The moment she stepped through the portal, Captain Marvel scanned her surroundings.
Her first instinct was discomfort—this mansion and its gloomy atmosphere felt wrong to her.
The decor was luxurious, but the dim lighting and the subtle chill in the air made her uneasy.
However, the moment her gaze landed on the figure by the liquor cabinet, her focus sharpened.
That's him.
The bastard who played me twice.
She glared at William's back and demanded,
"You said there's a monster. What exactly are we dealing with?"
William didn't turn around immediately.
Instead, he poured two glasses of whiskey and, only then, looked over his shoulder with a smirk.
"Red wine or whiskey?"
"Answer the question first."
Carol clenched her glowing fists.
"If you're lying, I'll blow you to pieces."
But William, as if completely unfazed, casually handed her a glass.
"Ever heard of Set, the Egyptian god of deserts and darkness?"
His complete lack of caution caught Carol off guard.
For a moment, she hesitated.
Then, seeing that he wasn't withdrawing the glass, she sighed and reluctantly took it—out of politeness.
Taking a sip, her eyes lit up.
Damn. That's good whiskey.
After a second sip, she pondered for a moment before cautiously replying,
"You mean the Egyptian deity from mythology?"
"Exactly."
William chuckled.
"I forgot—you grew up on Earth. You've lived here for over twenty years, so it's not surprising that you know about Set."
"But I'm not talking about a name in a history book.
"I mean a real, extradimensional god."
The moment she heard extradimensional god, Carol's expression turned serious.
Her military instincts kicked in.
"Set can't physically manifest in our world. Are you saying his followers are trying to bring him here?"
"Something like that."
William shrugged.
"If you don't want to go head-to-head with Set himself, you should take care of the Mummy Princess before she completes the ritual."
Carol narrowed her eyes.
"Why me?"
"Hah, good question."
William snapped his fingers, signaling Sunday.
Immediately, a holographic projection appeared—
Showing why he had built his desert base around the tomb's seal and how the seal had been broken.
The footage recreated the collapse of the tomb's barriers, making it very convincing.
Carol felt embarrassed watching it.
She wanted to look for inconsistencies, but before she could say anything—
William changed the subject again.
This time, Sunday played footage of the captured Skrulls.
William carefully chose the most damning part of the interrogation—
The moment when a Skrull, disguised as a noble, admitted to trying to manipulate King Philip, stirring conflict among England's aristocracy to weaken William's power.
Carol's face flushed.
But honestly, she wasn't that shocked.
Because to her, Nick Fury's plan wasn't wrong.
She had spent most of her life in America and had served in the U.S. Air Force.
To her, political maneuvering and subterfuge were just standard operations.
The only mistake was that they got caught.
And once caught, the only person to blame was the one who failed.
In this case, that meant the Skrulls.
As such, she had no real counterargument against William's actions.
He had every legal right to detain foreign spies who had attempted to destabilize his country.
Even in space, most civilizations had similar laws.
Hell, even on Xandar, Star-Lord and his crew were thrown in prison after causing trouble.
Why should Skrulls get a free pass?
If they had managed to escape, dodged capture, or even killed their captors, that would have been fair game.
But they didn't.
They failed.
And now, Carol had no leverage.
Even with her strength, she didn't know where the Skrulls were anymore.
This left her incredibly frustrated.
For years, she had solved every problem with her fists.
But now, punching the problem wouldn't work.
She clenched her jaw.
"What will it take for you to release them?"
William raised an eyebrow.
"Oh? You seem desperate.
"Did something happen in space?
"Need my help?"
Carol's eyes lit up for a second.
If William helped, things would be much easier.
Then he added—
"I'm very affordable. Just one million credits."
"…ONE. MILLION. CREDITS?"
A vein popped on Carol's forehead.
She instantly blurred forward—
Her super-speed catching William completely off guard.
Grabbing his collar, she lifted him off the ground.
"DO YOU EVEN KNOW HOW MUCH ONE MILLION CREDITS IS, YOU IDIOT?"
"…H-how much?"
William, genuinely startled, finally understood what light-speed felt like.
He had tried to dodge, but before he could even move, she had already grabbed him.
His only reaction was to activate a mirror dimension.
But Carol, boiling with rage, didn't even notice that she had been pulled into an alternate space.
—
"I've been living in space for over ten years.
"And in all that time, I've never even seen a total of one million credits!"
She shook him in frustration.
Only then did she realize—
He felt too light.
Suspicious, she shook him again.
Her instincts screamed—this isn't real.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU?!"
—
"Calm down."
A calm voice came from behind her.
She spun around, still holding onto the first William—
Only to see a second William, standing casually with his hands raised.
"Relax, Carol."
The second William smiled.
"As a magician, I have to be careful when meeting someone as ridiculously overpowered as you."
"The one you're holding is a magical projection.
"But even though it's an illusion… its thoughts are mine."
The moment he finished speaking—
Carol flashed toward the second William—
Grabbing him as well.
But the instant she lifted him—he vanished too.
"DAMN IT!"
—
From behind her, another William sighed.
"If you'd let me properly introduce myself, I could've told you—
"This magic is called 'The Form of Ekern'."
Carol whirled around—
To see another William, standing among dozens more copies of himself.
Her brain shut down for a second.
Her hands automatically released the fake bodies.
She just stared, waiting.
William didn't waste time.
The three fake copies raised their hands—
And suddenly, the room filled with over a hundred Williams.
Some stood on the floor, others hovered in midair.
"…The hell?"
Carol muttered, turning in a full circle, taking it all in.
Then she crossed her arms and snorted.
"So what? It's just a bunch of illusions. Big deal."
William grinned.
"Oh? Then watch closely."
All at once—
The hundred Williams performed a hand gesture—
And in an instant—
Hundreds of glowing, magical ropes shot out—
Binding Carol's arms and legs.
(End of Chapter)
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