Chapter 304: Kuur, the God of Fear
"Gu Yi has really collected quite a lot of magical artifacts over the years."
Arriving on the second floor, as they passed by the room dedicated to storing magical artifacts, George couldn't help but sigh in admiration.
Gu Yi had taken him through the second floor before.
Aside from the Cloak of Levitation that Doctor Strange would later wear, there was also the Axe of Angarruumus brimming with magic, the Sanctum Bell capable of creating tunnels between Earth and the Aiken Dimension.
There was also the Black Mirror that allowed viewing of other dimensions, the Brazier of Bom'Galiath that provided access to Mephisto's Hell Dimension, and many more.
Reaching the end of the second floor, several magical portals appeared before him.
Turning the dial to Kamartaj and stepping through the portal, he arrived at the true headquarters of Kamartaj, located in the Himalayan Mountains near Kathmandu.
"Master George, what brings you here?"
Mordo was taken aback upon seeing George appear at Kamartaj.
Although George had been studying magic from Gu Yi daily at the New York Sanctum, this was his first time at Kamartaj's main headquarters.
"I have urgent business with the Sorcerer Supreme. It concerns the safety of the entire Earth."
"Please follow me!"
Upon hearing that it was about Earth's safety, Mordo dared not delay and quickly led George through several rooms to the large square outside.
At that moment, Gu Yi was instructing newly initiated mystic sorcerers in the use of magic. When she saw Mordo appear with George, she too looked slightly surprised.
"Has something happened?"
She keenly sensed that something was off.
George didn't waste any time and got straight to the point:
"Master Gu Yi, do you know the Serpent?
I received information that Hydra recently released an evil god called the Serpent from the deep sea of the Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean."
"What? The Serpent—Kuur, the God of Fear? This is troublesome."
Gu Yi's pupils shrank upon hearing the name.
Seeing the change in her expression, George knew that this Serpent was no ordinary being.
Otherwise, even Gu Yi wouldn't be this alarmed.
"Is he an extradimensional demon god?"
"Not exactly. He's actually from the Realm of the Gods—he is Odin's older brother."
Gu Yi shook her head and explained:
"Kuur is known as the God of Fear. After ascending to the throne of Asgard, he became extremely tyrannical. Odin overthrew him and sealed him within the Mariana Trench on Earth."
"Huh? Wasn't it Odin's eldest daughter, Hela, whom he sealed?"
George was confused.
Gu Yi looked at George in surprise:
"Seems you know quite a bit. The Goddess of Death, Hela, was indeed sealed on Earth as well—in Norway."
"Seriously? Why does everything have to be sealed on Earth? Can't they just seal them in their own realms?"
George looked utterly exasperated.
Gu Yi sighed:
"Because Earth is located at the center of the world. It is the birthplace of many ancient gods and the core of the universe, possessing unique powers that make it ideal for sealing powerful beings."
There are countless planets and civilizations in the universe, as well as many deities.
Yet Earth remains the most special of them all. Though its level of civilization is not particularly high, it has birthed many powerful ancient gods—Gaea, Oshtur, Set, and Chthon—all originated on Earth.
This is also why so many dimensional demon gods are determined to invade Earth instead of other planets in the universe.
Only by occupying and devouring Earth can they devour the entire universe.
The mystic sorcerers of Kamartaj do not merely guard the safety of Earth, but also the entire universe—an enormous responsibility.
"This is a family matter of the gods. It's not appropriate for Kamartaj to interfere. I suggest you inform Thor—he's currently visiting your school, isn't he?"
"Good point. Interfering in someone else's family affairs without cause really isn't ideal."
Hearing Gu Yi's words, George immediately understood what she was implying.
It was simple: although Kuur, the God of Fear, had been unsealed on Earth, Kamartaj did not intend to step in and deal with him.
The excuse of "not wanting to interfere in others' family matters" was clearly just a convenient pretext.
But he could understand.
From the time he'd spent learning time magic from Gu Yi, he had come to learn about Kamartaj's history in this universe.
Kamartaj was founded in 5000 BC by a human named Agamotto after repelling Dormammu's invasion. It included the three Sanctums on Earth.
Its purpose was to prevent dimensional demon gods like Dormammu from invading Earth and thereby devouring the universe.
According to Thor, Odin began leading the Asgardian army to conquer the Nine Realms connected to Yggdrasil around 679 BC, becoming their ruler.
However, he discovered that before Thor came to Earth, Asgard hadn't stationed troops here like it had in the other realms. Instead, it allowed humanity to develop independently.
This didn't make much sense.
The realm of the Dark Elves had already been destroyed, the Frost Giants—led by Laufey—still existed in large numbers, with only a peace treaty in place.
As for Earth, George suspected that the reason for Asgard's lack of intervention was the existence of Kamartaj.
In his view, Odin and the Sorcerer Supreme were likely evenly matched—Odin had his greatest strength in Asgard, and the Sorcerer Supreme had hers on Earth.
Something must have happened between them: Kamartaj acknowledged Odin as ruler of the Nine Realms, but Odin couldn't actually govern Earth.
Even in the films, Doctor Strange's attitude toward Thor and Loki made it clear that the mystic sorcerers were aware of Asgard—and were hostile to Loki for causing chaos on Earth.
So it was obvious that Gu Yi and Odin knew each other, but weren't necessarily on good terms.
Though both appeared to be great and benevolent figures, in truth, neither was easy to deal with.
Odin had waged wars across the Nine Realms, slaughtered countless beings, and even covered up the existence of his daughter Hela.
Gu Yi, for her part, was indifferent to the deaths of many as long as her bottom lines weren't crossed. She had gone to great lengths—and sacrificed many lives—to pass the title of Sorcerer Supreme to Stephen.
Frankly, George didn't believe that Gu Yi was incapable of saving the mystic sorcerers killed by Kaecilius, or that she couldn't have subdued him earlier.
To him, Gu Yi simply didn't want to clean up Odin's mess. After all, Kuur's ultimate goal was clearly to return to Asgard, reclaim his throne, and seek revenge on Odin.
That might cause some damage to Earth, but certainly not enough to destroy it.
If Gu Yi led Kamartaj's sorcerers to intervene, even if they managed to defeat Kuur, Kamartaj would suffer severe losses.
And if another dimensional demon god seized the chance to invade Earth, it would be catastrophic.
Even when the Chitauri army invaded Earth, Gu Yi merely stood above the Sanctum, eliminating only those Chitauri soldiers that threatened it. She didn't intervene further.
(End of Chapter)