After coming to Kamar-Taj these past few days, this guy spent most of his time either talking with the Ancient One or secretly learning various spells from Kamar-Taj.
If not doing that, he was teasing some of the younger-looking female sorcerers, acting like a complete idiot.
Someone like him could easily pass for a street thug, yet the Ancient One called him a master of magic?
That's just nonsense.
"Alright, no need to talk about this anymore." The Ancient One shook her head with a smile. "For them, this is also a kind of training. If they can learn to not be distracted by outside things, it's still a gain, isn't it?"
Kaecilius stopped arguing and turned to leave.
But as soon as he turned around, his face darkened completely.
The Ancient One quietly watched his back without saying a word for a long time.
"He's falling into darkness… You can see it clearly… Why not just tell him?" came a mysterious voice that only she could hear.
"This is his fate. I can't change it… If I tell him, it will only make him fall faster," the Ancient One said with a touch of sadness.
"You're still the same, full of pretenses, Ancient One."
"No, you simply don't understand human nature, Agamotto." She shook her head slightly.
"That's why you'll always be the All-Seeing, but never the All-Knowing." (TL/N: Damnnnn)
The mysterious voice gave a cold laugh.
The Ancient One was about to say more, but stopped when she saw the John Sub-Personality walking toward her.
"Ancient One, I have something I need to deal with, so I'll be leaving for a while," he said politely.
"You're free to go. When you're done, you're welcome to come back anytime." She nodded.
He nodded back, then casually slapped himself across the face.
The smoke cleared, and the John Constantine Sub-Personality was gone.
He hadn't bothered hiding from her that this was only a shadow clone, because she had already noticed it long ago.
After he disappeared, the mysterious voice spoke again: "I can't see his past or his future, and neither can you… The unknown might mean unpredictable danger. Don't you understand?"
"When you truly become All-Knowing, I don't think you'll ask me such questions," she said with a faint smile.
She clearly didn't want to answer.
The voice gave a cold snort and went silent.
The Ancient One paid it no mind. But when her eyes passed over her disciples, a trace of sadness could be seen.
When the Red Devil brought Raymond and the others to the abandoned factory where Jane Foster had disappeared, they immediately attracted the attention of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents guarding the place.
The agents, holding their guns, rushed toward them.
But when they saw Tony and Thor among the newcomers, the agents quickly lowered their guns.
After the Battle of New York, no one in S.H.I.E.L.D. could fail to recognize those two.
Raymond, however, didn't have such a high profile. Even though many had heard about him defeating Leonid, the head of the Combat Academy, few actually knew what he looked like.
Soon, an older female agent arrived.
"Dr. Raymond?" She not only recognized the two Avengers but also Raymond.
"Agent Hand, long time no see." Raymond smiled and nodded at her in greeting.
The body's original owner did know her, though they had only met once. Still, the impression was strong enough.
Victoria Hand, an eighth-level S.H.I.E.L.D. agent and one of the top high-ranking agents like Coulson.
Unlike Coulson, however, she wasn't one of Director Fury's close allies.
If anything, she could be considered aligned with Agent Academy's current head, Dum Dum Dugan.
"There is no time for small talk, let's find her quickly!" Thor looked impatient.
He didn't care who Agent Hand was—it didn't matter to him.
"No rush, I still need to prepare a bit… uh, actually, never mind." Raymond started to tell Thor to wait, but mid-sentence he changed his tone.
Because at that moment, the John Sub-Personality had returned.
A flood of the shadow clone's memories entered his mind—including the spells and magic texts it had studied.
For Raymond, who was basically clueless about magic, these were of little use.
They were just extra lines of strange words and runes in his head. He couldn't learn the spells from memory alone.
Even the first teleportation spell learned by the clone was something he could "see" but not perform himself.
"Remember, unless I come to you, don't disturb me later. Otherwise, our deal ends immediately!"
After saying this, Raymond switched control to the John Sub-Personality.
Already aware of the situation, the John Sub-Personality didn't ask questions. He glanced at Tony and Thor, then started walking.
Agent Hand didn't understand why this Academy instructor was mixed up with two Avengers—and a red demon-like stranger.
But seeing Thor, she guessed they were looking for Jane Foster.
She had already received intel that Jane was Thor's girlfriend.
Otherwise, the disappearance of a regular astrophysicist wouldn't require her personal attention.
"Mr. Stark, do you need our help?" she asked quietly.
"Just keep your people away and make sure no one interrupts Dr. Raymond," Tony replied after thinking for a moment.
Though puzzled why the two Avengers seemed to follow Raymond's lead, she didn't press further.
She withdrew with her team and expanded the security perimeter to ensure no outsiders could interfere.
"Hey, Thor… who's this Jane Foster girl to you?" Red Devil asked suddenly.
"You said you didn't remember me, right? And since just now, no one's said my name, have they?" Thor shot him a cold look.
"Uh…" Red Devil's face flushed—though it was already red, so it didn't show much.
But his embarrassment was obvious.
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