Chapter 53: The Malice of Fate

Casillas dodged almost instinctively. If this treasure had been triggered by the correct incantation and exploded on the spot, not even the power of Dormammu flowing through him would have spared his life—death would have been inevitable. But nothing happened at all...

Mei Integrity wielded this deadly artifact as if it were nothing more than an empty chamber pot, swinging it over with a magical whip, flinging it without a care.

All that wasted expression, all for nothing—a false alarm.

Then Mei Integrity’s voice rang out again: “Watch out for hidden weapons!”

Casillas could only suppress a wild urge to laugh. Had the Ancient One lost her mind, to teach such a bizarre disciple? To smash an artifact or a treasure at one’s enemy, fail to trigger any special effect, and even give the enemy a warning in advance—was this a sign of a long life, or was it just to show off the so-called upright style of Kamar-Taj?

Out of caution, Casillas still dodged the seemingly massive suit of armor.

Armor that should have exploded like a grenade, sending shrapnel flying, simply fell apart, useless as scrap metal, dragged along by the magical whip.

As expected—nothing happened!

“Watch out for hidden weapons!” Mei Mumu shouted for the third time, and Casillas finally lost his patience and charged straight at him!

With a sweep of his left hand, a black disc-shaped magic circle brimming with evil energy appeared on his left fist. Shadow energy from the Dark Dimension perfectly enveloped his fist.

With this punch, anything with hardness below that of diamond would be smashed to pieces.

Clang! His left fist struck the third object Mei Mumu threw over—no surprise there.

As expected, the thing shattered.

But then, something terrifying happened.

He clearly felt that his punch had already scattered that bundle of metal strips, but as his fist followed through on its momentum, the entire bundle suddenly seemed to come alive.

In an instant, they spread out before him, like a fisherman casting a massive net over clear, shallow waters.

Casillas hastily summoned his magical shield—but it was utterly useless.

Dodging was too late as well. Like a fool, he had thrown his fist straight at it, and now the contraption had fully activated its capture mode. It felt as if his body had generated an irresistible magnetic field, drawing every piece of metal toward him.

The bundle of metal strips suddenly unfolded, revealing what looked like an exoskeletal suit of armor.

From the front, it resembled a centipede—a long, metallic backbone glinting in the light. Its upper end locked swiftly onto Casillas’ jaw, assembling itself down along his throat, passing between his collarbones, over his sternum, down to his abdomen, then forking along the upper groin, attaching to the thighs, calves, and the tops of his feet…

The pieces continued self-assembling, stretching from the chest cavity to the back, where a matching metallic spine snapped into place. More pieces flew to join, and with a series of metallic clacks, the restraints forced Casillas’ entire body into a backward-arching lock, his arms wrenched behind him at an extreme angle, hanging high up his back.

By the time the contraption finished assembling, Casillas looked like a punished criminal, forced to his knees in misery, his mouth sealed shut by three interlocking metal plates.

“Mmm! Mmmph mmmph—!” Casillas tried to struggle, but it was utterly useless. This magical device perfectly suppressed his physical strength and all the magic within him.

On his own, not even a million years would see him break free.

It was only then that Mei Mumu stepped out from behind a heavy wooden display case, smiling: “Surprised? Didn’t expect it, did you? How does the taste of the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak feel?”

At the mention of that name, Casillas froze. He immediately gave up struggling—there was no point. Countless experiences had taught him: villains die by talking too much.

Having read the original story, Mei Integrity knew even better: even if he removed the gag from Casillas’ mouth, this Dormammu-brainwashed fanatic would just start babbling nonsense. Praising Dormammu, lauding the Dark Lord, and so on.

Although Mei Integrity was burning with curiosity—why had Casillas managed to kill Doctor Strange when he was still a mere mortal?—he also knew: villains die by talking too much, and so do heroes.

The more arrogant you act, the quicker you die.

Although his curiosity was about to explode, Mei Integrity acted decisively and finished the job.

With a forward leap, he thrust directly, no flourish—wielding the transparent blade of the Sword of Watoomb horizontally, he stabbed through the gap between two metal plates over the chest of the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak.

A wet, solid sound—the blade drove into flesh.

To make absolutely sure Casillas would die, Mei Integrity even twisted the transparent magical blade, shredding the heart of the notorious villain to pulp.

Casillas convulsed violently from the agony.

Mei Integrity realized, to his own surprise, that he rather enjoyed this moment of vengeance.

Hey! That’s what you get for leading your goons to ambush me.

Is bullying mortals so much fun? Well, I don’t need ten years for revenge—just a few months does the trick!

As he twisted the sword, the Cloak of Levitation on his shoulders even flicked its corner into the shape of a thumb, pointing straight up.

Uh, was this a sign that the ugly brute deserved to die?

Up close, Mei Integrity saw just how hideous Casillas was. Once he had looked almost human, but after borrowing Dormammu’s power, those dark circles under his eyes were bad enough—now the corners of his eyes were split open, exposing triangular trails of blood.

Even with eternal life, if this was the price—he’d rather pass.

Life was draining rapidly from Casillas’ body.

Mei Integrity could feel the magic fading fast from his opponent and no longer needed to be on guard. He signaled silently for the Cloak to keep watch. The Cloak of Levitation gave an “OK” sign, and Mei Integrity pried open the iron gag over Casillas’ mouth.

“Hey! Answer me, Casillas, why did you attack Stephen Strange?”

Weak and dying, Casillas seemed to accept his fate.

Immortality does not mean indestructibility.

What must die, will die.

He gave a chilling smile: “It was the Dark Lord Dormammu’s will… He came to me first, told me… If I wished for eternal life, I had to eliminate Stephen Strange before all else!”

A cold shiver ran down Mei Integrity’s spine—he suddenly sensed the malice of fate. This made no sense. In the original story, Dormammu, the final boss of Doctor Strange, shouldn’t have known from the start that Strange would be his greatest obstacle on Earth, and certainly wouldn’t have sent Casillas to eliminate him in advance.

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PS: I rarely ask for recommendation votes, but I’ll ask this time. By the way, it seems not many people like Lady Libra—fine, I’ll revise and cut that part.

Once more, the update schedule: daytime releases are not fixed, updates may happen at random. Usually, new chapters come after 11pm but before midnight. Once “Storm Archmage” is completed, updates will be much more stable. Lately, updates have been a mess because I sometimes have to watch Peppa Pig with my son.

Finally, please don’t tease this grumpy old author—I’m having a rough enough time as it is.