Ch.107 Reappearance of the Hooded Man

"In fact, the true mastermind is you!"

"He's just a servant taking the fall for you."

"You orchestrated everything, from the very beginning when we were chosen, to everything we experienced after that. It all came from your scheme."

"But you don't want to be exposed, so you let this dark servant stand in front."

"Even the way you both disappear and reappear is the same!"

"You are, in truth, the real mastermind, aren't you?"

After Loki finished speaking, both his and Sylvie's weapons were aimed directly at Ronan.

Ronan opened his mouth wide, his face full of disbelief.

He could never have imagined that Loki could say something so shocking.

A villainous big boss who could crush Loki with one hand had turned into a mere servant in Loki's eyes.

And you say you don't discriminate by color?

"This is like a small knife scraping the butt—an eye-opener."

"I didn't expect you to come up with this kind of theory."

"Asgard's God of Mischief truly lives up to the name."

Ronan clapped his hands with a strange expression, as if applauding Loki's imaginative theory.

Wasn't this idea just a bit too bold?

"Is there a possibility—I'm just saying, a possibility."

"I just met him not long ago, maybe just a little earlier than you two."

"So, I'm just here as a spectator?"

Ronan tugged at the corner of his mouth. He was curious to see if Loki would come up with some more earth-shattering conclusions.

Impossible! Absolutely impossible! Loki almost shouted those words.

From his perspective, everything he had experienced stemmed from the person in front of him.

From the beginning, this person had taken his Tesseract, cutting off his escape route and forcing him to cooperate with the TVA to capture Sylvie.

And then they had met again on Lamentis-1.

Ronan had Infinity Gauntlets on both hands, filled with Infinity Stones.

That sight was something Loki would never forget!

And before they came here, Miss Minutes had told them that if they wanted the Infinity Gauntlet, they could take it at any time.

Combining all these facts, Loki was almost certain that Ronan was the true mastermind!

But Ronan never expected that his casual test of the Infinity Stones would lead Loki to think of him as the big boss behind everything.

It even matched the classic villain trope where he had a black stand-in.

"Forget it. No matter what I say, you'll just assume I'm the bad guy."

"Whatever, continue."

Ronan rolled his eyes, not bothering to argue with Loki and Sylvie.

He then turned his head and looked at Kang the Conqueror.

"Before you start, I have a small question. Could you answer it for me?"

"Why wasn't a certain overly paranoid genius restored to normal?"

By "restored to normal," Ronan meant that no variant of Loki had returned to the original timeline.

In the proper timeline, Loki should have been taken back to Asgard and imprisoned.

According to TVA procedures, the variant Loki would be taken away, and the timeline would be closed when Loki escaped, ensuring the future remained unchanged.

"Maybe your presence caused the predetermined timeline to change."

"That's also why I can't fully understand you."

Kang shrugged, no longer seeing any reason to hide things.

After all, according to the script, he would soon be able to bow out.

Ronan nodded, not as surprised by this answer as he would have been before.

The timeline changed because of his presence? Well, wasn't that great?

"Alright then, go ahead."

Ronan gestured for them to continue and resumed his role as a spectator.

Although Loki suspected that the "paranoid genius" Ronan mentioned was himself, he had no evidence.

Meanwhile, Kang had started recounting the events.

Long, long ago... It was the same old story of multiple Kangs waging war against each other.

This led to chaos across the timeline and disturbances in parallel universes, and so on.

But before diving into all that, Kang told them a story about "scripts" and "the future."

He showed them documents detailing how Sylvie and Loki had reached the End of Time, what happened when they arrived, and what they had said.

He even included their conversations with Ronan.

Just that simple trick made Loki and Sylvie visibly shaken.

No one could accept that their life was just a small part of a grand script, and that they were merely a character in it.

They might even be an insignificant character with no lines at all.

Then, taking advantage of their shaken state, Kang gave them two choices.

They could take control of the TVA, lead it down a different path.

Or, they could kill him and unleash countless other versions of Kang.

Ronan had already heard this once, so he wasn't particularly interested.

What he was curious about was why Kang had chosen these two among all the Lokis.

Choosing Loki was understandable, as he was the "template."

The so-called template meant that, among countless parallel universes, there were always a few individuals with identical appearances.

Those who didn't match—like the young Loki or the Alligator Loki—were categorized as variants.

And then there was Sylvie, the female Loki.

This was the part that Ronan didn't understand.

With Kang's abilities, if he wanted to prevent everything from happening, Sylvie wouldn't have stood a chance.

So Sylvie's existence had been part of Kang's plan from the very beginning.

Even Sylvie's experiences, personality, and the potential she had shown along the way had all been part of what Kang had anticipated.

Perhaps He Who Remains had genuinely thought about passing the TVA to these two.

And then... What happened next?

The classic disagreement between a young couple, followed by a big fight.

Seeing their awkward fighting stances and proud expressions, Ronan, sitting to the side, could barely watch.

This level of hand-to-hand combat? Ronan had been better than this at eight years old.

Was this all they had besides swinging swords wildly? Some minor magic that looked like cheap tricks?

Or were they just showing off their love, playing this charade?

Ronan felt he was running out of energy to comment.

Asgard's God of Mischief... Hadn't you ever been punched by Thor when bullying him as a child?

Ronan sighed and quietly adjusted his phone to record their entire fight.

He had to show this to the people of Asgard.

Let them see just how terrible their second prince was at close-quarters combat.

In Kamar-Taj, even an apprentice sorcerer would have beaten them.

After their "intense" fight, Sylvie held her blade to Loki's throat, and Loki dropped his weapon, trying to calm her down.

"I don't want that throne."

"I just want you to be okay."

No one could've imagined that Loki would say such words.

Classic "I love you more than power"? Or perhaps another prince giving up the throne for the princess he loves in a sci-fi romance?

Whatever it was, Sylvie was moved.

Saying this was as much as Loki could do to let go of his "pride" and make the most heartfelt confession.

Sylvie, being Loki herself, understood her own nature.

And so, a moment not suitable for children occurred.

The melody of love played invisibly, and the two kissed.

They even spun around!

Behind his desk, Kang watched them kiss, his eyes fixed on the scene, as if a bit sentimental.

After the kiss, they looked at each other tenderly until Sylvie spoke.

"But I'm not you."

Then she gently pushed Loki away, and a portal appeared behind him.

She shoved Loki into the portal.

As it closed, only three remained in the office—Ronan, Sylvie, and Kang.

A melancholy tune played; no one had expected the sudden change in mood.

At some point, Sylvie had picked up the Time Locator from Kang's desk.

She raised her sword again, using her left hand to push Kang's desk aside.

"Aren't you going to beg for your life?"

Sylvie seemed hesitant.

"Not a bad idea."

Kang seemed like he wanted to say more, but his smile revealed his true thoughts.

Squelch.

The sound of a blade piercing flesh echoed.

Sylvie stabbed through, shattering the multiverse!

Ronan captured this exhilarating moment. If it weren't for the age difference, Ronan would've jumped up to hug her.

But the age difference stopped him.

From this moment, the multiverse was finally born!

"We'll see each other again."

Kang said, winking at Sylvie before gradually ceasing to breathe.

Sylvie sat down on the floor, as if finally avenging a great wrong.

Ronan walked to the window behind Kang, looking outside.

The once-straight timeline had now split into countless branches.

Like a straight tree suddenly sprouting countless tender green buds.

"Wow, what a spectacular sight."

"From today, countless Kangs will set out on their adventures."

Ronan turned off his phone, unable to help but sigh.

Sylvie slowly raised her head, looking at Ronan, who had seemed to fade into the background.

"Why didn't you stop me?"

Sylvie seemed to sense something.

"Why would I stop you?"

"Do you really think, like Loki said, that I'm the real mastermind?"

Ronan looked at Sylvie helplessly. He truly wasn't a mastermind.

He was just an ordinary and simple sorcerer.

How could he be the bad guy?

Sylvie stood up, pulling her sword from Kang's chest.

Blood splattered across the floor.

"You call him Kang the Conqueror?"

"You clearly know things we don't."

Sylvie looked at Ronan, slowly raising her sword.

Ronan sighed and disappeared in an instant.

Bang!

A punch to the chest!

Before Sylvie could even see Ronan's movements, she was punched by him.

In the next second, Ronan appeared behind her.

Bang!

A whip-like kick sent Sylvie flying again.

Boom.

Sylvie crashed into a pile of furniture, buried underneath it.

"Although I'm a good-natured person, that doesn't mean I'll tolerate someone pointing a weapon at me."

"Especially after I've explained myself so many times."

Ronan dusted his hands.

He was easygoing, but that didn't mean everything was up for discussion.

At least Sylvie's actions had crossed Ronan's line.

The last person to point a weapon at Ronan had lost an arm.

"By the way, I need to comment."

"Your hand-to-hand combat is truly terrible."

Ronan curled his lips, unable to hold back his critique.

Sylvie struggled to stand up, blood trickling from her lips.

Just those two hits had already injured her.

Thanks to her unusual physique, she managed to stand up, though just barely.

"Did you come here just to watch this meaningless show?"

"Or, like him, have you always known everything about us?"

Sylvie wiped the blood from her lips. She was sharper than Loki.

More perceptive.

She had noticed Ronan's expression earlier—how indifferent he was to their presence, what Kang said, their fight, even the kiss.

Even at the end, when she killed He Who Remains, or rather Kang the Conqueror, he showed no surprise.

It was as if everything had been within his expectations.

If that were true, then maybe he, like He Who Remains, had seen the so-called script?

"No, no, no, this wasn't a meaningless drama."

"And I know nothing about a script."

"On the contrary, what you did just now was very meaningful to me."

Ronan shook his head. This wasn't meaningless to him.

On the contrary, all of it had been part of his plan.

Just that no one else knew it.

"What are you waiting for?"

"You watched as I killed him, as I sent Loki away."

"That means your goal was never Loki, nor me."

"Then what are you after?"

At that moment, Sylvie felt as if she had fallen into another deep pit.

Ronan smiled, picking up the Time Locator that Kang had left behind.

Undoubtedly, this Time Locator was far more advanced than Tony Stark's version.

"This is for you."

Ronan pulled out the Time Locator he carried and tossed it to Sylvie.

He waved the other Time Locator from Kang and put it on his wrist.

"This thing was yours anyway. I'll use this one instead, and in exchange, I'll give you some information."

"You wanted to know what I'm after, right?"

"I can tell you."

Ronan grabbed a chair and sat down.

He was so relaxed it was as if Sylvie didn't matter.

But Sylvie didn't dare drop her guard; she had no idea what Ronan was planning.

"What I want is quite simple."

"I was just waiting for someone."

Ronan looked around the office, smiling.

"Waiting?"

"Waiting for who?"

"And what's your purpose?"

Sylvie asked three questions in a row.

He was waiting? For whom?

Was it one of the many variants of He Who Remains that he was waiting for?

Or had he always been planning something else?

Ronan put his index finger to his lips, a smile appearing.

"Shh."

"Quiet."

"He's here."

Ronan's cocky charm left Sylvie stunned.

But soon, she began to understand.

What did he mean? What did he mean by "he's here"?

While Sylvie was puzzled, a black ripple suddenly appeared on the ceiling of the once-empty office.

Out of the ripple fell two hooded figures, one larger, one smaller.

These two looked just like the ones Ronan had seen before!

"No!!!!"

The moment they landed, a pained scream filled the office.

The lead hooded figure was utterly hysterical.

As if he had just seen something completely unacceptable.

With a thud, he knelt on the ground.

As if drained of all his strength.

"Why..."

"Why..."

"Why!!!"

"Why is it the same again?!"

"Why has the future never changed?!"

The hood's brim covered the figure's face, but it couldn't hide his grief.

Soon, the hooded figure stood up, turning to face Ronan, who was sitting to the side.

"Why!"

"You clearly saw me—why didn't you stop him?!"

"You had the chance to prevent this tragedy—why didn't you stop him?!"

The hooded figure's roar echoed as he questioned Ronan.

Ronan just curled his lip.

"Why would I stop him?"

"What's in it for me?"

"Besides..."

"Who do you think you are?"