At that moment, Ethan Blake felt a trace of concern creeping into his mind. He had just tricked Thor rather thoroughly, and a troubling thought surfaced as a result. Would Odin end up writing his name down somewhere in a mental ledger for this little incident?
Originally, Ethan had considered following Thor to Asgard for a visit. The opportunity had seemed tempting at first. Now, however, he had already dismissed that idea completely.
Odin did not think highly of humans from Earth. In fact, if Ethan remembered correctly from Thor's story, even Jane Foster had once been compared to "goat meat that couldn't be served at a banquet table." That was the level of disdain Odin held for ordinary humans.
Because of that, Ethan had no intention of setting foot in Asgard until he possessed the strength to stand against Odin himself. Walking into the realm of the gods without the power to defend himself would be foolish.
Even if he did go, there was an eighty percent chance he would gain nothing from the trip. Odin was not a simple-minded warrior like Thor.
The old king was far more calculating.
Helping Thor this time had likely already been something Odin anticipated. The All-Father probably settled the cost of the favor long before Ethan even realized it.
After a brief pause, Thor spoke again, his tone earnest.
"Prophet, although I truly wish to share a drink with you right now to express my gratitude and apology, I must return to Asgard immediately. I need to ask Loki why he has done this. Please forgive me. I can only offer my thanks the next time I return to Midgard."
"It's fine," Ethan replied calmly. "You should hurry back to Asgard anyway. Just now I saw Loki preparing to use the Bifrost to completely destroy Jotunheim."
"Is that so?"
Thor frowned deeply. At this point, he had absolutely no doubt about Ethan's words.
Still, there was a hint of reluctance in his expression. He had wanted to spend a little more time with Jane before leaving, but the situation clearly didn't allow it.
After thinking for a moment, Thor turned toward Phil Coulson.
"I hope you can return what you took from Jane."
"No problem."
Coulson answered without hesitation. He had no intention of damaging his relationship with Thor over something so trivial.
Thor nodded in satisfaction before walking over to Jane.
With a bright smile, he asked, "Jane, would you like to see the Bifrost I told you about earlier?"
"Definitely," Jane replied, her face lighting up with excitement.
As soon as she answered, Thor wrapped an arm around her and soared into the sky.
Watching them leave, Ethan could only stare speechlessly.
Jotunheim was about to be destroyed, and Thor still had the mood to flirt.
Once Thor had flown away, Ethan instantly teleported to the fallen Destroyer.
The massive construct lay motionless on the ground. Its entire head had been smashed apart by Mjolnir, leaving a jagged crater where its face once stood.
Ethan pursed his lips slightly.
In order to teach Thor a lesson, Odin had really gone all out.
Although the Destroyer's head was completely destroyed, the rest of its body was still mostly intact. The armor remained solid, the mysterious enchanted metal showing barely any damage despite the brutal battle.
Ethan studied it thoughtfully.
I wonder if the "Fix the New" spell could repair something like this.
The thought crossed his mind, but he quickly dismissed the idea.
There was no reason to repair it now. If Odin simply reclaimed the Destroyer afterward, Ethan would essentially be doing free work for the All-Father.
That would be a terrible deal.
With a single thought, Ethan opened his golden storage space and stored the Destroyer's wreckage inside.
"Hey, Chu! If you're taking a share, give me half!"
Tony Stark suddenly shouted after finally realizing what Ethan had done.
Tony had personally blasted the Destroyer with missiles and lasers earlier, yet the metal hadn't even been scratched. Naturally, he was extremely interested in that kind of material.
Ethan snorted.
"It's magic metal. What are you going to do with it?"
He tilted his chin toward Coulson and continued.
"Vibranium would be far more useful to you. S.H.I.E.L.D. gave me thirty kilograms of it, and they probably have plenty more. Why don't you think of a way to get some?"
Ethan deliberately redirected Tony's attention. If Tony became interested in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Vibranium reserves, he would stop thinking about the Destroyer.
Sometimes the best strategy was simply redirecting trouble somewhere else.
Tony's eyes immediately lit up.
Compared to mysterious magical metal, Vibranium was clearly more valuable to his work.
Phil Coulson listened to the conversation with a helpless smile.
Originally, he had been considering whether S.H.I.E.L.D. might recover the Destroyer's wreckage for research. Seeing that Ethan had already taken it, however, he immediately abandoned the idea.
There was simply no way he could ask for it back.
Not only had Ethan secured the Destroyer's remains, he had also casually redirected Tony Stark's attention toward S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Vibranium stockpile.
Coulson knew very well that Director Nick Fury wanted to recruit Tony Stark as a technical consultant. If Tony started demanding Vibranium resources, that plan might require paying a very heavy price.
Still, that was the director's headache, not his.
With that thought, Coulson silently comforted himself.
Tony soon mentioned that he had a date with Pepper later and quickly left the scene. Captain America, Natasha Romanoff, Coulson, and several others remained behind to help victims trapped within the rubble.
S.H.I.E.L.D. soon sealed off the surrounding area.
Even though Ethan had taken the Destroyer's remains, the battlefield itself still held plenty of valuable information worth studying.
Just as Ethan was about to leave, something suddenly caught his attention.
Not far away stood a bald woman wearing a chrome-yellow monk's robe. She was looking directly at him with a gentle smile.
The Ancient One.
Ethan recognized her instantly.
Why would the Ancient One appear here?
After thinking about it for a moment, the answer became obvious. A weapon like the Destroyer appearing on Earth was far too significant for the Sorcerer Supreme to ignore.
Ethan glanced around.
Strangely, no one else seemed to notice her.
It appeared that he was the only one who could see her.
Did she deliberately allow only him to notice her presence?
Without hesitation, Ethan walked toward her.
If the Ancient One truly meant him harm, he would never have lived peacefully for more than twenty years.
When he came within a few meters of her, Ethan immediately sensed the surrounding environment shift.
The world twisted slightly.
Mirror Dimension.
Ethan recognized it instantly.
The Mirror Dimension was one of Kamar-Taj's signature spells. The other was the portal technique used to open gateways across space.
"Hello, Venerable Ancient One."
Ethan bowed respectfully as he greeted her.
"You certainly know me."
Despite saying that, the Ancient One's expression showed no sign of surprise.
Ethan simply smiled and remained silent.
He had no idea how much she already knew about him. Speaking too little might raise suspicion, but speaking too much would be even worse.
Instead of pressing further, the Ancient One spoke again.
"I'm curious about your spells. When you cast them, I cannot detect any connection to external dimensions. The power seems to originate entirely from within you. Can you explain how that works?"
Ethan immediately understood what she meant.
In the Marvel universe, most sorcerers did not generate magical power themselves. Instead, they borrowed energy from various dimensions and then used that energy to form spells.
The sorcerers of Kamar-Taj typically drew their power from the Vishanti, the Trinity of benevolent dimensional entities.
If someone wanted to become stronger, they needed to access additional dimensions. Even the Ancient One herself drew power from the Dark Dimension.
That was also why Stephen Strange would eventually be called the most talented among them. His body could perceive and connect to more dimensions than ordinary sorcerers.
Of course, borrowing power from dimensions always came with a price.
Energy from benevolent entities like the Vishanti required responsibility and balance. However, power borrowed from darker entities like Dormammu demanded far greater payment.
Sometimes the cost included the soul itself.
Naturally, the Ancient One would be curious about Ethan's magic.
"Of course. It would be my honor to answer the Sorcerer Supreme's question."
Ethan spoke politely.
However, after saying that, he fell silent and simply looked at the Ancient One with a faint smile.
He offered no further explanation.
If she expected him to reveal such an important secret without offering anything in return, that was impossible.
Unless she planned to threaten him.
But as the Sorcerer Supreme of Earth, would she really stoop to threatening someone as insignificant as him?
....
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