American comics: From Hogwarts to God on Earth

Chapter 149 The Humble Yet Respectful Kong Su (3K)

The staircase leading underground was covered in strange runes, some resembling variants of Latin, others unlike anything the heroes had ever seen before. If necessary, the rune workshop could use these bizarre runes to rise up and become "Transformers."

In a physical sense, it means directly attacking the enemy.

"Welcome to my workshop, friends." Rune's voice echoed throughout the underground stairwell: "Follow me."

As he spoke, he continued down the stairs. The heroes followed, passing through a winding tunnel, and finally stopped in front of a peculiar bronze door engraved with strange symbols. Rune placed his hands on the door and pushed hard. With a creaking sound, the bronze door slowly opened, and a strange smell wafted out.

The Rakshasa woman frowned and whispered, "The energy here—is very strong."

Rune was speechless. Of course the energy was strong. There were many alchemical tools he used for practice on, as well as some finished alchemical tools. Although he thought these alchemical tools were quite useful, their sales were far less than those of the [Companion] puppets. So, he brought so many heroes here not only to clear out his inventory, but also to show off his alchemical tools to Doctor Strange's people.

He's made too many "companion-type" puppets and wants to try something different.

Behind this bronze door is a huge circular hall with hundreds of glass containers suspended from the towering dome. Each container contains a liquid or object of a different color. These are magical materials that require special preservation conditions. Although in movies or novels these things seem to be left lying around, in reality, each one is extremely delicate.

Further inside was a room with walls made of shelves that reached the ceiling, filled with books, bottles, jars, and all sorts of indescribable items. In the center was a huge brass alchemy table, on which materials from over a month ago remained, though these magical materials had lost their magical properties.

When you have the ability to craft alchemical items with ease, such alchemy tables will eventually gather dust. This was Rune's most genuine experience. He clapped his hands, and at his will, six beautiful puppets emerged from behind the shelves and began to explain to everyone present the alchemical items displayed on them.

Both Blade and Punisher coincidentally chose sunglasses with night vision and thermal imaging capabilities. The engraved inscriptions on them, including those related to perception, judgment, and text, allowed the wearer to see the simulated trajectory of bullets. However, neither the Punisher nor Blade needed this last feature—they both possessed superb marksmanship. The Punisher, in particular, was rated a Level 10 agent by Nick Fury—symbolizing that he possessed the highest level of human individual combat capability.

However, Blade and Punisher have distinctly different needs when it comes to armor. Blade chose a pair of boots that allow him to use short-range Apparition, which enhances his ambush capabilities. Blade also took an amulet that can prevent mind control.

The Punisher chose a trench coat that could protect him from enemy attacks and hoped that Rune could help paint his signature skull on it.

Logan only took a charm that could resist mind invasion. Compared to these external equipment, he preferred to trust his own body—which coincided with Rune's thoughts. He also trusted his own body more than any kind of artifact.

Moon Knight chose a dagger and a cloak. The dagger inflicts pure fire damage and a demonic whisper effect on attacks, which allows the attacker to hear the screams of tormented beings from hell. This item was perfect for Moon Knight's alter ego, who delighted in cruelly harming and maiming his opponents, such as tearing off their faces or carving crescent moons on their foreheads.

The cloak was a poor imitation of the levitation cloak by Rune. Apart from changing color and flying, this imitation could neither fight for its master nor provide any defense, and its defensive capabilities were limited to stopping bullets from pistols and submachine guns.

Like Logan, Rakshasa chose the amulet that could resist mind intrusion, even though Rune had said it might not last three seconds against a mind reader of Professor X's caliber. She still resolutely chose it. In addition, she obtained a special item from Rune.

"Of everyone, you are the only one who can absorb and release energy." Rune took out three magic crystals from a shelf. He had made them by hand when testing his magic capacity. "So, giving these to you is the best choice."

The Rakshasa's white hair swayed slightly under the magical radiation, and a stinging sensation came from the skin beneath her gloves—this was her body's instinctive reaction to high-concentration energy.

"This is"

Rune saw the Rakshasa's confusion, curiosity, fear, and longing, so he explained, "This is a magic crystal, which means exactly what it is. You can obtain it when you forcibly compress some magic."

The Punisher asked, "What would happen if such a small thing exploded?"

"It won't do much," Rune shrugged. "It'll just destroy the whole of Manhattan. The reason I gave you this thing is in the hope that if we still can't take down Red Skull at the last minute—"

The Rakshasa nodded, looking at the crystals in her palm: "If I truly cannot stop the Red Skull, then I will simply detonate these crystals and kill him—."

At this moment, the Moon Knight approached, staring intently at the magical crystal. Rune keenly sensed that something was wrong with the Moon Knight; he had once felt a similar aura from the Lord of Order—the paranoid man who had lost his body and was left with only a helmet.

"Kong Su?"

The Moon Knight turned to look at Rune, his eyes, gleaming with white light, filled with amazement: "Yes, yes! But the most important question right now is, what do I need to exchange for a magic crystal from you?"

Rune narrowed his eyes slightly, then took out five more magic crystals from the shelf and threw them directly at Moon Knight—or rather, at Kong Su.

"I don't need you to give me anything; I just want your friendship, and the friendship of the people behind you."

A bird's beak sprouted from the shadow behind the Moon Knight. He took the magic crystal and laughed, "You're truly greedy."

"But—I agreed!" he said, tilting his head like a bird, and then asked, "But, these magic crystals—"

I'll allocate it to the gods I'm closer to first, you don't mind, right?

Kong Su only left the Moon Knight's body after seeing Rune shake his head. At the same time, the magic crystals in his hand mysteriously disappeared.

"So—was that a god just now?" Erica asked cautiously. Rune nodded, and Erica exclaimed "Wow!"

Rune raised an eyebrow: "Don't you guys meet with Thor often? He's a god too."

The people present wore indescribable expressions—Thor's behavior was nothing like that of a god; he was more like a street urchin, spending his days drinking beer with brave heroes like Logan and Captain America who were willing to engage in close combat. He also liked to boast about his heroic deeds in Asgard and on Earth, and then complain about how disobedient his brother Loki was and how strict his father was with him.

Aside from his inexplicable arrogance during battles and in ordinary times, Thor really doesn't seem like a god at all.

"So what do you think gods should be like?" Rune sighed. "Are they the kind of guys who play the riddle-maker to their followers, muttering nonsense all day long, rarely venturing out of the mountains, and hiding in a corner like recluses?"

"Isn't that so?" The Punisher glanced at the beautiful puppets. Although they were pretty, he thought they had no souls.

"Ha, what is a god?" Rune sneered. "Gods are just more powerful mortals. The difference between them and us is that they possess greater power, like Galactus from your world. You've seen him, haven't you?"

Everyone present nodded; who didn't recognize that powerful, planet-eating purple giant?

"But that guy was actually the sole survivor of the previous universe's final collapse. He became a god simply because he was reborn along with the universe." Rune mercilessly exposed Galactus's true nature: "You could say he became a god because of good luck. As for things like death and eternity, they were just born a little earlier."

Incidentally, Rune added a final reminder: "By the way, don't discuss this topic in that universe. Although the chances of them personally eavesdropping on your conversation are extremely slim, the probability isn't zero."

"You mean," Logan looked at Rune, sensing the hidden meaning in his words, "that this place can hide from the gaze of those creator gods?"

"Logan, you're as perceptive as ever." Rune chuckled. "That's right. Theoretically speaking, they really can't see you. If even an artifact like the Observer's Eye, specifically designed for observation, can't see you, how could the creator gods possibly see you?"

"How did you do that?" The Rakshasa asked the question that had been on her mind and on everyone else's mind.

"Of course, it's about traveling to other worlds, my friends." Rune laughed loudly. "Welcome to the new world, the world I mainly live in."

Rune carefully observed the reactions of those present, especially Logan. If he hadn't been disturbed, he would have immediately questioned where the other Rune from the original Marvel universe was. But at this moment, he didn't say a word, only looking thoughtful.

It seems my system can directly alter cognition, but I don't know where the limits are.

The Rakshasa woman discovered a blind spot: "Since they are different worlds—why is Kong Su still able to possess the Moon Knight?"

"It must be that Kong Su and Moon Knight have a very deep relationship, and besides, we also have a Kong Su in our world." Rune shrugged. "Hmm, I reckon our world's Kong Su might be arriving soon."

Sure enough, a creature with a bird's head and wearing golden armor emerged from the void, but he was not arrogant as others had imagined; instead, he bowed respectfully.

"Revered wizard, the powerful being who defeated the Lord of Order," the deity bowed before cautiously asking, "I just noticed a change in the moon's phases. Could you please answer my question?"