"Please, follow me, Lady Ancient One."
After giving Lena a reassuring nod, William quickly stepped forward to personally open the door and lead the Ancient One out of the suite toward his office.
As soon as they left, viewers watching on TV erupted in shock.
Who was William Devonshire bowing to? Who was this middle-aged woman he personally escorted out?
Many people completely lost interest in the ongoing football match. Instead, they flooded online forums or called TV stations, desperate for information.
Meanwhile, within England's Ministry of Magic, as well as among werewolves, vampires, and other supernatural beings, everyone was investigating the Ancient One's identity.
When word finally spread from some of the older beings that the Ancient One was a true relic of the magical world, having lived for at least five centuries, everything suddenly made sense.
Much like Lena, they now believed that this was the reason William was so exceptional.
—
Upon reaching his office, William gestured for the Ancient One to take a seat and smiled.
"Would you prefer tea, red wine, or whiskey?"
"Tea."
The Ancient One glanced curiously at the array of liquor in the cabinet. "Alcohol isn't forbidden for us, but I assume you understand its long-term negative effects."
Just as he was about to prepare tea, William shrugged at her remark.
"I don't rely on magic to survive, nor do I need to fight off interdimensional monsters trying to invade Earth.
"So, since I've made more money than I could ever spend, I drink and eat whatever I enjoy."
"Does that mean you have no intention of dealing with the mess you created?"
William raised an eyebrow at the Ancient One before pouring water into a teapot. With a flick of his fingers, a small flame ignited the stove.
"That was an accident. I never intended to disturb the dead, let alone have anything to do with mummies or deities like Set."
The Ancient One wasn't concerned with William's attempt to deflect responsibility. Instead, she directly asked again:
"How do you plan to deal with the interdimensional threat?"
"Why don't you tell me how I should handle it? I wouldn't want to overstep your responsibilities."
"No. Preventing interdimensional entities from invading Earth is a duty for all capable humans."
William rolled his eyes but remained silent.
He wasn't some self-sacrificing hero, but if it was within his power, he wasn't opposed to protecting Earth.
Of course, if things ever became completely uncontrollable, he could always take his family to Planet X-17 and start anew.
"Fine. I'll head to the desert later and incinerate the mummy princess. I'll also destroy the so-called Dagger of Set.
"As for that gemstone? If it's unnecessary to remove it, I'll leave it buried in the Templar tomb."
"Good."
The Ancient One was satisfied with his response.
She had been keeping an eye on William ever since he first demonstrated the ability to open portals a few years ago.
Through the London Sanctum, she had observed his actions.
However, as time passed, she noticed that William rarely used magic. Even though he knew how to create portals, he only seemed to use them for convenience rather than combat.
When dealing with enemies, he preferred firearms over spells.
Thus, despite his early years of rampant killing, he had only eliminated people who deserved to die, and he hadn't used magic to do it.
Even if she wanted to warn him about the dangers of abusing magic, she had no grounds to do so.
By the time William had obtained the Space Stone, it was already too late to contain him.
As the guardian of the Time Stone—the Eye of Agamotto—the Ancient One understood better than anyone how difficult it was to earn the acknowledgment of an Infinity Stone.
Even Agamotto himself had only been able to craft an artifact to harness the Time Stone's power.
Yet, after William took the Space Stone, it never reappeared in the world, and his understanding of spatial magic continued to grow stronger.
Most importantly, despite constantly using space energy, he showed no side effects whatsoever.
To the Ancient One, this meant that William had fully gained the Stone's recognition, allowing him to wield its power freely.
This was one of the reasons she had come to see him today—using Set's emergence as an excuse.
Her initial test had confirmed that William was trustworthy.
Now, she had another proposal: she wanted to entrust him with the London Sanctum.
After centuries of battling interdimensional entities, even she felt exhausted.
Now, with a human capable of wielding an Infinity Stone, who also didn't seem to harbor ambitions of ruling or destroying the world, she saw an opportunity to share the burden.
Unfortunately, when she brought up the idea, William refused without hesitation.
The London Sanctum's jurisdiction extended far beyond just the city—it covered nearly all of Europe.
William had zero interest in handling magical affairs for an entire continent.
He would much rather spend his time traveling with his girlfriends or exploring space.
"Apologies, but I'm too busy. The Sanctum's affairs should remain under Kamar-Taj's management—they have far more experience than I do.
"That said, if anything serious happens, just call me. I'll help however I can."
—
Seeing his firm refusal, the Ancient One didn't press the matter.
Smiling, she nodded.
"Very well. I'll inform the London Sanctum's sorcerers that if they ever face a crisis beyond their capabilities, they should seek your assistance."
With that, she raised a finger and drew a circle in the air.
From within the portal, she retrieved an ancient scroll.
"This contains a spell to banish interdimensional beings.
"Whether it's demons, devils, or godlike entities—if your power is sufficient, this spell can even exile Set's true form from Earth."
A banishment spell?
William was immediately intrigued.
With the infinite energy of the Space Stone, this magic could make him practically immune to hellish creatures, demons, and other supernatural entities.
Even projections of Mephisto and the other seven Hell Lords—he would have the confidence to send them straight back to Hell.
Accepting the scroll, William didn't read it immediately.
Instead, he brewed a pot of Yunwu tea, poured a cup for himself and the Ancient One, and then opened the scroll.
The spell wasn't overly complex.
With his photographic memory, William memorized it after just a few cups of tea.
He closed his eyes, mentally reconstructing the spell.
He quickly realized that most of the banishment spell was based on spatial manipulation.
Curious, he attempted to activate it using the power of the Space Stone.
Within seconds, the originally golden magical runes transformed into a brilliant blue, reflecting the power of space itself.
Not only had the spell successfully activated, but he also sensed the coordinates of Hell within his mind.
With this newfound ability, he realized that if he wanted to, he could forcibly pull a demon out of Hell.
The very thought made William shudder.
He instantly decided that he could never let anyone know he possessed this ability.
If the demon lords of Hell discovered that he could open a portal to their realm, they would stop at nothing to tempt, threaten, or manipulate him into letting them into the mortal world.
Against beings that had spent countless centuries mastering deception and intrigue, William knew that even if he won a few battles, he would eventually make a mistake.
Until he had absolute power, he had to keep a low profile and avoid drawing the attention of such entities.
(End of Chapter)
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