Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 1320 The Warning from the Goddess of Wisdom (Second Update)

Information isolation in outer space is a long-term strategy. Stephanie Malik's so-called plan is merely to prioritize a portion of the targets and deploy a couple more missiles. However, Stephanie Malik does not have direct control over the cargo ship. Even if she uses administrative orders or other means that could lead to leaks, she cannot intervene in the military operation. Her claim that she can sink the ship is also impossible, because the decision rests with Victoria Hand.

However, the Emperor did not deny the possibility of sinking the ship, as mentioned by Stephanie Malik, given that a former S.H.I.E.L.D. executive had proposed the same plan. Simply clicking on the file icon on the data panel and using the genetic key to unlock it reveals the relevant documents and discussions. Even Victoria Hand, a staunchly loyal S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, after years of Hydra's influence and education, is no less talented or as principled in this regard as Hydra.

While slightly less adept at scheming, she was equally ruthless. Compared to Hydra agents, Victoria Hand's advantage lay in abandoning the self-interest inherent in Hydra and her willingness to make sacrifices. Like a spider crouching at the center of its web, Victoria Hand's plan consisted of hundreds of interwoven threads, gathering every possible development onto the Emperor's data panel. Therefore, the Emperor was not worried that Victoria Hand would fail to perfectly resolve the incident; he awaited the latter to bring him intelligence and clues he was unaware of.

Meanwhile, Victoria Hand also arranged Agent Maria Hill's "prison break" as ordered, releasing her to the place where Nick Fury last appeared. She painstakingly wove a long chain of conspiracies connecting General Hale, Nick Fury, Maria Hill, and Agent Coulson, with the final destination being the Kree space station and the Killing Cult lurking in the Corboy Belt.

After the meal, the Emperor lingered at the orphanage for fifteen minutes before getting into the same car to see his foster mother. He couldn't let the rest of the Malik family know the location of the Athena Hill Orphanage, so he instructed the driver who picked him up at Kennedy International Airport to take him and Stephanie to a garage in Manhattan, where all the Malik family's drivers and security personnel could leave early.

Before moving out of New York, he and the witch had stored most of their vehicles here, intending to transport them to Oxfordshire. However, a few cars still hadn't found a way to be moved because he didn't want to use the Immortal City's transportation resources for this purpose. Opening a portal for a few cars wasn't a good idea either. For now, he could only drive one of the cars to take himself and Stephanie to the Athena Mountain Orphanage.

The layout of Athena's apartment had remained unchanged for many years. White marble walls and alabaster sculptures, paired with extensive use of exquisite gold accents, and solemn classical paintings and reliefs throughout, created a space that was both elegant and orderly. When the Emperor met Athena, she was sitting alone at the head of the long dining table, a glass of wine and two empty bottles beside her. The cold anger on her face even silenced the somewhat resentful Stephanie Malick.

Although she had never met the emperor's foster mother, nor did she know who the woman in the pleated white dress was, the aura of the female warrior was something that a mortal like her could not withstand. Her intuition told her that this woman had an extraordinary relationship with the emperor.

The Emperor considerately asked Stephanie to wait in the car while he closed the apartment door, intending to negotiate with Athena. The latter had already anticipated the Emperor's intentions, hence her anger. The Emperor didn't intend to persuade her entirely through debate; appropriate and expressive words would suffice, without the need for convincing her otherwise.

When he first began learning ancient Greek rhetoric, he knew that although this art, named eloquence and a necessary course for politicians and thinkers, appeared dignified and sophisticated, exuding an air of elitism, it was actually a speaking technique centered on fallacies, sophistry, logical fallacies, and evasive arguments—similar in style to the tantrums and squabbling of street ruffians. The real difficulty lay in the fact that rhetoric required quick wit and a keen mind to seize upon the logical flaws or inaccurate wording in the opponent's speech, refuting them and using reverse reasoning. This demanded extremely high cultural literacy and intelligence; without these, one would truly be no different from a street ruffian.

Athena was the most accomplished debater among the Olympian gods. The two were evenly matched in their eloquence; he couldn't win against Athena in words alone. He would talk endlessly until everyone strayed from the topic and grew impatient, and might even push Athena to the point of physical violence. He knew his foster mother's temperament—to put it nicely, she was extremely farsighted; to put it bluntly, she was arrogant and stubborn. From the beginning, Athena expected the emperor to act according to her wishes, but the emperor's independent thinking was stronger than she had imagined, and the ideals fostered by Kamar-Taj's education were far grander than the petty ambitions of the Old Gods of Olympus. This conflict could be resolved when the emperor was still young, but as the end times became clearer on the timeline, Athena grew increasingly anxious, and the differences in their ideologies deepened.

This was a problem that urgently needed to be solved. She wanted the emperor to come to her, but she was too proud to ask directly. So she changed her attitude towards the witch abruptly, knowing that this would bring her adopted son to her door soon. The emperor knew this too, which was why he deliberately delayed his arrival in New York after Quetzalcoatl's awakening, only coming when he estimated Athena was getting impatient. Continuing to push his adoptive mother to her limits would only result in her launching a spear that would traverse the Earth, tear through the atmosphere, and embed itself in the castle of Latveria, with an accuracy and range comparable to the most advanced intercontinental ballistic missile in the world today.

"We must resolve this." The emperor pulled out a chair and sat down next to the main seat, stating his purpose immediately. Although the goddess of wisdom was tall and comparable to the witch, she appeared somewhat petite in comparison. He said little, for he knew Athena had foreseen certain things, and both were aware of it. "For all of us, this is the end of the world."

"I saw fragments of the future in the prophecy, and there is a place for you on the throne." Athena sniffed, neither stating the question directly nor intending to respond. "The death of the Sorcerer Supreme was shocking, but it means nothing. Humanity will not perish. The old era has passed; you are the new era. You must become the Human Emperor."

"I will do so, but this is due to the course of history, not my personal ambition," the Emperor said, frowning. He didn't mind letting Athena take the lead; he wanted to hear her thoughts. "I will influence the course of history, but I will not completely control it. I will not be bound by duty for my entire life. If the human race always needs me, then it proves that this race has no potential for development."

"I assure you, that would be a waste of your talent. No crime is more shameful than waste," the goddess of wisdom said, casting a stern glance. She picked up a knife and began cutting the biscuit, the silver blade poised to slit a throat at any moment. "Without you, the human race cannot survive the impending catastrophe. You must bridge the technological gap; you have the ability."

"Yes, but it won't always be like this."

"No king in this world will ever relinquish his power, and neither will you." Athena set down her wine cup, her gaze sharp enough to slicing a marble table into thin slices. "This statement can be seen as a curse, or as a warning. You cannot relinquish power, not because you crave pleasure, but because you cannot. Because of responsibility, because of ideals, because of betrayal, you will never be able to lay down your burdens. Unless you choose the path I have laid out for you, to become the being I want you to be, to become a true king. You know I am doing this for your own good, Salomon, I know my heart."

Please vote for me!

(End of this chapter)