Robert truly had no idea what had happened inside the military base. He hadn't intentionally lied about General Blanch Kelly's death to recruit Blanch into the Avengers. It was simply because Robert hadn't carefully sensed the energy of those imprisoned in the Skrull base. When he noticed General Kelly hadn't returned for a long time, he naturally assumed the general had died.
Who could have predicted that Bruce Wayne, in order to prevent other organizations from seizing the spoils of the Skrull base, specifically had his butler, Tohru, take a long detour, delaying the return of every high-ranking officer captured by the Skrulls. General Kelly's return to his military base was already considered relatively fast.
Unfortunately, despite his efforts to rush back, General Kelly still ended up with nothing. Not only did he fail to claim anything from the Skrull base, but he also lost his extraordinary subordinate, Blanch.
As for asking the Avengers for Blanch back? General Kelly had considered it, but he didn't dare. Especially after receiving reports about the entire Skrull secret invasion.
Although the Skrull invasion had lasted a long time, the casualties were far fewer compared to other extraordinary events on Earth. Remarkably, no ordinary civilians were involved or lost their lives in the invasion.
But even so, the high-ranking officials paid special attention to this event. In previous extraordinary incidents, they could hide or stay uninvolved, watching from the sidelines. No matter how significant the event, it rarely posed a direct threat to their lives.
The secret invasion was different. Countless high-ranking officials were replaced, and their deepest secrets were exposed. Many were quietly killed, losing their lives without a sound.
The most outrageous part was that the Skrulls who killed them assumed their identities, enjoying their lives, power, and the warmth of their families.
All of this struck a nerve with the high-ranking officials, worse than if they had been killed outright. Moreover, no one could guarantee that those around them weren't Skrull imposters. No one could be certain that Robert had found all the Skrulls, or that the Skrulls wouldn't plan another invasion.
In this atmosphere, cooperation and trust between people became exceedingly difficult. And more importantly, who could ensure that all the people Robert killed were Skrulls? What if Robert used the Skrull threat as an excuse to kill them? Who would dare question or oppose him?
For these reasons, General Kelly didn't dare provoke Robert, fearing that Robert would claim Kelly was still a Skrull imposter. Although a Skrull impersonating General Kelly had already been killed, it wouldn't be hard for Robert to fabricate another. With even a flimsy excuse, no one could stop him—or would dare to.
In reality, Robert had never even thought of using such excuses. If he really wanted to kill someone, he wouldn't need an excuse. Just as the world continued to operate despite the deaths of so many high-ranking officials during the Skrull invasion, it would go on if anyone else perished. No one was important enough for Robert to bother making excuses to eliminate them.
At this moment, Robert continued his plan to eradicate the Skrulls. With Gravik's help, not a single Skrull escaped his pursuit, and they all met their end at Robert's hands. Earth was finally rid of this hidden scourge lurking in the shadows.
Although Earth itself still wasn't entirely clean, at least for the time being, there would be no more disturbances until a new wave of Skrulls or extraordinary events emerged.
After wiping out the Skrulls, Robert didn't stop to rest. Once Gravik was obliterated, Robert began investigating the matter of the Hell Dimension. He hadn't forgotten that, while torturing Hydra members with healing magic, the souls of those members had been marked by the Hell Dimension, with countless vengeful spirits gnawing at them.
It was normal for a great sinner to be targeted by the Hell Dimension after death, but what wasn't normal was the fact that every single one of them was haunted by vengeful spirits. Robert found it hard to believe that there was no hidden secret behind this.
In fact, Robert suspected that those vengeful spirits tormenting the Hydra members' souls weren't actually the ones the members had originally killed. After all, the souls of ordinary people, no matter how strong their resentment, would find it hard to survive long in the Hell Dimension, let alone retain their consciousness and hatred and coincidentally target those Hydra members.
These vengeful spirits seemed more like a natural force of the Hell Dimension, manifesting in the form of real illusions. While the identity of the spirits might be false, everything else was real. The Hydra members' souls were indeed devoured by these vengeful spirits.
With a hum, Robert's soul left the earthly dimension, sensing the energies of surrounding dimensions. He noticed that the Hell Dimension's presence was strong, but still within a normal range.
Since the dimensional rift between Earth and the Hell Dimension appeared, the two realms had been interacting. It was normal for the area near the rift to be saturated with Hell energy, as long as no powerful Hell Lord forced their way through.
"Nothing significant. Should I visit the Hell Dimension again?" Robert pondered but decided not to act just yet.
During the invasion of many dimensions, Robert had caused quite a stir in the Hell Dimension. Although he didn't fear ordinary Hell Lords, the top Hell Lords were another matter.
If he faced only one, Robert wouldn't mind a fight to test his strength. But the Hell Lords were many. If Robert dared to battle one in the Hell Dimension, he risked being swarmed by several of them. In that scenario, both Robert and the Hell Lord he fought would become prey for the others. This was why no top Hell Lords had engaged him during his previous disturbances there.
After withdrawing his soul, Robert teleported instantly to Kamar-Taj.
"Huh?" As he arrived, Robert raised an eyebrow. He sensed a significant change in Kamar-Taj. The most obvious difference was the increased mental power and magic fluctuations of the students.
"Sa- Saiyans?!" As Robert sensed the changes, Doom and others noticed him as well. Constantine was the first to greet Robert with a smile. "Saiyan, what brings you here?"
"You're still at Kamar-Taj? What, no plans to return to your magical base?" Robert asked, surprised that Constantine was still here, almost like he had become a Kamar-Taj student himself.
"No need. I've become a Kamar-Taj student. Their space magic and portals are more convenient, and Clarice and the others can handle the supernatural world without me babysitting them…" Constantine explained with a grin.
Before joining Kamar-Taj, Constantine had wanted to learn its advanced magic and portal techniques. But now, his ambition had shifted. With the Ancient One gone, Constantine wanted to become the next Sorcerer Supreme.
Especially after gaining the Reality Stone, Constantine's strength had skyrocketed. He was confident that, even without his trump cards, he could defeat or seal some lesser Hell Lords. With his trump cards, he believed he could even contend with those of Skyfather level.
This was a significant boost. Reaching the Skyfather tier was an accomplishment in any context. Constantine's ability to challenge Hell Lords of that caliber was proof of his rapid growth.
Because of his newfound power, Constantine's ambitions had expanded. He now set his sights on the Sorcerer Supreme title, which could elevate him to Skyfather status and make him a force to be reckoned with.
He wasn't the only one with such ambitions—Doom was in the same boat.
Both had experienced the greatest increase in strength after using the Reality Stone. Doom had also touched the threshold of Skyfather-level power, and his magical expertise made him capable of contending with such beings.
Others like Baron Mordo, Wong, and Kaecilius had improved as well, though they hadn't yet reached the level of Hell Lords. They could be considered on par with lesser deities in Earth's pantheon.
The rest of the Kamar-Taj students had made various advancements, though none had reached the level of gods. At best, they were now comparable to pre-ascended Kaecilius.
"No wonder your powers have grown so much. You used the Reality Stone," Robert said, shaking his head. "But be careful with this power. You know every dimensional force comes with a cost. The Infinity Stones are no exception."
"Cost? I haven't noticed any," Constantine replied, frowning. They had shared the Reality Stone's power, and theoretically, all the potential side effects should have been distributed among them. But so far, he hadn't felt anything unusual.
The other Kamar-Taj students also checked their bodies but found nothing wrong. Instead, they felt stronger than ever, with enhanced magical abilities and physical strength.
"Since you won't be returning to your magical base, Clarice and the others can join the Avengers. Thanks for watching over them," Robert said, glancing at Constantine and the other students.
"With all the supernatural and ordinary boundaries blurring, having them join the Avengers makes sense. And they can certainly help…" Constantine agreed.
Robert nodded. "So, where's the Reality Stone now?"
At that question, the Kamar-Taj students' faces subtly changed. If, before using the Reality Stone, they had only planned to borrow it temporarily, then after using it, it was like Pandora's box had been opened. None of them wanted to give it up anymore.
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