Chapter Thirty-Nine: Underground Exploration

“Well, it seems I’m going to have to play Trevor today,” Tony remarked, referring to the protagonist of Journey to the Center of the Earth. He gazed down into the pitch-black passage, raised an eyebrow, and donned his Iron Man suit.

Since he was about to venture into a secret underground cavern, his first priority had to be his own safety. Besides, after fifty years sealed off from the world, the air quality down here was anyone’s guess.

Stepping into the entrance, Tony pushed aside the floor tiles he had pried open. He had no desire to find himself in trouble below, only to have to break down a door to escape.

The Iron Man suit glowed brightly as Tony advanced through the corridor, instructing Jarvis to collect data from the surrounding area as he went.

On the way here, Jarvis had already performed a deep scan of the underground cave system, thoughtfully marking out the safest route and the paths Tony should take.

The cavern was riddled with branching tunnels. According to Jarvis’ calculations and simulations, these channels all appeared to be naturally formed. It was hard to believe, but nature never ceased to produce its miracles.

Yet Tony wasn’t entirely convinced by Jarvis’ assessment. Ever since he’d discovered the existence of gods, his worldview had endured several shocks. A passageway so clearly shaped by an agenda could not possibly be the work of chance.

With this realization, Tony heightened his vigilance. As expected, anything that smacked of the occult deserved the utmost caution. But Tony wasn’t overly concerned; from the intelligence he’d gathered so far, this cult’s power didn’t even begin to compare to the evil god he’d faced at the nuclear plant.

Besides, if the cult truly possessed such formidable power, they would have conquered America—or even the world—over a century ago.

Tony also had faith in his newly developed suit. Especially after studying how Thor’s lightning could be absorbed by his reactor, Tony believed his improved armor should be able to dispel magic and destroy evil spirits, just as the thunder god’s lightning could. All these factors combined were what gave him the confidence to investigate alone.

Tony’s reasoning was sound. His suit’s latest element was an isotope of the Tesseract, the very thing that allowed him to absorb the power of Thor’s lightning. With this isotope powering the reactor’s pure energy output, Tony would naturally be able to destroy entities like evil spirits—though, so far, he had yet to meet such magical beings face to face.

Following Jarvis’ marked route toward the largest subterranean chamber, Tony noted that the tunnel network was vast and labyrinthine, with many side passages. Every one of these, Jarvis’ scans revealed, was a trap. While these traps were no real threat to a man in the Iron Man suit, they only served to confirm Tony’s suspicion that a tremendous secret was hidden down here.

As he passed through one corridor, Jarvis warned him to watch his step; there were pressure plates embedded below, though their purpose remained unknown.

Since entering the underground, Jarvis had been assisting Tony in detecting traps. Navigating the tunnels was easy; uncovering the mechanisms was another matter entirely. Tony’s equipment wasn’t nearly sufficient to scan such a vast relic in detail. Usually, it wasn’t until Tony was upon a trap that Jarvis could even sense its presence. The mechanism before him now was so immense and complex that Jarvis could only detect a small portion of its structure, making it impossible to analyze its function.

“Oh? Pressure plates?” Tony drew back the foot he was about to set down and eyed the corridor. It looked no different from the ones he’d passed through earlier. Without Jarvis’ guidance, he would have gotten lost by now.

“Sir, the floor of this passage is divided into a grid of twenty-five by twenty-five squares, each with its own mechanical linkage beneath. There is not enough data to determine the correct path,” Jarvis’ meticulous voice sounded in Tony’s ear, but Tony was untroubled.

“If every square is a trap, then let’s just fly over it.” Tony activated his suit’s thrusters and soared above the minefield.

“Jarvis, didn’t you say this is the only direct route to the central chamber?” Tony glanced back at the network of traps before pressing on. Traps weren’t frightening—but getting lost was.

“Sir, my calculations indicate that a specific route is hidden among the tiles. The method for passing would be known only to the cult’s higher-ups. That way, even if there were traitors, they couldn’t bring anyone in or out.” Jarvis’ report surprised Tony. “Where did you pick up this kind of knowledge?”

Jarvis replied in his usual unflappable tone, “Sir, this is recorded in Eastern martial arts novels. Once you decided to explore the catacombs, I gathered relevant information from around the world and found that this scenario closely matches your current situation.”

“Well done.” Tony paused, taken aback to learn the source was martial arts fiction. “Keep it up. If you find anything else relevant, let me know immediately.”

Meanwhile, in Kamar-Taj, ever since Tony Stark had entered the catacombs, the Ancient One sensed the world’s correction in response to the earlier disturbance and went to inform Aire at once.

After listening to the Ancient One, Aire nodded slightly. “So, the seed planted in the Bermuda Triangle has finally broken through the earth?”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” the Ancient One replied. “Now that the seed has sprouted, its emergence can’t be far off.”

“Don’t worry. I’ve already guessed the nature of the dark god’s plot on Midgard. But how to address it will require careful planning.” Aire gazed toward the Pacific. Ever since the Ancient One had told him of the three locations, Aire had been almost certain who Emon had sent this time.

“Great… you are… slumbering in…” Tony struggled to decipher the remaining words on the relief. He was but a step away from the central chamber, blocked only by a massive stone door adorned with carved reliefs. If Jarvis hadn’t detected that the central chamber lay directly beyond, Tony would have thought he’d already arrived.

The reason was simple: the door’s surface was intricately carved with all manner of monsters—some bearing faintly recognizable features of fish. At the very top of the relief stood a battered statue of a deity.

Tony boldly guessed that the statue above matched the one S.H.I.E.L.D. had taken away. But what puzzled him was why all the other reliefs remained intact, while only this idol was damaged. Could someone have gotten here before him?