Chapter 407: The Enchantress of Calamity

"Simmons, you were right. He's here, and still a complete jerk," Fitz groaned, covering his face with both hands as he let out a long sigh. "What is he even doing now? Quoting legal statutes? Good grief! He's explaining laws to an alien! Does U.S. law even cover aliens?"

Despite facing the barrels of multiple assault rifles, Solomon calmly traced the runes on a piece of parchment in his hands, patiently explaining the legalities to the female warrior in front of him. Agent Melinda May attempted to interrupt him, but Solomon, with his obsessive commitment to rules, refused to leave. At the same time, he stopped his android from firing an explosive round at the S.H.I.E.L.D. task force to avoid unnecessary casualties.

"See this?" Solomon said to the increasingly impatient Sif, pointing to a spot on the parchment. "Asgard filed a request to pursue her, but you didn't sign the cross-jurisdictional enforcement agreement. Sif, you need to sign here, send it to Heimdall for his approval, and then have it submitted to one of the Three Sanctuaries. Only after receiving the Sanctuary Guardian's receipt can you begin your operation."

"Just give it to me!" Sif snatched the parchment, scrawling her signature several times without so much as glancing at it.

"It's not over yet, Sif," Solomon said, taking the parchment back and clearing his throat theatrically.

"We'll deal with the rest later," Sif replied with an exaggerated roll of her eyes. Paperwork was the bane of her existence, and Solomon excelled at it, much to her annoyance.

Solomon, Sif, and the android were soon ushered into a S.H.I.E.L.D. vehicle under Melinda May's watchful eye as she personally drove them. Sif couldn't hide her curiosity about the android's armor, an impressive piece of heavy equipment. Even May suspected it was yet another one of Solomon's eccentric creations.

Turning her gaze to the mage in the passenger seat, she asked, "What do you know about this situation?"

"Not much, only what Asgard has chosen to share," Solomon sighed. "A few male sorcerers from Kamar-Taj were enchanted. The fugitive's magic broke through their mental defenses."

"Why are you here?" Sif questioned. "No men should be part of this operation."

"I'm not your average sorcerer, don't forget that," Solomon replied, rolling his eyes. The New York Sanctum's Master Daniel was currently preoccupied, frantically searching for individuals lost across the Nine Realms. His negligence had led to the disappearance of several sorcerers, and the Ancient One's reprimand was inevitable—his days as a Sanctum Guardian were numbered.

May quietly made a mental note of this intelligence.

When Sif finally encountered Agent Phil Coulson aboard the S.H.I.E.L.D. aerial bus, her shock was palpable. "What dark magic is this?" she exclaimed, instinctively reaching for the longsword on her back. "Thor said you were killed by Loki."

"He wasn't wrong. I was dead—briefly," Coulson replied, choosing not to delve into the complicated details of his resurrection. His attention turned to Solomon and the android standing in the cargo bay. "But Loki isn't the only one with tricks up his sleeve. S.H.I.E.L.D. has a few of its own."

"Thor will be pleased to hear you're alive. He considers you a friend."

"And I feel the same. If possible, I'd like to tell him myself." Coulson quickly shifted the conversation. "I hear you're hunting someone?"

"I'm after her—Lorelei. Six hundred years ago, she used her abilities to wreak havoc across the Nine Realms, commanding armies and toppling kingdoms and monarchs."

"What kind of abilities are we talking about?" Agent Grant Ward asked, arms crossed, his skepticism evident. "Strength? Speed?"

"Enchantment," Sif replied gravely, her tone leaving no room for doubt. This answer stunned the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents into silence. "She bends men's wills to achieve her goals."

"Only men?" May interjected. "Her magic doesn't work on women?"

"That's correct. Men have inherent weaknesses that women do not." Sif cast a reluctant glance at Solomon, then offered him a formal Asgardian greeting—a gesture she would have preferred to skip but deemed necessary out of respect for his reputation.

Solomon's past achievements commanded respect, even among Asgardians.

"Very few men can resist her voice. For those who can, she adds physical touch to her enchantment. This combination is enough to shatter the willpower of even the strongest sorcerers."

"Don't look at me," Solomon said with a shrug. "The planetary defense system only detected one individual." He gestured to his android, who removed her helmet, revealing a meticulously crafted face framed by short, pearl-white hair. "This is my maid. If Lorelei breaks through the protective wards, she'll kill her."

"A maid?" Fitz muttered, clearly perplexed. The android remained silent, her attention focused solely on Solomon.

"Don't be surprised. I even brought her to Coulson's funeral," Solomon quipped.

"How do we stop her?" Coulson asked.

Sif presented a metallic collar made of uru metal, explaining its enchantment-sealing properties. "This device silences her. It's the same collar she wore in prison. If not for a cursed warrior breaching the dungeon's defenses, she wouldn't have been able to remove it."

"She's using a natural portal," Solomon added, picking up where Sif left off. "These portals are known as the roots of Yggdrasil. Their exact number is uncertain, but they're well-hidden and difficult to traverse."

"Do we know where she is now?"

"The Bifrost only dropped me at her last known location," Sif explained. "But she'll soon start enchanting men to do her bidding."

"We're not entirely unprepared," Solomon said, showing the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents his explosive rifle. To demonstrate, he fired a test round outside the cargo bay. The deafening blast left everyone covering their ears. When the dust settled, the concrete ground beneath the aircraft revealed a crater akin to one caused by a small grenade.

"I think this is sufficient for Asgardians," Solomon remarked. "Even Thor would struggle against a .50-caliber explosive round."

"You tested this on Thor?" Fitz asked, his curiosity overriding his restored hearing. Though he disliked the weapon's industrial, angular design, its destructive power was undeniable. With a quick glance at Sif's expression, he inquired, "How's the recoil?"

"For ordinary people? Crippling fractures," Solomon replied, hefting the rifle with one hand and handing it to Fitz, who immediately stumbled under its weight. Before the scientist was crushed, Solomon retrieved the weapon.

"Quite the beast," Agent Ward muttered, unable to resist inspecting the firearm. Stripped of its industrial aesthetic, the gun appealed to every primal instinct—it was large, loud, and immensely powerful.

"Boys, now's not the time for show-and-tell," Simmons interrupted, rolling her eyes as she brought the impromptu gathering to a halt.

"So, this mission doesn't involve going up against sorcerers?" May asked.

"Not entirely sure," Solomon replied. "The Sanctum Guardians haven't recovered all the missing male sorcerers yet. They promised to call me once they've located them. By the way, where's Skye? Don't tell me you still have her locked up."

"She…" Simmons glanced at Coulson for permission before continuing. "She's injured. Badly. But she's no longer in danger."

"We were hoping you could help," Coulson said. "Use your magic to check her condition and ensure she's alright."

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