'I can't tell S.H.I.E.L.D. either for that reason, if Fury finds out about the sanctums he will want to control them since he is a control freak. Even if I did somehow manage to hide the event, they'll start questioning how I keep appearing and disappearing in places without using any public transport,' Liam thought. 'So I should start looking for the gas line inside this factory.'
He walked around the building until he arrived at a pipe, its symbol confirming it was gas. 'I'll need to let the gas fill up the place a bit before igniting it. This way, it'll look like a gas leak caused the explosion,' Liam noted.
After breaking open several parts of the pipe, he waited for the gas to spread through the space. He moved around the factory in the meantime, heading to the small office inside. As he walked in, he noticed more blood spatters and patches of cooled lava. Liam looked at a desk, on the desk was a cracked picture frame with a photo of a middle-aged man with his wife and a very young daughter in it. The sight made him feel guilty and sad. 'I know I did my best, but it feels terrible knowing they'll never learn the truth of what happened here.'
He took the picture frame with him and summoned Incursio around his body. Returning to the gas leak, he could feel it had already spread around the area. Taking one last look at the factory, he stepped outside. 'Given how old this building is, there's probably still oil and other chemicals left in the machines. That should be enough to leave no traces at all.'
Summoning Neontote, Liam thought, 'New form.' He watched his spear shift with a heavy heart, then poured energy into it, sending flames toward the building. He watched as the fire ignited the gas, triggering a large explosion. Windows shattered as the walls began to cave in, and the old factory soon fell down, leaving clouds of dust and burning rubble. Liam set the picture frame on the ground, then jumped away.
As he put some distance between himself and the factory, Liam unsummoned Incursio and made his way back to his hotel room. The sound of sirens grew in the distance, and he watched two fire trucks rush past him.
Once in his room, Liam showered, changed clothes, and packed his suitcase. Although it was late, he called for a taxi back to London; luckily, a few were still available.
The ride was long, and as Liam stared out the window, he wondered if he had made the right decision.
When they finally reached London, he got out a few blocks from the sanctum, paid the driver, and started walking through the snow. Upon arriving, he was greeted by Master Sol Rama, the head of the London sanctum.
"Hello, Liam," Master Sol greeted him.
"Good day, Master Sol," Liam replied. "I'm here to report on the mission in Liverpool."
"Good. Write down the details on this form," Master Sol said, handing him a sheet of paper. "What kind of tear was it?"
"It was from Hell, guarded by a low-level Hellish Fiend," Liam replied.
"A Hellish Fiend, huh? Were there any casualties?" Master Sol asked.
"Yes, unfortunately. I don't know the exact number but it had killed at least five people," Liam said. "I managed to cover up four deaths as part of a gas explosion, though one murder had already made the news before I found out."
"Don't worry about it. A few strange deaths won't change much, and since you hid the main scene, there's nothing more to be done," Master Sol reassured him. "You handled a Hellish Fiend well, especially for your first mission. Now, head back to Kamar-Taj and report your success to your teacher."
"Will do. Thank you, Master Sol," Liam replied.
He continued into the sanctum, making his way to the teleportation room, where he stepped through the door leading back to Kamar-Taj. 'This feels strange every time,' he mused.
Back at Kamar-Taj, it was daylight. 'Ah, different time zones… just perfect,' Liam thought, wincing at the bright sunlight. 'I'll get some sleep after reporting to the Ancient One.'
Passing through the training grounds, he noticed she wasn't there, so he continued to the Ancient One's private library, where he found her reading a book in a different language he has not learned yet.
"Hello," Liam greeted her as he closed the door behind him.
The Ancient One motioned him over. "Sit, young Liam," she said, closing her book.
"How did the mission go?" she asked.
"It went mostly well. I closed the tear to Hell and defeated a low-tier Hellish Fiend," he replied.
"That's good. What went wrong?" she asked, sensing his unease.
"I couldn't find the tear in time," he admitted. "If I'd located it sooner, I could have prevented those deaths."
"Even if this wasn't something you could've changed, mistakes are part of being human. In the future, I recommend learning a detection spell for dimensional energy," the Ancient One told Liam with a soft smile.
"All the masters are impressed with your progress these past months. You've shown remarkable control over your energy," she continued. "As a reward, you're ready for your sling ring now."
She stood, retrieving a small box, and opened it to reveal a polished golden ring that fit over two fingers. "This is yours," she said, offering it to him.
"Why now?" Liam asked. "Why not before the mission started? You've let me leave with a sling ring before, even when I wasn't fully prepared."
"I had my reasons," she replied. "This was also the best way to gauge your current strength. Taking the easy road is not always best."
"But… I might've saved those people if I had it," he said.
"That's not true, Liam. And I think you know that too. The sling ring wouldn't have helped you sense the dimensional tear since your pendulum would react to the sling rings energy. It could have also made the tear more unstable if you did indeed create a gate close to it, allowing more dangerous creatures to come through—resulting in far more deaths than there were," she said calmly.
Liam nodded, he knew it was true. Had a higher-level creature come through, he would have been to kill it with Incursio but not without other victims. It would have also exposed the existence of magic to the world.
"Now take the sling ring; you've earned it," the Ancient One said, holding it out to him once more.
Liam accepted it. "Thank you. And I apologize for my outburst."
"Now go," she said with a gentle smile.
Liam nodded, leaving her study and heading back to his room. He took off his clothes and collapsed onto his bed, exhausted from the day.
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Thank you for reading this far. I hope you enjoy the story and keep reading it :).
The next chapters will continue main plot of Marvel again.