Chapter 142: Great Sorcerer War (2)

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Like a leaf dancing in the wind, Edward hopped between the different groups of demons, killing all those in his way as he headed for Kamar-Taj.

The demons varied in strength, but it looked like none of the truly strong demons were in the vicinity as Edward rather easily arrived in Kamar-Taj. There, all of the Sorcerers who would fight for this world were present, so they didn't take long to kill the remaining demons.

Now that they had some piece, Edward joined with Stephen, and the two talked to the mass of Sorcerers.

Stephen began, "I am proud to see all of you kept the oath you once made and readily agreed to fight for the Earth. Currently, all the demons have been spread all over the Earth, and it is our job to kill them all. To do so, you will be split in teams."

One might wonder why they started their planning now, when they had more than a week to prepare. Actually, it was for their own safety. Demons were devious, and highly capable in manipulation.

Hence, it was almost certain there were some double agents among the Sorcerers, so Edward and Stephen had taken the decision to only tell them of their plans after they entered this dimension.

With this, even if there were some traitors among them, the measures they took in their plans would root them out.

Edward continued, "Once your teams are formed, you will spread out to certain locations, destroy every demon in sight. Also, you all will be given a special 'flare'. Use it if you encounter a danger too strong for your team to take on."

A hand immediately was raised in the audience, and tracing his gaze to that hand, Edward saw a grinning young lady. Unlike most of those around her, she wasn't a Sorcerer, but a Magician, and one Edward knew, Zatanna.

Edward nodded in her direction, so she asked, "What will happen if we fire this flare?"

Stephen rotated his palms as a spell was used. The next moment, several portals appeared as seven individuals teleported over.

One was a group of three, and were Sorcerers, like the majority of the mass gathered here. What allowed them to stand over the rest was that they weren't simply Sorcerers, but the Masters of the Three Sanctums, the three greatest Sorcerers of their time under the Sorcerer Supreme.

As for the other three, they weren't Sorcerers, but were no less powerful. Each of them were serious contestants at the title of Sorcerer Supreme, yet none of the three had bothered participating in the competition.

One was a man of Italian origins, dressed in a tuxedo, and whom Edward had seen once before. He was the father of Zatanna, Giovanni Zatara. He used the same kind of magic as his daughter, and was one of the strongest protectors of Earth.

The second, Edward had also met once before, and his level of power was astonishing. However, the comparison ended here. He was dressed in a metallic armor, and unlike most Sorcerers relied also on technology. More often than not a villain, he was known as Doctor Doom!

The third was the only female in the group, but that did not make her any less stronger than the rest. As charming as she was beautiful, she was also someone Edward had met, more than once at that, she was the dark witch Morgana!

Finally, the fourth individual was a Sorcerer, but he was one of the few who did not belong to Kamar-Taj. Holder of several of the strongest artefacts on the planet, people called him Doctor Fate!

With the group's arrival, Edward said, "The nine of us will select several of your teams, and will be responsible for their survival, and eliminate any strong demons."

Once again, another hand shot up, this time it came from a blond haired man, who also wasn't a Sorcerer. Edward nodded, and the man pointed at Doctor Doom as he asked, "Is this what you call a protector? I believe everyone knows the things he did."

Several voices rose in agreement in the crowd, but Doom merely snorted, "Why should I explain myself to ants?"

This obviously angered the crowd, so Stephen was forced to intervene, "Everyone, for today, let us leave the enmities of the past behind. Just like you all, Doctor Doom has things he wishes to protect on this Earth, so you can trust him. If you don't, then at least trust me."

The voices in the crowd quieted, this was their Sorcerer Supreme talking after all.

Following that, they were all asked to form their teams based on their affinities with each other. While they were doing that, the nine were gathered to talk.

Of the group, the three Master Sorcerers didn't dare to say a word as they didn't really have the standing to be here. They themselves weren't even really part of the 'strong' people, they would always move out as a group of three.

The others naturally did not have any similar inhibitions. Giovanni was the first one to speak as he proclaimed, "I will be taking my daughter's and my apprentice's team under me."

Most didn't have any objection, but Morgana grunted, "I've been teaching the lass for months, why couldn't I take care of her?"

Giovanni threw a glare at her, but before he said anything, Stephen said, "Stop it, Morgana."

She showed a mesmerizing smile as he talked to her, and replied in a shy voice, "If that's what you want…"

Stephen suddenly looked tired, while the others chose to remain silent as they saw this. Internally, they all knew what was happening between the two.

Seeing Stephen clearly wasn't comfortable with it, Edward decided to shift the subject as he said, "Most of those demons are interdimensional in nature, so their power will be sealed. However, don't underestimate them because of that."

Doom surprisingly took over, as the man added, "With so many of them attacking together, and us fighting in the Mirror Dimension, the seal on their strength will be lesser."

Giovanni fingered a stage magician wand as he said, "Now that I think about it, weren't those so-called gods quite pompous in the past? You can't do that, or that, you must respect us, because we are superior to you… Aren't they the ones hiding in fear?"

Although he looked relaxed, a strong resentment could be heard in Giovanni's voice. It wasn't a secret his wife had died at the ends of a god from the Egyptian Pantheon. Back then, Giovanni had raised quite the ruckus in the metaphysical world, and was only stopped by several pantheons going forward to stop him.

It wasn't that Giovanni was powerful enough to take the entire Egyptian Pantheon on his own, but he wasn't alone himself. To be more accurate, while he fought alone, he didn't fight only for his own sake.

Gods hadn't just harmed him, they had harmed many over the course of their long lived, causing most of the magical community to hold enmity toward them. So as not to face the combined might of the magicians of the world, they were forced to put down Giovanni without killing him.

But even though he was eventually stopped and didn't seek revenge anymore, he still resented the gods, and the rift between magicians and gods had become wider.

Edward looked at the man and said, "Everything has consequences. Today, they have underestimated the demonic hordes coming to us, and believe they will be able to weaken us without lifting a finger. If we manage to go through this tribulation, there will be consequences."

All of them nodded, including Doom.

Edward never really had a problem against gods in general, what they did now truly angered him. Stephen had gone to the different pantheons of the Earth to ask for their help, putting down his status as the Sorcerer Supreme, which was equivalent to the Skyfather of a major Pantheon, but the only answers he received were disdain and rejection.

Edward understood some gods wouldn't come to participate, purely physical ones would only becomes weights, but for all the pantheons to refuse in a consensus to send even one god… Even a child would understand the reasons behind this.

It wasn't like they didn't care about the Earth, but the magicians represented a threat to their hegemony. Besides, with the Age of Heroes that started recently, gods were no longer the almighty beings they used to be in mortals' eyes.

Nowadays, even a being as powerful as Thor was seen as a stronger Hero. The mere title of a god was no longer enough to awe the people, one needed to take actions, something the gods were reluctant to do, and all of this was because of the rise of Supers among the mortals.

This included a large part of the magical community, which was why they were targeted now. So even though Edward, and even Doom, didn't really have much of an opinion on Gods as they mostly educated themselves on magic, they both felt some displeasure toward them.

But again, they were similar in the fashion that they didn't really put those puny schemes in their eyes. For sure, the gods were powerful, and could be of a great help, but even if they didn't come, they were so confident in themselves they believed they could manage even without them.

However, unlike Doom, who only cared about the people of his country, Latveria, Edward felt responsible for a larger population, namely, the entire world, and as such, even though the schemes of the Gods did not bother him personally, he would have to do something because of his responsibilities.

But that would be for later, as they had a big threat to face before them. Despite his confidence, Edward knew this would be a difficult war, and while he could not allow himself to die or lose the battle, the possibility of others dying was high.

So as the teams finished being set, Edward randomly picked his teams before registering their magical signature and giving them his own, he set off as they worked on forming their flare. As for himself, he decided to go no his own to kill demons until one of his groups met a worthy foe.