- In Marvel: I Start by Marrying Scarlett Witch [Complete]
- MWM Chapter 432
When the Time Guards in the courtroom saw Leo appear, they reacted quickly, drawing their time weapons and swarming toward him, intending to subdue him.
“All petrified!”
With a casual gesture, Leo pointed a finger, and several Time Guards froze in place.
“You must be Judge Ravonna, right? I’m Leo, the time offender your people went to capture in 2012. I’d like to speak with the one behind you. And no, I’m not talking about those three robots, but the one hiding in the Citadel at the End of Time, the one who created the Time Management Bureau.”
“I… I don’t understand what you’re talking about!” The judge’s face showed a trace of panic, but she quickly composed herself.
She was the only one in the entire Time Management Bureau who knew the truth, but she never resented He Who Remains for pulling her out of her original timeline.
It wasn’t because of her position as a judge, but because she fully agreed with He Who Remains’ philosophy.
The world needed order. Eliminating unnecessary time branches and arresting time offenders, erasing their memories, and converting them into Time Guards might seem cruel, but it was the only way to ensure the Sacred Timeline’s integrity and prevent a multiversal war.
Sacrificing a few for the greater good seemed like a completely justified course of action to her.
So even though she was facing the threat of death, she had no intention of betraying He Who Remains.
“Sigh, people like you are always the most troublesome. I wanted to handle this like a gentleman, but it seems I’ll have to use force,” Leo sighed, realizing that persuasion wouldn’t work with someone as resolute as Ravonna.
People with strong convictions can be dangerous. If they’re allies, it’s great, but if they’re enemies, they can be a real headache.
Just as Leo was about to raise his hand and use his Gemini technique to control Judge Ravonna, a three-dimensional animated clock with arms and legs suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
“Mr. Leo, no need to get worked up. Whatever you want to say or negotiate, I can help relay the message,” the clock, known as Miss Minutes, said sweetly, bowing politely.
Judge Ravonna was clearly surprised to see the clock appear.
“Miss Minutes, what are you doing here?”
“Your Honor, please take the Time Guards and leave. I need to have a private conversation with Mr. Leo,” Miss Minutes politely requested, hopping onto the judge’s desk.
After a moment’s hesitation, Judge Ravonna nodded, leading the immobilized Time Guards out of the courtroom.
Leo didn’t stop them. In fact, he even lifted the petrification spell from the Time Guards.
Once the courtroom was empty except for him and the AI clock, Leo sat down and smiled.
“Well then, I’ll get straight to the point. I know all about your Time Management Bureau and the creator behind it, Mr. Kang. So please tell him to stop trying to interfere with me. Otherwise, things won’t end well for anyone.
“I know he controls Alioth, the beast that devours time and space. I also know that I can’t stop Alioth from destroying my timeline.
“But sorry to say, I’ve already obtained the technology to build a quantum shuttle from 2023’s Tony Stark. If he does wipe out my timeline, I’ll just kill everyone in the Time Management Bureau—you know I have that ability—and then I’ll use the quantum shuttle to open new timelines continuously. We’ll see if he can erase them faster than I can create them.
“But I believe he’s smart enough to understand that there’s no need for both of us to get dragged into a losing battle.”
After a brief pause, as if receiving some internal communication, Miss Minutes replied, “He says he agrees to your terms. He will no longer interfere with your timeline, nor will he send anyone to target you.
“However, he also has a condition. You must not leave your timeline again, nor use the quantum shuttle to return to the Sacred Timeline or interfere with its development.”
“Deal!” Leo responded without much hesitation, a quick glint in his eyes.
After all, he knew that once Doctor Strange from the Sacred Timeline opened the multiverse for Spider-Man, Kang would eventually be killed by Lady Loki, rendering the agreement moot.
However, since he had altered certain things in the Sacred Timeline, there was no certainty about whether the multiverse would even unfold as expected.
Still, that didn’t worry him. As long as his power continued to grow, there would come a day when he could disregard He Who Remains and even his creature, Alioth.
Eventually, Leo would master the laws of time and space.
Moreover, he still had his Tsukuyomi world, which was practically indistinguishable from the real world, so he wasn’t without an escape route.
Ultimately, strength was the most important thing in any realm.
He Who Remains had triumphed because of his unmatched strength, which allowed him to defeat all other variants of Kang, set his timeline as the Sacred Timeline, and erase all others. Everything operated according to his script.
Had he been defeated, another Kang would have won and done the same, establishing their timeline as the Sacred Timeline and erasing all others.
In the end, it was survival of the fittest. There was no inherent morality—no one was inherently more righteous or virtuous.
Even the Conqueror Kang, exiled to the Quantum Realm, aimed to eliminate all timelines except his own, much like He Who Remains.
He was labeled a villain only because he lost.
Likewise, if Leo became powerful enough in the future, he could designate the 2012 branch timeline as the Sacred Timeline, relegating all others to branch status.
As long as the Marvel Universe didn’t collapse, the cosmic-level entities wouldn’t interfere with such affairs.
“Thank you for your cooperation, Mr. Leo. Please wait a moment while I contact the Time Guards to return you to your timeline,” Miss Minutes said politely, preparing to reach out to the guards.
But Leo smiled and waved his hand.
“No need, I can return by myself.”
With that, he formed a series of hand seals, and with a “poof,” his body dissolved into smoke and vanished.
Meanwhile, in his office at the Citadel at the End of Time, He Who Remains watched through Miss Minutes as Leo’s shadow clone disappeared. Rubbing his chin thoughtfully, he mused aloud:
“What is this guy’s origin? In other timelines and multiverses, he’s just an ordinary person, but in this branch timeline, he’s grown so powerful.”
(End of this chapter)