Bab 91: Sorcerer Supreme
"Ancient One?" Blake didn't need to see the whole figure to know who had arrived.
The Ancient One's slender form stepped out from the portal.
"Blake, is this 177A Bleecker Street?" Coulson suddenly appeared from somewhere and asked Blake.
"Yeah, that's right. The Ancient One, the Sorcerer Supreme. Compared to you guys, she's the real guardian of Earth," Blake introduced.
The Ancient One glanced at Coulson, nodded with a smile, and greeted him. Coulson swallowed hard, already thinking about how to build a relationship with the Sorcerer Supreme in the future.
After briefly acknowledging Coulson, the Ancient One gently patted Blake's shoulder. "You don't need to interfere. Let Asgard handle its own matters. Odin has already arranged everything."
Blake wasn't surprised that Odin had made arrangements, but given Thor's current progress, which was far better than in the original timeline, Blake thought Thor should have regained his powers by now. He subtly shared his thoughts with the Ancient One.
"If this is just about experience, Thor has improved a lot compared to before. Why hasn't he regained his powers yet? Based on what Odin said, Thor should already be qualified to reclaim the power of Thor, right?"
"Qualified? Nonsense!" The Ancient One laughed dismissively. "You actually believe Odin's story about 'qualifications'? Sure, Odin wanted to humble Thor, but the key to regaining Mjolnir and his powers isn't some change in character. It's whether or not Thor is in mortal danger."
"What?" Blake was caught off guard.
"What did you think? Even when Thor first fell to Earth, if you had gone and beaten him senseless, you'd have seen that hammer fly straight to him!"
"Damn, that old fox!" Blake muttered under his breath.
The Ancient One gave him a sidelong glance. "Did you think Odin conquered the universe purely by strength alone? You really think the ancient beings of the universe were as naive as the few small fries standing before you?"
"But since I'm here now, as an elder, I should at least put on a bit of a show. Follow me!"
The Ancient One motioned for Blake to follow, slicing the air to create a portal, stepping through, and appearing right in front of Thor and the others.
Just at that moment, the Destroyer arrived, its head igniting in flames, and it shot a fiery beam toward the group.
The Ancient One raised a hand, quickly drawing several circles in the air. Golden light flashed, forming a massive magical shield about two meters in diameter. She then gently pushed the shield forward.
The shield shot toward the Destroyer, meeting the fire beam head-on. The beam, powerful as it was, collided with the shield like a baby running into a speeding Hulk. The shield didn't slow down even for a moment.
Instead, it pressed forward against the fire, slamming into the Destroyer's huge body and sending it flying back several hundred meters before the shield finally dissipated into the air.
"Gasp!"
Everyone present, except Blake, took a sharp breath in shock.
Fandral, with a stunned expression, turned to Hogun, who was equally dumbfounded. "Who is that now? I'm starting to feel like we need Earth's protection!"
Blake muttered under his breath, "She's thousands of years old, but how does she keep her hands so well-maintained, like a young girl's?"
*Thud!*
The Ancient One lightly knocked Blake on the head, then walked up to Thor, hands behind her back.
"Odin and I have known each other for thousands of years. I'm aware of your exile to Earth. If you want to regain your powers as the God of Thunder, you must understand what you're fighting for."
"The people here today are the ones you need to protect. We won't help you against the Destroyer anymore. Think carefully about how to protect those around you."
After speaking, without waiting for their reactions, the Ancient One pulled Blake and returned to their previous spot.
But that wasn't all—she even opened another portal for the Destroyer, bringing it to within less than a hundred meters from Thor and the others.
"That's a bit mean, isn't it? Either watch the show or step in to help. But pulling the monster back here after giving a few cold remarks? That's just cruel!" Blake muttered.
The Ancient One's soft, pale hand appeared again, giving Blake's head another solid *thud*. Despite Blake's enhanced physical condition, the blow hurt enough to make him jump.
Rubbing his head, he grumbled, "Can't you just talk without hitting me?"
"You deserve it," the Ancient One said, fanning herself lazily with a courtly fan she had pulled out from nowhere.
"I stepped in so Odin would know I wasn't just leaving his son unprotected. After all, you've been playing nanny to his son long enough. If the future Sorcerer Supreme is babysitting his incompetent son, I'd need to get some extra compensation from Odin."
Blake, clutching his head, said with a face full of grievance, "I have no interest in becoming the Sorcerer Supreme! Stuck guarding the Sanctum, getting endlessly tormented by Dormammu, what kind of insanity would make me want that?"
This complaint came out without him even thinking. Blake had always been suspicious of the Ancient One's insistence on him inheriting the Time Stone, suspecting there was some hidden agenda.
Only after blurting it out did he realize something was off.
He looked over at the Ancient One, who was smiling at him with a knowing expression, as if to say, 'So, you've figured it out.'
*Cough cough!* "Look over there! Thor's getting hit again, quick, look!"
Blake awkwardly tried to change the subject.
The Ancient One didn't press him further and glanced over at Thor and the others.
Sure enough, after the Ancient One's speech, Thor, ignoring his companions' attempts to stop him, rushed up to the Destroyer. This time, he didn't waste any words. He simply spread his arms wide.
"Loki, if you have to kill me, then do it now and end this. Don't involve them!"
Loki, likely still shaken by the Ancient One's earlier display, hesitated and glanced over at her and Blake. Seeing that neither of them was about to interfere, he steeled himself and sent a massive blast of fire at Thor.
"No!"
"Thor!"
Cries of alarm rang out as the fire beam mercilessly hit Thor, pushing him back dozens of meters before dissipating.
When they looked at Thor again, his body was charred like coal, his clothes tattered. His face was so blackened it was almost unrecognizable, with wisps of white smoke rising from his body. In this state, even a god might be beyond saving.
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