Chapter 58: The Mage

Warren had a peculiar feeling towards the woman named Ophelia.

Of course, it wasn't affection but rather a desire to nail her to a cross, douse her in gasoline, and set her on fire... a peculiar feeling indeed.

This aversion towards others for no apparent reason disgusted Warren himself. He didn't want even his own abilities to be influenced by such feelings.

After informing Yashida and Garrett, who was still in the United States, Warren took Ophelia to her secret base.

Yashida sent dozens of elite ninjas and over a hundred gangsters to follow Warren's command.

Ophelia's Hydra base had mediocre defensive capabilities. Warren took the lead and brazenly charged through the front gate. The ninja squad followed closely behind, while the gangsters sealed off all the exits effortlessly, taking control of Ophelia's secret base in Japan.

Garrett immediately dispatched his people to deal with her remaining forces in other locations.

With the first batch of Overwatch recruits on duty, Overwatch's mobility had greatly expanded. There were already four mutants capable of instant teleportation, and that didn't even include the blue demon from the X-Men.

After transmitting all the data to Overwatch, Ophelia was closely guarded and prepared for transportation to Overwatch headquarters for imprisonment.

Her seductive ability worked quickly and didn't require physical contact or the opponent's lack of resistance, making it highly effective.

However, the duration of her ability was shorter than Warren's twisted belief, even though it was highly potent. That was why she had been staying by Yashida's side, constantly feeding on the Yashida family's blood.

"Keep a close watch on her and make sure she remains bound," Warren instructed.

"Yes."

The Yashida ninjas placed Ophelia in a metal box that resembled a coffin, binding her limbs and mouth.

She still had her uses, and Warren wanted to thoroughly study why he despised her so much. She couldn't be as simple as she appeared in the movies.

Unfortunately, Warren had only seen the movies, and as of his knowledge before the time-travel, he had only watched Avengers: Endgame twice, and Spider-Man: Far From Home hadn't been released yet.

"I should have caught up on TV series and comics."

In the past, he had been busy with work, and watching movies was already a luxury. He had only heard about the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. TV series but hadn't followed it.

"Lord Warren, the head of the family invites you to meet him. He said he has a gift for you."

A masked ninja approached and conveyed the message.

He was the leader of these ninjas, Harada Kenichiro. Warren remembered him as a tragic character in the original story, who turned to the dark side. Especially the fact that his childhood sweetheart was easily won over by Wolverine, it was truly a tragedy.

"A gift?"

Well, look at them, then look at Garrett and Stern. Warren labeled those two miserly individuals.

...

Although he had a good idea of what the gift would be, seeing the golden treasures before him was intoxicating.

Although he wanted to accept them right away, Warren asked, "Isn't the company in trouble with so much gold being taken out?"

"These are the family's reserves, saved for a comeback in case of failure. But from now on, the Yashida family no longer needs to worry about failure," the confident young Yashida replied. Having built such a family business in the past, he was now sitting on a vast empire. With his rejuvenated body, he didn't need to worry about failure anymore.

"30 tons of gold... I won't hold back, then."

"Please enjoy."

With his palm placed on the gold, the golden treasures turned into dust, disappearing without a trace.

His gold balance skyrocketed, and Warren immediately chose to draw three epic cards.

[White Epic]

[Blue Epic]

[Blue Epic]

His luck was good, as he obtained two blue cards.

White Epic [Dragon]: Summons the power of the dragon.

Blue Epic [Speech Spirit: Sovereignty]: Gains control over gravity and acquires the bloodline of the White King, with a highly corrosive Dragon bloodline. Please use with caution.

Blue Epic [Magic Crystal Arrow]: Infuses massive magical power into an arrow, condensing it into a magic crystal arrow that attacks the target. Different magical elements produce different effects.

"I feel like I'm being pushed towards the path of an archer."

When he drew a common card, he obtained archery skills.

When he drew a rare card, he obtained an ice vein magic bow.

And now, he obtained the Magic Crystal Arrow and 'Hey Gawa Dah Kik Woooo'.

Compared to Hanzo, Warren actually preferred his brother's 'Hey gay, open my fly'.

In any case, these were all excellent abilities, especially 'Dragon,' which could be used for Dragon Arrows or Dragon Blades.

On the other hand, Warren hesitated over the blue card [Speech Spirit: Sovereignty].

The dragon bloodline could be obtained by humans, or rather, the Dragon bloodline was extremely domineering, and the offspring of mixed-blood would inevitably carry Dragon blood.

It was like cheating. With just this card, Warren could gather a formidable force.

But it had to be used with caution. He already had the Angel mutant ability, the Steel mutant ability, and the Personality: Explosive and Ascend God Levels. Adding another Dragon bloodline to the mix... would it lead to the creation of a Dragon-Angel hybrid?

The effect of Speech Spirit: Sovereignty was to control gravity, raising the gravity within the area dozens of times, making it impossible for any living creature to stand and forcing them to kneel. The future potential of this ability was unknown, but it would be impossible for a human body to achieve greater strength through this ability, unless the proportion of Dragon blood was increased.

But increasing the proportion of Dragon blood in a mixed-blood individual was dangerous and could lead to Dragonification. Even the bloodline of the White King was risky.

"Forget it, I won't use this one."

Warren still had plenty of opportunities to draw cards, and currently, the world was at peace. He didn't need to gamble on his ability to control the Dragon bloodline.

...

Epic cards truly lived up to their name, and the effects were very satisfying.

Tomorrow, Warren would officially introduce Yashida to the Council of Nine and meet the others.

On his way back to the hotel from the Yashida residence, Warren suddenly sensed something amiss while discussing work with the Red Queen in the car.

His left eye emitted a golden light, and he rolled down the window. He saw the nearby skyscrapers distorting, even collapsing, but the pedestrians on the street didn't seem to notice, continuing with their own activities as if it was happening in another world.

"The Invisible Boundary?"

Boom!

Warren directly lifted off the car roof and soared into the air. Wings extended from his back, and his entire body turned into metal.

Because the boundary of that world had expanded beneath him, pulling him into another world.

A man wearing a black and red robe, with deep dark marks around his eye sockets, held the limp body of Ophelia, who had turned into a puddle of goo.

"A mage?"

"It seems you know quite a bit, mutant."

How did a mage end up with a snake like Ophelia?

His danger sense activated, and just as Warren was about to be attacked from behind, he swiftly evaded the ambush.

Several figures emerged from the darkness, wielding invisible blades made of twisted air. The projectiles they had just fired were also of the same nature.

More than ten enemies— the problem wasn't anything else but his poor driver, who was now involved in this unexpected event for the second time, right?

The Hulk had frightened him enough the last time, and Warren had given him two days off to relax. Now he was back in this situation.

"Do you think the Supreme Mage knows about your actions?"

Although he could tell they weren't good mages, invoking the name of the Supreme Mage might work. Mainly...

Mainly because Warren didn't know how to break this spell called 'Mirror Space.' He needed some time to come up with a tactic; after all, he had taken tactical courses and couldn't just rely on brute force!

"We're not the mages of Kamar-Taj."

As soon as the words fell, these mages launched an attack on Warren.

Activating Bullet Time and with the help of his danger sense, Warren dodged the invisible blades launched by these despicable people. The web shooters on his wrist shot out two strands of webbing, capturing two lackeys.

He pulled them towards him and punched them, instantly knocking them unconscious.

His hope lay in these two, as he couldn't afford to lose his driver. He had already scared him enough, and Warren even gave him two days off to relax. Now he's back.

"You so-called mages only have this level of skill?"