Chapter 77 - Avengers

Step by step, Asmodeus emerged from the flames. While all the Avengers were battered and bruised, Asmodeus looked dazzling as always, without a single wrinkle on his beloved official attire of the Fire Nation.

He had put it on when he and Rovena were planning to take a stroll.

"Apologies for interrupting your heroics, but have you happened to see three old men, though they don't look particularly old right now...

Alright, let me rephrase. Have you seen three men? One around 45-50 with a long thick beard, possibly tied in a bow, who can also transform into a phoenix. The second one, silver-haired, quite handsome... Sometimes a third eye appears on his forehead. And the last one... in these circumstances, a four-armed bald guy with blue stripes on his body and brightly glowing eyes?"

Avengers: "...."

"Jarvis, find the ones this guy is talking about."

"Sir, there are matches. Two of them are literally three blocks north of here. The last one will arrive here in 3.....2...1"

"Asmodeus, ah, I brought a directional pointer with me for a reason. By the way, I know where these two fools are, but with the level of these beings, they won't even touch a hair on their heads. Nothing to worry about; we can have some fun."

Before the Avengers stood a peculiar figure. Four arms, two of them clearly metallic with strange runes inscribed on them. A bald head with blue glowing stripes running across the entire body and brightly shining eyes.

If it weren't for the fact that this creature spoke in a human language, they would have attacked immediately.

"Nicolas, you old scoundrel. Did you decide to die in your old age!? Jumping into a portal headfirst without knowing the destination. Mark my words; I'll tell Perenelle about your actions, I swear it won't go well for you!"

"No, please! I just wanted to retrieve Albus and Grindelwald. Why are you so harsh with me!?"

"And why run through worlds for 666 years!"

Avengers, except Thor: Did he just say 666 years?

"So, are we going to get Albus and Grindelwald and go home? I have a way."

"Already? Maybe we'll have a bit more fun? You know, my bones haven't had such a good warm-up in a long time! Besides, Albus will probably want to help those Muggles running around."

"Hmm... I don't want to linger in this world for long. It's more dangerous than it seems. Much more dangerous..."

"Oh? Does your prophecy work? You know, my prophecies don't work here at all, as if someone doesn't let them take effect. Perhaps only Grindelwald can see the future in this world, but you know, he can't see far in ordinary circumstances..."

"Cough, cough, yes, yes, prophecies..."

He can't reveal that he has seen the plot of this world and even read certain comics...

At that moment, Tony intervened in the conversation, already firing at the approaching Chitauri.

"Um, sorry to interrupt, but we're kind of in the middle of a battle, and you're here having a chat... Would you like to help?"

"Nicolas, take this potion, it replenishes Mana. Can you handle them?"

"Ha-ha-ha! With pleasure!"

Blue spears of condensed mana formed in Nicolas's hands. When they became dense enough, he threw them forward, exploding and destroying several Chitauri at once. In his current state, he was agile and physically strong, so the old man decided to rush ahead to the front lines. From a distance, Asmodeus thought he looked like an aggressive green Martian from the movie John Carter.

Just as the others were ready to begin the attack, they saw a red bird carrying a middle-aged man in its claws. They immediately understood that this was the person the strange guy calling himself a wizard had mentioned.

As Dumbledore flew past Asmodeus, he dropped Grindelwald and headed towards Nicolas. Transforming, he began attacking all nearby Chitauri with various spells. Dumbledore enjoyed the classical style of magical duels, unlike Asmodeus - aggressive and focused on explosive destructive force - Dumbledore's style was refined and deadly.

Seeing Grindelwald in front of him, Asmodeus asked, "What the hell were you doing on the tower just when the portal opened?"

"Hey, don't ask me! It was Albus who went in after I boasted that the amplifier in Nurmengard would work four days a week, not three like yours."

"Will this be too... Never mind why I'm even concerned about this now. As I understand it, Albus wanted you to pass something to me, since he didn't bother to stop himself."

"Yes, we noticed you flying by. Albus knew you'd quickly take him back, but he wants to help these Muggles."

"Merlin's dirty underwear! Why do you all enjoy being in an unknown world and fighting weak opponents? It would be better to arrange a duel between you and Albus; who knows, maybe you'll get revenge this time?"

"Hmm, you. I propose a wager: if I destroy more of these strange bugs than you, then you'll tell me what happened with Rovena yesterday evening. Everyone saw you leaving together..."

"Hmm, everything happened; I have no reason to hide it. But why do you want to know? I thought you, well, you know..."

"Who told you that? I play on both fronts; I'm not going to lose half the fun. Just don't tell Albus. But congratulations on Rovena; she suits you."

"Um, I probably have enough of half the fun, but thanks..."

As Asmodeus was about to say something else, Natasha approached them.

"I don't know if you're planning to help us or not, but your friends are already there. So here are two communicators; insert them into your ears, and you'll be able to talk at a distance."

"Thank you. Well, since Albus and Nicolas are having fun, why don't we relax a bit too?"

"Alright, convinced..."

With these words, Asmodeus began to change form. From head to toe, he gradually transformed into a fire elemental. Since the enemies aren't strong but numerous, Asmodeus decided to enter a state where he could unleash his fire magic to the fullest.

"Grindelwald elegantly drew his wand hidden in his sleeve and, activating his third eye, began to conduct the attack like a conductor orchestrating his fiendfire."

______________________________

Meanwhile, Tony, flying through the city and fending off Chitauri with melancholy, observed the relaxed wizards.

"Darn it, why are we struggling while they casually kill these creatures? And why the heck did that guy completely transform into fire?!"

"It's called elementalization, sir."

"Jarvis, I know what it's called, but how does it work?!"

"..."

At that moment, Steve joined the channel.

"It's easy for you to say; you're flying. Natasha, Barton, and I can only watch as these four teleport from one place to another!"

"..."

"Alright, that's not important now. How are you doing? Have you figured out how to close the portal?"

"Yes, Skipper Loki left a mark. Steve will pick it up, and we'll be ready to close the portal."

At that moment, Fury called Tony urgently.

"Stark, the Security Council launched a nuclear missile on the city against my decision!"

After ending the call with Nick, Tony quickly said to Natasha:

"Don't close the portal! They've launched a nuke at us, and I know where to divert it!"

At that moment, Asmodeus's voice echoed.

Before elementalizing, he had placed a transmitter in the storage system, but now, with no Chitauri around him and tired of just burning weaklings, he inserted the transmitter back into his ear.

"Oh, a nuclear missile? Lead it to us. Natasha, you can close the portal, don't worry."

"What!?"

"What!?"

"I don't know how it works for you wizards, but for us regular folks, if a nuclear missile is coming at us, the first reaction is to get away from it!"

"No, no. Guys, don't you understand that the so-called 'Security Council' just wants to get rid of you after seeing your abilities, and us too, by the way. So, I decided to give them a surprise..."

"Hey, Gellert, can you hear me?"

"Yes."

"Summon Albus and give him the transmitter."

"Albus here."

"Albus, Tony will bring a nuclear missile to you. Use transfiguration to turn it into whatever you want. Just make sure it returns to its original state after three minutes!"

"Understood, but what do you want to do with it?"

"Leave a little gift for the snakes..."

"Guys, you're insane... If we all die because of you....!"

"Don't worry, Albus is the best in transfiguration; he won't make a mistake."

"You all talk as if we understand anything about your so-called magic! Okay, but what does it mean to leave a little gift?"

"Do you know the coordinates of the main office of the Security Council?"

"Well, yes... It's ***********."

"Perfect. Lead the missile to Albus, Dumbledore. I'll be with you in a minute. The missile should be ready by then."

"Alright!"

Tony picked up the missile and guided it towards Dumbledore.

Fury, who saw this on the screen, shouted at the top of his lungs, "Damn, what are you doing!!! It's a ******* nuclear missile!!!"

As the missile flew towards Dumbledore, Tony, releasing the missile, quickly flew upward, just in case...

But fortunately, nothing terrible happened. Under the transfiguration magic of Albus, the missile turned into a rabbit.

Tony couldn't believe his eyes. "Hey, am I the only one seeing this?"

"Sir, I can confirm that I also saw the warhead transform into a rabbit..."

Just as Dumbledore finished his part, Asmodeus appeared nearby.

"I'll take it from here."

"Boom."

Asmodeus apparated to the coordinates provided by Tony. He appeared on the roof of the Security Council building in Washington, where Alexander Pierce currently was.

After a couple more apparitions, Asmodeus found himself on the very bottom level of the building, deep underground. This way, the collateral damage would be limited to a couple of blocks rather than the entire city.

After patting the rabbit, Asmodeus returned to the battlefield. At that moment, the portal closed, and with the loss of connection to the Chitauri mothership, they went offline. Though the mothership remained intact this time, it was still hundreds of light-years away from Earth, and no signal would reach it.

However, Asmodeus had already dealt with the local threats for the future Avengers:

One,

Two,

Three.

"Boom!" An explosion echoed in Washington.

The building filled with Hydra agents and several members of the Security Council who supported the plan to kill millions of innocent citizens was wiped off the face of the Earth forever.

A few seconds later, Fury called Tony again.

"What the hell did the fiery guy do?!"

"Huh?"

"The headquarters of the Security Council and the surrounding blocks were destroyed by huge explosion!"

"..."

"Uh, Asmodeus, that's your name, right? Did you relocate a nuclear bomb to the address I gave you?"

"Yes."

"But there were thousands of innocent people there!"

"You forgot that the Security Council was thinking about a plan that would result in the deaths of millions of innocent citizens when they sent the missile. Let it serve as a reminder for them. By the way, you'll thank me later; I took care of most of the Hydra agents in the Security Council. You're welcome."

Steve chimed in at this point.

"Hydra? They disappeared a long time ago! You're just insane, blowing up an entire block with a nuclear bomb!"

"I'll explain later, and you'll understand."

"What's there to understand! You killed thousands of people!"

Nevertheless, Tony decided to defend Asmodeus. He didn't know why, but it seemed to him that Asmodeus knew something crucial.

"Let's calm down, guys. Meet me at Stark Tower; my suit is almost out of energy."

"Fine, but if this wizard doesn't explain why he's so...!"

Asmodeus didn't bother listening further. He removed the earpiece and flew to Stark Tower. Asmodeus and Dumbledore were flying towards the tower, while Nicolas and Grindelwald apparated to the meeting point.

Grindelwald didn't conceal his third eye, but Nicolas decided to end his transformation. Tony and Hulk watched with interest as the four-armed monster gradually turned into a 60-year-old man.

Hulk: "Brother?"

The Avengers: "..."

At that moment, Asmodeus and Dumbledore descended from above in their phoenix forms. Seeing that everything was finally assembled and they could talk calmly, Tony asked, "Well, who are you, and where did you come from?"

Asmodeus wanted to answer, but Dumbledore, who had already transformed into his human form, interrupted him. Adjusting his beard, he began to introduce himself.

"Oh, excuse us for not introducing ourselves earlier. I am Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, the Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and a member of the Wizarding Council, holding the position of Deputy Chair. This three-eyed aggressive man is Gellert Grindelwald, the Headmaster of Nurmengard Academy, also a member of the Wizarding Council, responsible for overseeing law enforcement. This elderly man is my good friend - Nicolas Flamel, an alchemist and an honorary principal of the Charmbaton School of Magic, a member of the Wizarding Council responsible for developing new methods of applying alchemy. And the one you call the 'fiery guy' is Asmodeus, the Chairman of the Wizarding Council and the owner of the Elysium Academy for Research and Education in Magic."

"Okay, let's assume all these things are true. But why did you say Hydra was planning to get rid of us, and how is the Security Council involved in this?"

Just as Tony was about to inquire why Asmodeus claimed that the Security Council intended to kill them, they were interrupted by sparks gradually appearing in the air, forming a ring.

Witnessing the unfolding events, Asmodeus encircled the three elderly men and was about to use a teleportation ticket when he heard:

"Mr. Morningstar, I've come to you not for a battle but rather to discuss magic and exchange experiences."

Emerging from the portal was a bald woman - Ancient, supreme sorceress of the earth. The one Asmodeus was most concerned about, even though she sided with good and wouldn't attack Asmodeus without cause. But there was a cause: he was from another universe, first of all, and secondly, he may have disrupted the future she had carefully planned.

"Um... Can you appear here in their presence at this time? Won't it disrupt the sacred timeline?"

"Oh, you even know about our universe? It's fascinating how well your gift of prophecy extends..."

"Ancient one, I know much, but right now, I'm concerned about whether you consider me your enemy. You are the guardian of time on Earth, and we altered events..."

"Mr. Morningstar, you need not worry. Firstly, it's not your fault that you ended up in our universe. Secondly, the moment you entered this universe, I sensed the liberation from the shackles of those attempting to control time. Thirdly, the path chosen under previous circumstances is not necessarily the best... So, would you care for a cup of tea with me?"

"Asmodeus, let's go. She doesn't seem hostile, and besides, she's clearly a witch of this dimension. Maybe we can exchange experiences."

Dumbledore was clearly intrigued by the friendly nun offering him tea. "Do you have honey for the tea?"

"Yes, of course."

"Okay, fine. But firstly, she's a mage, not a witch, and secondly... even if I hadn't agreed, it would be too difficult to leave her with all of you on our tail, so we'll have to go."

"Mr. Morningstar, you speak as if I'm some kind of monster..."

Upon hearing Asmodeus's words, the ancient one opened her fan and gently waved it.

"Well, in a sense, except for Thor and Nicolas, everyone here is younger than you, at least by a couple of centuries..."

"Oh, didn't you know you're not supposed to mention a woman's age!"

The ancient one's eyes dangerously gleamed after Asmodeus's words.

"Hmm, sorry..."

Once all the wizards passed through the portal, and the Avengers thought this group would leave without answers, the ancient one looked at Tony.

"Are you coming?"

The Avengers were clearly surprised by such a question. "Us?"

"Well, the Avengers."

"Yes, yes, of course."

_________________________________________

Guys, please donate as many gems as you can. I'd like the book to go into the recommendations.