Under Jane Foster's stunned gaze, Aurelius Viremont stood up, shoved his hands into his pockets, and strolled toward the base ahead. He moved at an unhurried pace, as if the path before him led not to a heavily guarded military installation but to a relaxing holiday resort.
Because Thor had recently trespassed, the agents were on high alert. They spotted Aurelius Viremont's trail the moment he approached. A group of agents immediately moved to intercept him, but when they got close enough to see his features, they froze instinctively.
"White hair, blue eyes... it's the White Demon!" one agent cried out in alarm.
Unlike ordinary civilians, these SHIELD agents understood the White Demon far better, and they understood his terror even more. Unlike the X-Men, who sought peace between humans and mutants, or the Brotherhood of Mutants, who wanted to conquer the world, the White Demon was a powerful mutant without a clear agenda, acting entirely on whim. Because he lacked a fixed philosophy or goal, he had no scruples, making his actions unpredictable. He was the most unstable factor in existence.
Another agent asked in confusion, "Shouldn't the White Demon be in New York right now? Could this be another imitator?"
The doubt lingered for a moment, but as the white-haired figure drew closer, every trace of skepticism vanished. Aurelius Viremont took a step forward, and the powerful pressure of Cursed Technique Reversal: Red erupted, blasting away the agents blocking his path.
Alarms blared instantly. Emergency notifications echoed through the agents' internal radio: "White Demon incoming! White Demon incoming!"
Unlike the playful way they handled Thor's intrusion, every agent moved like a precision part in a machine. They were armed and ready to face the enemy in seconds. High above, Hawkeye, who had been relaxed during Thor's raid, felt the air grow heavy. Hearing the transmission, he looked toward the front of the base with a grim expression.
There, a single figure advanced leisurely with hands in his pockets. As he moved, a massive repulsive force blanketed a radius of dozens of meters. Temporary structures and trained agents alike were swept out of the area as if by a giant hand.
Hawkeye stared fixedly at the White Demon, his right hand gripping the bowstring, debating whether to fire. At that moment, perhaps sensing his gaze, the White Demon turned his eyes toward him. There was no emotion in that look, only absolute indifference. Because of that single glance, Hawkeye completely abandoned the idea of firing his specialized explosive arrow. He knew that one arrow wouldn't cause a scratch on the White Demon, but it would certainly cost him his life. To him, any casual attack from the White Demon would be fatal. As a trained elite agent, he didn't fear death, but he refused to make a meaningless sacrifice.
In a room filled with surveillance screens, a repetitive warning blared from the speakers: "Alert, White Demon incoming!"
A bald man with glasses watched the screens, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes. He moved to a hidden corner to send a message to an unknown IP before returning to command. "Do not provoke him. We are not his match. Do not make useless sacrifices! Agent Coulson, you've had close contact with him before. We're counting on you now!"
Inside an interrogation room, Coulson, who was questioning Thor, heard the alarm. When the message followed that the White Demon was attacking, he froze. Why was he here? Coulson immediately thought of the hammer. If anything here could attract the White Demon, it had to be that. Without hesitation, Coulson left the interrogation room and rushed toward the base perimeter.
Left alone, Thor also heard the alarms. "The White Demon? Isn't that the guy Aurelius Viremont was cosplaying? Why is he here?" Suddenly, a thought struck him. Recalling his conversations with Aurelius Viremont and the man's nonchalant attitude toward trespassing a military base, Thor's eyes widened. "No way... could he really be the White Demon? So everything he said before was true?!"
As Coulson stepped outside, he found that a large section of the temporary structures had been leveled by a terrifying repulsive force. It was raining, and the ground had turned to mud. Most of the agents were sprawled in the muck, soaked and looking miserable.
The figure standing in the void appeared even more striking against the chaos. Rain falling within dozens of meters of him was repelled by an invisible force, unable to touch him. He paced through the air, pristine and untouched by dust, looking like a solitary being who didn't belong to this world.
Seeing the invisible force field beginning to tear into the main temporary building, Coulson shouted at the top of his lungs: "Mr. Aurelius Viremont! Mr. Aurelius Viremont! It's Coulson! we spoke at Stark Tower! Please stop! You are more than welcome here!"
Hearing Coulson's voice, Aurelius Viremont retracted the repulsive force and stepped down to the agent's side. Seeing him stop his attack, Coulson let out a deep sigh of relief. "Mr. Aurelius Viremont, there's no need for such a grand entrance. If you wanted to visit, we would have been happy to have you."
Aurelius Viremont smirked. If he didn't possess this level of power, their "welcome" would likely look very different. He smiled gently. "I was just saying hello. I meant no ill will."
Looking at the rows of downed agents and the partially destroyed base, Coulson couldn't help but complain internally, "This is what you call a hello?" But he also understood that for the White Demon, this level of attack was indeed a show of mercy.
Coulson continued, "May I ask why you are here?"
Aurelius Viremont walked toward the interior of the base as he replied, "You caught my friend. I'm here to get him."
Coulson immediately thought of the man claiming to be Thor. Cold sweat began to roll down his forehead. Thankfully, they hadn't harmed the man, or the situation might have truly spiraled out of control.
Upon entering the base, Aurelius Viremont walked straight toward the location of Mjolnir. When he reached the crater, he saw a figure attempting to lift the hammer. The figure was clearly not worthy; no matter how much strength he applied, the hammer remained unmoved.
Aurelius Viremont recognized the person in the strange armor immediately. Under Coulson's confused gaze, he spoke with a playful tone: "Loki, you can't lift it. You aren't worthy!"
At those words, Loki spun around. He was startled to see Aurelius Viremont, surprised that a mere Midgardian could detect him while he was invisible. Loki quickly masked his surprise with a look of arrogant disdain, looking down at Aurelius Viremont as if from a great height.
Loki spread his arms and said haughtily, "Mortal powerhouse, you have the privilege of standing before the King of Asgard!"
Aurelius Viremont looked at the arrogant Loki, then at his template integration—which had reached 56% thanks to his continuous energy absorption—and his array of powerful skills. The smile on his face became quite interesting. It seemed he needed to give this disobedient, naughty brat a proper lesson.