"What happened here?" Steve, holding up his shield to shield him from the rain, walked up to Stark and surveyed the deepest trench. "Looks like it's been cut out by someone. Are you sure Shiller did this?"
"That's the biggest question. This doesn't look like Shiller's style at all. He only uses pens, not knives," Stark said with absolute certainty.
"Hold on!" Strange suddenly shouted. He squatted down next to a shallow trench, reaching out his hand, picking up some sand and gravel from the edge of a puddle.
Further down, it appeared to be some scattered sand, now soaking wet from the rain, but Strange still found clues. He said, "Sand... the Egyptian Pantheon?"
"Oh, look at this!" Peter cried out, "There was supposed to be a car here, but it just drove away!"
Peter pointed to a trace on the ground, Stark flew over, and immediately initiated a scan. He said, "Someone drove away from here. Could that be Shiller?"
"Let's not worry about that now," Natasha pressed her earpiece and said, "Follow this track, catch up with them."
After the Avengers left, another group arrived at the crime scene. Dressed in odd clothing, agents surveyed the ground and then took out their phones to call their leader.
"Sir, there was indeed a small-scale war here. The 'Doctor' probably didn't lie to you. It could be S.H.I.E.L.D. or the KGB..."
"Yes, these traces are not left by any known conventional firearms. Alright, I will investigate their whereabouts as soon as possible. I know, I'll do my utmost to ensure headquarter's safety."
Soon, they too found traces of a car driving away and thus began their pursuit.
The car that had long left the small town was heading to Germany. The town, located in western Austria, was very close to Germany. The vehicle arrived at the border between Germany and Austria in no time.
This was a desolate suburb with few people. The lonely moon hung in the sky with a persistent rain. Through the windshield, amidst the rain, Mark saw the moonlight in the sky start to flicker.
"Screech!"
Mark slammed on the brakes, the recoil pushed him onto the steering wheel. Rubbing his sore chest, he looked at the giant figure blocking the car.
Khonsu shimmering in front of the car, his hollow skull eyes illuminated with a faint glow, backed by a dense rainy night, his silhouette, clearly visible in the faint light. No matter how many times he saw it, Mark still found the terrifying apparition completely chilling.
Opening his massive beak, Khonsu left only a low, echoing voice.
"Be careful, they are coming..."
"Crack," lightning struck the road not far away. In the split second when the light lit up, Mark confirmed that he saw countless terrifying figures on both sides of the road.
But after everything returned to darkness, a group of humans appeared in the car's headlights. There were men and women all dressed differently, but they all walked towards the car stopped in the middle of the road.
Mark stepped out of the vehicle; the strangers hauntingly shifted their gazes onto him. One of them spoke, "Khonsu, we received a report that Amit accused you of colluding with a foreign Evil God, and declared you should return to court for trial."
Mark's body stiffened for a moment, veins on his neck bulged, his eyes emitting a white glow; Khonsu's voice came from his mouth.
"Amit is distorting the truth. He was the first to pour his power into the human world in an uncontrolled manner, trying to escape his bondage. I'm merely retaliating."
"Yet you have recruited two evil followers, and kidnapped Amit's own. Have you forgotten the rules of the Celestial Realm?"
Mark jerked his head to see Arthur, who Shiller had previously picked up and was now unconscious in the back seat. He paused, then said, "Amit is allowing his followers to spread evil in the human world. He is indiscriminately killing people. That is not a trial."
We are not interested in your disputes over your respective realms of belief. But according to the rules of the Celestial Realm, you must return with us and face trial," a woman spoke. Her voice carried a mysterious echo, like it was coming from a far-off place.
"The Twelve Pillar Gods have long decayed!" Khonsu's tone was filled with anger. "You have long known of Amit's deeds, but you abandoned humans, sought faith but did not provide protection, just like what you did millions of years ago."
"Distancing from humans is mercy from the Gods for all beings," another man solemnly interjected. "Regardless, you are still one of us. You should come back with us and confront Amit."
They continued speaking in Ancient Egyptian, while Shiller simply sat in the passenger seat, watching everything through the windshield.
In the dark rainy night, even darker than the pitch black night, the eyes of all those standing in front of the car were glowing mysteriously, all this seemed like the beginning of a classic horror film.
However, the eerie atmosphere did not last long. A golden meteor streaked across the sky, along with the sound of jet engines, Iron Man landed on the car roof. He had no idea what the people here were doing but he saw Shiller sitting in the car.
Soon, the other Avengers arrived followed by another convoy coming from the other end of the road.
Just as he walked up to investigate, Steve squinted his eyes because the moment when the headlight on the opposite side was turned off, he saw a familiar face in the car - Hydra's Leader, Baron Zemo.
By then, Stark had casually opened the door of the driving cabin and sat inside. He turned to Shiller and asked, "What are you doing here? What's going on now?"
He saw Shiller step out of the car, under the watchful eyes of Captain America, Baron Zemo approached Shiller. The two shook hands in front of the car, Baron Zemo said,
"Welcome back, Doctor. Long live Hydra."
Steve's pupils shrank, Iron Man rushed out, followed by the rest of the Avengers, their faces all displaying disbelief. But at that moment, something even more shocking happened-
The very moment after Shiller shook hands with Baron Zemo, he quickly raised his umbrella, whacked Baron Zemo to the ground, planting his foot on his chest, and plunged his knife into his throat.
In an instant, the umbrella opened, the gushing blood stained the uniforms of Iron Man and Captain America. The blood flowed down their bodies, dropping into the puddles on the ground.
On the surface of the dark red puddles, Shiller's jaw was reflected. His mouth was open, the eerie sound drowned out in the downpour.
"Yesterday, they split in two..."
"Today, they unite as one."