Mark, who was driving the car, seemed to want to ask what had happened when Shiller lost consciousness and where that so-called important item, the Tombstone, had gone. But when Shiller fell silent, the whole atmosphere froze. Instinct told Mark that it's better for him to remain silent now.
In the dark rainy night, a similarly black bright-less car sped across the road, splashing water in its wake.
Between the high-rise buildings, the speeding car was like a bullet fired out of a gun barrel. A sharp braking noise cut through the high-speed chase, leaving black marks on the ground. Natasha got out of the car in front of the Holy Sanctuary on Wall Street, New York.
"Bang!" Natasha closed the car door and quickly walked into the front door of the Holy Sanctuary. From the street, the dim road only has bright lights here.
Contrary to the silence outside, the Holy Sanctuary was bustling. Even standing in the reception lobby on the first floor, you could hear the noise from upstairs.
The female receptionist behind the desk revealed a gentle smile, and without waiting for Natasha to show her credentials, she nodded her head and said, "Hello, the Supreme Magician is waiting for you on the third floor."
Natasha nodded and quickly headed towards the stairs. As she was turning at the corner on the first floor, a red ribbon floated down, transforming into an arrow, guiding her upward.
As she passed through the staircase on the second floor, Natasha glanced inside. The office area was bustling.
Phones were flying around the room, flickering and sparking. Terrifying illusions of demon gods were looming overhead. It seemed that arguing over the phone was not enough, they had directly descended with holographic projections, real quick.
The beautiful and dreamy magical brilliance floated between the chandeliers. The sound of flipping books echoed with the rustling of the fireplace. It was a scene that should have been filled with fantastic imagination but was regularly punctuated by mismatched words like "interest rate," "tax," "membership," and so forth.
Shifting her gaze, Natasha arrived on the third floor. It seemed very quiet here, possibly due to some soundproofing magic. As she walked in, Strange was leaning on a sofa, reading a book.
He was not wearing a suit but a robe, with a red cloak behind him. The guiding red ribbon flew back into his hand. Strange extended his hand and pointed to the sofa opposite the coffee table. Natasha walked over and sat down.
"As I have already told you over the phone, our agents have found that someone witnessed an unknown fire in Austria." Saying this, Natasha took a stack of photos out of her bag.
Strange took the photos and frowned. He said, "Interesting indeed. It seems very much like the energy of a demon god, but Germany and Austria don't have any respectable deity system..."
"Can you infer which demon god it might be?"
"Your pictures are too blurry, showing just some white light, and the photos cannot make me sense elements of mystic arts. It could potentially be figured out, but it would take some time."
"Shiller has been missing for over 10 hours now, do you understand what that means?" Natasha asked with a serious expression.
"It means he must have come up with another big plan and doesn't seem to be inviting us this time." Strange tossed the photos on the table. He also became a bit more serious and asked Natasha, "Apart from this light, are there any other clues?"
"We have already sent someone over, there should be news soon." Natasha picked up the phone after she finished speaking, dialed out, and said after a few beeps:
"Hello? Yes, it's me. Have you just arrived? What's the situation there? Any clues?... What do you mean you can't describe it?"
Crossing miles per each phone signal, Iron Man, Stark, was on the streets of a small town in Austria, looking down at the rugged road surface and messy puddles, somewhat puzzled, "There are no clear clues here, but the clues seem to be everywhere."
"...No, I'm not speaking in riddles, I just don't know much about magic. Never mind, Strange, are you there? Just teleport over and take a look. Also, bring all members of The Avengers, this thing might be a bit big."
In Iron Armor suit, Iron Man walked around the scene. There were indeed many traces here, but most of them he could not comprehend, obviously left by magic, not modern weapons.
But that doesn't prevent Stark from recognizing that a furious battle had taken place here. Perhaps, it was not just one.
After a while, a teleportation portal appeared in the sky. A bunch of people fell from it, with Strange emerging last.
Just fell to the ground, Peter yelled, "You really should improve your teleportation technology! I always fall out of it!"
"Shouldn't the portal be opened where it should be?" Eric, getting up with a knife in his hand, looked at Strange indignantly, "Does the door of your house open in the air at the height of the third floor?"
"It's pretty good already. The height used to be the fifth floor when I opened the door." Strange said, bending down to look at the traces on the ground.
First, he gently touched the dirty water on the ground. But now it was raining heavily, and the concentrated black water had been diluted a lot. Strange didn't find out any clues.