A call for help

As Mercer watched the girl chatter on about how wonderful the spell was, completely unharmed by it, his hands slowly clenched.

He certainly hadn't attacked with the intent to kill her. This was only a sparring match.

But even if killing her was out of the question, he had still hoped to inflict a little damage.

Mercer also wanted to know whether he could hold his own against a god of her caliber.

Four-Sided Suppression was one of the top three sealing spells in the Book of the Vishanti. Ordinary beings would exhaust themselves resisting just one or two of its massive dark-gold blocks, leaving them powerless to resist further.

With all four descending at once, Mercer felt that even someone like Loki couldn't afford to underestimate the spell.

Yet Galacta had crushed such powerful magic with ease. Was that only to be expected of a creation god's daughter?

"Ah, as expected of a god's daughter. Whatever, let's just fight."

Now that he knew how tough her body was, Mercer stopped holding back. His attacks couldn't do any real damage to a goddess on Galacta's level anyway.

Still, as he was now, he felt quite confident that he wouldn't lose against gods like Loki, Thor, or even Odin.

Watching Mercer and Galacta's dazzling exchange, Mordo and the other ordinary sorcerers standing nearby began to wonder whether they belonged here at all.

Compared with those two, no matter how hard they worked, they wouldn't be able to last even a single move against either of them.

Mordo, in particular, was reeling inside.

Didn't this guy know absolutely no magic yesterday? How had he learned so many Sorcerer Supreme-level spells today?

Ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous.

Their sparring match lasted only ten minutes, but in those ten minutes, the ordinary sorcerers around them witnessed enough powerful magic to leave them stunned for a hundred years.

After testing some twenty spells, Mercer gained a clearer understanding of the magic he had mastered. All he could say was that he was now definitely no weaker than The Ancient One. At the very least, he could stand on equal footing with her!

But because his sparring partner was Galacta, Mercer didn't feel much sense of accomplishment.

The sparring match had barely ended when Mercer's phone rang insistently. The caller ID showed Carter.

"Mercer, are you free? We have something we'd like your help with." The moment he answered, Carter's anxious voice came through.

"More trouble with Hydra?"

She had said "we." Mercer didn't even need to think to know she was calling about Hydra.

"Yes." If the situation hadn't truly gotten beyond her control, she certainly wouldn't have called Mercer so casually.

"Is now convenient? If you can, could you come to the S.H.I.E.L.D. building? Just tell the guards downstairs, and they'll bring you up."

"All right. I'll be right there."

After hanging up, Mercer turned to Galacta. "Let's go. We've got work."

"See you another time, Sorcerer Ancient One. This Sling Ring is pretty handy, so I'm taking it."

Without waiting for The Ancient One to reply, Mercer opened a Sling Ring Portal and left with Galacta.

"That fellow..."

Watching him act with such brisk decisiveness, The Ancient One shook her head helplessly.

"Never mind. It's only a Sling Ring. I've already given him the Book of the Vishanti, so this hardly matters... I only hope he keeps his word."

Meanwhile.

The operations room in the S.H.I.E.L.D. building.

"Carter, did he agree?" Nick Fury looked at Carter, tension showing on his face.

Natasha was there too, her expression equally grim.

Wiping out Hydra was no easy task. Over the past few days, the three of them had barely slept, constantly directing the fighting from the front lines.

They were afraid something unexpected would happen the moment they fell asleep, so all three had bloodshot eyes.

Carter nodded. "He said he'd be here right... away?"

As her words fell, a golden circle taller than a person suddenly appeared out of thin air in a corner.

At the unusual sight, quite a few people in the operations room drew the pistols at their waists and aimed them at the golden circle.

Two figures appeared within it, followed by a teasing voice.

"Quite the welcoming party you've put together for me."

"Mercer?"

It was the first time any of them had seen such an unusual entrance. Seeing that the newcomer was Mercer, Nick Fury gestured to the people around him, signaling for them to lower their guns.

"And this is...?" Beautiful women drew attention wherever they went, and the moment Galacta appeared, every eye in the room settled on her.

It wasn't just her face and figure. More than anything, it was her outfit, which was simply too bizarre.

Only then did Mercer remember that Galacta still hadn't changed her clothes. With such a flashy outfit, it was impossible for anyone not to notice her.

"Ah... wait a moment. I'll take her to change first."

Mercer opened another Sling Ring Portal and pulled Galacta through, leaving Nick Fury and the others exchanging bewildered looks.

Before long, the Sling Ring Portal opened again, and Galacta appeared before them in a new outfit.

Simple denim shorts paired with a white shirt, with her purple hair tied into a high ponytail, gave her a thoroughly youthful look.

Though the outfit was simple, it fit her as perfectly as if she were a model.

"There. Now you don't look so strange." Mercer looked at Galacta with satisfaction. She really was beautiful, and he admired her openly rather than sneaking glances.

"You Earthlings have pretty good taste. These are much better than clothes on other planets. So easy to wear."

Galacta examined her clothes, apparently quite pleased with them.

"Like them? If you do, I'll take you to buy more later."

Mercer smiled. He still had assets worth over ten million, and he positively radiated the air of someone newly rich. If he wanted to buy something, he'd simply buy it.

"Yes, yes!"

Galacta chattered to him about the clothes she had just seen. Her love of looking good was no less strong than anyone else's.

"Ahem, Mercer, can we get started?" Carter asked with a light cough.

"Of course. Sorry, I almost forgot what we came for." Mercer gestured for Galacta to be quiet and led her toward Nick Fury and the others. "What's the situation?"

They immediately got down to business. Natasha tapped away at a virtual keyboard for a moment, brought up a video, and spoke as it played.

"Over the past few days, we've gathered everyone we can trust to fight Hydra together. But even with all our precautions, we missed something. There was still a mole among us, and he stole something very important."

An image of an object appeared. Before Natasha could introduce it, Mercer looked at it and blurted out its name.

"The Tesseract?"