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*****
Hearing Fini's words, Nick Fury began mentally calculating the level of threat the boy posed—or more accurately, he was wondering if he could actually take him down if it ever became necessary.
However, he couldn't be certain if Fini was telling the truth. Moreover, those portals were simply too broken and unpredictable. If Stark continued to provide Fini with a non-stop supply of munitions, the two of them alone could potentially dismantle an entire country.
After a brief, silent moment of longing for a certain woman who could tear through battleships with her bare hands, Nick decided that Fini wasn't that big of a deal after all.
Of course, Nick Fury had no way of knowing at this moment that Fini also had a powerful woman backing him—and she happened to be bald!
"I need a way to reach you at any time," Nick stated. Even though Fini hadn't chosen to join the team he was planning to build, establishing a line of communication meant the meeting had achieved its primary goal.
"Just call this number."
Fini recited a phone number. His device had already been modified by Tony to include anti-tracking features for all incoming calls.
"Oh, right, one more thing."
Fini suddenly remembered something and quickly spoke to Nick, who was finishing saving the contact. "Find a way to change that 'Silver Knight' nickname. I don't even have a mount; how can you call me a knight?"
"..."
Nick's expression turned slightly bizarre. He was the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., the head of the largest intelligence organization in the world—was he really being asked to act as a branding consultant for nicknames?
"Then what do you want to change it to?" Nick asked, going to great lengths to stay on Fini's good side.
"The Silver Explosion Mage!"
"Pfft!"
Tony, who had been lingering in the background like a ghost, suddenly choked. He nearly sprayed his wine everywhere, leaving Fini looking a bit embarrassed.
"Is it not good?" Fini asked.
"I think 'Fried Chicken Wrap Man' has a nice ring to it," Tony suggested with a shrug, acting as if he were giving genuinely helpful advice.
"Get lost!"
Fini snapped back irritably. He couldn't help but start overthinking it; apparently, the nickname really was a bit too long.
Most Marvel superhero names were simple: Captain America, Captain Marvel, Iron Man, War Machine, Thor, Black Panther, Spider-Man, and so on. There really didn't seem to be any heroes with names longer than five or six syllables.
"Forget it, don't change it for now."
Mocked by Tony, Fini began to doubt the nickname he had spent so long pondering. Besides, even though he was currently wearing 'Incursio,' he wouldn't necessarily be equipped with it forever.
Seeing Fini get so hung up on something so trivial made Nick feel a bit speechless. This was worlds apart from the 'Silver Knight' image he had initially formed.
"Agent Romanoff already knows your name. It should be fine to tell her your identity. I'll have her deliver the items you requested when the time comes."
"Her!?"
Fini frowned slightly. He didn't actually have a great impression of Black Widow, largely because she was far too skilled at social manipulation and extracting intelligence. Not to mention, she was the primary reason his identity had been compromised in the first place.
"What about that semi-bald guy, Coulson?" Fini asked. The honest Coulson was much better; although he was also an agent, he was far more sincere at heart.
"He's currently on a mission," Nick replied.
Upon hearing this, Fini's heart skipped a beat. He asked with feigned casualness, "What mission?"
"That's classified!" Nick frowned, noticing that Fini's expression seemed slightly off.
"Does it have anything to do with a hammer?"
Fini wasn't worried about influencing things; he didn't plan to get involved anyway. He just wanted to confirm if Thor had already been exiled to Earth.
Nick stared straight at Fini. He desperately wanted to know where Fini's intelligence came from. Coulson had only arrived at his destination yesterday to discover the object was a hammer.
"You know what that is?"
"Yeah, a weapon. A very famous one. You guys might even know it." Fini looked at Tony, who was also watching with curiosity, and explained: "Mjolnir. The Hammer of Thor."
"Are you saying that's the hammer from the myths?" Tony thought Fini was joking.
"Yes, and its owner is here too." Fini looked at Tony with a mocking tone. "I told you long ago that many aliens have visited Earth. This Thor is one of them."
"You mean that's actually an alien weapon, and another alien has arrived on Earth?" Nick's expression changed. He hadn't expected this situation to involve extraterrestrials.
"Don't worry so much. How about this: if you can bring me that thing I want by tomorrow, I'll tell you some intel about them. Deal?"
Fini looked at Nick with interest. He was also a bit afraid of the plot spiraling out of control, so he hoped to get his hands on the 'Obelisk' as soon as possible.
"I'll come back to talk to you about the consultant position later. I'm leaving now."
After saying a quick word to Tony, Nick Fury left decisively. He didn't fully believe Fini, but he didn't doubt him either. Regardless, he had to go back and investigate this immediately.
"Were you serious?"
After Nick left, leaving only Fini and Tony in the room, Tony couldn't help but ask curiously, "A hammer and the alien Thor have actually come to Earth?"
"Yeah. If nothing goes wrong, he was exiled here." Fini didn't want to guarantee that everything would happen exactly like the original story, so he kept his words non-committal.
"Exiled!?" Tony was stunned, his brow furrowing. "You mean they've always had a connection to Earth?"
"Pretty much." Fini was worried about whether Nick Fury had left any hidden bugs in Tony's penthouse, so he didn't dare say too much. He changed the subject. "What about your building?"
"It's fine. I was planning on remodeling it anyway." When it came to matters involving money, Tony clearly didn't care that much.
After chatting for a few more minutes, Fini headed home. Since most of the property destroyed belonged to Stark Industries, Tony was likely going to be very busy for the next few days. Additionally, the fallout from the battle had to be managed by Tony—that was the price of going public.
After several hours of fermentation, news of the battle gradually spread elsewhere. For instance, to Kamar-Taj.
When Fini went to Kamar-Taj for his early practice that evening, he found many sorcerers secretly stealing glances at him. Although he had expected this might happen, he still felt a bit uncomfortable. This was likely one of the reasons he hadn't wanted to expose his identity.
"I assume you all know by now!"
Left with no choice, Fini decided to address it head-on. He said helplessly, "I ask that you fellow sorcerers keep this a secret. Please do not reveal my identity to the outside world."
"Mage Fini, how did you perform that spell?"
Seeing Fini strike up a conversation, a curious sorcerer asked. In the video, the magic circle produced by Fini's Explosion Magic looked somewhat like Kamar-Taj's spells, but its essence was fundamentally different.
"Sorry, that's a secret." Fini spread his hands helplessly. Inquiring about the secrets of a spell was something only very close individuals could do, so his refusal to answer was perfectly normal.
"Fini, it seems you've picked up another nickname: 'The Knight of Divine Retribution.' Apparently, someone has even started a Church of Divine Retribution."
"What?"
Fini was dumbfounded. His Explosion Magic was clearly that powerful, so why couldn't he shake the word 'Knight'? Does everyone who wears armor have to be a knight!?
Dammit, who says a mage can't wear armor!
(End of Chapter)