To understand the gravity of the situation, one must recognize the differences between Seldar and Kelley. While Kelley, as a Hell Lord, would suffer significant setbacks from losing his earthly manifestation, his true form in the Hell dimension would persist, allowing him to eventually recover. Seldar, on the other hand, did not possess such resilience. If Seldar perished on Earth, he would truly die, much like the other Hellish demons who had fallen before him.
"It looks like there won't be any surprises," Clark thought as he watched the Avengers battle Seldar. He chose not to intervene. The Avengers were clearly capable of handling the situation, and even if Seldar wanted to overturn the odds, the sheer number of opponents made it impossible. Thus, Clark felt no need to step in.
Clark shared Robert's philosophy: only when faced with enemies the Avengers couldn't handle should he or Robert intervene. Fighting slightly weaker foes provided the Avengers with valuable experience, crucial for their growth. Earth couldn't rely solely on Clark, Robert, and the Ancient One to tackle every supernatural threat.
"But where is the Ancient One?" Clark pondered as he glanced towards Kamar-Taj. He recalled the strange gaze from the inter-dimensional space earlier. Clark's instincts told him that the Ancient One's absence was somehow connected to that mysterious gaze.
"Perhaps, I should investigate?" Clark's eyes flickered with hesitation. He then vanished from his spot, awkwardly attempting to tap into his limited soul power to probe the inter-dimensional space.
Clark's efforts met with resistance; a barrier blocked his soul's energy. This puzzled him, as he couldn't identify the nature of the barrier—it felt complex and unfamiliar.
"The Ancient One is fine. Just focus on protecting Earth. If you need the mirror dimension again, go to Kamar-Taj and find Mordo and the others." A voice suddenly spoke to Clark, not through his ears but directly into his consciousness.
Clark recognized the voice as familiar; it was the same one he had faintly heard back at Kamar-Taj. His superhuman intellect quickly deduced that both voices belonged to the same person.
"Who are you?" Clark asked cautiously. He sensed that this voice didn't belong to an enemy and seemed connected to Kamar-Taj. Otherwise, Mordo and the others wouldn't have cooperated with him to activate the mirror dimension.
"Who I am is not important. The Ancient One will return soon, but the other dimensions don't know she's absent from Earth. Avoid probing beyond Earth's dimension, or you might attract unwanted attention," the voice continued before fading into silence.
"So, the Ancient One isn't on Earth?" Clark mused, realization dawning on him. This explained why the Ancient One hadn't intervened despite Kelley's incursion; she was occupied with matters beyond Earth. Clark understood that the previous inter-dimensional gaze was undoubtedly related to her absence, though the voice had no intention of elaborating.
"Fine, if that person doesn't want to explain further, I'll leave it be. The Ancient One will return eventually, and if something goes wrong between the dimensions, it won't remain hidden for long," Clark murmured, retracting his tentative soul power and gazing towards Kamar-Taj.
Had Clark's soul power been as formidable as his physical strength, he could have tracked down the speaker or even ventured into the inter-dimensional space to find the Ancient One. However, his soul powers were still a weak point, far from making him an omnipotent warrior.
"For now, I'll wait for the battles to end," Clark decided. He glanced at the battlefields one last time before disappearing. Earth had numerous other issues requiring his attention, especially those that, while not supernatural, posed significant threats to ordinary people.
"How is the investigation going? What exactly is happening?" Elsewhere, within S.H.I.E.L.D., Nick Fury was under considerable stress. Since the emergence of the orc threat, Fury had been tirelessly pursuing every lead related to these beings.
S.H.I.E.L.D. and the hidden Hydra factions were hunting for any connections to the orcs. Not only had Baron Strucker's lineage resurfaced, but even the werewolves and vampires from the European stronghold had clashed with American agencies.
Most agencies understood that the werewolves and vampires had little to do with the orcs, but they seized this rare opportunity to scrutinize these dark creatures. Various agencies knew they weren't the only ones involved and, despite internal competition, recognized the necessity of coordinated pressure on these supernatural entities.
However, the entrenched vampires and werewolves, who had been in Europe for untold centuries, weren't easy targets. They swiftly neutralized numerous probing attempts and severed many hands reaching towards them.
As a result, official agencies suffered significant losses, including S.H.I.E.L.D., whose personnel—both ordinary and extraordinary—were diminished.
Nick Fury's current query, however, was not about the orcs. It concerned the aftermath of Robert and Kelley's battle, which had caused unprecedented disruptions on American soil.
The scale of the disturbance was so immense that had it not ceased abruptly, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s analysts estimated that half of America or even the entirety of North America could have been destroyed. Some experts even posited that the continued impact could have shattered the Earth itself!
These grim predictions came from a wide array of experts, including those with deep knowledge of supernatural phenomena. The dire analysis had already prompted many American leaders to plan their escape.
Some leaders retreated to their safe houses, others fled America for different continents, and some initiated their doomsday protocols. Yet, if the energy of the battle truly had the potential to destroy Earth, no amount of retreat would suffice.
The enormity of this threat transformed these leaders into pressure machines, demanding immediate resolution from the agencies. Almost all American leaders were involved, and their collective fear forced agencies like S.H.I.E.L.D. to flood the battlefield with surveillance devices, seeking to understand and mitigate the crisis.
"Are we sure the fight is over, or have they just moved to another location?" Fury squinted at Coulson, his tone grave.
"We can't be certain," Coulson replied, shaking his head slowly. "The battle seemed to stop suddenly. And the energy fluctuations from the battle suggest a much more complex situation than just two or three combatants. It feels like a chaotic skirmish involving at least five different energy sources."
"But it's also possible," Coulson continued, "that one person could possess multiple types of supernatural powers, making the battle seem more intricate and dangerous."
"Have we estimated the damage from this event?" Fury asked after a moment of silence.
"Prior to this incident, the most destructive supernatural event on record was the Saiyan and Hell Lord battle," Coulson began. "That battle's destructive power surpassed our most potent human weapons. However, deploying all of Earth's ultimate weapons might have matched or even exceeded that level of destruction."
Coulson's gaze reflected a mix of awe and concern. "This latest battle, though, is on a different scale altogether. It's impacted Earth itself at a fundamental level. Even with Earth's natural healing capabilities, the scars from this battle might never fully mend."
"The only fortunate aspect," Coulson added, "is that none of the detected energies seemed to be directly aimed at Earth. They were all collateral effects of the combat. Otherwise, we might already be stardust in space."
Fury let out a rare sigh, visibly troubled by Coulson's report. "Coulson, do you ever feel that no matter how hard we try, we're powerless against these threats? We've built ourselves up so much, gathered so much strength, yet we're unable to handle these extraordinary events. Does it all seem meaningless?"
This bout of self-doubt was unusual for Fury. The pressure from this latest battle had clearly shaken him. He had witnessed the devastating power of alien invasions and the strength of beings like Carol Danvers, capable of obliterating space fleets. But the recent clash was on a scale far beyond anything he had encountered before.
The idea that a single battle could potentially obliterate the planet was terrifying. For Fury, the worst part was the realization that their survival was purely because none of the combatants intended to destroy Earth.
This overwhelming sense of helplessness made Fury question the efficacy of their efforts. Even with control over the Avengers, he felt incapable of preventing such events. He feared becoming a passive spectator to the end of the world.
Coulson remained silent, unsure how to answer Fury's existential question. It wasn't just that he lacked a response; he also understood that sometimes, no answer was the best answer for a leader grappling with such profound uncertainty.
After a long pause, Fury's eyes regained their determined glint. "Do you think there's a chance that Saiyans were involved in this latest incident? Based on our analysis of Superman, could his energy output match this level of destruction? Is there a possibility that Superman participated in this battle?"
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