In an instant, Blaine's nerves snapped tight, as if he had been struck by a giant hammer. His heartbeat roared like an engine, and his entire body twisted backward into an extremely unnatural posture, driven purely by conditioned reflex.
Just as Blaine left his original position, an arrow whistled past in the next second.
Before he could steady himself, the sense of danger surged again. While Blaine was still off-balance, something that looked like a bundle of dynamite brushed past his body and flew downward.
For a moment, it was as if trash were being dumped from above. Not only arrows, explosives, shells, and laser gun parts fell past him, but Blaine even spotted fragments of vibranium and human bones.
"Strange?"
The moment Blaine clearly saw what those objects were, goosebumps broke out all over his body. They were none other than the arrows and burst TNT weapons he had fired earlier. Some of them were likely items—and remains—left behind by Wakandans whom T'Challa had mentioned, people who had accidentally fallen here over the years.
As for why everything was falling from above again, if Blaine's guess was correct, this was the ability of the magic circle itself. This formation was a maze-like structure, but arranged vertically—essentially a three-dimensional, or even four-dimensional, labyrinth. Not only that, it was a looping maze: the bottom and the top were connected, forming a continuous cycle.
Anyone who accidentally stepped into this place would end up just like Blaine, trapped in an endless fall. Without even considering anything else, this cycle alone would slowly drain a person to death. If the one who set up this magic circle had also added hidden weapons, crossbows, cannons, or offensive magic, then this place would truly be a dead zone—whoever entered would die.
It had to be said that the person who arranged this formation was not only powerful, but terrifyingly intelligent. Fortunately, Blaine hadn't encountered any additional formations yet. After all, even his own understanding of magic circles was still only superficial.
Blaine's magic circles could only exist individually. Even if two or more were activated at the same time, there had to be enough space and objects for him to depict several formations.
And note—it was depiction, not simple superimposition. That meant multiple magic circles stacked together, overlapping, influencing one another, and amplifying their effects.
Right now, Blaine didn't know whether the magic circle he was trapped in was already a composite of multiple formations. Judging from this looping structure alone, there had to be at least three magic circles connected together.
Not only people, but everything that entered this place would be forced to wander endlessly—from top to bottom, then from bottom to top, over and over again.
Of course, this was only Blaine's rough speculation. The true principles of this magic circle would only be revealed once it was fully analyzed. Even so, Blaine couldn't help but sigh in admiration. Being able to depict such a magic formation here was an astonishing feat. The person who created it was undoubtedly a master of formations.
"I'm afraid that even if Dormammu accidentally wandered in here, he might end up getting enlightened."
Blaine shook his head. The most important thing now was to analyze the magic circle as quickly as possible. But at the same time, his concentration had to remain razor-sharp. Not only did he need to decipher the formation, he also had to guard against falling attacks. If nothing else, some of those arrows he had fired earlier still carried burst TNT. Even if they wouldn't kill him outright, getting hit by one would definitely not feel good.
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