Marvel: You Call This A Sorcerer?

Returning to the familiar Earth, one could see that Tony Stark first let out a breath of relief.

This was his first time leaving Earth in his entire life.

Oh no, that's not correct. It should be the second time.

The previous time was when he carried a nuclear missile out of Earth and blew up the Chitauri's mothership.

This should be the second time.

But this time he safely returned from an alien world, and he even took the time to collect some soil and stones for research.

As for Thor—

"I will first go meet up with Jane, then go find Erik and calculate the specific location."

"Will you two come with me, or…"

Thor looked at Tony Stark and Ronan.

The Erik he mentioned is actually Erik Selvig, the astronomy doctor he met when he first fell to Earth.

You could say he is one of Thor's few friends on Earth.

"I have to go back first; there are some matters at Kamar-Taj that need handling."

"When you have definite news, you can find Tony. He has ways to locate me."

Ronan took the lead in expressing that he had his own affairs.

Because indeed he had some matters that could not be revealed and needed to be dealt with.

"I also need to return for a bit, to let Pepper know I'm safe."

"But that Kamar-Taj you mentioned, where exactly is it, if I have the chance, could I—"

Yet before Tony Stark could finish speaking, Ronan rolled his eyes at him. A mystic portal appeared once more before him.

"That place—other than sorcerers, no one can find it."

"So you just stay put."

"I'll go back and ask about that dream of yours, and we'll talk when there's time."

After saying this, Ronan directly dove into the mystic portal, not giving Tony Stark a chance to speak further.

Tony Stark, on the other hand, looked shocked at the place Ronan had just disappeared, and then looked toward Thor.

Thor shrugged and said: "Don't look at me. I don't know where that place is either."

In fact, Thor was also extremely curious about Kamar-Taj.

Because under Heimdall's observation, he also could not find the exact location of Kamar-Taj.

To be more precise, he could only see the locations of the three Sanctums, but Kamar-Taj had always been a mystery.

"All right then, I'll get going too."

"You know how to contact me."

Tony Stark and Thor nodded to each other, muttering something like "Portals are really convenient" under their breath, and then once again soared into the sky.

Thor likewise spun his hammer and flew toward the place he agreed to meet Jane Foster.

Upon returning to Kamar-Taj, the very first thing Ronan did was to slip into a secret chamber and lock himself inside.

Then, Ronan set up several defensive mystic arrays.

As long as he knew them, and deemed them necessary, he used them all.

Only after doing all this did he carefully take out a small stone from his bosom.

This small stone was the one that, before leaving the Dark World, flew into his hand.

It was precisely because of this small stone that Ronan decided to return to Kamar-Taj to research it.

Because this thing turned out to be a part of the Aether!

That's right, back then Ronan had once used the "Trio Traverse" (Three-Person-Walk) move to attack Malekith, but it was blocked by the Aether.

Originally he thought that this attack had missed its mark.

But the result was not so.

The Trio Traverse indeed did not strike Malekith's body, but it hit the Aether.

The Aether, in its fluid form, was actually sliced off in part by spatial cutting, then locked in that pocket dimension.

That's right, just like pouring half a cup of water into another cup.

Then each side settled, as if nothing had happened.

Of course, the Aether could not be as calm as water. On the contrary, it was extremely restless.

The space that absorbed the Aether ultimately spat it out in disgust. This already explains everything.

This time, Ronan sensed the emotions of the Space Stone.

It had had enough of that little piece of the Aether.

At this moment, holding this small piece of stone that the Aether had turned into, Ronan's expression became even more peculiar.

Doesn't this mean that, to some extent, he has split the Reality Stone that Thanos has been longing for day and night into two parts?

By normal logic, the hardness of an Infinity Stone cannot be cut or destroyed.

Unless it's done like Thanos did: letting six Infinity Stones act on each other and then be destroyed simultaneously.

But the Aether is somewhat different from the other Stones, because its original form is not a solid Infinity Stone.

It's liquid!

By coincidence, it was also cut apart by the Space Stone, another Infinity Stone.

This created the current situation.

Of course, all this stems from Ronan's speculation. He is not sure if the Aether's true nature is really like this.

Because no one told him whether there was any precedent for such a thing.

Therefore, Ronan has only one method to verify this.

That is… the Infinity Gauntlet!

Ronan took out his Infinity Gauntlet. On it, only one Space Stone was faintly glowing.

He slowly brought this small piece of the Reality Stone—no, it should be called the Aether—closer to the Space Stone.

In an instant, the two sides seemed to echo each other and lit up simultaneously.

Although this Aether is indeed real, from the size perspective, it's at least half smaller than the Space Stone next to it.

About one-third of its size, perhaps.

Sensing the suction coming from the Gauntlet's groove, Ronan narrowed his eyes and gently released his thumb and forefinger.

Clink.

A crisp sound was heard.

That little piece of the Aether was successfully adsorbed into the groove of the Infinity Gauntlet!

In an instant, a familiar feeling arose spontaneously!

This feeling was somewhat like the first time he embedded the Space Stone, but also different.

When embedding the Space Stone, Ronan felt the spatial fluctuations around him, as well as the Mirror Dimension the Ancient One had used to protect him at that time.

But this time, Ronan seemed to see something entirely different.

It was like… the truth of the world?

Or perhaps the world's original appearance?

Of course, this feeling came and went quickly.

It lasted only a few seconds before Ronan immediately returned to normal.

And this time, the lightning-like pain from the Infinity Gauntlet was not as severe as the first time.

He doesn't know if it's because he has gotten used to the pain, so he no longer finds it so terrifying.

Or because this is only one-third of the Aether, so its intensity is not as great.

In any case, Ronan does not know.

He slowly raised his left hand and looked at the two glowing Infinity Stones. His expression was very odd.

Because from the surface, these two stones—one large, one small—look completely out of harmony.

Although Ronan does not have severe obsessive-compulsive disorder, even a normal person would feel an urge to fill in the missing portions when seeing this situation.

Ring ring ring.

Just when Ronan was feeling somewhat regretful, his phone rang again.

He took out his phone and found that the caller was actually Tony Stark.

"Hello, did Thor send word?"

Ronan answered the call.

"No, I wanted to tell you that S.H.I.E.L.D. seems to be up to some big move lately."

"I just got back, and I found that some of their internal signal exchanges have become extremely frequent."

"I don't know if some major event is about to happen."

Ever since Ronan told him that S.H.I.E.L.D. had problems, Tony Stark had been secretly monitoring them.

Usually, any minor disturbance, Tony Stark would more or less know.

But this time felt a bit different.

"You don't need to worry about them. Isn't Steve Rogers inside S.H.I.E.L.D.?"

"He can handle it."

Ronan held the phone in one hand, and with the other hand he lifted the defensive mystic arrays and walked out of the secret chamber.

"You have that much faith in him?"

"I still remember, when you went to S.H.I.E.L.D. last time, you—"

Tony Stark did not continue, because he suddenly remembered something.

That same night, he was also fooled by Ronan.

"It's that I'm too strong, not that he's too weak."

"How should I say… to defeat him, I might need ten rounds, but to deal with you, I only need three seconds."

"You know the difference now, right?"

Ronan curled his lip. If Tony Stark were not wearing Iron Man armor, Ronan wouldn't even need three seconds. Half a second would be enough.

Beep beep beep beep—

This time, Ronan did not hear Tony Stark's response, only the busy signal from the other end of the phone.

Obviously, he hung up.

Because Tony Stark really could not bear this blow.

Who asked his Iron Man suit to be so precisely restrained by Ronan's powers?

"Tch."

Ronan curled his lip and ridiculed the narrow-minded Tony Stark before hanging up the phone.

He turned and walked to the training ground, where the Ancient One was watching the apprentice sorcerers train.

"You're back?"

The Ancient One did not turn around.

"Just temporarily. The Aether is still taken by the Dark Elves."

"It won't be long before they reach Earth."

Ronan also sighed.

If he had known earlier that the Space Stone's cutting ability could slice the Aether, he would have done that long ago.

Directly sucking all the Aether into space, Malekith would not have a second chance.

"Before long, the time of the Convergence will arrive."

"At that time, it will be the moment of your final battle."

"Finish it quickly."

The Ancient One smiled. She seemed to have great confidence in Ronan.

Of course, Ronan also had great confidence in himself.

Mere Malekith is nothing. Not to brag, but if he didn't have the Aether, Malekith would be trash!

"By the way, Master, do you remember that Tony Stark?"

"After I went to see him last time, he encountered such a matter."

Ronan recounted in detail how Tony Stark kept dreaming of Dormammu, from beginning to end, including how Ronan gave him a "Name of Power" to summon him.

When Ronan mentioned that he casually made up a 'revered name,' telling Tony Stark to call on it, the Ancient One, who was still fanning herself, suddenly paused.

She turned around, somewhat surprised, looking at Ronan.

"You used a 'Name of Power'?"

The Ancient One emphasized these two words.

Seeing her reaction, Ronan sensed something was off.

"Actually, it wasn't really a Name of Power, just a small Kamar-Taj spell."

"I just changed the activation method a bit."

Ronan explained.

However, after hearing this, the Ancient One smiled again.

But this smile gave Ronan chills.

What does this mean?

Please don't just smile, Master.

Can you say something?

"It's all right. You don't have to worry too much. Things are not that complicated."

"That so-called dream of Dormammu is merely interference with those whose minds are not firm."

"The more anxious Dormammu is, the more it shows he has no way to deal with Tony Stark."

The Ancient One put away her fan and said only this one sentence.

But now, Ronan not only wants to know how to resolve this matter, he also wants to know how it started.

"Master, is this because I used that so-called 'Name of Power'?"

"That's only a small Kamar-Taj spell."

Ronan tugged at the corner of his mouth. He clearly saw the Ancient One's meaningful gaze just now.

Adding on the experiences he had when absorbing dark energy before, Ronan feels certain this matter is connected to him.

"It is indeed a small spell."

"But the thing about spells is, it depends on who uses them and how."

The Ancient One revealed her mysterious smile once more.

"Master, please stop smiling. Your smile is making my hair stand on end."

"Can we talk about something useful?"

Ronan sighed, his face full of helplessness.

Riddlers are indeed the most annoying.

Even though he also likes to be a riddler, he does not like others doing it to him.

"Don't worry, it's not that serious."

"You only need to retrieve that mark on his hand, and from then on, his connection to Dormammu will be severed."

The Ancient One patted Ronan's shoulder.

"As for why this happened…"

"To be honest, I only have a half-baked guess, not even half-baked."

"But I can tell you this: there is no harm to you from this matter. Rest assured."

In the end, the Ancient One did not give him a direct answer.

However, she did give Ronan a peace of mind.

But this reassurance made Ronan even more suspicious.

Could it be that the revered name he casually made up to show off will really come true?

Or is there something else that Ronan doesn't know?

Thinking of this, Ronan couldn't help sighing.

Why is it that one thing is nested inside another, and there's never an end?

Just as Ronan wanted to ask more, the Ancient One suddenly raised her head and looked westward.

Ronan also sensed something in that moment.

"You should go now. The time for the Convergence has come."

"The Dark Elves have arrived."

"Go and fulfill your mission."

After speaking, the Ancient One did not wait for Ronan to respond, and continued heading toward the Sanctum Sanctorum, fanning herself.

Ronan nodded. The mystic portal opened again.

On the other side, Greenwich.

As the site of the Convergence, thousands of years ago it experienced something similar once before.

But thousands of years ago, human technology was not as advanced as it is now.

This time, the people living here experienced alien technology for the first time.

A Y-shaped spaceship appeared, from invisible to visible, suddenly landing from the coastline.

It directly overturned a not-too-large square.

The people living here, for the first time, truly empathized with the residents of New York.

Of course, the spaceship did not land very quickly, so most people had a chance to flee this extremely dangerous scene.

Only the few unlucky ones by the seaside at the beginning were swept into the water by the waves stirred up.

From the top of the spaceship, a box-shaped structure resembling an elevator began descending. Its lowest-level protective devices were opening layer by layer.

Malekith walked down slowly from the spaceship with his Kursed warrior.

Steady footsteps, determined gaze—if they had a BGM, it would be quite like a final boss scene.

Unfortunately, he's far behind Thanos.

In the sky above, a circle penetrated the dark clouds, allowing the light from another world to shine onto Earth.

Malekith looked at the sky. Just as he was about to issue orders to the Kursed warrior beside him, he heard a familiar voice.

Thor leapt down from the sky.

In an instant, he shattered several pieces of the ground.

Immediately after, the two did not engage in banter. Thor was beaten back repeatedly.

He rolled on the ground and was forced into retreat. Overall, he looked very battered and disheveled.

At this moment, a golden glow appeared beside him.

"Thor, we haven't seen each other for a few hours and you're already this bedraggled?"

Tony Stark stepped out of the mystic portal, somewhat surprised to see Thor covered in dirt.

Behind him stood Ronan.

Yes, still wearing that familiar Iron Man-style helmet.

Thor did not say a word. While Malekith was still "charging his skill," Thor threw Mjolnir out of his hand.

Boom!

Malekith was instantly knocked flying by Mjolnir.

Only then did Thor glance at Tony Stark and raise his eyebrows at him.

"All right, I admit I spoke too soon just now."

"So what's our mission now?"

Tony Stark conceded his mistake, because he, too, had been smashed by that hammer before.

He knew exactly how that felt.

"Leave Malekith to me. You two handle those Kursed warriors."

After saying this, Thor did not wait for the two of them to respond and picked up his hammer to charge at Malekith once again.

Tony Stark tilted his head and looked at Ronan, his eyes full of surprise.

"What's this? Now we've been reduced to cleaning up the small fry?"

Evidently, he had some objections to this arrangement.

"Just go ahead. Those small fries are all yours."

"I will guard you here."

Ronan stood with arms crossed and did not intend to move at all.

He completely did not take these small fries seriously, because he had to keep an eye on Malekith—the biggest "experience package."

This time he absolutely could not let him escape again!

Tony Stark curled his lip, closed his faceplate, and charged toward those Kursed warriors.

In an instant, various explosions echoed through the sky.

On the battlefield, Thor made a sliding tackle to get in front of Malekith, and hammered him directly with Mjolnir.

Who would have thought Malekith would instantly vanish.

In the next second, he appeared again in front of Thor and sent him flying.

Ronan stood not far away, twitching the corner of his mouth.

This is the Aether's ability to alter reality?

Why does this move look so similar to the Space Stone's spatial teleportation?

On the battlefield, Thor and Malekith's fight was dizzying.

It's not that their moves were flashy—one just swung a hammer, the other just used the Aether to attack.

The reason it was dizzying was because the Convergence caused gravitational fields and spaces to overlap.

They might be fighting on a street one second, and on another planet the next.

Ronan even saw Thor falling from the sky at one point.

Of course…

He also saw Mjolnir continuously searching for Thor, yet failing to reach him because of the overlapping spaces.

As soon as it sensed Thor's summons, it tirelessly rushed toward him.

It's just like a lovesick puppy chasing its goddess.

Eventually, the goddess found her other half, and the lovesick puppy, heartbroken, decided to turn away and return to his ex.

Wow, thinking like this, the plot of "Thor: Love and Thunder" is not entirely nonsensical.

Jane Foster becoming the female Thor can be seen as the revenge of the lovesick puppy!

Of course, this kind of "couple" problem does not trouble Ronan.

Because with the Space Stone, he can clearly feel where the overlapping spaces are, and if he wishes, he would never end up in Thor's predicament.

At this moment, Tony Stark returned to Ronan's side.

"What's going on with the energy field here? Why does JARVIS keep warning me there's something wrong with it?"

"This is the Convergence you mentioned?"

Tony Stark opened his faceplate. He had given up on clearing out the small fry.

Because many of his attacks mysteriously vanished, and he himself had been teleported a few times.

Luckily, he didn't end up on another planet.

"Yes, when the Nine Realms align, the boundaries between worlds become blurred."

"So be careful. Don't drop onto some alien world, or you won't be able to come back."

Ronan's extremely serious expression startled Tony Stark.

Because if he really fell onto an alien planet, JARVIS would likely lose connection, and his chances of returning would be almost zero.

That would be the worst outcome.

Of course, it might not be so terrifying.

If Tony Stark really fell onto another planet, after ending the battle, Thor would surely use the Bifrost to look for him.

Also, Heimdall could see his location with his eyes.

Unless he got killed by some monster on that planet.

Or landed where there's no oxygen.

Otherwise, it generally wouldn't be that tragic.

At this time, the nine circles appearing in the sky had begun to slowly converge toward the center.

Malekith stood in the center of these circles, extending both hands.

The Aether poured forth.

As soon as these nine circles fully overlap, he will detonate the Aether.

Then the Nine Realms will be plunged into darkness!

At this time, Thor just emerged from a subway station.

He happened to meet Jane Foster rushing over with Erik Selvig.

"Thor, we're too late."

Jane Foster ran to Thor's side.

Erik Selvig was with her.

"Can this thing stop him?"

Thor looked at the instruments in Erik Selvig's hands and asked.

"Not here."

"We have to find a way to get close to him."

Erik Selvig shook his head.

Hearing this, Thor grabbed the two devices, intending to rush into the eye of the storm.

However, a golden portal blocked his path.

"No need to bother, Thor. Come with me."

Ronan, still wearing the mask, tilted his head at Thor, indicating him to hurry over.

Thor did not hesitate, directly leaping into the portal.

When he emerged again, they had arrived inside the storm's center.

Inside the storm, sand and gravel were whirling. The giant tempest made it hard to open one's eyes.

Malekith had already opened his arms, releasing all of the Aether.

As long as he doesn't talk to Thor…

"Darkness has returned, Son of Odin!"

"Have you come to attend the funeral of your universe?"

Malekith mocked.

Ronan curled his lip.

Villains die from talking too much!

He had been waiting for this moment, waiting for Malekith to fully release the Aether.

If Malekith did not release the Aether, Ronan truly had no way to suck it all away.

Now, the time has come!

"I have come to accept your surrender!"

Thor also spoke tough words.

After finishing this sentence, he lowered his head slightly and quietly asked Ronan in a small voice: "What's that method you talked about?"

"It's time!"

Hearing this, Ronan could not help rolling his eyes.

You make grand heroic statements, and I have to do the dirty work!

Fine, who let me have a heart of dedication!

"You go stall him. Leave the rest to me!"

After saying this, Ronan quietly retreated a step, and with his hidden left hand, he silently donned the Infinity Gauntlet.

Hearing Ronan's words, Thor immediately charged forward, appearing extremely confident in Ronan.

Ronan did not hesitate either. The moment Thor rushed forth, Ronan disappeared on the spot.

When he reappeared, he was in mid-air.

At this moment, not far in front of him, he could clearly see the flowing Aether.

"Trio Traverse!"

Ronan's pupils contracted slightly. At this moment, three spatial vortices appeared simultaneously on the Aether.

A powerful suction force immediately spread over.

Suck it all dry for me!

As the Space Stone on the Infinity Gauntlet lit up, the three spatial vortices spun rapidly.

The Aether floating in mid-air was being absorbed at extreme speed!

"No!!!"

Maybe sensing the abnormality of the Aether, Malekith knocked Thor back at the first opportunity and lunged toward Ronan in mid-air.

But Ronan focused intently on the Aether.

It's not that he didn't want to move—he couldn't move.

The Aether, unlike other things, had a faint consciousness. Ronan could distinctly feel it resisting the pull of the Space Stone.

Perhaps because it was sliced once before, it now had a psychological defense against this method.

So this time, Ronan had to concentrate fully to contend with the Aether.

Bang!

Just as Malekith was about to reach Ronan, Mjolnir struck him once more, knocking him flying.

Thor glanced at the hovering Ronan and also saw the Infinity Gauntlet on his left hand.

He recognized this item.

Back then, Ronan took it from the Asgardian Vault.

"You continue; I'll take care of him!"

Thor shouted to Ronan, then flew up again to send Malekith sprawling.

At this moment, Ronan had fully released his mental strength.

This was a tug-of-war contest.

It depended on who was stronger!

Now was the critical moment. Both sides were making their final stand.

If one side couldn't hold on, the balance of victory would tilt.

Very soon…

When Ronan released the majority of his mental power without hesitation, the previously stalemated situation instantly turned one-sided.

The Aether, as if losing all strength, was instantly sucked into those three spatial vortices.

Buzz!

With the Aether gone, the storm's swirling sands began to fall.

"No!!!"

Malekith's voice rang out once more.

Unfortunately, this would be his final cry!

"Thor, move aside!"

Ronan shouted loudly, and three life-like clones split from him.

Each clone's hand gathered a breathtaking power.

In that instant, the Bolts of Balthakk appeared in their hands.

Thor immediately retreated, and then he saw a shocking scene.

Massive lightning strikes inundated Malekith's body, instantly severing his limbs.

The final bolt struck Malekith's chest, blasting him onto another planet.

A series of four-digit experience points floated by.

Then the familiar system prompt sounded again.

[Experience full…]

[You have leveled up…]

[Detected that the host has reached Level 10, issuing brand-new abilities…]

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