บท 612: Battle of the Sorcerer Supreme
"Did Squad 3 find anything?" Fury asked, looking at his best technical employers working to the fullest extent of their abilities.
"No, sir."
"Nothing at all? There must have been signs or traces left behind?" He could not accept such a sudden change without a hint or detection. The door suddenly opened, and a woman walked into the room.
"Hills, tell me you found something?"
"Sorry, sir, but all traces were wiped out," Maria Hill replied. "The process was so clean that it's uncanny."
"That seems like an excuse to me."
"I'm sorry. I'll try harder."
"People, keep moving," Fury yelled. "I need answers."
Peep!
He looked at his watch and frowned. Fury headed to his private quarters and activated the communication device.
"Secretary."
"Director, you need to calm down and stop sending agents everywhere. You're wasting resources."
"You already know?"
"Shouldn't I?"
Nick Fury frowned. "The situation is —"
"I know of the situation and why it's happening. That's why I'm telling you to stop wasting your time," Edward said before sending him many files. Fury quickly read them, and with each passing second, his complexion became more severe.
"You've always known this?"
"Yes."
"For how long?"
"Since I took over."
Fury clenched his fists. He just learned Hydra had infiltrated SHIELD at such a deep level, but that was not even the worst part.
"Why haven't I been told of this?"
"There was an operation to control Hydra and use it for our benefit. Once that operation ended, you would have been notified?"
"On then? What is the point of being the director if I cannot know such information?"
"There are greater forces at play, Director," Edward explained calmly. "And before the time is right, some information is above your paygrade."
Nick Fury took a deep breath to calm down. Ever since this new director replaced Alexander Pierce, he had a feeling he was not in control for a long time. But today, he finally had the confirmation.
"So, what happened to the operation?"
"It went haywire," Edward explained. "An unknown force intervened, and now Hydra is free from my control."
"What now?" Nick Fury. Although he wanted to make a snide comment, he knew this was not the time — especially since he could easily be blamed for allowing Hydra to infiltrate so deeply into SHIELD.
"Focus on finding Tony Stark."
"Him?"
"Yes. Once he returns, the world will enter a new era," Edward said with squinted eyes. "And SHIELD will also be busier." The clone ended the call, leaving Fury to his thoughts.
Earth-125:
With his knowledge from Kamar Taj, Edward entered Earth without any trouble. He floated above the sky while invisible. This place looked exactly like his Earth, which he named—Earth-003, after his codename in the Bones Council. However, he knew this place was different because Black Widow, Hawkeye, Tony, and Captain America died during Albion's invasion.
Edward slowly flew atop a building and said softly, "You have something that belongs to me." A space crack appeared next to him, and the Ancient One walked out.
"You're the dragon's owner?"
"That is correct."
"Your friend has caused a major disaster on this planet?"
"I'm aware, and I don't mind paying reparation for his actions."
The Ancient One was quiet for a few seconds, "How did you bypass Earth's defense?"
Edward glanced at her, "It seems a peaceful solution is impossible."
"You're a security risk."
"Alright, let's fight in the Mirror Dimension," Edward declared as he opened a space crack himself to his destination. The Ancient One did not waste time or mess around and immediately accessed the power from the Dark Dimension. Her senses told him this man was compared to a Demon God and not the low-level kind.
The Ancient One pointed her hands above the sky to open a dark portal, which then fired a terrifying dark beam capable of annihilating this entire mirror universe.
'It truly is weird,' Morgana said. 'Her body is as weak as Tier 3, which is still in the human category. Her soul is only Tier 6, but her attack is as high as Tier 10. I don't think I'll ever like these worlds with a non-linear power system.'
Edward calmly raised his hand to open a portal that teleported the beam behind the Ancient One. However, her body turned translucent, and the beam passed through her, heading toward Edward, who was standing in the front. So, he opened a portal to the dark dimension to send the attack to its source.
Meanwhile, the Ancient One continued her offense using the Time Stone attached to her neck. She was not a stubborn person. In such a situation, she and the entire Earth will be in serious trouble if she has to worry about breaking the rules of nature.
She summoned two mirror dimension shards and sent them toward Edward. However, they disappeared after a green light swallowed them before traveling less than two meters.
'Directly attacking my timeline? Sadly for you, I'm also a master of time,' Edward thought as he raised his hand to manifest a small magic circle above his palms. Then, the two-dimensional shards appeared on his palm.
Hundreds of thousands of black bands rushed from the sky to capture Edward. This spell looked like the [Crimson Bands of Cyttorak]; however, they were dark and contained the aura of the dark dimension. Edward generated a shield around it, but the bands were rapidly corroding.
The Ancient One was about to continue her offense when her face changed. Myriad magic circles appeared above her head and started firing these purple orbs. Her danger senses warned her, so she turned into a black mist to teleport. The building they were standing on instantly disappeared as soon as the first orb touched it. Then, the others followed the Ancient One, and with each passing second, their speed started to increase.
In the end, the Ancient One realized she could not evade and created countless black Mandalas as a shield around. This shield only lasted a few seconds, and once the attack ended, she was nowhere to be seen.
'Interesting. She jumped a few seconds into the future,' Edward thought. As expected, the Ancient One appeared.
[Dark Wind of Watoomb]
The Ancient One pushed her hand forward to create a truly terrifying tornado. In less than a second, the thing grew to the size of a galaxy cluster, and it continued growing and shredding everything in its path until there was nothing in the mirror universe — except for the two of them.
The Ancient One was not surprised the latter survived this attack. Her main objection was to buy time. She held a black orb between her palms as she floated in the void.
'She perfectly combined the darkness from the dark dimension and the energy from the time stone,' Edward commented.
'You need to hurry since you cannot block this attack,' Morgana said.
'How strong is it?'
'Upper Demon God level.'
'So powerful?'
'Yes, but her soul will probably collapse afterward,' she added.
'Do you think our Ancient One is this powerful?'
'Probably not. This one seems to have tapped deeper into the power of the dark dimension in order to deal with you,'
'So, she has the potential,' Edward remarked. 'Alright, let's end this fight.' He clapped his hands, and suddenly, the sphere in the Ancient One's hands disappeared, followed by the dark dimension mark on her forehead.
How could someone like him not plan how to deal with the Ancient One in case their relationship sour? And the answer to that question was easy — cut off her connection to the dark dimension to weaken her.
บท 613: Allegiance
"Hurry up. With the backlash, her soul flame will collapse soon," Morgana warned, and Edward swiftly acted. He activated his Domain to isolate her from the universe before quickly scanning her soul, body, memory, and Life Code. Once that was done, he took her Time Gem and calmly watched her soul dissipate before leaving.
He summoned his gem before casting a spell that manifested in the form of two magic circles: one above and one below. The two gems rotated around each other before fusing into one.
"It worked," Edward commented. "The time energy it can produce increases by at least three times."
"More importantly, its connection with the Time Laws of this world has drastically increased," Morgana added. "Should we add hunting the infinity stones to our to-do list?"
"Yes." These stones were currently the most powerful source of energy they had access to, so Edward planned to make good use of them. "Alright, let's save that stupid dragon." He knew where the Ancient One imprisoned Albion and directly teleported there, bypassing all the other security measures.
"How many times do I have to tell you," said the dragon in a weak voice, slowly opening his eyes. "You're wasting your time. Plus, it won't be long for my master to come to save me."
"So, you finally admit I'm your master?"
"Edward, is that you? Thank the Dragon Father. I've never been so happy to see you," proclaimed the proud dragon.
"Yes, you're not looking too good."
Albion sighed deeply, "Ever since the Great Dragon Civil War, my luck has been the worst."
Edward wanted to know more, but now was not the time for such conversation. "Let me free you first." He destroyed the chain binding the dragon before casting a Healing Spell on him, returning him to his peak state.
"Oh, freedom and — power," said the former Thunder Dragon King. As his strength returned, including his enhanced senses, he looked at Edward incredibly: "Your strength — you're already Tier 10?" This was the strength back in his prime, so he swiftly recognized Edward's power. "Moreover, your strength seemed to have surpassed 20 realms."
"Realms?"
"It's a way to distinguish how powerful a Tier 10 God is."
"So, based on the number of Tier 10 planes they've conquered or created?"
"Correct."
"Quite direct but also efficient," Edward nodded. "Alright, let's leave." He opened a portal outside."
"You haven't told me how you became so strong and so fast?"
"What do you think?"
"Yes. With access to other universes, it's indeed possible for your growth to be this exponential."
"I thought you would say I was tricking, and this place was just another plane in our universe."
"I am not that incapable," Albion explained. "I can sense my connection to the Bloodline Source completely severed. Furthermore, the Thunder Authorities of this world are completely different, and not the small difference in other planes. It's to the point I cannot use my Thunder Character at all. So, I know you were not lying.
Edward looked at him.
"What's with this expression?"
"I sometimes forget your race is known for their wisdom despite all their flaws."
"What a rude bastard."
"What now?" Edward asked.
"What do you mean?"
"You know what I'm asking."
"Oh, that. Of course, you're now my boss."
"That was easy."
Albion sighed. "Even at my peak, I was only in the middle level amongst the Dragon Kings. Now, I have an opportunity to be the most powerful. Better yet, I have a chance at achieving Tier 11 and beyond. I only ask you for two things."
"I'm listening."
"Firstly, free me from the control of the Bloodline Source."
"That's a given. I wouldn't want someone to have any influence over you besides me," Edward nodded.
"Secondly, whenever we meet one of my kind, give me the chance first to convince them to join our sides. And even if they refuse, if it's in your power, imprison them instead of killing them."
"That's fine and all, but you should understand that depending on the situation or how things evolve, killing them might be the only choice."
"I know. I just want you to do your best."
"I can do that," Edward nodded. "In the worst-case scenario, we will clone or transfer their bloodline." Albion's mouth twitched after hearing this. "And when we return to our timeline, I'll give you all the energy you need to return to your peak."
"Really?"
"The situation in this world is complicated, and I'll need all the help I can."
"The situation is that bad?" Albion had never seen this man so seriously. Although the latter rarely showed his emotions during their conversation, for him to take things so solemnly.
"We'll talk later."
While the two were having this conversation in the air, out in public, alerting the heroes of this earth. Rhodey/War Machine, Wanda, Vision, Hulk, Sam/New Captain America, Black Panther, and Thor arrived. They looked at Albion, the hatred palpable in their eyes.
"Damn dragon, you'll pay for what you did to my friend," Rodhey roared as countless new weapons appeared on his armor's shoulders and bodies. The other also took a fighting stance. Sadly, before they could act, Edward raised his hand to fire a light beam that incinerated everyone except Wanda, vision, black panther's armor, Thor's hammer, and the Captain America shield.
With a thought, he put the hammer, shield, and black panther's suit away. He would not waste any amount of vibranium, and he was also interested in the metal from Thor's hammer. He summoned chains that appeared out of nowhere and captured Vision, even sealing his Mind Stone.
"No," roared Wanda as she blasted red energy beams at Edward, but they were easily dealt with by a shield that appeared before him.
"Analysis completed," Morgana said in his mind. "I have found the Energy Source of Chaos Magic." Edward's senses immediately found a dimension with Chaos Energy.
"In that case, let's continue gathering data." The chains around Vision tighten, cracking his vibranium body.
"No, no," repeated Wanda as the intensity of her energy blasts increased.
"This is not enough," Edward stated as he slowly led Vision before him, and like Thanos, he ripped the stone from his forehead, killing him before her.
"No!" screamed Wanda, her voice full of anger and despair. She gathered an even more intense amount of red energy before firing like a beam. Edward calmly raised his hand to block it.
"Her anger allowed her to reach Tier 8 level of strength," he calmly commented. "On top of that, this attack resonated with the Destruction Authority — all because she wished to annihilate me."
Wanda looked at him in shock. She did not expect her attack, powered by all emotions, to be dealt with so easily.
"Got all the data?"
"Yes, but it could help to get more," replied the little elf.
"Fine," Edward nodded before waving his hands to stun and put her in his hyperspace as a test subject.
"What a weird world," Albion commented. He had noticed the non-linear power system of this world before, but it was still weird seeing how this tiny human that could probably be killed by a rock created such a powerful attack.
Edward ignored him before continuing his rampage. Now that he was here, the fact that this universe would eventually be his enemy removed all his moral restraint. So, he plundered Wakanda and Talokan's vibranium, Asgard's library, resources, and life code samples, this universe's infinity stones, the Lost Library of Cagliostro, and certain technology — including the ones from forces in the universe. The only thing of value he did not touch was the Darkhold, which he planned to deal with the one in his timeline once he was prepared. The thing was too dangerous for him to get in contact with without sufficient preparations.
Finally, Edward returned home.
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