I'm the Real Mage Spider-Man

"Dragons do not dwell with snakes."

Hearing that, Coulson froze for a moment, then his expression darkened.

Then, as if he had suddenly thought of something, his expression became uncertain.

At last, Coulson gave Russell a long look and asked:

"Russell, are you rejecting S.H.I.E.L.D., or... warning S.H.I.E.L.D.?"

"Both."

Russell nodded, then added,

"Coulson, the duty of Kamar-Taj's sorcerers is to protect the world from magical incursions. We generally do not interfere with the workings of the real world."

The implication was clear: S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra could sort out their own mess. Don't come looking for him.

Of course, if he wanted to step in, he would.

Generally do not interfere = whether he interfered depended on his mood.

"Understood, Russell."

In order to get intelligence from Russell about the Doctor Pym-Mephisto incident as quickly as possible, Coulson had stayed at Russell's Bookstore these past few days.

Now, it seemed more than worth it.

Coulson left with a grave expression. He needed to report the news immediately.

Russell's battle with Mephisto, as well as Russell's implication that Hydra agents were hidden within S.H.I.E.L.D.

"Russell's warning, Doctor Pym's testimony, Hope being ambushed during her mission, and Howard's death...

Has Hydra really risen again within S.H.I.E.L.D.?"

At S.H.I.E.L.D., Nick Fury's brows were tightly furrowed.

At this point, everyone he looked at seemed like they might be Hydra.

"Who can be trusted?"

His gaze slowly shifted before finally landing on the file labeled "Avengers."

After a moment of silence, Gwen asked in a slightly subdued voice, "Is Helen in hell too?"

Russell shook his head, then explained,

"There are many Hell Dimensions. Helen isn't in the Hell Dimension ruled by Mephisto.

Or rather, the Hell Dimension corresponding to Earth-65 is not Mephisto's Hell Dimension."

Gwen's eyes brightened slightly.

"So Helen's soul is in another hell.

Then... can we go to Earth-65's Hell Dimension and save Helen's soul?"

Russell nodded. "As long as we find the coordinates, of course we can."

Russell did not tell Gwen what they would do after saving Helen's soul.

Tony had no way, but he did.

At that moment, Eileen, who had finished her homework and packed up her textbooks, was getting ready to leave. When she reached the counter and saw Russell, she asked:

"Russell, I haven't seen you at the bookstore in a long time. What have you been up to lately?"

"Adult business. Kids shouldn't pry."

Russell brushed her off.

What he had been doing these past few days obviously wasn't suitable to tell Eileen. Making up an excuse would be too much trouble.

"Hmph!"

Eileen snorted unhappily.

"Don't think I don't know."

As she spoke, Eileen lowered her voice.

"Russell, you're a sorcerer too, right? Have you been out saving the world lately?"

Russell shook his head.

He had gone to scheme against Mephisto, not save the world. There was no need to flatter himself.

"How boring," Eileen muttered.

Ever since she had accidentally learned that Gwen was Ghost-Spider, she had been convinced that Russell was the masked weirdo from that day and that he was closely connected to the bald sorcerer who appeared afterward.

Besides, the bookstore's strange happenings had long since spread throughout the neighborhood.

"By the way, Eileen. Let me ask you something."

Russell wanted to "test" the girl.

"Which do you like more, sorcerers or Spider-Man?

If I remember correctly, you dressed up as a sorcerer last Halloween Night."

Spider-Man had saved Eileen from a vampire, while Master Ancient One had removed Eileen's vampire defect.

They were both "superheroes" Eileen liked very much.

Eileen gave a sly smile. Over the past half year, she had already thought through that question.

She wanted both!

"I like Mage Spider-Man."

Whoosh!

Russell felt a gaze land on his face.

Russell coughed a few times and asked:

"A sorcerer is a sorcerer, and Spider-Man is Spider-Man. How can you connect the two?"

"Why can't I?" Eileen shot back, then glanced at the sky.

"Alright, enough chatting. I have something to do, so I'm leaving. Bye, Russell. Bye, Gwen."

"Bye, Eileen." x2.

After exchanging farewells, Eileen slung on her backpack and hurried away.

There was an unusual bulge in her backpack, though it was impossible to tell whether it was a racket or something else.

"I like Mage Spider-Man~"

Gwen's chilly voice sounded beside Russell's ear.

At the same time, a small hand crept around his waist.

It grabbed him and twisted hard.

"Hiss~"

Russell cooperatively sucked in a breath, his face twisting slightly into a pained expression.

"Alright, stop acting, you drama queen."

Gwen released him. Though she grumbled at Russell, her gaze grew softer and softer.

"Hehe."

Russell chuckled and dropped his exaggerated expression.

Pain? As if.

After their playful moment, Russell asked about Eileen:

"Gwen, has Eileen been acting strangely lately? The wear on her shoe soles is odd. It doesn't look like wear from normal walking."

Gwen thought carefully, calculated the time difference between the two universes, then suggested:

"I'm not sure, but it probably started a few days ago. How about we follow her tonight and take a look?"

"Alright."

Eileen Smith was, more or less, a Super Soldier now. If she was not guided properly, she could cause considerable damage.

That was not something Russell and Gwen wanted to see.

As night fell, after The City of Angels, The Big Apple also welcomed the Mage Spider-Man and Ghost-Spider duo.

Russell and Gwen found a high place and watched Eileen from afar.

She wore a bodysuit identical to Ghost-Spider's and held a stick that looked remarkably like a staff.

Though the combination looked rather mismatched, she really did look like "Mage Spider-Man."

After darting over walls and rooftops, Eileen landed on a building's rooftop.

Daredevil Matt Murdock had already been waiting there for some time.

"Eileen, becoming a hero means carrying many burdens. Are you ready?"

Matt had been waiting there to train Eileen. Before every training session, he asked her that question.

A few days ago, when he had gone to seek Russell's help as Daredevil, he happened to run into Eileen, who had become Mage Spider-Man and was fighting evil.

If Eileen had been an adult, he would not have meddled.

But he had heard clearly that Eileen was only around sixteen.

Her values had yet to fully take shape, and she lacked an understanding of how vicious bad people could be.

After several failed attempts to dissuade her, he decided to stop Eileen in the name of training.

"I'm ready."

Eileen answered seriously.

Becoming Mage Spider-Man had not been a whim. She had thought about it for more than half a year.

She had been caught in the rain herself, so she wanted to hold an umbrella for others.

Just like Gwen, Russell, that mysterious bald sorcerer, and the Daredevil standing before her.

Watching from afar, Russell and Gwen exchanged a glance, both relieved and worried.

Relieved that Eileen had not gone astray after suddenly gaining power far beyond that of an ordinary person;

Worried that she might be injured—or even die—while fighting for justice.

"Still..." Russell rubbed his chin.

"I'm the real Mage Spider-Man."