"Countless times stronger?"
Ant-Man's expression turned strange.
"Are you serious?"
"I just watched Thor fight."
"And you're telling me Thanos is countless times stronger than someone like him?"
It was obvious he didn't believe it.
Before Tony Stark could answer, Bruce Banner spoke first.
"Tony's right."
"Thanos is far stronger than any of us expected."
"Before we left Earth, we all believed that no matter how powerful he was, we'd eventually find a way to defeat him."
"But after fighting him twice..."
"We realized just how terrifying he really is."
"Those battles only happened because Thanos was holding back."
"If he had truly intended to kill us..."
"I doubt many of us would have made it back alive."
Silence fell over the room.
If only Tony had said it, they might have dismissed it as exaggeration.
But Bruce was confirming every word.
That made it impossible to ignore.
Thor was already unimaginably powerful.
So just how terrifying was someone far stronger than Thor?
For a moment...
Everyone questioned whether the combined strength of Earth could truly stand against such an enemy.
As the person being discussed, Thor finally spoke.
"I don't know about anyone else."
"But I know this."
"Even with Stormbreaker..."
"Even after giving everything I had..."
"I still felt powerless against Thanos."
"And that was before he even used the Infinity Stones."
Between Tony...
Bruce...
And Thor...
Only a few sentences were enough to leave everyone speechless.
"If that's true..."
"We're in serious trouble."
Rocket Raccoon listened to the heavy atmosphere before letting out a dry laugh.
"Hey, guys."
"You think that's the worst part?"
"Let me tell you something."
"The biggest problem is that Thanos already has three Infinity Stones."
"And according to Tony..."
"The remaining three are all on Earth."
"So that means..."
"That big purple maniac will be here very soon."
At that moment...
A helpless voice suddenly sounded from behind.
"Did you just say..."
"Thanos already has three Infinity Stones?"
Rocket nearly jumped out of his fur.
He spun around.
A glowing circular portal appeared.
A man wearing a flowing cloak calmly stepped through it.
"Come on, buddy."
"Could you stop sneaking up on people like that?"
"You'll scare someone to death."
Doctor Stephen Strange looked at Rocket with an amused smile.
"That only applies if you're human."
"But you're a raccoon."
"So I think you'll be fine."
Rocket's face instantly darkened.
Ignoring him, Stephen addressed everyone.
"I'm Stephen Strange."
"I believe Tony has already mentioned me."
Rocket's eyes widened immediately.
His gaze locked onto the glowing pendant hanging from Strange's chest.
His eyes practically sparkled.
"That's the Time Stone?"
"It looks beautiful."
Stephen smiled.
"I call it the Eye of Agamotto."
"And yes."
"It is beautiful."
"But I don't think you'd enjoy owning it."
"That would be a very bad idea."
"Of course."
"Of course."
Rocket nodded repeatedly.
Even so...
The greed in his eyes never disappeared.
Stephen simply ignored him.
Looking at everyone else, he said,
"If Thanos already possesses three Infinity Stones..."
"Then he's most likely already on his way to Earth."
Tony suddenly frowned.
"Hold on."
"You said three Infinity Stones are on Earth."
"The Time Stone is the Eye of Agamotto."
"And it's with you."
"So where are the other two?"
Thor answered immediately.
"I don't know where the Mind Stone was before."
"But the Reality Stone should be with Lock Technology."
"When Asgard fell into crisis, Jane was dying before I left Earth."
"The Reality Stone appeared inside her."
"Nolan removed it afterward."
Bruce looked surprised.
"I always thought the Reality Stone was kept in Asgard."
"I never imagined it was on Earth."
Thor shrugged.
"So did I."
"I believed the same thing."
"But later I learned that my father, Odin, hid the Reality Stone inside Jane to protect it."
"Later..."
"He made a deal with Nolan."
"And the Reality Stone was part of that agreement."
"So there's no doubt."
"The Reality Stone is now inside Lock Technology."
"As far as I know..."
"Only Nolan knows exactly where it's being kept."
Tony nodded.
"Then what about the Mind Stone?"
This time, Stephen answered.
"It's also at Lock Technology."
"After the last great battle..."
"Nolan recovered the Mind Stone."
"It's been stored in Lock Technology's underground vault ever since."
"As far as we know..."
"There is no safer place on Earth."
"That's why the Masters of the Mystic Arts have never considered taking it away."
Everyone was stunned.
No one had expected Nolan to possess two Infinity Stones.
He had even held the Space Stone before returning it.
If he had refused...
The Space Stone would probably have joined his collection.
One man...
Holding three Infinity Stones.
The thought alone was unbelievable.
But this wasn't the time to dwell on it.
Now that they understood the situation...
Tony immediately made a decision.
"Lock Technology can't stay out of this anymore."
"With two Infinity Stones in Nolan's hands..."
"Our next step is obvious."
"We need to find Nolan."
"We need to discuss how we're going to stop Thanos."
"This time..."
"The entire planet has to stand together."
Then Tony turned toward Stephen.
"When Thanos invades..."
"The sorcerers will fight with us, right?"
The previous battles had shown him something important.
Earth wasn't protected only by superheroes.
Hidden in the shadows...
There existed another force.
The Masters of the Mystic Arts.
An ancient and incredibly powerful organization.
Not only had they produced legends like the Ancient One...
Many of their sorcerers were every bit as formidable as Earth's greatest heroes.
In some ways...
Their overall strength might even surpass the Avengers and the military forces of many nations combined.
If they joined the battle against Thanos...
Everyone's confidence would rise dramatically.
After all...
Thanos wasn't dangerous only because of his own strength.
He commanded an army capable of conquering worlds.
Without enough allies...
Stopping that army would be nearly impossible.
Stephen's expression became solemn.
"I will fight."
"But I'm sorry."
"Beyond the sorcerers of Kamar-Taj..."
"We cannot expect assistance from the rest of the world's mystic community."
"What?"
Tony's face changed immediately.
Even those who already knew magic existed found that hard to believe.
The others were even more confused.
There were more sorcerers besides Kamar-Taj?
Tony's expression darkened.
"I understand the responsibilities of the sorcerers."
"And I know they're important."
"But Thanos is stronger than anything we've ever faced."
"Even if all of Earth unites..."
"We're still not confident we can stop him."
"If the sorcerers withdraw from this battle just to guard against possible interdimensional threats..."
"We'll lose any chance we have."
"We can't gamble on a possibility..."
"When a real threat is already standing at our doorstep."
Stephen calmly replied,
"The participation of Kamar-Taj already represents the greatest commitment the sorcerers can offer."
"Because we know..."
"The moment Thanos invades Earth..."
"The interdimensional entities will not remain idle."
"They will attack."
"And when that happens..."
"Only the remaining sorcerers will be able to stop them."
Tony fell silent.
Stephen continued explaining.
"The beings that rule other dimensions are far more powerful than you imagine."
"They possess unimaginable strength."
"And they are extremely sensitive to massive fluctuations of energy."
"If a war erupts across Earth..."
"They will immediately recognize it as the perfect opportunity."
"If no one is left to oppose them..."
"The entire planet will be destroyed."
"So our only hope..."
"Is that the sorcerers can delay their advance."
"And before they break through..."
"You can defeat Thanos."
"Otherwise..."
"If either battlefield falls..."
"Earth's fate will be exactly the same."
"Total destruction."
Many people couldn't help inhaling sharply.
Not everyone understood magic.
Very few truly understood other dimensions.
But after hearing Stephen's explanation...
They finally realized how hopeless the coming war truly was.
They had believed Thanos was the greatest threat.
Now they understood...
There were two battlefields.
If either one collapsed...
Earth would perish.
Tony finally asked the question weighing on everyone's heart.
"Do the sorcerers have any confidence?"
He no longer wanted to ask them to fight Thanos.
He remembered fighting Dormammu.
That had been only one interdimensional ruler.
Yet it had taken Nolan...
Stephen...
Himself...
And countless sorcerers...
Just to force Dormammu back.
If Earth's crisis attracted more than one being of that level...
Tony couldn't even imagine what would happen.
Especially when Nolan...
Stephen...
And himself...
Would all be absent from the magical battlefield.
Without them...
The remaining sorcerers would likely have to sacrifice their lives just to buy time.
And Tony hated that possibility.
By now...
He had already accepted one unavoidable truth.
Without Nolan...
They had virtually no chance of defeating Thanos.
Stephen answered honestly.
"No."
"But we have no other choice."
Silence returned.
No one spoke again.
There was nothing left to argue.
This was the reality they had to face.
Thor finally broke the silence.
"We should go to Lock Technology."
"We need to speak with Nolan."
"He's the only person capable of confronting Thanos head-on."
Everyone nodded.
There was no time to waste.
Every second they delayed...
Thanos drew one step closer to Earth.
Stephen raised his hand.
A golden portal appeared.
Beyond it...
The entrance to Lock Technology Tower could be seen.
He deliberately chose not to open the portal inside the building.
Doing so without permission would be disrespectful to Nolan.
If he were alone...
It wouldn't matter.
But this group was too large.
Many of them had never even met Nolan.
Entering his office uninvited would be inappropriate.
As soon as they stepped out in front of Lock Technology...
Nolan already knew they had arrived.
By the time they reached the top floor...
His office door was already open.
"Hey, Tony."
"Looks like you're back from space."
There wasn't the slightest trace of surprise on Nolan's face.
Tony wasn't surprised either.
Their departure hadn't been publicly announced.
But it wasn't difficult for Nolan to figure it out.
Besides...
Tony was certain Bruce had informed him.
After all...
Bruce Banner was an employee of Lock Technology.
Thinking of that...
Tony glanced sideways at Bruce.
Bruce simply shrugged.
It was obvious.
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