"I see~ Bring her back… yeah I don't mind, but they will be your responsibility… Frank, well- just keep him in New York then… okay, okay, as soon as the next batch is up you'll be on house duty… probably another month or two-"
In the top floor of a newly constructed skyscraper, with an architecture style that would make many wonder how such a construct could stand. James Barthomeloi, alongside his trusted butler Black stood before a large magic circle.
The whole room, no empty space was filled with pink flower petals of unknown origin, the space smelled of flowers. If one were blind, they would question whether they were led into a flower field instead of a room.
"My Lord, was that?"
Black remained silent as he listened on as James answered the call. Despite their access to mystical methods of communication, completely untraceable and undetectable in this world given how backwater the mystical methods they had were, James was still adamant that they use modern tools.
Although Black was fully aware of the reason why James decided to use a line of communication that was easily compromised, he did not force the issue after James had stood his ground on his decision.
Fortunately, this method also allowed Black to listen in on all of James' conversations. Of course, James had his own methods to prevent him from eavesdropping but his "Lord" was not the type to hide things, whether it was from his enemies or from his companions.
"It appears that the root really is connected to this world"
Ignoring the fact that his subordinate had eavesdropped on his call, James just answered Black's question without any worries. But his answer elicited quite a reaction from the ever so stoic butler.
"Oh?"
James smiled, seeing the spark of interest in Black's eyes, he smiled as he explained.
"Hilda summoned "Black Dog's" in South Korea"
When Black heard the words "Black Dogs" he paused, his mind churned as he showed a shocked expression as he asked.
"South Korea? Black Dog's? That sounds impossible"
The only people who could use magecraft in South Korea right now were the duo of Hilda and Frank Castle. Black, aware of all the capabilities of every single "personnel" under James quickly understood how the Black Dog's would have appeared.
Normally it would not be a problem for Hilda to summon a "Black Dog", even an army of them would be normal but-
That was if the situation was similar to before James was transported to this world. In Britain, an area that was swimming with mystery and had deep ties to the land of Fairies. To summon a "black dog" in such an environment was "the norm".
Now, the problem was that Hilda not only summoned "Black Dog's" from their previous world, she had also summoned them in a land far from their origin-
Seeing the complex expression on Black's face, James smiled as he explained.
"I know, especially with the legend of the Wild hunt being quite varied, if we base it solely on legends and inheritance, centaurs or horsemen should have been the summons"
Hilda conducted what could be called a summoning, she had called for the participants in the "Wild Hunt".
The "Wild Hunt" is a phenomenon that occurs throughout various mythologies. It is most prominent in Europe. Especially in the British Isles as the origin of the "Wild Hunt" was being an incarnation of the deceased that had failed to enter heaven or hell, in short they were Ghosts with some Fairies from spiritual lands that are neither heaven nor hell.
By that definition alone, the Legendary Arthur Pendragon had been known as the King of Ghosts and Faeries, as she was known to have rested at Avalon and had not entered heaven nor hell. Many depictions of the "Wild Hunt" would have Arthur riding on her white horse leading her army of storms.
The Black Dog's are one of the many manifestations of the beings that are part of the "Wild Hunt". Though, depending on the area, the main players, or the main members of the "Wild Hunt" would differ. Some places would have more centaurs, others would have fairies.
It's a mess but a glorious mess, the act of summoning members of the "Wild Hunt" was nothing more than an act of "starting" a wild hunt.
That being said, "starting" a "Wild Hunt" meant that you would leave the summons up to fate. Which being would appear would depend on the power of the land and the mysteries that are hidden in it.
"But she got "dogs", fae, you know, the kind that are related to Avalon"
James turned to Black as he explained, his eyes glowing with an indescribable light. He then turned to the magic circle in the room and the scattered pink petals within the room.
"The root is connected, the "black dogs" prove that this world "HAS" a connection, at least with the reverse side of the world… In a land with twisted mysteries, where the impossible is made possible, within a tower that replicates his own prison…"
James Barthomeloi's eyes glowed with a bright azure light, he turned towards the magic circle.
Extending his hand, James felt the movement of mana, the circuits that make up this tower, his grand design…
Everything is in place, the recently discovered information, the knowledge of a successful summon.
Armed with all this, James smiled as he began to chant, his words echoing within the room. His words carried a strange power to them, even normal people who would have been unable to perceive mystery would find that the rooms atmosphere had changed.
The scattered flower petals began to stir as the magic circle lit up with a brilliant pink light and as the mana within the room increased in density but James was unperturbed as he simply continued his chant-
[Oh mage of flowers, kingmaker and writer of heroic legends]
[The foolish dreamer, the observer of the present]
[Your dear student calls for you, your new prison has been built]
[Should you feign ignorance, your student promises to call forth the King of Knights of a "meeting"]
[The young King should have "many" stories to tell]
[So-]
James chant had devolved from a serious incantation to words that could only be called jokes.
Yet, maybe it was due to his convoluted and obviously worthless incantation, before he even completed his chant, the magic circle lit up creating a wall of pink light.
Winds came from who knows where causing the flower petals to swirl as a vortex of light and petals manifested at the center of the summoning circle.
This phenomena caused James to smile, though his Butler, despite being aware of how… unconventional James magecraft was, still found himself shocked.
Even Black did not think that James' summoning would work. After all, their original world was quite strict in terms of its mysteries.
Even summoning had various limitations and the summoning of spirits and living beings required a heavy price.
Hell, the summoning of heroic spirits could only be done using the Holy Grail System, an imitation of the third magic.
Now, James was doing something that was not really an imitation of the third magic. Though it was something even more impossible- if it was in their previous world that is.
Black could only watch, hoping to see "that" person.
James on the other hand had already detected the presence obscured by the countless flower petals.
To others, the spell was still running, even Black was fooled as he was still there, standing dumbly waiting like an idiot.
Although James would have loved to enjoy watching Black make a fool of himself, he still found it much better to quickly address the man who had helped him a lot throughout his life in the Nasuverse.
The enigmatic figure surrounded by pink flower petals-
Grinning, James gave a formal bow as he spoke-
"Welcome Teacher, to another world~"
Black, upon seeing the actions of James and hearing his words, quickly understood what was happening as he followed his master and showed a respectful attitude following the bow.
As the two men did this, the whole room started to slowly settle, the figure behind the curtain of petals appeared before the two as a lighthearted voice replied-
"It truly is an interesting world~ though… of all the things… Rhongomyniad? Are you crazy?"
James did not show offense, instead he responded with a laugh.
"Nope, not at all, I just thought, "If I were to meet the king of knights, I'd prefer to meet her "at her prime"", if you know what I mean"
Silence enveloped the room but then the playful voice answered-
"Oh… I see, quite cultured aren't you?"
"What can I say, I learned from the best after all"
"Hahaha, yes you did"
Black froze, he could feel the power from the individual that now stood at the center of the magic circle. He knew who the person that arrived was, the man who his "Lord" had called "teacher", he was a legend in the previous world and an immortal that was unable to live in the world of man.
Black had a certain image in his mind of this great individual.
A sage, a philosopher, the man who would fix his "Lord"-
The hope Black had for this man was enormous but now-
"Now there's two of them…"
Black rubbed his temples as he felt a headache coming and as if on cue-
"Sir Black…"
Behind him one of the Satura appeared, she passed on a black gem which Black crushed and as he did his eyes suddenly went blank.
'This day can't get any worse'
He thought to himself as his gaze shifted, staring off into the distance, towards a nearby skyscraper.
Unlike the current tower which James owned, the skyscraper he was staring at was built normally. A normal, rectangular frame with many windows.
The tinted glass made it hard to peer into the structure but with his eyes, Black was able to clearly see the many men and women wearing black full body suits designed for combat moving about the building.
But Black's gaze was not focused on the worthless rabble doing mundane tasks, instead his eyes focused on one office.
There, a dark skinned, one eyed, bald man stood up, staring at the room where James, his teacher, and Black were in. The man's eyes were a mix of focus and loss, although Black was staring at the man in the eye, he knew that he remained invisible to him and the others inside the office.
"Natasha Romanov a.k.a Black Widow, Clint Barton a.k.a Hawkeye, Barbara Morse a.k.a Mockingbird… Nick Fury and his three most trusted agents- no… the three spared agents… I wonder what kind of scheme they're thinking of now"
SHIELD, New York Headquarters, in the Director's office-
Nick Fury along with three of the only agents who were "not compromised" all stared at the opposing building.
"If that's not a provocation, I dunno what is"
Barton said as he squinted his eyes trying to observe the opposite structure more but he could not really see anything substantial.
"It's like there's a fog covering my eyes"
He said as he was still unable to grasp anything. Though, the blonde woman next to him had other things to say-
"Remove your glasses then"
Barton was not angry hearing her words, instead he turned to her with a calm smile, a classic "business smile" as he responded.
"You know that's now how it works Barbara"
The reaction of Hawkeye made the blonde woman, Barbara smile, she did not really mean to make fun of Barton. After all, even she had the same experience as him, like a fog was clouding her vision and her thoughts.
But playful banter made the atmosphere relax, although they were still focused on their task, by relieving pressure, they were able to work in a calmer environment as they observed the building owner by James Barthomeloi.
Under the recently established company, "Tower Technologies International", the skyscraper opposite their New York Headquarters is known as the "Tower of Avalon". It is the main office of the Medical Division of the aforementioned company.
Currently, the company was said to be studying Limb regeneration technologies and vitality increasing medicine.
Though, what Nick Fury and his three SHIELD agents truly cared for was not the "research" that the company was doing but the office building.
Barton gave the whole structure one more look as he sighed while saying.
"It's amazing how nobody seemed to care about this tower"
Natasha also shook her head as she added-
"It looks like it would collapse at any moment yet…"
She paused, turning her head to Fury, Natasha did not say more but Barbara, seeing her reaction did not seem to care as she added-
"The reports claim that it had passed all assessments"
Her words caused a stir in the emotions of everyone in the room.
"Tsk"
Fury clicked his tongue, turning around, he gave his three agents a serious look as he said-
"He noticed your tracking, you lost him as he met with Emma Frost in the Hellfire Club Manor, then he left and when you tried to tail him again, for the second time, you lost him. Then, as you come back to headquarters to report the failure and provide an explanation, the car that you lost parked outside the opposite building and James, along with his Butler entered the "Tower of Avalon"."
Fury detailed everything that had occurred, what he did not add though as the hour the four spent trying to look for James. They employed various methods, on their own, without the help of the other agents as they had a strong suspicion that everyone was already "compromised".
Now, the four spy's could only dejectedly stand around a table, unable to think of what to do.
"First of all, why were "we" spared?"
The first to break the ice was Natasha, her words causing a stir as Fury shot her a glare.
"Come one boss, don't you think the mere fact that only "we" could see the "anomaly" in all of this scream "somethings up"?"
Upon hearing Natasha's explanation, Fury's eyes suddenly flashed.
A fog in his mind seemed to have cleared as he stared at Natasha, his eyes gaining clarity along with Barton and Barbara.
"Wait… yeah… is this…"
They all turned to the opposite building and found that it still had the same form as it did a few seconds ago.
"Compile the reports on James Barthomeloi, everything, get everything we can! NOW!"
Fury commanded his three agents who quickly accepted the orders as they rushed out of the office, they too were aware of how important that moment was.
As he watched the three agents leave, Fury turned around, his eyes gazing once more at the top floor of the opposite tower.
Black had watched this all happen, his face showing a rare smile, one that was true, not a fake one, but a smile that showed true joy.
"Ara~ he's having fun"
"He learned from the best after all"
Two voices suddenly echoed around Black, he wanted to move but then he found himself surrounded. He was stuck between two white haired idiots and he really wanted to just jump-
"So what are you looking at?"
"Oh! That's Nick Fury! A crazy idiot, thinks he could solve things by creating a superpowered idol group. Dude really thinks that the world works on heroics, what an idiot"
The two had a pleasant exchange but the last statement spoken by James caused an awkward silence.
"..."
Black knew of the history of the man who was his "Lord's" teacher, as such he was well aware that his "Lord" may have just stepped on a dragon's tail.
And as he expected, James quickly retracted his words as he then added-
"Of course, if you were to do what he's doing, you'd probably succeed!"
"Ahem… I didn't believe that the world could be saved with Heroics… hmm~ how do I say this- creating a hero was… an accident? Yeah, let's keep it at that"
James paused, he turned to his teacher, before shaking his head as he replied.
"Yeah, let's keep it at that, though I still want to meet with young Altria"
"..."
The master and student pair exchanged smiles but Black could feel a weird tension between them, and it was not the one he abhorred.
'Liars, cheats and players. This master and student duo really are reflections of one another'
Black thought as he quietly disappeared from the spot but not before informing James of a certain matter. One that his Lord was very interested in-
"My Lord, Yolda and Soldier have sent a report on Tony Stark. It appears that he's not quite "dead" yet, in fact, they seem to believe that he's more "alive" now than when he was having fun sleeping around"