The Battle of New York Ends

Actually, Luca had wanted to say something.

Since the Ancient One had a need for the Hexcore, why not just ask her to provide him with four different magic runes? And if it were convenient, she could also "borrow" a small Arc Reactor from Tony Stark's warehouse for him.

If that were the case, he might be able to synthesize the Hexcore on the spot and trade it with her.

It would also save a big shot like the Ancient One from having to waste time waiting.

As it turned out, who would have thought she would just vanish without even saying a word?

These big shots, every single one of them, are all damn riddle-mongers!

He grumbled in his mind, though he did have a few guesses as to why the Ancient One wanted the Hexcore.

According to the lore, most mages in the Marvel universe did not actually possess their own mana.

To cast spells, they needed to borrow power from corresponding dimensional entities.

And since it was borrowing, it naturally had to be repaid.

Sources of white magic like the Vishanti were fine; no matter how much one used, it was just a matter of working to pay off the debt in the end.

If one used the power of a dark entity like Dormammu, however, even a small amount of borrowed power could lead to the caster's corruption, turning them into a mindless puppet.

The Hexcore, in essence, was an infinite source of magical energy.

Where exactly it drew its power from, Luca did not know.

But if they had this thing, perhaps the mages of Kamar-Taj could extract power from it to cast spells without needing to borrow from dimensional entities.

This might be useless to a big shot like the Ancient One, who was a habitual deadbeat that not only refused to pay back debts but would also beat up her creditors.

But for the ordinary mages of Kamar-Taj, it would likely allow them to cast spells without having to be so stingy, preventing them from all turning into melee muscle-heads.

Thinking about these random things, Luca took one last look in the direction of Stark Tower.

Who would have guessed he would see Loki picking up the Tesseract from the ground.

He didn't need a closer look to notice it.

The Tesseract in Loki's hand was emitting a bright white radiance that hadn't been present on the previous core components.

This white glow even faintly overshadowed the Tesseract's own light.

Although he was quite far away, Luca subconsciously took two steps forward.

But before he could make a move, Loki had already taken advantage of everyone's distraction to quickly open a portal and vanish from the spot.

"A core component? The Space Stone, or the Tesseract itself?"

"With that level of white light just now, I could probably synthesize something incredible. What a pity."

Recalling the sensation from a moment ago, Luca shook his head helplessly and picked up his backpack from the ground again.

"It's something I can't get my hands on for now anyway. As for this hot potato, I'll just have to wait until I have a chance to touch it later to see what it can synthesize."

With his current strength, even if he possessed such a treasure, he would be powerless to keep it.

Thinking of this, Luca followed the crowd, who were fleeing in panic from the Hulk, and walked quickly toward the direction of his home.

Along the way, Luca pondered in his heart.

Although I've decided not to interfere, Loki's departure means the future has already deviated from my memories. And since it's confirmed this isn't the movie universe's timeline, it seems I shouldn't trust the plot too much in the future.

At the very least, in Luca's impression, Asgard's Bifrost was still in a state of disrepair.

Originally, Thor taking the Tesseract would have repaired the Bifrost.

Now that it was gone, it would become much more difficult for Thor to travel to and from Earth.

There was also the matter of Avengers: Endgame, where Captain America had supposedly returned all the Infinity Stones in the end.

But he had taken the Loki Scepter containing the Mind Stone, yet returned only the Mind Stone itself; this would inevitably have an impact on the plot.

However, Luca's current strength and influence were too insignificant; even if he considered these things, he was powerless to participate.

Calculating the potential changes these factors might have on subsequent events, it wasn't long before Luca returned to the bottom of his apartment building.

Aside from a few times when he was almost mistaken for a casualty by disaster relief workers and dragged off to a treatment station, he hadn't encountered any trouble.

Glancing into the small alley and seeing that the members of the Avengers hadn't returned, he prepared to head upstairs.

However, just then, Luca noticed several medical rescue workers carrying a stretcher and walking quickly out of the building.

And the robust middle-aged woman walking beside the stretcher was actually an acquaintance of Luca's.

"Aunt Shamila?"

Luca took two quick steps forward. The woman he called "Aunt Shamila" turned her head at the sound, then rushed over and pulled Luca into her arms.

"Young Master Luca, I thought you were also..."

The woman before him was named Shamila Beletskaya, the driver and bodyguard for the Orange family.

She was very close to Luca's mother, Gina Orange, and was said to have been a battle-hardened soldier who had truly seen combat; for some reason, she had chosen to retire and become a driver.

In any case, in Luca's memories, this Aunt Shamila had been by his mother's side since the original owner was very young. She had no other family or social life, so she could be considered the most trustworthy person around his parents.

Luca looked past Shamila's shoulder.

Sure enough, lying on the stretcher was his mother, Gina.

"Has she not woken up at all? Still, it's fortunate that she was able to wait for rescue."

A flicker of guilt for leaving the severely injured and unconscious Gina alone at home crossed his mind, but he immediately pushed it aside.

Shamira, who was holding onto Luca, looked at the boy with a face full of heartache as she saw him staring at the stretcher.

"The master has already... thank goodness you are alright, Young Master Luca!"

She gently supported Luca's right arm, which was now missing its prosthetic. Though she had wanted to ask where he had run off to earlier, she simply pressed her lips together and said nothing more.

Seeing this, Luca shook his head slightly.

"I just got lost on the street earlier. How is my mother doing now?"

Luca knew that Shamira had likely just rushed over from the company, but at the very least, she had watched the rescue workers lift Gina onto the stretcher, so she should have some understanding of her condition.

As a veteran who had walked off the battlefield, Shamira quickly suppressed her emotions and explained to Luca.

"Currently, there are only a few external wounds, which have already been bandaged. As for the cause of her unconsciousness, it cannot be determined for the time being; we will have to wait until we reach the hospital for a more detailed examination."

"Fortunately, the Homeowners Association has quite a bit of influence, so the rescue here was among the most timely. As for whether a private medical team will be needed later, we will have to wait for the preliminary results before making a judgment."

Luca nodded upon hearing this.

Although the attack on Manhattan had targeted the city center and covered a significant area, the number of damaged buildings, casualties, and fatalities was not small.

However, the luxury apartment building where the Orange family lived was quite expensive, and most of the residents held a certain social status.

Therefore, whether it was the immediate rescue and treatment or the post-disaster reconstruction, they would be prioritized.

Moreover, although the Orange family's company was currently riddled with internal problems, their assets and class remained. Even if every hospital in New York were overcrowded, his mother, Gina, would still be guaranteed an independent ward.

Of course, most ordinary casualties would likely not be sent to hospitals at all, but would instead be treated at makeshift medical safety points.

After all, the actual number of casualties this time was simply too high.

"Father..."

"...The master's remains have already been recovered. The Disaster Control Department will contact a private medical team to receive them."

"And the company..."

"The Lower District was basically unaffected this time..."

With each question and answer, the two of them boarded the ambulance and headed toward the hospital.