The next day.
[New York].
[Greenwich · Black Street 177A], outside the front door.
Frank stared at the three-story Baroque villa before him, his face full of confusion.
"Boss, didn't you say we were going back to [Sokovia]?"
"Why aren't we going to the airport? Why did we come here instead..."
Last night, after his daughter Lisa unexpectedly discovered that video,
Frank, who usually did not spend much time online, had specifically asked his daughter to help him catch up on every video and report about Carl online.
Especially after seeing Carl single-handedly end Sokovia's decade-long war and save hundreds of thousands of innocent people,
Frank could not help but feel heartfelt admiration.
This was what a real man should do!!!
This was the value of superheroes!!!
Oh, sorry, he had almost forgotten—Boss seemed to be a dimensional demon...
Carl smiled mysteriously. "Going back from here is faster and more convenient!"
Exactly. How could flying compare to simply opening a portal?
Under normal circumstances,
if Carl flew directly back to Sokovia, it would take only a few hours at most.
But with Frank along, they could only choose to fly.
And flying from New York back to Sokovia, with several transfers along the way, would take at least a day and a half to two days.
For Carl right now, time was life!!
Naturally, he was unwilling to waste so much time on an unimportant journey.
So he brought Frank directly to the New York Sanctum.
Given his close relationship with The Ancient One as "strategic partners," asking the mages stationed here to open a portal should not be too much, right?!
Besides, he could use this opportunity to open the door to a new world for Frank.
He could let him recognize the true nature of this world ahead of time.
It was killing several birds with one stone!!!
How did that saying go again?
Ride a bike to the bar—save where you should save, spend where you should spend!
But...
Had no one complained about Kamar-Taj infringing on State Grid's trademark all these years?
Carl looked up at the circular skylight on the roof.
The four curved lines on it could not merely be called similar to State Grid's logo—they were exactly the same!!!
Carl walked up the steps and lightly knocked on the front door a few times.
Soon.
A Mute Man mage dressed in ancient robes opened the door.
He looked at them warily and asked, "What can I do for you two?"
Carl had some impression of this bl—cough, this Mute Man mage.
His name seemed to be Daniel?
He was a Sanctum mage guarding the New York Sanctum.
Later, he would be killed by another mage named Kaecilius.
But that had nothing to do with Carl.
The Ancient One's household affairs were none of Carl's business, so he bluntly said:
"I'm a good friend of Mage The Ancient One, Carl Mala, ruler of the [Warp Dimension]. I wish to return to [Sokovia] now. Could I trouble you to open a portal for me?"
To make the other party take him seriously,
he even deliberately emphasized the words "good friend."
At first, when Mage Daniel heard this mortal directly speak Mage The Ancient One's name, anger immediately appeared on his face.
Because in his view,
hearing the Sorcerer Supreme's name spoken by a mortal
was simply an insult to Kamar-Taj!
And this guy had the shamelessness to claim he was the Sorcerer Supreme's good friend?
A mere mortal—what made you worthy?!
However,
when he heard the words "Warp Dimension,"
his whole body shuddered, and he cried out in shock:
"What? You... you're the dimensional demon the Sorcerer Supreme mentioned, the one exiled to Earth?!!"
(╯°Д°)╯︵┻━┻
For fuck's sake, watch what you say. You're the one who was exiled to Earth.
Keep talking nonsense, and I'll drag you to a farm to pick cotton!!!
Do mages really have such poor mental fortitude?
I'm not here to wreck the place. Did he really need to make such a fuss?
What an inexperienced look!
Carl silently gave the Mute Man mage in front of him a bad review.
But he still had to give him some face. "That's right, it's me!!"
In truth, Daniel could not really be blamed.
Other than The Ancient One, almost no other mages had ever directly encountered an exalted existence on the level of a dimensional demon.
Much less observed one face-to-face at such close range.
This was a living, breathing dimensional demon!!!
Who the hell had ever seen one of those?
The fact that he had not immediately asked for a photo and an autograph already showed extreme restraint!
Fortunately, The Ancient One had introduced Carl's general situation to most of the mages half a month ago.
Otherwise, Mage Daniel would have already rushed into the Sanctum Sanctorum and activated the highest-level crisis warning system.
"Ahem..."
Daniel awkwardly rubbed his hands together and cleared his slightly tight throat before forcing himself to speak calmly:
"Respected Lord Demon, please wait a moment. I need to ask the Sorcerer Supreme in person before I can give you an answer."
Then he put on his Sling Ring, opened a portal to Kamar-Taj before him, and vanished from the two men's sight.
Σ(⊙▽⊙"a???
Now it was Carl's turn to be dumbfounded!
Seriously, was that necessary?
Did he need to ask The Ancient One over something this trivial?
Kamar-Taj's procedures were far too rigid.
By the time he finished asking for instructions, Carl would already be in Sokovia!
This kid was wasting his talent as a mage.
He should take the civil service exam and work at a government service counter!
"Um... Boss, are you really a dimensional demon?"
Frank asked with a conflicted expression.
He did not understand a single thing Carl and Daniel had just said about the Sorcerer Supreme, portals, or the Warp Dimension.
Not until Daniel vanished before his eyes
did Frank feel that his worldview had suffered an unprecedented shock!
Mages really existed in this world?
That was far more absurd than mutants or people with superpowers!
But even more absurdly, his boss really was a dimensional demon?
That was not scientific at all...
"What did you think I was?"
Carl turned to Frank and said earnestly, "Frank, the times have changed!!!"
[Kamar-Taj].
The Ancient One had been drinking tea in her study. After hearing Daniel's report, her face nearly turned green with anger.
Seriously, what did this mere dimensional demon take them mages for?
His private servants?
Could a portal be opened just because he wanted one?
But whenever she thought of Carl's troublesome nature, The Ancient One felt irritated for no reason.
If she refused his request now, who knew what trouble he would stir up again...
Though extremely unwilling, The Ancient One was ultimately forced to compromise.
"He is our only ally against the Four Chaos Gods. It is only natural for us to help each other."
"I understand."
Mage Daniel respectfully withdrew from the study.
Before you continue