American comics: From Hogwarts to God on Earth

Chapter 284 The Lies of the Former Captain America

Steve's palms were sweaty.

"Your main task now is to master your powers. As far as I know, you almost killed two thugs when you were patrolling with Spider-Man?"

Clark's expression immediately became quite interesting. Of course, he didn't mean it; it was just how it was portrayed on TV and in movies.

The protagonist bumped the heads of two henchmen, knocking them both unconscious. Rune glanced at Steve and said, "You seem afraid we'll go out?"

"No!" Steve immediately denied it, and to make it more believable, he even stared intently at Rune with his blue eyes.

Rune narrowed his eyes. He couldn't tell if Steve was lying or not, so he decided to leave Avengers Tower to see what was happening outside. If there was anything recently that would make Steve lie, it would definitely be related to Mephisto.

Ignoring Steve's advice, Rune teleported out. As soon as he came out, he was shocked by the huge sound wave. With his current physical condition, his hearing was far beyond that of ordinary people. At this moment, when he was caught off guard, it was inevitable that he would be affected by the huge sound.

I'm right inside Avengers Tower, so why didn't I hear these protests?

Rune covered his ears and frowned as he looked at the others. The place was already packed with people, and almost all the main roads nearby were occupied. Some people held up signs, others wrote words on their clothes, and some even splashed paint on the entrance of Avengers Tower. The entire outer wall of Avengers Tower was covered in graffiti and paint.

As for slogans.

The crowd roared with messages like "Heroes equal disasters," "Our city doesn't need saviors," and "Death to the lynchers!" The air was thick with a sense of shared hatred, making it seem as if another policeman had killed a black man.

Rune's appearance immediately attracted the attention of others. The dozens of protesters closest to him were the first to stop shouting. They looked angrily at the man with superpowers. Perhaps it was the long-standing style of heroes, or perhaps it was the unspoken rule that the law does not punish the masses, but these protesters were not even afraid of Rune.

"Look over there! A super-powered freak!" A middle-aged man with a full beard pointed at Rune and said, "He teleported here, he's definitely a mutant!"

These words, like a spark thrown into a haystack, drew the attention of those around him, while Rune's face remained icy cold. His self-glow swept across these hostile faces, faces filled with anger, hatred, and fears they themselves were unaware of—elements that, when mixed together, often culminate in out-of-control violence.

"What are you doing?" Rune suppressed his anger, but the ordinary people around him did not understand his good intentions.

Then a typical Karen stepped out: self-important, aggressive, and always feeling offended. So the moment Rune asked her a question, she ran up to him, holding up a sign with the Avengers logo crossed out in red in her left hand.

"Oh, you want to ask me? I want to ask you the same thing!" The white woman pulled her phone out of her pants and took a picture of Rune's face, while continuing to ask, "Why are villains everywhere on Earth now that you've appeared? Why do we have to endure the possibility that our cars, houses, and all our fixed assets could be destroyed or robbed at any time? Why?"

Before Rune could speak, the woman said in a shrill voice, "You don't need to answer. The truth is, those villains are in cahoots with you. You cooperate with them; they steal things, you recover some, but there's always a difference. You make money off that difference, you heartless bastards!"

Then, the woman started swearing.

Her lips were thin, her eyebrows were finely trimmed, and she spewed a string of vulgarities, creating a stark contrast to the loose-fitting shirt she wore that read "Smile and Love Life." Ironically, whenever she presumptuously revealed something baseless, the surrounding crowd would echo her and applaud loudly.

The situation quickly spiraled out of control. The white woman's overly malicious words incited some teenagers who were at the height of their audacity. They began throwing stones at Rune and making makeshift Molotov cocktails—the latter of which, when smashed on the ground, didn't even catch fire; the low concentration of alcohol actually extinguished the flames that had started on the fabric.

But this didn't stop other groups from becoming enraged; they advanced, their eyes filled with fanaticism—a collective madness.

Their rationality was consumed by anger, leaving only a primal and pure impulse for violence. This behavior may be related to ancient hunting and warfare scenarios, but they have mistaken their target.

Rune was never a hero, although he did do many things that only heroes would do, such as saving the world many times. But he knew very well that Rune did not have any great love in his heart. His reason for saving the world was not for the lives of other people, but for profit.

So, this group of people messed with the wrong person.

"Le Bon's description of you is so apt—a complete rabble." Rune coldly surveyed the crowd before him, ranging from teenagers to people in their sixties, but this did not absolve them of the sins they had committed before him. He then raised his hands, and dark magic instantly surged forth.

boom!

"Not the same!"

A man ran towards them from afar, dressed in a crimson suit with a pair of devilish horns on his head. This street hero was Daredevil, but he was clearly unable to stop Rune's spell.

But perhaps someone could?

A swarm of spider silk hurtled towards him, and behind this silk bullet swung in a whooshing motion—Spider-Man, New York City's friendly neighbor. He wasn't wearing his usual red and blue uniform, but a red and gold Iron Man suit, complete with three golden mechanical spider legs on the back.

Peter wore this suit entirely because of its high defensive capabilities. In Iron Man's plan to deal with Rune, Spider-Man, with his great strength and agility, was one of Tony's winning weapons. He couldn't turn the tide of the battle, but Peter could definitely disrupt his spellcasting.

When facing a mage, disrupting or even interrupting their spellcasting is always the key to victory.

Rune's hand was hit by the spider silk bullet, which was not enough to interrupt Rune's spellcasting, but the powerful electric current that came with it could.