Joseph's funeral, frankly, could be called pretty simple.
Ever since his wife passed, he'd spent most of his time either at Kamar-Taj or raising his daughter.
And after she went off to college, he poured every second into Kamar-Taj.
You could say this man barely lived for himself.
Not many showed up to the funeral—just Joseph's daughter and his only sister's family.
After the priest finished the eulogy and people said their final goodbyes, the coffin was slowly lowered into the grave.
As the first shovelful of dirt hit the coffin, Joseph's daughter finally couldn't hold back her tears.
Over the past few days of interacting with her, Ronan had pegged her as a tough girl.
Even when she got the news of Joseph's death, she'd stayed remarkably calm.
Of course, that was only relative calm.
Finally, today—at the moment of Joseph's burial—she broke down.
Truth be told, in his seventeen years, Ronan had seen this kind of thing plenty of times.
So many sorcerers lost their young lives fighting demons that slipped onto Earth.
It wasn't rare.
But every time he faced these sorcerers' families, Ronan felt an overwhelming sadness.
They'd basically given their lives to the cause they loved most.
Even in death, their families had no clue what they really did.
Compared to those spotlight-hogging superheroes, they were the real unsung heroes.
Silently guarding Earth forever, no need for flashbulbs or applause.
Ronan looked up, glancing at Wong beside him.
Right now, Wong had none of his usual playful banter—in its place was an unshakable grief.
Clearly, he still couldn't accept it.
"Joseph was a brave man—protected Kamar-Taj's books till his last breath."
Ronan patted Wong's shoulder, offering a soft consolation.
Wong didn't speak, just nodded silently, eyes still fixed on the small grave being filled.
One of the best friends of his life—he'd never see him again.
"What's up with Kaecilius—caught him yet?"
Ronan shifted the topic.
"No—the Ancient One went after him, but they split up and ran."
"In the end, she only nabbed two of Kaecilius's followers—they're refusing to spill anything about his plans."
Wong shook his head—this wasn't the outcome he'd expected.
Ronan narrowed his eyes.
"If they won't talk, we'll just have to pry their mouths open."
"Let's go meet those two."
"See what they're thinking."
Ronan glanced at the funeral, nearly over now—the rest could be left to the pros.
At Kamar-Taj, they had people specialized for this stuff.
After all, a sorcerer's job could mean death at any moment.
Since they were all protecting Earth, Kamar-Taj, as the leader, couldn't let its people bleed and then cry too.
That's also why the Ancient One—or rather, Kamar-Taj—was so loaded.
Most of the cash sat in a fund—whenever someone died, a chunk got pulled out for the fallen's family.
If the kids were young, it'd cover their schooling and keep them fed and clothed till eighteen.
That was all Kamar-Taj could do.
"Let's go."
Watching the last bit of dirt cover Joseph's grave, Wong pulled himself together for now and turned to leave.
His only drive to shake it off was avenging Joseph.
So, he led Ronan straight to where Kaecilius's two followers were locked up.
It was inside a cave.
At the peak of some mountain in the Himalayas.
This wasn't exactly a prison, but it wasn't far off.
In this freezing weather, sorcerers usually relied on their magic to fend off the cold—but these guys' powers were sealed.
So, their only defense against the brutal conditions was…
Uh… willpower?
When the Sling Ring portal opened, Ronan saw two shivering figures.
Sure, their bodies were trembling, but they still wore these "unyielding" expressions on their faces.
Tsk, tsk, tsk.
"No point asking—we won't tell you anything."
"The great Kaecilius will lead us to etern—"
Smack!
Before the guy could finish, Wong—who usually avoided violence—slapped him across the face.
Then he grabbed the guy's collar and landed three more slaps.
Even so, it didn't wipe the defiant smirk off his face.
You could tell Kaecilius had brainwashed them to a serious degree.
"Easy, Wong—no need to get so rough with them."
"They're men, after all—smacking their faces like that really dents their pride."
Ronan patted Wong's shoulder, signaling him to chill.
Ronan knew Wong couldn't stomach Kaecilius living any longer.
But interrogation had its tricks.
Wong turned to Ronan.
Seeing the smile on Ronan's face, he let go of the guy's collar.
"You're full of nasty ideas—you figure it out."
With that, he turned his head aside, trying hard to bottle up his rage.
Ronan's eyelid twitched.
Full of nasty ideas? Can't you talk like a normal person?
Out of all the adjectives, you pick that one—think you're some kind of trendsetter?
If Wong weren't in a bad mood, Ronan would've made him taste some dark energy power!
Siu!!!
"Fine, let's chat about some other terms."
"What do I need to offer to get you to spill Kaecilius's hideout?"
Ronan squatted in front of them, asking with a grin.
But the two didn't even glance at him.
In Kaecilius's indoctrination, Ronan was his ultimate enemy.
And if he was Kaecilius's top foe, he was naturally theirs too.
"Oh?"
"Looks like you're both tough guys."
"Perfect—I love tough guys."
Ronan chuckled, waving a hand to pull a phone from his personal pocket dimension and hitting the video call button.
After some music played, a voice came through.
Steve Rogers.
"Ronan, what's up?"
Steve Rogers sounded tired.
Guess that superhuman registration thing the U.S. government was pushing lately had him worn out.
"Steve, as a soldier, I'm curious about something."
"If you caught an enemy spy—perfectly intact, no less—"
"And you needed intel from them, but they're real tight-lipped—what's the last resort you'd use?"
Ronan asked with a grin.
"Last resort, huh?"
Steve Rogers went quiet for a bit before asking.
"Yup—I've got some traitors to deal with, but killing them feels too easy."
"And I need some info."
Ronan nodded.
"Alright, this is a closely guarded secret—hope you don't use it too often."
"In the military, we've got this ancient, brutal punishment."
"You coat the person's body all over with honey, then stick them in a container."
"Then toss in some ants—the ants smell the honey and start gnawing at the body."
"It's this unbearable itch all over that you can't scratch, plus the ants' bites bring varying degrees of pain everywhere."
At that, Steve Rogers glanced around, pausing for a sec.
The two guys in front of Ronan widened their eyes, unable to even picture it.
Ants crawling all over, chowing down on their flesh.
Itchy and painful—no scratching, no relief.
The moment that image hit their brains, they felt off.
Their bodies started feeling itchy already.
"The final touch is slathering honey on a man's core spot—especially that little passage."
"That way, the ants crawl right up into the core area."
"I've never tried it, but according to the prisoners, it's a thrill—though also—"
Steve didn't finish, but the implication was clear.
Ronan's lips twitched, his body shuddering involuntarily.
F***.
Any guy picturing that would shudder!
Ronan's shiver was just from imagining it—these two were trembling because that torture was about to be them!
"Of course, if you want, you could swap the honey for chili peppers, hydrochloric acid, whatever…"
That last line was the killing blow.
Ronan's mouth twitched again—he hit the end call button, not wanting to hear more.
Hydrochloric acid—what the hell!
"That method's actually pretty decent."
"But I think we could go a bit more humane."
"Like, maybe switch it to something like 'I Love a Piece of Wood'—you know, that drug—then toss them in with a sow."
"What do you think?"
Ronan turned to Wong.
Wong's eyelid twitched, his face looking weird.
He had no clue what kind of friends Ronan had made—especially since this one was Captain America.
"Ever thought the pig might feel that's unfair?"
Wong pursed his lips—felt like he'd never eat pork again after this.
Even though he usually stuck to beef and chicken.
"Alright then—how about we just stick the two of them together, let them comfort each other?"
"What do you think?"
Ronan came up with another idea.
Wong's eyes lit up, giving Ronan a thumbs-up.
But the two guys across from them felt like the sky had collapsed.
They were both straight—how could they do that? No way they'd allow it!
"Just kill me!"
"Ronan, you dare insult me—Kaecilius won't let you off!"
One of them couldn't hold back a shout.
Ronan stepped back—he didn't want spit hitting him.
"Fine, I'll kill you then."
"Let's go find a horse farm, feed the horses some aphrodisiacs."
"Since you don't want a human, a horse it is—should make your experience a bit better."
With that, Ronan opened a Sling Ring portal and yanked the guy up by the collar.
Though he struggled hard, without magic and bound up, how could he match Ronan?
So, Ronan booted him straight into the horse pen.
Then he shot Wong a look—Wong got it and followed into the pen.
The portal shut, leaving just Ronan and the other guy in the cave.
"So… how should we handle you?"
"I think Steve's idea wasn't bad—wanna give it a try?"
But the guy didn't seem keen, shaking his head like crazy.
"Don't say no so fast—let's just treat it like an experiment. The results won't mean much."
"Once it's done, even if you don't talk, I'll let you go."
"Shame, though—by then, your 'weapon' might be useless."
Ronan's gaze dropped three inches below the guy's waist, shaking his head with a pitying look.
For a man, that's the second-worst insult.
The worst? A woman saying you can't cut it.
"No, no…"
By now, the guy was stunned.
He couldn't imagine his future.
"After the experiment's done, I'll keep my word—set you free."
"You wanna chase eternity with Kaecilius, that's fine."
"Just, as a man, eternity without your root…"
"Tsk, tsk, tsk."
Ronan shook his head again.
That jab cut deeper!
If he really got eternal life like that, it'd be worse than dying right now.
Eternity's for what? Long life, enjoying the world's delights?
But now…
"No! Impossible!"
"I'll talk—I'll tell you everything!"
"Whatever you want, I'll say it!"
The guy scrambled back a couple steps, his eyes on Ronan now pure terror.
To him, Ronan wasn't human anymore—he was a demon!
Seeing his reaction, Ronan couldn't help but click his tongue.
How'd you cave so fast?
Man up!
I haven't even unleashed my illusions yet—how'd you surrender already?
That's not how nature works.
"Huh?"
"You're ready to spill now? Isn't it a bit late?"
"If the other guy talks first, he's probably done by now."
"Then… you're kinda useless."
Ronan looked torn.
"No, no, no—I'll talk first, it's gotta be me!"
"Kaecilius is in Hong Kong—his plan's simple: summon Dormammu from the Dark Dimension to Earth."
"His scheme is—"