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"To be honest, even I didn't expect these black stone creations to possess such incredible power…"
At this point, Thor's face showed genuine admiration. He then raised his hand and pointed to the towering black stone obelisks in the distance, praising, "These black stone creations not only easily suppressed the Warp energy rampant in the Nine Realms, preventing its further expansion, but also weakened the power of the Chaos Demons that slipped out of the Eye of Fear!!"
However, Carol Danvers' mind wasn't on these black stone obelisks at all. After hearing Karl's name, her heart pounded repeatedly, and a bad premonition instantly enveloped her, so much so that she didn't hear Thor's subsequent words about the Chaos Demons.
Perhaps it was due to nervousness, or perhaps anger, but Carol Danvers unconsciously raised her voice several times, her expression urgent as she pressed, "So, that means the Tesseract is now in Karl Merks's hands?"
"Yes, didn't I just tell you that I exchanged the Tesseract for these black stone creations that have the effect of suppressing Warp energy corruption?" Thor frowned unhappily. "Why don't you listen properly when others speak?"
Damn it, was I really played by that seemingly harmless man?
Carol Danvers instinctively clenched her fists. In her opinion, Karl must have deliberately not mentioned that the Tesseract… no, the Space Stone was in his hands.
He did it to intentionally mislead her and shift the blame to Thanos.
How despicable!
How cunning!
And I trusted you so much then.
I even fell out with Nick Fury for you…
But just as Carol Danvers gritted her teeth, preparing to confront Karl when she returned to Earth, she heard Thor continue, "Wait a minute, you don't know yet that Mr. Karl Merks is actually a Dimensional God, do you?!"
"Wh-… what? What did you say?"
Carol Danvers felt as if she had been struck by lightning, a tingling sensation on her scalp, and her voice trembled slightly as she asked, "You just said Mr. Karl is what…?"
"A Dimensional God?"
Thor scratched his head, looking at her with a strange expression and saying, "It seems you don't know about this yet… Oh, well, if that's the case, just pretend I never said anything. Mr. Karl Merks is a very low-key person and probably wouldn't like people discussing this topic in private."
"Th-… how is this possible? Mr. Karl is clearly an Earthling, how… how could he be a Dimensional God?"
Carol Danvers felt her heart skip a beat at that moment.
Although she was neither an Arcane Master nor from a 'divine race' like Thor, she had heard some rumors about Dimensional Gods.
According to legends, these powerful rulers existing in other dimensions possessed the immense power to control everything within their dimensions.
Among them, some more evil Dimensional Gods had always tried to break through dimensional barriers and invade the real Universe, the most famous being Dormammu from the Dark Dimension.
The Arcane Masters of Kamar-Taj were a special group that existed specifically to resist these Dimensional Gods attempting to invade the real Universe.
"Wait a minute, aren't Dimensional Gods almost all existing as energy beings or other mysterious forms?"
Carol Danvers seemed to have thought of something, shaking her head as she said, "And Mr. Karl, I can confirm he is a human… or rather, his body is a human body!"
"I don't know about that."
Thor was also only partially informed about this, and helplessly spread his hands, saying, "But I can confirm that Mr. Karl Merks is not only a Dimensional God, but also the previous ruler of the Hyperspace Dimension, it's just that it was later invaded by four Chaos Gods."
"What?!"
Carol Danvers' pupils widened sharply, almost causing her jaw to drop.
She couldn't help but recall the man who sat on the Golden Throne, exuding an elegant aura with every gesture.
Who could have imagined that he was the Dimensional God in charge of the terrifying Warp Dimension?
If this news had come from anyone else, Carol Danvers would have probably dismissed it as a bad joke.
But coming from Thor, an elder of the Avengers, she had no choice but to believe it.
Because in this matter, he had no reason to deceive her.
Wait a minute?
Hyperspace Group?
Hyperspace Dimension!
Damn it, I should have guessed it earlier…
Carol Danvers turned her head to look at the towering black stone obelisks in the distance, her emotions already extremely complex.
She now seemed to be in a difficult predicament.
If she were to go to Sokovia to demand the Tesseract from Karl Merks, he would most likely… no, he would absolutely not agree.
So, it was very possible that the two would end up fighting over it.
If Karl Merks were just an ordinary human with superpowers, that would be fine. Even if Carol Danvers saw that his strength was greater than hers, she would still have the courage to fight him!
But if his identity was a Dimensional God, then the situation would be completely different.
While Carol Danvers was very confident in her own strength, she was far from reaching the point of arrogance.
Because the outcome was obvious…
She was having trouble even fighting Thor, let alone a Dimensional God who held both the Power Stone and the Space Stone!
Wouldn't that be like an old man hanging himself—seeking death?
However, on the other hand, for Carol Danvers, the Tesseract being in Karl Merks's hands was both a good thing and a bad thing.
Because it was clear from their previous conversation that Karl Merks had a strong sense of belonging to Earth.
It was precisely for this reason that he chose to help out during every major disaster instead of sitting idly by.
So, with the Tesseract in his hands, Carol Danvers didn't have to worry about it being stolen by people or forces with ulterior motives, nor did she have to worry about it being used to create slaughter and disaster.
Like that mad Titan called Thanos…
But at the same time, Carol Danvers was also somewhat concerned that Karl Merks might become increasingly insane and out of control due to his power inflating from possessing two infinity stones, and begin to act as he pleased.
It should be known that the power an infinity stone could unleash in the hands of an ordinary person was simply incomparable to the power it could unleash in the hands of a Dimensional God.
More critically, what if one day someone angers Karl Merks to the point where he, like Thanos, simply snaps his fingers and completely erases humanity?
At that point, let alone S.H.I.E.L.D., even she would be powerless!
Honestly, Carol Danvers could now somewhat understand why Nick Fury became so flustered and lost his composure the moment he heard the Power Stone was in Karl Merks's hands.
Because his presence had grown so immense that no one on Earth could contend with him.
This meant that Karl Merks, without necessary restraints, could destroy Earth or eradicate humanity at any time.
And humanity, on its part, was completely powerless to do anything about it.
They could only place all their hopes on Karl Merks having a high moral bottom line, and not casually committing such inhumane acts.
And this fear would hang over all of humanity like a Sword of Damocles, with no one knowing when it might fall.
What should I do?
Should I go to Sokovia to demand the Tesseract?
Or should I pretend not to know anything, find an excuse to brush off Nick Fury, and be done with it?
As Carol Danvers continuously pondered her options, Thor, seeing her silence, raised his hand and removed mjolnir from her, then said with a grin:
"Since you don't want to fight anymore, I'll go back and report to my father. I still need to return to the front lines to continue monitoring the movements of the Chaos Gods."
"Wait a moment."
Carol Danvers stood up from the ground and asked with a complex expression:
"You said before that Karl Merks was stranded on Earth because his Hyperspace Dimension was invaded by four Chaos Gods?"
"That's right," Thor said, stroking his chin. "Mr. Karl Merks told me that himself at the time."
Carol Danvers nodded noncommittally, then pointed to the towering black stone obelisks in the distance and spoke again, "Can those black stone...creations truly suppress the corrosion and invasion of Warp energy?"
"The effect is quite good!"
Thor gave a thumbs-up and said emotionally, "Without these black stone obelisks, I'm afraid that besides your Midgard, the other great realms in the Nine Realms, including Asgard, would have already fallen, becoming dead Planets teeming with flesh and demons."
"So, many people in the Nine Realms, including myself, are very grateful for this black stone creation that Mr. Karl Merks developed."
Carol Danvers's eyes narrowed slightly upon hearing this, as if Thor's last sentence had helped her make a certain decision.
"Thank you for telling me the truth."
Carol Danvers politely nodded to Thor, then a dazzling light surged around her again, and she shot into the sky, returning to the spaceship hovering in space.
"Fury, I'm truly sorry this time..."
Carol Danvers had already made up her mind; she would temporarily not inform Nick Fury that the Tesseract had fallen into Karl's hands, nor did she plan to go to Sokovia to negotiate with Karl.
Because she felt that the Tesseract remaining in Karl Merks's hands was more 'beneficial' than 'detrimental'!
Among other things, when dealing with Thanos, that extremely threatening cosmic overlord, they could leverage Karl Merks's power to ensure everything was foolproof.
After all, if Thanos wanted to collect all six infinity stones, he would inevitably have to seize those 'two' infinity stones from Karl Merks.
So, with this Dimensional God overseeing Earth, Thanos's actions would most likely end in failure.
Carol Danvers was optimistic about this.
Similarly, she also did not plan to tell Nick Fury that Karl Merks was actually a Dimensional God!
Because she knew Nick Fury too well.
Once he learned these secrets, he would inevitably fall into extreme anxiety.
He might even, in his eagerness to restrain Karl Merks, secretly devise some misguided plans that could very likely lead to disaster.
Out of their past friendship, Carol Danvers did not want to see Nick Fury make a rod for his own back.
Therefore, saying nothing and explaining nothing at the moment became the best solution!
However, this approach was somewhat unfair to Nick Fury, as he was probably eagerly waiting for her to bring the Tesseract back.
Thinking of this, a hint of apology appeared on Carol Danvers's face, but it was quickly swept away by rekindled determination.
"Thanos, as long as I'm here, your plan won't succeed..."
...
Meanwhile.
Far away in a certain star system.
A spaceship as massive as a small asteroid hung silently in the dark and profound cosmic space.
It was none other than Thanos's flagship, Sanctuary II.
Inside the Command Center, Ebony Maw, leader of the Black Order, slowly walked up to Thanos, knelt on one knee, and respectfully said:
"My Lord, our spies on Xandar have sent back word that a few days ago, Gamora and Star-Lord, among others, took Ronan's corpse to Xandar and collected Ronan's bounty from Nova Supreme."
"It is now almost certain that she has truly betrayed you... She has let down your devoted cultivation of her over these years; her actions are simply unforgivable!"
However, upon hearing this news, Thanos on the throne showed no surprise; instead, a playful smile appeared on his face, as if he had long anticipated Gamora's actions.
"Where is the Power Stone?" Thanos asked indifferently. "Is it in Gamora's hands?"
"That is currently unknown," Ebony Maw shook his head. "Gamora did not hand the Power Stone over to the Nova Corps. If they haven't hidden it themselves, then it should still be on Earth."
Then, he looked up at Thanos on the throne and continued eagerly:
"My Lord, do we need to apprehend Gamora now and force her to reveal the exact whereabouts of the Power Stone?"
"Don't touch her for now."
Thanos said thoughtfully, "Since Gamora knows the whereabouts of the Power Stone, we don't need to act in a hurry."
"Right now, we need to find another, more important item... With it, I can better unleash the true power of the infinity stones!!"
"Yes, My Lord."
Ebony Maw seemed to suddenly remember something and added, "Oh, by the way, Nebula seems to have been captured by Gamora as well..."
However, before he could finish speaking, Thanos waved his hand to interrupt him, "Ignore her."