According to Strange's plan, he would cast a mirror dimension to lock down the surroundings, preventing an explosion that could lead to uncontrollable situations.
Ronan's task was to "extract" the missile from the floor and place it into a special box. The box was designed by Stark Industries, specifically made to store extremely dangerous items.
Since Ronan had already gotten his reward, his hands stopped shaking.
With a wave of Strange's hand, the mirror dimension spread around them, enveloping both Ronan and himself while excluding everyone else.
"Are you ready?"
"Your hands aren't shaking anymore, right?"
Strange waved his hands again, summoning the Raggadorr Rings for protection in front of him.
Ronan simply rolled his eyes, ignoring Strange's words as he focused on the missile in front of him.
The energy whip snapped out instantly.
The moment the red energy whip was released, Strange's pupils slightly contracted. He noticed something different about Ronan's energy whip compared to his own.
Before he could pinpoint the difference, the contrast became apparent.
Ronan's energy whip detached from his hands and swiftly wrapped around the missile on its own.
In the next moment, the energy whip tightly coiled around the missile, gradually securing it.
It was as if an invisible hand was guiding every movement.
Strange was stunned.
Energy whips could be used like this?
Why couldn't he do that?
He glanced at Ronan, who was entirely focused on dealing with the bomb in front of them. Ronan had no intention of being blown into pieces.
Boom!
The moment Ronan's energy whip made contact with the missile, an earth-shattering explosion erupted, swallowing both Ronan and Strange.
A sea of flames surged wildly, with wave after wave of fire crashing against the walls of the mirror dimension.
The intense flames consumed everything within the mirror dimension.
In an instant, the entire mirror dimension was filled with fire!
"F***!"
A loud curse drew the attention of Tony Stark and the others.
A golden mystical portal appeared behind them, and Ronan and Strange stumbled out in a sorry state, barely escaping.
Behind them, towering waves of fire followed!
Ronan's body bore several burn marks, and if it weren't for his quick reflexes to shield his face at the last moment, his appearance—so closely tied to his charm—might have been marred with scars.
Strange didn't fare much better. Although he had more layers of clothing, they were now tattered, giving him the look of a beggar. Even his curly hair had been singed by the flames, nearly giving him an unintended perm.
"What the hell happened?"
"Did the missile explode?"
Seeing the two of them in such a wretched state, Tony's first thought was that the missile had exploded.
"Are you sure your hands weren't shaking?"
Strange didn't respond to Tony's question. Instead, he turned to Ronan.
They had been mentally prepared for the possibility of the missile exploding.
But the sheer intensity of this explosion had exceeded their expectations.
If not for being in the mirror dimension, that explosion would have affected at least five surrounding streets, turning everything nearby into a sea of flames.
"This isn't about shaky hands. We were set up!"
Ronan spat and a rarely-seen fierce expression appeared on his face.
Though Ronan was usually laid-back and carefree, this time was different.
Someone had just tried to kill him.
"What exactly happened?"
An eager Tony asked, unable to stay quiet any longer.
Ronan took a deep breath and glanced at his right hand, which still bore the marks of being burned.
"The moment my energy whip touched the missile, it exploded immediately!"
"In other words, the trigger for the explosion was my magic!"
Ronan's face darkened as he explained.
To outsiders, the magic and power from Kamar-Taj all seemed to be borrowed from the Vishanti, their ancient patrons.
But in truth, there were subtle differences based on each sorcerer's casting habits, understanding of magic, and their proficiency.
Thus, no spell could be cast exactly the same by different sorcerers.
Just as no two leaves are identical, the same principle applied to sorcerers and their magic.
"So, this bomb was specifically targeting you?"
Strange seemed to understand something.
"Exactly. Before I used the energy whip, you had already cast the mirror dimension," Ronan replied.
"By that logic, your magic had also come into contact with the missile."
"But nothing happened."
"What does that tell you..."
Ronan took a deep breath, trying to calm himself.
He knew that anger wouldn't solve anything unless he was a Saiyan.
But he wasn't, so he needed a clear head to figure this out!
"It means someone knows your casting habits, understands your magic."
"And they know your unique energy whip."
Strange's face grew grim as well.
Though his relationship with Ronan was limited to basic acquaintance, this incident had taken place in the New York Sanctum.
Whoever had pulled this stunt was essentially slapping Strange in the face.
Ronan took a deep breath, his mind racing.
Who could it be?
Who wanted him dead?
Looking back over his 16 years, Ronan had kept a low profile. Even at school, he was just an above-average student, hardly someone who would attract attention.
Let alone enemies.
Sure, there were some school bullies he'd beaten up, but if they had somehow crossed universes just to plant a bomb on him, then Ronan would have nothing to say.
But what bothered Ronan most was another issue.
The hooded man who had targeted him knew Ronan's identity and had traveled through time to find him.
So, could someone else be using the same method?
Could this person be Ronan's future enemy?
A future nemesis trying to kill the present Ronan to erase his future self.
It wasn't impossible!
As the thought crossed his mind, Ronan's expression became even more strange.
What on earth had his future self done?
Had he stabbed the villains in the backside???