Chapter 692 693: The Darkhold

"Mike, have you heard? Doctor Banner left Earth on a spaceship through a wormhole…"

That day, Tony came to Mike's villa and complained, "The Avengers isn't as good as I thought it would be."

With old Avengers members Thor and Doctor Banner successively leaving, and the new member Vision joining, Tony increasingly felt that the Avengers organization had lost its initial flavor.

Humanity.

Yes, Doctor Banner's departure this time, besides his inability to control his Hulk power and his fear of causing trouble again, Another main reason was that Captain America had previously criticized Tony and Doctor Banner, the creators of Ultron, for the damage he caused to the public.

Tony had a thick skin, so he endured it, and life went on as usual.

Doctor Banner, despite his seemingly rough appearance, was extremely sensitive internally and was the type of person who didn't want to bother others.

Coupled with his uncontrollable Hulk power, Unwilling to continue causing trouble for others, he chose self-exile once again.

And it was a complete departure, directly leaving the planet he lived on.

"I feel like Rogers went a bit too far this time…" A moment later, Tony couldn't help but complain about Captain America again.

Doctor Banner's departure might be related to his own personality, an inevitable event.

But Captain America's previous accusations, in Tony's opinion, were definitely the last straw that broke Doctor Banner's back.

Tony, who had also been criticized, deeply understood this feeling.

Therefore, he, who was not very magnanimous to begin with, inevitably developed some negative opinions about Captain America.

"Relax, Tony. Cap meant well." Mike comforted Tony.

From the Ultron incident, there was no right or wrong on either side.

Tony and Doctor Banner developed Ultron with good intentions.

And Captain America's concern over the casualties Ultron caused to the public was also out of good intentions.

Most importantly, Mike also saw that Tony's complaint about Captain America this time was simply to vent his emotions.

He had no ill intentions.

Coupled with the current situation of the Avengers, after the arrival of Vision, the "omnipotent" new-generation super intelligent robot, the workload of the members significantly decreased.

In other words, Tony was completely idle right now.

In this situation, to comfort Tony, Mike didn't need to say too much; he just needed to be a listener.

And that's exactly what happened. After complaining about Captain America a few more times, Tony, feeling relieved, left the villa contentedly.

"I think you should have less to do with that playboy. Nothing good ever comes from him visiting…" The Scarlet Witch, who appeared afterwards, watched Tony leave, with obvious disdain in her eyes.

It was clear that she had completely embraced the role of a "virtuous wife and loving mother."

And Tony was the "bad influence" who broke up other people's families.

"You can't say that." Mike shook his head slightly.

He could feel that Tony's behavior today was rooted in a deeper concern about the future direction of the Avengers.

Vision's immense power was not entirely a good thing.

The old members of the Avengers already had some friction among themselves. Now that Vision solved most of the tasks, these old members had less time to interact and reconcile, and they would only drift further apart in the future.

Tony probably realized this, which made him feel a bit anxious.

In some ways, Iron Man was actually a very humane person.

"Let's not talk about this." Mike had no intention of getting too involved in Avengers matters, so he changed the subject and asked, "How are things going with your factory?"

"With the help of Matt and his team, it's already on track." A slight smile appeared on the Scarlet Witch's face.

Success in one's career was an excellent remedy.

Especially while gaining a sense of accomplishment, the Scarlet Witch also felt that she could finally help Mike.

The framework of the surrounding factories was initially drafted by Mike.

Now that the factory was operating normally, it not only helped Mike expand his reputation but also provided street heroes with stable jobs.

It was a win-win situation.

"Very good." Mike didn't question the Scarlet Witch's abilities. Then, he looked into her eyes and said seriously, "Now, let's talk about the issues you're facing."

Besides being used for combat, Chaos Power's most terrifying aspect was its ability to rewrite reality.

Moreover, this ability was largely beyond the Scarlet Witch's own control.

As long as her emotions were strong enough, this reality-rewriting ability might activate randomly, perhaps even without the Scarlet Witch noticing.

For example, in this villa, Quicksilver and Hit-Girl were becoming increasingly "sensible."

And the Scarlet Witch herself was becoming more and more like a qualified "wife."

It was only because Mike's strength was sufficient that he wasn't greatly affected; otherwise, he too would probably become a qualified "husband" by now.

The cause of this situation should be due to the Scarlet Witch's fantasies.

Perhaps in her heart, a happy family should be like this.

"Me? What problems could I have?" The Scarlet Witch's eyes darted away a bit at Mike's frankness.

As the initiator of Chaos Power's reality-rewriting, it was hard to say that the Scarlet Witch hadn't noticed the magic's power.

It could only be said that everything was developing in the direction the girl desired, so she didn't want to break this balance.

And thus wake up from her "beautiful dream."

"Is a life where everyone becomes a puppet what you want?" Mike, who had been observing the Scarlet Witch for some time, decided to address this hidden danger.

If Chaos Power was allowed to develop further, everyone around the Scarlet Witch would eventually face one outcome: losing themselves.

They would be completely lost in the "beautiful dream" woven by the girl.

And the Scarlet Witch herself was also very likely to be trapped in her own woven dream, unwilling to come out.

That kind of "harmonious" scene, just thinking about it, made one feel terrified.

"I, I didn't mean to, that energy isn't under my control…" Fortunately, the reality-rewriting ability was still in its early stages, and the Scarlet Witch hadn't fallen too deep.

And he should have also realized that the current situation seemed inappropriate.

"The eruption of Chaos Power always has a reason, so have you experienced anything particularly strange recently?" Mike knew this wasn't the time to assign blame.

The most urgent task was to first resolve the negative effects caused by Chaos Power.

Of course, for the Scarlet Witch, this might not be a bad thing.

The uncontrolled dispersion of magic indicated that the girl was currently in a period of surging magical power.

If she could fully control this ability, her strength would also experience a leap-forward improvement.

"It might be related to this book…" The Scarlet Witch materialized a black book radiating powerful demonic energy, with exquisite black embossed lettering on its cover.

"The Darkhold?" Mike read out the name of the black book.

He also felt a sense of "as expected."

[Source of Black Magic (Trait)]… [Language Adaptation (Trait)]… [Corruption Effect (Trait)]… [Creation of Transcendent Beings (Trait)]… [Interdimensional Power (Trait)]… [Consciousness Transfer (Trait)]… Just as Mike thought, this divine book from the Dark Demon God not only stimulated the Chaos Power within the Scarlet Witch but also subtly influenced the girl's mind.

Ultimately, the goal was to achieve the Dark Demon God's descent to Earth through the link between the Darkhold and the Scarlet Witch.

"This book of black magic has been lurking in my consciousness all along. It only recently appeared before me…" The Scarlet Witch handed over the Darkhold and said, "I can feel it's very dangerous, but I still can't help but use it. Perhaps if I entrust it to you for safekeeping, the problem can be solved."

"No," Mike shook his head and did not take the book. "This book of black magic is very helpful for your strength improvement. And it's better to guide than to block. What we need to consider now is how to resolve the hidden dangers this book brings."

The Dark Demon God definitely had ill intentions by placing this book of black magic on the Scarlet Witch.

But while using the girl, it also indeed helped her enhance her Chaos Power.

With Mike's current strength, it wouldn't be difficult to seal this book of black magic.

However, doing so would also waste the Scarlet Witch's opportunity to improve her strength.

So, the best way was to find something that could contend with it, without affecting the Darkhold's effects.

Coincidentally, Mike knew that Ancient One had the ultimate white magic tome — the Book of the Vishanti.

Which could perfectly achieve this.

Black magic against white magic, darkness against light…