Whether this had been a test from Thanos or the man had simply lost his patience, Noah felt no regret at all.
His contact with this universe's Thanos had been minimal-nothing more than a message transmitted after Noah entered his dragon form.
But that didn't matter.
As the Sorcerer Supreme, Noah would never allow Thanos to harass Earth.
So what if he was Thanos?
If he showed up personally, Noah would fight him.
As for Ebony Maw?
Dead was dead. Noah didn't care.
Glancing toward the deeper reaches of the cosmos, Noah's body shimmered faintly with golden light.
In the next instant, he vanished into the pitch-black universe.
The ravenous black hole slowly calmed after his departure.
When Noah reappeared, he was already back in Asgard.
By coincidence-or perhaps timing-he arrived just as Thor and Loki were speaking with Hela, while Fat Thor stood nearby with an indifferent expression.
"Oh? You're back?"
Fat Thor was the first to notice him and burst into laughter.
"I knew you wouldn't run into any trouble. So? What was it?"
"Didn't Loki tell you?" Noah thought for a moment, then replied calmly.
"It was Ebony Maw. A strong sorcerer. Probably acting under Thanos's orders. Unfortunately for him, you detected him first. He should be dead by now."
"You're really merciless," Fat Thor laughed, shaking his head.
"They were worried something might happen to you and were debating whether to mobilize the army. But our High General didn't agree-said you wouldn't have any problems."
"Hela's judgment was correct," Noah shrugged, then looked at Thor and Loki.
"Don't worry. I'm fine. It was just Ebony Maw. For me, it only required a bit of focus."
That was the truth.
In the original story, Ebony Maw had given Strange a great deal of trouble, which proved his strength.
But compared to Noah now, he was nothing special.
Noah didn't know whether this universe's Ebony Maw would have ended up frozen in space like in the original timeline, but against a Tenth Rank sorcerer with an active Domain, the outcome was never in doubt.
The only reason Noah had acted so decisively-even opening his Domain-was to test Thanos's reaction.
If Thanos had responded aggressively, Noah wouldn't have minded fighting him on the outskirts of Asgard.
There, Noah had reinforcements.
Fat Thor. Hela, now returned to Asgard.
Both were Tenth Rank combatants.
And beyond them stood Odin and the Ancient One.
If Thanos truly lost his head, Noah would have welcomed it. Everything could have been settled at once.
Unfortunately, Thanos showed remarkable patience.
Even after Noah crushed his vanguard, there was no reaction at all.
That was disappointing-but expected.
Thanos never acted unless he was certain.
The only question was whether he would ever act again.
With Earth and Asgard effectively allied, and those two heavyweights guarding their worlds, what leverage did Thanos even have?
"Well, it looks like you really didn't need any help," Thor said, shrugging.
"In that case, leave the rest to us. Damn it... you've been looming over me ever since the day we met."
"Watch your mouth. I have a girlfriend," Noah replied dryly.
Then he added, "By the way, I've reorganized Earth's magical world. There's now a High Council. They answer directly to me. If you discover anything unusual, you can inform them."
"The High Council?" Loki frowned.
"I admit you're powerful, but does Earth really have any other decent sorcerers?"
"Want to find out?" Noah looked him up and down with amusement, then patted his shoulder.
"Remember that universe I created? I taught that method to them."
"To Hel with you!" Loki snapped.
"You actually made that magic public?"
"Why wouldn't I?" Noah shrugged.
"That's the future path for sorcerers. It's difficult, but some people will master it. Want to try?"
Try your head.
Loki refused to engage further.
Back then, he'd wanted to learn that magic, but Noah hadn't taught him a thing-instead dragging him into experiments.
Now that Noah had openly shared it, Loki couldn't help but feel furious.
He wanted to learn it.
He was a sorcerer too.
But he couldn't.
He was now Asgard's Prince Regent.
That alone meant he couldn't sneak off to Earth and study in secret.
And with Thanos looming, his responsibilities had only grown heavier.
No time. No freedom.
Thinking about Noah's behavior, Loki felt utterly depressed.
He was certain Noah was doing this on purpose.
Turning away, Loki ignored him entirely.
Noah found the reaction amusing.
Leaving Loki to stew, Noah decided to speak with Odin.
He didn't know how long the upcoming journey would take.
This "Instance" already felt more troublesome than expected.
First, he had no idea how much power he could safely bring with him.
The universe Odin had identified appeared to be the Ninja World.
That universe might not be able to withstand the entry of a sorcerer of Noah's level.
Second, the power systems were fundamentally different.
Otherwise, a universe stronger than the Caribbean World wouldn't have been inaccessible to him before.
The gap between power systems was immense-far larger than most people could imagine.
With those thoughts in mind, Noah nodded to the three and vanished again.
When he reappeared, he was standing in Odin's old palace.
Odin still lived here.
But with Asgard's throne passed on, most affairs had moved to Thor's palace.
This place had become Odin's retirement residence.
Upon entering, Noah bowed respectfully to the three people present.
Before them, he would never show disrespect.
"Teacher. Your Majesty Odin. Queen Mother."
"No need to call me Majesty anymore," Odin said casually, shaking his head.
"I'm just an old man enjoying retirement now."
His clothing was simple. His demeanor relaxed.
Like any ordinary elderly man.
Yet no one would ever dare treat him as such.
His influence was etched too deeply into the world.
Odin was deliberately fading himself, so Thor could rule without interference.
"A person worthy of respect remains worthy of respect for a lifetime," Noah replied calmly.
He continued, "Sir, I've decided to visit the other universe. Kamar-Taj's system reforms are essentially complete. The rest only requires time. Thor's matters are also settled, though he doesn't seem fully satisfied. Still, he feels close to a breakthrough."
"That is true," Odin smiled.
"My thanks to my child from another universe. Without him, Thor's growth would have taken far longer."
He looked at Noah.
"If you've made your decision, I support you. But you should also hear your teacher's thoughts."
"I'm aware of your changes to Kamar-Taj," the Ancient One said.
"I don't involve myself much in the affairs of you younger folk, but I can help. If you're gone for too long, I'll hold the fort at Kamar-Taj."
"That would be perfect," Noah said without hesitation.
He truly didn't know how long this trip would last.
If the time ratio remained stable, there was nothing to worry about-but accidents happened.
With the Ancient One watching over Kamar-Taj, Noah could leave with peace of mind.
A stable rear meant freedom to focus elsewhere.
After finishing discussions and asking Odin to keep an eye on Thanos's movements, Noah went to find Hermione.
Before leaving, he needed to explain things clearly.
And he had to send her back to Earth.
"Leaving again?"
Hermione leaned against his shoulder as they sat beside a waterfall at Asgard's edge, watching the sunset.
"Where to this time? And how long until you're back?"
"This time, it's likely another parallel universe," Noah said with a smile.
"There's always something that needs doing. But I don't think it'll take too long. Probably similar to the pirate world."
Hermione was quiet for a moment.
"After this... are you still going to keep running around?"
"I don't know," Noah answered honestly.
"But once we solve one major problem, we'll be together forever. Whether it's here-or somewhere else."