It wasn't until Lyon reappeared that their worry finally eased a little.
Watching that cloaked figure rise from the abyss of roaring winds and swirling flames, still completely unscathed, the sorcerers collectively let out a breath of relief.
But what happened next was the complete opposite of everything they had feared—and it utterly shattered their understanding of reality.
—First, Dormammu launched a flurry of attacks at Lyon, yet Lyon remained completely motionless.
Then, after a few mocking words, Lyon struck Dormammu with a single punch—knocking him down.
And then, unbelievably, he punched the very planet beneath his feet, a world no smaller than Earth, and blew it up!
The explosion engulfed them in a sea of fire.
Everywhere they looked was brilliant flame and endless debris.
But the image seared into their minds was frozen on one moment: Lyon, blowing up an entire planet with a single punch.
"Is… is that really our Sorcerer Supreme?" someone muttered blankly.
"H-he is, right…?" someone else responded uncertainly.
"Was the Ancient One ever this strong?"
"No way… I think even if the Ancient One showed up, she'd probably get killed by one punch from Master Lyon."
"But… is Master Lyon really using magic right now?"
"I-It is, right? I mean… this is how we usually fight… isn't it?"
The sorcerers exchanged stunned, blank-eyed glances.
Not far from them, Tony and the others didn't look much better.
"Holy sh—This is Lyon?!" Tony completely lost his composure. "What the hell has he been through? How is he casually blowing up planets now?!"
Pietro stared at Lyon's silhouette bathed in the glow of the explosion, his eyes sparkling like stars. His expression was easy to read—completely filled with admiration and awe, the kind that screamed "This is what a real man should be!"
Wanda, too, was in a daze.
She looked at Dormammu, who was still getting mercilessly beaten by Lyon.
Just moments ago, this dimensional demon god had made her feel utterly powerless and incapable of resisting.
But now, she suddenly felt like… he wasn't that scary after all.
But why did she feel that way?
Wanda stared blankly at Lyon—perhaps it was because this man, clad in black battle armor and radiating the aura of a war god descending from the heavens, gave people an overwhelming sense of security.
That pitch-black suit outlined every contour of Lyon's muscular build.
Every muscle on his body flexed and exploded with power, embodying a pure and violent aesthetic.
Wanda suddenly felt that what Pietro had said before wasn't wrong—Lyon's physique was insanely attractive. Even those ancient sculptures she had seen in museums paled in comparison.
...
Once Lyon got serious, his battle with Dormammu looked like something straight out of a Hollywood VFX blockbuster.
The sorcerers watched as beams of energy flew in all directions, the land shattered repeatedly, and then the two returned to brutal hand-to-hand combat.
In the end, Lyon swung Dormammu around like a baseball—smashing him again and again.
He even summoned a giant avatar just to self-destruct.
The overwhelming power and combat beyond anything they had ever imagined pushed the emotions of every sorcerer to a fever pitch.
Until the memory finally ended, and everyone's consciousness returned to reality.
They stood in silence for several minutes.
No one could snap out of it.
Lyon's memories… were simply too intense.
Their emotions had been on a rollercoaster—rising and falling with every moment.
And that grand finale stirred their hearts like a crashing wave. From Lyon's perspective, it felt as though they themselves had beaten Dormammu to a pulp—again and again—replaying it in their minds with giddy satisfaction.
"Ok!" Lyon waited a few minutes. Seeing everyone still dazed, he lightly cleared his throat to remind them: "Don't just stand there. You've seen the whole process. Hurry up and eat the barbecue—if the temperature drops, it won't taste as good."
Everyone blinked, as if yanked out of another dimension, waking from a dream.
Hundreds of eyes turned toward Lyon—and something had changed.
Where before there was only respect and trust, now there was blazing admiration and worship.
Nearly every sorcerer felt the same.
Even Hulk stared with his wide, brass-like eyes, glancing back and forth between Lyon's arm and his own.
He couldn't quite understand it. His arms were clearly way thicker—how was his strength still nowhere near this puny guy's?
"Why are you all staring at me? Eat," Lyon said, holding up two skewers of octopus tentacles.
But in the next moment, everyone tossed their barbecue aside and surged toward him.
"Master Lyon, I don't even know what to say—just, you're incredible!"
"Even someone like Dormammu was defeated by your hands!"
"With you around, we'll never have to worry about dimensional demon gods again!"
"From now on, Earth will be the strongest of the Nine Realms!"
"Master Lyon, what body-enhancing magic did you use to defeat Dormammu? I want to learn that from you!"
Lyon was surrounded by the sorcerers.
He kept saying things like, "One at a time," "Don't push," and "If you keep pushing, I'll send you all back to your sanctums to stand guard."
But at the same time, he couldn't help but puff his chest out just a little, and his smile grew a few degrees warmer.
A long-forgotten sense of happiness suddenly resurfaced in Lyon's heart.
The joy—of showing off in front of everyone!
Why do we pursue strength?
Besides enjoying the feeling of growing stronger, and using it to protect oneself and those around—Isn't it also just… to show off a little?
Even though his mindset had matured greatly since returning from the Swallowed Star universe, and he no longer craved recognition the way he used to,
having a moment like this every now and then—wasn't such a bad thing, right?
That was what Lyon was thinking—
Until—
"Hey! Who just touched my chest? You—with the cat ears—I saw you!"
"And that minotaur guy! I've tolerated you long enough! Touching my biceps was one thing, but squeezing and twisting them? What the hell are you trying to do?"
There was no denying it—ever since these sorcerers started learning new magical systems, some of them had become seriously weird.
While most of the sorcerers respectfully asked questions even while crowding around Lyon, these few lunatics took advantage of the chaos to swarm forward and get hands-on.
So Lyon gave each of them a firm flick to the forehead—hard enough that the lumps on their heads looked like ping pong balls—and sent them all to stand in the corner for reflection.
The remaining sorcerers continued asking questions.
And, somehow, the Q&A gradually turned into Lyon giving a full-on lecture about magical theory.
He started with how to draw energy and ended up dissecting the fundamental nature of magic, going on for a solid two hours.
The sorcerers gained a great deal, and when it was finally time to leave, every single one of them wore a look of contentment.
As night fell—
The sorcerers from the three great Sanctums departed one by one.
Those stationed at Kamar-Taj also returned to their usual lives.
Such was the rhythm of the Kamar-Taj sorcerers:
When a crisis arose, they confronted it.
And when the crisis was resolved, they quietly returned to their peaceful routines, hidden behind the splendor of the world.
No one in the outside world would ever know that a group of robed individuals had just prevented an apocalyptic disaster.
Only this time, things were a little different.
The departing sorcerers would spread the name of Sorcerer Supreme Lyon—and his legendary feats—throughout the entire magical community.
Once all the sorcerers had gone, Tony and the others finally had a chance to sit down and speak with Lyon in detail.
"Alright, the dimensional war has come to an end. Everyone can go home now," Lyon said.
He pulled out several memory-viewing potions that could replay the battle and handed them to Mordo.
"Mordo, later, toss these memory potions into the hell realms that tried to invade. Let them figure it out for themselves."
Mordo was momentarily stunned, but quickly caught on: "You want to intimidate them, right? Got it!"
After watching the memory of Lyon beating the crap out of Dormammu, Mordo—Kamar-Taj's diplomatic ambassador—was now standing tall with pride!
"Should we toss one into the Eye Demon's dimension too?" he even suggested, feeling like it wasn't enough.
Lyon glanced at Mordo. "Forget the Eye Demon. It rarely invades Earth. Provoking it without reason would be unwise."
Entities like the Eye Demon—part of the Lovecraftian, eldritch variety—were best avoided whenever possible.
______
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