"Luke, thank you!"
Howard's soul was stuffed into its body. When he opened his eyes, he immediately hugged Luke.
"Provoking Mephisto, the Lord of Hell is also a talent."
The latter was speechless. Every time he took Howard out, he would inevitably get some unexpected gains.
Last time in Paris, it was the Corvinus family and Selene.
When they arrived in Las Vegas, without fail, he met Mephisto.
"Since I met you, my luck has been really bad."
Howard threw back the blame.
He thought that if it weren't for Luke, he wouldn't be a trouble magnet.
"If you could restrain the impulse to have fun and control your lower body, there wouldn't have been so many accidents."
Luke cast a contemptuous look. He still remembered the bloody case in Paris caused by Howard's date.
Howard smiled shyly and promised, "I'm determined to devote my energy to science in the future, and at best, I'll occasionally indulge in ... sex."
After two lessons, it really left some kind of trauma in him.
"You'd better find a way to get married and shoulder that important responsibility."
Luke smiled. He wanted to see Tony Stark born.
Although he had seen him once in that other world, it was the middle-aged Iron Man.
"Marriage is the grave of love. If you walk in easily, you'll never get out."
Howard shook his head. According to the mainstream values of the Land of the Free, getting married late wasn't a big deal.
But after marriage, they had to maintain faithfulness in public at least and couldn't play outside arbitrarily.
"Marriage is the grave of love. So, if you don't get married, wouldn't you die without a burial? "
Luke mentioned an old saying and whispered, "I have a feeling that you will find your grave soon."
Howard didn't believe it. He was still a staunch bachelor.
"I've already told Mephisto. You can have fun in this hotel, and I'll take care of the bill."
Luke said a few words and opened a portal to Kamar Taj.
"Really? Then can I ... talk to those sexy dealers?"
Howard, who just said that he would focus all his energy on scientific research, was instantly excited.
"No."
Luke gave an answer and walked straight into the portal.
Sure enough, it was even more unreliable to expect a pervert to change its nature than talking to the devil about following the rules.
"Not afraid of being drained...."
Luke muttered.
He ignored Howard's question, mainly because of the other's body.
The succubi of Hell were recognized as 'juicers', which were much more terrible than a female vampire.
Not to mention Howard's small stature, even Captain America, a big strong man, would be squeezed dry by those legs, greatly injuring his vitality.
This wasn't nonsense. The second-generation Ghost Rider, Johnny Blaze, had fallen to hell once.
While he mowed down the devils, at the same time, he didn't forget to solve his physical needs.
As a result, he met an adult succubus, then -- Johnny was squeezed to the point that he couldn't even release Hellfire, almost ending up being eaten.
Therefore, Luke turned down Howard, but it was actually for his sake.
Looking around on Earth, the only one who could compete with a succubus was probably Superman.
"But I'm a decent person."
Luke stepped into Kamar Taj. 'And, how could a Sorcerer Supreme sleep with a succubus?'
'If words get out, I might be expelled from the sanctum by the Vishanti.'
He could imagine a small dramatic scene happening at that time --
'On the contrary, a young Sorcerer Supreme in cahoots with Hell would be banished from Kamar Taj!'
'Yes, leaving Kamar Taj, there would be no place for him in the magical world. Let's see how I will live from now on!'
Luke smiled crookedly and recited cliché lines --
'Kamar Taj is looking for death!'
Then, 'The four-dimensional demons are in control', 'this is a slap to the blind Vishanti'. Being the Superman of the Marvel Universe, he could simply say anything he wanted.
"What are you doing standing at the door, smirking?"
The Ancient One, who had returned from a business trip and was back on duty, asked curiously.
From her perspective, Luke seemed to be thinking of something delightful, and his mouth was smiling crookedly.
"It's nothing, it's nothing..."
Luke withdrew his distracting thoughts and waved his hand.
"Master Ancient One, you weren't in Kamar Taj before; where did you go?"
He and the Ancient One of this world were old friends.
Entering the room, he poured himself a cup of freshly brewed tea.
There was no constraint in his actions.
"You have become the Sorcerer Supreme. Don't you know what I was doing on a business trip a while ago?"
The Ancient One's gaze lingered on Luke for a moment, her eyes flickering slightly, seemingly a bit surprised.
She already had the idea of passing the position of Sorcerer Supreme to the other party.
Judging from the qualifications, potential, and work style, Superman was the right choice.
Just as the guardian of Earth and the leader of the Kamar Taj, becoming a Sorcerer Supreme still depended on their nature and heart.
Luke, a chaotic neutral, it was difficult for him to get the Vishanti's approval.
Then again, Stephen Strange, the son of destiny who wasn't born yet, was destined to take over the Sorcerer Supreme position.
She could only dream of early retirement.
"I'm just a temporary agent. This seat will be handed over to Strange sooner or later."
Luke was very compelling. The Vishanti most likely wanted something when choosing him.
"Ah, although I don't know what happened to the universe where you became the Sorcerer Supreme, your thinking should be correct."
The Ancient One said in a slow, gentle voice.
"Vishanti has ... requirements for one's character. A guy like you, who doesn't obey the rules and often does amazing things, will probably have a hard time getting past Agamotto, who's an old-fashioned guy. His nature would clash with yours."
As the Ancient One said so about her teacher, there were no inhibitions in her words.
"Indeed, he looked very reluctant."
Luke recalled Agamotto's tone and expression at that time, which vaguely revealed a sense of helplessness.
"Don't worry too much; just think of it as a deal. There are many advantages to being the Sorcerer Supreme. Besides the power given by Vishanti, you also have the right to command the Temple of the Three and access to the full power of Kamar Taj, including the magical weapons."
The Ancient One picked up the Eye of Agamotto hanging around her neck and said in a tempting tone, "Theoretically, this could also belong to you."
"I can't afford it. Master Ancient One, you'd better wear it yourself."
Luke didn't even think about it and simply refused.
The Ancient One made it clear. She saw that he had inherited the Sorcerer Supreme position from Earth-91, so she also wanted to take this opportunity to retire.
If he was greedy enough to take the Time Stone in the Eye of Agamotto, he would have to assume the responsibility of guarding the Earth.
'No, thank you!'
When the time came, he would have to act like a firefighter. Whenever the Avengers were in trouble, they would have to call him to solve it. If the Earth were on fire, they would have to call him for help.
Before crossing over to this world, he was already a 9 to 5 social slave. After crossing, he was expected to continue to work for the Vishanti?! No, Thank you!
"Anyway, when you're the Sorcerer Supreme of one universe, you are also the Sorcerer Supreme of other universes. It's the same thing. What's the difference?"
The Ancient One pursed her lips and seemed a little unhappy.
The Eye of Agamotto was the supreme artifact of Kamar Taj.
There was a true Infinity Stone inside, which could distort time and retrace everything.
All other masters would be ecstatic and readily agree.
When it was Luke's turn, he directly refused it.
Won't the Sorcerer Supreme lose dignity!?
"Thank you for the kindness Master Ancient One, but I just want to live a quiet life. "
Luke replied rather in a perfunctory manner.
The Ancient One obviously dug a hole and waited for him to jump in.
The Eye of Agamotto wasn't only the supreme artifact of Kamar Taj but also the inheritance token of the Sorcerer Supreme.
If he really wanted to take it, it meant taking the initiative to take on the Ancient One's job.
Although Luke had become a Sorcerer Supreme, how vast were the troubles of this universe? He hadn't figured it out yet.
The Vishanti forcibly appointed him, and for the quest reward, he just took the seat.
As far as the current situation was concerned, this universe was definitely more complicated than the movie universe.
What if he just took the seat, then the Celestials called, the Living Tribunal appeared, the five gods died, and the big event of restarting the multiverse began ... What should he do?
According to the norm, in the face of the great crisis sweeping the universe, they first needed to sacrifice a superhero.
Superman in the studio next door, and the Flash would take this job.
For decades, he just waited to be sacrificed.
But in the Marvel Universe, it's much more complicated.
Because there was no fixed candidate.
Iron Man, Captain America, Captain Marvel, and others have all been sacrificed once or even more.
Summing up the rules, Luke believed that the greater the reputation, the easier it was to get this 'precious opportunity'.
After all, no one cared about this shit.
To sum it up, being this universe's Sorcerer Supreme was a big enough headache.
If he became another universe's Sorcerer Supreme, Luke was worried that he wouldn't be far from being sacrificed.
"Look at the bigger picture, don't be so narrow-minded. The Sorcerer Supreme doesn't need to sacrifice anything. You just need to protect the Earth. "
The Ancient One seemed to have guessed part of Luke's thoughts. She shook her head and said:
"It's most unlikely to suffer from suspicion and malice from anyone."
Luke saw the Sorcerer Supreme put on an expression of 'I am a positive person, why would I lie to you?', and smiled.
She was also a beacon of justice on Earth, the light of the right path, so she occasionally did something ... that violated the rules.
Superheroes only had a higher moral bottom line, but with the 'right' purpose, they would make big mistakes and create disasters -- this had become the norm in the Marvel Universe.
For example, the Ultron crisis.
Whether in the movie universe or in comics.
At first, the purpose of manufacturing Ultron was a good cause.
However, the result was unsatisfactory.
The former led to the Sokovia incident and the Superhero Registration Act, which planted the seed of the Civil War incident.
The latter was even worse. Ultron had become the ultimate villain, dedicated to eliminating all life on earth, bringing endless death and destruction to the world, which could be called a lingering enemy of the Avengers.
In addition, the Illuminati would banish the Hulk, which would lead to the subsequent World War Hulk.
In order to prevent an invasion towards Earth, the Illuminati broke into the Skrulls' people's planet to show their strength. They were captured, escaped, and chopped their enemy's heads off one by one, leading to the Secret Invasion.
Doing bad things with good intentions made it impossible to end, and the innocent people paid for it. This was completely the traditional scene in the Marvel Universe.
Therefore, Luke's trust in superheroes had always been kept at a barely passing level.
Good people make mistakes, and unlike villains, they always get the punishment they deserve.
Good people would suffer from inner torment and fall into self-repentance.
But when they saved the world again, their previous mistakes would be forgotten, and they would still be sought after by the public.
Luke didn't think this was right.
"So Agamotto was right about you. You're unwilling to sacrifice for others and have a strong sense of self, which hardly fits Vishanti's requirements."
The Ancient One thoughtfully shook the wooden-handled fan in her hand.
She didn't have any prejudice against Luke. Demanding others to make sacrifices was no different from being a bandit.
The bald master just felt it was a pity. Superman's moral bottom line needed to improve to become the perfect Sorcerer Supreme successor.
"I was appointed. If the Vishanti thinks that letting me sit in this position could change my thinking, then it's inappropriate for me to be the Sorcerer Supreme."
Luke shrugged his shoulders and said so.
The hot tea in the cup had cooled down.
He took a sip and calmly looked at the Ancient One.
"Then, I'll take back my previous comment. "
The Ancient One put down the Eye of Agamotto after realizing Luke's resistance to words like responsibility, obligation, and sacrifice. She seemed to remember something, and the corners of her mouth curled up.
"You should know that sooner or later, you will face a choice. "
The Sorcerer Supreme spoke slowly and meaningfully, "There is a saying in the East, 'When the sky falls, a tall man will hold it up."
"As you gain more power and have more strength, sooner or later you will have to step up, in front of the whole world and the whole universe."
"What are you going to do then?"
The Ancient One raised the key question.
"We'll talk about it when we get to that point. "
Luke's answer seemed perfunctory and then digressed into an unpleasant and rather uninteresting topic.
He put down his teacup, put forward his purpose, and got down to business.
"Doing business with a devil, and it's Mephisto?"
After listening to the presentation, the Ancient One narrowed her eyes and showed her displeasure.
She wasn't like her own teacher, Agamotto, who was very determined to fight against Hell.
However, harvesting human souls in partnership with the devil sounded like something that evil villains would do!
"Kamar Taj won't allow it! If the creatures of Hell are allowed to enter this world, then the Temple of the Three would just be a decoration. There would be no value to its existence anymore."
The Ancient One shook her head and refused.
Luke had put forward many ideas.
Some, she would agree to.
For example, the establishment and preparation of the Magic Congress, deeply rooted in the secular world.
However, there are some issues involving the bottom line that cannot be agreed upon.
"Master Ancient One, you misunderstood what I meant. "
Luke also knew that trying to get Kamar Taj and Hell, Sorcerer Supreme and the big devil, to sit at the same table was just a fool's errand.
Even if the two sides weren't completely opposite camps, there was no room for cooperation between them.
"The ultimate destination of human souls is either Heaven or Hell. "
Luke held out his finger and outlined the Ten Realms.
He had read the relevant materials in Kamar Taj's library.
Only by doing his homework could he persuade the Ancient One with confidence.
"Different from religious books, where you can enjoy happiness in Heaven and suffer in Hell. In fact, Heaven and Hell are just two vast dimensional worlds."
The Ancient One closed the fan; her eyes were curious, and she seemed to want to know what the other party was going to say.
"The soul is the currency in circulation, and this sentence is valid in every dimension. "
Luke pointed to Hell on the map and lightly said, "Whether to Heaven, or Hell, the essence is the same. "
"The soul is considered consumable and cannot be recycled. In other words, once a human being dies, there is no possibility of rebirth or reincarnation. "
"In this case, what's the difference between Heaven harvesting souls and Hell harvesting souls?"
The Ancient One clapped her hands twice to express her appreciation for Luke's long-winded speech.
Her mouth turned up, and she softly laughed, "No wonder you and Mephisto could hit it off. Compared with human beings, you're more like a devil, good at compelling people. "
"Is that a compliment?"
Luke asked as the corners of his mouth twitched.
"An impartial assessment. "
The Ancient One said.
The two people in the room were silent for a moment.
The Sorcerer Supreme, sitting at the top, then gave an answer to Luke's previous question.
"Heaven or Hell, Kamar Taj is not on either side. "
"However, the forces represented by the two camps are both light and dark, and Kamar Taj favors the former."
"The flow of souls into Hell is indeed no different from ascending to Heaven, as both use them as consumables that support the existence of the dimensional worlds."
"But there is one difference. The devils and the demons of hell are born to spread the seeds of chaos and evil."
"Although heaven is ... disingenuous, angels still maintain the basic principles of justice and righteousness. "
The Ancient One denied Luke's idea of the Kamar Taj choosing a side.
Between the black and white of Heaven and Hell, the Sorcerer Supreme clearly leaned towards the former.
"Then the three sanctums too. "
Luke didn't stop there; he had guessed the Ancient One's answer.
Cooperation wasn't something easily achieved.
To put it bluntly, the image of Hell wasn't as bright as the surface of Heaven.
"Companies need to face regulators, and the three sanctums could take on this part of the responsibility, which could constrain Hell."
Luke, as if the business was a cake, took the initiative to cut a piece and serve it to the Sorcerer Supreme.
"The rules and regulations are determined by the Kamar Taj, while the Hell Group represented by Mephisto would need to play according to our rules so that most of the problems could be avoided. "
"As for the so-called 'harvesting of souls', it is only to give them a stamp in advance for their final destination."
"This doesn't constitute a crime or being evil. "
Luke, who had his head held high and was very dignified, paused and then said, "Even the Vishanti wouldn't turn down a soul that came on their own. "
"And Kamar Taj can also benefit from it."
"For example, use those reserved souls to repay the cost of casting spells. "
The Ancient One did not say anything.
She was thinking.
The interests of Kamar Taj shouldn't be based on the sufferings of innocent people.
This was the Sorcerer Supreme's bottom line.
Other than that, the Ancient One didn't have many commandments to follow.
About the Hell Group, about soul currency...
She could see that Luke was trying to build a strong and stable system through this.
The prospect was bright, but whether it could be achieved was still unknown.
"The next time you talk to someone, don't make your interests so obvious."
The Ancient One could turn a blind eye to some things.
"Kamar Taj won't cooperate with Hell, but whatever Mephisto does on Earth will be supervised by the three sanctums. "
"As for the consequences of the success or failure of your plan to form an alliance in Hell, and what kind of consequences it would lead to ..."
Seeing Sorcerer Supreme's expression and attitude, Luke understood it and naturally answered, "I'll take care of it myself. "