Drift Of The Multiverse: [Marvel] [Resident Evil] [DC] [Bleach] [DB]-Chapter 210: Leaving and Looking Forward to Coming Back Again

Chapter 210 - 210: Leaving and Looking Forward to Coming Back Again

Stepping out of the last church on his list, Ethan let out a long sigh of relief.

Glancing back at the unremarkable building, then up at the setting sun, he realized that another full day had passed. But there was no need to continue tomorrow. He had already visited all the churches with the largest congregations in New York. The power of faith accumulated over the years in these places had now been completely harvested by him. If he wanted to collect more next time, he would have to choose a different city.

"It shouldn't be necessary anytime soon."

The Holy Light energy stored within the cross was now sufficient. If he gathered any more, it might even start to have unintended effects on himself just from carrying it around.

"The current amount should be just right."

Ethan had collected enough Holy Light energy. Meanwhile, Tony had spent quite some time studying the Cosmic Cube, gaining new insights into energy. It was easy to predict that this genius inventor would soon upgrade all the reactors at his disposal.

During this time, Tony hadn't only focused on the Cube. He had also finalized the design of the Prinz Eugen.

The final design was similar to what Ethan remembered, but with several optimized and upgraded details. The completed Prinz Eugen would have a displacement of 17,000 tons and could reach an astonishing speed of 40 knots, far beyond what a warship of nearly 20,000 tons would normally achieve.

The latest optimized Arc Reactor would serve as the primary energy source. To make the ship easier for Ethan and his crew to operate, the Prinz Eugen would also be equipped with an artificial intelligence system capable of managing the main engine autonomously.

This AI was not an independent top-level intelligence like Ultron but more like the early Jarvis—an auxiliary system that could carry out various instructions but lacked independent decision-making abilities.

That was exactly what Ethan wanted. If the AI were capable of independent decisions, it would only cause him headaches.

Once the design was finalized, Tony Stark began acquiring a shipyard—yes, this guy planned to buy his own shipyard to build the battleship.

There was no other choice. The ship contained too much black technology. Even if another company could meet the technical requirements, Tony would be concerned about leaks.

Even with the shipyard acquisition, some technological leakage was inevitable. Such large-scale construction would definitely attract attention from organizations like S.H.I.E.L.D. or even Hydra. But Tony was well aware of that.

Ethan, however, was not too concerned. He knew that even in this world, there were higher-level civilization technologies. Now that he had some control over the Cosmic Cube, he could travel to other planets and bring back advanced technologies for Tony when needed.

At the moment, though, there was no rush. What Ethan wanted was for Tony to continue refining and improving the current knowledge and technology as he worked on building the battleship. That way, when Ethan brought back more advanced tech in the future, Tony could seamlessly integrate it.

If all went well, once the Prinz Eugen was complete, they could start considering even higher-tier ships. With the combination of advanced technology from higher civilizations, Tony could become the first person on Earth capable of building true space battleships.

Ethan didn't mind Tony becoming stronger. In fact, it only benefited him, especially since he had already decided to treat the Marvel universe as his backup base.

"By the time I return, your ship should be nearly finished... assuming I don't come back just a few days later."

Ethan nodded to himself. He was sure that he wouldn't be back in the Marvel universe for a while, not because of time or space constraints, but because he had too many things to handle on his end. By the time he finished his own affairs, at least half a year or maybe even a full year—would have passed.

Besides, he still needed to find a way to fulfill the promise he had made to Tony: to resurrect his parents. Ethan knew he couldn't face Tony again empty-handed. Even if Tony handed him the ship, Ethan wouldn't have the nerve to take it until he had kept his promise.

Even if he couldn't solve the problem right away, he had to find a lead. For example, he might explore the Tomb Raider world to obtain the two volumes of scripture and see whether their magic could be applied here, or whether the spells recorded there could provide any useful reference.

On top of that, by the time he returned, this world would likely have entered a new stage. The crisis of Thanos was approaching, and Ethan's current strength was nowhere near enough to deal with it. Even if he wasn't worried about being erased by the snap, he still needed to be able to protect himself in a head-to-head battle.

"Hopefully, the next time I come back, you'll have some more interesting gadgets ready."

"Don't worry, I guarantee you'll be surprised," Tony replied, handing Ethan a suitcase. "This is the upgraded version of your tools. The old set is already outdated."

"I'll gladly accept it."

As Ethan took out the Cosmic Cube and activated teleportation, Tony was left alone on the helipad atop Stark Tower.

Standing there for a while, Tony didn't know whether he should look forward to Ethan's next visit. But he knew one thing for sure—Ethan would definitely keep his promise. The next time they met, even if Ethan couldn't immediately resurrect his parents, there would at least be some progress.

As Tony turned to leave, he caught a glimpse of his reflection in the glass. Subconsciously, he touched his own face.

"Maybe I really should take that kid's advice and do something about looking younger."

Ethan had no idea what Tony would decide. After using the Cosmic Cube to teleport back to Asgard, Ethan had a brief chat with Thor before going to see Odin and Loki again.

"Looks like you'll be hanging around with me for quite a while," Ethan said.

Loki's shackles had been removed. No one worried about him trying anything here, especially with Odin standing right next to him.

Touching his wrists, Loki glanced at Odin, who hadn't explained anything. Instead, Thor clapped Loki's shoulder repeatedly, saying things like, "Be good!" and "Stop causing trouble!" and "I'll be waiting for you in Asgard!"

If he had added "Be on your best behavior" or "You might get out early if you perform well," it would have sounded even more like someone speaking to a prisoner.

Even Loki couldn't stand it, and Odin looked tired of hearing it as well. The god-king simply nodded to Ethan. "Loki is in your hands now. I hope you can help him understand a few things."

Ethan nodded, then motioned for Loki to step into the magic circle he had prepared.

There were not many people present. Laura stood nearby, curiously observing Odin. Logan remained silent at the side. Diana stood quietly as well. Adding Loki to the group made the numbers a bit large, so Ethan expanded the magic circle to ensure no one felt crowded.

"I hope to see you again next time, Your Majesty," Ethan said respectfully.

Odin was momentarily stunned, then smiled as he understood Ethan's meaning. "I will look forward to seeing you again in Asgard, young mage."

As the magic circle beneath Ethan's feet emitted a brilliant blue glow, lighting up the entire palace, Ethan's journey in the Marvel world came to a temporary end.

Back on the Goddess of Dawn, the group reappeared together in the captain's room.

Fortunately, the interior of the Goddess of Dawn was spacious enough that the group didn't feel cramped. But as this was Loki's first time here, he couldn't help but complain.

"This is your home? It's a lot worse than I imagined."

He had never expected Ethan's "home" to be just a ship. As he looked around, still unimpressed, Ethan tossed something at him.

"It contains the language of this world and some basic knowledge. It's prepared for you. I don't need to teach you how to use it."

Unlike most people, who needed Ethan's specially-made learning devices, Loki, as an Asgardian and a top-tier mage, could absorb this kind of information directly through simpler means.

After scanning the item for a couple of seconds, Loki grumbled, "What a crude method." But then he closed his eyes, digested the information for about a minute, and opened his eyes again with an expression that clearly said, "Are you kidding me?"

"I'm supposed to live on this backward sailing ship from now on?"

Logan, unfamiliar with the situation, only knew that Ethan had mentioned Loki would be joining them due to some arrangement with Odin. He had no particular opinion on it. Right now, he was more concerned about getting Laura washed up and ready for bed.

Ethan had timed his return well. He remembered that they had left at night, so returning at this hour allowed them to stay on schedule—especially for Laura, who needed a regular routine.

Diana, however, was a bit concerned that Loki might cause trouble. She stayed nearby, keeping a watchful eye on him.

She didn't say a word, but just by standing there, she made Loki too wary to act rashly. Though he had been imprisoned, Loki still knew about Diana's record in Asgard. He even suspected that his brother Thor might not be able to defeat her, or else Odin wouldn't have stopped Thor from challenging her.

"So, I really have to live here until your new ship is finished?" Loki asked, clearly frustrated.

Ethan nodded. "Pretty much."

Loki took a deep breath, not expecting things to turn out like this. Although he had chosen exile himself, he hadn't realized that even if he hadn't suggested it, Odin would have thrown him out anyway.

Ethan pointed to a nearby seat, gesturing for Loki to sit down. He planned to have a proper talk with him. Even if he couldn't completely eliminate the risks, he wanted to minimize potential problems.

Ethan felt that peaceful coexistence between the two of them wasn't impossible. In fact, he believed that he and Loki might even find some common ground.

(To be continued.)