Ch: 111-120
Chapter 111: Petty Karl, Country Extinction!
But after that blast of Shinra Tensei, the Security Council thought, what was there to consider? What was there to verify?
If the God said it, then it was naturally true, even truer than Pearl Harbor!
After all, could the words of a human-shaped nuclear bomb be false?
Unless you also wanted to take a hit from Shinra Tensei!
The chaos appearing in Kyoto further confirmed Karl's words.
So, with the unanimous consent of the other Great Powers, the President of America immediately ordered the stationed troops to impose a total blockade on the Island Nation.
And it wasn't just the Island Nation; the Five Great Powers had already dispatched fleets that were currently rushing toward it.
On one hand, it was to blockade the Island Nation together to show their stance, and on the other, it was to evacuate their citizens.
In other words, the Five Great Powers had completely abandoned the Island Nation!
The Five Great Powers were even secretly preparing nuclear weapons, ready to immediately activate these 'equalizers of all life' to completely stifle the Skrulls crisis within the Island Nation if the situation truly spiraled out of control.
As for whether the Island Nation would object, the U.S. representative in the Security Council stated: It's fine, they and the Island Nation are 'old acquaintances'; they had already sent 'Little Boy' and 'Fat Man' to the Island Nation before, and they believed that if they sent some 'Big Boys' or 'Big Fat Men' now, the little island wouldn't mind.
After all, once gifts have been sent, everyone is an acquaintance, and can an acquaintance have an objection?
However, that was only the Security Council's final insurance measure, which they would not use unless absolutely necessary.
Moreover, they now had another more harmless and environmentally friendly solution: the God, Karl.
Even if God Karl used his divine power again like he did at the Skrulls gathering site in Russia, it wouldn't cause any damage to the Earth itself compared to nuclear bombs.
What the Five Great Powers didn't know was... all of this was caused by God Karl himself, the very person they had placed their hopes in.
That's right, it was Karl who, by his own strength, triggered this plague-like frantic chaos.
He used sunlight to expand his ten-thousand-meter shadow, forming a Shadow Dimension Domain, and silently injected a Ghost Shadow Ninja into the shadow of every Japanese person within that domain.
Now the Shadow Legion could mobilize the power of the twelve talismans, which naturally included the sheep talisman.
So, through the Ghost Shadow Ninjas, Karl brainwashed the souls of all the Japanese people in the shadows at the same time, making them firmly believe they were Skrulls and go on to frantically attack other Japanese people.
The Japanese people they attacked would then be brainwashed by the Ghost Shadow Ninjas hiding in their shadows, becoming new 'Skrulls,' until all Japanese people in sight were assimilated into 'Skrulls.'
The reason for this was that although there were nearly a million Skrulls globally, most were actually in the abandoned nuclear gathering sites in Russia and had already been crushed into ashes by Karl's telekinesis.
The remaining portion of Skrulls lurking in the Five Great Powers had also been caught off guard and wiped out by the Justice League.
Thus, the Skrulls remaining in Japan, Korea, India, and the rest of the countries were only a small minority.
While this small number of Skrulls could cause some damage to the high-level officials of a country, they ultimately couldn't deal a devastating blow.
That was not what Karl wanted to see.
Now the Island Nation was useless to him, so naturally, there was no need for it to exist... and it was the same logic: the Skrulls incident was initiated by Karl, and only Karl himself knew the specific number of Skrulls.
He could say there were a million Skrulls, and naturally, he could also say there were ten million, or a hundred million!
As long as he wanted, everyone could be a Skrull.
So, even if he said every Japanese person in the entire Island Nation was a Skrull, as long as they acted like it, then in front of the whole World, they were Skrulls.
He would have a legitimate reason to destroy a country.
As for why he was doing this?
On a small scale, it was because he was very vengeful, very, very vengeful. The HYDRA Agents lurking undercover had already informed him of the news that Japan, together with two other countries, secretly planned to act against the Justice League and himself. It was impossible for him not to retaliate after knowing.
On a larger scale, for World peace, it was perfectly fine for him to resolve the scourge of the Island Nation for Earth in advance.
In the Marvel Universe, the contribution of this Island Nation and the Japanese people on it to Worldpeace couldn't be said to be non-existent, but rather ridiculously negative!
Supervillains, mafia families, paranoid citizens, and an extremely aggressive and crazed military—these were all the negative impressions the Island Nation had left on the World.
Even Hawkeye from the original comics, after turning dark in the Avengers, chose to come to the Island Nation first to kill the Japanese Yakuza. This shows how filthy and evil this place was!
Therefore, Karl's move was an act of justice!
Even if the means were not honorable, and could even be called evil!
Karl floated high in the sky, looking down coldly at Kyoto, which looked as if it had been invaded by zombies. He said nothing, only single-mindedly controlling the Ghost Shadow Ninjas to speed up the brainwashing process!
The sheep talisman was almost smoking from his use!
After brainwashing half the people in Kyoto, Karl finally stopped the sheep talisman, which had become somewhat hot within his dimension.
The speed of the sheep talisman's brainwashing to make the Island Nation kill each other was still too slow.
But now that half the people were brainwashed by him, it had pretty much achieved his goal.
Now, even the Japanese themselves couldn't distinguish whether the people around them were human or Skrulls.
Amidst universal panic, not only were the brainwashed people frantically attacking the Japanese, but even the non-brainwashed Japanese became like startled porcupines, raising their quills at any touch, and began killing each other!
In this chaotic state, even if Karl said everyone was a Skrull, no one would disbelieve it.
So, it was time for Karl to begin the harvest.
The sheep talisman went off duty to rest, and the rooster talisman came on duty to work.
In this tiny place of Kyoto, Japan, it could truly be said that every inch of land was worth its weight in gold. The urban area was only about six hundred square kilometers, yet there were a full 6,448 people living per square kilometer!
With such a dense population, if he waited for them to kill each other, he'd have to wait until New Year's!
So now, Karl, the large-scale human-shaped weapon of mass destruction, needed to step up!
This time, Karl didn't land lightly as usual, but smashed into the ground like a cannonball!
This meant he didn't intend to keep a low profile this time, but was going to act with high visibility!
After landing, Karl waved his hand casually, and an invisible repulsive force spread out. With him as the center, all buildings within a ten-kilometer radius were annihilated, and all Japanese people within range were pulverized into a blood mist, creating a vacuum zone for Karl.
And this strike, which caused the disappearance of at least tens of thousands of lives, was merely because Karl wanted his surroundings to be a bit quieter.
Once it was quiet around him, Karl didn't continue to destroy'slowly' with telekinesis; instead, he slammed both hands onto the ground, and the rooster talisman in his eyes emitted a fierce red light that seemed about to gush out!
This was the manifestation of endless dimensional power pouring into the rooster talisman!
In the next moment, the ground suddenly began to rock and roll, huge cracks split open in the Earth, high-rise buildings collapsed, and even Mount Fuji erupted amidst the tremors!
Finally, under the filming of all the satellites in the sky that had focused their lenses here, a scene that shocked the whole World appeared!
The Island Nation... was flying up!
Chapter 112: Hope and Despair
Heads of state stared dumbfounded at the footage transmitted from the satellites, all of them completely stunned.
Originally, they thought a human nuclear bomb was the limit for superhumans, but they hadn't expected Karl to be strong enough to send an entire island nation adrift!
Don't be fooled by the fact that the island nation seems quite small compared to other major powers.
No matter how small it is, it's still a country with an area of nearly 400,000 square kilometers!
Can such a thing really be lifted by the power of a single individual?
And is this truly the limit of God Karl?
Since he can lift an island nation, could he lift even larger countries?
For instance, America, or perhaps... they didn't dare think about it... they didn't dare... It seemed they had to re-evaluate the influence of superhumans on Earth... At this moment, Karl didn't know that by his own strength, he had directly raised the status and upper limit of superhumans on Earth, making the whole World pay more attention to them... As the protagonist of the World, after Karl injected enough of the rooster talisman's floating power into the entire island nation, he stopped worrying about it and let the entire nation continue to rise higher.
As for where the island nation would eventually rise to, even Karl didn't know.
Regardless, the floating power Karl injected was at least enough to let the entire island nation fly out of Earth's atmosphere and into the deep reaches of the Universe, leaving the entire island nation to stop thinking.
As for whether the ascending speed could reach the first cosmic velocity required to escape Earth, that wasn't even worth considering.
Wrapped in telekinetic power, the island nation was completely beyond the control of gravity; no matter how slow the speed was, as long as there was enough time, the island nation would eventually fly out of Earth.
In the meantime, the island nation would be Earth's first Sky City, and also the first and most despairing Sky Prison.
However, before that, Karl still had two things to do.
Karl raised his left and right hands, snapping his fingers respectively.
One snap gave hope, the other gave death.
His snap of hope caused the international students, workers, and others of various countries still within the island nation to fly up into the air, each enjoying a wave of humanity's ultimate dream—'flight'—as they drifted down from this sky island like feathers.
The snap of death caused all passenger planes, fighter jets, and every flying vehicle within the entire island nation to explode out of thin air, cutting off the last hope of escape for over a hundred million Neon people.
These two snaps of different meanings were just like Karl himself, full of the complexity of both sides.
He could be a hero who saves people, and he could also be a God of Death who kills countless people.
Even the other members of the Justice League in various parts of the World couldn't help but stop what they were doing, staring blankly at the scene of Karl making an entire country float in the live news broadcasts, their hearts filled with complexity.
Their leader seemed to be so righteous that it was almost sinister!
Asgard, Heavenly Palace.
Two figures, one in a golden robe and one in a yellow robe, sat opposite each other. Before them was a water mirror, and what was displayed in the water mirror was the scene where Karl's actions were enough to make Satan acknowledge him as his godfather.
Sending over a hundred million people into space to be frozen into popsicles—even Satan would have to treat Karl like a deity!
After taking a sip of tea, the Ancient One sighed softly, "Sigh, he is still too young after all. Although he used those complex energies within his body in a way even I don't understand to reach a state of perfect balance..."
"But that power can only balance the energy in his body, not his inner heart. The rapid expansion of his strength in a short time has made him increasingly indifferent to life..."
Hearing this, Odin, who was opposite her, smiled nonchalantly. "I actually quite admire this kid's decisive character. If it were me in my younger days, what would a tiny country matter?"
"I was even wilder than him. For a Planet as heavily divided as Midgard, I would have long since wiped it out until only one country remained!"
The Ancient One moved her gaze from Karl in the water mirror and gave Odin a cold smile. "Heh, His Majesty the God King was indeed very wild in the past—so wild that he was ganged up on and kicked around!"
Hearing this, the corner of Odin's mouth twitched violently. "Sorcerer Supreme, we haven't seen each other for hundreds of years. Can we not mention this heartbreaking past as soon as we meet..."
The Ancient One smiled faintly. "Fine, then we can talk about the future. For example, your wife is dead, your foster son is dead, your son is blind, half of your people are dead, your army is almost completely wiped out, and your daughter even perished together with Asgard. Which one do you want to talk about first?"
"Oh, right, I forgot you can't see that far ahead. Before that happens, you'll have turned to ash yourself."
Odin:...Odin clutched his old heart, feeling like he was about to be stung to death by the Ancient One's words and report to Valhalla early!
Finally, Odin sighed deeply and said helplessly, "Sigh, Supreme Ancient One, I only moved the timeline forward a little bit to send Thor to Midgard for training. There's no need to harbor such great malice toward me..."
The Ancient One refocused her gaze on Karl in the water mirror and said calmly, "Do you think my attitude toward you, His Majesty the God King, is because of the timeline issue?"
"No, in fact, I no longer care about the timeline. After the Multiverse was completely opened by those guys on the Sacred Timeline, it has become completely meaningless for us to maintain the original timeline..."
"In the era of the Multiverse, the safety of each Universe can only depend on each Universe itself. We can no longer rely on following a fixed timeline to overcome difficulties."
Speaking of this, the Ancient One looked deeply at Odin again and said emphatically, "And he, Karl Fisk, is the greatest variable that appeared in our Universe after the Multiverse was opened. You should understand his importance!"
Odin's expression also darkened as he looked at Karl in the mirror and said solemnly, "Of course I know. But because of that, you should know even more that I must prepare a way out for Asgard in advance!"
I'm not like you. If you wanted to, you could stay in this World for a long time without needing to rush off-stage according to the original script. But I can't hold on that much longer. I urgently need to find a powerful backup for Asgard!"
Hearing this, a sharp light flashed in the Ancient One's eyes, and she said pointedly, "So that's where the problem lies. Your Asgard needs Karl Fisk, but our Earth needs Karl Fisk just as much!"
But a person's energy is always limited. With Karl's current growth rate, if he has to look after Asgardwhile also looking after Earth, not only will the level of danger for him personally increase significantly, but it will also be a huge risk for the entire Earth..."
Chapter 113: Light Godhead and Dark Godhead
Both were old foxes who had lived for thousands of years; how could Odin not understand what Ancient One meant?
What did she mean by Karl's growth rate? Could he not know how fast Karl's growth rate was?
Ancient One's meaning was clearly that if you want a horse to run, you have to feed it grass. And for a Thousand-mile Steed like Karl, the grass couldn't be just any ordinary grass!
To put it in plain terms, benefits had to be given!
Odin never intended to get Karl's services for free. As someone who had once conquered the Universeand now ruled over the Nine Realms, he knew very well that even if a free ride succeeded once, it was never a long-term solution. Only through mutual interest could one achieve eternal friendship with a powerhouse.
So Odin had long been prepared. He raised both hands, and two diamond-shaped crystals—one black and one white—floated in his palms.
The moment the two crystals appeared, two pure yet diametrically opposed divine auras instantly filled the entire palace!
Seeing this, Ancient One's eyes lit up.
With a wave of her hand, a shielding formation spread out, suppressing these two divine auras within the palace walls.
"Divine Cores, and two Primary Godheadss at that!"
A trace of sorrow flashed in Odin's lone eye. He nodded slightly, his voice becoming somewhat weathered with age.
"Indeed, these are two Primary Godheadss. They originally belonged to my eldest son and my second son—the Divine Core of Baldr, the God of Light, and the Divine Core of Hoder, the God of Darkness. This pair of twin brothers were originally the Gods of Order symbolizing the light and night of Asgard, and they were the future pillars of Asgard..."
"But one day, the God of Darkness, Hoder, like his later sister Hela, the Goddess of Death, was consumed by power and slaughter. He actually took advantage of my absence, transformed into my likeness, and attempted to assassinate Queen Frigga, plunging all of Asgard into darkness and chaos..."
"Although Hoder's assassination was ultimately seen through by Baldr, Baldr also fought a war of Main Gods against Hoder to protect his mother, Frigga. In that battle, the Main Gods of Asgard split into two factions and engaged in a chaotic fight, nearly all dying out. Even the God of Light and the God of Darkness, who were born together and grew up together, ultimately fell together..."
Even Ancient One did not know this story. After all, Odin had existed for much longer than Ancient One, and too many unknown things had happened in the God Realm during that time.
So after hearing this secret, even Ancient One sighed with emotion: "I always thought Hela, the Goddess of Death, was your eldest child. I didn't expect you once had two powerful princes. What a pity..."
"It's no wonder the rumors left behind from the reigns of previous generations of God Kings were relatively stable, yet when it comes to you, God King Odin, you've been warring across the entire Universe and even sacrificed your own eye to increase your power..."
"It's because the deaths of the two princes caused a gap in Asgard's next generation of combat power, so you want to clear out the dangers for Asgard's next generation in advance, don't you?"
Odin nodded wearily: "Yes, you know what happened later. Because I was anxious to clear all dangers, I wanted to eliminate all future threats to Asgard at once by collecting the Infinity Stones. This led to the interference of higher-dimensional beings, and in the end, I had to abandon that plan..."
"Then, my second-generation successor, Hela, the Goddess of Death, turned against me because she didn't understand my decision to stop conquering the Universe. She wanted to lead Asgard to continue the conquest herself. But my original purpose for conquering the Universe was to collect the Infinity Stones and nip threats in the bud."
"Without being able to collect the Infinity Stones, conquering the Universe itself is actually meaningless; it would only attract more enemies and threats to Asgard. So I had no choice but to seal the already irrational Hela in Helheim..."
"Then there are my third-generation successors, Thor and Loki..."
"Thor's personality is similar to his eldest brother Baldr—simple and kind. But the problem is, Thor is too simple. He has courage but no strategy, and is easily played like a fiddle by his brother Loki. He is a good warrior, but not a good monarch..."
"As for Loki, while he is intelligent enough and has schemes, his personality is like his second brother Hoder. His jealousy is too strong, and he values power too much—so much that he even plots against his own brother. Therefore, he is likewise not a qualified, benevolent monarch..."
"Most importantly, because they are already the third generation of successors I've trained, they haven't had enough time to accumulate divine power. Their strength is completely insufficient to protect Asgard. This is why I urgently need a powerful backup!"
(The above is my own fabrication, please don't take it seriously...)
Listening to Odin unreservedly pour out these secrets that probably even the two brothers Thor and Loki didn't know, Ancient One finally understood.
This old guy wanted to play the emotional card with her, saying so much about how difficult it had been for him!
But she, Ancient One, wasn't an Asgardian, and Karl certainly wasn't an Asgardian. What did how miserable Odin was in the past have to do with the two of them?
So Ancient One didn't buy Odin's act at all and said coldly: "Oh, is His Majesty the God King finished rambling? If you're finished, let's continue with business. Besides these two Primary Godheadss, are there any other benefits?"
Odin:???
No, sister, you're really playing hardball, aren't you?
I'm already this miserable, and you're still asking me for more benefits?
How come I never noticed this woman was so black-hearted before?
Odin took a deep breath, suppressing his explosive temper, and emphasized: "These are Primary Godheadss no less than mine or Thor's. Are the benefits still not enough?"
"And my intention was for him to choose one suitable one; I didn't say I'd give him both. No one can withstand two Primary Godheadss at once, let alone Divine Core powers that conflict with each other!"
Hearing this, Ancient One remained unmoved and said indifferently: "Rest assured, others might not be able to, but he is different. Conflict of power is almost impossible for him..."
"Furthermore, didn't His Majesty the God King just say? Light and darkness are often born together and exist together. As for Karl himself, since his birth, light and darkness have existed within him simultaneously. These two Divine Cores can be said to be tailor-made for him, so this is the will of Heaven!"
Hearing Ancient One's twisted logic, Odin couldn't help but suck in a breath of cold air!
But after a moment's thought, he suddenly felt that Ancient One actually made a damn lot of sense!
And in that moment of Odin's daze, Ancient One had already pulled the two Divine Cores from his hands into her Mirror Dimension.
"His Majesty the God King, I'll take these two Divine Cores on Karl's behalf for now. When the right opportunity comes, I will give them to him. Now, I must head back. It seems Earth has an uninvited guest waiting for me to entertain..."
After saying that, Ancient One stood up and opened a portal behind her, preparing to slip away with the Divine Cores immediately to prevent Odin from backing out.
Seeing Ancient One about to leave, Odin quickly reached out to call her: "Wait, Sorcerer SupremeAncient One, since you've now accepted my sincerity on behalf of Karl Fisk, you must also convince him to be on good terms with Asgard for me, no problem?"
Ancient One waved her hand without looking back: "Sorry, I am only responsible for conveying His Majesty the God King's sincerity. As for the final result, I will not interfere with Karl's own decision..."
With those words, Ancient One didn't stay a moment longer, stepping into the portal and disappearing from the God Realm.
And Earth, just as Ancient One had said, had an uninvited guest—and not just one, but two!
As everyone knows, Karl is now practically invincible in the world.
But coincidentally, of the two who have arrived now, one is an enemy from the heavens, and the other comes from another dimension!
Earth, the former site of the Island Nation, has now become part of the Pacific Ocean. There is no land, only the boundless sea water.
And in this vast ocean, a man wearing a long black suit with mid-length curly black hair was leaning on a cane, standing elegantly on the surface of the sea. He looked up at the Sky Island that was still rising, the smile on the corners of his mouth impossible to hide.
Souls! So many souls! They would all be his soon!
At this moment, behind the man, a golden portal opened. Ancient One stepped out and said coldly: "Mephisto, I believe I've said that no Lord of the Dimension is allowed to step onto Earth!"
Chapter 114: Hell Lord, Mephisto!
Hearing the voice behind him, Mephisto retracted the smile on his face, turned around, and gracefully performed a chest-touching salute to the Ancient One:
"Ancient One Sorcerer Supreme, it has been a long time. How have you been?"
"Long time?" The Ancient One's expression was indifferent, not buying Mephisto's polite act as she said coldly, "I think it would be best if we never met again."
"Earth does not welcome Hell Lords. Leave, Mephisto."
Mephisto shrugged and did not leave. Instead, he took two steps closer to the Ancient One and said leisurely, "Please, Sorcerer Supreme, don't be so heartless, okay?"
"Remember back then when you were burdened by your own 'debts' and a high-level Lord of the Dimension came to collect? It was my generous loan of the Hell Dimension's power that allowed you to solve that problem..."
"Is it really right to treat your savior like this now?"
Hearing this, the Ancient One narrowed her eyes and sneered, "Generously lent me power? You really are as thick-skinned as ever, Mephisto. If you were truly generous, why don't you return the half of the dimension's power you took back then, along with all the souls from that dimension?"
Mephisto's smile slowly vanished upon hearing this. "Fine, I admit, it wasn't generosity; it was a transaction. I lent you the power of the Hell Dimension, and after you killed that Lord of the Dimension, you gave me half of the energy and all the souls of the living beings within..."
That's right. Although the Ancient One was bald and had an aura more enlightened than a high monk, this woman was no saint... Borrowing high-interest loans and not paying them back, then killing the debt collector when they came knocking—this was all routine for the Ancient One!
Even high-level Lords of the Dimension had died at the Ancient One's hands in no small numbers.
She used the bug-level ability of the Time Stone and the massive dimensional power borrowed from other Super Lords of the Dimension, like Mephisto, to perform 'black-on-black' hits on high-level Lords of the Dimension. After killing them, she would split the profits fifty-fifty with the Super Lord of the Dimension to repay the power she had borrowed.
Without wasting her own strength, she could balance her books. One could say the Ancient One was a veteran deadbeat.
In fact, the Ancient One and Karl were very similar.
She protected Earth while simultaneously swindling other Lords of the Dimension. Afterward, she wouldn't just refuse to pay the debt; she would destroy the debt collector along with all the living beings in their dimension to eliminate any future trouble.
It could be said that even if the blood on the Ancient One's hands wasn't as much as Odin's, it was definitely far more than Karl's.
This was also why the Ancient One took an interest in Karl.
Because the two were very similar; both were people who could turn everything into their own resources for their own benefit.
However, the Ancient One's'self-interest' referred to the entire Earth she protected.
Whereas Karl's current'self-interest' was truly based on himself as the starting point.
After the Ancient One and Mephisto stared at each other in silence for a few seconds, it was Mephistowho broke the silence.
He said helplessly, "Fine, I lose. Just tell me what you want. You know I'm not the only Hell Lord. If we wait any longer, these hundreds of millions of souls will be snatched by the other Hell Lords."
The reason he had spent so much effort to break through the protective arrays of the Earth's Sanctums and descend in his true form was because he sensed that hundreds of millions of souls were about to die on Earth.
If he waited for these souls to appear naturally in the Hell Dimension, he might only get ten or twenty percent of them.
But Mephisto wasn't satisfied with that; he wanted all of these hundreds of millions of souls!
With these hundreds of millions of souls, combined with the number of souls he had stored and traded in the past, perhaps his Hell Dimension could become the largest one, surpassing the strength of the other nine Hell Lords and unifying all the Hell Dimensions!
However, Earth was this old woman's territory, protected by those annoying Sanctums reinforced by generations of Sorcerers Supreme. Plus, the Ancient One had the Time Stone. Without her permission, no Hell Lord could take souls directly from Earth; they had to wait for the dead souls to go to Hell on their own.
The Hell Lords had all heard of the Ancient One's 'glorious' deeds, such as how she dared to mooch dimensional power off Dormammu, the Lord of the Dark Dimension, for free. Thus, none were willing to deal with her, fearing they would end up like Dormammu, having a piece of their flesh secretly carved out by her.
Therefore, Hell Lords generally didn't come to Earth to snatch souls.
The reason Mephisto dared to come was partly because he was greedy enough, and partly because he had some 'history' with the Ancient One.
Looking at the still-contemplating Ancient One, Mephisto looked up anxiously at the island nation about to drift out of the sky and urged, "Ancient One Sorcerer Supreme, just say what you want quickly! Otherwise, once those hundred million people are all dead and their souls go to the Ten Hell Dimensions on their own, it'll be too late!"
Hearing this, the Ancient One looked up at the island nation, which had already become a small dot, and said unhurriedly, "Don't worry. Do you think you're the only uninvited guest this time? They can hold on for a while longer..."
Just as the Ancient One finished speaking, the rising Sky Island suddenly sank a significant distance, letting out a world-shaking boom, as if something had slammed into the island!
Seeing this, Mephisto seemed to sense something as well, his eyes narrowing slightly. "Oh, such pure power. I seem to have felt this somewhere before..."
"Right, I remember now. It's that lucky one endowed with power by the Space Stone. What was she called, Captain Marvel? She has quite a reputation in the Universe and has brought me many Kreesouls~"
Mephisto licked his lips as he spoke, as if savoring the deliciousness of Kree souls.
Then Mephisto thought of something else and looked at the Ancient One with a playful gaze. "By the way, haven't you been looking for a successor for the next Sorcerer Supreme?"
"That woman merged with the almost infinite energy of the Space Stone. She has no lack of casting energy herself, so she's actually the best candidate for the Sorcerer Supreme, right?"
"But unfortunately, this woman is too much of a traitor. As an Earthling whose power was obtained from Earth, she chose to help those Skrulls who are loathed by all races in the Universe. Tsk tsk, it really makes one want to laugh..."
Hearing the hidden sarcasm in Mephisto's words, the Ancient One silently increased the price she had already planned to charge him.
But the Ancient One's face remained as calm as a still well as she said indifferently:
"A blessing in disguise. That woman has power but lacks the wisdom to use it; she is a complete idiot. Even if she chose to stay on Earth, I never intended for her to be the next Sorcerer Supreme to protect Earth. As for my successor, you don't need to worry about it."
Chapter 115: Mephisto, Scammed by the Ancient One
Seeing that the Ancient One didn't look angry at all, Mephisto also shrugged boredly: "Fine, since it's none of my business, let's stop wasting words and just state your conditions. I'm in a hurry."
The Ancient One had no intention of bickering further with the devil. She held up a finger: "First, I want several souls. I don't care if these souls are in your Hell Dimension or not; you must get them for me."
Hearing this, Mephisto didn't even hesitate and nodded indifferently: "Fine, give me the names later, and I'll definitely get them for you."
Just a few souls. Compared to those over one hundred million souls, it was nothing to him.
Even if these souls were in the Hell Dimensions of the other nine Hell Lords, he had ways to get his hands on them.
Seeing this, the Ancient One extended a second finger: "Second, a spirit of vengeance. I want one."
This time, Mephisto's expression changed abruptly, clearly showing some reluctance.
He did indeed have spirits of vengeance, but a spirit of vengeance was one of his most precious soul contracts. It hadn't been easy for him to obtain back then, and now he had to give it away... Actually, some might not understand what a spirit of vengeance is, but it has another name: Ghost Rider!
And the spirit of vengeance is the'spark' that transforms humans into Ghost Riders.
In fact, initially, Ghost Riders were not soul messengers of Hell, but Angels sent from Heaven by Godto seal an ancient Hell Lord.
However, that group of Angel Ghost Riders all perished because of sealing that ancient Hell Lord.
The subsequent second-generation Ghost Riders were a combination of humans and spirits of vengeance. They were spirits of vengeance sent down to Earth by God to punish the guilty, making those who came into contact with the spirit of vengeance become Ghost Riders to punish the wicked of the world on His behalf.
As for why the spirit of vengeance eventually fell into Mephisto's hands, it actually had a certain connection with Odin.
Back when Odin was conquering the Universe, because Heaven was once one of the realms of the World Tree, he naturally passed through Heaven.
Originally, Odin hadn't intended to do anything to Heaven. After all, Heaven was ultimately attached to the World Tree and, like Asgard, was a place where Gods resided. Therefore, Asgard and Heaven had always minded their own business.
But God, who had long been worshipped by humans, was quite dissatisfied with Odin's violent conquest of the Universe and his inclusion of Earth—where most of His believers resided—into Asgard's territory!
Wasn't this stealing His believers?
Thus, when Odin's army passed by Heaven, God cursed Odin and even spoke harsh words, saying that Odin's Asgard would pay the price for this in the future.
Such harsh words were actually quite normal, just like how Big Bad Wolf always says he'll definitely be back; it didn't necessarily mean anything would really happen to Asgard.
But could Odin, who had just lost two sons and sworn to clear all future threats for Asgard, tolerate this?
If you dare to threaten Asgard today, wouldn't you dare to burn Asgard tomorrow!
Therefore, Odin, who had just sacrificed his right eye and gained a massive boost in strength, directly ordered his army to turn around and led them to invade Heaven!
At his peak, Odin didn't know the meaning of showing mercy. That fierce battle between Gods left the entirety of Heaven covered in bloody Angel feathers, and even God was heavily wounded by Odin!
In the end, even Heaven was forcibly torn from the World Tree by Odin, changing the Ten Realms of the World Tree into the Nine Realms from then on, and exiling Heaven as an alien race of bird-men outside the World Tree!
Without the control of Heaven, those spirits of vengeance on Earth naturally became equivalent to ownerless objects.
It was then that Mephisto and other Hell Lords took the opportunity to divide the spirits of vengeance on Earth for their own use, turning the heavenly messengers used by God to punish the world's wicked into hellish demons walking the human world for them.
But none of that matters anymore.
Whether they were heavenly messengers or hellish demons, to the Ancient One, she only cared about the power contained within the spirit of vengeance. As for whether it was good or evil, it didn't matter at all.
Anyway, no matter what kind of power it was, in that kid's hands, it would obediently become his own power.
Whether he used this power for good or evil would depend on his own whim.
Looking at Mephisto, whose turn it was to be silent, the Ancient One silently pointed to the sky: "You'd better decide quickly. That woman won't be able to hold them back for long. Once the souls have all left the bodies, it'll be hard to handle."
Hearing this, Mephisto gritted his teeth, flipped his hand, and a ghostly blue flame appeared in his palm, which he threw to the Ancient One with heartache.
This was different from signing a demonic contract with a human, where the ultimate ownership of the spirit of vengeance would still remain in his hands.
This was equivalent to transferring this spirit of vengeance away forever.
Although he had spirits of vengeance, he only had two. Now, after giving one of the only two remaining spirits of vengeance to the Ancient One, Mephisto himself only had one left.
Furthermore, he had already signed a contract with someone for that last remaining spirit of vengeance; right now, he truly didn't have a single spirit of vengeance available in his hand.
Mephisto didn't look at the spirit of vengeance in the Ancient One's hand, as if not seeing it would keep his heart from aching, and said resentfully: "Are you happy now, you cold-blooded, heartless, bad woman!"
The Ancient One flipped her hand and also stored the spirit of vengeance into the Mirror Dimension, smiling slightly: "Of course I'm not satisfied. All of that just now was merely the price for you to exchange for those one hundred million souls. Now, it's time to settle our business..."
Mephisto looked up at the Ancient One with a face full of question marks: "Ours? What other business do we have?"
The Ancient One placed her hands in front of her chest and pushed forward. The eye of agamotto on her chest opened, and the emerald magic circle of the Time Stone instantly covered Mephisto.
Mephisto's expression changed, and he said solemnly: "What is Sorcerer Supreme Ancient Oneplanning to do? Are you planning to commit murder and robbery again? But you don't think you can take me down just with the Time Stone, do you?"
The Ancient One took a step back, exiting the range of the time array: "As one of the Lords of the ten Hell Dimensions, I admit you are indeed one of the hardest Lords of the Dimension to kill..."
"But coincidentally, the Time Stone is also the most troublesome of the six Infinity Stones. While it can't kill you, when combined with Earth's Sanctum arrays, it's enough to trap you for a while, making you miss the optimal time to collect the souls."
After hearing this, Mephisto's expression changed repeatedly. He suddenly regretted not listening to the advice of other Lords of the Dimension. Knowing full well there was a woman on Earth who devoured Lords of the Dimension without leaving even a bone, he had still descended to Earth in his true form... Mephisto glared at the Ancient One, gnashing his teeth: "Damned Earth sorcerer, what exactly do you want?"
A mischievous smile appeared at the corner of the Ancient One's mouth. Golden light spots gathered in her hand, condensing into a magic contract: "It's very simple. You have illegally entered Earth's domain. As the Guardian of Earth, I have the right to issue you a 'fine.' Sign this fine, and you can leave."
After speaking, the 'fine' in the Ancient One's hand floated in front of Mephisto.
Mephisto looked closely and was almost moved to laughter by anger: "Ha? A contract for the Hell Dimension to provide Dimensional Power to Kamar-Taj for free for ten years? Why the hell don't you just go and rob someone instead?!"
The Ancient One crossed her arms and smiled disdainfully: "Heh, what do you think I'm doing right now?"
Chapter 116: Captain Marvel Arrives!
Hiss—
Mephisto leaned back tactically; this old lady actually made some damn sense!
Wasn't she just robbing him?
The Ancient One pointed at the island nation that continued to rise and smiled deviously: "My Lord, there isn't much time left for you to consider~"
Mephisto looked up, and indeed, the island nation that had sunk a bit earlier was actually starting to rise again after just a short while!
God dammit, is that woman called Captain Marvel so useless?
Giving her the Space Stone's once-in-a-millennium leaked energy was simply a waste!
Mephisto gritted his teeth: "Don't even think about ten years; five years at most, and it can only be used by the ordinary sorcerers of Kamar-Taj. You can't use it, otherwise, with your level of squandering, the hundreds of millions of souls I earned this time wouldn't be enough for you to consume!"
The Ancient One didn't even think about it and simply nodded: "Fine, deal!"
As she spoke, as if afraid Mephisto would regret it, she snapped her fingers, changing the contract's duration in Mephisto's hand from ten years to five, and added a note that she couldn't use it herself.
Seeing that the Ancient One didn't even bargain, Mephisto's heart skipped a beat!
Oh no! I lowballed my own counteroffer!
If I had known, I would have said one year at most!
However, there is no medicine for regret in this World, and the same applies even to demons.
While demons in Hell may have many flaws, they rarely break their word once spoken.
Otherwise, if their word couldn't be trusted, who would dare to sign contracts with them in the future?
So even though Mephisto regretted lowballing the price, he still had to sign his name on the contract.
The contract was formed and monitored by the Will of the Universe. Even as a Hell Lord, Mephistowouldn't choose to suffer a greater backlash just to save that bit of Hell Dimension energy in the contract.
And for the Ancient One, she was very satisfied.
Five years was more than enough time for her to train Karl into a qualified Sorcerer Supreme.
The Ancient One even felt it wouldn't take five years for Karl to completely take over Kamar-Taj.
Once Karl took over Kamar-Taj, how the sorcerers' power source would be maintained would be Karl's concern; it would no longer be her business, and she could retire in peace.
After taking back the contract, the Ancient One also dispelled the surrounding Time Magic Circle and smiled slightly at Mephisto: "Pleasure doing business with you, welcome back next time."
Mephisto snorted coldly: "I agree with what you said at the beginning now. Before you die, it's best if we never see each other again!"
In the past, he was always the one tricking humans into signing demonic contracts. When had he ever been tricked by a human into signing a contract with absolutely no benefits? If word got back to the Hell Dimension, wouldn't the other Hell Lords laugh themselves to death?
With that, Mephisto stopped looking at the Ancient One's face, which he found loathsome, and turned into a puff of black smoke, heading towards the Sky Island.
Having paid such a high price, he had to go harvest the souls on the island now!
A portal appeared behind the Ancient One as well, and she stepped back into it, also heading to the Sky Island.
Now, let's rewind time to ten minutes before the Ancient One blackmailed Mephisto.
The rising island nation.
Originally, after Karl sent down the civilians of other nations from the island nation, he planned to leave it to its own devices, letting it drift into space to evolve into an ultimate lifeform that stops thinking.
But just as the island nation was about to break through the atmosphere, Karl sensed an object from outside Earth breaking through the atmosphere first, entering Earth's range at an incredible speed and heading straight for him!
Karl looked up and saw it was actually a 'meteor' trailing a dazzling light!
Damn, I didn't make a wish, so why is there a meteor?
So there is only one truth... that woman is back!
Nick Fury's trump card, the one hailed as the strongest Superhero on Earth, yet who hadn't stayed on Earth for more than a few days after becoming one—the Captain of the Skrulls, Carol Danvers!
Although the title of strongest Superhero seemed a bit inflated to Karl, he had to admit that Carol's strength was indeed not weak.
She smashed her physical body onto this rising Sky Island, actually forcing it to sink down a significant distance!
If Karl hadn't infused enough Floating Power into the island nation, the rising island might have crashed like Kobe's helicopter... And given the height of the island nation, which was already nearing the atmosphere, if it crashed straight down, it would likely be a cataclysmic disaster for the entire World.
It would directly allow humans to experience the one-click extinction process that their dinosaur predecessors once went through.
This also indirectly proved Captain Marvel's flat-chested and brainless personality.
Is she here to save the Earth or to destroy it?
Captain Marvel's reckless, Bo Gang-style impact not only startled Karl but also made the countries led by the Five Great Powers, who were monitoring this via satellite, gasp in horror.
For billions of people worldwide, the Star of Death flickered above their heads for an instant!
And by preventing the island nation from falling, Karl had indirectly saved billions of people on Earthonce again.
So why not hurry up and say thank you, Uncle God?
Originally, Karl wanted to use his silver tongue to try and paint black as white, framing the deaths of the Skrulls and Nick Fury as a conflict between them, a mutual slaughter or something.
After all, in his impression, Captain Marvel really wasn't that smart; he had enough information to persuade her with Talk-no-Jutsu.
But after Captain Marvel landed, she actually projected a holographic photo of Karl on her arm, sized him up for a few moments, and shouted sternly:
"Kid! It's you! The culprit Nick Fury sent word about! Where is Nick Fury? And those Skrulls I sent to Earth, what did you do to them?"
Karl:...Damn, I miscalculated. I really didn't expect Nick Fury's crappy pager could not only transmit cosmic signals but also send photos!
Fine, then there's nothing to talk about~
Karl looked indifferent.
After obtaining the tiger talisman to balance all the powers in his body, he wasn't afraid of Captain Marvel at all now.
So Karl simply took out his phone and showed Captain Marvel the photo Captain America took after finishing his mission—the one where Nick Fury's corpse was hanging from a lamppost:
"Look, your black buddy is cosplaying as a Teru Teru Bozu on a lamppost."
Looking at the screen showing Nick Fury's body covered in whip marks and hung from a lamppost like livestock, Carol's eyes instantly turned blood-red.
Seeing this, Karl not only wasn't afraid but swiped right to show Carol another photo.
It was a photo of a sinkhole stretching for hundreds of kilometers.
"What is this?" Carol suppressed her anger, thinking Karl was showing her this photo to suggest there was more to the story,
But she didn't expect Karl's next sentence to make her completely lose it!
Karl said indifferently: "Aren't you looking for the Skrulls? In this photo, there are hundreds of thousands of Skrulls reduced to an atomic state. Can't you see them?"
"Reduced to an atomic state..." Carol was stunned for a moment before she reacted.
Doesn't that mean they're all fucking dead?
Carol's eyes nearly split from rage, looking as if Karl had killed her parents, and she roared: "You demon, this is a massacre! A genocide!"
"Skrulls are people too; they have lives. How could you do this to them!"
Chapter 117: Driving Captain Marvel to a Mental Breakdown?
Karl's eyes couldn't help but twitch as he listened.
Listen to this, just listen. Is this even humanly possible to say?
The Skrulls are people and have lives, but does that mean the Earthlings they replaced don't have lives?
Those workers who toiled their whole lives, finally managed to marry a wife, buy a house and a car, and save a little money, only for their lives to be stolen and occupied by Skrulls just as things were getting better—do their lives not count as lives?
Who the hell ever thinks about them?
Did this woman ever consider how many Earthlings would be hurt by her sending so many Skrulls to Earth?
Thinking of this, Karl's originally indifferent expression turned to one of disgust as he reached out toward Carol.
"You're truly beyond saving. I can't even be bothered to explain it to you; you don't deserve to hear it. Since you love Skrulls so much, go down and join them!"
Carol was about to say something when she suddenly sensed something, her body jerking upward as she flew into mid-air.
This move caused the hands of the Ghost Shadow Ninja emerging from her shadow to grasp at thin air!
Karl's eyes narrowed. "Brainless, but your reflexes aren't bad. But why don't you look behind you..."
"What?" Carol whipped her head around, only to see an 'aerial' train full of passengers flying toward her.
Carol instinctively crossed her arms in a defensive stance, but she forgot that while she had a body of steel, the passengers in the train did not.
The front of the train smashed into Carol, causing her to crash straight through the windshield, her entire body piercing through the whole train like a sharp sword!
By the time she realized what had happened and opened her eyes, she was covered in 'tomato sauce.' The Japanese passengers in that train had long since been pulverized by her impact, turning the train into a literal can of crushed tomatoes.
Even for Carol, who was used to interstellar wars, she couldn't react to such a visceral and bloody scene for a moment. She stared blankly at her hands, watching the thick flesh and blood slide through her fingers and hair... but while Carol was dazed, Karl was not.
He might not have experienced the grand interstellar wars Carol had, constantly traveling the Universeto save Skrulls and clashing with the Kree.
But compared to Carol's sci-fi game-like battles where she simply blew up enemy warships without seeing any gore, the bloody assassination missions Karl had completed over the years in HYDRAundoubtedly made his mental fortitude far superior to hers.
So, while Carol was in a daze, Karl clenched his outstretched hand into a fist, controlling more trains and even passenger planes in Kyoto to smash into Carol!
These vehicles were packed with Japanese people who were trying to flee Kyoto or even fly out of the Island Nation after the Skrull infection crisis broke out.
As a result, every vehicle smashed into Carol was packed to the brim. They burst upon impact, creating an extremely bloody scene. It was as if a rain of blood was falling from the sky, dyeing the entire Earthcrimson!
By the end of the onslaught, Karl had cured Carol of her habit of tanking attacks; she was now frantically dodging the vehicles being hurled at her with a panicked expression!
Even though these attacks couldn't actually cause her any physical harm, they dealt a deep psychological blow to her!
After almost all the vehicles in Kyoto had been thrown, Carol was physically fine, but her expression was vacant.
As Karl had thought before, she had always destroyed enemy fleets in the Universe with energy; where would she have ever seen such a realistic and bloody scene?
Having never dealt with such a situation, Carol's mind was now on the verge of collapse!
Seeing this, Karl, who was controlling everything with the elegant finger movements of a pianist, decided to give Carol's fragile heart another deep shock.
Karl suddenly spread his arms wide, pushing the atmosphere to a climax.
After Carol dodged the last vehicle thrown at her, she actually had no heart left to fight. Now, she only wanted to get away from this demon who viewed life as mere grass!
But coming was easy; leaving wouldn't be so simple... The city was out of vehicles, but there was still one thing left in abundance...
And that was... people!
There were over ten million people in Kyoto's urban area alone—far more than there were vehicles!
And so... "Long live the Skrulls! Kill all humans!!!"
An irrational roar came from above Carol's head. Carol, already in a state of extreme paranoia, immediately looked up to see the rooftops of the surrounding buildings and the windows of the upper floors packed with people with crazed expressions.
With that roar, everyone shouted "Long live the Skrulls" in unison and leapt from the rooftops and high floors, falling toward Carol like a dense downpour!
The density was such that Carol had no way to avoid them. No matter where she dodged, she was constantly struck by the falling people, who then burst upon her!
Looking down at Kyoto from above, one would see that the people of the entire city were like zombies smelling blood, frantically converging on Carol's position, pouring into the buildings around her, and leaping from the high floors toward Carol in mid-air!
Unfortunately, apart from a certain Sorcerer Supreme who only cared about the Earth and not the people on it, and a certain Hell Lord who wished for all humans to die so he could harvest their souls, no one else could see this inhumane scene.
Because the moment Karl decided to break Carol's psychological defenses, he had already ordered Dr. Zola to cut off the satellite feeds monitoring this area.
After all, while Karl wasn't particularly afraid of people discovering his dark side, he didn't want to leave leverage in others' hands like Homelander.
Amidst the continuous waterfall of falling people, Carol's vision remained stained in blood-red. She couldn't see, making it impossible to even escape. She felt as if she were in a bloody hell.
However, Mephisto in the shadows clicked his tongue and said, "Tsk tsk, Hell isn't even this terrifying. I'm starting to like this kid. Sorcerer Ancient One, why not give him up and let him be the heir to my Hell Dimension?"
The Ancient One remained silent, merely activating the Time Stone in secret.
An unknown amount of time passed. Carol, who had eventually been smashed into the ground by the endless stream of people, knelt on the street covered in several meters of flesh. The light had vanished from her eyes, and she looked like a catatonic child.
Karl, his clothes pristine and hands behind his back, walked slowly across the flesh to Carol. He looked down at the dazed Carol and said with disdain:
"Dealing with you was much easier than I imagined. Your immature mindset is completely unworthy of your god-like power. So, let me teach you how to exert two hundred percent of your strength..."
Karl extended two fingers and tilted up Captain Marvel's face—which looked more like the comics than the movies. He injected the power of the sheep talisman and tiger talisman into Carol's body.
The sheep talisman easily brainwashed Carol's already collapsed soul, while the tiger talisman... "Ah!!!"
Amidst Carol's painful low growl, she actually split into two, becoming two Captain Marvels with identical looks but completely different expressions and temperaments!
Chapter 118: Good and Evil Captain Marvel, a Saintess More Terrifying Than Pure Evil?
One had a gentle expression, appearing somewhat panicked and at a loss regarding the bloodstains on her body, much like a startled little rabbit.
The other had a fierce expression, completely indifferent to the fresh blood on her. She even stuck out her tongue to lick the blood from her red lips with a look of enjoyment, like a bloodthirsty wolf!
But one thing the two Captain Marvels had in common was that the gaze they directed at Karl was filled with reverence.
This was naturally thanks to the sheep talisman.
Before Karl used the tiger talisman to split Captain Marvel into two extreme individuals, he had already used the sheep talisman to completely modify the underlying logic of her soul's will.
Furthermore, it wasn't just brainwashing Captain Marvel's soul to be loyal to him; it was a complete subversion of their thoughts!
Just like Captain America, however much he opposed HYDRA before the brainwashing, he was just as loyal to HYDRA after being brainwashed by Karl.
The brainwashed Captain Marvel hated the Skrulls after the brainwashing just as much as she had loved them before!
The fierce-looking Evil Captain Marvel cracked her knuckles, a sinister grin on her face:
"Master, do you need me to go and tear apart all the remaining Skrull bastards on Earth? I've searched the Universe for their survivors for over a decade; no one knows better than I how to find hidden Skrulls!"
Upon hearing this, the gentle-looking Good Captain Marvel hurriedly tried to stop her, her tone full of pity:
"Oh, no, sister, doing that is far too cruel. We and the Skrulls are all children of God. Our hands should not be stained with sinful blood; we should use love to influence them..."
Hearing this, Evil Captain Marvel grabbed Good Captain Marvel by the collar with one hand, her eyes filled with killing intent:
"Have you been fucked stupid by the Skrulls, you bitch? Who is the same as those parasites? Stop disgusting me!"
"And what the hell is God? If that guy really existed, he wouldn't let his priest messengers enter the bodies of little boys!"
Despite being insulted by her other self, Good Captain Marvel still didn't show the slightest hint of anger. She cupped Evil Captain Marvel's hand with both of hers and said sincerely:
"No, sister, God truly exists. It's just that He is too far from us, and the Heaven where He resides is too high, far beyond Earth. So, we just need to send the Skrulls into the sky one by one and let them go receive God's influence!"
Hearing Good Captain Marvel's words, not only was Karl stunned, but even the purely Evil Captain Marvel couldn't help but let go, looking at Good Captain Marvel and asking in disbelief:
"Are you saying you want to send living Skrulls into the sky one by one, letting them die a slow death under the torture of fear and despair?"
At this moment, even an extremist like Evil Captain Marvel felt that Good Captain Marvel seemed a bit too extreme... Good Captain Marvel corrected her: "No, sister, it's not letting them die a slow death in fear and despair, but letting them return to God's warm embrace in happiness and hope!"
Hiss——
Hearing Good Captain Marvel's confirmation, Karl and Evil Captain Marvel couldn't help but suck in a breath of cold air at the same time.
It's truly not the evil man racking his brains that you should fear, but the saintess having a sudden inspiration!
Sending Skrulls into space alive one by one, so that they not only die but also experience dual physical and psychological torture before death—how is this a saintess? This is a truly ruthless person!
No wonder people say to kill the saintesses first in an apocalypse. It's not because they are too kind and might hurt themselves or others, but because their seemingly merciful methods are actually much more cruel than just killing you!
Karl swallowed hard, almost doubting if his tiger talisman was the genuine version... How could the benevolent personality split off be a million miles away from the original... However, Karl was actually misjudging the tiger talisman.
While the tiger talisman indeed possesses the functions of Yin-Yang balance, imbalance, and separation, this separation is ultimately based on the individual being split.
Captain Marvel herself was somewhat foolish and believed in her heart that God must be good and returning to God's embrace must be happiness. Therefore, the tiger talisman naturally split this 'positive' personality trait over to the good persona.
So, the Good Captain Marvel didn't actually intend to torture the Skrulls; she truly felt she was doing a great deed... Put that way, it seemed even more terrifying... Karl rubbed his forehead with a headache and sighed, first pointing at Good Captain Marvel: "Fine, stop arguing and move out separately. Carol, you take this Sky Island, including the 'Skrulls' on it, and accelerate its path into space. Make sure to deliver them into God's warm embrace."
Then Karl pointed at Evil Captain Marvel: "And you, Carol, you go to Earth first and tear apart all the remaining Skrulls. Once you've killed every Skrull on Earth, go back into the Universe and continue searching for them. But this time, it's not to save them, but to completely eradicate them from the Universe!"
"Do you... understand?"
Good Captain Marvel nodded obediently to Karl: "Understood, my Lord. I will carry out your will and send them to the Heaven beyond Earth."
A cruel arc curled on Evil Captain Marvel's lips as she thumped her chest: "Understood, BOSS. I swear I will personally tear apart every Skrull bastard in the Universe and make this trash race disappear from the Universe forever!"
Good Captain Marvel quickly corrected Evil Captain Marvel: "Sister, you're wrong again. It's sending them back to God's embrace. Tearing them apart is too cruel; it's wrong to say that..."
Seeing Good Captain Marvel using her own face to put on a compassionate expression made Evil Captain Marvel feel a wave of disgust from the bottom of her heart. She pointed at her and cursed:
"Send your mother to see God, you bitch! Don't let me see that lowly look of yours again, or I'll beat you every time I see you, rip out your organs, and use them as a fleshlight for your favorite Skrulls!!"
After giving Good Captain Marvel a final universal middle finger, Evil Captain Marvel didn't want to stay for a second longer. She activated Binary Mode and accelerated toward Earth.
Good Captain Marvel sighed as she watched Evil Captain Marvel's departing back. After bidding Karlfarewell, she took flight, also activating Binary Mode, and flew beneath the slowly rising island nation.
Good Captain Marvel held up the island nation with both hands, closing her eyes and praying silently:
"Children, do not be afraid. I am here to end your painful lives and send you to God's kingdom in Heaven, where you will receive blissful eternal life..."
Chapter 119: Ancient One Appears, That Old Fox!
Isn't it so? Getting frozen into a popsicle in space is just a disguised form of physical 'immortality'... Once the island nation had Good Captain Marvel as a faster-than-light power source, its speed became much faster than when Karl was simply using telekinesis to lift it. The island nation was pushed out of the atmosphere by Good Captain Marvel like it was on a Rocket, causing it to be completely frozen in the deep cold of space, sending everyone on the island to heaven.
Oh, wait, it seems they can't even get into heaven.
Because not only has heaven been uprooted from the World Tree by Odin and is no longer within the Nine Realms, lacking administrative authority over the mortal world, but Mephisto, that hungry wolf, is also constantly watching from the sidelines.
The instant everyone on the island died, He impatiently harvested those hundreds of millions of souls, taking them away from Earth's Physical Dimension and back to the Hell Dimension to 'enjoy' them.
However, Good Captain Marvel knew nothing of this; after all, she couldn't see souls.
She was only responsible for the process of sending them to meet God; as for whether they actually met God in the end, that was beyond her control... After all, as a 'Holy Mother' type, she only cared about the act of doing good and never considered the consequences. It was perfectly logical!
At this moment, Good Captain Marvel was immersed in the joy of having sent hundreds of millions of 'Skrulls' to meet God.
Wonderful, her merit points had increased by quite a bit... As for Karl himself, after handing over the task of sending the island nation to meet God to Good Captain Marvel, he had already descended from this Sky Island that was about to become a Space Island.
After all, he didn't want to become an ultimate lifeform that stopped thinking. Although he could survive briefly in space by using telekinesis as a barrier, he couldn't yet survive in space for long periods like Captain Marvel.
Unless he evolved into a complete Lord of the Dimension, thoroughly transcending the limits of the human physical body, only then could he traverse the Universe with his bare flesh.
"Or... if you master your own dimensional power in advance, you can do it too..."
As Karl was thinking while letting his body float toward the ground like a feather, an unfamiliar voice suddenly drifted from beside him.
Karl was slightly startled and turned his head to look. He saw that at some point, the Ancient One had appeared beside him, drifting slowly toward the ground like a feather, just like him.
Moreover, the Ancient One looked even more leisurely than he did. As she floated, she held a cup of tea, sipping it, and handed him an empty cup.
Karl didn't show the panic or confusion typical of a transmigrator seeing the Ancient One for the first time. Instead, he appeared very calm and naturally took the empty cup she offered.
After all, he had already met the Old Man—the creator of Marvel—twice. The Ancient One, a maintainer of the local timeline, didn't seem like such a big deal anymore.
Seeing Karl's calm demeanor, the Ancient One nodded slightly in satisfaction: "What will you drink? Tea, coffee, cola, or beer?"
Karl glanced at the empty cup in his hand and shrugged: "Anything but coffee. I haven't been able to take any bitterness since I was a kid..."
The Ancient One was noncommittal and simply snapped her fingers.
As a spark dispersed from her fingertips, Karl, who had his telekinesis covering the surrounding space, clearly felt an invisible force ripple through the air, eventually converging into the empty cup in his hand.
In the next second, Karl saw his empty cup fill up with cola out of thin air.
Karl raised the cup and took a sip without hesitation. Possessing the Horse Talisman, he wasn't worried at all about the Ancient One adding anything to it, though such a situation was unlikely anyway.
"Oh, it's even carbonated. Is this Kamar-Taj magic? Truly miraculous..."
Karl expressed his admiration for this act of conjuring a drink out of thin air—it wasn't particularly practical, but it was incredibly stylish.
Compared to superpowers, magic required arduous cultivation to acquire.
But it had to be said that in terms of versatility, magic was indeed much more comprehensive than most superpowers.
After all, most people with innate superpowers only had one type, whereas magic allowed one to possess countless different types of'superpowers'.
Even Karl, who now possessed several different superpowers, still seemed lacking compared to some powerful sorcerers.
For instance, a sorcerer like the Ancient One only needed a thought to open a spatial portal to anywhere in the Universe at any time, while Karl still needed to use Ghost Shadow Ninjas as anchors to move to a specific target location.
Although both were spatial movement, there was a significant difference in functionality... Seeing Karlstaring at the cup with curiosity, seemingly pondering the principles of the magic she had just performed, the Ancient One couldn't help but show a faint smile:
"What, want to learn? I can teach you~"
"Uh... huh?" Karl nodded subconsciously, then raised an eyebrow and looked up at the Ancient One.
After thinking for a moment, Karl understood: "So, Sorcerer Ancient One, you came this time because you want me to join Kamar-Taj?"
To his surprise, the Ancient One shook her head: "Not exactly. This visit is also at someone's request, to bring you something..."
"And I don't want you to join Kamar-Taj; I want Kamar-Taj to join you..."
Karl's brow furrowed, sensing that things were not simple.
Normally, when the Ancient One encountered a gifted transmigrator like him, even if she didn't come to warn him or treat him as an enemy, she should at least be coming to take him as an apprentice... But shouldn't an apprenticeship start as a magic trainee?
How did the Ancient One start by asking the entire Kamar-Taj to join him, as if she were handing over Kamar-Taj directly... And who was the person who asked her to bring him something? What was the item?
Seemingly knowing what Karl was puzzled about, the Ancient One said in a soft tone: "Come, child, I will take you to see the gift I brought for you..."
With that, the Ancient One's slowly descending body stopped, and she began to walk forward through the air as if on level ground.
It was only then that Karl felt something was wrong with his surroundings. Looking up, he saw not the sky, but a vast ocean—that was... the Pacific Ocean!
And looking down at his feet, he saw a bright blue sky!
Heaven and Earth inverted—the Mirror Dimension!
Karl immediately realized where he was.
But when did the Ancient One pull him into the Mirror Dimension? Why hadn't he noticed at all?
Logically, with his telekinesis expanded, he shouldn't have been completely unaware... Karl narrowed his eyes, his brain working rapidly, and he soon found the answer.
It was when the Ancient One conjured the cola in his empty cup!
That old fox used conjuring the cola as a distraction; in reality, she had cast both Conjuration and the Mirror Dimension magic simultaneously!
This led him to believe the strange spatial ripple was caused by the conjuration, causing him to overlook the Mirror Dimension magic she was truly casting!
This simple move caused the Ancient One's danger level in Karl's mind to rise by a whole level!
Indeed, how could an old fox who has lived for a thousand years be as simple as portrayed in the movies...
Chapter 120: The Unadorned Life of a Mage
Karl's mind seemed to wander through many thoughts, but with his intelligence, it only took a few seconds to understand everything.
Immediately, he followed the Ancient One's forward steps without any hesitation.
Although the Ancient One's Mirror Dimension trick was indeed intimidating and seemed unsolvable to most people...
...Karl, who had left Ghost Shadow Ninjas all over the globe to serve as spatial coordinates, was exactly one of those few who had no fear of the Mirror Dimension.
He could exit the Mirror Dimension at any time by traveling through the Shadow World.
This was the source of his confidence in not worrying about being trapped in the Mirror Dimension.
While the Mirror Dimension is called a space, it is actually another dimension.
It is a Mirror Dimension opposite to the reality dimension. In this Mirror Dimension, you can touch all inanimate matter reflected from the real World, but you cannot touch the life within the real World.
Therefore, when mages learn large-scale magic, they generally choose to enter the Mirror Dimension to practice to avoid affecting the real World.
A mage who masters the Mirror Dimension can control the Mirror Dimension within a certain range, using it to trap opponents or even attack them with mirrored buildings within that controlled range.
As the Sorcerer Supreme, the Ancient One could obviously do more in the Mirror Dimension than just the above.
Karl hadn't followed the Ancient One for long before he saw her walk toward a smooth mirror. As ripples appeared on the mirror's surface, the Ancient One actually vanished into it.
A mirror inside the Mirror Dimension?
You can play it like that?
Karl paused for a moment, but without fear, he followed her and stepped into the mirror.
In the blink of an eye, the surrounding scene underwent a World-shaking change.
He went from an upside-down World of ocean and sky to an ancient-style building.
This couldn't help but surprise Karl.
The Ancient One could actually use the Mirror Dimension for spatial transfer!
The Mirror Dimension is also a space, right?
In an instant, he had been transferred from the sky above the ruins of the former Island Nation to the holy land of mages, Kamar-Taj.
Karl looked out the window at the falling snow, then at the spring-like warmth inside the room, and couldn't help but sigh: "As expected of a mage's holy land, how extravagant. There's even a magic array indoors..."
The Ancient One, who was already brewing tea, gave Karl a strange look and pointed behind him:
"What magic array? The air conditioning is on. There's also Wi-Fi here if you need to connect; the password is 'hhhhgysl'."
Karl:... Karl turned around and, hey, he really saw an air conditioner blowing warm air behind him!
This left Karl absolutely speechless.
He didn't expect a mage's life to be so unadorned... Seemingly knowing what Karl was thinking again, the Ancient One explained calmly while pouring tea:
"There are indeed many different types of Secret Arts in Kamar-Taj, including the environment-altering Secret Arts you mentioned."
"But the Secret Arts of Kamar-Taj are different from the magic in fairy tales. The magic in fairy tales requires no price."
"But every bit of mana used by a Kamar-Taj mage comes with a price."
"Mages themselves have no mana. They continuously strengthen their spirit through cultivation, using that spirit to communicate with the Lord of the Dimension to borrow the power to cast spells. This borrowed power must be repaid in various ways in the future."
"Therefore, mages avoid using Secret Arts whenever possible; if they can use a low-consumption Secret Art, they will never use a high-consumption one."
Hearing this, Karl nodded in understanding.
He knew a little about the mages of Kamar-Taj, but not much.
Most of his information came from movies and marketing accounts, so there were bound to be things he didn't understand.
This explained why, despite Kamar-Taj having many large-scale spells, average mages still fought in close quarters.
Aside from some mages being genuinely weak...
...it was mostly because magic duels were too taxing on mana, and using too much made it difficult to repay later.
Seeing Karl understand the underlying logic of Kamar-Taj, the Ancient One smiled again, and points of light in her hand converged into a contract:
"However, thanks to you, the mages of Kamar-Taj won't need to worry about mana consumption for the next five years. The Hell Dimension has provided Kamar-Taj with a five-year supply of dimensional power for free."
Karl raised an eyebrow, somewhat confused. "Thanks to me?"
He didn't recall doing anything beneficial for Kamar-Taj.
The Ancient One didn't keep him in suspense and recounted the entire story of how Mephisto had risked coming to Earth in his true form for the hundred million souls of the Island Nation, only to be swindled by her.
After listening, Karl couldn't help but give the Ancient One a thumbs up.
As expected of Earth's number one schemer, she really is devious enough!
She even swindled a demon who is usually the one swindling others!
To this, Karl only wanted to say... Great job!
After all, Mephisto was a complete and even high-level Lord of the Dimension; being targeted by him was not a good thing.
Although he said he came for the hundred million souls of the Island Nation this time, who knows if he would have harbored some ill intentions against Karl in secret if the Ancient One hadn't been there.
Karl was currently only a half-baked Lord of the Dimension and was not at all sure he wouldn't be swindled by Mephisto.
Furthermore, this time the Ancient One had not only taken the opportunity to earn some benefits for Kamar-Taj but had also extorted benefits for him.
That benefit was the spirit of vengeance!
This thing was a real treasure; it would allow him to gain all the abilities of the Ghost Rider.
A single Penance Stare could strike fear into anyone with sin, making them afraid to meet his gaze.
Moreover, he could enchant other weapons with Hellfire, dealing massive damage to both physical creatures and spirits.
One must realize that the Marvel Universe didn't just have various Superheroes and super monsters; it also had various real evil spirits!
In the past, while he had enough means to deal with physical life, he didn't have many good ways to deal with spiritual bodies aside from the sheep talisman.
Now, Hellfire undoubtedly filled this shortcoming for him.
As for the Ghost Rider's other abilities, like Immortality, superhuman strength, and more advanced ones like the Damnation Stare or Dimensional Teleportation, those were not worth mentioning for now.
Karl took the blue flame from the Ancient One's hand. It wasn't hot, but rather somewhat bone-chillingly cold, and his eyes burned with excitement.
Seeing this, the Ancient One smiled and said, "If you want to fuse it, then fuse it. We are still in the Mirror Dimension, so you don't need to worry about causing any damage to the real World."
"Besides, for the item I'm going to give you next, if you fuse the spirit of vengeance first, it will give you a higher foundation and make it easier to digest."
"So fuse it now; I will protect you."
If anyone else he had only met once said this, the suspicious Karl might not have believed them.