Stark Tower.
"Sir, good news!"
Tony Stark, who was busy, immediately brightened when he heard JARVIS's voice and stopped his work.
He walked over to the scepter on the experimental platform.
At this moment, the scepter was enveloped in a layer of blue light, which constantly changed like a digital projection.
"JARVIS, tell me you've fully quantified the scepter!" Tony Stark said to JARVIS, his face full of anticipation.
"Yes, sir, the scepter has been fully quantified! This means I can decode the scepter one hundred percent!"
JARVIS immediately replied to Tony Stark.
"Yes!" Tony Stark slapped his thigh heavily. "Eight months, that wasn't easy!"
Tony Stark could never have imagined that merely quantifying the scepter would take him a full eight months!
This was even after Tony Stark had repeatedly upgraded JARVIS's hardware, greatly improving JARVIS's computing power.
One could only say that an Infinity Stone truly was extraordinary.
And his counterpart in that other timeline, who ambitiously tried to complete this task in just three days, seemed a bit laughable now.
This was eight months of work!
How much could be accomplished in three days?
It was no wonder that an error like Ultron occurred.
"JARVIS, begin full decoding of the scepter!" Tony Stark then commanded JARVIS.
"Decoding has begun, but the scepter's computational matrix is too powerful. This will take some time, about a month."
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's get started!" Tony Stark said, his eyes gleaming.
During the long period that JARVIS was attempting to quantify the scepter, Tony Stark had not been idle. He had already thoroughly mastered relevant knowledge such as the regeneration cradle and organic biology.
Now, only the Vision program was missing.
And once JARVIS completed 100% decoding, the program would no longer be an issue!
Tony Stark was eagerly looking forward to that moment.
"Sir, Nick Fury is requesting a video call."
JARVIS's voice then rang out again, interrupting Tony Stark's thoughts.
Tony Stark hesitated briefly, then agreed, "Put him through!"
A projection of a bald head appeared before Tony Stark.
"Stark, please tell me some good news." Nick Fury wasted no words and asked directly.
Tony Stark then informed Nick Fury of the scepter research progress, and Nick Fury was also very excited to hear it.
"Are you saying it'll be another month? Stark, we can't delay any longer. I need to take the scepter in a month." Nick Fury then made this request to Tony Stark. "Any later and the cover will be blown. Captain is already starting to get suspicious."
Tony Stark completely ignored Nick Fury's words. He didn't believe such nonsense.
A mere head of agents couldn't handle such a small matter?
Nick Fury must have wanted to conduct other research himself.
"How are the Scarlet Witch siblings doing?"
Tony Stark then asked another question he was very interested in.
"They're doing well; they were adopted half a year ago..."
Nick Fury replied, "But half a year has passed, and they haven't shown any superpowers, Stark. Our interference might turn them into ordinary people forever."
In the images displayed by the Q&A system, Scarlet Witch gained her superpowers after being subjected to human experimentation by Baron Strucker.
Although Nick Fury didn't adhere to many rules, he wasn't Hydra, and he had certain bottom lines.
He genuinely couldn't bring himself to conduct experiments on minors.
So, after much discussion, everyone arranged for the Scarlet Witch siblings to be placed in a foster family, giving them a complete home.
They didn't do anything more to them.
"Isn't that a good thing?" Tony Stark shrugged. "They're completely away from the world of monsters."
However, neither Tony Stark nor Nick Fury could have possibly imagined that Scarlet Witch's magic did not originate from Hydra's human experiments at all.
The scepter merely awakened the magic within Scarlet Witch prematurely, nothing more.
The source of Scarlet Witch's magic was not the scepter, but herself!
Even without Strucker's experiments, Scarlet Witch would have awakened her magic sooner or later.
"Sir."
While talking to Nick Fury, JARVIS suddenly gave another alert, "A gravity anomaly field has started appearing in that abandoned building in New Mexico."
"The Nine Realms are converging, and the Aether is about to appear!"
Tony Stark and the bald head on the projection exchanged glances, both seeing the solemnity in each other's eyes.
This was a major event for Thor.
"Stark, you keep an eye on things there. I'll notify Thor now!" Nick Fury immediately said to Tony Stark, then went offline.
What he was going to do was beyond doubt.
The convergence of the Nine Realms was quickly announced to every quizzer.
The quizzers dared not delay and immediately rushed to the quizzer base.
Through the exchange of information after the quiz, everyone already knew that this matter was not just an Asgardian affair, but also concerned the entire Nine Realms.
After all, the Dark Elves' goal was to plunge the entire universe back into darkness!
In other words, the Dark Elves were not only Thor's enemies but also Earth's enemies.
Coupled with their friendship with Thor, since an entrance had appeared on Earth, everyone naturally couldn't stand by idly.
Half an hour later, Tony Stark, Captain America, Hawkeye Barton, Black Widow, and everyone else had put down what they were doing and gathered at the quizzer base.
Dr. Banner was also notified.
However, his location was a bit far, and S.H.I.E.L.D. had already dispatched a jet, but it would still take several hours.
Everyone discussed it and simply had Dr. Banner go to New Mexico to wait.
They would meet Dr. Banner there.
"Hydra's three secret bases have been secretly taken over by us, eleven assassination missions have been secretly thwarted by us, and four important positions in the Triskelion have been replaced by our own people..."
"While this is only a small step towards dismantling Hydra, it is a good start."
...In the conference room, Thor had not yet arrived, and the quizzers were exchanging simple intelligence.
Nick Fury began to tell everyone about the results of the fight against Hydra over the past year, which could be said to have made very good progress.
After all, the structures of Hydra and S.H.I.E.L.D. were actually quite different. S.H.I.E.L.D. was somewhat similar to China, with the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. providing unified leadership and governance.
Hydra was more like America; although there was nominally a president, his influence on the various states was actually very small.
This was also why Hydra could grow two heads after one was cut off.
S.H.I.E.L.D. had secretly taken over three of their secret bases within a year, which was essentially equivalent to cutting off three of Hydra's heads. Such progress within a year was already very good.
If this situation continued, completely severing all of Hydra's heads would only be a matter of time.
The others also spoke about their recent progress, and the atmosphere was still very positive.
Whoosh!
As they were enthusiastically conversing, a dazzling colorful light suddenly flashed outside the base, seeping through the gaps in the blinds.
Everyone knew that Thor had arrived.
Sure enough, the next moment, the conference room door was pushed open, and a rough-looking man in armor and a large red cape appeared before everyone.
It was Thor.
However, in addition to his hammer, Thor was also holding a seemingly ancient and profound square box, whose purpose was unknown.
"It seems I'm a bit late." Thor glanced at everyone present, not bothering with pleasantries, and found an empty seat to sit down.
He placed the box he was holding on the table.
"Thor, what is this?"
Tony Stark immediately pointed at the box and asked curiously.
"This is our Asgardian Casket."
Thor introduced it to everyone, "After I returned to Asgard, I consulted all the ancient texts and records about the Dark Elves and the Aether, and I discovered that the Aether cannot be destroyed."
"My grandfather actually couldn't destroy the Aether back then either; he just buried it deep, so... I prepared this."
As he spoke, Thor patted the Casket, "Once we reach the Dark World, I can use it to first imprison the Aether, lure out Malekith, and eliminate him in one fell swoop!"
"And then?" Black Widow raised an eyebrow and asked.
"Then... then I'll use this Casket to contain the Aether and bring it back to Asgard." Thor said with a matter-of-fact expression.
"Sounds like a decent plan, but Thor..." Captain America raised a question, asking for confirmation, "Can this Casket of yours really imprison the Aether?"
"Of course!" Thor nodded without thinking. "This is a rare Casket even in our Asgardian vault!"
"Everyone, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Tony Stark immediately stood up.
Captain America felt that doing so was a bit too hasty and intended to meticulously formulate a plan.
But considering his limited knowledge about the Aether, the Casket, and so on, and his lack of information, he temporarily said nothing more.
Nick Fury had already prepared a Quinjet, and the group, without much ado, all boarded the jet and headed for New Mexico.
Not long after they arrived, Dr. Banner also joined them.
Everyone then took a car and arrived at the abandoned building.
"Sir!"
The abandoned building had long been taken over by S.H.I.E.L.D. The S.H.I.E.L.D. operatives guarding the entrance immediately stepped forward to report the current situation when they saw Nick Fury and his team arrive.
"Guard this place well, and don't let anyone in!"
Nick Fury casually ordered, then led the group through the cordon and into the abandoned building.
They began to search for the inter-dimensional nexus where Jane Foster had accidentally stumbled into.
Because they had seen the footage in advance and had sent people to mark the spot in the building immediately after the quiz ended, the search went very smoothly.
The group soon appeared outside that room.
"This is it."
Black Widow identified the markings on the wall and reminded everyone present.
Everyone stopped talking nonsense, gathered their spirits, and began to walk forward cautiously, step by step.
"Thor, if we get lost in the Dark World, Heimdall will teleport us back, right?"
Tony Stark asked for confirmation as he walked.
"Of course." Thor replied without looking back, "As long as we walk out of the nexus, we'll be fine."
"Then I have no problem." Tony Stark finished speaking, and the Iron Man helmet clanged shut, covering his head.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
After a few more steps, a powerful suction suddenly appeared, acting on Thor's body.
But Thor was not sucked in like Jane Foster; only his cape and hair fluttered in the wind, nothing more, as if he were unaffected.
"Everyone, we're about to go in!"
Thor greeted the others, quickened his pace, and walked straight to the door, "crashing" through it.
He disappeared in an instant.
The others did the same, successively "crashing" through.
The next moment.
Everyone felt a blur before their eyes, and the surrounding scenery suddenly changed. They arrived in a place that was completely dark and felt extremely oppressive.
Without a doubt, it was the Dark World, Svartalfheim.
"Living in this godforsaken place, people would probably break down sooner or later, wouldn't they?" Tony Stark couldn't help but complain.
"Okay, everyone spread out and look for the Aether." Captain America, however, said to everyone in a deep voice, "But don't spread out too far. Once you find the Aether, do not approach it. Notify Thor immediately!"
Everyone present stopped talking nonsense and began to search in different directions.
Soon, Hawkeye Barton made a discovery: "Everyone, I found it!"
One could only say that Hawkeye was indeed Hawkeye.
The group's spirits lifted, and they all gathered around Hawkeye, where they indeed saw a red, constantly wriggling substance in a crevice.
It was exactly as shown in the footage: the Aether.
"Everyone, step back!"
Thor immediately called out to everyone, then walked over with Asgard's Casket.
It was unclear what Thor did, but the Casket suddenly began to glow, and that light projected through the crevice onto the Aether.
A powerful suction force erupted at once.
Squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak!
The Aether immediately began to surge wildly, as if struggling, but ultimately failed to break free from the suction in the light and was forcibly sucked into the Casket.
"Yes!" Thor exclaimed excitedly at this sight.
Everyone then came over, craning their necks to look, and saw the Aether surging endlessly within the Casket, yet unable to break free from its confinement.
"The first step is complete, Thor. How do you plan to lure Malekith and them here?" Captain America asked Thor in a deep voice, looking at him.
"You'll see." Thor said mysteriously.
Then, with a thought, electric arcs began to crackle around him, and Thor pointed his hand at the Casket.
A bolt of lightning shot from his fingertip into the Casket.
The Casket was able to accommodate Thor's lightning, and the lightning passed through the Casket, striking the Aether directly.
Squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak!
The Aether began to writhe even more frantically.
"According to the information I found, there's a special connection between Malekith and the Aether. As long as the Aether experiences violent fluctuations, Malekith can definitely feel it."
"We'll just wait here for Malekith to appear."
Thor explained to everyone present while striking the Aether within the Casket with lightning.
Thor's conjecture was absolutely correct.
When the Aether was stimulated by the lightning, in a corner of the vast, endless void of the Dark World, a mothership that had been dormant for an unknown number of years suddenly lit up!
Malekith, who was sleeping inside, suddenly opened his eyes!
And after Malekith, one Dark Elf after another in their "stasis pods" also opened their eyes in sequence, awakening from their slumber.
"The Aether has awakened us. The Convergence has begun again!"
Malekith pondered for a moment and immediately understood what was happening.
"Malekith!"
Before long, all the Dark Elves gathered around Malekith. A Dark Elf, Malekith, stepped forward and greeted Malekith.
"Our time has come again. This time, I will not fail!"
Malekith said with a resounding voice, glancing sharply at the dark elf, "I sense where the Aether is. Let's go retrieve it first!"
"Where is the Aether?" the dark elf asked, his spirits lifting.
"It's in the Dark World!" Malekith replied, equally invigorated.
Without further ado, Malekith wasted no time. He immediately led a squad of dark elves aboard their mothership and flew towards the direction where he sensed the Aether.
The speed of the starship was, of course, beyond question. Soon, Malekith's mothership reached its destination and landed.
"It's the dark elves' ship. Malekith is here!"
The members of the Quizzer Alliance, hidden in the shadows, all looked grim.
Thor's plan had worked; the dark elves truly came!
Everyone immediately entered battle mode, preparing for a major confrontation.
Clang!
The mothership's hatch opened, and a group of people emerged.
The leader was a white-haired man with an unusual appearance, exuding the dominance and authority of a high-ranking individual.
He was exactly as shown in the video—Malekith.
Beside Malekith were other dark elves. However, the 'Minotaur Warrior,' the Cursed Warrior, whom everyone had been wary of, was nowhere to be seen.
Under everyone's watchful eyes, Malekith led his squad directly to the Casket that Thor had placed on the ground.
They saw the Aether struggling within the Casket.
"Malekith, something's wrong. Someone deliberately lured us here," the dark elf said, his face grave, speaking in a low voice to Malekith.
Malekith's expression also became serious and grim, and a very ominous feeling arose in his heart.
Whoever the mastermind was, the fact that they used this method to specifically lure him here meant they understood him to a certain extent.
It also meant that the opponent had already set up an ambush!
"Malekith! I've been waiting for you!"
At that moment, a voice suddenly boomed. From behind a pile of ruins, Thor, the God of Thunder, walked out majestically, wielding Mjolnir.
He reached out and made a grasping motion towards the Casket, and the Casket, as if alive, flew into Thor's hand with a whoosh.
After Thor, Tony Stark, Black Widow with her blaster, a fully armed Captain America, and Dr. Banner, wearing a T-shirt completely out of place with the scene, also emerged in succession.
Hawkeye Barton remained hidden in the shadows, positioned at the vantage point he had found, his Stormbreaker bow already gripped tightly.
With his night vision activated, he could see everything clearly even from a great distance in the dark, night-like Dark World, completely unaffected by it.
"Asgardians!"
Malekith growled, a statement filled with hatred and killing intent. Indeed, enemies meeting again made their eyes burn with fury.
However, Malekith was somewhat surprised that only a few of them appeared.
He had expected an Asgardian army to be waiting for them.
"Kill them, and reclaim the Aether!"
Malekith then mercilessly ordered those around him.
A group of dark elf soldiers quickly charged towards Thor and the others.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Arrows flew from a distance, one after another, incredibly fast. The dark elf soldiers had no time to react and were shot down one by one.
Boom, boom, boom!
Some explosive arrows were mixed in, and violent explosions occurred one after another, knocking down many dark elf soldiers.
Black Widow, without a word, pulled out her blaster and mercilessly pulled the trigger on the dark elf soldiers.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
One dark elf after another was shot through by Black Widow, falling weakly to the ground.
"Blasters are still the best," Black Widow said, quite satisfied.
Whoosh!
Tony Stark flew into the air, mercilessly charging towards the dark elf soldiers, punching one and kicking two, completely crushing them.
Ordinary dark elf soldiers were no match for the Iron Man suit.
Captain America, of course, was also relentless. He raised his shield and charged forward fearlessly, like a big bad wolf crushing little lambs, easily defeating the small fry.
The soldiers Malekith brought were temporarily held back by everyone.
Thor himself charged directly at Malekith. He suddenly shook the hammer in his hand, and the hammer, like a great mountain, smashed towards Malekith.
Clang!
It immediately knocked Malekith to the ground.
Malekith, without the Aether, was no match for Thor.
Not to mention, the current Thor was no longer the Thor from "Thor 2," but the Thor from the end of "Thor 3" who had completely mastered the power of lightning!
"Malekith, today is your doomsday!"
Thor reached out, summoned Mjolnir, and then swung it hard.
Crack!
A dazzling bolt of lightning immediately descended from the sky, striking Malekith again. Malekith, who had just gotten up, was once again knocked to the ground.
At this moment, he was a mere weakling in front of Thor.
"Not good!"
The dark elf saw that the situation was not good. If things continued to develop like this, Malekith would probably be eliminated soon.
"Let me be the last Cursed Warrior, to clear all obstacles for you, Malekith!" The dark elf's eyes showed a determined look.
He suddenly pulled out a black, sharp, fist-sized object, whose nature was unknown, and crushed it forcefully.
A terrifying power instantly engulfed the dark elf, enveloping and melting him like lava.
But after the dark elf's form was completely melted, another, stronger being stood up again, reborn from the ashes!
The Cursed Warrior was born!
"Cursed Warrior! It's the Cursed Warrior!"
Black Widow immediately shouted to everyone, her voice filled with gravity.
Everyone present had already experienced the power of the Cursed Warrior; it was a formidable entity capable of brutalizing Thor.
Whoosh!
An arrow immediately shot out, hitting the Cursed Warrior directly, and then exploded.
But the Cursed Warrior was completely unaffected, as if Hawkeye's explosive arrow was just child's play.
He was as abnormal as he was shown in the video.
Boom, boom, boom!
The Cursed Warrior, like a small mountain, caused the ground to tremble with every step he took, his momentum incredibly exaggerated.
He ignored everyone else and walked directly towards Thor.
As he walked, the Cursed Warrior casually threw a "black hole grenade" at Black Widow.
Black Widow knew the power of that black hole grenade and dared not be careless.
Seeing herself surrounded by a group of dark elf soldiers and unable to dodge, she gritted her teeth and punched the air.
The power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit activated.
Crack!
A sound like shattering glass appeared in the air, along with traces like shattered glass.
A terrifying shockwave spread forward through the air.
Several dark elves in front of Black Widow were immediately sent flying backward by the shockwave, blocking the black hole bomb.
Boom!
The black hole bomb exploded prematurely.
A terrifying suction appeared, and the dark elves Black Widow had knocked down were immediately sucked in. Black Widow seized the opportunity to dive to the side.
She finally managed to escape the suction range of the black hole bomb.
The Cursed Warrior couldn't help but look at Black Widow with surprise, but he had no time to deal with her now.
For him, the most important thing at the moment was to rescue Malekith.
"Banner!" Captain America shouted to Dr. Banner, who had been observing from the side, "It's time to unleash your anger!"
Dr. Banner then slowly walked towards the Cursed Warrior.
As he walked, he turned his head and said to Captain America, "Captain, I'll tell you a secret: actually, I'm always angry."
After saying that, Dr. Banner arrived in front of the Cursed Warrior.
The Cursed Warrior casually threw a punch at Dr. Banner, intending to eliminate this insignificant being.
But at that very moment, Dr. Banner's body suddenly grew larger and turned green, transforming into a large green brute.
He punched the Cursed Warrior, knocking him down.
Roar!
Immediately after, the Hulk let out a beast-like roar, and with a jump, he became a blur, appearing before the Cursed Warrior in the blink of an eye.
He mercilessly began to pummel the Cursed Warrior with his fists.
Boom, boom, boom!
The ground shook violently again and again, as if meteorites were continuously crashing down.
The poor Cursed Warrior initially managed to endure a few blows from the Hulk's fists, but gradually he became motionless, pounded into a pulp by the Hulk.
It was truly tragic.
He hadn't even had a chance to play any role since his birth, and he was so frustratingly eliminated.
Who told him to encounter the Hulk?
"Malekith! Die!"
Thor's furious roar also rang out.
At this moment, Thor suddenly reached out towards Malekith, and a gleaming lightning blade instantly appeared, piercing Malekith's chest.
Right through the heart.
It went in the front and came out the back, a clean and decisive strike.
While the Hulk was pummeling the Cursed Warrior, Thor was also pummeling Malekith, finally finding an opportunity to unleash a Chidori Sharp Spear, delivering a fatal blow to his opponent.
"I'm not reconciled. Why is it like this?"
Malekith's eyes were wide open, staring at the lightning blade that had pierced him, uttering a voice of disbelief and inability to accept his fate.
He then fell to the ground, completely becoming a corpse.
Thor didn't even glance at Malekith's corpse. His body was suddenly enveloped in lightning. He raised Mjolnir and, with a whoosh, flew into the air, heading towards the dark elves' massive mothership parked nearby.
He crashed into the mothership, creating a large hole.
Boom, boom, boom!
After several charges in and out, the entire dark elf mothership exploded.
It must be said that the current Thor's strength was truly formidable.
The threat of the dark elves was thus resolved.
Things went relatively smoothly.
"Everyone, thank you for your help!" Thor flew down from the sky, a excited smile on his face, and said to everyone.
"This time was a bit too easy. Next time, we can try something more challenging," Tony Stark said to Thor in a relaxed tone.
Thor smiled, about to say something, but suddenly...
Whoosh!
He felt his vision blur, and the surrounding scenery changed. He suddenly found himself in a pure white space.
"What's going on?"
Thor's face showed alertness and surprise.
He then realized that besides himself, Tony Stark, Captain America, and Black Widow were also there.
In addition, there was an old acquaintance: Doctor Strange.
However, the current Doctor Strange was not yet Doctor Strange, but the brilliant surgeon, Stephen Strange.
Judging by his white lab coat and the surgical knife in his hand, he seemed to have been performing surgery on someone.
Besides these people, there was also a man wearing a brown leather jacket, with short brown hair, holding a peculiar gun with two barrels.
Thor, however, didn't recognize him at all.
"What is this place? And who are you? What have you done to me?"
The brown-haired man, after looking around the scene with a bewildered expression, was the first to calm down.
He immediately raised his strange gun, pointed it at everyone present, and asked in a deep voice.
"Iron Man Tony Stark?"
Strange, who had taken off his mask, looked at Tony Stark, "Can you tell me what's going on? You don't seem surprised or amazed."
As he spoke, Strange glanced at Thor, Captain America, and Black Widow, "And you all seem to be the same. At first, you were as surprised and confused as me and this guy, but now, it looks like you also know what's going on. So, would you mind telling me?"
"Doctor Strange, don't be nervous," Captain America immediately said to Strange, glancing at the curly-haired man, "And this gentleman, once we figure out what's going on, we'll tell you."
"Mr. Steve, you know me?" Strange was a little surprised.
Although he was a famous super genius in the medical community, his renown wasn't that high. He hadn't expected Captain America to know him.
"You'd better tell me quickly! I'm telling you, whatever your purpose, you've messed with the wrong person. My name will scare you to death: Star-Lord!"
The curly-haired man confidently announced his name to everyone present.
However, an embarrassing thing happened. When he revealed his name, everyone present looked bewildered.
Apparently, no one had ever heard that name before.
"Thor, Stark, Natasha, you're thinking the same thing as me, right? This must be the Quiz System that brought us here, isn't it?"
Captain America then scanned Tony Stark and the others, asking.
[A new round of questions begins: All quizzers, please prepare!]
Without waiting for Tony Stark and the others to answer, a familiar large screen and a familiar voice appeared in the pure white space.
Their guess was correct; a new round of questions had indeed begun.
However, the format of this quiz was somewhat different from the previous ones.
"Quiz? What does that mean?"
Both Strange and Star-Lord couldn't help but look bewildered.
They set up such an elaborate scene just for a quiz?
[Please listen to the question: Among the following characters, who cut off Thanos's head?]
[A. Thor, the God of Thunder]
[B. Iron Man, Tony Stark]
[C. Captain America, Steve Rogers]
[D. Doctor Strange, Stephen Strange]
[Friendly reminder: The correct answerer will receive a random five-attribute ninjutsu technique as a reward; the incorrect answerer will have one of their attributes randomly deducted, including but not limited to knowledge, experience, skills, possessions, etc...]
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