After this mission, Coulson felt he really ought to start reading some books about the occult.
His instincts told him that, in the future, he'd probably be dealing with people from the mystical world quite often.
Picking up a blueberry and popping it into his mouth, Harry noticed the change in Coulson's attitude. It seemed this kindly looking agent had been thoroughly spooked.
Harry's earlier irritation melted away, and he began to explain:
"Kamar-Taj is a sanctuary of mages—a holy ground on Earth where sorcerers study and practice the mystic arts. It's also the main residence of the Sorcerer Supreme and the central stronghold of her magical power.
"The Crossroads Dimension is a hub that links multiple universes together and serves as a major trading hub. I'm a member there—think of it like being a VIP at a particularly exclusive club.
"As for 'Master of Chaos,' that's just because I specialize in using chaos magic, so the other sorcerers started calling me that."
That wasn't the whole story. There had been that one time, with the Sorcerer Supreme accompanying him, when he'd deliberately let his chaos magic go out of control and almost shattered an entire hell dimension.
When word of that spread, sorcerers throughout the multiverse began referring to Harry as the Devourer of Chaos.
Harry hadn't liked the name at all. Later on he went to "visit"—and subtly threaten—the people who'd coined it, and successfully had "Devourer of Chaos" changed to "Master of Chaos."
After all, he was firmly on the side of order—a mage who regarded the protection of Earth as his duty. How could he go around with a nickname like "Devourer of Chaos," which sounded exactly like a final-boss villain?
Once Coulson had realized this conversation was anything but ordinary, he'd quietly opened a channel to Nick Fury.
Everything Harry had just said was being piped straight into Fury's ear.
Sitting in his office chair, Nick Fury wore a grim expression, his face dark as thunder.
Like Coulson, he had never imagined Harry's identity would be this extraordinary.
Harry wasn't a lone, uncontrolled powerhouse like the Hulk—he was a core member of a massive organization.
Which meant all of Fury's earlier plans would need to be revised.
Even whether to invite Harry into the Avengers Initiative would have to be renegotiated from scratch.
Nick Fury rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on.
What was going on with his intelligence division? After all this time, they still didn't have a single thread on Kamar-Taj?
Then again, these were sorcerers, and they had mystical concealment spells. It wasn't exactly surprising that the regular intel networks couldn't detect them.
What worried him most now was whether these sorcerers posed a threat.
Speaking into Coulson's earpiece, he gave his next order. "Coulson, do your best to build a friendly relationship with the target, and discreetly probe whether Kamar-Taj poses any threat to modern society."
"You don't need to worry. Kamar-Taj isn't an evil organization."
What stunned Fury and Coulson both was that, before Coulson could respond, Harry answered first.
In that instant, they understood what that meant: Harry had already noticed the earpiece hidden in Coulson's ear canal—and he could clearly hear what Fury was saying.
Their actions had been exposed from the start.
Since they were blown either way, Nick Fury saw no point in keeping up the pretense. Coulson took out his phone, set it on the table, and let Fury speak to Harry directly.
A low, hoarse voice came from the phone. "Hello, Mr Potter. I'm Nick Fury, Director of the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division."
"Hello, Director Fury."
"Mr Potter, there are some things I'd like to ask you.
"Our organization operates from the shadows. Our primary responsibility is to monitor and handle supernatural events and superhuman activity on Earth in order to maintain global peace.
"So I hope you'll forgive my bluntness—but I need to understand whether Kamar-Taj presents any danger to modern society."
Harry almost laughed at Fury's cautious tone.
"Director Fury, instead of asking whether Kamar-Taj—which has existed for several thousand years—might endanger modern society, maybe you should be asking whether you yourselves are a threat to it.
"Since ancient times, Kamar-Taj has been resisting dimensional demon gods and protecting Earth from the evil forces of other realms.
"On the non-magical side, Asgard has also been constantly fulfilling its duty—guarding Earth against alien invaders.
"Put simply, if Earth can still enjoy peace today, both Kamar-Taj and Asgard have played vital roles in that.
"And now you—an organization that's only been around for a few decades—turn around and question us. Don't you think that's a little funny?"
The line stayed open, but there was only silence.
After Harry's sharp rebuke, Fury fell quiet.
That didn't mean he was admitting fault, or that he'd suddenly placed blind trust in Kamar-Taj. As one of the world's top spymasters, there was no way he would believe someone completely on the strength of a single speech.
He was simply thinking—fast. Harry's words were packed with information.
Several seconds later, Nick Fury asked, "What is Asgard? Is it related to the Asgard from Norse mythology?"
"It's exactly what you're thinking," Harry said. "But unlike the myths, the Asgardians are less 'gods' and more… aliens.
"To humans who were still in the primitive age thousands of years ago, an advanced civilization with top-tier cosmic technology and magical mastery might as well have been divine.
"And Earth has always belonged to the Nine Realms ruled by Asgard—that's what your myths call Midgard."
Harry didn't hold anything back. In fact, he hoped S.H.I.E.L.D. would become stronger.
If S.H.I.E.L.D. could stand on the front lines against demons invading Earth, Kamar-Taj's workload would go down significantly.
Harry had no desire to be as exhausted as his teacher by the time he took on the mantle of Sorcerer Supreme—constantly running from one crisis to the next, patching every hole that appeared.
Just look at his poor teacher—so young, and already bald.
Maybe he should arrange a few borrowers inside S.H.I.E.L.D.?
His conversation with Nick Fury went fairly smoothly. Fury's attitude toward Kamar-Taj was courteous—but that was only natural. They couldn't beat Kamar-Taj in a straight fight.
In the Crossroads Dimension, even the evil sorcerers treated Harry with great respect.
When dimensions and civilizations collided, power was the only real truth.
Dealings between factions never changed that simple fact.
Two hours after Harry's talk with Fury, the party finally wound down.
When Harry went looking for Peter, he found him wrapped up in the arms of a hot girl, completely drunk.
Even half-conscious, Peter was still mumbling, "Winnie, I can keep going—come on, cheers!"
Harry could only stand there, speechless. Just seeing the scene once was enough to tell him exactly what had happened.
Poor Peter had already been hooked and reeled in by the girl named Winnie.
After saying goodbye to an equally drunk Tony, Harry hoisted Peter onto his back, opened a portal in a quiet corner, and stepped through to return home. Aunt May and Uncle Ben were already asleep.
Harry tossed Peter onto his bed, took a shower, changed his clothes, and went back to Kamar-Taj.
Because of the time difference, Kamar-Taj was already in the early morning. What delighted Harry most was that the Sorcerer Supreme, who had gone to repair a dimensional rift, had finally returned!
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