires in order to maintain the power of magic at all times, and even developed a related ascetic school of thought.
It's just that this school of thought has turned into believing that the more hardship one endures, until one gets used to it, and can maintain inner peace in extreme pain, then nothing in this world can break their inner peace.
Shimizu admired these people, but he didn't particularly agree with them.
That was just one way to pursue inner peace.
Ancient One, that old man, eats with a greasy mouth, doesn't avoid spicy food, and it doesn't prevent him from being the strongest sorcerer on Earth.
"Not pleased by external gains, not saddened by personal losses, being able to control one's heart whether facing good or bad things is true tranquility, Sorcerer Walter, I am enlightened."
The bald Asian sorcerer put his palms together and gave Shimizu a slight bow.
Jorge couldn't help but pause when he heard the words "Sorcerer Walter."
"Young Master Walter, you wouldn't be becoming a monk, would you?"
Hearing that the Walter family wouldn't be without an heir, Jorge contentedly carried the tray away.
"Before we eat, let's first discuss the dimensional anomaly that appeared here this time. This is the location detected by the Orb of Agamotto. I plan to visit the New York Sanctum Sanctorum with Liu after lunch and then investigate."
Mordo took a crumpled map from his chest pocket and pointed to a certain location.
"Widget OS, display the New York map, zoom in on Lexington Avenue in Manhattan, and use the Osborne satellite to monitor the area in real time."
Shimizu snapped his fingers, and the center of the table in the living room immediately sank down, replaced by a row of small projection lamps, which used holographic projection to display a real-time panoramic map of Lexington Avenue above the table.
"Don't rush to investigate, it's easy to alert the enemy. It's the same now."
Mordo: … …
"Has there been any murder cases in this area recently? Summoning creatures from the hell dimension usually requires extremely bloody rituals."
The bald Sorcerer Liu looked at the holographic projection map and said.
"Widget OS, call up the New York Police Department and FBI's information on abnormal deaths and missing persons in the area and surrounding areas in the past three months."
The holographic projection instantly popped up windows above the New York map, totaling dozens.
"The Eye of Agamotto detected the dimensional anomaly at 10:48 AM."
Sorcerer Liu continued, providing information.
The pop-up windows instantly cleared.
Because it was now 10:53 AM.
Five minutes was not enough for anyone to notice.
"How about we ask the sorcerers stationed at the New York Sanctum Sanctorum?"
The blond-haired sorcerer Carlisle raised his hand and said.
"I've asked, they're also investigating, but there are no results yet. But in the past few months, they've often detected abnormal energy signals in this area, but there haven't been any results."
Mordo picked up his phone, which displayed the chat history of the communication software Messenger.
"Redisplay the unnatural death events in the area in the past three months, exclude closed cases such as car accidents, and query the last location and interpersonal interactions of all missing and deceased persons, and query the emails, phone calls, social platforms, and chat software of the deceased and missing persons, and statistically analyze the related intersections."
Shimizu spoke again.
The number of cases quickly decreased to a dozen.
Shimizu quickly browsed through them and quickly screened out the suspicious points.
Eight people here had joined a private association called the Covenant Assembly in the months before their deaths.
Moreover, these eight people could not be said to be all rich or noble, but the one with the lowest net worth was also a lawyer at a law firm in New York, all belonging to the elite class of society.
"Collect all information related to the Covenant Assembly on the Internet."
Shimizu instructed Widget OS again.
Soon, messages were retrieved by Widget OS and placed in front of Shimizu.
"A cult that incites others to enjoy themselves in time, with the wolf and the fish as totems, looks like a heretical sect."
"It doesn't just look like one. Since they summoned a demon, then they are. Walter, can you find their location?"
Mordo suddenly stood up from his chair, with the momentum of not eating this meal and going to fight a bloody battle with the demon first.
"Don't rush, we haven't found out exactly where their meeting place is yet. I'll have Widget OS monitor all communication equipment of other related personnel. In short, let's eat first."
Shimizu turned his head and looked towards the door.
Several chefs wearing white hats pushed a food cart in.
The Covenant Assembly didn't make Shimizu and the others wait long.
Witt Oos monitored all the accounts that interacted with those eight people's social media platforms and chat software, tracked the associated mobile phones of those accounts, and then used signal tracking to lock down the real-time locations of these mobile phones.
When multiple locations overlapped, it meant it was time for them to close the net.
“Keep the noise down as much as possible, or should I report it to the police first?”
In an alley outside a bar, Shimizu asked Mordo and the other two mages.
“No need, we are very experienced in handling this kind of thing.”
Mordo said calmly.
“Alright, but the thing inside seems unusual.”
Shimizu used the Transparent World to take a look at the depths of the bar, and a thread, invisible to the naked eye, quickly extended from the cuff of his left hand and darted into the bar.
No mistakes, one first, one launch, one inside, one appearance, one existence, one look!
Mordo took the lead, leading Carlisle and Mage Liu towards the bar door.
Shimizu stood in place and thought for a few seconds, then formed a hand seal and cast a transformation spell, changing into the appearance of another person before walking in.
As a billionaire and superhero of the Avengers, his face was very recognizable, not only in New York but throughout America.
To avoid causing unnecessary trouble, it was better to disguise himself.
Wearing a plain white face, using the Zoroastrian Web to cover the glowing part of the Mind Stone Scepter, Shimizu walked in with steady steps.
Mordo and the others moved quickly, their cooperation was very methodical, they covered each other, used portals to avoid the crowds, quickly solved the guards, and then rushed into the basement.
This was an underground dance hall, everyone was wearing masks or hoods.
When Shimizu walked past the unconscious guards and entered the dance hall, he even saw people wearing Iron Man masks and Electro masks…
“Wow, a masquerade ball, but one of them isn't wearing a mask.”
Shimizu looked at a suit-wearing man with a wolf's head, who was walking towards them with a charming white-haired woman in his arms.
“I told you, if we do this, it will easily attract the attention of the Supreme Mage.”
The woman whispered to the werewolf beside her.
“But we haven't done anything too bad.”
“Don't forget about this morning's matter.”
“Honey, that was an accident, besides, didn't we try our best to trap that thing in the toilet? I can't even maintain my human form.”
The werewolf scratched his head, then obediently stood with the woman in front of Mordo.
Mordo and the others looked at each other.
It was the first time they had seen such cooperative people.
After some negotiations, they finally understood what had happened.
These two, one named Earth Wolf and the other named Bona, both came from England.
The former was a earthbound spirit, and the latter was a Lady of the Lake. Unwilling to be trapped in a corner, they gave up their weak divine duties with almost no power, and chose to leave Europe to venture out, develop believers, obtain blood food, and strengthen their power.
The Covenant Assembly was founded by the two of them, using supernatural powers to attract those dignitaries, and from time to time selecting some scumbags to sacrifice in exchange for benefits and power.
It was just that an accident occurred during the sacrifice this morning, and the two accidentally turned the sacrifice ritual into a summoning ritual, summoning a demon from hell.
Fortunately, these two had some brains and knew to remedy it in time, otherwise if the mages of Kamar-Taj discovered what they had done, they would probably take care of them as well.
So they temporarily sealed the demon in the toilet, thinking of finding a way to solve the demon later, preferably before the Kamar-Taj mages arrived, so as to reduce some sins.
“Take us to the toilet, after solving the demon, you will go to Kamar-Taj with us and plead guilty to the Supreme Mage.”
Mage Liu rolled up his sleeves, revealing the strong muscles on his arms, and stared at Earth Wolf and the Lady of the Lake.
“Yes!”
Earth Wolf quickly led the people to the toilet.
“The two of us have almost used up the power I have collected in the past six months, and have also spent a lot of things to barely confine this thing in the toilet.”
Outside the toilet door, Earth Wolf pointed to the seal on the door.
What he sealed was the entire toilet, and the door was the starting point of the seal.
“What to do? I suggest luring the demon out and hooking it into the Mirror Dimension.”
Mordo looked at Shimizu for his opinion with a questioning look.
In the previous battle, Shimizu had already won his respect with his strength.
“Okay.”
Shimizu nodded slightly.
Each time Kamar-Taj faces relatively difficult to deal with, magical events that may cause relatively large disturbances, they will try to have a mage who has mastered the magic of the Mirror Dimension lead the team, in order to eliminate the impact of magical events on the secular world as much as possible.
“My magic item can provide protection for multiple people at the same time, Carlisle's magic item can speed up our escape, Watt, I heard that your strength is very strong, the power of magic is very powerful, then you should hide in the Mirror Dimension in advance, and launch a fatal blow when the demon enters.”
Mage Liu said to Shimizu.
He hadn't seen the battle between Shimizu and Mordo before, but he had heard about it.
But he was not sure about Shimizu's combat experience, so he gave Shimizu this relatively safe but relatively important task.
“Okay.”
Shimizu nodded slightly.
Mordo took out a small makeup mirror from his pocket, supported it with a stand, placed it in front of the toilet door, and cast a spell to open the shattered glass-like Mirror Dimension.
Shimizu stepped in.
The other two mages glanced at each other, then pushed open the door.
Shimizu waited in the Mirror Dimension for only a dozen seconds before Liu and Carlisle broke in from the entrance of the Mirror Dimension.
The prayer beads in the former's hand had a slightly dim light, while the latter held a crystal ball in his hand, constantly releasing blue mist that entangled the two, making them move like the wind.
“It's coming.”
Shimizu held the Mind Stone Scepter in his hand.
He had already cast a spell on the scepter, using the chakra to imitate the esoteric energy to cast the Vishanti Holy Sword at its top, turning the scepter into a shining greatsword.
A pitch-black, faceless monster with a large mouth and a body like a distorted and enlarged silverfish rushed in.
This is the demon?
Why is it so much uglier than I thought?
This appearance is a bit embarrassing for demons.
