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Chapter 499: Who Provoked the Moon God's Wrath? (2)

The transformation of Marc into Moon Knight ahead of time was still a result of Schiller's influence.

Earlier, to get back at Hydra for triggering the Cigarette smoke alarm at S.H.I.E.L.D., Schiller devised a highly intricate scheme that almost drenched Hydra. This scheme ultimately propelled Schiller to his current position as the head of Hydra's Americas division.

This event also triggered another minor incident: a political upheaval in Wakanda. The leader of one tribe attacked the ruler of Wakanda, causing him to disappear due to poisoning for a period.

While Schiller perceived this as a minor event, it wasn't viewed the same internationally. Particularly, the U.S. had been eyeing the lucrative prospects in Wakanda and was eager to seize any opportunity to meddle there.

However, Wakanda's political landscape had remained relatively stable. Its people were thriving, and with strong military power and a good international reputation, Congress couldn't find a valid reason to intervene.

But this time, when the leader of Wakanda was assassinated, it presented a golden opportunity. The entire CIA was almost mobilized, ready to turn Wakanda into chaos.

At that moment, Wakanda was in a precarious state, with airports and other transportation routes blocked. Thus, direct flights weren't feasible. Since the CIA dispatched agents, not military forces, they had to maintain secrecy. Therefore, the agents were divided into several teams, approaching Wakanda from different directions in Africa, sowing discord among neighboring countries along the way.

Marc, originally a field operative, happened to be traveling the route from the Middle East to Africa and then to Wakanda. This route conveniently passed through Egypt.

Initially, his team was just stopping in Egypt for resupply without revealing their identities. Unfortunately, they inadvertently encountered the Israeli intelligence agency, Mossad. Mossad was formidable in combat and aggression, equivalent to their homeland operations. As a result, Marc's team suffered heavy casualties.

Following this incident, there isn't much to say. Marc, on the brink of death, found his way to the temple of Khonshu nearby and was saved by Khonshu, becoming Khonshu's earthly agent.

Marc briefly recounted this story, helping Schiller understand that Marc had indeed become Moon Knight. It's just that under Schiller's influence, Marc became Moon Knight earlier. During this period, his mental state was relatively stable, so he didn't display significant signs of dissociative identity disorder.

Grasping this, Schiller continued, "So why are you so upset? I was just pitching, not coercing!"

At the mention of this, the immense and fearsome figure of Khonshu began to flicker around again. Marc was perplexed. After a prolonged mental conversation with Khonshu, he finally uncovered the truth.

Correct, it was Schiller's fault again.

Earlier, to find a suitable parasol for himself, Schiller had the idea of using the World Serpent, Jormungandr. However, even if Jormungandr was a mythological creature, it was still an animal. As known, Marvel maintained a political correctness aura; the wanton killing of animals could lead to unforeseen consequences.

But animal against animal didn't pose the same issue. So, after teaming up with Loki, Schiller summoned the Egyptian gods through the Sanctum Sanctorum and divided Jormungandr's body among them.

Jormungandr's flesh was a substantial nourishment, and those Egyptian animal gods feasted heartily.

As for the other gods, let's leave them aside. It's well-known that when felids are well-fed and rested, only one thing remains on their minds—misadventure.

Though "colluding" wouldn't accurately describe the alliance between a lion and a panther, the practical situation was just that. With full bellies and nothing to do, the two felids decided to go bird hunting.

And the bird was Khonshu.

Listening to this story, Schiller took a deep breath, then covered his forehead. The destructive power of the Panther God, Bast, was all too clear to him. Was Khonshu unlucky? Or very unlucky? Or extremely unlucky?

Moreover, that lion had quite the mouth, boasting to Khonshu about eating a pie that fell from the sky and even disclosing the name of the Sanctum Sanctorum.

Initially, this incident was already in the past, and Khonshu's anger had mostly dissipated. However, at this juncture, Sanctum Sanctorum's top salesman, Schiller, appeared...

Khonshu was never one for good temper. Confronted with a well-fed and energetic alliance of Panther and Lion, he was powerless. But if he couldn't beat Panther, how could he beat you?

Schiller sighed once more, saying to Marc, "In that case, Khonshu, have you considered joining if you can't beat them?"

The moon in the sky began to flicker erratically again. Schiller extended his hand in a pacifying gesture, "Alright, alright, we won't force membership..."

Just as Schiller was contemplating how to trick the Moon God Khonshu into becoming their boss, Marc interrupted, asking, "Who are you, really? What's all of this about?"

"Haven't I already said? I'm Hydra..." Schiller, deep in thought, answered somewhat impatiently. Suddenly, he realized, recalling his other identity—the Pope of the World Serpent, Jormungandr.

He pondered for a moment, then asked Marc, "Why did the Moon God Khonshu choose you to be Moon Knight?"

This question caught Marc off guard, and Schiller continued, "I believe you should also know that while the Moon God Khonshu has an extremely long lifespan, statistically speaking, there have been many people who died near his temple. Why did he specifically choose you?"

Schiller spoke as if he was questioning Marc but also sharing his own thought process. Suddenly, he noticed a point that Marc might not have realized himself – that Marc was a sufferer of dissociative identity disorder.

People are always more sensitive to matters within their own profession, and Schiller felt that his line of thinking was reasonable. After all, besides the dissociative identity disorder trait, the only other exceptional thing about Marc was his role as a CIA agent. Yet, one couldn't expect an ancient space demon god to be aware of the special status of a U.S. agent; even the entire history of the U.S. would be just a blink of an eye for Khonshu.

With this in mind, Schiller tentatively asked, "Marc, do you experience intermittent memory loss?"

Marc's mouth hung open for a moment. He assessed his surroundings – the moonlight was abundant, the wind was chilling atop the high-rise building, and two figures that were neither entirely human nor non-human were confronting each other at the top. The atmosphere didn't seem at all conducive to a psychological consultation.

Nonetheless, Marc hesitated for a moment and said, "I have indeed passed out recently, and because of that, I was considering resigning from the CIA..."

Schiller understood. It seemed the timeline was becoming clearer. If it weren't for the plot changes he brought about, Marc would have likely experienced fainting and intermittent memory loss due to his dissociative identity disorder, resigned from the CIA, and then turned to being a mercenary.

"Marc, kill him!" that low, eerie voice resonated once more. The tone of the Moon God Khonshu had become somewhat urgent, as if trying to prevent Schiller from revealing something.

Marc struggled to control his body. He didn't seem inclined to comply. He lowered his voice and said, "No, even if he's a spy, he should go through a court trial, and he holds crucial information!"

"Kill him!" Khonshu roared lowly.

"Take it easy..." Schiller's tone suddenly calmed down. Khonshu's reaction confirmed his suspicion. He continued, "Khonshu, every proxy chosen by a space demon god has their unique traits."

"Dormammu's proxies possess a dark essence, Mephisto values anger and vengeful fire, Chthon leans towards chaos affinity, and Panther God Bast prefers darker aspects..."

"So, you, Moon God Khonshu, do you prefer someone multi-faceted?"

Schiller raised his head, looking at the moon that continued to blink in the sky. He said, "... Just like the moon."

"Like the ever-changing moon that the ancient Egyptians worshipped, sometimes a new moon, sometimes a full moon – distinctly different yet the same. Born into this, naturally, you're filled with attachment..."

Suddenly, the moonlight froze. The cold hue of the moon's radiance resembled a curtain hanging from the sky – icy, eerie, but incredibly mysterious and dreamlike.

The moon, embodying all the simple materialistic fantasies of ancient humans, whether in Egypt, China, the East, or the West, across all civilizations and cultures, everyone held countless speculations and curiosities about the solitary moon hanging in the beautiful night sky. Among these, the most captivating was its peculiar phenomenon of changing shapes over time.

Amidst the cold moonlight, the massive figure descended again. However, this time, it didn't appear within the darkness but descended with the moonlight, transforming its terrifying appearance into one of sanctity. It was as if the sharp crescent moon had turned into a full, round moon.

"But I think that a few different personalities cannot depict the moon's mystery and ever-changing nature, don't you think? Khonshu."

Schiller looked up at Khonshu's hollow eyes. When the bright light, similar to moonlight, shone there, Schiller knew that the Moon God was hooked.

"What do you want to say?" For the first time, Khonshu directly engaged in conversation with Schiller.

Schiller extended a finger, pointing to his temple, and said, "Here lies the moon for all 365 days of the year."

The moonlight grew brighter. In the backlight, Khonshu appeared eerie and terrifying, yet dreamlike.

Instinctively, Khonshu extended a finger, its long finger carrying dense moonlight. At the moment the moonlight touched Schiller, the consciousness of the deity and the human rapidly sank, entering a space filled with white mist.

Standing before the door of the high tower, Schiller saw the first rising of a full moon above the tower.

The moonlight gradually condensed, forming the consciousness incarnation of the Moon God Khonshu, floating in mid-air. The first thing Moon God Khonshu saw wasn't the high tower, but the massive serpent coiled above it.

Jormungandr was sleeping soundly when he felt as though someone was watching him. Slowly, his massive vertical pupils opened, and he squinted as he turned his head, only to see Khonshu.

Jormungandr had just awakened from a dream, still not fully alert. Seeing Khonshu, who was glowing and had a bird's beak, flying in mid-air, his hunting instincts kicked in, and he lunged to bite.

"Wait!" Schiller shouted.

It seemed that Khonshu was also witnessing such a dreamlike scene for the first time. He hesitated for a moment, but in that very instant, he was already caught in the serpent's mouth.

"Loosen your grip! Quickly, loosen your grip, Jormungandr! Dammit, what are you doing? Look closely at what you've eaten!!!"

Schiller hurriedly flew to Jormungandr's side, vigorously patting his head, urging him to release Khonshu.

Jormungandr, now regaining his senses, realized that he had bitten into something unappetizing. He opened his mouth and spat, expelling Khonshu. The expelled Khonshu landed right in the middle of the high tower.

Climbing up from the ground, Jormungandr shook his bird-beak skeleton head, opening his hollow eyes.

As he lifted his head, he saw numerous Schillers atop the high tower.

For Schiller, who had just flown down, he never imagined that he would witness such complex expressions on a face with a long bird beak. The expression carried astonishment, delight, and even a touch of emotion.

Schiller surmised that the part involving emotion might be Khonshu's thoughts, pondering how humanity had evolved over countless years and finally found the right path of evolution. It wasn't in vain that he had watched this evolution from his altar for millions of years.

At this moment, Jormungandr's head leaned over. One of his enormous vertical pupils fixed on Schiller as he asked, "Who is he? What are you guys up to?"

Schiller cleared his throat, extended his hand, and pointed to the floors of the nearby high tower. He said to Khonshu, "You want to choose a personality as a host, right? Do you need me to introduce some popular candidates?"

Khonshu turned his head and then lowered it, looking at Schiller. He said, "I punish the guilty..."

"So, what's your point?" Schiller asked.

"The wrongdoers are vile and wicked..."

"Uh, what do you mean?"

Khonshu struck his staff against the ground and turned his head, looking at Schiller. He then said, "They must be able to fight."

"What do you mean by 'able to fight'? Are you referring to physical combat? But I don't favor resorting to violence..."

Khonshu turned his head back, facing forward, and repeated in a tone of "not just good, but the best, regardless of the cost," "…the most capable of fighting."

Schiller hesitated, which was rare for him. He said, "Are you sure?"

Khonshu turned his head, staring at him with his hollow eyes, and Schiller stared back. After a moment of mutual staring, Schiller said, "You said so yourself."

Upon saying that, he walked towards the staircase and then said, "Follow me."

One human and one deity entered the elevator and arrived at the tenth floor of the Temple of Thought. Stepping out of the elevator, they faced a dark corridor.

After walking through the corridor, they reached a door at the end. This door appeared somewhat dilapidated, resembling the entrance to an old-style mental hospital.

The two figures disappeared into the darkness beyond the door, leaving behind a slightly tattered plaque with three large characters written on it – "Madhouse."

!Danger!

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