Those time travelers that year

228. Stepping into the World of Evil Gods (Part 1)

Humans cannot look directly at those indescribable things, nor can they understand those unimaginable realities. If one tries to understand them, it means that the poor creature is doomed.

However, after completing the third method using the infinite energy of the Cosmic Cube, Xia Er had achieved immortality and eternal life. In a fantasy world, this would mean attaining the body of an Earth Immortal, needing only a blessed land to embark on the path to becoming a Celestial Immortal. In a Western fantasy world, it would mean igniting the divine fire, and the next step would be choosing a divine position to condense a divine spark, while also preparing for a holy war.

To put it another way, this person can now be said to transcend being defined as human. Whether this is a good thing or a bad thing, Xia Er wasn't sure, though he desperately wanted to know. But the fact that he hadn't immediately collapsed or gone mad after directly confronting a certain super bubble and a certain silver-haired, blood-soaked girl who specialized in causing massive injuries on a soul level was practically a miracle. You see, although he had completed a soul transformation, in terms of status, he wasn't yet a true god, not even a planetary god.

That's right. Although Ciel is strong enough to easily defeat Thor and Loki together, he is not as high-ranking as those two. Moreover, Super Bubble and the silver-haired ahoge are not people that a planetary god like Ciel can even approach. In other words, even a planetary god would only be able to look at Super Bubble and the silver-haired ahoge if they were exceptionally determined, or were a seasoned Buddhist thief (shameless and without limits), or a highly skilled Taoist Qi cultivator (a super otaku).

If you really want to ensure that these two won't be affected immediately, then you'd need to be at the level of a Celestial Father, that is, the level of Odin, the Asgardian god-king. And if you want to be completely unaffected, then in this Marvel movie universe, only a cosmic god with GM authority would be able to do so.

So, considering all this, it's a miracle that Ciel, this genuine transmigrator, has only experienced dizziness and partial memory loss after watching more than once, instead of actually entering Arkham. Even the Lord Commander of Gotham would probably be amazed that someone with the potential to become a psychopath has managed to hold on and not actually go insane. And it seems he can continue his suicidal antics.

Of course, having glimpsed the two powerful evil gods on a soul level twice, and this time being showered with a wealth of knowledge—both useful and useless—by the kind-hearted Bubble, had begun to subtly influence the essence of Xia Er's soul. Although he hadn't yet embarked on the path of the indescribable, he was inevitably starting to be affected.

But it's not a big deal, is it?

Those shameless guys reading this book, forget about reading tentacle doujinshi...

In short, after a brief period of unconsciousness, and with some of his memories lost due to confusion and the influx of most of his knowledge, Ciel was now perfectly fine. He couldn't recall what he had seen or what had happened during his unconsciousness.

……

“He’s been sitting like this for two days now!” Tony said, staring at Captain America with dark circles under his eyes. “Are we just going to watch?” As he spoke, Tony squatted down and ate a Mexican kebab while pointing at the Shire who was still sitting cross-legged.

"I don't know, but I think we should be cautious." Two days of surveillance couldn't break Captain America, who had undergone the Super Soldier Serum. This soldier, who had lived for decades, remained resolute.

"Hey! No way!" Tony said painfully, "Why do I have to stay here, guarding a potential danger while keeping company with a bunch of big men, while my secretary is far away in the villa?"

“I’m sorry, Mr. Stark!” Black Widow said with an unfriendly expression. “I should be the one complaining. Why should I, as the only lady, be left here to do my job?”

“The guy with the hammer went to see his brother,” Tony said. “Banner went to catch up on sleep to prevent Hulk from having to do demolition work due to lack of sleep. We’re short-handed… Okay, I admit I forgot my former secretary is here.”

"Hmph!" Natasha snorted at Tony's perfunctory attitude and then ignored the playboy.

Of course, just as Tony was complaining for the nth time, Ciel finally opened his eyes again and removed his hand from the Tesseract. This startled the few people who were still monitoring him, and they quickly came over.

"So, what have you figured out?" Tony casually tossed his half-eaten hamburger behind him and curiously leaned over to ask.

"..." Ciel glanced at Tony sideways but didn't speak. Although he didn't know why some minor problems had occurred, at least after waking up and realizing that two days had passed, Ciel felt that something was amiss. However, since nothing unexpected had happened, it was just like taking a nap, a side effect of completing the Third Law.

He stood up from the ground, manipulated his magic to cast a healing spell on himself, and the resulting light and shadow effects were so amazing that Captain America, Hawkeye, and Black Widow were dumbfounded. Tony wasn't dumbfounded because he had already seen it before.

After stretching his body and confirming that he was alright, Charles casually tossed the Tesseract aside and said to Tony, "Our expertise is not relevant, so don't bother asking. You wouldn't understand anyway... Alright, I'll keep the Tesseract. You guys figure it out!" With that, he vanished in a flash, turning into black smoke.

"Is he looking down on me?" Tony complained indignantly at Ciel's words. "I'm a genius!"

“Let’s talk about it when you’re able to learn magic!” Natasha rolled her eyes at Tony.

——————————Divider Line——————————

In some unknown place, a bubble, as if illuminated by a super-powered light and shadow effect, continued to shine as always. Beneath this bubble, a silver-haired figure with a cowlick glared resentfully at a certain spot. Just now, an attempt to lure an unfortunate soul onto a path of no return—no, a path of no return—had failed. This was the second time an attempt to pull someone away had failed.

This gave her, the evil god who had always aimed to destroy people, a sudden sense of failure. Of course, it wasn't a complete failure; her original plan was to plant a seed and wait for a towering tree to grow.

"I think we need to revise our recruitment ads!" she said seriously to the cluster of glowing bubbles. "We can't let the boss's erratic behavior cause business to stop. We need to expand our sales channels and attract more talent. We can't keep acting like that green jellyfish, slacking off and sleeping all day, or getting addicted to VR. Is it there to be cute or to work...?"

The glowing bubble didn't speak. It served as a backdrop. It didn't say, do, or think anything, because it was meaningless. It knew what it wanted to think even without thinking.

229. Entering the World of Evil Gods (Part 2)

The glowing bubble didn't answer, because it felt there was no point in doing so. For a moment, only the silver-haired girl's voice echoed in this chaotic, writhing, twisted place. But after a short while, seemingly realizing she had nothing to say to someone who was usually reserved but became a chatterbox when someone approached, the 'girl' evil god, with an appearance that would make any otaku automatically fawn over her, clicked her tongue and ended the conversation after a few complaints.

If she could, she'd like to go directly to the target's original world and orchestrate a carefully crafted story, forcing that unfortunate soul to obediently embark on the path of no return—no, the correct path—of the indescribable evil god. As for the price, it would be nothing more than a world crippled… a low-to-mid-level world reduced to a failure, and all life within that world as the cost of giving birth to a new evil god. For her, that would be quite a bargain.

Most importantly, it only takes her a little time.

"Oh dear, what a pity!" After muttering to herself, the 'girl' evil god clapped her hands, deciding to leave it for the time being. After all, she was just a messenger, and helping with errands and fetching people was only out of interest. "We'll talk about it another time! Anyway, those who can run will run, and those who can't will come back no matter how long it takes."

If she could, she'd actually like to visit the dimension that unfortunate guy is currently in. However, that dimension is far too peculiar. Not only are its rules severely broken, but all sorts of GMs and hackers are constantly appearing, some of whom even she finds troublesome. Moreover, she's not good at combat… well, that's right, she swears on the lives and worlds she's ruined and crippled…

Moreover, the dimension marked Marvel is not just a single universe, but countless rings overlapping one another, with parallel spaces, alternate worlds, and so on all combined. In addition, at the core of this dimension, there is a thing that is similar to an editing program and the bubble behind it.

In addition, the masterminds behind that bubble-like guy, who are all about making money, are unwilling to see this plane completely destroyed. Once they notice something is wrong, they will probably restart the multiverse directly.

——————————Divider Line——————————

Charles had no idea that this was the second time he had almost embarked on a path of no return. He also had no idea that a super troublesome person had been eyeing him for a long time, planning to trap him in her pyramid scheme. If he had known, he would have immediately run to the Twisted Void to cling to her powerful backer… It would have been more worthwhile to become a demolition worker than to be trapped in her pyramid scheme.

Thus, completely unaware of the situation, Charles felt no doubt about the recently forgotten memories and the two-day coma. On the contrary, the Cosmic Cube brought him numerous benefits, not only completing the Third Law and gaining a degree of immortality, but also improving his understanding and manipulation of space. Incidentally, the Reality Barrier, which had been unable to unfold for so long, could now be re-enacted, with new changes within it.

At least there's no need to recite those cringeworthy incantations...

However, it would still take some time to digest all of this. After all, having inexplicably gained a lot of strange knowledge through the Tesseract, Ciel needed to reorganize it. So, after returning the Tesseract to S.H.I.E.L.D., he teleported away and went into hiding in a place where no one knew him.

Of course, the chaos on Earth did not end with the conclusion of the New York battle. A sudden alien invasion dealt a heavy blow to all the major powers on the planet—humanity is not alone, aliens really do exist.

Although most national leaders had known for a long time that there was evidence of extraterrestrial life, they had been able to deceive themselves into believing that aliens wouldn't come to Earth or do anything. However, the war in New York shattered that self-deceptive notion.

Aliens exist, and they've even arrived, and they're extremely unfriendly. Even the US was badly beaten by their cannon fodder. Yes, while ordinary people are basking in the 'glorious' victory of humanity over the aliens, the truth is that leaders of various countries know that this victory was actually quite shady.

The portal opened in New York, but the Chireta invaders didn't actually appear until several tens of minutes after the omens appeared, even though S.H.I.E.L.D. had already issued a warning beforehand. Moreover, the Chireta invaders deployed to the battlefield were merely soldiers riding small flying vehicles and wielding laser guns; the only other additions were a type of semi-biological, semi-mechanical monster, which was used as a landing craft and was completely unarmed.

What is this? Simply put, it's a landing force... in other words, cannon fodder used to charge into the front lines. Some of these cannon fodder were so well-equipped that they overwhelmed human armies. Furthermore, subsequent inspections of these Chireta cannon fodder revealed that they weren't even truly alive; they had been artificially modified into semi-mechanical, semi-human beings—cannon fodder among cannon fodder.

Thus, despite the combined efforts of human-organized armies, S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, and various superpowered individuals, they were still being overwhelmed, and the war spread throughout New York City. This was even after the enemy was unable to send a large force and could only enter through weapons of war that were completely inaccessible by large objects, such as warships.

Adding to the chaos, the clash between meteors and lightning at the end of the war—two monsters with city-destroying individual combat power nearly wiped out New York. Moreover, the one who actually ended the war wasn't a human from Earth; that was just the media embellishing the story according to their superiors. And the one who ended the battlefield wasn't even a human from this Earth; that person was far more outrageous.

Regional time stop, singularity black holes… the reports that were submitted immediately infuriated many scientists. They were unscientific, illogical, unanalyzable, and incomprehensible. Even finding a way to counter them was impossible, let alone turning on them after they'd served their purpose. Facing something that could single-handedly destroy a city, a nation, or even shake a planet, no one could sleep soundly, especially since that thing was just somewhere on Earth.

However, what weapon should be used to deal with him?

The mere fact that regional time stops could render a huge amount of high-tech equipment and black-tech weapons on Earth useless, and whether the rest would even be effective is another matter.

It's past four o'clock!

230. Interlude

Setting unrealistic goals is not something a country or power should do. In fact, only a small group of people are worried. The five permanent members of the UN Security Council, along with those who are qualified but lack the military strength to join them, immediately turned their attention to the newly concluded battlefield in New York, which was essentially a wasteland. Or rather, they all unanimously focused on the aliens who died in despair due to the internet outage, and the various weapons and equipment left behind by these small, monstrous creatures.

The first to strike was S.H.I.E.L.D. (Hydra), followed by the American military. However, due to political considerations, S.H.I.E.L.D. subtly favored the US. Then, those KGB bastards from the Soviet Union, seemingly appearing out of nowhere, brandished AKs with a large portion of the lettering (starting with "M") crossed out on them, and posed as gangsters, engaging in a shootout.

Subsequently, the Russian bear caught the American off guard and fled. However, some of the Russian bears were knocked unconscious by vodkas that appeared out of nowhere while they were on their way, and then dragged away along with their belongings by a group of harmless people in black skin.

So, the world remains peaceful as always!

However, the five permanent members of the UN Security Council started fighting each other again over how to handle some of the aftermath. Meanwhile, S.H.I.E.L.D. found itself in a difficult position, caught between a rock and a hard place. Because they had previously sided with the US, they were now simultaneously stabbing the US in the back while the Russians, the Chinese, the French, and, in a rare instance, the Chinese who voted "this is acceptable," all joined in a barrage of criticism against Blackie Wu.

The US, besieged and in a sorry state, is simultaneously dealing with a domestic mess—the UN Security Council dropping a nuclear missile while the space gate was closing. It's also passively handling the New York disaster victims and protests across continents. The average person is unaware of the existence of the UN Security Council and assumes the US government has acted impulsively by dropping the nuclear missile.

With the UN Security Council shifting blame, it seems the time has come for this US president to step down.

However, embroiled in political infighting, internal turmoil, and post-war chaos, the US decisively shifted the blame again. While it desperately wanted to monopolize the remnants of those alien monsters, it couldn't overcome the presence of S.H.I.E.L.D., a force transparent to other rogue states. If the UN Security Council wanted to maintain its power, it had to share the benefits of that power. In other words, whoever tried to monopolize it would perish.

In a series of negotiations—the shoe-throwing incident—further negotiations—the water glass-throwing incident—and compromises, everyone was at peace, getting along well. The Soviet Union got what it wanted, while the Chinese, in the shadows, not only stabbed the Soviet Union in the back, but also had a superpowered individual from its own National Security Bureau—the Dragon Group—whose surnamed Wang, courtesy name Zongchao, used his superpower called "Crimson Radiance" to brutally beat up agents from the Soviet Union, the United States, France, the United States, and other countries, before returning safely to China with a large amount of loot. The process was incredibly bloody; even a Level 4 mutant agent from Area 51 of the United States was instantly blasted to smithereens in a single encounter.

So, after a deep conversation in the open, where everyone fully expressed their views, and a bloody battle behind the scenes, everything finally quieted down.

Everyone got what they wanted. Although the US suffered a slight loss, at least it wasn't attacked for trying to hog everything, and it even got the most. The US stepped on the US's foot, and although it was hit hard by China, it also received vodka-flavored economic aid from China. China played the opportunist, secretly hitting the US and framing the US, then immediately ran home and pretended nothing had happened. Apart from speeding up the island reclamation at sea and killing the serf owners who were tricked by the US into secretly returning to cause trouble in the west, nothing else happened.

...Oh, I forgot about Niu Niu and Gallic Rooster.

Well! The former remains mired in internal chaos due to the separatist referendum, especially since the radicals have somehow obtained a batch of weapons and financial aid marked with the letter M. In the latter's home, green pigment is spreading rapidly, and it even seems that some foreign camels are shouting slogans about establishing a religious state.

However, because of those camel slogans, the bear and the rabbit turned around and beat up their own green companions again. The former gave them vodka and secretly sent them to Siberia, while the latter... saw an increase in severely mentally ill patients at the Qingshan Mental Hospital.

After the chaos subsided, the alien invasion war came to an end. S.H.I.E.L.D. and the UN Security Council behind them ultimately dared not keep the Tesseract, this ticking time bomb, by their side any longer. Adding to the pressure from Asgard, especially with a humanoid walking nuclear bomb still on Earth… and nobody knew that if they tried to forcibly keep the Tesseract, a large group of Asgardian soldiers might simply cross the Bifrost and return to Earth the next day. Well, they were unaware that the Bifrost in Asgard was malfunctioning; that dark-skinned Wu Ke, out of a little self-interest and a bit of contempt for these incompetents, didn't report it.

Finally, on a bright and sunny morning, Thor, with Loki in special handcuffs, used a device he had created using the Tesseract—a device he had created through his knowledge—to hyperspace warp back to Asgard. Thus, the first Avengers movie ended.

…………

……

...

.

On this day, in New Mexico, in a familiar hotel, also at night, amidst a group of drunks and young men planning to go out and have sex after drinking, Charles, dressed in his ever-present attire, calmly walked past the guys who were drinking and causing trouble.

Strangely, wherever Charles went, everyone made way for him. However, everyone Charles passed by had a blank and unfocused look in their eyes. Although their words and actions were still the same as usual, they seemed unfamiliar and stiff.

But who would be curious about the behavior of ordinary drinkers, especially in such a remote town?

And here, Charles soon spotted a familiar figure, just like he had seen months before.

"Just how many clones have you left on Earth?" Charles sat down in the chair without any politeness and asked the young man across the table, "I just saw you being taken back by your brother not long ago, and then, not long after, you sent me a message saying you're back again."

"Do you think I would reveal all my escape routes?" Loki replied.

“That’s true!” Charles nodded. “After all, if I could, I’d want to kill all your clones too…”

“This is not something an ‘ally’ should say.”

"But aren't 'allies' just for selling out?!"

“…Okay! You’re right, in many cases 'allies' are indeed something to be sold off.”

“So, Loki!” Shire asked, “What kind of plans do you have after coming to see me so soon?”

Ruri Gokou!!! As usual, votes are given out!

231. Loki's Idea

"Whether it was that alien invasion stage play you did with the Superboys from S.H.I.E.L.D., or the clones you left behind on Earth..." Ciel tapped his fingers on the table, making a clattering sound. "...What exactly are you planning to do?"

"Nothing!" Loki said calmly. "I just wanted to confirm something!"

"Confirm what? Did Thanos leave a surveillance device on the Mind Scepter?" Charles asked, puzzled. "Didn't you already confirm that before? Besides, wasn't his goal to have you deliver the scepter to Midgard under cover of darkness, so that it could be used to create a wireless connection across the entire universe in conjunction with the activated Tesseract?"

“That’s only one of them…” Loki replied. “There’s another thing. I want to know if some of the things Thanos told me and the knowledge he gave me are true!”

"The knowledge Thanos taught you and the things he told you?" Ciel frowned, looking at Loki incredulously. "Are you sure you're not mistaken? You should know better than I what kind of guy he is, right?"

“Yes! Arrogant, conceited, tyrannical…” Loki lowered his head, reached for the wine glass on the table, and swirled the iced drink inside. “But in his eyes, I am just an idiot, a stupid ant used as a cover. So, he won’t lie to me… because I have no value in lying… Besides, to enjoy the Joker’s show, he would be even less likely to lie and would instead tell some ‘truth’.”

“I don’t understand!” Charles said. “Thanos is indeed terrifying! But now, I don’t think he has the ability to completely disregard Odin, the Father. Of course, in my opinion, Thanos should now be superior to Odin, the Father!”

“Yes!” Loki said. “Although I don’t know how that tyrant did it, he has indeed surpassed the level of the Heavenly Father… and is probably close to or has become a cosmic god.” While answering the Shire’s question, Loki absentmindedly looked at the wine glass, or rather, at the reflection of the wine in it.

"What did he tell you?" Seeing Loki's absent-minded look, Ciel asked curiously, "...You seem to be going crazy?"