Ch: 141-150
Chapter 141: Wanda's Attempt to Assassinate Pierce
After all, wasn't it Hulk who triggered Thor's God of Thunder power in the original movie?
Now, compared to the original, there are two Hulks; shouldn't Thor's rate of progress be at least twice as fast?
As for how much more painful the triggering process would be compared to the original, well, don't worry about that.
Anyway, it's not Karl who's in pain.
As for Loki, compared to Thor who felt like he was in hell, he was as relaxed as if he were in heaven.
Loki wasn't being taught by Karl personally anyway, so whether Karl left or not actually had no impact on Loki learning magic.
Furthermore, unlike Thor who disliked getting beaten, Loki inherently loved magic and enjoyed the process of learning new spells.
Loki even followed Ancient One back to Kamar-Taj to continue his studies after she set up the fixed portal and prepared to return; he had completely immersed himself in the holy land of magic, unable to pull himself away.
He didn't want to go back to Asgard at all!
Karl even suspected that Loki actually felt more comfortable staying in Kamar-Taj than he did in Asgard.
After all, a mage should stay in a sanctuary filled with other mages, fully enjoying the elegant atmosphere brought by magic.
Instead of mingling with a bunch of savage warriors and wanting to be a king to those crude soldiers, right?
Karl was naturally happy to see this.
Ancient One was the one putting in the effort to teach Loki, but the favor belonged to him; why wouldn't he be happy about it?
As for whether Loki would eventually really want to stay in Kamar-Taj and thus not want to return to Asgard to be Karl's puppet king, it didn't matter.
Didn't he still have Plan B?
Thor might be a bit dim, but he was barely usable if one made do.
And if Loki really wanted to stay in Kamar-Taj in the end, Karl would grant his wish; if he couldn't be the King of Asgard, then he could be the King of Mages.
Judging by Ancient One's attitude, she was dead set on handing Kamar-Taj over to him.
But Karl was the type who only wanted the benefits a faction brought without wanting to bother with the tedious management of that faction.
So even if Loki didn't become a puppet king, Karl wouldn't waste his talent; instead, he would let him be his puppet Sorcerer Supreme in Kamar-Taj.
As Ancient One's future successor, although Karl's progress in learning magic over the past few days in Asgard wasn't as fast as Loki's, it wasn't as if he hadn't learned anything.
For example, the foundational magic of Kamar-Taj—and the one Karl wanted to learn most—the Eldritch Gateway, or the portal, was something he had already completely mastered.
Note, that's 'completely'!
The moment he mastered the portal, he took a massive leap beyond other mages, bypassing the fatal weaknesses of ordinary mages who needed a Sling Ring to open a portal and suffered from long casting times; instead, he could open a portal instantly with just a thought, and at any angle.
For instance, he could instantly open a portal around someone's neck and then close it in a flash!
The result... tsk tsk~
However, he didn't lack offensive means; for Karl, the greatest use of the portal was still for travel.
For example, right now... at the Triskelion, the Security Council floor.
An orange light portal swirled open, and Karl stepped out slowly.
Pierce couldn't help but be stunned when he saw Karl appearing in yet another new way.
Did his godson have a new ability again?
But Pierce was only stunned for a moment before his face returned to a calm expression.
Ever since his godson sent that entire island nation into space to be'spacemen,' Pierce, like the Five Great Powers, felt that anything happening regarding Karl would be reasonable.
After walking out, Karl first asked Pierce in a concerned tone, "Godfather, you're not hurt, are you?"
Pierce felt very gratified that Karl didn't first ask whether his own interests were damaged upon appearing, but instead expressed concern for him.
Even though the current Karl far surpassed him, his godfather, in terms of strength, power, influence, and allies, Karl's attitude toward him remained unchanged.
Respectful yet not distant, not subservient yet close.
Pierce smiled and shook his head: "With the three teams of Shadow Guards you arranged in my shadow protecting me, although there have indeed been several waves of attacks from Baron Struckerand Madame Hydra's superhuman teams these past few days, most of them were easily handled by them."
Hearing this, Karl's brow furrowed: "Most?"
Ever since he upgraded the Shadow World last time, he had indeed placed three teams of the Shadow Legion in the shadows of the few people he cared about—Kingpin, Pierce, and Gwen—to protect them.
But he couldn't constantly share the vision of every Shadow Guard team in the Shadow Legion; he wasn't some eight-eyed spider monster. So unless he retrieved the memories later, he wouldn't know everything that happened during that time.
Pierce nodded and explained slowly: "Yes, the three types of Shadow Guards you placed in my shadow possess strength, agility, and flight respectively, making them an almost all-around versatile guard team. Ordinary superhumans simply couldn't cause me any harm under their protection, and they couldn't even escape. But..."
"In this World, there are exceptions to everything. During one attack, a red-haired female superhuman assassin came. This woman's ability is very strange; like you, her power isn't just a single type, but simultaneously possesses multiple different categories of ability manifestations."
"She first used a mental control power similar to your brainwashing to control my driver, making him crash my car into the Manhattan River, intending to drown me in the water."
"However, after the Shadow Guards sensed the danger, they immediately slit the driver's throat and took control of the vehicle."
"But the crisis didn't end. As the Shadow Guards prepared to drive me away, she appeared in front of the car and used a power like your telekinesis to control the entire vehicle, lifting it into the air and easily crushing my car—which was reinforced enough to withstand a large amount of TNT—into a metal ball as if it were rubber!"
"If the Shadow Guards hadn't pulled me into the Shadow World in time, I probably would have died then."
"She was also the only assassin the Shadow Guards failed to keep. After the assassination failed, before the Shadow Guards could act, that woman was taken away by a silver-haired man at a speed my naked eye couldn't see at all."
As he spoke, Pierce took out two stacks of files.
Karl took them and flipped to the first page regarding Baron Strucker's superhuman team; what met his eyes was the file of the red-haired woman Pierce had just mentioned.
On it, the name column clearly read 'Wanda Maximoff'.
Sure enough, the superhuman assassin with powers similar to his that Pierce mentioned was the Scarlet Witch, Wanda.
Chapter 142: Revenge from Dormammu and Mephisto
Flipping down, the second page was Wanda's twin brother, born just ten-odd minutes before her: 'Quicksilver' Pietro Maximoff.
Flipping further through the first stack of documents, there were some passerby superhumans that Karldidn't know at all.
They were probably just filler added by the dog author.
However, the more he flipped, the colder Karl's expression became, and the doubts in his heart began to clear like dispersing mist.
Because these suddenly appearing superhumans in the first stack of documents all shared a common trait: dark, purplish circles around their eyes and a conspicuous deep purple mark on their foreheads.
Karl recognized it; that was the mark of the Dark Dimension!
So, these superhumans who suddenly appeared under Baron Strucker, including Wanda and Pietro, were all the handiwork of Dormammu!
Why?
Was it because his desire for the Heart of the Earth hadn't died?
Or was it revenge for the Light-Dark Explosion he had detonated in the Dark Dimension before?
Didn't he just test his limit for destructive power in Dormammu's Dark Dimension after he had just mastered Dimensional Power?
As the Dark Lord, I just lit a little warmth in your pitch-black, gloomy dimension; how can you be so petty?
Fine, Dormammu, right? I'll remember you. Just wait until I get stronger next time; you're definitely going to have a hard time!
I'll go back to the Dark Dimension to test my new abilities again!
Next, Karl opened the second stack of documents regarding Madame Viper's superhuman squad.
Upon opening the first page, Karl already roughly understood what was going on, and his face was instantly written with speechlessness.
Appearing on the first page was the data of our 'Grand Entrances' Old Wan, but this Old Wan looked wrong no matter how you looked at it.
Because the Old Wan in the photo had sunken eye sockets, grayish-white eyeballs, deathly pale skin, and didn't even have lips, exposing dark red, rotting gums.
Clearly, this Old Wan was not a normal person; he couldn't even be considered a living person!
A zombie?
Clearly not, because in Old Wan's records, although this zombie-like Old Wan killed many people when attacking and occupying the HYDRA European Union Branch, there was not a single record of cannibalism; there were only brutal, ghost-like killing methods.
From just this bit of record, Karl already understood where this zombie-like Old Wan and the other Mutants came from.
Indeed, it wasn't that there were Mutants in this Universe he didn't know about, nor were they Mutants from some Zombie Universe, but Mutants from Hell!
Hell connects to more than one Universe, but multiple Universes. These Mutants were clearly Mutantsouls that Mephisto had collected from some unknown Universe.
Then he put them on Earth to cause trouble for him.
As for why Mephisto did this, clearly, like Dormammu, it was for revenge.
It might be because after he blew up Dormammu, he absorbed a large amount of Mephisto's Hell Dimensional Power to replenish himself, which drew this revenge.
It could also be because Mephisto didn't dare provoke Odin, an ancestor whose lifespan was near its end, so he counted the revenge for Odin's spear strike on him, the'soft persimmon'... Regardless of which it was, the purpose could only be revenge against him.
Otherwise, it wouldn't make sense why Mephisto would throw his precious souls, especially special souls like Mutants, into the interior of HYDRA to cause destruction.
After understanding the origins of these two superhuman squads, Karl's face was full of helplessness.
What kind of mess is this? How did he 'for no reason' suddenly provoke two Lords of the Dimension?
To him, this was actually... so interesting!
This is what makes it a challenge!
Nowadays, Earth could be said to hold no more challenges for Karl.
Even if Thanos came to Earth to snatch the Infinity Stones right now, Karl could probably swat him like a fly; there was absolutely no pressure!
And without pressure, there was naturally no motivation, leading Karl to become somewhat lazy in terms of improving his own strength, whether he intended to or not.
But Dormammu and Mephisto were different; neither of them was someone a normal-state Thanoscould compare to.
Even the current Karl, in terms of raw power, was far inferior to true large-scale Lords of the Dimension like them.
So with their revenge, the thought that they might be watching him from the shadows, ready to retaliate at any moment, made Karl feel a surge of excitement!
Because he was inherently the type to seek revenge for even the smallest grievance, the pressure these two guys brought him directly converted into motivation, making him feel full of drive once again!
This made his heart, which had been turning into a salted fish, flare up again!
Dormammu, right? Mephisto, right? I accept your challenge!
Just wait for my return gift after I get stronger!
As for now, he had to first deal with these two 'grand gifts' they sent!
Karl put down the Mutant's data and picked up Wanda's data again.
A terrifying, predatory smile appeared at the corner of his mouth: "Let's start with you, my lovely and charming little Witch!"
Sokovia.
HYDRA Sokovia Branch.
Oh no, Baron Strucker had already declared independence and wanted to create a new HYDRA himself, so it should be called the New HYDRA Headquarters.
In a room in the ancient castle, a red-haired woman was hovering her hands over a silver-haired man's temples. Wisps of red mist penetrated the silver-haired man's head, resisting the purple light in his eyes.
After several minutes, the red-haired woman lowered her hands with a weary face, and the purple light in the silver-haired man's eyes dissipated quite a bit under the red mist.
The two were naturally the siblings, Wanda and Pietro.
And what Wanda was just doing was using her awakened Chaos Magic to eliminate the erosion of the Dark Power within Pietro's body.
Pietro supported the weak Wanda and leaned her against the headboard of the bed, saying with concern: "Wanda, are you okay? If not, just don't worry about me. That way you might last longer, or even escape His control..."
Hearing this, Wanda's weary expression became firm, and she shook her head: "No, Pietro, you are the only one I have left in this World. I will never abandon you, no matter what!"
"I can still hold on. As long as we use the power He gave us to complete the goal He set for us, we can achieve our revenge!"
"After we have our revenge, we'll find a quiet place to live in seclusion. At that time, I believe I can save you, save us!"
Hearing this, Pietro's eyes were complex. He touched Wanda's hair with some heartache, and his tone also became firm:
"Alright! After we complete the goal He gave us and take revenge on Tony Stark, I'll take you away to a place where no one, including Him, can find us!"
That's right, the source of Pietro and Wanda's power was not self-awakened, but just as Karl guessed, it came from Dormammu!
Chapter 143: Dormammu and Mephisto, Two Peas in a Pod
This timeline must be traced back to after Karl detonated the Light and Dark Divine Power in the Dark Dimension.
Karl's massive explosion of divine power, while it didn't actually kill Dormammu or even cause him serious injury...
It did indeed damage a portion of His Dark Origin, killed a vast number of Dark Creatures in the Dark Dimension, and left behind a long-lasting, indelible light power in the Dark Dimension, much like nuclear radiation!
And as the Dark Lord, Dormammu hated the power of light more than anything else!
Throwing light power into His body—what was the difference between that and throwing a lit cigarette butt into a person's stomach?
While not fatal, it was painful and disgusting!
So, the more Dormammu thought about it, the angrier He got, and He prepared to throw something equally disgusting back at Earth!
But if you're talking about a direct attack with dark energy, He couldn't do it as the Lord of the Dimension because Earth had the Sanctum's Protective Arrays specifically designed to prevent the invasion of dimensional beings.
And other methods were merely trivial for Earth.
Just as Dormammu was racking His brains for a way to retaliate, our king of ideas, Mephisto, appeared in the Dark Dimension.
And Mephisto had come this time precisely because He wanted revenge for Odin's spear strike.
As Karl had expected, He didn't dare directly retaliate against Odin, that Suicidal Truck of a god, nor did He dare provoke the Ancient One, that insidious old deadbeat, again. So, He could only focus all His hatred on the'softest target' among the three: Karl.
Mephisto had long known that the Ancient One and Dormammu had a deep-seated grudge, and Karlwas the Ancient One's successor.
Therefore, He planned to come to the Dark Dimension to see if He could instigate Dormammu to join Him in messing with the Ancient One's successor, ideally killing him outright!
As it turned out, Mephisto made a'surprising' discovery as soon as He arrived: the Dark Dimensionactually possessed a sacred aura of light that He had previously sensed on Karl Fisk!
Upon asking Dormammu, He learned that before the kid had absorbed His Hell Dimension power, he had actually given Dormammu's Dark Dimension a severe blast!
And the large chunk of Hell Dimension power that had been drained from Him was used by the kid to replenish himself after bombing Dormammu!
Good grief, the circle was complete!
This made the two sympathetic Lords of Dimensions feel like they had met too late; they immediately hit it off and decided to partner up to retaliate against Earth and Karl Fisk!
At the suggestion of the idea-man Mephisto, since their true forms couldn't cause destruction on Earth, why not let Earth fight itself from within?
Specifically, it would be best to cause internal strife within the forces of that successor of the Ancient One, Karl Fisk!
Thus, the following scene unfolded.
Dormammu and Mephisto went respectively to manipulate Baron Strucker and Madame Hydra, the two serpent heads of HYDRA who had always been suppressed by Pierce.
And they granted Baron Strucker and Madame Hydra enough power to turn the tables.
Dormammu used dark energy to awaken superpowers in Baron Strucker and the volunteers the Baron had selected, forming a superpower squad.
And it just so happened to include the siblings Wanda and Pietro.
When He saw Wanda and Pietro at the time, even Dormammu was startled.
He hadn't expected that among the people Baron Strucker had randomly pulled out, there would be two exceptionally gifted beings!
Especially that woman; deep within her soul was a power that even He felt a craving for!
This caused Dormammu to infuse Wanda and Pietro with far more dark energy than the others during their awakening, helping them develop their abilities more deeply while also making Him determined to bring these siblings back to His Dark Dimension after He finished His revenge on Karl Fisk!
That was why Wanda occasionally needed to purge the dark energy erosion from Pietro and herself, to prevent themselves from becoming mindless dark servants.
After all, the siblings were only working for Baron Strucker to gain the power to avenge their parents; they didn't actually want to fall into darkness.
As for Mephisto, because He had just had a massive wave of Hell Dimension power sucked away by Karl and had hundreds of millions of souls blown up by Odin, He chose not to give Madame Hydra Hell Dimension power to awaken superhumans in order to save Dimensional Power.
Instead, He directly pulled a team of Mutant souls He had collected from other Universes out of His Hell Dimension and possessed them into the corpses prepared by Madame Hydra.
Thus, a Mutant squad from Hell was formed, led by the Four Horsemen.
Whether it was Dormammu's superpower squad or Mephisto's Hell Mutant squad, the ultimate goal of both teams was undoubtedly targeted at Karl Fisk, aiming to take him down from the inside.
But unfortunately, Dormammu and Mephisto overlooked one thing.
Civil wars are generally only effective against the righteous camp, as they can split them from within.
But for the chaotic evil faction, instigating an internal war is not only ineffective but sometimes even helps the opponent in a roundabout way.
For example, the current Karl.
Karl crossed his arms, looking down coldly at the ancient castle beneath his feet.
Heh, I was just worrying about not finding a reason to unify HYDRA, and here you are jumping out on your own. You're asking for death!
He had long had the idea of cutting off the other heads of HYDRA, leaving only himself and Pierce as the sole head.
However, while HYDRA couldn't be called the most powerful organization on Earth in the past, it was certainly the most united. No matter what the serpent heads thought internally, they always helped each other on the surface, being more united than some countries with divided state governments.
So without a legitimate reason, no matter how strong Karl was, he couldn't just forcibly cut off the other serpent heads.
After all, if people work for you and you just kill them off, how could your subordinates feel safe working for you in the future?
And the rebellion of Baron Strucker and Madame Hydra this time gave him a legitimate reason for a 'beheading.' Not only was he going to cut off the heads of Baron Strucker and Madame Hydra, but he was also going to take this opportunity to cut off all the serpent heads in one fell swoop!
Regardless of whether you have thoughts of rebellion, cutting you down is the end of it!
As for whether you actually rebelled, with Baron Strucker and Madame Hydra leading the way, isn't that just a matter of Karl's word?
And Baron Strucker was the target of his first strike!
Inside the castle, Baron Strucker, wearing a monocle, stood by the window. Behind him was his deputy and the chief researcher for his branch of HYDRA.
The deputy's face showed some concern: "Officer, is our rebellion this time really going to be okay?"
"The strength of Alexander Pierce's godson is something even the Five Great Powers are wary of. He can make a first-rate nation disappear from Earth by his personal power alone. If he comes, are we truly a match for him?"
Chapter 144: Darkness Descends, the Backlashed Baron Strucker!
Baron Strucker by the window slowly turned around, pointing at the Dark Mark on his forehead with a calm expression. "Whether we are his opponent or not, we must be. Do you think we really have a choice?"
"God's will is only to inform us, not to ask if we are willing."
"Besides, even if we don't break with Pierce this time, Pierce's faction, this growing Great Serpent, will surely swallow us Small Snakes in the near future to strengthen itself!"
"So, instead of waiting for death, it's better to take this opportunity to gamble!"
The deputy seemed speechless with shock at Baron Strucker's words, stammering, "Off... Officer, you..."
Baron Strucker waved his hand to interrupt the deputy. "No need to try to persuade me further. Things have come to this; we can only go all out. Don't worry too much!"
The deputy's eyes widened, pointing behind Baron Strucker. "No! Officer, I mean behind you! A moon has risen!"
Baron Strucker frowned upon hearing this and turned his head. "It's broad daylight, how could there be a moo—"
Halfway through his sentence, Baron Strucker stopped because he actually saw the moon the deputy mentioned!
In the sky, besides the Sun hanging high, there was actually a weirdly purple crescent moon slowly rising!
At the first sight of this purple crescent moon, Baron Strucker felt a wave of weakness in his body, and an extremely irritable feeling rose in his heart, as if his reason was gradually leaving him!
As the crescent moon in the sky gradually became full during its ascent, Baron Strucker felt himself becoming weaker, more irritable, and losing his reason, as if his soul was about to be hooked away.
Not until the Dark Mark on his forehead lit up did Baron Strucker suddenly snap awake.
"Not good!!"
After snapping awake, Baron Strucker immediately realized something was wrong. He pulled the deputy beside him over, shielding him in front to block that eerie purple moonlight shining over the entire Castle!
When the purple moon became full, within the range of the entire Castle, both human voices and the sounds of insects and birds fell silent in an instant, as if the entire World had been muted.
Even though nothing happened besides the eerie moonlight, Baron Strucker still didn't dare to be careless. He kept his eyes tightly shut and held the deputy firmly in front of him, not daring to look directly at the daylight moonlight.
Not until the purple moon disappeared and the eerie moonlight dissipated did Baron Strucker dare to open his eyes.
After looking around, he found that his subordinates, who had just been performing their duties, were now all lowering their heads, muttering some blurred words.
"It's all shit, it's all shit..."
It wasn't until he heard the low murmur from the deputy in front of him that Baron Strucker heard clearly. He frowned, let go of the deputy warily, and questioned:
"What are you talking about?"
The deputy suddenly raised his bloodshot eyes, saliva dripping from his mouth as he roared at Baron Strucker:
"I said shit! You are a piece of fucking shit! Your decision to become an enemy of Karl Fisk was because your brain is full of shit! You will drag us all to hell!!!"
Baron Strucker subconsciously took two steps back, unable to believe that this deputy, who usually obeyed his every decision, actually dared to yell at him like this!
But before Baron Strucker could get angry, the deputy's roar acted like a fuse, detonating the entire Castle!
First, everyone in the Command Room where Baron Strucker was had red eyes, saliva dripping from the corners of their mouths as they stared at him and roared:
"Incompetent!"
"Stupid!!"
"Idiot!!!"
"Dog-fucked head!!!!"
One vulgar word after another was shouted with great emotion from Baron Strucker's subordinates, and the target of their insults was none other than Baron Strucker himself!
"Kill him! Tear him apart! Fuck him!"
And cursing wasn't enough. The people in the Command Room, including the deputy, actually lunged at Baron Strucker after they finished cursing, seemingly wanting to tear him to pieces!
First, the deputy closest to Baron Strucker took advantage of Baron Strucker's focus on others and suddenly hugged him tightly from behind!
Then more people pounced, pinning Baron Strucker to the ground like a human pyramid, punching, kicking, and even biting him!
Baron Strucker was already full of anger from being cursed at by these subordinates. Now that he was being attacked, how could he endure it!
He didn't care whether they were being controlled or if attacking him was intentional.
"Enough!!!"
With a roar from Baron Strucker, blood-red spore viruses erupted from his body, blasting away all the subordinates piled on top of him!
And the spore viruses were like maggots on a bone, quickly devouring those who were tainted, corroding them until only skeletons remained!
After everyone around him was dead and he had regained safety, Baron Strucker calmed down while panting heavily. He looked around at the elite subordinates who were now nothing but bone fragments, his face grim.
But what made his expression even grimmer was that besides his Command Room, roars and screams were constantly coming from outside!
Obviously, it wasn't just the subordinates in his Command Room who were affected; everyone in the entire Castle was affected!
Baron Strucker strode to the window and looked at his subordinates everywhere in the Castle who were killing each other. He couldn't help but punch the wall beside him hard:
"What the hell is going on? Didn't I tell them to keep the Castle's Protective Energy Shield on at all times? Why is there still energy that can affect the people in the Castle!"
Since he had decided to break with the Pierce and Karl faction, he had naturally made full preparations.
Not only did he control the heads of several nearby countries, ready to launch a state-level war with Pierce's faction at any time, but he also activated the Tesseract Energy Crystals left from the Red Skullera at his headquarters, the Castle, keeping the energy shield on 24 hours a day.
According to his experiments, whether it was physical or energy-based attacks, they should not be able to pass through the shield and affect the Castle itself before the energy shield was forcibly broken.
Although the energy shield composed of Tesseract energy was very strong and ordinary Superpowered Individuals could do nothing about it.
But unfortunately, Karl was no ordinary person, and the Darkness Descends he used was not a physical attack ability, but mental interference!
A mental area-of-effect skill that could weaken everyone within the illuminated range, trigger the dark side of everyone's heart, and strip them of their reason, making them attack all surrounding creatures indiscriminately!
Didn't Dormammu and Mephisto want his HYDRA to fight among themselves?
Today, he would use magic to defeat magic!
Chapter 145: Arrogant Karl? Arrogant Baron Strucker!
Fight, the fiercer the better.
It's best if every HYDRA member who defies me fights until they're all dead.
Karl floated outside the energy shield above the ancient castle, coldly looking down at the HYDRAmembers within who were slaughtering each other.
As for this energy shield, while it might be a problem for other superpowered individuals...
For Karl, he had countless ways to breach or ignore it.
For instance, the mental attack he just used, Darkness Descends, could completely ignore the shield; anyone bathed in the moonlight would fall into a frenzied state of mutual slaughter.
Besides Darkness Descends, he could also move inside through shadows or use the recently learned Mirror Dimension Portal to open a door inside the protective shield.
At worst, he could just force his way in.
After all, although this energy shield used energy extracted from the Tesseract by Red Skull during World War II as its source...
It wasn't the actual Tesseract itself acting as the energy source; its protection had an upper limit.
As long as his attack power exceeded the energy source, he could easily break it.
Karl had simply chosen the easiest, most effortless way to let them kill each other.
However, not everyone was affected by the moonlight; besides Baron Strucker, several others remained unaffected.
That was Baron Strucker's superpowered squad.
Rumble—!!
With a loud explosion, a room in the castle suddenly blew up.
Countless frenzied HYDRA members were killed in the blast as a Fire-Man with a fiery red afro jumped out from the ruins.
Then, one by one, superpowered individuals emerged from the castle, each displaying their own divine abilities.
There was a Shark-Man who swallowed frenzied HYDRA members like popping candy.
There was a Swamp Man who was like a puddle of mud; any attack was ineffective against him, and instead, the attacker would sink into his swamp-like body to become nutrients.
There was also a Split-Man who could detach his hands from his body and remotely control them to go on a killing spree with two blades.
And finally, Baron Strucker, whom Karl was interested in, walked out together with the siblings Wandaand Pietro.
Upon emerging, Baron Strucker raised his hand, and Pietro turned into a silver shadow, constantly darting through the castle.
By the time Pietro returned to his original spot and stopped, the castle had returned to a deathly silence.
Except for the few people present, all the other frenzied HYDRA members had been dealt with by Pietro.
A speedster—truly terrifying!
This made Karl, who saw everything from high above, raise an eyebrow.
It seemed these few weren't affected by the moonlight of Darkness Descends... It must be because they all accepted Dormammu's dark power, giving them resistance to the Darkness Descends of his Dark Godhead.
Since the mental attack of Darkness Descends is ineffective, what if I do this?
Karl's figure turned into a puff of black smoke in mid-air and vanished, reappearing right behind Baron Strucker.
Before Baron Strucker could react at all, Karl grabbed the back of his head, lifted him up, and crushed his head without hesitation.
If this strike had landed on anyone else present, even Wanda would likely be dead.
But Karl's first target just happened to be Baron Strucker.
Karl crushed Baron Strucker's head only to find that his headless body still possessed an aura of life, and the hand he had used to crush the head was now coated in a layer of Death Spore Virus.
At that moment, Baron Strucker's headless body on the ground moved; the flesh and tissue on his neck twisted and reorganized like Alex Mercer from Prototype, quickly forming a complete new head.
The regenerated Baron Strucker looked at the Death Spore Virus on Karl's hand with eyes full of absolute ecstasy:
"Hahahaha, Karl Fisk, you idiot!"
"Originally, with your strange, seamless telekinesis, I was struggling with how to get close to you to use the Death Spores, but I didn't expect you to be so careless as to approach me yourself!"
"The Death Spore Virus bestowed upon me by My Lord Dormammu is enough to kill any carbon-based lifeform, and that includes an idiot like you who calls himself a God!"
"You're dead! Hahahaha!"
Karl looked down at the Death Spore Virus on his hand, then up at Baron Strucker, who seemed to have victory in his grasp, and felt a bit speechless for a moment.
Setting aside that his Horse Talisman could eliminate all negative effects, why did Baron Strucker think a Death Spore Virus that could kill any carbon-based lifeform would necessarily kill him?
Currently, with his entire body filled with divine power, it was hard to say if he even fell into the category of a carbon-based lifeform anymore.
Amidst Baron Strucker's manic laughter, Karl slowly clenched his hand stained with the Death Spore Virus, and the Power of Light instantly purified it.
This caused Baron Strucker's laughter to come to a screeching halt.
Moreover, the scorching white light on Karl's hand made the sensation of death—which Strucker hadn't felt since gaining the Death Spore ability—rise from his heart once again.
Danger!
Baron Strucker swallowed hard and looked at Karl with a forced smile:
"Heh, Karl... oh no, God, do you remember? When you were little and Pierce took you as his godson, I even held you. Why don't we talk this out?"
Slap—!!
It would have been better if Baron Strucker hadn't mentioned it; as soon as he did, Karl backhanded him with a divine slap of light, sending him flying a hundred meters into a wall where he was practically embedded.
Karl sneered, "You dare bring that up? Although I wasn't even a year old then, did you really think I had no memory of it at all?"
"Were you trying to hold me then? You were trying to snatch me away for HYDRA's superhuman experiments!"
As the head of a HYDRA branch specializing in researching superpowered individuals, Baron Struckerhad always wanted to build HYDRA's own superpowered army.
So, when Pierce took Karl as his godson, Baron Strucker also noticed Karl's uniqueness and wanted to take him away to use as a research specimen for his army of superhumans.
If Pierce hadn't firmly disagreed, even at the cost of causing a rift in his relationship with Baron Strucker, Karl's future might have been completely different.
This was also why Karl respected Pierce so much.
Because from beginning to end, Pierce never treated him as a mere tool, but as a true godson and an heir to be cultivated.
And as much as Karl respected Pierce, he naturally loathed Baron Strucker, who had once tried to abduct him.
If not for Baron Strucker's high-ranking status within HYDRA, Karl would have killed him long ago.
And now, Baron Strucker's rebellion had undoubtedly torn away the last layer of protection he had.
Chapter 146: Fire-Man? Penance Stare!
Now, let alone killing him, Karl would be perfectly justified even if he chopped him into mincemeat for dumplings!
Baron Strucker clutched his face, which was scorched by the Power of Light. Feeling the handprint that even the Death Spore Virus couldn't repair, he couldn't help but look terrified!
This guy could actually kill his current immortal self!
"You idiots, what are you standing around for? He's the target Loki Dormammu gave us. Kill him now!"
Baron Strucker's greatest strengths were the Death Spore Virus and his immortality, but both were useless against Karl, so he could only let the others take over.
In reality, Baron Strucker's team of superhumans didn't respect or obey him at all.
In their eyes, they were also believers granted divine power by Loki Dormammu. Why should they listen to an old geezer like him?
That's why they were happy to watch Baron Strucker get slapped hard by Karl and remained indifferent!
But now that Baron Strucker had invoked Dormammu's name, they couldn't just stand by anymore.
Otherwise, if Dormammu found out, they'd be in for a world of hurt!
Thinking back to the last guy who gained great powers from Dormammu and was arrogant enough to disregard Dormammu himself—he had now become a monstrous dark creature, suffering double torture of soul and body day and night in the Dark Dimension... So even Wanda and Pietro fixed their eyes on Karl, ready to start the fight.
As long as they killed the final target Dormammu gave them, they would be free to go and avenge their parents!
First, the strength-based powerhouse, Shark-Man, charged at Karl!
It opened its razor-sharp maw, wide enough to swallow two adults, and lunged to bite Karl's upper body!
With one bite, at least half of Karl's body would be torn off!
In response, Karl didn't even bother using his supernatural abilities. He simply swung his right fist: "Normal Punch."
Bang! ——————
Facing Karl's Normal Punch, which hadn't even been charged, Shark-Man's massive head exploded instantly!
It didn't bite off Karl's upper body; instead, its own upper body was shattered by Karl's punch!
Ever heard of a base strength of a thousand tons per punch?
Seeing Shark-Man killed instantly, the others were stunned and looked at Baron Strucker. "Didn't you say this guy was a mage-type superhuman? That his weakness was average strength and getting close was the best way to deal with him?"
"Yes... that's right, I don't know either..." Baron Strucker was also bewildered at this moment.
He knew Karl's constitution had been different from an early age, inheriting Kingpin's terrifying physical talent, but logically his strength should only be around a dozen tons at most!
Yet Shark-Man, awakened by Dormammu, had strength exceeding a hundred tons. How could he be killed instantly in close combat?
Seeing Baron Strucker's confused look, the others' mouths twitched.
Great, this guy is also an unreliable leader!
They had to rely on themselves!
"Hmph! No matter how hard your fists are, they can't stop the flames! Even steel will melt in my fire!"
Fire-Man, the one with the most explosive temper, was the second to attack Karl.
He ripped off his shirt, revealing a torso covered in demon tattoos. These tattoos seemed to come alive, flowing and burning across Fire-Man's body!
In just a moment, Fire-Man grew from 1.78 meters to about three meters tall!
His appearance changed drastically: his skin vanished, leaving muscle tissue exposed, with hideous bone spurs winding through the muscle!
He looked just like a demon; an ordinary person would likely be scared weak in the knees just by looking at him.
The transformed Fire-Man roared at Karl, "I am the incarnation of evil!!!"
After roaring, Fire-Man spat out a pillar of lava-like fire from his mouth, intending to melt Karl in the flames!
"You're the incarnation of evil? What a coincidence." Karl's brow quirked. Instead of dodging the pillar of fire, he walked straight toward Fire-Man.
The fire pillar blasted Karl, but the scene Fire-Man imagined—Karl being burned to a cinder—didn't happen!
Instead, because of the fire pillar, something seemed to be ignited on Karl, and blue flames rose from his body.
The moment those eerie blue flames appeared, the air that had been heated by Fire-Man's pillar of fire instantly turned freezing cold!
It was as if the blue flames rising from Karl were cold!
Cold flames? Does that even make sense?
Even the pillar of fire from Fire-Man's mouth seemed affected by the cold blue fire. The flames flickered as if they might go out at any moment... until Karl walked up to Fire-Man, reached out to grab his upper and lower jaws, and forcibly shut his stinking, fire-breathing mouth.
Then, Karl's eyes, burning with blue flames, met Fire-Man's eyes, which burned with orange-red fire. "Look into my eyes, you bastard!"
Fire-Man instinctively looked into Karl's eyes. The next moment, he felt his soul fall into a vortex of blue flames!
Then, every bit of harm and slaughter he had ever inflicted on the innocent flashed before his eyes, and his body endured the same pain those innocents had suffered before they died!
In just a breath, Fire-Man felt as if he had endured centuries of torture. Finally, the flames on his body dissipated, and he reverted to human form.
But what dissipated along with the flames was not just the fire, but also his life and his soul.
Given Fire-Man's sins, he was instantly annihilated under Karl's Penance Stare!
Seeing this, the others looked at Karl with eyes full of wariness.
This guy's abilities don't match the data at all!
So far, he hadn't even used the abilities listed in the files; he was using powers that didn't exist in the records!
The Duplicator said with a grim expression, "We can't keep sending people in one by one. His abilities are too strange. Let's attack together!"
"Swamp Man, control his legs. Witch, harass him with long-range attacks. Quicksilver, find an opening to strike his vitals!"
"As for me, I'll distract him!"
Although The Duplicator's ability wasn't particularly strong, he was indeed the most rational among those remaining, quickly assigning everyone to their most suitable positions.
Given the precedents of Shark-Man and Fire-Man, the others didn't dare to show off and agreed to his commands.
First was The Duplicator. Looking as if he were constipated, he focused his energy, veins bulging on his forehead, as identical copies of himself began to split from his body!
But The Duplicator could only replicate his body, not his clothes.
So, Karl was then treated to the eyesore of countless naked men charging at him with their junk swinging!
Chapter 147: The Hero of Adjustment!
Holy crap, this is actually a mental attack!
Karl's expression contorted, finding the scene almost too unbearable to watch. He couldn't help but close his eyes to avoid getting sties.
Seeing Karl actually close his eyes, The Duplicator was overjoyed and shouted: "Quick, he closed his eyes! Take his life while you can!"
His teammates, who were similarly disgusted and blinded by The Duplicator, suppressed their nausea and prepared to move against Karl one after another.
But although Karl had his eyes closed, it didn't mean he didn't have 'eyes.'
Karl sneered: "Ghost Shadows, go and chop off those naked men's eye-searing 'adjustments'!"
As long as he cut off those eye-searing jokes, wouldn't they stop being eye-searing?
I'm simply a genius!
Instantly, countless Ghost Shadow Ninjas extended sharp blades from the shadows beneath the crotches of each Duplicator!
Then, the blades rose and fell, rose and fell, rose and freaking fell again and again!
The blade strikes the bird that sticks its head out!
Startling the birds!
Two birds with one blade!
The bird of the startled blade!
A hundred birds paying homage to the phoenix!
The birds are gone, the blade is hidden!
As countless little 'adjustments' flew through the air and landed on the ground, all of The Duplicator's clones were instantly 'adjusted' to death!
Even the original body hidden among them was not spared, receiving a eunuch-making slash!
The Duplicator's greatest weakness was his original body; if the original died, all the clones would die with it!
So while it didn't matter if the clones were cut, the original being hit caused all the clones to look back toward the main body in involuntary concern.
Karl also opened his eyes and looked toward The Duplicator's original body.
It had to be said that while The Duplicator's ability was a bit of an eyesore, it was indeed practical.
Think about it: if he learned this move and could produce countless clones with strength identical to his own, how terrifying would that be?
However, looking at the floor covered in 'adjustments,' Karl ultimately gave up on the idea of researching the ability.
With a thought, he summoned a Pincer Shadow on The Duplicator's original body, which smashed the original to pieces with a single pincer strike!
While The Duplicator's ability was useful, it was bestowed by Dormammu rather than being a genetic trait, so it likely couldn't be copied.
Moreover, the inability of the clones to duplicate clothes was just too eye-searing. He was now the most popular Superhero on Earth, with billions of male and female fans of all ages globally. He had an idol image to maintain, okay?
Therefore, Karl naturally saw no need to keep The Duplicator alive.
All of this seemed long, but with Karl's current reaction speed, it happened within two seconds: one second for the Ghost Shadows to slice the 'adjustments,' and one second for the Pincer Shadow to smash the original body!
Done!
So before anyone else could even come to The Duplicator's rescue, he was dead!
The Duplicator is dead, so who's next?
Clang—!
With a crisp sound of metal colliding, Karl felt something whack the back of his head.
Turning his head, he saw Quicksilver Pietro, who had bypassed the floor full of flying 'adjustments' to get behind him and deliver a blade strike to the back of his head.
At this moment, Pietro looked down in terror at the broken blade in his hand, then looked up at the completely unharmed Karl, filled with disbelief.
His dagger was made of high-strength alloy steel, yet a single strike hadn't even broken a strand of the opponent's hair; instead, the blade had snapped. Was this reasonable?
Karl expressed that it was very reasonable.
The dual Godhoods gave him more than just double Thor's base strength; they also gave him double Thor's physical durability!
Thor's body could withstand even a planetary forge; what was a mere alloy steel blade in comparison?
This was also why Karl didn't use telekinesis to protect himself at all times now, because with his current physical toughness, it was completely unnecessary!
However, although Pietro's strike didn't injure Karl, Karl was never one to let a grudge go unavenged.
When someone offers a 'favor' of a blade, shouldn't he repay it with a 'gushing spring'?
Thus, with a thought, several Ghost Shadow Ninjas emerged from Pietro's shadow, swinging their blades at him from the front, back, left, and right!
At this moment, time seemed to stand still in Pietro's eyes. His 'Speed Force' activated instantly, and he actually turned into a silver blur, dodging through the blade flashes coming from all sides!
After dodging, Pietro even raised a middle finger at Karl and mocked: "Hey, God, can you keep up with my speed?"
Seeing Pietro dare to mock him, Karl narrowed his eyes and asked: "Kid, you think you're fast? Have you ever been kicked by light?"
"What light?" Pietro blanked, not yet understanding the meaning behind Karl's words, when he saw the Karl in front of him suddenly vanish at a speed he couldn't even track!
He reappeared 0.00001 seconds later, right in front of Pietro!
At a speed of light that Pietro couldn't even activate his 'Speed Force' to match, Karl raised a leg augmented by Light Divine Power and kicked!
Crack—!
A sound even crisper than Pietro's blade earlier rang out; clearly, something else had broken!
This time it wasn't a blade, but Pietro's leg!
Karl's kick landed on Pietro's leg, snapping his right lower leg directly and twisting it into a painful-looking Z-shape!
This caused Pietro to immediately let out a scream like a slaughtered pig!
"Kid, I've caught up to your speed, but can you still dodge my speed now?" Karl sneered and raised his foot again.
He prepared to repeat the process and break Pietro's other leg.
But just then, a hand filled with mire suddenly reached out from the ground and grabbed the foot Karlwas about to step down with!
Karl looked down and saw that the ground beneath his feet had turned into a swamp at some point, and this hand had reached out from that mire!
Furthermore, an ugly mud face emerged from the center of the swamp!
This piqued Karl's interest slightly.
Usually, he was the one using Shadow Ninjas to suddenly pop out of people's shadows for a sneak attack; he didn't expect to be sneak-attacked by something popping out from beneath him this time.
Interesting!
Karl looked down and smiled: "So you're a Mud Man?"
Swamp Man blanked upon hearing this and roared: "Screw you! I am Swamp Man!!"
After saying that, feeling insulted, Swamp Man began to forcefully pull Karl down into the mire beneath his feet!
To be fair, although Swamp Man looked unremarkable, his strength was surprisingly great, even greater than the previous Shark-Man!
Moreover, this force carried a strange pulling power, causing his leg to sink deeper and deeper into the mud, unable to break free.
Well, since he couldn't break free, he simply wouldn't.
A swamp, huh?
Do you know what else light is characterized by, besides being fast?
That's right, it's warmth—warmth to the point of being scorching!
The Light Divine Power on Karl's leg began to grow increasingly dazzling and increasingly hot!
It didn't stop rising until it reached several thousand degrees, a temperature akin to the surface of the Sun!
And this wasn't even the upper limit of the Light Divine Power's temperature; this temperature was already more than enough to deal with a Mud Man!
Starting from the arm Swamp Man used to grab Karl's leg, the wet, viscous mire on its body was forcibly baked into a hard clay sculpture by the power of light!
Chapter 148 – The False World
The agony he felt now dwarfed what The Duplicator had suffered when he was sliced apart, or what Quicksilver had endured when his leg was broken.
The slime was part of Swamp Man himself; having it baked dry felt like every single cell being roasted alive by the Sun and drained of Water.
Swamp Man and Quicksilver had fought like tigers, yet their scoreboard showed a glaring 0-5. Still, they had bought time for the real finisher. First, a red wisp carried the one-legged Pietro away; then Karl saw the whole sky go dark.
He looked up—only to find crimson-shrouded mountain peaks plummeting straight at him.
There was no doubt whose handiwork this was: Scarlet Witch, Wanda herself, finally making her move.
Yet a handful of mountains was nothing compared with Karl's habit of seizing entire cities—or even small island nations. Wanda's telekinesis was still child's play beside his.
A single glance from Karl, and the invisible rooster talisman's power caught the incoming peaks.
Using the very mountains she had hurled, he shattered the next volley she sent, turning the sky into a rain of stone.
The World already knew the raw scale of Karl's telekinesis, and Wanda was under no illusion that she could outmatch the self-styled God in a straight contest of will.
So the mountain-drop was only a feint; the real strike would land where his eyes couldn't follow.
While Karl watched the stony deluge, a flicker of scarlet mist flashed and Wanda reappeared behind him.
Her slender hands hovered beside his temples; in an instant the red mist poured into Karl's mind.
Wanda's eyes lit up. She whispered against his ear, "Let's see what the mightiest God on Earth—Karl Fisk—truly fears most."
Drip————
A clear drop rang out, and the Chaos Magic successfully linked to Karl's brain. Wanda's consciousness dived straight for the secret dread buried deepest in his heart.
Yet when she opened her eyes she found nothing but a void of absolute blackness.
In that space there was only pure dark—nothing else. The single exception was Karl himself, seated alone, head bowed, staring at something only he could see.
He was the only thing that shone in the darkness, and the sight sent a chill even through the spell's caster.
Worse, she realized she could not break free; her awareness was locked inside his fear.
She had been trapped inside his emptiness.
To escape—and to understand what was happening—only one option remained: ask the man himself.
Swallowing hard, Wanda gathered her courage and walked to the centre of the void where Karl sat. Curiosity tugged at her; she glanced at the object in his lap.
She discovered he was gazing at a single marble.
What was so fascinating about a marble? Could the cosmic God's deepest dread be losing a childhood game of marbles?
So the mighty Karl's heart was that fragile?
She didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
Karl remained absorbed, oblivious to her arrival, and her curiosity sharpened.
Could a simple marble really be that enthralling?
Could it be the key to getting out?
Unable to resist, she leaned closer and looked into the tiny sphere.
One look and she recoiled in shock.
Inside the marble she had seen herself.
No—not only herself. Pietro, her parents… even her younger self.
Though it was only a glimpse, she felt she was watching every stage of her life condensed into a single moment.
It was like… a film reel of her existence.
"I have to admit, little Witch, your power is damn effective—almost had me."
Karl lifted his gaze from the marble and regarded her with detached calm.
Instinctively Wanda raised her hands to summon her ability.
Nothing happened; no scarlet Chaos Magic answered her. She felt like an actress without special effects.
Karl was unsurprised. "Can't use your power, can you?"
"Exactly. This is the dread at the bottom of my heart: the terror of losing my strength and becoming an ordinary mortal who can't steer his own fate."
"Just like you now—stripped of every supernatural gift…"
He stepped toward the powerless Witch; she stumbled backward and fell.
But Karl merely extended the marble toward her.
"Know what frightens me even more than losing my power?"
"That's right: this damned marble."
"Or rather, a false World."
"A false World watched by countless eyes like mine."
"False World… what do you mean?" Bewildered, Wanda accepted the marble and peered inside again.
This time she looked carefully.
And she saw more than her own life.
She saw her parents: born, falling in love, bringing Pietro and her into the World, dying under a Stark Industries missile in war-torn Sokovia. She saw her twin, born minutes earlier, racing through childhood, hiding with her beneath a bed for two days while a second Stark missile waited to explode, scraping through the slums after rescue—Pietro stealing, fighting, doing whatever it took to keep her alive. She even saw the man they had hated all their lives: Tony Stark.
From Tony's birth to his dazzling youth, the murder of his parents, the betrayal by Obadiah Stane, his stint as a puppet CEO, his crucible in a cave—until he rose as the invincible Iron Man known across the globe.
Life after life flickered inside the glass sphere, as though some unseen presence had recorded every heartbeat from birth. It felt as if they were all living in… a Truman Show.
Chapter 149 – Wanda Turns from the Shadows to the Shadows for Karl
Just as Wanda's glimpses into other people's lives made her doubt the reality of her own World and her mind teetered on the brink of collapse… Karl promptly plucked the marble from her hand.
It freed her from the god-like vantage point that had forced her to watch the lives of everyone around her, sparing her the same mental-breakdown fate as Professor X.
Even that partial glimpse of reality left Wanda on her knees, gasping for air, lifting a gaze full of terror toward Karl.
'So… our World is nothing but a scripted illusion, watched from start to finish by beings from a higher dimension?'
'That… is your greatest fear?'
Karl looked down at Wanda, terror and despair written across her face, and suddenly grinned.
'Yeah, I used to be scared this World might not be real. But seeing you so pitiful and weak, I suddenly don't feel afraid anymore…'
'At least compared with you, I'm still blessed.'
'I was born with the power to change my life and a status most people can never attain. Everything's gone smoothly; I can now reshape anything I dislike—including other people's fates!'
'So even if this World is fake, I'm still living a far more colorful life than most wage slaves, right?'
'Choose, girl: step out of the dark and follow me, and start rewriting your tragic life from this moment on…'
'…or keep acting out your pitiful script?'
'Fair warning—if you pick the tragic route, I'll probably just end your misery outright.'
Wanda blinked, stunned by Karl's leap from 'comforting' philosophy to outright threat.
Was this the stick and the carrot?
And did she even have a choice?
She could see the stick, but where was the carrot?
So Wanda decided to claim her own carrot.
Eyes stubborn, she bit out, 'I can swear to follow you, to give you everything—but tell me, can you really change anything?'
Karl's lips curved. 'Within Earth, absolutely. Want to be President of Sokovia tomorrow? Consider it done.'
Wanda shook her head. 'No. I don't want any presidency. I want two people back—my dead parents. Bring them to me.'
Her heart pounded as she spoke.
Karl had said he could change anything on Earth, but her parents had been gone so long their souls were probably elsewhere.
She couldn't even look at him, afraid of the answer.
Yet Karl didn't hesitate. 'Done.'
Wanda froze, staring. 'R-really?'
He nodded. 'Your parents' souls are most likely in the Hell Dimension. I happen to have a personal grudge against its lord; when I'm strong enough, I'll pay him a visit.'
'While I'm there, finding your parents' souls will be no trouble.'
'Once I locate them, resurrecting them is trivial.'
'Of course, it may take a while—probably until I can defeat the Hell Lord Mephisto. Will you wait?'
'I'll wait!' Wanda answered without hesitation.
Even if the Universe had to end first, she would wait if it meant her parents might return.
Karl wasn't surprised.
In the original story Wanda was defined by her fierce loyalty; nothing bound her tighter than love.
Best of all was to make himself part of that affection.
But it would take time; a forced fruit quenches thirst yet tastes bitter.
And he preferred his fruit both sweet and thirst-quenching.
'Since you're settled, let's go. Your brother's outside hopping around on one leg, frantic because you've been stuck here.'
Wanda frowned. 'Huh? I was stuck? Weren't you trapped in your own fear too?'
Karl gave her a flat look and raised the marble.
'Trapped by fear? That's for the psychologically frail. I came only to see what I fear most. You really thought a newly awakened girl like you could hold me?'
He closed his fist; the marble—source of his deepest fear—crumbled.
The dark space shattered with it, color and light flooding back.
When Wanda's sight cleared, she was in the real World again.
In the distance, her one-legged brother was indeed hopping toward her, face frantic.
So… he had never been caught in any fear illusion; the only prisoner had been the caster—herself.
She stared at Karl's back, eyes full of conflict.
His power felt deeper than ever.
That strength made her believe he truly could bring her and Pietro's parents back from hell.
Having effortlessly won Wanda inside her own fear illusion, Karl had achieved his main goals:
Wipe out Baron Strucker's renegade HYDRA cell and secure the host of Chaos Magic—plus the bonus of Quicksilver.
The rest were expendable; he was done playing.
He snapped his fingers. Strucker, who had fled ten miles the instant his Duplicator died, was yanked back by telekinesis.
Karl patted the Baron, held spread-eagle in mid-air, and smiled.
'Don't be naïve, Baron. My mind can blanket an entire country—did you really think those two legs could outrun me?'
The would-be HYDRA overlord was now a trembling mongrel, whimpering for mercy.
'You… you can't kill me! I still hold HYDRA's secrets—including those about you and your godfather Pierce. If I die, they go online. You'll lose everything and become the enemy of every nation on Earth!'
Chapter 150 – Justice and evil are both my people; how could I possibly lose?
'Let me go and I'll give you everything I have. I'll obey your every word. Oh, and I even know Viper's hidden base. I can give you the coordinates. That HYDRA cell is stronger than mine—we can join forces to take her down!'
To Baron Strucker's plea—laced with both threats and bait—Karl merely sneered.
'Go ahead, post my secrets online. Do it. Even if you expose my other face, the nations of Earth won't dare make an enemy of me. They'll only panic harder than I will. Before a single word reaches the public, they'll bury it completely.'
'As for Viper's hideout, why would I need an idiot like you to tell me? You think I didn't know where you got those coordinates? You think my godfather's branch is hiding in the biggest intelligence agency on the planet—S.H.I.E.L.D.—for nothing?'
'And you yourself are worthless to me. The only thing that matters is that you die.'
With that, Karl closed his fist. Baron Strucker exploded in mid-air with a wet pop, a crimson mist the only thing left.
Strucker's death lopped off one of HYDRA's heads, bringing Karl another step closer to conquering the entire organization.
Karl waved Wanda and Pietro—who'd been explaining something to her brother—over.
Wanda, supporting Pietro, came obediently.
Pietro looked at Karl, eyes conflicted. 'Wanda says you can bring our parents back. I don't believe it...'
Karl answered with a middle finger. 'Believe whatever you want. Like Dormammu, I'm interested in your sister, not you. You're just a bonus. Don't believe me? Go die in a ditch.'
Pietro: '???'
'Whoa, straight to the point.'
Yet hearing Karl speak Dormammu's name so casually—and knowing the Lord of the Dimensioncoveted his sister—Pietro couldn't help trusting him a little more.
Pietro sighed. 'All right, say you can resurrect our parents. But Wanda and I sold our souls to Dormammu for the power to get revenge. We bear the Dark Dimension's soul brand. Even if we wanted to serve you, Dormammu would never allow it.'
He tapped the dark sigil on his and Wanda's foreheads.
Wanda's face paled as she remembered they already had a 'Master.'
'Who says your power was granted by Dormammu? He only awakened what was already yours. As for selling your souls—as long as they haven't left Earth, they're under my jurisdiction.'
Karl loved nothing more than an NTR play.
The other party already has an owner?
Just steal them away!
So he snapped his fingers and flicked each sibling on the forehead.
The moment his knuckles struck the Dark Dimension's slave marks, the sigils melted away in a wash of white light.
The siblings felt the shackles on their souls vanish; they were free.
That was the power of the sheep talisman.
With it, a Lord of the Dimension's soul contract meant nothing.
He'd already decided: if the Ancient One ever left Earth and he found himself in dire straits, he'd follow her example—fleece every dimensional lord he could find.
And not just for himself; he'd take Kamar-Taj's mages along for the ride.
Borrow massive soul-debts from every lord, then use the sheep talisman to erase the repayment marks—rinse and repeat.
Use the lords' own power to feed himself and his mage corps.
Of course, best-case scenario: before the Ancient One departed, he'd become a full-fledged Lord of the Dimension himself, able to sustain his mages alone.
That would bind Kamar-Taj to him forever and spare him from angering so many dimensional lords—avoiding Odin's fate of being ganged-up on.
With those forehead flicks, Karl not only erased Dormammu's brand but also channeled the Horse Talisman, healing Pietro's lame leg.
Done, he opened a portal to the Justice League in front of them. 'Off you go. From today, you're Justice League members.'
Wanda and Pietro blinked. 'You're not going to use us as secret HYDRA agents—you want us to be heroes?'
He'd promised to resurrect their parents and now offered them spots as champions of justice? Too good to be true.
Karl snorted. 'Wake up. I don't draw lines between justice and evil. In this World, the light side is mine, the dark side is mine; only those who oppose me are truly evil. You get it?'
The siblings nodded, stunned.
For the first time, they realized how much influence raw personal power could wield—enough to redefine right and wrong with a word.
Karl left the dumbstruck pair and opened another portal. Before stepping through, he added, 'Oh—do not touch Tony Stark. He's my number-one workhorse. Lose a single hair of his and you'll be pulling double shifts for him.'
Remembering the life they'd glimpsed in the marble—Tony fighting, researching, and balancing the League's books—Wanda shuddered.
No way did she want to become a multi-role beast of burden like Tony Stark.
No, even beasts got rest. Tony battled monsters on the clock, researched off it, and planned tomorrow's projects in his dreams.
After seeing his life, she also realized her parents' deaths had nothing to do with him; the arms hadn't been sold by Tony but by his treacherous uncle, Obadiah Stane.
So Wanda no longer hated Tony—she actually pitied him.
Freed from a puppet-Master uncle, only to fall into the hands of a God named Karl who worked him like the ultimate beast of burden...