Dr. Carl’s Appointment

Witches—female spellcasters, in Oaks’s view—were those born with magical power.

Perhaps because there were more women, or perhaps because of the calamities of the Middle Ages, witches were far more famous than warlocks.

Frigga was a witch, and her magic was completely different from Ancient One’s Kamar-Taj lineage.

Ancient One’s school of magic could be called Mystic Arts Mages. They had once been ordinary people with no magical power and no ability to cast spells, but through absolute faith in "magic," they learned magic and became mages.

Mystic Arts Mages gathered energy from other dimensions of the Multiverse, recited incantations, forged shields and weapons, and thus cast spells. Those powers did not belong to them.

That was why even someone as powerful as the Sorcerer Supreme, Ancient One, could only extend her lifespan by drawing upon Dark Magic Energy.

The witches of Earth, compared to someone like Frigga with a legitimate inheritance, were far more peculiar.

Perhaps because they were not tolerated by the mundane world, most witches had rather tragic pasts and scattered inheritances, and their magic tended toward Black Magic.

Witches fought more through energy projection. Their magical energy came from within themselves, and emotional breakdowns could more easily trigger eruptions of magical power that harmed innocents.

That might have been an important reason why they suffered increasingly severe discrimination, prejudice, and large-scale massacres.

But Wanda’s situation was different.

After the Mind Stone awakened her abilities, her magic was Chaos Magic—

But at present, the concept of Chaos Magic was still unknown to the vast majority of people.

For now, Wanda’s magic appeared more inclined toward the mind and the manipulation of objects.

Of course, that was because her abilities were still far from fully developed. She was still a long way from true Chaos Magic capable of altering reality.

But even she did not know that the Stark Industries bomb that had landed when she was young had not failed to explode because of a malfunction.

That had been the first manifestation of her talent for Chaos Magic—

It had altered the probability of the bomb exploding and restored the damaged television’s playback.

If the Mystic Arts Mages represented by Ancient One were the academic school, following the belief that "knowledge is power," where the more one understood, the stronger one became…

Then Wanda’s magic was truly idealist. The broader her thoughts and the more extreme her emotions, the greater her power.

The most obvious difference from Mystic Arts Mages was that she never needed to chant spells when casting magic.

On that basis, Oaks even deduced that Wanda might be able to use her own magical power to prolong her life.

In fact, Oaks’s situation was also quite similar to that of a warlock, so when Thor had called him a "warlock" before, he had not objected much.

With these thoughts turning in his mind, Oaks glanced at his watch.

The agreed time had arrived. It was time to meet the guest who had made an appointment yesterday.

He had already arranged for someone to take Pietro and Wanda to the archives to review all kinds of information about Hydra.

As for the candidates…

They were Skye, who had deep ties to Hydra, and Sharon Carter, a genuine former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent.

Skye and Sharon had gotten along very well lately. As Melinda’s junior sister, Sharon had heard about the little girl before.

And Skye, who had always aimed to become a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, had gained a deeper understanding of the origins and development of the Benevolence Society through Sharon.

So even Oaks felt that the little girl seemed much friendlier toward him whenever she saw him.

With the two of them understanding Hydra so well, they should be able to explain everything clearly… probably.

Little Rainforest, Confidential Meeting Room.

When Oaks entered, he saw Dr. Carl, dressed in a light brown suit, sitting somewhat nervously on the sofa.

"Sorry, Mr. Carl. Some matters held me up earlier… I kept you waiting."

Oaks walked over with a smile and shook hands with Carl, who hurriedly rose to his feet.

He was a haggard-looking man. Although he appeared fairly calm at the moment, Oaks had already sensed that his mental state was somewhat unstable.

"Dr. Oaks, I finally get to meet you… I came without warning because there is something extremely important I wanted to verify with you in person."

Sure enough, the moment Dr. Carl saw Oaks enter, he could no longer maintain his calm expression. His face was filled with undisguised urgency.

"You’re too tense, Dr. Carl."

Oaks lightly rubbed his fingers together, and a reassuring aura enveloped Carl, instantly calming him down.

"Feeling better?"

"Ah… miraculous Druid Magic."

Carl had clearly done extensive research on Oaks, but personally experiencing the effects of Oaks’s Nature Magic gave him an even deeper impression.

"I feel much better… Sorry, I was too anxious before."

"Please, sit. I’m also very interested to know what this extremely important matter of yours is."

Oaks gestured for him to sit.

"Generally speaking, those who come looking for me in such a hurry have someone seriously ill at home… but that doesn’t seem to be your situation."

That was right. With such heaven-defying healing abilities, how could no one come to Oaks seeking treatment?

Although Oaks did not have a medical license, he did not mind occasionally stepping in to save those who were truly beyond medicine.

They had to be truly beyond medical help, and not simply at the end of a natural lifespan. He did not treat just anyone who came begging.

At the same time, visitors had to first pass the examination of a Soul Artifact Oaks had created—

Only someone who was generally considered a good person could pass the test.

And what price the treated person paid depended entirely on his mood.

Depending on the patient’s character, he might require them to donate all their assets to the Environmental Protection Foundation.

Or perhaps the patient would only need to do public service for the Benevolence Society for a sufficiently long period after recovering.

As for those who wanted to renege on their debt…

Oaks could heal them, and he could take it back.

That was the style of the Divine Doctor.

But although this Carl had failed the ordinary "good person test," Oaks had registered his name in advance, which was why he had made it as far as an appointment.

"I heard… that Dr. Daniel Whitehall, one of Hydra’s leaders, was dealt with by you, Dr. Oaks, and Ms. Carter."

Carl stared fixedly into Oaks’s eyes. He did not dare say "killed."

"As far as I know, Dr. Whitehall is somewhat unusual… and Ms. Carter is also somewhat unusual!"

"Hmm… What is your relationship with Whitehall?"

Rather than answer Carl’s question, Oaks poured them both cups of coffee and handed one to him.

"Strictly speaking, this is Avengers-level classified information. I need to know in what capacity and from what standpoint you have come to ask me about this—

But you aren’t Hydra, are you?"

"Of course not!"

Carl fell silent for a moment, staring absently at the coffee cup before him.

"I have a blood feud with them!"