Chapter 36: Undercurrents Rise Again
"This guy's treatment has certainly been upgraded, getting a private ride."
Arthur watched Thor, who was being "invited" by several S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents into a black van, and raised an eyebrow.
Wanda maintained the observation window; the image was as clear as a live broadcast. Thor had just been caught trying to force his way into the base, and now he was being transferred, likely to be taken somewhere else for a "deep conversation."
"There's someone in a suit in the car, looks like a leader." Wanda pointed to a middle-aged man with a slightly high hairline on the screen. "He keeps staring at Thor, asking questions."
Arthur leaned in to take a closer look. "Phil Coulson, the model employee of S.H.I.E.L.D., an old acquaintance. It seems S.H.I.E.L.D. is taking this matter very seriously to have sent him."
In the footage, Coulson was indeed questioning Thor, but Thor hung his head, wearing a decadent expression that screamed 'Who am I, where am I, and where is my mjolnir?', answering half-heartedly.
The car started and drove out of the base. Just as it passed the gate, a blonde woman suddenly rushed out, blocked the front of the car, and shouted something at the window.
"Who is that?" Wanda asked.
"Jane Foster, an astrophysicist, the future girlfriend of Thor. Right now, she's likely an eyewitness and a curious onlooker wondering 'where did this lunatic pop out from?'" Arthur explained. "According to the plot, Thor is the one who crashed into her car."
On the screen, Jane Foster argued emotionally with the Agents in the car, also trying to look at Thor in the backseat. Thor also raised his head and glanced at her through the window; their eyes met for a fraction of a second.
Then the car was driven away by the Agents, speeding off.
"Interesting." Arthur rubbed his chin. "Alright, honey, you can close the window; we've seen enough."
Wanda nodded and brought her hands together. The dark red observation window flickered and dissipated into the air.
She breathed a sigh of relief and flexed her wrists. "Maintaining it for this long, it's much more stable than last time."
"Of course, my wife practices every day, her technique is getting more professional." Arthur smiled and handed her a glass of water, then sat down, tapping his fingers on the coffee table. "However, there is a new problem."
"What?"
"When Thor was being taken away just now, I carefully sensed the energy field on him." Arthur's expression turned serious. "The seal from that old man, Odin, isn't static. It changes according to Thor's state. Right now, Thoris a mortal, so the seal is quietly shrinking. But when he starts to 'awaken' and prepares to retrieve his mjolnir, the seal will loosen and fluctuate."
Wanda understood. "It's like... a spring compressed to the bottom, before it's about to bounce up, it shakes a little?"
"Exactly, that's the idea." Arthur snapped his fingers. "And this'shaking' movement, for our fragile dimensional boundary, might be a small earthquake. The sudden expansion of the rift in Queens before was likely affected by this 'foreshock'."
Just as he finished speaking, with a whoosh, Pietroappeared in the living room, holding a tablet.
"You two are still watching the live stream? Something happened, that rift in Queens is acting up again!"
Arthur immediately took the tablet; it displayed the real-time data map of the Warning Magic Array. The red dot representing the rift point in Queens was blinking, and the energy reading curve had begun its familiar "abnormal EKG" pattern.
"Well, speak of the devil." Arthur put down the tablet. "This resonance reaction is coming really fast. There's barely new movement from the mjolnir, and our backyard is already shaking. No, I have to go again, plug the hole tightly, and see what kind of trouble is popping up this time."
He stood up, ready to leave.
"I'm going too." Wanda stood up, her eyes firm. "Last time I set up barriers on the periphery, but this time I want to... try getting closer. You said my Chaos Magic has potential in stabilizing spatial structures. I want to try it in actual combat; just reading books and practicing always feels like something is missing."
Arthur looked at her. "Are you sure? This time might be more troublesome than last time; the rift is likely even more unstable."
"I'm sure." Wanda nodded. "You can't keep letting me be a 'VIP in the remote observation seat'. If there's real big trouble, I'll have to face it sooner or later. It's better to start leveling up from a'simple dungeon' while you're here."
"Alright, your awareness is high, and this metaphor is very down-to-Earth." Arthur laughed. "Then let's go. Pietro, watch the house, the usual rules."
"It's me again?" Pietro pouted, but still waved his hand. "Go, go, remember to bring me some donuts from that place in Queens."
"Eat, eat, eat, all you know is eating."
Arthur took Wanda's hand, and with his other hand, drew a circle. On the other side of the golden spark Portalwas that familiar quiet street in Queens, though this time it was daytime.
The two stepped through.
They teleported directly to the entrance of an alley less than fifty meters from the rift point. Before they even got close, they could feel waves of uncomfortable spatial distortion coming from ahead, and the air temperature had dropped by several degrees.
"Whoa, the commotion this time isn't small." Arthurlooked at the abandoned freight station clearing ahead.
Above the clearing, the rift that had originally been stitched up had indeed split open again. And it was longer and wider than last time, like a purple, constantly writhing wound. At the edge of the rift, besides the familiar sulfur-smelling energy mist, there were wisps of visible, extremely faint golden threads of light—residue of Asgardenergy.
These golden threads seemed to have a life of their own, constantly trying to "burrow" into the Earth's spatial structure at the edge of the rift. Every attempt caused the rift to expand unstably.
"So this thing really is causing trouble." Arthur pointed at those golden threads. "The mjolnir energy residue has colluded with the dimensional rift, conspiring to undermine our home."
"What now?" Wanda asked. She had already mobilized her Chaos Magic, and the dark red energy flowed steadily around her.
"The old way, I'm the main DPS, you're the support." Arthur quickly assigned tasks. "I'm responsible for stitching the rift shut and stripping away those golden threads. You're responsible for using your Chaos Magic to 'glue' the places I've processed, stabilizing the surrounding spatial structure to prevent it from collapsing again as soon as it's stitched. It's like... I apply the plaster, you wrap the bandage."
"Understood." Wanda took a deep breath and raised her hands. The dark red energy, like a gentle stream of Water, spread toward the area around the rift. She didn't rush to touch the rift itself, but first constructed a stable "working environment."
Arthur strode to the front of the rift and formed seals with his hands. Brilliant golden magic runes roared out, precisely pouncing on that writhing purple wound and those annoying golden threads of light.
Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle—
The golden threads were forcibly stripped away and annihilated by the Supreme Magic power, emitting faint crackling sounds. The rift itself struggled violently but was covered and compressed layer by layer by even more golden runes.
Wanda seized the opportunity and immediately "covered" the areas Arthur had stitched with her Chaos Magic. The dark red energy wasn't as rigid as the golden runes but carried a gentle, inclusive quality, softly "smoothing out" the spatial wrinkles in the repaired area, making the structure of that area more stable and resilient.
The couple cooperated tacitly, one dismantling and one patching, and the progress was fast.
A few minutes later, the nearly two-meter-long rift was forcibly compressed until only a thin line remained, on the verge of disappearing completely.
Just at the moment the last stitching rune fell—
Arthur's expression changed abruptly.
He sensed that, from the deepest part where the rift was about to close, came an extremely subtle but unusually familiar dark magic fluctuation! And the "scent" of this fluctuation was of the same origin as the dimensional invaders he had repelled near the New York Sanctumbefore! But stronger! Clearer! The target was terrifyingly clear—it was coming straight for Earth!
"Honey, job done, retreat!" Arthur whispered, simultaneously slamming his hands together.
Hum!
The rift was completely stitched up, leaving only a faint scar that quickly faded.
Wanda immediately withdrew all her Chaos Magic and ran to Arthur's side. "What's wrong?"
"There's something dirty." Arthur pulled her back a few steps, his eyes fixed on the spot where the rift had just disappeared. "Before it closed, I 'heard' it. Something big is using the opportunity of the fluctuations in Odin's seal and the fragility of the dimensional boundary to locate our Earth's coordinates, trying to burrow in."
He immediately took out his magic communicator to contact Ancient One.
A few seconds later, Ancient One's calm but slightly serious voice rang out. "Arthur."
"Master, something happened." Arthur quickly recounted the situation. "...That dark fluctuation is from the same bunch as the ones at the Sanctum before, but this time it feels like the 'main force' is looking for a way in. Are they using the Thor matter to cause trouble?"
Ancient One was silent for a moment, then replied. "Your judgment is correct. The periodic fluctuations of Odin's seal are like throwing a stone into a calm dimensional ocean; the ripples will travel very far. Certain ancient and greedy existences are capturing these ripples, reverse-locating Asgard, and... Earth, which is closely connected to Asgard. Their goal is to loot or invade while Odin's attention is focused on the trial of his offspring."
"Then what do we do? Wait for them to come knocking?"
"Increase vigilance." Ancient One instructed. "Continue to monitor the Thor event, but evaluate the necessity of active intervention. If the situation develops to the point where it could trigger a large-scale dimensional invasion, you need to intervene, at least ensure the invasion channel cannot be stably established on Earth. Kamar-Taj will also strengthen monitoring."
"Understood, act according to the situation, the bottom line is not to let them open a Portal in our living room." Arthur understood. "Then I'll set the alert level to the max, and I'll keep a close eye on New York."
"Very well. Additionally," Ancient One's voice softened slightly, "Wanda's coordination performance just now was very good. Her Chaos Magic resonates with your Supreme Magic, demonstrating a unique advantage in stabilizing space. This kind of coordination is a form of training for both of you."
The communication ended.
Arthur put away the communicator and looked at Wanda.
Wanda was looking down at her hands; a wisp of dark red energy was obediently winding around her fingertips, more solid and docile than ever before.
"I feel... like it's more handy." She looked up, her eyes shining. "Just now when I was helping you stabilize the space, my magic seemed... more 'obedient', and I knew how to apply force."
"Normal, experience gains faster when grinding dungeons in a party." Arthur ruffled her hair. "But the thing we heard just now is a bit troublesome. There are big guys watching in the dark. Let's go home, turn the monitoring level to the maximum, and then... continue watching that show in New Mexico. Maybe, we won't be able to just watch for much longer."
Wanda nodded and took his hand.
The two teleported home.
Pietro was curled up on the sofa playing video games. Seeing them return, he looked up. "Done? Where are the donuts?"
"Forgot to buy them." Arthur waved his hand, walked to the center of the living room, and raised his hands.
The entire Warning Magic Array covering New Yorkvibrated slightly, its light becoming more solid and sharp than before, like an eye that had completely opened.
"From today on, sleep with one eye open." Arthurlooked to the west, where Thor's mortal life show was still continuing.
But in the shadows, a new storm had already begun to brew.
Chapter 37: Deep Within the Rift
"This commotion... are they afraid we won't notice?"
Arthur stared at the spot where the rift had just vanished, his brows furrowed tightly. Although that dark fluctuation had only flashed by for a moment, the "scent" was too strong; it wasn't even on the same level as the lackeys they had chased away near the Sanctum earlier.
Wanda gripped his hand tightly: "Just like the Ancient Onesaid? Are they looking for a way in?"
"More than just looking for a way in." Arthur pulled her back into the shadows of the alley, lowering his voice, "This is 'precise positioning navigation.' Before, they were just stumbling around blindly, but now they've figured out the pattern—using the fluctuations of the Odinforce seal as a beacon to reverse-calculate the coordinates of Earth. That move to seal the rift just now was like pinching off their 'probe,' but they definitely haven't given up."
He pulled out his magic communicator and quickly reported the situation to the Ancient One.
The Ancient One's reply came quickly: "Fluctuation characteristics recorded. The 'proactivity' of the invaders is stronger than anticipated. Arthur, maintain observation of the Thor event, but evaluate the necessity of intervention. If its energy fluctuation creates a clear 'resonance channel' with the dimensional invasion, you must intervene to disrupt it, at least to delay the invaders' positioning process."
"Understood, basically just making things difficult for them and causing their navigation to fail." Arthur put away the communicator and looked at Wanda, "Let's go, home. This place is clean for now, but the work isn't over yet."
The two teleported back to their home in Brooklyn.
Pietro was sprawled on the sofa scrolling through his phone, not even looking up: "Done already? That was fast."
"Fast my ass, the trouble has only just begun." Arthurwalked to the center of the living room and waved his hands.
The main screen of the Warning Magic Array floating in mid-air immediately lit up, splitting into two sections. The left side displayed energy points across New York, while the right side was taken over by Wanda, who quickly pulled up a clear and stable observation window; the image was none other than the crater in New Mexico.
"Wanda, keep a close eye on mjolnir, especially the subtle changes in the energy field." Arthur stared at the map of New York on the left screen, "I'm going to see if that dark fluctuation from earlier 'grazed' anywhere else besides Queens."
Wanda nodded, focusing all her attention on maintaining the observation window. The dark red Chaos Magic flowed steadily, and the window image was as stable as if it were equipped with a gimbal stabilizer.
Arthur zoomed in on the New York map, his magicperception sweeping like radar over every point marked by the Warning Magic Array.
A few seconds later, his finger stopped at a location in the southwest corner of Brooklyn near the port.
There was a faint blue dot there, flickering extremely slowly.
"Here..." Arthur narrowed his eyes, "The energy reading is very low, but the fluctuation frequency... is seventy percent similar to that dark fluctuation from deep within the rift in Queens earlier. It's a new weak point, just emerging, and hasn't formed a rift yet."
"Should we go over and deal with it?" Wanda asked, her gaze still locked on the right observation window. In the window, the S.H.I.E.L.D. base was as normal as could be, but the energy reading curve around the mjolnir at the bottom of the pit began to show a regular, small-scale periodic climb.
"Not yet, this thing is just a'spark' right now; I can snuff it out with one step." Arthur waved his hand, turning his attention back to the right screen, "What's going on with mjolnir? The rhythm of this energy climb isn't right."
Wanda reported immediately: "Starting three minutes ago, the energy field of mjolnir has been slightly oscillating every forty seconds or so. The amplitude isn't large, but every time it oscillates, I can feel... some very obscure dark energy from very far away 'echoing' it."
"Echoing?" Arthur leaned closer to the screen, "Pull up the energy sensing spectrum and overlay it."
Wanda traced her fingers in the air, and a complex, constantly scrolling spectrum graph immediately appeared next to the observation window. The golden wave band representing the Odinforce of mjolnir rose and fell rhythmically, and in the deep purple area at the very edge of the spectrum graph, every time the golden wave band climbed to a small peak, a trace of barely perceptible purple static flickered in sync.
"Damn, it really connected." Arthur cursed, "Thor is probably trying to'summon' his mjolnir again, or his emotional fluctuations are affecting the seal. This fluctuation being transmitted out is exactly what those guys lurking outside the dimension are using as a 'lighthouse' signal. They are trying to establish a stable connection!"
He immediately raised both hands, brilliant golden magicrunes condensing in his palms.
"Wanda, keep the window steady, give me the real-time coordinates and fluctuation phase of the mjolnir energy field." Arthur spoke quickly, "I'm going to 'add a jammer' between them and ruin this resonance."
"Understood!" Wanda took a deep breath, refining her perception of Chaos Magic to the limit. The image in the observation window was clear enough to see the trajectory of the energy particle flow, and she precisely captured the split second before the next golden wave band was about to reach its peak.
"Right now!"
Arthur pushed with both hands, and an extremely thin, almost invisible golden magic thread shot from his fingertips, instantly traversing the vast distance and precisely "hooking" onto the restless energy field above the crater in New Mexico.
He did not touch mjolnir itself, as that would alert Odin's seal.
His target was the extremely subtle "coupling interface" between the mjolnir energy field and the surrounding Earth dimension boundary, which had been created by the resonance.
The golden thread, like the most precise probe, gave a gentle "flick."
Hum—
In the observation window, the deep purple static on the spectrum graph that was about to flicker in sync suddenly distorted violently and dissipated, as if the signal had been interfered with. The golden wave band still completed its peak climb, but this time, there was no dark energy echoing it.
"Done." Arthur retracted the magic thread and wiped away non-existent sweat, "Temporarily disabled their'signal receiver.' But this treats the symptoms, not the root cause. As long as mjolnir is still vibrating there and Thor is still emo over there, this connection will eventually be re-established."
No sooner had he finished speaking than Pietro blew in from outside like a gust of wind, carrying a supermarket plastic bag in his hand.
"Bro! There's an encrypted magic message for you in the mailbox outside, from the Ancient One! Also, I just finished a run and found that in Midtown Manhattan, near the Sanctum, the Warning Magic Array shows a point that is also fluctuating slightly, and it smells a bit like the'scent' you guys were talking about earlier!"
Pietro tossed a glowing piece of parchment to Arthur, while pointing at the left screen.
Arthur took the parchment and scanned it quickly, his expression growing even more serious. The Ancient One's message was brief but critical: "Invasion locking attempts intensifying. Multiple weak beacon fluctuations appearing in New York, suspected to be preliminary reconnaissance markers. Maintain suppression, prepare for counter-measures."
He looked back at the screen, and sure enough, in addition to the blue dot at the Brooklyn port, a new, equally weak flickering point had appeared in Midtown Manhattan.
"Damn, they're even doing multi-point triangulation now." Arthur crumbled the parchment into magic sparks and burned it, "They want to do triangulation to calculate our Earth coordinates more accurately."
He had to deal with this new point in Manhattanimmediately.
But the resonance interference at mjolnir needed to be maintained, otherwise the dark energy would quickly re-establish the connection.
Arthur glanced at Wanda.
Wanda understood his meaning immediately. She bit her lower lip, her eyes becoming firm: "I can maintain the observation and stabilization of mjolnir at the same time. You taught me the method, and I just did it. You go deal with that point in Manhattan, leave this to me."
Arthur stared at her for two seconds.
Beads of sweat had already seeped onto Wanda's forehead. Maintaining high-definition remote observation and precise energy sensing simultaneously was unprecedented pressure for her. But the dark red Chaos Magic around her remained steady, and the observation window didn't waver in the slightest.
"Alright!" Arthur slapped his thigh, "My wife can handle things on her own now. I'll leave this to you. Just do as I did—once you see the golden wave band and the purple static about to sync, use the smallest amount of Chaos Magic to interfere with that coupling interface. It doesn't need to be strong, just enough to disrupt it. I'll come back as soon as I finish in Manhattan."
"Don't worry." Wanda nodded heavily, putting more focus into the observation window.
Arthur didn't hesitate, drew a circle to open a portal, and teleported directly to the vicinity of the fluctuation point in Midtown Manhattan.
At home, the living room went quiet instantly, leaving only the flickering light of the screens and Wanda's steady breathing.
Pietro leaned over, a bit worried: "Sis, are you okay? Don't push yourself too hard."
"I can do it." Wanda's voice wasn't loud, but it was steady. Her entire focus was immersed in the dual-task operation: on one side, the observation screen and spectrum graph she was watching, and on the other, her magic's subtle sensing and control of the distant energy interface.
The pressure was immense.
But strangely, under this high pressure, she felt that the Chaos Magic within her, which was always a bit "mischievous," had become unusually "obedient" and "clear." It was as if there was a clear path for exactly where and how to use every ounce of power.
Another golden wave band peak was about to arrive.
Wanda held her breath, and a wisp of dark red energy, thinner than a hair, quietly extended from her fingertips. Following the trace of magic Arthur had left behind, it crossed space and gently brushed over that invisible coupling interface.
The purple static was just about to light up when it was smoothed out by this gentle yet precise force, dissipating into nothingness.
Success!
Moreover, she controlled it more precisely and used less power than when Arthur was there.
Wanda's eyes lit up, her confidence greatly increased. She began to actively adjust the perspective of the observation window, not only watching mjolnir but also splitting some of her attention to observe Thor, who was locked in a room at the base.
In the screen, Thor was sitting on a chair, dejected, but his fists were clenched tightly. Beneath that mortal "shell," there was a faint, unwilling "power" surging weakly. It was this surging that was continuously triggering the energy oscillation of mjolnir.
Wanda was lost in thought.
A few minutes later, golden sparks bloomed in the living room, and Arthur returned, carrying the chill of the New York night.
"The point in Manhattan is settled; it was just a primary beacon, I pinched it off easily." He said, looking at Wandaand the screen, "How about it? No mishaps here, right?"
"No." Wanda flashed a slightly proud smile, "Interfered with the resonance three times, all successful. And I discovered that Thor's emotional state directly affects the intensity of the seal's fluctuations. The more unwilling he is, the harder mjolnir vibrates, and the stronger the signal to those guys outside."
Arthur was stunned for a moment, then laughed: "Not bad, wife, you've learned to observe and summarize the key points of the battle. This operation of yours was as steady as a veteran's."
He looked at the screen; on the New York map, the two weak fluctuation points in Brooklyn and Manhattan had disappeared. The spectrum graph for New Mexico had also returned to calm; the golden wave band was still rising and falling rhythmically, but the purple static that had been echoing it was gone.
The rift in Queens had been completely sealed, two new beacons had been removed, and the mjolnir resonance had been temporarily interfered with.
On the surface, the crisis seemed to have subsided.
But Arthur's expression did not relax.
He could sense it clearly: that dark will attempting to locate Earth had not given up because of a few small setbacks. It had only temporarily retreated, like a giant beast lurking in the deep sea, still staring tightly at the light spot on the surface from the darkness.
"We can't always defend passively like this." Arthurwalked to the sofa and sat down, rubbing his temples, "We're here countering every move, and they're constantly testing in the dark. If one day they find a crack we didn't notice, we'll be in trouble."
Wanda withdrew her magic, and the observation window slowly dissipated. She walked over to Arthur and sat down: "You want to actively seek them out?"
"Not seek them out, but go take a look at their 'doorstep'." Arthur took out his magic communicator, "I need to discuss this with the Ancient One. Always waiting for the thieves to come to the door is worse than going to find out where the thieves' den is, how many there are, and what they want."
He contacted the Ancient One and explained his idea.
The Ancient One pondered for a moment and replied: "Limited active reconnaissance is permissible. Use the magic traces left by their positioning attempts to reverse-track the coordinates of their source dimension. But be cautious, do not go too deep; intelligence gathering is the primary objective. I will provide anchor support for you at Kamar-Taj."
"Understood, I'll just go 'take a picture' and come back." Arthur ended the communication and looked at Wanda, "The Ancient One agreed. Next step, once preparations are made, I'll go take a look at where they came from."
Wanda gripped his hand: "I'll go with you."
"Not this time." Arthur shook his head, his tone very firm, "Reverse-tracking dimensional coordinates is too dangerous, and the situation is unknown. You must stay home and guard our 'base camp.' Besides, you can now independently handle monitoring and interference tasks of this level; the home needs you more."
Wanda wanted to say something, but seeing Arthur's eyes, she finally nodded. She knew her husband was right.
"Then be careful." She said softly.
"Don't worry, your husband might not be good at other things, but running away is my specialty." Arthurchuckled, but his eyes were very serious, "Once I figure out their details this time, if they dare to come again, it won't be as simple as just being a nuisance."
Pietro chimed in from the side: "What about me? What can I do?"
"You?" Arthur glanced at him, "Continue to be your high-speed human alarm. New York is so big, the Warning Magic Array will always have blind spots. When you're free, run a few more laps, use your speed to sense if there are any weird energy residues."
"You got it!" Pietro finally landed a task and was instantly energized.
Arthur leaned back on the sofa, watching the several screens that had returned to calm.
The fluctuations from deep within the rift had been temporarily suppressed.
But a bigger storm seemed to be brewing outside the dimension.
And he was preparing to actively go into the eye of the storm to take a look.
Chapter 38: Dimensional Reconnaissance
"Find out where the thieves' den is."
Arthur put down the magic communicator and looked at Wanda: "The Ancient One agreed; we can conduct limited active reconnaissance. We'll use the 'footprints' left behind by their attempt to locate us to trace them back and take a look at where they came from."
Wanda sat up straight immediately: "When are we going? I'm coming with you."
"This time..." The words were on the tip of Arthur's tongue, but seeing the look in Wanda's eyes, he swallowed them back. Her gaze was resolute; it wasn't a negotiation, it was a notification.
"Honey, the situation over there is unclear; it might be even more sinister than we think." Arthur tried to reason with her, "Tracing dimensional coordinates in reverse is like crawling along a network cable; what if the other side is a hacker's den..."
"My Chaos Magic has a sense for dark energy." Wandainterrupted him, her voice calm, "You just said it yourself, the'scent' of the fluctuations they left behind is very strong. I'm more sensitive to the'scent'; I can help you find the source faster and warn of danger in advance. If we rely solely on your magic perception, what if you miss some details?"
Arthur opened his mouth, but had no retort.
Wanda was right. Her Chaos Magic had unique properties, and her perception of such negative, chaotic energy was indeed more delicate than his—someone trained as an orthodox Sorcerer Supreme—almost as if she had a "dedicated radar" installed.
Moreover, after several previous independent missions and high-pressure training, her control was incredibly stable; she was no longer the novice who needed him to protect her at every turn.
"Fine." Arthur sighed, conceding, "I can't win against you. But we need to set three ground rules."
"Go ahead."
"First, stick close to me, don't wander off; that place is no tourist attraction. Second, follow my commands in everything; if I feel something is wrong, we retreat immediately, no lingering. Third," Arthur looked at her, "In the event—and I mean in the event—that your magichas a dangerous resonance with something over there, and you feel you can't control it, tell me immediately. Don't try to tough it out."
"Okay." Wanda nodded, agreeing readily.
"Pietro!" Arthur shouted upstairs.
With a whoosh, Pietro appeared in the living room, a half-eaten cookie in his mouth: "What's up? Are we leaving?"
"Yeah, your sister and I are going on a 'business trip'. It won't be long; if we're fast, it might only be a few minutes." Arthur gave quick instructions, "You stay behind; your mission is simple: keep your eyes glued to the Warning Magic Array, especially monitoring New York and the mjolnir in New Mexico. If there's any abnormal fluctuation, even if it's just a flicker, record it for me. We'll need to see it when we get back."
"Got it, leave it to me." Pietro patted his chest, "You two be careful, don't get stuck in some obscure corner and not be able to come back."
"Pah, jinx." Arthur cursed with a smile, then took a deep breath, raised his hands, and began outlining a complex magic pattern.
This wasn't a simple Portal.
Golden sparks danced at his fingertips, weaving into a complex, dizzying three-dimensional array that rotated inward constantly. The center of the array wasn't a scene, but a bottomless void surging with gray mist.
"Ancient One, open the door!" Arthur shouted softly.
The array flared with light, and the void in the center stabilized, forming a steady, temporary passage leading to the dimensional gap. The aura of the Ancient One faintly emanated from the other side of the passage, serving as a stable anchor.
"Let's go." Arthur grabbed Wanda's hand, and the two stepped into the passage.
It felt like falling into a washing machine with no up, down, left, or right. Around them were rapidly swirling, chaotic lights and shadows that couldn't be described by color, with occasional fragments of shattered celestial bodies and unintelligible whispers brushing past their ears. The temperature fluctuated between cold and hot, and the air was filled with a strange smell... like old dust mixed with rotten fruit and a hint of sulfur.
"Damn, the air quality here is concerning." Arthurcomplained, while a faint golden shield lit up around him, enveloping them both, "Stick close to me, and don't touch anything that looks like a 'thing'."
Wanda squeezed his hand, curiously examining their surroundings. Dark red Chaos Magic automatically emerged from her fingertips, like sensitive tentacles, gently probing the energy flows around them.
"That way." She suddenly pointed in a direction, "The'scent' is strongest there, it has a... very 'hungry' feeling."
Arthur perceived in the direction she pointed, and sure enough, amidst the chaotic energy background, there was a persistent dark fluctuation emitting a sense of decay and despair, as conspicuous as a lighthouse in the night—except this lighthouse illuminated a dead end.
"Located it, hold on tight!"
Arthur, with Wanda, "swam" through the dimensional gap toward that direction. The scenery around them began to change; the chaotic lights and shadows faded, replaced by an unsettling dark purple hue. The spatial structure became fragile, like glass that had been shattered and barely glued back together, covered in cracks.
A few minutes later, they "swam" out of the passage, their feet landing on... ground?
Underfoot was cracked, lifeless, grayish-black Earth; the sky was a frozen deep purple, with no sun and no stars, only some drifting, sickly green specks of light. The air was dry and cold, carrying a taste of rust and rotting sweetness when inhaled into the lungs.
Looking around, everything was ruins. Not the kind destroyed by war, but more like... wreckage left behind after being completely "sucked dry" and naturally disintegrating. Twisted architectural frames, strange sculptures weathered into sand, and some metallic fragments whose purpose was completely unrecognizable.
"This place... is dead through and through." Arthurcrouched down and picked up a piece of rubble. With a gentle squeeze, it turned to powder in his hand; he couldn't even feel a trace of basic elemental energy inside, it was completely "empty."
Wanda stood beside him, her brows tightly furrowed. The dark red magic around her became somewhat active, but it wasn't out of control; it was like a police dog pricking up its ears.
"The energy is chaotic, but the core is 'empty'." Wanda said softly, "It's like... a fruit that's had its flesh eaten, leaving only the rotten skin. Those dark energies are the pus oozing out after the skin rots."
"That's a vivid metaphor." Arthur stood up and clapped his hands, "Looks like we found the right place. This isn't some native Dark Dimension; this is a 'victim'. Its source was sucked dry by something more ruthless, absorbed as nutrition. Now, the remaining residue is acting on instinct to find a new home, and it's set its sights on our Earth."
He walked forward, carefully observing the ruins.
"Look at these structures; although they're mostly rotten, you can still see shadows of a civilization. There must have been inhabitants here before, with their own rules." Arthur pointed to a piece of debris, resembling an archway, half-buried in the ground, "Now there's nothing left, only 'hunger' and 'despair'."
Just then, Wanda suddenly let out a muffled groan and took half a step back.
"What's wrong?" Arthur immediately steadied her.
"It... it's 'looking' at us." Wanda pointed to a particularly dense, slowly writhing mass of dark energy ahead, "No, not looking, it's 'perceiving'. This lingering consciousness... is very chaotic, but it's mainly 'hunger', wanting to devour everything with energy to fill itself, and also... 'despair', knowing it will never be filled."
As she spoke, that mass of dark energy seemed to sense the presence of living beings, especially the fresh and powerful Chaos Magic on Wanda, and actually began to spread slowly toward them like a shark smelling blood.
"Seeking death." Arthur's eyes turned cold, and he raised his hand to strike with a purification magic.
"Wait!" Wanda stopped him, "Let me try."
She stepped forward, facing the encroaching dark energy, and brought her hands together in front of her chest. The dark red Chaos Magic was no longer gentle; it carried a solemn, orderly power as she pushed it forward.
There was no violent collision.
The moment the dark red magic touched the dark energy, it was like a red-hot iron pressed into an ice cube. The dark energy emitted a silent shriek and churned violently, but it couldn't erode that layer of orderly red light. Instead, Wanda's magic acted like the most precise probe, piercing into the interior of the dark energy and rapidly analyzing its structure and the fragmented remnants of consciousness.
A few seconds later, the dark energy seemed to have its last bit of strength drained away, and it completely dissipated.
Wanda withdrew her magic, her face a bit pale, but her eyes were bright.
"I got it." She caught her breath, "Some fragmented consciousness. Besides 'hunger' and 'despair', there's a little bit... of vague memory about the 'extractor'. It's vast, it's dark, like an endless... ocean of Shadow. I don't know the name, but it feels... far more terrifying than this dead world."
Arthur's expression grew grave.
Dormammu? Or some other dimensional demon god?
Whoever it was, their appetite was terrifyingly huge, directly draining the source of a secondary dimension.
"We can't stay here; our reconnaissance might have already attracted attention." Arthur made a prompt decision, "Retreat! We'll talk when we get back."
He opened the return passage again.
The two quickly slipped inside.
Just in the last second before the passage closed, Arthurlooked back and seemed to catch a glimpse, in the shadows of the distant ruins, of the outline of something huge and indescribable moving extremely vaguely.
But the passage had already closed.
With a flash of golden light, the two returned to the living room of their home in Brooklyn.
Pietro was nervously staring at the light screen; seeing them return, he breathed a sigh of relief: "You scared me to death! You two were in there for almost ten minutes! How was it? Did you find anything?"
"Found a 'crime scene'." Arthur sat down on the sofa with a thud, "A secondary dimension that had been sucked dry. Didn't see the killer, only the victim's corpse, and some flies attracted by the rotting corpse—that is, the dark energy that tried to invade us earlier."
He quickly explained the situation to Pietro.
"Damn, that ruthless? Draining a whole world directly?" Pietro clicked his tongue, "Just how fierce must that killer be?"
"Don't know if it's fierce, but it definitely doesn't have good intentions." Arthur looked at Wanda, "Honey, how are you feeling? You weren't affected by analyzing that dark energy earlier, right?"
"I'm fine." Wanda shook her head, still savoring the feeling from earlier, "On the contrary... it's clearer. By coming into contact with that pure 'chaos' and 'despair', I seem to understand better how to keep my magic 'orderly' and'stable'. It's like... having seen true darkness, I know how to hold onto the light."
"That's good." Arthur felt relieved and then began to work.
He walked to the center of the living room, performed hand seals, and brilliant golden magic runes surged out, once again reinforcing the Warning Magic Array, especially the monitoring and shielding capabilities against dimensional fluctuations.
"The real threat is the big guy behind the scenes that drained the dimension." Arthur said while working, "The ones invading now are just the leftovers it didn't eat, running around on instinct. What we need to do next is: first, continue monitoring the energy flow of these 'leftovers' to see if we can deduce any clues about the 'killer'. Second, strengthen our defenses; we absolutely cannot let them open a stable passage on Earth."
He looked at Wanda: "You did a great job on this reconnaissance. Without your perception and analysis, we wouldn't have figured out the truth so quickly."
Wanda smiled without speaking, but there was a light in her eyes.
Pietro looked at Arthur, then at Wanda, and suddenly felt that these two standing together seemed a bit different than before.
He couldn't quite put his finger on it, it just felt... more stable.
As if no matter how big a trouble came crashing down, they could shoulder it together.
Arthur finished reinforcing the array, sat back on the sofa, and stroked his chin.
The ruins of a secondary dimension, the drained source, the mastermind...
These waters were deeper than he thought.
But it didn't matter.
We will meet whatever comes our way.
Daring to set their sights on Earth, on his home.
No matter what demon god you are, you'll have to ask Wanda's husband if he agrees first.
Chapter 39: Dimensional Echoes
"The obsession of this 'Hunger Ghost' really has nothing left but hunger and despair."
Arthur picked out the last bit of dark purple psychic debris from the analysis array and rubbed it into a wisp of smoke. On the living room coffee table, the small barrier temporarily constructed to seal the debris was slowly dissipating.
Wanda sat beside him, her expression a bit grim, but her eyes were bright. "It's not just that. Within the debris, there's also a tiny bit... a very vague 'direction'. It's like, in a swarm of headless flies, one or two of them will unconsciously veer in the same direction."
"Direction?" Arthur immediately perked up. "Can you pinpoint it?"
"It's too vague; I can't determine the specific coordinates." Wanda shook her head, her fingers tracing in the air. A wisp of dark red Chaos Magic outlined a very abstract, constantly twisting "arrow" image. "But it feels... very vast, very 'deep', like a boundless sea of darkness. The 'hunger' and 'despair' lingering in these fragments all point to that source. It's that 'Extractor'."
Arthur stroked his chin. "As expected, those grunts that invaded earlier, including this dead world, were just 'residual poison'. The real mastermind is hiding further back, with an appetite that's terrifyingly large. We've gone and poked the raw material supply base of a dark food processing plant."
Just as he finished speaking, the magic communicator on the coffee table lit up on its own. The Ancient One's calm voice came through directly; it was a remote transmission.
"Arthur, Wanda. Do you have results from the debris analysis?"
"Master." Arthur picked up the communicator. "We've basically figured it out. It's a drained sub-dimension, and the remnants are wandering aimlessly on instinct, looking for a new home. But the real trouble is the 'glutton' behind it all. Wanda sensed a very massive dark source within the fragments."
The Ancient One was silent for two seconds, then said, "What you sensed is Dormammu."
Arthur and Wanda exchanged a look.
"The Lord of the Dark Dimension, that street ruffian who spends all day thinking about annexing other dimensions to strengthen himself?" Arthur raised an eyebrow.
"It is indeed him." The Ancient One confirmed. "The fluctuations from Odin's seal are like a bell ringing in a silent dimension. Dormammu's minions are capturing the echoes of these 'bells' to pinpoint Earth's coordinates. The ones you repelled before, as well as the remnants of this sub-dimension, are all 'probes' or 'bait' he released."
"Good grief, playing interstellar navigation here?" Arthurclicked his tongue. "So what now? Wait until he finishes navigating, and then he opens a Portal right in our faces?"
"Passive defense is too inefficient." The Ancient One's tone remained calm, but her words were decisive. "His minions need to make close contact with Earth's dimensional boundary to complete the final positioning. We can set an ambush."
"Entrapment?" Arthur's eyes lit up.
"You could understand it that way." The Ancient One said. "I will create a faint, 'delicious' magic energy fluctuation near the New York Sanctum as bait. Dormammu's minions are very sensitive to such ownerless energy. You are responsible for setting the trap to capture or repel them when they appear. This serves two purposes: first, to eliminate his minions and delay the positioning process; second, to try and obtain more direct information about Dormammu's operation from them."
"Understood!" Arthur immediately agreed. "I'll go prepare the gear right now."
"Arthur," the Ancient One added, "the strength of these minions may far exceed the previous ones, so be cautious. I will provide support from within the Sanctum."
The communication ended.
Arthur rubbed his hands together and looked at Wanda. "The job's here, wifey. We've got to play big this time."
"I'm going with you." Wanda stood up, her tone leaving no room for negotiation. "My Chaos Magic has a purifying effect on that kind of dark corrosive energy; we tried it last time in the dimensional gap. You set the trap to catch it, and I'll be responsible for 'disinfecting' to prevent its energy pollution from spreading."
Arthur looked at her. "This time might actually be a bit dangerous."
"I know." Wanda nodded. "But you heard it too; Master Ancient One said she'd be providing support from the Sanctum. Besides, my magic's properties happen to counter them; this is the optimal solution. You can't just keep me on logistics duty, right? I went on the reconnaissance mission last time too."
Arthur looked at her determined eyes and knew that saying anything else would be useless, and what she said was indeed reasonable.
"Fine! Husband and wife, hearts aligned, can cut through metal!" Arthur slapped his thigh. "Then let's do it! Pietro!"
With a whoosh, Pietro poked his head out from the second floor. "What's up? Going out again?"
"Yeah, going to 'go fishing' near the New York Sanctum." Arthur said quickly. "You have an important task: be responsible for the perimeter guard. Don't get close to the Sanctum area; just circle around a few blocks away. Use your speed to sense if there are any other suspicious energy fluctuations or 'onlookers'. If you find anything wrong, call me on the communicator immediately."
"Got it! I guarantee I'll note down even if a fly flies past!" Pietro instantly perked up, and with a swish, he vanished. He was probably off to prepare.
Arthur and Wanda didn't delay either.
The two opened a Portal directly and arrived near the quiet street where the New York Sanctum was located, landing on a rooftop with a good view.
The old building of the Sanctum was not far away. It looked quiet and peaceful, but Arthur could feel a powerful protective barrier covering it.
The "bait" the Ancient One mentioned hadn't been released yet.
"How do we set the trap?" Wanda asked.
"Simple." Arthur began outlining magic runes with his hands. "I'll use Supreme Magic to simulate a ball of 'pure, ownerless' high-concentration magic energy and place it just outside the Sanctum's barrier, somewhere conspicuous. Then, around this ball of energy, I'll lay down a triple-nested imprisonment array. The first layer is a space lock to prevent it from running. The second layer is energy absorption to weaken it. The third layer is soul tremor to make it dizzy, so it's easier for us to 'interrogate' it."
Golden runes flew out with his movements, silently merging into the surrounding space. Soon, a fist-sized energy ball emitting a soft golden light slowly condensed in mid-air near the outer wall of the Sanctum. It rotated slowly, looking like a piece of "fat meat" that had accidentally fallen out.
The space around the energy ball faintly rippled like water; that was the sign that the trap array had been activated.
"Done." Arthur clapped his hands. "Now, we wait for the fish to bite. Wifey, you stand behind me to the side. Keep your Chaos Magic contained for now. When that thing gets trapped and starts struggling and releasing poison, that's when you strike to purify it."
Wanda nodded and stood at the position Arthurdesignated. The dark red magic around her body slowly retracted, but she maintained a state ready to burst forth at any moment.
Time passed minute by minute.
Occasionally, pedestrians or vehicles passed by on the street, but they were completely unaware of the two people on the rooftop and the "golden light" on the Sanctum's outer wall—common concealment magic was at work.
About twenty minutes passed.
Arthur's eyes narrowed. "It's here!"
Just then, near the golden energy ball acting as bait, the air suddenly bloomed with an ominous dark purple, like ink dropped into water. The purple quickly expanded and twisted, forming a constantly rotating vortex.
Immediately after, a claw entirely composed of viscous dark energy, resembling the multi-segmented limb of an insect, suddenly thrust out from the center of the vortex, accurately grabbing toward the golden energy ball!
The moment it touched it—hum!
A blinding golden light net instantly lit up around it! The space lock activated immediately, completely freezing the space within three meters around it!
The dark claw struggled violently, erupting with large bursts of deep purple energy carrying strong corrosiveness, attempting to erode the golden light net.
The second layer, the energy absorption array, activated. Like a sponge soaking up water, it quickly siphoned off and neutralized the majority of the overflowing dark energy.
The dark claw's struggle weakened visibly.
"Now!" Arthur shouted in a low voice.
Wanda was already prepared and pushed her hands forward. The dark red Chaos Magic was no longer in a gentle, flowing form, but transformed into a solid beam imbued with a sense of solemn order, shining directly onto the imprisoned dark claw!
Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle—!
It was like a red-hot iron block pressed into snow. Under the illumination of the Chaos Magic, the dark energy emitted a piercing shriek, as if countless people were wailing, churning violently and evaporating. Those highly corrosive traits were quickly purified and stripped away.
The originally hideous dark claw quickly became "clean". Although it was still an energy body, the uncomfortable sense of evil and chaos was greatly reduced, and its struggle had almost ceased.
"Third layer, Soul Tremor!" Arthur delivered the final blow.
An invisible wave swept across.
The purified dark energy claw froze completely, then, like a marionette with its strings cut, it slumped and hung limply, imprisoned in the golden light net, no longer moving.
"Got it!" Arthur breathed a sigh of relief. "This fish is pretty big, but its intelligence doesn't seem very high... Huh?"
Before he finished speaking, he saw that behind the imprisoned dark claw, the deep purple vortex hadn't disappeared, but was instead fluctuating violently.
A much larger, vague humanoid silhouette, formed by the entanglement of countless dark energy tentacles, was trying to squeeze out of the vortex! It exuded a pressure several times stronger than the claw from before, and its goal was clear—not just the bait, but it seemed to want to forcibly break through the confinement and attack the one who set the trap!
"Damn it, it comes with a buy-one-get-one-free deal? Is this the minion's main body?" Arthur immediately entered battle mode.
Just then, the door of the New York Sanctum opened silently.
The Ancient One, dressed in yellow robes, was already standing at the door, though no one knew when she had arrived. She simply raised a hand calmly and clenched it lightly toward the dark humanoid silhouette trying to squeeze out.
The protective barrier around the Sanctum flared with brilliant light. A magic force, vast as the starry sky, descended from the sky like an invisible giant hand, firmly "pinching" the dark humanoid together with the purple vortex behind it!
The dark humanoid emitted a silent roar, struggling frantically, but before the Ancient One's power, it was like an insect trapped in amber.
Arthur and Wanda didn't stay idle.
Arthur immediately strengthened the output of the triple imprisonment array, locking down the "claw" that had already been purified to prevent it from being summoned back by the main body or self-destructing.
Wanda adjusted the output of her Chaos Magic, turning it into a larger light net to assist the Ancient One's power, further purifying the corrosive energy emitted by the dark humanoid silhouette that was attempting to pollute the surrounding space.
The couple's magic resonated miraculously with the Ancient One's vast Supreme Magic, their coordination seamless.
Under the joint suppression of the three forces, the dark humanoid's struggle grew weaker and weaker.
Finally, the Ancient One closed her palm gently.
Snap!
The dark humanoid silhouette, along with the purple vortex, vanished instantly like a popped soap bubble, leaving behind only a few wisps of black smoke that quickly dissipated.
And the "claw" that Arthur had imprisoned lost its vitality completely, turning into a relatively stable residue that still contained dark energy.
The Ancient One walked over, her steps light and slow.
"Well done." She glanced at Arthur and Wanda, her gaze lingering on Wanda for a moment. "Wanda's purification was very effective, preventing the spread of energy pollution."
She walked to the imprisoned dark residue, extended her index finger, and tapped it lightly on its surface.
Complex green runes spread from her fingertip, seeping into the energy mass.
A few seconds later, the Ancient One withdrew her hand.
"Memory extraction complete. Confirmed to be Dormammu's direct minions. Their mission was to use the period of fluctuation in Odin's seal to establish at least three stable beacons at the boundary of Earth's dimension, providing precise coordinates for Dormammu to open a large-scale invasion channel." The Ancient One looked at Arthur. "Your previous interference and elimination actions took out two of their beacon points. This was the third attempt point, and also the most important one in their plan, located near the Sanctum, at the intersection of energy nodes."
"That was close, we almost got our home stolen." Arthur said with lingering fear. "So, is their plan ruined now?"
"Temporarily delayed." The Ancient One said. "But Dormammu won't give up. The fluctuations from Odin's seal will continue for a while, until Thor's problem is resolved. We must strengthen our defenses, especially the dimensional barrier around the Sanctum."
"I'm good at this." Arthur immediately said. "Master, give me permission, and I'll reinforce the Sanctum's perimeter with a few more layers. I guarantee that next time those dark things come, they won't even be able to touch the door crack."
The Ancient One nodded. "Very well. You may begin now. Wanda's Chaos Magic has special properties; she can assist you in incorporating the purification property into the defensive barrier, which will yield even better results."
"No problem!" Arthur was full of energy and pulled Wanda along to start working.
While assisting Arthur in setting up the defensive barrier, Wanda felt her Chaos Magic running exceptionally smoothly. The process of purifying the dark minion just now seemed to have given her a clearer and deeper grasp of the "order" and "purification" aspects of her magic.
She was no longer just "using" magic, but beginning to "understand" and "shape" it.
While setting up the array, Arthur secretly observed Wanda and discovered that her technique was becoming increasingly skillful, and her magic control was so exquisite that it even surprised him a little.
"My wife's growth speed, is she riding a rocket?" He muttered to himself, but more than anything, he felt happy and proud.
By the time they finished, the sky was already turning white with the break of dawn.
The New York Sanctum was shrouded in a composite magic barrier that was invisible to the naked eye but had extremely strong defensive power, which also incorporated Wanda's Chaos purification properties.
The Ancient One had already returned inside the Sanctum.
Arthur and Wanda stood on the street in the early morning, looking at the peaceful Sanctum.
"It's stabilized for now." Arthur said. "But that old guy Dormammu will definitely think of other ways."
"Hmm." Wanda leaned on his shoulder. "But next time he comes, we should be more skilled."
"That's for sure." Arthur hugged her. "Let's go home and catch up on sleep. Next, we still have to keep an eye on New Mexico. Thor's family business, let's hope it doesn't cause us any new dimensional trouble."
The two opened a Portal and disappeared into the gradually brightening morning light.
Chapter 40: Hidden Danger Remains
"So, this old guy is determined to go for 'precision delivery'?"
Arthur rubbed his chin, staring at the last bit of memory residue from the dark minion, extracted by the Ancient One, as it dissipated on the magic light screen before him.
On the other side of the light screen, the Ancient One's projection nodded calmly: "Memory shows that Dormammu has sent at least three groups of such minions, using every 'heartbeat' (fluctuation) of Odin's seal to repeatedly calculate Earth's coordinates like a radar scan. The one you took out earlier was just one group; it delayed the process, but the other two groups are still active."
Wanda stood beside Arthur, a trace of dark red magicstill lingering on her fingertips. It was she who had just used Chaos Magic to completely purify the trapped dark energy residue, a process so smooth that even she was a bit surprised.
"Master, I seem to... have a bit of a counter against that stuff." Wanda raised her hand, looking at her fingertips, "When my magic touches their corrosive energy, it doesn't require forced resistance like before; it's more like... well, like dish soap hitting grease, it just automatically decomposes it."
The Ancient One looked at her, a glimmer of approval flashing in her eyes: "The essence of Chaos Magic is to alter reality; its foundation contains the potential for 'Order' and 'Creation', which exists in natural opposition to the power of the Dark Dimension represented by Dormammu's 'Devouring' and 'Ending'. It is a very good progression that you can instinctively utilize its purifying aspect."
Arthur chuckled: "Nice, wifey, you've really... no, you've put your talent points in the right place! Specifically countering dirty things!"
He turned to look at the Ancient One: "So Master, what do we do now? Wait for the other two groups of 'delivery men' to show up and then sign for them (take them out)?"
"Passive waiting carries too high a risk." The Ancient Onesaid, "Every successful calculation they make makes the coordinates one step more precise. We need to take the initiative, try to reverse-trace the flow of this dark energy, find the 'pipe' where they connect to the Earth dimension, and try to cut it off, or at least interfere with it."
"Crawl along the internet cable and unplug it?" Arthur's eyes lit up, "I'm familiar with this!"
"The risk is very high." The Ancient One warned, "The environment in the dimensional gap is complex, and it may directly attract the attention of Dormammu or his higher-level servants."
"It's fine, Wanda and I will go." Arthur held Wanda's hand, "My wife now has 'exclusive degreaser', so safety +1. Besides, we're just going to scout and take some photos, then come back, definitely not going to engage in reckless combat."
Wanda nodded heavily: "I can help sense the trajectories of those energies."
The Ancient One pondered for a moment: "Very well. I will maintain a stable magic anchor point at Kamar-Taj to guide your return. Remember, prioritize reconnaissance; if you encounter force majeure, evacuate immediately."
"Understood!"
Communication ended.
Arthur rubbed his hands: "Let's get to work! Wifey, focus your mind and sense if there's any'scent' of that 'dirty stuff' left around, even the really faint ones will do, we'll follow the scent."
Wanda closed her eyes, and the dark red magic around her rippled out like gentle water.
A few minutes later, she pointed to the air in the southeast corner of the living room: "Here, there is a very, very faint 'thread'. It's not left here, it's... passing through here, pointing outside, to a very far 'outside'. It feels... very 'deep'."
"That's it!" Arthur clapped his hands together, golden sparks bursting forth, quickly outlining a stable channel opening to the dimensional gap at the location Wandapointed to, "Hold on tight, the veteran driver is starting the car!"
The two figures submerged into the rotating golden channel.
The feeling of the dimensional gap was still just as annoying. Messy light and shadows, air that was suddenly hot and suddenly cold, and that strange smell that could never be described.
But this time, the wisp of dark red magic on Wanda's fingertips became the clearest "navigator".
"This way." She guided the direction, and the dark red magic, like a sensitive probe, firmly locked onto that trace of dark energy that was almost impossible to detect.
The two "swam" in the chaos for who knows how long, and the surrounding scenery gradually became monotonous, leaving only a dull, seemingly solidified dark gray.
"The trail has gotten thicker." Wanda said in a low voice, "Up ahead... there seems to be a 'thing'."
Arthur also sensed it.
In the dark gray void ahead, an inconspicuous, constantly pulsing "black dot" was floating. It was continuously emitting extremely weak dark energy, and these energies, like spider silk, extended along complex paths toward the distant Earth.
"Good grief, it's a 'continuous leakage' type node." Arthur leaned in closer to observe, "This thing is like a 'pinhole camera', secretly transmitting data to our home (Earth)."
"Can you turn it off?" Wanda asked.
"I'll try to just blow it away..." Arthur hadn't finished his sentence when Wanda had already stepped forward.
"Let's try using my magic, see if we can 'plug' it." Wandasaid, her hands gathering a ball of gentle but firmly orderly dark red energy, slowly pushing it toward the black node.
Her magic had just touched the surface of the node—hum!!!
A shrill alarm sound, as if acting directly on the soul, suddenly exploded! The black node violently erupted with dazzling purple-black light, and the originally weak energy leakage instantly turned into a violent eruption!
"Damn it! Triggered an alarm!" Arthur's expression changed.
"Step back!" He pulled Wanda behind him, golden light surging from his hands, and a beam of magic condensed to the extreme shot out with a boom, heading straight for the black node that was fluctuating violently and about to completely explode or summon something!
Boom—!!! A violent explosion swept through the dimensional gap! The chaotic energy Shockwave violently pushed Arthur and Wanda away!
"Wifey!" Arthur shouted while tumbling.
"I'm here!" Wanda's voice came from not far away, a bit hurried, but still stable.
The Shockwave and energy turbulence interfered with their perception, and the two briefly lost each other's specific location.
Wanda struggled to stabilize her figure in the chaos, and her dark red magic autonomously formed a layer of protection. Just as she was trying to sense Arthur's position, an indescribable, overwhelmingly suffocating dark will, like a cold tide, swept silently from the deeper direction beyond the center of the explosion!
That will was full of greed, hunger, and pure malice; just by being "swept" by it, Wanda felt a chill in her soul.
She immediately retracted all her magic to the extreme, and her whole person seemed to turn into a stone in the dimensional gap, motionless.
The dark will swept over the area where she was, paused for an extremely short moment, seemingly a bit puzzled, but did not find a specific target, and slowly retreated.
Almost at the same second the will retreated, Arthur's figure appeared beside her like a ghost, grabbing her hand.
"Are you okay?" Arthur spoke very fast, his face looking very bad.
"I'm fine, it didn't find me." Wanda said quickly, "But it definitely knows something happened here."
"Retreat!" Arthur didn't hesitate and immediately opened the return channel.
The two plunged into it.
Golden light flashed, and they stumbled back into the living room of their home in Brooklyn, their steps a bit unsteady.
"Phew... exciting." Arthur took a breath, and before he could check on Wanda's condition, the main light screen of the Warning Magic Array on the coffee table flashed red frantically, emitting a hurried alarm sound!
Arthur lunged to the light screen.
He saw that on the holographic map representing the stability of the New York dimension, a weak point near Queens that had been marked as "Reinforced" was now flashing violently, and its range was expanding outward at a speed visible to the naked eye!
"Bad!" Arthur cursed, "The Shockwave of the node explosion backlashed along the energy connection! It caused a chain reaction!"
Just as he finished speaking, the Ancient One's magicmessage arrived, her voice a bit more hurried than usual: "Arthur, the original rift point in Queens, New York, has caused a chain expansion due to an unknown high-intensity dimensional Shockwave; it must be reinforced immediately! Coordinates have been synchronized!"
"Already on it, Master!" Arthur replied, pulling Wandaand rushing out, "Wifey, keep up! We poked this hole, we'll fix it ourselves!"
The two teleported directly to the scene of the weak point in Queens that was expanding unstably.
The scene before them was a bit scary. The air was twisting and rippling like heated asphalt, and one could vaguely see the bizarre dimensional turbulence behind it, and this distorted area was slowly but firmly growing larger.
"Together!" Arthur pressed his hands toward the edge of the distorted area, and brilliant golden magic runes spread out like chains, attempting to forcibly "stitch" the expanding boundary.
Wanda immediately pressed her hands beside Arthur's, and dark red Chaos Magic poured out, no longer in an attack or purification form, but turned into an extremely stable energy flow with the implication of "smoothing" and "fixing", merging into Arthur's magic.
The two's magic resonated again.
This time, Wanda's magic played a key role. Her Chaos nature seemed to be able to directly "persuade" those restless dimensional energies to calm down, and cooperating with Arthur's Supreme Magic to reinforce it, the efficiency was more than doubled compared to Arthur working alone.
The expansion speed of the distorted area slowed down significantly, then stopped, and finally, under their combined efforts, it was firmly sealed by a sturdy composite magic barrier interwoven with gold and red, restoring stability.
"Done..." Arthur wiped his sweat and sat on the ground, "That almost turned into a major safety incident."
Wanda also breathed a sigh of relief and sat down beside him.
The Ancient One's message sounded again, returning to calmness: "Reinforcement complete, very good. But this incident shows that Dormammu's threat is more direct and proactive than we estimated. He is not only passively 'locating', but also actively establishing energy nodes to infiltrate."
Arthur nodded, his expression serious: "Yeah, I can see that. This old guy is using a two-pronged approach, calculating coordinates on one hand, and secretly digging tunnels on the other. What we just blew up might just be a 'tunnel entrance'."
"The continuous fluctuation of Odin's seal provides him with excellent cover and energy resonance." The Ancient One said, "We must resolve the Thor incident as soon as possible, and let Asgard's seal return to stability. Otherwise, Dormammu's 'locating' and 'digging' efficiency will only get higher and higher."
"Understood." Arthur stood up and patted his pants, "Looks like we can't take our time watching the show anymore. Gotta urge our Thunder God little brother to hurry up and finish dealing with his family's mess."
He pulled Wanda up: "Let's go home. This overtime work today is really enough. But wifey, that'stabilization' magicyou just did, was totally cool."
Wanda smiled and leaned on him: "You taught me well."
The two teleported away.
Leaving behind the calm night sky that had recovered in the streets of Queens.
But Arthur knew clearly in his heart that the real countdown had probably been silently sped up because of the node they blew up today.
On Dormammu's side, he must already know that there are "little bugs" not only blocking the way but also kicking his door.
What comes next probably won't be as simple as just "delivery men".