An unexpected turn

After the tentacles emerged, an indescribable terror rose in everyone's hearts.

The Hydra members' mouths stretched into impossibly wide grins at the sight of the tentacles. Then... they went mad!

They collapsed to the floor, screaming and yelling like lunatics inside the gymnasium, babbling meaningless words with no discernible connection.

The only thing they had in common was that they were all scrambling backward, away from the portal, not daring to approach it.

Mercer turned to look at Peter. Perhaps because of his mutation, he was doing much better than the Hydra members. He wasn't screaming, but his arms and legs were still visibly shaking.

Even someone with Mercer's resolve couldn't help feeling his scalp prickle at the sight of this thing.

"Great Old Ones? How is that possible? How could they summon something like this?!"

He had read books about these beings in the Sanctum Sanctorum's library. Tentacles were their most recognizable feature.

The Great Old Ones were powerful, higher-dimensional beings.

They couldn't be adequately described as merely "aliens" or "gods." One passage in the Sanctum Sanctorum's books described them like this.

"Their full forms cannot be perceived. All that is known is that they are a collection of indescribable things with tentacles. Those who look into their eyes suffer insanity at best and sudden death at worst. Should you encounter one, close your eyes immediately and kneel until it departs."

The passage sounded utterly abject. Had Mercer read it anywhere else, he would never have taken it seriously. But he had found it in the Sanctum Sanctorum's collection.

This wasn't some fictional invention in an encyclopedia or a book of trivia. Its presence in the Sanctum Sanctorum's books proved that it really existed.

Nor did the instructions in the latter half of that description guarantee anything. They were a way of displaying one's insignificance in the hope that the Great Old Ones would spare them.

The Sanctum Sanctorum's books also recorded that, in the distant past, Earth had been invaded by a Great Old One. The Sorcerer Supreme of that era, then at the height of their power, had combined magical power from multiple sources and only barely managed to repel it.

The key word was barely.

That meant every Great Old One was, at the very least, capable of affecting an entire universe.

To document their power, the Sanctum Sanctorum's books classified the Great Old Ones as "universal-level."

"If this thing comes all the way through, we're in trouble. Galacta, get that guy outside, then come back and help me close this portal!"

"Got it!" Galacta flashed over to Peter, hauled him outside, then immediately returned to Mercer's side.

At the same time, Mercer's eyes flew wide, the Three-Tomoe Sharingan emerging from deep within his pupils. He placed his right hand over the back of his left and thrust them forward.

[Vishanti's Technique: Boundless Lockdown!]

An ethereal voice rang out from every direction. Ripples spread from his eyes, expanding outward around Mercer and instantly enveloping the entire gymnasium.

Bang!

Purple energy erupted from Galacta. She didn't know what she was supposed to do, but Mercer had said he needed her. He certainly wasn't expecting her to cast magic alongside him.

That meant there was only one thing he needed.

Energy.

He needed the vast energy within Galacta to support his spellcasting. Mercer had explained it to her on the night they had sparred.

"With my own ocular power... magical power, I can cast at most two or three spells at a time, and they aren't particularly powerful or wide-ranging.

"If something really happens, I'll need to draw on your power. It'll let me use magic more effectively."

Galacta's energy came from the universe. It was cosmic energy, unlike the mysterious energy within Mercer.

The Rumble-Rumble Fruit and the blacklight virus weren't products of the Marvel Universe. Their energy couldn't directly power the Sharingan's use of the Book of the Vishanti.

Galacta's energy, however, could. Since it also belonged to the Marvel Universe, it could readily be converted into the magical energy required by Vishanti's Technique.

"Why does it feel like I'm carrying around an oversized power bank?" Mercer muttered.

No sooner had he said it than Galacta rapped him on the head. He didn't need to look to know she was glaring at him. With an awkward chuckle, he turned his attention back to the thing before him.

"With Boundless Lockdown in place, I can use my power freely without worrying about the outside world!"

Boom!

Silver and black light surged skyward like flames on either side of Mercer's body, while the Three-Tomoe Sharingan slowly rotated in his eyes.

The tentacles instantly sensed the threat coming from Mercer. Their wild flailing stopped as they all swung toward him, and one shot straight at him.

Layers of lightning gathered over Mercer's right fist as he slammed it into the oncoming tentacle.

Bang!

A dull impact rang in everyone's ears. Despite the force behind Mercer's punch, it hadn't damaged the tentacle at all.

It did recoil a considerable distance, however, clearly not expecting Mercer to be so strong.

Mercer's expression grew grave as well. He had put at least seventy percent of his strength into that punch. Even that wasn't enough to break through its defenses?

"Now we're really in trouble."

Mercer was still puzzled. This Great Old One was indeed a Sub-Dimensional Being, just as The Ancient One had said. But hadn't the Hydra members claimed they were summoning Loki?

Had they been lying?

After half a second's thought, Mercer dismissed the idea. No matter how powerful Hydra was, the most they could summon was something from this universe. Summoning a Sub-Dimensional Being would be a pipe dream unless they had a sorcerer on The Ancient One's level.

"No way..." As he considered this, his expression shifted, and a thought he found hard to believe welled up inside him.

Maybe The Ancient One set me up!

[Vishanti's Law: Four-Sided Suppression!]

Several dark gold rectangular blocks appeared above the tentacles and slammed down, smashing every one of them to the floor, where they thrashed violently.

Against a being like this, his Four-Sided Suppression wouldn't hold for long. But he wasn't actually trying to subdue it with the technique. He only wanted to buy himself some time.

"This won't last long. I'd better hurry."

Mercer flashed over to one of the Hydra members. Frowning at the raving man, he unleashed the Sharingan's ocular power, sending it into him through his eyes.

The Hydra member's clouded eyes gradually turned vacant, and his struggles weakened. Mercer had taken control of his mind with the Sharingan. An ordinary person had no hope of resisting it.

"Tell me, who gave you this summoning spell?"

"I... I don't know."

"Ah, so they can't make direct contact with someone like that..." Mercer shook his head in disappointment. He was about to question someone else when the man's next words stopped him cold.

"All I know is that the person was a bald woman."