Goddess Collector: Every Hole is a Goal

Chapter 696: Difference In System

On top of yet another ruined Hydra's base, Nik waited patiently. In reality, New York was saturated with such small bases but that didn't stop him from ruining them. After all, if he continuously destroys Hydra bases, there will come a day when the Hydra agent following him would be tasked with a different mission.

"Did you start the party without me?" Accompanied by a soft gold glow, Loki appeared out of thin air as she looked around, "And where is my lovely sister?" Her eyes bore into Nik as he slowly stood up and dusted his pants.

"Angela is having her beauty sleep," Nik replied while Loki looked around.

"Did you know, in Asgard, there is no such thing as beauty sleep. If women took care of their appearances, they would only be considered as mare ready to be bred. One of the reasons why I stuck to my male appearance," Loki smirked, "And, why did you call me? Are you willing to accept me as your mentor? I can graciously accept such a position but... as a tribute, I'll be having a lot of fun~" she winked as she suddenly smacked her head, "scratch that, I want my scepter back!"

"Can't do that," Nik shrugged, "And you will teach me spells because, let's face it, we'll have fun even if you're not my master. But, we are allied and it was one of the conditions."

"What if I just love the sound of men under me squealing 'master'?" Loki countered.

"Then, good luck," Nik observed Loki carefully, "I'll be happy to be your master because the one squealing last time was you."

"No woman enjoys getting trashed by words, did you not know of such courtesy?"

"You're not an average woman, are you?" Nik inquired, winking, "Let's just get to you mentoring me now, shall we?"

"Before that?" Loki pointed at Nik's abdomen, "enlighten me. Why is your energy fluctuating time and again? And why is it growing by a sliver after the... exchange? You're exchanging energy with something."

"It's just a simple technique, don't get too bothered by it," Nik would be damned if he so openly exposed the ability of symbiotes, at least, Pickle, being able to exchange and increase energy reservoirs. Not to mention people like Loki who are devious by nature. After all, the first thing Loki did with her knowledge of Angela was to incite Thor into leaving Earth and return to his realm.

"I'll take your word on that," Loki narrowed her eyes as she rubbed her nose slightly, "So, am I supposed to teach you magic from the basic?" She inquired with a rather annoyed tone.

"Not really. I think a little introduction is necessary for me to understand the basis of your spell and then I want to learn... spells that can affect time."

"Temporal spells?" Loki raised her eyebrow with a questioning look on her face.

"And we also need to plan and takedown Kamar-Taj. I am extremely interested in their spells," Nik smiled.

"I did a little check on this Kamar-Taj and still haven't found anything crucial to formulate plans. I need clues and information," Loki demanded, "else, your dream of gaining control of the spells is simply a pipedream."

"What kind of clues?" Nik inquired.

"Clues like what the guardian of Kamar-Taj favors. Its likes and dislikes. Or the location of said library. Anything that can be turned into a weak link and can be used to manipulate the opponent," Loki explained patiently.

"I'll try to get these kinds of clues," Nik nodded as a pleasant smile touched Loki's face, "Great, then let's get you caught up on the basics of Asgardian spells that no mortal has ever laid eyes on."

Without any change in location, Loki began introducing the Asgardian spell system to Nik.

"First thing, the spells of Asgard can be utilized using intention, speech, and words as a medium. The more medium used, the greater the effects of the spell despite the efficiency. Now, when I say words, I mean pictorial depictions, too."

"The most basic spells are actually the foundation of Asgard that has helped the civilization in growth but at the next stage, Asgardian Sorcerers start using various elements of nature in their spells, too. Sometimes, the spell itself produces elements derived from nature."

---

While Loki tutored Nik, another meeting was set-up between the Fantastic Four, the ambassadors and directors of various intelligence agencies, and Nick Fury with Natasha sitting beside him. Natasha's report of Tony's action and various other reports that placed Tony's private jet near the Savage Land made it clear that Iron Man had indeed, went off on an expedition of his own.

"I suggest that we prepare a little bit more punch before sending you off. Aside from Dr. Hank and his Mrs. Janet, I think, we should send someone from Agent Coulson's team to assist you if Iron Man does resist," Fury stated with a serious expression.

This had been Natasha's idea but it was clearly sensible or else, Fury wouldn't have promoted the thought.

Hearing him, everybody went silent before somebody spoke up.

"I have heard that Vanish can teleport to various locations. Are there any limits to distance? And, can he teleport a group of individuals at the same time?"

"As long as the location is on this planet, Vanish can take you anywhere you wish," Fury replied. In fact, he still hadn't grasped Vanish's weaknesses yet while only a few limits he knew came from Agent Hill's 'intelligence'. Still, if Nik could have teleported to Korea to neutralize the threat named 'Angela' then he can possibly teleport to Antarctica, too.

"As for the number of people... I'll have to discuss it with him."

"If we do get Vanish's help," Susan spoke up, "then we can catch Tony Stark by surprise and even contain him instantly before focusing on the Paradise. Maybe, Vanish can even bypass the barrier completely."

Her words instantly earned everybody's approval. Natasha couldn't help but glance at Susan for a moment before sighing softly while Reed felt awkward in his heart slightly.

"Very well," the director of CIA nodded, "Please coordinate with your agent and send us a definite answer. The date of the expedition is still set on 19th September."

Everybody nodded as the meeting came to an end once again.

---

Tigra and Vertigo looked at the unconscious Iron Man from the screen in the control center. The moment they notified Nik about Iron Man's existence, Nik instantly made Tigra and Vertigo deactivate the barrier of one side, and quite easily and forcefully, Iron Man smashed into the second spiritual barrier that instantly made the person controlling the armor go unconscious.

Before Jarvis could pilot the armor to safety, the spiritual barrier's countermeasures came to life and instantly latched onto Iron Man's armor, pulling him into the space between the Paradise and the barrier while Vertigo and Tigra hurriedly covered the island with the original barrier once again.

"The spirit energy will keep the man alive for almost a month but don't get too close to it. I've scanned the armor and it has the ability to capture images of surrounding and upload it to a cloud... hard to say if there is some failsafe device, too," Nik reminded before he went silent once again.

In fact, he didn't control the formation from miles away, no. The spiritual formation simply had the ability to defend itself by attacking any threat and with a suit of armor smashing into the transparent barrier, it was easy to determine that Tony would be considered a threat.

"So... any idea what is Iron Man's use now?" Vertigo inquired as Tigra shrugged and stood up, "He's a bait, of course. I'm going out with Ignit to hunt, don't do anything stupid."

"I'm the barbarian and you go hunting every morning. Stupid bitch," Vertigo mumbled to herself as Tigra flipped her off before leaving the control room.

Meanwhile, Vertigo looked at the other screen and searched for the keyword Vanish.

Instantly, the most popular search came to be Vanish victory dance.

A little surprised, Vertigo started the clip and saw how Pickle danced while controlling Nik's body.

Her laughter instantly resounded within the control room while Tigra's furry ears twitched and she gazed at Ignit, who looked up to her, too, before both of them turned their face towards the door to the control room and shook their head simultaneously.

*Hiissss*

"Yeah, she's a crazy bitch!" Tigra nodded.

"Grrr!"

"Hey, right back at you!" Tigra growled too as both the beasts looked at each other.

---

'Any thoughts?' Nik's neck was now marked with a hickey as he returned to the apartment with Natasha not being present, still within the Hellicarrier. Mary, Anna, and Angela were sound asleep with Angela taking the couch and the screen of the television still playing another movie.

Closing the television, Nik covered Angela with a blanket and pecked her forehead as Asmodeus said with a slightly serious tone. When it comes to various languages and incantations, even Sky couldn't compare to Asmodeus.

"Their medium and language are a bit primitive compared to our system," Asmodeus nodded. As the leading contributor right ahead of Nik in the Spiritual system they were developing, Asmodeus was an expert and knew how to compare their own system with others in an objective manner.

"But Asgardian spell system had thousands of years to develop. The fact that Loki can promise to teach you Temporal Spells is the cold fact that supports my statement. But..."

Sighing softly, Asmodeus continued, "But, this spell system is incomparably weak outside the realm of origin. It lacks adaptability despite years of development. Meanwhile, we are trying to accomplish the opposite. And the fact that we use our own energy reserves and not the surrounding's natural forces is the greatest difference. Even if you do learn Temporal Spells, we will need a lot of time to modify it based on our needs and this can only depend on the two of us... and Loki, if you manage to get her. Since consciousness city cannot actually replicate the effects of time."

Nik nodded with a sigh as he closed his eyes to rest. Just after two hours of practice, he felt quite spent, too.