《In Marvel As Dante》 Chapter 1 My death came at the hand of a slippery bathroom tile. With the life I''d led, I half-expected to die fighting an old enemy in an illegal cage match. I even entertained the idea of saving some snot-nosed kid who should''ve known better than to text while they crossed the street. But nope, it was my liberal use of bubble soap that proved to be my undoing. One wrong step, and here I was. I''m sure there''s a joke in there about not being Gay, but it seemed death had taken my sense of humor along with my body. The great Axel K.O. ed by a bathroom tile after a post-fight bubble bath, I groaned. I could already see the headlines. I took comfort in knowing no one was around to point and laugh at me. "I''m here," a voice chuckled behind me, "and I am laughing my ass off." I flipped around in the endless void I found myself, surprised that I could still manage that much, but even more so by the stature of the being in front of me. He was a giant, ten stories tall, clad in a shifting purple energy. "W-who are you?" I stammered out in a mix of awe, fear, and confusion. The imposing figure was some scrawny ass kid in an oversized hoodie. I was hesitant to believe God had a questionable fashion sense. I almost looked around for a cleverly hidden camera crew. This had to be some kind of joke. The figure huffed at me. "You''re no fashionista either, kid. F.Y.I., the next time you meet someone past the multiversal level, I''d advise you to be careful with your thoughts. They might not be as patient as I am," he leaned in. "I am half-tempted to shove you into a goat and be done with it, but¡­you''re far too valuable for that." I gulped. I had a feeling he wasn''t making empty threats. Wait, he said, ''next time.'' Does this mean more people are as powerful as he is out there? My blood curdled. And he''d also said Multiverse. Oh my god, the multiversal theory was right. What the fuck! "Of course, it''s right. Keep up. A bit presumptuous to assume your little planet is the only thing out there in the wider ether. Existence is as vast as my hunger is deep." I had a million questions, but one presided over all else. "What do you want with me?" "To offer you an opportunity," he grinned, shrinking to my size. We were about eye-to-eye. "You probably put together that I''m in the business of reincarnation, but I don''t reincarnate just anyone. I choose the cream of the crop, A.K.A. those I can snatch up quick enough before their universe''s deity notices," he chuckled. "You stole me?" I said with a tinge of anger and surprise. What kind of jackass steals a person''s soul? Damn it, not again. My entire being tensed¡ªwhich was stranger than it sounds, seeing as I had no body. I watched the strange God''s movements carefully. There was no way in hell I could take him on, but I wasn''t going down without a fight. The God just smirked at me, amusement clear in his eyes. "I yanked you from your miserable universe to offer you a new life in another, with superpowers, in exchange for a tiny little favor." I blinked, a bit taken aback. Superpowers? Really? "Either this is for real, or I am in the middle of the most lucid acid trip of my life." He raised an amused brow and snapped his fingers. Suddenly, I could feel it again. I stared at my callused hand in shock while the god smile grew even wider. "Still think this is an acid trip, Axel. I have more power in my pinkie than you can comprehend. Hell, I''m so powerful the Omniverse had to shackle me. I can only keep growing if somebody else does it for me." "I''m guessing that''s where I come in." "In exchange for helping me nick a few things from a universe I have my eyes on, I''ll give you the powers of the legendary devil hunter, Dante," he teased. Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. "Are you for real?" my jaw dropped. This had to be a prank. I''d listened so far because I was dead, and realistically, I had no choice, but this was too...unreal. But then again. He''d just brought me back to life by raising his brow and snapping his finger. For now, I chose to look past my skepticism and reservations. "To be clear, you''re telling me you''re going to give me the powers of Dante from Devil May Cry?" "The one and only." "Why?" "Ah, come on, you know why. You''ve been playing the games every night for months now. I''m stupid powerful. You''re going to die if I don''t give you at least something before sending you off. Besides, it''s a rite of passage. Every victim...I mean, aspirant gets one." My eyes narrowed at the slip-up. Several alarm bells rang in my head, but I pressed on anyway. "Where exactly are you sending me?" "The Marvel Universe." "I''m sorry, did you just say Marvel?" I knew about the comic universe from my teenage years of pirating movies and bumming comic books off my friends, but wasn''t sending me to a make-believe world too¡­ "Crazy?" he cackled, completing my thought. "No more crazy than literarily making you a game character. But that''s the normie way of looking at things. Fictional worlds are bursting with quirky powers, delectable ingredients, and powerful souls. For us 7th-dimensional beings, good powerups don''t come by easily. "Once you can figure out multiversal travel, it''s a crime not to try to get ahead by pillaging a few universes, really. You''re as good as dead if you stay stagnant after your power reaches galaxy level. The only way to stay alive is to advance," he said. "Remember that. So, are you in? I licked my lips and contemplated his offer. I was not risk-averse by any means. I became an M.M.A. specialist, for God''s sake. "It''s Shin," the being suddenly said. "I''m sorry, what?" "It''s rude to swear using another god''s name when you''re in the presence of one," he said matter-of-factly. "Either you say, Shin, or you don''t swear at all. You can do the latter if it makes you more comfortable." "...thanks?" Shin and I met eyes briefly before the God waved me off. "Back to your musings then." In summary, I was on the fence about this. Sure, it''d be rad to be alive again, but all of this sounded too good to be true. There was always a rub, and I wasn''t saying yes until I knew what it was. "Out of curiosity, what do you want me to steal exactly?" "Oh, nothing much," Shin said casually. "Just the Soul and Space stones. Oh, and a bit of Pheonix flame as well," Shin hummed, rubbing his chin. "You won''t believe how hard it is to find phoenixes beyond the multiversal level. Raising them yourself is out of the question." "Are you trying to get me killed!" I barked out, a bit surprised, but I was always terrible at hiding my true feelings. "You want me to steal two gems that control fundamental aspects of reality and rob an Outerversal entity! From everything you''ve told me...that''s suicide." "Would it help if I told you I won''t send you down there with just a template? You''ll also have access to a store that lets you buy some of the treasures I''ve acquired over the millennia." "I''m sorry it''s still a hard no," I said. God...Shin knew how many people I''d fight to get both stones. And as if that was not difficult enough, I''d have to take on the Phoenix and somehow walk away with some of her fire? I was confident in my skills, but I was not delusional. "Where is your sense of adventure, Axel?" Shin coaxed. "You have a second chance at life? Are you going to pussy out after dying to a tile? It''s just another fight?" "Just another fight?" I balked. "You''re asking me to go up against the source of all life in the Multiverse. Her fire can burn reality, and I''m a bloody video game character!" The God narrowed his eyes. "All I hear is bitching." With a snap of his fingers, my body evaporated. It''d been so sudden; I didn''t even feel the pain. Once more, my soul was laid bare in front of him. "I''d rather you do this willingly, but if you''re going to be difficult, then I have very little use for you," he said as an ocean of pressure bared down on me. The white space where we stood slowly lost its luster, allowing me to peer into space between Multiverses. Giant clusters of color flashed in vast emptiness, functioning as stars. But, between them, I saw beings of inexplicable shapes writhe in the spaces that the light from the multiverses didn''t fully touch. One of the closest turned its single eye at me, and I felt its mind approach mine. I froze, even as I mentally screamed my lungs out. Before its mind touched mine, however, Shin restored the white. I fell to the ground, my soul shivering as I tried to shake off the horror of what had just happened. "Take my deal or take your chances with them," Shin said plainly. "Maybe they won''t eat you. Perhaps they''ll wear you like a flesh suit for a millennium or two before putting you out of your misery." With gritted teeth, I met Shin''s imperious gaze. I''d been foolish to think Shin was a decent guy. He wasn''t even human. He was probably as warped as those things I saw outside in the void. "I''ll fetch your damned stones and the fire," I said with a heavy breath. "I''m glad we understand each other. I wish we could''ve come to an understanding under more reasonable circumstances, but we don''t always get what we want. I suppose you ought to be on your way," Shin said. "Oh, and one last thing. Remember, I am always watching." The last thing I saw was Shin''s lips twist into a smirk as he snapped his fingers. Chapter 2 One moment I was in Shin''s domain, and the next, I was blinking awake in some stranger''s apartment with the sun blaring in my eyes and the smell of piss shriveling up my nose hairs. I looked around to see a sea of people half-naked and asleep. It''d been one of those nights. "The hell, Dante," I groaned, struggling up to my feet. My head was killing me, but slowly, the pain faded. And with that clarity came memories, memories I did not like one bit. I made my way to the second-floor bathroom, stepping over a few passed-out junkies and a girl on her flip phone. "Hey, Dante," she said with a bright smile and dark bags under her eyes. She was skinny, in a tank top and baggy jeans. "You''re up early. With the way you were going at it last night. I thought you''d be out till noon?" "No rest for the wicked, Tina," I grunted and slipped into the bathroom. I stared at the broken mirror in rage as it confirmed what my memories already told me. Fucking Shin! It wasn''t bad enough that he was forcing me to fight the embodiment of life itself. I had to do it in a knock-off version of Dante. I wasn''t Dante from DMC 3 with roguish charm or sick moves or Dante from Devil May Cry 4 with even cooler weapons and more experience. Or the ultra-badass that was DMC 5 Dante with a Sin Devil trigger. No, no, no. I was fucking Dante from DMC: Devil May Cry. The Dante from a failed reboot no one remembers. "Gah!" I slammed my fist into the mirror so hard the wall groaned, and the glass misted. I stared at my bloody hand in surprise. It was easy to forget that Dante was powerful, even if he was the store-bought variety from a 2013 game that nobody ever talks about. I felt a sudden strength flow through me, and my bloody fist healed in seconds. As the memory Shin had gifted me tells it, I was a version of DMC Dante¡ªbut younger. A rebellious, drinking, smoking loser with anger issues and a propensity for violence. He had unlocked some of his powers but had the foresight not to go brandishing it. Rebellion, his signature sword, was a mental tug away. However, Ebony and Ivory were missing. They''d been pawned off for some extra cash to fuel his addictions. Virgil was somewhere in this version of the world, but Dante hadn''t seen his brother for years. I sighed. Well, all that is over now. Dante is dead, and Axel is no alcoholic. I needed to get out of here and get my affairs in order before I settled down to plan. Dante didn''t know much about the Marvel Universe landscape. It was 2003, and there were mutants in this world. No major story beats had happened yet, except for some scuffles between mutant factions and haters, and a major event that happened in the 80s. Magneto had tried taking the Whitehouse and Charles Xavier had been forced to step in. There were fewer of them than they were in the comics. There was about one mutant in every one million people, but most of them were based in New York. It was where Xavier''s school was. Stolen novel; please report. As for the Avengers, Tony Stark was still a playboy Billionaire and hadn''t donned the Iron Man suit yet. Dante was ignorant about everything else. I would have to do recon myself, I sighed. I suppose I couldn''t complain. Dante might''ve never been alive in the first place. I wonder what strings Shin had to pull to make him appear here. He wasn''t fucking around when he said he had more power than I could comprehend. One more reason to be wary of the jackass, I sighed. One problem at a time. I could deal with the existential dread after putting Dante''s affairs in order. I stepped out of the bathroom to meet Tina, whose sweat-soaked face looked at me with surprise. "I heard a noise. Are you okay?" "Why wouldn''t I be," I grunted, still bitter about the bait and switch. "Is that blood on your hand?" she asked, looking at me with concern. "Don''t worry about it, Tina," I said, looking past her. "I need to go. Do you know who stole my wallet and jacket?" Dante''s memory went blank after he started partying last night. He''d staggered in here with his shoes, jacket, and a bundle of crisp hundred-dollar bills that he''d nicked off some guy trying to jump him. The guy had been oddly well-dressed for a mugger. Anyway, from what I could tell, a bigger haul was waiting for me back at his place, along with ID and clothes. I needed all of that If I was going to skip town and start my new life as Axel. Tina blinked. "I didn''t see anything. It was pretty late when you wandered in last night." "Tina?" I said a bit forcefully. Given what I knew about her, I didn''t think she was the type to steal from Dante. She was a sweet, mousy girl who ran away from home and sometimes hung out with Dante. She was quick on her feet and rolled with a group of kids that lifted clothes and shoes from transport trucks. Dante looked out for her sometimes. She folded her arms in defiance but finally sighed. She stepped forward, and I resisted the urge to shrink back. She stunk, I stunk, and with my body''s new senses, my nose hairs were practically on fire. "Moses patted you down when you were out. Said it was payback for taking his girl." I groaned. That did happen. Moses was a 6-foot-2 bruiser who worked for the local gang that ran the drugs on this side of town. The girl had come onto Dante last week, and Dante being Dante, had taken her without regard for who her boyfriend was. Fucker hadn''t even worn a condom. "You better not have any kids running around, you asshole," I muttered. "Hmm?" "Never mind. You know where Moses went?" I asked, and she frowned. "Let it go, Dante," she said. "You don''t want to pick a fight with the Santos gang. Moses might be low-level, but his buddies aren''t." "Come on," I scoffed. "Even I''m not that stupid." I was that stupid. The Santos gang might be big and scary, but Moses was just one guy, and I had the power of a half-angel, half-demon badass on my side. I wasn''t worried. Besides, it wasn''t like I was planning to kill any of them. I would just knock Moses around for a bit, steal my shit back and all of his money, and split town before I got into more trouble. The more distance I put between myself and this place, the better. I needed time to calm down, think, and test the limits of my powers. New York was where everything was at-- the Mutants, the Avengers, everything. So, I''d avoid it for now. Maybe some no-name town where no one would think to look for me. Then, when I was ready, I''d move on. After all, Shin hadn''t given me a time limit on the caper. "You are thinking about taking them on, aren''t you?" Tina''s words broke me out of my thoughts. "What? I''m not," I huffed. "Just tell me where he is. I want to apologize, talk things out man to man." She rolled her eyes. "When have you ever apologized?" A small smile tugged at the edge of my lips. "Well, there''s a first time for everything," I insisted. "You could even come with me if you want. I promise I won''t try to kill him. Scouts honor." I made the sign, a playful smile on my face. Tina scrutinized me. "No punching either." "Of course." She still looked at me suspiciously before she spoke. "This way." Chapter 3 Los Angeles was a shit hole in whichever universe you were in, but this neighborhood was particularly bad. Trash littered the street, the alleys reeked of piss, and weirdos eyed me. Tina led me to a small, run-down diner where Moses and the Santos camped. I had two options. Walk straight in, demand my shit, and hope we don''t wreck the restaurant too badly. Or wait until Moses was alone and run his pockets. You could probably guess which way I was leaning. I was about to tell Tina we''d be waiting for the big lug when he saw us. And wow, was he a big guy? I had to remind myself that I had professional training, and my muscles were amped with angel and demon juice when he sauntered up to us in the parking lot. "S''up, Tina," Moses nodded, then fixed me with a scowl. "You''re a dead man walking; you don''t just know it yet. I''d have kicked in your teeth if it weren''t for Tina''s begging." "I''d like to see you try, humpty dumpty," I snorted. I wanted no trouble, but I wasn''t about to roll over for this asshole, either. "That''s it, you''re dead!" Moses growled, stepping up to me, but Tina came between us. "Dante! What did I say about starting a fight?" I folded my arms. "Far as I''m concerned, I kept my promise. Didn''t even have to throw a single punch, and his ass is salty." "Come on!" Tina protested. "I''m done with your shit, Dante. You''re out of your damn mind if you think you''re walking away from this without a fucking lesson in humility. You don''t touch a man''s girl. That crossed the fucking line," Moses fumed. He was right, of course. The Santos were already looking my way. As much as I loathed bending over for this asshole, I swallowed my pride and made Tina happy. Dante would''ve probably told the asshole to shove it. But I wasn''t him. I needed to make like an absent father and split. And starting shit up with a gang was not going to make that any easier. Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. "I, uh, shouldn''t have¡­ uh, been with your girl like that. She was feeling down and super vulnerable, and I let my dick do the thinking for me." Moses''s eyes widened, his anger briefly deflating before it flared again. "You think a half-hearted apology will make up for forcing yourself on her!" he shrieked, and the truth hit me like a truck. That bitch. I looked at Tina, who looked equal parts horrified and surprised. "Now, wait a minute. She came onto me. I didn''t do shit." God, even my excuse sounded made up. "Like I haven''t heard that before! I''ve about had enough of your shit!" Moses finally shoved Tina out of the way and slugged me. Or at least he tried to. I weaved under the swipe like second nature and planted two lightning-fast jabs into his kidney and face. He reeled back in pain as I stared at my hands in shock. I couldn''t tell if that was muscle memory from my old or new body, but I was fucking fast. Moses growled, shaking off the hits, and rushed in to grapple me, but I stepped to the side and weaved too quickly for him to react. Three more jabs followed. Two to his kidney and one to the back of his head. He grunted and swung around, but I dodged again and laid into him faster this time, chaining punch after punch until my strength reached a crescendo and lashed out with an uppercut. It broke the hasty guard he''d raised to protect himself and dug into his sternum. It raised the heavy man off his feet briefly before he crumbled to the floor, broken. "Oh my god, Dante!" Tina shrieked. "Stay out of this!" I snapped. "I''m only going to say this once, Moses. You don''t want to fuck with me," I said. "Where''s my shit?" His words came out a garbled mess, and I kicked him over, turning him on his back. "Unless you want to go round two, start talking." "I¡­don''t have it," Moses gasped. "The guys took your keys when they saw the wad of cash. The boss sent some people over. They''re probably emptying your place right now." Fucking fuck. I kicked Moses hard, not even bothering to reign in my strength. I heard a crack and a whimper, but I was beyond caring. "Fuck you and your lying bitch girlfriend." I turned around to find Tina staring at me, shocked. "What was that, Dante? You told me you could care for yourself, but I didn''t¡­ that was something else." "Yeah," I muttered. "I suppose I was a bit light on the details." In the corner of my eyes, I saw the Santos stirring. It won''t be long before shit started getting out of hand. And I needed to get to my apartment. I grabbed Tina by the shoulder. "Thanks a million. I mean it. I really owe you one, but now I need to go before things spiral further out of control. Also, you should probably run; I don''t want the Santos messing with you." I liked Tina, but I wasn''t sure I''d put myself in the crossfire and risk the police coming after my ass because she got caught. "You''re leaving town?" Tina asked. It was more of a statement than a question. "Yup. Have no idea where I''m going, but it''s certainly not here." "Will I ever see you again?" "With any luck, no." Chapter 4 Dante''s apartment was on the third floor of one of the few nice buildings on the bad side of town. It was a wonder he kept the place despite not having a job. When he rented the apartment, I remembered him filling in ''Private Investigator'' as his occupation. Since the cash always came in on time, the landlord ignored all of his eccentricities. Dante''s job as ''Private Investigator'' wasn''t total bullshit, to be fair. When he was sober, he was the guy you call when you had a demon problem or needed somebody bad to disappear. Most clients didn''t ask what happened to the body, so Dante never told. I shrugged. At least the quality of his work spoke for itself, even though he was mouthing off every second sentence. I saw the Santos cars parked in front of his apartment, so I knew there would be a fight. Halfway up to Dante''s room, I considered summoning Rebellion. Dante had killed with it before, and since his signature pistols were not an option, a stylish long sword was a close enough substitute. ''But won''t that just escalate things?'' Committing multiple homicides was not my ideal way of kicking off my second life. That was bound to draw the attention of the police and other dangerous factions. My problem solved itself when I arrived on the third floor. I found a bat sitting to the side and picked it up. I gave it a few practice swings before inspiration struck me, and I tried out a few different swings, flipped it over, and caught it like I''d used one for years. I found myself grinning despite everything. Okay, maybe emo-Dante wasn''t so bad after all. Rounding the corner up to my apartment, I saw two look-outs, checking for people as I heard the Santos go through Dante''s place, breaking shit and tearing up the place. Those fuckers. The bat resting on my shoulder creaked from the pressure of my grip. I stepped out into the corridor, hiding the bat behind me as I stalked towards them. They didn''t notice my approach until it was too late. "Hey, it''s Dante!" the first guard shoved the second and pulled his gun, but I swung out, batting his wrist before he got off a shot. The gun went flying. I rammed the butt off the bat into the mid-section of the second panicking guard as he stepped away, desperate to draw his gun. Gauging the distance between both men, I swung out in a vicious diagonal arc, knobbing both men on their heads. They were out cold before they realized I''d even attacked. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. I whistled in appreciation of Dante''s skill¡­ my skill. "The fuck is going on out there!" A husky voice yelled. I recognized it. It was Lorenzo, the Santos boss. "Take a wild guess." "Dante? I thought you were out cold in that crack den by the diner. Shit. Saves me the trouble of finding you. I heard about your recent windfall. Some congratulations are in order. That said, I want the rest of it. Where''s the money you got off that agent?" "Agent?" I muttered in surprise. "You didn''t know. He had a fucking government badge and everything. Didn''t you even bother patting the guy''s body down before you robbed and killed him?" "Shit," I cursed. Reviewing Dante''s memories, I noticed that the guy who tried to jump him was particularly skilled. Dante had to summon Rebellion and use the flat side to punt him across the alleyway to stop him. He''d hit his head hard and never gotten up. Dante looted the guy like a good video game character would and went on about his business. He''d not seen the badge in his drunken haze. Dante killed a government agent. Fuck. I was in even hotter water than I realized. "The way I see it," Lorenzo started before he suddenly yanked the door open and shoved a gun in my face. Three other mooks stood beside him, their hands resting on their weapons, "you''ve put our entire operation at risk, bringing down whatever SHIELD is down on our ass. If we frame you nice and clean, they can pick you up at whatever police station is closest and save themselves the trouble of snooping around. With what you got here, that shouldn''t be too hard," he grinned. "SHIEL--D?" I stood there, frozen for a second, my mind frantically connecting the dots. Dante had been making a name for himself as a Demon hunter lately. It only stood to reason that someone was bound to come looking eventually. But attacking him out of the blue, alone? Either SHIELD had mighty confidence in this dude, or he was a Hydra double agent, which was even worse. I just fucking got here! Either way, Lorenzo could get fucked. I swerved to the left while I grabbed his hand and wrenched the gun from it. He yelped, and I jabbed him in the throat with the pointy end of my bat. He crumbled to the floor, gasping for air. The three men raised their guns, but mine pointed at their wriggling boss faster. "Ah ah ah, Fellas. You don''t want to do that," I said. "Kill him, and you''ll never make it out of LA alive," the largest man said. "Move, and I''ll beat the ever-living shit out of you all after I''m done with your boss," I seethed. "I don''t want to have to kill him. But I will if I have to. Gents, you don''t want to test me after the day I just fucking had. I just want my shit and to be done with this town. When the cops come knocking, tell them I went to New York." They all shared a look, but none of them seemed to be backing down, so I pulled off the safety and pressed the gun against Lorenzo''s head. "Well!" I demanded. The big man gritted his teeth but eventually lowered his gun. The others followed his lead. Lorenzo, in his infinite wisdom, chose that exact moment to find his voice again and ordered. "Light up this fool!" he wheezed, and like automatons, the idiots raised their guns again. My gun went off, and Lorenzo''s head exploded. The eyes of the thugs grew a little bit wider, and the world froze. A red and black display invaded my sight, and my eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. "You got to be fucking kidding me." Flashing before my eyes was a game message. Congratulations on claiming your first soul. You''ve earned 2 red orbs. Red orb -- A soul of a low-rank human or demon of little renown and power. Can be used to unlock weapons, shop, and perform all sorts of demonic rituals at Shin''s Dimensional Emporium (eventually.) Shin shoved a game into my head! Chapter 5 More information came spilling onto my screen after the line about the red orb. You claimed your first human soul and triggered the DMC system. Think ''Status'' to review your parameters, skills, and abilities. I stared at the floating screen, confused, half wondering if this was all an elaborate prank. But the world was still frozen, so what the hell. "Status," I said, and a second screen spilled out. Name: Axel Warren Species: Nephilim Class: HP: 400 (Health Point) SP: 350 (Stamina Point) AE: 200 (Angelic Energy) DE: 200 (Demonic Energy) Strength: 20 Dexterity: 20 Vitality: 40 Endurance: 35 Angelic Energy: 20 Demonic Energy: 20 Abilities Skills (empty) Devil Arms Shop (Locked) XXXXX "This is certainly different from any DMC game I''ve played." I waited for more information about each attribute, but nothing came up, so I moved on to the next section. Abilities (Racial) Angel Regeneration: Bounce back from grievous wounds by invoking divine energy to remake your body. Demon hunter weapon mastery: Gain unnatural mastery of every weapon you use. Basic mastery is unlocked after the first use. Adept, Master, and Grandmaster skill mastery are unlocked four times as fast. Devil Trigger (locked): Tap into your demonic heritage and unleash your inner power. 500% health regeneration, 3x speed and 3x strength. I whistled. Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. Shin was not kidding around. It had everything I''d expected it to have and more. I hadn''t expected the Class Function. If every RPG I''d ever played was any indication, that meant that I could level up and gain stats. But I needed a class first. However, the ability that caught my attention the most was Angelic Regeneration. It explained how I was able to rapidly heal my wounded fist earlier. Demon hunter weapon mastery was why I could use the baseball bat like I''d been fighting with it my entire life. Speaking of weapons, I opened the Devil''s Arms tabs and reviewed it. Rebellion (Bonded) Grade 1, First evolution (0/500 red orbs) Arbiter (locked.) Unlock for 100 red orbs Osiris (locked) Unlock for 250 red orbs Aquila (locked) Unlock for 500 red orbs Eryx (locked) Unlock for 500 red orbs Ophion (locked) Unlock for 200 red orbs Ebony & Ivory (Lost) ''Looks about right.'' I worked my neck. With everything laid out before me, the goal of stealing multiple infinity stones and a fragment of the phoenix seemed less suicidal. I''d have to kill a shit ton of people and hunt down every bad guy I could get my hands on if I ever wanted to harvest enough red orbs to go toe to toe with Thanos or any of the more dangerous elements in the marvel universe. Maybe hunting the Chitauri would get me there quicker. After all, Yondu from Guardians of the Galaxy did call them Paper People. Aside from them, there were dozens of other faceless bad-guy armies I could take on. Before it comes to that, though, I''d have to exhaust the bad guy population of Earth, all without becoming infamous for being a terrorist or serial killer. Either way, I''d be killing a lot, and these fools standing before me would be the first of many. The last line of my status still remained a mystery, and I had a feeling it would be that way for months to come. Perhaps Shin wanted to give me some new power-up or something else from the series. I was genuinely curious, but I had enough on my plate. Congratulations: You''ve unlocked Blunt Weapon Mastery: Basic Congratulations: You''ve unlocked Gun Mastery: Basic Uh. My Demon Hunter Weapon Mastery Skill was already working. The world resumed the moment I decided I was ready, and I threw my bat at the largest of the three, knocking him clean out, while I pulled up Lorenzo''s dead body to shield me. They opened fire before I could get him up, sending bolts of pain up my arms and chest. Once he was up, I backed into the hallway, tossed him to the side, and peeped in, taking shots at the two men left standing. A lanky guy advanced, unloading into the wall, and was a few steps away from the doorway. It made it all too easy to shoot him in the chest. As he crumbled to the floor, I fired two shots into his body to make sure he wasn''t getting up again, and then I scanned the room for the last guy. He''d slipped into the bedroom to hide. You''ve earned 2 Red Orbs. I shunted the message to the back of my mind while I focused on the last guy. I made no sound as I stepped into the apartment and stood in the middle of the room for a moment, listening. His rough breathing carried through the walls, alerting me to his location, and I fired multiple shots. I heard his body crumple, but I fired two more bullets through the drywall just to be sure. When I did not receive a notification, I knew he survived somehow. With my gun in front of me, I entered the room. When his eyes met mine, he cracked a crazy smile. Something rolled to the floor, and I recognized it a second too late. It was a mother fucking grenade! I dove backward but not far away enough. The shockwave carried me, throwing me out of my apartment window onto the roof of the second house. My skin was on fire, my muscles screamed, and it felt like I''d broken more than a few things. "Fuck my life." I wheezed. There went all of my shit. I had no clothes or money, and I was sure all of Los Angeles just heard the explosion. The night just kept getting better and better. On the bright side, I got away free and clear. A second later, I felt 8 more souls enter my body. The night was not a total loss. I focused on channeling Angel Regeneration. There was nothing but pain for the longest moment until there was a sudden release. Energy bathed my aching and battered body, and the mark on my back lit up, shining through my thread-bare shirt. In seconds, I was completely healed, left to face the fallout of what had happened. Chapter 6 As soon as I could walk, my first order of business was clothes. I snuck into the apartment in the building below me. It was dangerous in broad daylight, but I lucked out. Whoever lived here had a teenager in the house. So, I borrowed a shirt, pants, shoes, a hat to hide my bleach-white hair, and a jacket to complete the ensemble. I was leaving a trail any competent detective could follow, and the cameras around the building already marked me as a person of interest, but I didn''t panic. As soon as the police arrived at the apartment, the agents were sure to follow. But before that happened, I wanted to be ready, so I returned to the diner. Moses was in the parking lot talking to his girl when I walked up to him. His face was swollen, and he was holding his side. The big guy jumped like he''d seen a ghost when he laid eyes on me, which made me grin. "What are you doing, Moses? It''s him," the girl shrieked. She was a dirty blond with fake knockers and a pretty face. She had a rotten attitude and was entitled as fuck. Honestly, I felt dirty just remembering the fact that my body had gotten with her at some point. "Piss off, Barbie," I said. "Moses and I need to have a one-on-one." Her mouth fell open. "You¡­can''t talk to me like that." She turned to Moses. "You''re just gonna let him talk to me like that?" Moses swallowed hard. "You heard the man, we have business to discuss. I''ll catch up with you later, promise." She twisted her mouth and looked between me and Moses before she folded her arms and huffed. "You better." "I have no idea what you see in her," I said as I watched her storm away. "Probably the same thing you did," Moses said, and I smiled even more. "Haven''t lost your sense of humor, eh? Good. You''ll need it for what I''m about to say next." Moses took a moment to steady himself. "Your boss is dead," I said. "And I''m going to help you steal all his money." "No," Moses froze, disbelief clear on his face. "Ah, come on, don''t tell me you don''t want to be rich," I teased. "I think you have to if you hope to keep a girl like Cami." Moses stared at me like I was insane. Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. "It wasn''t particularly hard either. I just pointed a gun and pulled the trigger," I said, leaning on Moses''s car. He took several steps back, but I grabbed him in an affectionate headlock before he had the chance. "Since you were not a total asshole, I thought I''d reward you by sparing your life and give you one chance and one chance only to leave the Santos organization before I systematically cut my way through them. He put up a strong face, but I could tell he was afraid. "Your boss is bound to have a stash house. Tell me where it is, and I''ll give you half of what I find. You can skip town, blow the cash, or swim in it for all I care. Cooperate with me, and you''ll be rich, and I''ll be out of your life." I took one step closer, driving Moses up against his car. "If you can''t give me what I want, I''ll have to find someone else who will." Moses gulped. "Do we have an agreement?" --- There wasn''t some grand reason why I was robbing the Santos. I was on a tight clock, and it was only a matter of time before Shield or the Hydra found me. The faster I could skip town, the faster I could disappear and hopefully find a new identity. If I was lucky, I could swing by the pawn shop and get Ebony and Ivory back before I left. I bit my lip, nervously thumbing the hammer on the gun I''d taken from Moses before I tied him up in his car. If you couldn''t tell, I was never going to give him the money, but I couldn''t bring myself to kill him either. He was an asshole and part of the reason why I was in this mess, but he didn''t deserve to die for it. The gun was decent, but It was no Ebony or Ivory. It felt wrong doing this without them, but I couldn''t wait around until two of the biggest intelligence agencies in the world caught up to me. It was dark out, and I was in the alley across from a restaurant. As Moses tells it, the stash house was in the basement, and it was a Sunday night, a day out from transpo day. I paced, trying something I remembered from the game. The Evade. Angel Evade and Demon Evade. Both were equally effective and could pull me away from harm in the nick of timed appropriately. When done right, Angel Dash propelled you an extra distance, while Demon Dash empowered your attack by 2x upon successfully dodging an attack at the very last moment. I assumed a boxer stance, dodging and weaving through imaginary body shots, uppercuts, and hooks. I moved quicker than ever, tumbling forward, but I never managed to get a burst of Angelic Energy out of me. It was the energy I was most familiar with, as it''d healed me before. By the time the shop restaurant emptied, I was covered in a mild layer of sweat with no progress, but I rolled with it and moved up to the restaurant with a ski mask covering my face and my heart at my throat. I approached the back door, ready to kick it in, when I realized it might be open. It was late at night, and people were probably using the service entrance. I nearly burst out into a laugh when it was. I slinked into the restaurant, past the staff clearing up in the kitchen, and thumbed several knives from uncleared tables. I hid when I saw a busboy swinging back to get empty dishes, and I continued on my way until I came to a staircase where I saw two armed men standing guard. They had their pistols holstered and gabbed on like a bunch of gossips. I pulled up my mask as I approached them. "Fellas," I called. "Fancy seeing you here. I didn''t know you liked Chinese food too. Though I''m not sure the owner would appreciate you packing heat in here." Both men snapped to me, hands on their guns. "Who the fuck are you?" I frowned, feigning offense. "It''s me, Dante. I live a couple of blocks down. I heard this place was good, and I''ve seen you guys around. We''ve even talked a few times. You don''t remember me?" Both men exchanged looks. "Get the fuck out of here, kid," the first man said. "This is your first and last warning." Chapter 7 "Don''t make me come up there and kick you out," the second guy growled, tapping his gun. I raised both hands in mock surrender and turned around, but then spun around and looked at the other guy who threatened to kick me out. "You really don''t remember me, dude? We partied together that one night." The guy grumbled something about stupid kids as he climbed up the stairs and grabbed me by the shoulder. Big mistake. I grabbed his wrist, twisted it, and held one of the two steak knives I''d pocketed from the restaurant to his throat. "Aah," he screamed. The other guy''s eyes went wide, and he reached for his gun, but I flicked my finger and let the knife fly. It got him in the shoulder, and he yelped, alerting the restaurant and probably everyone in the stash house. Shit! I was aiming for his throat. The second knife hit the intended target, and I watched him gurgle to death, a bit horrified by what I''d done. It hadn''t dawned upon me until this very moment that I was a killer now. And while my body was practically built for it, my mind wasn''t quite yet. A sharp dig into my side brought me out of my poorly timed crisis of conscience. The second guard was trying to run, but I held onto him with barely any effort and pressed my gun against his temple. You''ve earned 2 Red orbs. Congratulations: You''ve unlocked Knife Mastery: Basic. "You don''t want to piss me off," I warned. "I''m on a very short fuse. Don''t tempt me." I guided him down the stairs until we came to the door. It swung open a second later to two guards armed with Aks. I dropped the guy on the left with a gunshot before the one the right opened fire on my designated bodyguard. The bullet ripped through him, killing him immediately. Still, I surprisingly had the upper body strength to keep him upright and bullrush into the room, tossing the dead guy on the shooter. He yelped in anger, trying to shove the dead guy off him, but my knife went into his eye socket before he even got him up. You''ve earned 6 Red Orbs. I grabbed an AK and immediately rolled to the side, avoiding a spray of bullets. With my heart pumping, I hid behind a crate to the side. I''d caught a few men entering the room from the back entrance at the edge of my vision. I tucked the handgun into my pants and worked the AK like I''d used it for years, checking the ammo, chamber, and safety. While I listened for approaching footsteps, a stray thought occurred to me. Mercenary. That was one way to rack up the soul count I needed. Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. I listened and counted three pairs of feet lurking in the back. When they were close enough, I raised my hand without looking and fired in a fan, pelting away at the men. I heard a scream, and others opened fire. I huddled into a tiny ball as hell descended, shredding most of my cover. More than once, a bullet hit me, but I held on, cursing my foolishness. Why the fuck did I think this was a good idea! They had Aks, for god''s sake. I slipped on my mask as the bullets stopped, and I lay in wait for them. This time, I wasn''t so eager. I moved when I felt somebody poke me with their AK. I grabbed the muzzle, brushing it to the side as I fired two shots into his body. The second guy opened fire as I pulled the first man close, using his body as a shield. I repeated the same maneuver of shoving him at the last gunman, but he was smart enough to move out of the way. When he set his sights on me again, I''d fled deeper into the room, hobbling while I activated Angel Regeneration. My wounds mended while I moved, and I was as good as new in a few moments. That was when I heard the last guy pick up his phone. You''ve earned 4 Red Orbs. 140/200 "Hey Marko, we have a situation," he said, with more than a little trepidation in his voice. "It wasn''t our fault. The guy is a freak. "Got it. I''ll be expecting your team! We need to clear out before the cops show up." The call cut. "Fuck me," I muttered. The plan had been to make as little noise as possible. At best, I had a few minutes to wrap this shit up before I had to fight the cops and the Santos. Again, I asked myself. Why did I think this was a good idea? Pride. That''s why. "Hear that," the guy called out. "Reinforcement is on its way. You won''t make it out of here. Better give up now and die like a man than run and hide like the rat you are. Did you really think you could steal from us!" He called out, and I peeked past the corner as he swept by. His gaze turned back, but by then, I had already put a bullet in him. A shot caught me in the shoulder a moment later, and I grunted in pain. He dropped to the floor with a blank look on his face, and I stepped over him. Walking up to the padlocked cupboard at the back of the room, I pointed my gun at it and shot it off with some irritation. Grabbing a duffel bag to the side, I emptied the cupboard and rushed out of the safe room, bringing a fully loaded Ak with me. They must''ve had close to half a million in there. You''ve earned 2 Red Orbs. How the Santos got their hands on that much cheddar was beyond me, but it was mine now. I stopped moving at the top of the stairs and listened for movement. When I heard none, I sprinted out, glad to be finally done with the violence for the night. That was when I came eye to eye with a fat Chinese man with a shotgun at the backdoor. He pulled the trigger as soon as he saw me, and I dropped to my knees, sliding under most of the spread. Grunting as I came up, I perforated his gut with my Ak and made my way out of the restaurant. You''ve earned 2 Red Orbs. Ahead of me, I saw a Buick skid to a halt at the club''s front entrance, four dudes spilling out. I hid behind the garbage before anyone saw me. Sweat poured from my face as I activated Angelic Regeneration again, forcing the bullets out of my gut and bringing me to full health. I swear to God I''ll club every Hollywood movie director in the head the next time I come to LA. Dodging bullets was harder than it looked. I couldn''t stick here for long. I couldn''t swing around out back, nor could I cross the street without drawing attention to myself, so I went with the next idea that came to mind, looking up at the building across the alley. "Dante had decent parkour skills in all of the DMC games. Well, DMC Dante had more platforming than parkour, but potato potahto. It''d have to do." I tossed the bag of cash on the roof of the opposite building and took deep breaths to pump myself up before sprinting towards the walls and running up it. Surprisingly, my fingers reached the ledge on the first try, and I heaved myself up without much effort. Congratulations: You''ve learned Parkour: Basic It''d be awkward if I couldn''t make it up the building. I would''ve pulled out my hair if I couldn''t reach the money after going through all of that effort. I was off to the pawnshop next, but first, I needed a change of clothes. Chapter 8 Sirens approached, and I immediately dropped on my belly, watching the cop cars park and dozens of officers spill out. They boxed in the Santos and were in the middle of negotiating a surrender when shit hit the fan. A portly Santos dude shot an officer in the face, yelling, "No way I''m going back to jail!" I couldn''t agree more with the Sentiment. I slinked away from the madness before things got really bad, keeping my figure low, clutching my bag of cash as if my life depended on it. I stuck to alleyways and paths I was sure had no cameras, slowly making my way toward the pawn shop with my babies. Ebony and Ivory. A few blocks out from the shop, I ran into a few homeless dudes hanging around a fire. The farthest from the fire freaked out when I tapped him on the shoulder. He had a shaggy beard and a shifty look in his eyes. I pulled out a crisp $50 bill. "Give me your jacket and shirt, and it''s yours." The man eyed me up and down and stepped back. "Is that blood?" "Do you want the money or not?" I asked, and the guy pursed his lips while giving me an apprehensive look. "It''s my only pair. I can''t exactly trade it away for just $50." "$100 will be enough to get you a replacement and keep you fed," I hastily said. The longer I stayed put, the easier it''d be to track me. I needed to run a few more errands before I was ready to disappear. "$200," the dude declared, folding his arms. "Winter is coming soon; I can''t afford to cheap out on a good jacket." I gave him a flat look. "We''re in California. We don''t have winters." The man blinked and rubbed the back of his head bashfully. "I''m still sticking to what I said." I shook my head. I could''ve haggled for a better price, but I now had a boatload of money. It honestly wasn''t worth it. "Alright, hand it over," I said, pulling more cash from my jeans pocket that''d separated before approaching the man. "Wait, really!" he said, startled. "Then, I''m thinking I''ll charge $500. I''ve got to think about¡ª" I grabbed his shoulder and squeezed hard. "You don''t want to keep wasting my time. Are you interested, or should I keep walking?" My grip tightened on his shoulder with every passing second, and he quickly nodded. "Excellent," I smiled. "Now, take it off." He did as he was told and promptly got paid. I removed my bloodied jacket and shirt, changed it for the new one, and wrapped up the discarded mess. I would''ve also liked to switch out my blood-stained jeans, but I had to draw the line somewhere. The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. The man shivered in the night air and looked at me pleadingly. "Can I have your old jacket?" "No," I said as I tossed the bloodied jacket into the fire at the center of the gathering. I couldn''t risk anyone getting a hold of my blood. This was the Marvel Universe. Any number of crazy things could happen. I didn''t want to fight an army of Dantes in the not-so-far future. "What are you doing!" A homeless Asian dude yelled at me. "More fuel for your fire," I said, leaving the alley. -- Calling Kroul''s place a Pawnshop was an insult to the man who ran it. It didn''t just deal with trinkets and jewelry but had one-of-a-kind gems, Artifacts, and weapons he collected and sold to his exclusive clientele. Dante''s pistols had caught Kroul''s eyes when he completed a job for him, killing the host of a minor demon. I hoped Kroul hadn''t sold them yet. I was in no mood for a wild goose chase. Kroul was a gaunt ancient man with slicked white hair and wrinkled lines that made him appear severe. He was at the front desk when I stepped in, polishing a set of ancient throwing knives. I felt a strange energy wafting off them. When I tried to identify them using my system, it came back with a unique description, earning me a new skill. Fingers of Orochi 5 of 10 Demonic Kunai is laced with poison that burns the body and mind. Favored torturing tools of Iwari, a 17th-century hand general. Congratulations: You''ve unlocked Devils''s Eye(Basic.) Allows you to peer into the existence of all that you can see. The quality of information provided is determined by the level of skill. I whistled internally. "That quite the set you got there?" Kroul raised a brow. "You recognize the blades?" There was no mistaking the suspicion and respect in his eyes. "I might know a thing or two about exotic weapons." "Odd," Kroul''s intense green eyes landed on me. "I did not peg you for the¡­discerning sort. But I suppose it makes sense with your pistols. They''re one of the finest pieces I''ve ever handled." "Does that mean you still got them?" I asked. "I''ve missed my babies. I''m ready to take them off your hands now." I patted a bag of cash. Kroul took me in for a long moment, looking at my bloodied pants and sneakers and my sweaty and tangled white hair. I could practically hear the gears in his head turning. "I''m sorry, but you can''t afford them." I raised a brow. "Trying to twist my arm, Kroul? I can''t say I didn''t see that coming. Name your price?" This shit was starting to get old, but I couldn''t bring myself to care. I just wanted to get out of there as fast as I could. "Hand me that bag, and I might consider letting you walk out of here a free man, Mr. Dante," Kroul said with a dark glint. "Ebony and Ivory don''t belong in the hand of a common thief." My blood boiled. Who was he to tell me where my guns belonged? And I thought Kroul was one of the good ones! "Pot calling the Kettle black, Kroul," I narrowed my eyes. "I''m trying to be reasonable here. Don''t force me to be uncivil." "My finger is on the silent alarm. Move even an inch, and every police officer in Los Angeles will be here in minutes. You''ll be lucky if you see inside of a jail cell.." "Jesus Christ, today is not just my day, is it?" I sighed as I considered my options. Killing Kroul would only draw more attention. It was a sure-fire way to put myself on the radar of every major underworld organization. The man was polishing a knife for the Hand, for Fuck sake¡­ Wait a minute. My face bled all emotion. "You drive a hard bargain, Kroul," I said. "I certainly respect the hustle, but I''ll be sure to bring up your name when my Sensei asks who kept me." Kroul frowned. "Sensei?" "Of course, don''t tell me you don''t know?" I spoke. "When I saw the Fangs of Orochi, I just assumed." His eyes went wide. "Y-You''re with the Hand?" "Were you expecting black fatigues and a katana strapped to my back?" I raised a brow. "You can''t--- I thought¡ª" Kroul''s face cycled through a dozen emotions. It was the most expressive I''d ever seen him. I smirked internally. Chapter 9 "So, I''ll ask again. How much do I owe you for my guns?" I asked, leaning into the counter. Kroul''s wild eyes finally settled back onto me. He bowed deeply. "If I had known¡ªPlease accept the guns as a gift. A token of respect." I nearly broke out in a wild laugh. It was strange seeing him so unbalanced. I couldn''t give him time to think, however. I folded my arms. "Time is of the essence, Mr. Kroul. No one can know I was ever here." "Say less," the man nodded and disappeared into the backroom, reappearing with an exquisite Mahogany chest he must''ve commissioned. He must''ve planned on selling my guns to some fat cat. Too bad I came back. Still, it was surprising that he was willing to let the guns go so easily. I reached to open the case, but Kroul spoke up before I could, presenting a second box. "Before you leave, I was wondering if I could trouble you with a favor." His slender fingers eased open the box, revealing the remaining five kunai belonging to the Fingers of Orochi set I''d seen earlier. The blades were black as night, yet they glistened with unnatural light like obsidian. Fingers of Orochi 10 of 10 Demonic Kunai laced with poison that burns the body and mind. Favored torturing tools of Iwari, a 17th-century hand general. Restored and enhanced by Kroul Dougal, Master craftsman. "Would you mind delivering these to your Master for me?" Kroul said. "Seeing as you''re going to be reporting to him once this mission is done." I saw the trap coming from a mile away. Kroul was calling my bluff. "I''m leaving town, actually," I said. "Sensei has assigned me an important task outside the city." "By yourself?" he asked. "Yeah¡­"I narrowed my eyes. "I see, but surely you could call for another disciple. Master Meachum has been eager to get his hands on these." "I''m afraid you''ll have to deliver them yourself," I said, and Kroul fixed me with an expectant look that slowly turned confident as the seconds passed. Fuck me. He knows. Two of the five Kunai fanned out, stabbing deep into my shoulder and chest, and I screamed as pain consumed my spirit and body. I felt a headache coming on. -50 HP. You''ve been inflicted by the Black Dragon''s breath. Reduces Clarity of the mind and makes you more susceptible to questioning. I reached for the case containing Ebony and Ivory, despite the pain, but Kroul''s hand lashed out, beating mine back. I pulled a pistol and aimed it at the spindly man''s head before he had the chance to fuck me up even more, but it was then I tracked his second hand and noticed he was holding something under his desk. If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. My first guess was an alarm, but then I thought about the people Kroul dealt with. "What do you got under there, a shotgun?" "12-guage sewn-off shotgun, actually. I keep it in case somebody is actually stupid enough to try and rob me," Kroul said. "It doesn''t happen very often, but every once in a while, riff-raff like you stumble into my store, thinking they''re hot shit." "Ouch," I said as I pulled the dagger stuck in my left shoulder and the other piece stuck in my chest. "What gave me away." "There is no Master Meachum." That''ll do it. "But what if you''d been wrong? You could''ve just pissed off an important member of the hand." "Any true member would''ve not overlooked such a blatant mistake," Kroul snorted, somehow managing to look down on me despite being several inches shorter. "You''re no Assassin. Although, I''m intrigued as to how you possess the knowledge that you do. No doubt the hand shares my curiosity. I''ll be sure to tell them everything when they arrive." "Try to alert the Hand, and I''ll scream till my lungs turn blue. It doesn''t matter if you shoot; I''ll bring this place more attention than you''ve seen in years. Something tells me you don''t want the police looking into this quaint store of yours too closely." "What makes you think I''ve not already called them?" Kroul squinty eyes narrowed. "Pfft. There''s no way you have a panic button specifically programmed to alert the hand, and if you did, I''d be worried about you. The Hand has a nasty habit of using people and tossing them to the side." Kroul frowned slightly before he slowly let go of the knife he''d been clutching. "Take your guns and go." I raised an eyebrow. "Just like that?" "Isn''t that what you wanted? You''re not worth the trouble." "Huh." I did not believe Kroul was really going to let me go for a single second, but I couldn''t very well tell him to shoot me. I took a precautionary step forward, and his face gave him away. He looked like he was fighting back a smirk, and I dove to the left just as the shotgun went off, shattering the glass behind me and announcing my presence to the whole neighborhood. I fired my gun, placing one, two shots into Kroul''s chest before he had the chance to recover. I came up a second later, stunned that I''d been that easy to take him down. You''ve earned 2 Red orbs. A scream from outside yanked me back into the moment, though. A woman ran for her life while another dude rapidly dialed 911. Welp, there went by anonymity. I got moving. First, I fetched Ebony and Ivory, which earned me a new notification. You''ve reclaimed Ebony & Ivory. Upgrade the weapon to improve the damage per bullet. All skills associated with each Devil Arm can either be learned or bought from the store. You''ve killed an enemy of significance. Claim their weapons. Fingers of Orochi Why the fuck not. I gave the mental go-ahead and received a new notification. You''ve unlocked a subskill of Devil arms ¨C Weapon Vault Huh? With a mental command, I made the poisoned daggers disappear, as did Ebony & Ivory. The AK in the bloody bag, the pistol, and the last knife I still had on me disappeared as well. The new and previously lost weapons appeared under my Devil Arms skills. Rebellion (Unlocked) Upgrade to First Stage for 500 red orbs Arbiter(locked.) Unlock for 100 red orbs Osiris(locked) Unlock for 350 red orbs Aquila(locked) Unlock for 500 red orbs Eryx (locked) Unlock for 500 red orbs Ophion(locked) Unlock for 200 red orbs Ebony & Ivory Weapon Vault The shotgun went into my Weapon Summon subskill as well. Crossing the threshold, I dipped into the back of Kroul''s store and headed for the rear exit. I walked up to an old car at the end of the street that was abandoned and bashed the window in with my jacket covering my fist. It took me some time to hotwire the oldest car I found-- -seeing as it had been quite some time since I had done that. I made my way towards the highway and punched it. Congratulations: You''ve unlocked Automobile Mastery: Basic In the distance, I heard police sirens and chatter. My heart was in my throat the entire time I drove. My foot finally came off the gas when I was miles away from the city, with my fuel gauge halfway to E and my stomach rumbling. Chapter 10 I took a moment to breathe and assess my situation. I was probably a wanted man in L.A now. I could never go back there unless I planned on taking on the Hand, the Santos, and the Police and put myself on the radar of two of the most dangerous ghost agencies operating in this world. At least I was fucking loaded. I thought, tapping the bag of cash beside me. Some of Kroul''s blood had gotten on the bag when I shot him. I probably needed to switch it out when I got the chance. The same went for my bloody clothes. I spiked Angel Regeneration to heal the last of the damage from the last wounds and got another surprise. You''ve pushed your skill and body to the limit. You''ve gained. +1 Endurance +1 Vitality +1 Dexterity + 1 Angelic Energy At least something good did come out of the night. It was great news that I could earn stat points by pushing my body to the limit. Speaking of which, I checked my status. Name: Axel Warren (Dante Sparda) Species: Nephilim Class: None HP: 400/400 SP: 320/350 AE: 150/210 DE: 200/200 Strength: 20 Dexterity: 21 Vitality: 41 Endurance: 36 Angelic Energy: 21 Demonic Energy: 20 Red Orbs: 30 Abilities Skills Devil Arms Shop ***** I was less psyched about the paltry amount of Red orbs the entire endeavor netted me. 2 orbs per kill was a really stingy conversion. With Rebellion''s first upgrade at 500 points, it would take me a while to grind up to that steep sum. With the heat on me, I couldn''t get started on that, not until I knew what the fuck I was doing combat-wise. Angel Regeneration carried me through both of my fights. I lost count of how many gunshot wounds I took at some point. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. I needed training, tons of room to experiment, and of course, a new fucking identity before I could even think about gathering souls. But first, I needed to get somewhere safe. I wrapped up my bloody shirt and shoved it and my money bag into my trunk. Next, I cleaned the car of the broken shards of glass, then zipped up my hoodie before I drove into town and stopped by a shady motel with a few girls posted in front. A sultry brunette strutted up to me. She was in a tight mini-skirt, a skimpy tank top that left nothing to the imagination, and a leather jacket that must''ve done nothing to stave off the cold. "Like what you see, Honey," she said, leaning into my window. " "Hop in," I smiled, and she climbed into the passenger''s seat. I was assaulted with her cheap perfume as I sped off towards my next destination. "So¡­" she started. "Where to?" "The convenience store," I said. I noted the confused look on her face. "If you need a condom or something¡­" "Oh, I won''t be needing that, not tonight." "Then why¡­" "What''s your name?" "Ria," she said as she leaned into me, pressing her supple breast against my arm. "Men must ask you to do a lot of weird things in your line of work," I said. "How would you like to do something ordinary for a change." Ria looked at me, a bit wary. "What did you have in mind?" I handed her a shopping list and enjoyed the look of confusion emerging on her face. "You want me to shop for you?" --- I sent Ria into a convenience store with a small wad of cash and a long list. I''d chosen this one because the parking lot had no security cameras. I asked for bleach, a bag of clothes in my size, basic toiletries, a few colors of hair dye, several baseball caps, and a baseball bat for good measure. She came back with two heavy bags and a confused look on her face. "At the very least, you could''ve helped, you know?" she huffed as she settled down in the passenger''s seat, huffing. "And you could not have pocketed the extra change from your little shopping trip," I said as I rummaged through the bags. She put up an affronted look. "You''re not some serial killer or criminal, are you?" "Nah, just a garden variety weirdo," I said as I slipped her $1000. "For your trouble and silence." With that, I sent Ria on her way. I switched out my clothes in the car and transferred all of my clean money and clothes into the rucksack I had her buy for me. I left the car on the outskirts of town after wiping it down for my prints and blood and burning my old clothes and bag. It took me half an hour to leg it back into town, and I rented a motel room in a rundown part of town to dye my hair. I changed the motels twice again, sticking to the seedier parts with little surveillance, and settled on a motel with a room across from the freeway. On a hunch, I cut the wire of the camera that monitored that section of the motel and broke into a room across from my assigned room, one floor above. If someone managed to track me down, I''ll be ready. And it was a good thing that I did. Because at 2 am, it happened. I saw several shadowy figures burst into the room I had rented and turned it upside down. My face was ash white, with Ebony clutched tightly in my hand, as men in dark fatigues searched two other rooms before they gave up. By the time morning came, I was a nervous wreck. I''d bet my left nut that whoever came for me last night had several people hanging around town just in case I turned up. Secret organizations didn''t have a habit of giving up easily, not after I murdered their agent. I could kill whoever was left behind, but it''d be smarter to give them the slip and run far, far away. So that''s what I did. Around noon, I left my room with my rucksack filled with cash and hurried down one of the many seedy alleys. It was blissfully empty, which made repeating my former stunt a breeze. I ran up the building wall, grabbed the ledge, and pulled myself over just before two men in suits came running down. While they searched for me, I dropped down the second street with changed clothes and took a taxi to the nearest bus stop. I got a ticket for the next town over and did not stop traveling until I was far out of the state. Chapter 11 Nick Fury''s POV "What do you mean he gave you the slip," I barked at the dumbass agent who''d had the balls to deliver bad news over a video call. "The Motherfucker is a low-level wannabe mercenary who got the jump on an agent on leave. He shouldn''t be that hard to track down." "He''s nothing like his file described, Sir," the agent said in a panicked voice. "After leaving Los Angeles, he moved like he knew we''d be coming after him. Even the people who knew him swear he''s different. And apparently, the changes started when he woke up that morning." "So, your excuse is he woke up different," I scoffed and watched the agent squirm and got to thinking. Before yesterday, the kid would''ve been perfect for the Avenger initiative. Intelligence gathered told us his primary weapon is a sword he can summon. He also has a superhuman physiology and decent marksmanship skills. If only he hadn''t done something monumentally stupid like murdering an Agent of SHIELD and running. There was no coming back from that, not without extreme concessions. "What do you want me to do, Sir?" "Send me a report of everything he did. Leave nothing out," Fury ordered and ended the call. "I''ll put Natasha on it." --- After evading the G men Shield or Hydra sent after me, I took things nice and slow. I traded buses until I found myself in Sin City. A valid I.D. was the last thing I needed to disappear, and the best forger Dante knew was in Vegas. So, here I was. The city was a lot different than I remembered. Granted, I didn''t remember much of 2003. In my timeline, I spent much of the year training and getting into underground amateur fights to rapidly gain experience and gather the money I needed to compete at the highest level. I haven''t been in an underground fight since 2008, but with the body I had now, I knew I could clean house if I wanted to. I sighed. It was a shame I had to keep a low profile. I could do with a good workout. I supposed that would have to wait until I got a private gym. I''d stolen about 657,631 dollars from the stash house minus expenses. I counted. It was enough to tide me over for years if I was frugal, and I planned to invest most of it in companies I knew were going to pop off. But that was only the beginning. If I managed to keep my head for long enough, I planned to hit up other stash houses and start a few businesses to launder and clean my money. All this was to position me exactly where I needed to be when shit started going down. I made my way to a payphone and rang Donnie''s number but only got the answering machine. Strange. It was the middle of the afternoon, and Donnie knew the type of people who called this number. He always picked up. Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. Something was wrong. Knowing I could be headed for some serious shit, I stole a car and drove far into the desert. From there, I walked a few miles north before I chose an inconspicuous rock under which to store my money. It was mid-afternoon when I made it to Donnie''s spot with 30k in my jacket. It was about the amount I reckoned the full identity package would cost me. Donnie had a small grocery shop as a front, and It''d been trashed when I walked in. A slow hum filled the room. The freezer was open, and half of the content was splayed and leaking on the ground. The entire aisle had been shredded through, and large sections of the drywall were missing. I summoned Ebony and Ivory. Whoever did this was not ordinary. I took quiet steps deeper into the shop, then heard a gargle and froze. "Come on, man!" Donnie pleaded, "I swear I''ll get you your money. I need a little more time." "No more time," a voice hissed, and then there was a crash. Gods damn it, why do I have such rotten luck? "He better be breathing, or you''re going to wish you weren''t," I yelled as I barged into the room, guns first. I froze when I saw what I was up against. It was a guy with sickly green skin with an inhumanly long tongue, draped in a suit of all things. And he wasn''t the only person in the room. He had brought half a dozen guys with him, all strapped with guns and dressed similarly. "What''s with the tongue?" He hissed at me. "Who are you?" "Dante?" Donnie practically wept. "Why''s your hair black?" Donnie was a tattooed, scrawny man with horn-rimmed glasses and greasy black hair. He''d grown a small beard since the last time I saw him. "You know him?" One of the men asked. He was tall, bald, and looked like he was hella trigger-happy. "He''s an asshole I some time to business with," I quickly said while eyeing the lineup carefully. I could probably take all of them, but not without sustaining a few bullet wounds and nearly being split in two from a tongue-lashing of all things. I needed the I.D., but I was not ready to get in the middle of whatever this was. Sorry Donnie. "Come on, Dante. We''re practically brothers," Donnie insisted. That rat bastard. "I''ll shoot you myself if you try and pull that shit, Donnie. Fix your own damn life. I''ve enough on my plate as is." I slowly took both of my fingers off the triggers of my guns. "Gents, I''ll let you get back to whatever it is you were doing." "Not so fast," green skin hissed. "You stay." "I''d rather not," I said, setting my jaw. "I wasn''t a suggestion," his long tongue licked his lips ravenously, and I puked a little in my mouth. "You''ve seen us, and you know him. $100,000. That is how much he owes. Pay it, and you can continue with whatever business you came here for." Looking around once more, I sighed. "Fucking hell. How the hell did he rack up that kind of debt?" I shot Donnie a look, and he let out a nervous laugh. "I might''ve gotten a bit too excited at the fighting pits." "You run fights in Vegas?" I said to green skin, a bit impressed. "The money is good, and it helps us find people with¡­unique talents," he said. "I wonder If you have a unique talent yourself. Your guns, they''re not ordinary." "Oh, Dante is¡ª" I shut Donnie up with a hard look before he got me into even deeper shit. "How about I pay a quarter of what he owes? It''s about what I would''ve owed him for what I needed done in the first place." I was a little slow on the uptake, but it was obvious now. Green Skin was a mutant, and the fighting ring was probably some scheme to recruit promising mutants into their organization. It was surreal seeing one so up close. If the SHIELD raid had me on the fence about the whole transmigration into Marvel thing, Green Skin tipped me right over. He suspected I was one of him, and Donnie''s big mouth might''ve just given me away. Green skin had a calculating look in his eyes. "I am Toad," he said. "And I have a deal for you, Dante. Fight one match, and I forgive your friend''s debt if you win." "And if I lose?" Toad smirked. "I am confident you won''t." I considered my options. Getting on the mutant radar was not something I was particularly interested in. If he was connected to Magneto, Sinister, or any other big hitters in the mutant world, I''d be fucked. Whatever happened to staying underground and quietly building my strength? Chapter 12 "Fine," I said begrudgingly. "But if I am going to be putting my life on the line, I might as well get my money''s worth. I need Donnie''s services. We can talk about the fight when I''m done." "And how can I be certain you won''t try to run?" Green skin narrowed his eyes. "Leave your bodyguards behind," I shrugged. "Between all six of them, I''m sure they will manage somehow." Toad laughed and nodded to the buff, bald guy. He and the rest of his boys surrounded me. "Take his guns and escort him to the club at 9 pm." "9 pm? That''s not nearly as much time as I need to¡ª" "For once in your life, shut up, Donnie." "I look forward to seeing you fight," Toad said and left out the back door. As soon as he left, the buff dude walked up to me with his palms outstretched, an eager look on his face. It was as if he was begging me to resist so that he''d have some excuse to brutalize me, not that he could, but I wasn''t going to rise to the bait. I offered up Ebony and Ivory without much fuss, and he inspected them each for a long time. "What is trash like you doing with guns these exquisite?" he demanded. I shrugged. "Right place, right time." "They''re mine now," he said, sliding them into two pistol holsters by his side. I thought it odd that he had a holsters waiting and ready to go. He saw my lingering stare. "Is that going to be a problem?" "No gun is worth dying over," I answered nonchalantly, letting the guns go for now. I could''ve refused him and fought back, but Donnie needed to work, and I could always get my shit back. Then, I turned to Donnie and helped him to his feet. "Oh, thank God, Dante. I thought I was a goner." "Oh, I wouldn''t start celebrating if I was you. I want a passport, driver''s license, credit, the whole works. And it better be the best work of your goddamn life. If I am going to be putting my bacon on the line for you, you''re not cutting any corners." "Okay, okay," he raised his hand in surrender. "You got it. I''ve been saving an identity for a premium client, but I suppose you deserve it for saving my bacon." He strolled into the back, and I followed after him into a reinforced backroom where he had multiple monitors set up, a full picture studio, a printing press, and a few other machines I did not quite recognize. The soldiers strolled in after us, scanning the room. Donnie hopped onto his computer and started typing away. "I deserve a whole lot more than your best. You''re going to pay me back the difference?" "Oh, come on, Dante. The old you wouldn''t have minded bashing a few skulls in." "Well, the new me understands the value of anonymity and money." "Keep it down, both of you," Baldie barked. "If he can talk, then he''s clearly not working hard enough. I want us out of here before nightfall." Old Dante or Axel would''ve found the mouthy guard offensive, but I had bigger priorities. I allowed Donnie to toil in silence and waited for my time. He paused to take my photo and took brief breaks to update me. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. "You''re Peter Jason Quill now." My eyes went a bit wide. Fucking Star Lord! "Hey, don''t look at me like that. I don''t get to choose the name; I just make do with what I''ve got. The identity is perfect. Disappeared a while back, should be in his twenties, kind of around the same age as you. I''ve been nurturing it since I discovered it way back in the 90s. He''s got a high school diploma, credit cards, and everything," Donnie grinned. "That''s a lot of dedication, Donnie," I said, not quite believing the fucking coincidence. With my luck, the asshole would probably show up at some point and lay into me for stealing his name. Donnie grinned. "Why, thank you. It feels great to be appreciated." "How much longer now?" "Not long," Donnie folded his arm, leaning back into his ergonomic chair. "Everything is about ready for print." "Fucking Awesome. Step to it, double time!" I said with a wide grin, earning a disgruntled look from Baldie. He sauntered over, cracking his oversized knuckles. "Didn''t I tell you to¡ª" The kick to the nuts caught him entirely by surprise. The five other mooks moved, but it was already too late. Two Orochi blades flickered out, nailing the two closest suckers to me in the forearm and chest, turning them to wriggling messes while my other hand materialized a pistol. I dropped two guys before the third one wizened up and dodged, ducking behind an old printer in the far corner of the room. The two others, still reeling from the dagger throws, were barely on their feet. Dragon''s breath. That''s some nasty stuff. I pulled the trigger twice, ending the paralyzed pair. Another bullet went into the skull of Baldie, who was trying to claw his way up to his feet. That left the last guy. "Come out, come out, wherever you are," I said as I slowly circled to cut him off. Beside me, Donnie had gone white and scampered under his desk when the first gun went off. I grabbed a stapler idly by his desk and chucked it beside the printer. The last shooter swung up, shooting like I predicted he would. Before he could realize that he''d been played, I fired two shots into his chest. "This killing thing is not half-bad when you know what you''re doing," I smiled in satisfaction as I stole back my guns for the second time that week. I also got back the Fingers of Orochi. "I got to put a leash on you or something." I also stole Baldie''s dessert Eagle, which I hated to admit had better damage than both Ebony and Ivory at the moment. But my babies had room for growth. While I was looting, I also came across two grenades and a flashbang. They were not-so-subtle reality checks that reminded me all it took was one competent fighter, and I''d be done for. Not one to waste money, I stole the 5 grand they were carrying between them. Whistling, I idly thought that the fight club must pay very well. The entire exchange also earned me 12 more red orbs, bringing my count up to 42. A few more bouts of mass murder, and I could buy my second weapon. I was split between Ophion and Arbiter. The latter was a metal-as-fuck Axe that detonated with demon energy each time you swung it. Given my luck since I''d arrived in this world, It''d be nice to have that kind of Fuck-you power in my back pocket. Ophion was more of a traversal and a strategic battlefield weapon. Useful in all sorts of situations. I could imagine the look on a mook''s face when I suddenly yanked his body in for an uppercut. Honestly, I was leaning either way. My attention swept back to Donnie, and I noticed he was shaking. He flinched when I made eye contact. "Please don''t kill me," Donnie begged immediately. He might be a coward, but at least he was smart. "Just get me what I want, and you''ll be fine." He looked conflicted. "How can I be sure that you won''t¡­" "Lead you into a trap that forced you to murder six people in cold blood and make your life far more complicated by drawing the attention of the very people you''ve made it a point to avoid?" I said with a steely stare. "Don''t test me, Donnie. Do as you''re told. Besides, you''re far more valuable to me, alive." "I really didn''t mean to¡­" he started but stopped, then sighed and went back to work. Thankfully, he didn''t push me by trying to draw things out. I had a driver''s license, social security number, passport, and credit information. Satisfied, I smiled before tucking away the new papers into my jacket pocket. I made to leave, with a fidgeting Donnie behind me, before I suddenly swung around. "One last thing. What can you tell me about those fighting pits Green Face was talking about?" Donnie rapidly blinked before he started answering. "Uh¡­right. They pit superpowered people, mercenaries, martial artists, and just about everyone they can find against each other and stream it live. People make bets on it, and you can probably figure out the rest." "Huh," I rubbed my chin in thought. "Who are the fan favorites right now?" "You still want to fight?" Donnie asked. "Maybe. It pays to know your options." "What about me?" Donnie gulped. "What are my options?" I raised a brow. He certainly got balls. "Tell me what I need to know or die," I shrugged. "Simple as that." Chapter 13 "Dante, I know you''re pissed, but--" The bullet caught him in the middle of the eye. All it''d taken was a flick of my wrist. The gun appeared, and in a split second, it was gone. Donnie had outlived his usefulness, and he''d dragged me into his bullshit without regard for how it would''ve affected me. Besides, he also had a loose tongue. It was only a matter of time before he told someone else Dante Sparda was in Vegas. As for the underground fight, I already determined it was not worth the risk, at least not until I was much stronger. I fetched some Alcohol from the store proper and doused the interior with it. I set fire to the building as I took the back entrance out just in case Toad or someone else was waiting for me. I got free and clear with a new I.D. and tried to store them in my Weapon Vault. It took a minute of finagling, but tying it to the shotgun I stole from Kroul had seemed to do it. Given what I''d done to get the damn things, I couldn''t risk some asshole or pick-pocket stealing it. I also took Donnie''s hard drive because, well, it was sitting there. God knew what sort of goodies I could find if I handed it over to a proper hacker. By nighttime, I was on my way out of town in a stolen car, head bopping to a song as I replayed the events of the day in my head again. Donnie''s death didn''t weigh on me as I feared it would. His gambling habit nearly cost me everything. This wasn''t a fucking story. I wasn''t going to fold and put my ass on the line just because someone asked nicely. Now that I was free and clear, I just needed to pick a town in the boonies with a lot of trees where I could set up and... Is that a guy standing in the middle of the road? --- A sharp jolt woke me as my back bloomed with pain. Everything hurt. I was on highway asphalt, and my blurry vision caught the car I''d stolen flipped on its head and burning in the distance. Thank God I had enough sense not to bring my entire stash of money. Losing 30 grand like that still stung, but at least I was alive. As I struggled to my feet, I noticed half of my face and most of my left side had been scraped raw by the asphalt. I triggered Angel Regeneration. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. "What the fuck." I groaned. "How did I crash?" "You didn''t," A voice said from behind me. Ebony appeared in my hand and swiveled in the direction of the voice, but he was gone before I even looked at him. "Behind you," the voice said, and I swiveled, facing a teenager in tight-fitting athletic wear, a pair of goggles hanging off his neck, and a wild head of white hair billowing. "Healing plus weapon summoning," he mused with a thick European accent. "I can''t say I dig the build because mine is better, but it''s respectable." My eyes went wide with recognition. Pietro Maximoff. A.K.A Quick Silver. "You ran me off the fucking road?" I growled, summoning Ivory as well. "Give me one reason why I shouldn''t pump you full of lead?" Quick Silver laughed. "You''re too slow. I could run you back to Vegas before you can even blink." Fuck, I knew he was right, but I didn''t want to give him the satisfaction. Talking to him reminded me of Shin. He was yet another self-assured, arrogant prick who had me at his mercy. I''d cowered and bowed my head once, and I was going to have to do it again or deal with the consequences. Red rage surged in my veins. People used to fucking tremble at the mention of my name. Now, I was just another tiny fish in a big, big pond. With a steadying breath, I made my guns vanish. If I couldn''t punch my way out of this, maybe I could talk instead. Pietro''s eyes seemed to glitter like a school child''s when I made my guns disappear. "I bet that never gets old." "What do you want?" "Simple," Pietro said with a smirk. "You." "Wait¡ª" True to his words, I found myself in a room with the very mutant I was skipping town to avoid, spilling forward at the sudden nausea. I was tempted to use Angel Regeneration again, but a cursory look at my energy bar made me hesitate. I was going to need every ounce of Angelic energy to survive the upcoming fight. HP: 290/400 SP: 320/350 AE: 80/210 DE: 200/200 "One mutant runaway as promised," Pietro said. "His abilities?" Toad asked. "Weapon summoning and enhanced regeneration," he said. "Raven will be thrilled. Just make sure he comes out of the fight in one piece, yeah?" "You''re the one who ran him off the road," Toad hissed, then glared at me. "He can heal. He will live, although he doesn''t deserve to after what he did to my men." "Cry me a fucking river," I growled as I slowly stood upright. I knew I should''ve kept my mouth shut, but it was the way they spoke about me as if I wasn''t even there. It pissed me off! "You pass on Donnie''s debt because you are a bully trying to recruit me into your super-group of freaks. What did you think was going to happen?" Toad''s tongue lashed out, and I skillfully ducked under it while equipping Ebony. I fired two shots into his chest before his tongue swept downwards, cracking like an oversized whip. Shuffling to the side, I avoided the attack before firing again. Before I could reposition myself to continue my assault, I was suddenly in the air, hands windmilling, but I still landed on my feet. A slimy tongue snapped around my throat and jerked me up in the air, slowly choking the life out of me. I gasped, clawing at my collapsing airway, but the bastard didn''t let up. Quicksilver stood beside him, worry slowly creeping onto his features. "Okay, that''s enough." But Toad ignored him, so I took matters into my own hands. I summoned the desert eagle and let a rip. I heard the gun boom and saw a white flash, but nothing happened. Quicksilver was standing in front of the Toad, hand stretched out. Slowly, he opened it and let a smoking bullet dribble to the floor, much to my utter terror. I was about to summon the flashbang when Toad whipped his tongue and sent me out of a glass window behind me. I fell about twenty feet before I righted myself and landed on my feet. Chapter 14 I swallowed huge gulps of air and tried to get my breathing under control. Around me, I heard a sudden roar of a cheering crowd. Ten huge fog lights came on next, banishing the darkness around me, and it became obvious I was in some sort of metal Octagon with blood-stained floors and all manner of weapons hanging on the far wall. I immediately summoned Ebony and Ivory and waited on my opponent with bated breath. Speaking of the devil, he emerged from the shadow cast by the fog light. He was a strapping young man with dark cat ears of all things and a tail swishing behind him. He wore a black leotard with bandages wrapped around his hands and bare feet. I knew an experienced fighter when I saw one and laughed at the irony. I''d been itching to test my mettle, and now I got my wish, though it was under the most inconvenient circumstances. "He''s quicker than a cheetah and more ferocious than a Lion, I give you, Night Kat," a familiar voice boomed on the loudspeaker. It was Toad''s. The crowd cheered and hooted, their excitement deafening. "And his challenger is a dead man walking. Able to heal from any wound and summon weapons of mass destruction, I give you, Arsenal." The boos were overwhelming, and I let them roll over me. I was used to the hate with my MMA background. I had to claw my way to the very top. I''d done it in my past life and could do it again here in Marvel. "You''re going to die," the man said, his voice barely above a whisper. He cracked his neck. "I''d say it''s nothing personal, but it won''t make much of a difference, would it?" "No, it would not," I said, firing Ebony and Ivory simultaneously. Each bullet took half of an energy point from their respective pools, so I could manage it for a bit before I had to stop. Unsurprisingly, Night Cat seemed to dodge them all, zipping closer and closer, all the while. When he came close enough to swipe at me, I disappeared my gun and juked under the strike, coming in with a kidney shot that took the cat by surprise, but it didn''t rattle him enough, nor did it slow down the sudden twist of his torso and the subsequent claw strike that shaved a strip off my forearm. Quick footwork allowed me to gain some distance while I assumed a relaxed stance, with my shoulder low and my legs wide. Congratulations: You''ve recalled Kickboxing: Adept "You''re quick," Night Cat said as he licked the blood running down his claws. "And you talk too much." He moved again, but this time, I was ready for him. I dodged a flurry of hand swipes and raised my leg to dodge a particular bold leg sweep, but I didn''t go for a kick to the leg like he''d be expecting. With a shit-eating grin, I pulled out my desert pistol and fired at him. Night Kat, with his bullshit flexibility and a sudden burst of speed, took the shot in his forearm instead of his head, but I pressed the opening anyways. Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. I guess an instant headshot would be asking for too much. Still, it did prove a theory I''d been formulating. He wasn''t faster than a speeding bullet. He was just faster than me and could generally predict how I would respond and move. He probably has some perception-based mutation to round off his claws, flexibility, and obvious strength. He hissed at me like an actual cat after I shot him and lunged at me, but I beat him back with my new baseball bat. The thing snapped under the intense force, and Night Kat went flying. The crowd gasped, and I could feel the momentum swinging. I fired one more shot at my dessert eagle to finish off the feline fucker, but he zipped up to his feet and dashed to the side faster than I could react. I kept firing until he disappeared into the darkness beyond the fog lights. "In an unbelievable turn of events, Arsenal sent Night Kat running. This is the first time in a long time we''ve seen somebody wound the feline hunter. What will he do next? Will he give up to Greenhorn and forfeit the match and his winnings, or will he strike like cornered beast?" The weapons came flying so fast that I barely reacted. First, it was a sword, which I narrowly dodged. Then, a knife stole a bit of my trap muscle, and finally came a spear, which I had to summon Rebellion to parry. I sent it flying off into the distance, and an overwhelming sense of confidence and excitement filled me. It was in my hands¡ªthe Rebellion. And its metal grip felt cool and familiar to the touch. Immediately, I knew how to use it. Congratulations: You''ve recalled Swordsmanship: Adept A dozen more weapons followed, each admittedly poorly parried but parried nonetheless. "What is this?" I heard the anger sip into Toad''s voice. "Arsenal as pulled out a sword of all things. And he seems to know a thing or two about using it. Will this be enough to defeat Night Kat? I seriously doubt it." Night Kat came bounding from my flank at incredible speeds as if on cue, but there was no fear in my eyes. I moved, executing a feint, and parried the slash that followed. I pushed him away with my long blade, turning and twisting it for a quick horizontal cut, which Kat evaded easily by flipping back. I closed the distance, pressing him with strikes, trying my best not to telegraph my attacks, and slowly, my form became less wild, and I shifted to his left side where his bleeding forearm lay limp. By the tenth swing, I had him backpedaling and surprised him with a particularly nasty kick to the gut that folded him. I riddled him with bullets even as he went down, yet he miraculously managed to dodge more than a few, but Ebony and Ivory never needed reloading, and I was far from spent. I didn''t stop until I had more than five bullets in him, and he was writhing on the floor in pain. Kat tried to get up, but I put a demonic bullet into his thigh with Ebony. He shrieked in pain, and I yelled back. "Got nothing to say now!" I roared, the volume of my voice surprising even me. It''s been dealing with one clusterfuck after another. SHIELD, now Toad, and now a fucking Duel. Honestly, I wanted nothing more than to put a bullet in this fucker and call it a day, but I had a much bigger problem on my hand. Toad had said we were broadcasting live. And that meant the cat was out of the bag, I needed to get gone fast, and Night Kat was my ticket out of here. "Please don''t." the feline mutant finally begged. "It''s nothing personal," I sneered, throwing his words back at him as I pressed the gun to his skull. The dread seeped into his face in slow motion, and he shut his eyes, waiting for death. "Don''t!" I heard Toad announce from the speaker. "Or you''ll what?" It was obvious Kat was his top earner, and he was a remarkable mutant, too. For all his speed and skill, he didn''t fare too well against bullets and someone who had better reach than him. Simple logic, Really. "Here''s what''s going to happen," I said, yanking up Kat on his legs even as he groaned. "You''re going to fucking let me out of here, or your precious mutant over here gets a bullet in the head." "Why do you think I''ll ever make that trade?" Toad asked. "Don''t bother playing dumb," I snapped. "You already showed your hand. I know this is some front to recruit mutants into your asshat organization, and I know Night Kat over here is, at the very least, a prospect or a member. You were counting on him winning, and he was never supposed to kill me. So, what will it be? Will you lose one mutant at a chance to capture the other, or will you let him live for a chance to catch me at another date?" "How about neither?" I heard a voice speak into my mind, and my entire body froze. The voice sounded grandfatherly and old yet oddly familiar. Professor X? Chapter 15 "You know of me?" the voice asked. Fuck me¡­ Across from the arena, I saw two people strolling in. One was a rather voluptuous woman with blue eyes and flowing white hair. The other was a stout, muscly man with thick black sideburns sticking out of the sides of his mask. They were dressed in odd leather uniforms of yellow and black. I forced my mind not to make the obvious connection and focused instead on the rage within me that''d been building. I couldn''t let him see what I knew. It would put an end to my plans before they even began. With a roar, I called upon the demonic energy flowing in my veins, releasing a wave of crimson, fiery energy that slammed into Profesor X''s consciousness. Oddly, the wave was mostly contained within my body, and it was enough to send the pervy professor packing. "What are you---ack." The effort took as much out of me as entire Angel Regeneration sessions. -100 DE Congratulations: You''ve unlocked Demonic Energy Manipulation. I swayed slightly on my feet, and my grip on Night Kat''s throat loosened. The mutant plopped to the ground and promptly passed out. Much to my surprise, the wounds he''d incurred during our fight had started clotting. That was some bullshit. His healing factor was better than mine. I''d remain battered and bruised if I didn''t activate Angel Regeneration. All at once, Storm and Wolverine took a stance, the latter unsheathing its claws. "What did you do to the professor?" Wolverine demanded. "I should be the one asking the questions. Who the hell are you, and why the fuck is your ''Professor'' trying to mind-rape me!" I snapped back. I raised my sword to match Wolverine, knowing I stood no chance. By some miracle, even if I could take him. Storm was another matter entirely. Her Mutant power was Atmosphere Control. It doesn¡¯t get more overpowered than that. "Didn''t anyone ever tell him it''s rude to go looking in people''s heads?" I heard an explosion in the commentator stand above and saw two powerful beams of red light arc out. I heard a familiar yelp. It was Toad''s. Pietro let out a string of curses, and then, a sudden blur nearly knocked me off my feet. I used Rebellion to support me, and when I finally got my bearings, Night Kat was also gone. Welp, there went my leverage. Unless the morals of the X-Men were radically different in this universe, a wounded mutant would''ve been an effective way to get them to back off. "Fucking Speedsters," I cursed. Now that they were gone I was wounded and fresh out of moves. "Is that the guy they left behind?" I heard a voice say. It was coming from a pair of mutants who floated down from the now-destroyed viewing box. The voice belonged to a young brown-haired teenager about Dante''s age who wore a red visor. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. "He doesn''t look like much," he concluded, folding his arm. "You barely know him, Scott," the girl beside him said. "Let''s hear him out at the very least." She had red-flowing hair and a gorgeous face. Jean Grey. Oddly tolerant, considering what she must''ve witnessed in the stands. She had a good heart. As long as no one broke it, getting a chunk of the Phoenix flame wouldn''t be as hard. Hopefully. She had a complicated look on her face when we met eyes. I was meeting her a few years earlier than I wanted and had to fast-track the first stage of my plan. Earning her trust. In a colossal moment of restraint, I made Rebellion and Ebony vanish, leaving me unarmed. "Before this all goes to shit, at least let''s try to have a civil conversation," I said with a self-assured smile. --- Jean''s POV We''ve known about the underground fight club ran by the Brotherhood for months. And after a week of making no progress, Professor Hank had a sudden breakthrough. On the day a fight was supposed to go down, an algorithm he set up sent camera footage of Toad entering a convenience store in a shady area of Los Vegas with a half a dozen henchmen and left alone. It took Professor Hank under a minute to hack into his phone and track Toad back to an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of the city. Dr. Hank had us on the Blackbird the moment Scott and I were out of school. It was our first mission together since we became a couple, and I was afraid our relationship would affect the team dynamic. He always put himself ahead of me on missions, even when letting me lead made more strategic sense. I read his thoughts on our latest training session in the danger room and saw the depth of his devotion. It terrified me. Scott was willing to die for me. When I told the Professor about it, he simply smiled. "It is a gift to feel so deeply and so passionately while still so young, Jean." "I''m happy that he likes me so much," I muttered, looking down as my cheeks burned red, "but I am not sure I want the weight of his death on my conscience." "And it will not be," the Professor assured. "Scott is his own person and allowed to feel whatever he feels. Although he loves you, and that will influence him quite a bit, he''ll likely lay down his life for any other student or member of the squad. He''s selfless, and it''s that very reason why I''m grooming him to take over when the older team retires." "Professor, still¡­I¡ª" "Don''t turn him away specifically because of what you''ve seen," he said with a warm smile. "You''re not supposed to be in his mind in the first place, and that wouldn''t be fair to Scott. You like him, and he loves you. That should be enough for now." ''Like him,'' I latched onto those words. ''Not love.'' Scrutinizing my thoughts, I realized the Professor was right. I didn''t love Scott, but I liked him enough not to ruin what we had because he loved me too much. Most girls would kill to date a boy like him. I saw my classmates'' stares when he walked into the room, played sports, or sat at lunch. He was the hottest guy in school, and I was lucky to have him. Fast forward a few hours, and we sat at the rear of the plane side by side, Scott''s hand wrapped around mine. "I just intercepted the Live Broadcast, and I''m spoofing the server signature," Professor Hank announced from one of the pilot seats. "As far as he knows, he''s streaming live to 100,000 paying viewers." "Excellent work as always," The Professor praised from the seat across us. He smiled at me, and I knew he saw through me. He didn''t have to read my mind. "You''ve done this hundreds of times in the danger room," Professor said. "No need to be nervous, Jean." "It''s just last-minute jitters, Professor." "Yeah, relax, babe," Scott bumped shoulders with mine. "I''ll laser off Toad''s face before I let him touch you, not that you need my protection. You can take out chumps like him in your sleep." I bit my lip. He was right, of course, but his comment about lasering Toad''s face got me thinking about what the Professor had told us earlier. Toad was not the only enemy we had to worry about on this mission. Scott saw the growing look of worry on my face, so I spoke before he asked. "But what about the anomaly?" While the Professor was scanning ahead, he sensed somebody in the warehouse with Toad, but his mind was unlike anything he''d ever encountered. The Professor had dubbed him the Anomaly. "He won''t be a problem," The Professor assured. "I''ve personally scanned him. And while there''s¡­something underneath the surface I can''t quite grasp, he poses very little danger to the combined forces of the X-Men." Logan, who''d been sitting still this entire time, spoke up. "Don''t get your little heart worked up about a pup. If the Prof said it''s fine, then it''s fine." He unsheathed his adamantium claws, and it caught the blue light of the ship. "And if it isn''t, I''ve got my claws." "Put that away before you cut something important," Storm chided. "The sentiment is the same here, of course." Scott beamed. "See. Nothing to worry about." I let out a long sigh and forced a smile. "I suppose you''re right." Chapter 16 Jean Professor Beast narrated the fight between the Anomaly and Night Kat over the comms as we approached the building like a sports commentator. "¡­ he just summoned a gun and tried to shoot Night Kat in the face! Luckily, he somehow raised his forearm in time to receive the shot. Oh wow, Night Cat is attacking him with projectiles, and he seems¡­he might not make it¡­Oh, it seems I underestimated him. He just summoned the strangest longsword I''ve ever seen and is fairly skilled at using it too. Night Kat might be in trouble¡­we need to change strategies. Team A, go to the Arena and stop him. Team B will handle the viewing room. The professor is on standby to help both teams if things go too far." Scott and I approached the viewing room with him in the lead as always. As we were at the bottom of the stairs, Dr. Hank screamed into our comms. "The professor! He''s down. The anomaly did something to him." We both froze. "What!" I panicked. How was that even possible? Professor was the strongest Psychic on earth, or at least that was what I''d been led to believe. Was the Anomaly some kind of sword-wielding psychic? "Is he okay?" Scott asked, visibly shaken, but his voice was still measured, sticking to his training under pressure. There was a bout of silence as we waited with bated breath. "He will be," came the response. "He has to be more powerful than we think if he can knock the professor out like that. He may be a psychic." I said. "Unlikely," Beast responded. "The professor would''ve known upon the first scan. He''s something different entirely. It''s up to Storm and Wolverine now. Both of you will have to deal with Toad and his partner. Do you think you can handle that?" My heart skipped a beat. "Partner?" The professor never said anything about a second mutant. "Professor X probably wanted to test how we''d perform going into a fight with next to no intel," Scott put together. "He and I thought you were ready for more challenging combat scenarios. Your missions up until now have gone exactly as planned," Beast confirmed Scott''s hypothesis. "Do we know who''s inside?" I asked. "The professor didn''t tell even me," Beast said, "but he did confirm that it was no one too dangerous, but they''re definitely a member of the Brotherhood. So, do you think you can handle it? Or would you prefer I come down and give you a hand? My knee-jerk reaction would''ve been no, but the test was vital, even if the Professor wasn''t here. Still, I couldn''t help but worry for Scott''s safety. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Before I could give my answer, Scott decided for the both of us. "We got this doc," Scott announced, and I looked at him, puzzled. "I know we''re worried, but it''s just like the professor said, we''ve been preparing to fight schmucks like these for years. Follow my lead." In any other situation, I''d have found his confidence reassuring, irresistible even, but he''d walked all over me without realizing it. There was no putting the genie back in the bottle now, so I marched up the stairs behind him. He counted down from three, and the door flew open with a telekinetic shove from me. Toad seemed to be in a heated argument with a mutant I instantly recognized. QuickSilver? Fuck. The entire room exploded into motion. I raised a telekinetic block in front of Toad and Pietro Maximoff, drawing on the tactics I''d drilled for dealing with a speedster like him. Predictably, he pitched over, flipping wildly in the air before slamming into the wall beside me. Toad caught a concussive energy beam to the chest that surprisingly didn''t put him out of commission. He vaulted onto the walls and tried to escape through the broken window in the viewing room, but I held him mid-air as Scott swung his beam around and hit with a second, more potent shot. He dropped to the ground. Every inch of me vibrated. Drilling against a speedster was one thing, but fighting against them was another. Scott had the same look of panic, but it slowly gave room for confidence. "Well, that went better than¡ª" The next instant, Scott was flipping in the air, and Toad was gone. Shit! Quick Silver woke up. I stretched my hand, catching Scott in a telekinetic grip. "Jesus," he rubbed his chin. "You can''t take your eyes off them for a second, can you?" "Sorry about that," I mumbled. "I should''ve put him to sleep¡­" "Nah¡­ it''s fine Jean," he said, standing up. "Let''s see this so-called Anomaly for ourselves." The entire time we floated down, I couldn''t help but feel guilty for how easily they''d managed to escape. I was so mad at Scott that I put our relationship before the mission. Scott had pissed me off, but I couldn''t lose focus like that again, or the consequences would be dire. Dante/Axel POV "Oh, now you want to talk?" Scott scoffed. "After your pals have run off, and you''re all alone." I eyed the teenager as he touched down with Jean, a vein throbbing on my forehead. Teen angst. I didn''t miss that in the slightest. "Scott," Storm chided. "He''s willing to talk. The very least we can do is hear him out." "Even after what he did to the professor?" I raised my hands in defense. "Hey, he was the one wriggling his way inside my head. If you knew anything about me, you know that was a no-go territory. I was merely defending myself." "And what about the people you killed, bub?" Wolverine demanded in his intense grizzly voice. I put two and two together when I saw the comms on their ear. They probably had a hacker on their team looking into me. It was likely Dr. Hank. "Self-defense," I said, easily. "I was in town looking in on an old friend when a green fuck-face showed up and tried to drag me into some underground fight club to pay off my friend''s debt. Naturally, I refused, and his men attacked us after he left. Wanted my shiny pistols. Said they were too good for me. I wasn''t about to let him have them, so a fight broke out. I defended myself, tried to leave town, and that asshole of a speedster wrecked my car and damn near killed me! Next thing I know, I''m facing a guy with a fucking tail and claws, and your asses storm in here just as I was about to negotiate my freedom!" I finished with an exasperated gasp and a shake of my head. The X-Men stared at me with a mix of shock and confusion. "Did the audience just sit through my speech?" I wondered out loud, finally remembering that an audience had been watching us this entire time. "I''d like to think that I''m an entertainer, but I''d rather not expose myself any more than I already have." "They were never here to begin with," Storm said. "It''s far too dangerous to have a live audience for a mutant fight club. All sorts of people can get in." "Oh God," I let out a sigh that''d been holding back. My new papers were still secure. "I get it," I nodded, sighing in relief. Mutant hate groups, the military, and all manner of bad people could invade the audience and launch an attack. "So, the entire crowd was a smokescreen. And the stream?" "Diverted by someone on our team. Toad never went live." Chapter 17 "Sweet, Mary and Joseph, you have no idea how happy that makes me." "I wouldn''t rejoice just quite yet," Scott warned, his lips twisting in disgust. "You''re a killer. The police would like to talk with you. The news said you set fire to a store." "The place was on fire when I left," I huffed, folding my arms. "Donnie had a lot of electrical equipment at the back of his store, and he liked to drink. Is it all that surprising that a fire broke out during a shoot-out?" "You''ve got an answer to every question, don''t ya?" Wolverine asked, and I replied with a shrug. "As a matter of fact, I do. And I can''t let the police find me." "Why? Because you have even more blood on your hands?" Scott was quick to pile on. ''Yes,'' I thought but answered differently. "Because they''ll hand me over to SHIELD or any number of extra-governmental bodies or factions in search of people with superhuman powers. I will be poked, prodded, or experimented on. Your type has been prosecuted. Are you okay with just handing me over because I don''t fit into your convenient label?" My words struck a chord in everyone except Scott. "You see what he''s doing. He''s killed people. We can''t trust him." "And you and the other X-Men haven''t committed any crime in your little secret missions to save mutants?" Ororo and Jean''s eyes widened slightly, while Logan''s only grew narrower. "You''re not nearly as good at covering your tracks as you think you are," I grinned. "Y''all have been at this a while, and people pay attention." "What happened to you? You can''t be much older than Scott or me," Jean''s voice was thick with emotion. She pitied me. I blinked. Her words caught me in the feels. "A string of bad luck brought on a psychotic powerhouse and a bubble bath," I said with a dark chuckle, trying to lower the walls I''d put up since I arrived in the Marvel Universe. I''d been ON 24/7 for days now. I was tired to my very soul and was seeing a window of opportunity rapidly opening. "Look, all I ask is for a chance. I just woke up one day with the ability to suddenly summon weapons out of thin air and fight harder and faster than I could ever dream. My life since then has been one bloody mess after the next." Jean threw a look at Logan and Ororo before finally settling on Scott, who threw his hands up. "Oh, come on!" "He never had the same chance we did," Jean pleaded. "All he''s asking for is asking us for help. Are we really going to turn our backs on him?" Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. "But he''s a murderer!" "It was all self-defense!" I said a bit too quickly. It was probably not the best time to bring up how my powers worked. I had a feeling that stealing souls wouldn''t sit well with them. "He''s no mutant," Logan finally spoke. "But you know how to scrap, and I will never fault a man for protecting himself." I nodded in appreciation, knowing the self-defense angle would appeal to, at least, Logan. As a veteran of World War two, he knew a thing or two about taking life. "We''ll take you to see the professor when he''s awake. He''ll decide what to do with you. The blood drained out of my face, and Scott laughed. Not the mind rapist. I looked at Ororo in hope, but she seemed to agree with Logan. "We trust the professor''s Judgment. He can see through lies. If all you''ve said is true, I have no doubt he''ll let you stay." I set my teeth and resisted the urge to show outward displeasure, but Scott caught it easy enough. "Ha! Thought you could fool us?" he snickered. "I''ll be standing next to you when he makes the call." ''Fuck my life.'' I hate teenagers. For a moment, I considered making a desperate escape. But between Wolverine, Storm, Jean, and Scott, I didn''t like my chances. Plus, I''ll be risking what trust Jean had for me. I had to play the long game, so I put on a show. I summoned Rebellion and clutched it in my hand with a fearless look in my eyes. "You might as well kill me here because I''d rather die than end up as somebody''s guinea pig," I growled. "I dare you!" Scott threatened. "Move an inch, and I''ll laser what''s left of that jacket off you!" "Scott!" Jean yelled. "You''re only making it worse!" "Stand down, kid. Don''t make me repeat myself!" "Or, you''ll what? Hand me over to that Telepath and turn me into a vegetable? I think I''ll take my chances!" I assumed a fighting stance, and Scott powered on his Visor. Jean leapt in front of him. "Get out of the way, Jean!" "I won''t! Whatever happened to giving everybody a chance!" "He doesn''t deserve one. He''s playing us." "Enough!" Storm''s voice rippled out. Then she turned to face me. "If you want the chance you''re so desperate for, come with us and be interrogated. That is the only way you''re going regain your freedom." I hoped I''d be Jean who''d be the tiebreaker, but Storm led the team, so I supposed it was more appropriate. But I couldn''t give it away too easily. "What makes you different from every other asshole who tried to kill or use me?" "If you know of us, then you must know what we stand for?" "Yeah, for mutants, that is? What about us regular weirdos." Storm sighed. "This is clearly going nowhere, so how can we prove that no harm will befall you?" I blinked, then smiled a little inside before pointing at Jean. "She''s the only one who spoke up for me, and since she''s on this special team, she must be fairly powerful and important. If she promises you''re for real, I''ll come." "Oh, Come on!" Scott let out a frustrated scream, clearly seeing through my bullshit. But it was effective nonetheless. "I promise," Jean said almost immediately, and I nodded, ''reluctantly'' banishing Rebellion. "I''m in your hands now, Princess," I flashed her a smile, and she blushed. My grin grew even wider, seeing the mounting frustration on Scott''s face. "Now that the drama is done, we can finally leave," Logan said, sheathing back his claws. Ororo huffed beside him. "Teenagers and their theatrics." Chapter 18 The X-Men led me outside the warehouse to an empty patch of open desert. "Are we going to teleport away or ¡­" A giant Stealth plane materialized before my very eyes. "Fuck me," I whispered. "What? Haven''t seen a Stealth Plane before?" Scott quipped. "As a matter of fact, no, I have not," I said, deadpan. "Where could I have possibly run into one?" Scott blinked mutely, realizing I had a point, but powered on regardless. "Whatever. Let''s just go see the Professor." The base of the jet eased open, lowering a ramp. A blue-skinned, shaggy cat person stood at the very top with circle glasses of all things and the same yellow and black Leotard that I hoped I wouldn''t have to wear one day. "Is that a Wookie?" I asked, slack-jawed. With the performance I was putting on, I was surprised I hadn''t gotten an acting skill yet. "What''s a Wookie?" Jean asked beside me. "It''s a Star Wars thing. You won''t get it," I muttered, still staring at the cat person. "So, you the professor?" "What if I am?" Beast asked, and I squinted. "You''re not him," I declared, earning looks from everybody present. "No British accent. I clarified, "stuck out, even as a voice in my head." Beast chuckled, shaking his head. "Of all the ways¡­He''ll get a laugh out of that when he wakes up." "You''re the tech guy, I take it," I said. "I must admit, I pictured you way less¡­thicker." "The name is Hank," he said, gesturing to me aboard, "and we mutants come in all shapes and sizes." "Dante," I answered, fully knowing what revealing my actual name would mean. They''d be able to trace me back to L.A. and probably connect me to the murders if they haven''t already done that. At the very least, being honest would earn me brownie points and keep my new Identity a secret. I didn''t know how I was getting out of this yet, but I was holding back as many cards as I could. "So, your mutant power is thinking super-fast?" "Not quite," Hank explained. "Mutations that present themselves in physical changes are often not as simple. I attained a different physiology when my mutation manifested. It has nothing to do with my intellect." "Double trouble," I quipped as I walked into the jet. It was less spacious than I imagined for the infamous jet. A dozen or so seats were in the bay area leading up to a cockpit. A bald man in a wheelchair sat in a corner, with his hung low and straps holding him upright. The X-Men seemed to flock past me to attend to him. "Professor," Jean softly said as she rushed to him, with Scott beside her. Wolverine and Ororo held back, but their concern was obvious, as were the sharp looks they gave me. Noting my discomfort, Beast spoke. "He''ll be fine. He''s just unconscious. It has happened so few times that the young ones are convinced the Professor is invincible, which begs the question, what exactly are you?" Beast scrutiny turned to me, as did everyone else''s. "What do you mean?" "You''re not quite human. Of this, I am certain, by your admission and the Professor''s. He called you an ''Anomaly.''" My eyes darted around the room as I searched for an explanation. I knew lying was out of the question. Between Jean''s Telepathy, Beast''s, and Wolverine''s senses, they''d likely pick me apart. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. "Ah well, I''ve always been a little different since I was a kid," I said, drawing on Dante''s memories. "I was stronger and faster than just about everybody my age. Things changed in a big way for me about a week ago, though. I was contacted by¡­something, and the encounter further awakened my abilities. I can heal now, and some strange energy seems to be bubbling inside me." I shrugged. "As for why I figured out I was not a mutant, it was because I''ve been like this since I was little. Most mutants I know get their mutation when they''re teenagers. Besides, I learned that people come for you when you awaken your mutant abilities. That never happened, not until recently." Hank shifted his glasses, seemingly satisfied with my explanation for now. "We''ll arrive at the school soon enough. We''ll talk further there." I nodded, finding a seat, and strapped down, waiting for takeoff. Everybody''s mind seemed to be somewhere else except Scott and Jean, who seemed to regard me. The former with scorn and the latter with curiosity. Curiosity, I knew, which wouldn''t be satiated by just staring at my face. She was a Telepath. She probably couldn''t help herself. My mind was likely the only source of entertainment on a weary, multi-hour-long flight to a boarding house. Once the old man came to, he would probably try to enter my mind again. I wasn''t sure I could repeat the demonic energy explosion whenever I crossed paths with a Telepath. I needed a Hail Mary, and I needed it now, so I turned to the one thing that could deliver it. ''Hey,'' I yelled out internally. ''System, you there? You see what''s going on, right? I''m about to be found out. The whole mission is kaput if someone knows what I am up to. I could use some help here! No response came. I did not know whether the system was ignoring me or was not sentient, but I realized I would not be getting help from Shin after a few minutes of yelling at it. I supposed I couldn''t really complain. The abilities I already had were overpowered. I just needed to think outside the box. Closing my eyes, I opened my status and took full stock. Name: Axel Warren Species: Nephilim Class: None HP: 290/420 (Health Point) SP: 220/370 (Stamina Point) AE: 50/ 230 (Angelic Energy) DE: 50/210 (Demonic Energy Strength: 20 +1 Dexterity: 21+ 1 Vitality: 41+ 1 Endurance: 36+1 Angelic Energy: 21+ 1 Demonic Energy: 20+1 Abilities Skills Parkour (Basic) Blunt Weapon Mastery (Basic) Gun Mastery (Basic) Sword Mastery (Adept) Knife Mastery (Basic) Driving (Basic) Demonic Energy Manipulation (Basic) Shop (Locked) Devil Arms ******** Souls: 42 The new stat growth was nice to see and hinted that pushing my body to the extreme and recovering through Angel Regeneration was the secret to sustained growth. However, what caught my attention was my new skill, Demonic Energy Manipulation. Between the night''s craziness, I barely remembered getting the skill. The specifics of how I''d gotten it remained clear, however. In a moment of desperation, I''d pushed myself and manipulated my demonic energy. I was certain the same would be possible for Angelic Energy, even if I suspected it would be more difficult. Still, I needed to figure it out right here and right now because it might be too late by the time I arrived at the school. The answers I was looking for lay in some unique interaction with Demonic and Angelic Energy. I was certain of it. I just had to figure it out before we reached New York. The regular flight time between New York and Las Vegas was 6 hours. A Bullshit Stealth jet could probably cut the travel time in half. I had that much time to cobble together a new skill. This was not how I imagined being Dante would be. With my eyes still shut, I took deep, long breaths as I searched for the weightless, ethereal energy I felt pulsing through me each time I used Angel Regeneration. In the game, Angel Energy was the more versatile and elusive of the pair. It''d been shown to let you do everything from creating energy constructs to teleportation and rapid regeneration. I did not understand the first thing about it, but as Dante has proven throughout the games, you didn''t need to understand something to wield it like a badass. Activating Angel Regeneration, I reached for the energy I''d grown passingly familiar with and let it pour over me. I got the measure of it and tugged at it as it rapidly mended my wounds. "Wow," Jean murmured, and I heard Logan shift before me. "What the hell are you doing?" Scott yelled, and I tuned him out, opting to ignore the arrogant prick. "Settle down," I heard Logan bark. "He''s healing himself." I switched off the skill before it burned through all of My Angel Energy and felt my way back to the sensation I had experienced before in my mind''s eye. I spent a great deal of time stumbling in the dark. Before I ever came close to feeling my angel energy, I gained a far more interesting skill. Congratulations: You''ve learned Meditation (Basic) Calms the mind, body, and soul, allowing for introspection, mental decompression, and clarity. 2x Energy Regeneration and temporarily boosts physical and mental control by 25% Christ. Chapter 19 Congratulations: You''ve learned Meditation (Basic) Calms the mind, body, and soul, allowing for introspection, mental decompression, and clarity. 2x Energy Regeneration and temporarily boosts physical and mental control by 25% Christ. That was some skill. It seemed I''d finally hit the motherlode. I''d just assumed the skills I''d be limited to learning were the ones Dante knew, but meditation had been vital to my career in my old world. I practiced it daily after my morning sessions before I dealt with the bullshit of the day. It''d saved my life back then, and it was doing it again. With the 25% boost, it wasn''t long before I got a feel for Angelic Energy. It squirmed out of my grasp with each mental tug, but I more or less got a handle on it. Congratulations: You''ve learned Angelic Energy Manipulation: Basic. With one hour left on the clock, I faced the impossible task of cobbling together a mental protection technique with barely any understanding of either energy. I spent a few minutes playing with both energies. They were the opposite of each other. Demonic energy was violent and explosive, bombastic and overwhelming, while Angelic energy was elusive and pure. I combed through my memories in meditation, searching for a single instance when I''d seen Dante or Virgil, for that matter, display any mental resistance skill. Surprisingly, I didn''t find one. The closest thing to mental protection DMC Dante ever came close to was the mental bind or seal his father, Sparda, placed on his memories. In this universe, I had no such restriction, thanks to Shin, but that didn''t mean the seals on Dante''s memories did not exist. Dante had to break them to unlock his full memories, and that hadn''t happened yet. Hoping for a link to some unexplained mystery realm was a long shot, but it was the only lead I had. The Devil Hunter had needed a broken picture frame and a rose to trigger his transportation in the game, but I hoped a confluence of Angelic and Demonic energy would be a suitable substitute. First, I tried manipulating a chunk of Angel Energy and sent it in the direction of my mind. The energy snaked and danced away from my grip but flowed in the general direction I intended. For the longest time, nothing happened, and then I added Demon energy. Everything turned white, and suddenly, I found myself standing in a floating ruined city surrounded by boundless evening clouds. The air was thick with demonic energy, and the endless sea below crashed against the fractured remains of skyscrapers. Light filtered through the cloud from a sun I couldn''t quite place in the sky. Chunks of the ruin were small distances from each other. They were far enough that I couldn''t quite reach them with a jump, or could I? Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. I was strong enough to manhandle a fully grown man with one hand. It stood to reason that I could make the jump. I eyed the next platform over and breathed deeply. With a run and leap, I easily cleared the distance. It''d been startlingly easy. Maybe it was time I stopped underestimating just how strong I was. With a shrug, I continued exploring, picking up speed and leaping my way across platforms. The world looked exactly like I''d seen in the game, DMC, but the layout was drastically different. There was an interconnected maze of platforms, floating ruins, and probably demons. How that was possible in a mental realm was beyond me. In the distance, I saw a giant bronze statue rising out of the ocean. It had an elaborate headdress of flowing metal, a gaunt body, and two ornamental female figures draped on its shoulders. Two large chains hung from its neck, swinging so low they nearly touched the ocean before the ends climbed up to the ruins, vanishing behind obscure structures and stacked buildings. In the game, Dante platformed over to the base of two stones and took his demonic axe, Arbiter, to them. The stone base bore glowing red markings, and the seals hid some of the most traumatic memories of his life. Christ, I mean Mundus ripped his mother''s heart out of her chest in front of him. Sparda''s spell made him forget, but some part of Dante never got over it. Speaking of which, I wondered if Mundus existed in this version of the Marvel Universe. I was even more concerned about exactly what I would remember when I broke both seals and dreaded the possibility that I would be unable to. Dante had Arbiter to break the stones. I didn''t. Will I be stuck here for life? Letting out a long breath, I reminded myself that I knew nothing of this universe for certain. "Get to the Stone Seal before you start freaking out." I gave myself that small allowance, but it wasn''t long before I stumbled upon another problem. The distance between platforms was growing larger. It wouldn''t be long before I wouldn''t be able to make the jumps anymore. I needed to figure out the Double Jump. It was a skill Dante had mastered by the time you began the DMC game. It allowed you to create a platform of demonic energy in the air and use it as a springboard for a second jump. I''d just touched Demonic Energy for the first time and was nowhere ready to attempt such a complicated move, but I hardly had a choice in the matter. So, I didn''t let myself complain and got straight to strategizing. It was my ritual each time I picked up a new goal or challenge. First, I needed to measure how high I could jump and whether it was possible to pull off the technique instinctively. Then, I had to practice manipulating demonic energy. If I were lucky, creating platforms would be a relatively simple trick. Would it surprise you to learn that I was unsuccessful on both fronts? The leaps went well. So well, I broke the world record for the highest vertical jump, easily doubling it. No panel of invisible demon energy ejected from my body as I came down, however, no matter how hard I wanted it to.. On the bright side, I found comfort in the fact that I was physically far ahead of most of the people that SHIELD and HYDRA could send after me, so I stood ahead if the Professor tried to turn me over. My plans fell apart the moment I started demonic energy training. The energy was wild and bombastic. It didn''t do neat little platforms you could double-jump on. It rushed to my limbs at the slightest prompt, but getting it to do anything beyond that was an exercise in frustration. I finally managed to get the energy to erupt out of my finger after nearly an hour of practice, and it came out with such ferocity that it threw me off my feet and stole 50 energy points out of the already limited chunk I had. However, the entire experience gave me an idea of how to achieve a version of the double jump. Three hours later, I assumed a runner''s crouch, staring past the edge of the floating chunk of stone I was trapped on. Several hundred meters ahead of me, there was a bobbing wall turned sideways. I exploded into a sprint, pumping my legs past the limits of my Dexterity stat, and leaped into the air just as I reached the threshold of my small Island. Demonic energy flooded my leg muscles as I crossed the zenith of my jump and exploded from the soles of my feet just before I started to fall, launching me upwards and across. Congratulations: You''ve learned a Demonic Energy Technique: Burst. -10 DE Chapter 20 Congratulations: You''ve learned a Demonic Energy Technique: Burst. -10 DE A wide grin spread across my face as my boots scraped against the rough stone of the second platform. I let out a loud hoot and pumped my fist in the air. As exhilarating as that was, I''d not made the jump lightly. I had spent several hours trying to break out of the strange dimension before I decided to jump. I''d practiced ejecting demonic energy for hours, using it to do everything from augmenting my punch and kicks to boosting my vertical leaps and double jumping in the air. The daring jump I''d just completed had been what finally netted me the named technique, however. The journey to the seals after that was a cinch. While I hoped that I would leave this realm with a tool to keep Xavier out of my mind, I wasn''t counting on it. For now, I settled for just getting out alive. Besides, I didn''t know how much time would''ve passed when I returned. In the DMC game, no time passed when Dante returned to the real world, but this universe has shown me again and again that this wasn''t a game. So, I didn''t know what to expect. I cleared distances that should''ve been impossible for anybody else, and I constantly had to remind myself that I wasn''t human, though I looked like it. Bludgeoning it with my meaty fists seemed like my option. It was crude, I know, but I didn''t think Rebellion would do any better. Trouble found me when I was a few platforms away from the Stone Seal. It was at the top of a set of dilapidated staircases, and it pulsed with bright crimson energy. A black rift opened in reality, and a writhing mass poured out of it. Startled, I took a few big steps backward and summoned Rebellion. My heart raced as I watched the mass stretch and suddenly dig into the ground around, shattering stone. It spread itself around the chunks, stacking them on each other until they resembled something vaguely humanoid. It was hunched over, with one hand several times larger than the other and a head missing. It was, without a doubt, the most disturbing thing I''d ever seen. Just when I thought things could not get any worse, an eye opened up at the center of the mass, staring intently at me. "What the fuck." I took a step back. I recognized the eye, though I''d only seen it in passing. It was the eye of that Outer Eldritch Thing. It''d only seen me once in Shin''s domain before I got sent here, yet it tracked me down across universes. A guttural, scraping voice emerged from the stone mass. "Mine¡­" it hissed as it swung its chunky hand forward. I ducked under the swipe and summoned one of the two grenades that I''d stolen from the men at Donnie''s shop. I pulled the pin and slid it over, backpedaling rapidly. The explosion eviscerated my otherworldly visitor, along with half of the platform. A flood of energy filled me, threatening to throw me off my feet as a notification rolled in. You''ve killed a Lesser Eldritch Concrete Spawn, a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of the many minds of Quellithrax, the Insatiable. You''ve caught his eye, beware. You''ve earned 30 Red Orbs. "Now you tell me!" Once again, Shin''s antics had fucked me over, but I couldn''t complain about the influx of Red Orbs. A few more Concrete Spawns and I could buy Ophion. With the way things were going, I had a feeling I would need the grappling hook. The black portal in front of me pulsed again, and two masses poured out instead of one this time, and I moved immediately. I wasn''t about to make the same mistake twice. A lobbed a grenade at the writhing pair as I turned tail and ran. A double jump carried to a stone platform behind just as the grenade went off. It kicked up a cloud of smoke as the Island crumbled, and small chunks of it fell into the endless sea. You''ve earned 30 Red Orbs. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. I immediately activated my Devil Eye skill the second I saw the notification, and it saved my life. Lesser Eldritch Concrete Brute. I saw the name floating at the edge of the smoke cloud microseconds before a mass of stone and writhing black tentacles crashed onto the spot where I previously stood. A handy use of burst had carried me halfway across the platform. The ground shook beneath my feet, sending vibrations through every inch of me. The single eye stared at me, its proportions largely identical to his predecessor. He was 10 feet tall with a heavy top and tiny legs. Several tentacles danced behind its back, but most mass concentrated on its chunky forearms that ended in fists as thick as trees. The blow came faster than I could blink, dying my white hair red as it grazed my scalp. Its boulder-like fist had been launched and was still connected to its unnatural body by pulsing black tendrils that yanked it back moments after I ducked underneath its fist. I rolled out of the way, coming up with a 12-gauge shotgun that I unloaded into its chest. I pumped the action and fired again and again, sending it stumbling back one step. The Brute''s fist swung out, landing slightly to my right as I summoned Rebellion and swung at the black tendrils connecting the fist to the rest of the body. My blade made it halfway through before it was clashed against a bit of stone. I had to unsummon my weapon and scramble to the side to dodge the second fist. I couldn''t use Rebellion unless it were a clean cut, so I switched tactics. I hitched back a ride to its body on its returning limb and gave it a taste of its own medicine with a demonic energy-infused fist. The first Burst had it tipping over, but the second one put it flat on its ass. I raised my energy-clad fist, aiming for its big eye when its black tendrils surged. I immediately leaped back, but a sole tendril snagged my right leg, pulling me in. More tendrils struck out and I twisted, summoning Rebellion. Since it was made from Eldritch gunk, Rebellion chopped the tendril wrapped around my leg and parried the others. I landed on my feet, smiling. A preemptive use of Burst positioned me across a mess of attacking tentacles, and another one allowed me to cut most of them. The Brute roared in pain. A third Burst sent me straight into its sole eye, sword first. Rebellion sunk to the hilt, and I abandoned it immediately when I felt the Brute shift. I backpedaled with a Burst, but I was not nearly fast enough. I was in the air before I realized it, hands windmilling, with most of my side crushed. -250 HP I was above the platforms now, but I knew I only had seconds before I went over the edge and fell to my death. With a mental command, I unsummoned and resummoned Rebellion and yelled "Status." I toggled to the Devil Arm Section and immediately purchased Ophion. Rebellion warped before my very eyes. Its blade transformed into a long interlinking metal spine with a rusty claw at the end of it. It snapped open and shut as it pulsed with demonic energy. I immediately recognized it as the Demon Pull ability of Ophion. I needed the Angel Lift ability, so I switched energy, and the change was immediate. The head transformed into a serpent-like monster with long vicious canines pulsing with blue energy. I aimed Ophion at one of the floating chunks above us and fired. It snagged the chunk of rubble just as my body fell past my platform. With a mental tug, I commanded Ophion to shorten, slingshotting me over the edge and flipping back onto the Brute''s platform. Unsurprisingly, the fucker was still alive. But now that''d taken out its eye, it was flailing and helpless. Good. I switched energies and flung out Ophion, grabbing hold of one of the Brute''s legs, and I yanked, tripping it over. I moved to its flank and watched as it tried to stumble its way back to its feet, but I grabbed hold of its hand and pulled again, bringing it that much closer to the edge. I repeated the trick two more times before it finally caught on and grabbed Ophion''s chain, but by then, it was too late. It was at the very edge, and I''d switched energies. I pulled myself to it and desummoned Rebellion at the very last moment, slamming into the Brute with a Burst strike to the chest. It fell right over the edge, and I nearly joined it, with half of my body dangling. It took more effort than I expected to pull myself back onto the platform. I was panting when the notification popped in. You''ve earned 60 Red Orbs. Jesus. That was the equivalent of offing 15 humans. Taking him down felt like it, too. I burned Angel Regeneration, rapidly restoring my health. The latest notification brought my Red Orb count to 62. Under normal circumstances, that would''ve made me excited, but then I looked at the Dark Portal. A familiar single eye was staring out of it now, regarding me with naked hunger. Strangely, all I felt was white-hot anger. "What the fuck are you staring at, you peeper." "TaSTy MoRSeL. aLL RoAds LeAd to QUELLITRAX." Quellitrax''s voice boomed in my mind, its voice a chorus of distorted whispers. His enormous mind briefly touching mine was enough to send me stumbling to my knees with my nose bleeding. Something good did come out of nearly getting my mind melted. Congratulations. For bearing the weight of an infinitesimally small portion of Quellitrax''s will you''ve learned Mental Resistance: Adept. Congratulations: You''ve received your first Quest from your God and Patron, Shin, The Avaricious. A Lesser Fragment of Quilltrax has followed you here from the Void between realities for what was denied him. Your essence. Beat back 5 Incursions of the Insatiable Eldritch. 1 of 5 Time till next Incursion 1 month. Rewards: One class token from the Shin''s Multiverse-famous Shop. For completing 1 of many trials, you''ve been rewarded 1 of the 2 keys needed to access Shin''s store. Note from Shin. Wow, that was intense. I mean, unlocking Ophion just as you fell over the edge, only to come back and kick Stone Golem''s ass? Main continuity Dante would be proud. In case you were wondering, yes, I let him follow you. No, this will not be the last time I put your life in danger for my amusement, and if we''re being honest, you know as well as I do that you needed the Red Orbs. Besides, Quell is a dick, and he could use some humbling. Anyway, Ciao, and happy hunting. Chapter 21 I was too tired to let myself stew in rage at Shin''s antics, so I focused on the portal. It was finally closing. The dark portal shrunk until it was a dot in reality and vanished. A few Angel Lifts and Demon Pulls later, I found myself at the base of the Stone Seal. Standing there, I was starting to second-guess my choice of Ophion over Arbiter. But then I reminded myself that Arbiter was twice the cost of Ophion, and choosing it would''ve probably gotten me killed in the fight against the Brute. It took over twenty Demonic Energy Burst strikes, and my hands were raw at the end, but the stone seal finally shattered, and the chain fell into the endless Sea. The Bronze statue in the distance turned its head in my direction, and suddenly, I found myself back on the Blackbird like I never left, a layer of sweat covering my brow. Congratulations: You''ve unlocked the Epic Skill: Paradise Simulacrum (Basic) Visit a mental plane fashioned by the Legendary Sparda for limited periods during which no time passes in the physical world. You can bring people in and out of your mental Slice of Limbo at will. Available once a week for 12 hours. "Fuck me. That was intense," I gasped. Shin''s antics pissed me off, but I had nothing to do with that anger for now. He was Multiversal-level. Unless I somehow found a way to match that power, I knew I''d be under his thumb for a while. Since I arrived in this world, it''d been one ordeal after the other. At first, I thought I''d been incredibly unlucky, but I was starting to suspect Shin had a hand in it. He''d let an Eldritch Outer God follow me for the heck of it. Who was to say reality manipulation was beyond him? Everything I''d gone through could''ve been a plot to bring me closer to Jean years before I intended to make contact. I was certain he still wanted me alive, at the very least. However, my stay in the Marvel Universe would be one big fighting game if Shin had a say in the matter. Too bad I wouldn''t be letting him have his way. If there was something Dante and I had in common was that we didn''t take shit from anybody. "Are you okay?" Jean turned to me, a mix of concern and surprise in her eyes. I''d gone from an open, albeit dangerous, book to completely shut in the span of a second, not to mention that my stats had also gone up by a few points. Name: Axel Warren (Dante Sparda) Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! Species: Nephilim Class: None HP: 120/440(Health Point) SP: 220/400 (Stamina Point) AE: 50/ 240 (Angelic Energy) DE: 20/240 (Demonic Energy Strength: 21 +3 Dexterity: 22+ 3 Vitality: 42+ 2 Endurance: 37+ 3 Angelic Energy: 22+ 2 Demonic Energy: 21+3 Abilities Skills Shop (Locked) One of Two Keys Devil Arms ******** Souls: 62 Even Wolverine seemed to notice the change as he sniffed the air and looked in my direction. "You''re different," he announced. "What did you do?" "People underestimate the benefits of meditation," I shrugged, a bit more confident in my seat. I didn''t think I could beat Logan and Ororo because I now had Ophion and could throw a superpowered punch, but I had a new skill that ensured Jean or Xavier could not get into my head without a fight. I wasn''t exactly sitting pretty, but I was getting closer. Scott brought his hand to the side of his visor. "What''s going on, Jean?" "His mind," Jean said, "it''s walled off." "Take your hands off that visor, Scott," Storm ordered before she looked in my direction. "Walled off? How is that possible? Didn''t Hank say he wasn''t a telepath?" "He did," Jean confessed, looking genuinely bewildered. "But I can''t read his mind." "And that''s how I want it," I folded my hands and narrowed my eyes. "You and the Professor have no business in there in the first place." "He''s obviously trying to hide something," Scott declared, throwing me what I assumed was a dirty stare. I could only see half of his face. "The professor needs to scan him, and suddenly, he''s protected?" That comment got everybody looking at me suspiciously. I snorted. "So, I am the bad guy because I don''t want to get skull-fucked by some bald guy?" I got some surprised looks for my colorful language. ¡°I''ve experienced enough of that for one lifetime and will not be letting anyone inside my head, no matter how nice their students promise they are. Strap me up to a polygraph, or send me away. It ain''t happening." Despite my warning, Jean was the first to speak. "The professor is not like that. He¡ª" "Not. Gonna. Happen." She pursed her lips and frowned, clearly upset. Surprisingly, it was Dr. Hank that came to my rescue. "Telepathy is not the only way we can determine your honesty. Body language, voice inflection, and years of experience have turned Charles into a human lie detector. If you''re uncomfortable with telepathy, we don''t plan to force you, though I''d point out that assenting to it would certainly help your case." "I''ll take that under advisement," I said. Everybody mostly stayed quiet until we reached the hidden hangar of the Blackbird jet. I tried playing it cool when I saw the basketball court open up, but I found myself peering out the window. "I''ve seen it hundreds of times, and I still haven''t gotten used to it," Storm said, and I smiled. "I don''t think you can get over a hidden launchpad underneath a basketball court." "If you''re already drooling, then your mind will explode when you see the Danger Room," Scott scoffed. "Oh yeah?" I asked. "What''s so special about it?" I, of course, knew what the Danger Room was, at least topically. The particulars were still a mystery to me. I was not much of a science guy, but the thought of hard light constructs got my juices flowing. "It''s the best training facility in the world," Scott declared, confidently folding his arms. "It simulates complex scenarios, enemies, and terrains. Dr. Hank can even program in enemies, so we''re never entering a situation completely flat-footed. It''s why we''re the best team in the world." I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. "Wow," I muttered, genuinely impressed by the Danger Room, but the phrasing ensured Scott and a few other X-men thought I was impressed by them. "So, you can create hard light avatars of every bad guy the X-men have ever fought?" I turned to Beast, who was carefully landing the plane. "More or less," Dr. Hank answered. "Although we''d need exhaustive data on the target before creating a combat clone." "What sort of data?" Chapter 22 "What sort of data?" Dr. Hank blinked at me as he got up from his seat and looked down at his tablet. "We''d need accurate dimensions, abilities, biological information, and estimated physical parameters. Did you have someone in mind?" "A few," I smiled. "I''d like to take this Danger Room of yours for a spin and see the rest of your facilities. It''ll be a great change of pace from what I''m used to." "That''s assuming the Professor doesn''t hand you over to the police immediately," Scott scoffed. "And if you can''t tell, you didn''t make a great first impression." "Like the nice lady said earlier, why don''t you leave the judgment up to the professor," I snipped. Dr. Hank shifted gears the moment we left the Blackbird, muttering something about upgrading the fuel injection system and the stealth capabilities, while Logan took it upon himself to wheel the Professor to his room personally. There was a moment on the ramp when my eyes met Logan''s. Chills ran down my spine. He didn''t seem like the type to hold grudges, but he genuinely cared for the professor, and I had put him in a wheelchair. Not that he wasn''t already in one, to begin with, I thought in amusement. "Jean, Scott. Take him to one of the guest rooms so that he can get a change of clothes while we wait for the professor to wake," Storm ordered as she stepped off the jet. "We''re just letting him roam free?" Scott demanded. "Are we forgetting that he nearly killed that Kat guy and murdered a bunch of people literally hours ago?" "Then, it''s a good thing I''m sending you to keep him company," She said. "Surely, you''re not saying the greatest team in the world cannot handle some delinquent?" "Hey!" I half-heartedly protested, watching as angst practically gushed out of Scott. He balled his fist and set his jaw before glaring at me and stomping off. "Come on, Jean. Let''s get this over with. I''m counting down the seconds until the professor wakes up." I followed behind Jean as she led me out of the high-tech hangar and deeper into the bowels of the X mansion. "How can you stand that guy?" I asked Jean, who''d been quiet this entire time. "He''s just a bit wary of outsiders and people with¡­complicated pasts." "You mean murderers?" I stated flatly. She seemed unbalanced by my candor, and I pressed on. "I might be sitting for a polygraph, so I might as well tell you. I''ve killed before, but it''s mostly demons, murderous drug dealers, and abusive assholes who deserve it." "Why are you telling me all this?" Jean asked with a bit of apprehension in her voice. "I could tell the professor." "It''s all going to come out when they look into my past anyway," I shrugged. "You stuck up for me when you didn''t have to; I owe you the truth, at least." Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. "That makes sense," she muttered. "But still, demons?" "You don''t think I''m telling the truth?" The look on her face spoke volumes. "They''ve been after me since I was a kid," I said, casually stuffing my hands into my pocket. I didn''t even have to spin a wild tale. I just drew from Dante''s memories. Demons did exist in this world, and oddly, some of them resembled the same ones you fought in the DMC games, but others were Marvel originals. Luckily, only the demons from the DMC game have come after Dante; otherwise, he wouldn''t have been alive when Shin gave me his body. "I''ve killed so many of them; I lost count. Things only started to change for me last week when my other powers manifested," I said. "When you grow up being hunted, morality takes a back seat to survival." "I''m sorry," Jean said softly, and I shrugged. "It''s not your fault." Jean took a moment to gather her thoughts. "Why do you think they''re after you?" "I think it''s because of who my parents were," I said. "Don''t tell anybody this, but I think I''m not exactly an ordinary human. Maybe I''m part demon or something," I shrugged and looked at Jean. "I suppose you can relate to that; you''re not an ordinary mutant, either." There was a flash of fear and confusion in her eyes. She was obviously curious about my parentage but was more bothered about my comment. "What do you mean?" "Don''t tell me you don''t know?" I raised a brow. "You''re the strongest mutant I''ve ever seen, and I''ve met a lot of mutants." She frowned. "I''m only a telekinetic with some telepathy. The professor is far stronger than I am." "No, he''s not," I said. "My Devil¡¯s Eye does not lie. It tells me important things about each person I use them on, and it''s telling me you''re the most powerful mutant alive. If you''re weaker than you should be, it''s because somebody is keeping you that way." "Devil Eye?" Jean asks skeptically. "I thought you said you could only heal and summon weapons?" "A lot can change in one meditation session," I shrugged. "I couldn''t block Telepathy before; well, now I can. Like I said, I unlocked my powers a few weeks ago. I have no idea what my limits are." Jean still seemed a bit skeptical, so I shrugged. If I were in her shoes, I wouldn''t believe an admitted murderer either. "Just ask yourself this before you dismiss my claims entirely: what do I stand to gain from lying to you?" I questioned. "I just met you." Jean bit her lip in thought before she spoke. "Prove that this Devil¡¯s eye of yours actually exists. Tell me something else about myself." I laughed and actually used the skill. Jean took a step back, and I saw a notification floating above Jean''s head. Jean Elaine Grey ¨C Avatar of the Phoenix Force Everything after that was a wall of question marks. Still, it gave me enough information to mess with Jean. "Your middle name is Elaine," I said with a mischievous grin. Jean''s eyes went wide. "How did you¡­That''s¡­freaky. Your eyes turned red for a moment there." "Oh." I didn''t know that happened when I used Devil''s Eye. "Good to know. So, you believe me now?" "Yes," she said with some hesitation. "Still, I have a hard time wrapping my head around it¡­How is any of this possible?" "The better question should be, who is powerful enough to shackle a god?" Jean broke her stride when I posed that question. I hoped she''d make the connection to Charles by herself, but if she didn''t, she''d not be completely blindsided when she learned the truth. And when that happened, I''d be here to pick up the pieces and earn the Phoenix''s favor. Whether or not it would like me enough to grant me some of its flame was another matter entirely. The talk with Charles could go either way, so I was poisoning the well as insurance. That wasn''t to say that I had no strategies to convince the old coot to let me stay. I had stacks upon stacks of information I could use to strong-arm myself a permanent residence here, but staying at the mansion long-term would limit my growth. Instead, I was planning to stay long enough to win her over completely and get SHIELD off my ass. "Come on, Jean," I bumped her with my elbow. "Let''s get moving before your boyfriend blows a gasket." Jean blinked out of her reverie and blushed furiously. "Did your devil''s eye tell you?" "I''m not blind, you know?" I chuckled as we walked deeper into the mansion. Chapter 23 Scott came to get me at the crack of dawn and led me to the Professor''s office. It was a spacious study with a Mahogany table, large windows that let in natural light, and low shelves stuffed with ancient leather-bound books. "Take a Seat, Dante," the professor offered. He was a bald man in his forties with a smooth-shaven face and an elegant British voice. "Don''t mind if I do," I said, settling on the plush chair across from him. "You know why I called you here," he said. "The staff are undecided whether we should keep or hand you over to the authorities. They''ve asked me to make the final decision." "And which direction are you leaning?" I asked, crossing my legs. "I barely know you," Charles said. "We''ve only just met." "That¡¯s not entirely true," I said with a cunning smile. "You were in my head earlier, remember?" "Logan and Professor Hank tell me you react rather explosively to any mental intrusion of any sort," Charles said with a measured tone. "I apologize for my actions earlier, but it was the only way to stop you from killing that man." "I didn''t actually plan on killing Night Kat," I said. "I thought I was being recorded at the time and wasn''t going to put an even bigger target on my back by killing a member of the brotherhood." "You intended to use him as leverage," Charles surmised. "A plan which your X-men ruined, by the way," I huffed. "Given your history, you''d forgive me for not believing you. When we ran into you yesterday, we only knew about the murders and the fire at the store, but now, we know of your crimes and reputation in Los Angeles. You''re not exactly the misunderstood teenager you pretend to be." "No, I am not," I admitted. "If you know about the crimes I''ve committed, you probably also know about my childhood." "Yes, hunted by ''demons'' and moved from foster home to foster home," Charles said with a voice thick with sarcasm. "Imaginary monsters are hardly justification for committing murder." "Oh, there''s nothing imaginary about them," I said, flashing my Devil''s Eye, causing Charles to shift uncomfortably in his seat. "I''ve devoted my entire life to fighting them and men whose souls are just as black as the demons themselves." "You''re a demon?" Charles questioned, instantly making the connection. Revealing my heritage was a calculated risk, but knowing Xavier, he wouldn''t be able to help himself. He probably already concluded I was dangerous and too powerful not to be controlled or limited in some way. And that was exactly what I wanted him to think. "You''ll have to ask my parents that," I said with a shrug. "Given the unusual nature of your power, I''d argue that you were. It would explain why your mind felt unlike anything I''ve ever witnessed. That energy you used¡­it was unnatural." "Story of my life. Been called that since I was a toddler." Xavier winced, but he did not back down. "Still, your past does not excuse your actions. You hold little regard for life because of how you were raised, and I cannot be certain that you''d never bring harm to others if I let you go." "You''re right, of course," I said easily. "But you could say the same thing about Wolverine." The Profesor''s eyes went wide, speechless as I threw his hypocrisy back at him. "How did you¡­" "Like I told the X-men, you don''t cover your tracks as well as you think," I said with an enigmatic smile. "Look me in the eyes and tell me your X-men have not and will not kill?" The Professor was quiet for a moment. "Those who have are different people now, whereas you were in a firefight only yesterday." "A firefight that I was dragged into against my wishes," I said. "As I explained, I was visiting a friend when your enemies showed up. And who says I was not trying to change? I just got dealt a bad hand after bad hand. From the Shield agent to the Santos crew waiting to ambush me, every life I took was in self-defense." If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Xavier turned pale. "Wait, did you say a SHIELD agent tried to kill you? You didn''t tell Logan or Storm that." I smirked internally. Hook, line, and sinker. If SHIELD was active in this world, there was no way Xavier didn''t know about them and what it''s supposed to represent. It would go against everything Professor X stood for him to tolerate SHIELD abducting people. "Wolverine had claws pointed at me, and I was trying to de-escalate the situation. I didn''t think there was any room for story time." Professor X frowned. "Tell me what happened." I retold the details of the night before I took over Dante''s body, really emphasizing how suspicious the guy had been. He hadn''t introduced himself, offered any explanation, or anything. He''d just tried to jump me, and I''d fought him off. It was only after he was dead that Dante found out that he was a Shield agent. Noting the complicated look on Xavier''s face, I decided to twist the knife even deeper. "SHIELD is not supposed to go around abducting people, are they?" "No, they''re not." "I guessed as much. That''s why I ran," I said. "I figured turning myself in was not an option. So, I stormed the Santos place, looking to get back some money their boss stole from me. After I left there, I went to an old pawn shop to try and retrieve my old guns. You already know how both interactions went. They fired first on both occasions, and things devolved." Xavier massaged his nose bridge. "Your circumstances are extraordinary," he admitted. "But if you''ve found yourself on SHIELD''s Radar, there''s very little I can do to protect you." "I''m not asking for your protection," I said, earning a curious look from Xavier. "I''m asking you to use your influence to help me negotiate a meeting with somebody high enough to trust. I can negotiate with him in good faith and find a mutually happy compromise." The old man stared at me. I couldn''t tell if he was more impressed or shocked. He could read in between the lines. I was offering my services to SHIELD as a contractor, and he was not in any position to refuse me. Fury would want to talk to me, given the implications of what I''d just described, and Charles could not keep me from him without endangering the lives of his students. Releasing me to fend for myself didn''t seem like an option he wanted to entertain either. Of course, I didn''t want to go from a rookie devil hunter to a SHIELD mercenary without any time to prepare myself. "Could you buy me at least a month to train before you set up the meet?" I asked. "I''d like to prepare myself physically." I knew that a thousand and one things could go wrong during my negotiations with SHIELD, but I had a plan that guaranteed I walked out on top. Xavier didn''t need to know that, though. It was a long moment before the Professor spoke. "Of course." ¡ª Xavier''s POV "What did you think of young Dante?" I asked Storm, who sat in the same chair Dante had a few hours ago. When he was dismissed, he''d asked to be pointed to the training area and ran off. Hank had shown me the video of his fight. He was quite the competent fighter, on par with some of the most accomplished martial artists I''d ever seen, but his demonic heritage and powers set me on edge. After a single meeting, he''d been able to counter my mutant ability crudely. "He''s a wolf in sheep''s clothing," Storm concluded. "Manipulative, powerful, and has the intelligence to back it up. I''m almost afraid of what SHIELD could do with somebody of his talent." "Played you like a fiddle," Wolverine grunted in his seat across from Storm. "But he''s owning up to his mistake. It''s a shame to see a fighter of his caliber go. I re-watched his fight with Night Kat. He was lethal." "That he was," I said, "and I''m afraid SHIELD will warp him into more of a monster than he already is. Given his parentage, I fear that might be an inevitability." "You can''t keep him," Logan said. "You know how Fury gets." "We can''t," I admitted. By announcing his connection with Shield, Dante had ensured we only had two options¨C turn him to the police where the brotherhood and the corrupt members of SHIELD could find him, or help him on his terms. But I had a third and unconventional option. "Logan, you''re going to recruit Dante as your teaching assistant during his stay with us, and I''m going to be buying him two months instead of one. He has considerable fighting experience. Use it to train the children." "Are you sure," Storm questioned. "He doesn''t seem to respond well to threats of any kind." Storm was, of course, referring to the startling trail of bodies he''d left behind when he made his daring escape out of Los Angeles. "He may be violent, but he''s not quick to anger. Otherwise, he would''ve killed Kat and fought you when you tried to bring him in. He can be reasoned with." Logan seemed to be indifferent about the entire ordeal. "The kids could use a sparring partner close to their level." "What is the point of forcing him to teach?" Storm asked. "To keep the humanity in him alive," I answered. I also wanted to find a way to seal the demon in him away. Dante was like Jean in a way, flowing with untapped potential. I couldn''t very well allow that type of violent power to grow unchecked. It could mean the end of us all. Chapter 24 "You can''t be serious!" I said to Logan, who was standing at my door with his arms folded. "Afraid I am. The Prof saw you fight and thought you could earn our hospitality by putting your talents to use." Fucking Charles. I couldn''t believe this bullshit. I had plans to squeeze out as much training as my body could tolerate in the month I was here, but the crafty old man had other plans. "And if I say no, will you ask me to leave?" I narrowed my eyes. "Nah, but seeing as I''m the combat instructor, I can cut you off from using the facilities," Logan shrugged. "Hank tells me you''ve been looking forward to the danger room." Huh. Go figure. I''d assumed Logan would''ve challenged me to a fight to settle our difference. I hadn''t seen outright manipulation coming. It just goes to show that you can never judge a book by its cover. "I''ll do it, but I want full access to all of the facilities in return and personal instruction from you," I said, earning a raised brow from the bulky man. "Why me?" "I know a seasoned fighter when I see one, and with those claws of yours, something tells me you''re a master of hand-to-hand combat." "True on both counts," Wolverine smiled, "but what makes you think I''ll agree to train some random pup?" I grinned. "You know I''m not some two-bit fighter. Otherwise, you wouldn''t have let the Professor talk you into letting me teach the students." Logan grunted. "Be at the gym by noon." With those words, he turned around. "Wait," I called out. "Never got your name." In between the craziness of the night before, I realized I didn¡¯t ask for the X-men''s names. It''d be very bad if I slipped up. "Logan," he answered and continued on his way. ¡ª Ten minutes later, I was out of my room and scouring the mansion for the gym. It was just after 7 a.m., and most of the kids were either still asleep or stuck in the room getting ready, so I had a hard time finding somebody to give me directions. Thankfully, I stumbled upon a young blonde girl, who couldn''t have been older than 10, strolling with a bunny plushie in her arms. She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw me. "You''re new." "Yup, just got here," I smiled down at her. "Came in with the white-haired lady and the bulky guy." "Oh, Uncle Logan and Aunty Ororo," she said, then looked up at me. "You''re Dante, the scary new student that everyone has been talking about." "Talking about?" I frowned. "That was fast." She laughed. "The kids don''t stop talking just because it''s light out." "And what do they say?" I asked, but I already had an idea. She seemed a bit nervous when she spoke, but I saw no fear in her eyes. "They say you kill people. That you''re a monster." "I take it Scott is ''them.''" "He doesn''t like you very much," she laughed. "It was all he could talk about at dinner last night." I huffed. God-damned asshole. "The feeling is mutual." I took a moment to consider the girl. "Know where the gym is? I''d like to get an early start." She nodded vigorously and offered me her bunny''s hand. "Bunny and I will take you." A bunny named Bunny. My heart melted. She took me down a series of winding corridors and turns. We came across a student or two, but they all seemed to give me a wide berth, probably because of what Scott had said. I didn''t care either way. We mostly walked in silence until we arrived at a large set of doors. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. "Thanks for the help," I said, kneeling to reach her level. "I owe you one." She raised her bunny, pointing it at my face. "You should thank Mr. Bunny. He did most of the work." I chuckled and shook the hand of the pink bunny rabbit. "Thank you, Mr Bunny, and thank you¡­" I said, looking expectantly. "Ilyana," she supplied. Well, Shit. I recognized the name immediately. She was Ilyana Rasputin, a future sorceress, Queen of Limbo, and a new mutant. Now, I know what you''re thinking: are my and her Limbo the same? In this iteration of the Marvel Universe, possibly. Only time will tell. ¡ª After I said goodbye to Ilyana, I stepped into the X-Men gym, and my jaw dropped. It was state-of-the-art facility with weight lifting machines, free weights, a hydraulic weight station, a massive sparring area with heavy bags, and a small arena at the center. At the very edge of the room was a door that I assumed led to the Danger Room. I wasn''t quite ready to take a peek behind it yet, so I started with a few laps around the sparring area, moved to stretches, and ended up at the heavy bag with a shit-eating grin. I began to absolutely unload into it. I started drilling elbow strikes and blocks, jabs, hooks, uppercuts, kicks, knees, and every other martial art strike I could remember. After that, I moved on to footwork, quickly repositioning myself as I threw attack after attack at the heavy bag. Time flew by as I shifted martial arts again, moving into kicks I''d learned from Capoeira and Karate. Each movement brought back an old memory of combat or training. I even moved into more practical styles that focused on joint manipulation. I came out of my reverie with a new notification flashing before my eyes. Congratulations: You''ve unlocked your first Skill Combination: (R)Myriad Martial-Art Mastery: Adept Combines the knowledge and techniques from the martial arts you''ve mastered in your past life and distills them into a flexible, powerful, and unpredictable style. My body was soaked in sweat, and my heart was beating like a drum, but I felt truly at peace for the first time since I came to this universe. I took a gander at my skill list and nodded in appreciation. Parkour (Basic) Blunt Weapon Mastery (Basic) Gun Mastery (Basic) Sword Mastery (Adept) Knife Mastery (Basic) Driving (Basic) Demonic Energy Manipulation (Basic) -Burst (Basic) Angelic Energy Manipulation (Basic) Meditation (Basic) (E) Paradise Simulacrum (Basic) (R) Myriad Martial Art Mastery (Adept) I closed my status and moved on to the free weights. Given everything I''d managed up until now, I expected to be twice as strong as an experienced bodybuilder. I knew the weight of my strikes from my previous life, and I was outputting twice the force easily. When I completed my first set with the Bench Press, I knew my calculations were right on the money. I kept stacking weights until I peaked at 700 pounds. My squats were monstrous in comparison. I was pumping out reps with 1200 pounds on the bar. My 100-meter sprint shattered Usain Bolt''s record easily, halving his time by 4.2 seconds. By the time I summoned Rebellion to go through the swordsmanship drills I''d inherited from Dante, I heard the gym door open, and Logan walked in. I was shirtless and covered in sweat, panting. "What are ya doing just standing there," he demanded. "Class starts in 20 minutes!" ¡ª After a quick shower and a change of clothes, I stood beside Logan as the students milled in. I recognized a few future X-men¨C Kitty Pryde, Cyclops, Colossus, Bobby Drake, and his future nemesis, Pyro. There were dozens of other mutants I didn''t quite place, but they all seemed to recognize me. Murmurs and whispers pulsed through the crowd. "Killer." "What was the Professor thinking?" "He''s kinda hot." Scott was the first to speak directly. "What''s he doing here, Logan?" "That professor to you," he grunted at Scott, "and he''s here to be your combat dummy and my teaching assistant." "Teaching assistant?" Scott scoffed. "He got his ass handed to him by Toad. Are you sure he can actually fight?" he said, looking down his nose at me. "Why don''t you step into the arena and find out," I said. "Ooh, fight, fight," Kitty Pryde chanted. She looked barely into her teens, but I could instantly tell she was a troublemaker. "Come on, Scott," Jean spoke up. "Walk away. You don''t need to prove anything." "Can''t back down now, Scottie boy," Pyro quipped. "Not after all that shit talk yesterday." "I don''t intend to," Scott said, taking a bold step forward. I smirked. I almost pitied the Kid. Colossus spoke up, his voice like gravel on asphalt. "Professor, aren''t you going to stop this?" Logan shrugged. "Nah. It''s perfect. It will show you the difference between sports combat and a seasoned fighter. In fact, I want the rest of you to take a run at him when Scott is done." "You really think he''s going to lose?" Bobby Drake questioned. "Isn''t he the best hand-to-hand fighter in the class?" "That doesn''t mean shit in the real world," Logan grunted. "You''re about to find out why." I stepped onto the sparring arena with a contented smile on my face. "I can''t say I''m not looking forward to kicking your ass. Don''t worry, though. I''ll make it quick, for Jean''s sake." "Keep her name out of your mouth," Scott snapped as he assumed a traditional boxer stance. I copied him, but mine came out looser and more relaxed. We circled each other for a few seconds before Scott snapped his fist at me in a probing jab. It proved to be his undoing. My leg whipped into his side, knocking the air out of him, and I put him on his ass with a neck kick. His visor was knocked straight off, and he spent the next few seconds writhing in pain. There was pin-drop silence in the arena as everybody stared at me. I winked at Jean, who seemed positively petrified, rushing to Scott''s side. "Chump," I sniffed at Cyclops. "Teach you to talk shit behind people''s backs. So, who''s next?" I said, turning to the crowd of kids. Chapter 25 Scott had to be shuttled to the infirmary after nearly getting his head taken off, and the rest of the spars went as expected. I held back considerably, but most of the kids were not nearly as good as Cyclops. So, Logan insisted they wore thick padding before they started sparing with me. I took my time with each student, testing them and getting a feel for their techniques and style while Logan yelled from the side, pointing out their mistakes. Bobby Drake was a close second to Cyclops in technique, overall physical fitness, and skill. His style blended Karate and boxing, seamlessly flowing through attacks. I ended our fight with a grab and Judo takedown, but I offered him my hands afterward. Coupled with his mutant power of cryo-kinesis, he''d be formidable if he wasn''t holding back. My first somewhat dangerous fight was with Pyro, a skinny, pale kid with greasy hair and a vicious smirk on his face. When he stepped onto the Arena, he pulled out his lighter and sparked it. An orb of fire gathered above his hand, earning a nervous look from me. "You never set the rules," he quipped. Logan was about to speak up before I interrupted. "Nah, it''s fine," I said. "It won''t make that much of a difference." Logan considered my request for a moment before he nodded in agreement. The area around the Arena was cleared out, and I stood across from Pyro, shirtless, my lean, muscular physique on display. It earned a few whistles from the girls below, and I egged Pyro on. "Whenever you''re ready, Lighter boy." Pyro unleashed a wave of fire with a grunt. I sidestepped the stream with basic footwork. And with two quick strides, I ate up half the distance between us. Pyro swung his hand out, spreading the flames, hoping to cut me off, but I leaped forward with a flip and came down with a vicious axe kick that nearly took Pyro''s head off. He cut the fire off, rapidly retreating as he lobbed fireball after fireball at me, but I juked and weaved through them all, leaning heavily into the instinctive mastery that my new martial arts skill and personal experience gave me. Pyro crumbled to the ground when I punched him in the liver, bringing an abrupt end to our fight. Things got more interesting from that point on. Only two students were left, and Logan allowed both to fight me with their powers. Fighting Shadowcat, A.K.A Kitty Pryde, was an exercise in frustration. She was superhumanly fast, acrobatic and could phase through most of my attacks while landing glancing blows. They barely dipped into my HP, so I didn''t mind. I was more interested in what I could learn from her. When I''d got tired of her, I went in for the kill, mixing in feint with blistering fast strikes. All it''d taken was one missed grab on her part. A kick to the sciatic nerve had her limping and yelling Uncle. The last big fight of that session was with Colossus, and he was a wall I was uncertain I could topple without using my abilities. His metallic skin reflected light, his large muscles rippled, and he towered over me, standing at 7 foot 5 inches. "Kick his ass, Colossus," Kitty hollered from the sidelines, still holding her injured leg with a pout. "I apologize for what is to come, but you won''t win," the gentle giant announced. This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. "We shall see," I said. The moment he stepped onto the Arena, I summoned Rebellion. He came charging at me, moving startlingly fast for somebody his size and swiped at me with an open palm. I charged at him, transforming Rebellion into Ophion. I pumped it full of demon energy, switching it into a grappling hook, and fired it at Colossus''s face. My body dropped into a slide, perfectly slipping through his massive legs. I yanked, backed with demonic strength, but the giant didn''t budge. At most, I just chafed him. I switched Ophion to a Sword, parrying the swipe that came a second later, but it still sent me spinning. "Just how strong are you?" I grunted as I sprung to my feet. I ducked under a haymaker next and stepped under a slow front kick. I pulled on Colossus''s meaty right bicep, unbalancing him as much as possible, and wrapped my leg around his only rooted leg. My muscles strained as I tugged his hand even harder, causing the giant to pitch over, but he caught himself before he fell to the floor. I clicked my tongue at the failed maneuver and swung at his jaw with a Burst shooting out of my left elbow. It went off like a bomb. My hand pulled back, broken in three places, while Colossus stumbled back, his eyes glazed over. God! That hurt like a bitch, I thought as I cradled my hand. A burst brought me several paces back to avoid any retaliatory strikes, having learned my lesson from my fight with the concrete Bruiser. Angel Regeneration pulsed, healing my broken bones. I flashed forward with a 720 kick next to keep the pressure on, but the big guy was ready for me. He raised his forearm to tank my hit, and my shin splintered. With a grunt, I summoned Rebellion to tank the uppercut that I saw his body telegraph. The blow caught the flat of the blade, and I was thrown, sword and body, out of the Arena. There was a resounding wave of applause when I landed on my feet and subsequently tripped, but I still caught myself. Go figure, landing on a busted leg was not a good idea. My only consolation was Angel Regeneration, which was already healing my tibia. When I looked up, I noticed the cheers were not for me. They were for Colossus. Everyone from Bobby to Kitty and Pyro congratulated him. Only Jean rushed to my side immediately. "Are you okay?" she said with no small amount of worry in her voice. She''d reappeared just in time to watch me get my ass whooped by the metal giant. "Never better," I smiled. "I knew he was strong, but I didn''t realize it was that ridiculous." "Colossus can lift 50 tons above his head. You were never going to win in a straight-up fistfight." Fifty tons, I coughed. Damn. "Never say never. I had him on the ropes for a second there." "Only because he was going easy on you," Jean pointed out, and I conceded after some thought. "Even I don''t think my regeneration can handle being hit by a 50-ton haymaker." Looking over at Colossus and the crowd of kids around him, I decided to be a proper sportsman. "What are you doing?" Jean asked as I started walking toward the giant. "My job," I called back to her. "I''m an instructor. I have to be the bigger man, even if I¡¯m a little salty." "At least put on a shirt first," she demanded, and I turned back, noticing the slight flush on her face. "I don''t hear anyone else complaining," I shrugged. The crowd parted as I walked up to Colossus, every mutant in the room on edge. Scott had ensured I had a reputation the night I arrived here, and my display reinforced his narrative that I was a monster, but that didn''t mean I couldn''t change people''s minds. Sure, I was an asshole who was pissed because he was dealt the wrong hand in the afterlife, but as I''d said earlier, I didn''t want my new life to be one never-ending fight. I was at the X-mansion to train, get into Jean''s good graces, and work out a contract with SHIELD, not make more enemies. "Good fight," I said, offering my hand to Colossus. The teen considered my hand ponderously before he received it. "I haven''t been pushed that hard in a long time." "Can''t say the same," I said truthfully. "But I''ll tell you this much, that''s the first time I''ve broken my hand in three places from punching somebody in the face," I laughed. "You''re a lot less monstrous than Scott makes you out to be," he rumbled. "I imagined you''d be angrier at the loss." "I don''t pretend I don''t have a past, but I''m a lot less violent than people think," I said, surveying the room full of mutants. Kitty Pryde huffed and folded her arms. "He''s still a big meanie. Couldn''t even take it easy on me." "If I''d been going any easier, I''d be fighting in slow motion," I retorted. "You''re not just as slick as you think you are, but don''t worry, that''s why I am here. We''ll be running drills until all of you don''t completely suck," I announced, then nodded in Colossus''s direction. "Present company excluded, of course." Logan clapped his hands together and joined the group of mutants. "Now that you''ve gotten that out of ya system. Can I finally get on with the lesson of the day?" Chapter 26 Training for the kids mostly consisted of cardio, flexibility drills, High-intensity interval training, weight lifting, and live combat. They didn¡¯t cover all those areas daily for them, but I made sure that I did. With my busted Angel Regeneration and Meditation, I didn''t need the off days or downtime. I made the most of every minute I had in the gym because I understood I was on a clock. The next incursion was happening in a month, and after dealing with that, I had to negotiate with Fury. I was nowhere near ready for either, so I was pulling all of the stops. I started drilling Angel and Demon energy manipulation for two hours every night, as well as practicing with knives, batons, axes, and even the bo staff. I hoped I would be close to the adept tier when I finally had the Red Orbs to buy my weapons. It wasn''t until the end of the first week that I saw the Danger room. It was a large white room without blemish, with hundreds of tiny projectors sticking out of the wall. Dr. Hank walked in dressed in a lab coat and had a thick set of glasses drooping down from his cat-like face as he stared into a tablet, humming. "Ah, Dante. Here to book a session in the Danger room for your class?" "Yeah. It might''ve only been a week, but I think they''re ready," I said, "but I''m not only here for them." "You''re here about the combat avatars," Beast said, meeting my eyes. "It''s no secret that I''ll be out of here in a few weeks. I have enemies waiting for me, and I''d prefer to be prepared for them.¡± "What sort of enemies?" "The kind that would give your nightmare nightmares," I said. "What are you going up against?" Hank frowned. "You might not believe me if I told you. It''s not exactly scientific." "Tell me anyway." "Demons." Beast looked a bit taken aback. "The professor did tell me about your peculiar heritage and mission." I folded my arms and feigned offense. "I didn''t think the professor would confidently reveal what I''d mentioned. And for the record, I never confirmed or denied who my parents were." "He meant no offense," Beast said. "It''s just due diligence to inform all of our staff of the more peculiar characteristics of our students." "It''s fine," I waved, "but I should remind you that I am not a student." Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. Before Beast had the chance to counter, I continued speaking. "So, how does this Danger room thing work?" ¡ª Thirty minutes later, I was standing in a facsimile of New York City with ten pudgy ceramic cherubs flying with crossbows and shields. I summoned my guns and spun them with a flourish. The Cherubs screeched as one and let a rip, letting crossbow bolts fly. I twisted, turned, flipped, and rapid-fired Ebony and Ivory. My initial flurry took out several three of the ten fliers, and I backtracked and strafed aggressively as I took shot after shot. The Cherubs quickly caught on, spreading out to make it more difficult for me to pick them off, but it didn''t help much. I ducked into an alleyway and let a rip as soon as a cherub floated in, chasing after me. I took out the other one, hanging back, watching the fight from afar. A quick Demonic Burst threw me into the other side of the wall, dodging a spray of bolts from a pair trying to flank me. Ebony and Ivory spat thunder, and their bodies dropped. "Only three left." Two bombs dropped in from above me, rapidly flickering. Another quick Burst carried me out of the alley in time to escape the explosion. I came up firing Ebony and Ivory at the spot in the sky where the bombs had dropped from, clipping one Cherub in the wing. Its head burst from another before it hit the ground, and the final two Cherubs scattered. For a moment, I stood at the square, patiently waiting for the ambush I knew was coming. A flickering bomb came flying at me from one direction and a spray of arrows from the other. I juked, weaved, and Burst out of the firing line of the arrows before summoning Rebellion and punting the incoming bomb at the enthusiastic archer. I saw the surprise on its face as I darted at the bomb thrower, who went into overdrive since it was the last man standing. More bombs rushed my way, all of which I deflected and Burst out of range of. The bombs went off in the distance like fireworks on New Year''s. The last cherub moved erratically, looping in the air, making it damn hard to finish off the exercise. At least, that was until I fired a shot to its left. The attack made it bank right, where I had Ophion waiting for it. I yanked it down hard with Demon Pull, slamming it into the ground before I pulled it close and kicked its head off. A wild grin spread across my face when I finished. I''d barely broken a sweat. "Let''s go again!" I yelled to Beast. "But double the numbers." -- Two weeks into my training, I saw my skill progression with the various weapons I''d started using wane. So, I started incorporating them into my duel with the kids. Only Jean, Kitty, Colossus, and, surprisingly, Cyclops could offer me a challenge. Fighting Jean was as painful as Colossus. In this universe, she was fairly decent at using her telekinetic abilities, so every spar was a struggle to overwhelm her with Bursts in unpredictable ways and move so fast she couldn''t keep track of me. Because once she did, our fights were over in an instant. Strategically distracting her with throwing knives was one of the only ways I could stay in her hand when she did eventually catch up to me. Instead of trying to hold my entire body down, Jean learned early on that it was smarter to hold my waist, neck, back, or some other body part with which I couldn¡¯t exert my full strength with. In our time together, Jean also improved leaps and bounds. She got better at split-second and minute manipulation of psychic energy, and she was often the last person I saw before I went to bed, much to Scott''s chagrin. We also joked around and talked about her past, nothing and everything. Slowly, I began to build a rapport with her, and she was every bit as bright and strong-willed as you''d expect of a heroine of a popular Marvel comic series. Time seemed to fly by when I fought and hung out with her. And it was still surreal to remember that she used to be a picture on a page to me and most of my birth universe up until a month ago. Chapter 27 During my third week of training, I decided to kick things into hyper-gear. I was up hundreds of pounds on all my lifts, and my training at the Danger room was getting more complicated and frantic. I''d spammed Burst so much that I knew I was close to reaching the upper limits of the Basic tier. My control over Ophion was also getting masterful. I practiced swinging around the city, yanking enemies close, pulling myself to them, and using them as a tool to incapacitate. I rounded the week off by cornering Wolverine and demanding an actual spar from the combat master of the X-men. When I''d initially approached him about the training he''d ''promised,'' he pointed out that he said no such thing. I''d asked for it, and he''d answered my question with another. That left me slackjawed for a moment before I recovered. I pointed out that I needed to see where I stacked against a true master, and the flattery finally got Logan into the Arena. Throughout my entire time teaching with Logan, he''d only used me as promised-- a demonstration partner for all his strikes, parries, throws, maneuvers, and submissions. And he hadn''t gone easy on me. But it was nothing my regeneration could not handle. His sessions, however, cemented Logan''s reputation as one of the most skilled fighters in the Marvel Universe. He''d demonstrated flawless mastery of multiple martial arts and a technical understanding that bordered genius, even if the man couldn''t explain it in so many words. We were in the Arena alone. Our only audience was the teaching staff watching from behind the cameras. Logan was a simple shirt with an old Katana, and I clutched Rebellion, shifting nervously. I did not delude myself that this was going to be an easy fight. Logan had decades of experience on me, and his healing factor and endurance meant he wouldn''t be tapping out anytime soon. While I was stronger than when I first arrived, Logan had bones made of Adamantium. It¡¯d take a small miracle to win. ¡°I¡¯ve got to be a miracle worker then,¡± I muttered. "Come on, bub," Logan said with a come-hither gesture. "I haven''t got all day." Instead of trading barbs with him, I let my actions speak for me. A potent Burst brought me within striking distance of Logan, and I slashed at him. He raised his blade to block the attack, but I unsummoned Rebellion, ducking into an athletic roll. Mid-way through, I summoned five of the then fingers of Orochi and pelted Logan''s back. "Argh," he grunted and swung around. I leaned back, dodging the cut by mere inches. A knuckle duster came out next, and I punched with a Burst. The blow did not move Logan, but he definitely felt it. His legs angled out, but he was slightly slower than he would have otherwise been. The blow swept by me as I used clever footwork to glide past Logan, using my Adept skill, but before I could lay into him, his elbow shot out, blocking my liver shot, but my other hand was wide open, and it summoned Ophion. I fired as I stepped back with Demon Pull. It latched onto Logan''s leg, but before I could yank him off his feet, the 5 foot 5-monster batted the claw away with the flat of his blade. The move stole a chunk of flesh, but Logan surged forth anyway, unleashing a flurry of strikes. I summoned Rebellion to deflect them, but the strength of it pushed me back. I was strong but not nearly strong enough, and Logan''s swordplay was miles ahead of mine, even though he should be in crippling pain because of the fingers of Orochi. I made up for it by rapidly repositioning Rebellion. Because of the nature of my power, I was never truly locked in a position. With a shift and a pivot, I could attack from a whole new angle, switching my sword for a bo-staff or axe, and that was what I did. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. Logan scored more cuts on me than I did him after sharpening my unpredictable style against him. I decided to get serious. A burst of demonic energy put some distance between me and Logan, and I fired at him using Ebony and Ivory. Logan charged me, deflecting some of my shots, tanking the others with his arms, legs, stomach, and head. "Quit hiding behind your guns like a pantsy!" Logan roared as he leaped at me with his sword, giving me the opening I''d been looking for. Burst carried me forward faster than Logan could react, and I slammed Rebellion into his gut just as he came down. The acceleration and the suddenness of the strike were powerful enough to throw him back, and I followed after him, stabbing him over and over again with a furious roar. My hands moved so fast that my blade became a blur. ''Trillion Stabs!'' Logan was barely standing when I was done, and I was panting. Large parts of his chest and stomach muscles had been hacked off, leaving his ribcage exposed. Still, Logan didn''t even look like he minded. Right before my eyes, muscle tissue regenerated, and flesh covered them. "You''re better than I give you credit for," he said, tossing his Katana aside and ripping off what was left of his shirt. "You''ve earned my claws." I gulped. I went on and did it. Logan gingerly pulled the Fingers of Orochi slowing him down and leaped at me with his claws bared. I ducked to the left, slightly winded, but he followed closely behind me, pivoting and sprinting a second after he landed. Logan had gone from barely keeping up with my speed to outpacing me in all categories. His claws moved like a hurricane, shredding everything in sight. Sections of the Arena were covered in adamantine claw marks. I didn''t even try clashing blades with him. I knew Rebellion or Ophion wouldn''t survive it, so I focused on keeping my distance, strategically using Bursts, and lashing out with punches and kicks. But my Demon energy bottomed eventually. 8/350. I realized that only after Burst''s command yielded no instant transportation. My heart was at my throat as Logan''s claws inched closer to my neck. In a herculean feat of effort, I twisted and bent as rivers of sweat poured from my soaked tanktop. I tapped into my demon energy pool when I saw that I would not make it out entirely unscathed. And then something happened. A wave of energy surged from every pore in me, exploding in a sustained flame of red and black. Logan leaped back, digging his claw into the Arena floor, surprised by my sudden transformation. A notification flashing onto my screen confirmed what I''d already suspected. Congratulations: You''ve Unlocked Demon Dodge (Basic) Increase your next attack by 2x for 5 seconds. Costs 20 Demon Energy Fuck me. This was not how I imagined learning this skill, but I wasn''t about to go looking a gift horse in the mouth, so I surged ahead, eating up the distance between me and Logan suddenly before my five seconds ran out. The man reacted with a double claw strike, which I vaulted over and came down with a summoned Rebellion, twisting like a top with my blade extended. My attack shredded his neck, and most of his upper body, but by the end of it, the flame cloaking me was gone. Logan let out a frustrated roar. A kick slammed into me the moment my legs touched the ground, ragdolling me sideways. My body came to a stop at the very edge of the Arena, dizzy and groaning from the pain, but I blinked just in time to see a bloody Wolverine coming down on me with his claws extended. I had one of two options: roll out the Arena and concede, or dig even deeper and bounce back somehow. I might''ve been out of demonic energy, but I still had over half of my angel energy left. I hadn''t needed to heal often in this fight, so I had the energy to spend and experiment. Pulling on the wiry Angel energy, I guided it through my body, and tried not to force it this time, watching in marvel as it wrapped around my entire body. Logan crashed into me, but I was already gone, standing halfway across the Arena, my body bleeding blue vapor. Logan''s body bounced over the arena edge and came to a stop outside bounds, which technically meant I won the fight. I let out a sigh of relief, instantly deflating. That fight took a lot out of me. "Good work, kid," Logan said as he stepped back into the Arena. "You made me fight seriously." He cracked his neck. "Been a while since that has happened. You''re not half-bad. Let''s do this again in a few days." I fell on my ass as Logan walked off, weariness seeping into my very bones. I read the description of the new skill I''d just acquired. Angel Evade Phase through Limbo, allowing Dante to evade an additional distance and render him invulnerable to attacks. 10 AE That looked about right. And it did confirm my suspicions. Limbo was real in this universe, and I''d have to deal with it eventually. But for now, I focused on the outcome of the fight. I''d barely come out ahead. I had a feeling Wolverine would not fall for my tactics again. I needed new moves. Logan''s Adamantine claws were too much to deal with. I needed to figure out an effective way to neutralize them in our next fight. I took one final look at my status before I continued my training. Name: Dante Sparda Species: Nephilim Class: None HP: 100/570 SP: 340/560 AE: 50/350 DE: 60/360 Strength: 32 Dexterity: 35 Endurance: 56 Vitality: 57 Angelic Energy: 35 Demonic Energy: 36 Chapter 28 I put my plan into motion at the X-men mansion at the start of the fourth week. Jean needed to understand how much danger she was truly in. After long sparring sessions with her, which mostly constituted her flinging me around and me breaking her telekinetic hold with sheer force, I took her hand. "Do you trust me, Jean?" She smirked. "I barely know you." I rolled my eyes. "Don''t pout just because you can''t see inside my mind, Jean. We''ve been hanging out for weeks, and I''ve told you more about my past than anyone." She chewed her lips, regarding me carefully. "I''m flattered, Dante, but I have a¡ª" "Get your mind out of the gutter," I chuckled. "Scottie boy can have you all for himself. I prefer them a bit older." She blushed, yanking away her arm. "I''m glad you do. I would''ve hated losing my favorite sparring partner." I leaned in closer. "Sparring partners, huh? That all we are?" "Why did you ask me if I trusted you?" she asked, tucking her fiery red hair behind her ear. "I want to show you something," I said. "It''s a new ability I''ve been working on. Whatever happens, I want you to remember that you''re perfectly safe and can trust me." I reached out for her hand again. "O¡­ okay," She said, carefully taking my arm. I pulled her in with an amused smirk and activated Paradise Simulacrum. Suddenly, Jean and I were standing on one of the thousands of floating stone platforms that make up the Simulacrum. Crimson clouds swirled overhead, and an endless sea lapped below. Jean stumbled away from my grasp, completely confused. "Dante," she began with some trembling in her voice, "where the hell are we?" It was the first time I heard Jean curse. It didn''t quite sound right coming from her. I spread my hands across enigmatically. "Welcome to my realm." "You made this?" "Well, my father did," I said. "I think. This was where I disappeared on the plane, and it was probably one of the only places on the planet where the old coot couldn''t listen to our conversation. She frowned. "You mean the Professor?" I nodded. "Have you given any thought to my comment about you having the powers of a god?" Her eyes still lapped around the Simulacrum, trying to wrap her mind around what she witnessed. "I told Scott about it," she said with a hint of guilt. "He thinks you''re trying to trick me." My eyes went wide. She did what! Of all the-- I took a deep breath, bottling my anger. "I told you that in confidence," I said slowly. "I didn''t expect you to share it with Scott, of all people. You must''ve known how he''d react. You didn''t also tell him about my heritage, did you?" "Of course I didn''t!" She looked hurt at the insinuation, but I wanted her to feel that way. Maybe next time, she''d think twice before blabbing. "Don''t give me that look," I said. "You betrayed my trust." "Scott is my boyfriend," she said. "When he asked what we talked about, I had to be honest." I sighed. Teenage love. She had no idea what sort of pain she was in for. Oh well, I couldn''t blame her. I expected too much. "Don''t tell Scott what I''m about to say next, or tell him, but understand that you''ll be forcing the Professor''s hand if he reads Scott''s mind. And he seems like the type that wants his puppets marching down the path he''s set out for them." Jean frowned. Over the course of our month of training, I¡¯d made my feelings about the Professor known. "Again, with the dig at the Professor. How can you say that after everything he''s done for you?" This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Done for me? I raised a brow. He kidnapped me from a fight that his enemies forced into me and made me teach in a school that hates me because of my past. I could''ve been in Alaska by now, set up with a new house, endless woodland, and all of the training equipment money could buy, but Xavier just had to be the fucking hero. I wanted to Tell Jean all that, but I settled for a more diplomatic answer. "I''m grateful, but I''m not blind," I said. "The Professor probably didn''t tell you, but he didn''t exactly accept me into the school. He''s letting me train until he can help me broker a deal with the government, only I''m pretty sure he''s not made that call yet, nor will he ever." "The professor doesn''t make promises he can''t keep, and he doesn''t lie either." "He could''ve reached out to his government contact at any point with Telepathy," I circled Jean. "Heck, with Cerebro, he can reach the entire globe with his mind.¡± "How do you know that?" Jean asked, and I just rolled my eyes. "As usual, you''re focusing on the wrong things. The better question is why hasn''t he done what he promised. Could it be that he''s really trying to help me, or is the more likely answer that he is buying time to break my mental shield so that he can seal away my powers like he''s done to you?" Jean''s face went pale as she connected the dots. "What! No. You can''t...you can''t really think the Professor is capable of that?" "Xavier is likely one of the most powerful telepaths alive," I shrugged. "If anyone is powerful and egotistical enough to shackle a god, it''s him." Jean shook her head. "You''re being ridiculous. The Professor has known me since I was a child. He''d never! You''re out of line." "I''m asking you to open your eyes, Jean," I said a bit forcefully. "He has the motive, opportunity, and the power to pull it off, and the evidence is staring you in the face." "What are you talking about." "Ever since I talked to you about the seal, your power has been growing, haven''t they?" Jean had a look of dread creeping in, but she remained unconvinced. "I''ve been getting more training since you started teaching, and Logan introduced the new training system." "You''ve trained a lot of time before. Why is your current situation any different?" I asked. "You might want to deny it, but I know you''ve felt its presence." "Stop it," Jean whispered, but I pushed. "A bird of cosmic fire and endless psychic energy. You might''ve not yet heard its voice, but you''ve felt the weight of its presence.¡± Jean''s face seemed to twist and turn the longer I spoke, realization slowly seeping in. "Stop it!" she lashed out with her arm, her telekinetic wail, crushing a distant floating wall behind us. "No¡­This is all you. You''re putting ideas in my head." Holy shit. My breath hitched. The demonic energy in the air was slowly filtering away. Jean''s hair was beginning to whip, though there was no wind. "That''s a lie, and you know it!" I didn''t back down. I needed to push through; otherwise, she''d turtle up, and I wouldn''t be able to break through to her before I had to leave. "This power didn''t come from nowhere. You''ve always been this powerful. The Phoenix has always been there. Somebody just made you forget." "No." Her voice came out weaker this time. I took slow, cautious steps and held her in my arms. "Calm down, Jean," I urged. "You''re safe, and he cannot get to you. Not here." For a long moment, Jean stayed in my arms. She did not let go until her breathing normalized, and she looked up at me. I could still see the doubt in those eyes. I was asking too much of her. No sane person would condemn a man she''s known all of her life based on the words of a killer, even if he was a friend. She had to see his betrayal by herself. "I know this is hard to swallow, and I won''t ask you to believe me without one final bit of evidence. Xavier is going to try to break my mental barrier." Her eyes went wide. If that didn''t convince her. Nothing would. Jean was slow to respond. "You''re going to provoke him," she said. "Your mental resistance is admirable, but even I can push past it if I try enough. It''s suicide." Jean was, of course, right. What she said might¡¯ve not been true a few weeks ago, but now that she was aware of the Phoenix, her limiters were slowly coming off. Jean¡¯s power was soaring to new heights. "It''s not," I said. "Because you''ll be a couple of rooms over and will come to my rescue before Baldie cracks my head open like an egg." Jean pursed her lips. "That sounds risky." "Oh, it is. But you''ll have nothing to worry about if the Professor is not guilty. However, if there¡¯s any part of you that is unsure, you should probably help me with my mental resistance skill." Jean made a face. "I''ll help, but not because I think the Professor would ever do that¡­.I¡­just don''t want to see you get hurt." I nodded. "Completely reasonable." Jean twisted her fingers, looking down before she met my gaze. "Phoenix is what you called what''s inside my head. What can you tell me about it?" I blinked. "My Devil''s eye tells me it''s the prime manifestation of the universal force of life, creation, and destruction. It is immortal, indestructible, and predates even the darkness at the beginning of the Universe." "Wow¡­you weren''t kidding when you said God, but whatever this Phoenix is, it''s beyond that, isn''t it?" "I would imagine so," I said, trying not to give too much away. "If I know my classical literature about gods and deities, she''ll likely be pissed at you and Charles for sealing her off for all of these years." Jean bit her lip. "Of course she is. How do I fix this?" I shrugged. "I''d start with getting rid of the seal." Jean looked at me like I was crazy. "You want to unshackle a creature powerful enough to wipe out galaxies?" "She was going to get out anyways," I said. "We might as well be the ones to do it. Maybe she''ll be grateful." "In the classics, the gods are not exactly known for their benevolence," Jean said with more than a little fear in her voice. "True, but we''re not exactly helpless," I said. "I know a sorceress who might be able to help us." She blinked. "You mean like¡­she uses magic¡­in real life?" I quirked a brow. "That is what sorceresses tend to do. Why is this surprising? You''ve seen magic before." "What? When!" I gestured to myself. "How do you think my Devil Eye or any of my other abilities work? Magic." "I just assumed¡­" Jean trailed off and regarded me with a new sense of wonder and worry. "Jean Elaine Grey is speechless," I laughed. "Never thought I''d see the day." Jean''s face circled through half a dozen emotions before it finally settled on outrage. She folded her arms and huffed, shoving me with a light telekinetic force. I chuckled again. "Glad to see that the news hasn''t made you any less of a hardass." She looked like she was about to shove me again before I raised my hands in surrender. "You know you''ll be trapped here forever if I go over the edge." "Don''t think I will take it easy on you during training," she huffed and floated to the next platform. I didn''t have the heart to tell her right away that she was headed in the wrong direction. Chapter 29 After our little heart-to-heart, I led Jean to the base of the stone seal on Dante''s memory and shattered it. I hadn''t expected any new memories to follow, but how wrong I was. I saw visions of Dante''s childhood growing up in a large mansion alongside his brother and Mother. According to the stories Sparda, a white-haired regal man, told him. He and a handful of other Demons came to this reality through the help of Balesco, a powerful human sorcerer. For his part in helping them cross over, the Archdemons gave him a cup of their blood and granted him immortality. He, in turn, used his new-found immortality and demonic power to conquer Limbo and abduct a few human women whom he raped and had children with. Most of the archdemons scattered throughout the stars, setting up on fresh planets rather than battling each other for a backwater like Earth, but Sparda was content to stay. Weary of war and slaughter, he decided to act as guardian to Earth and a check for Belasco. He didn''t wish for any more of his fellow demons to make the journey through to this reality. Over time, Belasco built a society of half-demon hybrids in Limbo and approached Sparda about moving them to the surface to repopulate the Earth, but Sparda refused him. He''d come to care for the humans and other creatures that occupied this world. He knew what would happen to it if he let Belasco loose. So, in a fight that lasted days, Sparda put Belasco in his place. None of his demon-human hybrids were ever to cross the veil. For centuries, Belasco obeyed, biding his time, slowly growing his army, waiting for the perfect opportunity. It presented itself nearly 20 years ago when something came through Belasco''s long-dead teleportation circle. It was an Angel, and the forces of Limbo immediately attacked her. She wielded shifting weapons and energy constructs and managed to beat back most of Belasco''s forces until the sorcerer himself stepped forward. He put her down fairly quickly but did not kill her, marveling at her power. He figured children made from his seed and her genetics could grow powerful enough to rival Sparda one day and let him invade the surface, but the Legendary Dark Knight put an end to his plans before they formed. Sparda took Eva to the surface world. And in no time, they fell in love and had two children, Virgil and Dante. Desperate for revenge, Belasco sent a message to Mundus, the conqueror and former King of the demon world. He had a grudge against Sparda and was furious when he discovered that Sparda had taken an Angel as a wife. He and Belasco invaded their home, killed Eva, and sealed Sparda after the Dark Knight sucessfully hid his sons. Mundus left Earth after the deal, leaving Belasco to do with it as he pleased. Now, only the sorcerers of Sanctum Sanctorium hold back his forces. Oh, hell. What the fuck did Shin get me into now? I thought I was done with all of Dante''s crap. Now, you''re telling me there''s an entire dimension of demons that were probably after me. Congratulations: You''ve triggered your second Quest from your God and Patron, Shin the Avaricious. The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Free The Dark Knight Sparda, kill Mundus, the four other Arch Demons roaming the Marvel Universe, and wipe out Belasco''s army. Hand over the Belasco to Shin and submit control of Limbo. Reward: 2 Advanced Class Tokens, 1000 stat points, a World Key, and 1 Legendary-tier item from the shop. Note from Shin You found the other thing I wanted. Thank heavens you''re not completely slow. The Paradise Simulacrum could have gone undiscovered for years if you never thought to combine both of your energies. P.S. Do more of that, by the way. You didn''t need to be a genius to explain why Shin wanted Limbo. He wanted to get his hand on Belasco''s bullshit multiversal summon magic. It had been powerful enough to transport several arch demons and an Angel from several multiverses. No doubt, Ilyana had something to do with this. Thinking about the entire ordeal gave me a small migraine, but after I broke it down, I realized it wasn''t that big of a deal. I could end Belasco and his army with a wave of my hand if I find the Power, Mind, or Space stone. As for the remaining four archdemons, they''d get their due in time. The only task I was slightly nervous about was saving Sparda. I kept myself from getting too excited about the rewards, remembering who they were from. If my plan worked out, I''d not need to rely on Shin''s charity to get stronger. ¡ª "Are you okay?" Jean''s voice pulled me back to the platform. I was covered in sweat and slightly unsteady on my feet. "Dante, do you need to sit down?" she asked. "What did you see?" I let out a dark chuckle. "I officially know where I come from, and it''s no surprise. I''m half-demon like I told you." I knew I was technically lying to Jean, but I couldn''t fully trust her. She was a fencesitter until she made up her mind about the professor. "Ooh," she sounded slightly disappointed, so I decided to give her more. "I have a family out there, apparently," I said, folding my arms. "I will have to look for them when all this is over." "It''s good to hear you have someone," Jean said. "They could be looking for you." A humorous chuckle escaped my lips. "Doubt it," I said. "Let''s get to the mental drills." Jean''s opening attack cracked open my mental shield like a walnut. My adept mental resistance lasted all of five minutes against her. I was gasping, gripping the side of my head, when the first session was over. "Need a break?" Jean asked in an innocent voice. "Wouldn''t dream of it," I said, spiking Angel Regeneration. The intense pain faded, but the headache lingered for a minute longer before we went at it repeatedly. We worked on my Mental resistance stat for hours, slowly grinding it past the initial stage until I could resist Jean for up to fifteen minutes before she wore me down. Each time she got through my walls, she didn''t thankfully linger, only skimming my bare surface thoughts. I slowly learned to be guarded around her, though I didn''t intend for it. Still, Jean noticed easily enough. I concentrated on the mission, focusing on strange obsessions like how much the punching bags in the gym weighed and how SHIELD would react when they met me. "You know, you don''t have to go through with this," Jean said. "The fact that you''re willing to endure this much pain tells me you believe the Professor is guilty." ¡°But do you believe it, though?¡± The look on her face was telling. "You have to see it with your own eyes. I know you love him like a father, and you''re struggling with this. I would need irrefutable proof if I were your shoes. The occasional migraine is a small price to pay for your peace of mind." Jean didn''t say much after that, and neither did I. We spent the next few hours slowly building up my mental resistance, and just as my skill was about to expire, I told Jean how I planned to get the Professor¡¯s attention. "You''re going to call SHIELD?" Jean yelled, staring at me as if I was a crazy person. My mental shield was up, so she didn''t see how much fun I was having at her expense. "I''m going to have you do what the professor promised three weeks back." "Didn''t you say they were after you for killing their agent?" Jean brought up a fair point. "That was a mistake, and the agent was most likely dirty. Besides, after I go through with my plan, they''ll be crazy not to try and negotiate with me." "Are you going to tell me the particulars of this crazy plan of yours?" "As soon as we deal with the Professor." Jean let out a frustrated huff and sighed. "What do you want me to do?" "The professor needs to be off-kilter when I provoke him, so we do that by letting him think that SHIELD has caught onto his little secret." "Won''t he suspect you of setting this up somehow?" "Not if his perfect Jean does it in my stead," I smirked. "Here''s what I want you to do." Chapter 30 Jean My stomach turned as I strolled down a busy street with Scott, Kitty, and a de-transformed Pietro. It was Sunday, our day off from the daily training and classes, and we mutants that could leave the mansion loved spending that time in town. We typically caught a movie or visited a Park, but today, everyone was in the mood for a burger. The thought of eating nearly made me barf. I hated secrets and lying and felt crazy even entertaining what Dante was suggesting, but he''d never been wrong, EVER. It''s not only me who noticed it. Logan never corrected him when we were training, Pietro listened to him, Ilyana loved him, and his weird Devil¡¯s Eye revealed secrets he couldn''t possibly know. He could instantly tell what Part of Africa Storm was from just one look at her, and he knew that Logan had a Japanese wife once. If I hadn''t seen a more casual side of him, I''d be downright terrified of Dante, but after seeing the pain he''d gone through just to prove that the Professor had altered my mind somehow, I had to give him a chance, no matter how uncomfortable that made me feel. He was also right about the presence of the Phoenix. Until now, I''d always chalked it up to another downside of being psychic, but recent events have convinced me otherwise. My powers were growing as Dante said, and I was inclined to believe that the Phoenix was the cause of it. The entire thing honestly sounded like the plot of a cheesy fantasy movie, but I couldn''t ignore the time differential when we came out of Dante¡¯s realm or Dante¡¯s claim about the Proessor¡¯s brainwashing other mutants. I didn''t want to believe it¡­ but the evidence was tallying up. A quick chat with Logan also backed up Dante''s claim about the deal with the professor. Provoking the Professor obviously wasn''t the route I would''ve gone, but I was desperate to prove Dante wrong. There had to be an explanation for everything that had happened, right? If it meant going along with this, then that was what I had to do. I couldn''t afford to entertain the alternative. "Something on your mind, Babe?" Scott asked. ''She''s been different since her last spar with that asshole,'' he thought. "Just feeling a bit under the weather," I muttered, folding my arms. "Mind if I stop to make a call at a payphone?" "Just use my cell." Scott offered. "I still got minutes on it." We came to a stop in front of a small Mom and Pop diner. I''d had my eye on the place before all of this started. Now, the thought of it made me want to hurl. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. I shook my head. "I''ve got some change I need to get rid of anyway." Scott frowned, and I sensed his dread. ''Could she be¡­No. Don''t go there, Scott. She can hear you.'' I held his hand and forced a smile. "I''ll only be a minute. I just need some time to myself." Scott sensed my unease but let go anyway. He kissed me on the cheek. "Alright, Babe." He joined Pietro and Kitty, who had the sense not to comment on our relationship troubles, though their thoughts on it were not exactly a mystery. Pietro thought ''I was changing,'' and Kitty was jealous because ''I was getting hot and heavy with the new Beefcake.'' I resisted the urge to point out Dante was about five years too old for her. I found the nearest payphone and slipped my quarter in, dialing the phone number that Dante gave me. I swallowed as the line connected and went to voice mail. "H¨CHey, this is Je¡ªJemma calling for Donnie. I got your number from a guy I ran into at a party. He was a little drunk, but he swears you make the best IDs in the States. I need to¡­take a long vacation. Can you help me?" My hands were shaking a little when I hung up. ''Vague enough to arouse interest but not obvious enough to clue in whoever came looking that they''d been lured here.'' I thought using his dead friend''s name to set a trap was a bit cold, but Dante just shrugged and said, "he''s dead. He might as well be useful." By the time I made it to the diner, the knot in my stomach had grown even tighter. After the meal, Dante wanted me to pick up a few things at the convenience store, which made me nervous. Some rope, a ski mask, and some heavy-duty worker gloves. I did as told, despite the weird looks I got from everyone. It didn''t help much that I knew exactly what they thought the entire time we were at the store. But I cared a lot more about the growing knot in my stomach than what they thought of me. I just wanted the entire thing to be over. Living in limbo was driving me insane. ¡ª I bit the inside of my cheek nervously as the second QUELLITRAX INVASION counted down. 11hr 56 minutes. "Charles is cutting it really¨C" And then I heard it. "The professor wants you," Ororo said to Jean, who was sitting in the Den beside me, chewing her finger nervously. "I don''t know what you did," she started, "but I''ve never seen him so unsettled." Jean opened her mouth but struggled with the words, so I held her hand. "I''ll walk you." After raising a brow in my direction, Ororo picked up on the intimacy and went on about her business, thankfully. The walk up to Charles''s office was tense, and I didn''t need to be psychic to see that Jean was on edge. Things tended to fly when Jean got like that, so I tried to wriggle a smile from her with a joke, which in hindsight, seemed in poor taste. "You look like you''re the one about to get your brain stir-fried by a telepath, not me." Jean''s face lost even more color. "This is not funny. Charles is like a father to me. He took me in after my parent''s accident," she said weakly. "He''s the only family I have left." I froze. I knew I was forgetting something crucial¡­ One of Jean''s parents might''ve survived the freak accident that supposedly orphaned her. The very same one that she had likely caused. Crap. I hadn''t been sure about Jean''s home situation, so I didn''t ask. Proving to Jean that Charles had lied to her would¡¯ve been much simpler if we''d just gone for a drive to her childhood home. He would''ve been caught in an obvious lie he couldn''t spin, yet I felt that route would''ve proven far more devastating in the long run. The entire experience would''ve shattered her. Learning that she not only caused one of her parents'' deaths but that the surviving one was likely so afraid that they let Professor X have her. Fuck me! How the hell do I fucking spin this. Chapter 31 Jean stopped dead in her tracks and looked at me. "What''s wrong." I looked at my new friend/walking nuke. I didn¡¯t have to force the look of concern emerging on my face. "It''s just hitting me," I said. "I''m asking the world of you, aren''t I?" Jean''s eyes turned misty. "No, you aren''t. You''re giving me a chance to get the truth and are potentially saving billions of lives in the process. I hope you''re wrong, but¡­" I felt a tightness in my chest. Fuck me. I had to make this right, but it was too late to turn back now. Telling her right here, right now could be just as bad as taking Jean on the trip. She could explode, and all that work would''ve been for nothing. "You have people that still love you," I said. "Charles might''ve disappointed you, but that doesn''t mean everyone will. We have a lot to talk about, Jean, but it has to be after were done with this." She nodded mutely at me and stopped a few steps short of entering the professor''s office. I slipped my hands into my pocket and hit the start button on the tape recorder I ''borrowed'' from Scott. Swallowing in deep breath, I walked in. Charles was more panicked than I''d ever seen him, which meant a moderate wrinkle on his otherwise smooth face. "You''re here," he spoke with a current of anger in his voice. "Where''s Jean?" "She knows," I said with a finality. "I told her about what you did to her." Charles''s eyes a little bit went wide. "I don''t know what you''re talking¡ª" "Cut the shit, Charles," I barked. "Don''t try to bullshit me. My Devil¡¯s eye sees through you." "You don''t know what you''re talking about." "Don''t I?" I asked, raising a brow. "So, you didn''t seal Jean''s power and memories because you feared how powerful she could become." Charles tried not to react, but I could clearly see that he was flustered. "She''s my ward. Why would I be afraid of her? I have no desire to control Jean''s life. If anything, it is you who is hungry for her power. You''ve wormed your way into her life, and from what the students and staff tell me, you''re angling for more than that." I laughed, striding up to the man, who was glaring. "You must''ve noticed it. Your binds are slowly becoming undone. Jean is getting more powerful. It won''t be long before she''ll be able to unravel your block with a simple mental flex. I wonder how long your routine will last in the face of the Phoenix?" The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. Charles set his jaw. "A lesson for when next you threaten somebody, Dante. Make sure the events you''re using as leverage occurred." I shook my head, somewhat impressed. Xavier was a better liar than I expected. "That''s how you want to play it? then have it your way. I''ll just tell Logan, Storm, and every last mutant what you did to Jean and possibly them before I leave." "They''d never believe you," he narrowed his eyes. "Maybe, but as you must''ve realized by now, I''ve made it a point to prove to everyone here that I¡¯m never wrong. They''ll side with you, obvioiusly, but they''ll always wonder if I was right," I said ominously. "Could the Professor be as dangerous as Dante claims he is? Has he taken over our minds? Are there things we can¡¯t remember?" "Why are you doing this?" Charles frowned. "I''ve been nothing but kind to you. You poisoned Jean against me, and now the children?" "Kind?" I scoffed. "You judged me the second you met me and invaded my mind like it was the most natural thing in the world. You promised to contact SHIELD and tried to keep me here with some Stockholm syndrome bullshit. And if that wasn''t bad enough, you made the person who vouched for you a liar. Do you realize what you''ve done by sealing Jean''s powers? Continents will burn when the Phoenix gets loose and makes a beeline for you." Charles went a little pale. "Surely, you exaggerate." My eyes flashed red. "My eyes do not lie, and they''ve seen it. You condemned me for being a killer. Well, your desperation to collect family like they''re dolls might make you an even bigger killer than me. When the Phoenix gets loose, she''ll go on a murder spree that won''t end with this Solar system. Stars will die. Trillions will suffer all because Charles Xavier wanted to play God!" "No¡­ no," Charles muttered nervously. "You''re¡­lying. I can still fix this. I got her under control once before; I will do it again," Charles said, suddenly finding his courage. "And you! You''re every bit as dangerous as I thought you''d be. The SHIELD call, it was your doing, wasn''t it?" I shrugged. "I wasn''t going to lose my chance to negotiate from a position of strength. I foresaw your betrayal. My eyes see all," I said, playing deeper into the mystical red-eyes bullshit. "You couldn''t help yourself, could you? It''s no wonder how you grew up alone and afraid. You''ve been desperate for love your whole life." Oof. I may have gone too far using comic knowledge on him like that, but I really had to push the demon angle, and that did it. Charles shook in his wheelchair, seething. He stared straight at me. "You had no right to go looking in my past." His rage was a quiet one, his voice barely above a whisper. I fell to one knee, gasping out in shock as his Alpha-level mind slammed into mine. "You claim to see it all," he said. "Tell me, did you foresee your meager defense standing up against the might of the most powerful mind on earth!" I writhed as Charles slowly drilled deeper, savoring every mental twist as he penetrated my mental fortress, inch-by-inch. It was hell. Charles was on another level. Jean¡¯s mind simply did not compare. Blood started pouring out of my mouth, eyes and ears. "You will say nothing," he growled, "Because you are nothing. I considered only sealing off your demonic abilities, but now I see that I was too kind." Charles wheeled himself forward until he was looking down at me. I gasped, choking down blood, barely able to think clearly to manage an action I''d done so many times it was practically second nature¨C summon my guns. This was far worse than anything I could''ve fucking imagined. Where the hell was Jean? Chapter 32 Where the Hell was Jean? As the seconds dragged on and the pain mounted, I came to the only conclusion that made sense. Jean had made her choice, and she chose Xavier. "I will lock you up in your mind and hand you over to them as an apology," Xavier growled. "They''ll slice you open and put you back together just to see how you work, and no one will come looking for you because they won''t remember you," he said. "See, I might surround myself with people because I want a family, but you''ll never find one because of what you are, Dante¨C a sniveling, hideous creature pretending to be human." Something within me broke, and demonic energy surged forth, filling every inch of my body with rage and energy. "Fuck¡­You!" I roared, summoning Ebony, and pointed it at Charles''s head. It wasn''t the threat of fucking dissection that ticked me off, no! It was the other thing. He was a fucking dead man-- no two ways about it. I willed energy into the chamber of the gun, and it obeyed. The barrel gained a golden crimson light that slowly started to glow brighter. Charles panicked and stopped fucking about, pitting the full force of his mind against mine, but I roared in defiance, shoving him back. To Hell with the consequences. Jean was not on my side, and I''d cut through all of the X-men if I had to. I knew he was talking out of his arse, but he''d gotten under my skin nonetheless. It didn''t help that Jean''s betrayal was still so fresh. In the end, I was left alone to take care of business. Again! With gritted teeth, I slowly got up to my feet, burning even more demonic energy. Temperatures peak in the office, setting loose paper on fire and scorching the ground below me as I took step after hellish step toward Charles. I wasn''t going to fucking miss. I saw the genuine look of fear in Charles''s eyes when he recognized that I was beyond him for that brief moment. Of course, he was going to win out eventually, but it wouldn''t be before I shot him dead. I squeezed the trigger, but before my gun went off, a force jerked my hand. "Aaaaah!" Everything below Charles''s left elbow disappeared, along with a chunk of his wheelchair, and just like that, the pain was gone. Congratulations: You''ve unlocked a new Demonic Technique: Focused shot. 25 DE In the place of the overwhelming pain, I felt a presence that dwarfed Xavier''s. I knew it was Jean, and frankly, I didn''t care. I used my new skills again. Energy started to gather in the barrel of my gun. I pointed it at a bleeding, mewling Xavier, ready to put the son-of-a-bitch to bed. "Don''t!" Jean commanded. "Please!" "Why not!" I snapped. "He fucking deserves it. You saw what he did, what he said. I was right. He was controlling you and probably every mutant here." "Killing him was never part of the plan," Jean said. "What part of the plan included leaving me here to get multiple fucking aneurysms!" I yelled. "You were supposed to step in the very moment shit started to go sideways! What happened, Jean!" "I-I froze," she said, choking back tears. "I didn''t want to believe he was capable of that." Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. She froze? What sort of bullshit excuse was that. I wanted to yell at her, but then a question struck me. ''What did you expect was going to happen?'' She''d known him since she was a child, and now she was finding out that he was some twisted monster who got kicked out of manipulating people. Yelling at her would only make matters worse. Still, it didn''t soften the blow of her betrayal. "I know you weren''t ready, Jean," I said slowly, "but I stuck my neck out for you. Your inaction almost got me killed." The professor''s blood pooled beneath my feet. He was starting to bleed a little too much. He was going to die before I had the benefit of killing him. "I''m sorry," she sobbed. It was easy to forget that Jean was still a kid. I sighed, releasing the energy build-up alongside my energy coat. The demonic aura had stolen nearly half of my energy. 250/400 +3 Demonic Energy At least something good came out of this. It was a shame that was not enough to awaken my Devil Trigger. I vanished my gun without ever looking back at Jean. "Save him," I said, and she immediately rushed over to his side, ripping a piece of her shirt to start an emergency triage. "Jean, I¨C" "Save your strength," She cut him off. I turned away from the pair and began to walk towards the window. Dipping my hand into my pocket, I hit the stop button on the tape recorder. "Dante," Jean called out, but I didn''t look in her direction. She hated Xavier, obviously, but he was still family. I didn''t want to do something as drastic as cutting Jean off¨C I needed her¨C but the entire episode showed me that I was not nearly as good at manipulating people as I thought. That needed to change if I was ever going to get my hands on the stones. "I promised I wouldn''t abandon you, and I won''t? I said. "I''m coming to get you as soon as I get the sorceress on our side. I can''t afford to stay mad at you, Jean. Not with everything at stake. As for you, Charles," I raised my recording device. "Our entire conversation was recorded. You will negotiate that meeting as promised, or this will get leaked online. Every mutant, everywhere, will know exactly how you treat your new wards." "Dante, you didn''t¡­" I heard a slight panic and surprise creep into her voice. "My academy, the X-Men¡­" he wheezed. "We do so much good here." "You''ll lose it all, Charles," I warned. "If you so much as look at me funny, everything you''ve worked for 20 years will come crashing down. You fucked with the wrong guy. You''re my bitch now." I gave Jean a final look. "Tell everyone or don''t tell them; I don''t really care. Just be ready when I come for you." I leaped out of the window just as Storm, Wolverine, and a handful of students rushed into the professor''s office. Shouts echoed behind me, but I was gone the second I hit the ground. Liberal use of Angel Evade and Burst turned me into a blur. --- I took the goodies Jean bought for me and suited up in an all-black X-men suit I nabbed from Cyclop''s wardrobe when I stole the tape recorder. I ripped off the X-men logo, partially because I couldn''t stand the sight of Charles and mainly because I wanted all of the glory for what was about to happen for myself. Thinking about the entire episode with Jean and Charles still burned me. It was oh so tempting to give the bald git what was coming to him, but I needed to think long-term if I was going to survive in this Universe. I could fillet the fucker after I got the Phoenix flame. Until then, I settled for taking out my rage on the criminals of Hell''s Kitchen. As you can tell, the timeline has been a bit screwy. Jean Grey being a teenager when Storm is fully grown? Kitty Pryde only being two years younger? We weren''t in the 616 Universe or the 199999 universe either. That became crystal clear to me when I turned on the news the other day and saw a bald man with an egg-shaped head and a waistline the size of a great oak giving a speech about restoring the glory of Hell''s Kitchen through innovations and revitalization. I nearly did a spit take, but it did help me put together why the crime rate in that part of the city has been insane recently. An arms race between the Russians and the Albanians started a few days ago. ''Luckily,'' neither side has lost too many people. But the violence has driven most folk with common sense out of the neighborhood, giving Fisk exactly what he wanted. I couldn''t prove he was supplying both sides, and I wasn''t eager to in the first place. All I cared about was pilfering his weapons for myself and bagging the heads of both sides. They would make a compelling offer to SHIELD and prove I had what it took to work with them. At the very least, it would buy me some goodwill with Fury, which was all I needed really to win him over to my side. Some things remained true regardless of what Universe you were in. My journey to Hell''s Kitchen went by faster than anticipated. Liberal use of Ophion''s grappling hook and Angel Lift''s swinging function had me zipping from building to building like Spiderman. It helped that I could move much, much faster than the average man. I had 40 Agility, giving me four times the speed of a high-level athlete, and with my endurance, I could keep on going for hours. I landed on the rooftops near a popular Russian bar and used Ophion to yank up a guy doing his business behind a dumpster with Ophion''s Demon Pull. The transition had been so sudden that he hadn''t even gotten the chance to scream before he was on the roof. I brought an Orochi dagger to his eye before he could make a pip. Chapter 33 I brought an Orochi kunai to his eye before he could make a pip. The Russian had about $1000, a big knife, and a brand new Baretta with the serial number filed off. "Scream, and you die before you even blink," I said. "Resist me, and you die. Remember, you''re replaceable. There''s an entire bar of Russians down below us. And I don''t mind cutting through all of them to get the answers I want." I said, inching my blade closer to the white of his eye. He tried his best not to blink. Despite the cold, he was sweating. "Where''s your armory?" There was a stretch of silence as the man contemplated his options. I saw his muscles tense before he even moved. My hand lashed out, slashing the Russian man''s forearm before the haymaker came remotely close. He bit down a startled yelp of pain and tried to swat me back with the other hand, but I casually caught it and twisted his forearm, forcing him to his knees. My dagger lashed out twice more, scoring hollow cuts on his forearm and shoulder. "Aaaa¡ª" I dismissed the Orochi kunai and clamped down on his mouth before he alerted the entire street. The Russian looked up at me with newfound fear. Slowly, the hopelessness of the situation was starting to sink in. That was the beauty of the Orochi Kunais. They were designed to torture, not kill. "Do your insides feel like they''re on fire?" I hissed. "This is only the beginning. Every cut will bring you close to death''s door. How many more do you think your mind and body can take? Five more, Six? Who is supplying you with the guns?" I asked again. The Russian tried to scream the second I let go of his mouth, but I jabbed his throat, leaving him a gasping, crumpling mess. The ease at which I dismantled him was a bit eerie. An insane reaction time was another benefit of moving four times faster than a peak athlete. He was gasping before a single sound came out. Three more cuts tore up his chest, and his eyes rolled to the back of his head as he tried and failed to yell for help through his bruised windpipe. "Last chance." "W¨Carehouse 13. Th¨Ce. Docks," he spoke in desperate gasps. "Y¨Cou''re. Making. Huge. Mistake." Sure I was. I patted him on the back. "Congratulations, you don''t die today, but you''re not walking away either." I knocked him out with a swift punch to the back of the head and used some of the rope that Jean had bought me to tie his hands and legs into an impossible knot. I would''ve killed him if he''d seen my face. Lucky for both of us, I wore a ski mask. Another piece of rope went around his mouth to ensure he didn''t call any unwanted attention. I dropped down to the street level and swaggered into the bar. My mask was still on, and all eyes swiveled in my direction. Good. I hoped they wouldn''t make this too easy for me. But before I could say something clever and probably culturally offensive. A man sitting at the back of the room yelled something in Russian, and everybody got to their feet in alarm, pulling AKS, pistols, and knives. My eyes went a bit wide. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. That was a lot of firepower, but I had Angel Dash, Demon Burst, Evade, Focused shot and was nearly a master in a dozen martial arts. I wasn''t that worried. Still, the casualness with which they pulled their weapons alarmed me a bit. When the first man dashed toward me, I tensed up, a bit confused. He had his gun in his hand but closed the distance between us. Either he was an absolute fool or¡­I was not his target in the first place. "Move!" he commanded, and I stepped to the side, allowing him and 20 other Russians to take to the streets and hop into their cars. The boss was the last to leave. He was an older, gentle man with a lean build and a walking stick with a Silver handle. He had two men in clean-cut suits standing beside him. He stopped just as he passed me and spoke in a thick Russian accent. "You''re lucky. You would''ve left here eating out of a straw any other night. This is your only warning." He made to leave, but I stopped him. "Wait! What''s going on?" His two guards looked like they were about to throttle me, but I just raised a brow. "You have balls," he laughed. "Are you sure you''re not Russian under that mask? Leave Hell''s Kitchen tonight if you want to live." "I don''t make a habit of running from fights. I run towards them." The boss laughed. "Is that why you came here? To fight my men?" "To offer my services," I responded enigmatically. "They call me Arsenal. I''m a mercenary by trade." The older man measured me as his bodyguards'' arms inched toward the pistols in their jacket pockets. "Come to fatten yourself off our misfortune," he laughed. "I would''ve done the same when I was your age. Very well, follow. Prove yourself in the fight to come, and you''ll be handsomely rewarded. Cross us, and Peter here will feed you your guts." "Fair enough," I nodded, passing a look at the mountain of the man called Peter. He stood to the right of the Russian boss and was the larger of the pair. His face was covered in scars marks, and I was tempted to use the Devil''s eye on him, but Jean had said something about a glow. I didn''t want them to suspect me until it was too late. I joined the old man in his car. It turned out his name was Henri, and the Russians were finally taking the fight with the Albanian because some no-name goon decided to help themselves to the daughter of the Albanian gang head. He was put down immediately, but the damage had already been done. The girl''s father was livid, and he demanded blood. "That''ll do it," I said. Henri shook his head. "In my day, we knew better than to leave witnesses alive." I thought he felt for the girl for a moment, but he was the head of a criminal organization; I didn''t know what I was expecting. "Don''t stop until you run out of blood relatives, I always say," I chuckled, and Henri gave an approving look. "It''s rare to find somebody so young who is not completely clueless about how the world works." "I was forced to learn fairly early on," I said. "Then you understand the need for this pre-emptive attack," Henri said. "It will put this matter to bed once and for all. Her father, Gregory, will be the first to go, then the rest of the family." After my experience this afternoon, I couldn''t say I wasn''t a fan of a good old-fashioned pre-emptive strike, but wiping out an entire bloodline seemed¡­excessive. It would be the equivalent of killing Xavier''s mutants because I didn''t want them returning for revenge. With Xavier''s hold on his school so potent, I couldn''t say for sure that I would not be forced into that position. I could think of a few hot-headed students who''d readily come after me for revenge if they were not chasing me down already. Peter did not take his eyes off me the entire time we spoke. Eventually, I heard the sound of gunfire. The fight had started ahead of us, and we were one of the last cars to arrive. Trevor¨Cthe second bodyguard, pulled up a few blocks from the fight, and we climbed down from the vehicle. The tailgate popped open to reveal a veritable arsenal. It contained a sniper rifle, a shotgun, pistols, and a submachine gun. I whistled. Henri smirked. "The fight is so fierce that Gregory will never see us coming. I''ve been waiting for this for a long time." "I bet you have," I said casually, summoning the fingers of Orochi. Peter reacted, covering his boss before the daggers fanned out. Huh. Impressive. Considering how fast I was now, it was quite a feat. Trevor went down immediately, writhing, and Peter dropped to his knee, shaking and growling as two daggers stuck out of his back. He looked back at me with a ferocious glare before he started frothing from the mouth and promptly passed out. I summoned Ebony and fired at Henri''s hand, removing the handgun he''d been trying to sneak when his bodyguard was incapacitated. "You cannot unring this bell, Boy!" Henri threatened as I swaggered close. "Are you going to comply, or am I going to have to be an asshole?" I asked in a bored voice. Henri set his jaw, glaring up at me, but did not put up a fight. I pulled out my rope and got to work, hog-tying the man. Before I gagged him, I asked. "Where''s the Albanian gang leader holed up." Henri laughed. "Whoever hired you cannot protect you. Stop this at once, and I''ll consider it a misstep. You don''t want to make enemies of two of the biggest East European gangs in the world." I summoned another finger of Orochi and stabbed it into his knee. Henri bit back a surprised scream. "I have bigger fish to fry than street-level thugs. Tell me what I need to know, or I start peeling." And I was only half joking. Chapter 34 Henri looked at me with a steely gaze. "Men ten times better than you have tried to break me. I''ve seen the horrors of the world, boy. You don''t scare me." My eyes flashed red as I coaxed some of my demonic energy, letting it leak out of me in waves. It formed a screeching, flaming echo that seemed to paralyze Henri. Congratulations: You''ve unlocked the demonic technique: Aura. Unshackle your demonic side, inflicting fear on the weak-minded. "Maybe I should," I growled. "Don''t make me ask you a third time, Henri." "What are you!" Henri shivered; the once mighty gang boss now reduced to a blubbering mess. "Haven''t you ever picked up a Bible?" I chuckled. "Demon!" "Answer the damn question," I roared, punching the ground beside Henri''s head. It cracked. "He''s two bars down," he said, his face slick with sweat. "The place is heavily fortified. No one can get in. That''s why I brought the sniper rifle." "Why don''t you let me worry about that," I smiled. "Don''t worry your pretty little head." ¡ª Gregory was holed up two buildings down from the firefight. Ten minutes into the struggle, police crowded the area while I climbed the roof of the building opposite Gregory¡¯s. After retrieving all of my knives, I left Henri''s incapacitated men to their fates while I kidnapped the Russian boss and parked him and the car far away from the fight in an abandoned alley. I found my point of entry into Gregory''s fortress on the back of an unknowing shmuck, leaning into the far wall across from a window on the third floor of the building. I summoned Ophion, and Angel pulled to him. Glass shattered, and he was jerked forward suddenly, but the goon''s body held until Ophion carried me into the building, knee first. I kneed the Albanian into the wall, knocking the air out of him. A punch to the jaw ensured he wouldn''t get up for a while. Gun mastery took over as I picked up his gun, checked the magazine, and vanished it into Devil Arm. The first man that came around the corner got a kunai to the shoulder and a palm strike to the jaw, lifting him straight into the ceiling before he unceremoniously crashed down, unconscious. I summoned a bat as I retrieved my knife and moved on. I knew I was leaving red orbs on the table, but that was not the point of the night. I needed to show Shield I could be tactical and effective without killing. Around the bend, I counted four men yelling something at each other in Albanian as they inched closer to where the noise had come from. There were probably a few other men hurrying up the stairwell as well. I grabbed one of the two flash bangs I stole from Toad''s men and chucked it into their midst. Somebody yelled as the flash went off, and Angel Evaded into their midst for the silent approach. I spread my palms and reduced my strength by half as I waded into the conflict. Devil Eye kept their information above their heads, allowing me to easily track them through the smoke. Two strikes folded the first man, flipping him over. I blocked a knife strike to my left, wrapping up the arm under my elbow and spraining it. He screamed. A strike to the face knocked the second man out. The third stupidly let a bullet fly, and I had to Angel evade in front of the fourth guy with Rebellion raised to save him. I put the surprised man down with an elbow strike to the midsection and slapped to the jaw, leaving me with the last asshole. His gun went off again, but I was behind him when it did. A firm chop to the temple rendered him unconscious. The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. Behind me, I heard dozens of footsteps thundering up the staircase to the floor I was currently on. I cracked a smile and got to work. There was an explosion of movement¨C punches, kicks, gunshots, tumbles, and kicks. More than once, I had to draw deeper into my strength pool to make sure I was not overwhelmed, but by the end of it, I came out victorious, and no one ended up dead. My time on the fourth floor, however, was considerably more difficult. They shred through the doors the second they heard my legs hit the top of the staircase, and I had to Angel shift immediately to avoid most of the bullets, though a few punched through my chest and gut. Angel regeneration healed me enough to clot the wounds, and I pulled Ebony and fired into the door hinges and locks, bringing it down and allowing me a clear entrance into the room. Angel Evade carried me into the room in a streak of blue light, and I maneuvered behind the guy with the largest assault rifle and clocked him in the head. I threw him to the left while diving to the right as the two other gunmen fired. Another Angel Evade brought me close enough to the second gunman to shove the barrel of his gun up and punch him in the throat. He crumpled, and before the third guy could fire, I was already by his side, slamming him into the wall. He tried to get up, but a swift kick to the face rendered him unconscious. That gets easier every time. Angel Evade was frankly broken, or at least the way I used it was. I went around the room confiscating every second gun, pistol, and grenade. Believe it or not, those assholes had grenades, but they''d been far too scared to use them. My stash grew to fourteen assault rifles, one large case of ammunition, ten pistols, and one flashbang. I was about to kick open the final door into the room where Gregory was holed up when I considered what I''d do in his situation. He was probably armed with something that could do a shit ton of damage, and as durable as I was, I didn''t want to test if I could bounce back from taking an RPG to the face. So, I approached the situation from an angle he''d never suspect. ¡ª I came crashing into Gregory''s window with Ophion, and a gun went off. As I''d predicted, Gregory had been packing. And it was an automatic shotgun. A finger of Orochi stabbed into his trigger arm when he swiveled to point the gun at me, and with a Burst, I closed the distance between us, disappeared his gun, and slammed Gregory into the ground. He passed out without ever getting a word out. The Albanian portion of the shipment was in Gregory¡¯s office, waiting for me; no trip necessary. I plucked the entire arsenal with a smirk on my face. There was a crap ton of grenades, launchers, and enough ammunition to take over a small fortress, but this was only half my take for the night. The other half was waiting for me in a warehouse across town. I tied up Gregory and leaped out of the shattered window. I saw police cars parked below as I moved through the air. I gave myself a second boost to get me over the ledge of the building I''d just come from and landed with a stumble. It was a small miracle that Gregory didn''t fall from my shoulder. "Quite the jump," I hear somebody say behind me. With a confused frown, I turned and came eye-to-eye with Natasha Romanoff. She looked nothing like her MCU counterpart, but her striking red hair, killer beauty, and hand-mounted stingers were a dead giveaway. They were both pointed at me. "I''m afraid I''m not quite ready for our face-to-face yet, agent," I said. "Drop the body." "I''d rather not do that," I said. "Besides, Gregory doesn''t look like he''ll like it much. He''s already sore and unconscious from the jump." "I''m taking you in, Dante Sparda," she said. "The director would like a word." "I''m sure Fury would," I said, earning a surprised look from Romanoff. "How do you know the director''s name?¡± Natasha warmed up her stingers. I smirked. "That wasn''t in my file, was it?" "I said drop it before I drop you," She repeated. "You''re not getting a third warning." I raised a brow, scanning the building around me. In the distance, I noticed somebody with a bow and arrow on a high perch staring at me. I activated Devil¡¯s Eye and immediately identified him. Clint Barton, AKA Hawkeye Clint Barton is an expert bowman, combatant, and one of the deadliest Agents of SHIELD. With a smile, I lowered Gregor''s body, holding it directly in the line of Barton''s shot. "I''d think you''d prefer a sniper, but a bowman also works." Natasha froze for a moment before she spoke. "I don''t need backup to bring you to your knees, Mr. Sparda. If you''ve heard about me, you certainly know the stories." Natasha Romanoff was infamous in the spy scene in this world. She carried out thousands of assassinations as a brainwashed drone before being rescued and then going straight and narrow. She, of all people, should be the most sympathetic to my cause if she dared to go against Fury. "I''ve heard bits and pieces, Romanoff," I said, "And you don''t scare me. Tell your director I look forward to seeing him." "Don¡¯t -" Natasha started, but I was already moving. I chucked Gregory''s unconscious body over the edge, startling her, and chased after him using Angel Evade. Chapter 35 "Don¡¯t-" Natasha started, but I was already moving. I chucked Gregory''s unconscious body over the edge, startling her, and dashed after him using Angel Evade. I landed just in time to catch him and Burst to the side to avoid Clint''s arrow. It let out a sonic burst that ruptured one of my eardrums, preventing me from Angel Evading again. I still kept pace despite being loopy and disoriented. I threw Gregory on my back while I spiked Angel Regeneration. My ear popped, and my hearing returned. Clint hadn''t fired another arrow. Gregory''s body had given me cover as I hurried toward my car. Natasha popped out behind a bend just before I got to the car, and I ducked in time to avoid a 720 kick. It was no easy feat, with the extra weight dragging me down, but I made it work. When Natasha started sprinting toward me, I forced myself to stay absolutely still. I held my ground when the blow came and weaved back just enough. Her fist nearly grazed my jaw as I spiked Demon Evade, filling my body with violent crimson energy that I immediately put to use by grabbing Natasha by the arm. She tried blocking me, but I just yanked her to the side, destabilizing her, and tossed her into the air. Considering she was under 120 pounds and I momentarily had the strength of seven elite men, she went pretty far up. "See you around, Black Widow," I quipped as I continued my trip. No arrow came from Clint again. He was probably too busy trying to save Natasha. I kept my head on a swivel as I made it to my car and shoved Gregory in. I took the scenic route to the Warehouse, which had enough guns and ammunition to outfit a small army. There was even an RPG and a flame thrower in there. I took the best goodies. It made me wonder what madness they had planned. Whatever the case was, the new heroes of New York would probably handle it. In the meantime, I made my escape, walking past two unconscious men I''d disabled with my daggers. 8hrs 22mins The drive back to Xavier''s place was tense. Gregory and Henri had come to a while back and were bucking like wild animals at the rear of the SUV I was driving, but it was smooth sailing for me. I half-expected to run into some ambush by a vengeful Natasha or furious Clint. It was no surprise when SHIELD showed up, yet I was powerless to stop it. An arrow speared through the hood of my SUV, killing the engine immediately. Cars rolled out of the forest around the wooded path up to Xavier''s, and two heavy-duty transport cars blocked my front and rear exits. Stolen story; please report. Lights focused on me and a black man who looked suspiciously like Samuel L. Jackson but more muscular and taller. "You said you wanted to talk, let''s talk." My devil''s eye flashed, and I scanned the forest and the surrounding area. Nick had nearly 50 heavily armed SHIELD agents scatted in the forest around me. Some looked down the scope of snipers, others carried assault rifles, and a few carried specialty rounds, net guns, and all manner of SHIELD tech. Fury must''ve had them designed to restrain powered individuals. "Talk, huh?" I said as I slowly climbed out of my car and removed my mask. There was no need for that anyway. "You''re armed with enough firepower to level a small compound." "Charles brought me up to speed on your latest development," he said. "And I''ve adjusted as necessary. I''ve known Charles longer than you''ve been alive, and it takes somebody truly dangerous to rattle him, much less cripple him." "If you know what I know, you wouldn''t stop at his arm," I said. Fucking Charles. Of course, he tried to double-cross me despite my threats. While it was true that he couldn''t control me. There was no rule against puppeting everybody else. A small part of me feared that Fury was compromised, but then again, he was the Batman of the Marvel Universe. Something told me that Fury had countermeasures for mental intrusions like that. "Charles also told me about your other abilities," Fury said. "And my agents confirmed as much after you whooped their asses. You know things you''re not supposed to." My eyes turned red as I activated Devil''s Eye, giving off the impression that I was staring into the soul of the one-eyed director. I heard a series of clicks as agents switched off the safety of thier weapons. I mentally chuckled. Nick Fury He is an experienced fighter and strategist enhanced by the Infinity Serum to extend his lifespan considerably. "You look rather spry for a man your age," I said, tilting my head to the side. I rather enjoyed playing the enigmatic Devil guy. "That''s a neat little trick," he said. "Add that to the fact that Xavier can''t see in your head, and I can see why he thinks you''re the devil himself. But I don''t need to see inside your head to know a pretender when I hear one," Fury said, stepping forward. "He told me you want to negotiate the terms of your service with SHIELD. Taking down a gang outpost and kidnapping the heads of two of the biggest gangs in New York is a hell of a way to start. Do you know how many people died, how much money you''re costing the taxpayers?" "Probably a lot less than it''s costing them to mount this ambush. No one died in my little crusade, even if they fucking deserved it," I said. "And I know you know that. I attacked the Albanians and the Russians to prove a point. I''m fucking good, and I''m not some out-of-control killer. Everybody I''ve dropped until now was either in self-defense or because it had to be done." "And what about that SHIELD agent?" Fury demanded. "Victor had a great family, Kids, and a bright future ahead of him. Did he deserve to die?" I could tell by his tone that Fury was done playing. I was one lousy answer away from the hardest fight of my life. "It was self-defense," I said. "He came at me, and I defended myself, and the autopsy should back me up." "It doesn''t," Fury said. "And all your little display in Hell''s kitchen did was complicate our strained relationship with local law enforcement. They had agents in the organization in place to bring down the heads of both gangs when the time was right." The news was like a punch to the gut. All of that work, planning, plotting¡­ How could I not have seen it? "They were after Fisk, weren''t they?" Chapter 36 Fury looked impressed. "You''re not completely clueless, then. Still, I wonder how you''re getting your intel." "Charles already told you," I said, flaring my eyes again. The tone of his voice told me that he would try to capture me if it came down to it. Fury was up-and-up in most universes, but Charles Telepathy was ridiculously powerful. You never know. Still, I preferred putting some cards on the table before the situation devolved further. "I know there are exactly 50 other agents here tonight. I know Natasha and Clint are on top of the Transport truck behind me, and I know how you really lost that eye. Does the name Goose ring a bell?" Fury''s single eye grew wide as a saucer. "Motherfucker. That information is classified. How did you¡­" "You know how," I said, taking a bold step closer to Fury. Several soldiers twitched in the background, and Fury raised a hand to stop them. "I have seen many things, Director Fury. An Old enemy is returning. You and the Earth are in more danger than you realize." "Let me guess, Demons?" Fury scoffed, and I grinned. "Something like that." "Everybody clear out," Fury ordered. "Give Dante and me some space. We need to talk. ¡ª Despite what Fury said, I still saw that most of his men hung back with the use of my Devil¡¯s Eye. It was shocking that I could see this far without a perception stat, but I guessed that every part of me was enhanced between all of my physical stats. "You said the earth was in danger," Fury began. "Tell me more about this enemy. They a demon like you?" "I''m not a demon." "Xavier sure as hell thinks so.¡± "Charles Xavier is a groomer masquerading as an activist. And he¡¯s far more dangerous than you think." "Any man who commands the respect of the President and most world leaders has to be," Fury said. "And despite what you might think of him, he doesn''t lie." That got a good chuckle out of me. "That might be true most of the time," I said. "But even the Professor has secrets he doesn''t want seeing the light of day." "I take it you ''saw'' one of those secrets?" "Oh, I did more than that," I smiled. "I lived it, and he''s pitting you against me to keep my mouth shut." "If he''s sold you out, why keep his secret? I could do something about it if I knew the specifics of what you claim he''s done." "No, thank you, I¡¯ll hang on to my blackmail," I said. "It will come out eventually, but only when the time is right." "Back to the end of the world. What can you tell me about this threat?" Fury asked. Stolen novel; please report. For a moment, I considered how to approach the conversation before I spoke. "Our universe is far more complicated than you understand or realize, Director Fury. There''s life beyond Earth, and a great deal of the civilizations out there want what we have and have the army to take it. You''ve seen it once in the 80s with the Kree. You met Carol Danvers and the Flerken, and you probably know that the Cube you''ve had in your vault since the 70s is Alien tech." The comment about Karol Danvers and the Flerken was a gamble, but given how he''d reacted when I hinted at it initially, I had a feeling I was right on the money. Fury''s face didn''t give away much, but I could tell he was surprised. "The Cube is the Key to Earth''s salvation, but it will also destroy us if you let it," I warned in a calm voice. "But that problem is years away. The biggest threat to the survival of SHIELD and the world you''re so desperate to protect is QUELLITRAX." Finally, Fury reacted. "You had me up until the Cube. What the hell is a QUELLITRAX?" "If my Devil''s eye is to be believed, he''s a being that''s come from somewhere out of our Universe, and he wants to consume the earth," I said. "He''ll be here in 8 hours, give or take." Fury blinked. "You can''t be serious." "I''m afraid I am. Deathly so. We need to get to an isolated area. The last time it was here, I was able to stop it, so it perceived me as a threat to its safety. Once it takes me out, it believes it will have an easier time consuming this planet." "There''s never been a successful invasion of Earth ever," Fury started, "and our satellites haven''t spotted any approaching Spacecraft. I can''t help but think you''re full of shit, Dante." "Who said anything about a Spaceship?" I laughed. "He came by portal the last time." "Portal?" Fury scoffed. "I know how crazy it sounds, but you''ll have your answer in 8 hours. Then, you can rule me off as a false clairvoyant, but what if I am right?" "Your ass is mine if this is a waste of my time," Fury jabbed his finger at me, then sighed, bringing his hand up to his earpiece and activating it. "Hawkeye, Widow. I need you to lead an operation with our friends here. According to him, New York is about to be attacked. Initiate the Defender Protocol and get Coulson on standby to make the calls." "What''s the Defender''s Protocol?" I asked, genuinely surprised. I didn''t think SHIELD had such a comprehensive response strategy to extraterrestrial life this early. It made me wonder what other secret protocols they had. "Our ''Fuck You'' option for times like these," Fury said. "If we''re lucky, we won''t have to use it, but if you''re right¡­" "I am," I said. "And when the QUELLITRAX fragment is dead, you and I need to have a more serious conversation. There''s something you''ll have to hear, and it takes higher priority than the Alien invasion." Fury shook his head. "I can see why Charles didn''t like you very much. We just met, and you''re already a huge pain in my ass." ¡ª Scott "Are you kidding me?" I threw my hands up. "What do you mean we can''t go after him?" "He''s in a meeting with the Director of SHIELD, one of the most powerful secret organizations in the world," Beast explained. "By the end of their talks, he''ll either have a badge that supersedes almost any authority on the planet, or he''ll be locked away for life." "Here''s to hoping it turns out to be the latter," I huffed, pacing. Logan and Ororo stood silently in contemplation. Jean was not even in the room. I wanted her to be here for this conversation. She was an X-men. She''d seen everything that''d happened. She knew how dangerous Dante was. Instead, she glued herself to the Professor''s bedside--not that I could fault her for it. He needed the attention after everything he''s endured. Still, I couldn''t help but fear that Dante was forcing her silence somehow. I balled my fist. I could never forgive myself if that asshole hurt her in any way. "He should''ve never been in the X-mansion to begin with," I said. "We should''ve just turned him over to the police when we had the chance." "The police couldn''t hold him," Logan grunted. "He''d have ended up on the cutting table being poked and played with." "At least he''ll be out of our lives, and Jean and the Professor would be safe." "Scott!" Ororo snapped. "You are still a child, so you don''t quite understand what you''re saying. Being experimented on is one of the greatest injustices our kind have ever faced. To wish it on somebody, even if they''re our enemy¡­is unfeeling." I was used to Ororo yelling at me, but this was beyond that. She was genuinely upset, and I was unsure if I could fix it or if I wanted to. "He just makes me so angry," I growled. Thankfully, Beast came to my rescue. "You should go and see her," he offered. "Jean and the Professor will need you when they wake up." Chapter 37 Dr Hank "That boy," Storm began, looking at Scott''s retreating form. "He means well, but his anger blinds him. I fear he''s far too rigid to lead the X-men." "The kid just needs time," Logan grunted. "The Prof babies ''em, but eventually, they''ll have to see the ugly side of the fight. Dante''s their first real look." I looked down at my tablet and up at the room, my night vision chasing away the darkness. I frowned. "Still, Dante went too far," Logan said. "I wonder what set him off. Last I knew, he and the Prof were getting along just fine." "The Professor didn''t call for him exactly," Storm said. "He followed Jean up. Maybe the Professor said something, or he learned about the plot to keep him here?" "Hardly reason to blow off somebody''s arm," Logan argued. "Despite what Scott might think and tell people, the Kid has been pretty reasonable. Four weeks and no complaints of violence or misbehavior." "I think I might know what set him off," Beast slowly said. "The professor struck first," I said, pointing to the splotch of blood in front of the Professor''s table. "Notice Xavier''s blood is fresher. Jean hadn''t even finished the tourniquet when we rushed in." "Why would he attack him?" Storm questioned. "Maybe the kid pulled his sword?" Logan hazarded, but I doubted it. I''d watched Dante train for weeks; I knew how fast he could move toward the end. Eighty-three miles per hour--faster than the human eye could track. Good thing I wasn''t entirely human, and neither was Charles, but he was perfectly ordinary everywhere except his mind. I was rapidly arriving at the undesirable conclusion that Charles had struck first, unprovoked. Logan likely suspected as much as he sniffed the air and stared at the blood spatter, but I elected to delay the conversation until I spoke to Xavier himself. "Only Jean and the Professor know what happened for sure," I said. "We will ask them when they''re ready." Logan, however, seemed to have missed my hint and continued talking. " "The Prof is no slouch, but there''s no way I see him wounding the Kid unless¡­" "You''re not thinking the Professor attacked his mind?" Storm suggested. "It would explain the blood," I muttered, thinking out loud. "All of the blood vessels in his head must''ve ruptured dozens of times." "I''ve never seen the old man take down somebody that hard," Logan said. "Not even Magneto got this sort of treatment. He must''ve been really pissed off, or he was that afraid." "Dante has mental resistance," Storm said. "When you consider his healing factor, the professor might''ve had to push that hard to stop him." "But it didn''t keep him down for long." I pointed at the scorched wooden floor and the finger-sized hole in the wall behind Xavier''s chair. "If even Xavier cannot stop him, Dante is more powerful than any of us realized," I said. "We need to prepare for that during our next meeting." Logan grunted in agreement but squinted. "Still, something doesn''t feel right." Logan had no idea. "I suppose we''ll find out soon enough," Storm concluded, then turned to me when she noticed my turmoil. "Are you okay, Professor?" "I''m¡­ not sure," I said truthfully. "I need some time to think." --- I stood far away from Clint and Natasha in what they called Defender Gear. Next-generation body armor used a proprietary blend of metal, kevlar, carbon fiber, and reactive materials that instantly went stiff when impacted by blunt force trauma. I was dressed in a unibody suit, with tanks wielding sonic cannons behind me and dozens of soldiers carrying rifles that were at least ten years ahead of anything on the market. Per my instructions, we''ve kept the initial response lean, comprising just ten heavily armed men, while the other 50 soldiers hung back with their rifles and tanks. I''d told Fury about QUELLITRAX''s obsession with consumption. I hated to see what the creep could manage with human Biomass. The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. I was making them fight my battle for me. The least I could do was be honest with them...to an extent. "The boss man wouldn''t mind if I kept this after the fight, would he?" I asked Clint, who kept his head on a swivel, surveying the valley we had set up at. "Each suit of armor cost taxpayers over 2 million dollars," Clint yelled back. "So, that''s a Yes?" "Don''t let the Director catch you making plans for his property," Natasha said. "He''s likely to trust you less than he already does." I looked at Natasha and made my eyes turn Red. "This is coming from the ex-Russian spy?" Natasha didn''t react. "That doesn''t get any less creepy," Clint commented, and I heard Fury''s voice buzzing in my ears. "If you''re done with your parlor tricks, tell me how long we have till they show up." "Ten minutes and forty-five seconds." I heard Fury''s voice boom over a speaker in the background. "Set your watches, gentlemen. We''re 10 minutes out." The following 10 minutes were the longest of my life. The outcome of this mission would determine the course of my life moving forward. I''d either spend it as an asset of SHIELD or a murderhobo fugitive dropping bodies left and right. On the bright side, I had enough ammunition in my Weapon Vault to level a small town and would come out of this deal with multiple new weapons. SHIELD will not be detaining me today, even if that means killing Fury and every Soldier here. I hefted the grenade launcher SHIELD had given men and double-checked it, waiting patiently for the timer to hit zero. The second it did, a dot appeared in reality, and slowly, it grew like an ink splotch of pure darkness. A wave of nervousness swept the rank. Most soldiers were understandably freaked out, but they hid it better than I''d expected. Even Clint and Natasha, expert spies, looked out of their depths. When the dot grew to the size of a window, Fury roared, "Fire!" I was already launching a grenade at it from a distance. Four smoking pellets dropped on the dark spot, exploding as dozens of rifle fire and explosions ripped into the darkness and the landscape around it. It continued to grow regardless and finally slowed down when it reached the size of a door. A laugh carrying a thousand voices echoed from the abyss. Its voice was like nails on chalk and caused our communications to wig out momentarily. "AmUSiNG," it croaked. "YoU CaNnOT StOp WhAT iS tO CoME. I WiLL SaVOr tHE TaSTe oF YoUR SoULs." An unnatural chill swept through the morning air even though it was noon. And I could tell some agents were shitting themselves. Clint and Natasha were terrified, but you wouldn''t know it with their poker faces. Dozens of tentacles rushed out of the rift, reaching for me and the row of agents closest to it. "Son of a¨C" An expedient Demonic Burst carried me far back enough to grab Clint and Natasha and toss them back. They were the only two that escaped out of 10, and the transformation occurred immediately. The Tentacles bore into their orifices, filling them with darkness until their eyes turned black. Thankfully, the surviving SHIELD agents didn''t just wait until the body snatcher finished. Natasha was the first to fire her rifle, drilling a hole in an ex-agent''s head. An arrow from Clint followed after, and that opened the floodgates. Fury gave the order, and everybody fired, shredding the agents from afar. Their body suits held on longer than I expected before exploding from the pressure. Entire limbs disappeared, and brain matter was spilled. I contributed to the chaos with two shots of my grenade launcher, thoroughly scattering what remained of the agents, and I got a notification. Without even reading it, I instantly knew something was wrong. "Don''t let your guard down!" I yelled. "There''s not all dead." Congratulations: You''ve defeated a Lesser Eldritch Propagator. You''ve earned 30 Red Orbs. This breed of Eldritch monsters differed from the Brutes and Spawn I faced. QUELL was beefing up his army. I activated Devil Eye, peering through the smoke, and spotted 5 Propagators darting into the forest behind us, their speeds almost twice as fast as ordinary men. The remaining two did something I did not quite expect. Black tentacles oozed out of their barely-put-together bodies, and they began to merge, pulling in the dirt, discarded weapons, and spare body parts. "Jesus Christ," I muttered as I aimed my grenade launcher. "Fire where I fire. There''s something in the smoke. We''re fucked if we don''t put it down before it completes its transformation." I did not hold back. I kept shooting until I was out of ammunition, and when that was done, I summoned an AK and continued ripping into it. Our attacks sent it stumbling and spinning, but it did considerably less damage than our initial volley. It''d stripped all of the reactive armor, gathered it around its chest to tank the attack, and wrapped its main body in black tentacles. When the creature finally returned fire, I was the only one fast enough to react. Six rifles cocked themselves and started firing. It cut through the first line like grass while I frantically used Burst. Natasha and Clint ducked low and navigated their way behind a truck, and I was behind another with a sniper rifle mounted on my shoulder. I looked down the scope and saw that most of our first line was dead. The dust had settled, and the monster standing before me was two-headed with six arms and four twisted legs that ferried it around the battlefield like a twisted crustacean. I took the sniper shot at the same time as Clint and two other Snipers, taking off both of the Beast''s heads and two arms. Shockingly, the body parts held on with thick cords of black sludge, yanking them back into position and sealing the wounds. More black tentacles burst out of the monster''s wound, stabbing other dead soldiers and pulling their bodies in. "That''s concerning," Clint said. "Unit two, four, and six, watch our flanks. I don''t know where his friends disappeared to, but I bet they''ll be swinging back around, " Fury ordered. "Donald, rip that thing apart with the sonic cannons." Everybody tapped the side of their earpieces as the Sonic weapons powered up. The world went quiet, and the landscape before us quaked as trees shook and split, and the monster shrieked and waffled. The sight was humbling. Tentacles turned to sludge and leaked out of its fragile body, and down my scope, I could see a black gem sticking out of one of its hind legs. I didn''t overthink things and squeezed the trigger. The reaction was immediate. The monster began to writhe as large sections of its body went limp. Chapter 38 Fury raised his hand, and the Sonic burst seized. "What was that?" Fury asked. "Black Gem, Sir?" Clint answered. "Snipers, watch for that, and Don, crank up the volume." The sonic tanks went crazy, ramping up the volume and intensity. The air vibrated, and the beast in front of me shook and splintered as entire limbs popped up and evaporated. Only the black gem was left when Fury''s guys were done. I shot at it with my rifle, earning another notification. You''ve defeated an Eldritch Propagator. You''ve earned 60 Red Orbs. The kill brought my count to 242 Red orbs, and I opened the Devil Arms tab, investing 100 red orbs in the weapon I''d had my eyes on for over a month. Rebellion (Bonded) Grade 1, First Evolution (0/500 Red Orbs) Arbiter (Unlocked) Grade 1, First Evolution (0/500 Red Orbs) Osiris (Unlocked) Unlock for 350 Red Orbs Aquila (locked) Unlock for 500 Red orbs Eryx (locked) Unlock for 500 Red orbs Ophion (Unlocked) Grade 1 (First Evolution (0/500 Red Orbs) Ebony & Ivory (Unlocked) Grade 1 (First Evolution (0/500 Red Orbs) I was tempted to summon it immediately and give it a cheeky swing, but the Propagators had other plans. The ground between the trucks burst open, and tentacles made of splintered wood and black ooze. They lashed out, latching onto dozens of SHIELD soldiers, and wormed their way into their bodies. Desperate screams ripped through the ranks, and I used Burst to close the distance between me and a leaping tentacle aiming for a soldier. Rebellion materialized, mid-swing, severing the tentacle into two. My hand shot out, grabbing a hold of the retreating tentacle, and I yanked hard. The ground beneath us shattered as I pulled the monster to the surface. Clint shot the bulbous mass below without prompt, causing the monster to shriek and squirm, but my grip grew tighter. With one final heave, I pulled it to the surface. The Propagator had taken over the body of an overgrown mole and had black ooze mixed with earth and wood chunks for tentacles. With a disgusted scowl, I switched to Rebellion and ripped it to shreds with the Trillion Stabs. My hands blurred, and nearly 80 endurance points disappeared instantly, but when it was done, I''d shattered the gem animating the monstrosity. It fell limp, and I received a notification. Congratulations: You''ve defeated a Lesser Eldritch Propagator. You''ve earned 30 Red Orbs. Nick Fury''s POV Everything went to shit. One second, Donald had the monster on the ropes; the next, its buddies flanked us, but not from where we''d expected. Five Big tentacles broke to the surface and attacked agents, three of which caught people off guard. Natasha fired an overpowered electrical attack from her Widow Bite gauntlets into the fourth tentacle, holding it steady enough for Clint to rip it apart with an explosive arrow. Dante practically teleported to the fifth tentacle and cut it in half with a sword he summoned out of nowhere. This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. Before I knew it, he and Clint were two-timing the monster, and in a blink, it was dead. Dante pulled out a bullshit sword move from his ass that shredded the monster like Tofu. Damn. When Charles said he was exceptional with weapons, I expected some combat experience, not whatever the hell that was. "Donald, call the lab and have them triple-reinforce the containment system." I hope we don''t need it, but I''d like to be prepared just in case. As soon as the monster went down, the kid flickered again, appearing between two soldiers, and shoved them back. A modified gun with markings appeared in his hand, and he pointed it at the dirt while the whole world writhed around him. The other tentacles had successfully seized soldiers, and they charged Dante as one, even as Units 2,3 and 5 ripped into them with shotguns. Dante''s gun glowed golden crimson, and a shot rang out, penetrating deep into the soil and eviscerating the monster below. I heard a shrill scream as the monster broke to the surface, writhing. Dante pulled out a second gun and began rapid firing while he bounced on his feet, gaining some distance from the monster. "Lend the Kid a hand. Take out the body!" I yelled to Team 2. "Donald," I called. "Adjust the parameters¡­again." Dante took the shot when the black gem in its main body revealed itself and faced the remaining tentacled monsters. He raised a hand again, and his gun slowly gathered energy as he dashed towards Natasha with a jump kick, removing the head of the puppet soldier she was beating back with her bo staff. "I didn''t need your help," she said, "but since you''re here, make yourself useful and help me distract it." "Yes, Milady," he smirked and dashed toward the monster. It swung its broken arm around, aiming a rifle at him. Dante summoned one of his own and fired before it did, shooting the gun out of its arm as he laid into the beast with a nasty sidekick to the knee, dislocating it. The bugger didn''t even flinch. Instead, it unhinged its jaw and snapped at Dante. The kid danced back, his body flashing with dark red energy, and socked it in the jaw, lifting it off the ground. Exploiting the opening, Natasha pulled a dagger from her boot and swiped through the tentacle, separating the monster from a soldier. She leaped onto the coiling, retreating tentacle and shoved a live grenade into the oozing wound before backflipping off it and landing on the ground. An explosion sounded underground, tossing the monster to the surface. Dante summoned his other gun and ripped the monster to shreds, firing alongside every free gun on site. His charging gun went off, and the monster went limp. Clint followed Natasha''s footsteps, and another died thirty seconds later, but the last one on the surface did something we''d not expect. It released the puppet soldier, who was nothing but bones at this point, and dove underground. A second later, the ground beneath us began to shake, and I knew we were in trouble. It was trying to combine with the monster that went underground after Natasha and Clint cut its tentacle. "Fuck me," I swore. "Everyone clear out. Donald, overload the Sonic cannons. We can''t let them finish." ¨C Dante POV Everybody gave the tanks a wide berth, even Donald, Fury''s right-hand man. I guess it wasn''t Coulson''s time yet. I was several meters away from the tanks when they went crazy. The air screamed, and even the specialty earpieces that Fury had us wearing could not completely protect us from the damage. A few soldiers lost their footing momentarily, and others put even more distance between the tanks, but I drew closer, summoning Rebellion and a grenade. When the monster broke to the surface, all hell broke loose. Three giant wood, stone, and metal-covered tentacles snapped out of the ground, lashing wildly. It sent several tanks flying, driving our team further back. Fury let out a ''Mother fucker,'' and ordered the soldiers to fire. They punched holes through tentacles, but the monster was still going strong. I threw a grenade at one of the limbs, completely devastating it, but to my surprise, one of the less injured tentacles scooped up dead soldiers and consumed them to regenerate its lost appendage. I watched in curious alarm. "That''s new." "Bring that son of a bitch down," Fury roared, and his soldiers sprung into action, slotting grenades into the launchers attached to their guns. A few pulled out RPGs, and we fired as one, rocking the forest floor. The monster came to the surface with a sharp screech. It was an amorphous, bulbous thing with three huge tentacles, dozens of smaller ones, soldier limbs, guns, and a vague mole-shaped head. It towered over us, standing at nearly twelve feet, and rushed at us with surprising speed. "Scatter!" Fury ordered, and the soldiers bolted. My muscles tensed up as I considered my options. Fury''s team needed breathing room to fight, and they wouldn''t get that chance if the monster kept gobbling up soldiers. "Put some space between you and that thing, but don''t stop shooting," Fury ordered. "Dante, can you hold that thing back." I set my jaw and let out a sigh as I summoned Arbiter. "I''ll take care of it." Chapter 39 --- Rebellion morphed. Its handle grew as the blade shrunk and twisted into a rugged patchwork of sharp angles and edges. The axe blade was serrated and chunky and weighed triple what the sword did. Fury''s eyes bulged. "The Hell is that?" "Get your boys in place and be ready to provide cover fire when I ask for it." "Hey, Ugly!" I yelled at the beast, who was about to corner a frazzled female agent. "Pick on somebody your own size," I spread my hands out. The monster paused, and its mishappened head snapped in my direction. It hissed, bucking as it slowly grew long and agile quadruped limbs and lunged at me. I took off in a flash with Demonic Burst and packed Arbiter with so much energy that the rusty axe head sizzled. I raised my axe high, the weight damn-near tripling, and came down on the thing''s head. An explosion went off. It jerked the monster''s head down, throwing it into the dirt, and I came down with another explosive strike, splitting its head in two. I heard a screech, and three tentacles lashed out, but I was faster. Arbiter turned to Rebellion and parried two strikes while an explosive arrow diverted the third, opening the beast up for a Stinger strike to the face, followed by two quick licks. Angel Evade carried me behind it as it swung out with his claws, screeching in pain. I filled my blade with demonic energy and swiped at the base of a tentacle, cutting it clean off. A shriek and a body check sent me flying. The creature had reacted before its lost tentacle even hit the ground. I reacted equally fast, switching to Ophion and Angel and lifting myself back to the monster''s body. I slammed into it with a Stinger and twisted my blade, opening a deep wound. I summoned a live grenade with my free hand and chucked it inside the open wound. I used Angel Evade seconds before the retaliatory strike came. Two tentacles packed with stone, adaptive armor, and wood phased through me as I rematerialized on the ground. The explosion went off a second later, throwing the monster''s body to the side, and I ran up to it, Arbiter glowing red, and slammed into its second tentacle, shearing through stone, metal, wood, and ooze. The body check followed before the tentacle touched the floor, but this time, I was ready, leaning out of reach while I had a demonic energy coat around me. My clever maneuvering earned me an instance of double damage that was quickly fading. So, I set out to use it with extreme prejudice. I dashed at it and lopped the third tentacle clean off. A mess of black tentacles came at me next, but I dodged them all with quick footwork and a demonic burst, earning myself another Demonic Evade bonus. The Eldritch monster rapidly began to pulse and change, shifting to accommodate the lost biomass. It tried reaching for its downed tentacle but could not reattach it, the demonic presence of Arbiter still lingering. While it was still panicking and reacting, I decided to end this fight and jumped into the air using Burst. I propelled myself into the air a second time before I started filling Arbiter up with energy. I flashed downward, just as the Propagator looked upward, slamming into it with the remainder of my freshly triggered Demon evade bonus stacked on another Burst. The results were¡­explosive. The impact shattered the ground and reduced the monster to putty. The front half of its body was caved in, and it struggled against my burning demonic energy, wriggling, desperate to pull itself back together. Even though I was out of breath and disoriented, I noticed all of its movement and energy was coming from one singular bulge at the center of its back. I summoned Ebony and fired, shattering a huge black gemstone the size of a large apple. The Propagator''s body sloughed immediately, losing all form. It was still a bit startling that the combined Propagators could get that big. It was probably because the hiding Propagator had enough time to gather mass. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. Note to self. Never let those slimy fucks hide away. You''ve killed a Matured Eldritch Propagator. You''ve earned 200 Red Orbs. QUELLITRAX is not amused. Well, I''m not amused either, QUELL. I snorted. There were a few other notifications, but Fury approached me before I could look at them. "Is it over?" "Yeah," I panted, checking my resources. Name: Dante Sparda Species: Nephilim Class: None HP: 580/620 SP: 230 /610 AE: 306/400 DE: 240/400 Strength: 36 Dexterity: 40 Endurance: 61 Vitality: 62 Angelic Energy: 40 Demonic Energy: 43 + 2 Fury stood at the lip of the crater with Natasha and Clint. They all looked taken aback by the sight. I saw naked fear in Clint''s eyes, and Natasha hid her''s so well you almost couldn''t tell. "The Professor sold you short," Fury said. I chuckled. "That''s the understatement of the century. Now, do you believe me when I say I''m here to help?" "We''d be in deep shit if you''re not." The battle had taken less than 10 minutes, but all of New York heard the explosions. Government vehicles, helicopters, and agents were called on-site to push back the Press and curious New Yorkers. ''Officially,'' the noise was caused by a localized weapon testing that got out of hand. Most didn''t buy the story, but Fury left them little choice. I was led to a private trailer while paramedics attended to the injured. The fight had been brutal, and I was starting to feel bad about dragging Fury into this. Sure, I could''ve handled it alone, but those propagators were nasty. It wouldn''t have come out of the fight without a few bruises. They would''ve overwhelmed me regardless of how many bombs and rifles I had in my Weapons vault. If I was forced to retreat for whatever reason, I had a feeling QUELL wouldn''t stop. It might''ve been sneaky, but my decision to involve him ultimately benefited everybody. QUELL''s rift closed seconds after the last Propagator died, and so did all traces of them. The black ooze they were made up of practically evaporated, leaving Fury nothing to work with or examine. Needless to say, that frustrated him quite a bit, almost as much as realizing that he had no real measure of my strength. Xavier gave him old information, and I''ve only ever cut loose a few times in the X-men''s presence. Thanks to my training, I was nearly four times as strong as a peak human athlete, putting my effective lifting strength at well over 1000 kilograms on the bench press. My speed was even more impressive, and I was about to reach another stratosphere with my rewards. Congratulations on completing the 2nd of 5 incursions. You''ve earned 1 key to Shin''s Multidimensional Emporium. The store was finally open to me, and between all of the killing, I ended up with 402 Red Orbs. I wanted more, but I didn''t get any orbs for that Propagator that Clint killed. As eager as I was to spend my new Red Orbs, I couldn''t help but take a look at Shin''s store. The system interface turned golden when I entered it, and I swore I heard a trumpet sound in the background. The store was a lot more organized than I expected. Shin''s wares were divided into: Classes Weapons Potions Skills Artifacts Tools Enhancements Bloodlines Abilities Shin''s List I spent hours scrolling through each section, and my brain would''ve shorted out at the sheer possibilities were it not for how bloody expensive everything was. Every power, ability, artifact, and weapon you could ever imagine was in the store, even other Systems. And they were locked behind astronomical Red Orb counts or, worse, world-specific currencies. A Zanpaktou was 20.3 million Red orbs or 30,000 Kan (Soul Society Currency) The Yamato was 500 million Red Orbs. Daylight robbery, I tell you. I shook my head. I shouldn''t have expected anything less from someone like Shin. I would need a world-ending fight like the Battle of New York to afford anything on the list. Even mutant abilities like Pyrokinesis did not give me much hope. Beta-level abilities were worth 15 million per pop. Alpha-level abilities were 100 million, and Omega-level abilities were 500 million. The Classes available were cheaper, but just as worrying. I had a long list available to me, the cheapest being just about 50,000 Red Orb. It was called Agent of SHIELD, and it came with useful skills like Tech Mastery, Adept Weapon Mastery, and Strategic Thinking. There was also a Serial Killer Class, Weapons'' Master, Dojo Master, bounty hunter, and Eldritch Slayer. The last one was intriguing because it granted me a flat damage boost of 10% on all Eldritch monsters. Many other choices were greyed and unreadable with an interesting tag. "Does not Qualify". Others were even more expensive than the weapons, with price tags reaching the billions. However, one caught my eye out of the many available classes. It cost 100,000 Red Orbs and was the ticket to the top of Marvel''s Earth''s power scale. Dark Knight Take on the title and mantle of the Legendary Dark Knight Sparda, fully embodying the Demon and becoming an emissary of his will and purpose: Peace between Humans and Demons. Grants 5AGI 5STR, 10DE Per Level Warning: Changes race to Demon. You can only grow in strength by draining human blood. Skills (L) Swordsmanship¨C Wield the blade with the experience and power of a warrior who has fought a thousand battles. (L) Dark Knight Devil Arms¨C Inherit the legendary weapons of the Dark Knight by reaping the lives of demons. (Devil Sword Sparda, Luce & Ombra, Force Edge, Rebellion, Yamato) (L)Demon form¨CUnleash your inner Demon, transforming into the Demon, Sparda. 5x to all physical stat and regeneration. I damn near frothed from the mouth after reading this. By level 8, I would be twice as strong as I currently was, with enough demonic energy to smother an apartment complex. Plus, it was not like I was using my Angel energy for much besides healing and the occasional intangible dodge. Both functions could probably be substituted with purchases from the store. For example, Air Dragon-Slaying Magic cost half a billion Demonic Orbs, would fix the healing problem, and give me elemental manipulation of wind, the primary element my Angel side had dominion over anyway. Still, the Nephilim Race was a dark horse. In the store, it cost 2 Trillion Red Orbs, and it was no wonder. Demons and Angel hybrids were scarcely explored in fiction, but they were THE overpowered race. They were the product of immortal celestial beings and perhaps the only entities to reach true godhood in their lifetimes. Cutting off half of what made me unique seemed like too much of a sacrifice for power that I would have sooner rather than later. The Son of Sparda class tempted me, but it was a rainy day choice at best. At worst, it was a downgrade. Chapter 40 I turned to the Devil Arm tab next, glad to find I had just enough Red Orbs to buy my first Angel Weapon. Osiris. It was a transformed ornate Scythe with two handles, a thick shaft, and a long cursive blade. It cost 350 Red Orbs, and I was tempted to summon it immediately. Still, I knew better, realizing that my trailer was probably bugged. Instead, I settled for looking through the weapon list, bringing up their descriptions. Rebellion (Bonded) Grade 1, First Evolution (0/500 red orbs) A transforming longsword gifted to Dante by his father, Sparda, and a conduit for his bountiful demonic and Angelic abilities. Abilities: Low-tier energy affinity, low-tier enhanced durability Arbiter (Unlocked) Grade 1, First Evolution (0/500 red orbs) An oversized battle-axe and one of the two demonic forms of Rebellion. Bears the primal force of eruption with each swing. Deals 2 times the damage Rebellion does at the base. Damage and weight drastically increase with demonic energy. Abilities. Low-tier Eruption and explosion manipulation, low-tier weight manipulation. Osiris (Unlocked) Grade 1, First Evolution (0/500 red orbs) The first angelic form of Rebellion, Osiris, is a light-speed scythe that delivers fast, reliable damage while allowing Dante to embody the weightlessness and agility of an Angel. Deals 0.5 times the damage of Rebellion but moves 25% faster. Damage slowly accumulates with Angel Energy infusion and the innate Feed ability. Abilities: Low-tier Wind manipulation. Ebony & Ivory (Unlocked) Grade 1 (First Evolution (0/500 red orbs) Dante''s trademark pistols. Engineered to withstand Dante''s superhuman speed and dexterity without ever seizing. Abilities: Low-tier energy bullets, low-tier enhanced durability I''d just finished reading the last of my notifications and switching to my regular clothes when I heard the knock. The door eased open, and Natasha peeked in. "Director Fury wants you." "Never said you could come in," I said, slipping on my shirt. I caught Natasha''s eye lingering for a second too long. "It''s nothing I haven''t seen before, Kid," Natasha said, ducking out. I followed after. "Oh, it''s kid now." "You might swing an axe as tall as you are, but you still look like you belong in high school." "I think saving the world warrants an early graduation," I quipped as we arrived in front of a black SUV. Natasha nodded me in, but I had to get one last lick. "Tell me you didn''t have as many bodies as I did when you were my age." "You say that like it''s a good thing." With a roll of my eyes, I entered Fury''s SUV and found myself sitting across from the director of SHIELD. His intense eyes fixed on me, and he began. "Well, you said there was more you had to tell me. Let''s hear it." "What I am about to say is for the ears of your inner circle only?" I began in a low voice. Fury raised a brow. "The car is bullet and soundproof. No one else is listening." Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. Well, that was not entirely true. Shin, the OAA, and a few other people could hear us if they wanted to. "Captain America is alive." I watched for Fury''s reaction, and it was priceless. His face lost all color, and his mouth twitched slightly before he finally spoke. "You''re not kidding, are you?" Honestly, I expected more resistance, but having just proved myself to be a somewhat reliable Clairvoyant, it would be shortsighted to ignore what I had to say, even if it sounded a bit nutty from his perspective. "Unfortunately, I''m not," I said, leaning into the chair. "Where is he?" "Where the world left him," I said. "Underneath the Ice." "You can''t mean¡­" I shrugged. "Call it magic, Alien tech, or a miracle, but Cap''s heart is still pumping." Fury was quiet for a moment before he spoke. "You''ve told me how your eyes work. Unless you made a trip to the Arctic we don''t know about, you shouldn''t be able to know." "I took a look at a history textbook," I said. "Sometimes, I need to look at the real thing before I know for certain, but other times, a picture is enough. Which neatly brings me to the second revelation of the day. And you might want to hold onto something for this one." Fury muttered a curse under his breath and tapped one of the panels in his car. It opened up, revealing a mini-bar. There was an old bottle of Scotch and some glass. Fury gingerly poured one for himself and took a sip. We were barely past noon, but I understood. It''d been a long day. He likely spent the last hour justifying his mobilization of forces to the board and explaining what I was¨C A clairvoyant devil. I chuckled, just imagining their reactions. "Nothing for your guest?" I asked Fury. "You''re 19." "And I''ve been killing Demons since I was five, and I just saved the planet. I think I''m a bit overdue for a drink." "That''s fair," Fury conceded. "But I''m not fixing your drink. Pour it yourself." It was an odd issue to dig his heels down on, but I picked up the glass and poured one out anyway. I took a careful sip and savored it in quiet. God, I miss alcohol. Fury emptied his glass with a long swig. "Alright, out with it?" he demanded. "Hydra is alive, and they''ve infiltrated SHIELD." Fury''s glass clattered to the floor in shock. ¡ª Jean''s POV I sat at the Professor''s bedside, my mind swirling with a flood of complex emotions. The conversation between him and Dante played over and over in my head. It was hard to reconcile the vicious words I''d heard with the man lying in bed in front of me. He''d raised me after my parents passed and watched after every mutant that needed his help. Constantly peering into people''s minds, I knew that everyone had an ugly side to them, even Scott, even Dr Hank, but I never thought Xavier¡­ A tear dropped from my cheek, landing on a patch of teal sheets covering Xavier. I was crying? I cradled my face, shoving back the tsunami of emotion threatening to spill out. The last time I was overcome with emotions like this, I nearly took down a section of Dante''s domain. I wasn''t sure the mansion would survive an episode. "Are you okay, Jean?" Scott''s soft voice startled me. I turned around to see the panicked lower half of his face. ''All this is my fault,'' I heard Scott''s mind say. "I should''ve been here to protect you and the Professor from him," he began, and l scowled. "It didn''t happen the way you think," I snapped. "You''re defending him!" "This is not about him," I said, walking up to Scott. "I''m tired of you treating me like I''m the center of the universe. I''m stronger than every last mutant in this building. I don''t need your protection, Scott. You weren''t with us because I didn''t want you there." "But you wanted him?" Scott demanded, and I nearly lost it. I could hear the pain in his voice, but I didn''t care. "He knows what I''m going through," I said. "He understands what I am, and he showed me the truth about him," I said, pointing at the Professor. "If you heard the things he said." Scott motioned to hold my hand, but I pulled away. "You can''t let that thug inside your head, Jean." "Thug?" "You have to see he''s manipulating you if he has you questioning the Professor," Scott said. "Have you forgotten what he''s done for us?" "I remember all too well. But the better question should be, what don''t I remember?" Scott raised a brow. "What are you trying to say, Jean?" "The Professor is the most powerful Telepath we know. He can put most people to sleep with a thought, erase entire experiences from our minds," I said. "I''m just questioning how much of our past is actually true?" Scott had a startled look, but he doubled down. "You can''t really think¡­" "I know exactly what I think," I said. "If he can get inside my head and put up a mental block, then what can he do inside your head, Logan''s, or even the Professor? He''s like a Father to me, but that doesn''t mean he is a good man." I walked past Scott, stomping toward the door. "Wait!" Scott reached out to grab my hand, and in the next second, he was airborne. Scott crashed into the wall with a groan. I gasped. I hadn''t meant for that to happen. I was angry, but not so much that I still couldn''t talk to Scott. He needed to know what happened. "The Professor is poison, Scott," I said. "I know you don''t like Dante because you think he''s trying to steal me away. What I am about to say is not for him but for you and the other kids. The Professor attacked first, not Dante. I saw everything with my own eyes." "What!" Scott blinked in surprise. His face flashed with a sudden horror before it was replaced by confusion and doubt. Shaking his head, Scott declared. "No, he''d never do that. You''ve known the Professor for nearly half of your life, and I''ve been at the mansion for years. You can''t¨C" It was my turn to be surprised. "Didn''t you hear me? I said I saw it happen." Scott opened his mouth and then shut it. His eyes glazed over momentarily before he started shaking his head again. "There must be some explanation for this. It makes no sense." It was my turn to be confused. I tilted my head, staring at him. "No, it doesn''t." On a whim, I took a deeper look¨C No deeper than I''d gone before¡ª and there it was. Xavier''s imprint. Scott''s mind had been tampered with. I followed the trail of Xavier''s energy and felt for what he''d changed in Scott. It wasn''t his memories or a mental block. It was far more insidious. Scott seemed to hold Xavier in higher esteem than just about anybody, even his parents. I gasped, taking several steps back. How long has this been going on? Who else did Charles have his claws in? Kitty? Colossus? Ilyana? The staff? "What''s wrong, Jean?" Scott said, slowly climbing to his feet, but I kept the distance between us. I was powerful now, but not nearly enough to undo whatever Charles did. I threw an angry look in his direction, biting my lip. Maybe Dante was right. I should''ve let him die. No, no, then I might''ve lost my biggest lead. "I''m going to fix this," I said slowly, backing away from the door into the hallway. Scott reached out again, but I slammed the door shut with Telekinesis and held it in place as I hurried away, my mind frantic. I turned around when I felt a familiar mind step into the opposite end of the hallway. "Jean?" It was Dr Hank. "I can explain," I started. Chapter 41 Isha I strutted into an emptied-out warehouse at the docks in a sleek white suit. Under a flickering fluorescent light, a familiar figure waited for me. "Quite the predicament you''ve placed us in, Wilson," I said evenly. "At some point, you''ll have to find a more permanent solution for our vigilante problem. I will never understand your kind''s obsession with tights." I was furious, but I hid it well. Remaining unreadable was an asset in all areas of business, whether you were dealing with Demons or humans. "''For once, this is not on my kind," Fisk rumbled, handing me photographs of a masked man zipping around a large room with red and blue streaks accompanying him. "I thought you said you controlled the demons in New York?" "I do," I said, without ever looking up. I recognized him immediately. Dante. The second son of Sparda. Father would be over the moon if he knew I found him. Last I heard, he was an untrained Wastrel, whoring his likely infinite life away. A lot could change in a month. "Maybe you''re not nearly as powerful as I thought," Fisk said in his slow, unhurried voice. "Do you know what your pride has cost us, Isha?" Wilson''s rage bled through his words. Like me, he had a masterful Poker face. To answer Wilson''s question, Sparda''s son just cost us months of work and a ridiculous amount of money. We would have to purchase Hell''s Kitchen''s properties at a considerable markup and further delay Father''s goals for the New York Sanctum. I narrowed my eyes at Wilson. I could understand his anger, but I could not abide the insult from a lesser. "I''ll deal with the matter personally," I said, walking up to the blubbery giant, "and pay the difference in cost, but my dear Wilson, if you ever raise your voice to me again, it will be the last thing you do." My eyes flashed bright crimson as I summoned one of my two Devil Arms¡ªtalons of white gold and fire. The temperature in the room skyrocketed, and I held Wilson''s gaze, delighting as he stepped back in awe and fear. His tie caught fire, and he hurriedly removed it and tossed it, fixing me with a startled glare. The sight would''ve been perfect if he were on his knees. "Don''t forget yourself, Wilson," I said as I turned around and vanished into the night. ¡ª "Remind me why I need to learn this again?" I asked Natasha as I flipped through a thick book on programming. Don''t get me wrong, I loved computers as much as the next guy, but understanding and working on the back end was not just well¡­my thing. I was more of a punchy punch guy, as you''ve probably seen. "You don''t have much of a choice," Clint said. "You gotta know your way around all sorts of security systems and computers if you want to be an Agent." "Contractor," I insisted. "The deal I was discussing with Fury before he ran off was that I was supposed to be his shotgun, not tech support." "Do you think we get to call in Tech support when we''re stuck in the field with no way out?" Natasha asked. "You won''t be much use to Fury if you can''t hack your way past a door or spoof a basic security camera feed. You may be strong, but you can''t cleave your way out of everything with your axe." "Wanna bet?" I smirked, and Natasha walked over to me, leaning in. "Why didn''t you cut your way through the X-Men that night you ran into them at the warehouse?" I raised a brow. She knew about that. Of course, she did. She was Natasha Romanoff. "Or why did you run when SHIELD came after you that night after you fled LA?" she said. "You talk tough, but I know it''s all an act. You''re smarter than you look. Otherwise, you wouldn''t have lasted this long." The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. The corners of my lips twisted in amusement. Game recognized game. "So, when we tell you this is important, you listen," she finished, and Clint whistled. I raised my hands in mock surrender. "Fine, fine. I''ll learn how to code, but only if you teach me how to lie and profile like the best of them." Natasha looked surprised, and Clint laughed. "You''re something else, kid. I can''t believe you tried to sucker Natasha." I leaned back in my seat with a self-satisfied smirk, and Natasha sat down on the table where I''d dumped my textbook. "If that''s what you want, it''s fine. Though, it''s a shame it will be a waste of both of our time," she shrugged. "Humans are ten times more complicated than any computer. I mean, if you''re struggling with basic computer science¡­" She trailed off. "Are you sure you don''t want to learn about guns or surveillance? That seems more your speed." I laughed internally. Did she think that would work on me? "Where did all that enthusiasm for me to learn how to code go?" I chuckled. "We all have our strengths," Natasha shrugged. "How about we have a little wager," I smirked. "If I can bypass the security system by the door in three months, you must teach me everything you know. Lock picking, interrogation, negotiation, stealth, and information gathering¨C the nine yards. You have to make me a super spy." Natasha''s brow hiked up her beautiful face as she grappled with what she was hearing. "You do realize that we have one of the most advanced security systems in the world? No one can start from scratch and pick up coding that fast." "Then, there''s no reason why you should not agree," I said with a shrug. "What do I get if I win?" Natasha said, folding her hands after giving it some thought. My eyes flashed red, and I smirked, wiping the confident look off Natasha''s face. I leaned in close, whispering low enough that Clint couldn''t hear us. "Your sister." Natasha''s face immediately went white. ¡ª Fury walked into the apartment, interrupting the game of cards I was playing with Clint. I was taking a short break after working my way through a quarter of the first book Natasha provided. She''d stepped out after my jaw-dropping revelation and hadn''t been back. We were playing Poker, and the Archer was cleaning me out. It seemed I''d finally run into something I was not immediately good at. Lucky for me, I had the foresight to not bet with actual money. We were using fake chips. When he saw us playing, Fury nearly blew a gasket. "Let me get this straight. While I''m out there trying to see if we''re about to be overrun by Nazi squids, you''re playing Poker!" "Clint said it''d help me bluff better," I said, pointing at the Archer, whose eyes bulged at the betrayal. "You asked for the lesson!" "Because I''m so clearly terrible at lying," I said, turning to Fury. "The bit about Alexander Pierce was true, wasn''t it?" "Son of a¡­" Fury trailed off, massaging his brow. "He switched out the transport team that was supposed to be escorting a vehicle I suggested you might''ve been in. I tailed them from afar. It never made it to the SHIELD site before it was ransacked. I got a call from Pierce afterward, asking where you were." "The commander? Hydra, really?" Clint asked, his voice tainted with more sadness than disbelief. "Wasn''t excited about it either," Fury said, "but the kid was right. Again." I smirked but didn''t let the flattery distract me. "Where did you tell Pierce I was?" "Tucked away in a safe house where we were trying to get you to join SHIELD." The truth. "While we''re on the topic of ''joining'' SHIELD. We still need to finalize our terms. All I want is to provide you with intel and muscle for special cases in exchange for wiping my slate clean and setting me up with a pad, state-of-the-art equipment, and, of course, cheddar. Seems pretty fair to me." "And I told you there''s only so much I can authorize for an external contractor," Fury said. "I can''t give you all that and protect you from Hydra." "So, what you''re saying is that there''s a price too great for saving the world?" "No, I''m saying you''re an unknown Dante. Unknowns make me and the council nervous. Knowing those old coots, they''ll probably feel safer having you locked up somewhere you can''t cause trouble, but after today''s invasion, I know that''ll probably come back to bite us in the ass sooner rather than later. If you join SHIELD¨C" "No," I said immediately. It was a knee-jerk reaction, but Fury pressed on with an irritated look. "If you joined SHIELD, I can justify all those expenses and keep you insulated from Pierce. With the right team build, you can produce results and shut down all protestors." It was a half-truth. I saw the flaw in his reasoning, and if he was the man I knew he was, so did he. I was part demon. All it took was one slip-up from the other half-demons on the planet, and I was in the dog house. Hell, my position would be shaky if any superpowered person stepped out of line, which was guaranteed to happen since this was the Marvel Universe. Besides, I already had somebody puppeting me. I refuse to have another. "I want to help you, Fury," I said, standing up. "But I won''t live under your thumb. I''d rather see it all BURN down. You want my help with Hydra, Quellitrax, and the dozen other threats coming. I remain a contractor for SHIELD, at least unofficially. You can forge my registration papers and do what you must to make it look legitimate, but these are my terms, and I''m not budging." Fury frowned. "Why go through the trouble of faking it if you''re going to be SHIELD in every way that matters." "Because I know how all of this ends," I said. "They''re going to ask for me, and on that day, you''ll remember I was not yours to hand over to begin with." Silence. "I''ll draw up the fake paperwork," Fury said. "Welcome to SHIELD." Chapter 42 After helping me complete the paperwork, Fury went into detail about how my actual time with SHIELD would operate. Natasha, Clint, and a few agents would instruct me in Safehouses designed to contain and test high-powered individuals like myself. In other words, Superhero Prison. To say I wasn''t worried about these sites would be a lie, but I was certain Fury would not betray me so soon after we signed our agreement. ...Hopefully. While I was in training, it was agreed upon that I would also get assigned missions to handle special-case situations, A.K.A, other superhumans. I also got a small apartment a few minutes away from the training facility and a base salary. It was 100,000 dollars a year after taxes, plus 20k to 50k for every mission I completed successfully. It was more money than I ever made as an M.M.A. fighter, but I still felt underpaid, considering the risk I would be taking every time I faced a super-powered individual. Finally, my time was mine when we weren''t training or on missions. All they asked was for me to wear a trackable watch and a standard-issue SHIELD phone so Fury could always reach me when he needed to. As soon as Fury came through with the paperwork, I received my SHIELD badge and swaggered out of the safehouse and into the apartment they''d set up. It was fully stocked with modern amenities, which I obviously ripped out and sold. Even if I couldn''t say whether they were bugged, I preferred to do my own interior design. There are new couches, electrical work, and the nine yards. It took a week to sort out, and I saw SHIELD''s detainment site turned training facility. There were empty rooms designed to withstand the near-titanic amount of power I could now dish out. It had machines and weight stations that could support thousands of pounds of weight, high-speed treadmills that put the facilities at conventional Gyms to shame, and all manner of weapons. Devil Hunter weapon mastery was among the few aces I revealed while talking to Fury. Watching Clint swear whenever I hit a bullseye with a bow was particularly entertaining. I put off practicing with my Demon and Angel weapons in front of them. Until I unlocked Aquila and Eryx, I preferred to let SHIELD think I couldn''t summon my weapons on a whim. It also meant I needed a private space to train myself. For now, I showed SHIELD more of what I could already do, drilling my aim with guns on site, practicing with various weapons, and spamming focused shots and demonic bursts as often as I could while I blitzed through obstacle courses. The plan was to reach Adept Tier in both techniques. One week after I started training SHIELD, I took a train into New York proper, with my hair dyed black, of course, and a hat to hide my features. Fury had said Pierce would back off for now because I was officially in the system, but you could never be too sure. Besides, he was not the only one I''d managed to piss off. The Hand, the X-men, and the Brotherhood still wanted my ass. And while I was confident in handling the Hand to an extent, the other two were¡­debatable. I came to a stop in front of a familiar building. It was a Brownstone in Manhattan and the New York branch of the Sorcerers of Earth. It looked unassuming, but with a flash of my Devil''s eye, I saw through the tapestry of illusions. Congratulations: Devil Eye has reached Adept level. Can now better perceive energy and pierce through illusions. The upgrade caught me unawares. I hadn''t even known I was close to the upgrade, but I took it in stride nonetheless. I walked up the stairs, and my knuckles rapped on the door frame. There was no response. I was about to knock again when I saw it. Golden energy surged in a circle around my feet. Burst carried me far back in time to escape the Portal, bumping into a young lady. I was about to offer an apology when the world splintered, and a wave of energy swept by me. Suddenly, I was alone, standing on a street, and above me, I saw a mirror of the street I was on, but it was completely deserted. Several identical streets meshed into the first one, forming a strange hexagon of parallels. This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. I recognized it immediately. The mirror dimension? Whatever happened to bloody diplomacy? "You''re certainly bold to come here," a voice boomed across from me. It came from a bald black man in flowing golden robes who''d not been standing there a minute ago. He was flanked by ten other sorcerers, glaring at me in malice. "Look, guys, this is some big misunderstanding. I need to talk to the Sorcerer Supreme." "So, it was ignorance that has brought you here, not confidence," the man said, assuming a martial stance. Twin mandalas of golden light manifested on his fists. "Couldn''t we, like, talk this out first?" I said with an awkward smile. The man glared at me. "No." Strings of golden whips lashed out at me from all angles, and I immediately used Demonic Burst. My entire body blurred as I was catapulted forward, dancing and snaking through a labyrinth of golden chains, twisting and bending. Another Burst brought me half a step away from the stunned lead Sorcerer''s face. I was about to grab the trigger-happy bastard when the world around me suddenly inverted. Gravity went topsy-turvy, and suddenly, I was flopping through the air. The main Socerer clapped his hands, forming strange Mandalas that shone with deep crimson energy. Uh oh. That didn''t look good. "Bands of Cyttorak," he whispered as he threw his hand forward, sending the whips in my direction. With a frantic prompt, I summoned Osiris and spun it in front of me to generate a basic buffer, pumping tons of Angel energy into the weapon just as the bands crashed into me. The force sent me spinning, but oddly, the bands never made it past the wall of energy. They flew in every which way, slamming into other sorcerers and windows. One thick band even lashed at the lead Sorcerer''s head. I saw the slight panic in his eyes as he leaned out of the way, and I moved again. But this time, I wasn''t going for the head honcho. It was the ten others who escorted him. My body turned an ethereal blue before it vanished, reappearing in front of a sorcerer. A punch dug into his gut, half-force, punting him a fair distance. Somebody yelled something as I came down with a spinning Axe kick on the second guy. A Mandala Shield sprung to life at the last possible second as a portal opened underneath me, but I was ready this time. A burst threw me backward, and another launched me forward with Arbiter in hand. The first strike had the Mandala flickering, but the second never came as I Angel Evaded away just in time to avoid a concentrated beam of red energy. Another beam followed, and then a third, and finally a fourth. I dodged everyone but was growing increasingly worried at their ferocity. If these motherfuckers kept going like this, I might be forced to actually take this fight seriously. I had the feeling that the Ancient one would be less willing to hear me out if I killed some of her sorcerers. Thankfully, the leader took the time to gloat before escalating the fight further. "It was foolish of you to come here alone, Demon brat," he said. "You should know better than to approach a Sanctum. Have you forgotten that we are at war?" It was a real struggle not to react when I heard the news. Of course, they were at fucking war, dumbass! The sorcerers of Earth were created to protect the world from threats outside our dimension. Belasco and his Nephilim spawn fit that bill perfectly. Sparda''s memory hadn''t mentioned a conflict, but I would assume they''ve been fighting for centuries. What was more dangerous than a half-demon, half-human that could get by Agamotto''s protection spell? Given all of this context, the bald sorcerer guy was right. It was incredibly stupid approaching the Sanctum as I did, but I''ve talked my way out of worse situations. "Of course, I''ve not," I snorted. "Seeing the Ancient one is just that important. I bring news of a threat that can end the Earth if it''s not dealt with delicately." "Lies!" One bald Sorcerer yelled, clutching his stomach. "It''s demon trickery." When I squinted my eyes, he looked oddly familiar. The leader silenced him with a wave but seemed to agree with his enthusiastic underling. "We are guardians of the Earth, and we do not know the threat you speak of." "You might not," I said, "but your boss might. The news I bring is too sensitive for the ears of anyone but Yao." I saw the man''s eyes grow wider as I casually dropped the name of the Ancient one. "Who are you?" he asked. "The name is Dante." The bald Sorcerer seemed to examine me for a long second before he waved his hand, forcing the other sorcerers to stand down reluctantly. "I am Daniel Drumm. Master of the Sanctum Sanctorium, and I will relay your message to her, but understand this. If you step out of line, there will be no warning, only retribution." "I''ve got chills," I smirked, "but I got the idea loud and clear. I''m here to talk, not fight." Drumm said nothing and waved his hand, and suddenly, we were standing in the Sanctum Sanctorium. The interior was spacious, with old fixtures, rugs, floorboards, and glass cases with strange artifacts hanging mid-air. "Wow," I muttered as I spun, trying to take it all in. "Wait here," he said. Seven of the ten sorcerers that''d fought with him opened golden gateways that they stepped into, leaving me with two men and one woman, all with pronounced snarls on their faces. The angriest of the trio was the man who''d spoken up against me. I was now also realizing that he''d been the sucker I''d punched earlier. No wonder he was a bit miffed. My first instinct was to apologize, but I had a feeling that would only make things worse, so I settled for just standing there awkwardly. Luckily, I didn''t have to wait long for the Ancient One to arrive. She elected to startle like a proper master of the mystic arts. "You certainly know how to make an entrance, Dante Sparda." A voice sounded from behind us. None of us had even seen the portals she''d come through. "Ah well, I aim to please," I said. "I''m just glad we could talk things out before things got more serious." "I will relay to Master Drumm that you''re grateful for his restraint." Chapter 43 I smirked. I saw what Yao did there. "Sorcerer Supreme!" All three sorcerers took a deep bow in her presence. Like the movies, The Sorcerer Supreme was a bald woman who looked past her prime, but her face differed notably from the actress who played her. It was another reminder that I could not fully rely on my knowledge from the MCU. Sooner rather than later, I would encounter a notable change that I could not ''predict.'' "I''ll take it from here," The Ancient one said, dismissing the rest of the sorcerers. They disappeared in a glowing fiery portal, and my eyes followed them with no small measure of curiosity. "That will never not be cool," I said to Yao. "It''s the small things that keep the joy of the practice alive," Yao said with a warm smile. "I suppose you know why I am here," I said, scratching my cheek. "Surprisingly, I''m not entirely sure," she said, circling me with intrigue in her eyes. "The future has never been a mystery for me. I foresaw your birth decades before your father met your mother, and I know everything will happen every minute of every day until the day I die." "Takes the excitement out of living, doesn''t it?" I said to a contemplative Ancient one. "I suppose you could say that, but there was a kind of certainty that came with always knowing," she mused, then turned to face me. "All that changed two months ago. You went from a reckless teenage overdue for some comeuppance to an obscured player whose every action destroys and creates timelines." I cringed, paralyzed by panic. "Oh," I said slowly. Yao could kill me if she wanted to, and her age suggested she wouldn''t hesitate to. No one stayed Sorcerer Supreme for centuries without developing a killer''s instinct. Still, she didn''t strike me as the dramatic type who''d give a speech before offing their enemy. In all likelihood, she just wanted to keep me alive and talking. For now. My presence obscuring the future also explained why Yao didn''t see me coming. "I am sorry about that. I didn''t know." The ancient one waved off my apology. "How would you," she said. "Honestly, I don''t know whether to thank or eliminate you. On the one hand, the demons have noticed the change, but on the other, our future was not all that pleasant to begin with." I laughed awkwardly. "And here I thought you would ease me into things." "You thrive on the edge. Skirting the issue would''ve been a waste of both of our times," she said. "You want me to fight the demons," I concluded. "A month ago, I would''ve said it was too dangerous, but I just watched you change a major inflection point. The Phoenix Avatar was not supposed to begin unraveling her bond for another five years." Unraveling. I didn''t like the sound of that, but there was no putting that genie back in the bottle. I''d been the one to approach Jean and promised I could help her. The least I could do was be a man of my word. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. "About Jean, is there anything you can do for her?" I asked. "We both know just how bad things will get if we leave her to her devices." The Ancient one considered me. "The Phoenix Force is beyond what you or I can comprehend. The only hope Jean has of staying her emergence is communing with her and coming to some sort of compromise." I frowned. I''d hoped for more, but I''ll take what I can get. "Can you help her do that? Commune with the Phoenix?" "I can," she said with some hesitation, "but it''s ultimately up to Jean. I know you care deeply for her, but she¡­was never meant to survive. In every permutation of our future I''ve explored, Jean always dies, whether at the hands of the Wolverine, her lover, Scott, or by her own hand. It is brave that you''re trying to save her from her fate, but it might be out of your hands." My throat went dry. Fuck me. The Ancient One saw the fear in my eyes and spoke. "But, remember, nothing is set in stone anymore," she said. "you made sure of that." I nodded, already having a clue of what had to happen. The only problem was that it would be challenging and costly. My plan involved obtaining the Yamato, several purchases from Shin''s store, and liberal use of the Infinity stones. ''But is she worth all that?'' a voice said at the back of my head. ''She betrayed you the first chance she got.'' "You need to bring her in immediately if you hope to stay the Phoenix''s emergence," Yao said, bringing me back into the moment. "Now that she''s become aware of the Phoenix, it will attempt to reach out and meld with her mind. Jean must learn to resist her influence, or she will become just as destructive as the Phoenix." Crap. "On it," I said, pulling up my cell phone and dialing her number. Long seconds passed as her cell rang. "D-Dante," Jean''s voice shivered when she picked up the call. "Jean?" A knot formed in my chest. "Help¨C" her voice suddenly cut out, followed by a sharp static. I turned to the Ancient one, but she had already formed a portal behind me. But oddly, it didn''t lead to the mansion. It opened in an alley beside the SHIELD facility where I now trained. I gave her an incredulous look. "You need help," she said. "Get it before you head into a potentially deadly situation." I didn''t bother asking how she knew about my relationship with SHIELD after telling me she couldn''t see my future. "You''re all the backup I need!" I insisted. "I cannot be there. There''s something truly urgent that requires our Order''s attention," Yao said. "More urgent than the destruction of our planet." "The Demons have grown even more bold," she said. "They''ve mounted attacks on Sorcerer communes worldwide. New York is safe, though, so I can spare Daniel. He''ll be glad to hear from you again. Until then, I think you should talk to SHIELD. It''s time your employers learned about the threat of Jean Grey." "Are you sure there''s no other way we can play this? Fury will blow a gasket when he finds out that an Omega-level mutant has been possessed by a transdimensional fire chicken." Yao chuckled. "He will. In fact, the entire world will, but it will not matter in the grand scheme of things. Like you said, Jean is the Avatar of a Transdimensional Primordial. She is no danger except from the thing inside of her." The fallout of the Phoenix''s exposure will be world-changing. Xavier will never recover from this, and Jean might be forced to leave the X-Men forever. People will know about and hunt for her, and the only place they will be safe on the planet will be with the Sorcerers. "Fine," I grumbled, stepping through the portal she opened, "but I don''t know how you expect me to sell them on letting the Sorcerers hold her." "I''m sure you''ll think of something," Yao smiled as the portal winked behind me. I stepped into Fury''s office the moment I entered the base, much to the consternation of a blustering Secretary. "We need to¡ª" Fury was in the middle of a conversation with Natasha and Clint, and behind them was a large board with pictures and cutouts about assassinations, super soldiers, and Captain America. There was a question mark on top of a familiar name. Bruce Banner. "Do you see something?" Fury asked, and I considered my answer for a moment. The Hulk does go on to cause untold destruction, but he is also a quintessential Avenger. Prevent his creation, and I could save a lot of lives and eliminate a potentially powerful adversary before they were born. But then again¡­could Earth survive the battle of New York and all of the subsequent threats without the Hulk? Maybe. But how could I benefit from all of this? I scanned the room as a plan began to form. "Don''t keep us in suspense" Natasha said. "The director asked you a question?" I narrowed my eyes, making a concerted effort to ignore the snark. "Do you trust me, Fury?" I asked. "Not as far as I can throw you, Kid," he answered, and I chuckled. "Do you trust that I am self-interested enough to avert a potentially world-ending crisis?" That got Fury''s attention. "Well, out with it." "Remember my little stint at Xavier''s mansion? I didn''t only stay for the hospitality. I met one of the most powerful mutants alive." Fury had a surprised look on his face and then shook his head. "There''s never a dull moment with you, is there?" "I try," I shrugged. "Anyways, I just got off the phone with her, and something is very wrong. The last time I saw her, she was wrapping up what was left of Xavier''s hand." Clint and Natasha seemed to raise a brow at the comment. "What happened between you and the Old man?" Fury asked. Chapter 44 "What happened between you and the Old man?" "Let''s just say Xavier''s title of most powerful Telepath alive is not for show," I said. "He tried to mind rape me, and things didn''t quite work for him. Jean was not as lucky when he invaded her mind a decade ago. She was apparently so powerful when he found her that the only way he could calm her down was to seal her memories and powers. Those seals kept her relatively weak, but recently, they''ve been unraveling," I carefully said. "She likely reached a tipping point after watching Charles try to lobotomize me but still stuck around because she cares about him." I grimaced. "I''m afraid Charles will try to put a lid on Jean''s powers again." "Jesus," Fury muttered. I saw the conflict in Natasha''s eyes. On the one hand, she didn''t like me or wanted to pity me, but on the other hand, nobody deserved what I''d got. "Isn''t that a good thing?" Clint asked the more pressing question. "If she''s as volatile and powerful as you said. Won''t it be better if she was¡­contained." "Ordinarily, Yes," I admitted. "The problem with that is that Jean is far too powerful for a measly telepathic seal. She can level a quarter of New York with a wave of her hand." Fury, Natasha, and Clint blanched. "So, I take it tactical elimination is off the table," Clint said. "Not unless you''re suicidal," I scoffed. "She''s an all-powerful Telekinetic and Telepath. She could probably atomize the bullet before it reached her or wipe us out the moment she senses hostility." "And you''re certain you''re not blowing this way out of proportion?" Fury asked. "If anything, I''m lowballing it," I said. "Jean has the kind of power that will make Atom bombs look like grenades. We cannot fuck this up." "If we''re not neutralizing her, what''s your plan?" Natasha asked. "You can''t tell me you''re banking on your personal relationship to unarm a walking nuke." I grinned. "That''s exactly what I''m doing. She''s in a mansion filled with people who''ve been brainwashed by her surrogate father. I''m the only guy she CAN trust because I resisted him. As soon as I get through to her, I already have a solution lined up." "What''s this solution?" Natasha asked. "And what if you''re not as charming as you think you are?" "I am," I smirked, then turned to Fury. "The alternative is pissing Jean the fuck off. We can''t hold her, and we won''t be able to kill her unless she lets us. I called in a favor with a sorcerer who can help her learn control somewhere far away from here." "Sorcerer?" Natasha raised a brow. "You can''t really be considering this, Director?" Fury had a contemplative look before he turned to Clint. "Get the RX-29, just in case. As for the Sorcerer, it''s no stranger than hiring a 19-year-old Clairvoyant to predict the future for us. I will need to meet this cat myself first though." Clint departed the room to fulfill his order, and I nodded to Fury. "I''ll set up the meeting with Drumm. I think you''ll get a kick out of meeting him." I understood the need for the meeting and high-tech rifle. I wouldn''t leave the fate of the world to the whims of a teenager, too. My only fear was that they''d piss off the Phoenix and not Jean. "Just don''t be overeager to call in that strike. Jean is an emotionally distraught teenager with the power of a god. She''ll lash out if you give her a reason to." "I know that you''re confident in your visions, but there''s no way in hell I''m treating a potential threat with kid gloves," Fury said. "I''d not be a very good director if I did." This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. I sighed, shaking my head. Maybe I should''ve just left well enough alone and not told Jean about her silent partner, but Shin didn''t seem like the patient type. He never gave me a timeline, but I was damn sure I was on a clock. "Will you take the nuclear option off the table if I told you I had another way to isolate Jean quickly if the situation called for it?" "The sorcerer?" Natasha offered. "Yup," I nodded. "He can make Portals." "Like that Eldritch thing?" Fury raised a brow. "Different," I said slowly, making a mental note never to tell Fury the name of the branch of magic the Sorcerers practice. "He can basically transport her to the Arctic with enough preparation." "Now I really want to meet him," Fury said. "Can he route one of his portals to our containment sites?" "I don''t know," I lied. "You''ll have to talk to him yourself, but I''d like to remind you that you''ll be putting us all in danger if you try to keep her." Fury stared at me for a moment before he nodded. "The Arctic it is, but I''d like a serious discussion with the walking nuke once she''s settled. And that is non-negotiable." I nodded. "I''ll go get Drumm." I was about to leave for the Sanctum when Fury waved me back. "Prep for the op Natasha. Get the standard meta-suppressing kit. Knock-out grenades, high-voltage bullets, foam¡­ you know what I like. And keep the team small." "On it, Director," she nodded and left the room, then Fury turned to me. "I''m going to need you on the call with Xavier. We''re going to use your blackmail to twist his arm. If what you''re saying is true, then your leverage might expire tonight." Fuck. In the chaos of it all, I hadn''t put it together. "You''re probably right." "Xavier has a lot of friends in high places. He''s not the type of person we can move on without solid information. So, what do you have on him, exactly?" I set my jaw as the memories came back. "A recording of him admitting to brainwashing his ward and trying to melt my brain." Fury''s single eye went wide. "You weren''t exaggerating when you said he tried to lobotomize you?" "Pulled no punches," I said. "Had blood leaking from my eyes, nose, and everything." Fury looked at me like I had five heads. "How are you still alive?" "I heal fast," I shrugged. "I guess that''s one more secret you know about me." There was a small stretch of silence. "You have the tapes with you?" I smiled and summoned a shotgun with a tape recorder duck taped to the bottom. "Never go anywhere without it." I slowly extracted it and gingerly handed it to Fury. He slipped it into an odd Cassette player in the corner of his office, and his face went through a wide range of emotions before finally settling on rage. It was a feeling I was intimately familiar with. "Got what you need?" "That and a whole lot more," Fury said. "Then, let''s go save the world." --- Charles POV I sat shivering in my seat, dabbing away yet another layer of sweat from my brow as I threw back my third pair of Aspirin for the night. Penetrating Jean''s mind was proving impossible. Yet, I had to do it for my sake, for the children''s sake. For all of our sakes. We kept her on an IV drip, limb restrained, head fitted with a psychic-energy inhibiting crown to make sure she couldn''t use her abilities, yet it hadn''t been enough. About 30 minutes ago, Jean willed herself awake. Hank was unsure how that was even possible. We''d loaded her with so much sevoflurane and cyclopropane that we thought she was dead. She willed her phone over the moment her eyes snapped open, and it rang a second later as if she was expecting the call. She managed to get a word out before Scott, who was in the room, lasered the phone, but the damage was done. Dante was coming. Getting her down a second time proved far more difficult than the first, even though Jean couldn''t use her abilities much. She was supernaturally strong, seemed to absorb Cyclops Laser when I ordered him to fire, and even sent Wolverine flying with a swipe of her hand. Kitty had been the one to take her down by sneaking up behind her and jamming a potent cocktail into her neck. But the monster inside Jean refused to be contained. Psychic energy exploded from her body when Beast tried to secure her after, blanketing the entire mansion. A few things happened at once. All the windows exploded inward, bathing us in glass shards that never fell to the ground. Everything that was not glued down, including people, shot to the ceiling and remained there. The walls groaned and moaned like an ancient beast baring its maw. Bits and chunks of flooring and masonry broke off as cracks several feet wide sprung from the floor and climbed up the walls. Just when I thought things couldn''t get any worse, Hell descended. The temperature shot through the roof, and I felt fear, unlike anything I''d ever experienced. Despite everything, I refused to abandon Jean or relent. Only Hank and I were left in the room. My furry companion was substantially more durable than I was. He could take the heat. Trying to go back into Jean''s mind was like sticking my arm into a furnace. The monster found me immediately. You Dare! I heard a voice shriek out in indignation, and I nearly soiled myself. Sweet Mary and Joseph. Dante was right. You Overstep, Ant. I will not let you take a child of mine! I mentally screamed back, despite my fear. Surprisingly, the monster chuckled. Each syllable shook the mansion. Blood poured from my lips, nose, and ears as her presence blanketed me. For your hubris, Xavier, your life is forfeit. It pronounced then subsequently receded. I collapsed to the floor and remained there for a long moment. ---- Chapter 45 --- "Charles?" Hank called. "Charles?" he repeated. "Are you alright?" "I''ve been better," I croaked. "I can''t¨C I don''t know how to fix this. I should''ve never asked you to do what you did." Hank gulped and adjusted his glasses. "She was erratic and lashing out. If I hadn''t sedated her, she would''ve endangered herself and the rest of the children. It is regrettable that the chips fell where they did, but you had¡­good intentions." "If only I hadn''t forced the matter with Dante," I sighed. "But that boy drove me up the damn wall¡­" Hank said nothing, giving me the moment I needed to gather myself. He helped me into my chair. For a moment, I considered my options. I asked Hank to increase the anesthesia dose and the intensity of the psychic blocking headband. Logan, Ororo, Scott, and Piotr trooped in a moment later. "Hell is going on, Prof?" Logan asked. "Did you find a new mutant?" Ororo asked, but Scott put it together immediately. "It was Jean, wasn''t it?" "She has grown more¡­willful." "What''s wrong with her?" Piotr asked. "She''s been overtaken by something truly vile," I said. "And I don''t know if I can help her." "It was him, wasn''t it! Scott snapped. "Jean started acting strange the day he showed up. He infected her." Hank and I shared a look. He was about to open his mouth when I spoke into his mind. ''He''s right, you know. I''ve watched that Seal for nearly two decades, and there was no sign of a break. And yet in the first month of him living with us¡­she starts to lose herself.'' ''You and I know that''s not the whole truth,'' Hank thought at me with a frown. He''d been prudent enough to hear Jean out after she stormed out of the med bay. By the time I was lucid enough to connect to Hank''s mind, he regarded me with heavy suspicion. He knew that Dante''s eyes saw her buried power, and the young Devil had planted the seed that she might''ve been brainwashed. Given the boy''s track record and my blunder, Jean had her mind already made up, as did Hank. He had even begun to buy into the narrative that I''d brainwashed the children. ''If you could think that of me, Hank. Then, perhaps you never knew me," I said. "I would never harm the children or X-men, nor would I be able to control them for a prolonged period like she''s claiming. All I did was make Jean forget some of her past and seal her boundless strength. Continuous mind control is another thing entirely. It is frankly beyond my abilities and likely the abilities of most mutants alive. Well, except for maybe, Jean.'' ''Swear to me, Charles, that the boy''s claims about you weren''t true. Swear to me,'' Hank demanded in a terse voice. My first instinct was to play off the promise as some unfair breach of trust, but I saw the desperation in Hank''s eyes. I would lose him if he didn''t like the next words out of my mouth, so I lied. Hank had not agreed to my plan to sedate her until he had my promise. I erected a mental shield the entire time we had our conversation, and Hank led her to his lab. He injected her after I sent a sharp mental spike through her mind, disorienting her. He apologized several times as she collapsed to the floor after our second exchange with her. ''You are right,'' I thought to Hank, ''the matter is not black and white, but we need the team focused and united, now more than ever. He will be coming for her, and we must be ready.'' As if the universe were mocking me, the phone rang. The room became pin-prick silent as the ringtone of my tossed cell phone filled the quiet. Scott slowly handed it to me, and I thanked him before tentatively putting it to my ear and answered. "You left a lot out of our last conversation, Charles!" "Fury," I began. "It''s not what you think." "It''s exactly what I think. I thought you were a decent man, Charles, but mind-controlling children¡­ I''m going to give you one chance and one chance only. We were coming for the girl. Let us retrieve and appropriately contain her." I noticed Hank and Logan''s faces when Fury mentioned mind control. Their mutations allowed them to listen in easily. I had to choose my words carefully. "You mean kill her?" I said loud enough for everybody in the room to hear. Scott gasped, and Bobby, who just joined, looked more lost than ever. Kitty Pryde looked livid. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. "Of course not," Fury said. "Our consultant told us attempting that would be tantamount to suicide. He has a¡­.sorcerer on the ground that can help her stabilize her mind." "Sorcerer?" I scoffed. "This is Dante''s doing. He''s selling you on fairy dust and tall tales. I''m the foremost telepath on earth. If anyone can help Jean, it''s me." "After all that fine work you did pushing her over the edge?" Dante''s voice cut in. "Nah, I think I''ll take it from here. If you don''t want our little conversation going viral online, you''ll roll out the welcome mat when we get there." I set my jaw as I considered my options for a hot moment. I needed to protect the family regardless of the consequences. I could bounce back from the tape leak. I didn''t think I would survive losing them all. Besides, Logan and Hank would lose all respect for me if I let the boy blackmail me. "Do your worst. We won''t be surrendering Jean like she''s some prize." I heard a surprised scoff at the other end. "I should''ve blackmailed you on that day," he said. "I won''t make the same mistake twice." The phone cut to Fury''s voice. "Dante threatened you with the internet. I''m threatening you with something that carries far more consequences," Fury said. "Let us have that ticking timebomb, or I''ll approach the President and show him how you treat your students." I felt dizzy in my chair. Decades of work gone overnight. All because of a single mistake. I set my jaw. All my bluster about loyalty and bravado went out the window when I considered the ramifications. The president could rescind the permit he gave me to house mutants without government supervision. The school could be disbanded because of this. Who would stop more radical lobbyists like Trask from getting funding for his extreme machines? Yet, that all paled compared to what else I stood to lose. Jean. She was like a daughter to me, and I''d be damned if I''d let some demon spawn or Firebird have her. "Do what you have to do, Fury," I said. "And I''ll do what I have to." "I swear to god, if you turn this planet into an apocalyptic wasteland because of your fucking pride, death won''t be able to keep me from you, Charles!" Dante yelled into the phone and cut it. A nervous current ran up my spine as I set the phone away. Turning to the room, I saw them all looking at me with clear expectation. "We need to talk about the Elephant in the room." ¡ª I was hungry for blood when the strike team''s SUV rolled up to the mansion''s gate. Xavier''s specifically. Everybody else got a pass, but that didn''t mean I planned to go easy on them. But I was saving all of my good stuff for Xavier and the Phoenix. Natasha had given me sonic grenades, flashbangs, and other practical weapons to deal with mutants whose primary mode of attack was their mind. We''d also come prepared with a lot more, but I didn''t want to spoil you. We hoped to keep the fighting outside of the mansion because of the children, but when we laid eyes on the building, I realized it was never an option to begin with. Our collective jaws dropped when we saw the state of the mansion. Chunks of masonry hung in the air, and the mansion looked like it''d withstood several earthquakes. "I take it the party started without us," Coulson said somewhat nervously into his earpiece from his SUV, one car behind me. "This was not in the reports," May said. "Oh, it was most definitely not," Clint said in the chair beside me. "The X-men might be the ones who need protection if she can do that." "You all heard what I told Fury," I said, muscling down the nervous twist I felt in my gut. "Her powers are unprecedented and functionally limitless. Casually shattering a Mansion and levitating the broken pieces are small potatoes for her. This belabors my earlier point; we need to approach her carefully. If Jean feels threatened, it''s a wrap." Natasha, who was in the driver''s seat, finally spoke. "Fury''s instructions were clear. Warm up the RX-29." I cringed at her persistence, but I didn''t expect to talk Natasha out of following order in the first place. My words were for everybody else. Coulson and Clint, especially. They seem the most flexible. Despite my sweet talking and arranging the meeting with Drumm, the Director did not change his mind about the nuclear option. Drumm gave Fury nothing during their ''friendly'' conversation and said in so many words that their interests aligned. Fury had not been pleased, even after his assurances about the Artic. "Strap in, everyone," Natasha announced as she rammed the wrought iron gates for the mansion, entering the property properly. She sped through the property with ease, rapidly approaching the mansion. In front of the building stood the X-men and a few kids of the younger generation suited up for a fight. Scott, Colussus, Bobby Drake, Kitty Pryde, and even Pyro stood alongside the seasoned Wolverine and Storm. Hank was oddly absent, and the entire situation caused me to raise my brow. We stepped down from our cars in full tactical gear, with stun rifles set to medium. It was enough to disable most mutants but mild enough not to cause lasting damage. "Xavier is having children fight his battles now?" I mused. "I suppose that''s no surprise. That has always been his MO, hasn''t it? Manipulating people stronger and younger to do his dirty work." "You''re not welcome here," Ororo spoke with a commanding timber. "Take your associates and leave." "And turn my back on Jean as you all have by supporting her abuser?" I asked. "I''m betting Xavier didn''t tell you about the tape I recorded of our little chat. In case you were wondering, no, I didn''t attack unprovoked. Xavier did." "You messed with her head," Scott yelled from the side suddenly. "You''re the reason why she''s lashing out. We were perfectly fine and happy until you came along. All of this is your fault." "My fault?" I scoffed. "I''m not the one who thought it was a great idea to shackle whatever was in Jean''s mind. Why don''t you listen instead of running your mouth," I said, irritated, hitting the remote to the speaker system in our SUV. The speakers went on for about two seconds before Scott''s laser cut through the engine and fried the car radio and speakers. My mouth fell open, and the other members of my team rapidly shifted and trained their guns on him. "Damn it, kid!" Wolverine unsheathed his claws, and the other X-men shifted stances, getting battle-ready. "It''s all lies anyway," Scott spat, eyes frantic. "Touche, Xavier," I raised a hand to stay the firing order I knew was about to come from Natasha and let out an unhinged chuckle. "Is this how you want to play this, Logan? You know I care about Jean. I can get her real help. More than anyone else, you should know I''m telling the truth. If I wanted Xavier dead, he''d be dead the second I entered his office. I can get her the help she needs." "Doesn''t matter if you want to help," Logan said. "Those G-men behind ya will cut her open and rip out everything that makes her human time and time again if it means making a soldier like her. They''re not her friends and certainly not yours, either." I blinked. Logan just schooled me again. "The government of the United States does not run experiments on its citizens. We''re not World War 2 Nazis," Coulson spoke up. "And we don''t appreciate you calling us that." --- Chapter 46 "The government of the United States does not run experiments on its citizens. We''re not World War 2 Nazis," Coulson said. "And we don''t appreciate you calling us that." "Course you''re not," Logan sniffed. "Was in the war. The Nazis were 10 times scarier than your lot but were simpler. At least you knew what you were in for. Boy scouts like you don''t even know how rotten their houses are." Coulson looked like he''d been punched in the throat, and Storm spoke, thankfully moving the conversation along. "The Professor has taken care of Jean most of her life. While some of us don''t agree with his methods, we don''t dispute that this mansion is the safest place in the world for her." I sighed, shaking my head. "You''re all so far out on the ledge, you don''t even know. Xavier will get shredded if he pits himself against the Phoenix, and New York will be a crater the second that thing inside Jean gets loose. I know a sorcerer who can take her far away, deal with the fallout, and help her find herself again. She needs this, or I''m telling you, the planet will not survive." Logan didn''t speak for a long moment. "I think we''re going to stick with the Prof, kid," he said. "I like you, but I don''t trust a word that comes out of your mouth, even if it''s always the truth." "You tried," Natasha said, then turned to the lineup of mutants. "To be clear, if you try to stop us, you will be seen as obstructing justice and will be charged to the fullest extent of the law." "You don''t scare me," Scott growled. "Maybe she should," Clint said, shaking his head. "We''re not budging tuts," Wolverine growled, sinking into a deeper stance. "Have it your way then," I said, then pulled a loaded sniper from my Weapon Vault and trained it at Wolverine''s chest. He barely had time to blink before he was sent flying backward, with half his chest caved in. A fiery Portal opened up behind him, sending Logan to somewhere in Ohio. "Logan!" Storm screamed, and Scott roared, firing a concentrated beam at me. Another portal opened in front of me, exiting out in the center of the X-Men. The explosion scattered them in different directions. Natasha and Clint were startled by the sudden development while Coulson gaped. "When you said Sorcerer, I didn''t think you actually meant, well, that." "Geek out later," I said. "Save the world now." "You heard the prickly teenager," Clint said. "Let''s end this quickly." His words spurred the team into action, and they each picked a mutant and went after them. Drumm appeared behind me in his flowing gold robes. "That was certainly some speech you gave back there." "Good to have you here, Drumm." Although we met under less-than-ideal circumstances, Drumm struck me as reasonable. "Now that our second biggest threat is taken care of. Our focus needs to be her." I gestured towards Storm, who flew towards us with Colossus behind her. Bobby Drake faced off against Natasha, Pyro fought against Coulson and May, and Clint had the unfortunate pleasure of fighting Scott. Kitty was nowhere to be found, but that was largely expected. Drumm observed the pair with some inquisitive tilt. "The witch. She''s overflowing with raw magical energy." I activated Devil''s eye, focusing on the energy surrounding Storm. "Oh yeah, it''s a crap ton, which is why I think you''re best suited to handle this particular problem. I''m on Michelin man." Drumm gave me a blank stare. "I guess they took your sense of humor along with your hair when they make you master, huh?" "You do realize that we remain bald by choice?" "Once is an isolated incident, twice is a coincidence, and I don''t believe in coincidences, Master Drumm." He shook his head and waved his hand, generating three portals. Three ethereal Drumms separated from the central one and flew into the portals surrounding Storm. It immediately halted her fight. Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Eldritch whips lashed out in mass, snapping up Storm''s arms, legs, and torso. "Do not resist, young Witch," Drumm said. "We wish to help the girl, not kill her." Back on the ground, Colossus bounded into my range, and I Angel Evaded, appearing in front of the Chrome giant. "This is not going to go how you think it will," I said. "I like Ilyana. Don''t make me fight you." "You underestimate my strength," Piotr said. "Do not forget you''ve never won any of our spars." I could''ve told him I was more focused on technique than power in those fights, but I thought it better to show him. "Your funeral," I shrugged, and Demon Burst forward. Piotr crossed his arm to tank what he hoped would be a stab, but I switched to an Axe mid-stride, packed it full of Demon energy, and brought it down on Colossus''s forearm. The hit rocked Colossus back, carving a deep rend in his forearm and bathed it in fire. "What the hell is that?" his eyes bulged, looking down at his bruised forearm and Arbiter in dread. "You sure you don''t just want to let me through?" I asked again. Colussus set his jaw and squared up his fists, and I rushed ahead, matching axe with fist. ¡ª Natasha''s POV I fired electric shot after electric shot at the elusive Bobby Drake. His mutation gave me an innate advantage, making him highly susceptible to electricity. However, Drake was wily and skilled. After eating the first bolt to the chest, he lowered his ice shell and focused more on generating pillars to limit my eye line, making it harder to pin him down. In the background, storm clouds gathered overhead, and I smelt ozone. Whatever that sorcerer was doing, he was not working fast enough to immobilize Storm. "You''re a decent agent, Lady," Bobby said smugly as he zipped past a pillar and chucked an icicle at me, "but I am an X-Man. You stand no chance. Why don''t you round up your friends and get out of here while we''re still being nice." Like I said, Bobby was good...for his age. I leaned out of the way of the icicle and pulled up by Bullpup shotgun. One shot shattered an Ice Pillar, and the second nearly took off Bobby''s head. He ducked under the shot, tucking and boosting himself behind another pillar. "Give up before I really start aiming." "You asked for it, lady!" Bobby barked before a wave of frost swept the battlefield. The kid was getting serious; I supposed it was time I did, too. I activated the internal heating in my suit and collapsed in an exaggerated heap and yelp. Bobby stopped, and I could hear his panicked footsteps race over. "Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god." More panic crept into Bobby''s voice with repetition. I was lying on the ground some distance away, so I raised the voltage of my gun ever so slightly. When Bobby was about a dozen feet off, I switched off the heating and laid in wait, allowing a thin layer of frost to cover me. Bobby reminded me a lot about Dante. He might''ve been superhuman, but he was not truly strong. True strength came from conviction. "God, please," his voice cracked. Bobby did not have that, and neither did Dante. I fired straight into his chest just as he reached down to check on me. His eyes went wide in shock as his body seized. He tried summoning a layer of Ice to protect him, but that only worsened things. After five long seconds, he dropped to the floor, completely passed out. With a huff, I climbed to my feet. It wouldn''t be long before it was Dante lying at my feet. He thought he could manipulate me with the memory of my lost sister¡­I knew she was truly gone and made my peace with that. He was delusional if he thought he could compromise me, but I''ll let him think he could and feed his ego. And when he''s at his most vulnerable, that''s when I''ll strike. I''ll pump him for all he''s worth, just like I''ve done dozens of men before him. Fury had big plans for the kid, but he could not truly bring him in unless he knew where the kid buried his skeletons. I shook snowflakes out of my red hair before surveying the battlefield. Everyone had their fights in hand. The sorcerer had Storm on the ropes, and Coulson and May looked like they were about to turn their fight around with the Pyrokinetic. Dante''s fight with the giant was also heating up. Knowing the kid, it wouldn''t be long before we were ready to storm the mansion. So, I took the time to update the director. ¨C Coulson ''Pyro'' or whatever his name was cackled like a B-rate villain as he set the grounds on fire. Wherever he pointed, flames roared, sending May and me scampering and sweating. Each time we took a shot at him, they melted mid-flight as Pyro cranked up the heat. Nearly a minute in, he was already a few fire waves away from burning down a quarter of the grounds, and we''d expended all 10 of our foam shots to extend the fight just a little bit longer. Dark clouds rolled in a while back, but nothing ever came of it. We saw bright flashes of red and gold, and in seconds, it was over. Pyro was three moves away from asphyxiating us when May snapped. "Just let me switch to live ammunition, and I''ll drop that bastard in a heartbeat," she growled. "And risk pissing off our Director, two senior agents, and the devil kid?" I scoffed, wiping away a layer of sweat. "No, I have a better idea. One I think you''ll like quite well." Pyro had a nasty habit of triggering our grenades midflight. I bet he wouldn''t be able to do that if he was preoccupied by a murderous May. "Set your pieces to Noise cancellation mode. Sonic grenades are about to go live," I announced on the channel, and everyone acknowledged the warning. The moment we set our earphones to full noise cancellation mode, I gave the signal. May opened fire on the smug mutant, targeting the general area around him. His eyes bulged as if surprised that we actually fought back. The sonic grenade went off a second later, and the wildfires around us quivered. Pyro fell to his knees, screaming, and May fired two electric shots into his chest. The fires around us sputtered and died when Pyro collapsed, and the grenade was spent a second later. "Did you really have to shoot the kid twice?" "They weren''t high voltage," May waved. "And the rug rat deserved it." --- Chapter 47 Clint When Dante told me the Professor was grooming Scott to take over the mutants, I started looking forward to the fight. Sure, he didn''t make that great of a first impression. If I hadn''t had the RX-29 on me, his teenage melodrama could''ve cost us the only reliable weapon we had to eliminate Jean should it come down to it, but I held out hope for the kid. Dante had praised his martial prowess, and he clearly held authority with the older generation despite his age. He couldn''t have been that bad. I was disappointed when he opened his mouth. "A bow and arrow, really? Are you sure you don''t want to use that big rifle strapped to your back? At least your friends had the sense not to bring a 5th-century weapon to a superhuman fight." he snickered. "Has it occurred to you that there might be a reason why I use a bow?" Scott scoffed, and I shook my head. A foam arrow left my bow before Scott could reach his visor. It coated his half-raised arm, nose, and visor in adhesive foam, neutralizing the git. Scott tumbled to the ground, yelling at the top of his lungs. He was so afraid it didn''t even occur to him to try and breathe through his mouth. So, I walked over and slapped the shit out of him. "Breathe through your mouth before you pass out, kid." That snapped him out of his delirium, and he did as he was told, but not without getting a word in first. "This is not over." "Yeah, it is," I said as I stepped over him, turning my attention to Natasha. Her fight was heating up, as were the junior agents and the pyrokinetic kid. However, what truly held my attention was the dark clouds gathering above us. Storm, the weather control mutant, looked like she didn''t appreciate Drumm''s advances one bit. With a shout, a burst of air swept through two of the three illusionary clones of the Sorcerer, and I smelt ozone. She was about to bring lightning down on us. Not on my watch. I knocked another foam arrow, felt the wind with the tip of my finger, and fired. The arrow rode the air and slammed into the weather mutant''s chest, wrapping her body tightly in foam. The last strings of golden restraints holding her suddenly faded instantly before red glowing bands shot out the adjacent portal and dragged her through. She yelped in surprise as she hit the floor. Lightning started to gather again before Drumm crossed his hand, generating a prismatic shield around her, and looked at me. "A knock-out arrow, if you''d please." I blinked before answering. "You got it, chief." My arrow was airborne in a fraction of a second, and it penetrated through the prismatic prison, releasing a potent concoction that knocked out the mutant. Damn, I whistled. These sorcerers don''t play around. Yet, I found him a lot less intimidating than the kid. The memory of him taking down that eldritch monster was still fresh. The explosions, the raw strength, and the killer instinct it was all on display again in the fight with the big metal guy. ¡ª Dante This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. The fight with Colossus started as a one-sided affair, but the big guy caught up pretty quickly. He avoided my axe like it was the plague, even when it wasn''t overflowing with demonic energy, and always turtled up before I used Burst in any capacity, but it didn''t make that much of a difference. I was basically untouchable for somebody as slow as he was. For all his strength, Piotr was not very fast. All it took was a wicked combo to bring him to his knees. I stepped into Piotr''s guard with two light burst-infused punches and weaved past the first jab that came at me and the feint that followed, setting me up for a brutal leg kick. I had picked up on his patterns a while back, but unlike most MMA fighters, I had the durability, speed, and reaction time to spot the deviations before they occurred. Although his muscles were all metal, I saw him pulling back as he set up the feint. I weaved under it to get a charge of Demon Evade double damage and phased through a low kick as it came. Mid-air, I rapidly switched directions with a demonic burst and Rebellion drawn. I spun in the air, body and blade, all the while filling up my weapon with demonic energy. The flat of Rebellion''s blade slammed into the side of the big guy''s head and sent him head-over-ass into a tree that subsequently snapped in half. I double-jumped, reaching directly above him before going down full force with the blunt end of Arbiter''s head soaked in demon energy. The sound of Piotr''s scream melded with the explosion. The hit created a small crater, yet the big guy came swinging a second later. The hit clipped me in the ear, and I flipped back and pulled Ebony. I started to charge a focused shot as he climbed out of the crater. He had a deep gash on his chest that made me wince. I could scarcely imagine how much worse the wound would''ve been if I had used the sharp edge. "It''s over, big guy," I said. "Everyone is down except for you, and we will take them all into custody if you don''t stop fighting me and let me help Jean already." "You''re not the man I thought you were, Dante. The Professor said you brought this upon us," he said with a heavy breath, staring up at me. "You tampered with the Seal that he placed on the monster inside Jean." "If y''all had been patient enough to listen to the damn tape, you would''ve heard me explain to Xavier that creating that Seal was the worst thing he could''ve ever done. The monster inside of her is a thinking, feeling thing, and it doesn''t like being shackled. I''m just here trying to fix Xavier''s cock up. Let us take her away and try and help her. Don''t risk your and your sister''s life out of loyalty to a man who doesn''t deserve it." Colossus''s eyes clouded over, and words followed, contemplative and slow. "I¡­I¡­find you fascinating." His thick baritone voice was buried beneath a high-pitched tenor, but to my utter horror, his lips hadn''t moved, but I''d heard it clearly all the same. He had breached my Adept Tier Mental Resistance Skill without me ever noticing. My stomach dropped, and sweat broke out across my back and face. I was rooted in place by absolute terror. And then Colossus''s body combusted. White and red fire poured out of his orifices and palms, knitting wounds that bled silver, revitalizing the waning giant. He grinned at me, and I made the mistake of activating Devil''s Eye. A burning phoenix made of cosmic white fire floated, superimposed on Colossus''s mind and body. The sheer presence of the beast burned through my retinas and touched my soul. I shrunk back. "Fuck me." The sight reinforced my worst fears and brought me to that moment with Shin. The helplessness I felt, the primal fear that overwhelmed me. And just like then, there was nowhere to run. Yet, I wasn''t the weakling I used to be, and I had people relying on me now. I couldn''t entertain fear. "Drumm, send the fallen X-men away and get the team into that Mansion," I ordered through my comms. "The Phoenix is here." "Say no more," the man said. "Talk to me, Dante? What''s going on?" Clint asked. "Charles failed," I said plainly. "The Phoenix is loose. Your only hope now is Drumm. If he can get her the Artic, maybe there''s a chance." "Chance of what?" Coulson asked. "Not dying horrible death along with the rest of New York and the continent," Drumm said evenly. "Is that all?" Clint''s voice dripped with sarcasm. "I''ll hold off the big guy while you all make a break for the Mansion," I said. "You''re the only one Jean trusts," Natasha pointed out. "How are we supposed to get through to her?" Was she being serious? I was about to fight the embodiment of Psychic energy, Life, and Rebirth. The least she could do was have some fucking initiative. "You''ll figure something out," I yelled. "Now get on a move on!" At those words, I finally fired the focused energy beam I''d been holding all this while. It carved a brutal path through the air and clapped against the waiting double palms of Colossus. The energy wavered for a moment before exploding violently. Phoenix-Colossus stared at his burnt palm with some fascination before completely healing it with a flash of white fire. While the Phoenix was in a daze, Drumm opened up glowing portals, ferrying every member of the team and the fallen X-Men deeper into the Mansion. I breathed a little easier, but that was a mistake. When I turned back to the fight, phoenix-Colossus''s fist was a few inches away from my face. I whipped out Osiris and swung it while channeling angel energy. Angelic energy bathed my scythe, generating a small arc that shoved back the Phoenix''s fist. I didn''t come out of the exchange unscathed, either. The hit pushed me several meters back, and my bones ached, but I got a notification that made the entire exchange worth it. Angel Technique: Parry (Basic) Generate a wave of angel energy that reflects 50% of the damage inflicted and reduces the damage received by 65%. Cost 5 AE Chapter 48 My new skill immediately went to work when Phoenix Colossus''s fists came down for an overhead hit. I parried back the attack and followed with a shotgun blast to the face. Phoenix Colossus seemed more irritated than anything else and rushed me, beginning our battle in earnest. His blows came down like comets, and I sunk deeper into my skills, parrying, dodging with Demon evade, and chaining Axe strikes together. My hits shoved the titan left and right, but it never seemed enough. Things kicked into high gear when Phoenix Colossus wrapped his fist with cosmic fire and swung at me. My eyes went wide, and I had to use a full-powered Burst and leverage my considerable speed to gain distance, but even that was not enough. I chained it with Angel Evade in hopes of dodging the approaching destruction, but to my utter horror, the flame still touched me, splashing against my chest and left shoulder, throwing me out of Angel Evade. I spun out, bouncing on the ground, which had now been partially glassed over by fire, screaming my lungs out. Congratulations: You''ve unlocked Pain Resistance (Basic) Grants a 15% reduced perception of all damage received. Costs 5 AE hr while in use. Congratulations: You''ve unlocked Fire resistance (Basic) Grants 15% resistance to all fire damage. Costs 5 DE per hr while in use. Really! Right fucking now? I tried rolling around, but that only spread the fire. Desperate, I tapped into my Angel Energy, Osiris materializing on my back, and focused on the wind affinity that came with the weapon. As usual, getting Angel Energy to do anything was exhausting, so I relinquished all control around my upper body and let the energy pour out of me. Blue tinted Wind escaped my pores, buffeting me wildly. It snuffed out the Cosmic fire burning, and I collapsed to my knees, wracked with indescribable pain. This was the worst I''d felt in both lives, and I knew things would only get worse from here. Angel Regeneration flared to life, and it healed through all the scrapes and wounds but halted when it came across my burns. The energy soothed me but didn''t do much else. Instead, I got a notification that made my heart drop. You''ve been inflicted by Cosmic burn -15% health until fully healed. 420/630 A third of my health pool was gone just like that. Fuck this. I was not dying over Shin''s bullshit. I liked Colossus, but if it was me or him, I''d choose me. I summoned the Sniper I''d used on Wolverine and fired from the hip. It clipped Colossus in the head, knocking him down and leaving him open for the two sonic grenades I armed and tossed. I flipped on the noise cancellation feature on my earpieces before they landed and stalked toward Colossus with a deep rage bubbling inside of me. I was saving the sonic grenade for Xavier and the Phoenix, but since it was right here in front of me. What the Hell. Phoenix Colossus clamped its hands around his ears. I hefted the sniper rifle again and began to fill it with demonic energy, activating my skill, Focused shot. I felt the weapon heat and warp in my hand, but it remained stable enough for the 5 seconds it took to charge the shot. This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. The bullet exploded forward like a beam of light and slammed into Colossus''s chest, throwing him into the side of the mansion and rocking the entire structure. Metal skin or not, he would die if I kept riding him this hard, but I was checked out at this point. I discarded the heat warped Sniper rifle, hefted Arbiter, and started pouring Demonic energy into the axe head. Five seconds later, the Axe head was scorching hot, yet I was not done. I activated Burst, packing the weapon with more energy. Arbiter lapped it up so quickly that I reached the 10 DE limit of the skill and continued to push. I felt an unseen muscle in my mind stretch and break, and demon energy flooded my veins. The tactical gear on me that survived the Phoenix fire started to warp and melt as heat poured out of every pore in my body. I got two more notifications. Congratulations: Demonic Energy Manipulation has reached Adept Tier. Improved fine manipulation, damage, multitasking, and unlocks energy projection. Demonic Technique: Burst has reached Adept Tier. Permits user to stack two additional levels of Burst onto an action or attack. Congratulations: You''ve learned Demonic Technique: Cloak Channel your inner Devil and project a cloak made of demonic energy inspired by your affinity. Grants a 50% immunity to ALL fire, improves the potency of Demonic techniques by 50%, and improves Endurance and durability by 35% Cost 50 DE to activate and 2 for every second used. A whirlwind of emotions and answers flooded me. It explained why new Demon and Angel skills were so difficult to gain. Energy projection and fine manipulation were adept-level feats. The fresh skill also gave me the confidence I needed to continue this fight. I quickly checked my resources. HP: 420/620 SP: 450/610 DE: 301/450 AE: 320/420 Phoenix Colossus waded out of the rubble with a savage grin on its face. ''Show me more,'' it screeched as it waved its hand again, flooding the area with Cosmic fire, but I was already in the air. The Burst threw me up so fast that my mind struggled to keep up. I pushed my recently upgraded Adept Tier manipulation skill, layering it on the bonus of my Fire cloak, and swung my axe head, willing only the energy contained within it forward. Surprisingly, the Axe head of Arbiter detached and flew forward in a crimson streak, leaving the handle in my hand. It cut through the cosmic fire and impacted the rapidly reacting Colossus. He''d look like he was in the middle of redirecting his fire, but it was too late. The Axe head impacted with the force of half a dozen grenades, and the cosmic fire ripping through the landscape winked out immediately. Arbiter''s axe head materialized a moment later, and in the chaos below, I saw Phoenix Colossus standing proud with a deep scar across its chest. I winced at the sight. Colossus was a tough motherfucker, but a wound like that packed with demonic energy could take him out. He would die if the Phoenix did nothing about it. Still...it was him or me, and I refused to show weakness in front of the overgrown chicken. It could read my mind, and I did not want it to entertain the idea that it could hold Colossus or any of the other X-Men or SHIELD agents as hostages. "Doesn''t feel very good, does it?" I yelled as I landed across from it. "More." In a flash, Colossus was on me with a flame-wreathed fist. I leaned out of the way, triggering Demon evade, and laid into his wounded chest with a Burst-boosted uppercut. Phoenix Colossus doubled over, wrenching blood, and looked up at me with surprise. My strength has reached the huge milestone of 40 since I started training at the Shield facility. With the double damage bonus of Demon Evade, stacked with the outrageous damage amp of Cloak''s 50% and a Burst strike, I was punching with the force of near 150 Strength. Absolutely disgusting. If not for my boosted Endurance, I was sure I would''ve crippled myself with that hit alone. In retrospect, that shot with Arbiter was probably powerful enough to cleave a car in half. I was getting up there. I grinned ear to ear despite the pain. I couldn''t wait to get my hands on Eryx. The flame died down as Colossus stepped out, his chrome skin fully repaired. The very tips of his fists burned white hot with cosmic fire, and he looked noticeably fatigued despite just getting a cosmic pick-me-up. I raised my brow and used Devil''s Eye. The Phoenix''s presence was a tenth of its former size and flickering. I couldn''t believe it. The bird was running out of juice ¡ª Clint Drumm''s portal dumped us in the bowels of the castle, and everyone save for Drumm had their rifles raised with their torches on. Sure, all of the fighters had come out to meet us, but it paid to be paranoid in our line of work. Tense seconds passed as we scattered, scanning the perimeter before we converged. "Perimeter secure," I announced, then turned to Drumm. "The other mutants?" "Safe on an inaccessible portion of the roof," he said. "They''re stuck even if they somehow manage to get out of their restraint." "Great work, Drumm," I said. "And the kid? Chapter 49 Clint "Great work, Drumm," I said. "And the kid?" "A few halls down," Drumm answered. "Prepare for the worst, but don''t be overeager. We''re treading very dangerous waters here." "Roger," I nodded, gingerly setting down my Duffel bag and pulling out the Rifle. It was sleek and long, made with some of the rarest metals on earth, all to accommodate a bullet that should not exist. "Is that the¡­" Coulson spoke up with a hint of excitement and trepidation. "Yup." "I''ve heard the rumors but never imagined I''d lay eyes on the real deal," he muttered. The bullet was fashioned from the remains of a recovered Tesseract storage cell from World War 2. Only three bullets were ever made, two of which had been used to eliminate targets previously thought unkillable. The bullets did not move particularly fast¨Cno faster than any other sniper rifle bullet¨C but something about it allowed it to rip through most surfaces and substances when accelerated to certain speeds. Fury hoped it would do the same to Jean Grey if it ever came to that, though I was supposed to make a phone call to him before that. Natasha had updated Fury after her fight with Bobby. "Weapons live and set to the highest level," Natasha announced, "but don''t point at her. Let me do the talking." If anyone knew what went on inside the mind of a teenage girl, it would be Natasha. "This will likely be the hardest thing you ever do," I said slowly. "So don''t¡ªwatch out!" I spotted him too late. A blue-haired blur leaped into the hallway, claws stretched, swinging. Drumm spun around to cast his strange magic, but it was too late for May. The blur''s claws slapped her hard into the wall. She fell to the ground, limp and bleeding from a gash to the side of her head. "May!" Coulson absolutely lost it, unloading stun rounds into the Beast, but he only roared in feint protest and charged forward anyway. I pulled my bow and fired a foam arrow at him, but he leaped into the air, latching onto the ceiling with his claws, continuing his charge at us. Red fiery whips lashed out next, restraining and yanking down the Beast. He landed with a loud thump. We pointed our guns at him, ready to fire, but then I recognized him. "Dr. Hank?" "As in, Dr. Hank McCoy?" Natasha asked, lowering her gun. Coulson seemed satisfied that the beast was sufficiently incapacitated and rushed to May''s side. The beast snarled at us through his binds, but he struggled to break out of it. "He''s hard to place underneath all that savagery, but yeah, it''s him." Hank McCoy was the mild-mannered inventor of Charles Xavier''s little team. There were rumors that he could throw down. Since he never made a habit of it, there''d been some doubts, but his little demonstration earlier cleared all of it. "What''s wrong with him?" Natasha asked. Drumm frowned and generated a strange fractal with a single hand. "He''s been brainwashed." "The professor or the monster?" I asked. "This is Xavier''s touch," Drumm answered as he pressed his spell against Hank''s head. "He must be truly desperate." The change was instant. Hank gasped, his yellow eyes wide with terror. He desperately searched our faces. "How did I¡­get here?" "Peace," Drumm said. "Your mind was overtaken by another." "Xavier," Hank said with a heavy voice. "I can''t believe¡­After everything, how could he?" "What''s going on in there, Doc?" I asked. "Can you give us a heads up?" Hank''s eyes glazed over as he lost himself in thought. "The last thing I remember was Jean shredding her restraints. She left the med bay, dragging Charles along with her. He said something to me, and everything turned black. " Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. "I''m beginning to get why the kid hates the old man," Coulson chipped in, even as he held May close. He cradled her in his arms, and Natasha joined, assessing the full extent of her injuries. She produced some bandages from one of her pouches and wrapped it around May''s head. "He''s rotten alright," I said, "but Fury wants him alive, preferably strong enough to stand trial for his crimes." "Chum for the ravenous public," Drumm surmised. "DC will need somebody to pin this entire mess on when all this is over," I said. Fury had to explain the ruined mansion and whatever else followed. "This will be the end of us," Hank muttered dejectedly, and he was right. "Not if you step up," I said. "You have almost as many credentials as the bald old guy and are considerably less creepy." "Thank you?" Normal mutant folk needed a spokesperson for them, now more than ever. The fallout from this would be catastrophic. Charles''s actions were about to set their movement back several decades at least. Mutant fear was about to reach an all-new height. With somebody as level-headed as Hank at the lead, at least they stood a chance. "I don''t exactly have the face for Politics," Hank said. He was right there. "Nothing a simple glamor can''t fix," Drumm said. Hank seemed to perk up that that, but for the wrong reasons entirely. "How does that work exactly? Hard light or some strange hallucinogenics?" Drumm smiled as he slowly released the binding spell. "We will get into all that later. For now, we need to get you somewhere safe. Your mind is still fragile. We can''t let you stay." Hank winced, looking at May, then remained determined. "I can''t leave yet, not without finding Ilyana. She''s the sister to Colossus, and I just got a call from Kitty Pryde. She apparently teleported when she heard that Dante was fighting her brother." "You think she could be here?" Natasha asked. "That''s what I''m afraid of." I sighed, rubbing my forehead. As if we didn''t have enough to deal with already. Suddenly, we heard a crash, and the entire mansion shook. We all braced for a long moment while chunks of stone rained down and paintings crashed to the floor. The mansion did not stop shaking for an entire minute. When it finally stopped, I spoke. "THAT is why we can''t let you stay. You''re not only vulnerable to Charles anymore. Whatever that thing was that possessed Jean, it''s free now. It already took Collossus, and I''m betting the other X-men are not far behind. Dante thinks our best chance of survival is to get that thing as far away from civilized society as we can," I said. "I''m sorry about Ilyana, but everything is secondary to saving the planet now. Dante is fighting that thing tooth and nail, and as much as I like the kid, I don''t like his chances." Hank''s eyes went wide. "I see¡­ Promise me you''ll look for her then, after all of this. We can''t lose both Ilyana and her brother to this¡­thing." "You have my word," I nodded, glad he hadn''t put up much of a fuss. "I''ll be sending you to the Sanctum, along with the rest of the X-Men. Inform them of the situation," Drumm said as he looped his hand, generating a fiery golden portal. "And offer the Witch my apologies." Drumm swept his hand forward, and Collussus vanished before our very eyes, but the stoic man made a confused face that immediately put me on alert. "What''s wrong?" "The Witch, she escaped." "We can''t go after her," Natasha said, and I agreed. "Call the Director and give him an update," I said. "We''ve put this off long enough. Let''s end this." --- Ilyana Minutes after the mansion shook and strange cracks appeared, Aunty Moira showed up. She came with a few buses and men in suits. For the first time since I met her, she did not take her time to hug me and talk to Bunny. She and the Professor looked worried, so I snooped, peeking into the Med Bay through a half-closed door. "How could you let this happen, Charles?" Aunty Moira hissed, "Trying to kill a kid?" "He was no kid or human, Moira! He caused this. Jean is in bed because of him. If he''d just let things alone¡­" The Professor seemed to grow more tired with every word. "I messed up, Moira, and I''m not sure if I can fix things," he said, "but I have to try. I beg you, keep the children safe. I can''t lose them. I won''t let them pay for my mistake." Aunty hugged him, and I felt so sad that it hurt. I leaned deeper into the open door. The Professor was covered in sweat and blood. I pulled Bunny in closer as my eyes started to water, and behind me, I felt a tap. I jumped, yelping, only to turn around to find Kitty smiling down at me. Her smile disappeared when she saw my teary face, and she pulled me close as the tears started to pour. "Professor and Aunt Jeany¡­" I said in between hiccups. "I''m so sorry for scaring you," she apologized. "Everything will be okay. I promise. We''re just going away for a minute. We''ll be back before you know it." "But big brother Piotr¡­" "--will be fine," she said. "He''s the toughest dude on the roster. If anyone''s gonna stop the government cronies, it''s him." "Why is the government attacking us?" I blinked, looking up at her. "Eh¡­," she made a face an adult did when I asked them questions they didn''t want to answer. "It''s pretty complicated." "How?" Kitty''s face even grew even more conflicted. Just as she opened her mouth to answer, Aunty Moira stepped out of the Med Bay. I could see the relief on Kitty''s face. "What are you doing here, Ilyana?" She swept me up in her arms and smiled at me, but I saw the fear she was trying to hide. "Your Aunty Moira is taking you and the rest of the kids on a special trip into town. We''ll have lots of treats and fun. What do you say, Illy?" I frowned. "I don''t want to be separated from big brother Piotr again. The last time the government came for us, I didn''t see him for months." "That won''t happen," Moira promised. "We''ll get all this sorted out before you know it." "Besides, the big guy won''t be able to let loose if he''s worried sick about you," Kitty said, throwing an enthusiastic fist. "I want to stay behind and help out, too, but you guys need me more." She said, rubbing my head. I wasn''t happy about it, but I understood. Moira was a grown-up whom the Professor trusted, so I knew I could trust her, too. Kitty was not quite a grown-up, but she has always been nice to me and Piotr. If she said he needed me safe, then I would leave for his sake. I pouted for a bit before I looked up at Kitty and then Moira. "Can I bring Bunny''s sister, Floppy?" Kitty and Moira seemed to freeze over before bursting out laughing. "What?" I asked, genuinely confused. They didn''t stop laughing for a while. Chapter 50 Ilyana Moira transported me and the rest of the young mutants to a nice upscale house in Uptown, New York. It reminded me of the Mansion because it was so big, but the owner seemed obsessed with white and beige. Every surface of the house was covered in it, and Moira''s eyes seemed to twitch each time one of the kids knocked something over or spilled juice on the furniture. Kitty played babysitter to our group of 35, phasing through walls to break up fights, arguments, and cajole kids who were overreacting. I sat in the den with Bunny and Floppy with a nervous twist in my stomach, eyeing the dinner set out for us with no appetite. How could I eat when Piotr was in danger? Even Floppy and Bunny couldn''t make me feel better. The pain in my stomach seemed to grow with each passing moment. Aunty Moira had promised to tell me what was happening at the mansion the second she heard something new, but it had been nearly an hour since I said goodbye to Piotr. "Come on, Floppy and Bunny," I said, dragging them along. I was tired of waiting. If anyone knew what was happening, It''d be Kitty. I saw Uncle Hank give her an earpiece before we left. I found her in the Den by herself, yelling into it. "You have to let me come back!" Kitty insisted. "Dante and his wizard just took out our third heaviest hitter! All of the scenarios we drilled had Logan at the center. Sure, Piotr can take Dante, but you never know with him. The big lug could be in real danger!" "Real danger?" Piotr was in trouble? Kitty''s words played over and over in my head again, and the feeling in my stomach got worse. I could hear my heart drumming against my chest, my throat started closing up, and a headache nearly sent me stumbling. I bumped into the door frame, alerting her. Kitty saw me and reached out. "Ilyana?" And that was when the world turned red. I stumbled forward in surprise, the wooden floors beneath me replaced by white sand. The sky was a deep shade of red, deeper than any sunset I''ve ever seen, and there was no sun or moon in the sky. I clutched Bunny and Floppy tight as I turned around and around. "Kitty?" What happened to the world? Did¨Cdid I break it? It was when I saw a shadow high above me. It looked human, except it was not. It had two bat wings spread out wide, with a tail swishing behind it. It held a big fork in its hands, and the upper half of his face was scaled over. He wore a big dark cloak that buffeted in the wind. "A Human who''s come to Limbo of her free will?" it licked his lips. "One so young, no less. The Lower Court will enjoy breeding you." I stood there frozen for a long moment before the scream found its way out of my throat. "D-D-Demon!" Floppy flew from my hand as I turned tail and ran. The demon cackled. "I love it when they run," it said with a loud beat of his wings. I knew he was strong and had a few seconds at most before he caught me. So, I shut my eyes and wished myself to Piotr. It''d called this place Limbo, which meant I was not on Earth. If I had somehow made myself appear here, I bet I could do the opposite if I wanted it bad enough. It turned out I was right. A strange light enveloped me, and I suddenly found myself back at the mansion grounds, but the landscape looked very different than I remembered. The grounds had been scorched, the air was hot, and there were patches of black glass and strange white fire everywhere. Near what remained of gardens, I saw the source of the devastation. It was Dante, bruised all over and covered in burns, with both of his fists covered in fire. He was punching someone over and over again, and as I squinted through the heat, haze, and smoke, I saw that it was Piotr! "Stop!" I yelled, running over to them. "Stop fighting!" ¡ª If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Storm I blinked away with a groan, sitting upright on the small patch of roof I found myself. "Are you awake, Miss Ororo?" Scott called out in a panic, and I turned to him, blinking in obvious confusion. The top half of his face was covered in sticky foam, as were his arms and some of his neck. Pyro and Bobby lay unconscious beside him. "What happened?" I asked groggily. "They took us out is what happened," he said, "but the fight is not over yet. Colossus is still fighting Dante." I slowly turned to the mansion''s ground below, and my breath hitched at the destruction unfolding. There were small patches of white fire, and the entire landscape had either blackened or glassed over. At the heart of what was once vibrant, two titanic forces raged against each other. One was a badly burned, slippery, brutal tyrant, while the other was an implacable mountain that burped white fire. "Something is not right," I said. "Dante is down there fighting someone, but it''s not Colossus. At least not entirely. He''s wielding fire far more potent than John should be able to manage." "You think Dante somehow infected him?" Scott asked a little too quickly, and I rolled my eyes. "Unlikely," I said. "This feels far more powerful and insidious." The exchange consumed me entirely, my pulse rising and falling with each ebb and flow. And just when I thought Colossus was about to win. Dante turned things around with a swift dodge and an uppercut to end all uppercuts. The attack sent Colossus flying, and Dante followed, leaping after him. He smashed into the downed giant, creating an even larger crater, and slammed his fists into Colossus''s chest. The blows came fast, and Colossus threw some of his own, each carrying fire that burned the young demon hunter badly, but that only seemed to spur him further on. Fist clashed against metal repeatedly until blood mixed with fire, and that was when I saw Ilyana. She materialized some distance from the fight, clearly turned around and confused, but yelled her little heart out when she saw Dante and Colossus. Like the naive child she was, she yelled at them to stop and ran towards them. My heart dropped, and I summoned all of my strength, which had been slowly recovering, calling the wind to me. Air currents whisked me away from the roof, and a darkening cloud sent down a small discharge that scorched the foam, restricting me. With a roar, I broke free and swooped towards Ilyana. Behind me, I saw a portal open up under the downed X-men, displacing them as it''d done to me, but I could not let myself worry about them or Logan. He could handle himself, and John, Bobby, and Scott were three of Xavier''s finest. They would find their way back to us. ¡ª Dante Just because the Phoenix Force''s hold over Colossus was weakening didn''t mean the bastard couldn''t still throw down. Our fight devolved into high-stakes fisticuffs, each punch promising untold pain. Each of Colossus''s cosmic-fire-empowered fists that landed punched through my cloak despite the skill''s partial fire immunity stacked on top of my new fire resistance skill. On my end, each fire-clad fist that connected tasked an already overtaxed body and brought it that much closer to a total collapse. I''d cut down on Burst and even Demon Evade, conserving my energy, banking on my Myriad Martial Art Mastery to see me through the ordeal, but the damage was piling. Hal of my torso, some of my back, and my right leg were covered in fresh cosmic burn wounds that were working their hardest to kill me. If I were not perpetually expelling Angel Energy, I''d be dead. HP:167/620 You''ve been inflicted with Cosmic burn -40% health until fully healed. I barely held on, but I refused to let the bird win. When Colossus''s stance shifted, and he punched out, launching a thin streak of cosmic fire, I knew I had my opening. I leaned out of the way just in time to feel the side of my body heat up, and I came up with a burst to the jaw. My other fist started charging demonic energy as I laid into Colossus, pressing the advantage. I used footwork, stepping to the side to dodge a vicious diagonal swipe chained into an elbow and backhand swipe, but I kept up and pressed back with a two-step kick that targeted the liver and jaw, rocking the giant. Ten more seconds passed like this, with Colossus chasing and me backpedaling and thinking on my feet. Finally, an opportunity presented itself. Colossus over-extended himself when he came for a snap hook, and my fist slammed straight into his jaw with a thrice-charged Burst. The blow hefted Colossus off the ground, flipped him over, and threw him deeper into the garden. I came down on him with a double fist as he landed, further deepening the crater, and unloaded all of my anger and frustration on him. I dodged fiery punches that singed my hair and bruised my face. I even dropped most of my fiery cloak to reduce energy loss, leaving only my fist wrapped in fiery energy. Through sheer force of will, I stayed on, roaring as my fists turned to pistons that rained down destruction. My knuckles cracked, my wrist sprained, and I was pretty sure my shoulder and arm bones fractured as well, but I kept on punching. Everything faded into the background. The mansion, the mission, and even Jean, all that was left were my fists, fury, and the Phoenix. I had a fist in the air when a scream ripped through my haze. "Stop fighting!" "Ilyana?" I turned to find young Ilyana running toward us with Storm on her tail. She was several dozen paces away and would never get here in time if I wanted to end it all, and judging from the streaks of blood leaking from Phoenix-Collosus''s face, chest, and arms, I was pretty fucking close. They held a tint of redness that bore an unnatural burning corrosiveness. Chalk it up to demonic energy, I suppose. I looked at the weeping Ilyana and down at Colossus, who was barely breathing, and hardened my heart. It was him or me, I reminded myself. "I''m sorry," I whispered, and I reared my fist back. "No!" Ilyana screamed just as Storm reached her, and they were both consumed by a disk of light. Holy shit! I blinked in confusion, then realization. It was fucking happening. Ilyana and Storm were trapped in Limbo, weren''t they? And just when I thought I could put off dealing with the demons. I looked back at Colossus, whose breathing seemed to have grown even more labored. The fiery white wisp saturating his body was almost completely gone, and I heard the bird''s voice in my head clearer than ever. "We will meet again, much sooner than you think." The Phoenix''s presence then vanished from Colossus''s body. I took a shuddering step backward, putting some distance between myself and Colossus as my demonic cloak finally faded. My heart felt lighter, glad I hadn''t had to kill him, but I didn''t think I would''ve regretted it if I had. Like I said, It was him or me. I felt bad leaving Piotr just lying there, but I had to get to Jean. All this would''ve been for nothing if SHIELD poked her, and she decided to wipe out New York in a temper tantrum. With a grunt, I put one painful step in front of the other while I burned Angel regeneration, repairing whatever damage I could. Chapter 51 Clint We found her at the end of a long walkway in a spherical room covered in strange metal panels. Her hair flowed without air, and her eyes glowed bright red. "Jean, please," Xavier gasped as he floated aloft, locked in the air by her raised hand. I cast a nervous look at the team and nodded to Natasha. We slowly lowered our guns as we stepped into the room. "Jean Grey?" Natasha began. "We''re here to help you. Dante sent us." Jean didn''t react. Instead, she slowly closed her outstretched hand, eliciting bone-chilling howls from Xavier. "Jean, please. I beg of you¡­D¨CGahh!" he howled again, and we all took an instinctive step back; even Natasha reached for her sidearm, but I held her shoulder to reassure her. We couldn''t let things escalate. "Dante wouldn''t want you doing this, Jean," Natasha said, carefully stepping forward. "He fought so hard to get us here to save you. In fact, he''s still fighting right now. He thinks you can beat this thing trying to control you. Prove him right." "Listen to her, Jean. I believe¨C Hagh!" With a twitch of Jean''s finger, Xavier''s hand snapped. A single tear rolled down her cheek. "You don''t get to lecture me, not after what you stole from me. Did you think I would not remember them!" She roared, and Xavier''s left knee snapped in the other direction. He stared down at the limb in horror, the pain not registering because of his paralysis. "Jean!" "Shut up!" she roared, swinging her free hand. Sparks ignited in the large dome around us, traveling up and down the structure in a dizzying light show. Panels shot out of the walls, electric arcs surged, and wiring burst from nearly every surface, yet we stood at the center of the storm, untouched, frozen with terror. I nearly shat myself. Even Drumm looked terrified at her casual power. I was slowly coming to realize that we''d come woefully underprepared for this bullshit. As nervous sweats blanketed my body, gluing my tight suit to my skin, my arm slipped into my pouch, thumbing a sonic grenade. Coulson and May, who were barely holding on, had their hands tightly clutched around their rifles, slowly adjusting them to high voltage. We all held onto something to keep us safe, yet recognized that we were one bad move away from utter catastrophe. And we hadn''t even broached the topic of saving Xavier. "It''s your parents, isn''t it?" Natasha said in a soft voice, drawing the young calamity''s attention. I flinched at her gaze as it swept by me to Natasha. "I''ve read your file," Natasha said, "and I''ve learned a great deal about you from Dante. Dante told us that you lost your parents shortly after your abilities manifested, but that''s not true. Is it? Your father is alive, and Xavier has been keeping him from you." Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. "He''s a monster," Jean said coldly as she closed her hand more. This time, his back arched, twisted past the natural limit, drawing a deep, blubbering cry from the older man. "And that is why I have to kill him," she said, her voice heavy with grief. "It''s the only way we will all be free." She can''t be serious. Thankfully, Natasha started speaking before any of us had to. "Death is too good for him," Natasha said. "He should stand trial for everything he''s done. The children and everyone he''s hurt, they all need closure. And the world needs to see that mutants can hold their kind accountable." Natasha''s words seemed to get the teen thinking but she shook her head. "Too risky. Dante thought it was just the X-men, but Charles influenced some of the most powerful people around the world. It''s why the hate groups have never come to the gates of the school, it is why the president signed off on it, and it''s why SHIELD has tolerated its existence. Charles built a vast network of unwitting pawns, and the only way to break his hold is to kill him." My jaw dropped. "That''s¡­impossible." She was talking about a national security breach on a level we''ve never seen before. Yet, it made sense if you took the time to think about it. Charles had the means and motive, and if he''d been a little more psychotic and ambitious, the world would''ve laid at his feet. "We''ve observed nothing," Drumm said slowly. "But if this is true, he could prove to be a bigger threat than the demons." "This can''t be real," Coulson muttered in disbelief. "Maybe the girl has the right idea," May said, earning a look from Coulson, to which the agent simply shrugged. I agreed with May but didn''t dare give voice to it. Charles Xavier was too dangerous to be left alive, but Fury''s orders were clear. "Killing him right now would do more harm than good for the mutants," Natasha kept at it, trying her hardest to convince the teen. "You care about them, don''t you? Removing Xavier''s influence could leave you all vulnerable." "Not necessarily. He''s not the only powerful Telepath at this school," Jean said as she raised her other hand, bringing Xavier close. Her finger pressed against his skull. The Professor spasmed mid-air for a few seconds before he let out a violent cough. He''d looked rough before, between the bandages and blood, but now he was within an inch of his life. "Now, I know who to visit," she smiled. "This is the end of the road, Professor." Her fingers stretched out with a finality that made my chest tight. My finger wrapped around the pin on a sonic grenade. "Now, wait a minute," I said. "Xavier might be a monster, but he''s defenseless. Just think about this. Between our scientists and Dr Hank, I''m sure we could come up with a way to restrict his abilities.." "Once you do this," Natasha said. "You can''t go back. Trust me, I know. You''ll be on the radar of every major organization in the world. Everyone who knew Charles will know about the girl who killed him, and they will come for you." "Jean, please," Xavier begged. "Listen to them." Jean''s eyes burned brighter, and she declared with an iron conviction, "Let them come." Her fingers snapped together, forming a tight fist, and Xavier folded into himself in a series of loud snaps and screams and dropped to the floor, reduced to a ball of bloody meat. Time stopped as we stared in horror at the monstrosity. "Are you finally going to attack?" Jean demanded, her eyes snapping to us. "Or would you like me to go first?" No one moved. Her reading our minds was a possibility we all foresaw, but we''d hoped if we put our best foot forward, she''d give us the benefit of the doubt. Apparently, she wasn''t as naive as we''d hoped. Given what we''d just witnessed, I wasn''t confident in our containment strategy. It was like Dante warned; piss her off, and she''d reduce us to smudges of meat before we could even react. I didn''t even try to reach for the RX-29. "Your plan might''ve worked half an hour ago," she said as she raised her hand, and all of our weapons went flying. Everything from the RX-29 to my last knife and arrow. The show of force sent me stumbling and similarly put Natasha, May, and Coulson on their arses. She spread her hand wide as she''d done once before, and my eyes grew wide. Drumm stepped forward, forming two complicated mandalas on his hands. "Control yourself, young Phoenix. You''re more than this." "Phoenix," Jean muttered. "Where did you hear that name?" She squinted, staring at Drumm, and suddenly, the man lurched, gasping. "So, he told you?" she remarked. "You just became a whole less interesting Sorcerer." Jean''s fingers danced around the air, and we slowly felt a weight settling upon us. I knew we were about to die, to a mercurial kid, no less. I wasn''t even sure if bringing down the full force of SHIELD would''ve been able to take her down or just inflated the kill count. Just as she was about to crush us, her eyes snapped to the door. "Dante?" Chapter 52 Dante I stumbled into a scene from a nightmare. Xavier was on the floor, crushed and bleeding, Cerebro was in pieces, and Jean stood over my cornered team, flowing with boundless psionic energy. Her eyes burned like twin suns, and her red hair flowed without air. She had her hand half-raised, poised to wipe out half of the future Avengers when she saw me. Her eyes lost their glow. "Dante?" Jean asked, then frowned. "You''re¨Cyou''re hurt." "T''is just a scratch." I laughed through the pain as I leaned into the door frame. "I''ll live." The upper part of my armor was gone, showcasing the full extent of my burns and injuries. I nudged towards Xavier''s corpse. "Thanks for taking care of that for me, by the way. Though that''s not the way I''d like to have handled it." "I was just so angry," Jean said, visibly shaking. "And I asked the Phoenix to hold you back until I was done with Charles. I never imagined that she would hurt you so much." I laughed. "Maybe you should''ve been more specific. I know all this is new to you, Jean, so I won''t fault you for nearly wiping out the team I assembled to help you in the first place. Fury won''t be nearly as understanding, though. And trust me, he''s the last person you want as an enemy." "He''s intense," Jean said quietly. "I saw that from Charles''s memories." "That he is," I said, taking her news about brainjacking Xavier in stride, "but he usually has good intentions. And you''re going to need him on your side to deal with this fallout," I gestured around the room. Jean folded her hands, immediately defensive. "I have it under control. Now that he''s gone, the children are safe...and we could always rebuild the school." She couldn''t be serious. "The children are terrified, Jean, and after what happened with Colossus, Ilyana, and Storm, I doubt the older members would be in a forgiving mood." "Illy and Storm?" Jean asked, genuinely surprised. "What happened. They''re not in danger, are they?" I was too exhausted to relive that nightmare again, so I opened my mind to Jean. "Why don''t you see for yourself." Jean peered in after some hesitation and grew agitated. The weapons floating around the room started to whirl, and the glow in her eyes came and left. "Peace, Jean," I croaked. "I know where they are, and we can get them back once you''re stable enough." My words seemed to soothe her, and floating weapons were released from their telekinetic hold, dropping into the void below. "I can''t..." Jean began and broke midway. "I can''t believe I caused all of this. I don''t know what to do," she said. I was intimately familiar with that confusion and pain. I''d felt it on that night in Vegas when the X-Men found and essentially kidnapped me. Sure, I figured something out eventually, but it took desperate experimentation and much luck. And even then, I made a ton of mistakes. If I''d been more tactical in my confrontation with Charles and kept Jean out of it, maybe Colossus wouldn''t be lying outside, within an inch of his life, maybe Ilyana wouldn''t be stuck in Limbo right now, with Storm. There was always collateral damage. They just never talked about it in the comic books and movies. "We need to get your new powers under control," I said. "And that will take time and seclusion from the X-Men. I wasn''t kidding when I told Fury you were like a walking atomic bomb. Of course, I won''t be cutting you off from the other mutants entirely. They can visit at Kamar Taj. I''m sure the Ancient one will be very accommodating, won''t she, Drumm?" This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. "She''s excited to meet the latest incarnation of the Phoenix," Drumm bowed at a clearly confused Jean. The rest of the team was so focused on remaining completely still that I could''ve sworn they were not breathing. "What''s a Kamar Taj?" "Why don''t you look in my head and find out?" I smiled at her, causing the redhead to regard me carefully. "You''re not afraid I''ll hurt you?" "I trust you, Jean." "I''m not sure I deserve it." "If we all got what we deserved, Xavier would''ve been long dead before you came along, and I wouldn''t even be alive. I trust you, Jean, because I know what it feels like to be isolated because of what you are." Tears flowed down her cheek. "Chin up," I beamed. "Though, you might want to hurry this up before I crash." That gave Jean the swift kick in the butt she needed to act. Looking deep into my head, she saw what little I remembered of Kamar Taj in the movies¡ªa hidden Wizard training temple in the Himalayas. "Is that what you see when you use your Devil''s Eye?" "This is something different entirely." Clint slowly climbed to his feet and alternated between me and Jean. "You have no idea how fucking good it is to see you. I''d hug you right now, but that might just kill you." "It just might," I said. "I''m going to be getting medical attention from the wizards. In case you haven''t quite put it together. Kamar Taj is their headquarters, and yes, it''ll be a very terrible idea to go looking for it," I said, looking at Coulson in particular. "What!" Coulson said. "You can''t just tell us about Hogwarts and tell us not to try and find it." I shook my head and looked at Natasha. Underneath the impassive stare, I saw a familiar pain and complexity. I didn''t know if it was nearly dying or surviving the hardest match-up of my life, but I was straight with her, probably for the first time. "I shouldn''t have joked around about her," I said. "I''ll tell you how to find her the next time we meet." Natasha blinked, and it took some time for her to find her words. "I-I have to call the director. We need to establish a perimeter and contain the mansion. The public cannot know what happened here until we decide what to do about Xavier." Natasha looked in Jean''s direction briefly before turning to me. "I''ll tell him about your injuries." I suppose I should be glad I got that much from the Ice Queen. "Much appreciated," I nodded. "And get somebody to take a look at the big guy. He worse off than I am. Drumm, if you''ll please do the honors?" Drumm stepped forward, opening a gateway of gold and fire. On the other side laid the halls of Kamar Taj. The group stared in amazement at the casual display of magic, and I nodded at Jean. "Are you going to help me through or what?" "Oh...Ah, sorry," she said sheepishly, wrapping her hands around me. I limped through with considerable effort, and Drumm followed behind us. The world turned blurry a few hops into the magic school, the adrenaline of the fight finally fading away. It was a small wonder I was standing. HP: 10/620. "Dante!" Jean''s scream sounded like a distant whisper. I drifted off into a slumber that did not relax me one bit. I found myself back in the void, in Dante''s skin, standing before a ginormous Phoenix made of fire and psychic energy. Its sheer presence seemed to blot out my everything. I could not move or think properly, only breathe and await the judgment of the beast. "Jean cares a great deal for you, Son of Sparda. It was her insistence that I saved your life." The Phoenix leaned in, and suddenly, I felt the pressure break. "That''s very generous of you, considering you were the one that put my life in danger in the first place!" The Phoenix hummed. "Irreverence in the face of overwhelming adversity. A good trait to have. Careful not to let it become a folly." She was right, of course. Something fundamental in me bucked against any sort of restriction. I knew where it came from and was self-aware enough not to let it drive me completely. I refused to be reactionary, especially in a world where mistakes equaled death. "You want something from me," I said to the bird. "You wouldn''t have bothered to appear before me if you hadn''t." "Of all the beings on this planet, your potential ranks one of the highest. I can think of no better right hand to my host. Guide her, protect her from herself and all that would seek to do her harm, and help her heal her mind. And in time, you will have that which you most desire." My brows hiked up. Did she know about the mission? Of course, she fucking knew. She is the congregation of all the psionic energy of living beings, past, future, and present. Reading my mind would''ve been trivial. "And you don''t mind losing a piece of yourself?" I asked. "In exchange for the perfect host," she said, "granting your heart''s desire is a small price to pay." "Alright then," I said carefully, still a bit surprised. I''d imagined dozens of scenarios, and not once did I foresee the Phoenix simply handing me her fire. Still, I suspected I''d have to really work for my keep. Protecting a mentally fragile Jean from the likes of Magneto, the government, and the dozen other shadow cabals would be a hell of an assignment. "Trust in your strength, Nephilim," she said and dissolved in a storm of fire that swept past my astral form. I turtled up, bracing for the incoming pain, but instead, I found myself seated on a plush black leather chair in a familiar white space. In front of me was Shin, beaming in an ornate chair of black leather and silver. Chapter 53 In front of me sat Shin, beaming in an ornate chair of black leather and silver. He slowly clapped. "Befriending Jean Grey, turning her against the Professor, and securing the trust of the Phoenix, all within two months of transmigration. You''re on fire, Axel, or should I say Dante. Because with those mighty big balls of yours and swagger, I could have mistaken you for the real thing." I was inundated by an avalanche of emotions when I laid eyes on Shin¨C shock, surprise, anger, hate, violent rage. "It''s been a while," I said in a surprisingly restrained voice. Shin blinked, rubbing his chin. "If I couldn''t read your mind, I would''ve sworn you were actually happy to see me." "It''s not that I don''t appreciate the face-to-face¨C" I started, and Shin cut me off. "You''re wondering what you''re doing here." "Pretty much," I said. "You''re here for two things," he said. "First, a quest update," A fresh screen appeared in front of me with a snap of Shin''s fingers. Quellitrax''s invasion A Lesser Fragment of Quilltrax has followed you here from the Void between realities for what was denied him. Your essence. Beat back 5 Incursions of the Insatiable Eldritch. 2 of 5 Time till next Incursion 2 weeks. Rewards: One class token from the Shin''s Multiverse-famous Shop. (Unclaimed) One weapon upgrade token One skill upgrade token 5,000 Red Orbs Quest for Limbo Free The Dark Knight Sparda, kill Mundus and the four other Arch Demons roaming the Marvel Universe, and wipe out Belasco''s army. Hand over the Belasco to Shin and submit control of Limbo. Reward: 2 Advanced Class Tokens, 1000 stat points, a World Key, and 1 Legendary-tier item from the shop. Shin''s Treasure Hunt¨C Mainline Quest Acquire the true flames of the Phoenix Force (20% complete) Acquire the Space Stone (1%) Acquire the Soul Stone (0%) Rewards Unlocked One Gacha token for Shin''s List (T)Seed Essence of Gluttony ??? ??? "And to reward you," Shin said after noting I was done reading. "I mean, I''ve sent dozens of champions after the Phoenix over the millennia; you''re the first not to get completely annihilated on first contact." "So, I was fucking right!" I said. "It was a suicide mission." "Eh¡­" Shin shrugged. "You had a 2.83% chance at survival. It helped immensely that you made friends with an emotionally unstable Jean, and I chose a universe with considerable multiversal bleed." "Multiversal bleed? Did you mean Belasco''s ritual?" Shin snapped his finger. "Got it in one. The Greater Muliverse is a complex and dangerous place. While it''s true that I have infinite power, at least from your perspective, I have to follow certain rules if I want to stay alive. Beings on the Multiversal level and beyond typically don''t like it when you fuck around in their backyard. Outer Beings like me who are not innately born with incomprehensive levels of power have to grow it the old-fashioned way through pillaging and plunder. And the easiest way to do that is by targeting Universes with Multiversal bleeds. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. There''s so much shit going on that one soul randomly hijacking another doesn''t raise that many flags. And once you have somebody on the inside, you can drip-feed them power while they pursue your objectives." "A symbiotic relationship of a sort." "Exactly." Shin was still a total asshole from my perspective, but I could see where he was coming from. The Space and Soul stones were important but not as important as the Phoenix flame, which seemed capable of manipulating reality on an unprecedented scale. My mind went wild with the possibilities. Did he plan to unshackle the stones from the universe and use the Marvel Universe as an infinite battery to empower himself and his pawns? Or did he plan to merge with it and the stones to boost his powers even more? "I like where your head''s at," Shin said. "But, like everybody else, you''ll just have to wait and find out." Still, I found a flaw in his incredible plan. "But the Phoenix knows you want her flame," I pointed out. "What typically happens when an Outerversal Being like her catches you in her backyard?" Shin raised a brow at the question. "For the Phoenix and other purpose-driven beings like her, nothing will happen as long as you don''t interfere with their interpretation of their purpose," Shin said. "You think I''m the first being that''s tried to rob her? She''s eternal and fundamentally tied to all of reality, in every reality. She doesn''t need to bother with the Rat Race if she doesn''t want to. All she cares about is his carrying out her cosmic duty of creation and destruction. Finding a perfect host, though," Shin mused, "now, that''s the real find. The bird already has a few perfect hosts, but nurturing one more is always worth the hassle if it will further her purpose." "To answer your original question," Shin said. "If it were anybody else other than the Phoenix, then I might have a real problem on my hand. If we can''t come to some type of compromise, we fight. And for beings on my level, that''s no small undertaking. Multiverses will end, and the fighting won''t stop with us. Beings above and below our level will join in and result in a skirmish that will raise another Outerversal being or something stronger. It might result in the end of all things or even birth another Multiversal cluster. It''s anyone''s guess what will happen, really. And that is why we generally avoid conflict with each other." I sat in silence for a moment to take it all in before I asked. "Then, what about QUELL?" I demanded. "Well," Shin shrugged with a shameless grin. "Invasions from the descendants of Cthulu are not that uncommon. Out here in the far Void, they''re a dime a dozen. Letting one of them consume a universe or two is usually a small price to pay for not pissing off the big man himself." Cthulu, huh? That certainly explained the boundless hunger. "And what''s to stop beings like QUELLITRAX from never stopping their consumption spree?" "Their father," Shin said. "The big man is pretty strict with his offspring. They get disintegrated if they even think of triggering a multiversal war." Shin painted a terrifying and vivid picture of a Multiversal Cold War of all-powerful entities who''d prefer to negotiate than fight. Shin didn''t strike me as the warring type, but kind of like the US and Russia, he sunk resources to make sure he would come out on top if he ever had to fight. It was all making sense now¨C his callousness, coldness, and duplicity. It came with the territory of being a multiversal scavenger. Given everything I''ve learned, I still wondered who or what was restricting Shin, as he claimed. "That''s a topic for another time," he smiled. "For now, enjoy your rewards and keep up the good work. You''re in the major leagues now, kid." I had a dozen other questions, but the god looked like he was done talking. Looking down at the reward tab, I saw the unclaimed Class Token that I''d almost completely forgotten about and the two fresh rewards I''d gotten for nearly dying to Phoenix-Colossus. (T)Minor Seed Shard of Gluttony Gacha Token for Shin''s List The latter seemed promising, but the former struck me as odd. I used Devil''s Eye to read the description and was a bit alarmed by its description. (T)Minor Seed Shard of Gluttony Inherit a fundamental fragment of Shin the Avaricious''s power forever altering your being. You will gain. Race Suffix¨CBecome the Nephilim of Hunger Essence Reaper¨CGain a tiny silver of strength from every foe you fell. Avaricious Gaze¨C Will replace your current identification skill and allow you to see the estimated power level, top skills, and weaknesses of your opponents. That was a fucking upgrade if I ever saw one, but it would inextricably tie me to Shin. So far, he''d shunned, abused, and manipulated me. I didn''t think getting in any deeper with him was a good idea. "I would be cautious, too," Shin said. "But the thing is, you''re not just another Aspirant anymore. You''re my main line to the Phoenix. It makes sense that I want to invest in your future." I quieted my mind, not allowing myself to react immediately. "Can I think about it?" Silence. "I suppose you could," Shin said. "Don''t take too long, though." Thankfully, the god didn''t have much else to say on the matter, letting me focus on my second reward. I was no stranger to the concept of Gacha, yet this felt a bit too generous. I was used to the penny-pinching Shin. The god''s sudden generosity and access to his private collection struck me as a bit odd and justified my earlier hesitation. I used the Gacha anyway, and the results were unexpected, to say the least, but oddly appropriate. Red Leather Trenchcoat (Forgery) A Forgery of the signature trench coat worn by the Legendary Devil Hunter in another reality. Grants +10 Dexerity and + 15 Endurance Ability: Mid-tier durability, Self-repair¨C the jacket will mend itself when fed demonic energy. "Like it?" Shin asked with a self-satisfied smile. "Perfect, isn''t it?" "Yeah¡­" "I thought you needed better protection after your embarrassing display earlier," he said. "Things are about to get much more interesting from here on out." Shin leaned forward in his chair, staring straight into my eyes. "Yao will fill you in later, but be extremely wary of the demons. They don''t fuck around." "Noted," I said slowly, taking the god''s word to heart. I''d never seen him so serious¡­well, except for when he was screwing me over. Shin abruptly leaned back into his chair, seemingly put out by my thoughts, and declared, "I suppose I''ve kept you long enough. I''ll let you get back to it." He snapped his finger, and I awoke to a fresh hell. Chapter 54 Shin snapped his finger, and I awoke to a fresh hell. I woke up a screeching, hyperventilating mess, tightly wrapped in a dozen layers of bandages. My nose picked up on a cocktail of herbs so potent it would''ve knocked me out if I was not nearly out of my mind with pain. "Mmmpff!" I bit down the scream ripping from my throat, but it was still loud enough to draw the attention of one of my minders. It was a portly Middle Eastern woman. "Peace, Dante," she said as she walked in. "I understand you''re in a great deal of pain, but you''ll make your injuries worse if you struggle.." Her voice was soothing, and she had a motherly charm that almost lulled me into a sense of security, but the pain kept me alert. I scanned the room. Dried herbs hung from the ceiling, lanterns burned, and there were stack upon stacks of scrolls stored on the tall shelves in the corner. "Where am I?" "In the Rejuvenation Quarters of Kamar Taj." "How long have I been out?" "Two days," she said. "You collapsed after walking through the portal with the Phoenix''s Avatar." "So, that''s general knowledge now, is it?" My eyes narrowed suspiciously, to which the woman smiled. "I will go fetch the Ancient one. She''ll explain it all." "Wait," I called as she stepped away. "I never got a name." "Alara," she smiled and departed, leaving me to assess my current state. Name: Dante Sparda Species: Nephilim Class: None HP: 250/690 (Severe Cosmic burn -50% health until fully healed) SP: 230 /670 AE: 450/450 DE: 480/480 Strength: 43 Dexterity: 45 Endurance: 67 Vitality: 69 Angelic Energy: 45 Demonic Energy: 48 Well, Shit. So that was why I felt like ass when I woke up. I spiked Angel regeneration, letting it heal the half of my untouched body. Pain and Fire Resistance flared to life, nibbling on my middling energy pool, bathing my aching body with the palpable relief all of the tinctures and bandages had not managed. I struggled to my feet with a groan and focused on moving my body. My AE dropped at alarming speeds, but I was fairly used to that by now. I was more excited by my stat growth. At 20 strength, I was pushing 700 pounds of weight easily. At double that, I was over 1400 on the Bench Press. Reaching 43 only translated to about 105 pounds more pushing power, but every last bit counted in a fight. Stack that with my outrageous speed of 100mph backed by 45 points in Dexterity, and I could hit with the force of a small supercar. If only my vitality hadn''t taken a fucking nosedive. I imagine I wouldn''t be quite as bulletproof as I used to be or be able to fight for a prolonged time with fresh wounds and pain holding me back. Still, I had to grind. I was probably going up against the Hulk next, and I had the durability of a D-rate villain. Without the cheddar to go shopping at Shin''s store, my options were pretty limited. Resistances were the first thing that came to mind. Maybe if I gathered enough of them, I could roll them into an overpowered resistance skill that gave a flat damage reduction across the board. This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. I''d done it once with my (R) Myriad Martial Art Mastery skill. Sounded like game character logic, but fuck it, it was what I was. In the meantime, I could work on developing demonic energy techniques and work on my angel side as well. Heaven knows it was lacking. "Glad to see that even the fires of the Phoenix cannot keep you down for long," I heard Yao''s voice beside me, and it took me some effort not to jump out of my skin. "You know me," I said, turning around. "I''m a glutton for punishment." The Ancient One took careful steps to the center of the room and summoned a set of chairs for us to sit down on. "You''ve got to teach me that," I said. "How are you feeling?" Yao asked with a look bordering on concern. I couldn''t truly tell with her perpetual deadpan face. "I''ve been better," I said, carefully lowering myself onto the chair. My body lit up as I sat down. "My burns, they''re not healing." Yao frowned. "It is to be expected. No one has ever survived contact with the Phoenix, much less earned its mercy. I wouldn''t even know where to start to help you. You''re overflowing with cosmic energy." "Mercy?" I grunted. "That''s certainly one way of looking at it." Some part of me wondered why the bird hadn''t healed me. I couldn''t look out for Jean when I was bruising with every step. "How''s Jean doing?" "She refused to leave your side for the first day and most of the second. It took me slipping her some sleeping tea to put her to bed. We''ll know more about her mental state when she wakes." "That worked? She must''ve been really tired, or the bird trusts you." "You speak as if you''ve met her," Yao said. I weighed the advantages of telling Yao about my conversation with the Phoenix vs. keeping my knowledge to myself. If I started talking now, it wouldn''t be long before I''d told her about everything else. And while I trusted her¡­somewhat, I was not sure we were there yet. "I got a sense of her in between rounds. She spoke exclusively in one-liners. I thought she was more bloodthirsty than anything else." "Sounds¡­accurate enough," Yao said offhandedly before folding her palms over each other. "There''s something I wish to tell you now that we have some time." "I''m guessing it has something to do with the demons." Yao nodded. "A demon in particular. Sparda." I raised my brows. "You knew my father?" "We were old friends," Yao said affectionately. "He helped me when I was coming up as sorcerer Supreme, and we remained close until the end." "He told me in a dream he was sealed away, not dead," I said with some confusion. "So you know?" Yao''s eyes widened a little bit. "I suppose it''s like him to spell you with memories of the past. That will save me a great deal of time explaining. Your father was an anomaly, even among his race. He''s the only demon I''ve met with a conscience, and up until 20 years ago, he was the only one of his kind on Earth. He was powerful, charismatic, and one of the kindest people I knew. I''ve never met anyone like him since," she said fondly. "Sounds like you wanted to shag him," I said, deadpan. Yao froze, and for the briefest moment, I thought I saw her cheeks blush. But it was gone in the next instant, and she continued on with her story like she hadn''t heard me. "Your mother was his equal and completed him. She was everything he was not. Impetuous, Rebellious, quick to anger, and knowledge-hungry. She studied with us for a while, soaking in the sorcery of Earth and adding a few spells of her own." "Mom was a sorcerer?" I supposed that seemed like the obvious path to go down as a transmigrated Angel. She was probably desperate to understand her new reality and see if sorcery held the key to returning back home. Seeing as she had Dante, that obviously didn''t work out, but that didn''t mean her work couldn''t be useful, especially to a gamer. "Will you teach me like you taught her?" "No," the ancient one said, startling me. "But you said¨C" "I cannot teach you Eldritch Magic because it''s not safe," she said. "I can teach you how to manipulate your personal energies better, but anything beyond that might put you in grave danger. You and your brother are both anomalies with signatures that are so antithetical and powerful they scream out to the dimensions we channel when we create spells. Your presence will draw attention. Attention that will put you and the Earth in danger." "That''s...understandable," I said with some disappointment. I always fancied myself more of a fighter than a sorcerer, but it''d been nice to have more options. Still, I was open to learning. "I might take you up on that offer to learn spells for my personal energies." She smiled. "I hoped you might. There are dozens of tomes waiting for you, but before that, there''s more to discuss," Yao slowly said. "Belasco is trying to destroy the barrier we placed between Limbo and Earth and conquer the planet. When Sparda was alive, no demon dared travel to the surface without permission. He was just that powerful. However, after Eva''s arrival, some of Belasco''s oldest Cambions (half-human, half-demon) grew bolder. Suspecting war was unavoidable, your father, Eve, and I erected a Restriction Barrier based on Agamotto''s original design that stripped all demons kind of most of their power when they crossed over to our plane, with a few exceptions, of course." "Me and Virgil are the exceptions," I realized, though something else bothered me. Was she trying to say that Dante has been fighting demons in easy mode this entire time? "Your father knew you and your brother might need to take the fight to the demons one day," Yao continued, "so he made alterations to the Spell that would allow you to enter and leave the realm without backlash." That was actually pretty convenient for me. I hadn''t met the man yet, but I already liked him, though something else occurred to me. "The demons are coming for me, aren''t they?" "Yes," Yao said tentatively, "but not for the reasons you think. They can''t use your blood to break the barrier. Your access is coded to your Angel Energy, not your blood." My eyes went wide. Holy shit. Naruto''s parents could learn a thing or two from Sparda. He managed to strengthen his sons without making them even bigger targets. "If they''re not coming for me because of the barrier, it''s probably because of who my parents were," I concluded. "I put a target on my back by showing I was more than just a wastrel." "Price of excellence," Yao simply said. "Well, fuck me." Shin certainly did say the demons were coming for me. "So, what do we do?" "For now, you rest," she said, "talk to Jean, keep her grounded, and begin your training into proper Demon and Angel Magic. Both of your parents come from beyond our cosmos. If there''s magic that can heal your cosmic burn, it''s theirs." Chapter 55 Fury I took a deep swig of Scotch and drew a steadying breath in preparation for what I expected would be one of the hardest calls of my career. The phone rang at 7 pm on the dot, and I hit the receive button. Alexander Pierce, one of the members of the World Council, appeared on the flat-screen Tv in front of me with a scowl that would''ve made a first-year agent crap their pants. "What the hell happened at that mansion, Fury!" "Charles Xavier happened," I said. "He got into the head of one of his students a decade ago and sealed off her power and childhood trauma. When she finally remembered, the results were¡­explosive." "That''s an understatement," Pierce snorted, looking down at his desk. "The preliminary report says that she shattered the foundation of the mansion, scorched the grounds, covering it in black glass that''s as hard as steel, possessed another mutant, burned and beat your metahuman agent so badly, they''re in critical care, and worst of all, crushed Xavier with a snap of her dainty little hand. Is that right?" "That about covers it," I said rather dryly. Pierce steepled his hands. "This girl is no mutant. She''s a walking natural disaster. One we needed to have on lock and key, and you''re saying you let her escape?" "We didn''t let her escape," I said. "She let us live." Pierce snorted. "You went into that operation on the recommendation of a kid who hadn''t been properly vetted and trained, with a team of six. Why the hell did you approach the problem with one hand tied behind your back?" "Frankly, Pierce," I said, "you read the incident report. It wouldn''t have made a difference." "So says the kid, who you refused to officially bring into SHIELD, who disappeared into a ''portal'' with a sorcerer of all things!" Pierce slammed his hand on the table. "You''re being had, Fury! How can you be sure he''s not responsible for the invasion at the park and the girl? Have you considered that he could''ve planned this?" I had indeed considered it. Dante was always at the center of it all. At first, I''d been willing to overlook his involvement because of his gift. But a chat with his Silvery friend, revealed that the kid might''ve sown the seed for jean''s eventual break on the night they met for the very first time. Of course, Pierce will never know about any of this." "Dante has not given us a reason to doubt him," I said. "And he put himself on the line to save our agents TWICE during the fighting. Scorched and limping, the kid offered to go with the girl and stabilize her so she wouldn''t turn all of New York into a smoldering crater. Dante might''ve only been in SHIELD for two weeks, but he''s accomplished more than some Agents do during their careers. You''re not giving him enough credit, Undersecretary." "And you give him too much," Pierce asserted. "Do you know where he''s disappeared alongside the girl?" "He was badly wounded," I defended. "He''s likely still unconscious." It was a terrible excuse I''d never tolerate, but it was the only one I had. We had to play it all close to the vest. Pierce took a long, deep breath and breathed out. "We have to secure that girl when your man makes contact, and I don''t care what it takes. Failing that, eliminate her. The RX-29 is the most powerful rifle we have. It failed because it was in the hands of the wrong man. Fix that and get ready for a second run around. As for the Xavier situation, tell the truth. A mentally ill student lost control, and Xavier paid the price." This motherfucker. I saw it coming from a mile away, and it still caught me off-guard. This is why I wanted Charles alive to face his crime. Pierce intended to see heads roll; if it weren''t Charles''s, it would be Jean''s. After Dante told me about Pierce, I started digging. He''d been lobbying for more mutant control and policing for a while, and the girl gave him everything he needed. "The world will rip itself apart if the word gets out," I argued. "Mutant hate will reach an all-time high, and they will start fighting back eventually, especially those that have the overwhelming ability to." "She killed Charles Xavier," Pierce said in a sanctimonious tone. "We can''t let her get away with it, no matter how dangerous your man claims she is. We have to stop covering for these people," Pierce shook his head. "The world needs to know that mutants like Jean Grey exist and how helpless we normal humans are before their overwhelming might. We need better containment, technology, and registration!" I couldn''t hide the scowl fighting to the surface. Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. Pierce''s claims were not bad at first brush. Secret superhuman registration was fairly routine in SHIELD. If you knew who the superhumans were and kept tabs on them, you could effectively manage incidences before they escalated. The Mutants were not ready for the limelight, and the humans were not ready to accept them either, especially not after Xavier''s death. Pierce was orchestrating a Civil War that was bound to end in thousands dead on both sides and give higher-ups at Hydra cart blanche to experiment, develop superhuman countermeasures, and suppress mutant insurgencies. "There hasn''t been a mutant attack in 20 years, Pierce," I said. "This goes beyond America now. The world will not remain the same if we go public with this." "Maybe it''s time it changed." "I call a vote for the board," I said. I hated bureaucracy, but if there was one thing I could rely on, it was the self-interest of the members of the World Security Council. While it was true that the news of Xavier''s death and the girl''s existence would alarm them, they''d know better than stoking a global race war. "They''re already here," Pierce said with a self-assured smirk. Motherfucker. My secondary screen lit up, populated by the faces of the other four SHIELD board members. "Are we really going to bring down fucking Armageddon on our countries because of Charles Xavier, of all people? You heard the recording. The man is reprehensible. He fucking deserved what he got," I said. "The Secret Program is not perfect, but it fucking works. If anything, Xavier''s insistence that his kids get special treatment led us to this point. If we''d known about Jean¨C" "We would''ve put her down," Council member Yen said, cutting me off. "She''s a walking calamity. It''s common sense." "I don''t know about killing her," Council member Singh said, "but early containment and study could''ve improved her prognosis and help us better understand her limitations." "If we had somebody like her on our side, in addition to the Clairvoyant kid, we could''ve handled the Park issue without losing so many men," Council member Malick declared, slamming his hand onto his table. His old, withering voice vibrated with every word. "The mutants are Earth''s answer to the Alien threat. We must bring them into the fold." "Pierce''s response might be unwieldy," Council member Hawley, ever the negotiator, weighed in, "but it has some merits. Fury''s man has the girl''s trust. I suggest having him bring her and the rest of the X-men in before we go public with the WHOLE truth about Charles. They''re all about saving mutants, so they shouldn''t turn down a chance to protect their own. I think word of the Alien threat will win them over completely if mutant liberation does not." I was fucking disgusted by what I heard. It seemed I gave them too much credit. They didn''t know better than provoking the mutants. "Liberation? Bring them into the fold? Study and weaponize?" I scrutinized each of their faces. "You talk about them like they''re wild animals! They''re humans and will fight like hell if they feel like they''re in danger. And don''t even get me started on containment! Mutations can be vastly different, even between family members. How do you plan to prepare for that variation, and what about Mutants on Jean and Xavier''s level? You know they exist out there and how dangerous they are!" I said with some exasperation. "We have a system that''s kept us safe for decades now. Monitor and diffuse. Jean Grey was an isolated incident." "Quite the impassioned speech, Fury." Pierce finally deigned to speak. "I did not come to this meeting unprepared. We are in talks with Trask, and he''s assured us that containment and threat removal for the more problematic elements will not be an issue." "The madman?" I said with some surprise. "This is going to happen with or without you, Fury," Pierce said. "Would you rather supervise their integration into society, or do we have to find another man for the job." Did this asshole just threaten my job? "Is this how you all feel?" I demanded, surveying the room. No one avoided my eyes or looked away, standing firmly rooted in their silent agreement. "Y''all do remember that we still have an alien invasion to deal with and coordinated global attacks from unidentified monstrous humanoids?" "Give us your answer, Fury?" Pierce demanded. I bit back a string of curses and took a steadying breath. "You knew the kind of man I was when you appointed me Director," I said. "I''m here come hell or high water. Still, I want my objection to be on record. I still think this is a terrible idea." Pierce smirked. "I knew you''d come around, Fury. Don''t worry; it will be in your file, and we won''t hold your lapse in judgment against you. You have 72 hours to bring the girl and your man into the fold. After that, we go public." Pierce cut the call after that, and I let out the string of curses and expletives I''d been saving since I first laid eyes on that squid. "That bad, Sir?" Natasha said, entering my office. "Saving Charles wouldn''t have made that much of a difference. Pierce has been prepping for this since QUELLITRAX and likely earlier. He wants to weaponize and control the mutants, and Jean Grey just gave him the perfect excuse." "Get me Drumm on the phone," I said. "We need Dante and the girl down here ASAP. We could really use some Clairvoyant and a Telepath right now." I''d hoped I had enough clout and influence to sway the council, but Pierce was making me consider the nuclear option. "You want to recruit Jean Grey?" Natasha''s face lost some of its color. "You''ve read the reports. She''s unstable." "I know that," I sighed, "but it''s not up to me anymore. We need all the help we can get. And if the kid reigned her in once, he can do it again. And get Coulson and May in here. We can''t put off Project Lazarus anymore. We need the Cap back more than ever." "You really think he''s under the Ice?" "There''s definitely something under there," I said. "Preliminary scan said so, and about Dante, don''t be too quick to judge him. Remember the shit you pulled when you were new?" Natasha made a face. "He''s not let me down yet, but that doesn''t mean I don''t keep an eye on him." "But he''s not a 120-pound woman," Natasha pointed out with a frown. "You put too much faith in him." "And you put too little. We''re out of options and surrounded. Your reservations are noted but don''t change the facts. Unless you have some superweapon that can save all of our collective asses, I say get to work, Agent Romanoff," I said firmly. Natasha''s lips stiffened, but she nodded. "I''ll get right on it, Sir." I collapsed on my chair when she left and opened a file labeled Prometheus. It was slow going, but we were getting there. Chapter 56 The call from Fury came in the middle of an intense round of pushups. I was on my 998th repetition, sweating balls, spiking Angel regeneration to keep from collapsing, while my health shook like the waist of an exotic dancer. "I can see that some things haven''t changed about you since you manifested your power," Yao said behind me. "You''re still as pigheaded as ever." I climbed to my feet with a fierce gasp. "You told me the secrets of healing my body was in my magic. Rest won''t help me. Training might." And the grind was already bearing fruit. +1 AE. Yao shook her head, manifesting a cell phone from the air. "Fury wants to talk. He says it''s important." I was immediately suspicious. Things must be really bad if he''s already reaching out. It has barely been 48 hours. "Wait, how did he know who to call?" "Magic, of course," Yao said casually. "We''ve devised a spell that allows people to automatically reach us when they pick up their phone with the intention to reach the Sanctums." Wow. That sounded like an amazing but needlessly complicated way to disseminate information. Yao didn''t strike me as the wasteful sort. "He called Mordo, didn''t he?" I said, narrowing my eyes. Yao''s lips twitched the slightest bit. The amusement was clear in her voice as she spoke. "Of course, he did. We won''t cast a reality-changing spell when we have phones and portals." I chuckled. "What does he want?" "Why don''t you wait and find out." Yao floated the phone with telekinesis, and I carefully took it from the invisible hand. Once again, I found myself jonesing for magic. "Please tell me that I''ll be able to do that one day?" "I have no clue," Yao said, turning around. "Like you said, your magic is unique; who knows what you''re capable of." I narrowed my eyes, watching her walk away. The sass was unreal. As I opened my mouth to say something, the phone rang again. "How are the Himalayas?" Fury''s voice cut in when I accepted the call. "Oddly warm and devoid of snow," I joked. "You know that the Sorcerer''s headquarters is not in the Himalayas, right?" "Now I know. One less country to search," he said. He''d intended it as an offhand joke, but Fury was the type of man you paid close attention to. There was always an undertone of violence with him. "If you''re well enough to shoot the shit, then you must be well enough to travel," he said slowly. "I just got off a call with Pierce, and the prognosis is not good. He wants you and Jean on base in 72 hours." "Christ," I massaged my nose bridge. "Or what?" "He''s going public with Jean''s crime and coming after her and likely all mutants with tech he''s about to get from Bolivar Trask." I sucked my teeth. "That''s bad. Very fucking bad. Trying to force mutant registration. Is he trying to start a civil war?" "That''s what I said." "And about Trask, he takes Priority. Whatever he''s working on for Hydra, it''s the stuff of nightmares. The Sentinel program must never get off the ground, or it could be the end of our mutant population and likely regular humans as well. You know the mutants won''t go out without a fight." "Well, that''s just fan-fucking-tastic," Fury muttered. "And this talk of the Sentinel program. Did you get another vision?" "Sure I did," I said, running my hand through my dyed black hair. "So, out with it, Fury. You already told me what Pierce wanted. How do you want to play this?" "I need you to bring the girl in to meet Pierce," he said slowly. "What! Why would you ever think I''d agree to that?" I started pacing. "Because she could end all of this before it starts," Fury said. "Say what you will about Xavier, but he kept the peace and the government off the mutant''s neck. If Jean could manage what Xavier did with Pierce¡ª" Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. "We could dismantle Hydra at our pace," I realized. "We''d have a mole at the highest level of government and kill the Mutant registration bill before it gets off the ground." "But only if your girl is up for it," Fury said. "We could save a whole lot of people if we get this right." "Aren''t you afraid we will make another Charles Xavier?" "I am," Fury said with some hesitation, "but Charles is not Jean Grey, and vice versa. She could end up worse or humanity''s greatest hero. Jean is not the first superhuman of her caliber that I''ve met. She turned out alright, even if she did end up leaving Earth, but that''s a story for another day. "It''s risky, I know, but we have to take it. We can''t fight back the demons, a space invasion, and police America for mutant threats." I chewed my lip in conflict. Fury was right, of course. Jean could dominate Pierce thoroughly with a simple look, but too many things could go wrong. She could explode his head instead of controlling him because of a Phoenix-induced mood spike or botch the mind flay by not digging deep enough. Even if everything went perfectly according to plan and Jean somehow gained the finesse of a master telepath overnight, we''d be opening Pandora''s box. Absolute power corrupted absolutely, and I feared what she would become if I, one of her only friends, suggested that mental domination on the level of Xavier was permitted if the situation was desperate enough. I did not want her going down that route, and with her current mental state, I doubted she''d need much convincing. I didn''t imagine the Phoenix would be pleased, either. ''But hasn''t that ship already sailed?'' an insidious voice whispered. ''She mind-raped Xavier, ripping all of his memories out. She''s closer to Master-level than you think. She''s also the avatar of the Phoenix. What was the point of all that power if she isn''t going to use it.'' "I''ll have to think about this," I said slowly. "Jean is still recovering, and so am I. Believe it or not, third-degree burns via mystical fire is not something you can shrug off in 48 hours, healing factor or not." "I get that you want to protect her," Fury said, "but you need to nut up and ask her the god-damned question or prepare for the fallout! At least then, her talent would be of more use. You said it yourself, but we can''t let Pierce get his project off the ground." I gritted my teeth. It pissed me off that Fury was putting me on the spot like this, but he had a point. She''d be dragged into this one way or the other. Jean was ultimately her own person. I had to tell her. "How long do we have?" "24 hours." ¡ª My training session turned meditative as I worked through my thoughts. I mixed Calisthenics movements with bodyweight exercises, wall punches, and kicks to increase my pain resistance skill and work towards my core resistance skill. The hours seemed to slip away as I exercised, meditated, and shadow-boxed, but no matter how hard I trained, I couldn''t stop thinking about Jean. Telling her about Fury''s request was obviously the right thing to do. The problem was that Jean was not in the right frame of mind. She was isolated from her friends, likely indebted to me because of what I''d done for her. If I asked her to dominate a bad man''s mind. She''d likely do it. "It''s the walls," I suddenly muttered, pulled from my thoughts. "It''s not letting me cut loose." I could not remember the last time I trained without fear of somebody spying on me, discovering my secrets, or plotting against me. Part of it was pure paranoia, but recent events gave me good reason to be paranoid. I found my way to the main training hall after navigating through a complicated series of stairs and corridors. I watched silently as the men and women of all ages were put through their paces by a British Black Man with a familiar timber to his voice. The group generated flickering circles of fire and light, and I stared on in envy. How great would it be to port around the world as I pleased? It''d certainly make deleting problems like Trask and Pierce easy. Sure, assassinating big names like that would create as many problems as it solved, but at the very least, Jean would be safe. A golden portal opened beside me, and inside, I could see Yao waiting for me, standing beside several tomes that she promised. I walked through. "If you''re set on training yourself into an early grave, it''s better you have everything we keep on Demon and Angelic Magic. Your parents wrote more, but it was lost in the fire that destroyed your home," Yao said. "Thanks," I murmured. Yao immediately noticed my mood shift. "What did Fury want?" "He wants me to ask Jean to dominate a high government official set to see the mutant and human population tear each other apart." "And you''re debating whether to tell her, refuse him, or take matters into your own hands?" "Yeah¡­" I said with some surprise. "Were you spying on me?" Yao waved. "When you''ve lived as long as I have, all it takes is a glance." "Got any advice?" Yao took her time to speak. "You like Jean, but you do not trust her. You''re afraid she''ll put you and the wide world in danger without ever meaning to, just like she did back at the mansion." "That about covers it," I muttered, still slightly unbalanced by how quickly she''d seen through me. It was strange to be on the receiving end for once. "If you want the Young Phoenix to make better decisions, you need to have faith in her and not manipulate her to your ends," Yao said firmly, "whatever they are." I opened my mouth to deny the accusation, but Yao cut me off. "We spoke at length about you," she said. "You opened Pandora''s box when you told her about the Phoenix. I don''t exactly know how this Devil''s Eye of yours works, but I''ve watched you long enough to know it was a calculated choice. The girl holds you in such high regard. Do not let her down." I could''ve said a thousand and one things, tried to deny it, and gaslighted the ancient one, but she''d already established that my bullshit wouldn''t work on her. Instead, I accepted her wisdom with a nod. "I won''t." Yao nodded and left me to peruse the literature. What I found inside those pages were world-changing. Sparda''s books were varied, going into a great deal about history, power, the archdemons, the wider Marvel universe, and an intriguing phenomenon called World Bridges. They let you hop from one planet to the next using magic. However, the book that caught my eye the most was something called-- Affinity and Power: Path of the Nephilim. It was co-authored by Sparda and Eva. Chapter 57 However, the book that caught my eye the most was something called Affinity and Power: Path of the Nephilim. It was co-authored by Sparda and Eva. It talked a great deal about understanding demonic affinity, power, and history. Generally, most greater demons are born with a singular affinity, whose attributes were expressed through weapons crafted from infernal Steel (Devil Arms). For example, a demon with mind affinity could have illusions and dream manipulation attributes showcased by a powerful headdress and some earrings. However, that was not to say some demons could not use their affinity without Devil Arms. The exception to the one affinity rule were rare and powerful demons like Sparda. His affinities were: Metal Strength Mind Space His affinities and their attributes were brought to their full potential through his legendary armament and armor. Dante and Vergil were set to inherit at least two of his affinities regardless of who their mother was. What Sparda had not counted on was meeting Eva. Angels were very similar to demons in that they also had affinities to certain powers, but every Angel also possessed racial abilities essential to their survival. Angel Regeneration Angel Aura Wind Manipulation Farsight Angel Wings Limited immortality Demons shared the last ability, extreme natural durability and strength that only seemed to grow with time. Eva had an affinity roster that had me doing a double-take. Energy Accumulation Manipulation Dimensional control Shape manipulation It didn''t seem like much, but boy, did it explain a fucking lot. Considering everything I''d seen Dante from the DMC games show off, it was all starting to make sense. In the very middle of the book, there was a ritual that was supposed to help reveal my affinities. Since I had the energy control and knowledge of a toddler, I did not mess with it for now. Instead, I focused on the second half of the book. Armaments of the Nephilim Sparda and Eva started forging the Yamato and Rebellion when rumors of Mundus''s invasion began to spread around the galactic sector. Dante and his brother were babies at the time and had only manifested one affinity each before Sparda and Eva got to work. Vergil had a pronounced affinity for Space, and Dante for Shapeshifting. The weapons took several years to finish, each made with considerable energy and blood investment from parents and children. The weapons were made from Infernal metal from limbo and alchemically altered by Angel magic and Alchemy to accept Eva''s esoteric energies. The end results were what Sparda described as ''weapons that broke reality on a fundamental level.'' He estimated they were almost on par with his most powerful weapons, Alistar, Sparda, and his Demonic Armor. Because they were so powerful, Sparda and Eva placed considerable limitations on the swords to ensure they could never be abused, even by their sons. They could only reach their full potential after 30 years had passed or the weapon fed on enough souls to unlock their true power. Rebellion had the ability Sparda called Unify¨Cwhich could combine two items of any origin so long as they were compatible and Dante had sufficient power. Yamato had the power to Divide with roughly the same guidelines as Rebellion. Things made a little more sense now. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. Initially, I was afraid that Shin had removed the ability from Rebellion when he made it, but I was coming to realize that it was not his power to give away in the first place. It was like he''d said; he merely swapped out one soul for the other. Armed with this fresh information, I picked up more of Sparda and Eva''s notes on the specifics of how they crafted the Devil Arms. Shockingly, it was in a forge below Kamar Taj, and they had gotten their infernal metals from the demons. I could tell that learning to craft new demon Arms was no small undertaking, but I was certain that in time, I could figure it out and integrate new weapons into my repertoire. It would certainly save me the hundreds of thousands of red orbs it would''ve otherwise taken to purchase some of those weapons. Rudra and Agni, for example. Dante''s demonic fire and wind sword from DMC 3 cost 1,000,000 Red Orbs. Don''t get me even started on Cerberus or Gilgamesh. Finally, my reading brought me to the magic tomes left for my practice. There are two of them, each containing foundational techniques every paragon of the Demon and Angel Species should know. Sparda''s book was as informative as it was brutal. It turned out I was not nearly as good with Demonic Energy as I thought I was, but I was not nearly as bad either. Demon Evade was a fairly novel skill despite its ease of execution. I didn''t find a reference to it once, but it could be in one of the books that burned. According to Sparda, true control and mastery over demonic energy came from understanding the affinity of your power and leaning into its natural strength. Couple that with an overactive imagination and years of relentless practice, and Sparda claimed that your power could reach heights never before imagined. Most of the demonic techniques the book taught boiled down to Burst. A Burst strike was something I could already manage, as was a Burst chained with a leap and a double jump. Things started to get interesting when the techniques started incorporating affinities. Two of them, in particular, caught my eye. Wave of Desolation¡ªUnleash your Demonic Energy in a 360-degree wave around you, inflicting your enemies with your overbearing affinities. Demonic roar: Infuse your affinity into your voice and declare your supremacy with a world-shaking roar. Effect will differ based on affinity infused. Angelic techniques were far more interesting and promising. Smite: Build up Angel energy in your weapon of choice through a series of rapid attacks using energy resonance and unleash a powerful final strike on your 30th cut that deals 5x the damage of the intended attack. Drive: Fill your weapon of choice with Angelic energy and unleash a compressed blade of energy based on any affinity of your choosing. Gust: Release a sustained burst of energy from specific areas of your body, allowing for greater control. Eva''s technique book concluded with a chapter on angel energy manipulation. According to her, the best approach to angel energy manipulation was pure intention juxtaposed with restrictions. When channeling it, you make mental barriers that block off whatever direction you do not want them heading in before you let the energies flow. Intention and knowledge come into play when you understand your affinities, and you put that knowledge into practice with energy. This simple explanation, she claimed, could get me up to the pinnacle, but after that, I would have to focus on combining affinities¡ªthreading down the true path of the Nephilim. I put all of the fascinating magic aside for now and went searching for Yao with the ritual page bookmarked. "You went through the books rather fast," she observed when I showed her the page. "I cannot perform the ritual myself, only help and watch until its completion." "I wasn''t expecting you to completely hold my hands." "Good then," she nodded before adding. "I must admit I am a little curious about what affinities your obscure heritage will grant you." "I have a few strong guesses, but the rest is really up in the air." She led me down to an isolated room with an open window, and we got to draw the ritual circle in blood, specifically my blood. It took some getting used to, but once I rationalized that I was going to be losing the blood anyway from my burns, it made the process several times easier. After the giant ritual circle was drawn, the ancient one summoned some salt and instructed me to channel my demonic energy through the circle. It lit up a sanguine red, bathing the room in an overwhelming light before slowly receding. I saw eight orbs floating in front of me, all various colors of the rainbow, and I got a notification. You''ve unlocked the Affinity tab. Explore it to see which affinities you have and grow them over time. (Demon)Fire¡ªhigh (Angel)Wind¡ªhigh (Demon)Density--middle (Angel)Dimensional--middle (Demon)Shapeshifting--high (Demon)Gravity--low (Angel)Time--low (Demon)Mind¡ªmid "Sweet mother of¡­" Even Yao''s eyes bulged as she observed the orbs. "T-That should be impossible. Your father was one of the most powerful Archdemons, and he only had four. Some of the affinities you''re showing tap into fundamental aspects of reality. Do you know what would happen to you if the demons ever found out?" I saw genuine emotion in Yao''s eyes for the first time, and it was fear. "Never tell anyone about this," she urged. "Do you understand!" I nodded mutely and watched as Yao massaged her nose bridge. "I''d expected 4 or 5, maybe; even your brother had only 6." "Wait, you met Vergil!" Yao nodded. "Two years ago. He came here, hungry for knowledge and departed soon after, vanishing off-world, supposedly looking for something powerful enough to free your father." That explained why he wasn''t on SHIELD''s radar. "You''re just as impossible as Jean Grey," Yao said, shaking her head. "We need to reassess your entire approach to training and magic. You might just be the biggest advantage we''ve had on our side in generations." "Then let''s start with this," I said, waving to my entire body in general. I couldn''t very well reach the pinnacle of power with one hand tied behind my back. "I learned a few new tricks during my fight with the phoenix, one of them being a passive reinforcement magic against Fire and Pain. I think if I expose myself to other powerful magic that is tangentially related to my affinities, I should be able to develop a thicker skin or some kind of grand magic that can help me adapt to the cosmic radiation that''s slowly eating away at me." Yao hummed. "It''s certainly worth the try. Considering your exemplary healing factor, you''re guaranteed to bounce back from most injuries. But from what you told me, developing that technique of yours will take a lot of time, pain, and profoundly powerful magic. After all, it took exposure to cosmic fire to develop the first two; it''s only going to get harder from here." My mouth went dry, and goosebumps sprouted on my skin. "I hadn''t thought of that." "It''s just something to consider before we get started," Yao said, then suddenly stared at the wall as if looking through it. "Jean is awake. You should go talk to her." Chapter 58 For obvious reasons, Jean''s room was one of the remote peaks of Kamar Taj. I threw on my Red Trench coat so I didn''t freeze to death, and It took liberal use of Devil''s Eye to see through the illusion that Yao and some of the other masters had spelled into the walls of the hut at the very top. As I walked past the barrier, the hut''s door swung open, and Jean came running, nearly bowling me over with a fierce hug. "You''re awake!" "Aaagh, Jean!" My entire body wracked with pain from cosmic burn. Immediately realizing her mistake, she untangled from me, wincing at her carelessness. "Sorry about that," she muttered. "I just assumed you''d heal after you woke up." "Still covered in burns," I groaned, "though I''m working on something that could help change that." "Dante," Jean said with a severe look and conflicted voice. "We have to talk." No good conversation with a girl started with that. "I know," she declared. "About?" "Everything Dante. I know about your deal with the Phoenix and the other entity controlling you," Jean said, looking me straight in the eyes. Fuck me. Of course, she fucking knew. The Phoenix refused to heal me. What made me think it would keep our deal a secret from its new host, with whom she was trying to curry favor? "I would''ve told you everything if I could," I said, and I genuinely meant it. "I wear a mask with everybody, Jean, and as sad as this might sound, you know me better than anyone. I''m sorry I didn''t tell you about my¡­benefactor." "Benefactor is putting it mildly," Jean said with a frown. "The Phoenix told me that he has hooks in your soul." Her words made me wince, and I touched my chest. "Sounds about right." Jean took a bold step closer and touched my chest as well. "I''m not mad," she said in a low voice. "You''re as much a victim as I am. The way she spoke about this Shin guy, he didn''t give you a choice, did he?" "No, not really." From the second he snatched up until this very moment, every action I''d taken had been in service of him. I had plans cooking behind the scenes, but the more I learned of his reach and power, the more I realized how truly hopeless my situation was. Shin was not your run-of-the-mill bad guy. He was all-powerful, or as close to it as one could realistically get. I didn''t think escaping him was flat-out impossible, but even with my affinities, Nephilim heritage, and magic, it''d be pretty damn close. "I''m not happy that you lied to me, Dante," Jean said, bringing me back to the moment, "but throughout everything, you were always there when I needed you. I don''t know what would''ve happened if you hadn''t been there to stop me from killing those agents." Yikes. Shit would''ve really hit the fan if that happened. I wrapped her up in a tight hug, even though it hurt like a bitch. "I promised I''d be there for you, and I keep my promises." I was glad Jean had regained some of her former clarity. Things could''ve rapidly devolved otherwise. "Don''t ever lie to me again, okay?" Jean said as she pulled away. "Sure," I said. It was a lot to ask, considering all of the lies that I had told and Jean''s¡­contentious track record, but the Ancient One was right. I was stuck with her for better or worse, and I needed somebody I could be completely honest with. Besides, Jean was probably the only person who could keep up with me over time. "Fury called," I said, finally getting to why I''d come. "He needs our help, more specifically, your help with a problem." She looked up at me as I measured my words. This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. "Some people have taken what went down at the mansion and Xavier as an excuse to try to pass new laws that will see mutants everywhere herded, registered, and militarized," I said. "Fury wants you to get in the head of the leader of the movement¡ªhis boss¡ªand make him see things from our point of view." She pulled away. "Like Xavier did?" "Likely," I said. "And he wouldn''t be asking if he had any other choice. We have less than 24 hours to act, or we''ll be forced to come in and register. The rest of the mutant population will follow shortly after." Jean had a far-off look in her eyes as she stuttered in terror. "I-I don''t think I can¡ª" "And that would only be the beginning," I said. "They''re already investing in technology that ensures they can eliminate most mutants if they had to, no matter how powerful they functionally are. There''s also the experimentation¡­" I swallowed. "Logan was not born with that Adamantium skeleton." Jean had grown deathly pale. "I can''t stay out of this, can I?" "No, you cannot," I said. "You have to make a choice. Do we give up ourselves and fight the system from the inside, do as Fury said and gain a powerful mole in Pierce''s organization, or kill Pierce and face the repercussions?" Jean folded her arms. "Yao told me about the demons as well. They''re the bigger threat. The world cannot be divided right now." "So, what will you do?" I asked. "What do you think I should do?" she asked, and I winced almost immediately. "It''s not my place." She grabbed my hand. "Please." Silence. The answer came slowly. "Option one is out because we can''t afford to be passive about this," I said. "Letting the government build weapons that can wipe out the mutant race will leave the planet vulnerable when the horrors of the universe come knocking. And I think option three escalates an already complicated situation. Our only real option is¡­" "Option two. Do as Fury suggested," Jean realized, letting go of my arm, conflict evident on her face. I knew the kind of girl Jean was. She''d agonize and rationalize every action till kingdom come, so I lowered my Adept Tier mental resistance skill, giving her a front-row seat to the mental and emotional tug of war I''d already put myself through as I trekked up to see her. While we would be risking a lot trying to dominate Pierce, the alternative was not sustainable¡ªalways reacting to HYDRA''s plottings. We were never going to win by going high while our opponents went low. And don''t even get me started on the demons. Was executing my plan probably going to change Jean forever? Yes, but not giving her the chance to stop the genocide of millions would''ve warped her more. Ultimately, it was her choice. Jean wrapped me up in the warmest hug. She looked up at me, and for the briefest moment, it occurred to me that she might feel something more than just friendship, but I quickly dismissed it. She was a teenager, and I was 27 when I died. It''d be crazy to even entertain it. --- "So, you have to kill people to get stronger?" Jean asked with an incredulous look as we walked down the hill. I had started the painstaking process of detangling the complex web of lies I''d maintained to keep my secrets safe and myself alive. She was taking some news in stride, others, not so much. "Well, it''s a bit more complicated than that," I said, "I don''t just go about killing people. Though, between the Alien invasions and the¡ª" "Wait, did you say invasion!" Jean piped up, bringing us to a stop. I spent the next five minutes telling all about Quellitrax''s invasions and how my Patron set it up so that I could get experience and fight off an Eldritch monster god who was hungry for my soul. "Now that you''re here, though, I could always point you at a threat I''m unsure about and have you flatten them," I grinned. "So, you think that''s all I''m good for, flattening things and brainwashing people?" she teased. "Don''t forget burning them," I laughed. "Can''t leave that one out." Jean laughed, but I heard the tension in her voice. She still felt guilty about the Phoenix burning me. I patted her on the back. "Hey, it''s not your fault," I said. "You didn''t soup up the big guy and send him after me. The bird did that." "But I feel like the Phoenix is part of me now," she said, with a hint of fear slipping into her voice. "I hear her voice in my head, and I feel her power flowing through my veins. I could really hurt somebody if I let myself lose control." "Hurting people might not necessarily be bad," I said. "The professor deserved what was coming to him, as does Pierce. Peace was never on the table for monsters like Hydra or the demons. But you can''t afford to lose yourself to the violence either. Controlled chaos," I said. "That''s the key." "Well put," Yao said as she appeared beside us. "Fear will only limit you from relinquishing all control. Controlled chaos is the key to mastering your vast psionic power. The knowledge you stole from Xavier can help you improve faster, but nothing is a substitute for experience and meditation. It''s a shame you''re being forced into the field so soon. Given the severity of the situation, I suppose it''s for the best." Yao opened a portal, leading us into the training yard I''d stumbled upon earlier. Master Mordo and Kaecilius waited for us dressed in their sorcerers'' robes alongside a small band of War Sorcerers. As the ancient one explained, they practiced more lethal branches of Eldritch magic developed to combat demons specifically. "So, you''re the infamous Nephilim," Kaecilius said, stepping forward. "You don''t look like much." "Neither do you," I snorted. "Do we need to continue this dick-measuring contest, or would you rather fight some demons." Mordo stepped forward. "Forgive my colleague''s impetuousness; it''s just that when the Sorcerer Supreme said two of her newest disciples would be joining us. We were all rather¡­taken." I spotted Yao watching us from behind, patient and scrutinizing. "I''d be upset too if my boss took in two new apprentices overnight," I said, swaggering forward. "So, instead of listing our long list of accolades, how about we just let our skills on the battlefield do the talking for us," I said, passing alternating looks between Kaecilius and Mordo. "Speaking of which, do you have any of your fancy uniforms left? I can''t go walking around the battlefield in just a trench coat." I saw the slightest bit of amusement creep into Mordo''s features while Kaecilius seemed even more angry. Chapter 59 Five minutes after my exchange with Kaecilius, I was in a loose, form-fitting black cotton shirt. It went well enough with what was left of my reactive armor bottoms and boot and my red trench coat. Jean chose a very appropriate form-fitting red robe. The portal opened up in an unfamiliar part of the world. The vegetation was thick and lush, the vines were plentiful, and the sun was intense. "Central America?" I guessed as we began our jog, keeping a brisk pace. Jean kept up easily. "Eastern Africa," Mordo supplied. "We are somewhere near the border of Kenya and Wakanda. Our target is about half a mile North." "Wakanda?" I asked, with some surprise. "Don''t tell me the invasion is within their borders." "You know of Wakanda''s intolerance?" Mordo observed. "That information is not so easy for outsiders to come by." "It''s kinda my superpower, knowing things," I said enigmatically, and Kaecilius snorted. "You''re a brawler and a bad one at that if the New York Sanctum is to be believed. You''re worse than the rest of your ilk and hardly educated in the ways of magic. Why do you deserve an honor that no one has held for decades?" he demanded with a bitter glare. Specieism and Jealousy. I couldn''t say I didn''t see that coming. I could''ve handled the situation a number of ways--picking apart his insecurity about never being quite good enough or putting the beat down on him-- but I settled on a demonstration of superiority. "Devil''s eye," I intoned, and my eyes flared red. Kaecilius hopped back with practiced grace. "He''s attacking!" he immediately called as he brought his hands together, eldritch sigils flaring between them before coalescing into a yellow ball covered in runes. He launched it at me at startling speeds, and I summoned Rebellion, filling it with angel energy as I parried the shot, sending it flying into the forest, where it ate through most of the trunk of a large tree. I would''ve been impressed by the obscure attack if I wasn''t so fucking angry. I finally got a chance to scan through his description. Kaecilius Master of the mystic art and ardent follower of Yao. He believes she''s the foremost master of magic on Earth and is ardently working towards the title of Sorcerer Supreme. He believes he can bring back his lost wife and son with the power of the Time stone. Mordo and Kaecilius looked at me with equal parts respect and fear, a sentiment mirrored in everyone present except Jean. "You shouldn''t try to bring them back," I told Kaecilius. "The dead are better left dead." Kaecilius''s eldritch mandalas, which he''d held up this entire time, flickered as the man''s eyes widened. "H-how did you," he sputtered, but before he could get another word out, we heard a loud splatter above us. Jean had her hand raised as a shower of gore and viscera rained down. From what was left of the carcass, I deduced it was a small demon with a very large eye and small, stumpy limbs. "A Watcher!" Mordo roared, his body shifting into a combat stance. "Kaecilius!" he yelled as he and a few other Sorcerers threw up a complicated shield. Kaecilius, for his part, had already snapped out of his fear-induced stupor and was weaving a complicated spell. He slapped his hands together, and a wave of silvery light erupted from them. Several spots shimmered in the air, and 20 demons winked into existence. They must''ve been cloaked by some kind of illusion magic. They gave an accurate view of what a healthy Watcher looked like-- Deep red, black irises, and stumpy limbs that seemed to exist only for decoration. What I found the most alarming, however, was that they had no wings. They floated in the air, aided by some unseen force. Upon discovery, their irises lit up as they released a high-pitch keening sound. "Backline, ready your spells," Mordo roared. "Frontline, brace." Multiple beams of silvery light punched through the air, slamming into the golden barrier the sorcerers erected. Mordo and his sorcerers groaned as the beams refracted, scattering into the forest around us. Everything they touched instantly turned to stone. Our backline finally fired a moment later, shooting identical balls of eldritch force at the Watchers. Their attack picked off a few surprised Watchers while others drifted out of the way. In the far distance, I saw two large mutated Rhinos barreling at our fortification. They were nearly one foot taller than any Rhino I''d ever seen in the picture book. They had patches of skin colored crimson, and most of their faces, shoulders, and necks were covered with black horn tissue. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. If they hit our barrier, I knew it''d be game over. So, I pulled out Ebony and used Focused shot. The difference in energy tier was night and day. What would''ve taken me 5 seconds to fill was done in 4, and I noticed the cost also dropped from 25 DE to around 20. My bullet ripped through the Eldritch Magic Shield, traveling faster than the eye could track, and speared through the skull of one of the charging Rhino demons. Its body flipped over, throwing the second Rhino off balance. Congratulations, you''ve killed a blood-warped Rhinoceros Demon. 50 Red Orbs. Jean reached out to the second beast and closed her hand. I was treated to a familiar scene. The monster collapsed in on itself. Limbs snapped, neck twisted, spine shrunk and shattered. You''d think that after killing for months, I''d be used to the gore, but the sight put the fear of God in me and the rest of the Sorcerers and the Watchers, apparently. Their full attention turned to Jean and me, and their eyes lit up. Big mistake. I transformed Rebellion to Ophion, tossing the weapon at the closest offender, and yanked him out of the sky and into our enclosure. Mordo had the sense to let the beast phase through. It tried to fire its eye ray, but I sucker-punched it, sending it flying back, and yanked it back down to the ground again with a forceful jolt. I nodded at Jean. "No time like the present." "You w-want me to try and," she paused, looking around us, "do the thing?" "You have to start somewhere," I said. "What better place to start than this faceless asshole." She sighed in defeat and approached the monster with some hesitation. The Watcher, who had some sense of what was about to happen, was trying to backpedal with its tiny arms, but it was getting nowhere fast. Jean placed her hand on the panicking, struggling monster and scrunched her face in nervous determination while I watched patiently and charged up another Focused shot. "What are you doing?" Kaecilius demanded. "Testing a little theory," I answered casually, sniping another floating eye. Congratulations: You''ve earned 20 Red Orbs. "The battlefield is no place for experimen¡ª" The Watcher Jean had under her telepathic hold suddenly began to shake violently before exploding in a shower of blood and viscera. Jean looked up at me, a bit dejected. "It''s your first swing at this," I said imploringly, "of course, you''re not going to get it straight away." I looked up at the protection barrier, which had grown considerably thinner. Only three watchers were left. When we approached the Ancient One about our plans to train up Jean''s mental invasion skills, she thought we were crazy, but the longer she considered it, the more sense it made. It was certainly less risky for Jean to explore her powers in the midst of a demon invasion than in a city full of people. "Why don''t we try Telekinesis next?" I asked. "This fight looks about done anyway." "Alright," she said, raising a hand and gathering herself. All three watchers released a shriek as they were pulled into the barrier. Two of the three popped because Jean had used a little more pressure than she was supposed to. The surviving eye looked like it would''ve shat itself if it could. She deflated at the sight. "Two out of three this time," I grinned. "Those aren''t bad odds." My bad joke got a smile out of Jean. "It''s miles worse than what I could do before. Six years of training gone in an instant." "True," I agreed, "but you''re the strongest telepath on earth now. I''ll say it''s a worthwhile trade." Jean blushed slightly, then sighed, placing her hand on the sides of the monster''s head. She had a determined air about her. This time, her subject lasted all of 15 seconds before it exploded, bathing her in viscera. "See, already improving," I said with a thumb up as she used an overenthusiastic telekinetic burst to send the gore flying from her attire. I took a bold step back, avoiding most of it, but some other sorcerers weren''t as lucky. Jean covered her mouth in embarrassment. "Oh my gosh. I''m so sorry." I chuckled at the sight and turned around see Mordo and Kaecilius approaching us slowly. "Is this mission some game to you?" Kaecilius demanded. "We are here to save the locals and expunge the demon threat," Mordo said. "I implore you to treat this with the gravity it deserves." "Oh, we are," I said cooly, "the locals are, unfortunately, not our only priority. Jean needs to cram decades of experience into 12 hours or so. So, unless you have a hyperbolic time chamber that I can use, I say let her take some time to figure this out. The fate of the world might very well depend on it." As for why I wasn''t using my own hyperbolic chamber, it hadn''t been that long since I left the mansion. Two weeks and some change. I had a week to go before I could create 24 hours of artificial time. Mordo looked at me in a whole new light, while Kaecilius seemed paralyzed by my sheer audacity. "So, are we storming the town or what?" --- We spotted the town after about five minutes of walking, and it looked, unfortunately, familiar. ''Dante,'' Jean called mentally. ''Yeah,'' I muttered. ''I see the resemblance.'' The town looked like a brutally warped version of my simulacrum. A mental connection was another thing that had changed between us since we started sharing. I left a small door open in my mind specifically for Jean. It was better to give her a sneak peek inside my head rather than having her storm in. Jean was no idiot. She knew I was probably keeping things from her, and it was in everybody''s best interest that our relationship worked. Keeping the line open was just another strategy to push back the volatile topic that was my past life. Plus, I couldn''t deny the logistical advantages. The brick-and-mortar houses in the town were fractured and warped by a lingering red energy. The air was thick with it, and the clouds above us had even gained a crimson glow. Amenities were shrunken and pulsing red, and at the center of the town square was a local two-story church that''d been stretched and lengthened to the size of a mansion. "Does that happen every time a demon invades?" "Not every time," Mordo answered, "but they typically prefer establishing a domain before they launch their attacks. It lets them retain about 10-20% of the strength they lost when they cross over. Reality usually restores itself an hour or two after they''ve been eliminated." "That''s informative," I said. "What kind of demons do you think we''re dealing with?" "A Garok and a Mesmer. Two powerful lesser demons. Mesmers are masters of illusions, and watchers typically do not have petrification magic unless they''ve been bestowed them by a powerful Garok. They are masters of Geomancy." "Shouldn''t we worry about some kind of Blood demons as well?" Jean asked, voicing my thoughts. "It''s just that both Rhinos looked¡­mutated, for lack of a better word." She earned strange looks from everybody on the squad. And it was only when Mordo spoke that I understood that they were afraid. "You would be right," Mordo said slowly, "but blood demons are exceedingly rare and quite potent." "We''d all be dead if we were indeed dealing with one," Kaecilius said. "They can steal the blood away from your veins with a wave of a hand and use it as weapons to kill the men next to you. The Sorcerer Supreme typically warns us if there''s a Blood Demon coming through an incursion." That was informative¡­ There was a stretch of silence. "So," I began, "how do you think we should approach this?" Chapter 60 We''ll cast a spell to map the whole area," Mordo said. "Once we find the humans that have not been transported, we split into two teams. The extraction team and the strike team." One guess as to what team Jean and I ended up on. Kaecilius volunteered for the rescue team. I couldn''t tell if he was just trying to get away from us or genuinely worried about the survivors. He was an asshole, but he did lose his wife and son. That was bound to fuck anybody up. We assembled at the edge of the town, and five sorcerers stepped up to begin their spell when I raised my voice. "Now, just hold on a minute," I said. "Why don''t you save your strength and let Jean handle this part? She''s certainly no sorceress, but if she really paid attention, she could get a read of every psionic signature in town and tell you where they''re congregated." Kaecilius frowned, and a nervous current rippled through the group. "Uh, Dante," Jean said in a small voice. "I don''t think I am ready." "Listen to the girl," Kaecilius said. "The last time she was in somebody''s head, she popped it." "Not categorically true," I said. "She''s in my head right now, and I''m fine." Kaecilius remained unconvinced. ''Besides,'' I mentally said to Jean, ''you''re in all of their minds, aren''t you?'' ''Yes,'' Jean said slowly. ''It''s how I''ve always been. People''s minds have always been an open book to me.'' ''Why not extend that range slightly and use it to map out the town and our enemies?'' I smiled at her. ''It is really that simple,'' Jean said in realization. ''Remember, controlled chaos.'' Mordo alternated between Jean and me before speaking. "Kaecilius, I think you should let her try. She seemed stable enough to share a telepathic conversation with Dante. I''m sure there''s no harm in scanning a few demons." "And if she fails?" Kaecilius demanded. "Then she can pop the collective heads of at least half of the demons present while I rush over to guarantee the safety of the hostage. You and Mordo can face Mesmer and Garok." Kaecilius still looked skeptical. He was about to raise his voice again when he suddenly froze and swiveled to Jean, mandalas forming on his fists. "How dare you!" "Don''t talk about me like I''m not here," Jean said fiercely. "If I can get in your mind without killing you, then I can scan the town." My eyes went wide, and I bit back a laugh as Kaecilius stood there fuming. Eventually, he lowered his hand, and Jean got to work. --- Jean The physical world faded away as I tapped into the Astral plane. Dante had suggested that I listen to the minds of the demons. Still, from searching Xavier''s memories, I saw that entering the Astral plane was a far more efficient way to find, tag, and potentially eliminate the demons. I saw splashes of color and symphony as thoughts echoed around me, and the thoughts of the men around me came through with startling clarity. Mordo was assessing us, particularly Dante. He wondered how he could joke and talk with 3rd-degree burns covering the majority of his body. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. I wondered about that myself, and it almost threw my psionic energy out of whack. A pulse would''ve been all it would''ve taken to lobotomize them all. ''Controlled Chaos,'' I chanted over and over again. The mutant population of America was counting on me. I can''t let them down. Kaecilius''s thoughts were no secret to me. He distrusted Dante because of his demon blood; he envied me and thought I didn''t deserve my power. The rest of the sorcerers'' mind was a mix of mild attraction, curiosity, and fear--all that I was used to. Only Dante''s innermost thoughts remained a mystery to me. He''d opened a part of his mind to me, and I was hungry for more. He was like a really good book that I could only read part of the first chapter. Even though he promised no more secrets, I could tell he held so much back. He was the type of guy to do that. Now that I had even more psionic energy to draw from, I saw how much his mind had developed since I met him nearly two months ago. It was nearly triple the size, and I felt an undercurrent of something grander and older, but it was not the other being polluting him. As powerful as he was already, Dante still seemed to be holding back. It was something to ask him about when we had the time. Putting my curiosity aside, I turned to the town and wrinkled my physical nose at the foul psionic energy wafting from it. I floated deeper into the town and was immediately greeted with an avalanche of thoughts and emotions¡ªrage, hunger, and fear¡ªbeing the most prominent. I lashed out instinctively, wanting to make all of it stop, and some of it did. Several presences close to the city''s entrance simply dropped to the floor. Luckily, I was able to reign myself in before I did any more damage. I felt the demons that saw their kin die start to panic as well, but before they could raise a voice, I commanded them to be still, like I''d seen Xavier do before, and they obeyed, so much so that they''d even stopped breathing. They had a few minutes left of air left if I didn''t release them, and I was not sure asking them to forget would be any better. My only options were to end them or release them. What if these were Pierce protective detail or guards¡ªjust everyday soldiers doing their job? Would I be forced to make the same decision as well? My breathing grew agitated, as did my psionic energy, and it was as if I was hearing Dante, Kaecilius, and the SHIELD operatives for the first time. I could end a city if I lost control for even a single moment. My heart rate skyrocketed. Why did I think I could do this? This was a bad idea: the demon training wheels, the plot to infiltrate Pierce''s mind, all of it. Dante''s steady hand pulled me back into that moment and kept me from spiraling further. ''Everyone starts somewhere,'' his voice said. ''You don''t have to be perfect. Just don''t give up.'' I took his word to heart, muscling down my emotions. With a gentle flex of my will, the remaining demons I restrained collapse to the floor dead. As I flew through the town, I counted over 500 demons. Scores of Watchers patrolled the streets, as did warped wild animals like hyenas, wild dogs, snakes, and even a sole Cheetah. Behind their ranks were large demon brutes with stone clubs and gangly, fleshwarped humanoids with large stones in their hand. Inside the church was a labyrinthine that was mostly deserted save for spots with illusions that led to stone-themed traps. On the basement floor of the church was an emaciated older demon with a rag covering its eyes. It wore a dark robe and held a long metal staff covered in strange symbols. Beside it stood two large brutes covered in chunks of stone. In front of it floated a cage of twisted glowing metal hovering above a large ritual circle slowly turning white. All of the men of the town were strangely absent from the cage, and of the women and children, four were unconscious and bound in special rope, while the rest cowered in tears as the monster spoke in some twisted language. Diving into Mesmer''s mind revealed the truth of the situation, and it almost made me hurl and rip apart the church at its foundations. The fleshwarped soldiers I saw in the town were the missing men. The Mesmer had delivered them all to the Garok to be changed by the Blood Prince''s latest artifact. As for the bound women and children, they were mutants, which is the real reason why the Demons had chosen that town in particular. The Mesmer didn''t know much, but he believed Corvus, the First Son of Belasco, was close to another breakthrough. The first had allowed them to warp the locals and force them into Belasco''s horde. And the second would allow the King of Limbo to create beings superior to the Nephilim. Mutant-Demon hybrids. The Mesmer, whose name was Talo, was preparing the Transfer ritual to send the humans and mutants back. And once it was open, he and the Garok could retreat while their minions covered their exit. The building shook as I tried to reign myself using one of Xavier''s visualization exercises. ''Imagine your anger was a Red Cloud leaving your body as you let out a long breath," he said, and I followed it dutifully. I couldn''t lose my head. Not now. "I''ve found the hostages," I said, opening my eyes. "And the demons may have won this war." Chapter 61 "Mutant-Demon Cambions?" I laughed at the absurdity. Only in a Marvel Universe with fucking Multiversal Bleed. Mesmer''s claim about creating a being superior to the Nephilim was not an exaggeration. If you found the right Mutation¡ªaffinity mix, you could have a fucking Multiversal entity on your hand. And if I were Belasco, I''d not stop playing the biological gacha until I found that winning combination and then tried to steal its body for good measure because there was no way in Hell I was going to let my kid take my throne. "It would be the end of everything as we know it," Mordo said with genuine trepidation. "As if the demons were not scary enough as is," I laughed nervously. "I''m guessing Ilyana and Storm''s appearance gave whoever this First Son is the tools he needed for his breakthrough. "You think they''re dead?" Jean asked, her eyes wide with anxiety. "Unlikely," I said diplomatically, but then again, time might flow faster in Limbo than in the comics. This version of Limbo felt like an amalgamation between the world we knew from the DMC games and the strange universe from the movies. It was hard to tell which rules applied and which didn''t. "It would be shortsighted to kill them if they are indeed the key to this new breed of mutants," I said and then turned to Mordo. "Say, random question. There''s no notable time differential between Earth and Limbo, is there?" "There is, but only some of the time," he said, folding his arms, and I saw the panic growing on Jean''s face. Mordo thankfully clarified. "Sparda, in one of his earlier trips to the demon world, said he came across a location near the center of the dimension where time seemed to flow three times faster. If Belasco has any faster time fields, he''s not deployed demons who''ve used it or the Sorcerer Supreme would know about it." "We have to save them, Dante," Jean said. "We can''t leave them there. Every second we wait is three more they lose." "I''m with you, Jean," I said, "but one catastrophe at a time. We don''t have any solid measure of the demons'' strength or where to begin looking. It''s a suicide mission, as we are right now. It might be possible with all of the X-Men, but even then¡­" "He speaks the truth," Kaecilius said. "No Sorcerer has stepped into Limbo and returned alive, no matter how skilled or powerful. Down there, the demons are the least of your problems." Kaecilius glanced at me. "The Cambions are stronger and crueler than most demons you''ll ever face." From his tone, I could tell there was a history, and then I made the connection. "Was it a Cambion that took them from you?" Kaecilius''s face turned vicious. If looks could kill, I would''ve dropped dead then and there. "Isha Stormfire," he spat. "She''s fire and wind incarnate. Every time she appears, mass death and destruction follow. She endures fewer restrictions than the average demon, all Cambions do, but they cannot act with impunity without drawing the attention of the Ancient one and other powerful entities on Earth. That is why they prefer to act through proxies and cloak their presence. They won''t lift a finger unless absolutely necessary, and Hell follows when they do." I was sweating by the end of his little monologue. "How many of them do you think there are on earth?" "Approximately fifty," Mordo said, "probably more. As Kaecilius said, we don''t know what goes on down there." Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. His last words were darkly foreboding and sparked a deep dread that I found hard to shake. Now that I had Jean by my side, I didn''t feel as vulnerable, but I''d be lying if I said I trusted her completely or wasn''t hungry for more power. And the demons in the town were just power batteries¡ªRed orbs waiting to be harvested. "Given everything we''ve learned, I think our team composition needs to change," I said, stepping forward. --- Mordo opened a portal that dropped me on a branch of one of the tallest trees on the outskirts of town. I pulled myself up several branches, situating on a comfortable Y-branch that gave me a clear view of the town. With a mental tug, I summoned an M4 rifle with a scope and activated Devil''s Eye. All floating Watchers became visible to me, and I breathed in as I lined up my first shot. I squeezed the trigger, and an eye exploded. I swiveled to the next target and fired again and again and again. In 15 seconds, I''d dropped 12 watchers, and there was a frantic cacophony of grunts, screams, shouts, and hoots as the demons of the town discovered what I''d done. I saw several fleshwarped humans point at me. Patches of their skin were crimson, and their limbs were overgrown and extended, with clumps of stone glued to odd locations on their bodies. Several watchers turned to me as well, but I was already moving. I leaped from the tree where a portal awaited me, delivering me behind the enemy line where Mordo waited. I smirked and chucked the grenades at a group of Fleshwarped running at us. They exploded in a visceral spray of shrapnel and flesh, and Mordo raised a shield to protect us. A fleshwarped dog leaped at Mordo from the side, and the man reacted immediately. He twisted his waist, dispelling his shield, allowing the beast to fly over him, and pulled out a staff that elongated into a glowing whip and lashed out. He yanked its hind legs with impunity, laying it up for a burst shot from my shotgun. It took a chunk out of its side but was not enough to put it down. Luckily, shotgun shells were in ample supply. It took five more headshots to kill it properly. The shot-to-kill ratio wasn''t ideal, but human weapons were necessary if I wanted to have enough demon and angel energy to fight the Garok later on. Besides, I''d been neglecting my gun training. I don''t think I''ve ever fought an enemy with firearms exclusively, well, except for in the beginning. As I reloaded my empty shotgun, I surveyed our environment, listening for incoming demons, and their feet were thunderous. The majority of them were returnees from the gate. "10 seconds," I announced, and Mordo opened a portal, letting in eight other sorcerers who had already weaved spells. The first let his spell untangle, creating a large eldritch shield that created a huge dome covering us on all sides. Most of the runes and lines of the shield were gathered at the front. I switched out my shotgun for an RPG as the wave of monsters approached. Six hyenas bolted down the alleyway leading to us, and I targeted the load-bearing wall of the building a few paces ahead of them. The RPG exploded just as they reached the building, and it tumbled down. I switched to my grenade launcher with a small smile tugging at my lips as Red orbs flooded my notification screen. Congratulations, you''ve earned 380 Red Orbs. That was what I was talking about. The watchers gave 20 red orbs per pop; the dogs and hyenas 20. I turned back to the sorcerers, minding the wave from the gate just in time to see them release a familiar laser. It cut a line through the horde ranks, killing almost 30 instantly. Two of the three sorcerers broke out in nervous sweat as they slowly shifted the floating eldritch formula in the air, arcing out the beam. It cut a calamitous line through the earth, evaporating blood, sinew, and muscle before they were properly spilled. The attack stopped when it hit a building and collapsed it. More than half of the gate horde was gone, and I was all too happy to help them thin the horde even more, firing potshots of grenades that arced high and landed with a ground-shaking force. All six grenades found their targets, and I felt the Red Orbs flow in. Congratulations, you''ve earned 300 Red Orbs. My total Red Orb count had reached 732, the highest it has ever been, and I decided to bank it for now. While having Eryx and Aquila was important, they both came second to Rebellion. It was the key to creating my new Uber skill and probably the key to surviving the shitstorm coming my way. I pulled out my M4 next and went back to picking Watchers from the sky from the safety of the shield. The sorcerers started launching kinetic balls that eviscerated lines upon lines of demons, and Mordo seemed content just to stand and watch. When I heard all of the fleshwarped demons let out a ferocious roar as one, I knew we''d finally gotten the Garok''s attention. All of the demons began to retreat, moving away from our direct line of fire and ducking into buildings. The watchers dived low, vanishing into the small network of tight alleyways. Only the fleshwarped brutes remained visible, and they''d all come together in a single line, charging as one unstoppable wave. They were easily over 100, and I saw panic creep into Mordo''s features for the very first time. Chapter 62 Mordo''s hands twisted, forming fiery Eldritch symbols, and he called to the other sorcerers. "Formation four." He unleashed a strange, complicated spell that infused the ground outside our shield with bolts of energy that ricochetted from point to point. It slammed against a wall that suddenly sprang up in front of the charging horde of Fleshwarped at the very last moment. The bolt barely made it through, scorching half a dozen brutes, who impressively remained on their feet, roaring, trooping on. A familiar beam of concentrated fire lanced followed, incinerating another spontaneous stone wall that was erected. The fire cut a swathe through two lines before coming to a hard stop when the stone skin on the monsters gained an otherworldly yellow light. It quickly faded along with the beam, but the sheen was powerful enough to dampen the sorcerers'' fire. My RPG rocket launched a second later, slamming into the Brute line and wiping out only six brutes. Congratulations, you''ve earned 300 Red Orbs. "Can''t we just take this fight to the mirror dimension," I wandered out loud, watching as the beasts inched closer. I imagined how much easier it would be to just flip reality and put the majority of them on their ass. I switched out for Ebony and Ivory and activated Focused Shot on both guns. "Limbo is currently occupying the space the mirror dimension should in the confines of this town," Mordo answered as he stretched his hands forth. "Of course, it is." "Are you ready?" "I was born ready." It was a bit earlier than I intended, and I was using more energy than I''d like, but this was always the plan. Mordo opened a portal underneath the first line of Brute that reached our shield. All three of them tumbled to the ground from the air. As they shoved each other aside to climb to their feet, two heads exploded from my violent shot, earning me 100 Red Orb. The third one roared at its sudden death and swung at me, but I ducked underneath its charge and watched in amused horror as one of the sorcerers in the bubble opened a portal mid-flight and promptly closed, splitting the monster in two. It fell to the floor, aghast and furious, screeching at the top of its lungs. A brought down a Burst-charged Arbiter to its neck, relieving it of its head. With a wicked smile, I turned to Mordo, who''d been maintaining the barrier. Congratulations. You''ve earned 50 Red Orbs. "I think we''re ready for the next round." No sooner than I had spoken did we spot an 8-foot-tall demon standing on a building behind the wave of hapless brutes. He had a strange club made from metal and stone, and his skin was as dark grey as rhinos but rougher. His chest, shoulder, knees, and feet were covered in chunks of earth that closely resembled bone. He looked down at us with his yellow eyes and grinned, waving his hand. The walls of the houses closest to us began to violently shake and crack, and I immediately started to charge two focused shots. Four quick seconds passed, and the ground underneath us had begun to tremble. My bullets carved a crimson beam in the air, cutting a straight path for the Garok''s head. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. The monster''s smile disappeared, and he tried to dodge, but it was too late. My bullets slammed into his chest, shattering the armor, and sent him stumbling back, but it wasn''t quite enough. The Garok waved his hand again with a snarl, and the shaking suddenly stopped. Chaos followed. Chunks of stone and debris separated from the houses and launched at our shield at dozens of miles per hour. "Reinforce the shield!" Mordo cried as the stones hit. The ground beneath us split, and the shield flickered dangerously. "Somebody get a damned portal open!" I looked up at Garok, who raised his hand again, with a fierce scowl on his face, and a wave of stone covered the sky. They''d been launched by the second group of lanky-hand Fleshwarped, who''ve not attacked once this entire time. Oh, that fucker was good. When Mordo saw the approaching wave, his hand dropped in shock. "Forget the shield," he commanded, turning to the freshly opened portal. "We need to leave." Three of the eight sorcerers hopped in behind Mordo, leaving me just a moment to glare at Garok before I went through. "You''re dead," I smiled. "You don''t just know it yet." Garok read my lips and snorted as we disappeared. Jean While Dante and Mordo were raising Hell in town, Kaecilius and I arrived at the base of the church. My hand stretched out, hoisting the Mesmer in the air the moment we stepped out of the portal. This caused the ritual circle underneath the prisoners to sputter and fail. The brutes flanking the Mesmer roared and charged me immediately but did not get very far before Kaecilius created an Eldritch whip and lashed out, sending both monsters stumbling back. They were reduced to stone and mulch with a wave of my hand, and I heard the panicked scream of the prisoners pierce the silence. I turned to them and saw them all flinch back in abject horror. "You can''t do this!" The Mesmer raged. "Do you know who I am?" With a wave of my hand, I threw him into the far wall, pinning him face first as I approached the frightened prisoners. It took a slow and controlled wave of telekinesis to open the cage. The children among the prisoners started to cry, and some of the women stood up, ready to fight me if need be, but I raised my hand in surrender and spoke to their minds. "We have come to save you," I said. "Some of your people are like me¡­mutants. They have special abilities." A few of the women fell back in absolute horror as a nervous current permeated the crowd. "You mean the god-touched," one young woman slowly said, stepping forward. "Yes," I answered. I was tempted to tell them that what they called a blessing from a deity was a function of evolutionary biology, but I decided against it, seeing how nervous the tribe already was. "There are millions of people all over the world like them, and I''d like to help protect you all and take them to a place where they can be with other god-touched." The young woman, who seemed to have momentarily taken up the role of de facto leader, looked back to the group and back to me and then nodded her head. "We will go with you," she said, "It is what our fathers and brothers and husbands would''ve wanted." Kaecilius opened the portal to Kamar-Taj, where the Ancient One and a few other masters greeted the women and children. When they''d been all transported to safety, I turned my attention to the Mesmer. I''d not forgotten why I was here. I was going to make him pay for what he''d done. --- Dante We emerged from the portal on the outskirts of town inside a small hut and immediately got to work. "Mordo," I called, "Can you open a portal to where you saw Garok standing in four seconds right about there?" I gestured to a general area in front of me as I produced my RPG and started to load it. Mordo looked at me like I was crazy. "You''re not really going to¡ª" "Of fucking course I am," I said, hefting the launcher. I was not nearly as durable as I used to be. If I could weaken an opponent that could be stronger than me, why would I not take advantage? The other sorcerers gave me a wide berth when the barrel of my RPG started glowing. Four quick seconds passed, and I fired my rocket the moment the portal spiraled into existence. I grinned at the startled face of the Garok before the portal snapped shut. We heard the explosion all the way from where we were. "Shame, the launcher is gone," I said. I unsummoned the warped weapon and produced a pair of grenades instead with a wicked smile. The sorcerers shared a wary look, and I could immediately tell what they were thinking. "Would you rather go out there and face that ridiculous horde or thin those motherfuckers out before we get to crossing weapons?" I asked, then turned to a slightly amused Mordo. "I think we should hit the middle of the throwers next," I said, tossing up the grenades playfully, "I only have a finite amount of the good stuff." Chapter 63 With the help of Mordo, my reign of terror began. I lobbed grenades like baseballs, decimating the demons. My devil-may-care attitude eventually won over Mordo, and the sorcerers joined in on my guerrilla tactics, employing my diverse weaponry to neutralize the hiding watcher population and most of the throwers. When I ran out of bullets, I started getting physical. I would emerge from a portal, producing Rebellion, and split a demon in half before hopping into the next portal before the Garok could respond. The Garok often sent ripples of spikes through the town, one area at a time, but because his earth magic was so slow, it was child''s play to relocate and swing around back when the chaos was over. Things came to a head when the Garok attacked a sorcerer as he opened a portal below a charging group of Fleshwarped that opened hundreds of miles in the air. The Garok materialized out of the earth and swung at the man. He raised a partial Eldritch shield, but the Garok''s club blew through it and crushed his left hand. The monster was rearing up to finish the job when dozens of Eldritch whips lashed out, immobilizing him. I was a few hundred meters away, watching the fight in my peripheral vision as I put down a wave of Fleshwarped with my handy scythe. I danced around in wide loops, cutting fast, thin lines that rapidly built in potency and power. I banked hard on the Osiris innate Feed ability as I shot forward in three vicious arcs, cutting a Fleshwarped to the bone. I swung upwards, taking off its head, and looped into an unempowered Parry that beat back another monster trying to flank me. I kicked in the face, tossing its head back as I flipped mid-air with my scythe like a Beyblade, slicing the monster in half over a series of cuts. I backflipped, dodging the dangerous double fist of an enthusiastic monster, and came down with the reversed Beyblade trick again. My body spun in tight arcs, slamming to the head of the Fleshwarped. His body was halfway crushed before my scythe made it down to its chest. I smiled as I flicked my scythe clean. Fucking hell. I could get used to this. When I saw the Garok breathe deep and started to radiate yellow energy in my Devil''s eye. I stacked three bursts and dashed at the Garok. With a sky-shaking roar, he ripped through the restraint and shattered the earth, creating a small tsunami of stone spikes and dust. I switched to Angel Evade, mid-dash phasing through all the debris until I appeared -before him. Arbiter raised and packed with energy, and I swung.- It was a shame to lose the damage bonus from Feed, but I needed the big guns for what came next. The Garok summoned his club at the last moment and blocked before Arbiter hit. The clash was resounding. We flew in opposite directions and crashed, and I was on my feet first, dashing at the Garok, whose yellow energy coat seemed to endure. His first club swing was powerful, shaking the air as it whooshed past my absent head. I stepped to the side, activating Demon Evade, arming myself with a double bonus that I leveraged into a brutal upward swing that cracked the Garok''s side armor, burning through his protective aura. The Garok remained immutable, slamming the top of his club into the ground, eliciting another earth-shattering break. An Angel Evade positioned me behind Garok as I phased through his attack and burst up in the air. I stacked three Burst on each other, each costing 9 instead of the typical 10 DE, and used one of Arbiter''s signature techniques --- Flush. The Garok didn''t sense me in the air until it was too late. A spinning axe head carrying Fire, eruption, and destruction fell on him, sending the big brute flying and screaming. His chest was scorched, and his energy cloak flickering when he came up on his feet just as I dropped in on him with Arbiter roaring to go. The attack drove him to his knees, and the sorcerers, never one to miss an opportunity, had situated themselves around our makeshift arena and fired red-hot beams of fire energy as soon as I got clear with another Angel Evade. The sorcerer he nearly killed seemed the most eager, weaving a spell with one hand limp. The heat ravaged the Garok as he let out a primal scream and another explosion of earth and dust. An Angel Evade saw me through all the damage, and another Burst sent me rocketing forward, but the Garok was not at the epicenter when I arrived. I had my Devil''s eye activated as I surveyed the wreck. The demons that survived our assault died between all of the explosions. "Keep your eyes peeled," Mordo announced from somewhere between the haze. "Garok''s are more physical but will switch to ambush fighters when faced with overwhelming odds. You never know where¡ª" Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. "Hargh," A stone spike shot off the ground, penetrating through the thigh of the sorcerer who''d been already crippled by the Garok. Several ambush spikes emerged from the ground micro-seconds later, but all sorcerers except one other were lucky enough to escape. The sight nearly made me gag. As did the sight of the Garok emerging from the earth beside the wounded man. "You sick son of a bitch." The Garok smiled at me with a toothy grin and hefted his club. His chest armor was nearly completely gone, and he bore scorch marks up and down his torso. He''d clearly taken a beating, but he looked like he was rearing for five more rounds. "We have to separate them," I said. "He''s not going to make it easy, and Gregory doesn''t have much time left," Mordo said. Of course, he wouldn''t, but that did not mean I didn''t have a few tricks up my sleeve. I leaped a few steps back and yelled over to the Sorcerers. "Give me a portal," I said, "I got this." The Garok seemed to snort as if to say, ''I''d like to see you try.'' When the portal opened up, the Garok came swinging. What it didn''t expect was for me to patiently wait for it to overshoot its swing and patiently yank it through a portal, face-first with Demon Pull. Its beady eyes bulged as its density shifted, and my strength ballooned, yanking it off its feet and through. The sorcerers, feeling extra vindictive, even closed the portal halfway through. The Garok, sensing danger, had been quick to react, tucking its legs and all of its body but not its weapon. The top half of its club was cut in half as it flopped through. As if that was not bad enough, it arrived at the rotating blade of Osiris. The blade was warped in blue streaks, shredding through his already weakened armor and wounded skin. I would''ve preferred to use Demon Energy to handle him exclusively, but I had to ration and fight smarter. The offset from the cut had even been enough to toss him in the air, where I readily followed with Osiris, whirring. I swept through in vicious arcs, quickly looping six strikes into each other. I saw that I was not doing a great deal of damage, but I moved substantially faster than I would''ve been able to manage with Rebellion. While the Garok was still reeling, I switched to Rebellion and slapped him into the ground with a Burst and a chunk of Demon energy. While I was falling, I switched to Ophion and pulled myself toward him, landing sword-first into the Garok''s wounded Chest. The blade sunk deep, eliciting a loud gasp of pain. The Garok swung immediately in retaliation, and I flipped back just in time to avoid the hit, but I left Rebellion in his chest. The Garok slammed the ground, generating a small grove of a spikes around him, which I navigated my way through with pure footwork and a few strategic leaps. While mid-air, the Garok tried to take advantage of my vulnerability, sending a wave of stone spikes at me. I surprised him and myself by pulling Ebony and Ivory and letting a rip. My fingers blurred as I picked up half a dozen spikes before targeting Rebellion, which was still firmly lodged in the monster''s chest and firing. I fired in the tightest spread I''d ever managed, hitting right on the pommel of the sword and driving it deeper into the Garok''s chest. He coughed blood, dropping to one knee, and I saw the panic creep into its otherwise smug face. A panic that I was sure would''ve been made that much worse if he could read my notification screen. Gun Mastery (Adept) You''re now able to shoot with increased accuracy and speed and have intricate knowledge of most human-made guns. With a grin, I flipped through the air, landed on a spike, and launched back at him, doubling my speed with a Burst. I blurred through the air, rapidly firing through rocks, bounding off stone spikes, and dodging projectiles. As I came close, the Garok snarled in desperation, swinging out with his half-destroyed club, but I phased through, slamming into Rebellion''s pommel knee-first with a vengeance. My blade went straight through his chest, and I saw the Garok''s eyes go wide with surprise as he flew back, flying straight through a hut as I tumbled forward, knee cap shattered with most of my muscles torn, my skin on fire, and my body wracked with indescribable pain. I spiked Angel Regeneration, lapping up most of the energy I had left to stabilize me. HP: 350/700 AE: 150/460 DE: 300/480 I grinned, sitting up, and spotted Mordo and the rest of the sorcerers as they portaled over. "That was some fight," he said. "I could see why the Ancient One chose you." "It''s not over yet," I said, struggling up to my feet. I hadn''t seen a notification yet. "That asshole is not dead, believe it or---" "Garrghh!" "Dante!" I heard Mordo call out, but his voice was far away. The pain was indescribable. My chest, stomach, lungs, legs¡­I couldn''t move, I couldn''t breathe. I was suspended in the air, speared through by several stone spikes. That motherfucker. The Garok stood up with half of its body covered in red patches, blood still pouring out from its pulsing heart, where a strange orb was now situated. The sky in front of me was inundated in red light as spellfire poured down on the already wobbling monster. I heard Jean shriek out, calling for me, and the world slowed down as my health bar flashed in front of me. HP: 30/700 Earth Resistance¡ªBasic Grants a 15% resistance to all earth damage. Cost 5 DE per hr while in use. On a black, smoky screen, it appeared in front of me again. Shin''s reward. Minor Seed of Gluttony (T)Minor Seed Shard of Gluttony Inherit a fundamental fragment of Shin, the Avaricious power, forever altering your being. You will gain. Race Suffix¨CBecome the Nephilim of Hunger Essence Reaper¨Cgain a tiny silver of strength from every foe that you fell. (One-time only. Shin will extend the bonus to cover every foe you''ve killed in the 12 hours.) Avaricious Gaze¨C will replace your current identification skill and allow you to see the estimated power level, top skills, and weaknesses of your opponents. "No," I said, choking back the blood. "What are you doing?" Shin''s voice resounded in my head, slippery and coy. "You will die." "No," I growled, summoning Cloak. Strength flooded my veins as my strength shot through the roof. I reared back my fist, layering Burst on it, and swung at the central spike sticking out of my chest. It snapped in half. Chapter 64 The Garok attention turned to me, and I met eyes with it. More of the redness had spread through his body. The wounds on his body healed before my very eyes, but he seemed weaker than ever. What remained of his stone armor had cracked. His eyes were bloodshot, and he was foaming from the mouth. I roared and swung again, snapping the chunk sticking out of my lungs, and swung again and again until I was free. I crashed to the floor unsteadily on my feet, and in my peripheral vision, I saw the church shatter, but the building did not come tumbling down. Instead, It was held in place by a vast telekinetic presence, and I saw Jean floating above the chaos, rapidly making her way over to me. The Garok did not miss Jean''s emergence either, his attention turning to me, and I could instantly see the gears turning in its head. It leaped forward, its rapidly degenerating body shrugging off any and every attack on its way to me. He even dodged portals that opened between us. I spiked my angel regeneration and grunted as my body expelled head-sized spikes from my gut and organs. Jean had her hand outstretched, and I knew she''d reach the Garok in time, but something about staring deep into the murderous beast set me off. "Don''t," I mentally communicated, and Jean acquiesced. The Garok saw me as Prey, as did the demons, the Phoenix, Shin, Hydra, Fury, Xavier, the Brotherhood, Hell, even the hand. They all thought they could use me. Abuse me. Control me. Kill me. They all underestimated me. They were wrong, too. It was like a dam broken. An avalanche of demonic energy exploded out of me. My pain vanished as everything around me grew dreadfully slow. I blinked in surprise, and it was then I saw the energy. It was many times thicker than anything I''d seen in town or in the Simulacrum, but it did not spread wide. I was the epicenter, and it was then I turned back to him. The Garok. His rocky sausage-sized fingers were inches away. And I felt something bubble at the back of my throat. It was a single word. UP Everything in a 1.5-meter radius around me was suddenly flung into the air and held there. The rubble, spikes, and the Garok. And it was when I realized what was going on. This was my Devil Trigger. Congratulations: You''ve unlocked the ability Devil Trigger. Tap into your demonic heritage and unleash your inner power. 500% Regeneration, 3x Speed and 3x Strength. Cost 100 DE to activate and 10 to maintain every second. You''ve learned a new Devil Trigger Exclusive skill. Gravity Affinity: Up. Inverts the gravity of a specified object in your domain. The stat boost also explained the radically improved perception. I looked up at the Garok floating helplessly in the air, and anger filled me. He''d almost killed me. Almost killed a sorcerer. And destroyed an entire town. If I had any pity for Belasco''s ilk, it was completely gone. I leaped at the monster with an earth-splitting jump, armed with Rebellion, and cut him in half with a swipe. Rebellion cut through bone, stone, and whatever that orb was like butter. My hands blurred as I swung again and again, reducing whatever was left over into slabs of meat. The haze suddenly broke when my demon energy bottomed out. Gravity was restored, the dead Garok fell to the floor, and although I had only about a third of the power I had a few moments prior, I felt stronger than ever...complete. Congratulations for killing a mutated Garok 600 Red Orbs. Jean touched down in front of me as I rose to my feet and breathed deeply. "Are you okay?" "I¡­I feel like a new demon," I grinned as I stared at my status. This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Awakening my Devil Trigger, it seemed, was not without its benefits. The stat gains I was looking at was fucking ridiculous. HP: 350/760 SP:600/890 AE:200/480 DE:00/650 Strength: 45+5 Dexterity: (48)58+5 Endurance: (69)84+5 Vitality: 71+5 Angelic Energy: 48 Demonic Energy: 49+15 I didn''t think that unlocking my Devil Trigger would come with a flat boost in all stats, but it made sense that it would. My Devil Trigger was, after all, a manifestation of my demonic side. It did make me wonder how my appearance changed while I was in that mode. "When you asked me to stop¡­" Jean started, and I held her hand. "I understood the risks, Jean, and I''m glad you respect me enough to help me fight my own battles." "That power that you have¡­" she started. "You had him in the air, but it was not Telekinesis." "Gravity Control, I think," I muttered. "I don''t think I could manage it again without going back into that state." "And what is that state exactly?" Jean asked, worry evident in her tone. Mordo portaled over, fixing me with the same look Jean did, but I saw apprehension mixed in with the genuine curiosity. "I think it''s a manifestation of my demonic side," I slowly said. "It''s made me¡­stronger." "That was obvious when I saw you in that form," she said. "And that look in your eyes reminded me of myself." "I guess it''s good I have a whole new side of my powers that I haven''t fully explored yet," I said. "Hopefully, he''s less scary. Speaking of scary things, how did your little session with the Mesmer go?" Jean frowned. "Not as good as I''d hoped. I was able to invade his innermost thoughts and make him subservient, but I must''ve pushed too hard at some point because when I came out, he was a vegetable." My lips formed a thin line, but I didn''t have it in me to be upset anymore. The ordeal with the Garok wrung it right out of me. "It''s a good thing we have three more battlefields to hit today," I said, looking toward Mordo. "Are you sure?" he asked. "You''ve barely just recovered." "Give me an hour, and I''ll be ready to go." "Remarkable," Mordo muttered. "I''m glad you''re on our side. I''ll give the Ancient one and update and replenish our ranks." "He''s torn up about it," Jean commented as we watched Mordo walk off. "Who wouldn''t be," I said. "He just lost a good man, and Gregory might never walk again." Jean looked at Gregory and then at me. "I know, Jean," I said. "You''d heal him in a heartbeat if you could, but that day will come eventually. One day, you''ll be able to fully realize what you''re capable of, and I''m sure by then, repairing a few broken limbs will be small potatoes." Jean squeezed my forearm in appreciation, then suddenly smiled. "I have a small surprise for you," she said, waving at the still-floating wreck. A dark figure came flying out. It slowed dramatically before crashing in front of me. I barely recognized as a Demon. He was bloodied, and all of his limbs bent in the wrong direction. His shallow breathing was the only indication that he was still alive. "Jesus, Jean," I said. "You''re even worse than I am. Is that the Mesmer?" "You said you needed to kill powerful things to grow, so¡­" she said sheepishly, and I smiled. "Don''t mind me. Here you are offering me a full plate, and I am here bitchin'' about it." Jean giggled about it. I summoned Ebony and put three shots into his head. Congratulations: You''ve earned 400 Red Orb. I ended the mission with an impressive Red Orb count of 5332. Jean left after we talked some more, giving me the space I needed to meditate, refill my energy bars, and the solitude I needed to upgrade my sword. I eagerly licked my lips as I proceeded to dump 500 of my Red orbs into Rebellion. Rebellion Grade 2, Second Evolution (1500) A transforming longsword gifted to Dante by his father, Sparda, and a conduit for his bountiful demonic and angelic abilities Abilities: Low-tier energy affinity, mid-tier enhanced durability I dumped another 1500 and watched the upgrade cost rise to 5000. After the Second Grade upgrade, the sword got high-tier enhanced durability and mid-tier energy affinity, both of which I estimated would be very useful in the coming fights. Going by how many Red Orbs I cleaned during this fight alone, bet that I''d get as much as that in the three, so I decided to complete my weapon vault and upgrade all of my other weapons and upgrade at least once. Eryx (Unlocked) Grade 2, Second Evolution (1500) A pair of oversized metal close-quarter gauntlets with spiral engravings that tap into Dante''s primal connection to explosion. Deal 2 x the base damage of Rebellion with each punch. Abilities: Low-tier Explosion manipulation, Mid-tier fire manipulation. Aquila (Unlocked) Grade 2, Second Evolution (1500) A pair of cyclone, three-pointed Shuriken with curved edges. Each swing generates spectral shurikens. Deal 0.7x the damage from each swing of Rebellion at a comparable stage. Abilities: Low-tier dimensional energy manipulation. Arbiter (Unlocked) Grade 2, Second Evolution (1500) An oversized battle-axe and one of the two demonic forms of Rebellion. Bears the primal force of eruption with each swing. Deals 2.5 times the damage Rebellion does at the base. Damage and weight drastically increase with demonic energy. Abilities. Mid-tier Eruption and explosion manipulation, mid-tier weight manipulation. Osiris (Unlocked) Grade 1, First Evolution (1500 red orbs) The first angelic form of Rebellion, Osiris, is a light-speed scythe that delivers fast, reliable damage while allowing Dante to embody the weightlessness and agility of an Angel. Deals 0.7 times the damage of Rebellion but moves 35% faster. Damage slowly accumulates with Angel Energy infusion and the innate Feed ability. Abilities: Mid-tier Wind manipulation. -- Chapter 65 I had 1330 Red Orbs after I was done upgrading, and I made it a point to store the two pieces of the Demon''s Club to make sure that I had some materials to experiment with at a later point. I was convinced that if I purchased a blacksmithing skill, I could speed up my Devil Arm creation journey, but I did not go looking for now. Instead, I focused on the next fight ahead of me. It was in some rural town in Bolivia, where fleswarped police officers carried firearms and firebreathing lizards patrolled the streets. Jean located their leader, and he was some strange Drake-human hybrid that I pulled to the outskirts of town through one of Mordo''s portals. Obarion, Lesser Fire Newt A lesser Fire Demon born from the fiery pits of Limbo. They''re rumored to descend from one of the Seven Arch Demons that entered this universe thousands of years ago. "A dragon ancestor, really?" I scoffed before shrugging. "If that''s not the biggest cliche I''ve ever seen. I don''t know what is?" "Cambion," the Demon declared with a sniff of its snout. "What is the meaning of this?" "Proud," I observed as I circled him. Jean had disappeared into town, along with most of the squad, to rescue the prisoners. I''d begged her and the other sorcerers to save as many of the demons as they could for me. The rest of the sorcerers watched me fight from afar. The Newt''s eyes flashed a scarlet red to match the rest of his black-skinned reptilian body. He wore a cloak that hid most of his body, from which he produced two curved short swords from Something about you is tainted," he hissed. "You''re him, aren''t you? The Dark Knight''s Son." "That I am," I smirked, "but between you and me, I''m trying to escape his shadow." I summoned a weapon set of my own. Aquila. They were a set of curved Shurikens with a central pale stone and engraved blades. "You will not find me to be such an easy Prey." Obarion lit up his blades, bathing them in a coat of fire, and leaped at me. I stepped back, easily avoiding him, and swung out, feeding Aquila a bit of energy. Three sets of spectral shuriken blades erupted from Aquila, fanning out. They were barely visible but dangerous enough to elicit a startled yelp from Obarion, who''d been cut by them. I saw a thin line run up the side of his arm, and he glared at me with a hate I was intimately familiar with. The attack cost had me only a fraction of Angel Energy, and I was excited to see how much potential lay within these unassuming weapons. I activated my AE manipulation skill, settling deeper into the weapons. I moved first, this time instead of him, pushing my body forward with aggressive footwork and swinging out. Three blades fanned out, cutting a scar along the floor where the Newt formerly was. He stepped to the side and breathed a potent streak of fire at me. I considered simply phasing through it with Angel Evade, but then I decided to test my other skills. Cloak snapped on, and Osiris materialized in front of me. I spun it, activating Parry. The fire slammed into the wall and rebounded, causing the Newt to panic some and leap out of the way of the returning fire. I did not escape unscathed, though. Parry was powerful, but some damage did leak through, most of which was neutralized by Cloak. "It seemed I might''ve underestimated you," Obarion said slowly. This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. "And I might''ve Overestimated you, Obarion," I smiled, causing the Newt''s eyes to widen a bit apprehensively. "Come on Newt, give me your best shot." I laughed, tapping my chin. Obarion''s cloak gained a crimson coat as energy poured out of him. They coalesced around his hind legs, and he leaped at me. Fire streaks emerged from his legs as his body reached speeds comparable to Burst, but I swung out with Aquila. The spectral blades between both weapons became a wall of spinning death. Obarion, surprisingly, parried two of the six blades, his body blurring impressively before fire erupted from the back of his Cloak, propelling him straight into the floor below the metaphorical blender, and he swung out. An arc of fire burst from his blade, lancing at me at considerable speeds. I flipped to the side to easily dodge it and twisted mid-air, spinning like a top as Obarion lunged for my hopefully compromised body. My body gained a wicked purple tint as the red of my fire cloak mixed with the blue tint of angel energy as I briefly transformed into the epicenter of a spectral blade storm. The Newt tried backpedaling with his fire boost trick again, but it was too late. The blades hit him, shredding through his cloak and marking his forearm, knuckles, and some of his abdomen in cut marks. The Newt was trembling by this point. "You''re much less durable than I thought you''d be." "I am no one''s plaything," Obarion declared as he reached into his Cloak and jumped back with his fire-assisted leap. He produced a familiar orb that immediately set me on edge. He was about to jam it into his chest when I decided to put an end to the farce. I switched to Ophion, and Demon pulled the Orb. He refused to let go of it at first, but it was too late when he realized how stupid it was. When it arrived, I tossed the Orb in a jacket pocket and phased through the torrent of fire that inundated me as the Newt leaped at me. Fire flowed from his blades and maw until he couldn''t continue any longer and coughed in exhausted pain and satisfaction as he landed where I formerly stood. He wiped his mouth defiantly when he was done. "Weak," he spat. "Really now?" I asked, standing behind him, and he spun around, just in time to get his chest caved in from a Demon energy-charge Eryx punch. A base, it already did 2.5 times the damage of an upgraded Rebellion. Adding DE was probably overkill. I heard it wheezing and coughing. The blow had not been enough to kill it, but if I''d aimed for his head instead of stomach, it would''ve been a different conversation entirely. "I can''t say I''m not disappointed," I said, squatting down to his level. "I hoped for more." "Abomination," it wheezed, staring up at me in complete terror. "Monster." "Right back at you, fuck face," I smirked and stomped on his face, knocking him clean out. --- I called Jean back to my location and had her scan Obarion''s mind for information and practice her domination before I put a bullet in his head. He was brain-dead within five minutes, but that was substantially longer than she''d managed up until that point, so that was fantastic news. He gave me 400 Red Orbs and new fire daggers that only worked with demons with dragon''s blood, putting him on the level of that Mesmer that Jean took out in the former town. I joined the rest of the rescue mission soon after and took great pleasure in ripping the monsters apart with every resource in my tool belt. With over 50 strength, a fast punch was powerful enough to brain most, and with Burst and Eryx, I was a menace. My myriad martial mastery came to the forefront. My favorite combo was quickly becoming the leap into a Superman punch. It was devastating enough to insta-kill damn near every monster I went up against, and only the sturdiest Fleshwarped could withstand a fully empowered combo. I''d also taken pain to recreate and test as many of the original DMC combos as I could remember. Trinity Smash with the Arbiter had taken more time than I''d care to admit, but it was fucking worth it. All it''d taken was a delayed release of three Bursts, and my Axehead came down. And yes, it was as complicated as it sounds. Tremor and Drop (or Helm Splitter) had become easier to manage with less energy. Pulling off combos with Osiris was still touch and go, but I had the basics like Shredder¡ªwhich was just spinning the scythe really fast¡ªdown. I couldn''t maintain aerial combos, but my improved strength made launching demons into the air trivial. Aquila was the most testing of them all. I''d forgone the traditional moves I remembered Dante doing in the game for more diagonal and snappy moves, moving the spectral blades in unpredictable patterns like an uppercut, a quick slash and pull back, and all manner of interesting ways. The ability I most desired from the weapon, however, Round Trip, was difficult to pull off. I wasn''t just there yet and did not have enough practice with Shurikens leading up to the purchase. After cleaning out the entire town, I walked away with 3600 Red Orbs. It was not quite as bountiful as the village outside Wakanda, but it gave me enough energy to upgrade Rebellion a third time. I had only 30 Red Orbs banked after my latest upgrade The Third Grade upgrade increased the low-tier energy affinity to high and the durability to very high. The Fourth Grade Upgrade had me doing a double-take. It cost 15,000 Red Orbs. Chapter 66 Our next fight after Obarion was a quaint little town in Alaska. It was attacked by something called a Frost Royal, and the town was dead when we arrived. It was damn near frozen over, and every moving thing was either Fleshwarped or Frost Serpents. We all nearly died on our first brush-up with the Royal. The temperature sunk so low that we were nearly frozen solid in seconds. Only a timely use of Cloak and some bullet fire saved me and them. Counter-attacking raised several problems for Jean and me. We couldn''t get close to it physically, and Jean could not shut the Royal down without using much psychic power. He had a mental shield comparable to mine, and she was not entirely sure what would happen if she tried forcing her way into his mind. Her psychic energy might lash and not stop at just the Royal. So, we had to handle the Royal the hard way, which meant crushing his army of frost fleshwarped and serpents. By the end of the fight, I came out with a Cold Resistance skill, which gave me the protection I needed to approach the Royal and put an end to him. By the end of our fight, Eryx''s fire had been snuffed out, and half of my body was completely frozen over. The experience elevated my Cold resistance to Adept Tier. The final location for the day was an unaffiliated monastery in the Himalayas. A lightning bolt descended on where we stood the second we stepped through Mordo''s portal. I shoved Jean away instinctively, taking on the full brunt of the strike. It was like Hell descended. Pain, more intense than I could put into words, enveloped me. It was like my chest had been hollowed out and my heart replaced with a pulsing molten core of fire and heat. Each throb brought a fresh wave of pain. I only realized that somebody violently moved my body when I heard myself screaming. HP: 3/780 SP: 300/750 AE: 500/500 DE: 650/650 I couldn''t think, see, or hear anything for the longest moment, and then I felt relief. Congratulations: Lightning Resistance: Basic. I immediately activated my Devil Trigger. I could''ve opted for Angel Regeneration, but I couldn''t treat whatever just tried to one-shot me with kid gloves. My regeneration skyrocketed, and my senses cleared as I summoned Rebellion and rose to my feet. My domain flowed from me, bathing the area in pure Demonic energy. My muscles rippled as strength flooded my body, and the world slowed down dramatically. A spray of metal spikes came pouring in my direction, and I casually deflected them all with quick waves of my sword. My Devil Trigger was a high unlike any other, but I recognized it was on a clock rapidly counting down. I surveyed my environment, and it became immediately obvious that we''d fallen for a trap. The Monastery was in ruins, and the sky was red and populated by hundreds of demons that looked eerily familiar. They were strange, gaunt humanoids with metal-looking skin and wide, splintered wings. Devil''s Eye. Harpies Humanoid feathered beasts that are the result of Corvus''s earlier experimentation. They possess an affinity for metal. A solitary Harpy was at the very center of the swarm, hovering hundreds of miles in the air. She looked more put together than the rest, with wide metal wings and a strange contraption in her hand. If I didn''t know any better, I could''ve sworn it was a rail gun. Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. ''You''re okay?'' Jean called through our mind link as she fought back dozens of Harpies. Her eyes had started to glow, and the relief washing through her connection was overwhelming. She seemed to be popping dozens of monsters her second and actively deflecting hundreds of Pinions as they rained down on us. "Yeah, I''m good. I''m trying not to make nearly dying a habit." To my left, I heard a series of loud cries. Three masked Demon apparated, brandishing pairs of bloody katanas from the ether. They were bandaged head to waist in skin-tight bandages and wore strange dress skirts. Their masks were plain and ceramic white, radiating a wrongness that unsettled me. I''d not been able to see them even with Devil''s Eye activated until they reappeared. They stood behind a group of sorcerers who seemed to clutch bleeding stumps where their fingers and arms used to be. Bloodied Sling rings lay on the floor, and the elusive demons had even managed to get to Mordo but had not been slick enough to remove his fingers and had only gotten his Sling ring. The man seemed the most terrified I''d ever seen him. They approached him in slow steps, eager to finish off the sorcerers. Four of the eight sorcerers looked well enough to fight while the rest hung back. However, only Mordo seemed strong enough to generate an eldritch Shield and whip out his Staff of Living Tribunal. When Devil''s Eye revealed their name, I immediately remembered where I recognized the demons from. Dreamrunner Lesser demons and personal guards of the Cambion of Limbo. Fashioned from the souls of Pure children, their skill with the blade is unparalleled among Lesser demons, and they possess considerable space-bending powers and speed that far outstrips most Lesser demons. It seemed that the Ancient One''s hunch had been right. The Cambions were finally making a move. One day before, they might''ve stood a chance. One of the three Dreamrunners seemed to finally notice me, turning its gaunt neck in my direction, likely a bit surprised that I was still alive. I was going to enjoy ripping them apart. "UP," I commanded, targeting only the three Dreamrunners, and they suddenly went twisting. Gravity flip-flopped, and they were thrown in the air, where I leaped, Eryx in hand. My first target immediately crossed his blades the moment he saw me coming, yet my fist snapped them in half, tossing him back. I felt his energy fluctuate as it tried to activate his bullshit teleportation ability, but I Demon pulled him back into proximity and laid into him with a fierce three-hit combo charged with energy. Each shot was like a mini explosion had gone off, rocking him hard and shattering bone. I saw the two other Dream runners teleport, trying to flank me, while the large Thunder Harpy in the sky took aim at me. I kicked back the disoriented Dreamrunner, evading the double team attack that would''ve split me into four pieces if my speed was not three times its current value, and latched onto the Demon on the left with Ophion. My current strength made it easy to yank him and pivot while also reversing gravity to ensure the other Dreamrunners would be disoriented when the Lightning strike finally came. I swung the trapped Dreamrunner into the air, using him as a rod to tank what would''ve been an otherwise lethal lightning strike. The blast charred the Demon instantly. Congratulations: You''ve killed a Dreamrunner. 700 Red Orbs. As I came down to the ground, the two Dreamrunners leaped at me, swords bared. I smirked and whispered, "Up." They both went flying again, and I shot back into the air as soon as I landed. I packed Arbiter with Demon energy and swung, targeting the weaker, wounded Dreamrunner. Since he couldn''t dodge mid-air, he could only cross its broken swords in hopes of stopping me. He was split in half for his troubles, earning me my second kill. Congratulations: You''ve killed a Dreamrunner. 700 Red Orbs. The third Dream Runner appeared out of a portal in front of me with a spinning double slash. I summoned Rebellion, halting the attack. I pushed back with a sweeping cut, which the Demon seemed to lean his way out of. He tried using his trick again, but I shot at him with Burst. I was on him in an instant. He wasn''t even able to raise his blade to block before he was split in half. Congratulations: You''ve killed a Dreamrunner. 700 Red Orbs. I deactivated Devil Trigger, dropping down to the ground. The entire ordeal had cost me 350 DE in total for 25 seconds of power, but it''d been worth it. I summoned my M4 and joined Jean, sniping Harpies while keeping a critical eye on their leader, who hung in the air, self-assured. "Thanks for saving me...again," Jean said. "Don''t mention it," I smiled. It was literally my job. The Thunder Harpy fired at me again, but Jean sent a cluster of Harpies flying at the bolt. In the background, I saw Mordo and the rest of the sorcerers finally get a portal open. Kaecilius stepped through, alongside some reinforcement, and the wounded were ushered through. This seemed to make the Thunder Harpy furious, and it hissed, flashing its wings. Electricity rippled through it before it launched hundreds of Lightning cloaked pinions at us. The harpies took the Thunder Harpy''s lead and joined in, blotting out the sky with pinions. Jean''s quick hand froze most of the attacks mid-air with considerable strain on her part, while the rest was intercepted by an eldritch shield generated by Mordo and Kaecilius. "Let''s return the favor, shall we," Mordo said as the sorcerers created diverse spells and launched them. For her part, Jean turned the frozen pinions and unleashed a wave of death that dropped tens of harpies from the sky. I glared at the Thunder Harpy with murder on my mind. I''d not forgotten what It''d done to me. I was going to make it talk before ripping its metal wings off its back. Chapter 67 For the next 50 seconds or so, we worked on thinning down the Harpy population, much to the irritation of the Thunder Harpy. Every bolt of lighting she fired was either channeled through a portal that appeared in front of her and exited somewhere in her general vicinity or blocked by Jean using other demons as a meat shield. I got fewer kills than I would''ve liked, but I was rapidly approaching 16K Red Orbs for my troubles so far. Killing those three Dreamrunners had put me far ahead, and I spent a chunk of that banked Red Orbs to finally give Ebony and Ivory the love they deserve, upgrading them twice. Ebony & Ivory (Unlocked) Grade 3 (First Evolution (0/1500 red orbs) Dante''s trademark pistols. Engineered to withstand Dante''s superhuman speed and dexterity without ever seizing. Abilities: mid-tier energy bullets, mid-tier enhanced durability The bullets now packed a fucking punch, flying at the speed and power of Desert Eagle bullets. The guns could now better handle the kickback of a Focused Shot. I figured my next upgrade for Rebellion would not be the last, which meant I was not getting rid of the Cosmic burn anytime soon. In the meantime, I turned my attention to Jean. Her control over her powers had dramatically increased since this morning, but she was nowhere near the level she needed to be to dominate Pierce without turning him into a vegetable. My little monologue was cut short when I heard the Thunder Harpy yell something at her flight. Suddenly, the Harpies started diving. They swarmed the shield so thoroughly that they blocked out all light. Jean, the sorcerers, and I could not shoot, teleport, or crush them fast enough. Our shield started to crack, and Mordo yelled over the cacophony of hisses and snarls. "We need to leave," he announced. "Before we take a real swing at the Thunder Harpy?" I asked. "We all know the trap was set for me. If I don''t handle that bird now, it will follow me back to New York and continue to pursue me. At the very least, if I handle her here and now, the Cambion will think very carefully before they send another Lesser Demon after me." "They will hunt you regardless," Kaecilius argued. "If anything, I''d argue that you''re better off stringing this beast along." "And risk the lives of those around me?" I growled. "The demons are coming after me now because they perceive me as an actual threat. I''m half-demon, half-angel," I said, pounding my chest. "And I might be one of the only people they''re afraid of on the human side. No threat is particularly effective if it doesn''t scare the shit out of the other guy. Give me a portal near the top of the swarm, and I''ll do the rest." "Are you sure this is wise?" Mordo asked. "Kaecilius is right. If you burn too bright, they might make removing you a priority." "We crossed that bridge when I put down Colossus and the invasion," I said. "I know things are bad right now, but you don''t have to be here if you don''t want to. Jean and I will be fine on our own. Besides, she still needs the practice." Mordo exchanged a look with Kaecilius before he sighed. "We will not leave you. Here''s what you will do." --- After a few seconds of strategizing, our Shield broke. I was the last into the escape portal, tossing all my non-explosive grenades behind me as I escaped. From a nearby summit, I could hear the shrieks of the sonic grenades and watched in fascination as half a dozen foam grenades spiraled out of control, trapping dozens of Harpies. The entire mess exploded a second later when a portal opened, sending a lance of concentrated fire through. The display earned me 1000 Red Orbs for my part in it. I summoned Arbiter from my vault and filled her with three charges of Burst, then turned to Mordo. "If you''ll do the honors." A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. The sorcerer suddenly leaped forward and swung at me. I easily dodged the blow while activating Devil Evade, earning me an instance of Double damage. I got a 50% boost on all that juicy damage by activating cloak. But I wasn''t fucking nearly done. My double damage window was half closed when Mordo created a portal that opened up beside the Thunder Harpy. Its eyes bulged when Jean stretched her hand forward and wrapped it up in a death grip. Its wings collapsed in on each other as Jean pulled, and I leaped forward. I activated Devil Trigger just as the asshole came through the portal and swung out. Arbiter split the bitch into two and bathed the two falling bodies in a wave of fire and destruction. My Swing did not end with the Thunder Harpy as raw demonic fire flowed forth, carving a rent in the valley below us. Harpies who''d flown too close were instantly wiped out, and I deactivated Devil Trigger, face bleach white with wonder and surprise. "Vishanti lend me strength," Mordo swallowed. "You certainly made a statement." "That was¡­remarkable," Jean gasped. "You''re unbelievable. It''s only been a day." "I can hardly believe it myself," I said, walking up to the upper half of the Thunder Harpy that was groaning on the ground. The blast had blown away her weapon, her wings had been crumpled, and her metallic skin was slightly warped and covered in scorch marks. "Doesn''t feel very good, does it?" I asked. She hissed defiantly between pained gasps. "Tell us who sent you?" "Never!" "You get that, Jean?" I asked. "Isha," Jean, who''d been reading her mind the entire time, supplied. "Stormfire," Mordo grumbled. "Of course. She''s rumored to operate in New York. It makes sense that she''d be the one to come after you." "Where is she?" I asked the Thunder Harpy but received no answer this time. Turning to Jean, she shook her head. It seemed our demon friend had learned rather quickly from her mistake. "Oh well," I shrugged, turning to Jean. "You should probably get to it, but I think you shouldn''t try to dominate her." "Why?" Jean raised a brow. "If the demons can''t survive you mucking about in their heads, Pierce is unlikely to survive it. What will likely be in your and my wheelhouse is¡­information extraction," I said, looking at the Thunderbird, who shivered. "We strip him of everything useful and go after every last Hydra head tomorrow night." I looked at Mordo. "And if he dies?" Jean asked. "He dies, but hopefully, he''s lucid enough to remain catatonic in case we need him." I looked at Mordo. "If the ancient one will be kind enough to lend us a sorcerer, we can get to even the hard-to-reach targets like Trask," I said. Jean was slow to respond. "Why the change, Dante?" "Today reminded me of a truth I''ve not been allowed to realize. Power is power. We don''t have to tiptoe around the issue, not if we don''t want to," I said. "I have enough power to split a mountainside. You''re strong enough to kill people by thinking it. Between us, I''m sure we could wipe out Hydra if we really wanted to, and if we''re really careful, no one will ever know for certain it was us." "You want to become like the Cambions," Mordo realized. "Exactly," I said. "Feared and respected for who we are and what we can do. We can protect the world and each other without jumping through hoops and suffering bureaucrats. The demons and Aliens are the bigger threat, and we must be ready for them when they come." "You''re suggesting we answer to no one and become extremists like the brotherhood," Jean said with a frown. "You and the X-men were already Extremists. Your organization was Black Ops and unsanctioned by the US government, but you skated by thanks to Xavier," I said. "The mutant brotherhood might talk a big game, but we have the power to actualize our goals. I say it''s our responsibility to do something about Hydra and the Mutant Registration Act before it becomes an actual problem." "But what will the X-Men think?" She asked. "Whatever they want to," I said. "Your relationship with them will never be the same, but I know most of them will understand why you did what you did and why the work we''re about to do is so important. Being a hero is not always glamorous, Jean. Demon or Hydra, we can''t afford to pull punches with either, not if we want to save Ilyana, not if we want to keep the earth safe." I saw Jean struggle with my words for a long time. What I was asking her to do went against everything she was taught growing up¡ªpassivity and tolerance. I might''ve been uncertain what Jean would choose if Xavier hadn''t fumbled the bag so spectacularly. She''s relished in her new powers today, learned to wield them with some modicum of control, and used them to save the lives of hundreds of villagers. Now, she had a chance to save the world. I would be truly worried if she didn''t take my offer. Jean stared into the sky for a long moment before she suddenly breathed out. She approached the Thunder Harpy with her hand stretched out, and the bird person seemed to squawk indignation and lash out, leaping at her despite having no wings. Ivory plucked her from the air, throwing her hard into the ground. She shrieked as Jean placed her hand on her head and began to pull. The beast continued to scream, its tortured cries ripping through the silence of the mountain until there was silence. It fell backward, limbs twitching. It''d managed to live through the ordeal, surprisingly. I remedied that with two headshots. Congratulations: You''ve killed a Thunder Harpy. 850 Red Orbs. "I''m in," Jean said, staring straight into my eyes. "Let''s change the world." I grinned. "Fucking lets, but only after we mop up the rest of the Harpies." I couldn''t very well leave with those experience bags floating around. Chapter 68 I walked away with 30K in Red Orbs after thoroughly cleaning out the monastery. With a grin on my face, I made a mental note to thank Isha thoroughly right before shoving my blade up her ass. With the Red Orb I had banked, upgrading Rebellion was the obvious move, yet I hesitated. I still had an Incursion coming up with 5000 Red Orbs guaranteed. While I appreciated the unexpected windfall of the monastery fight, upgrading Rebellion to Grade 4 might not be the smartest choice right now, not when I could buy life-saving purchases and skills that would safeguard me during the coming fights. If today taught me anything, it was that there was always bigger fish, and it paid to be ready. That point was further driven home when I found the rifle that the Harpy had used. It had a long barrel with inscriptions etched into the side and a purple gem just above the trigger. The barrel was slightly warped from my corrosive energy, and a hairline fracture ran down the side of the piece. Thunderer (Damaged) A Lightning rifle made from the affinity stone of a greater demon. Fashioned from silver and infernal steel. In the right hands, it has the potential to call the full Power of a Lightning Strike. -75% efficiency and power because of incompatible affinity. Each shot costs 80 DE Abilities: Mid-tier Lightning Strike, Low-tier Durability. I tested the gun by firing down range the mountain. It sent an instantaneous bolt of lightning that blackened a spot a mile away. It was still powerful, but it simply did not compare to the feats it was capable of in the Harpy''s hands. So, I went into the store with the intention of future-proofing my arsenal and increasing my chance at survival. Focused Shot was quickly becoming one of the cornerstones of my build, and I needed weapons that could withstand the juice without completely splintering, and that''s where Arcane Gunsmithing came in. (C)Arcane Gunsmithing--- 8500 Red Orbs Grants basic knowledge and techniques required to create guns and other armaments powered by arcane energies. 4x (C) Healing Potions¡ª2000 Red Orbs Common rank healing Potion. Restores 400 HP 3x Full Body Stim injection¡ª2100 Red Orbs. A powerful cocktail that drastically increases the regeneration of your energies by 10x for five seconds. (R)Arcane Blacksmithing¡ª8500 Red Orbs Grants the basic knowledge and techniques required to create weapons and other armaments powered by arcane energies. (C) Evasion¡ª9000 Red Orbs Increases natural speed and reaction by 15% just before you''re hit by an attack that would''ve claimed 10% of your health or exceeded your perception threshold. Bonus lasts for 2 seconds. Cost 10 stamina per activation. Arcane Blacksmithing was an obvious companion to Gunsmithing. I had every intention of forging my own Devil Arms as Sparda and Eva did. As for Evasion, it was my budget sixth sense. If I had it just a few hours prior, I probably would''ve been able to dodge both attacks that nearly killed me. This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. I bought the healing potions and Stim injections for emergencies. All told, the skill I really wanted was Battle Meditation. (R)Battle Meditation¡ª80,000 Meditate every second of every day. Increases your passive regeneration by 25% as long as you''re moving. The description says it all. I didn''t know if it would replace my current meditation skill, but it sounded more practical than sitting down and meditating for 30 minutes, especially with both of my resource pools so low. Devil Trigger was an energy drain, and with my injury, I needed every advantage I could get. With the day I had, 80k didn''t seem outside the realm of possibilities anymore. A few invasions here and a some demon extermination quests there, and I was sure I would gather the Red Orbs. --- I stepped through a portal to Kamar Taj, where the ancient one was waiting for me with a pleased look on her face. Around us, sorcerers stared at Jean and me with reverence and respect. Word likely spread of our accomplishments. We went from nobodies to respected disciples overnight, even though neither of us knew a lick of magical training. I would''ve found the situation humorous if I''d not just nearly died twice over in the last 24 hours. "It seemed I''ve chosen my new disciples well," Yao said. "You''ve both exceeded my expectations, especially you, Jean. You''re adjusting better than I hoped." "Your advice really helped," Jean said, "and helping people. That really centered me. It reminded me why I wanted to join the X-men in the first place." Yao smiled and turned to me, and I had a complicated look on my face. "We need to talk." In the privacy of her study, I laid out my new plan for her. Invading Pierce''s home, stealing information from his head, and hunting down the heads of Hydra to prevent the passing of the Mutant Registration Act. "You''re going on the radical offensive?" "There''s no choice, really," I said. "You''ve seen the future; you know what Hydra will likely become. I think it''s smarter to take them out in their infancy before they become a real problem." Yao shook her head. "Your logic is sound, but what you''re suggesting will only slow the tide, not avert it. The act will likely still pass, even after you systematically remove Hydra''s leadership. Mutants and other empowered humans are a threat from which normal humans cannot hope to defend themselves from." "We''re not arguing that," I said. "But we''ll take all of the time we can get. And we''d rather an uncorrupt government lead the charge, not some power-hungry megalomaniac." "Fair." Yao nodded and stretched her palms forward. Two plain white masks appeared in them. Both were oddly reminiscent of the Dreamrunners. "To obscure your identity," she said. "We typically limit ourselves to dimensional threat, but today, I''ll make a notable exception. I''ll send a familiar face to guide you." I took the mask, and Jean did the same. Devil Eye identified the Mask as Siren''s Veil. Siren''s Veil Generates an imperfect but false face to replace your own, obscuring your true form from all who look at you. The magically inclined will sense a wrongness about your face, but cannot fully describe it. "Tread carefully," she warned, looking at Jean. "This path you''re on will make you more enemies than friends, but I understand it''s necessary. You both chart your own paths now, free from the scrutiny of fate. But do not let that freedom lead you down a dark path, young Phoenix. For if you fall, so does everything." Yao''s final words sent chills running down my spine. --- Wolverine One moment I was lecturing Dante, and the next, I was flipping ass over head in the middle of bum-fucking-nowhere Ohio with a ruined combat suit and a great deal of pain. It took a while for my healing factor to spit out the bullet lodged deep in my gut, and I cursed like a sailor when it finally came out. "Swear to god, I''m rippin'' that kid''s head off when I find him," I growled as I scanned the woodlands around me. I saw a farm in the distance and approached it in my bloody combat suit. I was in the backyard of a small family, helping myself to their clean laundry, when it hit me. I nearly stumbled as a veritable tsunami of emotions and memories assaulted me. It came in flashes¡ªall of the time I''d been upset at Xavier, Black Ops mission he had me carry out in his stead. Worse were the memories that did not exist to begin with. Several holiday dinners, conversations, and lazy days were organically planted in, replacing days I spent away drinking away my sorrow and mourning my dead wife. That fucking asshole. For Christ''s sake, Xavier planted memories of us fishing. I didn''t even fucking like Fish! The loyalty, compassion, and respect I had for Xavier rapidly dissolved, alongside his deep programming, and what replaced it was hate. A deep hate for Xavier and everything he represented. His school His mission. The Chil¡­ I let out a ragged breath, steadying myself before I spiraled any further. I stopped myself before the hate spread to the children and the rest of the team. They were victims like I was, like Jean was, like the kid was. "He tried to fucking tell us¡­" I muttered, looking down at my hands. I''d unknowingly unsheathed my claws. I retracted it and continued dressing. I needed to get back to New York. The kids need me. The Prof was dead, I could feel it in my gut. He wouldn''t have let me remember if he wasn''t. The Shit Xavier pulled made me look like a saint, but he still looked out for his own. Charles took his protection along with him when he died, and that meant they were all coming for us now¡ªthe government, the Brotherhood, the extremists, everyone. Chapter 69 Pyro "Hurry up, John," Scott called. "We left Miss Ororo all on her own to face that monster. Any number of things could be happening." "Yeah, yeah," I rolled my eyes as I jogged to the bus stop. Scott was so far up his girlfriend''s ass he refused to believe that she might be Coco for Coco Puffs. She fucking broke the mansion because of a temper tantrum, and we''re literarily rushing towards our death to save her, yet I found myself unable to tell the asshole no¡­because it was the right thing to do? Scott was the future leader of the team, and I just had to get with the program if I wanted a future at Xavier''s, which, to be honest, was looking more and more bleak. If it were anywhere else, I''d be out the door, but I found it impossible to shake the old man for some reason. I found out why the second I touched the railing. It was like an explosion went off behind my eyes, and I wobbled as the memories came flooding back. Every conversation with Xavier, every insult, explosion, and escape from that prison he called a school. Turns out, it wasn''t the first time I''d had the idea of saying fuck it and striking out on my own. Xavier had been fucking keeping me at the mansion through mind control. Worst yet, he made me Scott''s bitch. "Get on if you''re getting on or leave. Other people want on the bus?" the annoyed bus driver called out. My eyes snapped up at him, and I was fucking livid. The man''s mouth clamped shut as he stared at me, a bit apprehensive. It took all my self-control not to scorch him, realizing that my anger was better placed. My eyes swiveled to Bobby and Scott, who were still reeling from their awakening. "John?" Bobby called groggily, and I stomped onto the bus, walking past him and grabbing Scott by the scruff of his neck. Again, I wanted to let it all out and burn like a Supernova until my mutation stopped working. "I didn''t know," Scott said slowly. "He told me nothing. I swear, John." I shoved him back and clocked him in the face. "I can''t believe he forced me to live in your fucking shadow for years." Bobby grabbed me from behind. "You''re making a scene," he whispered. "I know you''re upset." "Upset!" I scowled. "I''ll show you fucking upset!" I snapped my fingers, generating a spark from my glove, and pressed it against Bobby''s leg. He let out a scream and fell to the floor, and the entire bus went wild screaming their fucking lungs out. I snorted as I waved my hand, brandishing the fire before pulling it back and keeping it burning on my fingertips. "Weak," I spat as I approached the bus''s door. The driver was so afraid he''d twisted into a knot, trying to look smaller as I walked past. The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. At least he knew his fucking place. "What have you done!" Scott called out. "What I wanted to do for fucking years," I said. "Live a fucking little. That old man turned me into somebody I never wanted to be¡­some fucking tryhard hero. "Don''t come after me," I snarled as I stepped off the bus. "I won''t be so nice next time." --- Everything was a blur from that point on. I moved from bars to parties, drinking, snorting, and fucking everything I could until I found myself in a hotel room with two beautiful women. Suffice it to say, it was a well-earned comedown from the hellish years I''d had. A head-splitting headache woke me the next morning, and I sat up to a particular sight. A third woman was sitting in a chair in front of me in her underwear, with the two others still sleeping off the booze. She was drop-dead gorgeous with red hair and an impish smile that suggested she knew more than she should. "You''re quite the party animal," she purred. "Barely morning, and you''re already rearing to go," I grinned. "This almost makes up for the last two years of hell." She leaned forward. "You talked about that a lot last night. You said something about being brainwashed? I thought it was just the coke and booze talking." The smile suddenly vanished from my eyes. Last night was a blur, but I had no memories of her. There were flashes of the other two, but her? I suddenly stretched my hands forward, summoning a ball of fire. Thankfully, I''d chosen to sleep with my gloves on. "Who are you?" Her smile deepened. "What is one of Xavier''s soldiers doing sleeping through New York and flashing his abilities? Don''t tell me you had a falling out?" I snorted, then let out a loud laugh. "That''s the understatement of the fucking year?" The girl looked perturbed for the first time. "What happened?" "It''s not made the news yet?" I asked, a bit surprised. What I found equally surprising was that I''d not mentioned it during my drunken haze. "Come out with it?" she demanded, causing a nervous current to ripple through me. It was almost like she forgot that I was holding a fireball. "He''s dead," I declared. "One of his ''students'' likely popped him," I said with air quotes. "If you have an axe to grind with the bastard, get in line. Most of the X-men probably want to bring him back so that they can kick the shit out of him." I saw the redhead''s face go through a series of emotions before finally settling on outrage and fury. "Who did it?" "Okay, that''s enough of that," I said with a frown, feeding the hovering fire in my palm. It glowed brighter. "You need to get the fuck out of my suite, or you''ll force me to stop being nice." "Then, don''t," she said flatly, causing me to tilt my head. This lady had some balls on her. Let''s see if she''ll keep it in the face of real danger. I reared my hand back casually, ready to lob my fireball, when my body suddenly seized. A young redhead with striking good looks and glowing red hands entered the room. Evil Jean! That''s what the guys called her when Professor Hank reviewed the Brotherhood''s more recent recruits. She had a redhead just like Jean and an identical powerset. "Thank you, Wanda," the woman said as her skin rippled. Her clothing disappeared, and her skin turned blue and slightly prickly. Her eyes turned golden like the sun, and my lips quirked at the edges in adoration and recognition. "Let him speak," she commanded. "Mystique," I said with a cheshire smile. "You being here just fulfilled 8 of my ten childhood fantasies." She remained unperturbed as she stared at me. "Who killed him?" she demanded again. "What do I get if I tell you?" "Your life." "Tempting," I said, "but emo Jean over there might kill me regardless." "What do you want then?" she asked. "An invitation," I said, earning a raised brow from her. "The Old man was crafty. He didn''t stop at the mutants at his school. He had a lot of people in his back pocket, and like me, they''re all starting to remember." "You want safety," Mystique concluded. "And to fight with people that are not afraid to hurt their enemies," I flashed her a grin. Mystique was silent for a long moment before she waved at Wanda. I suddenly fell forward, panting in surprise. "I will bring you to Magneto," Mystique said. "The rest is up to you." "Fair," I said. "I prefer to earn my place anyway." "The name?" she asked again in a lower, slower voice. She looked like she was one word away from ordering the hot redhead to snap my neck. "Jean Grey," I said with some hesitation. "Either her or the new kid, Dante." Wanda frowned. "Isn''t that the guy that nearly killed Night Kat?" "Tell me more about Jean Grey and this Dante," Mystique said. Chapter 70 Coulson "Boss?" I hollered over the howling wind of a coming snowstorm. "He''s here." Before me laid a large cryogenic chamber with a block of Ice holding a frozen Captain America. His body was spread out and looked almost ethereal, preserved forever by the Ice. The satellite scans revealed that his frozen body had been ensconced in a faraway alcove surrounded by minerals that affected 1970-era scans. After retrieving him, we placed him in the chamber. The Eggheads were already working on strategies to slowly thaw him out and bring him back to life. "The kid was right on the money, again," Fury''s voice was giddy when he finally spoke. "Makes you think he''s actually Clairvoyant." "You''re skeptical, sir?" "Of course I am," Fury said. "It''s my job to be, and it''s your job to get moving and get the captain back home. The world needs him now more than ever." With that, the director''s comm cut, and I was left to stare at the first American supersoldier in awe again. Starstruck does not fully cover how I felt standing there. I almost didn''t hear May walk up to me. "Your nerd is showing. Didn''t you say you collected cards and other World War 2 memorabilia?" "Oh yeah," I said with an enthusiastic grin. "You should show it to him," she said. "I''m sure he''ll get a kick out of that." I nodded at first, but then my eyes narrowed in suspicion. "You''re setting me up to fail, aren''t you? You want the Cap all to yourself." "I won''t deny I''m eager to do a couple of rounds with him," she said, giving me a meaningful look. "You mean sparring, not sex, don''t you?" I knew May well enough not to fall for such an obvious tease. "Don''t get me wrong, the cap is easy on the eyes," she said, "but I''m more interested in seeing how he fights. He led dozens of missions, defeated one of the most dangerous military leaders of the 20th century, and sacrificed himself to save the free world. I''d like to see how a man like that carries himself." "Very patriotic of you, May," I said deadpan. "How do you think he measures up against the kid?" May looked my way. "He beat the Red Skull, and he''s rumored to have fought other super soldiers." "So, you think the Cap will win." May did not answer. --- Fury Seconds after I got off the call with Coulson, Dante''s call came in. "What''s the word?" I asked. "We''re coming in," he said. In front of my desk, a ring of sparks and golden energy winked into existence and grew to the size of a doorway. Dante, an unfamiliar sorcerer, and Jean Grey walked through. Dante cut the call, and the sorcerer seemed a bit skittish, scanning my office suspiciously. I couldn''t take my eyes off the kid, though. She was dainty, dressed in form-fitting robes the sorcerer was also wearing. Dante was going against the grain with a loose, bloodstained shirt and a red jacket. Jean Grey didn''t look like a walking apocalypse. Yet, all of the evidence gathered indicated otherwise. To think the dainty girl had come so close to wiping out New York and a chunk of the country. "It''s good to finally meet you, Director Fury," she said amicably, offering me a hand, and I took it with a smile and nod. "Likewise," I said. "Glad you came out despite the circumstances. I don''t expect you to be okay with our methods after Xavier." "I''m not," Jean said, "but I''ve been convinced. Pierce is dangerous, and he has to be stopped, not only for the mutants but for everyone else." Music to my fucking ears, but the finality with which she spoke bothered me. I was missing something. "We''re here for Pierce''s location, security, the works," Dante said, stepping forward. "We''ll start with him, and over the next few hours, we''ll visit every other high-ranking member of Hydra and finally put the fucking Squid into the ground." I froze for a second, not quite believing my ears. "I thought we agreed the plan was to control Pierce, not kill him." If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. I looked down at Dante, whose eyes met mine, irreverent and unafraid. Something did change. "We stand to gain far more if we play the long game," I argued. "And I shouldn''t have to remind you that you''re my god damned mercenary." "Jean is more of a hammer than a scalpel right now," he said with a shrug. "She''ll split Pierce''s skull before she manages to convince him to turncoat. The best you can get is the Xavier special. A full memory download that will likely cause Pierce''s death." "Xavier survived the brain download," I said to Jean. "What''s different now?" "This Pierce is likely not a telepath," Jean explained, "and my power hadn''t consolidated yet when I touched Xavier''s mind. Now, I''m more powerful than ever. Even the mental extraction Dante is suggesting runs a risk of giving him an aneurysm." I swallowed subconsciously. She was even more powerful now? What in the hell was I getting in bed with? And it wasn''t just her either. Dante somehow worried me more. I thought he''d be taking it easy with his burn wounds. Natasha reported that they''d covered over half of his body. Yet, here he stood, shirt stained with blood, ready to fight. Part of me wondered if the constant pain was one of the reasons he was being so impulsive. "Natasha and Clint are working on blackmail to halt Pierce''s hands forcefully," I said, turning to Jean. "They were the backup if you didn''t show, but I see a way forward for both strategies. You can extract information from his mind that we can then use to blackmail him. It''s a win-win for everyone. We keep him under our thumb while also buying time until you can do what Xavier did." Dante spoke up. "You''re assuming Pierce will let himself be blackmailed in the first place, and he won''t start negotiating with the demons, the Hand, or any of the other organizations out to fucking kill us. We just came from a fight with the demons, and they''re rearing for a big fucking invasion. Their Lesser demons folded me easily, and they were fighting with their hands tied behind their backs. They have weapons that make our guns look like trinkets, and they have magic that can turn everyday people into demons. They''re currently working on doing that to mutants. The moment they''re ready to take the surface world, they will," he said harshly. "Pierce and fucking Hydra should be a non-conversation. I say we take them out and focus on consolidating our biggest global assets¡ªthe mutants. The higher-ups need to know, on some level, what is at stake." Dante''s words nearly sent me reeling. Son of a bitch. An Eldritch Invader, and now demons? It was too fucking soon. The Initiative was not ready. "We need to put together a team," he said. "Mutants, humans, anyone we can find, and we need to come up with a game plan to stick it to those sons of bitches. Because, believe me when I say, they''re already sticking it to us." --- Dante After my grand speech to Fury, Jean excused herself from the conversation. ''I need to find Piotr. He has healed, but he''s not waking up.'' I winced. ''That is partially my fault.'' ''No, it''s really not. She chose to take his body, not you,'' she said. ''I need to fix what she broke. Piotr still doesn''t know about his sister.'' Fury was confused when he saw her suddenly start walking towards the door. The silent sorcerer followed after her. I offered one word as an answer. "Colossus." Fury grunted, immediately understanding, and circled behind his desk to pour himself a drink. He offered me one, at which I raised a brow. "Not satisfied after all of the blood and fingerprints you already collected?" For his part, Fury did not deny it, settling into his leather chair. "The boys down at the lab called it the most complicated genetic material they''ve ever laid their eyes on. It always broke down when he tried running any complicated tests." "So, that means I won''t have any mini-Dante''s running around anytime soon," I said, settling down in the chair in front of him, a thousand things running through my mind. "I promised I''ll give you Banner when the time comes," I began, "and it is that time." Fury''s eye grew a little wider, and he leaned forward. "Go on." "You want a walking nuke that''ll likely be loyal to your side?" I began. "Bruce Banner is it. His serum will work, but it will come at a price. I don''t know the particulars. What I can tell you for certain is that he''ll be able to lift hundreds of thousands of tons and will probably have enough strength to singlehandedly wipe out the entire demon invasion if he''s sufficiently motivated." Fury sucked his teeth in. "And you just had this information in your back pocket this whole time?" I shrugged. "I learned everything I know when I saw his picture. And with the demon threat imminent and Hydra''s death on the horizon, I figured it was time you knew." "I''ve not signed off on that yet." "Why tiptoe around the solution?" I frowned, "Jean will get you everything you need, from the location of secret bases to formulas and experiments. What are you afraid of?" "The fallout," Fury said. "Pierce is an important man. The world will not be quiet if he and most of Hydra''s leadership disappears." "I don''t expect them to," I said with a knowing smile and materialized Thunderer. "That''s why we''re going to tell your bosses the demons did it." Fury''s eyes went wide with disbelief before he started laughing. The idea had come to me while I was showering. "It''s a win-win. We tell them some bullshit about the demons beginning their first waves of attacks and targeting a few of the most important people in government and so on," I said. The genius of the strategy was that it was largely true. The demons had been abducting mutants and people more as of recent. "It should give you a ton of political capital when you tell them that I and Jean helped you take down Pierce''s killer and make them go even harder on the demons." "Plenty of incentive to keep quiet about the Xavier debacle," Fury said, shaking his head in disbelief. I''d be impressed if I was him as well. If the hunt goes well, I''d have solved all of our problems and bought legitimacy in the eyes of the World Security Council. "I take it you already have a body?" "Scorched and split in half," I answered, thinking about the Thunder Harpy. "It''s what I spent my afternoon doing." Fury shook his head. "You surprise me Every fucking time." "I try." Fury was quiet for a long moment as he gave my proposition some thought. "Take Clint and Natasha with you, and make the scene of their death look good." "Naturally," I said. "I want to keep the rifle, though." Fury waved. "You''ll have it after a few preliminary scans. "Nat will keep you updated through the operation," I said, getting up from my seat. "Great talk." I made my way to the base''s armory with a small smile tugging at the corner of my lips. Giving Fury Banner was a risk, but his strength was not particularly difficult to deal with if you had the right tools¡ªnamely the mirror dimension. Chug him there for a few hours, and he''ll cool off eventually. The real reason I felt comfortable giving Fury a player as powerful as the Hulk was that I planned to be the solution to his split personality. I planned on trading uniting Bruce and the Hulk for the Space Stone way down the line. Chapter 71 Jean I was treated to a familiar dire sight as Piotr lay there in front of me, unconscious and in pain. He was hooked up to an IV, tucked into his sheets, with his eyes constantly flickering. He was in pain, so much pain that I feared looking in any deeper. I saw flashes of the fight with Dante from his perspective¡ªan innocent pawn coerced into being the unwilling puppet of an Outerversal being. We shared that in common, but that was where the similarities between us ended. He was in constant pain, watching his body break down and mend itself while he was burned from the inside out with cosmic fire. "Piotr?" I called out to him, delving into his nightmare. I was treated to a familiar scene. The fractured Mansion. The ground had been glassed over, the trees scorched, and somehow, the Mansion was also on fire. I could''ve forcefully stilled his mind with my will, dispelling the illusion, but I was afraid that''d do more harm than good. Piotr shrunk back when he saw me, bloodied and limping away from Dante, who was covered in a demonic coat of fire and demonic energy. "Please, Jean," he begged me. "I can''t anymore. Let me go. Let me die." My heart shattered. "Piotr, it wasn''t me. It was the Phoenix. She was out of control. Take my hand," I begged. "You have to wake up. Ilyana needs you." Piotr''s features softened some before they turned strained in panic. "This is just another trick, isn''t it?" He looked behind him. The silhouette of Dante was stalking closer. "He''s not real," I insisted. "None of this is real." Piotr pulled further away, shaking his head vigorously. "Don''t you dare! Look at me. I''m bleeding, and I''m covered in burns from a fire that you started. All of this is your fault." "No¡­" my voice hitched, and I reached out, but Piotr was already running. "Stay away from me," he said, with one final look over his shoulder. I came out from his subconscious, covered in nervous sweats. The sorcerer beside me stepped up, steadying me. His name was apprentice Aaron, one of Drumm''s finest. He''d apparently had an altercation with Dante when he first arrived at the New York Sanctum that led to some bad blood between them, but they''d both decided to be the bigger person and bury the hatchet for the benefit of the mission. "Thank you, Aaron." "What did you see?" he asked. "Hell," I simply said. Dante eased the door open a second later and raised a curious brow at our proximity but seemed otherwise unbothered by it from what I could parse from his mind. He''d known for a long time that there was some attraction between himself and me, but he deliberately shelved it because of something in his past. I could''ve pushed further and read his mind more deeply, but I''d already tested his boundaries. I felt like peering into his mind could be what breaks us. "Ready?" he asked. I nodded, and he eased the door open. "Come on, then," he said, giddy. "Natasha and Clint are waiting on us." "How did they react to the news?" "Absolute horror," he answered truthfully. "Of course they did," I said. "I''m a monster. I hurt everyone who''s shown me even an ounce of affection. They''re smart to be afraid." Dante broke his stride and turned to Aaron. "Mind giving us a minute." Aaron nodded, albeit a bit reluctantly. As he walked off, Dante laughed. "That guy fucking hates my gut," he said. "And while I can let that bother me, I choose not to. In my case, I don''t give a shit, but in your case, you need to make peace with the fact that Jean and the Phoenix are not the same people. You may have done some bad things while drunk off cosmic power, but who wouldn''t? All you can do is apologize and try to put your best foot forward." I knew Dante was trying to make me feel better, but his pep talk rang hollow when I considered the people I''d inadvertently put in danger--all of the mutants at Xaviers, Dante himself, and the wider mutant population. "You make it sound so easy." "It''s not," he said with a frown. "There are some things you can never take back, but that doesn''t mean you shouldn''t try. There''s a lot of good you can do, even when you feel like shit. Duty should always come before feelings." Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. "Duty before feelings." I latched onto that. --- Clint and Natasha hid their emotions better than most. The former greeted me with a charismatic smile and a poor joke. "I barely recognize you without your glowing hair and red eyes." "It''s good to see you''re back to yourself," Natasha said tersely, and Dante clapped. "Alright, let''s go over the game plan." Natasha laid out the plans for Pierce''s house. It was in Virginia, some ways away from the Pentagon, and it was a veritable fortress that pretended to be a modest three-story on the outside. The walls were lined with steel. The house has state-of-the-art security, a fully integrated motion-activated automatic weapons system, several blast doors, and an elite squad of SHIELD agents stationed to protect the Undersecretary. Dante whistled. "That looks like a nightmare to get through. Good thing we can teleport right in." He grinned, turning to Natasha. "What was it you said about learning how to hack." Natasha didn''t rise to the bait and turned to me instead. "Our entire plan hinges on you, so here''s what we need you to do." --- Dante We came spilling out of the portal with a lurch at the edge of Pierce''s property, and we immediately got to work. Aaron and Natasha stayed with Jean as she meditated to scan the compound while Clint and I rushed down to the local transformer a few homes. There were two guards and an operative circling the area. "Alright," Clint nodded at me. "You''re up." I pulled on the Mask that the Ancient one gave me and briefly looked at my reflection in Rebellion. I''d been transformed into a smooth-faced Redface redhead with freckles. "Suppose it''s as good a face as any." I pulled off my Red off red jacket next, stuffing it in the backpack I''d brought. It was still embarrassing that I didn''t have a full inventory yet. It was also on my shortlist. A storage ring costs 250,000 Red Orbs. "You got the cameras?" I asked. "Yeah, he nodded, and I shot forward like a cannon. Fifty-three points in Dexterity made me a blur. I slammed open palms into the sternums of the two rent-a-cops, sending them flying into the sire mesh walls, and immediately stepped to the side, nailing the operative with a kick to the neck. He hit the floor around the same time the guards crashed into the net. Meanwhile, I heard grunts and shouts coming from the watchtower. When Clint came out, he produced the guts of the surveillance system. "Did anybody see you?" I asked, and he scoffed. "Come on." We spent the next few minutes tying up the men and tossing them on the roof of the surveillance station before we headed deeper into the facility. Clint read over the wire and pointed out the one that needed cutting. I produced a metal pinion I stole from the monastery and got to swinging. It cut through the connectors like a hot knife through butter, and the entire block went dark. I blinked in the darkness, channeling demonic energy into my eyes, hoping for some night vision, but before I got around to awakening a skill, the world gained light. The Siren Mask was far more complicated than it seemed at first. Clint offered me a pair of night vision goggles we''d prepared ahead of time, but I turned them down. "You can see in the dark?" "I guess I can," I said with a shrug as we hurried back to the extraction point. When we arrived, I''d thrown my jacket back on for the extra endurance and speed. Jean, Natasha, and Aaron were about to open a portal. It turned out Pierce had changed his security team since he started putting feelers out that he planned on going after the mutants. He''d replaced his squad with an 11-member death squad. One human, five super soldiers, and five mutants. Pierce was in the middle of yelling at one of his men when the portal opened in his bedroom. The agent barely had a chance to raise an alarm when a finger of Orochi stabbed into his eyes, killing him instantly. "Guess he''s the human." Congratulations: You''ve killed an Agent of Hydra. 10 Red Orbs. Natasha looked slightly startled at my speed while Pierce jumped at the sudden intrusion. He tapped his wristwatch, and Jean scowled, seizing him with Telekinesis. She shoved him into the wall, and he cried in pain. "Unhand me," he yelled. "Do you know who I am?" "A dead man who doesn''t know it yet." I grinned, and Pierce squinted his pudgy face. "You. Fury put you up to this, didn''t he?" I was thinking of a witty comeback when Jean stretched her fingers, and I heard Pierce squeal. "He sent out a signal. His men are on their way." "Oh well," I said. "Saves us the trouble of finding them." "You know what to do, Aaron," I nodded at the wizard, and he immediately started weaving strings of eldritch light while Natasha and Clint pulled out parts of a strange device that they cobbled together wordlessly. "Get to digging, Jean," I hollered. "Signal blocker is on," Clint announced. "Only our frequency will make it through." Both Agents joined me at the exit of Pierce''s room with their weapons raised. "Are you sure you want to go out alone?" Natasha asked. "Positive," I said. "After the day I had, facing humans will be a nice change of pace. I can always radio if I need you." Plus, I didn''t need either of them holding me back. They were world-class spies in their own right, but against supersoldiers and mutants, I didn''t want Clint catching a stray energy beam and dying. "How far out are they?" I called to Jean, who had her hand placed on the head of a clearly distraught Pierce. She''d taken the time to stuff his mouth with a sock so that she could better concentrate. "They''re about to turn the corner of the hallway leading to the bedroom." "Perfect," I said as I pushed the double doors open and shot down the hallway with a runner''s start. I activated Angel Evade as I reached the corner. I bounced off the far wall, depositing me behind the group of ten closing in. I scanned all of them with the Devil''s eye and came away with some disappointing results, but I got some hints as to what each was truly capable of. As expected, five of the ten were mutants, and I figured out more or less what three of the five could do. The rail-thin girl could duplicate herself. A pudgy guy had energy projection powers. And a well-muscled man had bone spurs sticking out of his fists that he could launch. I hoped for no crazy outliers as I observed the last two. One was a blonde girl with cloudy blue eyes, and the last one was a lanky Japanese dude with a perpetual Cheshire smile on his face. I returned the material as I pulled out two grenades and launched them at the group. Before the grenades even left my palm, however, the blonde mutant in the group already yelled out, "Grenades." Suddenly, the burly man spun around and fired his spurs at one of the grenades. A super soldier took care of the second grenade with a shot from his gun. There was a huge conflagration between us, and a few alarms went off, but both sides remained relatively unharmed. Chapter 72 "Surrender by the authority of the United States of America, or we will be forced to open fire," The lead Soldier ordered almost mechanically. "What have you done with the Undersecretary?" I was a bit surprised that they''d taken the time to warn me at all. "United States Government?" I scoffed. "I know a squid when I see it." I leaped forward using my considerable Dexterity, further boosted by my jacket, and targeted the blonde precog first. She''ll be a pain in my ass the longer this fight goes on. All five super soldiers reacted, as did the burly mutant, the energy projection guy, and the mystery Japanese guy. The Japanese guy leaped at me with a confident smirk, and his fist cocked back, but I easily sailed past him and slammed Rebellion straight into the precog''s chest. She was dead before her flailing body hit the ground, and I immediately spun like a top, beating back three simultaneous attacks. Two bone spurs were plucked out of the air, and Rebellion flashed blue as it beat back a concentrated ball of energy. The super soldiers opened fire, but I was already on to my next target. Angel Lift brought me to the lanky girl who could duplicate, and I watched in fascination as she escaped Ophion''s grasp by creating a clone to take her place. Several more versions of her popped into existence just as I landed in front of her, Osiris drawn. I spun in three great arcs, shredding the first clone in microseconds. I pulled out Ivory as I landed and rapidly fired at the freshly growing clone horde. I spun Osiris with my second hand, creating a barrier that deflected the incoming bullet fire and the energy blasts. Wounds opened along the length of my arm, but I concentrated on the wily girl and doubled down. She and a few of her clones had plucked knives from their satchels and were sprinting at me. I surprised her by transforming my semi-automatic pistol into a full-on Gatling gun, leveraging my Adept Tier Gun Mastery. My fingers blurred as I scored headshot after headshot. In seven seconds, all eleven of her clones were dead, and so was she. I stopped my Parry Shield when the Japanese guy leaped at me with his fist cocked again. I leaned out of the way of a punch entirely too slow to trigger my new Evasion skill and assessed the lanky, black-haired teen, who was grinning like a madman. He was stronger than the last time. Had he been holding back this entire time, or was this something else? "Thanks for the power up," he laughed as he swung again, but I was already gone. I appeared out of Angel Evade behind Bone Spur guy this time, stabbing a finger of Orochi into his carotid artery while I dropped the energy projector with a headshot. Blood fountained from Bone Spur guy''s neck wound, and I spun his body around, using it to tank the retaliatory gunfire from the super soldiers and bathe some unaware soldiers in a spray of blood. The teen sped up to me again, this time at a speed nearly comparable to my own, with a wild belly laugh and strikes that would''ve pressured anyone who didn''t have the years of experience I did. His face suddenly twisted after his fifth failed attack. "Stay still, you little shit." He tried throwing a feinted low kick that he transitioned to a front one, but I simply stepped to the side, activating Demon Evade. A demonic aura briefly manifested, and even the kid knew his goose was cooked. I packed Burst into my fist as it slammed into the soft underside of his jaw, completely eviscerating his jaw, spine, and face. He was dead before he hit the floor, and thankfully, too, because all five super soldiers attacked a moment later. I opened fire with Ebony and Ivory as I took slow steps back, but they charged through the hell of bullets like they were inconveniences, and when I took the time to look at their one-piece body suits, I understood why. They were the very same one Natasha and Clint were wearing. This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. They were made with reactive materials that hardened when hit. They descended on me like a flight of wild harpies with their combat knives drawn, but it was never a fair fight to begin with. Two surged forward in a string of complicated attacks. One went for the high kick, which I leaned out of the way of, and another went for a body shot that he chained into a knife swipe, followed by a brutal low kick. The first Soldier hadn''t remained idle this entire time, either. He kept the pressure on brutal palm strikes, kicks, throat punches, and nerve strikes, anything to get me on the defensive, but nothing worked. Between my coat, high Dexterity, and Evasion, which hadn''t been triggered once throughout this fight, I was on fire. I went on the offensive when I more or less had a grasp of their fighting style. I would''ve loved to take it slow and dismantle each Soldier, but I didn''t have the luxury of time, so I summoned Eryx and channeled just enough energy into the gauntlets to ignite them. I chained a forward shuffle with a Burst, suddenly blasting forward. A hit sent the more aggressive Super Soldier stumbling. My first hit led to a second and a Burst-enhanced kick that sent the second Super Soldier spinning. He''d been coming to his buddy''s rescue with a rising kick that I promptly shut down. The aggressive Super Soldier leaped back, wheezing from the body shot, but I yanked him into range with Demon Pull and promptly split him in half with a Burst-boosted Arbiter chop. The three other super soldiers leaped forward to fill in the space that the dead one left open while the last wounded one spun to his feet and pulled his pistol. A grin crept on my face as the soldiers inched forward, the air pregnant with tension. "Come on, then!" I said, clomping my metal fists together. The three soldiers catapulted forward like rubber bands, slamming into the spot where I stood seconds after each other. They were a storm of knives, fists, jabs, feints, and body checks. They were not particularly fast, but they moved with such synchronicity that they were practically the same person. Knives swipes came from all directions, with a slight delay to them. I dodged the first four, but the fifth grazed my jacket, and I had to desummoned Eryx in one hand to catch the hand of the Soldier coming in for the sixth strike. I yanked the unfortunate asshole in close for a Demon energy-infused cross that shoved his hand to the side and had him seeing double. I switched out Eryx for a hand of Orochi and promptly jammed into his exposed neck and threw him at the other two soldiers just in time to tank shots from the Soldier hanging back. I received a notification of his death and decided to kick things up a notch, summoning Aquila. The soldiers vaulted back on instinct, but it was too late; I swung. Three ethereal blades materialized mid-air, biting into the sides of both soldiers and sending them spilling into the ground. The cuts barely registered on their suits, but this was only the beginning. I moved like a puppet master drunk on power. My hands blurred as I mimed a series of diagonal slashes, sending dozens of spectral shurikens flying down the hallway. Each one cut through a soldier and looped around for an audacious lick. Even the Soldier standing at the back of the hall was not exempt. My blades picked up speeds with each wave, and by the sixth one, the soldiers were stumbling and spitting blood. I grimaced slightly as I switched to Eryx and launched myself forward with a Burst. The first hit took off the head of a limping soldier, and I transitioned to a Burst kick that decapitated the second Soldier. The shooter, who was the least injured, tossed his gun aside and charged me with a roar. He was surprised when his body phased through mine as I activated Angel Evade. I turned around and yanked the startled Soldier back with a Demon pull, slamming Rebellion deep into his spine, killing him instantly. He dropped to the floor, lifeless. The ordeal hadn''t even gotten me breathing hard, which made sense. I estimated that the super soldiers had about two to three times the average man''s strength, speed, and durability. I had over five times that now and five overpowered demon and angel weapons. It was never a fair fight to begin with. Just as I was about to speak into my comms and call Natasha and Clint, my Evasion activated, and I dodged. The world slowed as a kick sailed above my head and slammed into the plaster wall, misting it and twisting the metal plating behind. Three quick steps put me at a few paces between myself and my attacker. But that was when I felt Evasion activate again. I activated Demon Evade as a pair of fists came down inches from my face, and my eyes went wide with surprise when I saw my attacker. It was the Japanese kid, fully healed, with speed mirroring mine and likely higher strength and durability. I summoned Eryx and swung at his exposed flank, but he twisted before he made contact, tanking the blow with his side. My blow sent him skidding back, and I saw him swipe away the mist with a proud smile. "Guess who''s back from the dead." I made a confused face before I connected the dots. "You get stronger when somebody dies around you." "No shit Sherlock," he laughed. "After I cave your head in, I''ll have enough Juice to make Hydra finally pay." Chapter 73 "No shit Sherlock," he laughed. "After I cave your head in, I''ll have enough Juice to make Hydra finally pay." I saw the cackling kid for what he was¡ªsome immature edge lord with more power than sense. "Have you considered that I might be on your side?" "Don''t even try to sweet talk your way out of this," he said, squaring up his fists. "I took my lumps like a man when you attacked. Now be a man and fucking take yours." Man? What man? The kid looked like he was 16 at most. He lanced forward, the floor splintering in his wake and arrived to a profound disappointment. His hook phased through me entirely, sending him stumbling forward. He spun around, delivering a backhand slap that would''ve taken anyone''s head off, but I wasn''t standing where he left me. I was behind him. Osiris swung out, carving a thin line across his lower abdomen, and he hissed and leapt back in surprise. But, he was in for a nastier surprise when I switched to Ophion and yanked him by the foot, pulling him close enough to deliver a devastating Burst-infused punch to his crossed arms. The blow blew him away, sending him crashing into the hard wall, but he came charging at me a second later. He led with a barely-trained boxer stance, relying on pure speed rather than technique to press his advantage. I bobbed and weaved through most of his attacks. Each blow and stomp shook the entire floor. The kid was a walking calamity, and getting hit once would''ve been a death sentence, but he was still remarkably green. He could become a useful addition to our current team with the proper guidance. So, I decided to provide just that. I dispelled Eryx and lowered my stance, leaving myself open. The kid was immediately suspicious of me. "What''s your name?" I asked. "Rin," he answered. "I''m Dante. How about you and I have a bet? If I can beat you in three moves, you''ll stop dragging your fist around like an ape and actually hear me out?" "Three moves?" he scoffed as he dug his feet into the ground. "Dream on" "Is your healing factor any good?" I asked before we began. My question gave him some pause. "Yes. It will deplete my strength quickly, but as long as I don''t take too much damage¡­wait a minute, why am I telling you this?" he shook his head. "You''re a dead man." Rin rocketed forward with a fist, superman-style, moving faster than he''d ever before. If it were anybody else, he might''ve won with that single punch, but I had Evasion on my side and years of Jujitsu. Evasion triggered when he came close enough, and I leaned out of the way of the blow and positioned myself under his outstretched arm. With a mighty heave and a twist, I threw Rin into the ground, using his considerable strength against him. The floor shattered beneath us, and we fell a floor down, crashing into the concrete floor. Rin groaned in pain, and so did I. The display stole more than a little chunk of health from me. It was easy to forget how fragile I''d become because of the cosmic burn affliction. Angel Regeneration kicked in, reversing the damage. I bunched my fingers and struck out at Ren''s throat just as he came to, reducing the powerful mutant to a blubbering, choking mess. I produced a finger of Orochi and stabbed into his chest to deliver the coupe de grace. The blade stopped inches from his heart, and the willful teen screamed like a stuck pig. I imagined that between the Dragon''s breath poison and the heart wound, he must''ve been in great pain. "Ready to listen, now?" I asked, and the kid scowled, mouth full of blood. He spat at me in the hope of distracting me and tried bucking me off with his waist. I let myself be thrown off and dodged the bloody phlegm but threw two fingers of Orochi, stabbing deep into his liver and stomach. Rin, who''d been slowly getting up to his feet, collapsed again, spasming in pain. Three more knives followed, and when I was done, the kid was barely conscious. I squatted beside him with a patient look. "Ready to talk now?" "You''re just as bad as they are," he gasped, and I snorted. "Stop being a drama queen. And if I remember correctly, you asked for this. The only reason you''re fucking breathing is because I think you might hate Hydra ten times as much as I do." "Go to hell." I rolled my eyes. "Listen closely because I''m only going to make this offer once. I''m putting an end to Hydra tonight. Pierce is only the first head, but we''re targeting all of them: Malek, Trask, Strucker, everybody. So, you can either come with us and put your talents to use or die because I''m sure as hell not leaving any witnesses." Rin gulped and forced a smile. "When you put it like that." I pulled the dagger from his chest, eliciting another scream and then removed every other dagger. "This should go without saying, but this is your only chance. I will kill you if you step out of line." --- I stepped back into Pierce''s room with Rin following behind, and Clint and Natasha gave me a look that spoke volumes. "The kid hates Hydra more than the Director does, probably, and he''s a mutant. He can be useful." The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. "Picking up strays was never part of the plan," Natasha said, looking Rin over. Her eyes hovered on the bleeding spots on his suit. "And he doesn''t strike me as particularly competent." "You''re not wrong," I said, "but he can throw a mean punch and bounce back from most wounds. So I say the potential is there." "The Director did say he was looking for fresh meat," Clint commented, but Natasha looked unimpressed. "Stop talking about me like I''m not here!" Rin fumed. "And I don''t need to prove myself to anybody. I almost got him," he said, jabbing his finger at me, and I snorted, slapping him upside the head. "No, you didn''t. Have a modicum of self-awareness, you dolt," I said. "You need to win them over if you ever want to breathe an inch of free air again." "What!" I saw his muscles tighten, and I glared at him. "Don''t even fucking dare," I seethed. "They''re as good as you''re ever going to get it. They''re SHIELD. You know, the good kind?" "SHIELD, huh?" he said, slowly relaxing his muscles. "He says you''re here to wipe out Hydra. Is that true?" "We''d have preferred a slower and more methodical approach, but yes. If all goes well, the leadership of Hydra will be dead before sun-up," Natasha answered. "Then count me in," he said, slamming his fist into his open palm. "I want to see those suckers burn, but I''m not going back into a cage, never again." He spoke with an earnestness that sent me for a loop. Wasn''t this the same kid frothing at the mouth, trying to cave my head in a few minutes back? "That''s up to the director," Clint said, but then winked, "though I''ll try to put a word in." I shook my head at the whole display and got down to talking business with the pair. No signal had made it out or in the entire time I was out, and Aaron hadn''t budged since he started his Mass illusion spell. The spell reminded me a great deal of the concealment Spell in Harry Porter. The sorcerers in this universe used it to cover up the aftermath of their battles with dimensional threats until they could repair what was broken with some good-old transfiguration. By laying down the spell in Pierce''s home, Aaron created an illusion of normalcy. People approaching will hear no sound escape from it, nor will they notice a single fixture out of place. That would change if they touched the building, however. For now, the imperfect mass illusion would have to do. Jean was still busy emptying Pierce''s head, so I decided to get on with the cover-up. I summoned Thunderer, startling Rin. "What the hell is that!" "You''ve been holding out on me?" Clint asked, eyes practically shining like an anime character. I flipped the gun over with a smirk. "Just something I picked up earlier today, and no, you can''t touch it." "This is how you plan to make it look like the demons did it," Natasha said. "That and this," I said, summoning half a dozen metal pinions from the Thunder Bird. It was a shame to waste infernal metal like this, but it needed to be done. Rin followed after me as I stepped out of Pierce''s bedroom again, keeping pace. I dragged a few clumps of dead mutants and super soldiers together in the hallway and let the Thunderer rip. Energy poured out of its barrel, scorching the bodies and punching through the floor underneath. The attack splashed on the second floor and almost hit an electrical cable, which would''ve proven disastrous. We''d left Pierce''s backup generators running specifically because we wanted to harvest his computers and servers, and the generators he had was not nearly powerful enough to run all of his sophisticated traps. "Damn," I muttered. "I forget how powerful this thing is." "You have some demon blood, don''t you?" Rin said in his annoying, overconfident voice. "What gave me away?" I asked. "Was it the glowing fist weapons or the teleportation?" "I was unsure when I first met you, but now that I''ve seen you up close¡­" he trailed off. "I have this feeling about you. My Grandmother said her mother was half-demon." That stopped me in my tracks immediately and I used Devil''s eye on him again. Rin Yamanaka Torn from his parents'' hands at a young age, Rin Yamanaka is one of Hydra''s many young mutant prospects. His unique mutation and heritage make him a formidable threat. Not one word differed from when I''d first looked at it, but the word I''d dismissed earlier, ''Heritage,'' stuck out. My eyes went a little wider. I immediately scanned the halls with Devil''s eye and looked for hidden cameras or any other indications that what we would say could be recorded. "Does your demon blood do something, or is it just for show?" Rin seemed hesitant to answer. "You already told me that some part of you is demon, you might as well tell me the whole truth." "My demon blood lets me do everything you''ve seen. It temporarily strengthens me after each death and brings me back so long as somebody has died around me recently." I whistled internally. With enough murder and time, he''d become virtually unstoppable. It certainly explained why Pierce might want him close. He planned to make the kid one of his aces. With what I''ve seen, I can''t let him go to Shield. He might only be situationally useful for now, but when he grew older and learned how to channel demonic energy, he''d be formidable, even in his base form. Still, that didn''t change the fact that he had a mutation he was hiding. Devil''s eye identified him as a demon-mutant hybrid-- the very thing that Corvus was trying to create. If I had a lick of sense, I''d kill him and be done with this, but I was curious what mutant ability he had to round off his demon side. Would our fight have turned out any different if he''d chosen to stop holding back? "You''re lying," I pronounced, moving on to the next set of bodies. "It''s not been ten minutes, and I''m already regretting sparing you." "What? No!" Rin said. "I¡ª" "You''re holding something back," I said, activating Demonic Aura. It''d been forever since I''d used it, but it seemed very appropriate for the situation. A coat of thick demonic energy covered me and pressed down on Rin''s feeble mind. "The truth, now?" Rin bit his lip in frustration and actually resisted me for all five seconds before he caved. "I never stood a chance, did I?" "No fucking shot," I said. "Now talk." Rin swallowed and began to speak. "My mutation is actually what makes my demon blood so effective. While it''s true that my blood lets me get stronger in the presence of death, it does not allow me to heal or make me more durable. My mutation does that. I call it Assimilation. It basically siphons power from the life energy my body takes in the presence of death and uses it for all sorts of things like permanently strengthening my body and healing." My aura winked out, and my mouth fell open. What in the ROB''s name was this ridiculousness? He was basically a game character without a fucking stat sheet. Jesus, he had the same potential Dante, Nero, and Virgil from the original Devil May Cry game did. I shook my head. I just fucking couldn''t. I had a thousand and one questions, but one trumped them all. "Why did you tell me you were part demon?" I spoke in a low voice. "Because you gave me a chance when you didn''t need to," he started honestly, "and because you probably have the answers I''ve been looking for my entire life. Plus, I figured you couldn''t be a total asshole if you wanted to take on the demons and Hydra. I may be wrong about that last bit." I ignored the jab, but I didn''t mind being called an asshole. I did mentally pressure him to divulge his secrets. "You were right to tell me for the most part," I said, "And you will never speak of this out loud to anyone until I tell you to. In fact, you have to have some protagonist-tier luck that you ran into me and not any other Cambion. You have no fucking clue how much danger your mere existence puts us in," I hissed. I immediately put the thought of killing him out of my mind. This kid didn''t know it yet, but he was my ticket out of this bullshit path Shin had forced me down. Chapter 74 I spent a few more minutes talking to Rin, who asked endless questions about the demons, mutants, and everything else he could think of. He''d been with HYDRA since he was thirteen and was stuck in the laboratory, gritting his teeth through endless testing until his powers manifested half a year ago. Since then, he''s slowly climbed the ranks and earned himself a spot in Pierce''s latest home rotation. As for why security was so scant in Pierce''s home, he looked at me like I was insane. They hadn''t expected a fucking teleporter to show up and wreck their shit. I suppose he had a point. When we arrived back at the bedroom, Jean was finally done, and she had Pierce pressed against the wall with his eyes rolled back and his mouth sagged, drooling. With a swish of her hand, she slammed him into the ceiling. Another swish threw him right at my feet. Rin stepped back, slightly unsettled by the display, while Natasha and Clint gave her a wide berth. I could feel Jean''s emotions swell through her bond. It took everything in her not to squish him like an overripened tomato. The rage she tried to bottle began to leak from another hole, so to speak. The entire house started to shake. Knowing where we were headed, I produced a Pinion from the Thunder Harpy and threw it straight through Pierce''s open neck. It bit through the meat and stuck to the floorboards. Jean settled like a kettle settling from a stove''s heat, but her emotions still burned hot. "He has hundreds of them," she said. "Well, shit." "Of what?" Rin asked. "Mutants," Clint said. "He gave them to those animals, Strucker and Trask. We need to save all of them. They need us." "We will." We''d expected this outcome, planned for it even, so it was no surprise. "After we eliminate each of them and their highest lieutenants. Then we make the call." Jean looked choked up, but she didn''t argue. This was always the plan. We were here to assassinate first and rescue later. After Hydra''s leadership was confirmed dead, SHIELD would swoop in with Jean and me at the helm. This play was to insulate us from potential suspicion and win even more brownie points. I also planned to milk my burns during the display; after all, I was supposed to be injured. After the roundup, the plan was to use Jean''s abilities to discern who needed saving and containment from a preliminary scan of their mind. It would be nothing too invasive, of course. The people who''ve been cleared will be moved to a protected shield town in middle America, where they will be protected from the demon threat. Hopefully, Jean and I will eventually be able to bring in the X-Men and get them to act as liaisons between the government and the population if we ever get them to stop hating us. Naturally, Fury promised that those who wanted to be released to the public would be, while the more dangerous elements would be detained and rehabilitated. A million things could go wrong, but it was our best option. Leaving the mutants in the hands of Hydra would end with them being experimented on, turned into puppet soldiers, or abducted by the demons. We had to act before the enemies did, and that meant taking a risk sometimes. "There''s so much I have to tell you," she said to me mentally. And one by one, she started to show me what she''d plucked from the Hydra leader''s head. It was substantial, to say the least. There were coordinates to secret bases, recipes for mythical weapons like Adamantium, Vibranium sculpting and weapon-making secrets, safehouses, money drops, an imperfect supersoldier serum--which all of the soldiers I faced used-- and information about Bolivar Trask that had me questioning the success of our little quiet assassination plot. It turns out he was the one who gave Pierce the idea to shepherd and control the mutants. Jean told me she would''ve gotten even more information about Bolivar, but Pierce''s mind finally gave out. Between his mental resistance that he trained through meticulously organizing his mind and his age, it was a miracle she got that much from him before she charred him. I kept all this information close to my chest and asked Jean not to tell anyone what she learned. She knew me well enough at this point not to ask why. As much as we trusted SHIELD, we weren''t truly on the same side. Fury got a call from Natasha with an update on the situation. He was hesitant about Rin but signed off on him after I promised to watch him personally. --- Despite Jean''s concerns, Trask and Strucker were not the next targets of our campaign. This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. Arnim Zola, Daniel Whitehall, Gideon Malick and their deputies were. Whitehall was promptly drained in his lavish apartment after I took off the head of his guard/assistant with a swing of Rebellion. Aaron and I portalled downtown, where his top three lieutenants were in a meeting. I promptly killed them all and disappeared before security could make it into the room. Whitehall''s brain was packed with fascinating and frankly terrifying ideas on mutant experimentation and forcefully awakening the X-gene in humans. There was also some information about Gravitonium, the creation of Absorbing man, and his plans to perfect the supersoldier serum via Banner. I was tempted to spare him after Jean told me everything Whitehall knew. It was worth keeping him around for the Gravitonium and Supersoldier knowledge alone, but I knew Whitehall had a reputation for slipping out of impossible situations and fucking people over. It would''ve been tempting to add him to my future roster of ''investments'', but I knew how sparing a monster like him could come across to Jean. More than that, I didn''t want to be responsible for whatever atrocities the son of a bitch would perpetuate if he ever escaped. So, I took his head off with Rebellion and called it a day. Jean already had all of his knowledge; knowledge I was sure she''d transfer to me at some point. SHIELD got most of his research, papers, and computers. Gideon Malleck''s death was the most anticlimactic of them all. In this universe, he was a billionaire philanthropist with fingers in multiple industries. His mind turned out to be the most useful. Jean harvested dozens of bank accounts with currencies numbering in the millions, weapon caches, contacts with some of the evillest organizations in the world, including the Hand and the 10 Rings, and lastly and most importantly, years of experience running a multi-billion-dollar organization. Rin begged me to do the killing this time. It turned out Malleck was the one who handed him over to Strucker, who was singlehandedly responsible for some of the worst years of Rin''s life. After having him put on a pair of gloves, I handed him a sword I had lying in my Weapon Vault, and he took his head off with a single on-edge swing. I was impressed by his form. He had a future as a Swordsman if we didn''t get filleted by the demons first. When we arrived at Trask''s base, the atmosphere of the team suddenly shifted. Bolivar was the most well-prepared of the bunch. The intel Jean got from Malleck allowed us to finally put the pieces together. Malleck saw Bolivar as a genius on the level of Howard Stark, driven by paranoia and hate for mutant kind. They''d signed a contract with him about three years ago to develop an effective containment and neutralization system for mutants. He accomplished that a year after capturing a mutant he stored at the heart of his plant. Her mutation apparently reduced the potency of any mutant''s mutation by fifty percent. Since then, he''d worked on producing and weaponizing the unique properties of her genes and made suppression rounds. His invention made it even easier for Hydra to capture and study mutants. After delivering what he promised, Bolivar grew more radical. He spoke with Malleck in confidence about exterminating all Mutants. "Don''t you see that we are the Neanderthals in this situation," he''d said. "Our only choice is extermination. I''ve studied them for decades and still find it impossible to predict how their mutations emerge. We''ve been lucky so far. We''re one massive uprising away from mass extinction." As crazy as Bolivar sounded, he was right on the money about the mutants. After learning about Sebastian Shaw, it became obvious that the Hellfire Club ran the world behind the scenes on some level. They maintained the status quo while also looking out for their interests. I was genuinely curious about what they thought about our little struggle with Hydra. Unfortunately, Bolivar failed to realize, despite his brilliance, that he would create the world-enders he was so afraid of if he launched a genocide. Jean did not reveal everything she learned to SHIELD, of course, but there was no feasible way to hide the girl who was the literal key to controlling the most powerful people on earth. However, Jean made it clear to Fury that she would not allow SHIELD access without permission. Fury was a bit surprised by Jean''s sudden spirit but agreed, seeing as Jean literally had the bigger gun. However, I had a feeling that Fury was working behind the scenes to even the scales a bit. If I were in shoes, I knew I would. We didn''t bother setting up signal jammers before going in because we understood it would be a waste of our time entirely. Trask''s technology was miles away from anything available in most places. Only maybe Stark and Mandarin had better tech. Our only hope was shock and awe. By the time he''d realize he was in danger, it''d be entirely too late. When we got to strategizing, Jean decided she had to be the one to secure Nadia---the living mutant suppressant. Natasha and Clint obviously had objections, but I visibly watched as they shrugged it off as they reminded themselves that Jean was still Jean, even at 50%. The new addition to our team, however, was quick to speak up. "I know you''re supposed to be this ultra-badass, but I''ve seen those suppressants humble the toughest mother fuckers at Strucker''s camp," he said. "If they mix that stuff with Chloroform, it''s game over. I don''t care how powerful you are." "He reminds me a lot of you, Dante, when we first met," she said. "Cursing with every breath." Clint chuckled. "He thinks it makes him more mature." "I suppose you can''t really blame him," Natasha said. "He has no good frame of reference of how normal people act." "He is awfully crass," Aaron said, folding his arm. "Holy smokes," I said with an exaggerated chuckle, "he speaks. I was afraid you''d hold your little grudge forever." Aaron did not respond to my comment, so I turned to Natasha and Clint. "Y''all don''t have ground to stand on. Do I need to start picking apart your past in front of the new guy?" That earned a slight grumble from Natasha and another chuckle from Clint. Then, I turned to Rin, patting him on the back. "The concern is certainly appreciated but wasted entirely," I said. "Jean is in a category you and I cannot frankly fathom. I don''t think a little Chloroform is going to stop her." My comment only made the kid more confused. We split our team into two. Natasha, Jean, and Aaron to secure the girl and ensure nobody suddenly made off with her or any other mutant in the madness. Clint, Rin, and I were on the assault team. We expected some level of resistance. However, it was not to the level that Trask had been waiting for us. Aaron''s portal opened in a large hangar with a middle-aged Bolivar Trask staring us down. Behind him was a Sentinel. It stood about 18 feet tall, partially painted, with dozens of soldiers waiting behind him. "So, you''ve finally come for me." ( Chapter 75 "So, you''ve finally come for me," Bolivar Trask said. "Your kind always was predictable." Bolivar was a portly, short man with wide, horn-rimmed glasses and a slightly reddened face. He looked like the type to explode at the smallest imperfection. "How did you¡­" Rin started, but Bolivar cut him off. "Know you were coming?" Zola kept an open communication line. He understood the danger your kind posed and was only too happy to help me perfect my weapon," He grinned. "When the line went dead, I knew you''d come for him, and I was next. Now, bear witness¡ªHCCK!" I fired Ophion Demon Pull straight at the pontificating man and yanked him close, startling everybody in the room. Rin looked at me like I was crazy, and Clint was biting back an absurd laugh. Did you really think I was going to let the son of a bitch complete his fucking monologue? "Unhand me, you¡ª" I bashed him on the side of the head as his soldiers raised their rifles as one and pointed them at us. "Somebody so much as move an inch, and I''ll put a bullet into his fucking skull," I warned, materializing a gun. "Clint, call Aaron for an extract," I said. "Kamar-Taj can hold him while we round up here." Clint did as instructed as both sides stared each other down, frozen by the tentative stalemate. We knew once Bolivar was gone, all hell would break loose. Yet, we waited in pregnant silence until Bolivar chose to be himself and shatter the peace. "What are you doing? Kill them all." We heard dozens of clicks as the fifty or so soldiers assembled in the warehouse undid their safeties, and prepped to fire. As if that was not bad enough, the Sentinel hummed to life in the corner. Its rectangular eyes burned golden as it shifted its considerable bulk. "Seriously," I scoffed. "He chose to ''Kill them all'' as his activation phrase?" "Oh fuck," Rin said, taking a few tentative steps back. The soldiers opened fire, and I flashed forward, generating a Parry Shield with Osiris, batting back the hail of bullets while I took on a wave of chip damage. Cuts ran down my hand, and I gritted my teeth through, tossing Bolivar to the side. "Take him," I yelled at a frozen Rin, who snapped out of his reverie with a blink and grabbed hold of Bolivar just before he slipped away. Aaron''s portal sputtered to life behind me just as Clint fired a grenade arrow into the enemy line, giving me the chance to chuck a pair of my own. Momentum stolen, I pulled my M4 and got to culling. The gun went off in a short burst, cutting down soldiers left and right. As explosions rocked the warehouse and Red Orbs poured in, Aaron peeked through the portal in a goggled surprise. "I know. No dull moment with this one, is there?" Clint laughed as Rin, suddenly energized by life energy, effortlessly led Bolivar to the portal. "You can do this!" he said. "Do you think this will be the end of me? Hah. The Trask name has survived worse. If you think for one se¡ª" Tired of his prattling, Rin threw a startled Bolivar into the portal and watched as it winked behind him. The Sentinel that had been approaching us slowly suddenly froze, scanning the spot where his master was a second ago before a slit opened up in its gigantic chest. It emitted a wave of energy that sent Rin stumbling to one knee, but he was up a second later, still looking visibly inconvenienced. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. He gave an explanation without me needing to ask. "That energy makes it difficult to take in and hold Life energy." The monster was already adapting. "Bolivar was not kidding when he said he was advanced," I mouthed as I slowly watched the metallic beast''s eyes swivel to me. The eyes slowly began to glow, and Evasion immediately activated; I used a Burst, shoving Clint and Rin to the side. A beam of concentrated energy bathed me before I had a chance to dodge myself, and I screamed as I was assaulted with some of the worst pain of my life. I heard Rin''s voice scream in anger somewhere behind me, but I grit my teeth and activate Angel Evade, dimension shifting for a reprieve. "Dante!'' I heard Jean''s voice echo through our telepathic channel. ''Don''t move, I will¡ª'' ''No,'' I cut her off. ''Focus on the mission, I''ll be fine.'' I spilled on the floor in the in-between, panting and swallowing up air. Repairing my body¡ªsome parts of which have been melted to the bone¡ªwould''ve cost me hundreds of Angel Energy, a resource I was not comfortable parting with, given our current circumstances, so I made the executive decision to use my first healing potion. I quaffed back the odd liquid. It tasted every bit as bad as you''d expect the suspect green liquid to. Energy suddenly filled my limbs, my skin regrew, my muscles swelled with vital energy, and my strength returned. While I was immaterial, Clint and Rin had gone above and beyond, ripping through the dozens of soldiers that remained. Rin was just downright malicious, punching people''s heads off and tanking bullets like they were mosquito bites. But the damage was slowly stacking. He was noticeably slower, even though the kills were supposed to make him his strongest self. Clint was a lot more conservative, dodging and striking with precision. He''d created a distraction with several smoke arrows and was letting the soldiers sabotage and kill themselves through friendly fire and panic. He picked whoever made it through the smoke while simultaneously using it as cover from the Sentinel, but the thing didn''t seem that interested in him as it slowly faced Rin, who was breathing hard at this point, glaring at the surviving group of five soldiers who hid behind the approaching Sentinel peppering him with shots. On Clint''s end, he was mopping up what remained of the soldiers. I came out of Angel Lift with a Burst that threw me into the fray, Osiris drawn and my heart set on violence. The soldiers were bunched so closely together that it took only one hit to kill three of them. I rapidly switched direction, propelling me back at the other two with explosive footwork. The pair rapidly retreated, scattering in two directions, but Osiris''s reach was considerable. I snapped my scythe at one, holding the weapon at the very end of the handle, and pulled back my blade. Osiris cut through his Kevlar jacket and back. I socked him in the neck when he came close enough, shattering his neck and killing him instantly. The Sentinel''s leg slammed down on the spot where I stood moments before I appeared in front of the other guy, with Osiris spinning in my outstretched hand. I had beef with the chrome giant, but I intended to give Rin a reprieve, and that was what I focused on. I couldn''t very well let my invest¡ªI mean prot¨¦g¨¦ die like that. The weapon batted away his rifle and basically filleted him. He was dead before he hit the ground. I went intangible again just before the Sentinel''s hand came down, and I reappeared beside Rin, ferrying him back. Three notifications flashed on my face, and my expression grew complicated. I didn''t even know I''d been that close. Congratulations: Fire Resistance has reached Adept Tier: Damage reduction upgraded to 30% Congratulations: Angel Evade has reached Adept Tier Phase through Limbo, allowing Dante to evade an additional distance and render him invulnerable to attack. Now, you can stay intangible for up to 1 minute at the expense of 2AE per second. Each Evade also pushes you further, faster. Congratulations: Angel Energy Manipulation has reached Adept Tier. Improves fine manipulation, damage, and multitasking, and greatly enhances energy projection. I grinned, looking up at the Sentinel. "Take a beat off, Rin," I said. "This is personal." "What?" he said in between gasps. "I can still fight." "I know you can, but this is not about you," I said, summoning Arbiter. Cloak surrounded me, boosting my damage by 50%. I looked up at the Sentinel, who was approaching us with a meaningful glint in its eyes. I started stacking Bursts. "This is the third time I''ve nearly died today, believe it or not. And I''ve always returned the favor. That is not about to change. Now move before the big guy gets any more ideas." Rin was about to open his mouth to protest when the Sentinel''s eyes started to glow, firing a beam again. I flung my Axe and used flush and watched as my Axe head sailed through the air, parting the beam before it impacted the head of the Sentinel. It stumbled backward, head covered in deep crimson fires and energy. A deep voice rumbled out. "Mutation¡ªnon-existent. Energy signature unfamiliar." Chapter 76 "Mutation-non-existent, energy signature unfamiliar. Switching to auxiliary combat subroutine." With a substantial dent on its head and demonic fire still burning it, the Sentinel''s left hand started to morph, producing what I would''ve estimated was some variation of a rifle. I didn''t sit idly by and let them happen. However, I switched to Aquila and dug deep, filling weapons with energy and creating a mental block around every part of my body so that energy could only flow down my hand. With a shove and a swing, I sent a glowing, teal Shuriken flying and watched in awe as it snapped onto the chest of the Sentinel, cutting it over and over with each rotation. The attack seemed to do nothing to the bewildered Sentinel as it still continued to transform. I stood there frozen for a comment that I''d just pulled off a Round trip. When the gun was finally levelled at me, I fired Ophion at the rifle hand and yanked it to the side, causing it to miss its shot. By now, Round Trip was already producing deep groves in the Sentinel''s chest, so I decided to turn up the heat. The Sentinel''s eyes glowed orange, readying itself for another beam just as I fired and used Angel Pull, positioning me at the giant''s leg. I missed the laser by a hair, and I activated Demon Evade as I came up with a Charged Arbiter and swung. The results were explosive, tossing the Sentinel''s leg backwards so that it stumbled forward. Demon Pull latched on the monster''s face, guaranteeing his fall. With a quick use of Burst, I positioned myself in the air and charged Round Trip with Aquila again, this time sinking 50AE into it. The first had only taken 25. It produced a shuriken the size of my body. It hit the Sentinel''s head with a resounding ring and revved like a beast possessed, shaving off metal strips and damaging laser lenses and multiple sensors. Not one to leave a thing to chance. I double-jumped again and gathered three Bursts worth of DE into Arbiter before unleashing another Flush. The energy crashed , flickering between red and blue erratically before suddenly exploding in a startling flash of purple light and heat. Standing so close, the light almost fried my retinas. Evasion activated while I was still winking away the light, and I turned intangible just as a spray of rifle bullets reached me. I activated Angel regeneration, healing the light damage to my eyes as I stepped forward. I materialized in front of what was left of the Sentinel''s face. It was a melted, shredded mess. Its solitary eye was flickering and glowed with malice. Fuck you, too, you giant metal penis. I brought Arbiter down the eye and chained it into another heavy strike. I rolled to the left as the returning hand tried to grab me before I burst forward and slammed into the head for a third time with a packet of Burst. A second image superimposed on mine, effectively doubling the already disgusting damage of Arbiter. Slowly, the giant went inert, seizing up entirely. I got no kill notification for the kill or the combination attack I pulled off, but I decided not to work myself into a frenzy over it. "Jesus," Rin said from behind. "You''re crazy." "What gave it away," Clint chimed in. --- Natasha Working alongside Jean Grey was a chilling experience. She''d changed seemingly overnight. Going from a paranoid, power-drunk, mercurial monster to a mostly mild-mannered young adult. The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. Her new attitude, however, didn''t seem to extend to the soldiers we came across when we portaled in front of Nadia''s Cell. They opened fire immediately when they saw us. They''d been so fast I hadn''t been able to react. Jean simply froze the bullet in the air and closed her fist. All five men froze and slowly turned their guns on each other and fired. My heart fluttered as the bullets tumbled to the ground, though my face remained steely. Aaron did not hide his displeasure well. "It had to be done," she said as she shut her eyes, stretching her hands out. "And so does this." A moment later, we hear a series of screams and shots sound throughout the underground holding facility. Did she just-- A chill ran up my spine. "Yes," she said, looking at me with her deep green eyes. "Every last one. Dante and I talked it over. We cannot risk anyone identifying us. Also, I''ve heard their thoughts; they were far from innocent." I did not dispute that. People who ended up doing mercenary work often weren''t, but the manner in which she executed them was chilling and impressive. "I''ve been practising," she simply said as she walked up to the door to Nadia''s cell. She shut her eyes to concentrate and, with a one-handed pull, yanked a door made from pure metal that must''ve been over 3000 pounds off its hinges. Gas started pouring in from the vents above us, and I quickly pulled a mask from my bag to prevent breathing it in. Aaron started weaving some kind of complicated spell behind me. When I looked up at Jean, she had her eyes closed and suddenly snapped open, and the gas stopped. How did she-- "The ventilation system," she explained. "I broke it." Aaron looked at me with a defeated shrug and stopped his spell, which seemed even less magical compared to what I''d just seen Jean manage. I held back a frown that was worming itself to the surface. Oddly, I found her mind-reading abilities even more unsettling than the telekinesis. Jean frowned a bit at my thought, but before she could respond, a call came in for Aaron. Clint wanted him to extract Bolivar, so he answered the call after getting the go-ahead from both of us. Jean was about to enter the room when she suddenly stumbled. I pulled my gun, afraid that the girl, Nadia, might''ve been the culprit, but when I heard her whisper, "Dante," I realized it was something else. She regained herself after a long moment and remained still for a while longer before she strode into the room with the tenderest smile on her face. "Your powers," she said in a tiny, almost mousy voice, "you still have all of it." "I''m a little different than most mutants," she answered with a bright smile. The girl scrutinized her for a moment before she blinked, smiling back. "You are." "We''re here to get you out of here," she said. "My friend is taking care of the bad man upstairs." The news seemed to alarm the young girl. "The bad man," she started. "He''s been taking more blood and bone marrow. He''s building something." "I know," she said. "And Dante can take care of it. He''s not a mutant, but he''s the strongest person I know." I knew she didn''t mean that literarily, but her words still gave me pause. Clint had noticed it as well. Dante was considerably faster and stronger than he was at the mansion, and her words made me think we hadn''t seen the depth of that power just yet. I put my suspicions aside for now and spoke to Jean, who had Nadia sitting on her waist like a toddler. The girl looked about 12, but she was emaciated, so I couldn''t really say. "I need to take a look at the computers," I said, venturing deeper into the bowels of the facility. --- Mystique I walked into a New York Penthouse with John beside me and Wanda behind him, frankly petrified by the news I''d just received. We walked past Toad, who was playing cards with Pietro, and Sabertooth, who seemed to be in deep meditation with Night Kat, our most recent addition. Pietro whistled. "Something is not quite right," Toad pitched in, while the others said nothing. They knew better. Erik was in a separate office. The metal doors eased open as I approached, and he turned around to face me. His features, which were indifferent and cold, suddenly softened. "What''s wrong?" "He''s dead," I said. I didn''t realize I was crying until the tears started flowing. "Jesus," John said listlessly, "are you crying?" Magneto''s eyes locked on John, and he found himself on his knees and screaming before he could blink. Erik hadn''t even moved. He hadn''t needed to. Wanda had acted. "What is he doing here?" he asked. "He saw it all," I said, "and it''s worse than you could''ve ever imagined." "Speak," he commanded, and John began to, without much need for arm twisting or repetition. "It all started with this kid Dante¡­He came back with the team after they went on a mission to shut down Toad''s Las Vegas Fight Club, which was awesome, by the way. I caught a few fights¡­ Chapter 77 Mystique Erik Lehnsherr, my partner, leader, and dear friend, fell back into his chair, numb with grief. He''d waved John away the moment he was finished with him, leaving us alone in the privacy of his office. "He never could take no for an answer, could he?" he asked. "Only when it came to us." Erik nodded, massaging his brow. "As much as we fought, I always believed Xavier could do more. He could''ve been more aggressive, more domineering, more demanding. I didn''t realize how much he''s been doing for the movement behind the scenes." "I didn''t think he had it in him," I said. "Charles never struck me as the overly aggressive sort." "He is not, but he''s fiercely territorial about what he considers close to him. I suppose fear and history were the primary reasons why he never went any further with members of the brotherhood," he said numbly. "Having a telepath on Grey''s level doesn''t hurt." "I suppose so," Erik said numbly. "To think he''s been ahead this entire time. He certainly had the power to change the world. He just lacked the stomach for the ugliness." "This won''t go unanswered for," I said in a cold voice and Erik nodded in agreement. "Somebody needs to fill the vacuum left by Xavier. The world leaders, the politicians, and the organizations he placated will be coming for his prot¨¦g¨¦s'' heads very soon, and I''m certain thousands of mutants will get caught in the crossfire. We need to consolidate power and gather Xavier''s hatchlings," he said. "It''s the humane thing to do." I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. Erik was such a good bullshitter, I feared he believed his own lies. "And what about Jean Grey and the Dante boy?" I demanded. I didn''t blame Erik for being unemotional. Xavier was a lifelong rival who had just one-uped him in ways words could not describe. It was understandable that he was trying to overcompensate and succeed where Xavier had failed, but we had a code, a way. "There''s no question. They need to be brought into the fold or eliminated before they become beacons in the community." "To even entertain the idea of bringing them in¡­" I raised my voice without meaning to. "They killed Charles. He was one of us. You know what that demands," I said, firmly placing my hands on his desk. I peered down at Erik, who seemed entirely unaffected. "No, he is not," he said with an intensity that easily dwarfed mine. "He made his bed so he can lie in it. He tried putting a leash on an Omega-level mutant with Telekinesis, Telepathy, and fire manipulation, apparently. He had it coming." My chest tightened, and I twisted my lips in defiance. "This is not over," I declared, storming out of the room. "Yes, it is," came a calm voice behind me. The door slammed shut behind me with a mental tug from Erik. --- Senator Robert Kelly One minute, I was kissing my daughter good night; the next, I was on the floor screaming as memories came pouring in. Months of meetings, research, and lobbying came back in a wave, driven by a singular, almost obsessive goal¡ªMutant registration and control. It came back to me vividly. On the night before I pushed the bill at the Senate, I was visited by Charles Xavier himself, head of the Xavier School for Mutants, an institution that has enjoyed favors from the four presidents so far. It was no secret that he had¡­unnatural abilities and some have accused him of using them to aid the mutant cause, but most discarded that line of thinking, calling it an exaggeration. This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. Charles Xavier was not guilty of anything besides outstanding rhetoric and oration, and so was I. He would try to change my mind, and I''d remain as unconvinced and steadfast as I''d always been. If communications broke down, I highly doubted he could harm me. He was a cripple. What true harm could he pose? How wrong I was. The conversation started pleasant enough. A bulky, feral-looking, short man had wheeled him in and departed. "Senator, I implore you¡ª" "We''ve had this conversation hundreds of times, Charles," I cut him off as I poured us both a cup of Joe. "You''re not changing my mind. I''ve read the literature, and America has witnessed how dangerous your kind can be when unchecked. The very least you can do is register your abilities. We need to be able to track and, when needed, punish mutant criminals. This is not an issue of prosecution," I said. "It''s a matter of safety." I turned to Xavier, who''d been listening closely, and offered him a cup. "The reality of the matter is, Charles, you do not need protection from us. We need protection from you." Charles took his cup and set it on the table. "It seems you''ve made up your mind. Come tomorrow, you''re going to push for that bill, and it''s likely going to pass," he said, massaging his brow. "Twenty years I''ve been paying for trusting Lehnsherr, policing mutants, and fighting for the freedom and the rights they deserve. Fighting the government feels like holding back a rising tide. Eventually, it consumes you." I felt oddly sympathetic for the Old man. His life was a mirror of mine. Like me, he''s been fighting for America since he was a teenager in high school. He made all the right decisions, shook the right hands, and found himself looking back at the twilight of his life, wondering if he''d truly made a difference. "Maybe I don''t need to push the Bill," I found myself thinking out loud. What! N¡ªBut the thoughts kept forming themselves. Out of respect for Xavier and the people he''s fought for his entire life. He did a decent enough job as is. It''s been decades since the last major event. What he had in practice clearly worked. Xavier smiled. "It does, doesn''t it?" He took a tentative sip from his cup. "It might be imperfect, but between SHIELD and my team, we can effectively police the national mutant population. There''s no need to raise a panic when they''re an already effective strategy in place." My mind fully opened up to him, and his thoughts became mine. "No need to ruin a good thing," I said in a monotone voice. "You won''t push for the bill tomorrow, and I''ll visit you every other day for a month to help you forget you even considered it at all. It''s best to be thorough. I wouldn''t want you gaining the attention of the wrong sort of people." That night started it all, and true to his word, I forgot over the month, slowly changing my politics and life without ever understanding why. I fell out of favor with my supporters shortly after I announced I''d be changing my stance, and I almost did not get reelected. Since then, my reputation never recovered. Even my wife did not look at me the same way. I suspected that was when the cheating started. I nearly lost everything over the previous year and had to reforge myself mentally and financially and fight for my daughter. It drove me to madness, realizing that all of my pain had been inflicted intentionally by one man. I don''t know why or how I came to be released from his old, but I was going to make a fucking stand so that he could never touch me or mine again.. He could twist me in knots and manipulate me, but he couldn''t do that to everybody everywhere. "Daddy," I heard my daughter call, her stubby hands shaking me. I rose with a groan and swept her up in the tightest hug. "I think I am, for the first time in a long time. Your daddy is going to change the world." Maddy, my girl, blinked at me dumbly, then giggled, clapping her hands. "Yay! Daddy Happy!" I smiled back, her laugh infectious. I was happy indeed. I was going to call a press conference, gather the biggest names in journalism, and blow this conspiracy wide open. This would light a fire under all of America and would be the exact push I needed if I was ever going to make a play for the presidency. Charles Xavier had shown me the true face of mutantkind. I will not forget his lesson. --- Logan I tossed back my third beer for the night, cursing my luck, and slammed the empty mug on the table of a rundown bar. Hitchhiking through states was the worst. In the last 48 hours, I''d ridden with hippies, fat truckers, and pervy groupies who were in Phili for some concert or show or something¡­ I''d barely slept, was irritated, and even more trouble awaited me back in New York. "Come and teach, he said. You''ll change lives," I grumbled. "What an asshole." I climbed down from my stool and settled my tab. Just as I grabbed my jacket and approached the door, I saw a drunk guy approaching a girl seated in the corner of the bar. She''d been nursing a single drink all night, hands covered in long black gloves, eyes darting around the place. I knew a runaway when I saw one. In a different uniform, I might''ve approached her and offered her a place, but now I didn''t even know if I had a home to return to. I decided to stay back and watch, just in case. Helping her deal with an undesirable was the decent thing to do. She saw him approach, and she almost fell off her stool, trying to put distance between them. He grabbed her bare shoulder before she even got a word out, and the response was as terrifying as it was immediate. He dropped to the floor, face pale as snow, spittle dripping out of his slack mouth. The bartender dropped a bottle. The entire bar turned to her, and all hell broke loose. Chapter 78 "Aaah!" A lady in the back screamed her lungs out. "Monster!" "No," a large man corrected, swaggering forward. "She''s a muttie, and she''s done something to Earl." "Someone call 911," a voice suggested. "And the police," the large man grunted. "We''ll be keepin'' her here till they come. Don''t let her touch you if you don''t want to end up like Earl." "Wait please!" she begged, reaching out, but the portly man pulled back, and a blonde lady from behind the bar produced a shotgun and leveled it at her. "We don''t want no trouble." her lips quivered, "but if you try and give us any, we''ll return the favor." "Please," she continued. "I didn''t mean it. That''s why I sat far away from people and alone. I¡ª" "Shut it!" the large man roared. "You mutties never take responsibility, do you? Everything is an accident, no matter who gets hurt. Be glad we''re letting the police handle this! If you breathe one more word, I''ll grab that gun from Mary and put you down myself." The girl shrunk back, whimpering as the bar grew deathly quiet. I had to do something. Letting the police have her was a disaster waiting to happen. Either the mutant extremists would come for her, or she''d disappear before she ever saw a trial date. "He''s still breathing," I said, muscling my way to the front of the group. "What?" the large, round man, who easily had two feet on me, blinked. "I said he''s still breathing," I pointed to his gropy friend. "See, his chest is still rising and falling. He''s probably just asleep, and even if he isn''t, he''s still alive, which is about as much as he deserves for grabbing her as she did." The big guy frowned. "What are ya trying to say?" "He was drunk, aggressive, and didn''t even try talking to the lady before he grabbed her. If I asked every lady in this room, they''d probably tell me it''s not the first time Earl tried that. This is just the first time he got checked." Mary, who was holding up the shotgun, lowered it a bit, and whispers pulsed through the crowd. "That''s enough!" the big guy roared. "You don''t know shit! I''ll let that horseshit slide because this is your first time here, but if you don''t get to stepping, It''s going to be your last." "Sure, I''ll leave," I said, "but only with her." The big man let out a loud, raucous laugh. "Don''t say I didn''t warn ya." He swung at me, and I raised my fist to match his. His bones snapped, and pain flooded his face. But I could tell from his body language that he wasn''t ready to let go. I dodged the second swing when it came, ducking underneath, and shoved him into the bar table. I kicked him in the back of the knee and dragged his whimpering, hurting body in front of me to shield me from the shotgun Mary leveled at me. "Nobody has to get hurt ¡­anymore," I said, slowly surveying the room. I nodded at the girl who started this entire mess and looked at the door. She got the message. "What are ya doing, Mary!" the big guy barked. "Don''t let her escape!" "How''s about you shut up and let Mary think for herself? You''re risking a whole lot if you pull that trigger," I said to the bartender as the girl slowly inched toward the exit. "I''m taking fatty here along with me at the very least. If I survive your first shot, then all bets are off." Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. The bartender twisted her lips before she lowered the gun, and the fatty growled. I hit him in the back of the head before he could start any more shit, and I was out of there before they had a chance to rethink their situation. The girl tried sneaking up on me as I ducked into an alley. "You''re not used to being on ya own, are ya?" I called. "No," she answered, pulling down her cloak. She was a young, beautiful brunette in her late teens to early twenties. "I just wanted to say thank you for saving me. My name is Rogue." "Logan," I grunted. "You look like you need help, kid, but I''m not in the position to do much for ya right now. I''ve got my own kids to think about." "You have kids?" "Students," I corrected, "like you. Special." "No one is like me," Rogue said. "You''d be surprised," I said, fishing out a piece of paper and a pen. I wrote my phone number down and handed it to her. "Call me if you''re ever in New York." With that, I turned away, disappearing deeper into the alley. "I will!" I heard a somewhat shaky voice call after me. --- Dante With the Sentinel dead and Nadia secure, the team reconvened in the warehouse. We had one final target on our list, and thanks to Bolivar''s paranoia, he didn''t know we were coming. Trask didn''t trust Strucker, even if he was the man he worked with the most, because of his eagerness to study and use mutant kind for his own purposes. Bolivar thought he wouldn''t be able to stop himself from capturing and studying Nadia if he ever discovered his base, so he made sure there was no open communication line between Hydra heads. In fact, Bolivar''s base was completely insulated from the rest of the outside world. He was paranoid up to a fault. ''I supposed that worked in our favor,'' I thought, smiling down at Nadia. She blinked at me suspiciously. "You''re not human¡­" she concluded, earning peculiar looks from everybody present. I tsked. The girl was too smart for her own good. "Don''t you mean he''s part human?" Clint offered, suddenly looking at me suspiciously. She shook her head vehemently, then pointed at Rin, who seemed even more confused. "He''s part human and part scary thing," she said, then pointed back at me. "But he¡­I don''t know what his other half is. All I know is that it is bright and powerful." "Well, that''s news to me," I said with a shrug. Looking in Jean''s direction. Of course, she already knew about my peculiar ancestry. I would''ve asked her to ask the young girl to keep what she learned to herself, but Nadia might''ve reacted badly, bringing even more attention to my little secret. "I always looked human," I said, "but I figured out I was not quite normal a while back. The only people I''ve heard with powers like mine are mutants, and I''m not that either. So¡­" Natasha narrowed her eyes, clearly unsatisfied with my answers, but she didn''t press the issue. Clint, ever the great sport, clapped my shoulder. "Well, you''re human in all the ways that count, buddy." Rin, on the other hand, gave me a peculiar, understanding look. After we dropped Nadia off with the ancient one, Jean took her time scanning Strucker''s lair before we stormed in and did not have the handicap that was Nadia limiting her perception somewhat. She''d only caught about half of the soldiers waiting for us in the warehouse and had missed the giant robot entirely. To be fair, it was made out of mental, and Jean dealt with the metaphysical. Her scans revealed a complicated maze of interconnected rooms, alleys, testing facilities, cryogenic chambers, and training halls for mutants. Behind a series of complicated biometric-enforced security systems sat Strucker, enjoying a Cognac. He was talking with a girl with a strange pair of metal claws reminiscent of Wolverine, and there were two other mutants on the floor and one enhanced soldier. The first guy was a blue-skinned teleporter that Rin immediately recognized. "Kurt? I thought he''d have been shipped out by now. We go way back, and he hates Hydra as much as I do. Let me talk to him." I looked at Jean, and she nodded. "He seems stable enough." "Go for it, then," I said. "And I''ll take the other mutant and the super soldier. Natasha, Clint, and Aaron are on. We have the element of surprise on our side. Let''s not squander it, eh?" We appeared in Strucker''s office first. Jean''s hand stretched out, seizing Strucker and the lady before the portal opened, rendering them mute. I gave Jean a thumbs up and left her to handle business while Aaron dropped us some distance away from the mutants and the super soldier. I took the soldier first, running up on him while cloaked in Angel Evade, and swung with Rebellion. Impossibly, somehow, he dodged, spun around, albeit at a considerably slower rate, and tried to kick my head off. I leaned out of the way of the kick and lashed out at full speed, switching to two fingers of Orochi. I shoved both into his gut, eliciting a surprised grunt from him, and butted him in the nose hard. As his head rocked back, Rebellion materialized and stabbed straight into his chest as he went down. It was a disappointing but promising fight. Belatedly, I realized that the sound of my footsteps gave me away. Chapter 79 I entered Angel Evade once more and sped toward Rin and Kurt, who were in the middle of a hushed conversation. "We''re here to get you out," Rin whispered. "Are you with za X-Men," he asked in a thick Bavarian accent. "SHIELD," he insisted, and Kurt took a furtive step back, a bit disturbed. "No," he clarified. "The real one. All of this is not sanctioned by them. Hydra and Shield are different entities." "Is zat what they told you?" Kurt demanded. "How can you know or zure? Ztrucker is a military officer, and he runs this facility." Rin knew he was losing him, so he switched tactics immediately. "I''ve watched them personally eliminate three of the five leaders of Hydra. Trask has been captured, and Strucker is probably dying right now." "What!" Kurt''s golden eyes widened in surprise. I saw his muscles tense as he prepared to teleport, but I appeared in front of him and slammed him into the floor, knocking him out. "You can''t win everybody over," I said, "at least not over one conversation." Rin looked a bit sober, staring at his downed friend. "Are you going to try and save this last mutant as well or¡­" "No," Rin said, "Corey is an asshole." "No love lost there. Good to know," I said with a non-committal shrug. We found Corey around the bend, and Rin filled me in on his particular mutation. Corey was ridiculously tough, like diamonds tough, with a dash of superstrength. He could compete with the strongest unenhanced human alive, all while being under 180 pounds. Corey''s durability was music to my ears. It meant I could cut loose a little. Corey was in the middle of a smoke break in a corner where the base camera didn''t quite reach. A Burst threw me forward, straight at him, and an Angel Evade guaranteed he did not see me coming. It was entirely too late when I manifested in front of his face and swung upwards. It sent Corey rocketing into the ceiling, hitting his head. A double-charged Burst was waiting for him on his way down, whipping his head wildly back. Corey groaned suitably devastated, but I was not done with him yet. He caught a kick to the face as he came up at my full speed and strength. It threw him hard into the wall with a loud slap, which finally put him down. Rin grimaced, looking at me as we hurried back to Strucker''s office. "What!" I said, defending myself. "It was either that or kill him. And it has occurred to me that the nuclear option shouldn''t be your first option when you''re trying to recruit new blood. Besides, why am I defending my blood lust? You''re just as thirsty as I am." I threw an accusatory stare at Rin, and he looked away, embarrassed slightly. "You''re older. You should know better." True. "I''m 19. I''m not that much older than you." To that, Rin had no response. It wasn''t long before we circled back to Strucker''s office and got some face time with the main man himself just as Jean was finishing with him. The lady with claws, A.K.A. Death Strike, lay on the floor with a bullet hole in her head. I threw a look at Natasha to ask what happened, but Jean supplied an answer. "She got free when I was working on Strucker. Natasha had to put her down." Strucker was on the wall, stuck in a T-pose as he scowled, blood dripping from his orifices. "Who was it? He demanded. "Who betrayed Hydra?" Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. I rolled my eyes, not bothering to entertain his line of questioning. I summoned Ebony, ready to put an end to the wastrel, when Natasha stopped me. "Wait," she said. "The Director wants to speak to you." I frowned, tapping my communicator. "Fury, what is it?" I said. "Kinda in the middle of something here." "We need him," he simply said, and I didn''t quite believe my ears. Didn''t Natasha share with him what Rin told us about this facility? "Like hell you do," I said, looking at Jean and Rin, who were already frowning. "I thought you already understood how this works," he said. "We need to sell the story, or you and Jean can''t walk away from any of this. They need somebody to hang and confirm Hydra''s existence." "Why not some mid-level thug?" I asked. "Strucker is too dangerous to be left alive." "If you want to guarantee amnesty from the World Council, this is how to make it happen." I set my jaw. I could see through his bullshit, but we already had everything we needed from Strucker. No doubt Fury planned to exploit Fury''s knowledge and whatever Natasha got from Trask''s mainframe to come up with counters against us. I was tempted to have Jean lobotomize him before we sent him through, but I still needed Fury, and so did the mutants. We couldn''t make a proper safe haven without him, not without imposing further on the Ancient one. We also needed him to liaise with the World Council. Fury was indispensable, for now. I nodded at Jean, who''d observed our entire conversation, and with a begrudging look, let the man topple to the floor. "What''s going on?" Rin was the first to speak. "We''re turning him over to SHIELD." "What do you mean you''re returning him to SHIELD?" I patted him on his shoulder. I knew he was looking forward to the kill, but sacrifices had to be made. "His day will come, I promise you that," I said, then I turned to Aaron. I was about to ask him to get us out of the base when the ground suddenly started to shake. A wave of crimson energy flooded the air, and the floor below us started to stretch, break, and warp. I anchored myself to the wall with a knife, and Rin grabbed hold of my leg to keep him steady. Jean held herself in the air with Telekinesis and managed the same for everyone else except Strucker and DeathStrike. She slipped through a particularly huge rent on the floor, and a screaming, panicked Strucker was headed for the same fate. I was tempted to let it happen until I considered the implications. He might fall to his death or end up in Limbo as Storm and Ilyana did, which would only serve to accelerate the demons'' purposes. Demon pulled and yanked him to safety. The shaking persisted for a few more seconds before slabs of artificial earth and thick red film filled the holes. The office had grown several sizes, and a familiar reddish tint permeated the atmosphere. "Dante, Natasha, Clint, come in!" Fury hollered. "Are you still there." "Yeah, we are," I said. "What happened?" "The demons happened." They''d finally made their play, and I''d give you one guess who they were after. "And they''ve come for the mutants." "Motherfucker." That was the appropriate reaction, alright. I turned to Aaron. "You need to get Strucker out of here. He''s a walking goldmine for the demons," and I turned to Rin. "You need to get your buddy and Corey before he gets snatched. If the demons get him, we''ll have to go to literal hell to get him back." Rin nodded and hustled out of the room with nary a complaint, and I got back to Fury. "You''re getting Natasha and Clint back now." I saw both agents about to raise a word of complaint, but I shut them both down. "While I appreciate your fucking candour, the demons don''t play around. I''ve been fighting them all day; all it takes is a swing. I like you both a little too much to risk that. Rin will sub in for both of you. When the kid gets cooking, no one can compete, not even me. Trust me, it''s the demons that should be afraid." Clint nodded, admitting he was ill-suited for a fight with demons, but Natasha took longer to concede. She pointed out that she could hang behind and take potshots, and I informed her that I''d faced demons that can teleport, literarily send waves of fire at you, and manipulate metal and earth. Virtually anything could be waiting for us down there. Fury agreed a bit quicker but added that the response team was still on their way and was picking up speed. The entire landscape around the base had been warped. Since it was just outside New York, they had ground for an extra-quick and aggressive response. Rin came jogging in a few moments after the conversation concluded with an upright but slightly bruised Night Crawler. "Corey?" I asked Rin, who shook his head. "Pity," I muttered, then turned my attention to Nightcrawler, who was sizing me up. "He zaid you can get the mutants to zafety. I will join you." Fuckin excellent. "Glad to have you onboard, kid. I summoned a large Bowey knife I stole from Fury''s armoury and chucked it at him. He caught it easily enough. "Just in case." I turned to Aaron. "I know we don''t have the best of relationships, but I really need you to stick this out for a while longer. The dream team and I will be diving down below to save those mutants, and when we come up, we need you here, ready to portal them to safety. Are you down for that?" Aaron sighed. "I still don''t like you, but this is important. I will tell the ancient one of this attack. She''s likely to send you reinforcement." I grinned. "Good man," then turned to Jean. "Ready to cut loose?" She smiled back. "Oddly, I am." "That''s the spirit." Chapter 80 Aaron opened a portal that placed us in the hallway leading up to the mutant holding area. When you subtracted the mutants, we were up against demons and advanced soldiers, easily numbering in the high tens. Fan-fucking-tastic. Yet, despite our outrageous odds, I liked our chances¡­mostly. I had killed five supersoldiers, who gave me 100 Red Orbs each, about 23 regular soldiers, who gave me 10 each, and 150 Red Orbs for each mutant I killed, which was 4. After my buying spree last time, I wasn''t eager to drain my account again, but given the situation, I bought a second upgrade of Arbiter, brought up my trusty Axe to the 3rd grade, and lapped up the new upgrade benefits. Arbiter (Unlocked) Grade 3 An oversized battle-axe and one of the two demonic forms of Rebellion. Bears the primal force of eruption with each swing. Deals 2.7x the damage that Rebellion deals on the same grade. Weight and damage dramatically increase with the infusion of demonic energy (7 times the weight of the Axe.) Abilities: Mid-tier Eruption and Explosion Manipulation. High-tier weight manipulation. That was more like it. I looked at my status that''d been beefed up after the lightning strike from the Thunder Harpy that''d nearly killed me. HP: 390/780 SP:600/890 AE: 470/480 DE: 650/650 Strength: 52 Dexterity: (54)64 Endurance: (74)84 Vitality: 78 Angelic Energy: 49 Demonic Energy: 65 I''d grown some since I arrived, but not by much. Despite that, I was sure I could take on any demons they threw at me. I had three Stim shots, which meant enough juice to use Devil Trigger thrice without worry. And even if that much tyrannical power was not enough, I was certain Jean and Rin could pitch in. We pressed forward, and when I was done with the last of my purchases, an M4 in my hand, we quickly advanced. We came to a stretch where the fluorescent above us started to flicker, each bout of darkness lasting longer than the last. I squinted my eyes suspiciously, staring up at the ceiling. Soon, all of the lights in the hallway started to act the same. "Can you sense anyone?" I asked Jean, who''d shut her eyes. There was a pregnant pause as we waited for the verdict, each bout of darkness panicking the group. Even with Devil Eye, I could not see through the darkness. We were likely dealing with the power of a lesser demon. "I can''t," Jean said, opening her eyes. "I can sense a presence spread through the entire facility, but that''s it." "That''s fucking encouraging," I said, summoning Rebellion. I had a feeling guns were not going to cut it anymore, and I was right. Evasion activated when the lights went off, and I leaned to the side, dodging a sharp swipe. The presence I felt vanished back into the darkness, and I called out. "Did anybody else feel that!" "I did for a moment," Jean said, clear agitation in her voice. It''s circling back. It came swinging again, but I was ready for it this time. I activated cloak, illuminating the darkness with demonic fire, channeling the fire through Rebellion and swung, splitting the demon down the middle. It was an inky wolve made of pure darkness that oddly didn''t give me any Red Orb. It was then I knew we were dealing with something else entirely. "Gather around me," I announced, and the team obliged just as the onslaught began. Demon dogs materialized from the darkness surrounding us and pounced. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Jean spread her hand out and crushed them by the dozens while I pulled out my pistols and worked my adept Tier Gun Mastery. Rin started as apprehensive but slowly grew confident as he swung his Katana. While he wasn''t gaining any more strength, he still had some from the supersoldier I put down. Ever so slowly, the darkness that consumed the hallway started to fade and localize. Soon, we could see the ends of the hallways, but the Darkness demon was not done with us yet. The world around me suddenly slowed down, and I felt the darkness around me pulse. Faster than I could blink, blades made from absolute darkness sprouted around us, stabbing at us from impossible angles. Jean''s eyes flashed red as she held her hands out, forming a psychic energy shield. Several of the attacks shattered on it, but some made it through. As powerful as it was, Jean''s barrier was a relatively new technique. I immediately used Burst, flashing in front of Kurt, who needed the most protection, Parrying three spikes with a swing of my sword. We felt the darkness shudder, and my eyes narrowed slightly in suspicion and understanding. Parry reflected all damage¡­meaning true damage. Perturbed by my attack, the demon decided to consolidate its power, gathering all of the darkness and fusing it into a gigantic wolf with dozens of tails that ended with razor-sharp spikes. "Hold it down for me, will you, Jean?" I called it over to her, and she stretched her hand forward, grabbing hold of the demon. It wriggled under her control, surprisingly causing Jean to scowl while I fired a shot of Thunderer, ripping through its head and most of its body. The evaporated darkness started to gather again, reforming a smaller wolf, so I switched weapons to Aquila as it recovered. It took me 4 seconds instead of the typical 5 to send out an empowered Round trip that continuously shredded the beast, whittling it down at an absurd rate. "What''s wrong?" I asked Jean, who was panting a little bit. "You''re tired," I realized, deactivating my fire cloak. "A little," she said, holding her knee and taking in deep breaths. I summoned Ebony and used a charged shot. It carved another hole in the monster while my eyes still focused on Jean. I bit my lip. "I still need you." Then, I pulled out one of my Stims. I had no idea how they''d affect her, but I gathered there''d be some side effects after it wore off. "I can''t take these," she shook her head. "You worked hard for them." "And you worked even harder," I said. "I wasn''t kidding when I said I''d be pointing you at hard enemies." She smiled sheepishly and took it, tossing it back. I looked at the demon and saw that it was nearly down to its last leg, which was my Round Trip, so I pulled Rebellion. I gave Jean one last affectionate pat before I turned to the monster. The monster was the size of an overgrown dog when the Round trip ended, and it stumbled, properly stunned by the technique. I dashed forward, using pure dexterity, and slammed my blade into the shadow beast''s chest. It shrieked as it was punted back, and I advanced with a flurry of stabs. I must''ve chained a hundred together, watching in morbid fascination and anger as the beast practically evaporated in front of me. I turned to see Kurt staring at me, star-struck. Rin tapped his shoulder. "I had the exact same reaction." You''ve killed a Lesser Darkness Changeling. You''ve earned 450 Red Orbs. -- As we descended, we met more of those shadow beasts, and I leaned more into using my sword and channeling energy through it. Demonic energy made my blade more solid, heavier, and powerful, while Angel energy allowed me to move faster at the cost of slightly more energy. At best, they both provided a lean increase in power¡ªbelow 10 percent at my calculations, but the marginal increase came in really useful. With every monster we killed, Rin grew more powerful and useful in the fight, taking the strain off of Jean and me, and we put down monster after monster. By the fifth monster, we pretty much have it down to a science. At some point, Kurt had suggested he teleport down to the mutant level to see what the situation down there was, but I made it crystal clear that it wasn''t worth it. Things were going well for now, but things could change. The last monster we faced didn''t even last a minute before we ripped it apart. I filled my blade with Angel energy causing it to glow a bright teal as I sped around the corridor, slapping the walls. When the death spikes came, I went intangible, and Jean raised a wall that protected the party. Next, the monster became solid again, but this time, it was a humanoid with two chunky arms. It roared as it charged at me but was sent spinning by a flying kick from Rin. I tossed Garok''s old metal and stone club to him, and together, we got to pounding. I dodged under a slow swipe while Rebellion opened his sides with two swift strikes. When it tried backhanding me, I leaned out of the way, leaving it wide open for an upswing from Rin, who was grinning like a madman. The beast rammed into the ceiling, and a wave from Jean slammed it hard into the ground. As one, we ripped it apart, me with a trillion stabs and Rin with ground-shaking strikes from Garok''s club. The kid was practically in love with the thing. Maybe it was better suited for him than a sword, or why not combine both and give him a disgustingly large Great sword? I grinned, looking at the kid, which seemed to panic him. "Why are you looking at me like that?" "Plans upon plans," I mused. ''You have no idea what I have in store for you." It took us five more minutes to arrive at the containment site. Kurt got us past sealed blast doors and scans until we finally came upon the 10-foot doors that separated the mutant containment from the rest of the base. In front of it waited fourteen bloodwarped Super soldiers. They stood a solid inch taller, with their muscles swollen and red energy veins running through their bodies. At the lead was a familiar, infamous face. A black-haired supersoldier with a single metallic arm and a mask. "That''s the Winter Soldier," Rin gulped. "I''ve only seen him awake once, and he''s scary, strong, and fast. He makes the rest of the soldiers look like chumps. They say he can lift a car with that metal hand of his. You don''t want to get hit by that." Now that he was enhanced, I bet his punches hurt a whole lot more. I narrowed my eyes, considering my options as I stepped forward. I''d try to spare him if I could, but we were running out of time. "I''ll keep that in mind," I said. "Get ready, everybody." I switched to Aquila and swung out in two wide, converging arcs. Three sets of light Shuriken raced out from both sides, converging at the soldiers, forcing them to move. Chapter 81 I switched to Aquila and swung out in two wide, converging arcs. Three sets of light Shuriken raced out from both sides, closing in on the soldiers and forcing them to move. And move they did. Their speeds would''ve been ranked in the high 50s if they had statuses, but that didn''t matter to Jean. She annihilated the slowest five with a single wave, reducing them to bloody pulps. It was as grotesque as it was humbling. The Winter soldier emerged from the mess, charging me fist first, ready to cave my head in when I let him phase through me and Burst in front of another soldier instead. I swung Arbiter, packed with energy, quadrupling the weapon''s weight. The blow had the soldier reeling, but he was still strong enough to snarl and swipe at me. I ducked under the blow and phased through a tackle from a random soldier, delivering a second enhanced strike to the recovering soldier. It cut through his arms, slamming into his chest, flinging him back. I followed after him with a Burst and slammed my axe head straight into his skull as the Winter soldier''s enhanced fist came down. Evasion activated a second before it pulped my head. I turned intangible, denying the supersoldier his kill once more, and behind me, Rin was going wild. Garok''s Club sent soldiers flying with each swing, and although he got cut and shot and hit, he seemed to bounce back stronger and stronger when Jean and I killed somebody. Jean struggled to keep up with the soldiers while maintaining a telekinetic shield and holding back the tide of her limitless power. The soldiers strafed around, scoring glancing blows on her telekinetic shield. She''d stretch her hand occasionally, and a soldier would be reduced to fine mist. Kurt seemed to find his spine within the chaos as well. He''d teleport behind a wounded Soldier Rin had dispatched but hadn''t properly finished off and help out by opening his neck or stabbing into their hearts. The kid was a natural-born menace. Out of the 14 we started with, only five remained, including the Winter Soldier, who looked to be done with me now. He leaped at Kurt, who teleported away just as he arrived. I chased after him, Eryx, packed with a hint of demonic energy, and swung. He twisted, dodging the blow as he pulled his knife and kicked at me. His snap kick whizzed past my nose as I stepped to the side and grabbed hold of his leg, but the Winter Soldier was already mid-air, twisting. His leg slammed into me, pushing me back, and he went on the offensive, this time with his knife. He slammed into the floor with his knife inches away from me and lunged at me with his metal fist. I stepped to the side, avoiding the blow with quick footwork and the storm of swipes, cuts, kicks, and punches that followed. He wasn''t pressing me exactly, but it was like fighting a competent opponent for the first time. He broke out of our tentative stalemate by reaching for his gun, but I materialized mine faster, rapidly firing into his chest. He stumbled back as my bullets punched through his Kevlar and raised his hand up to shield himself from further damage. I used Angel Evade to appear beside the supersoldier with Eryx cocked, but he was ready for me, metal hand punching out. Our attacks detonated, creating a small boom that distorted the air, and he shifted styles to match mine. We started an impromptu boxing match, trading blows, slipping through complicated combos, and beating each other back. He tried to put distance between us when he saw Rin take out the last of the supersoldiers, but I chased after with a Burst and a charged punch. He barely dodged it, weaving back, but I followed, packing more and more energy, pressing him until he suddenly caught my blow with his non-metallic arm, eating the monstrous damage that shattered the limb, breaking it in multiple places. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. The pain didn''t seem to slow the fanatic down one bit as he swung at me with his metal hand. I leaned out of the way, mid-swing, and watched in horror as Evasion activated. A metal blade ejected from a gap in his forearm and wrist that I caught almost too late. I desummoned Eryx to get some space, but I was too late. The knife opened up my neck, sending me stumbling back. Rin looked at me in horror while Jean swung her hand, sending the Winter soldier packing. I grunted as I spiked Angel Regeneration, making my neck mend itself. "Note to self," I muttered. "Don''t play with your food." I activated Cloak, increasing the effectiveness of all of my demonic techniques by 50%, and blitzed forward with a Burst. I saw the Winter Soldier''s eyes widen. He crossed his arms just as I arrived. The blow didn''t make it through his ridiculous Vibranium arm, but it sent his entire body skidding back. I started to pack energy into my left hand as I moved forward with my right, throwing blow after blow. The Winter Soldier engaged, solely relying on his cybernetic arm to carry the weight of the fight, but each hit sent him stumbling, especially the one with Burst. My left hand was glowing white when the Triple-Burst strike was ready, and I pretended to unload with a slightly telegraphed swing, baiting the Winter Soldier. He slipped under my guard as he dodged my hook and dug into my side with his enhanced fist. In front of his approaching fist, I had a waiting, ungloved hand packed with Burst that unloaded a fiery charge. It was not enough to stop the fist, but it let me lock it in, holding the Winter soldier down as my glowing hand came in for a backswing. The hit sent him spinning into the back wall, neck shattered and face broken, but somehow, he survived, if only barely. I was glad of that outcome, but the display had been costly. 400/650 I sighed. The stim injection was just a mental tug away. The moment I redeemed it, it appeared, but after that, I''d be unable to return it to the shop''s inventory. "Nervous?" I asked Jean as she walked up to me. "Who wouldn''t be," she said, then frowned. "You should be careful. This is your what? Third time today?" I rubbed the back of my head. "I got carried away. He is a living legend." "Still, it''s not like you to play around with your food." I laughed. "And typically, you''re the one on the other end of these stern lectures. Can you scan the room before we head in?" "Already tried," Jean said. "The same darkness is blocking me." "Worth the try," I shrugged. "Kurt, take us in." -- It was a damn demon colony when we stepped in. I saw scores of demons from the DMC game. Giant metal-clad tyrants and dozens of stygians¡ªgaunt demons with metal blades sticking out of their arms. There was also an entire Squad of dream runners and floating harpies with metal pinions for wings. The demons herded the mutants towards a glowing white circle in the back that was being attended to by a demon that looked like the Mesmer, but different. He was gaunt and tall, with leathery skin and blue glowing eyes. A particularly large mutant in cuffs bucked, swiping away the Stygian that was supposed to be forcing it down the line but got shoulder-checked by a Tryrant, tossing him to the side. The Tyrant, standing on the other side of the room, swung its meaty fist, crushing his face, sending him sputtering and screaming into the white circle. More than half of the prison''s mutant population was already in the white circle, chained, with panic written on their faces. Some of them lit up when they saw us. A huge Garok with two sets of arms huffed at the display. A third demon, who''d been standing in the corner, stepped out of the darkness, startling me and everyone else. His skin and irises were pitch black instead of the Red I was familiar with, and instantly, I knew he was responsible for the suppression that Jean was dealing with. And its lips stretched to form a toothy smile that was bone-chilling. "You cleared out the demons much quicker than we anticipated," he said. "This is good. Very good. Verun will be pleased," he said, looking at Jean and me. Then, his eyes landed on Rin and Kurt, and his smile morphed into something more sadistic. "A stray Cambion and another Mutant? Two unwelcome but delicious additions." He came across as a wannabe Hisoka, but I hadn''t noticed him until he stepped out of the darkness. If you''ve seen any anime before, you know that''s not a good sign. I eyed the Dragon Newt and used Devil''s Eye. Dagarr, Lesser Black Newt Standing at the very top of his low-standing race, Dagarr is a master of Shadow Manipulation and Spear combat. His Speed and attack potency drastically outpaces most Newt in his tier. He hails from the Black Dragon''s bloodline, giving him access to a scaled-down version of the Black Dragon''s signature Attack, Breath of Desolation. It has manifested itself as Black Dragon''s Breath. My eyes nearly popped out of my skull. He was the source. The lanky demon standing in front of me was the source of my Fingers of Orochi. His one-time contribution was why the daggers were so effective. If his technique came anywhere remotely close, we were fucked. Chapter 82 Dagarr was the source... The lanky demon standing before me was the source of my Fingers of Orochi. His one-time contribution was why the daggers were so effective. If his technique came anywhere remotely close, we were fucked. ''Remember my paralytic daggers?'' I sent to Jean. ''Yeah?'' she answered. ''Well, he''s the source,'' I said. ''If he uses that attack, we''ll be lucky if we only end up paralyzed.'' Jean frowned. ''How do you want to play this?'' ''Bait and switch,'' I said, thinking on the spot. ''I draw him in but pivot, heading for the backline, while you keep him busy. He''s the biggest threat here, and he deserves our biggest guns.'' Jean blushed but ignored my comment. ''What about the rest of the team?'' ''Rin is in charge of helping Kurt ferry the mutants to the surface.'' "As your fear made you speechless, or do you simply see the wisdom in giving in?'' the Newt questioned, putting an end to our mental strategy session. I snorted at his comment, summoning Rebellion. "There''s a reason no demon that has fought me has lived to tell the tale." The Dragon Newt laughed. "I suppose every record is meant to be broken." "Not this one," I said and shot forward with a Burst. The Dragon Newt sped forward to match me, his speed greatly outpacing mine. The second before we crossed, I activated Angel Evade. My body phased through the startled Newt, and I took another bold step forward, angling towards the gaunt blue-eyed mage. With a twist, I struck out, aiming to decapitate the fucker and promptly end the ritual that sent the mutants down below. I froze just before my blade connected, suspended in space and surrounded by an oddly familiar energy. It was skewed and operating on a different frequency than I was used to. "Space affinity," I realized. I activated Angel Evade immediately, pitching my Dimensional Affinity with his demonic one, and gritted my teeth as my body flickered, forced in and out of my technique. Several Pinions bounced off my jackets, and I saw the bulky Garok snort and beeline for me. Shit. --- Rin "Don''t react," I heard a familiar voice call out beside me. My eyes widened, and I almost did the exact thing the voice warned me not to do. I felt an invisible film wrap around me, forcing me to be still. Despite the strength flowing through me, I couldn''t move a finger even if I wanted to. "Jean?" I called, eyes turning to the Black-haired girl beside me. She was stunning, almost to the point that it made me uncomfortable, and so did Dante''s face. "Pay attention," she said. "You need to get ready. Dante is going to bait the shadow demon while he goes for the tall one in charge of transporting the mutants and the four-armed demon. You need to keep the demons off his back while he fights." That seemed like a daunting task, even with my ridiculous strength. "It is," she said, "but you''re not alone. I''m here to help, and as soon as Kurt gets all 50 mutants out, I can really cut loose." I blinked at the sheer absurdity of her statement. I assumed she was fighting at full throttle or close to it. I thought shaking the mansion was the height of her power. "Not even close," she said, with a confidence that quickly soured, judging by the look on her face. "Kurt knows about the plan also. Get ready." Dante Burst forward with so much speed I barely caught it. In a blink, his sword was inches away from the gaunt demon''s neck and stayed there for two long seconds. He''s frozen. I realized this just as Jean raised her hand, trapping a Black-skinned Salamander man who gave me the creeps. She lowered her hand, slamming him into the floor, and stretched her other hand forward, seizing two of the four strange Mask-wearing demons. She closed her fist, and they went pop. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. The third one appeared behind Jean, spinning, Katanas swinging. I leapt forward like I''d seen Dante do and crossed by a half-shattered bone club against their Katanas. We exchanged ten strikes in a blink of an eye, eight of which I lost. The demon was a tornado of blades and probably had centuries of experience on me, and it showed with every strike I took. My strength dipped with each wound, but I gained it back with each demon that Jean killed. As I batted my club to the side and struck out to end me, I tackled it to the floor and grabbed it with my left hand. It abandoned its Katana and covered its head, hoping to keep me at bay, but its face was not my target; its heart was. I struck out, flat-palmed, digging into his chest. Its ribs collapsed under the weight of my blow, and I wrapped my fist around his heart and closed it. It died instantly, strength flooding me, and my regeneration reached a new high, as did my strength. Behind me, I heard a squelch and a sluree of blood, and mask fragments bathed me. I turned around to find Jean panting as she crushed yet another mask demon just before it skewered me. Kurt appeared beside me, pale despite his blue skin. I scooped back up my club, and he held onto me, whisking me deeper into the fight. --- Dante When flaring dimensional energy was not getting me out of the situation fast enough, I activated Demonic Aura. Demonic energy billowed out of me, flooding my immediate environment. I leveraged my substantial pool, imposing it on the Space Demon, whom I finally identified. DeVak, Star-Eyed Mesmer A rare subset of the Mesmer demonic race with a great affinity for Space magic instead of Mind. Although physically weaker, they are typically gifted in Space demon magic. With enough preparation and time, there''s no end to what they can achieve. The last bit caught my attention as the cage holding me shattered. I leapt back, avoiding the colossal fists of the Garok, and yanked myself back at the Mesmer with an Angel Pull. My gauntleted, Burst-packed fist clashed against a hasty shield he''d raised, and I springboarded off it, dodging a spray of metal pinion as I switched to Aquila mid-air. I fired a Round trip at the Mesmer''s Shield. As expected, the weapon technique latched on while I pulled a shotgun from my inventory and fired at the Garok, who was charging straight at me. The weapon did nothing except anger him more, which was exactly what I wanted. If it was after me, it meant it couldn''t go after Kurt, who appeared beside his first mutant and teleported him just as Rin brained a Tyrant with a titanic swing of his club. Ebony materialized in my left hand, and I pulled the trigger, shooting a curious Harpy in the eye. My body went intangible just as the Garok, who''d leapt up to meet me, struck. His body phased through mine, and I filled my Axe head with demonic energy and a Burst and sent a Flush flying after the Garok. His body materialized a cloak of brown energy just before my attack hit, blunting most of the power. It still left a considerable gash on its side. The Garok let out a fierce roar that shook the world around us. Stone spikes burst from the Garok''s skin, hardening into a dense exoskeleton. As if that was not bad enough, the Mesmer raised his staff and teleported out of the way of Roundtrip as it ate through the last of its shield. Staff still raised, it cast a powerful spell, and a strange pressure descended, and I noticed the Garok grin as it barreled at me once more. On a whim, I tried using Angel Evade, only to find my body flickering in and out of Limbo as the technique failed. All it had taken was a few seconds and the Mesmer already countered my second most broken skill. I leaned out of the way of the Garok''s strike, activating Cloak as I delivered a Burst-infused kick to the chest of the monster, sending it reeling, and I flipped back. Rebellion materialized in my hand as I spun, beheading three eager Stygians who rushed at me. Just when I thought I had a handle on the situation, an aura of darkness exploded somewhere before me, immediately blanketing the room. It was not pervasive, but enough of it was in the air to impede my vision somewhat. Evasion rapidly sapped stamina as the world slowed to a snail''s pace. Out of the aura surrounding me, spears of darkness formed, numbering in the high tens. --- Jean The fight didn''t get much easier after Rin and Kurt disappeared, but it did give me the space to focus on Dagarr. I still had him splayed out, pressed hard to the floor as pressure continually mounted. With my left hand, now free, I routinely waved it, plucking and exploding demonic spawns. I watched in strange satisfaction as the black salamander-looking demon gritted its teeth and glared at me. Even though he laid there in front of me, I struggled to pin him down the Astral plane. He was here, and he was not, all at the same time. "I¡­underestimated¡­.you. You''re¡­the¡­real¡­.threat, Aren''t¡­You?" he croaked out. "You wouldn''t be the first," I said, doubling the pressure, rapidly approaching the threshold of my current control. Any more and I might shatter him or this entire building, and the Salamander seemed to notice. "Why¡­are¡­you¡­keeping¡­me alive?" It wondered out loud, his voice stabilizing as he marshalled more strength. "He doesn''t strike me as the sadistic sort, so you''re not keeping me for him... And the pressure is rapidly shifting. You''re afraid, aren''t you?" he pronounced, narrowing its beady eyes. "Afraid of what might happen if you push too far," he scoffed. "What a human and cowardly thing." I bit back my retort and was tempted to fling him just because I could. In my anger, I almost missed the spearheads emerging from my shadow. I diverted all of my telekinetic energy in my haste, blocking the shadow blades, but only barely. That gave the demon the chance he needed to act. A sinister aura Burst out of his body, swallowing nearly the entire room, and my psychic connection with Dante immediately snapped. I could still sense where everybody was, but only barely. I heard a crotchety laugh echo out in the sea of darkness. "Let''s see what you''re truly made of." Dozens of spears of darkness materialized around me, crashing into my shield. I bucked under the pressure, finding it almost unbearable. Right before I lost control, I found the demon standing in front of me, breathing in my face. Chapter 83 Dante I leapt into the air and used another Burst to throw me further away from the shadow spikes as I summoned Thunderer. A dozen spikes stabbed and partially broke through my trenchcoat as I filled the barrel with electricity. One of the spears struck at my face, forcing me to snap my head to the side. I succeeded in avoiding the blow, but it took off my Siren Mask in the process. When my attack was fully loaded, I activated Demon Cloak. Unfortunately, the gun''s attack power did not double, so I decided to gamble on a Focused Shot to change that. The fire held the shadow at bay, and while my attack was charging, I activated my aura skill once more and charged the Mesmer. He surprised me by teleporting dozens of Stygians into my path. I let out a roar as I pumped my legs and I activated Burst. I exploded forward like a tornado of death, decapitating, beheading, shoulder-checking, and whacking away demons out of my way. Rebellion, soaked in Fire demonic energy, came down on the demon''s hastily raised shield like a Meteor, and his protection folded after a deft use of Trillion stabs. My blade pierced his neck, killing him before he even realized, and I phased out of reality just as half a dozen spears emerged from the dark aura surrounding us. The spell faded just in time. I took a step forward, materializing in front of a startled Garok with Thunderer in my arm. The lightning in the barrel rapidly shifted between blue and red, and the light was bursting out of the fractures on the side of the gun. I fired into his chest without reservation and watched in satisfaction as it ripped through the Garok and carved a line through the chamber that killed one tyrant, dozens of stygians, and burnt through the door of one containment cell. Cloak winked out, and I summoned one Stim and jabbed it into my leg, boosting my demonic energy levels. I dodged another volley of dark spears by vaulting to the side, and then, I heard a voice cry out. It was Kurt''s. Instantly, I took off in his direction, emerging on the very periphery of fog to find a shadow spear sticking out of his thigh. About twenty other mutants were fighting alongside him as they pushed back Stygian soldiers. I used Burst, leveraging my slowly recovering energy level, and whisked him away before another wave of black spears emerged from where he formerly stood. Kurt pushed away from me, startled for some reason, and I raised my brow in confusion. "What''s gotten into you?" I asked, and Kurt blinked, confusion clear on his face. "Dante?" "Yeah," I said, a bit miffed, before putting the pieces together. "It''s the face, isn''t it?" He nodded and winced, bringing my attention back to the rapidly growing wound with blood pouring out of it. I summoned my second health potion and offered it to him. "Drink." "What''s in this?" "Magic juice," I merely stated. "It''ll patch you right up. You''ll be on your feet in no time." Behind me, I heard a mutant scream as a Black spear shot out from the monster''s shadow and stabbed him in the heart. He was dead instantly, and I pulled Ebony and Ivory and rapid-fired into the crowd. The bullet tore through heads and chests, releasing some of the pressure the mutants were contending with. After putting down my tenth Stygian, a Harpy came crashing down from above us, and a kid followed shortly after. Rin rose to his feet and met eyes with me before suddenly leaping forward with his club. I summoned Eryx and stopped his downward swing with my fist. My leg buckled from the sudden pressure, and I yelled at the kid, absolutely livid. "What are you trying to do, you asshole!" "Dante?" he said, a bit startled by the realization. "Your face is different. Is that your real hair?" He squinted, examining my hair, which was now completely white. After getting most of it burned off and getting struck by lightning shortly after, my white hair had grown to replace the dyed one. Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. "Of course it is," I snapped, then scanned the air above me. "Is that the last of the harpies?" The kid nodded, folding his arms. "Nearly turned me into a porcupine, but I got them all." "Keep up the good work," I said, turning back to the shadowy room behind me. I couldn''t see further than ten feet in front of me. "Get everyone and lead them to the surface. SHIELD should be waiting for you. Jean and I will wrap things up down here." Thank god we didn''t let Natasha or Clint come along. They would''ve been dead in seconds. I waded back into the darkness with a knot in my chest, hoping for the best but fearing the worst. And that was when it happened. Jean crashed into me, gasping and clawing for air. Her mask had come off at some point, and she went limb not long after. Her pulse started to drop quickly, and I retrieved a potion from the store, nervously feeding it to her as I cursed under my breath. Her pulse stabilized, giving me a chance to use Devil''s Eye, and it immediately became obvious what had happened to her. Jean Grey¡ªPerfect Host of the Phoenix (Afflicted by the Black Dragon''s breath.) I focused on the affliction and felt my Devil Eye skill grow in real time as a wall of the text revealed itself to me. Black Dragon''s Breath Breath of the Black Dragon, Barradur, Sovereign of Affliction. It inflicts Paralysis, Crippling Pain, and minor Necrosis on all those who are afflicted by it. "Shit," I cursed, watching in horror as the Dragon Newt swaggered out of the darkness with a Black Spear in his arm. He was covered in a wispy cloak of darkness that permeated every inch of his body, save his face, and he had the proudest grin on his stupid face. "One down, one more to go," he said. "It''s over. You might as well surrender." Dagarr drew in a deep breath, and I knew if I let him unleash his Black Dragon''s Breath, it would be game over for all of us. It hurt me to do it, but I left Jean''s body lying on the floor, and I leapt at the son of a bitch. ''Devil Trigger.'' -200 320/650 The world went monochrome for a split second before energy billowed out of me. I saw Dagarr visibly panic. He pulled his hands together, gathering all of the darkness in the room onto me. It smothered my domain, shoving me in every which way. As if that wasn''t enough, he made spears of darkness in the collapsing sphere, hoping to overwhelm me. He''d not been counting on how much stronger I was in my Devil Trigger Form. Sounding out my fire affinity, a single word flowed from my lips. BURN. The sphere exploded in a conflagration of dark and red fire. It threw him back, annihilating the darkness and spreading across the floor. A thin coat of fire hung around my body, concentrating on my shoulder, chest, arms, and legs. And when I summoned Rebellion, the fire spread to the sword as well, completely bathing her. I looked ahead to see a slightly terrified Dagarr clutching his spear. I charged forward to meet him and collided with a blinding burst of energy. It threw Dagarr back into the wall. Once again, I saw his chest swell as he prepared another Dragon''s Breath, but I rocketed forward with a Burst before that happened. My speed was over 192 with my 300% stat boost. My fiery blade crashed into the shaft of his metal spear, tip first, driving him further into the steel wall. I disengaged and went for an overhead strike that was promptly parried, though the blow had him on one knee. He glared up at me, and dozens of shadow spikes emerged and carved thin rivulets on my now near-impenetrable skin. Vitality was my highest stat, and it had just tripled. I spoke once again as my blade came down, "FIRE." The floor beneath us heated up and warped, and fire swallowed the Dragon Newt, but I had no sympathy for the thing, not after everything it''d put Jean through, not after this ambush, not after trying to kill me. Surprisingly, he withstood the fire with his Darkness cloak. He charged at me just as my fire started to wane, and I immediately stabbed. Rebellion pierced his Cloak of darkness and went through his gut. His Cloak peeled away to show an angry, bleeding face. I expected something fairly cliche and threatening. What I hadn''t expected was for him to breathe on me. Evasion activated, but he was so close to my face, it hardly made a difference. A black gas poured from his gullet and rapidly surrounded me. I stumbled back in panic as a notification flooded my screen. You''ve been afflicted with Black Dragon''s breath. -10% physical stat every 30 seconds, -10 hp every second. Pain resistance (Basic) has resisted the Pain affliction. Status lasts for 12 hours. Congratulations, you''ve acquired Dark Resistance (Basic) Congratulations, you''ve acquired Affliction Resistance (Basic) Son of a bitch. I hacked up some of the gas, blinking away the darkness to find Dagarr rapidly sinking into his shadow, leaving Rebellion behind. The weapon materialized in my hand, and I watched in horror as Dagaarr teleported in front of Kurt, his spear raised, ready to strike. Rin stepped in just before the blow struck, taking a hit to the shoulder that nearly divided him in half. His eyes widened in horror as Dagarr snorted and threw him to the side. Just before he struck, Ophion latched to his back and yanked him back to me. My fiery punch dug into the flat of his spear when he arrived. Dagarr spun in the air and flipped back in what he assumed must''ve been an awesome manoeuvre, but as he landed, he slammed into the floor as I unleashed my domain once more, using one of the two Gravity Demon techniques I''d created. DOWN. "Not again!" he screeched as he gathered up even more darkness. Whatever he was planning, I did not let him finish as I drove Rebellion straight into his skull. My energy level guttered out, and I came out of Devil Trigger. Chapter 84 My energy level guttered out, and I came out of Devil Trigger. I fell to my knee when my Devil Trigger winked out, out of breath and irritated. My limbs felt sluggish, and I instantly realized it was the Dragon''s breath at work. Between all of the fighting, I hadn''t had a chance to really sort out how to deal with it. I knew a simple healing potion wouldn''t do, so I first tried channeling Angel regeneration to shake off the affliction. I felt my HP climb back up momentarily before it fell back down. Black Dragon''s Breath was no joke. If I was struggling this much, I wondered how Jean was faring. I came out of the fight with 3,250 Red Orbs. 1000 was for fighting the douchebag Black Dragon Newt, 550 for the Garok, 500 for the Mesmer, and about 800 for all of the Harpies, Stygian, and Harpies I killed. With the money, I had just enough for two purifying brews. The store description said it was powerful enough to clear most minor curses, afflictions, metaphysical infections, and magic. It had not covered Cosmic Burn, so I hadn''t bothered with it earlier. Now, I was grateful I had enough Orbs to save our lives. The brew manifested in a clear glass filled with a golden, murky substance. I rushed over to Jean, whose breathing was shallower than ever, and pulled her up, tilting back her head before emptying the bottle in her mouth. She swallowed without prompt but did not gain consciousness, and I bit my lips as the guilt came flooding in. Did I push her too far? If I was not so intent on micro-managing my Stims, then maybe--- I caught myself before I continued to spiral. This was not the time nor place for that. Rin was nearly split in half. I needed to make sure he was still alive. Rin was hacking up blood when I walked up to him with Jean in my arms. He looked more or less alive, but his wound hadn''t healed all the way through. Kurt disappeared as I approached, ferrying the last mutants to the top. "Jesus," I said, drawing his attention. "You look like shit." I summoned my last healing potion and tossed it to him, still holding onto Jean. "You don''t look much better either," he said. "Your jacket has seen better days, and your shirt is soaked in blood." To be fair, most of the blood was mine. Even while constantly healing my cosmic burn wounds, I was still leaking. And he was right about my jacket. "Touche." His wounds rapidly knitted together as he drained the last of the bottle''s content. "Thanks," he said, wiping his mouth before speaking up. "You have to teach me!" he blurted out, startling me quite a bit. "I mean the way you fight, the phasing, and whatever that other form of yours was¡­.And don''t even get me started on the weapon-swapping¡­" I raised my hand, stopping the gushing teen. I''d been in his position before, postrating myself before a fighter that was head and shoulder above me. I was about his age as well. "I''m going to stop you right there. I wanted to talk about this when we were in a better situation, but I suppose this place is as good as any. You showed real initiative during this fight. And putting yourself in front of the mutants like that," I said, shaking my head. "I''m not sure I would''ve done it." "But you have," Rin said. "Several times over. You saved me and Clint from that big metal monster and helped me when you didn''t need to." I froze. I did do that¡­on instinct. For all of my scheming and calculation, I was less villainous than I pretended to be. "Was I becoming some sort of bleeding-heart hero?" Rin scratched his head awkwardly. "That''s taking it a bit too far, boss." I narrowed my eyes at the cheeky kid and huffed. "Fine, fine. You''re officially my apprentice. I''ll share the techniques I can, and when the time comes, I expect you to repay the bloody favor." If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. Rin gulped but nodded. Kurt chose that exact moment to teleport back in. He regarded me with a complicated expression. I imagined it was a mix between respect and apprehension. "Still remember the layout of this place?" I asked. He nodded, a bit confused. "Why?" "I''m thinking about popping down to the lower levels and picking up a few things," I said with a grin. If Fury wanted to play dirty, so could I. Even though Jean never confirmed it, I had a sneaking suspicion that there was Adamantium in this damn facility. Lady Deathstrike''s brief presence practically confirmed it. If I could get my hand on some of it and learn how to make weapons from them¡­ I nearly burst out laughing like a madman. The demons won''t know what hit them. --- Fury I stepped off my jet with Donald to my right and Natasha to my left. We''d come prepared for war. We had sonic rifles, high-caliber rounds, and a fortune in high-tech protective gear. I was a bit nervous to take on the demon threat, but it had to be done. We couldn''t keep relying on the kid to take on our enhanced problem. He was a solid asset, but controlling or containing him was proving to be a challenge. Between Cap''s return, Banner''s formula, and Strucker''s knowledge of mutant and human DNA, I was confident that I could make Prometheus happen. Forty years of reacting and playing catch up. No more. The advance team approached the entrance of the secret lab¡ªa well-disguised but abandoned farm. "Alright, you know to do team," I yelled into my communicator. "Weapons live and¡ªDante?" I sputtered in shock as I saw somebody ease the door open. I was surprised when I saw the white hair. He''d dyed it this entire time. One eager soldier pulled a trigger, and I watched in strange fascination as Dante disappeared and reappeared in front of me faster than I could blink. My heart leaped up my throat, and in an instant, I had my gun drawn. Donald fell on his ass while Natasha mirrored me. Up close, I now noticed he''d been through the ringer. There were holes in his fresh jacket, he was bleeding all over, and just below the cuff of his shirt, I could still see the remnant of his burn wound. The kid was a fucking machine. "It''s been handled," he said. "The mutants are in the barn waiting on you, though you''ll have to head down to retrieve most of the supersoldier and demon bodies." "And the girl?" "She took a beating. Recovering at the Sanctum," he said, a bit brusquely. "We''ve done our parts. I hope you remember your promise, Fury." He held my gaze for a long moment, and I gave a terse nod. He vanished like he was never there. "Set a meeting with the World Council," I said to Donald, then turned to Natasha. "I want a full mission report on my desk tomorrow morning. Leave nothing out." --- Dante Aaron''s portal dumped me in front of Jean''s Hut, physically fit for the most part but mentally drained. It''d been a hell of a day, and it had tragically ended the same way it''d begun¡ªwith Jean unconscious and I in a great deal of pain, except much had changed in those short hours. I eased open the door to find Jean seated beside the Ancient one, both sharing a pleasant but content look. It brought a bright smile out of me as I settled into a chair in the corner. "Good, you''re both here," I said. "There''s much to discuss." "You''ve been quite busy, as Jean tells it," she said with her mysterious smile. "You mean to become a smith like your parents? I thought you were interested in demonic spells and mastering your energy?" I shrugged. "I''m talented enough to walk both paths. I''m preternaturally good at wielding weapons. It would be a shame to ignore that aspect of my power. Besides, I have an apprentice now. I couldn''t very well allow him to fight without a weapon." She narrowed her eyes. "I heard about that as well. Mighty bold of you." I winced. "I know I should''ve asked first, but in my defense, I already have a solution lined up. Alaska!" I pronounced, and both of them shared a confused look, causing me to grin. "We find a property with hundreds of acres, far enough away from the demon threat in New York, and a select few we need. Plus, it''ll give us the space we need to train and grow, decompress, and fucking live like normal people for once. Plus, Yao gets her Hut back." Yao narrowed her eyes at my comment. "While you''ve certainly overstayed your welcome in some respects, you''re vital to the survival of our planet," she said. "I cannot very well turn you away. Besides, you''re family," she added with a faint smile. "Still, get the space if you think you need it. When the time comes, I will install an enchanted doorway to all of the major Sanctums. You and Jean will be able to be wherever we need you at a moment''s notice." I nodded, grateful, then asked. "Any new information about the Blood Orb?" I''d handed it to her before we headed out to deal with the World Council situation. Now that it was over. "I''ve learned much," she said with a frown. "The demons are further along in their plans than we estimated. The cores are filled with the overflowing demonic energy of Corvus, the First and the most dangerous of them all," Yao''s face twisted. "He''s spent the last several hundred years experimenting with human and demon biology and has been a constant thorn in my side. If you know how many spells I had to create to combat his ever-evolving forces¡­" she sighed. "The cores are an alchemical construct that forces evolution by burning the subject lifeforce and imbuing demonic energy. They don''t work on mutants for now, but I fear those days are numbered." Chapter 85 "What can we do?" I asked, legitimately curious. Things would only escalate from here with the demons. "Storming Limbo for Ilyana and Ororo is not an option as we are. I looked at Jean. "You need time to recover." Jean tucked her hair behind her ears. "You''re right about me needing to recover, but it''ll take a lot less time than you think. If we had the rest of the X-Men on our side, we might have a shot with enough preparation." "They despise us," I pointed out. "You wrecked their mansion, killed their professor, and ''corrupted'' you if we went by Scott''s logic." Jean winced. "What happened was unfortunate," she said, "but they''ll get onboard when they understand what''s at stake. Ilyana and Ororo have to be saved. I owe both of them that much." I understood her guilt, but I pointed out the obvious. "She might''ve ended up in Limbo without your interference," I said. "I think her ability is fundamentally tied to that place. It can''t be a coincidence that her power brought her there." "And what about Ororo?" She asked, and I felt like I''d been punched in the gut. She''d been nothing but nice to me, despite my pasts, despite the rumors. "Wrong place, wrong time." "It simply won''t do," she said. "It doesn''t matter if I caused this unintentionally. I don''t think I''ll be able to live with myself if I don''t set things right." I''d be lying if I said I felt the same way she did, but that didn''t mean I felt no guilt for the lives I''d taken, regardless of the circumstances. "Alright," I said, raising my hand in mock surrender. "You''ve sold me. Once I figure out how to craft, I''m sure I''ll be able to whip up something that could help." We went into further discussions about the particulars of our plans. Jean and I needed to round up the X-Men first and develop a solid plan of action, but only after putting certain things in place first. We needed money. Lots of it, which we had thanks to my pilfering and Jean''s mind-wiping. And starting from tomorrow, Yao intended for us to start training in earnest¡ªJean with magic and psychic control and me with internal energy manipulation and named techniques. Rin had been invited as well. She was surprised to hear of his heritage. According to her, she knew of no quarter Cambions. All Cambions born from Belasco were famously barren. That was why Corvus was so eager to create a new subrace. I also talked to her about completing my Uber resistance skill, so to speak. I needed at least Red 75k Red Orbs¡ªthough I suspected it''d cost much more, and a few more conceptual resistances before I was ready to combine them and rid myself of the cosmic burn. "Finding demons to kill will not be an issue," she promised. -- Fury I stood in front of the World Council again, two whole days after Pierce had made his threat, one member lighter. A lot had happened after I said goodbye to Dante that night. Jean and the kid portalled in the next morning and helped us sort out the mutant threat, as well as fabricate very convincing emails and online messages from all three leaders of Hydra. Establishing a convincing physical trail had taken a great deal of effort, but we had pictures of all three leaders visiting each other on more than one occasion, but they were never together in one place. With everything we''d already gathered, I figured it was enough. Were I pettier, man, I would''ve gloated. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. "We all got the call," I said, mustering as much sympathy as I could for the snake of a man. "Pierce is dead, and Shield knows why." I hit a button on my system, and a series of emails went out. "Those are encoded messages we retrieved from Pierce''s private home computers. He was Hydra. He and nearly 800 members of SHIELD," I pronounced. "Most of them are being detained and removed as we speak." There was a stretch of silence as the chair people perused the document. "This can''t be right," Councilman Yen said. "The proof is extensive," Councilwoman Hawley said slowly, looking up. "When you say removed, what do you mean?" "Contained until they''ve been fully investigated," I said. "Those that try to resist, however, will be eliminated. Councilman Yen, ever meticulous, adjusted his glasses. "You stated here in the middle of your report that you have evidence so-called demons are responsible for this?" I saw the looks they were all giving me, so I decided to explain. "Extraterrestrials that have likely been here for Centuries," I said. "We only noticed the first of their kind about 20 years ago. We were formerly operating on the assumption that they were some kind of mutant, but the evidence we''ve gathered recently suggests otherwise." I hit another button, sending the Dossier I have on Demons. "They are very powerful and very dangerous. The only reason we''ve not had extensive contact with them is because the Sorcerers have been isolating and systematically culling them without our knowledge. Their order is apparently sworn to protect the earth, and they''ve been doing so for centuries." "Jesus," Rockwell spat. "Truly the end times. Goddamned demons are literarily crawling up from below, and we have sorcerers defending us! What has this world come to." "Continue on, Director?" Hawley urged. "What changed? Why attack now?" "We suspect it might have something to do with Xavier''s death, but the attacks began even before then. One thing was clear from the intelligence our Specialist Agent and Jean Grey gathered, though. They seem to be after mutants." "Jean Grey?" Rockwell questioned. "The girl started this mess to begin with?" "Strucker, Pierce, and Malick had mutants in their basements and supersoldiers they saved over from World War II. They''ve conducted all manners of horror in their search for power, and Charles Xavier was cut from the same cloth. Jean''s Grey might''ve killed him, but she didn''t force the devils to attack them. SHE answered when she was called, and she fought hard, saving dozens of mutant lives," I said, folding my hands. "You still don''t get it, do you? Malick, Pierce, and Strucker are the core leaders of one of the most powerful secret organizations on the planet, and the demons took them out in one night because they felt like it. Their real goal is the mutants. The only class of humans that could hope to resist them. Without realizing it, the demons fucking saved our asses. Imagine how fucked we''d be if we alienated our strongest humans on earth days before we were invaded?" Hawley was the first to speak. "We hear you, Fury, but the timing of all of this seems rather suspect¡­" I made it a point to roll my eye. "The pictures are clear, and so is the evidence. Would you like to see the demon bodies as well? What more do you need?" "Strucker still lives," Yen spoke up. "Perhaps an interview with a representative." "I''ll do you one better," I grinned. "I''ll arrange a sit-in interview with a representative from each Council member. Submit all of your questions, and we''ll have an agent ask them. That way, you all get the answers you''re looking for, and everybody is satisfied." The council was silent for a long time before Councilman Singh spoke up. He''d been silent this entire time, so his words came across as more impactful. "That is acceptable. India is eager to pursue action against the demon threat. Several villages have been attacked and razed. The people of my country are calling for justice." "And they''ll have it," I said with a toothy smile. "And I have just the beacon to deliver it worldwide. - Logan It took my all of fucking patience and a chunk of the money I''d saved up, but I finally made it to McTaggert''s place. The Mansion was in shambles when I found it, swarming with government spooks pretending to be a containment team. We clearly hadn''t won against SHIELD. And I''d even begun to fear the worst: that somebody might''ve died in the fight. "I swear to God, Charles," I growled as I approached the steps. "If even one of them is hurt¡ªAaah!" "Hey, Uncle Logan," Kitty''s head popped from the ground. The damn kid nearly gave me a heart attack, not that it would be enough to kill me anyways. "You''re lucky I like you, Kid!" I grumbled as she popped out from below and swept me in the tightest hug. All the anger and fear I had building up inside me suddenly disappeared at that moment. I couldn''t remember the last time I felt that relaxed. I could''ve held her closer for longer and allowed myself to truly soak in the relief that at least one of my students was safe, but I was responsible for hundreds of them, not just the one. "The rest of the kids, where are they? Are they safe?" Kitty made a face. "Not quite." Chapter 86 --- Dante The Ancient one came for me at the crack of dawn and led me down a series of complicated stairs, leading me to somewhere they called the Forge of Kushala, named after one of the oldest Sorcerer Supremes. It resembled the interior of what I¡¯d expect of a mythical forge. Walls made from some alien stone with muted glowing symbols etched with ancient Sanskrit and other dead languages. I noticed the fire at the center of the forge too late. A bright roaring thing, around which the entire forge seemed to be built. Several feed stations packed with thick runes and spells surrounded it. Some distance from it, there were other elements you¡¯d find in a typical blacksmithing forge. Tons on Anvils, grinding wheels, Barrels, Cabinets, tables, and a tool station containing Tongs, hammers, chisels, and cutters. I gaped in wonder at the mastery and sheer scale, spinning around and around, taking it all in. ¡°It¡¯s good to see you so wide-eyed,¡± Yao observed. ¡°Perhaps you will pick Blacksmithing up as quickly as you claim to learn everything else.¡± ¡°Oh, I already know how to smith,¡± I said casually as I wandered closer to a deserted station and ran my hand over an anvil. ¡°What!¡± Yao sputtered. ¡°How¡ªwhen did this happen? Jean told me nothing of the sort, and I¡¯ve reviewed your life extensively. You¡¯ve never held a hammer a day in your life¡ªwhich is an impressive feat all on its own.¡± My mouth twisted at the jab, but it was true. I was the noobiest of noobs at blacksmithing, and now I was claiming that I knew my shit. I could¡¯ve spun a wild tale, tried to gaslight her, and kept my secret to myself, but I was slowly becoming brutally out of the depth I was. A Lesser demon¡¯s poison nearly killed me and Jean, and they were basically the lower rung of society over there. And don¡¯t even get me started on the Phoenix, Quellitrax, Shin, and all of the other enemies I¡¯ve intentionally and unintentionally made. I had to come clean, at least partially. She¡¯d been nothing but open, fair, and kind. ¡°I have a secret ability even the affinity spell did not reveal,¡± I said. ¡°I can exchange souls for knowledge and select items.¡± Yao looked at me like I had two heads. ¡°That¡¯s unheard of. Matter Creation on that level would require monstrous power, and while the soul is powerful, I doubt you have the ability to manage such a feat.¡± Her explanation was eye-opening, and it was yet another evidence that Shin was a cheap son of a bitch. I was beginning to think that the only power he spent on me was shoving me into Dante¡¯s body. I shrugged. ¡°I honestly don¡¯t, but beings on the level of the Phoenix can,¡± I said. ¡°You want to know why I¡¯m different? One of them reached out to me a while back after a particularly reckless night and made me an offer I couldn¡¯t refuse,¡± I explained. ¡°My life for a handful of favors, and I¡¯ve been involuntarily in their service ever since.¡± It was a risk telling Yao of my situation, but she had experience fighting against creatures that fought way above her weight class. She might know something I don¡¯t. ¡°That explains a lot,¡± she said. ¡°I initially thought it was your time affinity interfering with my readings, but it¡¯s the entity. Their interference has closed all paths to the truth. They do not want me meddling, but it¡¯s not that is not what worries me. I know of every foreign entity that has breached, bypassed, or touched Agamotto¡¯s seal in the last 500 years. Your benefactor somehow managed to evade my senses.¡± That did not bode well for me. And here I was, thinking that I stood a chance. ¡°These favors he¡¯s asking for,¡± she started. ¡°Be wary of them and his gifts. If he¡¯s taken this much care to hide them from me, they¡¯re vital to his endgame, whatever that is.¡± ¡°Tell me something I don¡¯t know. I¡¯ve been avoiding his more tempting gifts,¡± I was, of course, talking about the classes and the Shard of Gluttony. ¡°They¡¯d make my life a hell of a lot easier, but he already has his claws so deep, I¡¯m afraid he¡¯ll have me completely.¡± ¡°Tell me more about these gifts?¡± Yao asked, and I did, holding nothing back. While it was tempting to hold onto all of my secrets, we were well past the point of no return. Jean would¡¯ve told Yao eventually, as they were teacher and student, and it was just common sense to get help sooner rather than later if I could help it. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. I told her about Shin¡¯s store, the classes, my interface, skills, everything. It was a long moment before she spoke. ¡°This Shin would have utter control of you by the end of the year if you were anybody else.¡± ¡°What!¡± ¡°Your soul is far more robust than the average human because of your parentage,¡± she said. ¡°That means you have a whole lot more leeway, but you¡¯ve already lost a lot of ground. The Shard of Gluttony would¡¯ve probably accelerated that timeline considerably, as would any direct infusion of power. Purchased skills and life-saving measures are mere drops in the bucket, but a Class that conferred direct power would¡¯ve shortened your timeline by a few years at least.¡± I nearly pulled my hair out. This was so like him. Symbiotic relationship, my ass. He was smiling in my face while angling to stab me in the back. ¡°Fucking Shin. If I had taken the Gluttony Shard, how much time would I have had?¡± ¡°Given your description of its power and potential. Half a decade if you were lucky, likely substantially less.¡± Fuck. ¡°So, you¡¯re telling me that even the quest rewards, all of it, it¡¯s slowly polluting my soul?¡± ¡°Yes, though I¡¯d preface that they¡¯re doing it at a considerably slower pace. As you¡¯re spending now, you have three decades at most. The class could knock it down to twenty.¡± ¡°And the Shard could fucking burn it all down,¡± I finished. ¡°What about items? How much do they cost?¡± ¡°Drops compared to everything else. You¡¯ll only have grounds for worry if you¡¯re purchasing an items with a great corrupting influence.¡± I sighed, rubbing my forehead. ¡°Another fucking thing to worry about.¡± To be honest, it wasn¡¯t that big of a deal. I always planned to Divorce Shin sooner rather than later, but now that I had a timeline on all of this¡­I was even more nervous. Choosing a Class suddenly carried more weight. I was beginning to fear that I might have to go it alone unless I found a class that was just perfect. ¡°Is there a way to reverse any of this?¡± I asked, desperation clear in my voice. Yao shook her head. ¡°Short of acquiring the Mind or Soul Stones, No.¡± ¡°That¡¯s actually not as bad as I feared,¡± I said slowly. ¡°But why the mind stone?¡± ¡°It can help expand and strengthen your mind, which in turn affects the soul. The soul stone provides more direct protection and strength.¡± The path forward was becoming even more clearer. In a few years, I would either have to leave for Vormir with a sacrificial pawn or steal the mind stone. Both options worked for me. Yao observed me with a fascinated look. ¡°You¡¯re taking this much better than I could¡¯ve imagined. Having a multiversal being rummaging in your soul is never a good thing.¡± I suppose she would know. I shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m not going to agonize over things I can¡¯t change right now. I¡¯m going to watch my spending, buy and create tons of new skills, and prepare myself for the demon and eventual stone hunt. For now, I¡¯m going to learn to smith. So, are we going to start or what?¡± Yao spent the next hour or so testing me before leaving me to my devices. In that time, she gave me a thick booklet that contained all of the infernal runes they¡¯ve accumulated over the years, all of which were largely tied to certain demonic race and their energy signatures. Hence, they were largely useless to the sorcerers. They were also largely useless to me as well, but they did provide a partial framework that I could map onto my Arcane Blacksmithing skill. The skill was fairly powerful despite being so cheap. It taught me how to use low-quality metal weapons from every class and how to infuse bog-standard fantasy enchantment into them. None of the runes provided elemental enchantments, though. Rune of Impact: Increases a weapon¡¯s raw physical damage, making each strike about 1.5 times more effective, and it works by channeling kinetic energy into the weapon and reinforcing the metal structure. I had a feeling this would go amazingly well with Adamantium and Vibranium¡­as soon as I could figure out how to make weapons from them. Rune of Protection Grants any armor of your choice increased durability, reducing the damage taken and impact taken by physical attacks. It worked by reinforcing the armor structure and providing additional protection to the wearer. Rune of Precision Increases the sharpness of your weapon of choice, allowing you to deal up to 2x as much damage. The rune works by sharpening the blade¡¯s edge with arcane energies to improve overall effectiveness. Rune of Accumulation Provides the framework and storage site for the arcane energies used to power each rune. The rune required a gem of all things, and it was the most complicated of all of the runes. I was not complaining, though. Arcane Gunsmithing was a near One-to-one copy of Arcane Blacksmithing, with one obvious change. The base was Gunsmithing instead of Blacksmithing, and the skill taught me a great deal about guns, more than even my Gun Mastery skill. I knew how to clean, modify, and enchant them to deal the most damage. I practically foamed at the mouth when I imagined how lethal the combination of Precision and impact could be for a rifle, shotgun, or grenade launcher. The best part of all of this was that I could probably upgrade the skill with my knowledge in Infernal Blacksmithing. Slowly, I was growing even more confident in my odds. I didn¡¯t need a class, not really. And I did not need Shin¡¯s charity either. Even the skill purchases were debatable. I¡¯d barely scratched the surface of what I could really do. And don¡¯t even get me started on my affinities. The only thing I could say I needed for certain were the Stims and potions. Bloodlines, Weapons, Abilities, it was all a trap. A trap I¡¯d have likely fallen for if I never had this conversation with Yao. Unlocking Rebellion¡¯s full potential will be a complete game-changer. I was looking forward to combining all manners of abilities, techniques, metals, and even people. I looked up at the ceiling of the forge. Whether or not Shin would cut me off would be the real decider. Chapter 87 I spent the next six hours practicing my blacksmithing skills. It took hours of trying, but I forged my first dagger. I chose steel with fairly high carbon content and got to work. I heated the metal with the blue forge after interacting with one of the many open pits and setting the temperature I wanted. When satisfied, I transferred it to the anvil and beat the metal to the desired shape. I repeated the process over and over again, taking great care to ensure proper symmetry, point, and geometry. Once I was satisfied, the dagger got a heat treatment to harden the metal rapidly, and then I ground it down and polished it to improve its overall edges and aerodynamics. Finally, I chose a carved walnut handle. The blade came up slightly warped, uneven, and poorly balanced, but it was a fucking start. I gained hammer mastery after my first knife, making the second, third, and tenth attempts increasingly easier. By knife twelve, I had a weapon I was somewhat proud of, and I''d made a considerable leap towards the Adept Tier. Only the last five blades were strong enough for me to even attempt an Arcane inscription. Not wanting to be overeager, I chose the Precision and Accumulation Runes. The latter used Angelic energy and created an edge on the blade that lasted for 15 seconds¡ªplenty of time to chuck the blade dozens of meters and pierce a far-off target. The accumulation rune, as it stood, could only take one category of energy and stored 50 per pop, which was just enough for two enhancements, which was nearly a quarter of the shelf life of the blades. Crude Steel Throwing Dagger Fashioned by an apprentice, Arcane Blacksmith Dante Sparda. Infused with two rudimentary runes¡ªAccumulation (50) Precision. Durability: 17/20 The pair-up was perfect, as impact runes required contact with the target before activation. It was kind of like Burst but technically free. I could become a mobile fortress when I got my Arcane smithing high enough. Eager to test my weapons, I made my way to a sparring ring on a peak near Jean''s house, but I did not forget the training manuals I''d been gifted. Since I was training with Angel energy weapons, I figured I might as well learn a few techniques I''ve been sitting down on for a while now. Smite was the most attractive to me. It synergized beautifully with Feed¡ªthe innate ability of Osiris. With the speed bump the weapon gave, I was certain It''d be easy racking up the energy needed to perform smite. The same could be said for Aquila as well. Still, I didn''t know what energy resonance was, so I didn''t expect the new skill to come easily or quickly. --- I stood across from a training dummy with three blades in my hands. One was a finger of Orochi, the second was Enchanted Dagger, and the third was a regular old dagger I swiped from SHIELD The finger punched halfway through the dummy when I chucked it at speeds barely above double that of the average human. I fed a string of Angelic energy to my daggers, making it come alive with a thin, shifting cerulean wave dancing around it. It carved through the air faster than the Orochi dagger, practically appearing full-tang in the dummy''s torso. The layer of energy faded, and I whistled. That was fucking lethal. I felt an odd, giddying feeling. I couldn''t wait to incorporate this into my combat. I tested the dagger a few more times to gauge its durability. It lasted three more throws before my Angel Energy chewed through the blade entirely, breaking the metal. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Each Precision enchantment cost 20 AE, and I had to fill the dagger up two more times during the fight, but I had a feeling I''d eventually be able to get the cost down. I moved on to learning Gust. It seemed like the easiest of the techniques on the Angel Iist. I channeled Angel Energy, envisioning my wind affinity specifically as I expelled large amounts of energy from my back and legs. Initially, dimensional energy flooded out of me, and I felt myself popping in and out of existence until I eventually latched onto the memory of the fight with Colossus and my rapid expulsion of Angel energy to prevent myself from literally catching fire. The memory brought the pain that my mind had been deliberately suppressing to the fore, and I found myself shying away from connecting to my affinity. Eventually, I muscled through, reminding myself what was at stake, the potential that flowed through me, and I felt the energy switch immediately, sending me rocketing forward. But it was nearly not as abrupt as Burst. Congratulations: You''ve learned the Angelic Technique Gust (Basic) Release a controlled and sustained burst of Wind energy from your body, propelling you forward. It costs 5 AE to activate and 0.5¨C 3 AE per second, depending on intensity and speed. At least Shin was not stifling me just yet. I spent the next 10 minutes experimenting with the technique, and while it was certainly less powerful than Burst, it was just as versatile. From using it to slow my fall to maneuvering more freely in the air, reducing my fall speed, traveling great distances, and combo enemies for longer, its uses were endless. Like Burst, Gust was a monster on the ground. At maximum Blast, it produced a gust powerful enough to knock most people on their asses, but it was not lethal enough to maim or kill. I supposed I had Burst for that. The technique truly shined when I burned it as a passive boost for my speed. On a low burn, it boosted my speed by 10%, paired with Osiris''s flat 35% speed boost; the results were frankly ridiculous. On full Blast, my speed shot up about 20%. That was outrageous, considering the energy input. With this technique, speed was easily becoming my foremost combat strength while using Angel Energy. Next, I tried figuring out Drive using Rebellion. The blade made channeling energy stupidly easy, but it still took an unbelievable amount of effort and willpower to make the energy do anything other than cling close to the blade''s edge. After my hundredth try, I finally got the energy off the blade. An arc of wind Angel Energy flew true, striking at the dummy post laid out in front of me. I pumped my fist and threw it up in the air with a whoop. Congratulations: You''ve learned the technique Drive (Basic) Fill your weapon of choice with Angelic Energy and unleash a compressed blade of energy based on your affinity. Cost 15 DE Cost-wise, it was cheaper than a Focused shot but not nearly as effective. But what it lost in power was more than it made up for in speed. I spent the next few hours launching Drives at the attack dummy, which was barely holding on by this point. I didn''t stop practicing until deep into the night, and I went to bed with two things in mind¡ªretrieving my cash from the dessert and practicing some more smithing. We also had a meeting with SHIELD to begin separating the dangerous mutants from the regular, everyday ones. Jean had been stressed out about it, but I''d soothed her, explaining that it had to be done, like it or not. We couldn''t mix the dangerous elements with the peaceful lot. Fury planned on calling the SHIELD protected-town Haven and intended to release other mutants to the population. We had to guarantee their future safety somewhat. "I don''t think I want that type of burden on my shoulders,'' she''d told me sometime yesterday night, through our bond. ''With great power comes responsibility. You may not like it, but it has to be done. Short of taking on, policing, and supervising all of those mutants ourselves, it has to be done this way.'' When I saw Jean waiting alongside Rin in front of my hut, I thought this was the in-person continuation of that conversation. Their expressions, however, told me the situation was far more dire. "Don''t tell me someone saw us," I said with a heavy sigh. "If I have to kill one more person¡ª" "It''s not that, Boss," Rin said, rubbing his head. "I think it''s best if you take a look for yourself. I looked at Jean, who was strangely quiet, and took the tablet the kid offered me. There was a video recording of a man going viral on the nascent internet. The man sat in a dark room and wore a senator''s pin. He had a darkness about him that worried me greatly. After clearing his voice, the man began to speak. "Charles Xavier is dead, and that is a good thing. The man was likely the most dangerous predator to roam this planet in a long, long time¡­." "Shit." Chapter 88 We were on the phone with Fury shortly after I watched the video, and as you might''ve guessed, the man was not pleased by the recent development. "It''s Kelly," Fury grunted. "He''s one of the hundreds Xavier interacted with. I''ve been running my agents ragged, trying to contain the fallout of Xavier''s overzealous¡­lobbying, but some things slip through the crack. You''ve seen the video; you know why he''s out for blood." I shook my head. Xavier ripped out the one thing that drove Kelly, and his life fell apart. Jean made a face at Fury''s comment. She''d told me of her bold pronouncement of maintaining Xavier''s sphere of influence, but that remained an impossible dream with her current level of control. "I thought I had more time," she said. "The bindings were supposed to come loose slowly, not all at once." "You couldn''t have known," I said to Jean, then turned back to Fury. "I''m guessing you''ve taken the video down already?" "Of course, and stopped all major news sites from running it. But even then, there''s no putting the genie back in the bottle," Fury said. "But that''s not the worst part of all of this. I think he might''ve had help." My mouth went dry. "Well, that''s uplifting." "He slipped out of an interview he scheduled earlier tonight just before we got to him," he said. "A few hours later, this went live." "He had to know he was tantamount to political suicide," I said. "People disappear when government spooks show up," Rin chipped in, earning a look from Jean and myself. "I Just don''t think he cares anymore," Jean said. "He''s lost everything." "I have agents out there, looking for him," Fury said. "In the meantime, I was hoping you could make sure your old friends are safe." My eyes widened. "Wait, what? You know where they are?" "McTaggart reached out a while back and offered up her home as a semi-permanent residence after hearing about Charles passing. Dr. Hank popped over a few days back to keep tabs on them. Considering what just happened and the demon attack, I think at least one of you should be with them." I scratched the back of my head, letting out an awkward laugh. "I don''t know who they''ll be more excited to see, me or her?" Jean folded her arms. "It''s too soon." "If you''re not up to it, I can send a few teams over," he said, "but If I am being honest¡­" "It''ll be like feeding them to the wolves if something happened," I completed for him and looked at Jean. ''I would''ve preferred not to have to deal with this today. You and I just started training, but¡­'' She bit her lip. ''I have to face them eventually.'' "Alright. Tell the blue man we''re on our way," I said. I asked about the potential global fallout of outing Xavier, but Fury''s agents have heard nothing concrete yet. They expect a global outrage and push towards mutant containment, but Fury suspected they''ll change their tune when it goes public that mutants are the only class powerful enough to put up a fight against the demons. But he was on the fence about raising a global panic. He was more interested in taking a few more influential leaders aside and giving them a rundown. "Tell the world we have a full-blown demonic emergence," I laughed. "That ought to be interesting." If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. We portaled over to the suburbs of New York and took a cab down to McTaggert''s house. Rin, Jean, and I stood before the house, more or less ready for the worst but optimistic for the best. The door flung open before I reached for it, and I saw a familiar face. Suffice it to say, he was not pleased at all that I was here. "You little shit!" Logan swung, claws out. I weaved under the blow quite easily before I righted myself. "Now, hold on now," I began, but he was not ready to listen. My ears picked up on voices coming from the house, and one by one, the X-Men old enough to fight milled out of the house. Scott Summers, Bobby Drake, and Kitty Pryde. Logan and I were on the lawn scrapping¡ªwell, it was more like I was dodging, and he was swinging at me with everything he had. I saw Scott lock eyes with Jean in the corner of my eyes, then look away. She opened her mouth to say something but stopped herself. Scott set his jaw at her response and raised his hand to his visor, ready to fire. Rin, who brought his club along, glared at the kid as if daring him to make a move. Bobby and Kitty looked equally peeved. Tired of the bullshit, I went on the attack. I grabbed Logan''s clawed hand as it came down and checked his other one coming in for a sneaky jab. He tried to head-butt me, but I beat him to the punch before heaving his whole body and slamming him hard into the floor. Scott fired a beam at me, and I blocked with the flat side of Arbiter''s axehead. The energy shoved me back several paces, and I heard Cyclops yell in the background. "Come on, what are you waiting for! Did you forget he did? The Professor is dead." Oh, Hell No! I immediately went intangible. I stepped forward, sprinting until I arrived behind Scott. Before the boy could react, I quickly shoved him to the ground, face facing the deck so that he couldn''t laser me or anybody else. I had one of his hands twisted. Any more pressure would''ve popped them out of their socket. The kid released a startled yell, and everyone except for Jean and Rin was surprised. The latter simply shook his head at the display. "Looks like the boss didn''t need me after all." Bobby and Kitty looked like they were about to jump me, but all it took was a simple glare to pin them in place. Logan was on his feet again, eyes shifting from Rin to me. He seemed to ignore Jean entirely. I twisted Scott''s hand ever so slightly, eliciting another cry from the kid. "All of y''all need to settle down before you force me to do something we''ll all regret," I said. "Yes, your mansion is gone, and Yes, the Professor is dead. But you''re all forgetting that he fucking deserved it. He put us all in this fucking position, to begin with, and has given every mutant hater good reason to think all of you are just as bad as him." "What are you going on about?" Logan demanded. "Haven''t any of you seen the video the Senator recorded?" From the looks I got, I took it as a No. A chuckle bubbled from my throat. "You have no idea the shitstorm coming your way, do you?" "You''re lying!" Scott yelled. "You''ve always lied. You might fool everybody with your eyes, but I know a snake when I see one. You turned Jean against us because you hate me, and then you killed the Professor because he saw you for what you are. You got rid of Piotr and Ilyana because you couldn''t beat the big guy in a fight, and now you''re here because you want the X-Men. I call the shots now, and you cannot have them!" "Just...Wow," I muttered, taken aback. "Does he really speak for all of you?" Bobby looked conflicted, and Kitty offered up an explanation. "He and Bobby were in the fight until the end, and they saw you fighting Piotr. You didn''t stop even when Ilyana asked you to." I raised a brow at Bobby. "''And Dante is a murderhobo just because'' is what you got from that interaction?" Bobby set his jaw. "Things were fuzzy that night. I don''t¡­" "Come on, Bobby, don''t back down now. For all we know, Piotr might be dead!" Scott barked, trying to wriggle out of my arm lock. I shoved him back to the ground. "He''s not by the way," I said. "He''s recuperating, and if you caught that fight like you claim you did, I''m sure you didn''t miss the part where he fucking Barbecued me like I was yesterday''s steak!" I pulled up my shirt, showing them my raw side. It was covered in third-degree burns that had a wide range of colours flowing through them. I gathered it was the cosmic energy. They all looked away except Logan. "You can''t heal?" "Not this particular wound," I said. "One guess as to why I can''t?" "Xavier might hold a lot of blame for what happened that night," Logan said, "but you''re not innocent, either. Ilyana is god knows where, John is MIA, and you shot me with a sniper and threw me so far out that I spent the better part of the week getting back home! Who knows what could''ve happened?" "Dr. Hank was here, no?" I asked. "Yes, I was," I heard a deep voice rumble behind me. Dr. Hank looked the same, dressed in a lab coat, bespectacled, with a chunky tablet in his hand. "It''s good to see you again, Dante," he said. "If you would please, unhand Scott. I promise he''ll behave." I looked down at the struggling kid, tempted to snap his hand for all of the grief he''s given me, but I begrudgingly let him go half-expecting some reprisal, but the kid held himself back surprisingly. "Thank you," Hank said, then his face twisted into a complicated frown. "There is much to discuss." Chapter 89 Hank mediated a sitdown between the leaderships of the X-MEN, myself, Jean, and, after some protest, Rin. They didn''t know him, but since I decided to take him under my wing, it was only right that he understood this side of the business as well. We sat outside, far away from the house, on Scott''s insistence, and unfortunately, Yes¡ªhe did count as a leader, much to my chagrin. We each had a chair, and I opened the floor by explaining the situation. "Left to me, I''d never want to see some of you again," I said, eyes lingering on Scott, "but I can''t hold the actions of a misguided few against an entire group. Some of you have wondered who, or rather what, my parents were, and I can confirm that at least one of them was an extraterrestrial. They''re called demons; no, they''re not technically the demons you''re thinking of. They come from another dimension, and they want our world¡­" I went into detail about what the demons were and why they were after the mutants. I even gestured to Rin, who waved awkwardly, informing them that he was also part demon. I finished off by explaining why Ilyana was trapped with Ororo in Limbo. Surprisingly, Logan and Beast took my condition as an Extraterrestrial in stride, breezing past it to focus on their missing student and companion. Surprisingly, Scott didn''t judge me because of what I was. "A mutation linked to a foreign realm, fascinating," Dr. Hank said. "We''d been operating under the notion that she was a regular teleporter. This certainly explains why we''ve been unable to locate her and Ororo via Satellite technology and all our other channels. "And you''re sure?" Logan asked. "You saw her there with those red eyes of yours?" Logan''s demand put me on edge. I could be wrong, but then again, Ilyana Rasputin has had the same mutation in every permutation of the Marvel Universe I''ve encountered. It was likely the same in this instance as well. Still, I couldn''t be completely sure, and there in lay the rub. But it was a gamble I had to take if we were to move forward. I nodded. "At least we''re sure," he said, rubbing his brow. "Now we know where to look for her." "Thank you for telling us," Hank said. "It has been a major concern up until now." Scott scoffed. "You''re pretending he wasn''t the reason her mutation triggered in the first place." That earned me a side-eye from Logan, and Rin stared on, eagerly soaking up the drama. If he had popcorn, I bet he''d be munching on it right now. I folded my arms and sighed. "It would''ve happened, with or without my input. At least she''s with Ororo. She can protect her." Scott scoffed. "That''s your defense? That you sent two people instead of one?" I shrugged. "I don''t know what you want from me, kid. I did try to warn all of you, but you were either too far up your ass or brainwashed. In your case, it''s both. If you want to lay everything that happened on someone, It should be Xavier." Scott looked affronted by my very suggestion. "What the professor did might''ve been wrong," Scott started, "but it was ultimately for our own good. He helped me be the best version of myself I could be, and he did the same for most other kids. Helped them quit bad habits, taught them to protect themselves, and even helped Jean. She had her power under control before you came along. And she was happy and listened." He threw his hands up. "Look what your ''liberation'' has caused." His words hurt more than they should. I couldn''t say there were no consequences to my actions. People have been hurt, and my actions would likely hurt even more people in the future, but I was making the best decisions I could with the tools I had. I made mistakes, but my existence on this planet was a net positive. Jean''s eventual blow-out could''ve been orders of magnitudes worse. In the comics, a few solar systems went kaput in her rage. I might''ve unintentionally incited a race war, but it was better than the alternative. Or at least that''s what I told myself. Either way, Shin made it crystal clear what my options were. Obey or Perish. I was working to remedy that condition. However, Jean spoke before I could open my mouth to defend myself. The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. I''d given her the space to gather her thoughts all this while, and it seemed the subject of the Professor had been what officially broke her silence. "You got off the easiest in some twisted way," Jean said to Scott. "When I was in his mind, I saw what he did firsthand. The people he''s hurt are protecting us. The minds he''s wiped and enslaved, the lives he''s ruined, all in the name of protecting mutant kind; a task he ultimately failed at by stifling me, scarring Logan, and hypnotizing Dr. Hank." "Dante was right to help me. The Phoenix''s awakening could''ve been much, much worse," she winced, then took a deep breath. "Ultimately, he had to die because the Phoenix wanted it, and so did I¡­at the time. If I had known it would turn out this way, I would''ve stayed my hand, at least until I was strong enough to help the people he''s hurt." Scott''s hand tightened around the armrests of his chair. "I didn''t¡­" he trailed off, then looked at me, face cycling between outrage and respect. "Which brings us to why we''re here," I said before the angry teenager sidetracked us any further. He could hash out his drama with Jean later. "Senator Kelly," Dr. Hank helpfully supplied. "He''s one of the many Xavier''s paid special attention. According to him, Xavier ruined his life, caused his divorce, and left him practically destitute." Logan grunted in his chair. "I remember him¡ªone of the darkest things Xavier had me do. We went over to that man''s house for months. He wanted to push mutant registration. Charles tried it the easy way, but he refused to budge. The results were unsavory, to say the least¡­" "SHIELD tried to suppress the video, but it traveled far and wide enough to be a problem. People are going to start getting ideas. It won''t be long before nations start pushing the bill, and given the video and Kelly''s subsequent disappearance, it''s going to fucking pass. It doesn''t help that Kelly is currently MIA. I''m certain the demons have him." "You think they''re generating mass panic to round up more of us?" Logan asked. I shrugged. "Tracks with their MO. We just came back from a secret base where they were rounding up Mutants. We put an end to that, though." The news surprised Logan, Hank, and Scott. "What?" I shifted in my seat. "I very much like living. If they get their hands on enough mutants, they''ll figure out their weird Uber-Hybrid, and then we''ll all be properly fucked. This brings me to why we''re really here. The director sent us to protect you for the time being in case any demons show up, but I think it''d be smarter if we could relocate you too somewhere more defensible. We''re friends with the leaders of the sorcerers. They could hook us up. We can''t rescue Ilyana and Storm if all of you get caught and dragged to Limbo." "Isn''t that where we''ll end up anyway?" Scott asked. "It could be a quick and easy way to pop down there and get the girls out. If we take our heaviest hitters, we can¡ª" "All die a very slow and painful death," I cut him off again, which pissed him off even more. "I knew you were all talk," he snorted, immediately writing me off. "You just want us in your war; you don''t want to help them." "It''s suicide, as we all are right now," I said simply. "There are millions, probably billions of them, down there, and you think we stand a chance?" I was genuinely curious about his answer. "Honestly, our only shot of maybe ending all of this before it gets out of hand is having Jean let loose and burn their entire realm to the ground," I casually said, and all eyes turned to Jean. "I could," she admitted somewhat awkwardly. "But I''d rather not end all of those lives." "We could destroy the bridge that links the two realms together as well," I said, thinking out loud. I didn''t forget to flare my eyes. I would need the Space Stone. I smiled internally. Yet, another ''justifiable'' reason to get it from Fury. "You can do that?" Rin asked, a bit surprised. Scott scoffed. "In theory, probably," I said, blinking away the red. "But I''m honestly very fuzzy on the details." "Another vision?" Hank said enthusiastically. "What did you see exactly?" "I''m not sure," I said ponderously. "I saw six artefacts of great power. One of them is on earth, and I''m convinced that it could help us permanently solve our demon problem." "Wait. Really!" Rin piped up while Jean gave me a confused look. She knew I was playing things up to get them onboard. It was a bit premature to put it out there, especially when I was nowhere near ready to wield the power of the stones, but it was a legitimate way. I would approach Fury after the Hulk becomes a problem. Hopefully, I would''ve had enough time to build up my body until then. "That sounds a lot less scientific than I imagined," Hank admitted, somewhat deflated. "Sorry to disappoint, Doc," I said. "My powers are not exactly scientific." "I suppose," he muttered. "But I''ve never been wrong," I reminded them. "No, he hasn''t," Logan begrudgingly agreed. "So¡­what do you say to my offer of protection?" "Hell no!" Scott snapped. "I admit I have an axe to grind, but there is no way in hell the kids would agree to leave with you. In their eyes, you killed the Professor, turned Jean bad, and hurt Ilyana, Storm, and Piotr. I''m not going to be the one to convince them otherwise when I don''t believe a single word out of your mouth," he finished. "What if I told you I''m going to be there to personally guarantee their safety," Jean offered, but Scott looked away. "I''m sorry, Jean, but your words don''t carry as much weight as they used to after the mansion." Jean bit her lip and lowered her head. "While Scott is right about the children''s disposition," Dr. Hank said, "we cannot trade sentiment and outrage for safety. I will push for the relocation, but I need Logan''s support to make that happen." I looked over at the buff, stout man with hopeful eyes. "Come on," I urged. "The fate of mutant kind and the world is in the balance here." Logan let out a long sigh. "I know you''re trying, kid," he began, and my heart dropped, waiting for the dreaded ''but,'' and when it came, it was a complete gut punch. "But I don''t just trust you. Or the government. Sure, the demon threat is real, but can you assure me that the government doesn''t have any nefarious plan cooking behind the scenes?" "Yes!" I let out a frustrated yell. Was he kidding me? I just spent the better part of the week removing them. "But I couldn''t tell him about that. The particulars of the mission were supposed to live and die with us. "Look, our boss, Director Nick Fury, is a fair man. You both should''ve fought in World War II together." "Fury," Logan''s eyes widened a bit. "Yeah, I knew him before he became a spook. But the fact that he''s still kicking around is evidence enough that he isn''t all that he seems. No one in the government is. After Charles, I''m not sure I can trust anyone," he said, "even if he can see the future." I watched as they all got up and left, one by one, slack-jawed. "What the fuck just happened!" Chapter 90 "The plan was a bust," I told Fury as I patrolled the outer edge of the compound. We''d divvied up the perimeter, taking turns guarding the X-men who didn''t want to be guarded despite their protests. I thought they were a bunch of ungrateful assholes, but Jean was more willing to stay the course. "They were reluctant to see things our way given our history, and honestly, I''m surprised we made it through the entire conversation without ripping each other''s head off." "That''s well within the realm of expectation," Fury said. "I''m sending over the captain and a team to join your little protection detail." I froze mid-stride. "When you say the captain, you mean¡­" "Captain America," Fury clarified. "Hot damn," I laughed. "He''s already up and ready to go?" "He wasn''t initially, but then he saw Bucky. He doesn''t want that happening to a lot of people," Fury said. "You showed real foresight, not killing him, by the way." "That''s why you pay me the big bucks," I chuckled, then realized a second later that the Cap might not like me very much because of how hard I''d gone on Bucky. I did snap his neck. "Seen any visions lately on how to put this entire mess to bed?" Fury asked, and I was tempted to just ask for the stone off the bat, but I wouldn''t even know what to do with it if I had it. Besides, experimenting with a fundamental aspect of reality didn''t seem particularly prudent to me. "Nothing yet on the demon''s front, and I can''t tell you anything you might''ve not already considered. Best case scenario, we find him, publicly shame him, and paint him as a bitter old Senator who wanted to do irreparable harm to the legacy of a great mutant and hero," I said. "Although that''s contingent on us dealing with every last person Xavier manipulated. If the propaganda is good enough, we can squash this, make Kelly issue a public apology, and force him to retire somewhere far, far away." "You''ve really put some thought into this." "Just being proactive," I said. "The worst-case scenario is if Kelly''s dead." "He might already be," Fury said. "Either way, we won''t know until we find him. I''ve got Natasha and Clint on their way to his Ex-wife''s place in Vegas. A cybercafe in Vegas was the video''s point of origin, and we have footage of him leaving and entering the apartment. He''s still there." "I''ll get Aaron to drop me off," I said. "Clint and Nat will need all the backup they can get if there''s a demon." --- I joined Jean under the tree where she sat. She was levitating a set of stones, controlling them to form a wobbly solar system. "New exercise?" I asked as I settled down. "Yao wants me practicing fine manipulation every waking moment," she said. "She''s convinced I could hasten my integration of Xavier''s knowledge if I pushed my mind more. Currently, I''m monitoring the perimeter and having this conversation with you." ''Impressive,'' I sent over via our link. ''Now I feel bad for not practicing more.'' ''You already do so much,'' she sent back. ''I''m not even sure how you''d find the time." ''If you can do it, so can I. After all, we''re supposed to be companions for a while. Can''t have you outpacing me, now can I?'' Jean, thankfully, didn''t point out that she was already stronger than I was. ''I''m headed out,'' I said. ''Hopefully, Vegas has the answers we''re looking for. Regardless of how things turn out, I think you should approach Hank about something I just thought up.'' Jean turned to me, reading my mind. ''A Cerebro for everyone, really?'' ''Worked for Xavier, why not us,'' I said. ''It''d certainly make it infinitely easier to locate people in the case of an emergency.'' Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. ''I think the ancient one has a spell for that,'' she said. "Even better," I finally said out loud, getting up. "Oh, and before I forget, Fury is sending somebody over, and you''re never going to believe it?" I grinned mischievously, earning me a puzzled look. She promptly lost her shit when I told her it was Captain America. Aaron dropped me off by the side of the road into Vegas, some ways away from where I buried my money. I located it within the hour and made my way back to the main road, where I waited for Clint and Natasha to come to get me. They rolled up in their SUV after nearly 20 minutes of waiting. I hopped right in and got strange looks from both of them when they noticed my duffle bag. "Great to see you both, too," I smiled. "What''s in the bag?" "The twisted remains of a pleasure demon," I said casually, eliciting a series of frankly entertaining looks from both spies. Shock, confusion, and then realization. I chuckled. "The look on both of your faces. Priceless." Clint shook his head while Nat simply huffed. "You''re starting a war you can''t finish Dante," Clint smiled, and I chuckled. When the conversation grew less serious, and we kept it breezy until we reached the designated house. Clint and Natasha stepped out and popped open the tailgate to casually reveal high-tech gear worth several million dollars. "Holy shit," I said out loud. I saw the return of the RX-29. There was also a pair of pistols that fired electricity-infused bullets and next-gen reactive armor. I pocketed a pair of sonic grenades. I supposed it was better to be overprepared than the alternative. "Fury said takes no chances," Natasha explained. "So, we aren''t." They both threw on trench coats over their absurd attires, and we made it up to Kelly''s apartment. He was mewling in the middle of a conversation with someone he was deathly terrified of. We all shared a collective look of apprehension before I kicked down the door. I was treated to an unfamiliar but frightening scene. A bloodied Pietro Maximoff sat on the floor, bleeding beside a blue-skinned, alien-looking young woman who was unconscious. In front of them stood a woman I immediately recognized. She had fiery red-glowing eyes like mine when activated, but they burned much brighter. Her skin was golden brown, and she was dressed in a three-piece suit of white and gold. She wore 5-inch heels made of gold and leather, of all things. Even her nails were gold, as were the strange bangles on her wrist. Kaecilius had called her love of gold an obsession. That sounded about right. Isha Stormfire Fifth Daughter of Belasco and one of the oldest Cambions alive. Isha is 122 years old and has mastery of fire and wind. She''s trying to gain control of New York and several other states in preparation for the Demon Ascension. Isha had her fingers digging into Senator Kelly''s shoulder. And from the rough look of him, he seemed to be on his last legs. I racked my head for any way that I could save him but drew a blank. Isha threw him into the wall hard with a casual flick of her hand and locked eyes with me. "You''re finally here," she smiled. "I''ve grown tired of waiting." Then she looked past me at Natasha and Clint. "They''re an inconvenience," she said, twisting one of the bangles on her hand. Clint immediately pulled his bow, and Natasha aimed her guns at him. Slowly, the world around us started to splinter and fold in on itself. Was she dragging us into the mirror dimension through a bangle? That was¡­ridiculous. Pietro knew trouble when he saw it, and he grabbed Mystique and tried to make a run for it. Isha waved her hand in response, sending out waves of sharp wind energy. I had just enough time to use Angel Evade paired with gust and parried the blow. It sent me stumbling back, groaning as fresh, bone-deep lines sprouted on my skin. It completely cut through the leather of my Trenchcoat. The wind blade caught on Rebellion shimmered briefly before flying back and crashing against a wall of Wind that Isha put up. Pietro locked eyes with me for a brief moment before he vanished. Why am I helping the asshole who nearly sold me into slavery? Because Magneto would hear about it and learn more about the demon threat. And the enemy of the enemy was my friend¡­I hope. Given what I stumbled into, I already had an idea of what happened here. Isha and the Mutants came looking for the same person, and she completely outclassed Pietro, somehow, which I found wild and foreboding as all hell. "Great technique for someone so new to their power," she said. "You''re going to have to fix that bleeding heart of yours, though. It''s going to get you killed." With a twitch of her hand, she summoned what I could only describe as some strange type of glove with white and gold claws. The temperature in the room suddenly spiked. Clint and Natasha gasped while Kelly thrashed and screamed in the corner. My fire and pain resistance went into overdrive, blunting the damage substantially. For me, the heat made me feel like I was standing next to a roaring forge, but I imagined it would be orders of magnitude worse for everyone else. Isha''s smile grew even wider, and I took the time to observe her claws. They were made from gold and white metal and covered in glowing runes. She swung out again, but this time, an inferno poured out. The world slowed down as Evasion activated. I moved, Gust and Osiris''s speed boost buffing me. Burst threw me forward astonishingly fast. If I had to ballpark it, it estimated it would''ve been over the speed I moved when I left Xavier''s estate. And I clocked it at over 100mph. I practically teleported in front of Clint and Natasha and spun Osiris as I activated Parry. I regretted my choice instantly. The flames washed over me, buffeting slightly on my Parry Shield before sweeping me, my shield, and everything behind me away. The house was incinerated in the fire, as was what remained of Kelly. The rescue operation was a failure, but now we had a more urgent mission: escaping with our lives. Chapter 91 The walls around us splintered and shattered like glass as we were swept away. I hit the ground with a whomping crash and skipped several times before coming to a stop. I hacked up smoke as heat wafted off my toasted skin, burnt jacket, and hair. We were at least several hundred feet from the house, and I saw Isha burst out of the wreck, spreading a set of metallic gold wings before she dove at me. I activated Angel Regeneration, rapidly healing my burns and growing my hair, and sent a string of Demon energy into my jacket, repairing the scorch marks as I readied myself. I pointed my hands at Clint and Natasha, who was knocked out cold and fired a fully charged gust, pushing them away to safety. I turned Gust on full blast and turned it back on myself as I summoned Osiris as well, upping my already impressive speed of 64 to 92. I phased just as Evasion activated. She dove through me and smashed into the ground, creating a monstrous crater. I swung Osiris before her knees even touched the ground, hoping to catch her off-guard, but she caught Osiris with her claws easily and looked up at me. "No wonder they both failed," Isha mused out loud. "This strange energy of yours is just like your mother''s. They wouldn''t even know how to begin to counter it." She swiped at me with her free hand, and I dove away, summoning back Rebellion, which had morphed to Aquila in my hands, and I fired a Round Trip at her, pushing out the technique the fastest and cheapest I''ve ever done it as well, at just over 20 AE. She leaned to the side to avoid the hit and watched in fascination as it dug into the dirt, kicking up dirt with each rotation. I swiped with Aquila, feeding it energy, and six sets of spectral blades arced out in a brutal diagonal pattern. Isha stepped back, and I closed the distance, phasing through her just as a spray of metal pinion coated in the wind reached me. Just like her Harpy Assassins, she, too, had that annoying attack, except she was easily twice as fast, with masterful Fire and Wind manipulation. I materialized by her right just in time to chuck the pair of sonic grenades I took from the car. She speared through them with Pinions from her wings, but they still went off anyway. With my ears stuffed, I summoned a grenade launcher and unloaded a shot into her chest. The explosion sent her skidding back, dozens of feet away from where Natasha and Clint''s recovering bodies slowly stirred. In my other hand was Thunderer, which had been soaking up demonic energy this entire time. A second grenade crashed on her crossed golden wings. The third exploded before it even reached her when a near-invisible bar of wind speared out from an opening in her wings. It shoved back the explosion and completely evaporated the right side of my chest, literally stealing the breath from my lungs. I choked out blood as I spiked Regeneration, turning intangible as a wall of Pinions crashed on my previous position. Fuck me. I''d been one-shotted before, but that was typically an ambush or a result of carelessness. This was different. Isha completely outclassed me, and I feared even Devil Trigger might not be enough to take her down. Don''t fucking give up when the battle has just begun, Dante. I had no fucking idea what I was capable of. While intangible, I let out a roar as I activated Focused Shot for both my Grenade Launcher and Thunderer. For the first time since I broke into Adept Tier with demon energy manipulation, I felt a mental strain, trying to juggle techniques. It was like somebody took Arbiter to my skull. Unsurprisingly, Angel Evade malfunctioned just as I finished charging both guns, flashing purple before depositing me into the waiting claws of Isha, who had a victorious smirk on her face. Thunderer ripped through her suit in a bar of Reddish lightning, shoving her all the way back. While her body was writhing with electricity, I fired my grenade launcher. The grenade slammed hard into her like it''d been launched from a cannon. It exploded in a reddish, brackish fire that carried a familiar corrosive edge that devastated some of my earlier opponents. I swallowed fresh gulps of air as Regeneration finished regrowing my lungs, and I inspected my resources. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. Resources. HP: 395/790 AE: 210/500 DE: 490/660 For the first time in a fight, I had more Demon Energy than Angel Energy, and I didn''t have enough Red Orbs to buy another fucking Stim. I was down to my very last one after using three of the four I purchased for the Hydra mission. I had to make this last one count. I debated injecting it right now and rushing her with Devil Trigger to finish the mission, but Isha made the decision for me. I felt a sudden breeze. Evasion blared, and for the first time since I learned the skill, I wasn''t fast enough to react. I was in the air, bones in my left hand powdered, ribcage crushed, and then it hit me. Pain more acute than anything I''ve ever felt before wracked through my body and soul. And when I gathered myself, I saw that I''d been opened up shoulder to waist. My intestines were spilling out, and the world slowed down again as Evasion activated. I Burst as quickly as I could manage, and this time, it saved me. A wild flare of demonic energy shot out of my stomach, shoving me toward the ground, and another erupted from my calves, flipping me so I landed feet first. With my only working hand, I stuffed my intestines in my stomach and spiked Angel Regeneration as my eyes darted around for her. With a flex of my will, I focused my Regeneration on my stomach first, taxing it to close the wound rapidly. On a whim, I flexed my understanding of human anatomy and reached out for my Shapeshifting affinity, letting it direct the healing. And it worked, somewhat, and I guessed that had to mostly do with having a physiology that wasn''t quite human. A great deal of energy still flowed into my arm, rapidly rejoining the bones, but more than half of it was dedicated to making sure I didn''t die the second my hand came off my stomach. I had to switch off Gust, only keeping Osiris with me just in case I needed the speed boost to react to something. It hung on my back like it did in the DMC Game. I figured this out a while by just willing it there. It worked the same way summoning the sword or switching out weapons did. I guessed it all stemmed from my weapon Vault ability. Despite my speed boost, Isha appeared across from me faster than I could blink, clearly proving that she''d been playing with me this entire time. Without Evasion, I wouldn''t have been able to react even if I wanted to. Noting that she didn''t act immediately, I summoned a Stim and jammed it into my leg when I still had the chance. "So, that''s how you keep dodging," she said idly. "Certainly a fascinating trick. You''re much more developed than I expected. Varied energy manipulation without Devil Arms at your stage of development is unheard of. You sons of Sparda are something else entirely. Culling you, regardless of how promising you are, will always be the prudent choice." I did not let myself get angry at her comment. Instead, I focused on the particulars of what was said and the her appearance. I saw that my one-two combo had done more than just a little damage. Her suit was partially scorched in the midsection, and her stomach was still healing. "Virgil beat you, didn''t he?" I said, with a flare of my glowing red eyes. Was it risky as hell bullshitting a Cambion like this? Hell Yes. But I needed those extra precious seconds until Stim finished working its magic. She came to a sudden halt and tried to hide it, but the look on her face was telling. "Somebody on your side tried something stupid like trying to turn him to your side, and he stabbed them in the back when he got everything he wanted, didn''t he?" I snorted. "Typical Virgil." "How do you know that?" Isha narrowed her brows. "You''ve had no contact with him since you were children. We''ve been watching." "Haven''t you heard?" I chuckled. "I''m clairvoyant now." She snorted. "The closest thing to a clairvoyant on this pitiful rock is the sorceress supreme. And it''s more likely that she showed you. You''re trying to buy time. It''s not like that cocktail will save you. Even with all of your energy restored, you''re no match." "True," I agreed, which took her back somewhat. "But what''s the point of taking the planet? You know we''re all on the lowest rung of power in the grand scheme of things. A Celestial, a Norse God, or hell, even another Arch Demon, could rob you of everything you''ve worked so hard to steal? Belasco is delusional if he thinks that''s not a possibility." "You do well to hold your tongue," She snapped, flaring her eyes. "I will tolerate no disrespect against my father, especially from someone who cannot begin to fully fathom his genius. We''re closer to an Ascendant than you think, and when that happens, nothing will stand in our way." "You''re oddly okay with being replaced," I said, raising a brow, "because even you must realize that mutations can be unpredictable and powerful. All it takes is one anomaly, and you could have an ''ascendant'' so powerful they could break the earth if they want to. Not even your old man will be able to control them at that point. And even if that doesn''t happen, what makes you think your old man won''t trade you for a newer model? He''s done it before?" Isha''s gaze turned icy. She''d likely had this conversation between her and her siblings. "I take it not everyone is on board with this new world order." "I''ve had enough of you," Isha said, suddenly the heat spiked several hundred degrees. I winced but still grinned. My resources were full to the brim, and my hand was partially healed. "One last thing before you try to kill me," I said, raising a hand. "Are they still alive? A little Russian girl and an African mutant?" "The Cambion and the witch?" she raised a brow, then laughed. "They''re at the center of all of this!" "Thought as much," I said while switching Osiris out for Rebellion and pointing it at her. "Ready whenever you are." My bravado made her hesitate briefly before she snorted and dashed at me. Cloak Devil Trigger Reality slowed to a crawl as energy filled me. My strength spiked, and so did my durability. Wisps of violet energy rolled off me in waves, and I caught Isha''s claws with my rapidly healing hand and watched as her eyes grew wide at my sudden strength. With a vicious grin splitting my face, I spoke. "Down!" Chapter 92 "Down!" I roared. The world around us warped as gravity quintupled, driving Isha to her knees. The flash of surprise in her eyes quickly morphed into irritation as she bunched up her claws and struck at my throat. Blades of wind buffeted against the flat of Rebellion as her claws struck out, and I roared, commanding a familiar element. "Fire." The air exploded as a pillar of fire rose into the sky. Isha and I were at the center of it. My mind screamed out as the weight of the techniques crushed me. I was forced to release ''Down'' and hold onto ''Fire.'' I hoped that I''d done some lasting damage, but didn''t even entertain the thought that Isha was dead. She was simply too strong. And I was right. She leaped out of the fire with a scowl on her face, her suit jacket was gone, the golden wings red hot, and her skin covered in light burns. "You dare use your weak fire against me!" She roared. "I''ll show you what real fire feels like." She brought her claws together. Out from her palms shot a pillar of white-hot flames that ate up the distance between us impossibly fast. I didn''t even try to dodge it. Instead, I stepped to the left with Burst, then circled right with Angel Evade¡ªwhich I noticed bled purple flakes of energy--and let the fire phase through me. I Burst at her with Rebellion raised and started to charge multiple Bursts in my palm. Isha, of course, anticipated my strike, but at the very last second, I switched to a freshly upgraded Arbiter, filling it with three Burst, and brought it down on her. The blow bent her wings and exploded in three rapid successions of demonic fire, sending her flying. I shot after her with a Burst, and she retaliated with another bar of fire she swung at me, nearly twice as fast as before. When I materialized in front of her with an overflowing Eryx, her body suddenly sped up, avoiding the strike. She lashed out with a wind-assisted claw strike from behind that Evasion barely caught. The attack landed microseconds before my fist shot forward, leaving me with barely any time to spin around and cross my hands, tanking the blow. The blow shredded through me, cutting through skin, and nearly made it through my abdominal walls. Even with nearly 300 stat points in Vitality, Isha cut through me like paper. Burst threw me straight at her, this time with Osiris summoned to give me a Wind boost as I swung. It collided with her claws in a spray of sparks, lighting up with Feed''s first bonus. I switched hand placements and swung Osiris upwards, scoring a light mark on her chest. I spun forward for a scything strike that she anticipated and dodged at the very last moment. In her wake, a wall of Pinions carrying wind rushed at me. It pushed my Parry to the limit and almost distracted me from the sneak attack from behind that nearly one-shotted me. I quickly spun around, parrying a wind-soaked Pinion, which turned out to be another decoy. My inflated Agility worked overtime as my senses switched on and the world slowed down. Evasion activated just before a thick bar of wind erupted from the direction the first Pinions had come from, forcing me to turn intangible just as the hit landed. I dashed at Isha, who''d materialized just after the attack, turning tangible at the last possible second with Rebellion in my hand, firing off several Drive blades. She dodged all four of them and charged at me. Just as I raised my blade to Parry, she spun around, surrounding herself with her wings. Hundreds of feathers lengthened and twisted, slamming into my waiting blade. It shredded through the energy of my Parry, shoving Rebellion aside, and shredding my skin. I phased through the attack before it got lethal, but I noticed the ugly pattern emerging. She was finding ways around my most overpowered abilities. It didn''t help that Angel techniques felt farther away and harder to use in Devil Trigger. We traded blows, tens of dozens of strikes, all in five seconds. As the fight progressed, I knew she''d win if I didn''t do something. Her wind strikes caught me off-guard more often than not, and even though I managed to do serious damage with Osiris, it was becoming clear who would emerge ahead, so I leaned on the biggest advantage Devil Trigger afforded me. Ridiculous Regeneration. With only 15 seconds on the clock, I switched up my fighting style. I slashed downwards with one hand holding Osiris, Feed boosting my striking power considerably. It hid the heavy cross I''d been prepping with my support arm. The moment Isha banked to the left mid-air, I Burst forward, Osiris morphing to Eryx, and popped her in the face. Disoriented, I managed an uppercut that sent her flying before she could gather herself. With a bloodied nose, Isha swiped at me, and a massive net made from Windblades materialized inches from my face. I powered through using Angel Evade. My jacket, arms, and face were still sliced open, despite my quick thinking, and I was on her in an instant, swinging. For her part, Isha practically teleported behind me with her absurd speed, putting her right where I wanted her to be. Eryx turned to Ophion, and I fired a sneaky demon-infused shot straight into her gut as wind blades tore open my chest and back. The impact knocked her back, shoving her a fair distance away, and I pulled back while I spun mid-air, transforming us into an explosive disk of energy and desperation, hurtling for the ground at increasingly frightening speeds. Our fight had carried us far from the ground, but nor far enough to reach terminal velocity. To make sure neither of us could shrug off the damage, I shifted the density on her end, making her body heavier. The Density shift was something I figured out pretty early on with Demon Pull. It was how the ability worked. It half relied on Dante''s strength and temporarily reducing the density of the target. All I had to do was slide the toggle the other way, and Boom! If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. The sheer force we generated did not allow her to channel wind properly on her claws or flap her wings. Instead, she set her body on fire and wrapped her wings around herself as she hit the floor, creating a sizable crater. I hit the ground a second later, creating a crater beside her. It was substantially smaller, but the impact hurt worse than anything I''d ever experienced. My entire body spasmed in pain as my ridiculous regeneration worked its magic, mending bone, producing new blood, and repairing muscle. My vision was spotty, my ears rang, and I was sure some of my ribs were on the outside, but that was the least of my concerns. Congratulations: Pain Resistance (Basic) has reached Adept Tier 30% pain nullification. Congratulations: Wind Resistance (Basic) has reached Adept Tier 30% Nullification. Isha slowly stumbled to her feet, her wings bent and twisted in several places. She looked down at them, and I saw her face warp in real-time. Her irises glowed so bright they hurt to look at. In that moment, I realized that this had been the only thing since the fight started that upset her. "You animal!" she roared as her skin crackled with heat. Whatever she was about to try. I knew I was cooked if I let her get it off. "Down, Down," I roared. Something deep within me tore on the second command, and blood gushed out of my nose and mouth. Still, the mental wound, alongside my many others, healed at impossible speeds thanks to Devil Trigger. Isha''s fire was instantly snuffed as she sunk into the ground, this time on her hands and knees. She glared at me with hate even as I fired out my first Arbiter axe head projectile and my second and third ones. The first mangled her already broken wings, clearing a path for the second and third Flush. They hit in a conflagration of fire, and I dashed forward as the Axe head regrew, ready to end the fight, once and for all. As I cleared the edge of my crater, fire billowed out from Isha'' body in all directions. It flash fried my enhanced skin and sent me skidding back. Just as suddenly as it came, it disappeared, and I winked away the confusion to find Isha standing in front of me. Hair white, transformed by the fire, wings spread out, burning, and clothes burned away, replaced entirely by white fire. She grabbed me by the throat faster than I could react, and I gasped as Devil Trigger guttered out. No! Fear gripped me, more visceral than I could put into words. She was death, and I was powerless to stop her. Skin turned to char, and muscles hissed with steam and fat. "I can''t believe you forced me to use this form," she spat. "For something entirely too weak, you''ve been a thorn in my side for far too long, Dante Sparda. Die knowing that you''ve failed." "Fuck You!" I croaked out. She snorted at my defiance and raised her claws. I channeled Angel Energy and willed her claws to stop. I knew that trying to Evade her would land me back in the same place I started, so, I gambled it on one of my many unawakened abilities. There had to be something. And for a time, I thought there was. The moment of my beheading stretched out into forever. The claw carved through the air in slow motion, and I reached for my neck, trying to wrestle myself free. But, it was all for naught. Just as I was about to accept the futility of it all, the world froze completely, and a system screen popped up. Shin''s former offer appeared in front of me, bearing notable changes. Redeem Class Token for: Gluttonous Nephilim Weaponsmith¡ªCraft weapons and armor using fragments of power stolen from enemies and other artifacts that you can get your hands on. Grants 1AGI, 1STR, 2END, and 2DE per Level. Skills (R)Blacksmithing Basic-- Craft and alter powerful weapons and armor using the fundamentals of smithing distilled from a dozen cultures (E) Claim--Distill the fundamental aspect of your opponent into a powerful orb you can use for crafting powerful weapons. You cannot receive Red Orbs for any target that has been claimed. (E) Enchant-- Create powerful new weapons using the essence of a deceased fee, a weapon of your choosing, and lots of demon and angel energy. Minor Seed of Gluttony: Race Suffix¡ªBecome the Nephilim of Hunger Essence Reaper ¨CGain a silver of strength from every foe you''ve felled. (Retroactive gain essence from the last 48 hours.) Avaricious Gaze¡ªWill replace your current identification skill and allow you to see the estimated power level, top skills, and weaknesses of your opponents. Shin''s note: Look, I get it. You don''t trust me, and you think I am the devil himself, but you have to quit being so stubborn, or you''ll fucking die. I gritted my teeth as my mind spun. "So be it," I answered. "You might''ve brute forced your way into my head, but there''s no way in hell I''m letting you in willingly. You said it yourself, I''m your only link to the Phoenix, if I die, so does any chance of you getting your precious fire." Nothing changed on the screen for a long moment before a fresh text appeared, replacing the previous one. I could just reach down there and force you to accept my gifts. Why are you choosing to handicap yourself? You know you''ll only hurt yourself in the long run? I snorted. "You would''ve forced me if you could. You''re afraid to piss off the Phoenix by letting me die, and you should rightfully be. What happens to those generous rules of engagement if her host''s guardian dies and she finds out you could''ve prevented it?" Do you really think you''re that important? She''ll replace you before the day is over. "Maybe," I conceded. "But Jean will want revenge, and the Phoenix listens to her now." There was a long stretch of silence before the message came. Depending on his next reply, I was hoping to push for the Nephilim Blacksmith class. As I''d said, I was his only link to the Phoenix, and it was in his best interest to keep me safe. If that meant stripping the class of all of its corrupting influence, I''d wager it would''ve been worth the tradeoff. Shin''s reply, however, killed those dreams. My terms won''t be so generous the next time you see them, Axel. The system interface disappeared, and reality abruptly resumed. I almost yelled in panic, but then Isha stumbled forward, her hand suddenly losing its strength. Her fire winked out, and where her heart was supposed to be, I saw a massive slowly bleeding hole, covered in blue wispy energy. I wrenched her hand off my neck and backpedaled. I saw the surprise and pain in her eyes as she clawed for me briefly, before dropping to her knees. Several hundred paces behind her, I saw Clint hefting the RX-29. The barrel was smoking, and an outrageous laugh bubbled from my throat. Isha leveled a glare at me, however, as she coughed up blood. She was still alive and kicking, and from the furtive gaze she leveled at everyone present, I knew it would take some fighting to put her down. With a nervous breath, I summoned Rebellion, filling her with Angel energy as I inched towards Isha. Clint switched to his bow and arrow, and Natasha readied her guns. Just as we were about to attack, Isha waved her hand, and a tornado of white fire erupted from beneath her. It superheated the air and generated so much pressure it sent me and the SHIELD agents rolling. When the heat abated, I looked up to find the Tornado was gone. We were back in reality, lying down in an abandoned lot a few paces away from the car we took here. In the corner laid the charred remains of Senator Kelly. Chapter 93 "At least we have one less thing to worry about," I said, staring at Kelly''s half-melted head. We were still in the alley while I regenerated, and Natasha finished her call to Fury. Clint, who was standing beside me, raised a brow. "Really?" "He can''t come back from the dead to make things any worse." He chuckled. "With the day we''ve had, we definitely need the break." "Yeah," I muttered, rubbing my still-healing neck. "We came real fucking close. Thank you for that shot by the way." I was replaying the fight in my head, even as we spoke. The number of times I came close, how many things I could''ve done differently. Like Demon Evade, for example. I basically had unlimited Demon Energy during Devil Trigger. Why not keep it permanently active? An instance of double damage might''ve helped. Clint waved. "Had to. We were next when she was done with you, and I didn''t like our chances against her. The fact that you were able to last as long as you did is crazy. Y''all were moving faster than I could track for a while there." "That was a temporary thing," I said. "I was pretty much gassed at the end. I keep pushing myself to get stronger, learn new tricks and techniques, and the demons, they''re so much..." I knew I shouldn''t be venting, but it just poured out of me. I''m not sure even bringing Jean here would''ve made that much of a difference. Isha was simply too fast. Even with Devil Trigger, I could barely keep up. Jean would''ve died in an instant. "I can''t pretend to know what you''re going through," Clint said. "Going from a no-name street Punk to SHIELD''s biggest gun against an otherworldly threat? You give yourself too little credit, Dante. We would''ve been dead several times over if it weren''t for you," he said. "I know the Director and Nat appreciate the help, even if they don''t say it." I knew Clint was trained to manipulate assets and motivate them, but his words seemed genuine. Still, I made it a point not to let them sway me too much. "At least my bag didn''t burn in the madness," I said casually. "What''s in there anyways?" Clint asked, and I shrugged, refusing to elaborate. Before Clint got another word out, Natasha spoke as she walked up. "Fury wants the Senator''s remains and needs you back at McTaggert''s house. The Brotherhood is there." --- Jean I sat by myself under the tree that Dante left me, the Sun of a vast solar system of stones, each of different weight and size. They rotated around me at different speeds. Yao had been right. All I needed was practice. My control was improving by leaps and bounds, and I found myself drawing on exercises Xavier had taught me as a child. The lessons were vivid in my mind, but now that I had his memories, I could peer underneath. All of the small tricks, tips, and advanced techniques he thought I lacked the control or power to execute laid bare before me. An endless collection of anecdotes and inspiration I could use to reforge my control and grow to be even stronger. It was as invigorating as it was draining. Even in death, Charles Xavier looked out for me in his own twisted way. Setting aside my base telekinetic manipulation, I drew on my telepathic side. My mind blanketed the entire compound easily and reached the forest beyond, but I tried not to. I had better control when I kept the area of focus small. Scott, Logan, and Hank were in the midst of a heated conversation in McTaggert''s house. Kitty was listening in on them, and Bobby hung back, waiting for the bits of gossip Kitty passed back. At the edge of the forest, I felt a familiar gathering of mutants approach. The Brotherhood. Old enemies of Xavier that I inherited when I joined the X-Men. Scanning Xavier''s memories confirmed what I already knew. The X-Men and the Brotherhood largely had the same goals, their execution just differed drastically. The brotherhood didn''t shy away from violence, even when it impacted the innocents, while Xavier carried out his missions without the intention to cause harm, even to the people they were hoping to apprehend, but accepted that there would always be sacrifices. Dante and my philosophy was a healthy mix of both. We did not shy away from violence when we approached the guilty but fought for the innocent to the best of our abilities. If they were here for the children, I was prepared to give them the same treatment Xavier and the demons got, but a quick scan of their rank gave me pause. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Their composition was different. QuickSilver and Mystique were missing from their typical lineup, and in their place was a new redhead who shared facial features with QuickSilver and John? What the hell is going on?! The last time I saw him was after Dante shot off Xavier''s hand at the mansion. He came over to give a stiff ''get well'' to the old man. Now, he was with the enemy? Was he a hostage? A scan of his surface thoughts confirmed my worst fears. He''d traded sides, and it was partially my fault. After the events of the mansion and Xavier''s death, he was so desperate for safety and revenge that he sold Dante and me out without a second thought. He had told them where they could find us, and they''d come specifically to try to offer the kids protection and negotiate with Dante and me. If we agreed to serve under the pompous ass, Magneto. He would spare us and induct us into the brotherhood. And if we refused, he was ready to kill us. I didn''t know how to feel about the betrayal. It was justified, but it still hurt. But was that enough to put John firmly in the enemy category? Strangely. No. While he was a genuine ass, he was hurting like I was. I sighed, rubbing my forehead. Since annihilation was off the table, I chose my second option. Putting them all to sleep. I would have to keep the push light or risk killing them all, and some of them might be left standing after¡ªnamely Magneto and the new girl, but it would thin out the herd and make it easier for Rin and I to mop up while Dante was away. With a flex of my will, I formed a telepathic tether with every mind I thought I could successfully influence, and with a word, I commanded them all. "Sleep." And for a moment, I felt the command take root. Toad''s knee grew weak, and Night Kat started to blink repeatedly, but before my mental command took full effect, an energy rippled out. The source was a redhead girl, and her psychic energy was nearly as potent as Charles Xavier''s. She rebuffed my command, and I marveled as she latched onto the connection I''d formed and followed it expertly to me through the Astral Realm. Her advance, however, came to an abrupt stop when her astral Avatar saw mine in the mental plane. Her scarlet avatar literally went several shades lighter before it recoiled and vanished. I sensed her stumble and fall as she raised an alarm. "Their Telepath is strong," she announced. "I''m not sure I can stop her." "She killed Charles Xavier, of course, she''s strong," Magneto said. "Sabtertooth, Night Kat, take her," he ordered, and his cats leaped into action immediately. "That''s not good." At the edge of my awareness, I felt them bolt up the driveway at superhuman speeds. Throwing a poorly defined mental command their way while they were on the run seemed like a recipe for disaster. Still, I leaped to my feet and gave Rin the equivalent of a mental tap on the shoulder. "Two mutants, they''re headed up the Driveway." Then, I focused back on them with a particularly vicious idea. I had gotten fairly decent at plucking memories from people. People who were sufficiently strong could even survive the process, as evidenced by Strucker. What if I attempted the inverse? Feeding them memories. But not just any memory. Horrible ones. Ones that would make them stop in their tracks. The best part was that the mental tethers were still there. Scanning my rotation of memories, I settled on one that I thought would be equally gruesome for both attackers. It was the moment I ended Xavier, crushing him into a crumpled bloody ball. I observed in amazement as they both spun out like out-of-control cars. Sabertooth went off the path and into the forest, while Night Kat tripped and tumbled up the path that led to the house. "Uh¡­" Ren said via the telepathic link. "They''re already down." "Yeah," I said shakily. "I took them out." "Wait," he said. "You could''ve put the demons down like this as well?" "No," I said thoughtfully. "I need my full concentration and strength to do what I just did. I''m sure that''ll change in the future as I get stronger. Hold the line," I sent. "I''ll go get reinforcements." Rin nodded and did as he was told, while I sent a message through the telepathic tether I had forged with Logan, Scott, Bobby, Kitty, and Hank. To say they were angry to have their minds randomly invaded would be an understatement. Logan growled at me, Hank cringed, and I caught flashes of his brainwashing sessions with Xavier. Xavier had worked the man to the nub, embedding him with commands and inclinations that would''ve broken a lesser mind. Kitty and Bobby''s minds also bore the same scars, although to a lesser extent. "I''m sorry for doing this, but I didn''t have the time or luxury to be subtle," I said quietly. "The Brotherhood is coming. They''re at the bottom of the Driveway. Rin is keeping them at bay, and so am I, but I need backup." "Never do that again," Logan said, clutching his head. "Not without permission," Hank amended. "We will be with you shortly." "I am sorry for not warning you first," I said, "but I will have to keep this line open for obvious reasons." Logan grunted in acknowledgment, and my entire focus returned to the approaching threat. My mental trick, while initially devastating, looked to be fading quickly with the help of the redheaded teenager. She stood at the bottom of the extended driveway that I just arrived at. Rin was sprinting towards a recovered Night Kat with his club raised and he swung with the intention to brain him. And he probably would''ve, if I didn''t nudge his arc at the very last moment. It smashed into the cat''s chest instead of its head. He went, spinning, snapping, and breaking every branch in his path. Rin stared at his club in wonder before spinning around to see me. I was more focused on the ensemble that stood in front of me. Erik Leshner himself, Frog, Pyro, and the Psychokinetic girl that has been giving me so much grief. "So, you''re here," Magneto said, with an amused tilt to his voice. "You don''t look like much. But looks can be deceiving." He wore a flowing trench coat, a peculiar composite armor of leather and metal, and his signature helmet that neutralized all telepathic energies. "You are not welcome here," I said. "I gathered. Yet, here I am," he said. "I was hoping your second would be here when we had this conversation, but I suppose I could settle for the stronger of the pair." "Save it," I cut him off. "I already know what you want, and you can''t have us or them. The kids don''t want or need your protection, and I don''t know if you''ve been paying attention, but Dante and I don''t either." Magneto scoffed. "You think the United States government makes for better protectors than your kind? They will turn on you as they turned on us," he said. "Even now, they conspire to pass a law that will strip you of your freedom, a law that Xavier and I spent years trying to bury. Thank you for undoing all his hard work by killing him by the way," he said, voice dripping sarcasm. I let out an exasperated sigh. Where to even begin? Chapter 94 I let out an exasperated sigh. Where to even begin? "You are operating on half-truths and misinformation, and I don''t care enough to educate or correct you. You will leave, Magneto, or not even that telepath of yours will be able to stop me." Wanda and I briefly locked eyes. To her credit, the girl held my gaze. I liked her spirit. Logan, Scott, Bobby, Kitty, and Hank arrived just as I spoke, lining up behind me in tenuous solidarity. "You think you can win because you managed to get a jump on Xavier?" he scoffed. "I am in another league entirely. Who do you think put Xavier in the wheelchair to begin with?" "I thought you were friends, or at the very least respected each other?" "Xavier made his choice long ago, and you''re making the same mistake he did by refusing me. The most powerful of us must cooperate if our race is ever going to thrive, and there needs to be a clear leader." "And I take it you''re it." Magneto''s wrinkled lips formed a Cheshire grin. "And I don''t appreciate competition." As if on cue, Sabertooth leaped out of the forest. I caught him with my telekinesis just as Magneto stretched his hand out to Logan, seizing him. He sent him in my direction, claws first with a flick of his hands, setting Logan up to impale me. Rin leaped in front of me to protect me, while Scott and the rest of the mutants flailed in surprise, but I was ahead of them. I threw Sabertooth at Wolverine. They clawed into each other the moment they clashed, and Magneto was forced to relinquish his hold on them. The rest of the team used that lapse in his concentration to attack. Scott fired a Concussive beam, which was blocked by the red-haired girl, who raised a portion of the driveway. And Toad leaped forward, tongue lashing at Kitty Pryde, who went intangible. Bobby covered his hand in ice, sending a spray at the reptilian mutant, but John interrupted him with a fireball of his own and a crooked smile. "Been a long time, Bobby boy." "I knew you were rotten, but this is a new low even for you, John," Bobby said. "Think of the kids." "I am thinking about the kids!" he yelled as he fired a thick torrent of fire. Rin plucked a knife from one of his many pockets and tossed it at John''s head. I was forced to stop it, leaving me open for an attack from Magneto and the telekinetic. With a great heave, she sent the deconstructed wall of shrapnel she''d raised at the X-Men. Magneto flicked his hand, plucking several lamp posts from the ground, which he casually added to the attack wave. Digging deep, I raised a telekinetic wall that bounced back every attack that slammed into it, protecting our entire side. The technique drew more into my reserves than expected, but it only caused a fraction of the mental strain it used to. The entire battlefield froze at my display, and even Magneto raised a brow in surprise. He resumed his assault immediately, though. As did the rest of the mutants. The telekinetic girl quickly became a thorn in my side, targeting Rin and using him as a buffer to keep Scott''s laser off her. Meanwhile, Pyro and Bobby duked it out, scarring the landscape with ice and fire. Kitty struggled to make clear headway with Toad. While she clearly had the better mutation, Toad was so good with his tongue that he made it next to impossible for her to touch him. His tongue moved lightning-fast. Without precise calculation on her part, any attempt to grab hold of the tongue could result in a ghastly wound at the least. Logan and Sabertooth rumbled in the forest somewhere, and from what I could track, Logan was losing to the larger man''s ferocity and strength advantage, but Logan had him beat in claw sharpness and endurance, so I wasn''t too worried. Dr. Hank was getting ready to jump into the fray when Night Kat showed up, and the big man was compelled to pair up. Meanwhile, I faced Magneto. "Let''s see what you''re made of," he announced like some budget movie villain and started to fire all of the metal objects in the area at me. I raised my shield again, making it spherical, enduring the oppressive wave of metal shrapnel. Unlike last time, Magneto didn''t stop after the metal objects were deflected. He looped it around and pressed them on the shield and shaped them into a tornado of metal death. Even Rin''s weapons got dragged into the frenzy as well, and the kid, finally tired of being puppeted, spat in the girl''s face when she looped him around. In a rage, she chucked him at me and yanked Scott''s visor off his eyes. She then raised the discombobulated mutant, spun him around, and flung him away. Meanwhile, Rin was in very real danger, hurtling towards a storm of metal that would''ve shredded a lesser mutant. Hand stretched forward, I grabbed him mid-air, and so did the girl, beginning a mental tug-of-war. My telepathy still easily covered the battlefield despite the strain, and I could see that we were slowly losing. If I fell, then everybody else would. So, I switched gears. My plan was risky, but I did it anyway. I narrowed my telepathic scope, forsaking battlefield awareness to concentrate on just Toad. With a simple flex of my will, I sent him pressed hard into the ground. I heard a loud cry erupt from his gargled throat as several bones snapped. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. Kitty leaped back, surprised by the sudden crater, and I spoke to her mind. "Go help Logan, and drag Sabertooth into a tree or something. It should free him up so that he can help." "Couldn''t that kill him?" she asked. "If you haven''t been paying attention, they''re trying to do the same thing to us," I said. "Stop holding back, or somebody might actually die." To my side, I saw that the fight between Bobby and Pyro was winding down. Bobby skated around John, encasing his leg and hands in a thin layer of ice before riding up in an icy wave and socking him in the face. Serves him right. "Stop staring and go!" I snapped at her and connected to Bobby next. "Good fight," I sent. "Are you good for another round?" He flinched but slowly mastered himself. "Jean¡­thank you? And yes, I''m game for another round." "I need you to be ready to fire with everything you have at Magneto when I give the signal. Hold nothing back." Finally, I linked to Scott''s mind. He was disoriented and upset. The fear rolled off him in waves as he scampered and crawled. The world raged around him, and all he had to go on were sounds and smells. "Scott," I sent to him in a soft voice. "Jean?" "I''m here." My heart ached for him. He hid his insecurity well under all that bluster and bravado, but in the end, he was just as afraid and fragile as I was¡ªafraid of the power that bubbled underneath. "Jean¡­I need my visor back. I can''t¡­fight." "She has it," I sent, but not for long. "You can trust me, Scott. Let me be your eyes. Let me show your target." "O¡­kay." Slowly, I commanded Scott to his feet and pointed him in the general direction of the red girl. "Now!" I yelled to both Scott and Bobby. The night burned scarlet as twin beams of energy speared out of Scott''s eyes and slammed hard into the witch. She copied me at the very last second, generating a film of red energy that protected her, but Scott with and without his visor was very different. The beam launched her hard into a tree and pinned her there until her shield sputtered, and she was knocked unconscious. Over at my side, a wave of frost crashed over Magneto, forcing him to disengage and fly away. "Stop!" I yelled to Scott as I sent his visor over to him and threw Rin halfway across the ground, leaving me a clear view of Magneto. With a powerful shove, I sent his metal arsenal flying into the forest. In the forest, I sensed that Kitty had done what I''d asked and trapped Sabertooth in the bough of a particularly large and hard tree, and Hank was finishing his fight with Night Kat by putting the mutant out of commission by snapping a few bones. With all of the Brotherhood down, I glared at Magneto with equal parts malice and amusement. "What was that about your place on the hierarchy?" Magneto''s eyes surveyed us, and I could see a semblance of panic creep into his features, but he remained stalwart. "I''ve fought against the worst odds," he said. "You haven''t fought against me," I said with a wave of my hand. A tree ripped from the ground, root system and all, and hurtled at him at considerable speeds. To my surprise, he raised his hand, creating an electromagnetic barrier. The tree snapped in half, shoving him back, and Bobby and Scott fired at him. Magneto banked to the right, dodging both beams as he waved his hands. Several bits of metal flew at everyone present, and I had to seize them all with my telekinesis and toss them even farther into the forest. Circling back, I reached out for him with my telekinesis and pulled, but Magneto fought my grip with his shield. Sweat poured from his brows as his lips quivered in effort, but I kept pushing. "It doesn''t feel particularly good, now does it?" I quipped. Just as I was about to crack his sphere, he did something I should''ve expected for someone of his moral fiber. He reached out for the house, and I felt his mind latch onto all the metal in the house, even the bits in the foundation. He tugged on them slightly, and the entire home groaned. The kids cried, and so did the X-Men. "What the hell is going on?" Scott demanded. "The lunatic!" Bobby exclaimed. "He''s trying to pull the house apart," Hank supplied in horror. "The kids," Kitty exclaimed. "I have to get them out." "Go," Logan commanded, leveling a glare at Magneto, then, he looked at me. "Can you stop it?" "Short of snapping his neck, no," I said with some bitterness. He had years of experience on me, and I did not have the fine control to wrestle with him. I bit my lip in frustration. "I admit," Magneto heaved, "Coming to a compound mostly devoid of metal might''ve been a mistake, as was underestimating you. However, you''ll be committing an even bigger mistake if you don''t order the girl to stop! Or else, I''ll give the children something to truly cry about." "You''ll stoop this low?" Logan demanded. "I try not to make a habit of if, but yes, no sacrifice is too great to ensure the freedom and protection of my kind," he said. "And you should feel the same way." Steve Rogers The modern world was strange, to say the least. Devices as thick as a machine gun magazine with the mental juice to run circles around some of our brightest minds. Cars far faster, smaller, and quieter than anything we had back then. Even the telephones were small enough to fit on the inside of your ears. However, what had been the most surprising so far was the sheer variety of things that existed out there. Demons were apparently a thing, and so were mutants. I tried to ignore the stare of the blue-skinned kid sitting beside me in the car. His eyes practically shone stars when he saw me, and after peppering me with hundreds of questions he''d allowed me to sit in peace, but his eyes never left me. He had a tail, fangs, and yellow eyes¡ªeverything you''d expect from a demon. Ironically, he wasn''t the demon on the team. Well, half-demon, technically. From everything Coulson, one of my two new partners, told me, the real demon was a wild card. He had no problem throwing himself headfirst into danger and had colored outside the line his entire life. He swore he was on the side of good now, but he never officially joined SHIELD and was paid on a commission basis. He sounded more like a mercenary than anything else, and the only person he seemed to care for was himself and the girl they were going to back up. And apparently, she was even worse. "We''re not nearly as scary as Coulson makes us out to be." I heard a voice say in my head, and my heart stopped. Coulson slammed the brakes, and even the perpetual monotone Asian lady seemed to jump in her chair. The kid beside me took it well, all things considered, hinting that this might''ve not been his first time. My grip on my shield tightened. It was all I could do to keep my composure. It was one thing hearing about mutants and their abilities, and it was experiencing it firsthand. "I''m sorry for the rough introduction, Cap," the voice said. "The situation is dire, and I need your help." "No worries," I said, shifting in my seat. "It''s what I''m here for." That earned me strange looks from everyone present. "You can hear her in your head, can''t you?" "Initially, yeah?" Coulson said. "Though now that I say it out loud, it''s a wild thing to admit to." "What do you need?" "We need you to enter from the back of the house and rescue a group of mutant kids being held hostage by a mutant terrorist madman," Jean said. "And you cannot bring your shield or any type of metal. It will only alert him." Chapter 95 My plan became a hundred times easier when I learned they sent Kurt and the Captain for support. From reading his memories, I knew he was here to bring the X-Men into the fold and get them under SHIELD''s jurisdiction, but I was not too concerned about that now. I gave the kids a heads-up about the Captain by connecting with Kitty and having her talk to them. Then Kurt and Captain America went in. The former was for quick transportation, and the latter was insurance in case the old blowhard catches on. I informed every X-men and Rin about the plan I had running in the background, even Scott. While he was bombastic and often angry, he was dedicated to the children, and I could count on that. "You should be glad this is happening," Magneto said. "The children would''ve floundered under your command. They would''ve never accepted you, the woman who killed their beloved Professor," he chuckled. "Children. Old enough to love but not old enough to understand how twisted love can be," he laughed, and I leveled a glare at him that was only half forced. In the periphery of my mind, I kept a mental link with Captain America, who tasked me with the oddest of requests after using Kurt to teleport to the house. He wanted me to bring down the electric poles to cut the electricity to the main house so that he could save the kids. ''Given everything you''ve told me about this character, he might kill some of those children to prove a point,'' the cap sent. ''He wouldn''t'', I thought. ''Not if he thinks he still has me on his side.'' ''Scott,'' I sent out. I need you to channel your anger and fire your thickest beam at Magneto.'' ''What! Why?'' he demanded, already visibly emoting. I almost let out an exasperated groan. He was going to give away the plan without even trying. ''Just trust me, please.'' I saw his face bunch up in conflict, but he eventually relented. ''Fine,'' he said. ''I''ll do it. I''m ready whenever you are.'' Tense seconds passed as Kurt got into position and the other X-men prepped for the plan. "You''re going to let my men recover, then detain you, and after that, we can discuss the new hierarchy of things. I look forward to having two omega-level telekinetics on my team." ''Now!'' I sent to Scott, and he acted immediately.'' "Yeah, no!" Scott snapped and tapped on his visor. A thick energy beam speared straight at Magneto, which I diverted with a speedily generated telekinetic shield. The effort left me wincing slightly from the impact. Magneto stood there stunned, but before he could act, I shifted the shield, causing the laser to wildly flare out, carving a thick trench through the driveway. With careful angling, I shifted the direction of the beam until it sliced through the powerline. Moments later, Rin and Logan tackled Scott, pinning him to the ground. "Are you trying to get those kids killed, you asshole!" Rin growled. Sweat covered my brow, and Magneto looked at me with awe and respect. The Redhead, slowly rising to her feet, still regarded me carefully. It seemed rescuing their leader did not make up for nearly killing her. Then again, it would be strange to expect otherwise. Magneto''s ire shifted to Scott now that he had recovered some. Rin and Logan released him, and he defiantly glared at the mutant leader. "I should kill you for what you did," Magneto said, then looked at me, "but that would be wasting all her goodwill. Cross me again, and I won''t be so lenient. " --- Captain America I watched in amazement as a thin burning line arc out into the sky, and electricity winked out. And to think that potent power came out from a kid''s eyes, of all places. Howard Stark would''ve killed for a weapon with that kind of firepower during the war. I''m glad the kid was on our side. "I''m ready," Kurt Wagner said beside me, and I nodded, grabbing hold of his shoulder and raising the improvised torch I made. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. The world twisted around us, and I found myself standing in the belly of the house, with low moonlight peeking in. The kids yelped at my sudden appearance, and many of them oohed and awed at my costume and Kurt''s appearance. "Settle down, kids," I said. I know you''re excited and a little bit scared, but I promise we''ll get you all out of here in no time at all." --- Jean The operation proceeded entirely too smoothly. The Brotherhood was regrouping, and Kitty had just started removing Sabertooth from the tree when the Cap gave his okay. She appropriately left him in, and I concentrated my full might on Magneto''s bubble while the rest of the team tackled the weakened Brotherhood. The Redhead tried focusing her attention on me again, but Ren and Kitty were on her like white on Rice. Without Sabertooth to keep Wolverine at bay, Night Kat fell a second time. Toad was folded with a slap, following a quick grab of his tongue by Dr. Hank, and Pyro had barely recovered enough juice to throw one low-effort fireball. Bobby froze him, pinning him to the ground. Magneto gasped at the sudden pressure, roaring. "You fool! You just doomed them all. Stop this at once or¡ª" "Do your worst," I bit back, resolute as I redoubled my effort. His bubble shattered just as the house ripped itself apart. Metal rods, appliances, and wiring came ripping out at strange angles. Before my power could crush him, I felt the air shift. Faster than I could blink, several X-Men were flipping through the air. I reformed my Telekinetic shield nearly too late. An incredible force crashed into my shield, sending me skidding several feet back. When I looked up, I found Pietro gasping and grunting, with his leg bloodied and barely holding on. Behind him was Mystique, who was completely unconscious. "Where is Kelly?" Magneto demanded as he surveyed their battered appearances. "What the hell happened." A portal of gold and yellow materialized behind me, and a familiar face stepped out. He was flanked by Natasha and Clint. Dante was in a different pair of pants than he had on earlier and had switched to sneakers. Only his jacket was the same and was probably the only thing that survived the ordeal he''d had to endure. "Kelly is toast," Dante declared. "Literally. Quick Silver can tell you all about it." ''Are you alright?'' I sent to him through our telepathic link. ''Could be better, but that''s a conversation for another time,'' Dante sent back. "Dante Sparda," Magneto said, still frazzled and tired, but he put up a brave front. "So, you''re the mutant I''ve heard so much about." "Half-demon," Dante corrected. "That''s what I am, and those are who you need to worry about if you want to protect mutant kind. I mean, look at what they did to the fastest member of your team," I said, gesturing at Quick Silver. "What is he going on about?" Magneto demanded, and Quick Silver fell back on one knee. "Pietro," his sister called as she hurried over, wrapping him up in a hug. She threw Magneto and the lot of us a dirty stare. "Can''t this wait? He''s injured." "And he will get the help he needs," Clint said, "but first, you need to hear what he was to say." "It''s fine," Pietro said, grabbing a hold of his sister''s shoulder. He looked straight at Dante and said the last thing I expected. "Thank you. If you hadn''t acted when you did¡­" "You both be dead, yeah," Dante waved somewhat dismissively, earning an annoyed look from the Redhead. "Don''t give me that look, Wanda," he huffed, startling her. I saw the mirth spread across Dante''s face. Only I officially knew his Clairvoyant thing was a total hack. He told me he was drawing on information carried over from his time with Shin. Pietro was slow to speak, but when he finally got going, he gained everybody''s attention. Apparently, the demons wanted the Mutant Registration Act to pass and went as far as kidnapping and compelling Kelly to put out an insurance video he recorded earlier, just in case. When Quick Silver and Mystique found him, Isha Stormfire, the Cambion, was about to eliminate him. He lasted all of five seconds against her invisible wind attack that shred through his leg, nearly crippling him. Mystique took an attack to the chest, and she only survived, thanks to her healing factor and durability. "I think it''s fairly obvious who our true enemy is," Dante said. "Forget who rules what. There''ll be nothing to rule over or lead if the government rounds up all of the mutants and delivers them to the Alien demons who want to rule over our world." "Aren''t you one of them?" Toad croaked in obvious distrust. "And why should we listen to somebody so weak and spineless? Do they know that you torched down your friend''s store just to cover up murdering my men!" His comment earned a mixed look from every mutant present. A few looked at him with respect, others with fear. Rin was a proud mix of both. Dante could''ve asked that boy to kill for him, and he probably would''ve. Dante, for his part, snorted. "Which is it? Am I so weak that I stood no chance against you and your goons and had to be saved by a random freak fire? Or was I strong enough to eliminate them, kill Donnie, and incinerate his store as I made my escape? And let''s not forget that you forced me to fight when you stuck me with a 100k debt and tried to recruit me into your ridiculous outfit," Dante growled and jabbed his finger at Toad. "Donnie''s death is on your head. As a matter of fact, I would''ve dropped you where you fucking stood if it wouldn''t jeopardize this budding alliance." Toad tried to raise his voice in protest, but Magneto shut him up with a look. "As impertinent as Toad is, he does have a point. What makes you different from the other half-demons?" "For one, I''ve chosen to ally myself with you and rescued hundreds of mutants from their clutches," he said. "And for a second, they want me dead and have tried to come for me three times now. I figured putting them in the ground before they did to me was in my best interest. You can only get lucky so many times." Magneto hummed at that, seemingly in agreement. "While that''s certainly not the tonality I would''ve chosen, Dante does have a point," Dr. Hank said. "From the change of clothes and the look about you, it must''ve been quite the fight." He laughed awkwardly. "You have no idea. I would''ve died if it wasn''t for Clint, and I pulled out all the stops. We need to come together, or we''re fucked, but first, I vote we tackle the Kelly issue?" "What do you have in mind?" Wolverine asked. "Something I think you''ll all like," he said with a wide, calculating smile. Chapter 96 Isha My escape artifact flared up in a bright, complicated flash of demonic and magical energy, depositing me in the home of the last person I ever wanted to be, but I had no choice. I had a hole in my heart that refused to heal and was rapidly losing blood. My options were limited. I groaned as I pushed myself off the wooden floors, struggling to stand upright as I heard a flood of feet pattering around me. In front of me, I sensed a presence that dwarfed me in power but not in size. "You look terrible, Isha," a diminutive voice rang out sonorously. "Strange seeing you here. Didn''t you promise to rip out my throat the next time you saw me?" "I''m bleeding out, Domina," I growled at my insufferable sister. "This is not the time for games." Domina squatted down to my level, grabbing my jaw with her delicate fingers. She raised my face until my eyes matched hers. "This is exactly the time." My body wracked in pain as I glared at her. Domina had purple hair, porcelain skin that made her look deathly pale, and deep purple eyes. She was dressed in a kimono, of all things, and had an ever so slight smirk on her face. "When else am I going to see my younger sister so humble?" she teased. "If only Corvus could see you now. It would break his heart. Done in by both brothers." "Will you help me or not!" I said through gritted teeth, and she finally relented with a sigh and a snap of her fingers. Her attendants produced a stretcher and delicately transported me onto it. They were all dressed in black ninja attire and ferried me deeper into the Japanese-style mansion. Domina watched me go with a smile on her face. "Don''t you worry your head, sister. I will rule New York in your absence. Going back to America should be¡­fun." "No!" I protested, but it came out weak. As my consciousness faded, the image of Domina persisted with me. She stood in a courtyard, silhouetted against a large paper wall with a bloodied print. --- Dante "After coming to terms with my mortality, I realized that I might''ve been too harsh on Charles Xavier. He was not a perfect man, but everyone deserves dignity in death. And so, it''s with great remorse and contrition that I admit that I might''ve overplayed Charles Xavier''s involvement in my personal life and career." Dozens of hands shot up in the crowd around me as reporters fired off question after question, but ''Senator Kelly'' only pointed at a redhead beside me. She wore thick glasses, had freckles on her cheeks, and a hat to ward off the New York Sun, but anyone who''d seen her beauty up close recognized her in an instant. It was Natasha Romanoff. "But everything that you claim did happen after Xavier''s visits¡ªthe sudden change in your political positioning, your divorce, and the fact that you even barely see your daughter. Are you, in essence, saying the entire video was fabricated?" I leaned forward with my microphone to get a clear answer from the panicked Senator. We stood in the second row of reporters outside Kelly''s lawyer''s office, and the powers at be had pulled out all of the stops. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. The interview was being televised and recorded, and the two stars¡ªNatasha and ''Senator Kelly'' were playing things up. "Things are not that simple. Xavier was¡­persistent. He saw me at odd hours of the day and night, and he refused to take no for an answer. He might''ve not used his mutant ability against me, but he pushed me to the brink." More murmurs and questions pulsed through the crowd as my lips stretched into a satisfied smile. "To be clear, your video condemning Charles Xavier, and by extension, his students, the government, and mutants worldwide, was an opinionated piece with no evidence?" ''Kelly'' conceded with a begrudging "yes" but was quick to backpedal. "However, it does not invalidate what I''ve been saying for years. Mutants are walking, breathing weapons. In the same way, you would require a gun owner to register their firearms and gain permission from the state to use them, so should we encourage mutants to do the same for their mutation. How many millions of crimes remain unsolved worldwide every year because Law Enforcement don''t have the data to target the right people?" "You''re discounting the presence of organized criminal organizations, terrorists, and the desperate state of international law enforcement, especially in the Third World," Natasha pointed out. "And you just said it yourself, Senator, you''re one to let your emotion affect your opinions. Who is to say that your prejudices haven''t colored your politics as well?" ''Kelly'' gnashed his teeth refusing to answer as he was peppered with more relevant questions. "Senator, what life-threatening situation did you face?" "Are you afraid that the mutants will come for you?" "What do you have to say to those people who say there''s a deep-state conspiracy to silence you?" ''Kelly'' looked back, surveying the crowd before suddenly announcing, "No further questions." He spun around, hurrying into his lawyer''s embrace as he was ferried up a flight of stairs. Well, that went well. Before I could say as much to Natasha, I heard Jean whisper to my mind. ''They''re here.'' ''Where?'' I asked. ''Do you need me?'' ''No, Yao has it well in hand.'' --- Yao I stood beside my blossoming student Jean, observing the latest scheme cooked up by another student, Dante and Fury. They had the shapeshifter, much to her and Magneto''s chagrin, play Kelly to pacify the public. Meanwhile, Fury approached the government and other people affected by Charles in the background and forced their silence through mostly peaceful means. The plan had only taken an evening to put together and execute, but we had no doubt the demons would show up and try to put an end to our plans. After all, their entire ploy to flush out the mutants hinged on this. I expected a veritable army of demons and had prepared as much, gathering dozens of masters from the Sanctums around the world. What I hadn''t expected was for one portal to open up in front of me. I came face-to-face with a Cambion that put even me on edge. Her purple bob-cut hair danced in the wind. She wore a bomber jacket, a short shirt with a bloody handprint on it, and baggy jeans. If I didn''t know what she was, I would''ve mistaken her for a teenager Jean''s age. She had the third highest death count for Master wizards and was Daughter of the Beast, the former head of The Hand organization. "Yao," Jean whispered beside me. "I know," I simply said. "And I''ll take care of it." A simple swipe of my hand brought me face-to-face with her. We stood on the roof of an isolated skyscraper, obscured from view by the sheer altitude. "It''s been what, 80 years, Yao?" she teased. "You don''t look a day over 500." "And you shouldn''t be here," I said. "I had to see what the excitement was all about for myself," she said. "Your new pet put a hole in my sister." "She struck first," I said smoothly. "I''d be surprised if she didn''t," she laughed. "Still, I have to kill him and his girlfriend too. While I''m at it, I should probably wipe out the greater part of SHIELD. Without Hydra mucking about in there, they''re too great a threat to leave alive." "Belasco has finally let you off his leash." A flickering look of irritation crossed her porcelain face before vanishing. "We''re in the final days of the war, Yao. It means I can finally have some fun." She flicked her finger with a smirk, propelling forward a dense ball of red and black energy. The air seemed to twist around it as it rocketed forward at impossible speeds, shattering the sound barrier. The ball vanished into the mirror dimension before it reached me. "Great catch, Yao. You still got it! I was afraid this was going to be too easy. Tell the kids I''m coming for them. Not that it would make much of a difference," she laughed and vanished into a portal. Jean touched down beside me a second later, having levitated herself across the distance. "Who is she?" she asked. "Somebody I hoped to avoid until much later," I said. "Domina isn''t like the others. She doesn''t care about collateral damage. She will come for you when you''re at your weakest. You both need to be ready." Chapter 97 I stepped into a private elevator, dressed in my red jacket, a loose shirt that bore a healthy dash of cologne, and a pair of steel point boots. Fighting with my open cosmic wound was well and dandy, but the day-to-day was beginning to irk me, not that the constant AE expenditure had not been immensely valuable. I had it up to 51 AE now. It had been a week since the press conference, and I''ve been pushing myself to the brink. I spent every waking moment training with Mordo, Rin, or the Ancient one, smithing, fighting, and plotting. Shin''s forcefulness was becoming a legitimate concern, and I''d been working on countermeasures just in case he decided to do the unthinkable and cut me off somehow. I never wanted the strength he gave me, but I was glad to have it. Fighting without weapons or skills would be difficult, but I''d done it before, and I could do it again. I hoped I wouldn''t lose Rebellion though. The Elevator door dinged. "We''re here," Jean announced, pulling me from my thoughts. "You ready?" I asked her. "No," she answered truthfully, "but I have to be. We''ve been waiting on this for weeks." We stepped into a conference room filled with every mutant we''ve gathered so far. Captain America, Nick Fury, Logan, Professor Hank, Magneto, Mystique, and finally, Yao. "Now that you''re both here, we can get this show on the road," Fury said. "We all know why we''re here. It''s the demons. They''re at the top of our shit list and damn near every country''s as well. We need a long-lasting and effective solution." "I''m still a bit skeptical about this threat," Magneto said, "but I am inclined to believe the words of my second in command. Given, everything we''ve learned so far, the solution seems obvious, no? Annihilation." I mentally chuckled. Classic Magneto. I didn''t disagree though. My mouth watered at the thought of the Red Orbs. "That cannot be feasible, can it?" Hank asked. "As I understand it, there''s an entire world of them." "That might not be as impossible as you think," I said slowly. "A few A-bombs sprinkled throughout the realm, and some judicious hunting, and we''ll be home free.." "You shouldn''t joke about Genocide," Captain America said. "They''re innocents among them too." Innocents, really? I raised a brow, throwing a look at Yao. "We do not understand the greater complexities of their society," she explained, "but all evidence points to a hierarchical martial system, with quick-maturing offspring bred for war. All they''ve wanted in the last 400 years was to attack and conquer us, and with our primary protector gone, that dream might be finally possible for them." "We had a protector?" Fury blinked, alarmed. Yao slowly nodded, pointing at me. "His father," she said. "Sparda, the Dark Knight. An incomprehensively strong, nigh-immortal being who came to earth centuries ago. He chose to protect us from the demons, and it cost him his life." Yao''s comment earned me strange looks from every person present. "Demon royalty and selfless too, huh?" Fury shook his head, "why am I not surprised." Hank seemed more struck on the Immortal comment. "I''m even more fascinated by the biology of your kind. It would also explain your tremendous growth." I shrugged at Hank''s assessment, but it was Magneto''s gaze that caught my attention. "Do you seek revenge for your father?" "Not categorically," I said, somewhat honestly. "I barely knew the man¡­scratch that, demon. I''m more concerned with staying alive than anything else, which brings us back to my point. We can''t afford to go easy on the demons. The time for negotiation and conversation has long passed. They struck the first blow when they attacked my father, and then they kidnapped thousands of mutants for the explicit purpose of experimentation. It is black and white. I say we build a super bomb and wash our hands of the situation." Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. Jean had a reluctant about her before she spoke up. "While I agree with Dante, I think we shouldn''t write off an entire race just because of what the most vocal and powerful of them do," Jean said. "Heading over to Limbo, where the demons stay, will give us a real gauge of them, and the opportunity to rescue those we''ve lost." Captain America nodded in approval. "Now, that''s a mission I can get behind." A small part of me was opposed to Jean''s plan, even if my bomb tactic was rehearsed. I had no sympathy for the demons whatsoever, even after recognizing that every last one was not a piece of shit. A superbomb just seemed like an easier, long-term solution. Ilyana and Ororo had to be out of Limbo for this plan, of course. "That''s all well and good," Dante said, "but according to the Ancient one, no one who has ever entered Limbo has escaped." "Limbo itself is not heavily patrolled," Yao explained, "but the veil between our worlds is. They have an entire ministry of demon sorcerers adept with Space magic dedicated to it. We would be found in seconds, no matter how perfect our veil is." I raised a brow at her comment, pulling up the description for Angel Evade and reading it again. "Not necessarily," I said, out loud. "One of my techniques might bypass that limitation." Yao gave me a startled look. "Which one?" I was a bit hesitant to air out my techniques like this, but it wasn''t like they could do much with the information anyway, so I answered. "Angel Evade." The skill was fundamentally tied to Limbo, and I phased into the dimension each time I used the skill. If I drew on the connection to the skill and added in some actual magic, I figured I could open a portal to limbo. "Of course," Yao muttered. "If what is saying is true, we might just have our way in and out." "What about the demons on the surface," Logan asked. "There won''t be a point to the rescue mission if they keep kidnapping mutants." "True," Fury grunted, "but not everyone has to be on the rescue team. Between Dante''s superhuman squad, the brotherhood, the captain, and the sorcerers, we have enough firepower to go on the offensive." "Not nearly," Yao said with a dangerous glint in her eyes, "but we will soon enough. The demons broke the tentative ceasefire they had with the surface by attacking and kidnapping mutants everywhere worldwide. Typically, they limited themselves to espionage, asset and technological acquisition to avoid the ire of the most powerful factions on Earth. After the incident last week, however, their intent is clear. They''re making a play for the surface, and it''s high time we reminded the players of how dangerous these demons can be." "Don''t tell me you want to call on them?" Magneto frowned. "Nothing good will come of inviting the Hellfire Club into our coalition." "They exist?" Fury said with a somewhat startled look. "My agents never confirmed it." "They like to keep it that way," Magneto said. "They have a telepath among their ranks." "Of course, they fucking do," Logan grunted. "I already have a headache coming on." "Emma Frost is not as unreasonable as rigid as Xavier and can be won over if we convince her she has more to gain than lose if she sides with us," I said, as I pondered the identity of the other players. "Tony Stark is not a member of the club. Unfortunately, he is still in his party boy phase, but he can be swayed if he understands the risks. King T''Chaka of Wakanda is hard-headed, but his son will recognize the benefits of working with us." My words earned my owlish looks from Magneto, Mystique, and the captain. "It''s the kid''s thing," Logan explained, "knowing things he''s not supposed to." "Coulson did mention that," The Captain said, slowly regarding me. I noticed Magneto and Mystique''s glare as well. She was a Master actress and manipulator, but her eyes gave her away. She couldn''t help herself. I did kill her childhood bestie, Xavier. My eyes flashed red for effect. "It''s closer to Clairvoyance," I said with a smile, "important difference." I turned to Fury. "If we''re going to stand a snowball''s chance in hell, we need be able to take a Cambion on in a straight-up fight, which no offense, not a lot of people on our current roster can manage that. There are 50 of them. We''re going to need a lot of training and resources. How''s the government pocket looking these days?" "For this, infinitely deep," Fury said. "We''ll set you all up in SHIELD''s strongest stronghold until you''re ready. It should make someone even as powerful as Domina hesitate." Ah, Domina. From everything Yao had told me about her, which was precious little, I had no delusions I was ready to take her. If her junior sister could fold me, she could probably atomize me. "While I appreciate the enthusiasm," I began, sharing a look with Jean. "You can''t protect us, only the sorcerers meaningfully can. The same goes for the Brotherhood. Best case scenario, we stay in safehouses spelled by powerful sorcerers." "Establishing a link between multiple locations shouldn''t be that much of a challenge. I planned to do that for Dante''s new home anyway," Yao explained. "Great," I nodded. "The X-men get one location, the brotherhood, another." "Not so fast," Logan said. "I never agreed to nothing." "You should reconsider," I said plainly. "As you are, you''ve got no heavy hitters on your team, except for maybe Bobby and yourself. Ororo and Ilyana need you strong and united with Jean if you''re going to stand a chance." "Some of the kids will not like this," Logan said, "but it might be for the best." "Good then," I clapped. "We should all probably pick somebody important and try to recruit them while Fury is greasing the wheels of democracy and coordinating with other governments worldwide." "What if we run into one of those things?" Mystique said with a slight shudder. "Make a call and we''ll portal straight over," Yao explained, causing Mystique to frown. "You have no limitations on those strange portals you use?" "Only sight," Yao said. "As long as I can see it, I can appear there. Through satellite imaging via the courtesy of SHIELD, there should be virtually no place on earth where you could run to that we wouldn''t be able to find you." "That''s remarkable," Hank said in a low voice. "We have to be," I said. "It''s the only way we''re getting through this." Chapter 98 We stayed a while longer in the meeting, talking strategy and divvying up responsibilities. Jean and I were tasked with finding Ulysses Klaue, a Wakandan criminal sitting on a fat stack of Vibranium. We hoped to return Klaue and the Vibranium in exchange for weaponry and manpower in the upcoming fight. With Wakanda''s isolationist policies, I knew I was likely looking at an either-or situation, but if I had to choose, I''d settle for manpower. I already knew how to make a Vibranium SHIELD as well as several medieval weapons thanks to my new skill, and Jean digging through Strucker, Trasks, and Whitehall''s head. Madripoor. He had gained substantial power and influence, using his cache to buy incomprehensible wealth and surround himself with some of the most dangerous mercenaries on earth. I could think of no better proving ground for Rin. Plus, I bet the Red Orbs wouldn''t be bad after all. But it would have to wait until I was done with my third incursion. Yup. I bet you think I forgot about that. I had a week before my inner world was available again, and I planned to take on the invasion by myself, more or less. I needed the orbs, experience, and my speed, Devil Trigger, and phasing skill almost guaranteed my win. If things went wrong, I could always exit the realm, and get Jean. As she was now, though, she''d only slow me down. She was plenty powerful, but speed just wasn''t her strong suit. There was also the Shin of it all. I''d pissed him off by rejecting his offer, Again. And he was determined to get his pound of flesh this time. How it would manifest was a mystery, but as sure as the sunrise, I knew it was coming. In preparation for that, I''d started working with infernal metal. They had a ridiculously high melting point and were three times as durable as Steel, and that made them great for Arcane enchantment, or at least, one form of it. Probably because of the energy attunement, Angel enchantments had half the output regular metal did and took a huge dip in durability after each activation. However, they still ended up being far more durable than the average enchanted steel dagger or sword. Adding a rune of Protection, which ran on demonic energy helped a bit, but only if the blades were large enough. Two runes were the limit for smaller weapons like daggers. Four was perfect for larger weapons like say a long sword. Six was the maximum an armor piece like a breastplate could take. Vambraces and Greaves took two each just like the daggers. After one week of smithing, I felt like Arcane smithing was halfway through the Basic Tier. Gunsmithing got some love during this time as well. After talking to a Japanese sorcerer, I got my hand on a high-quality gun armory. It was hell heating up the Infernal metal and sealing the cracked barrel of Thunderer, but I got it done. My effort did not suddenly make the weapon operate at 100% efficiency. For my troubles, I did get the energy cost down by a third. Each shot of Thunderer now costs 50 DE instead of 75. While I was doing barrel work, I also invested in modifying the Sawn-Off I stole from Kroul way back when. The replaced Barrel bore one rune for impact, one for reinforcement, and the last for energy storage. The end result was a Sawn-off with enough juice to send the average man backflipping, literarily. --- I stood in a clearing, draped out in the best elite body armor the Sanctum could provide, which turned out to be black loose pants and a well-fitting black spelled with a few interesting effects. Standard Master Underclothes (Modified) A standard pair of Master Sorcerer fatigue that has been spelled with a potent Blood Magic Spell. Brutal Exchange. For a heavy blood tithe, gain a blood shield made from half of the vital essence sacrificed. If the shield is not triggered within an hour of the last drop of blood sacrificed, the Shield spell will be lost and channeled toward repair I gaped when Yao handed me the set. "At least this way your blood won''t go to waste," she said. It took a great deal of self-control not to wrap her up in a hug. "Thank you," I said, oddly emotionless. "You have no idea what this means to me." Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. She smiled. "I think I do. And do come back. Jean is still upset that you refused to bring her along." "It has to be this way," I said, folding my arms. They rested on my chest piece, which was patterned like Damascus Steel, tinted red. I was about 80% sure Shin was coming for me during the Quellitrax fight. He was all sorts of petty, and I wouldn''t put it past him to drag Jean, Rin, or even Yao into our beef just to stick it to me. I came up with all sorts of crazy theories, during my preparation. Shin body snatching me and using me to attack my allies to force my compliance, taking away my skills or weapon mid-combat to trip me up, and so forth. When I''d shared my suspicions with Yao, she told me that she legitimately did not know to which extent Shin had dominion over me Thus, the best and only place I could face this upcoming fight with some semblance of control was my Simulacrum. It was isolated, and I was in no danger really. I''d packed enough explosives to level a small town, so I felt somewhat confident heading into the fight. "I''ll be fine," I promised. "I have armor, failsafes, and I can always bail if things get too dicey." "Jean will kill you if you don''t make it back," Yao said. "And I''ll raise you from the dead and take my turn too." I grinned. "Miss me already." I activated my skill and the world flipped around me. I stood in a familiar environment. Red Sky, thousands of broken structures, a deep nebulous sea lapping underneath. I shifted in my red medium armor, which consists of a chest plate, Two pauldrons, greaves, and vambraces. "Let''s get this show on the road." With just two hours to the third incursion, I got to work, rigging 20 different floating islands with unique explosives. After some light experimentation yesterday, I figured out a nifty little trick to give the explosives I''d acquired from one of Hydra''s many safehouses a little extra oomph. I engraved clumps of rough infernal metal with as many storage runes as I could get away with, storing a shit ton of demonic and Angelic energy. They sat at the heart of each bomb, and when they went off, they carried enough oomph to shred just about anybody, save for the Cambions, I think. I''d gotten two new skills for my experimentation, Explosive Mastery (Basic) Grants you basic knowledge of how to make, craft, and strategically deploy explosives. The new skill didn''t excite me though. In fact, it made me even more wary. Shin likely saw the notification and knew what I''d been up to, but I did not let that deter me either. I worked through the night in silence, pushing the skill as far as I could reasonably. The result was an arsenal of bombs that had even I a bit taken aback. With five minutes left on the clock, I started with my final preparation, summoning a series of weapons, bandoliers, and leather attachments I pilfered from Yao''s vault. First was a waist bandolier, which I hooked all of my enchanted knives. I strapped on a back sheathe under my armor, which carried a Runed Katana I forged a few days ago. Two side holsters carried Ebony and Ivory, and my free hands gripped Rebellion. Betsy rested in a side holster, strapped to my leg. Carrying all of my weapons like this was not ideal, but I had no idea where or if the attack from Shin was coming. The easiest way to trip me up would be disabling Weapon''s Vault, removing my regeneration skill, or maybe even an energy manipulation skill. My strength, I was convinced, was the only thing I could probably rely on. When the counter reached zero, it happened. An ominous dot materialized on the platform in front of me and swelled to the size of a gigantic black doorway that swallowed up most of the platform. I summoned the clunky remote detonation device I''d set up for the fight and tried to keep from fidgeting as a voice boomed out. "LoNG tImE No See MOrsEliNG. YoU''VE GRoWN. GoOD. CoNSuMING You WiLL Be THaT MucH SaTISyING." I raised Rebellion. "Didn''t happen last time. Won''t happen this time, Quelli. Are you going to keep trying to talk me to death, or are you going to finally start trying?" The sky exploded as Quellitrax cackled. It was a long sobering thing that had me sweating a little bit at the end. "Be CAReFUl WhAT YoU WiSh FoR?" Five shadowy silhouettes emerged from the gate, and I was immediately on guard. Instead of shadowy sinewy monsters, the things that stood before me were once people. They were dressed in ornate armor you''d expect out of a high-fantasy video game with a variety of weapons. One brandished a Katana, another a Staff, the third a pair of claws, the fourth a sword and a tall tower shield, and the fifth carried the largest sword I''ve ever seen. In fact, on a second go-around, they all seemed eerily familiar. It reminded me of a sword I saw in an anime I used to read, Berserk, but it was not quite right. Elden Ring! It was from fucking Elden Ring. They all were. I scrutinized them further, noting that none of them were truly alive. Black ooze dripped from the sorcerer''s face, even as it was hidden below his wide-brimmed hat. The warrior had a similar look about him as well. "I thought you''d appreciate the callback," I heard a voice say behind me, and I spun around, immediately swinging Rebellion, but it went through the figure. It was Shin, standing in his glorious 5ft 2-inch body. "You were right to take my threat seriously," he grinned. "It occurred to me that you don''t appreciate just how much I do for you. So, I''m done protecting you from the big guy. The bets are off. He can invade you now at any time, or any place, but only two more times. And as a personal fuck you for not doing as you''re told, I''m giving old Quelli a leg up." Notifications flashed in front of me. Shin the Avaricious has removed your access to the following skills. Angel Evade Paradise Simulacrum Devil Trigger. My eyes went wide. "You fucker..." I couldn''t fight at my full strength, and I couldn''t leave. "Yes," he grinned. "Hurl curses at me. Like that will help you. Those motherfuckers he picked out are some of the toughest Tarnished he rustled up when he stormed a variation of Elden Ring. So, know you''re in for the fight of your life." I knew there''d be consequences, but not like this. I set my jaw. I wished I''d asked Yao to come at least, but I''d wanted to protect her. The Tarnished were a group of anointed people in the Elden Ring universe that could essentially level up, gather strength, and complete the main mission of the game, which was to become Elden Lord. They''d likely match my strength at least. I was a bit unsure about the speed and durability. "I''d slit my throat before I''ll bend to your whims," I said to him. Shin shrugged. "We''ll see how you feel when you''re bleeding out through every orifice, with an eldritch god closing. You''ll take my downgraded deal and love it." Chapter 99 Shin was playing with fucking fire, but he seemed more sure of himself than ever. According to him, my only options were eternal servitude and consumption, but I recognized a false dichotomy when I saw one. An odd sense of confidence suddenly settled over me. "I kinda feel bad for old Quellitrax," I said. "He can''t be okay with this entire situation. He''s doing all the heavy lifting, and you''re stealing the food right off his plate." "We have an agreement," Shin explained. "May the best man win, and if, for some reason, you decide to commit suicide by Cthulu, he''ll be compensated with a soul of commensurate value, Vergil," he smirked, and I burst out laughing. "You''re a real asshole, aren''t you?" "That''s not news." "No, it''s not," I said, "which begs the question: Why not disable my most powerful skills and abilities to absolutely stick it to me? The fight would last 10 seconds, and you''d get what you wanted. After all, you''re impatient and want what you want." My words earned a brow raise and a chuckle from Shin. "Or maybe I just wanted to put you in your place." "Maybe," I said, "but you''re far too old and experienced to make such an obvious mistake. You never let your enemy power up," I announced, tapping on the bomb switch. The Island erupted in a swirling inferno of Red and black Demonic energy. The shockwave was so powerful it sent me stumbling back and flipping to dodge debris. The explosion clung in the air for a few seconds before flickering out. All five fighters leaped out of the fire, scattered on different islands, some with bombs and some without them. Entire sections of their bodies seemed to be missing and on fire, but they seemed unconcerned. They each produced a flask that they knocked back mechanically. Almost immediately, the fire winked out, and their bodies started to mend themselves. Crimson Flasks or healing flasks. Fuck me. I wondered how many they had. This was going to be one of those fights. And the worst part was that I had to destroy their core, or they would probably just keep coming. The only way I was going to win this was by hitting them with enough firepower to put them down once and for all. Lucky for me, I had several demonic bombs ready to go. Shin''s eyes widened slightly, and I noted his reaction. "Don''t tell me you didn''t see that coming?" I laughed. "So, you can''t see everything I do every second of the day. Huh. That''s good to know." "Of course, I knew about your little project," he scoffed. "I just didn''t expect it to be so¡­" "Potent?" I laughed. "If you think that''s impressive, wait to see what else I have in store. Taking away some of my abilities is not the flex you think it is. If anything, it just made this fight much more interesting." Shin''s face gave away nothing. "if you think your bombs will be enough to defeat this invasion, then you''re sorely mistaken." "We''ll see, won''t we?" I laughed as I materialized a loaded RPG. "Just stand by and watch me work." I surveyed the line-up briefly before I selected my target. The Mage. Five were roughly equally spread apart, each standing alert, ready for me to make my move. It was a level of confidence and certainty I''d not seen from Quellitrax yet. His agents were treating this as more of a challenge than some rabid feeding frenzy, or maybe it was the other way around. Maybe they didn''t need to go on the offensive against someone beneath them. Banishing away my uncertainty, my free hand summoned a pair of detonators, clicking on them sequentially. With my baby skillset, rigging all of the bombs to a single detonator seemed like an impossible task, so I didn''t try to. Instead, each bomb got its detonator. Ordinarily, rapidly swapping out would be a problem, but I had the benefit of high dexterity. Explosions went off on two of the five platforms where the Tarnished stood. The Greatsword and Shieldbearer were specifically affected and leaped at me with astonishing speed. I hefted my rocket launcher, recruiting my second arm, but did not aim it at them but at the mage. I''d played enough Elden Ring to know how overpowered and broken a sorcerer can be. All it''d take was one spell, and I''d be hanging by a thread. The grenade shot out of the rocket with a subdued roar. I switched to Rebellion just as the Great Sword user tossed his sword. It moved faster than the RPG I''d thrown, and I flipped back in surprise just as the sorcerer fired an overpowered missile of blue energy at my grenade. Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. The SHIELD User rocketed at me with an overpowered stomp that Evasion warned me was life-threatening. I leaped into the air to avoid it and was surprised as a wave of spiky stone erupted from the point of contact. The Greatsword guy landed the second I took to the air and was already swinging his monstrous sword. Mid-air, a grin spread across my face as I summoned Rebellion and parried the hit. The blow was so strong it sent me flying off the platform, and they both chased after me immediately, but not before I hit my detonator. The Island exploded, sending them flying as I used Ophion to find my way to another platform. The moment I landed, he came for me. An Eldritch thing dressed in armor, swinging his Katana with a blue and white handle. Oh shit. It was the Moonveil Katana. The weapon was famous for its blue energy attacks that damn near broke the base game. He swung in a wide arc that unleashed a wave of blue energy that forced me to twist so fast that I was nearly parallel to the ground. But he wasn''t done with me. He came at my seemingly vulnerable body with a diagonal cut that would''ve drained at least half of my health bar. He swung so fast that it triggered Evasion, forcing me to twist to the side while spiking Demon Evade. A grin spread across my face as I felt the surge of energy from the skill. A Burst threw me straight at his head. Arbiter materialized in my palm, packed with demon energy, and I swung. To his credit, Katana dude was quick on his feet, twisting and raising his blade to mitigate damage, but he was boxing way out of his weight class. The blow sent him flipping. I recognized that the flip was intentional on some level, but that didn''t make him any less vulnerable. I fired a flush with Arbiter, sending a glowing red blade head spinning. It crashed into a tall tower Shield of the Shield Eldritch, saving Katana man from a disgusting amount of damage. A moment later, Evasion activated, and a beam of blue energy swung low, bisecting the Island I was on, much to my surprise. The foothold underneath me fell to the wayside as I leaped back to avoid the attack. It swept at me just as Katana dude leaped, trying to cut off my escape route. What it didn''t count on was Ophion. I yanked him close with Angel Pull, twisted, and used Gust at 30%, sending us spinning. Katana man raised his sword, intending to cut Ophion''s chain, but I fired Betsy at Katana guy just as the beam reached us, shoving him straight into the blast. It enveloped his body entirely, rocketing him towards the sea. Miraculously, he didn''t die, as the claw user leaped after him. I summoned Aquila, hoping to stop them both, but the Greatsword user attacked before I could fire. I switched to Ophion to pull me to the nearest platform, while I pulled out Thunderer and switched to Rebellion. The Greatsword user''s blow came down with the strength of fifteen men, cratering the fragile island ground under me. I leaned under his sword cut and stabbed with Rebellion, but he rolled into the blade, letting the attack slide across his pauldron. He swung upward with his gauntleted fist, intending to cave my chest in, but Evasion warned me before the blow connected. The protection rune on my vambrace flared as I banished Rebellion and activated Parry. The protection rune halved the impact of the punch, and Parry damn near nullified it, throwing back the force at him, but the hit still sent me sliding back several feet. While he was still reeling, Demonic energy flooded Thunder as I activated Focused Shot. I closed the distance between us with quick footwork, avoiding the hail of blue missiles whizzing past my head. Greatsword guy hefted his blade again, stepping back as he swung at me, but Evasion kept me three steps ahead. Leaning out of the way of the swing, I rolled to the side as the Katana wielder crashed into my former location swinging. He stepped forward, feet moving so fast Evasion triggered. On my left side, Greatsword guy was also swinging. I spiked Gust, giving me a 30% speed boost as I let both swings breeze by my twisting body. I triggered Demon Evade and amped up the damage even further with Cloak. Thunderer went off before I hit the ground. The sky flashed red, and the mage, who''d been taking potshots at me, stumbled back before crumbling entirely. The Shieldbearer was standing beside him with a chunk of his shoulder and Shield missing, too slow to react fully to the speed of the shot. I banished Thunderer, and a laugh bubbled from my chest as notifications flooded in. Parkour (Basic) has changed to Acrobatics (Adept) Increased balance, control, and precision when attempting daring acrobatic feet. +20% speed while performing acrobatics Demon Evade (Basic) has reached Adept. Increases your attack power by 2.75 for 6 seconds Costs 20 Demon Energy You''ve Killed an Eldritch Avatar. 2000 Red Orbs Now, this was what I was talking about. I immediately moved, determined to make the most of the bonus. Aquila popped out, and my hands blurred. I sent a spectral blade at the Katana wielder. He parried, slowing him down slightly while I spun around, pumping as much energy as I could into the floating fractal blades. After the fourth rotation, the two Eldrtich Avatars started backpedaling, pushing them to the very edge of the platform. A shotgun shot to the face sent the Katana wielder straight over, while a burst strike with Eryx was enough to rock the slower of the pair, but he still hung on, tittering on the edge. A spinning kick enhanced by the impact rune finished the job. And in time, too, as Evasion activated. The claws were inches from my face when I noticed them and the person wielding them. He was a hazy, shimmering version of the Claw Eldritch I saw at the start of the fight, but something was different about him. I found what that was when I dodged and counter-attacked with a Burst strike to the stomach. Evasion activated again before the attack fully connected, entirely too late this time. A claw attack bounced off my armored back before scoring a nasty gash in my lower back. I screamed, surprised by the attack. It felt like somebody was taking a bite out of my back. Osiris materialized in my hand, lending me a considerable speed boost before a follow-up attack landed. I twisted away in time, flipping back to get a full view of my attackers. Oh fuck. There were two of them. Two Claw Eldritches. The first one still looked misty and ethereal, while the second one seemed more solid and tangible. You''ve been afflicted with the Bleed Status. Congratulations: You''ve learned Arcane Resistance (Basic). "Mimic Tear," I growled. In addition to being a Spell Slinger or sorcerer, Elden Ring also allowed you to become a summoner, who can call up everything from a literal double to a knight, mage, and even spectral dogs. I swallowed. If the Claw Eldritch had a mimic, odds were the rest of them did as well. Chapter 100 I swallowed. If the Claw Eldritch had a mimic, odds were the rest of them did as well. I was right. A spectral Knight wielding twin longswords landed on my platform alongside the Greatsword Eldritch. An armored archer materialized alongside the Shield user, who was two platforms away, boxing off a potential avenue of escape. The Katana Eldritch was not far behind, standing a few platforms back with some ghostly backup of his own as well¡ªa squadron of wolves standing beside him, chomping at the bit to rip me apart. I took several careful steps back as the monsters boxed me in. My grip tightened on Osiris as I carefully considered my options. I pulled Ebony as I slowly shifted my stance. "Come on then," I called. "Don''t leave me waiting." They all pounced at once. The Twin-sword knight leaped ahead, as did the eldritch knight and the two clawed assholes. The wolves leapfrogged from platform to platform with their handler. I beat back the first two knights and the clawed Eldritch with an energetic spin of Osiris while I spiked parry, shoving all of their attacks back at their faces at half of the force. I leaned to the left, dodging a fatal hit from the archer. I activated Focused Shot and Demon Evade. Armed with double damage, I took a bold step forward, leaping toward the Katana Eldritch, who was already mid-air. Osiris blurred ruthlessly, gutting his wolves with uncanny precision before I faked him out with an Arbiter Strike. He raised his blade to block, and I even noticed that he had his eyes on Ebony, which was fully charged. He didn''t see the Burst-enhanced Spartan kick to the chest coming. It punted him to a platform, and I Angel pulled to him while pointing my charged gun at the leaping asshole behind me. It was the clawed Eldritch. The bullet took his head off. He fell towards the sea, but apparently, the shot had not been enough to kill him. A blackened tentacle sprouted from the layers of his armor, latching onto a rigged platform. I detonated the asshole before he had a chance to knock back his flask. The explosion eviscerated him, but it wasn''t quite enough to deal a death blow. For fuck sake. Still riding off my first Demon Evade boost, I twisted mid-air with the help of Gust, avoiding my second arrow shot while being yanked toward the Katana guy. I switched to Rebellion and spiked Gust just before I landed, allowing me to avoid a blue crescent hurtling towards me, but it seemed to be a feint. A kick lashed out lightning quick as soon as I landed, and my acrobatic skills came in clutch, allowing me to flip backward while kicking him in the chest and twisting mid-air as I launched a blue crescent of my own, opening his chest. Quick footwork threw me forward to meet his swinging blade, but I dropped to my knees, gliding past him just before we reconnected. Burst threw me back at him, and I spiked another Burst even as Arbiter swung. The blow wrenched him off his feet, tossing him sideways. I yanked his ragdolling body back. It exploded in a frenzy of black tentacles that rushed at me. I pulled Betsy and unloaded a spread into his body while still hanging on to him with Ophion. It opened him up like dead poultry, and just below the area where his kidneys should''ve been, I saw his shimmering weak point and smirked. It was a black gem-looking thing. His tentacles lashed at me in defense, but I responded quicker. I unsheathed my infernal Katana, spiking one of the precision enchantments I had baked into the metal. The rune shone an overpowering teal blue as a thin aura wrapped around the blade. In three cuts, I removed most of its tentacles and yanked him closer with Ophion before it could produce any new ones. My infernal Katana slashed the anchoring bead in half, startling the Eldritch monster. This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. Congratulations. You''ve defeated an Eldritch Avatar. 2000 Blood Orbs I kicked his dying body off the platform while I summoned Eryx and activated Cloak. The dual-wielding knight summon charged at me a second later, spinning his swords. Eryx burst with explosive demon energy and density as my punch threw him back. The Eldritch knight advanced to replace his companion, stabbing at me with his Great sword. I did not make the mistake of trying to block the strike, leaning out of the way instead. Unbalanced, I was almost unable to dodge the summon''s double sword swing when they landed. Burst threw me sideways, and Gust allowed me to recenter myself in record time, but it wasn''t enough. They came at me as one, the great sword user supplementing in areas where his partner fell short and vice versa. I switched up on them when I suddenly twisted and flipped backward. I fainted throwing a Round trip at the Eldritch knight, prompting it to raise his blade to block, leaving his aggressive and typically forward summon vulnerable. A fully charged round trip bit into him, eviscerating and pinning him on the spot. His partner came swinging at me, but I angled around his companion, tossing another round trip straight at his neck with a wicked grin. The Eldritch knight paused for a second before he continued swinging, splitting his summon in half. "Hardcore." I vaulted backward, and while I was mid-air, I sensed the Claw Eldritch Avatar''s hand approaching, benefiting from my Acrobatics 20% boost and Evasion. Gust allowed me to maneuver mid-air, dodging the strike, and I fired off a Round Trip with Aquila, pinning him in the air. As I landed, three more Round trips fired out in rapid succession. Each was diagonal and covered a major section of its body. I landed, weaving to the left to dodge another arrow shot before twisting around and battering the Eldritch''s body with Stingers. Blades of compressed wind and Angel energy battered its body until its orb popped, finally killing it. The Eldritch knight exploded with a savage, golden aura. I narrowed my eyes, immediately recognizing the buff Golden Vow. This technique gave you a flat 30% boost on your attack. As if that was not bad enough, he burst into flame, and I set my jaw. Flame grants me strength. That granted another 20% boost. I was suddenly unsure of taking him on in a straight fight. His strength already dwarfed mine, and his speed was awfully close despite enhancements. Did I even stand a fucking chance? I got my answer when he moved. Evasion barely activated in time, and I matrix dodged, sliding below a cut that devastated the Island I was standing on. "Nope." Even with my speed boost and fire coat, I was barely hanging on. I channeled a Burst to each leg and shot forward with the left one, vaulting off of my platform. Gust threw me toward the underside of an Island. It allowed me to avoid a vicious spray of gravity-charged arrows. I hustled across the underside, fetching the bomb I''d stashed there. Boost threw me to another platform before I even made my way across, saving me from another island-splitting strike. This one felt at least twice as strong as the previous one, and when I turned around, I found out why. As the chunks of the Island slowly tumbled to the sea underneath, I caught a glimpse of the knight. His sword glowed white, and I recognized the skill. Royal Knight''s Resolve. The skill granted you a flat attack boost of 80% on your next hit. Considering the Sword guy''s strength, it wasn''t all that surprising that he broke the Island. Despite the severity of the situation, I was fairly calm. I retrieved five bombs and escaped five Royal Knight''s smashes before I noticed something was amiss. The knight stopped chasing me, and the eldritch monster carrying the shield was no longer standing beside the archer, who was aiming at me. He let out shot after shot, peppering me with arrows, enchanted and unenchanted. Thunderer materialized in my hands. I fired at him after dodging an arrow shot to the face. The sky flashed purple, and most of its upper body was gone when the dust cleared. Congratulations. You''ve defeated an Eldritch Avatar 2000 Red Orbs. And now, there were two. New Chapter "What were you saying again, Shin?" I laughed as I strapped all five bombs to the underside of the largest Island before twisting over the edge and landing on top. "Let''s get this over with, then!" I taunted as my eyes searched the wreck around me. "I don''t have all day!" I felt him before I saw him. The ground underneath me shivered like it''d been struck by an earthquake, and then I heard Shin''s loud, raucous laugh. When I turned around, he was standing there¡ªa monster over 7 feet tall with four hands, two heads, and three weapons: a great Sword, Katana, Spear, and Tower Shield. My face bled all color. "Oh¡­shit." Chapter 101 My mind spun a thousand miles per second. How had I not seen this coming? Of course, the Knight and the Shield guys would combine if they had the chance. It''d happened before, for fuck sake. This was on me. My only hope of coming out of this alive was a one-shot. Luckily, I had enough explosives underneath the platform to level an apartment building. Whether or not he''d allow me to get it off was another question, however. Could I even outrun him at this point? My hand trembled as doubt flooded me. Drawing in a deep breath, I reviewed my resources again. HP: 400/830 AE: 120/530 DE: 230/690 They were not as high as I needed, but I would''ve had to make due. Energy flooded my legs and hands as I activated several techniques: two bursts for each leg, Gust, and Cloak. If speed wouldn''t help me here, how about Density? The Homunculus Knight scrutinized me with all four eyes, tilting his head to the left as a flickering aura billowed out of me. It alternated between smoke and fire before it finally settled on fire. It swung the Moon veil straight at me, sending a wave of blue magical energy forward. --- Shin I was impressed that he''d managed to hold on for this long, but Axel had always been different. I thought some Outerversal asshole was playing a prank on me when I found his soul in his universe. A planetary-level soul dwelling in the body of some no-name kid. It took a great deal of self-control not to pluck him immediately. My mouth salivated at the possibilities. I eagerly wanted to consume his soul but understood that creating a bonded servant was better. I only had a handful of Planetary-level servants in my employ, and most of them started substantially weaker. Axel was incredible straight out of the gate. His potential was frankly staggering¡ªwhich is why I was convinced there had to be some trap lying in wait. And that was my biggest mistake. My paranoia cost me his strength as Axel''s soul adapted to his body by discharging his sweet-sweet soul energy to not only bolster his fragile human body but also reduce itself so that the body and soul could survive. Oblivious as he was, Axel benefited greatly from this. His enhanced strength made his frankly average body into a machine of war. Watching the energy waste away was a hair-pulling experience, but I couldn''t afford to tip my hand just in case. Eventually, I had enough and incarnated two servants to test his limit. One in a championship fight that sneakily bombarded him with soul attacks. The second was a seductress who lay with him and tested his soul. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. One the night I intended to claim him, he did half of the work for me by tripping. My servant only had to bash his head in a few more times before I could pluck his soul from his body. That, as it turned out, was the second mistake I made¡­ His soul fought back vehemently. For some reason, it could sense that I was a real threat and spent most of its energy fighting me. When I eventually overcame him¡­Axel had the soul of an enhanced human, but a remarkable one nonetheless. For even in his weakness, Axel''s soul was not mine to completely manipulate. He made alternations to ensure that access was only possible by exchanging substantial resources. At this point, I was just about ready to extinguish him when a spot opened up in the universe I''d been trying to invade for a long time. Dante Sparda was on the brink of death because of get this¡ªalcohol poisoning and choking on his own vomit. I had a few servants orbiting that world, putting certain things in place for me. It was startlingly easy to ensure Dante Sparda died. I swapped out one soul for the other and gave him a mission that should have been impossible to accomplish¡ªacquire the Phoenix flame. I expected the bird to torch him so I could scoop right by and pick his soul, but the kid was more resourceful than I anticipated. His soul grew to inherit all of Dante''s abilities and enhanced them in ways he didn''t even recognize. The system, as he was currently using it, was window dressing¡ªonly there to record his success and bolster skill acquisition mildly, but he took that minor enhancement and exploited the fuck out of it. His skill acquisition and growth aptitude were head and shoulders above most of my servants. His instant Weapon Mastery skill was a thing that the ultimate version of Dante possessed, not this current version of him. And he shouldn''t have been able to access his Angel side the way he has. Time and Dimensional affinity? I scoffed. Where the hell did those come from? And why was his soul growing so fast? I sensed the changes in him long before Yao did, and that was why, after his success, I offered him a nugget of power. He''d swum when I expected him to sink, and it was only right that I rewarded him by bringing him into my employ sooner rather than later. Normally, I would''ve settled for him spending his way into servitude. I was used to my servants chomping at the bit for the smallest morsel, so Dante''s resistance threw me for a loop. I even went so far as to threaten him. The entire situation horribly backfired when Yao saw through my machinations. I''d seen a thousand versions of her, and not one of them delved into the depths of Soul Magic. Suddenly, I had to expedite my plans, which brought me here. "Your servant is more resourceful than you shared," Quellitrax''s Avatar said beside me. I was a long humanoid thing of void and eyes. "He''s more than meets the eyes," I said. "That''s why I chose him, and that''s why you want him so much." The avatar laughed in a thousand voices. I was not a fan of the rest of my ilk, and it was a huge risk showing Dante off in the first place, but Quellitrax was predictable. The only unknown in the equation was Dante, who had predicted the trap. Fortunately for me, he had the sense not to drag the Phoenix''s Avatar into this or the sorceress, determined to go it alone. While certainly admirable, it made it all to easy to spring my trap. From his perspective, both options were equally terrible, but he''s always been level-headed. He certainly hated me, but not so much that he''d suffer for all of eternity to prove a point. Of course, this assumes Quellitrax let him choose in the first place. This is also why I underreported the threat. I had to strike a delicate balance¡ªintroduce enough difficulty to make Dante seriously consider his options but not enough to instantly kill him and give Quellitrax the upper hand. It was why I seized the skills I did. Unfortunately, it was also the full extent of my control over him as of now¡ªa fact that Dante had already sussed out. I watched in mild amusement as Quellitrax''s homunculus punted Dante back, skipping over many platforms before he started hacking blood, most of which was absorbed by his clothes. His red armor gleamed in the wind. He was down to about 200 health points from the sole hit, and I flicked my finger at him, offering another order, satisfied that I''d¡ªwhat! He rejected the offer¡­again! Chapter 102 The Homunculus''s hands blurred, and my brain kicked into high gear as I twisted and vaulted, relying on my Evasion and reading his body movement. I was able to fairly accurately predict the direction which his blue energy blades would land. For nearly three seconds, my body gyrated in a frantic dance, time which I took to charge Ebony with Focused Shot. I fired when he advanced; however, he raised his tower shield and tanked my shot. The beam refracted, scorching the ground and other platforms around us. Pulling on my Myriad martial arts skills, I leveraged my experience, predicting the Homonculus''s next actions. I flipped back before his spear came for me and slashed out using Osiris, batting away the weak end of the weapon and opening him up for a swipe to the face. It landed, but so did his titanic swing. The world slowed down moments before it hit, and I spiked all of my enchantments¡ªtwo Protection runes on my breastplate. The protection rune on each greave, pauldron, and vambrace. Even with all of that protection, he punted me like he was hitting a home run. The world blurred around me as my ribs cracked, and I skipped over several platforms. My body abruptly stopped at the very edge of a small island. Blood spurted out of my nose and mouth as I removed my warped chest plate and switched it out for my Red Jacket. Even though I fucking hated Shin, I couldn''t afford to be petty right now. I spiked Angel Regeneration, consuming most of my Angelic energy as I sat up with some effort. Predictably, Shin''s offer popped up as I spied the Homonculus racing towards me. I dismissed it without a look as I readied myself for a desperate Hail Mary. I grunted as I summoned up three unrigged bombs and stuck them over the platform''s edge before opening Shin''s store. I dumped 5000 Red orbs into Osiris, upgraded it to the third grade, and grinned when I saw the updated description. Osiris Grade 3 The first angelic form of Rebellion, Osiris, is a light-speed scythe that delivers fast, reliable damage while allowing Dante to embody the weightlessness and agility of an Angel. Deals 0.8 times the damage of Rebellion at this tier but moves 45% faster. Damage quickly accumulates with Angel Energy infusion and the innate Feed ability. Abilities: High-tier Wind manipulation. I tried to buy some Stims with my red orbs, but the products were predictably blacked out. In fact, damn near everything in the store was. "He can block me out from the rest of the store, but not my weapon upgrades." I wondered what that meant for upgrading Rebellion. All five of my enchanted knives went fanning out the second the monster hit the platform. He tanked three of the five knives and blocked the other two, which bought me enough time to cartwheel away from my previous position, where I''d left a little gift. A high-yield grenade with a four-second count. I filled my blade with energy as I swung at the Homunculus, and surprisingly, the energy blade connected, sending it reeling back. It blinked with its four eyes, and so did I. High-tier Wind affinity really made a fucking difference. The blade had moved faster than I could follow, and the power was ridiculous. I bet that with enough time, I could even beat down the cost. Why hadn''t I done this earlier again? Right. Shock. Life and death situation. Uncertainty. Enraged by my attack, it was no surprise when it leaped at me, but between Gust, which was rapidly eating my limited Angel Energy pool, which was under 50 now, and my passive speed boost, it was easy to twist underneath the cleave, switch to Arbiter at the very last second and strike with a Burst strike. The blow sent it skidding back just in time for me to Burst and Gust off the platform. The resulting shockwave still carried me far, and I had to pull out my M4 and shred the approaching debris before they reached me. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. I fetched a huge Orb the size of my head covered in runes and several pointy bits from my inventory as Ophion shot out and gripped the platform where I''d previously planted my bombs. As I landed on the platform, I roused what was left of my angel energy, connected it to the Orb, and pulled. 43/510 +1 "Thank fuck, it worked. I wouldn''t have known what to do otherwise." As you might''ve put together, the Orb was an Angel Energy storage device. The idea had come to me late last night while I was working, and I''d thrown several bits of metal together, sketched storage seals on them, and filled them up with energy. My current storage construct could only hold onto 60AE per rune, and there were about four runes, so I was sitting pretty. The spikes were added on a hunch that it would transform the storage device into a weapon, and it worked. As far as prototypes went, it operated well enough. Unfortunately, though, nearly half of the energy I attempted to reabsorb went to waste. I didn''t know whether it was the metal or my terrible energy control. While I had the Orb refilling my stores in one hand, I summoned a sniper with my other, aiming at the reemerging Homunculus. Its shield was completely gone, as was the hand holding it, replaced by black tentacles. One of its heads was charred, its armor in disrepair and melting, and its visible skin was scorched with visible marks. It moved swung from platform to platform. It landed with a stumble and pulled out a crimson flask to heal itself. "Oh, hell no!" My gun went off, and the flask exploded, drenching it in healing juice. Its singular head snapped in my direction, and it roared. Its tentacle surged, spreading out to cover its body while it tried to heal. I wasn''t having it, so I chucked a live grenade at the monster. It exploded when it made contact, sending him tumbling. He lost most of his tentacle, and his body was on fire again. More black tentacles sprouted out of the seams of his armor to stamp out the fire. We locked eyes for a moment in tacit understanding. I wasn''t sure as hell going to let him recover, and his best chance to put me down was right now while I was presumably low on resources but not on weapons and tricks. Once again, the Homunculus flared its golden aura and leaped at me. I pushed more energy into cloak as well, causing the fire around me. He hefted his spear and made a move to throw it, sending forward a spectral spear that whizzed past my head as I dodged. The Homunculus had disappeared from the platform when I looked again, he was already moving. I summoned Osiris and banished the storage Orb. He came flying over the edge of my platform in the blink of an eye, swinging his glowing blade at me. Evasion activated, and I grinned, sliding under the blow, summoning multiple fingers of Orochi. Two went into the legs, and I kicked a third into its back before it swung its tentacle at me. I immediately noticed the look of discomfort on its face. It motioned to yank out the daggers stabbing into his back while swinging all three of his weapons at me, but I activated parry, shoving back his attack and getting pushed back in the process, but not before I sent three more daggers flying into its large chest. It grunted and practically whined when I pulled and fired a point-blank sniper shot through his knees. His gigantic blade swung out again, crashing onto the platform floor just as it missed me, but he was even slower. His tentacle bunched and exploded towards me, but I summoned Infernal''s blade with my second hand and made short work of it before switching to the sniper and taking off the monster''s wrist. More black tentacles surged out to reinforce and stabilize the wound, but unfortunately, that left it open for the Arbiter Flush I fired at it. Weak as it was, it was enough to put it on its ass. The rest of my dagger went into its body, rendering it a blubbery-shifting mess. Its body became undone as it struggled to force itself back together. But I was one step ahead. I switched to Aquila and fired several Round trips that pinned it on the spot, continually shredding it. To be extra petty, I dumped all of my remaining explosives at it, which amounted to three sonic grenades, two regular ones, and the last of my bombs on me. It was one of the few Angel energy bombs I had made. One of the bombs I''d stuck on the platform was also made from angelic energy. Mixing energies paid off when the bomb went off. The shock wave tossed me so far away from the platforms that I crashed into the stone plinth I''d formerly shattered to free my memories from. It was a few kilometers away, and the fallout was magnificent. At the center of the realm, there was an orb of purple fire, burning, illuminating the void, while rapidly spreading to eat up other nearby platforms. It set off a few leftover bombs. My heat resistance got a buff from the entire experience, and my mouth fell open. I recognized the purple energy. It''d happened once before, and I wondered why Shin didn''t give me the skill. Now, I understood why. It was ridiculously overpowered. Chapter 103 Shin My mouth formed a thin line as I looked at Quellitrax''s avatar, who grinned so hard his face split in half. "You must be truly desperate, gambling with the soul of a Trueborn Divine?" Quellitrax cackled. "I knew the risks," I insisted, but I hadn''t expected Dante to come into his own as a Nephilim so soon. In the greater multiverse, there were two types of Nephilims: those who could overcome their dualities and reach unachievable heights and those who were limited by them. Before Axel''s integration with Dante''s soul, the boy was destined to be the latter, but now it was clear he was the former. A True Nephilim. A Nascent God. I had to have him. "What the fun of being as powerful as we are if we can''t play with our food a little," I said offhandedly to Quellitrax. The Eldritch''s multiple eyes fixed me with an amused look. "Would you like another swing at him?" I asked. It would mean forfeiting your fourth turn, but when else will you get a chance like this? He''s exhausted and overconfident. Who knows what else he could''ve developed the next time you run into him?" "Exactly," Quellitrax laughed. "I knew he was special when I first looked at him, but he''s ripening quite well, isn''t he? It would be a shame to pluck him too early." "I could have my claws in him by then." "At the rate you''re going, I doubt it," Quellitrax quipped. "And besides, he despises you even more than me. Power, it seems, has blinded you to the subtleties of manipulation." My eyes narrowed to slits. "Time will tell, won''t it?" "I suppose," he cackled as he stepped back into the void, and I teleported behind Dante. Dante Congratulations: You''ve killed an Eldritch Homunculus. 5000 Red Orbs. With the orb of what I''d imaginatively named ''Nephilim energy'' floating behind me, I noticed the Quellitrax''s platform shudder as a booming laugh rang outwards. The darkness vanished, and I sensed Shin materialize behind me. "What did you say about them being the baddest Tarnished in Elden Ring? I''m not impressed." "You''re barely hanging on, and if you hadn''t strapped all those bombs to yourself like some god-damned kamikaze¡­you would''ve lost." "Well, I did," I shrugged and slowly circled him. "And you should be happy. I''m growing big and strong like a good little puppet." "Puppet is too harsh a word," Shin snorted and waved. "I''d be your employer at most, and you would''ve been my top guy, venturing out into the multiverse, pillaging, kicking ass, and taking names. We could''ve been glorious if you had a little more vision." "You forgot to add a lack of common sense and attachment to my free will," I said. "I know a shit deal when I hear it. You''re not getting any deeper into my soul." "I already own you," Shin simply stated. "Claiming your soul is a matter of formality." His claim rattled me a bit, but I pressed on. "You might as well kill me," I said, "because you''re not getting one more inch in. As you can see, I''ve worked wonders with the tools you''ve given me. You said it yourself: I''m your guy in this world, and I have a hunch that I am way stronger than you intended. You need me to fetch your stones and get your Phoenix Fire for whatever galaxy-brained evil plan you''ve got cooking." "You can''t really think you''re the only agent I have on earth, can you?" His question gave me some pause, but I was not phased. "How many of them stack up to me, though?" If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. "Quite a few, actually," he smirked. "They might not have the potential you do, but they''re there." I shook my head. "You''re bluffing. Yao would know about them." "There are several ways to avoid the eyes of your pesky Wizard mentor. Distance is fairly effective. As long as you avoid the major inflection points, there''s a lot you can get away with. After all, she can''t watch everybody with her Timestone." "What are you threatening me with, exactly?" I demanded. "Perpetual pain until you surrender," he said, and I scoffed. "Bring it on." I was part bluffing, part serious, but I''d endure if that was what it took. The Cosmic burn covering half of my body proved that. "It''s not yourself you should be worried about. It''s the planet as a whole," he grinned. "Thanks to your direct intervention, the timeline is in freefall. Anything goes, including the ''coincidental'' elimination of some of your closest allies. Maybe I''ll start with Clint. Isn''t he your only friend? Then, I''ll move on to Fury. The planet doesn''t stand a chance without him." This son of a bitch! "Do you think the One Above All would let you do this, or the Phoenix for that matter!" "Let me worry about OAA. The Phoenix is invested in Jean and perhaps you. The extended world does not really matter; you''ll see." My lips formed a thin line as I considered his threat before shrugging. "Your funeral. There''s a wider universe out there. I''m sure there''s another planet where we can settle on. I never wanted to fight the demons and look for an infinity stone. Left to my devices, I''d explore, live my life, and be done with all of this. If you think I''m some bleeding-heart simpleton who''d give up his immortal soul just because he was threatened, you clearly don''t know me well." Shin laughed, shaking his head, and snapped his finger, spawning two chairs behind us. He settled into one and offered the other. "Don''t act all tough. I know you''re bone tired." "And I have enough spite to fuel me for a lifetime." Shin chuckled. "That was good. I think I''m going to use that. The reason I''m asking you to sit down is that I''m switching tactics. If you won''t respond to force, then perhaps compromise," he suggested. I raised an eyebrow. This had to be some trick. "No trick," he offered, flicking his finger. Several notifications flashed before my eyes. My devil Trigger, Simulacrum skill, and Angel Evade skills were back. I was tempted to just portal out of there and be done with the asshole, but he spoke before I could act on my feelings. "You want your free will, and I want somebody who won''t act up, who won''t actively try to sabotage me because of some¡­grievances." Grievances was right. Shin was a fucking asshole. "To that end," he began in a magnanimous tone, "I propose we negotiate a ceasefire. You do what you were contracted to do, and I will stop angling to ruin your life and compel you into my service." I shook my head. "Not good enough. I want you to stop encroaching on my soul completely. That''s what it will take for me to consider even working with you in any capacity." "I''m afraid I can''t do that," he said. I''ve invested way too much in it." "If it''s a question of investment," I said. "What would it take? I''m sure there''s some baddie out there willing to trade his soul for interstellar domination." Shin blinked. "Wait, you''re serious, aren''t you?" He tapped his chin, leaning back into his chair. "Recruit two individuals with the potential to reach Solar-System levels of power, and I''ll stop." "That''s¡ª" I sputtered, "actually reasonable¡­I conceded." Marvel had no shortage of overpowered people who had the potential for so much more. Magneto, Wanda Maximoff, and even Scott had technically unlimited potential. And of course, if all of the obvious choices failed, I could just gift-wrap him one high-ranking Cambion. Yet, I still had this sinking feeling that this was too convenient. Shin was the type of guy who would double-cross me even after I delivered, so I decided to get myself some protection. "I''ll go on this hunt for you, but in the meantime, I need some incentives. You put Quellitrax on my ass, and in case you haven''t noticed, his agents have been getting progressively stronger. I''m not sure I''ll be able to stop them the next time they attack. However, if I had¡­say, a Class unaffected by the soul infection, I''d have the strength and means to operate and grow undisturbed." Shin narrowed his eyes and chuckled. "You slick motherfucker, but you know what, I''ll allow it, but I want you to fetch the Power stone for me." "Wait! You''re after all the stones?" "Of course I am," Shin said, deadpan, "why else would I have you fetch two of the six?" My mouth opened and closed a few times before I conceded. It certainly put me on fucking edge, though. "I was going to space anyways," I shrugged, "but I might have to borrow them for a while before I deliver it. Still have to deal with the demon threat you stuck me with." "Right," Shin said. "So, we''re in agreement?" "Yeah¡­about that." We spend the better part of 10 minutes going over the terms in more detail. I didn''t want to be robbed of rewards because I renegotiated my deal. I demanded that none be soul corrupting, except those specifically designed to like The Gluttony seed, which had to be highlighted. I also wanted to be able to buy restoratives like Stims and health potions at no extra soul cost. Of course, he refused but compromised for half the cost. When it came time to shake on the deal, I threw Shin a curveball by teleporting to the outside world. My legs felt putty, but I hustled up the mountain until I found Jean. She nearly blew a gasket when she saw me. "Oh my god, Dante. What happened?" "Shin happened," I said. "We''re negotiating, and I need you." "Why?" "You''ll see," I said before yanking her into the Simulacrum. Jean''s eyes went wide, and her jaw dropped, baffled by Shin''s appearance and vice versa. "The guy who''s been giving you so much grief is some edgy preteen?" Chapter 104 "The guy that has been giving you so much grief is some edgy preteen?" I choked back a laugh despite the severity of the situation. God damn it, she was going to lose me this deal if she kept at it. "And a proud one at that," Shin said glibly. "I was 13 when I conquered my world. What were you up to when you were my age?" Jean''s mouth fell open slightly, and I coughed. "That got intense all of a sudden." It was easy to forget how big of a threat he was because of his ridiculous form. I supposed that was the point, forcing you to let down your guard while he fucked you over. "Don''t sweat the small stuff," Shin said offhandedly. "Why is she here?" "To act as officiator," I said. We just agreed to all these terms. I''m here to make sure you don''t try to get around our deal by having one of your agents whack me, force my hand, or plot against me." "Really abusing your girlfriend''s connections, aren''t you?" Shin asked. "Dante told me how you negotiated," Jean said. I''d be mad if he hadn''t asked for my help." "Maybe you''re not as na?ve as you look," he chuckled, looking my way before he waved. "Alright, I''ll grant you that concession. I promise not to take overt or covert action against you while our deal remains active. The same goes for my agents." "And if you don''t, what happens then?" Jean asked, with an intense look in her eyes. They''d started to glow red. Shin seemed entirely unphased by the sudden change. "I surrender all control of your soul and provide you with a high-quality item from the store valued at 1 trillion Red Orbs. But if you fail to deliver on any of your promises to me, the soul value of every purchase doubles, and your class accumulates a soul cost." My mouth salivated at the thought of a 1 trillion Red Orb voucher, but I knew a trap when I saw one. "You have somebody on your roster already working on the stones, don''t you?" "Nope," he shrugged, and I looked at Jean, who frowned. "The Phoenix has agreed to your request to guarantee the deal. So far, she hasn''t perceived any lies." "Do you have anyone on your roster working against me and my team mates, asides from Quellitrax?" "No," he said. "Believe it or not, you already have enough on your plate. Between Quell, the demons, and the enemies you''ve made, I''m certain you''ll fail without me ever needing to lift a finger. Another diversion. "Do you have plans in motion that may affect my well-being, the well-being of my squad, or interfere with my ability to fulfill this bet, aside from Quellitrax?" Shin finally grinned. "Of course I do. You didn''t think I''d make a losing bet, did you?" I cursed under my breath. "You planned this from the beginning." "Wish I did," he laughed. "It would''ve certainly been worth it for that look on your face. I set things in motion when you were still an obedient little soldier. Now that you''ve gone off the handle¡­well, there''s no unringing that bell." "I won''t agree to this deal until I have all the facts." "Well, that''s too bad," he said, "our deal covers malicious plans against you, not plans that may or may not affect you, depending on your decisions. Marvel is chock full of interesting tidbits. Why would I ever limit myself to you?" "What are you really after?" Jean demanded as I grappled with his reply. It did not surprise me that Shin''s plans for Marvel went far beyond me. The thought of him cooking up some underhanded scheme to seize all power in the universe, however, had me shook. He had barely a week to put this trap together, and it nearly got me killed. How much more dangerous would Shin''s schemes be when he had enough time to plan? Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. I recalled the first thing Shin told me. He was here to pillage and steal. "What I''ve always wanted. Power," Shin said, then turned to me. "So, do we have a deal?" There were still tons of unknowns and angles I was not yet seeing, but I knew this was probably the best deal I''d get for now. The Mind and Soul Stones were still legitimate avenues to explore. Plus, what other options did I really have? ''Take the deal,'' Jean assured me. ''And at the rate we''re growing, it might not matter.'' I knew things wouldn''t be as simple as that, but I agreed. "Alright, Shin the Avaricious," I told the diminutive, black-haired teenager. You''ve got yourself a deal." --- Unknown Shield Residential Area Kurt I climbed up to my feet and stretched, winking the tiredness away from my eyes. ''No rest for the wicked," I muttered as I teleported to my bathroom. It took my eyes a moment to adjust to the light and the sight of my own reflection. I hadn''t had a mirror in my former cell by choice, and it was taking some time to get used to seeing what I looked like. My sharp canine, blue skin, and prehensile tail were all a bit overwhelming. My counselor insisted I keep at it, though. It was crucial for my mental health and performance. After all, I would be in charge of a team soon. Between my skills and Captain America''s glowing recommendation ¨Csomething I never thought I''d experience¡ªI was suddenly central to the mutant movement. It was a great honor, to be sure, but I was not sure I was the right guy for the job. Time blurred as I cleaned myself and slipped into my suit¡ªa form-fitting uniform lined with Kevlar that all SHIELD agents wore. With a puff, I appeared in the general area, and all eyes snapped to me, and the whispers began. "Well, look who it is," a big, burly guy with a giant black spot on his cheek said. "Little blue, the sellout. I hope the uniform was worth it." I cringed. A black-haired girl from the back, Lauren, snorted. "As if you''d not have jumped at the opportunity yourself. You''re just mad you''re being shipped away." "Of course I am," Garrett snorted. They''re separating us and locking us up like Hydra. At least with the squid, we knew what was what." Garret''s schemes were obvious, but they were still effective. "Didn''t the nice lady agent say only those with bad records are getting transferred?" a diminutive girl with blond hair, Ari, said. "Oh, zip it," Garret snapped. "So, what? I knocked over a few liquor stores while hustling on the street. It''s no worse than what some of you have done. Ari, with her acid breath over there, melted a guy''s hand off before she got a handle on the thing. How many people did Blue-skin over here put in the ground for Hydra? And don''t get me started on that stuck-up bitch and the white-haired brat. How many ''demons'' did they kill that night?" "Ya seriously bitching about the people that saved us?" the girl, Lauren, questioned. "It''s no biggy," Garrett folded his arms indignantly. I bet I could''ve done it, too, if I had magical weapons, but that isn''t the point. They''re just trying to cull the undesirables. It starts with people with a shady past, but where does it end?" "SHIELD is trying to save and rehabilitate us, not hurt us," I said, putting a stop to the conspiracy theories before they took root. "They''ve given us our own rooms, good food, and even let us use the internet." "A prison is still a prison, no matter how much you dress it up," Garret insisted. "But we won''t remain here for long," I explained. We''re getting sorted today. Those who are willing to fight the demons and are of sound mind will be training in Alaska with Dante, Rin, and Jean. The rest will be sent to a protected gated community where you can wait out the fight." "This sorting," Lauren spoke up, "who will be doing it?" "The Telekinetic," a voice from the corner of the room answered. It was Armando, the smartest and the most powerful of us. His mutation allowed him to reactively adapt to Stimuli. He''d become a bit more withdrawn since he lost his friend, Yuki, during the attack. While his adaptation allowed him to always survive, it rarely provided an offensive advantage. "They''ll be having her look into our minds and judge us. It''s the only way they''ll be able to find the soldiers and cage the, how did you put it, undesirables." Thanks a lot, Armando. Garret got up to his feet, fueled by Armando''s words. "Oh hell, No! See, what did I fucking tell ya? I''m not letting a creepy psychic come anywhere near my head. This is just like Strucker all over again, chaining us, drugging us, experimenting with us. It will be a cold day in hell before I let that happen again. I say we march into the big man''s office and demand our freedom!" My eyes narrowed to slits, and I soaked in the quiet of the room. My next words would carry weight. "Leave the facility, then," I announced for the benefit of the mutants sitting in the hall. "See, how far that gets you. You were lucky to have gotten away with a black eye for the stunt you pulled with those monsters. Strucker''s sessions will feel like a massage when the demons get their hands on you," I said. Garrett blustered, then scoffed. "I can take care of myself." "So did the Super soldiers and mutants worldwide everywhere," I said, "they thought they could take care of themselves too. If you think you''re better than them all¡­" I trailed off, and Garret clenched his teeth. "This is bullshit." I walked away with a pep in my step. I thought it could''ve gone better, but I was feeling more confident already. "Believe whatever you want!" I announced as I passed the doorway. (Read up to Chapter 122 on Patreon.com/artandcreativewriting) Chapter 105 With the Shin mess handled and a future list of baddies to deal with, I opened my status and began to plot in preparation for the next leg of the fights to come. HP: 350/760 SP:920/920 AE:520/520 DE:700/700 Strength: 56 Dexterity: (60)73 Endurance: (77)92 Vitality: 83 Angelic Energy: 52 Demonic Energy: 70 According to the dates, Bruce Banner was set to turn two weeks from now. Jean and I planned to contact him a week before then and glean the formula from his mind. Once that was done, I was certain I had almost everything I needed to create the an Uber super Serum. The Supersoldier Formula and Dr. Whitehall''s Notes on the Absorbing Man laid a steady foundation, but the Hulk Formula would be the real star of the show. Chucking in Extremis felt like going overboard, but I might, depending on how difficult I find it to combine items and formulas with Rebellion. With it, I could turn Rin or Jean into an unstoppable Juggernaut. Whether either of them was ready for that kind of power-up was another question entirely. Still, if it was a question of gathering allies to empower, I could always do that after attaining the serum. Now more than ever, I understand the importance of having powerful people by my side. I couldn''t fight the demon army alone, even if I wanted to. Our current roster wouldn''t fare any better. I would''ve offered Natasha and Clint a bottle each if I could be certain they''d be loyal to me. But couldn''t I? I stroked my chin in thought. It''d take some finagling, and I already had a pretty good idea of how to permanently get into Natasha''s good graces. I wasn''t so sure about Clint. Turning over my secret sauce to Fury was, of course, off the table because of the type of man he was. Why did I decide not to apply this potent cocktail to my own body? For one, it was designed for humans. Two, I had many techniques, affinities to master, and a super body enhancement skill to synthesize. On top of that, I needed to smith more weapons, make shit ton more guns, and find a way to roll all of it into a class. Needless to say, my work was cut out for me. So, instead of trying to go it alone, making the same mistake I did before the Quellitrax fight, I turned to Yao, who had lifetimes of experience to pull from. Yao was in the forge when I found her disposing of a few demonic items she described as ''stubborn.'' I laid it all out for her, and as I predicted, her eyes lit up, and her lips spread with a calculated smile. "Quite the enviable position you''ve found yourself, to be spoiled for choice of power. Very well, let''s start with the most important choice. Your Class." You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. Nephilim Berserker Nephilim Weaponmaster Mimic Sorcerer of Limbo Dark Knight Nephilim Weaponsmith Boom Boom Tinker Runic Samurai ¡­ "They''re as diverse as they are interesting," she mused. "Even I am tempted to sign a deal with this Shin. However, there is no contest. There''s only one real choice, really, given your proficiency with Rune forging and weaponsmithing." Arcane ForgeMaster¡ªBecome a true master of the forge and Arcane. Grants: +2 STR +1 DEX +2 END + 1 VIT +2 DE +2 AE (L)Decode and Forge: All Enchantments are bare before you. Peer into the underlying structure of the runes that empowers unique weapons, armor, and artifacts, create a version of your own and craft unique runes. Skill is limited by your knowledge of runes, control over your energies, and your underlying affinities. E(Arcane Lexicon): Grants a 50% boost to all future Arcane runesmithing and records all new runes. E(Harvest): Harvest the remains of your fallen foe and gain intuitive knowledge on their potential applications for weapons and armors. E(Enchant): Confer unique, permanent characteristics onto your equipment of choice based on the material used. "While it might not provide a direct power boost like the other classes, it shows the most promise of the lot. Your only true limit would be time, which brings us to our second choice¡ªwhere to use your skill upgrade." I was leaning towards a Grandmaster Tier Angel Evade. It wouldn''t be easy grinding the skill up to the master tier, but it was possible. Taking it straight to Grandmaster tier would be game-changing, and I was even sure it would allow me to teleport or travel through dimensions, but Yao pointed out that upgrading my Simulacrum would probably fetch me even greater results in the long run. If I could upgrade it to master tier or beyond. Who knew how much extra time it would give?. We also both concurred that upgrading my Martial Mastery to Grandmaster after pushing it to Master would do wonders for my overall attack potency. However, if attack power was the primary concern, Demon Evade seemed like the better option. At Grandmaster, it would be ridiculously broken, probably lasting for up to a minute and providing me with an unreal damage amp. However, we settled on postponing the choice until I created my overpowered Body Skill. Depending on just how good the skill turns out to be, it might be worth holding onto a free upgrade ticket. As for the weapon''s upgrade token. It was obviously going to Rebellion. After clearing the 15k cost, we planned to use the free upgrade ticket to hopefully push it to Grade 5 To that end, Yao wanted to send me to a heavily warded wizard facility in the Sahara, where they imprisoned some of the most dangerous Lesser demons with formidable elemental control. She figured it''d help me get the Red Orbs I needed and add a few resistances to my already impressive list before the final baptism of pain began. Yao had committed to bolstering and finishing my resistance herself after reviewing my list. Pain Resistance (Adept) Fire Resistance (Adept) Earth Resistance (Adept) Arcane Resistance (Adept) Mental Resistance (Adept) Cold Resistance (Adept) Lightning Resistance (Basic) Dark Resistance (Basic) Affliction Resistance (Basic) She wanted to raise all of my Basic-tier resistances to Adept and add a few more high-tier resistances, namely Gravity, Dimensional, and Blood Magic. But before I headed out, I touched base with Jean. Construction just finished on the Alaska facility the week before and Jean had been spending every moment she could spare getting the place ready so that mutants could move in. She''d spent a chunk of the money we¡­requisitioned getting the best of everything. "You look like a happy camper," I said, sneaking up behind her as she poured over the online brochure of a gym equipment manufacturer. They offered home deliveries all over the US for a substantial markup, but we had to spend money now, so it was a non-issue. Even the total had me coughing. "Don''t you think that''s a little too much?" "Against what we''re up against, not in the slightest." "It''s 2 mil Jean. Money doesn''t just grow on trees!" "Didn''t we steal it?" Jean turned to me, blinking. Words escaped me. We did steal it, and she''d even done the heavy lifting, but llike a frustrated parent stuck with a smart-ass teenager, I continued with the lecture. "That''s not the point, Jean. You don''t know the value of money!" "Couldn''t we just steal more. Didn''t you plan on robbing that Klaue guy next week?" I sputtered. "That may be true, but I''m going to make sure that every gram of his precious Vibranium is put to good use." "Well, same here," Jean said. "I had to cut down on the indoor swimming pools since we had a lake on the property. I kept the Jacuzzis in though." "Of course," I sighed in defeat. "How very frugal of you." Jean nodded, so sure of herself, likely deliberately letting my sarcasm go over her head. She could read minds, after all. "How much do we have left, again?" "About 103 million." "Leave some over so that we can invest, will you?" I said. And don''t splurge too much on the children''s wing. We''re trying to start a training camp, not a daycare." She blushed when she noticed I saw the long list of toys and ''must-haves'' she had penned down. I gave her a tight shoulder squeeze before I popped over to Rin. He was busy getting his ass beat by Kaecilius, who seemed a little too happy. He seemed glad facing somebody he could actually beat. I didn''t interrupt and circled back to the Ancient one. Chapter 106 I hopped out of a portal into the desert in a cloak, my new enchanted Master''s Underclothes, and a fresh set of weapons I had spent the afternoon crafting. Improved Precision Infernal Throwing Daggers Fashioned by a novice, Arcane Forgemaster enchanted with two powerful runes. Precision and Accumulation (100) Durability: 100/100 I''d barely started using Arcane ForgeMaster and was already seeing the changes. Etching the runes felt like second nature, and the 50% boost was ridiculous. Accumulation, or A.K.A. the storage rune, could take 50% more energy, and I was confident that I could shear through Steel with my mundane weapons now. And don''t even get me started on the Stat boost. This was the easiest I''ve ever had power handed to me, but a closer look at the Class post-acquisition made it clear that every level up from this point would be hard won. To level up, I had to fulfill two requirements: complete missions related to my Class, which in my case meant crafting increasingly impressive artifacts, and fuel the Class with Red Orbs. Skill upgrades came at levels 15 and 30, after which the Class is fully upgraded. I guessed an advanced class came next, but I couldn''t really know until I reached level 30. The fact that I had to part with even more of my Red Orbs bummed me out, but I reminded myself that we weren''t running out of demons anytime soon. I hurried down the dune where I touched down and came face to face with a lithe African woman dressed in a cloak lightly whipped about by the afternoon breeze. Underneath it, I spotted a whip covered in symbols to her left and a dagger to her right. Something about how the light hit the metal and the overall look of it made me lick my lips. "Is that Vibranium?" "Lovely to meet you too," The woman said with a thick accent I immediately recognized. "You''re Nigerian." "And you know what Vibranium looks like," she said. "That''s rare. So, the rumors of your wasted youth were greatly exaggerated?" "Well, I am still technically young," I said, "and I have recently taken up smithing. Like everything else, I have a knack for it." "Burden of talent," she hummed. "Well, let us see how far it will take you. Yao has instructed me to pit you against the worst Lesser demons we''ve managed to capture in the last 20 years." I gulped. "Yao thinks you''ll come out of the fight without any wounds. She even has money on it," she said. "What do you think?" I asked her, and she scoffed. "I think the mountain air has made the sorcerer supreme lose perspective. I look forward to lining my pockets with her money." "I don''t know about that. A lot of people have bet against me in the past. I''m here, and they''re not." "Everybody''s luck runs out eventually." "I don''t believe in luck." She flashed me a wicked smile. "You might when you see the demons I''ve lined up for you." ---- Not 10 minutes after Effiong''s witty comment, I ate my words. She led me down a winding path to the Eye of the Sahara, a famous archeological site in the desert. Over the years, many people have connected the place to myths of the ancient world, like Atlantis. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. I wondered how those conspiracy theorists would react when they learned about Namor. Buried beneath the Eye''s surface were several openings on the climb down that''d been walled off with stone fortifications. I caught a few interested glances on the trip down from open caves. At the very bottom of the Eye was an arena floor covered in etches and symbols. Effiong gestured me onto it before making a complicated Mandala. Sand sunk into the slopy corner of the Arena''s bottom, and the biggest bug I''d ever seen skittered out. It had 8 razor-sharp legs, a 4-foot stinger sticking out of its rear, and pincers large enough to decapitate a fully grown man. Its segmented red shell was covered in thick dust, and just staring at it conjured images of cockroaches and other creepy crawlies that made me shudder. "Is that some type of mosquito, cockroach hybrid?" I questioned. Effiong chuckled at my obvious discomfort from the edge of the Arena where she stood. "No, but it''s close enough. If looking at it already makes your spine crawl, wait until it attacks." The look of it bothered me so much I was tempted to stomp it with my strongest attack, but then I reminded myself why I was here. Devil''s Eye dubbed the creature as Blood Red Spinner. I wouldn''t learn why it was called that until much later. The Beast chittered at me contemptuously as it angled its stinger forward and fired a ray of blood. It raised a spray of sand beside me as I ducked out of the way and analyzed the attack. It wouldn''t be enough to punch through me, but it''d leave some serious damage. The Beast suddenly twisted all eight legs in a considerable show of Dexterity, swinging his blood beam outwards. I ducked underneath barely and watched in surprise as the beam circled for a second cut while slowly building up speed. And then, there was a third, fourth, and fifth circle. I closed the distance between us despite the sand and blood spraying around me and chucked two disks of light at the body, but it was moving so fast my blades bounced off. I switched tactics then, summoning Arbiter. I threw out a Flush, which stopped the Beast from spinning when it noticed the attack. I hefted Arbiter up high, filling it with energy before slamming the blade down, creating a fissure of eruption energy that slammed into the Beast right after it skittered left to dodge flush. The energy had it stumbling, and if I wanted, I could''ve finished it there with Thunderer, but I came here to earn new resistances, so I let it recover. The Beast chittered angrily again and fired another spray at me. Surprisingly, Evasion activated as a ray of super-compressed blood destroyed the area where I formerly stood. He fired again, tearing up even more sand, but I dodged again. It took me three more shots before I gathered up the courage to let the beam hit me. It speared through my Master''s robe and gut like wet tissue paper, and I got a notification for my troubles. Blood Resistance (Basic) "Yup, that''s it right there." I dropped to my knee from the sudden pain, and that was when the Blood Spinner leaped at me, bearing down with four of the eight claws, which glowed with a red light. I summoned two of my Infernal daggers and parried the two strikes coming down on me easily, retaliating with twin slashes that scored thin lines up and down its segmented torso. Our figures blurred as the monster reigned blows down. I parried most of them, but occasionally, I''d let one land, inflicting a gut-wrenching pain, but the wounds closed almost as quickly as they opened. Eventually, the monster caught on and realized his attacks were not doing much damage. So, it went for the kill shot by suddenly constricting its mid-section, angling its four-foot-long stinger straight at my neck. I flipped back to dodge, leaving me open to a concentrated blood attack to the side. I let the attack hit again, and I immediately regretted it. The blood did not punch out my back. Instead, the foreign blood worked up my veins and system, trying to wrest control from me. The attack was so unconventional and potent that blood resistance worked overtime to maintain control. And I still had plenty of said control when the monster swiped at me, hoping to finish me off. I barely got out of the path in time, backpedaling, and spent the next 5 minutes or so playing mental tug of war while the monster tried to decapitate me. My movement started jerky and uncontrolled, but by the end of the five minutes, I was back to full speed and had acquired Adept Tier Blood Resistance. I caught his latest claw attack when I saw the notification flash in front of my eyes and activated my precision Rune and Burst as I stabbed into the monster''s eye and slashed outwards. I destroyed its brain. In a flash, it was dead. I shoved it to the side with disgust as I spiked Angel regeneration. My regen pushed out the blood, and my skin and muscles healed shortly after. My clothes repaired itself by pulling on my blood. You''ve defeated Blood Spinner. You''ve earned 650 Red Orbs. Effiong made it down to the Arena with an amused look on her face. "Not a scratch on you," she laughed. "Yao played me, and you play with your food. I suppose you can afford to do that with your regeneration and adaptability. Maybe you do not need luck after all." "It''s why I am here." I said, "to turbo-charge my ability for the upcoming fight." "Then, you will not be disappointed by the monsters trapped underneath the eye." Chapter 107 Fury "How was your chat with Strucker?" I asked Natasha over a live Call. Her face wrinkled a bit before she spoke. "Enlightening," she said. "Between the information we harvested from Pierce''s systems and Strucker''s intel, we were able to piece it together. Erskine''s formula. We can create more supersoldiers now." I let out a breath that I''d been holding since the 1980s. Carol Danvers had shown me what true power looked like and just how dangerous the wider universe was. In one afternoon, she had singlehandedly taken out the Kree and Skrull¡ªtwo advanced alien civilizations¡ªand saved the planet from certain destruction. I''d been a grumpy mess ever since she left, working and praying that I''d have an answer when the space monsters came knocking again. Apparently, I''d been looking in the wrong direction. Who''d have known the real threat would come from down below? Under my guidance, we''d made great strides in tech, creating jets and bombs powerful enough to wipe out entire cities, lasers that could cut through steel, and sonic bombs loud enough to bring down entire city blocks, but the one thing that has always eluded was superhuman operatives. I''d hoped to create the Avenger''s protocol one day, but I didn''t expect the universe just to deliver them into my lap. Thus, the Prometheus project was born. If the gods wouldn''t give us fire, we''d have to make it ourselves. Recreating the Supersoldier formula was just Phase 1. Banner''s formula and the mutants were Phase 2. Charles Xavier and Magneto made it damn near impossible to recruit stable mutant assets. Everyone we''d ever bagged and tried to convert went nuclear on us. Some of the files we recovered from Pierce now explained why. He''d been actively sabotaging us for years. The second hidden reason why I was hesitant to recruit mutants was control. Supersoldiers were easy to understand, restrict, and control if necessary. Mutants, however, were more tricky. A great deal of them had secondary mutations, latent potentials, and ridiculous abilities like teleportation that were damn near impossible to stop. Until now. "And the other thing. Did he tell you how he did it? How was he able to create more mutant blood without the Nadia, kid?" "Yes¡­ it''s one of the mutants, Armando Munoz. Apparently, he adapted to her blood makeup and started producing blood of near-identical genetic makeup." "That''s...remarkable," I muttered. I was skeptical when I read his file, but if his mutation could really reactively adapt to any stimuli, he could be the key to Phase 3: combining multiple serums together to create a being powerful enough to ward off any threat--domestic and alien. "Great work as always, Natasha. He could be the key to containing those two," I said. "Get me Kurt." --- Dante Effiong''s monsters brought the heat as promised. After the Blood Spinner came a pack of 4 Storm wolves. Their primary attack was lightning they accumulated over time from swaying their tail, and each one was nearly as strong as the Garok I fought a while back. Farming lightning experience off them simultaneously forced me to use Gust in coordination with Acrobatics. When I grew truly desperate, I used Angel Evade to dodge an absolute bombardment called down by their Alpha. Not only did I have to contend with their cunning, I also couldn''t use my metal weapons for obvious reasons or risk drawing an unwanted lightning strike. Thankfully, their lightning was not nearly as strong or fast as natural lightning. After my lightning resistance reached Adept Tier, I went on the offensive and ripped them apart, starting with the Alpha. I appeared in front of him with Burst and dug into the base of his neck with a fist charged with Burst strike. It pulverized the bones, killing him immediately. The pack, who''d been growling at me until now, got quiet after that. I repeated the process for the next wolf, and the last two bundled together, pooling together their discharge. I faked them out by Bursting in front of them to bait their lightning strike, then turned intangible just before it hit. Now that they were out of juice and vulnerable, I summoned Arbiter, brought it down on the neck of the first wolf, pulled Betsy, and deleted the dead of the retreating second. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. The Alpha netted me 600 Red Orbs while the remaining three 450 each. After the wolves came what I could only describe as an overgrown and twisted Porcupine with long clawed limbs and a warped face. At first, I didn''t recognize them until it clicked. Rage Primarily Pack Hunters, Rage''s excel at overwhelming offense, whittling down even the most experienced sorcerers with their relentless claw and spike attacks. They were one of the most annoying enemy types in the DMC game. And they tripped up even the most experienced fighter. Luckily, there was only one of them, but the fight still took a ton out of me. It''s speed outpaced mine, even with Gust, but thanks to my Evasion plus the bonus granted by my new acrobatics skill, I parried most of its blows. The worst part of the fight had to be the spikes. I had to tank them to get whatever resistance I could pry from the feral fuck, so I had the wise idea to let myself be hit by it. Suffice to say, it hurt like a motherfucker. Each shot knocked the air out of me and nearly put me on my ass. My regen had to push out every last spike every time I was hit. Torturing myself paid off, eventually netting me Kinetic Energy Resistance. It took about 10 more spikes hit before I got it to adept level and promptly took off the monster''s head with a point-blank Thunderer blast just because I was feeling extra petty. My final opponent for the trip was unexpectedly a one-armed Dreamrunner named Kreal. When he emerged from his sealing chamber, the sight of him gave me some pause. His sole shoulder was hunched, and he dragged a chipped Odachi behind him. He didn''t bother looking up at me even as he zombie-walked into the arena. "Are you sure about this?" I asked Effiong as I analyzed him. "Do not underestimate him," she warned. "He fought your brother and lived." That caught my attention. "He fought Vergil?" Kreal''s head snapped up and his chipped porcelain mask seemed to bore into me. "You¡­" a skeletal voice seethed. One moment, he was in front of me; the next, he was behind me, swinging his Odachi at my neck. The world slowed as I twisted with Rebellion, parrying the attack with some surprise. I hadn''t even seen him teleport. His blow, I noticed, had some strength behind it but not enough to make me buckle. I swept his blade to the side and threw an Eryx punch at him. He moved again, and this time, I saw what he did. He entered that space bubble that I''ve seen other Dreamrunners use in the past, and he popped out behind my exposed back. Throwing the punch had left me completely open, but not so much that Evasion and my Adept tier skills couldn''t save me. My hand twirled, and Rebellion cycled around my body and rested against my back. The stab from his Odachi bounced off against Rebellion, and I used the momentum his strike generated to flip backward and lash out with a kick. Kreal leaned out of the way and cartwheeled into a portal. Tense seconds passed as my eyes surveilled the area around me, waiting for him to pop back out. What I hadn''t been expecting was a portal opening up directly in front of my throat and a rusted Odachi stabbing through. The blade was coated in a strange translucent but tangible energy. I found out it was demonic space energy when it stabbed through my throat. My skills warned me just before he pulled his blade outward. Burst threw me back, and my regeneration kicked into high gear as I kicked back further, avoiding a follow-up strike that would''ve finished the job the slash started. Another Space strike came, but this time, it went for my Achilles heel, slicing the tendon apart before he materialized in front of me, sword raised, ready to slice me in two. Gust shoved Kreal off his feet before he could swing his blade down, and I followed with a shot from Betsy that clipped him in the shoulder just before he teleported. His retreat gave me the space I needed to activate Fire Cloak and Gust at 30%. "You fight different than before. Less refined.," he spoke in a whisper, looking up at me with a scrutinizing tilt of his head. "Fuck you," I snorted, "that''s because I''m not Vergil. I''m Dante, his twin brother." "You must take me for a fool," Kreal said, and I blinked at the absurdity. "We use different weapons and energy," I said. "And I know you heard me and Effiong speaking." "Lies and manipulation," he hissed and exploded with energy. "Oh well," I shrugged. "I tried." The attacks came down twice as fast now. Whatever I''d said seemed to have thoroughly pissed off Kreal. However, just because he was less angry didn''t mean his technique suffered. At least one-third of his attacks touched me despite parrying, shifting, repositioning, pirouetting, and leaping. It was not long before I reached Adept tier in Space Resistance. By that point, I could''ve ended things with Devil Trigger or used Angel Evade to trivialize the fight, but I was hesitant to. For the first time in a long time, I''d faced a formidable opponent not so far beyond me that I feared for my life and not too below me that fighting was a waste of time. So, we continued our cat-and-mouse game until he eventually ran out of demon energy, and I pulled my infernal Katana for an impromptu Kenjutsu lesson. Metal rang out as we crossed blades, parried, pirouetted, twisted, and attempted daring techniques. I kept energy use to a minimum and tried not to go for the kill. Even though he was drained of demon energy, emaciated, and down to one hand, Kreal''s skill with the blade was masterful. He saw through all of my traps and feints and forced me to adapt to survive. My swordsmanship did not reach Master Tier. In fact, it was a substantial way off, but I felt more powerful than ever. Our spar ended when he suddenly leaped back, sweating and grunting. "Enough of this play," he screamed as he filled his blade with energy. You were a fool to let me recover demonic energy. This is the end." "Yeah, it is," I sighed. The air shattered as the blade fell. I had no doubt I would''ve taken considerable damage if it had hit. That was why I dodged it by using Devil Trigger and Devil Evade. My muscles rippled as I groaned in ecstasy from the layered boosts. Karel''s blade carved a thin diagonal line that sheared through enchanted earth, metal, and the arena floor. To him, it must''ve looked like I''d teleported. He didn''t notice the Infernal dagger charged with Precision before it was too late. His head exploded like a ripe tomato. I frowned as I watched him topple to the ground. He deserved better. Chapter 108 Congratulations. You''ve defeated Kreal, the Dreamrunner You''ve earned 1000 Red Orbs Effiong walked down to me, slow-clapping. "That was¡­a most impressive showing," she said. "I can see why she chose you." "Who was he?" I asked, gesturing toward Kreal with a somber look. "Ah, Kreal was the First Captain of Enrique''s squad. Enrique is Belasco''s second born, and in some ways, he''s even more twisted than his older brother. "Kreal was an unfortunate pawn in a game between Vergil and the Secondborn. Enrique had Kreal challenge the Son of Sparda after he supposedly joined the demon ranks to test his resolve. Vergil saw through the plot to publicly humiliate him in front of his new ''allies'' and exploited Kreal''s better nature. He approached him before the fight, and they struck a secret pact to be gentle with each other to save face." "Let me guess, Vergil did not honor the pact," I said. "He tried to cut Kreal down the moment the fight started, and had Kreal been anyone else, he would''ve succeeded, too. We arrived just in time to stop his execution. That was the last time I saw Vergil." "Jeez," I sighed. "Leave it to fucking Vergil." The story explained why Kreal was so hostile, but I couldn''t say I wouldn''t have done the same thing if I had been in Vergil''s shoes. "How strong was Kreal at his peak?" "Nearly three times as strong as he was during your fight." Yeah, that''d do it. "And how long ago was their fight?" She raised a brow at my question but answered anyway. "About four years ago." "He had to be what, 15 at the time? That''s just ridiculous," I said, jealousy seeping into my voice. "Comparison is the thief of joy, even among half-angel, half-demon twins," Effiong said. "Your brother knew who he was since he was 10 years old and trained every waking moment for what he thought was his destiny. You, on the other hand, are just waking up to yours." "And what was it, his destiny?" "To kill Belasco and avenge your parents'' death. He trained in isolation for a decade, and I was the master assigned to keep tabs on him." "Why did you never try to recruit him?" I asked. "The same reason we didn''t approach you and had you come to us. You were being heavily monitored by the demons. Before Vergil betrayed them, the demons saw both of you as potential genetic donors for their cambion project. They also theorized your blood was the key to lifting the limiters placed on them." "After a chance encounter with Isha, he decided to side with them in hopes of pumping them for techniques and information. It worked, and he stayed with them for about a year before he tried to kill Belasco. He failed miserably before retreating to the Sanctum for treatment and information. After that, he left the planet." I stood there in silence as I digested the news. It was certainly a surprise to find out that this version of Vergil was not a total asshole. He was impulsive, to be sure, but I could respect his goal. Revenge. Pure and simple. Heck, with the way things were headed, I might even help him get what he''s looking for. After my little chat with Effiong, I turned to the dead monsters, whom Effiong had charitably helped me transport to the dune just beyond the eye of the desert. I felt out for my New Class skill, Harvest. Harvest the remains of fallen foes and gain an intuitive knowledge of their potential application for weapons and armor. As I approached the Blood Spinner''s body first, an infernal dagger materialized in my hand. Its stinger gave me an inkling that it could be used as a Sniper or a powerful stabbing weapon. Personally, I was leaning towards the latter. Its segmented Chitin body was also perfect for a highly defensive lightweight armor¡ªperfect for Jean. Looking at the Rage''s body gave me inspiration for a lightweight kinetic armor for Rin specifically, and the Lightning wolves'' tail seemed perfect for a lightning whip. I was not sure I''d be able to imbue the weapons and armor with the demons'' innate abilities with Enchant, but I had high hopes. Harvesting took me the better part of an hour, during which I realized that I also needed the monster''s core if I wanted the Enchant to work. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. Before I left, I asked to see Effiong''s whip for reference for my new lightning whip and dazzled her by wielding it with preternatural grace. I knew how to strike, maneuver, set up follow-up attacks, and twist the whip to create a lasso. I obviously got the Basic Whip Mastery skill. Effiong watched me work with an astonished look. "I thought you said you''ve never handled a whip before." "I''ve not," I said. "What you did should be impossible. Even your brother, as talented as he was, required weeks before he could use his blade with any real skill." Uh. That was news to me. I always assumed Vergil had the same advantages Dante did. Again, I was reminded I didn''t know much about this dimension. "I''ve always been able to gain a basic mastery of every weapon I came across almost immediately." She stared at me dumbfounded. "You do realize how absurd that ability is, right?" "I guess I''m spoiled," I shrugged. "I''ve gotten a bit too used to it." --- Effiong dropped me off after a lengthy conversation, during which she advised me to expand my Arsenal substantially. She argued that my unpredictability would stump even the most powerful foes, and with my Arcane blacksmithing skills, I could ensure I always had an answer in every situation. I concurred. Adaptability was the primary reason I''d survived up until this point, and it was half of the reason I chose the Forgemaster class; the other half was the runes, of course. They might not seem like much now, but when they reached Adept and Master Tier, I was certain they''d begin showing their true value. Plus, the Demons and Asgard have no shortage of powerful runic weapons. Reverse engineering a few would set me up for success in the MCU when the events finally started. I sought Yao out as I made the Grade 4 upgrade for Rebellion, and she led me to an empty chamber below the forge where she could help me push the last of my resistances and produce a truly transcendent skill. She watched with me as I fed the Orbs to the blade, and it gained a supernatural sheen, much like the Vibranium weapons I saw with Effiong. The durability spiked to Very high-tier enhanced durability and high-tier energy affinity. As predicted, Grade 5 was the final upgrade, costing about 35 thousand Red Orbs. I spent the token and upgraded the weapon, marveling as the blade shifted fundamentally. It devolved into metal sludge before reforming in the exact same shape, except I could note the minor differences. The blade was slightly longer and thinner, and I felt something profoundly powerful lingering underneath. I gave Yao a startled look, and she reciprocated with something that roughly meant, ''I don''t know.'' Slowly, I filled Rebellion with energy and watched in surprise as the blade practically lapped it up. I formed a Stinger energy blade on a whim and fired it at the shimmering wall. It crashed against a Mandala that Yao raised at the very last second. I threw a confused look at her. "Your excitement was about to ruin 6 hours of spell weaving and rune scribing," she explained. These walls have been programmed with spells designed to put you in the most amount of pain without killing you." I winced. "Now I''m really wishing that attack went through." Gritting my teeth, I worked my neck. "I said I wanted this, so let''s get this over with." In a few seconds, I was down to my pants, standing in the center of the chamber. Yao flicked her hand, and the entire space lit up with a purple light. Evasion activated, and all of my senses went haywire. I almost activated Angel Evade on instinct, but I got a grip of myself and stayed the course as a monstrous weight slammed onto me from above. My muscles screamed as I crashed to the floor so hard my knees rattled. A muffled groan escaped my lips, and every muscle and bone in my body quivered from the magical strain. My bones fractured, my joints pulled out of their socket, and blood slowly drained from my orifices. I was seconds away from begging Yao to stop when the notification came in. Congratulations: You''ve learned Gravity Resistance Basic The relief was instant, like a boulder had been lifted off my shoulder. Angel Regeneration kicked into overdrive to repair the damage the gravity did, and I managed to climb to my feet slowly. "Fuck me. That was God awful," I said. "Was it me, or were the resistances getting harder to stack." "It''s your body pushing its limits," Yao explained. "You''ve developed a natural tolerance to nearly 15 magical and demonic energy types. Of course, acquiring new resistances will be a challenge eventually." "That makes sense." Still, the explanation did nothing for my mood or make me feel better about the pain that was coming. Yao gave me 10 minutes to rest before we tried to reach Adept Tier. I was a blubbering, incomprehensible mess at the end with multiple broken bones. Dimensional Energy resistance was even harder to acquire than gravity. It consisted of me standing still and allowing Yao to wail on me while I stood in an array that snuffed out all my space-related abilities and resistances. Apparently, they got in the way and made skill acquisition even harder. And it was the worst 50 minutes of my life. Yao started with small constructs like staffs and beating sticks and moved onto more powerful attacks like whips before graduating to blades and finally circling over to rays that burned a hole straight through me. Angel Regeneration never worked so hard. By the end of it, I''d gained marginal increases in Pain and Heat resistance and reached the Adept Tier in Eldritch Magic Resistance. With skill on our list checked off, it was time to create the skill I''d been dreaming of for months and get my full health bar back. I brought up Rebellion and read the skill description. Rebellion, Grade 5 (Fully Upgraded) Signature weapon of Dante Sparda and a powerful conduit for his bountiful demonic and angelic abilities. Abilities: Very High-tier energy affinity, Very High-tier Enhanced Durability, Unify. Unify¡ªcombine multiple entities, items, or power on a conceptual level with equal parts Demonic and Angelic energy. Energy cost varies depending on the power of the items or entities. Unify costs 70% less when applied on Dante Sparda. After explaining the particulars of the skill to Yao, she floated down to my level. "That''s actually much more charitable than I was expecting out of a power so reality-breaking." "I think we should use cosmic burn as a base," I said, "though I''m worried about the cost." "With your energy output, that might not be as big of a problem as you think it is," she explained. "True," I said. "I guess there''s nothing to do but input the numbers and see." Cosmic Burn Base (50,000 DE, 50,000 AE) + 14 Adept Tier Resistances (140,000+140,000) "That''s actually not bad," I said, doing the mental math. It''ll take me about two weeks to pump out that much energy and funnel it into the sword, and that''s if I take no breaks." "Not necessarily," Yao said with a meaningful glint in her eyes, and I immediately understood. "Devil Trigger." Chapter 109 The mechanics of Devil Trigger were interesting, to say the least. During the 30-40 seconds, the ability was active; I basically had bottomless demonic energy regeneration. Angel energy regenerated three times as fast, as did health and stamina. In any other situation, those rates might have cut it, but not here, not now. I''d need a more potent multiplier to get this done in a reasonable timeframe, so I turned to Yao. "Don''t shoot me down immediately," I began, "but I think we could hack this problem completely with the Timestone." Yao folded her arms and gave me the stink eye at the mere suggestion, but I pressed on. "If you put me in a time field where time passed several times faster, I could technically get all of the channeling done in a few hours with Devil Trigger." "The Eye of Agamotto is the Sanctum''s most prized possession. You have no idea how many masters you''ve disrespected for even suggesting that course of action, not to mention how dangerous it is," Yao scolded, but I had a feeling she wasn''t going to dismiss me completely, and I was right. "Your idea isn''t entirely without merit," Yao admitted, "although we''ll have to be very careful. Humans cannot withstand the power of the infinity stones for long, and don''t get me started on the adverse effect of artificial time dilation." "I''m not human, though," I reminded her. "And I''m a Nephilim. If anybody''s constitution is suited to handling the erratic energy of an infinity stone, it''s mine." Yao hesitated but rubbed her chin in thought. "You do have cosmic energy flowing through your veins as we speak. I will run the calculations and make preparations. In the meantime, you should test your Devil Trigger and see how much energy you can output within the 35 seconds your ability is active. Energy poured out of me as I activated Devil Trigger, and the world slowed. With a flourish, I pulled Rebellion and poured energy into Unify as if my life depended on it. Initially, it flowed slowly, then gushed like a river. Over 2000 DE flowed out of me in the first 20 seconds and another 2000 in the last 15. I had a sneaking suspicion that my output rate would only get higher with each outpour. I crumbled to the floor when Devil Trigger ended with a deep groan. My little stunt hadn''t been consequence-free. Every inch of me ached, and it took over 200 AE to eliminate the pain completely. The experience confirmed something I''d always suspected about my biology. Much like other fantasy races, I had a network of energy channels running through me, allowing me to accomplish the fantastical things I could do. Channeling that much energy that quickly must''ve overtaxed it. Luckily, I had Angel Regeneration to stitch me back up and bolster it, apparently. +1 DE. It had been a while since I''d gained Demon Energy that easily. With a smirk, I channeled the last of my Angel energy into my skill before I sat down to meditate. My meditation had fallen behind the most in my training, but I moved to remedy that. Thirty minutes later, I was ready for another Devil Trigger when Yao appeared with Jean, Drumm, and Kaecilius. "What are you doing here?" I said, raising a brow at Kaecilius. "Lovely to see you as well," he drawled. "The Ancient one is about to create a powerful time dilation field," Mordo explained. "We''re here to contain your energy levels and keep you from giving away our location to the enemy." Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. "And I..um, here to observe," Jean said with a lingering look. I raised a brow at the strange behavior before realizing I wasn''t wearing a shirt. "Oh¡­uh, let''s get this over with then." "How much energy were you able to generate?" Yao asked. "About 4000 Demon energy," I answered, which confused Kaecilius. Yao then explained that I interpreted my abilities in energy units and quantifiable numbers. When he still didn''t quite understand, I demonstrated by filling my fist with a double bust and punching the floor. It was like a grenade had gone off. The punch raised a small dust cloud, and Drumm, who hadn''t seen me in months, looked on in amazement. "You''ve grown stronger." I pulled back with a shrug and looked at a startled Kaecilius. "That was about 20 Demonic Energy." "That''s absurd," he muttered, stunned. "Yeah, and I need 200,000 demonic and Angelic energy to make this upgrade possible," I said. "Thankfully, the former won''t be that much of a problem. It''s the Angelic energy I''m worried about." After some deliberation, we settled on a solution for this problem: Stims. They''d perk up my regeneration to absurd levels for 5 seconds, and apparently, according to Shin''s notes, repeated use of them stacked up to 3 times in exchange for cutting down the boost duration by 80% with each subsequent Stim. So, that meant Stim 1 gave five seconds, and Stim 2 and 3 gave a second bonus each. Luckily, with Yao''s skills, we could stretch those seven seconds to 1hr and 10 minutes. Between my Devil Trigger, Meditation skill, and 3 Stims, I should be able to output about 94,000 Angel Energy, which seemed like a crazy number even to consider. "Is it even possible to stretch out my relative time like that?" I asked her. "It''s not impossible," she said. "It''s just extremely taxing to both the caster and the person undergoing the selective dilation. I can perform the technique twice at most in a day." I laughed at the absurdity. It seemed I was getting my upgrade tonight, but I knew it''d require a level of concentration and mental strain I''d never experienced before. Another issue I could not overlook was the second round of Stims I''d likely need. Yao offered to send me back to the Eye to gather more resources, and it was a blissfully short trip. To save us all time, I asked Effiong to release a pack of lightning wolves, as many Blood Spinners as she could manage, and a handful of other monsters. She emptied 1/10th of her demon stash into the Eye, and I ended the fight in three moves. Devil Trigger tripled my stats, ''Down'' forced the monsters to their knees, and ''Fire'' roasted them alive. I walked away with about 20,000 Red Orbs. After a quick bout of meditation, I was ready for the task ahead and had bought enough Stim to attempt the maneuver a third, fourth, and fifth time if necessary. I''d be lying if I said I was not afraid of the dilation field, and Jean seemed to share the same sentiment, but I reminded her that it had to be done. Quellitrax was after us, and so was Domina, Shin''s agents indirectly, and we would have to deal with the Hulk and Klaue sooner rather than later. There was also the small matter of finding worthy hosts for Shin in exchange for my freedom, a tidbit I''ve yet to tell Jean or anyone. After she gave me the equivalent of a mental hug, The time field went up. Strings of green time energy spun around me as the world outside slowed to a crawl, and I immediately began. I activated Devil Trigger and jabbed the Stim into my shoulder. My regeneration, which was already ridiculous, shot up to about 90x with the Stims. I activated meditation, regulating my breathing, and felt the energy output double as energy became substantially easier to manipulate. I was up to 180x multiplier now. With my current energy pool, I regenerated about 8.7 Angel Energy every minute, which rapidly shot up to 1556. With herculean mental effort, I split my focus three ways. One maintained meditation, while the other two focused on channeling as much energy as I could manage into my sword. The hour and one minute passed sooner than expected, and by the end of it, I dropped to the floor, spasming as my mind and body readjusted to the sudden shift in time. A crippling headache assaulted me, one that was quickly assuaged by lingering angel energy, which was far more plentiful than I anticipated. I also noticed that I''d generated about 120,000 Angel energy, nearly a quarter more than I expected to produce. A look at my stat page explained how it was possible. My Angel Energy and Demon Energy stats increased considerably, giving me more energy per second to generate and subsequently allowing the multipliers to make more of a difference. Angel Energy: 62 Demon Energy: 77 I had basically cheated my way into a more robust energy pool. While the ordeal with my mind was easily handled, my body took a bit longer to recover. Greenish veins ran up and down my body from the points where the energy of the infinity stones entered it. Chapter 110 While the ordeal with my mind was easily handled, my body took a bit longer to recover. Greenish veins ran up and down my body from the points where the energy of the infinity stones entered it. My status revealed that it had little negative effect aside from a muscle-weakening debilitation. The other notification that showed up, however, gave me some pause. Prolonged exposure to the Time stone increased your Time Affinity (Angel) and upgraded it from Low to Mid. Congratulations: You''ve acquired Time Energy Resistance Adept. I blinked. "Uh¡­Yao. You might want to hear this." In the hour or two that we rested in preparation for the second round, Yao and I talked in private, and she concurred that my adaptability was off the charts, even for Nephilims. Apparently, my brother would''ve taken at least a day to recover from the stunt I had just pulled, and I was already on my feet, all but the last of the green vein gone as my body seemingly absorbed and strengthened my affinity to Time. "It could be the system thing Shin hitched onto my soul," I guessed, but Yao shook her head. "Shin would''ve already had more of your soul if he was lending you that kind of substantive power. It''s more likely an innate ability that has not quite crystalized like your mixed energy. Perhaps it''s another reason why he wants you so badly." "Possibly," I muttered as I again remembered that Shin was a cheap mother fucker. "This new information contextualizes everything we know about you and Shin. This unknown ability of yours might be your saving grace." I couldn''t agree more. The second round of the time dilation went as smoothly as the first. Jean stood to the side while Kaecilius and Mordo maintained a powerful Mandala Shield that apparently kept the energy escaping in, and by the end of the session, my numbers had gone up again, and I was ready to use Unite. Angel Energy: 67 Devil Energy: 79 Endurance: 80 Vitality: 84 Congratulations, Time Affinity (Angel) has reached High. Everybody gave me a wide berth as I hefted Rebellion high. I winked at Jean. "Don''t panic," I warned as I stabbed myself in the chest and was subsequently consumed in a pillar of multicolored light. A scream ripped from Jean''s throat and mine as my cosmic burn expanded and grew, covering most of my body. Pain resistance mapped onto it, dulling the pain substantially. Cosmic energy seeped into the skill, altering it forever as my mind grew clearer than it had in weeks. Then came fire resistance. The skill warped and expanded, mixing with the element in the cosmic energy that burned me and merged deeply with my robust fire affinity. Earth Resistance caused a less profound change, reinforcing my body considerably, as did Arcane, Lightning, Blood, Affliction, Dark, Cold, and Kinetic. Space, Time, Mental, and Wind caused a more distinctive change, enhancing my abilities and body in ways I could not fully articulate. I lost all sense of time as the Unification was underway, and it ended just as suddenly as it had begun. When I came to, I found myself floating mid-air, rapidly falling to the ground. I barely registered the pain as I landed. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. When I stretched to my full height, I noticed that Yao and the other sorcerers were slightly below my eye level. ''Agamotto, have mercy,'' I heard Kaecilius say. ''He''s huge.'' ''The wounds are completely healed,'' Mordo said. Yao remained quiet while Jean rushed over to me and punched me in the chest, before wrapping me in a fierce hug. She felt feather-light. "Thank goodness you''re okay¡­You conveniently left out the part where Unify required you to literarily impale yourself." She didn''t untangle from me until I called out her name, and when she did, she seemed fixed on my eyes. I could tell something about me was drastically different. "What''s wrong?" I already knew I was a fair bit bulker. I hoped nothing had gone wrong during the process. "It''s your eyes," she said slowly. "They''re purple." "What now!" I summoned Rebellion, which had fallen to the ground sometime during my Unification, and looked at my reflection. I was stunned by the face that stared back at me. I looked exactly like Dante but estimated I was about 15-20 pounds heavier and a few inches taller. My eyes were purple like Jean had said, vibrating like they barely held back a storm, struggling to rise to the surface. "That''ll take some getting used to," I said. "At least now you can claim to be clairvoyant without rousing suspicion." I chuckled, turning Rebellion to the side to catch more light. Now that I looked hard, I noticed that my hair had also gained a faint shade of purple. However, the biggest difference in my physique was my baby-smooth skin. My Cosmic Burn was healed entirely, I felt stronger and healthier than ever. And my status reflected it. The difference was night and day. HP: 1840/1840 SP:1800/1800 AE: 1370/1370 DE:1400/1400 Strength: 58+60 Dexterity: 61+60 Endurance: 80+100 Vitality: 84+100 Angelic Energy: 67+70 Demonic Energy: 70+70 My mouth fell open as an unhinged laugh slipped out. I goggled at what I was reading. Jean looked at me concerned, but she fell to the background as I crunched the mental numbers. I was at least twice as strong in every major category. I was in the strength class where I could flip cars easily, and my top speed put me at over 300 miles per hour before any skill boost. I was officially broken, and I''d not checked for my new skill. My jaw dropped when I eventually got to it. (Transcendent)Cosmic Promethean Body (Basic) Forged from the amalgam of 15 unique defensive skills and the Cosmic Fire of the Phoenix, it synergizes well with Dante''s innate adaptability to grant an ever-evolving skill that provides robust defensive and offensive advantages. It also grants several powerful subskills. Current stat bonuses: +60 Strength +60 Dexterity +100 Endurance +100 Vitality +70 Angelic Energy +70 Demonic Energy From The Ashes: Remake your body once a day using the latent cosmic energy still flowing through your veins. Refills all resources and greatly enhances effects of the subskill: What doesn''t kill me. What Doesn''t Kill Me: All resistance skills have been rolled into What Doesn''t Kill Me, which grants a flat 35% boost on all resistances. Increased exposure to harmful magical elements helps grow the Cosmic Promethean Body, working towards the next evolution of the skill. What Doesn''t Kill Me dramatically reduces the strain required to acquire new stats in exchange for slower skill growth of Cosmic Promethean body. Promethean Vitality: Grants a passive regeneration commensurate to your vitality stat. Generate 1/8th of your health pool every hour. Nether Fire: Your fire affinity has dramatically improved and altered by Cosmic energy and the Phoenix''s influence. Your fire burns twice as hot as before, lasts twice as long, and gains a pronounced corrosive property. Your Fire affinity has been upgraded to Peak, the highest ever recorded for mortals. You''re also completely immune to fire attacks. Astral Link: Your middling mental talent has been greatly strengthened by contact with the Cosmic fire of the Phoenix. Your Mind affinity has reached High tier. Windborn: Your resistance skill synergized greatly with your affinity, bolstering it slightly. Your affinity has reached Very High. Time-Sage: Your resistance skill synergized greatly with your affinity, bolstering it slightly. Your Time affinity has reached Very high. All skills that draw on the concept of time are doubly as effective. (includes Evasion) Dimensional Consciousness: Your resistance skill synergized greatly with your Dimensional affinity, strengthening it. Your affinity has reached High. You''re more attuned to the spaces between dimensions. "Hot. Fucking. Damn," I let out a victorious laugh. "Are you okay?" Jean asked. "Never been better." Chapter 111 Dante I opened my hand and shut it several times, savoring the newfound strength surging within me. Every facet of me felt fundamentally different. It was like I was in the early days of my time in Marvel again, discovering my skills for the first time. "I need to test out a few things¡­" I said. "Understandable," Yao nodded, dabbing her strained face. The spells had taken a toll. "I can''t say I''m not excited to see what new abilities these changes bring. Jean, could you open a portal to the East Mountain Arena?" Wait what! I looked at Jean in surprise, and she blushed slightly under my gaze. "I''ve been practicing," she explained as she slipped on a Sling Ring. A red-golden portal opened up, and we all stepped through. "Wow, Jean," I nudged her. "I''m impressed." Jean''s value just skyrocketed now that she knew magic. Telekinesis and Telepathy were already overpowered, but she could be truly invincible with magic. This also meant that we didn''t need grumpy Aaron to ferry us places. "Know any other spells?" She made a face and struck a familiar martial art pose with startling accuracy, generating a shield of eldritch energy in front of her. I poked at it, pleasantly surprised. "So, where do you want to get started?" Jean asked as she vanished the shield. "Preferably, I''d like to test a few things on my own. I''m not sure anyone here can keep up with me except maybe Yao. Maybe if you two came at me together," I said, looking at Mordo and Kaecilius. Mordo laughed. "I like the confidence." "Arrogance is what it is," Kaecilius said with an irritated look. "We''ve trained decades under the most powerful sorcerer to live in the last 500 years. You''re delusional if you think you stand a chance against either of us when we''re serious." "Weren''t you serious during the Garok fight?" I questioned. "I''d hate to think you held back, and a lot of people got hurt because of it." "Tactics differ from when you''re in a group than you are by yourself," "So, what you''re saying is you''re ready to face me alone?" Kaecilius had a complicated look on his face before he huffed. "If that''s what it takes to properly educate you, then¡­" I waved him off. "Look, I''d rather not hurt you or anything. I''m still figuring things out and¡­" "Nonsense," Kaecilius insisted, causing me to trade looks with Jean, who looked equally puzzled. We couldn''t telepathically communicate for now. Our link got scrambled when I went through my upgrade. Still, I got the gist of Jean''s look. ''He might surprise you.'' "Let''s go then," I sighed. Jean could be right. "I''m just going to limit myself by not using weapons, just until I get a handle on my new body." "Do what you want." I frowned. "Do you have something against me?" "Of course not," Kaecilius snorted, and I frowned. I could still hear him speak even though his lips had stopped moving. I followed him as we made our way to the center of the arena. ''It''s those eyes, that face. He stole from us and disappeared when we needed him the most. What''s stopping him from doing it all over again.'' Was he talking about me or Vergil, and did I just hear his thoughts? It had happened once already, and while I was curious how my increased Mind affinity would translate into a new skill, I hadn''t expected...well this. Kaecilius''s feelings about Vergil were not a surprise, given how dedicated he still seemed. I knew that was bound to change once he found out about Dormanmu. Curious, I scanned Mordo to see what he thought about our little exchange. Thankfully, he was not thinking about me. He was more concerned about Kaecilius. ''What does he hope to achieve?'' This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. Yao was next. I got static for the first few seconds, but then she turned to me. ''Trying to peek into my mind, are you? Telepathy? Huh. I''d have never guessed.'' My eyes were as wide as saucers. ''You have telepathy?'' ''No, but I have a spell that keeps telepaths out,'' she explained. ''Believe it or not, telepaths are a dime a dozen, especially on the demon''s side.'' ''I''ll keep that in mind,'' I swallowed. I suppose I should consider myself lucky that we haven''t had the unfortunate pleasure of fighting a telepath yet. ''I''ll let you get back to your fight.'' Congratulations: You''ve learned the demonic technique: Telepathy (Basic) Listen and Transmit thoughts directly into people''s minds. 2DE per second. Cost increases based on distance. Communication can be easily rebuffed by telekinetics powerful enough. Each person simultaneously linked requires +50 in Demon Energy for up to 4 people. The skill provided no compulsion, illusion, or memory stealing, but I was not about to complain. It was crazy useful as is already. My mind went crazy thinking about what I could accomplish by just listening and talking telepathically. I stood about 10 feet from Kaecilius in a loose martial art stance, deliberating how to approach his ass whooping. I decided to rush at him at half-speed. Still, 60 Dexterity was nothing to sniff at, especially when you had over 100 Strength to back it up. Surprisingly, Kaecilius wasn''t all talk. At the very last second, he raised an eldritch shield, and I punched it with half of my strength. The Shield flared but otherwise remained solid. ''Ha! Is that it!'' I practically heard him sneer as he flicked his fingers and rotated his palms with startling speed and efficiency. Several energy halberds emerged from the Shield''s face, prompting me to take a swift step back to dodge, but Kaecilius was not done. I heard him think of the attack before it happened. His Halberds fired as one, and I flipped through the air, easily dodging all 15 of them. Two strange Mandalas of overbearing light emerged, and he slammed them together, generating a sustained flash of light that bathed the entire arena, blinding me completely. Luckily, I had Kaecilius''s mind and my other senses to rely on for navigation. Multiple whips sliced through the air, aimed straight at me. I hopped over the first set, swerved over the second, and flipped over the last. ''How is he doing that!'' I heard Kaecilius''s mind racing as he opened a portal in front of me, but I sidestepped and did the same for the one placed in front of my falling left foot. It was fascinating watching the panic creep in as I dodged attack after attack. In a blink, I was in front of Kaecilius''s shield with my fist cocked. His eyes went wide as my fist connected. Under the full brunt of my strength, it shattered like paper. Predictably, Kaecilius''s body winked out of existence just as the punch hit. He''d substituted himself with an ''Image of Ikonn,'' A.K.A an illusionary duplicate, when he blinded me. Kaecilius stood on a platform above me, prepping a powerful spell. But I was unphased, specifically because of the nature of the spell. I looked Kaecilius dead in the eyes and smiled, startling the man. He still unleashed the spell. ''Suns of Cinnibus.'' A ray of superheated fire speared out of several layered Mandala and came down on me like divine judgment. The spell was so powerful that it created a small crater on the arena floor. ''You imbecile! Why didn''t you dodge!'' I heard Kaecilius mentally yell out. I was slow to climb out from the crater just to really milk his panic. I was completely fine, of course. Nether Fire, my new perk, made me completely immune to fire. The concussive force of the attack did more damage than the actual fire. At most, it felt like I was standing in a mildly hot shower. It was genuinely disorienting. The look on Keacilius''s face was priceless. It quickly transitioned to abject fear when I seemingly disappeared from view. I darted left, then leaped into the air with Burst. That turned out to be a huge mistake. I wanted to appear behind him and pull up a boogeyman scare, but I''d severely underestimated my speed and the power of the Burst. I overshot considerably, and as I flailed in the air, watching Kaecilius panic, I used another Boost, facing downward. This time, I lowered my speed by 25%, which was easier said than done. I popped up in front of Kaecilius''s stunned face and thumbed his face so hard that I sent him flying. A punch would''ve killed him. Kaecilius showed more skill than I expected, opening a portal, which he fell into, and then another portal behind me that unleashed a mini-tsunami. It hit me so hard and fast that it stole a quarter of my health bar when it crashed into me. The pressure and water would''ve been enough to end me if I hadn''t undergone my latest evolution. I punched the arena floor and dug my hand in so the water current couldn''t whip me around. I stacked multiple bursts on my chest, facing the arena floor, and let a rip. I shot out of the water, flipping wildly before I righted myself. Kaecilus frowned when he saw me. He thought that one water tsunami would be enough, but clearly, he''d underestimated me, so he decided to stop holding back. His hands blurred as he opened multiple portals, releasing jets of pressurized water at me. As I darted around the air with Bursts, navigating the attacks, I couldn''t help but acknowledge that Kaecilius was impressive. With enough setup, he could bury most opponents. Unfortunately for him, I was not most people. I activated my Cloak, setting myself on fire. Instead of being covered in the layer of orange fire I was used to, my Cloak was blood red with large streaks of black fire that evaporated the water in the air around us. The description of my fire cloak hadn''t changed, but the sheer amount of power flowing through me was unreal. The feeling came close to how I felt on Devil Trigger. Was this what the highest mortal tier in Fire Affinity could provide? Burst threw me up in the air with a sonic boom and a Nether fire discharge that evaporated most of the water behind me. Kaecilius, clearly expecting an ass-whooping was imminent, decided to kick things up a notch by opening the largest portal I''d ever seen. It was connected to the bottom of a frozen lake, and I knew where we were because of Kaecilius''s mind and the cloudy surface of the water. The ice-cold water evaporated before it touched me, raising a curtain of superheated steam that had Kaecilius teetering on the edge of his platform. I moved through the mist, deactivating my Cloak, and stopped on the eldritch platform he was standing on in the air, fist inches from his head. "You lose," I said. There was a stretch of silence before Kaecilius conceded with a sigh and a stoic face. The anger radiating off him told a different story, though. Chapter 112 After Kaecillius''s defeat, Mordo oddly wanted to test me himself. He fought very differently from Kaecillius and used a new spell he''d been apparently working on since the fight with the Garok. Mordo had taken his men''s deaths personally and worked on a spell that could close the strength gap between the demons and humans if they ever needed to defend themselves up close against a powerful Lesser or Greater Demon. The spell was called Armament of Cyttorak, and as the name suggested, it drew power from Cyttorak''s dimension, like binding spell, the Bands of Cyttorak. Mordo''s use of it was frankly humbling. Paired with his boots and Living Tribunal staff, he showed me how overpowered air maneuverability could be in the arms of a pro. You could strike from unpredictable angles, rapidly shift stances, and avoid even the most ridiculous attacks. By the minute mark, I was already copying him, and that was when the crash happened. Mordo''s entire body suddenly seized, and he dropped from the air but landed with surprising control and grace. Everybody rushed to his side, and Kaecillius was certain I''d done something to him when Yao explained that Mordo''s spell was designed as a last-ditch option and not a viable attack spell. Apparently, channeling that much energy from the crimson dimension puts an incredible burden on the body. Yao theorized that only Rin, myself, and maybe Jean could use it long-term. The fight ended much sooner than I wanted, but it disabused me of the notion that I was all-powerful, even if my upgrade made me feel like Superman. There were still sorcerers and mutants who could take me down with the right tools and plans. --- After my little session with Mordo, I spent the greater part of the day by myself, testing the limit of my abilities. For starters, Nether Fire was far more complicated and potent than anything else I had in my arsenal. The fire burned hot enough to melt stone if I really pushed it, and the description did not lie about its corrosive and long-lasting properties. It was damn near impossible to put out once it started. Nether Fire had also fundamentally changed my weapons. Even passively now, my demonic weapons were wreathed in the stuff, and don''t get me started on actual weapon strikes and Cloak. The fire also slipped into techniques executed in Cloak, turbo-charging them with Nether Fire. The unintended combo actually gave me inspiration for a new demonic technique I''d been thinking about¡ªan advanced version of Burst that incorporated my various affinities. Sparda said everything had come back to Burst. But before that, I needed to master the remaining skill catalog Sparda and Eva left for me. It was long overdue. My Windborn perk provided less of a direct benefit as Nether Fire, but the difference between a High affinity and Very High was significant. If I had to put a number on it, it''d be about 20-25% in power and control, which was crazy considering how strong my wind skills were. Gust made me feel like a force of nature, and Stinger, which I''d made the executive decision to rename Wind Blade, tore deep groves in stone. TimeSage gave Evasion about a 75% boost. I went from having a Low Time Affinity to Mid to High and then Very High. Each step up the ladder brought about a 25% increase in power and control. The skill description changed quite a bit, and I received a new skill rank. (R) Moment of the Time Sage Increases your Personal time by 55 percent when confronted with an attack that will take 2% of your health or greatly exceeds your perception threshold. Bonus lasts for 3 seconds of Personal time. Cost 10 AE and 10 stamina. However, the skill I was the most excited to explore was Angel Evade. Much like Evasion, Dimensional Consciousness changed the skill in a predictable way. I could remain intangible for two minutes instead of one, and my body moved faster when I was in between dimensions. There was also a snippet about being able to peer into the sections of Limbo from which my skill drew. Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. I was understandably skeptical about trying that last bit. I was not quite ready for dimension-hopping yet. I finished the day with a ton of answers but even more questions. I had to decide which skill needed the boost the most, as well as commit to learning every last Demonic and Angelic weapon skill I had available. There was also the small matter of smithing. It was going to be a hell of a week. --- "Jeez," I held up my nose as I waded through a press of bodies alongside Jean on our way to a biological Research lab at the edge of campus. Jean had portalled us onto a private College outside of Nevada from Kamar-Taj. Given the abundance of people on campus, I''d taken the liberty of exercising my Telepathy. I was putting out about 1DE per second, meaning I had plenty of room to experiment. So far, it''d been assaulted with thoughts that made me lose faith in humanity. I''ve heard hundreds of sexual comments thrown at her, and oddly, myself. There were dozens of budding criminal plots, nonsensical ramblings, and even illicit affairs between Professors and their students. Telepathy, I was starting to realize, was every crime fighter''s wet dream, but only if you had the temperament of a saint. "How have you not completely lost faith in humanity." "I try to remind myself that this is none of my business for the most part," Jean said, giving a more measured answer than expected from a teenager. "If there''s a serious issue, I''ll report it, but acting on everything I hear will drive me crazy. Besides, what you think and what you do are very different things. I''ve also learned the hard way that you might not be able to save everyone. Doesn''t mean we can''t try." "Jesus, you''re much more measured than I expected, Jean. Have you been body snatched and replaced?" She made a face, bumping me over with her fist. When I refused to budge, she punched again, but this time, the hit was assisted with Telekinesis. I laughed. "I''m just trying to be more realistic," she said. "You were there. You saw how many people we lost at Strucker''s base and the village in Africa." I made a face. It was strange seeing her change in front of me. I''d hoped she''d become a touch more cynical, not flip up on me overnight. "We can only try our best," I said. We found Dr. Bruce Banner sooner than I expected. He was in a spirited discussion with his paramour, Dr. Betsy Ross, who was looking at him intently. We spotted them across from the quad as they entered a guarded building. The uninitiated might''ve written off the security guards as low-experienced, fresh-faced hires, but the way they moved and the fact that they almost caught me all but confirmed they were trained. Their mind reflected that single-minded focus and determination. Their surface thoughts gave up nothing about their employer. "They could be mercenaries or soldiers," I said to Jean, turning to her to avoid their gaze. She was close enough that I could breathe in her perfume, and she didn''t pull away. "I can''t tell which." "Hydra," she revealed, and I shrugged, not the least bit surprised. "The cockroaches were bound to crawl out of the woodwork eventually. How do you want to approach this? Clear out the quad and incapacitate them, or maybe I could turn intangible and float past and then double back for you when I get chance." "Or¡­" she pulled out the Siren Mask from her handbag, and I chuckled. "Maybe Natasha was onto something about me being too much of a bonehead." "I like that you''re a bonehead and cynical," she said. "Being nice won''t help us win this war." "I know I tell you to be hard-hearted and ruthless," I said, "but I can''t be right all of the time, an on the days I am not, I need you to be able to call me on my bullshit." Jean blinked. "Uh---Okay." I pulled my Siren Mask from my new storage skill¡ªDimensional Vault. The skill was basically an unlimited version of Weapon''s Vault. I could store any item up to five times my bodyweight. However, all items cannot be summoned in a vacuum. They must always be in contact with me when they''re called up. Unfortunately, it could not be used to do the more interesting things I''d managed with Weapon''s vault like armor equip, but it was perfect for just about everything else. The mask went on, and our faces morphed. I looked like a black-haired, mild-mannered science geek, and Jean was blonde and way out of my league. The guards didn''t give us a second look as we walked past them. Jean sussed out Bruce''s location easily after we cleared the entrance. He was in the lab with a few other colleagues, finishing up another batch of the formula. General Thunderbolt Ross came knocking seconds after they wrapped things up, and this time Jean didn''t need to relay their conversation to me. My Telepathy worked just fine. "Congratulations, Dr. Banner. You just made history. If the formula works, America will finally have a solid response against the encroaching superhuman threat." "You mean mutants?" Bruce asked. "We saw the video going around online," Betsy explained. "We just want answers." General Thaddeus Ross mentally huffed at the idea, but one look from his daughter made him melt. He reluctantly asked his men to clear the room. "You''d be breaking a dozen Federal Laws if you breathed a word of this to anyone," Thaddeus began, "but Mutants are not the biggest superhuman threat that the Government and the world, at large, is facing." "You can''t mean those so-called demons that have been popping up all over the world?" Dr. Banner said as he made the connection. "I thought they were a subset of a well-organized mutant terrorist group, not, you know, the real thing¡­because that will be preposterous." "I can''t confirm or deny anything," Ross said diplomatically, "but if it were true, you''d understand why this is so important. Our options of retaliation are severely limited by our human personnel." "I imagine there''s only so much carpet bombing the area can do¡­not that you''ve had any problems with that historically." "Do you have a problem with me, Son?" Thaddeus demanded. "Not more than I typically do for government types," Bruce said. "I''m literarily handing you the keys to dominate the free world if you so choose. I''m allowed to be a little bit bratty." "Like hell you are!" Chapter 113 The conversation snapped out of focus when Jean hijacked my connection to show me something important. A pair of obvious lady spies had entered the building using the same doors we had. They, however, hadn''t worn disguises. It seemed like they didn''t need to. The Hydra agents at the door waved them through after they recited a password. From their movement pattern, it was clear that they were after Betsy, Bruce, or the General. Deducing their target was difficult without knowing their goal. It could''ve been any of the three. Banner was hot shit now that he had basically synthesized an improved version of the Super Soldier Serum that would ironically never reach its full potential without deathly levels of gamma radiation. Ross was an Army General. It was obvious why they might want him, and Betsy was the ultimate lever. She could''ve been used to pressure either man to do exactly what the agents wanted. I had an inkling who these women were, but I had to interrogate them to be sure. "Alright," I said, stretching. "I''ll take care of it." "Wait," Jean urged. "I think I can put them to sleep." I stared at her, taken aback. "Already? Weren''t you struggling with that about a week ago?" "I could say the same thing about you and smithing," she quipped, and I smiled. "Putting people to sleep didn''t cost you a chunk of your soul, though." "Didn''t it?" She asked, and I smiled. "That got dark, real fast. Anyway, do your thing." Jean shut her eyes, and her nose crinkled with a determined expression. Three tense seconds passed before her eyes snapped open. "It''s done," she said like it was the most mundane thing in the world. From experience, I knew lobotomizing them wouldn''t have been that more mentally taxing. I shook my head. It was easy to forget how terrifying Jean could be. "I should stand watch here while you go deal with the bodies," I told Jean. "I would''ve offered, but I can''t portal." "That''s fine," she agreed. "You''ll tell me about the juicy bits when I return." Jean started to walk towards the exit before she paused and offered one last piece of advice. "Don''t be afraid to push inside their heads if you need to steal the formula before I return, but don''t overdo it. Your mind is monstrously powerful after your...changes. You could lobotomize them if you tried hard enough and hurt yourself." "That''s¡­uh, good to know." Jean left, and I listened some more, doing exactly as instructed. When I tuned back into the conversation, the heat had died down. Apparently, Betsy had played her part as mediator. After acquiring the Serum, the General specifically asked Bruce for his formula, and the Hulk-to-be flat-out refused him. "It''s what we paid you for Dr. Even if the formula doesn''t work, you can''t legally hold onto that information. It''s property of the United States of America." General Ross said as he stuffed the Serum into his briefcase. That was new. In the MCU, the accident that turned Banner into the Hulk happened before General Ross had a chance to leave with the Serum. The General was also more aggressive there. The plot was deviating because Ross was facing real stakes and a tighter deadline. The plot was drastically changing, and the demons seemed responsible for it. "You paid for my expertise," Bruce said, "not my bedside manners." The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. "Bruce!" Betsy protested. "Fair enough," the General chuckled. "If you''ve done your job right, then we''ll be seeing a lot less of each other." The General placed the Serum in his briefcase and then left. "Did you have to antagonize him?" Betsy asked as soon as the General stepped out of earshot. "You know how I feel about the Government," he said, moving deeper into his lab. Reading his mind, I saw what he planned to do. He wanted to destroy all physical copies of the formula, including the encrypted files on his computer. "I actually trust your father more than anybody in the Government right now. At least he''s somewhat honest with me. But I fear what they''ll do with the formula. Something tells me it won''t just end with foreign defense. And don''t tell me you''re buying the demon angle?" Betty was a bit hurt at her comment about her father. "Why did you take the contract if you didn''t trust him?" Activating Angel Evade, I walked through the walls until I reached the final one separating the lab from the rest of the facility. I leaned against the wall, listening in. "Because you asked me too, and the Grant money had been too good to pass up back then. Besides, I never expected us to actually figure out the Serum. Do you know how many people have tried replicating Erskine''s work in the past 50 years?" Banner pushed aside his table and popped open a safe hidden beneath a set of tiles. He punched in the code 4562. A second later, the door eased open. Inside the safe were his notes and a hard drive containing the steps he took to arrive at the final iteration of the Serum. He picked up the cheap bottle of Tequila resting beside the notes and tossed the notes and hard drive into an open waste basket. "What are you doing?" Betsy asked Bruce, who was ruffling in his desk for a lighter. "I''m Making sure the formula never gets into the wrong hands," he said, cracking open the bottle of Tequila. If they want Super soldiers, they will come to us. I won''t give up the formula until I''m certain they won''t be abused." "Stop!" she yelled. "You''re being paranoid. You don''t even know if the formula works yet." "It will," Bruce grunted. "You tested it?" she asked, apprehension clear in her voice. "I''ve run the calculations and the simulations a hundred times over. It should work, and if it doesn''t...I won''t need the raw data. I have it all memorized." "That''s impossible Bruce. All those lines of code, all those writings...?" "Come on, Betsy," he remarked as he mentally poured over the information. "When has my memory ever failed me?" Betsy didn''t reply, but I could feel the uncertainty pouring out of her. A great deal of the information running through Banner''s mind was Jargon, but I got the basic formula down, as well as the unintelligible other bits. I''d have to find a nuclear physicist and microbiologist to help me figure this out or learn enough to do it by himself, whichever comes first. Thanks to my upgraded Mind affinity, I had a feeling taking in and pushing out vast amounts of information wouldn''t be that much of a challenge. My biggest concern was for Bruce Banner. He had a strong spine, and perhaps that was the problem. He was ready for a Government double-cross, but no amount of preparation would help him weather the tsunami of shit coming his way. If the news ever got out--if it hadn''t already--everybody would be after him, from Hydra, who''d want to reclaim their supremacy over the Demons, Dreykov, and even the 10 rings. He''d also have Nick ''Motherfucking'' Fury to worry about. I didn''t envy him right now. Still, I technically had what I''d come for. I could mint a hulk in theory if I was so inclined, but I couldn''t bring myself to leave. Banner won''t be able to protect himself from the people who will be coming after him if he''s not the Hulk. A large part of my plan hinges on Bruce becoming the most overpowered physical fighter in the Marvel Universe. The comics have proven time and time again, that no one comes close to the original. Not really. So, I had one of two options. Babysit the couple 24/7 until Banner becomes who he''s always meant to be or accelerate the process substantially by making Banner the Hulk. It should''ve been easy: stepping into the lab, injecting Banner, and shoving him at the Gamma reactor. Instead, I grabbed my phone and called Fury, giving him a brief rundown of the situation. Was I worried Fury was plotting something behind the scenes¡ªof course-- but it was in his best interest to ensure the Hulk became who he was meant to be. "I think Rin, a few of your agents, and maybe Kurt could watch from afar and be on standby just in case the lady assassins and Hydra swings back around." "Great looking out," Fury said, "but Kurt is busy, but the Cap has been eager for some action. I bet he won''t mind." "Sure," I said with some hesitation. "He does understand what we''re trying to do, right? We are letting a good doctor and man go through a horrific accident that will warp his body forever." "Steve might have a golden heart, but my orders were clear. Either he follows your lead on this, or he sits it out." I knew things wouldn''t be as simple in practice, but I agreed with Fury for now. "I''ll be waiting on your team," I said, returning my attention to Banner and his girl. Moments after I used Telepathy, somebody barged into their office, startling Banner and his Girl. "Ted," Bruce clutched his chest in surprise. "What did I tell you about barging in like that?" "Never to do that, or you might fire me?" Ted said timidly but continued, "Just look at the news. This is happening downtown right now." Betsy gasped. Bruce held her. "I am so sorry, Betsy¡­I¡ª" Bruce was at a loss for words. I could barely hear the news through the screen but got a gist of what was happening. General Ross was dead, and the Hulk formula had been stolen. Chapter 114 Jean popped out of a portal beside me with a look that mirrored mine, but I could tell there was more on her mind. "What did you find out?" As I suspected, Jean interrogated the Widows on a hunch and learned some interesting information. Dreykov and Hydra were working against each other. One of Dreykov''s girls had been watching Carl Creel in Madrapoor learned the oafish man was stepping up to the plate. He was holding a candle for Daniel Whitehall, his creator, and wanted to complete his mission by becoming the perfect soldier for Hydra''s ultimate mission--whatever that was. I was stumped that Creel bought into Hydra''s propaganda so intensely, but no one was immune to brainwashing, I guess. The news, which I looked up on my phone, confirmed as much. There was a team of mercenaries shooting up a street in Downtown New York while the police scrambled to stop them. Apparently, Tony Stark was also stuck in the traffic jam that ensued after the death of the General. "What do you want to do?" Jean asked me, and I contemplated my answer for several seconds before deciding. "Go to the base and get the team here, pronto. Call the X-Men and get them on standby if we need them. Lastly, I''m going to need a portal to that street. We''re fucked if Hydra gets their hands on Tony Stark or the Hulk Formula. I need to retrieve both." "You should take Kurt with you at least," Jean urged. "I can open portals. I don''t need him here." "Not true," I said. "You''ll need all your concentration in case Hydra or Dreykov come prepared. You cannot be distracted." "And what about you? Who''ll look out for you?" "I can read minds, have an arsenal of self-made weapons, start fires that can melt stone, and am faster than the fastest supercar on the planet right now," I said. "I think I can handle some Hydra agents. Besides, the X-Men team is on standby, and there is no doubt Fury is already assembling a secondary team. I''ll be fine." "You''ve said that before," Jean frowned, and I set my jaw. "I''m not sure I could handle you or anyone else getting hurt on my watch," I said. I saw the surprise in her eyes. My words stunned her a little. "I''ll call in if something goes wrong, and I''ll likely need you or Kurt for exfil when I find Tony. I promise I''ll be fine." Jean reluctantly nodded and opened a portal. Before I stepped through, I pulled my Siren''s Mask, switching for a metal half-mask. I also wore leather and metal armor and a set of pauldrons, greaves, and vambraces¡ªall reddish infernal metal inscribed with runes that were 50% more powerful than they''d otherwise been. I also had a more comprehensive armor set in my Weapon''s vault and a few new weapons I was eager to test. I stepped out in the thick of it. Police and Hydra agents traded bullets behind car barricades. Screams, gun smoke, and rising smoke from car fires intermingled to create what I imagined a warzone would feel like. The firefight stopped immediately as all guns swiveled to me. "Identify yourself!" a twitchy police officer demanded, but before I could get a word out, the Hydra agents opened fire. "Kill him," he said. "It doesn''t matter." His was the first head I took off when I started moving. Angel Evade turned me intangible. I materialized in front of him long enough to behead him with a sweep of my two new infernal shortswords. They were ideal for short-range encounters where there wasn''t quite enough space to pull Rebellion out. Besides, I was still operating under the assumption that Shin could somehow manage to take Rebellion from me. "Oh shit!" Somebody on the police side screamed. It melded with the cries of the Hydra agents as I cut through them at startling speeds. In seconds, all 14 shooters were either beheaded or stabbed. Screams filled the air, and explosions followed after, sending shrapnel, cars, and body parts all over the place. Amidst the chaos, I saw a team of enhanced soldiers zipping through at supernatural speeds. A mercenary dressed in all black stood atop a black capsized car, taking potshot after potshot at the fleeing masses. Noticing me, he pointed it in my direction but didn''t get the chance to fire before an energy bullet ripped through his forehead, killing him instantly. I went intangible again, zipping after the soldiers. I helped whenever I could, pulling people out of cars and ferrying them away from the fires, but I kept chasing the soldiers, even if I was falling behind trying to play the hero. When they saw this, they communicated via their mics about setting bombs to slow me down so that they could move on Stark. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. I heard all this because I was tapped into one of their heads. Fuck that. My speed doubled as I used into my full Dexterity. "Psst," I mentally whispered to the last man in the formation, startling him. He had a hole in his gut before he even realized it. I sped over to a car, bounded in the direction they were moving, and pulled Ebony and Ivory. Two of the ten advancing soldiers saw my shadow and reacted in time. I killed six out of ten of them before they realized it, and the other two did not escape unscathed, but their wounds didn''t seem to bother them either. They stopped bleeding when they started moving from behind the cars where they had taken refuge, which confirmed that they weren''t standard Super soldiers. They tried to change tactics by returning fire to keep me at bay while advancing toward their target, but that didn''t help them. A Burst threw me in the direction of the closest soldier, and he surprised me by grabbing a lady hiding underneath her car and holding her in front of me. He didn''t get the chance to make whatever bullshit threat he had in mind before I phased through both of them, spun around, and backhanded the man at his nape, killing him instantly. I grabbed the soldier so he didn''t fall on the panicking woman as she pedaled forward, screaming for her life. I pulled away the balaclava covering the face of the dead soldier, and it confirmed my greatest fear. He was Fleshwarped with thick veins running up and down his face and neck. I even saw hints of red in his irises. That''s just fucking peachy. Domina was coming for me like she promised. I set the dead demon on fire by summoning demonic energy and my fire affinity, letting him drop to the floor with vague disgust. The woman flinched at the display and started crawling back to get some distance while I stalked toward her. "Hide," I ordered. Two seconds later, two of the remaining surviving soldiers attacked me, moving at speeds I would''ve struggled with before my evolution. Domina certainly knew how to pick them. They had tossed their guns aside, pulling out a set of glowing knives covered in blue demonic inscriptions. One look at them told me exactly what the knives did. They were hard-counters against my dimensional affinity, meant to strike at my real body in limbo while I was intangible. Too bad I didn''t need Angel Evade to rip them apart. I stepped to the side, dodging the first fighter as he landed, cracking the ground. I pulled Betsy, firing a shot into his chest. He took it in his folded arms instead. The shot ripped him open, dislocating his arms and shattering bones, leaving him open for a follow-up shot that would''ve left me vulnerable to the sneak attack from the second guy. I twisted, parrying the knife lunge coming at my back with my vambrace, and locked my assassin in a tight trip while I fired another shot at his second, killing him instantly. The offender tried kicking me to separate, but I grabbed his leg and hefted him in the air. He was in the middle of tossing the knife to his free hand when a Burst carrying Nether fire exploded from my chest, incinerating him. He screamed as I ripped him in half. I fetched his dagger, looked it over, and stored it. In the corner of my eyes, I spied the woman I saved looking at me. She was shaking. "Keep your head down," I said. "This will be over soon enough." The ground underneath me shattered as I surged forward with Burst and Gust. In the blink of an eye, I was standing in front of Tony''s car. Four of his five bodyguards were dead, leaving only Happy Hogan to defend Tony, who was hiding in his car, yelling over to Happy to let him help. The bodyguard flat-out refused. A super soldier was closing in with his knife, ready to gut Happy. Just before his knife plunged downward, I materialized behind him and swiped off his head with Rebellion. Happy let out a startled yelp and, fumbled for the gun to the side and pointed it at me. In my eyes, Happy and the rest of the world moved in slow motion. "After everything you''ve seen, do you think that''ll be enough?" I asked, but surprisingly, Happy grew even more determined, struggling to his feet. "I''ll do what it takes to protect Mr. Stark." I smiled under my mask, dismissing Rebellion. "Good. There might be hope for you yet, Happy Hogan." "How do you¡­." "Know your name? Magic," I smiled. "How else is any of this possible? Now, get your boss out here. We need to move before backup arrives." Happy didn''t budge, however. Instead of calming him, my words seemed to have the opposite effect. "I''m a government contractor," I said, loud enough for Tony Stark to hear. And frankly, I''m the only person in this city who can protect you from them." "Who''s this them?" Tony said, shoving the crushed side door of his car open while he hefted a laser rifle in his arm. It looked experimental and powered with a prototype of what I assumed was the arc reactor. I smiled at the sight. "My father''s people," I said to Tony. "Demons." Tony made a face. "I can tell from your mask and armor that you''re dedicated to your bit, but demons? Really?" I could''ve lied and drip-fed him information, but Tony wasn''t the type to stop digging till he learned the truth. And besides, I knew that when Fury approached him, he''d be more trusting of the mask-wearing demon than the one-eyed government spook. I pumped demonic energy into my palm and let my fire affinity consume and warp it. My palm exploded in an unstable but intense burn of black and red fire. "I''ve got the Hellfire to prove it," I said casually. "And the people that attacked you are not human by any stretch of the imagination. That strength, speed, endurance¡­ it''s not natural." "It could be an experimental Super soldier serum," Tony theorized. "The government like to pretend like they lost everything after the captain went into the water, but I know for a fact they didn''t." "You''re right," I admitted, "but not about the soldiers. They''re corrupted humans, not super soldiers. I will tell you everything you want to know in time, but this is hardly the place. I need to know which direction the man who stole from Ross ran, and I need to hide you somewhere where the demons will never find you." Tony frowned. "Why do they want to kill me so badly." "You''re the merchant of death, Tony Stark¡ªone of the largest Weapon designers and developers on the planet. You''re one of the few people alive who can actually stop them." I tapped my earpiece and placed a call to Jean. A second later, Kurt materialized beside me, dressed in a SHIELD Uniform. He seemed a bit surprised by my new get-up and nodded at me. "I''d like you to meet my associate¡­" "Nightcrawler," Kurt said. "He''ll get you both to safety. Now, which direction did the thieves go again?" Chapter 115 Three Weeks Ago Domina I licked my lips in excitement after I left the meeting with Yao. I was looking forward to our fight. It''s been a long while since I''ve had any real challenge. The martial artists and chi users of Tokyo gave up a long time ago and were inducted into my hand, becoming extensions of my will. It was certainly not easy to break them, but it was immensely fun. I suspected the case would be the same with Dante and his little girlfriend. For people so young and green, they were certainly accomplished. Killing a Black Newt, foiling a Harpy army ambush, a Garok, and Mesmer, all within a day? That took serious power and potential. They''ve earned my attention, but that didn''t mean I was about to do something as obvious as attacking them personally. No, that was too... pedestrian, uninteresting. Why break them when I could have people they''ve wronged do it for me? Reports on the ground tell me the East Europeans hate a vigilante called "Arsenal" who fought with them briefly. There''s a 10-million-dollar bounty on his head. As they were now, they weren''t that much of a threat, but with the Firstborn enhancements and a few choice weapons, I could see how they could be useful pawns. The remnants of Hydra also wanted his head. They had super soldiers, but they were few and far between. They could also benefit from the Firstborn''s enhancements. The problem with their kind, however, was their fanatical devotion to their leaders. It was admirable when it benefited you, but it was a bitch-and-a-half to break. And I didn''t have the patience for that... It was better to have someone else do it for me. --- Kevin Thompson (AKA Killgrave) It''d been five years since the accident with my parents that gave me my abilities... and life couldn''t be better. After my parents disappeared, I replaced them because I understood how unnatural it would be for a child of my age to live by himself. A rich childless couple from New York seemed the most ideal, so I did that and basically made every day a non-stop party. I hit amusement parks, bought games, visited film sets, and did anything my 12-year-old brain could cook up without drawing too much suspicion. My appetite grew more... mature after puberty kicked in, and my balls dropped. Girls went from playthings I''d occasionally use if I wanted sympathy from a mark to sexual objects I couldn''t get enough of. Pretty quickly, I learned I was not nearly as witty and handsome as I thought I was, and getting girls was a lot harder than they made it look on TV. I grew bored of trying and did what I always do when something didn''t go my way¡ªsimply "asked" for it. Every girl I saw was mine for the taking, and I was convinced the world was as well until I ran into her at a club in one of the more upscale parts of New York. With platinum hair, piercing purple eyes, and a figure that could kill, she looked like she came straight out of an anime. Immediately, I knew I HAD to make her mine. With my coiffed hair, purple jacket, and my entourage of women, I walked up to her. Several men across the crowded club stirred as I made my approach, but none of them made their move, not that it would''ve made a difference. I was Killgrave, and the world was my playground. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. I settled in the chair beside her. She raised a brow, looking up from the drink she just ordered from the surprised bartender. He must''ve been impressed that I had the balls to approach her at all. "You have to be the prettiest girl I''ve ever seen," I said. "Did you fall out of heaven looking this way, or are you something far more interesting?" "It''s all natural," she said offhandedly. "I had very... unusual parents." "Unusual, really?" I grinned. "Why don''t you let me buy you another drink, and you can tell me all about it?" "Are you even old enough to be in here?" she asked, and I frowned. Some of the girls in my entourage giggled at the jab. I sent them back to our booth with a casual command. Then I snapped my finger at the bartender and pushed my ability. "Get me whiskey neat, and another one of what the lady is having." The bartender frowned at first, then blinked before obeying almost mechanically. The girl''s brow hiked up at the display. "How did you do that?" "If you join me at my booth, I promise to tell you all about it." I smiled, placing my hands on her shoulder. "Come over?" I nudged, using my powers. The girl, to my surprise, looked at my hand like it was some kind of pest. "No thanks," she said, shrugging my hand off. "I''ve got somewhere to be." I gawked at her as she stood up and started walking away. I chased after her immediately, grabbing her. "Hey, wait up?" I said again, flexing my ability. This time, the girl laughed and grabbed my wrist, twisting it. I dropped to the floor immediately and let out a startled scream. "I like to gather playthings too," she said, "but I recognize the difference between prey and predator." Her grip grew tighter, and I bit back a scream struggling to bubble to the surface. "What a waste," she said, shaking her head. "For someone so powerful, you lack imagination." She let go of my hand, and I yanked it back in pain and fear. "Now crawl away like the pathetic worm you are," she announced and walked away. For several tense seconds, I sat there on the ground, stunned. I just had the first real taste of adversity I''ve had in years, and I was high off that shit. Let the games begin! I grinned. --- Domina I sat cross-legged with a quartet of Hand Soldiers flanking me. I was having a face-to-face with the new leaders of the Albanian and Russian gangs in New York City. "I hear you have a bone to pick with the vigilante that put your bosses away?" The men shared a confused look, likely divided between undressing me with their eyes and asking questions about my peculiar look. "We certainly do," the heavily scarred man to the left answered. His name was Peter, and he apparently rode with Dante before he turned on them and kidnapped Henri, their former leader. He tore through the gang after Henri''s disappearance, proving himself to the leadership back home, hence why he had the position. "You know of the bounty, yes? Chase him if you want to. We will honor it. Though, I suggest you let your men do the heavy lifting. I''m not sure somebody of your constitution could put down Arsenal." "You''ll be surprised," I quirked a smile. "Though I feel the need to clarify, I''m not here to toss my hat into the ring. I''m here to make the chase a little more interesting." I produced a mugshot of Dante that he got when he was 18 and dumped a photo cache of all of the X-Men, a few members of the Brotherhood, and the two SHIELD agents he''s been known to associate with. "Through you, I want to place a 1-million-dollar bounty on each of their heads, and double the bounty on Arsenal''s head personally." Sergei, the dark-haired Albanian, looked at me skeptically. "Why?" "I''d rather remain out of the limelight. There''s a reason why you haven''t heard of me until now. I like to keep things that way," I said. "In fact, in exchange for your cooperation, I''m ready to offer members of your gang who''re willing to toss their hat into the ring. A little chemical enhancement." I produced 10 small vials of demonic blood essence produced by the Firstborn. They''re the latest batch and a refinement of his first formula. "Enhancements?" the Russian asked. "Arsenal was able to take out an entire building of your soldiers because he wasn''t playing fair to begin with. These vials will put you physically on his level. They''re my company''s latest attempts at the super soldier serum. I think you''d be most pleased." The Russian didn''t budge, but I saw the greed in his eyes. "This will make us stronger than the Red Guardian?" Sergei demanded. My smile grew even wider. "Much stronger." "Are they safe?" the Russian prudently asked. "The effects are permanent if that''s what you''re asking, and you will certainly look the part of a super soldier." He didn''t look very satisfied with my answer. Before he could press me further, however, Sergei slammed his hand on the table. "Done!" he announced, and I clapped my hands. "Splendid." You''ve got to love it when a plan comes together. Chapter 116 Three Days Ago Kevin Thompson (Kilgrave) I took the hot goth chick''s advice and approached conquering her more imaginatively. I initially thought she was a no-name girl with super strength, but the more I looked into her, the more terrifying she seemed. She owned the bar where I hit on her for the first time¡­ and her family owned nearly a quarter of New York through Shell cooperations. I''d hired a financial accountant and a private investigator to look into it, and their reach was crazy. If there was a group of people you didn''t want to fuck with, it was them. They were like the Illuminati in real life, yet I''d never been more motivated. By the end of this, the world would be putty in my hands if I managed to dominate Domina and get to her family. With any luck, they wouldn''t have the same resistance she did, but even if they did, it would only take some imagination, as Domina pointed out. Indeed, I did take some liberties before I approached her a second time. I started at the underground poker circles and cleaned out dozens of high rollers, either with pawns or by myself. After three days of playing, I had over 25 million waiting to be spent as I wished. Using my ''parents'' identities, I placed a liquid bid on one of the more corrupt investment brokerages in New York. They moved on dozens of properties Domina was after, and I had her point all her representatives to a sufficiently powerful board member as the new shot-caller. This naturally got her curious; curious enough to set a meeting, which I intended as an ambush. She arrived with her entourage of four businessmen to a boardroom filled with the best private security men New York had to offer. "Imaginative enough for ya?" I cackled, drinking in the panic of the distressed businessmen. Domina, however, to my absolute shock, smiled and clapped. "You work fast," she observed, strutting around the room nonchalantly. "I knew your suggestive abilities were considerable, but you move like you''ve been at this a while. I could''ve missed it if I didn''t have eyes all over the city." "What are you doing?" I asked, a bit of uncertainty creeping in. "What does it look like?" she scoffed. "Judging. And I have to say¡­ not bad." "Kill all her men," I ordered immediately. It wasn''t the first time I''d have people executed, but it was the first time I felt it was the wrong call. ''Stop being paranoid,'' I thought, shaking off the uncertainty. Domina might be strong, but she wasn''t punching her way out of a gunfight. My men did as ordered, and the most peculiar thing happened. Each man twisted a bangle on their arm, and they all vanished, leaving Domina to contend with a wall of bullets. They all passed through her body like she wasn''t there. My jaw fell to the floor. "W-What the Hell¡­" Domina let out an uproarious laugh before her hands blurred suddenly. When they came to a stop, they were splayed out, and the gunshots had ceased. One by one, my bodyguards collapsed to the floor with finger-wide holes in their skulls. My stomach dropped, and my face lost all color. I froze in place as she walked up to me and seductively grabbed me by the chin. "You shouldn''t have done that," she said. "I love duplicity and traps as much as the next girl, but it''s all useless when your opponent is so far beyond you," she said. "You can only get so far with being human." "What are you?" I asked in a meek voice, and her smile warped into something ravenous. "A demon." Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Madripoor Yesterday I walked out of a portal onto a helipad with my newest recruit draped in my arm. With a suit that oozed confidence and a smirk that could irritate the devil himself, Kilgrave stood beside me, the most confident he''d ever been, ready to use his powers to bend and break the world to my purpose. With the Russian and Albanian in line, I needed to secure a more potent and effective task force against our biggest threat yet---Jean Grey. Sure, Dante''s growth defied logic, and he was even more gifted than his brother, but he paled in comparison to the threat that was Jean Grey¡ªthe most powerful Psionic on earth. Kilgrave was the perfect counter to her because of how his abilities worked. He didn''t rely on mind control via the Astral plane, but rather through microbes that attack the human nervous system. As long as she had a somewhat normal system, he should be able to hold her, if only temporarily. My secondary team could take care of the rest. Hydra was only really here to run interference, not that they''d ever know that. While we waited for Carl Creed, the new interim leader of Hydra, Kilgrave started to whinge about the weather. "If I had known it would''ve been this hot, I would''ve skipped the waistcoat," he muttered, dabbing his sweating forehead. "And miss out on the opportunity to make a statement to your enemies?" I questioned. "What have I told you about being a child of Belasco?" "To always carry yourself like the world is watching," he grumbled out. "Good," I nodded. "Adversity breeds excellence. Amazing as you are, you could use some tempering." "Easy for you to say when the heat isn''t boiling you. Why don''t you just make me a demon like you promised? You already got my heart and balls." He smirked and I laughed. "Has that ever worked for you?" "Never needed it to," he grinned. "I''m used to people feeling however I want them to." "And now that you can''t do that, you''re intrigued," I said. "It''ll make getting you that much more interesting." he smiled. "We''ll see, won''t we." We continued to banter for five more minutes before they finally arrived. A helicopter carrying a squad of men. Three of them were dressed in tactical uniforms, while the largest of them was a brute in an ill-fitting suit that hugged his muscles a bit too tightly. "You''re the boss, I take it," Kilgrave said to him, and he frowned at him before turning to me. "I know you," he said. "I saw you at a meeting with Whitehall last year. I was told I was meeting the head of the Hand. If this is another one of their stupid tests¡­" "No test," I said. "It''s a whole new generation, Carl Creel, and I''m offering Hydra a chance to be a part of it." Carl sneered. "The noose is closing in. SHIELD knows all of your secrets. You''re running out of places to run. Only Madripoor is safe, and it''s only a matter of time before they send their executioner, Arsenal." Carl looked confused. "You must''ve heard of him. The new superhuman that Pierce discovered. He''s the Clairvoyant that told Fury where to look. He''s the reason why Whitehall, Pierce, and Strucker are dead. You''re next, Creel. Join me, get your revenge, and help Hydra climb to new heights." Carl made a complicated face as he considered my words carefully. After a long moment, he shook his head. "Hydra is nobody''s pawn," he boldly proclaimed. "Oh well," I shrugged, patting Kilgrave''s shoulder. "It was worth the try. Do your thing." Creel immediately went on alert and raised his hand to signal his men, but it was too late. "Stop," Kilgrave said, with a Cheshire grin, and they froze. Two of the three accompanying agents had their fingers on the trigger. "Kneel." They all fell to their knees with a neutral, complacent look. I watched on in amazement as he looked back at me for approval, wagging his brow. My smile only deepened. The boy had no idea how powerful he truly was. Only really powerful Alpha and Omega-level telepaths could pull off something like this, but it always came with considerable effort. But for somebody like Kilgrave, whose ability was entirely focused on manipulation through words, it was as easy as breathing. I had a lot planned for Kilgrave, but ultimately, it was up to him to survive. As I said, he could use some tempering, and I could think of no better adversary than Dante and his little girlfriend. "You''re mine now," Kilgrave grinned as he spoke to the subdued agents. "You should''ve taken her up on my offer." Jean Today As soon as Dante vanished through the portal, I got to work and placed a call with Fury. "You''ve seen the news?" I asked. "I have," Fury said. "I''m going to need that team yesterday," I said. "Banner and his formula need to be secured and evacuated in the case of an attack. Dante prefers that we maintain the formation of the Hulk naturally, though I''m not sure how likely that''ll be with the death of a United States General." "We knew this was coming," Fury grunted. "I just thought we''d have more time. I take it Dante has gone after the formula?" "And Tony Stark," I added. "He''s stuck in the middle of the chaos downtown." "I''ve already routed a secondary team to their position," Fury confirmed, "but it will take some time to get the primary team to your location. Kurt hasn''t been to Pennsylvania." "Tell him to get back to headquarters," I said. "I''ll be opening a portal to the research building." "I''ll set it up." I sensed something at the edge of my perception as I opened my mouth to respond to Fury. "I''ll leave the portal open," I said. "I have to go. Something is wrong." With a wave of my Sling Ring, a portal opened up beside me, and I stretched second hand, reaching telekinetically into the room where Banner, Betty, and their assistant were arguing. After the news of Betty''s father''s death. Bruce had decided to pull the plug and get rid of the formula, which was in a tequila-soaked waste bin along with several hard drives. The container shuffled to the side by several feet. Everybody in the room jumped. "What the hell!" Bruce exclaimed. I guess the cat is out of the bag. "Relax," I sent to them telepathically, calming them down. "You''re in no danger. I''ve been sent to help you." "What is happening," the assistant said in a jittery, slow voice. "Telepathy," I answered. "I''m one of those mutants you''re so afraid of. And a team of other mutants and humans are on their way. Your formula is far more important than you realize, Doctor, and you''d be surprised by the lengths people will go to get it." "Are you one of those people?" Banner asked. "How do I know I can trust you? As far as I know, you could be working for the government or the people that attacked General Ross." "I''d be as paranoid if I was in your shoes," I said. "But trust is a luxury you cannot afford. Besides, power is not an issue for me. I''m a telekinetic and a telepath. You do the math. They''ll be coming for you, whether you believe me or not." "Bruce," Betty called. "What is going on? What do they want?" In the corner of my mind, I sensed a group of demons, humans, and mutants portal in front of the research building. The suddenness of it reminded me of how the Dreamrunners Dante fought moved. "They''re here," I announced to Bruce. At that same time, SHIELD''s team came through the portal. Kurt led the charge alongside Captain America, Clint, Natasha, and Coulson. "We''re out of time." Chapter 117 Kevin Thompson (Killgrave) We arrived with a jolt as the space around me twisted, and I found myself standing in front of the research building, surrounded by hundreds of stunned students and faculty, minutes from facing the hardest fight of my life. Domina had confirmed that fact with an indulgent chuckle when I asked if the Telepath was more dangerous than she was. She killed Charles Xavier, apparently, the mutant Mind-Rapist guy who was making the news a while ago. He was supposedly the most powerful telepath alive, and she scorched his mansion to the ground, along with her paramour. A lesser man would''ve been afraid if he hadn''t prepared as thoroughly as I had. I had four squads of elite soldiers enhanced with blood magic from the First Born of Belasco under my control. N''tesh¡ªa demon who specializes in shadow manipulation¡ªand his team of wild demonic dogs and masked swordsmen were also with me. As impressive as my team was, they weren''t the star of the show. I was. It was like Domina said. I just had to be more creative. "Everyone stop," I bellowed out to the stunned square. I looked straight at my shadow. "N''tesh, be a darling and help me with my soldiers." My shadow bubbled and stretched. Dozens of soldiers climbed out of it. Eighteen soldiers lined up behind me, the largest of which dropped two duffle bags filled with knives. "Everyone, pick a knife and hold it to your throat," I instructed the crowd. "When I yell ''Die,'' plunge the knives into your carotid artery." With palpable dread on their faces, every last person in the square raised the knife to their throat, and I grinned. "Perfect," I laughed. "N''tesh, get the singers out here. This massacre deserves a score." Four more demons emerged from my shadow. They were lanky, tall things who wore red masks and had long horns sticking out of their foreheads. They wore blood-red cloaks and spoke as one in a raspy, whispering voice. "We¡­not¡­Singers¡­We¡­are¡­Mind¡­.Breakers." "Good to know," I said uncertainly. "Pair up with a couple of soldiers before you start. We''re going to need the protection." Ten seconds later, as the psychic blockers were singing, I asked somebody to fetch me a megaphone. With a smile that threatened to split my face in half, I spoke. "Would Jean Grey step out of the building, please," I announced. "I''ve taken hostages. You have five minutes to comply before I start slitting throats." --- Dante Following the Hydra agents after they stole the formula was shockingly easy; terminating them without hurting the hostage they''d taken or falling for the traps they''d prepped for me on the road and the building where they were meeting Domina was another matter entirely. The retrieval team consisted of four people, all of whom hijacked cars with single drivers at gunpoint and directed them from the backseat, where they were less visible to snipers and suspicious law enforcement. I was following them from the top of a truck several cars back, eyes firmly on Creel''s vehicle, which I''d sussed out using my telepathy, racking my mind for a solution that did not end in the death or grievous injury of the hostages. By reading Creel''s mind, I found out that Domina had apparently recruited Kilgrave to her side as well as the Albanians and the Russians, which prompted me to place a call to Jean. When she didn''t pick up, I called Rin, who was about to face a greater demon of all things. Jean had apparently gone out to meet Kilgrave head-on after he demanded her presence. I told Rin everything I remembered about Kilgrave: that his ability was some kind of mutated microbe, and you could disable it by turning off his nervous system. Rin promised to relay the information via comms. As for his fight, I was not worried about my unofficial sidekick. I''d made it a point to bring him along on my third trip to the desert, which happened a few days back. I''d used it as a chance to rack up enough energy to upgrade all of my weapons to their third forms and get a level. Believe it or not, the cost increased by 20% every level up, and the base cost was 10,000, so I knew I''d be grinding my Class for a long, long time. This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. Rin was just below a supersoldier at his base, with all of his stats likely around the high 40s mark. He also had his new Spiked Kinetic Armor to rely on. I''d succeeded in my mission of creating armor for everybody on the team like I wanted. And while I couldn''t quite get runes to work on Jean or Rin''s armor, my class skill allowed me to harness the natural advantages of the material used. The rage armor, for example, granted Rin a 20% buff in physical attacks and a 10% boost in overall defense. Layered on top of the ridiculous toughness of infernal metal, it would take a real monster to truly harm him. After the phone cut, I placed a call to Fury. "Tony Stark is safe, and I''m in pursuit of the Hulk formula, but they have hostages," I said. "I need your help to take them out." "Who is behind this?" Fury asked, and I carefully considered my answer. I didn''t want Fury getting his hands on Kilgrave. Whatever Nick was cooking up, I had a feeling it was designed for not only dealing with the bad half-demons but me as well as Rin and Jean. He didn''t know about Rin''s status as a half-demon, but that could change at any point. Ultimately, I decided to risk it. Besides, I was fairly certain that Kilgrave would not survive the fight with Jean; whether or not there''d be collateral was another question entirely. "The better question is who is not out to get us?" I said to Fury. "Domina is the ringleader, but she''s rallied everybody I''ve wronged, from the gangs of New York to Hydra. She''s even placed a bounty on my head and recruited some type of mutant who can control people." "Control people how?" Fury questioned. "Haven''t the slightest clue. All I know is that it has something to do with his voice," I said. "Clairvoyance is not very particular." "That must get on your fucking nerves," he said. "I manage somehow," I said. "So, I''m thinking snipers and a blockade." --- Over the next ten minutes, I worked with SHIELD to thin out the number of drivers on the road, eliminating as many potential casualties as possible. Fury set up a blockade a quarter mile ahead on the straightest path to their destination. All other paths were strategically cut off using one bogus excuse after another. They didn''t not the change at first, but the drop in car density was extremely telling. We were ready for them to switch to more desperate tactics, but by then we reckoned we''d already be too close to the blockade and snipers. What we hadn''t been counting on was just how dirty these monsters were willing to play. It turned out Yao''s warning about Domina loving collateral damage was not an exaggeration. The soldiers decided to turn the cars into bombs, crafting a rudimentary pressure-activated bomb using the accelerator and the grenade on them. Lucky for us and the passengers, we didn''t have to find out how powerful the bombs were. We reached the threshold for the roadblocks, and the snipers fired when I gave the order. They all carried scopes with infrared lenses so they hit the right targets. The gun muzzles flashed as one, but only two of the four Hydra agents died. Creel obviously survived due to his mutation. He rapidly warped his skin to infernal metal, while the last one survived by sheer fucking luck. I moved as soon as I noticed I could still identify him, but he already acted. He grabbed the panicked driver''s head and twisted it, jerking it 360 degrees. He kicked the door off the hinges and tossed his dead body out of the car while he floored it. "You asshole." Wild wind buffeted my body as I sped up, turning intangible. I entered the car and jabbed my dagger through the driver''s seat, stabbing the shit straight through the heart, with a precision rune burning on the edge of my shortsword. With a brutal swipe left, I tore his heart out and pulled the car aside. Paramedics rushed over to the downed body of the passenger, but it was too late. Creel took one look back at me as he clambered on a motorcycle he stole from a tourist and floored it. "Oh no, you don''t. I''m not losing the formula, not after that." The ground exploded under me as I rocketed forward using Burst and Gust, closing the distance between us before I suddenly felt the world slow down around me. I flipped mid-air, coming to a complete halt as a bullet whizzed past the spot where my head formerly was. The origin was a sniper in an SUV barreling down the street to my side. The man unloaded a shell and pointed the gun at one of Fury''s snipers. The gun went off, and Fury cursed. "He just took one of our snipers down." Before the mask-wearing sharpshooter could cut down another SHIELD agent, I fired two slightly charged bullets with Ebony and Ivory. The two contrasting energies generated a sort of gyroscopic effect that propelled them even faster. Before he could react, there was a fist-sized hole in his chest, and he slumped over. Jackpot! I grinned as I summoned one of my latest inventions¡ªdemonic bombs. They were retrofitted standard grenades without the usual 4-second delay. These bombs went off when thrown with sufficient force. Inside were gunpowder, a long piece of metal lined with the storage rune containing a chunk of demonic energy. I chucked the grenade at the approaching truck. It erupted in a ball of Nether fire and shrapnel, eliminating a chunk of the Russian ambush team. I dashed after Creel, catching up with him almost immediately, and flung Ophion out. Just before it gripped the bastard, a Dreamrunner materialized in front of the claws, saving him. What the fuck was this shit? I flung the Dreamrunner to the side with a brutal lash, using my over hundred strength stat, releasing Ophion''s grip at the very last moment, but he dematerialized and materialized behind me, trying to skewer me with his twin blades. He got a shotgun blast to the head at the last possible moment for his trouble. When I inspected his fallen body, I noticed that his blades glowed blue, lined with the same runes designed to cut me when I went intangible. Ten other Dreamrunners materialized around me, alongside ten hand assassins, and two more trucks. They drifted onto the scene, offloading a motley group of mercenaries, assassins, and gangsters, some pulsing with the sick demonic enhancement of Corvus. Others seemed savvier and rejected the gift entirely. My eyes shone purple as angelic energy poured out of me, escaping in swirls of howling blue wind. "I hope the money was worth it. Your families are going to need it." Chapter 118 Dante My eyes shone purple as angelic energy poured out of me, escaping in swirls of howling blue wind. "I hope you left a fucking will. Your family is going to need it." Osiris materialized in my waiting hand, and I spun around, releasing a potent omnidirectional wind blade that sheered through the first line of Dream runners unfortunate enough to be within swinging distance. "Give the freak some space and cut him down!" an Australian mercenary yelled, and the others followed suit. Osiris switched to Aquila, and with a wave of my hands, I sent two dozen roundtrips flying in all directions. They latched onto Dream Runner, ninja, thug, and mercenary alike, yanking them close for a Nether Fire-empowered cut with an axe. Their bodies exploded in gore, and those that survived were instantly set alight by demonic fire. Two Demonic fire-wreathed axeheads barreled forward. One at a cluster of mercenaries, the other at the frozen Aussie who looked like he was about to shit his pants. The Axehead plowed through him, reducing him into chunks and setting him on fire before ravishing the scores of soldiers standing behind him, including the truck he arrived in. The remaining tried to swarm me, but it was easy pickings from that point on. I went full gun master on their asses, body blurring as I meticulously picked apart every last asshole with my bullets and my fists even as they tried to swarm me or run. The most resilient, surprisingly were a pair of East European thugs, who''d been riddled with demonic bullets, roaring and panting like beasts in heat. "You won''t get away with this!" a familiar scarred face bellowed at me. It was Peter''s, the bodyguard of that one Russian gang boss I beat up and offered to SHIELD. "I will not let you shame our families like this," the second one roared, striking a fighting pose. He bore a vague resemblance to the Albanian guy I smacked around. Nephew perhaps? I raised a brow at the display. "Don''t put this one on me. You set the fucking bounty." I summoned Ebony and Ivory and pulled their triggers before both men could react, ending them. I sped off in Creel''s direction in a blue streak. Jean Grey "We''re out of time," I said. "You need to make up your mind or take your chances with a mutant and a horde of demons." Banner blinked, taken aback but experienced enough to recognize a lifeline when he saw it. They agreed to leave with me, but there was one fairly large problem. The Gamma reactor they were using to activate the serums. Gamma rays were the working substitute for Vitarays, the original miracle substance that made Captain America a supersoldier. The mini-reactor was brimming with energy, and in the case of an accident, it could lead to a catastrophic meltdown, which could wipe out at least half of the campus. With the fight I estimated was incoming, that seemed more like an inevitability than a possibility. So, Bruce and I came to a compromise. --- "I''ve come bearing gifts," Rin grinned as he approached me as I finished the last of my preparatory conversation with Bruce. He wore the leather and Infernal metal armor Dante crafted for him. It was a brutal, gaudy thing with an exaggerated shoulder pad with spikes pointing out. Red metal plates were strapped to nearly every vulnerable spot on his body. It was a small miracle he was flexible in the get-up, but Dante knew his armors apparently. Even though he was basically cheating his way through hundreds of hours of studying and practice, it didn''t make his achievements any less impressive. Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. At the back of his armor hung an Infernal metal Longsword enchanted by the Ancient One specifically to be extra durable. Rin also had an arming sword made from infernal metal, two grenades, and a revolver. I made a face. "Don''t tell me you brought it?" "Yep," Rin grinned, and my frown deepened. "Come on, Dante poured his heart and soul into it. The least you can do is Represent." I rolled my eyes but took the briefcase anyway. It was not that I did not understand the functional benefits of the Chitin Armor Dante made, the look of the armor just made it a hard sell with its bulbous dimensions. Natasha, Kurt, Coulson, and Clint Barton followed after Rin, dressed in a familiar high-tech suit armor that Dante had worn for a while. They were ogling the strange armor that Rin wore and were thankfully saving judgment, choosing to focus on the greater task at hand, safeguarding Bruce, the formula, and his girlfriend. "Fury brought us up to speed," Captain America spoke up. "Where are we?" "About 20 minutes out from evacuating," I said. "They''re working on shutting down the in-house gamma reactor." "That was in the briefs," Coulson said. "There''s no way around that. We have to wait it out." "The problem is I''m fairly certain the pawn that Domina sent will not," I explained. "He''s a mutant, with a few demons and a bunch of Fleshwarped Super soldiers hiding in his shadow." "Those are words I never thought I''d hear," Clint said. "And what''s this mutant''s ability? Domina wouldn''t have sent him if he couldn''t do real damage." "He can control people with his voice," I said with a pronounced frown. "He goes by Kilgrave." Rin blinked. "Are you kidding me? This has to be intentional. Domina had to know this would piss you off." "I don''t doubt it," I said. Kilgrave, it seemed, had been chosen to unbalance nearly everybody on our team off, from Dante to me, Rin, the Captain, and even Natasha. We all had experience with manipulative sociopaths with delusions of grandeur. "I say we kill him and move on with the mission," Rin suggested with a dismissive shrug. "We can''t." "Why?" Kurt asked. "Would Jean Grey step out of the building, please," An arrogant and decidedly British voice boomed from outside. "I''ve taken hostages. You have five minutes to comply before I start slitting throats." "Because of that," I said. "I''ve read his mind. He''s come well prepared. He wants to draw me out so that his demons can come in. He''s even brought demons to neutralize my psychic skills." Kurt, Clint, and Rin had a startled look while Natasha, Coulson, and the Captain controlled their emotions better. "The attack on Tony Stark and the General, it was a diversion," The Captain said. "They wanted to draw Dante away. He''s our heaviest physical hitter," Clint concluded. "They were after the formula and Banner all along." "It still won''t work," Rin snorted. "The Boss is on another level now. And they have no idea how overpowered Jean is." I smiled. "Thanks for the vote of confidence, but he''s right," I admitted. "I think we can walk away from this with no casualties." "What do you have in mind?" Clint asked, excited by the prospect of no bloodshed for once. "I have only five minutes left, so I say we use it wisely. We should barricade Bruce and his team in while they shut down the Reactor and focus on evacuating the building. Between Kurt''s ability and my portals, we should be able to manage it and prepare for the demons. Any objections?" "We need a decoy," Natasha suggested. "Worst-case scenario, and we''re not able to hold them back, we need somebody to stand in Bruce''s stead so that they don''t end up with the secrets to make super soldiers." She was talking about using Mystique as a decoy again. There was just one fairly large problem with that. "I can''t imagine the mutant Brotherhood would be too happy leaving one of their key members exposed like that," I pointed out. "I say we invite'' em to the fight," Rin said, folding his arms. "I''m not saying we can''t handle them, but I think it''s time we start working together. Better we work out the kinks we have now than in Hell." Clint let out a nervous chuckle. "Kid does raise a fantastic point." I didn''t look forward to it, but I''d make the call. The next five minutes were some of the most nerve-wracking of my life. Magneto was naturally not thrilled by my proposition but allowed it, electing to send over two mutants to our cause. Mystique and the Red Witch. While she and I had some tension between us, I could think of no better choice while I dealt with the demons and the mutant. After briefly explaining the plan, Magneto pointed out that she was my backup in case the asshole managed to corner me somehow. After Kurt fetched both mutants, things went a lot smoother. We barricaded the door to the reactor, got all forty civilians trapped in the building out, and even had the time to seal entire hallways and entrances, strategically spread our forces, and set up a decoy location for Mystique. When I stepped out of the building, draped in my red Chitin and leather armor, I was ready for what came next, as unpleasant as it was. "Hit it," Kilgrave ordered the demons sent to support him. The things that called themselves Mind Breakers opened their mouth until they disjointed and let out an otherworldly howl. Their voices undulated until they harmonized, and I felt it, a wet blanket over my tether to the Astral plane. They were trying to cut me off. Chapter 119 Three minutes into my obsessive chase of Creel, I found out how serious Domina was about killing me. A tsunami of demons and mercenaries descended on the streets of New York, forcing me to be in multiple places at once. One second, I was using Ophion to pull back a Tyrant¡ªone of those 10-foot-tall metal demons with giant maces for hands¡ªand the next, I was gunning down a special forces team who tried to take me out with an RPG. They found out pretty quickly that I was immune to Fire. I did have to let some attacks hit though to draw blood and help me repair my enchanted robes. I turned to a death machine, cutting, gunning, and parrying my way through the masses with ruthless efficiency and military precision. I lopped off heads and sniped far-off targets with Focused Shot, which had become considerably easier and more potent thanks to my Nether Fire and increased stats. My energy stats, I was discovering as I experimented more, did more than just give me access to my affinities, they also made the Adept Manipulation Perk I''d earned in both skills that much more powerful. Energy flowed quicker. I lost count of how many red orbs had poured into me at this point, and the number of demons and mercenaries only seemed to grow as I fought more. So, I pulled out a demonic technique I''d been eager to try and started to charge it. Energy gathered, forming a knot just beneath my heart, collapsing until I could make it no smaller. It exploded outward in a destructive wave of pure demonic energy and Nether fire and incinerated and pushed back every demon and mercenary in a 20-foot radius. I stored my clothes and armor before the attack hit because they almost hadn''t survived my first go at Wave of Desolation a few weeks back. Wave of Desolation (Basic) Unleash Demonic energy in a 360-degree wave, inflicting your enemy with the raw might of your affinity. (Nether Fire) "What the hell was that!" Fury barked, startled by the explosion. He''d had some of his agents monitoring the fights via drones and live feed. Some even assisted from afar with sniper shots and strategic heavy fire from Helicopters, slowly thinning the herd. I dashed out of the fire, summoning back my armor, clothes, and comms. "What the hell was that!" Fury yelled in my ear. "You like?" I taunted. "New ability. Creel will get away if I keep going like this, but I can''t leave, not when all these people are in danger." "Perhaps we can help with that," An old wizened voice sounded over my intercom, and dozens of things happened around me at once. Guns rose into the air and unloaded into the chests and heads of mercenaries, and a blue blur whizzed around the battlefield, ferrying people in nearby buildings to safety. I let out a breath I didn''t know I was holding in. I could''ve gone all out and pushed the limit with more demonic energy, but I had to save my juice for the fight that I knew was coming. Even if I was successful in retrieving the serum, I was certain there would be hell to pay. Domina would make sure of it. "Who called in the Calvary," I asked Fury over the comms as I sped toward a building. "Jean," Fury said. "They''re our allies now, so I figured we might as well use them." "Fair enough," I said. "We need the bodies." I wasn''t exactly thrilled that they were here, but we needed to get along if we were going to survive the takeover. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. Pietro sped up to me, jogging in reverse, flashing a smile that could melt a teenage girl''s heart. "You''re faster than before, but I am faster. Tell me who we are looking for, and I will end this now." I took a moment to consider his suggestion before making a decision. While we were running out of time, and I didn''t trust the asshole, I had to make a choice. "If you double-cross me, I will kill you," I said. "We''re after a bald guy with metal skin on a motorcycle. You can''t miss him. He''s half a block in that direction." I pointed at several buildings, following the mental link I''d established. "You''re never going to let that recruitment thing go, are you?" "Nope." I said, "Now, go." I turned intangible and used Burst and Gust, rocketing me through several buildings as I rushed to Creel''s location. I arrived just in time to see Creel vanish as space folded. Pietro was speeding through a wave of demonic dogs, reaching for the Dreamrunner who''d spawned them. Pietro shoved him aside, but it was too late. "Son of a¡ª" A string of wild expletives followed as did Wind slashes. Pietro helped too but he was surprisingly not as deadly despite his speed. "You didn''t tell me Creel could do that," he said. "Didn''t know either." "So, it''s over?" "Not quite," I said. "He''s in a building not too far from here, waiting for us." "Why?" "Not sure, but it can''t be for anything good," I said. "We need to hurry. We''re running out of time." -- Jean They were trying to cut off my connection to the Astral realm, and it was working. The astral plane, which always thrummed and reacted with the slightest prompt from my mind, grew distant with every passing moment. I stumbled back from the suddenness, and Kilgrave cackled. "Predictable. You hero types are so easy. I don''t know why Domina was so worked up about you." Kilgrave''s lips stretched into a sinister smile. "Now, let''s have a little fun, shall we?" "Kneel." To my utter surprise, my knees buckled, and they touched the floor, one leg at a time. Kilgrave laugh grew even more wild, drinking in my fear. "Take off your armor," he said, licking his lips. "Let''s have a look at what''s underneath." I scowled. I didn''t need Telepathy to know what he wanted from me, and my body trembled as I was helpless to stop myself. Slowly, I began to loosen the straps holding my breastplate to my chest. A brusque demonic voice came from the shadows. "Control your appetite and do as you were told." Kilgrave frowned. "Mind your tone, N''tesh. No one talks to me like that except her." N''tesh let out a hollow laugh. "Did I hurt your pride?" Kilgrave stiffened. "Don''t tell me that''s all it takes. We do not have time for this. They could be making their escape as we speak." Kilgrave looked like he had more to say, but that would''ve only proved N''tesh''s point. His attention snapped to me. "You, take one of the daggers you have strapped to your leg armor and hold it to your throat." The panic I felt reached a new high as my body betrayed me yet again. It was like I was under the control of the Phoenix but ten times worse. She fought for me in her twisted way, but Kilgrave wanted to do nothing but hurt me. I scrambled for a connection to the Astral plane that slipped through my fingers with each desperate lunge and observed with a growing rage as Kilgrave picked up his megaphone and spoke. "I wish we could''ve met under better circumstances, Dr. Banner, but time is short, and I have hostages. You have a Super soldier serum you developed for the United States government. I would very much like it as well as the original formula, any notes, and any information you have. Do that, and I promise to spare Jean Grey''s life and the lives of everybody in the square. Ignore me, and well, I''ll have Jean slit her throat after watching the entire square die brutally. You have five minutes," he finished and turned to N''tesh, who was slowly materializing from Kilgrave''s shadow. "Satisfied?" Ntesh was a white-skinned Cambion with two small horns, and black eyes with no pupils. He wore charcoal black ninja fatigues and carried no weapons. "Eminently," he said. N''tesh looked at me, eyes lingering for a moment. "Do not let your guard down around her," he warned, and Kilgrave scoffed. "Why don''t you worry about yourself. I''ve got everything under control." N''tesh shook his head and tapped the floor. The shadow underneath him grew to the size of a door. "Fail Mistress Domina, and I''ll rip out your tongue." Kilgrave snorted at the threat, but his eyes betrayed him. He was terrified. N''tesh sunk into the darkness, and then he was gone. Kilgrave''s eyes darted around the square and noticed that everyone was staring at him. He lost it. "What are you all looking at! I should have you pluck out your own eyes, but I won''t," he huffed. "No, I''d rather have them looking at somebody else," his cruel eyes met my defiant one. "Strip," he commanded in an icy voice. I could''ve called on the Phoenix, drawing deep into my well of limitless cosmic energy, but Colossus, Dante, and the Mansion were somber reminders of what could happen if I did that. I was at least three times as powerful as I used to be. I could deal with this pervert. I just needed motivation, and this asshole provided me plenty. Chapter 120 "Alright," I said, bouncing on my feet. "I need you to try and hit me." "What?" Pietro blinked owlishly, visibly confused. "We need to catch up, and I have a unique ability that grants me a substantial boost in power, but only if I dodge an attack. So, are you going to swing at me or keep asking questions?" "I''m faster than you, and it''s a snatch job. Just tell me where he is, and I''ll swipe it. In case you haven''t noticed, I''m pretty fast," he said with a condescending look. I rolled my eyes. "And you''ve not completely healed, or do you think I''m blind?" I asked. "I remember the first two times you blitzed me. You were moving at ridiculous speeds, and now you can''t reach Creel before he escapes?" Pietro winced. "That demon lady''s claws must''ve been laced with something strong because this is the slowest I''ve recovered from a leg injury. I can''t move too fast or risk reopening my wounds." "How fast can you move?" "If I''m pushing it, Mach 1.5, but I''d like to stay under that. At top speed, I used to be Mach 5." I coughed. That was ridiculous. "Why hasn''t Magneto conquered all of America if you could move that fast? Nothing is stopping you from stealing the nuclear codes or assassinating the president." "Because people like you, Jean Grey, and Xavier are out there," he said, "and I don''t need the attention taking over the most powerful country in the world would bring. I have a sister to take care of. I couldn''t live with myself if something ever happened to Wanda, or I got myself killed and couldn''t take care of her." I raised a brow. "Your sister doesn''t strike me as the type that needs saving." "You don''t look like it either, but it doesn''t mean you don''t need help every once in a while." I frowned. I couldn''t believe I was empathizing with the asshole who nearly sold me into slavery. I pulled out a stim from my shop and handed it to Pietro. "What''s this?" "Magic healing juice made from a chunk of my soul," I said, and he gave me a dubious look. "Well, don''t get too excited," I huffed. "Chug it down and let the juice do its magic." Pietro remained understandably suspicious, his eyes further narrowing. "Why are you helping me?" "Because I can see the future, remember?" I said, flooding my eyes with demonic energy. "Though, I don''t need to be able to see it to know going into a fight half-cocked will get you killed. Besides, I''m not sure the world can handle your sister having a meltdown right now." Pietro blinked, even more confused. "Why would you, of all people, be worried about her?" "Just drink the damned thing and take a swing at me," I snapped. "We''re running out of time. Given our history, do you think I''d pick poison over strangling you with my bare hands?" Pietro chuckled. "True enough." He threw it back, and his eyes widened as it worked its magic. He sped off with a sudden whoosh before returning just as suddenly. "Alright," he grinned. "Let''s do this. I''m coming at you with Mach 1 speeds." I barely had the time to send my earpiece, clothes, and armor to the Dimensional Storage before he swung. Gust on max raised my speed over 35%, and it stacked handily on Osiris''s new 45% bonus. I was nearly twice as fast, putting me a stone''s throw away from Mach 1. I leaned out of the way of his fist while activating Demon Evade. My damage output skyrocketed as a faint cloak of Nether fire covered me. "Follow me," I instructed as I sped off, spiking Burst and Angel Evade. The combination threw me forward impossibly fast, easily doubling my speed. A second one flung me even further, allowing me to reach nearly Mach 3. By the third Gust, I was moving so fast that everything was a blur. It wasn''t until I felt Creel''s mental presence that I knew I''d arrived at my destination. It took ejecting Four Fiery Bursts from my chest, deactivating Gust, and switching out Osiris to help me decelerate quickly enough to stop myself. I carved a huge pathway in the concrete. Pietro was waiting beside me when I finally stopped, slack-jawed. "You''re...fast and naked." "Thanks for pointing out the obvious." I summoned back my clothes and armor as I scanned the closed-off perimeter of the construction site. An incomplete tower stood at the center of it. Creel was several floors up, rapidly ascending as hundreds of demons emerged from the shadows and the tower structure. Immediately, I was on edge. Domina had one-upped herself again. She was really bringing the demons out of the closet with this one. There were Dragon Newts with blue blades and mages wielding gnarled staffs that shone with blue lights. Dozens of Garoks, Brutes, and Rages. However, the figures that made me the most nervous were the two Cambions. One was closer to me, hunched over, covered in a lithe metallic armor that seemed almost organic. Only her face, the soft of her belly, and her joints seemed somewhat flexible and stuck out as potential weak spots. Her eyes were intense and grey, as was her skin. Stolen novel; please report. The other stood on a bulldozer in the back, closer to the tower. He was a dark-skinned tall man in a suit with white eyes. He had a long metal staff covered in runes, and he sneered at me when we met eyes. "I can''t believe she dragged me from Capetown for this," he said. "Isha isn''t worth the trouble." "But the son of an Arch Demon is," she said in an echoing voice. "You forget the horror of Sparda and Eva. The boy has more potential than his brother. He needs to be taken care of before he becomes a real problem." "Creel is on the elevator going up the building," I said to Pietro in a low voice. "Get the Serum and get it back to Fury ASAP." "What?" Pietro frowned. "No, let me help you fight." "Do you remember what happened last time you tried to fight one of them?" Pietro shifted uncomfortably on his healed leg. "You didn''t come out unscathed either." "I am twice as strong as I used to be and can heal from most wounds. You can''t, and you''re faster than me. This is not a debate." Pietro regarded me for a long moment. "You may have the bedside manners of a starved wolf, but you''re not a total asshole, Dante." "Thanks?" "Ready whenever you are," Pietro said, striking a pose. I walked forward, summoning Osiris. I dumped 15,000 out of the 20,000 orbs I''d made from the fights so far into Osiris, upgrading it to Grade 4. The speed boost jumped to 60%. The damage remained at 0.8 times the damage of Rebellion, and Wind manipulation reached Very High, giving my weapon a qualitative damage buff of about 20% when using wind techniques. Wind started to flow out of me in thick whorls as I activated Gust at full blast, giving me a 35% boost. The metal demon stretched to its full length, which was easily over 7 feet. She spoke with amusement in her eyes. "The arrogance of you sons of Sparda is fascinating," the metallic demon smiled. My eyes burned red as I activated Devil''s Eye. Bastille the Grey Giant 47th Child of Belasco. She is a ferocious hand-to-hand fighter and arms master. Bastille has middling talent in metal manipulation but more than makes up for it with her flexible organic armor, overwhelming brute strength, and speed. Thabo the Apprentice 31st Child of Belasco and disciple of Corvus. He is an extraordinarily powerful sorcerer who specializes in Blood and Earth Magic. Thabo has a Very-High Earth affinity, a rarity among Cambions, but he''s limited by his lackluster physiology. "Arrogance is not a problem if you can back it up, Bastille," I smirked at the metallic Cambion, whose eyes went wide at the name drop. "Peculiar," Thabo said, visibly interested. "I thought Isha was delirious because of her injury, but you do really know things you shouldn''t." "You have no idea who you''re up against," I said with a confident smirk that did not feel forced. I had enough bombs stashed in my inventory to drop the tower in front of me, a powerful new set of armor, freshly crafted weapons, and a skill that could literally bring me back from the brink of death. I''d faced and won against worse odds. I checked my new stats one last time before I gave Pietro the signal to run. We''d already wasted enough time. Status Name: (Dante Sparda) Axel Warren Class: Arcane Forgemaster Lv 2 HP: 1860 SP: 1860 AE: 1280/1400 DE: 920/1440 Strength: 120 Dexterity: 122 Endurance: 182 Vitality: 186 Angelic Energy: 140 Demonic Energy: 144 Pietro exploded forward, as did Bastille and I. She stretched her hand, and the armor covering her forearm morphed and stretched, forming a long blade that stuck out of her wrist and stabbed at the speedster. Osiris turned teal blue with wind energy and arced out as I appeared in front of her, parrying her attack. The blowback sent her skidding back in surprise. I charged her as Pietro darted past us and swung my scythe at full force while also sending a wind blade forward. A sheen of silver suddenly sprang up around her body, and two of the attacks clanged hard against her mid-section, which I previously believed was one of the weakest parts of her anatomy. I saw her lips spread wide in a self-assured grin as the surface of her bio-armor started to ripple. Standing so close, she must''ve thought I wasn''t nearly fast enough to dodge her attack. She was in for a surprise when a wave of concentrated fire exploded from my mask as it shone with bright red runes. Bastille''s attack poured out of her while the fire flash-cooked her. Hundreds of 5-foot-long metal spikes rushed out of her armor in all directions as she screamed. Moment of the Sage activated before any of the blades made contact, and the world slowed down as my body, mind, and speed gained a 55% boost. Moment of the Sage only lasted 3 seconds, so I made the most of it, feeding even more energy into my Nether Fire breath. It was something I''d cooked up when creating my armor. After a few days of practicing, I learned to use Burst without tapping into my Nether fire but also found out I could really milk the Nether fire portion of the skill if I wanted to. So, I installed an impact rune and storage rune with 50 DE in my mask so that I had access to an overpowered fire breath whenever I really needed it. I switched out to Aquila briefly as I strafed to her left, firing off four Round Trips in total, two from each weapon. Then I switched over to my newest weapon, Stormlash, all the while my Fire breath was still cooking her. I could feel Burst''s skill grow in real time from pushing its limits like that. Stormlash was made from the bones of the Lightning wolves I killed, their cores, plus bits and pieces of infernal metal running down the side of the link for enchantments, extra barbs, and links. Stormlash (Grade 1)3000 Red Orbs, 2 Lightning Wolf cores or substitute. Forged from the tails of a pack of Storm Wolves, it''s the first named weapon that the Arcane Forgemaster, Dante Sparda, produced. It possesses the following innate abilities. Lightning Affinity: Mid Flexibility Enchantments ¡¤ Accumulation (100 DE) ¡¤ Impact ¡¤ Protection I positioned myself far away enough to barely dodge a metal spear to the head and cut off my fire. Moment of the Sage expired, and the world resumed. I ducked underneath the attack, earning a 2.75x attack boost on my next attack. Stormlash struck before Bastille could even let out a scream. The air broiled hot from the heat, and black and red Nether fire clung to her even though she was covered in metal. Her armor cracked from the sudden temperature spike, and Stormlash struck with both of its runes activated, shattering her armor completely, but I wasn''t done. I pumped 50 DE into the Thunder Affinity of the weapon as the whip wrapped around her, lighting her up like a Christmas tree. The sky was bathed in purple light as Bastille bellowed. "Help her, you imbeciles!" Thabo choked out in a panicked cry, but it was too late. A knife went into her eye socket, finishing her off before the fastest Rage crossed a quarter of the distance that separated us. You''ve killed the Cambion, Bastille¡ª5000 Red Orbs Thabo let out a startled gasp as he fell back. I grabbed Bastille''s falling body. Her face still looked visibly surprised even in death, and as I sent her to my dimensional storage, I whispered, "I did try to warn you." I turned to Thabo, who had regained his composure somewhat, and pointed his shaky staff at me. "Come on, then," I taunted. "Take your best shot." Chapter 121 Rin''s POV After I got off the phone with Dante, I looked out the window in time to see Jean fall to her knees. I almost leaped out and charged that smirking asshat, but Captain America held me back. "Don''t," he said. "You can''t just barge out there, not without a solid plan of attack. Have some faith in her." I set my jaw, watching from our post on the ground floor, guarding the collapsed exit Wanda had brought down after Jean left. Seconds later, we noted that Kilgrave was arguing with somebody in his shadow who eventually manifested. My heart dropped when I saw his features. "Cambion," I muttered darkly, and the Captain was already on his comms updating the group. "The stakes of the mission just went all the way through the roof," Cap said. "Fuck me," Clint said. "We had two Telepaths on the team. How did we miss him." "Won''t be the first time a demon has slipped through a Telepath''s senses. It happened once before at the Hydra mansion.," Rin explained. "The plan needs to change," Natasha said. "From the reports Dante filed, Darkness magic allows its users to teleport. That Cambion can appear on whatever floor it wants." My breath hitched. That was bad, very bad. "I''ll message Kurt to double back from babysitting Tony Stark," Clint said, "we will need him for swaps on the fly." "I''ll keep track of him," Wanda said. "And we''ll stay here to buy you time," the Captain said and turned to me. "Any objections?" "No, but I need to talk to Jean. The boss man figured out Kilgrave''s weakness. He''s more complicated than he looks, and judging by what''s going on out there, she''ll want to know how to take him apart." The Captain followed my eyes and looked outside to Kilgrave, who had ordered Jean to hold a knife to her throat. "Yeah, you do that." But before I could connect to Jean''s comms, Kilgrave began to speak in his infuriating British accent. "I wish we could''ve met under better circumstances, Dr. Banner, but time is short, and I have hostages. You have a Super soldier serum you developed for the United States government. I would very much like it, as well as the original formula, any notes, and any information you have. Do that, and I promise to spare Jean Grey''s life and the lives of everybody in the square. Ignore me, and well, I''ll have Jean slit her throat after watching the entire square die brutally. You have five minutes." I shared a concerned look with the Captain before I directly patched through to Jean. "Don''t react," I began, "but the boss man figured something out about that asshole. Apparently, his ability works by hijacking the human nervous system via microbes. The good news is that you can shut him down by disrupting his nervous system or killing him, whichever is more entertaining for you," I smirked. "Be careful¡­and stay safe." I disconnected from Jean and turned to the Captain, who had that same look my mother did when she was about to scold me but thankfully kept his thoughts to himself. "We can''t obviously hand over Banner," Clint said over the comms. "That means Jean has about five minutes left," I said. "Kilgrave will be dead long before then." Looking out the window, we watched the Cambion vanish into a pool of darkness. "The Cambion just dropped into his shadow," Cap reported. "Looks like we won''t be getting that five minutes that Kilgrave promised." The demon struck just as suddenly as the Dark Newt we''d taken on in the Hydra Base. One moment, everything was fine; the very next, the hallway was blanketed in darkness, barely held back by the overhead fluorescent lights. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. Then I¡­sensed it, figures swelling out of the darkness. The Fluorescent overhead began to blink feverishly, and then they struck. A pair of Dreamrunners, one for me, the other for Cap. They must''ve expected a swift execution because I felt the hesitation when their blades struck. I had my longsword handy and my reflexes firmly superhuman, honed further by exhausting practice with Mordo. I clashed hard against the Dreamrunner''s blade, shoving him back. He backflipped when I pursued with a Thrust, and behind me, I heard the clang of a Shield and a following whomping blow that would''ve staggered even the big boss a few weeks back. The demon I tried to stab flipped backward, dodging my attack. What I hadn''t expected was for me to pull out a revolver and fire at it. It vaulted to the side, entering a portal. I spun on my feet, expecting a backstab of some sort. I hadn''t counted on the monster switching targets to Cap. The demon appeared mid-air, dropping down with his blades ready to skewer Cap, but the man leaped in the air and spun, deflecting with his Shield before looping it around and bashing the first demon''s head into the wall. It had been trying to rush him while he was distracted. Spinning and disoriented, the DreamRunner didn''t see the headshot coming. Its brain splattered against the shadowy wall, and with its death, my strength spiked. I wasn''t the most experienced fighter, and my form grew frantic in the melee, but the Captain complimented me fully, blocking while I was exposed and parrying when needed. The demon grew especially cautious now that its friend was dead, but it didn''t help much. I beheaded it as it rushed me from behind, ending the fight. Neither of us was particularly winded when it was over, but the Darkness still persisted, so we didn''t let down our guard. "Everybody okay?" The Cap asked over the comms. "The demons are on every floor," Wanda suddenly barked into her comms. "He''s trying to overwhelm us with numbers while he goes after them." "Shit," I cursed. "Sneaky bastards." "Which floors need us the most?" The Cap asked. Wanda''s reply was cold and carried some trepidation. "Your floor. He''s there with you." The attack came so fast that the Captain barely had enough time to raise his Shield, and even then, it was not enough. The blow sent him flying straight into me, but my temporary strength boost allowed me to catch him and toss him to the side just before the Cambion killed us both. My gauntleted forearm smashed against the flat of his blade of darkness and promptly lost. My hand shattered in multiple places as my Chitin arm guard exploded, and his blade bit into my forearms. I caught flashes of his body in the darkness as he disdainfully flicked his sword and most of my arm aside and attacked again, but the Captain blocked with his Shield, shoving us collectively back. "You''re more competent than the reports indicated," a voice said, "but not quite strong enough to be a threat." Slowly, the darkness began to recede, revealing the Cambion. He stood tall in black fatigues, an austere and pasty white face, and black inky eyes that stared into my soul. His white horn made him look almost regal, as did the black Katana in his hand. "The first of you to bring me to the scientist keeps their head." -- Dante "Come on, then," I taunted. "Take your best shot." Thabo hesitated, but only briefly before he pointed his staff at me and barked out a spell in an inscrutable language. Chunks of the Tower shimmered before they promptly detached with a crackling roar and launched at me at breakneck speeds. At the same time, the first of the monsters reached me. I couldn''t fight back the excitement bubbling inside of me. I pulled out the second-named weapon in my Arsenal¡ªBlood Thorn¡ªa rapier with very peculiar abilities. Blood Thorn (Grade 1) Forged from the Tail of a Blood beast, Blood Thorn is a powerful multifunctional weapon with powerful magical abilities. Blood Affinity: High Durability Enchantments Accumulation (100DE) Impact Protection The blade was fashioned from the tail of the Blood Red Spinner I killed, and its cutting edge was reinforced with two lines of infernal metal. However, it was the Rapier''s guard that got most of the attention and love. The core from the demon was at the base of the hilt, where the blade connected to the handle, and the armguard was made from Chittin and infernal meta covered in runes. I pointed my Rapier at the line of approaching demons and tugged on the Blood Affinity ability, smirking as the entire weapon hummed with a sanguine light before expelling a line of concentrated blood. Of course, I activated the impact rune to make it that much more devastating as I swiped left, deleting a line of demons. It included started Garoks, Flesh warped brutes, a few Dragon Newts, and Rages. My second go-around cut even deeper, deleting the second and part of the third line. The Rage monsters and the Newts caught on after my second swipe, scattering in all directions in hopes of flanking me, but by then, it was too late. The Storm of stone Thabo sent was upon us. Moment of the Sage activated moments before a stone slab impacted me, slowing down my perception of time. I slid underneath the approaching attack, spiking Demon Evade, summoned Osiris, and activated Gust. I transformed into a living blender, rushing towards Thabo at high speeds as I spun reinforced blade. I went for heads, limbs, and guts with a Shredder attack that spun the blade in place, letting me rack up a ton of bonus damage for the innate ability of the Scythe, Feed. The kills came easier, and dancing through a meteor storm of stone allowed me to mooch of Speed and use Demon Evade whenever I needed to. My speed and damage spiked unbelievably high in those instances. It only took about 15 seconds to close the distance between Thabo and me. Chapter 122 Dante It only took about 15 seconds to close the distance between Thabo and me. A jungle of stone emerged before me and sent me flipping back before I reached him. Moment of Sage and Demon Evade activated nanoseconds before the jump, and I whipped out Rebellion and Ebony, firing at a pair of mages who''d generated a field that neutralized Angel Evade. They turned to Red Orbs as I landed, and I threw myself forward, unshackling the skill. I slipped through the stone blockade with contemptuous ease, and Thabo gripped his staff feverishly as he started to chant. I emerged before he could finish his spell, or so I thought, Osiris in full swing. Every muscle in my body seized before my blade touched him, and I found myself gasping in shock as Thabo''s lips parted in a devilish smile. "Blood Constrictor, one of the firstborn''s originals. I''m going to make you wish you''d died to one of my stone spells." Thabo twisted his staff, and my body wrenched in pain. I refused the asshole the satisfaction of an actual scream. "That''s light work, Thabo," I said. "I''ve had scratches that hurt worse than that." "Then let me educate you!" he snarled as he twisted his staff, snapping both of my kneecaps. I muffled down a scream as I glared up at him. An explosion went off above us. It was so violent that it shook the tower to its foundation. In the corner of my vision, I spotted somebody leaping out moments before a torrent of White fire poured out a top floor. My breath hitched as I recognized that shade of fire. Pietro tumbled to the ground, covered in third-degree burns, panting. He let out a desperate cough, hand raised in my direction before he collapsed. Thabo''s face stretched into a sadistic grin. "The prodigal sister returns," he laughed. Isha irks me to no end, but desperate times call for desperate measures. I will enjoy watching her burn you to the bone." I activated my Weapon''s Vault skill, retrieved one of my demonic bombs from it, and crushed it with what little control I had in my right hand. "Too bad you won''t be around to see it." The bomb went off with a bang, and Nether Fire bathed us. Thabo''s control slipped immediately as we were bombarded with debris and kinetic energy. Lucky for me, I had a kick-ass resistance skill that let me shrug it off and retain enough mental clarity to summon Ophion, heal myself with Angel Energy, and drag Thabo back into the thick of the fire when he tried to escape with some Earth-assisted spell. I saw the fear in his broiling white eyes as I shoved my Infernal Katana into one of them, killing him. It earned me another 5000 Red Orbs and gave me enough time to Angel Evade out of the way of a stomping White Fire attack. It came close enough that Moment of the Sage activated, as did Demon Evade, Burst, and Gust. I practically teleported across the battlefield, stopping next to Pietro, whose breathing was slowing down. I bit down a string of expletives as I fed him a healing potion instead of a Stim. It was cheaper, and I didn''t need him fresh for what came next. From his battered mind, I learned what had happened. Creel had absorbed Vibranium, of all things, making him practically invincible. He rooted himself in the climbing Elevator while Pietro battered him at extreme speeds floor after floor. At some point, Creel called Domina to ask for reinforcement because he feared he''d not make it to the extraction point. And that was when a masked swordsman appeared, accompanying Isha. Pietro was no doubt faster than her, but she kept him at bay by raising the temperature sky-high. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. Only after the swordsman and Creel disappeared did she unleash a storm of fire. He tried to run, but the fire was too quick. "I''m sorry," Pietro managed slowly. "Run," I said to him. No sooner had I spoken than Isha attacked. A thick bar of White fire struck, but instead of cremating me and the young Speedster, I Angel Evaded with him, vaulting to the left. Isha predictably appeared behind me, where a Thunderer shot awaited her. It clipped her in the stomach, pushing her fiery a few dozen feet back. With Thunderer on my shoulder, I sent her a victorious smirk: "You didn''t really think that would work again, did you?" Isha floated above me with her wing spread wide and white fire dancing across her body. She had a murderous look yet had the patience not to charge me. "I should''ve turned you to ash the moment I laid my eyes on you," she said. "I will make you pay for what you did to them!" "What did you expect?" I snorted, "That''d I''d go easy on the assholes sent here to kill me?" "They were Cambion!" She snarled. "Royalty!" "They were fodder!" I yelled and waved my hand dismissively. "You dare!" The sky shone white as heat poured off her, but I folded my hand and huffed. "If you''re looking for your window to run, this is it," I said to Pietro, and the Speedster climbed to his feet, covered in sweat. "I won''t forget this," he said before he sped off. "You better not," I said. Saving Pietro''s ass cost me a shit ton of Orbs and a pinch of my soul. Best believe I was going to collect. I just haven''t figured out what I wanted yet. Turning back to Isha, I activated my Telepathy and connected it to her mind. "The meager power you''ve managed to scrape together since our fight has certainly made you bold," she said. "Meager?" I chuckled. "Your dead siblings and Domina would disagree. Why has she sent you here instead of facing me herself? I''ve read all about your sister. She''s a master manipulator and glory hog. She either expects you to die, soften me up so that she can land the final blow, or she''s working an angle even I can''t see. Do you really want to fight me on your sister''s terms?" HP: 1720/1800 SP: 1500/1860 AE: 1140/1400 DE: 850/1440 I summoned two storage balls full of demon and angel energy, each containing 200 energy points, and began to siphon. +10AE +20DE The act alone should''ve been enough to send her over the edge, but my words were getting to her. Reading her mind confirmed it. Isha happened to be in the room when Kreel''s SOS call came in. Desperate to help her siblings and get revenge, she''d begged Domina to join the fight. ''I''ll let you fight him,'' Domina had said, ''but this is your fight alone. No help is coming.'' Despite the unfavorable stakes, Isha''s mind seemed made up. She puffed the feathers of her Golden, white-hot wings and pointed them at me. "You''re not half as clever as you think, Dante Sparda. History repeats itself. You prattle on, trying to buy time to recover while I entertain your foolishness. The outcome will be the same as last time: my claws around your neck. Nobody will save you this time." "Who says I''m the one who needs saving?" White-hot pinions blanketed the afternoon sky as Isha rained down fire and destruction. My lips curled to a smirk as I activated Fire Cloak. Nether Fire exploded out of every pore of my skin and blanketed my Red Armor. My Cloak roared fiercely and then vanished without a pip as I used Angel Evade and Burst. My fist materialized inches from her face. She barely shifted out of the way of Eryx and exploded in a conflagration of White Fire. I formed two Bursts on the palms of my overextended gauntleted fist and another on the knuckles and detonated. My hand whirred around so fast my vision blurred, and I swatted her. She was tens of feet away, mid-skip, when I righted myself. I flung out a storm of Round trips, all angling at her. Even dazed and disoriented, Isha fought with the grace of a veteran. She sped up her body with wind, committing to her next dive, dodging the first set of Round trips. Isha spun around to fire a wave of pinions that accurately snipped nine of the ten remaining round trips. She banked hard with her wings, arresting her momentum just in time to twirl and dodge the final one, all while still having the foresight to fire dozens of pinions at where she thought I''d be. She didn''t see the fiery Axe head to the chest coming. Four Wind Blades followed from my infernal shortswords a breath later, causing a conflagration of purple fire that lasted for the briefest moments, but it might as well have been a lifetime for her. Her surprised scream ripped through the air. Chapter 123 Rin "The first person to tell me where the scientist is keeps their head," the Cambion said. My bleeding hand bubbled as muscles rejoined, bone mended, and flesh covered them. The process cost me a chunk of my strength, but we were determined to buy as much time as Banner needed to power down the reactor and set up our bait with Mystique. "You didn''t think it would be that easy, did you?" "We don''t negotiate with terrorists," the Captain firmly said. The Cambion narrowed his eyes, and I felt a shiver run down my spine. He didn''t seem like the type to bluff, but I remained resolute, as did he, apparently. His hands blurred, and it happened. Two blades of shadow struck out, nearly too fast for the Cap and I to dodge. Cap shifted to his left, letting the hit slide off his shield while I swung, punting the sword to the side. It was a big mistake. Six blades of darkness struck out of my shadow faster than I could blink, spearing through my hide armor like tissue paper. The pain made me wish I''d insisted on something sturdier, but my armor slowed the most dangerous ones down enough to ensure my survival. Four went through each of my limbs, the fifth one through my stomach, and the sixth was supposed to go through my heart, but it stopped just shy of it. "Kid!" The Captain staggered back in surprise, staring the Cambion and then at me, face white with horror. My strength fled me as energy poured into my regeneration to stymie the blood loss. "Are you okay?" "He''s alive," The Cambion cut me off before I could answer, dismissing the Dark blades he was holding. "His horrid armor saved him. I am sorely tempted to remedy that. Resistance only wastes your time and mine, Captain America," he said. "When the countdown ends, hundreds will die if you''ve not yet surrendered, as will every last person in this building. It''s my job to personally make sure of that." Captain America looked genuinely conflicted. With my life on the line, he looked to be considering it--giving Banner up to the Cambion. Large bursts of energy filled me as the rest of the team mopped up demons. It was enough to help me free myself, but I feared the Captain was hesitant to risk my life. I shot him a look that aptly communicated how I felt, and after a long sigh, he tapped his comms, eyes meeting the Cambion''s. "He was stronger than we anticipated," he proclaimed. No response came from the other side. "Did you hear me, Natasha, Clint, Wanda, Kurt? We have to give him what he wants." "Roger," Kurt''s voice sounded on the open channel, and I internally smirked. Kurt appeared with Wanda in tow behind him, and she swiped down, burying him in an avalanche of psychic energy, but before the attack hit, the Cambion and I locked eyes, and that was enough time for it to make good on its threat. The darkness spear in my heart flared, finishing the job before abruptly retracting along with the remaining five. I collapsed to the floor, gasping, clenching my bleeding chest. Wanda "No!" I screamed as my psychic energy redoubled, and I hoisted the battered Cambion up and threw him to my left, sending him through multiple walls. Kurt ran over to Rin, who was losing blood at a frankly astonishing rate. His wounds were trying to mend themselves, but the residual dark energy flowing within them made it an uphill battle. "We need to kill more demons," Kurt suddenly announced, drawing his knife. "It''s the only way we can save him." "Stop," he commanded. "That asshole is the priority. I knew the risks¡­" Rin coughed up blood and routed in his bandolier for something before yanking a grenade free and offering it to Kurt. "Get this up close. It will do the job." The blue-skinned teleporter''s eyes misted before he accepted it. I looked at the strange little grenade and the kid who was about my age, grinning in the face of his death, and the grief hit me. If I had been faster, stronger¡­ "Tell the bossman I''m really bummed that I didn''t get to try that Ultra Sword he was making for me," he said to Captain America, "And go get that son of a bitch." The Captain looked like he had a million things to say but settled on patting him on the shoulder and facing the direction I threw the Cambion. I was the last to pull away. "I''m sorry." "It''s not your fault," he said. "You didn''t shove the spike in me, the asshole did. Make sure it hurts when you kill him." His last words were clear and weak, absent of all mirth. He slipped into unconsciousness as darkness blanketed the room. Dante The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. Isha''s startled scream ripped through the air, and she swept her giant wings, unleashing a storm of razor-sharp wind and pinions that drove the Nether fire away and banished whatever little of the purple flame remained. The storm swept right through my intangible body as I stood there, partly surprised and disappointed by how the fight was going. Isha was conventionally faster than me, but I could see her moves before she made them, which made her predictable in the most painful ways. It was slowly dawning upon me how absolutely busted I was becoming. In our previous fight, using Angel Evade barely mattered. She was fast enough that each dodge barely helped. Now that I could read her mind and had many supplementary techniques to boost my speed and perception considerably, her speed didn''t matter. Unless she had something truly unexpected up her sleeve, fighting her would be a high-stake spar at best. Still, I wasn''t so eager to end it all. There was a lot of information to gain from reading her. "I did try to warn you," I said idly. "I legitimately feel bad for your side if you''re the best they have to offer." "You know nothing!" Apparently, there were hundreds upon thousands of demons in Limbo, a scant few of which had enough strength to eclipse her. Isha was also the fifth strongest Cambion. The gulf between each runner-up was substantial. Domina was at least twice as strong as she was and number four. The Second Born, Enrique, was number three, and a kid named Minos was number two. Corvus was obviously number one. "I''m tired of hearing you speak," she barked, flaring her claws as she charged me. My Fire Cloak and Gust swaddled me, and Osiris remained firmly on my back. Demon Energy surged out of me as I exploded forward as claws and shortswords met. Her attacks came blisteringly fast, and I rapidly juggled my skills. Moment of the Sage, Burst, Parry, and my Precision Runes worked overtime. We ate up the landscape as we fought, and I taunted. "Is it me, or are you slower and weaker than you used to be? I guess a bullet to the chest will do that to you?" "I''ll show you weak!" She roared as she swiped her claws at me, sending six near-invisible waves of wind energy. Isha might seem enraged on the surface, but she planned three moves ahead, which worked in my favor. Much to her frustration, she''d noted that she couldn''t harm me with fire anymore. Somehow, I''d become immune, and it was driving her insane. So, she had to resort to predominantly wind attacks, relying on the blinding effects of her bright Storm fire to blind me and set up her tornado attack that was sure to weaken me. As you can imagine, the fight went a lot differently than she envisioned. I activated the protection runes on my chest plate and arm guards, tanking wind attack, and fired off a Nether-Fire axe head at her. The runes on my forearm guttered out immediately, and I was a bit surprised by the strength of the attack, but I pushed on. She exploded in a blinding flash of light as I closed in, strafing to the side to dodge the axe head as she rapidly gathered wind. I went off in an explosion of Nether Fire, mirroring her attack inches from her face. Isha flew backward, but she still tanked the brunt of the attack. It scorched her skin and distorted her wings. She ejected wind again, extinguishing the fire before she fired a tunnel of wind at me while I healed my eyes with Angel Energy. Although I knew it was coming, the speed of the attack still surprised me, but I still managed to leap to the side with Moment of Sage, Gust, and Burst. In a random fit of inspiration, Isha decided to switch tactics. She fired wind attack after wind attack, forcing me to burn increasingly more energy to keep up. I noticed she kept an eye on my energy expenditure and estimated that I''d run out long before she did if I kept dodging the way I was. Her attacks had me pressed, but honestly, I was more excited by the growth of my skills. Moment of the Sage, Burst, and Gust were going off every other second, and Gust was coming up on its Adept Tier upgrade. Telepathy was miles behind, but it was becoming more intuitive to use. Seconds after the ordeal started, she sped up again, drowning me in razor winds and ripping the tower, the dead bodies of the demons, and the buildings nearby to shreds. I went intangible when the pressure became too much and just stood still, putting the pieces together. She wanted me to use Angel Evade and become intangible, but why? Looking into her mind brought answers. Isha''s wings, which were blisteringly white now, had started to charge up an attack called Storm Fire Cannon, which was as dangerous as it sounded. It was a concentrated ray of Storm fire, traveling at over 32,000 miles per hour. Her plan was to get me to tire myself and become and stay tangible long enough for her to get the attack off. She knew I had backup energy fillers like my stims, but she was banking on my mind and limited control of energy giving out before she exhausted her frankly monstrous reserves. I considered running, but she already planned for that as well. She planned to give chase, even if it meant ripping apart the city in the process. She''d picked up on the fact that I cared for people and seemed ready to milk that as well, going as far as to cause collateral damage like her sister. I scoffed at the entire situation. While it was true that she had me beat in the energy department, she was underestimating how long Angel Evade could hold out. Two minutes was a long time to keep firing high-energy wind projectiles. She''d run out sooner than she thought, but that was not the main issue. If she couldn''t outlast me by some miracle, she was determined to fire at Times Square after an exaggerated wind-up to lure me out. Seeing how compassionate I''d been with Pietro, she was certain I wouldn''t let New York die if I could take the blast for it instead. She wasn''t completely wrong... Fucking Hell. Three months ago, I would''ve said Fuck New York and saved myself, but now...I''d grown too fucking attached. Her plan sobered me up, and my demeanor changed. Dozens of strategies flashed through my mind until I settled on an unconventional one, and I hoped somebody was close enough to pull it off. I closed my eyes and expanded my mind until I found a mind just at the outer limit of my range. It was Pietro, and he was watching our fight from a few buildings away with a complicated look and a squint on his face. "Didn''t I tell you to get out of here," I said, and he spun around surprised before he realized I was in his mind, not his ear. "You can read minds?" I asked, frankly baffled. "Does that surprise you?" "No," he admitted, "not really." "I need your help," I got straight to the point. "Isha wants my head, regardless of the cost, and I''m sure I can take her out, but it just might cost me a chunk of New York. I''d prefer that not to happen, so here''s what I need you to do. I need you to call a number and tell them I need a Mirror Dimension raised in my location." After I gave Pietro the number, he had a thousand questions, all of which I ignored and promptly cut the connection. I didn''t have the time to play twenty questions. Drawing in a deep breath, I summoned my new prototype armor--Twilight Sentinel. Unfortunately, it was not a named armor, so I couldn''t upgrade it with Red Orbs, but it was made from my first attempt at making the same caliber of metal Eva, and Sparda used to make Rebellion and Yamato. Since all of the infernal metal I had was previously treated with demonic energy, I couldn''t properly fold both of my energies into the metal, and it ended up more white than Red, leading to a pinkish-reddish coloration. It came out nearly twice as durable as normal Infernal metal. I pimped it out with a mess of Storage runes on its chest plate, giving it a core of a sort containing about 300 DE and 500 AE. I also slapped on ten protection runes and a pair of impact and precision runes on each leg. When I finished the design, it looked like an off-color form of the armor of Blood-Red General, Igris, from Solo-leveling. It had a ludicrous durability rating of 700. Isha, who always had some inkling of my location whenever I used Angel Evade, suddenly tensed up at my energy change. My storage runes showed I had more energy than I should, and I sensed she was several seconds away from fully charging up her bullshit attack, so I acted quickly. Chapter 124 Three Burst concentrated on my legs, and I shot forward, body flickering as Angel Evade struggled to contain the sheer energy flowing through the skill. I materialized moments before I hit Isha, prompting her to point her feathers at me, but I went intangible as I phased through her. My body whirled as I ejected three Burst from my chest, reversing my momentum. The skill failed immediately, and I ejected another set of three from my right heel and calf, speeding up my leg to a ridiculous degree. The two impact runes in my legs went off as my leg collided with her folded arms with frightening impact. She would''ve blocked with her wings, but touching them now could compromise her attack and lead to an explosion that would wipe out several buildings. Thousands would die. She made a crater on the spot she hit the ground, and I could hear Isha bitch in her mind how close she''d come to losing control of the spell. Her hands were shaking from blocking that hit, and she was sure she had multiple hairline fractures running through the length of her bones, but she was determined to win the fight. A precision jet of wind shot at me as I fell to the ground, but I didn''t bother blocking, letting my ten protection runes block the attacks. The energy levels on my storage runes dipped, but the loss was insignificant. "My techniques are not the only thing that has grown since we last fought, Isha," I boasted as I landed. Suddenly wary of my attack and armor, Isha decided to entertain the conversation. Besides, she still needed more time to prepare for her attack. "Those runes," she began, "they''re like nothing I''ve ever seen before." "Your father didn''t destroy everything when he raided our home," I smirked, spinning up a wild tale. "They come from her home dimension, and this is only the beginning. You were right. You should''ve killed me when you had the chance." I took a bold step forward. "Now, it''s too late." I flared my Demonic Aura, a skill I''d often forgotten, and let it soak in my Nether Fire and Density affinities. In Isha''s sight, I''d transformed into Corvus, her brother. The blood lust and density that rolled off me told of an incomprehensible strength, something vast and all-consuming, a force powerful enough to snuff her out. The skill stunned her, and Isha took a step back, an act that seemed to shatter her confidence and ignite her rage. "No!" she shrieked as her skin blared white. "I will not be intimidated by a mongrel like you. You''ve tested me for the last time, Wastrel. I hope Hela takes your soul." Isha was just about ready to blow, and I sensed Yao, and a few others teleport onto the edge of the battlefield. They were all supernaturally fast with their spellwork. Fast enough to raise the mirror dimension spell in time, not nearly, so I did the exact thing Jean warned me not to. I pushed my mental link with Isha, pouring heaps of demonic energy into her mind. Her cloak of white sputtered as I spoke. "Hela will have to get in fucking line." "What!" Her voice cracked, stunned and confused, and the mirror dimension went up faster than she could recover. When she was ready to fire, it was too late. Storm Fire Cannon roared, and I casually stepped into ethereal, where I remained untouched, or at least I thought I''d be. The concussive force of the attack sent me flying, and it was immediately apparent I was only weathering a fraction of its full power. Still, a fraction was enough to fracture five of the ten protection runes I''d woven into Twilight Sentinel and burn through ninety percent of the energy infused into the Protection Rune. My health was barely impacted, but it was the suddenness of the attack that threw me for a loop. Through some bullshittery, her attack seemed to pass through dimensions. I wondered how that had even been possible until I made the connection. Mordo had said something about how several dimensional phenomena could not exist in the same place. It was the exact reason they could not raise a mirror dimension in a place overtaken by Limbo dimensional invasion. I''m guessing tapping into Limbo while I was in the mirror dimension had not wholly stepped into the other dimension. I blinked. It was certainly a logical leap, yet it felt¡­right. I could only think it was a function of my enhanced dimensional affinity. Still, I had a villain to defeat and a city to save. I returned to the material in time to watch Isha crumble to her knee, a significant part of her wings warped by the display. Her eyes widened when they saw me, and she began to move, but she was no match for me in her state. I flashed in front of her with Rebellion raised, packed with demonic energy, and brought it down on her head. Predictably, she raised her wings to block the attack. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. A Burst Detonated in my hand as the impact runes in my gauntlets flared, and they sliced through the infernal gold alloy like cheese, raising a startled look on her face. She leaned back as my blade cut a thin line down her torso and swiped at me with her claws. My blade was faster. I called upon a technique I''d not used with Rebellion in a long while: Trillion Stabs. My hands blurred as I parried away her weak retaliation and marked her up and down with my lightning-quick wrist. In moments, she was bloodied and stumbling back. Most of her golden metal plumage laid to the side eviscerated brutal swordsmanship. I buried my blade in her gut, making sure to miss any vital organs, and summoned up a shortsword and swiped at her wrist, taking off a hand as it came around for yet another defiant strike. A scream ripped from her throat, and my shortsword pressed against it, forcing her to stop. I spoke into her mind. ''That''s enough of that.'' She gritted her teeth as she glared up at me. ''You were in my head from the beginning¡­'' ''More or less,'' I said. ''You should''ve taken my advice and dipped when I asked.'' ''And go where?'' she mentally barked at me. ''I asked to fight you, and besides, no true child of Belasco runs from a fight.'' I snorted. ''You should try it sometimes. You lot might live longer.'' ''Don''t you dare play benevolent!'' she snapped. ''We were at each other''s throat. You would''ve killed me during our first encounter if you could.'' ''True, but since then, I''ve met your other siblings, and while you''re insufferable, you''re surprisingly tame compared to them. Enrique is openly sadistic, Domina is downright monstrous and manipulative, and Baptiste and Thabo talked about you like you were sub-human,'' I said. ''I''m guessing it has something to do with Vergil, doesn''t it?'' I narrowed my eyes as I read her mind. ''You made the mistake of trusting him, and he played you.'' ''You both should''ve been hunted down after your parents fell,'' she mentally snarled. I twisted Rebellion, feeling a flare of anger I didn''t understand. Her words shouldn''t be getting to me, but they were. ''The point I am trying to make is that if you were anybody else, I would''ve incinerated you and moved on. Your family hates your guts. Your sister even sent you to your death. You''re the most likely to hear reason among your demented lot. Tell me about your sister''s plans, abilities, and the strongest among your father''s children, and you don''t have to die.'' "What?" she blurted out using actual words as the mirror dimension faded around us. The Ancient one stood behind me as I continued. "We''d dump you of a portal on the other side of the galaxy and leave you to your devices. There''s virtually no chance this blows back on you¡­or refuse me and deal with Jean Grey. I''m a halfway decent Telepath, but Jean struck fear into the heart of Charles Xavier himself." Isha blinked at me before she burst out laughing. I frowned. I''d not expected her to accept it outright, but at the brink of death, I at least hoped she''d deliberate it, invertedly revealing more about her siblings than she initially intended. The laugh, I quickly discovered, was not about the ridiculousness of the offer but the threat itself. "Something is wrong with Jean," I said. "Cambion," I slowly realized. Domina had sent a Cambion to the school instead of a demon. Isha grinned, bloody and irreverent. "Kill me and be done with it. You''ll get nothing from me." Believe me, I was tempted to give her exactly what she wanted, but she was more useful alive. I pulled my blade instead, letting her flop to the ground, grunting and bleeding. "Go," The Ancient one said, walking up to join me. "One of the men will help you with the portal. Leave Isha Stormfire in my care." --- Bruce Banner The entire structure shook as loud booms went off below us, and I nervously watched the countdown of the Gamma reactor. We were still frantically monitoring the computer console as the containment system worked its magic, slowly shutting down the mini gamma reactor we''d requisitioned for our experiment. Not two minutes into the five-minute deadline that the mind-controlling mutant had given, shit had gone from bad to worse. The team had mobilized to back up the fighters on the ground floor, and apparently, the cocky kid had died within seconds of coming in contact with the demon. I was slick with sweat, nervously typing away, and Betty seemed on the brink of a nervous breakdown, but we had to keep level and keep going. It was the only way we''d be safe and extracted. In between rapid keystrokes, I eyed one of the fridges in the corner, where I''d kept the rest of the supersoldier serum batch. It was next on my list after we were done with most of the shutdown process, but I was nervous about disposing of it because of how much attention my Serum was getting. It was obvious the government would want to replace what they''d lost with Ross, and even if their top agent, this ''Dante'' fellow, could retrieve it, they''d likely still want me pumping out more Serum with everything going on right now, and I couldn''t blame them. A lone demon was ripping through the building, making a bee-line for me, and even Captain America was not strong enough to stop it. Still, I was apprehensive about handing over my new formula. I estimated it would be an increase over the Cap results, and that was putting it mildly. With gamma radiation as a power source, the sky was the limit, and that was what terrified me¡ªthat a person I helped create could become a calamity we could not hope to defend against. In the corner of the room, the agents whispered furiously, arguing against one another before I finally said. "Sorry, Nat. I know you''re Fury''s favorite, but I outrank you. I''m going to check on them." "You heard the Captain. This is our post. We''re the last line of defense. Don''t forget that there are still demons roaming around." He smirked, raising his high-tech rifle. "All the more reason I should join the fight. Someone has to pull them away." Natasha frowned. "Jean may be compromised, we can''t¡ª "I''ll be fine, Nat," he reassured, though it was clear to the second agent and me that he would not be. "I''ll hang back like I did last time. Let them wear him out while I take shots. What would''ve happened to Dante if I hadn''t been there?" That shut her up. She looked like she had much more to say, but he was already heading for the lab exit. "I''ll be fine," he promised. "You''ll see." Nat stood there frozen for a long moment before turning around and facing me. Her glare could''ve melted the Arctic. "How much longer?" she asked. "Not long," I answered in a low voice, returning to my computer. I had questions, but Natasha didn''t seem in the mood to answer them moments before mourning the potential loss of her teammate. I took comfort in the fact that she hadn''t pressed me about the Serum formula yet. Chapter 125 Wanda My hands shone crimson as I raised a shield, blocking the onslaught of darkness spears as Captain America unloaded his pistol into the mass of darkness in front of us. The entire building rattled and boomed under the intensity of the assault of the Cambion. Kurt joined in, firing from an energy gun I''d not even noticed him raise. I''d read the data packet that Nick Fury sent over like everybody else on the team, but it was one thing reading about the demons, and it was another thing fighting them. Cambions were apparently at the very top of the food chain. Fighting them now, I could understand why. Suddenly, I felt the demon''s presence vanish and dart behind the telekinetic bubble I''d raised to protect us. ''Behind you!'' I screamed into their minds telepathically, and they both reacted. The Cambion appeared from the shadow beneath the Captain, swinging. Before the Cambion''s fist could connect to the Captain''s jaw, he raised his shield. The metal vibrated like a gong, stunning the Captain briefly and allowing the Cambion to sneak in his real attack. Several tentacles of shadow snuck up the Captain''s legs and pinned him to the ground. Kurt materialized behind the Cambion a moment later, gun pressed against his skull. He pulled the trigger, but the demon raised a wall of darkness in time, blocking the shot. Tendrils speared out of the ground, trying to ensnare him, but Kurt teleported beside me and transported me behind the bastard. It took all my focus to hold back the avalanche of shadows threatening to overwhelm us, but I found the strength to attack the Cambion. I seized him once more, much to his annoyance. His white eyes met mine as I closed my fist, pitting all of my telekinetic might against his body. He seemed nonchalant at first, comfortable enough to speak, even. "Perhaps you''re worth keeping alive," he mused. "Psions of your strength are rare. Think of how much further you could go with a body like mine." "I''m going to enjoy breaking you," I said as I tightened my fist, bringing down the full force of my telekinesis upon him. To my and the Cambion''s surprise, I hit my mental limits and easily pushed beyond them. His face suddenly warped in surprise, and without needing to tell Kurt, he teleported as the tentacles of darkness holding the Captain faltered. He whisked away Captain America as he deposited the grenade that Rin provided. Kurt appeared beside me, and a second later, I let go of the outer shield protecting us and focused all my energy on keeping the demon in place as Kurt carried us a floor up. The floor underneath us split apart as a section of the building collapsed. Kurt teleported further back again, far enough that my mental hold of the Cambion failed. "Did we¡ª" Captain America started, but I quickly gave him his answer. "Yes," I said. "I felt the concrete crush him before we disappeared out of range. I can''t sense his mind anymore." "Are you sure?" Kurt asked. "He could''ve teleported away." "I don''t even think that Dante''s kid could survive a building coming down on him," the Captain said, breathing hard. "And if the Cambion survived, he''s likely too wounded to retaliate right now. We need to get back to the third floor. We''re down to our last minute, and Coulson has been holding the horde on his own." Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. "I wouldn''t be too worried about him," I said. "Clint has joined him behind the barricade I raised." The Captain nodded. "Kurt, take us up." The blue-skinned mutant didn''t respond. He stood there, frozen, staring at the wreck. "Rin''s body. I couldn''t get his body out before the collapse." The grief and anger poured out of him in waves. In his eagerness to avenge his friend, he set off the grenade but did not foresee the full extent of the fallout. "I will personally help you look for him after," I said, placing my hand on Kurt''s shoulder. There was a flash of surprise in his eyes before he nodded. That was when I felt it. A wave of energy rippled out, deeper and nearly as potent as the Cambion we faced, yet not quite the same. I sensed a familiarity in the outpour, and I sputtered out in shock. "Rin?" "What!" Kurt exclaimed, looking at me. The building groaned and shifted as the ground underneath us cracked and sunk into the growing wreck. "Get us out of here, now!" I yelled at Kurt, and he obliged despite his reservations. He teleported the Captain and I to the third floor, just behind the barricade. Clint was shooting through a hole in the barricade with two rifles in his hand as he struggled to keep the beasts back while Mystique tended to Coulson, who had several long pins sticking out of his stomach. There was a dead demon dog in the corner. We were gone for seconds, and things had gone so badly, so fast. I raised my hand and shut my eyes, reaching out to the three remaining demons holding them in place. Clint took their heads off gladly. He heaved a sigh of relief as he dropped the guns and climbed down from the heap of clinical refrigerators, machines, furniture, and stone I''d erected. "Thanks for the assist. A few more seconds and things could''ve gotten bad," he said, then looked at Coulson. "Well, worse than it''s already going." He scanned our group, eyes settling on the blue-skinned Teleporter. "Kurt, would you mind popping back to headquarters with Coulson? We need the help, and Fury has already scrambled reinforcements. He''s been briefed on the situation¡ªWait a minute, where''s Rin?" Clint could tell something was wrong when we didn''t answer immediately. "No--" he gasped. Although Mystique worked in the back, the joy and satisfaction rolling off her were unmistakable. She was happy that Dante had lost somebody, even if he was ultimately innocent. "He died on my watch," Captain America said, his voice thick with emotion. "He insisted we call the demon''s bluff despite the risks. I should''ve known better. He was just a kid." "Jesus," Clint rubbed his forehead. "Dante won''t take this well." "He''s not dead," I blurted out before the conversation progressed any further. Kurt was just about to ask me about it anyway. "What!" Clint blurted out, while Captain America shot me an incredulous and confused look. "I knew it!" Kurt grinned. "That is not possible. We saw him die." "And I felt him return to life," I affirmed. "He''s the one that caused the second collapse." I paused to choose my next words carefully. "I think the demon might''ve done something to him because the energy rolling off him feels a lot like what I''ve sensed from Dante and that Cambion." "You think he could''ve been infected like Bucky?" The Captain made a face, asking Clint, who shook his head. "I don''t know," he admitted. "It''s happened before." "Does that mean he''s a Cambion now?" Coulson asked, and every eye in the room swiveled to him. His words were labored and slow. "He''s what they''re all desperate to make. That''s why they were capturing mutants, wasn''t it?" "That is one hell of a coincidence," Clint said. "Something is not right here?" "I''m just glad he''s alive," the Captain said. "The question now is, is he in his right mind, or has he been taken over like Bucky?" "I suppose we''ll soon enough," Mystique spoke finally, drawing all attention to herself. Her eyes glowed yellow, reminding everybody she was not exactly who she presented as. It visibly unsettled everybody. "Wanda, is he coming after us?" she asked. I frowned, searching for him telepathically to no avail. "No," I said. "Whatever is happening to him is still going on." "Good," she said. "I suppose we can focus on bigger problems. Coulson needs treatment, and we need to bolster our defenses for a second approach. If Jean Grey doesn''t beat that mutant outside, we will have to handle this ''Kilgrave'' ourselves. Chapter 126 Jean I was down to my underwear when I finally connected to the Astral plane and shoved off Kilgrave''s command. The world seemed monochrome compared to the overwhelming beauty and bursting colors of the plane. Long lines of colors stretched into the sky, originating from the various minds around me. They were all terrified, everyone from the infected soldiers to the trapped hostages. Only the mind demons and Kilgrave seemed unaffected. The mind-demons immediately noticed my change, but it was still too late. I plucked the Astral threads of each demonic supersoldier and bent them to my will. Their minds temporarily overwrote the commands their bodies had been issued, but the underlying biological programming persisted. For now, it would have to do. The Supersoldiers'' guns turned on the demons they were supposed to protect in an instant. They pulled their triggers at the same time, eliminating all four mind demons. Their mind-scrambling magic vanished as they breathed their last, finally allowing my restrained mind to unspool. It snaked out like a thousand-tentacled monstrosity, seizing control of every mind Kilgrave touched and wresting control of them before the brat playing villain gathered himself. He was a screaming, gibbering mess. "What the fuck! What the actual fuck! What the hell do you think you''re doing?" "What they''re told," I said in an even voice as I rose. "Stop!" he bellowed, but I didn''t, stalking toward him. He tried to speak again, but I choked him with telekinesis, pushing him back and yanking him up until the very tip of his toes were scraping the ground. His face turned red as circulation slowly cut off to his brain. He garbled and coughed and scratched and mentally begged, but nothing could change what was coming. Kevin Thompson was going to die, but before he did. I needed him unconscious to fully break whatever biochemical control he held over me and everybody here. I could keep pushing the mind to overcome the body, but I''d long determined it was better to remove his control entirely before I set everybody free. I ordered everybody except the warped soldiers to run just as his consciousness faded, and they left frantically. A few ran after profusely thanking me. Others determined I could just be as dangerous as the demons and ran for their lives. They were certainly not wrong, but it hurt to be lumped in the same category as a monster like Kilgrave. In less than a minute, the square was empty, and the bottom floor of the science building started to splinter and collapse. My mind went frantic as I saw into the building with my senses moments before it all came crashing down. N''tesh the Cambion was fighting Wanda''s telepathic hold, and in the corner of the broken hallway, Rin''s body lay under a mountain of rubble. My breath hitched. From quickly reading the Cambion''s mind, I could tell that it wasn''t the debris that killed him but the Cambion''s darkness magic, which still permeated every inch of the structure. "I wasted too much time," I realized. Rin was a bit younger than Dante and me, but his age never showed. He never complained, trained his butt off, and was loyal to a fault. I failed him. With considerable mental strain, I generated a shield around his body just before the floor collapsed, hoping to preserve what was left of him. Just as suddenly as the collapse started, it ended. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. N''tesh broke nearly every bone in his body, but he was still well enough to control the darkness surrounding him to heal his wounds and recover. I was blind in rage at the sight, and I raised my hand to finish the monster, but before I could rouse my energies¡­the floor shuddered. I felt my mental energy and most of N''tesh''s shadow magic disappear into a sudden whirlpool from deep within the rubble. The hunger latched onto my energy reserves and kept pulling until I was staggering, suddenly exhausted of energy. I felt the phoenix''s heat churn inside me, but I pushed it down and refused to let my weakness control me. I knew it was Rin before his energy level stabilized and exploded forward in a wave of crimson energy that shook the foundations of the building. The second floor cracked like the first and collapsed on Rin and the demon. Free from his feverish pull, I was free to observe once more. N''tesh gathered enough darkness magic to teleport a floor up while Rin, who seemed frozen in a trance, took on the damage without flinching. The stones lost all their kinetic energy when they impacted him, lazily collapsing to the ground. My eyes widened, remembering the conversation Dante had shared with me about Rin when he told me about taking him on. "His father is Sebastian Shaw Jean, and while he seems somewhat ordinary next to you and I, Jean. That won''t always be the case. We might have another Omega-level mutant if he manages to awaken his father''s full mutation." His words seemed almost prophetic. Slowly, Rin reached for his blade, filled it with his peculiar energy, and swung. It blew out the side of the building, and he swaggered out, covered in an aura of blood-red energy. His distant, blank eyes fixed on me, and I could feel the aggression rolling off of him. I reached into his mind before he acted on his instinct, massaging his mind and pulling forward the memories of our time together. "Rin, remember who you are." The boy blinked. First came confusion, then recognition. "Ugh," he grunted as he massaged his head. "I need an Aspirin." Rin looked at his hand in surprise, then at the rest of his body, taken by the strange aura surrounding him. "What the hell happened?" he said. "The last thing I remember is that son of a bitch N''tesh stabbing and then¡­" "Congratulations," I said. "It would seem you''ve unlocked a secondary mutation and even more of your peculiar demonic heritage." Rin was quiet for a time, eyes frantically darting as he came to term with his new self. "Well, it''s about damn time!" Rin smirked, then struck a pose. "The boss man better watch out. I''m coming for his spot." I raised a brow. "You do know that I am technically stronger than he is." "Of course," Rin reluctantly admitted, "but competing with somebody you can never beat is no fun. The boss man, though. He and I are not that different." "I suppose not," I admitted. It was a surface-level comparison but had a surprising amount of depth. Both had come into their power under the threat of certain death. The only difference was one had died, and the other hadn''t. Rin suddenly looked past me at Kilgrave, who was passed out on the floor. His grip on his longsword tightened. "Why is he still breathing?" he asked with a surprising edge to his voice. "Don''t tell me you''re going to spare him?" "Not even if Dante asked," I said. "He''s going to die. I need something from him first." He nodded and let out a breath. "I should get back in there. That asshole N''tesh doesn''t strike me as the type to give up. He''s coming back for a round two, I''m sure." "Go on then. I''ll join you after I''m done here." "Sure thing," he nodded. "You might want to throw on something first, though." My cheek turned red slightly, and Rin hurried away. --- Getting into the building took a lot more work than getting out. After spending nearly a minute angling for a window that hadn''t been completely barricaded, I leaped through one on the third floor without much effort, much to my surprise. My upgrade, I discovered, had caused more of a change than I anticipated. I could hold onto energy now and use it in short bursts of kinetic force or upgrade my physical parameters, which had already received quite the boost from my resurrection. I estimated I was about 20% stronger. Paired with my new Kinetic burst ability, it allowed me to tear through the walls and ceiling of the building until I reached the fifth and top floor. At the entrance to the lab, I found the team waiting for me, weapons raised, face twisted in suspicion. Wanda stood at the front. "What''s going on guys?" I questioned, a bit astonished. "Rin, is that you?" she asked tentatively. "Who else could it fucking be?" "You feel different?" "Uh?" "She sensed demonic energy flowing off you," Mystique cut to the chase. "Has that vile thing infected you, or were you like your master all along?" "Uhhh¡­" There was a terrible crash behind us before I could make a fool of myself. The lab was under attack. (Read up to Chapter 132 on Patreon.com/artandcreativewriting) Chapter 127 Rin There was a terrible crash behind us before I could make a fool of myself. The Lab was under attack. I heard an energy pistol go off and saw the signature blue flash as Kurt teleported somebody out of the way of danger. Everyone was quick to react and hurried into the Lab. N''tesh stood at the center, a deep pool of unnatural shadow spilling beneath him. In the far corner were Bruce, Kurt, Betty, and their assistant, who was as white as snow. The human with horns understandably freaked him out. N''tesh''s eyes focused on us, then widened in confusion, first for seeing Mystique, who had shed her natural blue skin for the doctor''s appearance, and then at me. Captain America, who had fired the shot, stuck to the far left of the room, shield and gun in hand, ready to resume his assault while he kept a steady eye on the monster. N''tesh ignored him wholly, attention firmly rooted in me. He blinked twice as if the action would dispel the magic animating me. He was covered in badly healed wounds, yet he looked like he''d take time to clean his face. It was a point of pride. "You look like you''ve seen a ghost, big guy," I smirked. "Although with that face of yours, I can''t really tell." "I don''t know how you survived, but I will remedy that shortly," he snarled. "What no more offers or threats?" "The time for that has long passed," his voice bellowed as he swiped his hands, and multiple things happened simultaneously. Five Dreamrunners popped out of his shadows with their swords. Two aimed at Kurt. Two headed straight for us, while the last one targeted the captain. I sprung into action immediately and blocked one of the two Dreamrunners targeting our group. The second went after the agents, while N''tesh surprisingly went after Wanda, the mutant who almost did him in, ignoring me entirely. He attacked her from all angles, sending blades through her shadows and from his hands. They flowed and warped as they struck, flooding me with intense anxiety. Thankfully, I didn''t need to worry. She raised a red sturdy shield that bounced the blades back, and I smirked. Wanda wasn''t half bad. It could''ve been my imagination, but I swore I saw her lips quirk up at my mental comment. The demon I held back with my blade finally got tired of trying to press me with his strength and disengaged, switching sides with the demon attack Clint and Natasha, who was rapidly teleporting as the sharpshooters pinned him down. I felt the demon materialize behind me before I saw him and swung, filling my blade with a chunk of the massive glut of energy I felt churning within me. It blasted him hard into the wall, cracking several bones. Everyone paused in surprise. Kurt 1 minute earlier I grabbed Coulson, and the world warped around us, delivering into the center of SHIELD''s outpost in New York. Nick Fury was facing a cluster of monitors with a tight fist. The medics came running before I got a word out. "Does he have internal bleeding?" One of the medics demanded as he inspected Coulson. "I-I don''t¡ª" "I don''t think I do," Coulson helpfully told the demanding woman. "The lady that patched me up said the blades went through, and she looked like she knew what she was doing." The woman nodded and yelled at the other medic. "Radio the OR. Tell them we''re coming!" They wheeled out of there so fast they nearly knocked me over. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. Fury was staring at me when the drama was done, and behind a frozen frame of Dante in an off-white armor wreathed in fire as he kicked a demon. My mouth fell open. I wasn''t quite believing what I was seeing. When did he-- "How''s the situation at the lab." "Rapidly evolving," I blinked, said. "We lost Rin, but now he''s alive¡­maybe." Fury raised a brow. "Elaborate, Trainee." "Uh¡­well¡­I watched him die, Director, and shortly after, Wanda, the other telepath on the team swore he came back to life¡­with a demonic energy signature." Fury was quiet for a moment before he shook his head. "Mother Fucker. That would explain a lot. That''s why Dante didn''t bash his head in like the rest of Pierce''s goons." I unconsciously winced at his words. "Dante is a killer, Kurt," Fury emphasized. "That might make you uncomfortable, but it''s the truth. He just happens to be fighting for our side, for now. He was a contract killer before all of this started. And he''s went from being a low-rent thug to shattering the sound barrier casually. Now, I find out that he''s had the very specimen the demons have been looking for in his back pocket this entire time. I need a sample of Rin''s blood. It shouldn''t be too hard given how often he gets wounded." I wasn''t entirely comfortable with what the Director was asking for, but so far it was better than most of what I''d been asked to do under Hydra. "What will you do about Dante, sir?" "He''s above your paygrade for now?" Fury said. He technically didn''t pay me, but I didn''t see the need to point out that fact. "As for the backup, they''ve been diverted," he picked up a remote from the desk in front of him and started scrolling through multiple slides of downtown New York. "It was in shambles. Entire blocks were overturned. Military personnel were involved, and Shield actively participated in rescue operations. "That Demon Domina is every bit as dangerous as the sorcerers claim, and what you see on the screen is only the half of it. You''re less than five minutes out, and Dante has just about wrap up the injured Cambion. He''ll be over before the psychopath can wrap up his outrageous countdown. That Rin kid shouldn''t be too much trouble. Between Wanda and yourself, you should be able to run interference and extraction, as long as the other demon doesn''t suddenly show up." "What if he does?" "Don''t leave Banner''s side. Keep him on-site until the very last moment and make sure that reactor doesn''t go critical. In case you haven''t put it together. The United States Government isn''t supposed to have a portable reactor on a campus. If things go sideways, get him out first. Forget the other agents, his girlfriend, and the assistant." "But sir¡ª" "I know how you feel, but Banner is the only chance we have to beat the demons," he pointed at his screen, which is full of images of Dante, a picture of Domina they''d remarkably captured, Isha, and the faces of dead Cambions, and other exotic demons. "We''re at war, kid. Our side doesn''t just know it yet." His words struck a chord in me. The boss was never emotional. Cynical and overly frank, yes, but never vulnerable. The situation had to be truly dire. I thought he was overly critical of Dante. After all, most of the mutants under shield care had killed¡ªsome more than others¡ªand Dante and his team had rescued us from Strucker and put most of Hydra''s leadership into the ground. Even now, he was paying for his kind''s sins¡­but at the rate that Dante grew. It wouldn''t be wrong before he was untouchable. If he were to side with the demons for whatever reason or decided to work against us, humanity was in grave danger. Jean was already glued to his hip because of the mansion incidents. The particulars of the mission were obviously still closed off to me because I was a trainee, but I''d be surprised if they were not sleeping together. If Rin returned to life loyal and sane, Dante would be an even greater threat than Domina, and she''s the greatest terror threat since 9/11. I shudder to think what the other demons could achieve. Fury sighed. "Head on back and keep me updated." I nodded and turned around as Fury cycled through the television screen to the CDC center in New York. It looked untouched through the reflection on the tiled floors. Fury was ponderously quiet, and that scared me more than anything that I''d learned so far. I noticed Tony Stark lingering in the dark corner of the operation room just as I dematerialized and transported myself back to the Lab. 2 seconds before N''tesh''s attack. I grabbed Bruce, his girlfriend, and their awkward assistant the instant I felt a change in the air. My first instinct was to transport them back to headquarters, but Fury''s words rang in my ear. My heart warred with my head, and my head won out. I transported them to the other side of the room, near the case of vials containing earlier iterations of the formula. My heart melted with joy when I saw Rin upfront and center, exchanging words with the demons, but then I considered the Director''s warnings and was suddenly paranoid. Things devolved almost too quickly for somebody with my senses, and two demons came my way. They vanished in a bubble of folded space, and I could feel the world swell in preparation for their reappearance behind us. Teleporting would''ve been the wrong call. They would arrive before I could leave, so I spun and waved to the left as I pulled out my pistol and pointed to the closest demon point of exit. "Move!" Betty was quick on her feet, and so was Banner, but their nervous wreck of an assistant, overwhelmed and overstimulated, froze momentarily. Banner grabbed him, urging him along, and that almost cost him his life. My pistol surprisingly took the first exiting demon in the throat, killing him. His body bounced off the floor and crashed straight into the terminal, one of his blades cutting up the system really badly. The second scored a deep gash on Banner''s back as he exited with his blades swinging. The cut seemed to surprise him as much as Banner. However, not nearly as much as the loud impact across the hall. Rin squashed a teleporting demon like a bug¡­.with a single swing. What the fuck! Chapter 128 Tony Stark As the kid disappeared, I stepped out of the shadows and was immediately approached by several agents reaching for their weapons. "Leave him and give us some privacy," Fury waved as he won me over. "How much did you hear?" The agents did as told and promptly shuffled out of the room. "Enough," I said, taking Fury all in. He was tall, sturdy, and didn''t look a day over forty. I''ve seen decade-old photos of him and Dad. Whatever was standing before me was just as freaky as the demon kid. "The nice agent that left me in the waiting room said you''d talk to me when the situation stabilizes. The trouble is just starting from what I hear. Demons, sorcerers, mutants, and half-demon hybrids? Sounds like the plot of a cheesy teenage romance flick." "What''d give to read that book," he said. "The universe is a lot stranger and dangerous than can imagine, Stark." "I''ve gathered," I said, walking up the stairs to the monitors. My eyes stopped on the kid I''d learned was called Dante. There were images of him ripping through waves of demons. "I knew your father," Fury said. "I wonder what he''d have said if he was alive to see this." "He''d probably ask why you''re lying to the blue kid about your manpower shortage. Sounds like whoever this doctor is really important." "I''d be sending them to the slaughter," Fury said. "You''ve seen what Dante could do. I already have my best up there. If they can''t succeed, no one else can." Fury wasn''t wrong. Dante had torn through those enhanced soldiers like they were tissue paper. My prototype repulsor rifle would''ve put them down, but I was sure it wouldn''t be nearly enough to fight him. He could manipulate fire and move faster than the human eye could track. I''d probably be dead before I could even pull the trigger. "We''re going to lose this war, Tony, unless we start making big changes, and that''s why I reached out this morning." I raised my brow. "You''re my mysterious 2''0 clock?" "Welcome to the big leagues, Stark." "Please," I scoffed. "I am the big leagues. Half of the tech in this building was designed by me." Fury smirked. "Honestly, it''s more like 30%, and project NEUTRALIZER is on a global scale. Imagine a robotics weapon system specifically designed to take down the strongest things they can throw at us." Fury jabbed his finger at the monitor, pointing at the hordes of dead demons, the bodies of fallen demon-human hybrids, and Dante. "This is just their opening move, and New York is already in shambles. They can attack us anywhere, anytime, to maximum effect without any warning. It''s like World War 2 over again, only this time, it will be over in weeks instead of years, and we''re starting out several steps behind. If your father hadn''t collaborated with Peggy Carter and the Captain to form the Strategic Research Team we might''ve not survived. I need you Stark. There''s no other way to put it." I considered his words contemplatively as I rubbed my chin. He was right. The world was in deep shit for sure, but I was certain I was not seeing the full picture. I suppose that would come in time. What I was interested in was what''s in it for me. "Alright, you turned me over, but I want first choice on patents for 70% of the new technology we create and total transparency. The second is non-negotiable." "Done," Fury said, stunning me. He stepped away from the wall of monitors and walked toward one of the side exits. He looked back at me when he noticed I was not following. "You said you wanted total transparency, didn''t you? Let me show you what the boys at the lab have been working on." Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. I followed him with a healthy dose of skepticism. Rin After the first demon went splat, the tide of battle shifted immediately. On a hunch, I let the energy ripple out of me in a Burst as I threw myself at the second Sword demon. He vanished before I could shoulder-check him, and I slammed into the wall, shaking the building. The demon materialized in front of me, hoping to finish me with a double stab to the neck, but I twisted out of the way of the attack and grabbed its left forearm. Before it could take a swipe at me, Clint exploded its head with a plasma shot. I roused myself as Captain America parried a double slash from the third sword demon. The ferocity of his swing sent it staggering, and I swept it up in a tight hug before promptly hefting up and slamming it hard into the ground. Natasha riddled its body with energy shots, and I turned to notice a panicking N''tesh pressing Wanda with a sheer multitude of attacks. She''d turned to sending powerful red bolts of telekinetic energy at him while she held back his constant barrage. He stretched his hand at me, and suddenly, I felt a swell of energy underneath my leg. There was a familiarity to it. He was unleashing the same attack he used to kill me, and I was still nowhere fast enough to dodge it, but I didn''t have to be. Dozens of spikes punched out of the ground and dug into my skin and sections of my armor that survived. They were only a few inches deep when a strange sensation pulsed through me. It was a peculiar mix between hunger and understanding. For the first time ever, I pulled in the energy instead of waiting for it to come to me, and the results were instant. The darkness penetrating me melted, healing my wounds, while the new blades that popped up to replace the old shattered against my skin as if they were hard as diamonds. Strength filled me, magnifying my already impressive physical parameters by another tiny notch. The deeper I pulled, the more temporary strength I gained. The new blades were gone in a flash, and I stuffed my hand through the shadow energy pooling underneath me, connecting to N''tesh''s frankly staggering pool of energy. He cut the connection before I started to drain him properly. He reeled back in surprise as the intensity of the shadow blades he sent at Wanda wavered slightly. "Ascended," he gasped, looking at me. Surprised, The mutant girl used that opportunity to her advantage, stretching her hand forth for a telekinetic full-body clasp. Surprisingly, the monster switched tactics. He sunk into his shadow and appeared behind me, swinging hard with his shadow sword. My blade barely came up in time. It rang like a gong, shoving me halfway across the room and straight into a window. I shattered the glass but held on before I tipped over it. N''tesh bellowed as his shadow grew, and hundreds of spikes erupted around the room. They sprung out of the shadow of every object and person. Everyone ducked but didn''t need to. Crimson bubbles materialized around every person, shielding them from harm. The shadows vanished just as suddenly as it appeared, and Wanda dropped to the floor, blood pooling from her nose. At the back of the lab, a sharp crack and a visible wave of greenish energy poured out of the small reactor with many thick cables attached. N''tesh looked exhausted, but a grin blossomed on his face. The shadow underneath her suddenly grew, and my eyes widened. Everybody reacted. The Captain threw his shield at N''tesh, and both agents fired their rifles at him. He vanished just as Kurt did. Kurt tackled Wanda out of the way before the blades skewered her while N''tesh, surprisingly, appeared in front of me, grabbing me. I tried to shove him off, but I wasn''t quite strong enough, and neither could I drain him enough to stop him. We sunk into his shadow startlingly fast, but before I disappeared completely. I spied him to send a blade through the shadow underneath Banner. The blade went through his gut, and blood sprayed out. He had seconds if he was lucky. --- Kurt I heard the scream before I saw him. When I turned around, my worst fears had come to pass. I''d failed on both fronts. Rin was gone again, and Banner was bleeding out. "Bruce!" his girlfriend hurried over and grabbed his mid-section, lending pressure to his own. Natasha stood beside me, face white at the sight. "He''ll be dead in minutes." "I have to get him out of here," I announced. Another crack escaped the reactor, and several pieces of shrapnel went flying. One impacted a wall containing vials of chemicals that had surprisingly survived the Cambion''s onslaught. Several impacted the floor. One stray caught Clint straight in the thigh, traveling through it and hobbling him immediately. The temperature in the room suddenly soared as a wave of heat rolled out. "We need to get out now!" Mystique said. "That reactor is about to blow." Shit! With gritted teeth, I teleported to Banner, Betty, and their panicking assistant. "What are our options!" Betty looked down at Bruce, who was struggling to speak "Remote deactivation is impossible now," he said. "You either need to teleport it out, or someone has to stay back and engage the emergency cooling system." "What''s that?" I asked. "It will release 4 canisters of liquid metal that will rapidly cool the reactor. If it works, we should be able to hold out long enough until a team arrives to disassemble the reactor." That was fantastic news, but from the look on their face, I wasn''t sure they quite agreed. "What''s wrong?" "We need at least two people to initiate the shutdown," Betty said, "but it''s a gamble at best. The reactor casing is cracked and a lot of the coolant is going to waste." Chapter 129 Dante I materialized outside the building to a peculiar scene¡ªJean telekinetically holding Kilgrave in the air as she ripped through his mind for information. I let out a breath I had been holding since Isha made her comment, shaking my head. What was I thinking? Jean was Jean. Of course, I didn''t need to worry. He flopped to the floor the second Jean noticed my presence, and I rushed over to her, summoning my red jacket from my inventory and handing it over to her to cover herself. She was in her underwear, and it was no doubt Kilgrave''s doing. I glared at the asshole, who practically squeaked when he looked up. I''d be lying if I said I wasn''t tempted to stomp out the asshole. ''Don''t,'' Jean urged. ''He had a contingency plan. There are bombs scattered all over campus. They will go off if he doesn''t return in a few minutes with the Doctor.'' ''You can''t be serious! That bitch Domina thought about everything.'' ''I''ve looked through his memories,'' Jean said. ''Domina determined that I was the real threat, and that was why she sent demon mind mages, a Cambion, and Kilgrave. Between all three of them, she guessed that they''d be enough to take me down. She hadn''t expected the mutant brotherhood to cooperate with us.'' ''She was also probably banking on Fury sending me to deal with the formula hunt and used that as an opportunity to separate us and come after me. She even had knives designed to cut me through dimensions and sent Cambions after me. FYI, we also have bounties on our heads now. If I hadn''t used Unity earlier. I''d have died,'' I said. ''Given everything that has happened. I don''t find that the least bit surprising.'' ''I was thinking I could disguise myself as the professor after manipulating Kilgrave, or we could start hunting for the bombs, but I doubt we''d find it in time,'' she said. ''There''s always a negotiation,'' I said. ''I didn''t kill Isha. If her sister''s heart is not completely black. She''d be willing to trade Kilgrave for her.'' Jean frowned, and I looked at Kilgrave, who was shaking. ''I know it''s not ideal, but it''s the obvious play. The alternatives are having Pietro and the sorcerers find and transport the bombs. We have less than four minutes. It''s going to be a stretch. A wild, final option is to disguise myself as Banner with the mask and go with whoever they send. I''d get in there, set a few bombs off, slip out in the wreckage, and get transported back here. If I''m lucky, it''ll take out Domina." Jean''s eyes widened slightly, and I didn''t need words to know how she felt. Her face told me. She shook her head. ''That Cambion is still on Campus, and he''s a teleporter; he might know where the bombs were set," she sent. ''Rin is wrestling with him now. You help him and call Pietro, and I''ll end the Reactor problem inside. Things are starting to get dire.'' I nodded. ''If all else fails, we have Kilgrave to make the final play. I should probably call Fury in. He has Stark with him. Who knows, he might be able to get this out." Jean nodded. "We have our roles. I guess we better get to it." "Yeah," I said, my voice echoing from my helmet. "The armor looks great, by the way," Jean commented, and I smiled. "Yeah? It''s not bad for a prototype. Stay safe, and if you need me¡­" "You''re a telepathic message away," she smiled, and I laughed. I turned intangible and exploded forward with a Burst, rushing to Rin''s side. He was in a brawl with an exhausted Cambion, which he was still soundly losing." The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Rin I got up to my feet with a huff as crimson energy rolled off me and my longsword and glared at N''tesh, whose complexion had somehow worsened throughout all of this. He''d stopped using energy to fight me, solely relying on his skills and a physical sword after I drained enough darkness energy from him mid-teleport and landed us in this abandoned alleyway somewhere inside campus. "I don''t need magic to put you in your place," he''d claimed derisively as he produced his blade. And it turns out he was right. N''tesh sprung forward, as did I. My blade slipped under his just before we clashed, and faster than I could react, he was behind me, his curved blade coming down on the crown of my head. A slight shift to the left helped me avoid the worst of the pain, and an energy-packed sweeping cut forced him back. He somehow managed to retract his blade in time, and I healed visibly before his eyes. I charged this time, cracking the pavement as I sprung forward. Just before I impacted, I saw the recognition in his eyes and marveled at his incredible athleticism. He was in the air before my sword fell, fracturing the ground around us. He kicked off the wall and shot down at a crazy angle, blade first. It was my turn to be slick; I stepped back just as he impacted and swung at him with a blade mostly devoid of energy. He rolled to the side to avoid it, but I was ready for him as he came up. My feet impacted the floor, destabilizing him enough for me to get close enough to pop him in the face. Unsurprisingly, he avoided most of the hit, but my fist grazing him was enough to send him tumbling to the side. I chased after him with a blade raised only to get a knife to the throat, stopping me in my tracks. Several others followed, drawn from shadowy clouds. They penetrated nerve clusters and tendons. In the span of an eye, I was a half-mobile pincushion, and I stomped the ground hard again, forcing him back when he tried to close the distance. I quickly yanked out the daggers he''d hobbled me with, only for fresh ones to replace them. I was not nearly fast enough to dodge them or absorb the budding energy in each blade. In a few seconds, I was bleeding out, covered head to toe in black knives, leaning against the far wall of the alley. Slowly, the demon stalked over with his Katana. "You''re disappointing for an Ascended, but that will change. You''ve only just awoken after all. Domina will be pleased by the unexpected boon." I yanked out the two daggers sticking out of my throat. "Is that what you tell yourself?" I croaked. "I know if I was your boss, I''d be pissed if you failed me, regardless of whatever consolation prize you show up with." N''tesh smiled for the first time since I''d met him. "You undersell yourself," he said before bringing the Katana to my neck. "Now, will you behave yourself or will I have to start cutting off body parts." "Fuck you," I seethed, and N''tesh shook his head as he raised his blade. With every ounce of desperation left in me, I screamed, forcing all of my energy out. It poured out of me like a dam. I caught the look of surprise in N''tesh''s eyes before he sheathed himself in a cloak of darkness. Crimson energy crashed down on the alley like a Tsunami, cracking the ground and the building around us and pushing N''tesh several feet back. My vision was blurry, and when it cleared, I caught N''tesh panting hard. He had blood running down his nose, eyes, and ears. His bloodied eyes flared as he stomped towards me. "I warned you," he roared and blurred forward, moving so fast he vanished in a flash of darkness. When he reappeared, his blade was inches from my face, held back by a white gauntleted figure. When I saw the rest of his medieval armor, I was confused and a little afraid until I spotted his dull purple eyes. "Bossman?" I asked, and Dante huffed. "Who else was it going to be," he snorted, his eyes never leaving N''tesh once, who debated whether to retreat or flee. He tried to remain stoic, but I saw the fear in his eyes. "See you unlocked your demonic powers," he said. "It''s about damn time. Now, I can actually make you decent weapons and armor." Dante''s left gauntleted hand suddenly burst into flame, and he swung at N''tesh, who finally abandoned his blade and dashed backward. He tossed me a vial filled with the same healing substance he gave me when we were back at the Hydra base. "Drink that up and give me some room. Watch closely. This is how you fight a Cambion." He produced a unique-looking blade that glowed ominously in red and started to pack it with demonic energy. N''tesh looked at Dante nervously and spoke. "Dante Sparda. You''re every bit as arrogant and conceited as the scouts report you are." "And you''re not very bright. Isha Storm Fire failed, and so did Thabo and Bastille. The last two are dead, and you''re fucking next unless you tell me where the bombs are." Bombs? I blinked. What bombs. Dante suddenly narrowed his eyes, and N''tesh''s slight look of worry morphed into complete fear. "You''re lying," he said. "And you''re fucking useless," Dante said dismissively and struck a strange sword stance with the blade pointed at N''tesh. The demon''s body tightened, and faster than I could blink, there was a bloody hole in his eyes. Dante swiped his blade to the left, and that was when I saw it: a line of compressed blood shooting at speeds I could not comprehend. N''tesh''s entire head exploded, and Dante deactivated his blade. "Did you make a blood sniper?" Dante grinned. "I did, and what did you learn from watching that?" "That you''re fucking crazy?" He tutted like a disappointed teacher. "Always have an Ace, and never let your enemy know you have one until it''s too fucking late." "Wise words," I said, deadpan, and he helped me up to my feet. "I hope you got a pick me up from his death because you''re going to need it." "We''re going after the bombs?" "Yup," he said. "We''re just waiting on back up." Chapter 130 Dr. Bruce Banner An argument broke out after Betty finished her explanation about the manual shutdown of the Reactor. We went into troubleshooting mode immediately. Everybody made a case for them to remain except the Chameleon Lady, who looked like she couldn''t get out of the room fast enough. The teleporter was convinced he had to be the last one out, so the slot was already filled. Betty and my assistant, surprisingly, argued that they were the second. Captain America even offered himself up, but I overruled them all. "I''m the second," I said in a tired but final voice. "What!" Betty turned to me, face twisted in confusion, then outrage. "No! Don''t you dare." "It has to be me," I said. "We can''t ask our assistant to sacrifice himself, and I''m sure as hell not letting you die hours after your father did." "You''re not sacrificing yourself." Betty said. "I''m dying, Babe. I''m the most disposable. The agents are modern-day superheroes and the best the government got. If these demons are as dangerous as they say, we''re going to need every last superspy." "The world needs you more," Natasha argued. "We can always train more agents. But only you can make another Captain America. He can make a real difference, and he has." "Doc, please. Listen to her," The Captain said. "Imagine how much of a difference another Supersoldier would''ve made during the war. How many lives he could''ve saved. You''ve seen firsthand what we''re up against. One of me doesn''t cut it anymore. Let me stand in your stead." I shook my head. "The world needs you here to lead the next generation," I said. "You''re the only man I can trust to oversee the future program." Slowly, I reached into my pocket, fetching one of the two vials of chemicals in my pocket. Belatedly, I realized that the second had cracked and the glass cut into my flesh. I wagered some of the Serum had even made it into my bloodstream. I handed the vial over to Becky. "Watch over her," I said to the Captain. "She knows the formula by heart. All of the notes are in a flashdrive beneath the bottom panel of my stove." I''d stuck my backup there for obvious reasons. I was ready to cook it, just in case. "With this you have everything you need..." "Don''t do this to me, Bruce," Betty begged, tears streaming down her cheek. "You can''t even stand. Listen to the Captain." It broke my heart, but I stayed my ground. "I''ll find the strength when the time comes," I said. "I have a few minutes left if I am lucky. I am dead anyways." The Captain set his shield down and gripped me by the shoulder. "I promise. I won''t let her out of my sight." "No!" Betty protested, turning to Kurt. "Don''t listen. Save him. I won''t help you if you don''t." The kid''s face twisted in confusion and discomfort, but ultimately shook his head. "I''m sorry." Betty shoved him back, tears streaming down her face. "Betty," The Captain spoke with a softer voice. "Bruce has made his decision. It''s no easy thing, sacrificing your life for the ones you love. Honor him." Betty stood there for a long moment, sweaty from the heat, eyes red from the tears. She held me close and kissed me. "I love you, Bruce." The grief nearly rendered me mute, but I told her I loved her. Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. She reluctantly untangled me, and the plan was set in motion. One by one, they vanished out of the room, teleported to safety by Kurt until I was eventually alone. As if their departure had been some type of sign, a strange strength flooded me, and suddenly, I was stronger and healthier than I''d ever felt. I rose to my feet unburdened by the pain of my wound, and when I lifted my bloody shirt and checked on it. I found that it had clotted. I laughed at the absurd turn of events. The supersoldier serum was working. The change was considerably slower than I calculated, but it was still all together¡ª The pain returned with a vengeance, and I hacked up a mouthful of blood. My knees grew wobbly, and I immediately knew what was wrong. I didn''t have enough formula, and the transformation was failing despite the overabundance of gamma radiation in the room. More. I needed more. I hobbled over to a shattered case formerly packed with uncompleted formulas and a scant few successes, tripping over a metal stool and spilling into a shallow puddle of unrecognizable chemical sludge. To my utter surprise, one of my successful Serum had survived the devastation of the demon. Retrieving it and extracting it into a syringe was utterly agonizing as my strength fled me. The syringe eventually went into my arm just as the kid flashed back into the room. My strength returned to me as suddenly as it fled. "You''re standing?" The kid asked with a startled voice as I pulled myself up, using the wall. "Let''s get to work while I still have fight left in me." Together, the kids released the metal cooling system and watched it drain into the active Reactor. It flowed from chamber to chamber until it passed by the fractured area of the containment unit. We waited with bated breath and nervously peered at the last monitor attached to the Reactor. The heat was steadily dropping despite the coolant leaking. "Will it be enough?" Kurt asked. "Maybe. If the temperature keeps dropping at its current pace. However, if the coolant runs out before then¡­half of the campus will evaporate in a green mushroom cloud." The kid gulped. "We''ll have to figure something out before then." "Unless you can¡ª" The values on the monitor suddenly spiked, clearing temperature scales faster than ever, and I realized we had seconds before the Reactor would go critical. "You need to Teleport it," I said, nervous sweat pouring down my face. "If you can dump it in the middle of the ocean then maybe we can avoid casualties." "I can''t!" the kid said with gritted teeth. The temperature was getting to him, too. "I haven''t been in the ocean before." I blinked. What did Kurt mean he hadn''t been in the ocean? He was a Teleporter! It was then I remembered he was blue. I didn''t imagine it would''ve gone over well for him. "What about a large forest, the Arctic, anywhere devoid of human life?" I asked, but his growing look of dread told me the kid was not as well-traveled as I hoped. "Get your boss on the phone then," I said, wracking my brain. "He has to have a site, an idea, something--." "I can help," a voice came from the room''s entrance, causing me and the kid to swivel around. It was a girl with flowing red hair draped in a long red coat. I recognized the voice, finally putting a face to the name. "Jean?" Kurt announced. "We thought¡­" "I''m fine," she said, a little too hastily, "and all caught up. I have an idea, but I''ll need to run it by the Dr. first." I blinked. "Sure¡­" "Is it safe to rip the Reactor up from its current location and toss it into a desert in the Artic?" "Yes!" I practically screamed. "Positively yes. The entire system was designed to be transported. We already decoupled it from most essential systems. Go crazy!" She nodded, pushed her hands forward, and twisted in a circular motion. A shimmering circle of golden materialized above the Reactor. Frigid winds poured out, providing us instant relief from the sweltering heat. Without much fanfare, she extended a sole hand toward the Reactor and pulled. I heard large groans as the chunk of metal hefted from the floor. She tenderly raised it, bringing it closer and closer to the Reactor. The monstrosity was halfway through the portal when I heard another crack. Shit. The fracture that started this mess enlarged faster than I could blink, and a cloud of gamma radiation poured out. Jean instantly raised a barrier as she tossed the Reactor through and pulled me backward. Kurt teleported, putting distance between himself and the Reactor, when he heard the second crack. Adept as Jean was, however, Jean couldn''t contain the cloud of radiation. A line seeped out and touched my skin, generating a sudden reaction. Green veins sprouted across my body as my heart sped up, and I was overcome with indescribable strength and rage. With a roar, I ripped through the Telekinetic restraint she''d placed on me when she''d saved me and charged through the shield she''d raised, separating us from the incoming gamma waves. My skin drank it all in, filling me with even more strength and rage. My muscles and skin started to ripple, and my bones creaked and grew. The pain was unlike anything I''d ever experienced. And it didn''t take me long to conclude that these were the unwanted consequences of abusing the Serum as I had. I just wanted the pain to stop. My eyes grew heavy, yet I felt fully awake, and as the last of the gamma fog cleared, my attention turned to Jean, who seemed to be observing with a mix of surprise and fascination. Not fear, though. A primal part of me seemed to roar in challenge at that. I WAS THE STRONGEST. HOW DARE THIS PUNY HUMAN! With an earth-shaking roar, I charged her and swung. My fist impacted snow instead of her face. She''d sent me through a portal faster than I could react. The temperature drop was so immediate that I grew unsteady despite my newfound strength. In the distance, I noticed the Reactor, still rapidly leaking gamma. On instinct, I bounded toward it. The containment finally gave out, and a wave of verdant green slammed into me. Everything faded to white. Chapter 131 and 132 Chapter 132 Dante Everybody on the council got on the call a few minutes before the bombs were supposed to go off, and we started brainstorming. "The answer is obvious," Tony Stark said. "We jam it or use a huge EMP. It will wipe out all comms on our side, but we can be sure the bombs won''t go off. I have a jammer in my lab you can portal over and get, but no one has an EMP large enough to cover that campus." "We do," I said. "It''s magneto obviously." "What are you going on about, boy?" Magneto demanded. "I know what your real mutation is," I said. "I''m clairvoyant, remember? You control the entire electromagnetic spectrum, not just metal. You could put an end to this fight before it even begins." Tony whistled. "That''s frankly mind-boggling. I mean the sheer potential is¡­" "World changing?" I questioned. Fury was uncharacteristically quiet. Rin, who was standing beside me, smirked, and Jean, already used to my antics, shook her head. "I''m beginning to get why the demons hate you so much," Magneto groaned. "What you''re proposing is possible, but drawing on that much power in my old age¡­will have consequences." "I''ve got a pick me up if you need it," I said. "You''ll be back to full health in seconds." "I find that hard to believe," Magneto countered. "If you had such an elixir why didn''t you give it to your apprentice?" "Frankly I didn''t think he''d need it, but I clearly underestimated the threat," I defended. "The point is Pietro has used it twice, and even Kurt has gotten a taste. You''ll be fine. The better question is are you even willing to do this? Risk your life for all of these non-mutant people." "I joined the Council, didn''t I?" Magneto grunted. "Get me that elixir, and I''ll take care of the rest." The rest of the meeting was a blur. Fury ordered Kurt to portal Magneto in, and Stark, Pietro, and I discussed backup plans. "I don''t doubt the old codger is powerful," Tony said, "but if he fails to perform, we could have a real mess on our hands. I say we get speedy over here to run down my jamming device. We can set it up just in case." "He will," I said. "Oh yeah?" Tony said. "Did your bullshit foresight powers tell you that?" "They''ve not stirred me wrong yet," I said. "Nonetheless, back up is prudent," Fury added. "I''ll have Kurt and Pietro set it up." Two minutes later, I was standing in front of a metal fountain in my cracked armor. Jean stood beside me in a red half-mask covering her face. ''Do you think this is going to work?'' she asked. ''His pride won''t let him,'' I said. ''Besides, he has too much to gain¡ªpublic display of heroism, scoring browny points with the public and other mutants. Plus, he doesn''t want to look inadequate in front of both of us.'' Magneto''s face scrunched in concentration, and my Devil''s eye flashed red, observing as pools of energy poured off of him. ''Why would he care what we thought?'' Jean asked, genuinely confused. ''You''re the strongest omega level mutant alive, and I am a powerful demon who can produce tonics powerful enough to heal virtually any wound. We''re his allies/competition.'' ''When you put it like that¡­it does make sense,'' Jean said. ''Still, on the off-chance that he does fail, we still have Kilgrave. It''s unclear whether she was just using him as another pawn, but he''s far too effective to sacrifice...but then again, Domina sacrificed her sister.'' ''I suppose all we can do is wait and see.'' Thankfully, we didn''t have to wait too long. Magneto''s eyes shone white, and a second later, a visible wave of energy poured out. It rolled out, cutting through cars, buildings, and everything in between. Lights winked out, cars stopped, and phones went dead. Magneto crashed down with a heave, and he started searching through his pocket desperately for the potion. He uncorked it and downed it greedily and visibly marveled as it regained color and his exhaustion vanished. I approached him with a smile. "You succeeded, as expected." He merely grunted. I tried offering him a hand as he rose to his feet, but he refused it. "Was there any doubt?" he asked, looking Jean''s way. Although our entire conversation had been telepathic, it didn''t take a genius to figure out what we were thinking. "I suppose we''ll know for sure in a few minutes," Jean said. "We''re two minutes out from the time limit." --- Things rapidly de-escalated after we set off the EMP. Jean sent out a mental command that herded people away from major centers, and we gathered the strike team, plus Magneto, Pietro, and Wanda. Wanda seemed to be chatting animatedly with her brother while I caught Rin passing her glances. I smirked and watched as the seconds ticked down to the dreaded deadline. It came and passed without event, and I let out a massive sigh of relief. Saving New York and capturing Isha wouldn''t have mattered, not certainly in the eyes of the World Council, the press, or our potential council members. T''challa and the Hellfire club were still in limbo, and from all accounts, Bruce thinks we''re heroes. There was also a side benefit for not blowing up. It meant I could look forward to gutting Domina. Speak of the Devil, the phone that Domina handed Kilgrave started to buzz in my pocket. I had protected it from the EMP Magneto let out by saving it in my vault. "Is that¡ª" Clint began. "Yeah," I said. "I suppose we should hear that the witch had to say." We all shared looks, but no one said a word. In one afternoon, Domina had cemented herself as my most terrifying adversary yet. I''d be lying if I said I wasn''t the slightest bit nervous. "You have him, don''t you?" Domina''s voice was silky and even. She sounded more amused than bothered. "Who, the Pedo-Rapist teenager playing as a man?" I questioned. "You really saved us the trouble of tracking him down." "Well, you can''t keep him," she chuckled. "Or what, you''ll blow up the campus?" I scoffed. "Everything with an electrical pulse is dead. You''ve failed on every front." "Have I now?" she mused, and my heart skipped a beat. "I heard you have a thing for bombs made with demon magic," she said. "Lethally effective, some might say, and unreliant on human means like, say electricity." "No," I shook my head, "you''re bluffing." "There are seven bombs scattered throughout campus, all set to explode 12 minutes from now. If you don''t give me what I want, I''ll have one of them go off." I exchanged nervous looks with everyone present, including Jean. She had her senses spread wide, searching for anomalies, but the campus was too fucking large. My eyes met Natasha''s, and I saw the doubt in them. "She has to be lying," Clint added. "Prove it," I demanded, and Domina laughed. The phone was quiet for a split second before an explosion went off in the distance. My breath hitched, and my chest tightened. "You asshole!" "Oh relax, big guy," she laughed. "That was on the edge of campus and completely deserted, and it is my only warning shot. Give him back to me all of the remaining bombs will go off." "I know you don''t want to hear this, but you have to give her what she wants," Clint was the first to speak, but everyone else was vehemently against him. "No," they sounded out like a chorus. Their words pulled in separate directions, but the choice became crystal clear when I looked into Jean''s eyes. "Well let him go, but we have conditions." Domina chuckled. "Do you think you''re in any position to negotiate." "Yes," I answered truthfully. "Considering how far you''re willing to go to save this asshole, you must fucking need him for whatever plot you have going on. I slit his throat and I kill your plans in its infancy. Sure, a ton of people will die on campus, but the mental calculus is really simple. A few hundred lives vs. the rest of the world. People might hate me for it, but you already have the entire underground world gunning for me, what''s a few billion more." "I know a bluff when I hear it." "Do you now?" I questioned as I stomped toward Kilgrave, who was gagged and bound. I socked him hard in the stomach, causing him to wretch, and I held the cell phone to his muffled mouth. The scream came out disjointed and muted, and everybody passed me looks, but no one outright objected either. On some level, they knew this was necessary, even Captain America. "Let''s get one thing straight Domina. I''m not in this to save the fucking world. I''m in it for revenge and paper. As long as the job gets done, I''m not sweating the collateral damage." "Son," Captain America spoke up, "you need to slow your roll." But I powered on. "Here''s what''s going to happen. You''re going to round up some demons and portal them over in 15 minutes to fetch Kilgrave. However, during those 15 minutes, you''ll tell us the location of every last bomb. If you try to trick us, he dies. Go against your word, and he dies. I could go on, but I think you get the gist." "You have some balls, I''ll admit, but what makes you think I won''t just decimate you during the exchange or keep coming after this is done." "Because you don''t the firepower," I said. "We have multiple Omega-level mutants on our side, a pissed-off sorcerer supreme, and enough information to dirt to bury all of your legitimate businesses." "I just burned New York to the ground. Do you think I care about what you do to my reputation?" "Maybe you should," I said. "You might not care, but I bet your other forty something siblings do. They''re scattered all over, aren''t they? It''d be a shame if everything you''ve been working toward disappears overnight." She let out a long, sonorous laugh. "Isha was talkative towards the end, wasn''t she?" "She didn''t have to be," I said. "I don''t know if you''ve heard but I''m clairvoyant." "You''re certainly dedicated to your bit," she mused, "and make fine points. I''ll trade you the information for Kilgrave. Obviously, if you fail to deliver him unspoiled, then--" This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it."Boom. I get it, but that deal goes both ways. I will personally slit his throat and then yours if you double-cross me." Domina was oddly forthcoming after our little discussion, but I wasn''t under the delusion that she was being straight with me. We raised an evacuation order for all seven locations Domina claimed to have supposedly hidden her bomb and split up into teams. Each one had at least one superpowered person. The ordinary agents were paired with the strongest of us. It was a blow to their egos, but it was necessary. Everyone who had been paying attention knew Domina would try to stab us in the back. After a brief conversation with Fury, we''d decided to set up a brutally effective contingency plan Jean had only been too glad to enact. Advanced mind control. With Jean''s control over her powers being more precise than ever, it was easy to mentally take Kilgrave off the board completely. First, Jean started with a complicated hypnotic trigger. She convinced Kilgrave that he''d bitten off his tongue during the fight and, as a consequence, lost the ability to use his powers. To make sure that Domina and her goons couldn''t somehow circumvent her trance when it went into effect. She built a wall around Kilgrave''s mind and installed a mental trip wire that would go off if somebody tried breaking or circumventing the wall. In the unlikely effect that she somehow failed, Jean embedded another trance that would make Kilgrave relive the powerlessness that all of his victims went through, using Jean''s experience as a base. The memory was supposed to replay hundreds of times and render Kilgrave suicidal. As if that wasn''t cruel enough, she slipped in one final command to make Kilgrave''s hallucinations a reality. "Bite your tongue and choke on your own blood." Fury didn''t know the particulars of her mental deadman switch, but I assured him it was considerable and effective. Surprisingly, he also approved of how I handled the negotiation with Domina. It was likely the best deal we''d get, considering the circumstances. Natasha was my partner in the bomb search, and we found our target easily enough. The entire time she walked she maintained a passive face and followed behind just as we planned, but her mind was frantic the entire time. Fury was worried by my sudden power-up and was fast-tracking something called Prometheus. I could''ve pushed further for it, but Natasha had considerable training with mind control, and I didn''t want to tip her and Fury off that I now had that ability. From what I gleaned from the surface of her mind, I got the impression that Prometheus was an advanced form of the Supersoldier Serum. Fury was desperate to replace me as number one, but Natasha thinks that even supersoldiers wouldn''t be enough to stop me if I went bad. She was searching for a potential pressure point but was on the fence about seduction. I didn''t strike her as particularly pliable, not anymore. Natasha and I found our bomb easily enough and slowly started to take it apart. After asking Nat to give me a considerable berth, I opened the containment and started to diffuse it. It didn''t blow up in my face as expected, and I was able to store the leftover parts in my inventory before moving on. Pretty soon, we were all assembled back at the square with all of the super-enabled members of our team and a few sonic tanks and high-powered rifles. Fury had not shown up himself, but he''d sent his best agents and firepower. Domina was dressed in a casual bomber jacket, a shirt, and jeans. The color of her hair and eyes gave her an exotic feel, and the amused smirk on her face reminded me of myself if I was a little more unhinged. "You came alone? You either have bigger balls than me¡­or you have some contingency plan and are about to double cross us." I identified her with Devil''s Eye. Domina, the Calamity Fourth Child of Belasco, and leader of the Hand and the Japanese Underground. She''s toppled countless gangs, crushed all vigilantes in Japan, and brought the entire country to heel in preparation for the arrival of the demons. She wields Density magic, is a martial master, and is an enchanter with considerable skill. "You said bring strong soldiers. I am the strongest," she said with a dismissive shrug. "Besides, did you think I''d miss a chance to see your¡­armor?" She raised a brow as she scanned my armor up and down¡ªher eyes lingering on the runes. "You''re just chock full of mysteries, aren''t you?" "Make one wrong move and he''s ash," I said to her, hand hovering over Kilgrave''s head. "I''d expect nothing else," she said. Kilgrave, who knelt beside me and Jean, looked up to Domina with hopes in his beady little eyes. Domina winked at him but then suddenly narrowed her eyes. Her lips formed a thin line. ''She knows somehow,'' Jean sent with a panicked mental message, and my muscles tightened. "I made you a promise, didn''t I?" She said, never taking her eyes off Kilgrave. "I always keep my promises." Several explosions went off in the distance, but they were nowhere near campus. It stunned me, even though I''d been expecting the double cross, and Domina used that to her advantage. Faster than I could blink, she was behind Jean punching. Her fist collided against a telekinetic shield. Domina didn''t break through, surprising her quite a bit, but Jean didn''t remain still either. The punch sent her and her bubble flying into the distance. I activated Devil Trigger just as she reached for Kilgrave. Black and Red fire swarmed around me and Kilgrave as I transformed using Devil Trigger. It reduced the mutant to ash and left me standing in front of Domina, who was wearing a vindictive grin. "You went back on your word," I said, "and now your man is dead." "He was dead the second that Telepath of yours got into his mind." "Then why did you come," I growled. "To see the kind of man I am fighting," she said. "I need to know how you think If I''m going to break you." I scoffed. "You''re not some fucking Saturday morning villain. Get over yourself." "Why don''t you come over and make me?" "I''ll enjoy ripping out your throat." "Not of we do it first," Magneto announced. The SHIELD agents opened fire, and the mutants struck. Metal rods speared out from the ground and bounced off her skin, and Wanda fired bolts of pink light at her. Waves of sonic cannon fire enveloped Domina, startling her slightly. I capitalized on the weakness by rocketing forward with a triple Burst and packing enough demonic fire in my fist to flatten a small building. I laid into her with a roar. Netherfire swallowed half of the square, instantly turning the metal statue to slag, melting the asphalt, and scorching the buildings several feet behind. When the fire mellowed out a bit, Domina was nowhere to be found. It was then I heard a cry behind me. She''d stuffed her hand through Kurt''s stomach and was gunning for Wanda next. I flashed in front of her, taking the blow with my crossed hands. Surprisingly, it shredded through my greaves and cracked the bones in my hands. Domina smirked as she swiped at me, aiming to swat me to the side, but Moment of Sage activated, and I went off on her. I flared my demonic energy, and instead of channeling Fire like I typically did, I channeled Density. My energy shifted, gaining an ethereal Marron cloak, and the ground underneath me shattered as my Density skyrocketed. There was a thunderclap when my fist collided with her face. It shoved her back several dozen feet, drawing a line in the asphalt. A line of blood trailed down her mouth. "Not bad," she said, licking her lips. "Fire, Density, and strange Angel Magic. You''re just as interesting as your brother. Shame I don''t have more time to fight you. Your little sidekick is here." On Cue, the ground underneath Domina suddenly shattered as Jean landed beside me, furious. She unleashed all of her telekinetic might on the Cambion, rooting her firmly in place. I immediately went for the opening, filling my body up with even more energy as I charged her. She locked eyes with me even as Jean''s hold over her tightened. Domina winked at me before vanishing. ---- Domina I reappeared in my bedroom at the Tokyo headquarters with a scowl on my face and blood running down the side of my cheeks. They were better than I expected, much stronger. After Kilgrave, N''tesh, and Isha failed, I''d been hoping they''d be weaker, but it was clear I''d underestimated Dante and his girlfriend yet again. The other mutants would''ve been a breeze, even the metal manipulator, but Dante had somehow managed to match me and draw blood. That should''ve been¡­impossible. I wiped off the blood from my chin as the cut on my lip started to heal. I sensed a presence approaching my room. "Come in," I commanded before the Cambion even knocked, and she walked in. She froze when she saw my face. She was one of the younger Cambion, not even 20 years old, but if she''d been two decades older, the shock would''ve still been the same. Domina Belasco did not bleed. I could already see the panicked thoughts running through her mind. "Stop gawking and give me a mission report, Agora," I snapped. "We''re we successful? Did you get the viruses." "Yes," she said with a deep bow and then added slowly, "but I was not able to remain undetected. One of the guards at the New York facility was a mutant. He attacked, I killed him, and everything spiraled out of control from that point." I fixed her with an annoyed glare, and I was tempted to reduce her head into a fine mist, but that''d be wasteful, and besides, we got what we needed. The humans won''t be able to stop it anyway. "These things happen," I waved. "You did well, Agora." Nobody liked getting their asses kicked, but achieving two of the four goals I''d set out to accomplish put me in a good mood. The serum was an excellent start, but the Viruses were what it was all about. The humans had already lost the war; they didn''t just know it yet. It didn''t matter whether they know we were coming. Biological warfare was outlawed for a reason. Chapter 133 Yao Before Dante vanished to deal with the threat that Isha hinted at, my hands were already moving, forming a complicated Mandala that restrained most demonic energy, provided the demon was weakened enough. The spell wouldn''t last forever, but It''d hold long enough to wring out every last secret that she had to hide. Isha glared at me, but I did not dignify her anger with so much as a brow raise. The spell enveloped and paralyzed her in a multicolored mandala, going so far as to block her mouth just in case. Kaecilius emerged from a portal alongside Mordo with barely veiled irritation. It was no mystery how he felt about Isha. She was responsible for the death of his family. His entire life at the order had been leading to this very moment. I had to choose my words carefully. "What are you doing here?" I asked Kaecilius. "You''re supposed to be at the Brazilian branch." "It''s quiet on that front," he said, "and I''ve allocated several apprentices to keep watch of critical locations and potential targets. Nothing goes on without me finding out first." Kaecilius eyes never left Isha the entire time he spoke. "If you''ve come to see her die, you will be sorely disappointed," I said. "She''s far more useful as an informant, unwilling or not." "And when Jean is done with her?" he asked. "Then maybe a bargaining chip," I admitted, seeing no use lying to him. "There''s a child still stuck in Limbo, Ilyana. I''d prefer we retrieved her sooner rather than later." Kaecilius frowned. "And what of my own child? My wife? You promised me justice!" "Yes, I did promise you justice, but not revenge," I said firmly. "We cannot allow our passion to drive us, Kaecilius." The older sorcerer bunched his hands and vibrated in rage. "Aren''t you driven by sentimentality and memory yourself, sorcerer supreme? You made two people who''ve never practiced sorcery a day in their life your apprentices because you knew the father of one and are mildly fascinated by the other. Never mind that Dante''s twin brother burned the demons and our order so badly both side lost hundreds in the aftermath. And let''s not forget how ''stable'' Jean Grey is. You''re a hypocrite!" Gagged, Isha still managed a laugh. "And you''re dangerously close to dismissal," I said in a scathing voice. "Do you presume you''re wiser and more capable than I am? Perhaps you know the thousands of Spells I do and have antiquated yourself with the dozens of extra-dimensional threats that knock at the doors of our dimension? Both of my apprentices just saved New York and routinely provide information and abilities that put us ahead of the demons. If anything, it''s your impetuousness that puts us all at risk. Abandoning your post to look at a rival you seek to kill? I thought I taught you better. Return to Brazil, Kaecilius. I will not repeat myself." The man''s upper lip grew stiff as he met my gaze but refused to move. It wasn''t until Mordo pleaded with him that he budged. "I see you for what you are," he said as he turned his back to me and opened a portal to the Brazilian branch. "This is not over." "It is," I said with a sigh. Before Kaecilius could enter the portal, somebody came running out. This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it It was a lithe woman with scars running down her cheeks. "Our spies just reported that N¡¯topi has vanished from his mansion. He apparently told of the girls he entertains that he''s on his way to the Disease Center?" My eyes went wide. "The Disease Center?" Ntopi was a Cambion who specialized in water manipulation and had quite a reputation for his pride and appetite for all things decadent. If the demons can get even him to cooperate¡­then there was something larger afoot, and it went far beyond Domina. "You don''t think they''d go so far as biological warfare?" Mordo asked. "They will with Domina at the helm," I answered, a bit of concern sipping into my voice. "What about the international treaties, the laws!" Mordo was aghast. "Don''t they realize the destruction they can cause?" "I don''t think they care," Kaecilius said. "If they can knock down a third of the population or eliminate us altogether, they''ll have an easier time taking over." The Brazilian sorcerer looked horrified. "What are you orders, Ancient one?" "Return to your post and secure the prisoner in the deepest pits of Kamar-Taj. Double-check all of the suppression runes," I said. "The New York center was also hit, if memory serves. The attack might be global. Gather the masters, we''re visiting every major disease center worldwide." We arrived at the Brazilian facility just in time to see Ntopi stroll smash through the front door of the establishment. I immediately entered the mirror dimension and charted ahead. I arrived at the main storage room behind a series of vaults and materialized in front of a scientist who was frantically pulling out several test tubes and transporting them to a trolley in front of a door tagged ''Incinerator'' in Portuguese. The scientist was so stunned that he nearly dropped the tray of diseases he held. With one swift movement, I snatched the tray from him and bumped him on the head, expelling his soul from his body. "Master, what are you doing?" Mordo, the only master to escort me into the facility, asked. "Getting some information and laying down the ground work." The scientist was screaming and talking so fast I feared he''d lose consciousness from hyperventilating. Thankfully, he was out of his body. I spoke calmly as I began to weave an undetectable tracking spell on several disease vials. I layered it with one of Detection, which would alert me if somebody tried to uncork the bottle. The third was an incineration spell that would reduce the vials to ash. "I know you''re afraid and confused," I said to the scientist in perfect Portuguese, "but you''ll have to find your courage quickly. You know what N''topi is." I could see it in his eyes that he was scared beyond belief, but he answered anyway with a nod, and we got to talking. Everybody knew who N''topi was. To the public, he was a local hero who achieved immortality through mystical means, but the scientific community had long concluded he was a Mutant. N''topi didn''t make it a habit of flaunting his ''mutation'' in public. He already had thousands who propped up his legal and illegal businesses, but there was always hell to pay when he acted personally. So, when John saw N''topi approach the disease center on foot, he just assumed he was after the viruses and diseases and was in a hurry to destroy them. He became nervous when I told him I wanted N''topi to escape with some of the vials, specifically my charmed ones. We obviously destroyed the more dangerous viruses¡ªall of the fast-acting, incurable ones and extreme strains¡ªbut kept the common viruses and diseases. I had John hide out in the incinerator when N''topi finally entered the lab. He was covered in blood, some of them his, but most from the human he gutted. He yakked as he flicked the blood off him in disgust. With a wave of his hand, N''topi produced a cooler he had in a ring with him and surveyed the room. He had caramel skin with deep blue eyes and didn''t look a day over 25. If memory served, he was 80 years old. He chortled when he spotted John in the incinerator, and I hadn''t even needed to ask him to act. John started backing away, eyes nervously darting towards the big red button outside the room that said, ''ON.'' N''topi laughed gregariously. "All that intelligence and you don''t know you''re supposed to stand outside the incinerator, not in." He looked at the button, then at the open freezer, which still had rows of viruses in all categories. It didn''t take long for him to put it together. N''topi stalked over to the door of the incinerator and cracked a smile. "You should''ve met me face-to-face like a man. I could''ve offered you a better death." He slammed the button, and the incinerator erupted in fire. John was screaming out his lungs before the flames even brushed him, and he continued to do that long after I teleported him out of the room and the facility. His scream never reached N''topi''s ears because of the air-tight seal on the door. N''topi''s eyes lingered on the incinerator for a moment before he went about his business, very much pleased with himself as he transported the viruses into his ring.
Chapter 134 Pietro cycled through several news channels to the same word and video. Infernal Knight Infernal Knight Infernal knight. He finally settled on one channel hosted by a young J. Jonas Jameson¡ª future spidey''s biggest detractor. "This so-called Infernal Knight is unlike anything we''ve ever seen," he said steadily. A video started to play. It was of me wielding short swords as I ripped through the supersoldiers, threatening a woman. I remembered it clearly. It happened just before I hurried over to Tony Stark. The video slowed down, yet it looked like I was skipping through frames. The video froze after I burned one of the infected soldiers, turning them to ash. "He''s a true monster, and unlike anything we''ve seen so far. He can control literal hellfire, and he seems to be on speaking terms with the some of the mutant freaks who tried leveling the city." Another still popped up. It was of me trading words with Bastille and Thabo before the fight started. "This is like what happened 20 years ago, but worse. The mutants are attacking again, but this time they have an army and a potential inside man on their side. Don''t let ''heroics'' fool you. He ripped through his kind and burned human beings like they were things and not people. Those are the actions of a psychopath masquerading as one of the good guys. And if you can''t see that, I fear for all of us. Fucking Jameson with his conspiracy theory bullshit. I swallowed a gulp of whisky and waved at Pietro, who sat beside me. "Turn that shit down. I''ve heard enough." "Well, I haven''t," he complained, but he did as I asked. "Where''s my close up in the lime light. I did help save New York and the campus!" "If it will get the news reporter off my ass, I''d gladly swap places with you." I said as I picked up the whiskey bottle on the table of the abandoned bar and poured myself another half-glass. Jean, who''d been lingering in the corner, spoke. "Don''t let it get to you." "Well, that''s a little hard not to be a bit upset when you spent the better part of your day killing demons and negotiating with a deranged Cambion," I said. "It''s one thing if the world doesn''t know about you, it''s another if they blame you." "Come on, no one in their right mind will blame you. You''re a fucking hero, boss!" Rin hollered. He''d been sitting in the corner, making googly eyes at Wanda. They''d been sharing a telepathic conversation that Pietro had been quietly monitoring with one eye. "Some won''t see it that way," Magneto said from the bar''s edge. He''d been repeatedly stretching and folding his hand after I gave him the potion. "He might''ve saved New York from certain destruction, but all they will focus on is hellfire breathing monster. People fear what they don''t understand, and soon, they will hate you just as much as they hate me." There was a stretch of silence before I spoke. "I doubt that. Trying to take over the white house should rank higher on the totem pole than Fire breathing vigilante." "I suppose we will see, won''t we?" Magneto said as he got up and walked through the shattered wall of the bar. I let out a groan and shook my head. "Why are you bothered by this?" Wanda asked. "After the speech you gave to the demon, I just assumed you didn''t care what people thought?" "I don''t," I said, "not really, but I have a hunch about how all this plays out, and I don''t like it one bit." If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. "See the future?" Pietro asked. "More like lived through enough shit to see the dagger coming for my back," I swallowed another gulp and poured myself another glassful. I could''ve handled the bombing better, but I have flipped it over and over again and couldn''t arrive at a better choice given our time. The mind control should''ve been undetectable given how skilled Jean had gotten with it, and Domina''s domain was Density, not fucking mental magic! The entire thing was fucked. It should''ve worked, yet the bitch had somehow been ahead of us this whole fucking time. I emptied the glass with a single gulp. This was my screw-up, and either way Fury chooses to play this, there will be hell to pay. "I can''t tell you how much of a bummer being unable to stay buzzed is." My active regeneration got rid of it before I got the chance I could feel the full effect. "You telling me!" Pietro chuckled. "Try having the metabolism of a speedster." I raised my glass to him. "To drinking alcohol for the taste." Pietro laughed. "Said nobody ever." --- Tony Stark I reached Fury''s office just as he finished his meeting and caught the tail-end of their screaming match. It was about the New York attack and the bombing at Culver University. I could barely make out the muffling, but I picked up enough. "You need to get out in front of this¡­" "The smart ones have already put it together. They know the things that attacked New York are probably not mutants¡­" "I''d be putting him in the line of fire," Fury argued. "He''d be in no actual physical danger," one voice argued. "After his display in New York, there''s only a handful of people on file that could possibly oppose him?" "Still, he''s not going to like this," Fury said. "He doesn''t have to like his orders to follow them," someone said, "Or are you maybe admitting to have finally lost control of your demon?" "He''s been cooperative from the start," Fury said. "Don''t start a fight we cannot finish right now." "You have your orders, Fury," someone said. "Get to it so that we can put this mess behind us. They talked for several more minutes before Fury emerged from his office with an exasperated look. "How much of that did you hear?" "A little too much," I said. "What do they want you to do to the kid?" "Something we might live to regret," he said enigmatically. "No secrets, Fury. Remember that was our deal." Fury did not answer for a long moment. "They want me to blame him for the bombings." "What!" I blurted out. "The white-haired Goth chick set off those bombs." "After Dante and his girlfriend provoked her by installing a killswitch in the mind of her lieutenants." I scoffed. "You saw the specs on that psychopath. What he could do to people? Trading him in intact was the wrong call." Fury didn''t disagree. "It doesn''t change the fact that he made the call." "And you rubber stamped it," I said, "and now you''re leaving him out to dry?" "Left up to me I''d give him a medal for what he managed to pull off. And if he was anybody else, I would''ve to bat for him, but the kid is playing his own angle, and I have to play mine." I didn''t like how he was playing this, but at least he was somewhat upfront with me. "He''s going to get crucified by the media," Fury said, "but he''s the hero that saved New York and help stop a catastrophic attack on the Culver Campus. With enough PR management, he''ll bounce back just fine." PR help that Fury will be providing moments after raking him over the coals. "You said the kid had an angle, What''s yours Fury?" "It''s about time I showed you why I brought you here." We stopped in front of a wall panel with a classical painting of the Greek God Prometheus, except instead of being bound, he shattered his chains and sent the vulture and snakes to feast on him running. "Prometheus Free," Fury said. "An old classic I found from an obscure painter." I raised a brow. "You could''ve taken me to a museum if you wanted to show me weird art, Fury. What''s behind the wall?" "How we win," Fury said and took a step forward. A tiny panel beside the painting opened, and a light flashed, scanning Fury''s eye. With a loud hiss, the wall holding the painting slipped into the wall, revealing an elevator. We climbed onto it together, and the Elevator took us down a few dozen floors to an open construction area with hundreds of people milling about. Machine whirred, light flickered, and at the room''s center was a metal giant twice as tall as most men. It was missing its head, yet I still recognized it. "Is that one of Trask''s designs?" I asked with a squint and some jealousy. My humanoid robotic projects had fallen to the wayside in favor of military contracts. "I''ve read your patents," Fury said. "And while I know that Trask might look like he''s ahead now, his works has nothing on your concepts and prototypes. I''d like you to start your program again with full military funding, learning what you can from Trask''s work. Dante is great, but we can''t always rely on him." I almost tuned Fury out as I drank in the sights. My mind whirred at the possibilities, and I thanked my lucky stars for working out something concrete. Still, I was convinced I''d come out with the shorter end of the deal. "I''ll be bringing in my own team, and I want full control," I said. "But you''ll do it?" "I will," I grinned. Chapter 135 Chapter 136 Domina With a loud crack, I appeared in front of a hall guarded by mercenaries draped in fitted suits that hid their firearms well. I found it amusing that they''d go through the effort of pretending. As if their earpieces didn''t give them away. "They''re expecting me," I said. The larger of the pair placed his hand on his ear briefly before he nodded to the other. "The Hellfire Club welcomes you, Ms. Belasco," the smaller man said with an even voice. He squeezed the door handle and let me into a large lavish hall with four people sitting atop a dais, conversating. Seated at the center was Sebastian Shaw, the Black King, a ruthless industrialist and entrepreneur whose greed rivaled even my own. He murdered his predecessor quite brutally if memory served. To his right was Emma Frost, the White Queen and head of the Frost International. She was an incredible alpha-level Telepath with a secondary mutation that made her impervious to nearly all physical attacks. To Sebastian''s left was Azazel, a dimensional traveler with considerable mastery of spacetime and other magics that even Belasco does not fully understand. He had some strange beliefs about mutant-kind and used ritual magic like the devil he pretended to be, but his motivations were somewhat clear¡ªpower and domination. Norman Osborn sat to the far left, and he was the least powerful in the group, physically at least, but he made up for that inadequacy with an astonishing amount of wealth and influence. Oscorp was a world leader in cutting-edge science, pharmaceutical, experimental bioscience, weapon design and manufacturing, and several other fields. Obviously, he was the weak link of the group. "I was beginning to fear I''d never hear back from you." "A week is no time at all," Sebastian Shaw said. "Oh?" I raised a brow, teasing him slightly. "You clearly know that''s not true. Time is currency when you''re on our level, and I will wase no more of yours by beating around the bush." My eyes surveilled the room one last time before I began to speak. "Our war with the surface is at an end," I said, "and we''re going to win. We have enough soldiers to match the world largest armies, the advantage of instant teleportation, and magic unlike anything this world has ever seen. All that is left is figuring out where the most influential men and women around the world stand." "The people seated in this room control a fraction of the world''s resources," Frost spoke up with a contemptuous tilt of her lips, "and are very much interested in keeping it on its current course. How did you expect us to react?" "Curiosity, I hope," I said. "In exchange for your support, we''re prepared to accelerate the club''s goal. World Domination. However, instead of spending years scheming and beating back the likes of SHIELD, Xavier''s rugrats, and the United States government, you get your own private chunk of the new world." Azazel leaned into one of his armrests as he observed me. "Why share? I''ve never known your kind to be benevolent." I shrugged. "We will need someone to rule over what''s left of the masses." "And how much of them do you intend to purge?" Norman Osborn spoke up with barely veiled venom. "Your little hunt for the rogue demon took out several city blocks, and you bombed a university! I''ve seen how you operate. There will be nothing to rule over when you''re done." The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. I fought back a grin. He was right, of course. Left to the First and second born, we''d take the more careful and methodical approach, spend several years creating the Ascendants, ensuring our victory before we raised a finger, but I was tired of waiting. Revenge for Isha was just an excuse to attack New York. However, hunting down the Son of Sparda was never the point. Acquiring my bribes were. "You''re not seeing the bigger picture Mr. Osborn," I said. "Earth was always going to be conquered, if not by us, then by the thousand other empires roaming the wider galaxy. To them, Earth is just a backwater world with too many resources and not enough defenses. Although our takeover will be bloody, we have the resources to pull this planet out from the depth of obscurity. Dead humans can be replaced with cloning, and cities erected in weeks instead of years. Your wealth might take a temporary hit, but you''ll be richer than ever in a few short decades. Now, if your real fear is that you''ll not grow old enough to reap the spoils of conquest, I have an easy enough solution to that problem." In my palm appeared a vial containing a reproduction of the Super Soldier Serum. Despite Banner''s best efforts, he actually hadn''t perfected the Serum as he''d assumed. Gamma radiation produced inconsistent results. When you swapped it out for Blood magic, however, the results were stable¡­and nothing short of astonishing. Osborn''s eyes went wide. "Is that¡ª" "The Super Soldier Serum?" I completed. "Yes, and perfected. A personal sample just for you. I will also provide the formula and the binding agent we used to stabilize it. The blind research can stop," I said. "I''m serving you the answers to your son''s condition on a silver platter. He will live, and you get a significant life extension, along with the means to make a super soldier army of your own." Just when I had Osborn leaning forward so hard he nearly fell out of his chair, I vanished the serum. One down, three to go. "I, of course, did not forget the rest of the council," I smiled. "Mrs. Frost. With Xavier out of the way, I imagine you might want to finally realize your dream of becoming an educator and helping your kind. Any mutant under your protection will receive full immunity." Emma''s eyes widened slightly, unable to hide her surprise. I turned to Sebastian next. "What do I give the man who already has everything? Family perhaps. I recently laid eyes on your son. He shares the same mutation you do." Shaw, who''d remained impassive all this while, finally showed some emotion. It was a bewildering surprise. "Where is he?" he demanded, and I raised a finger and tsked. "All in good time." Finally, I looked to Azazel, the most enigmatic of the bunch, and spoke with absolute confidence. "It was difficult, parsing what an interdimensional mutant who plays as the devil would want, but after some thought, it seems obvious¡ªa way back home. Limbo has entire departments of demons who specialize in Interdimensional travel. You only need to ask, and we will get you there." "If I didn''t know better, I''d think you were my kin," Azazel said. "You charm and seduce like the best of them, but do you have the authority to make the promises you have? Belasco is conspicuously absent, as are the First and Second Born. You''re what? Only the fourth most powerful offspring. Last I checked, the war against the surface was Corvus''s domain." I predicted Azazel would have some knowledge of our internal affair, but not to this extent. Then again, I''d expected some resistance. "Plans changed after Sparda''s boy injured Isha. Jean Grey also offhandedly killed one of the most powerful telepaths in recent history. Allied with the sorcerers, they''re a threat even we cannot ignore." "Still to change decade-long plans over some teenagers, and to put someone so young at the helm¡ª" "It is radical, but it''s the obvious choice," I said. "You seem to forget that I am the head of the Hand and brought Japan to Heel in a few short years. Who better to mete out justice to an errant demon and his precocious little girlfriend." "But you failed, didn''t you?" Frost questioned. "It''s all they talk about on the news. Two more of your kind are dead by his hand, and possibly a third. And as far as I can tell, Jean Grey is still alive." "They were more resilient than I anticipated," I admitted, "and they had some help. The Brotherhood has thrown in their lot with them, as have SHIELD. They grow more dangerous by the day, and by some miracle if they manage to delay our invasion, they''ll be coming after you next. The demon kid you''re so quick to dismiss claims to be Clairvoyant. Who knows what he knows." Shaw raised a brow. "Are you trying to intimidate us into working with your kind?" "Wouldn''t dream of it," I said innocently. "I''m simply presenting you with the facts. Do with it what you will. Anyways, you''ve heard my offer. You know what I want. I eagerly await your response." With that, I spun around and made my way towards the door. It opened when I knocked. None of the members said a word until they thought I was out of earshot, but it was clear I had them thinking. Frost suggested reaching out to Wen Wu, the Mandarin, to review their options before making a final choice. Still, it was clear which direction the majority of the inner circle was leaning. Chapter 136 Dante "Jesus, this is already getting old," I sent as I pulled off my cloaking mask. ''I could try telepathically cloaking our faces, but I don''t have enough practice with it to test it in public,'' Jean said as she pulled her mask off as well. ''Besides, it won''t do anything for Cameras.'' ''If shit ever slows down, maybe I could finally get some rest and study my shapeshifting affinity more.'' ''Rest,'' Jean hummed. ''it''d be nice if we had more of that, though I suspect we''ll be getting much of either after today. The Mansion in Alaska is finally done. We''re ready to move.'' It''d been a day since the attack on New York, and we were headed to the New York SHIELD headquarters to finally deal with the mutant sorting. It was nasty business, conscripting the mutants to fight for our side, but it had to be done. We needed more soldiers. The Demon attack highlighted how ill-prepared we were for the demon threat. We were more vulnerable than ever, and while it was great that we had Isha to drain for intel, I had an inkling she''d be less help than we thought based on how quickly Domina had been willing to sacrifice her. More than anything, the experience had me reassessing my performance and my skill set. My skills were in dire need of upgrading and combination. I''d managed it once when I created Myriad Martial Arts, and I was also thinking about my arcane smithing skills and other mundane skills. I was also in great need of a few choice skill purchases and creations. Alchemy, so that I could produce healing potions myself instead of buying them every bloody time, and perhaps the six eyes to increase my perception to a ridiculous degree and help me drastically improve my energy control. It was the secret to significantly cheaper skills, smoother skill creation, improved combat, and using demonic and angelic energy to augment my physical abilities more precisely. There was also crafting, finalizing the enhancement formula, and training every member of the primary team. There was so much to do with so little time. I sighed. Kurt and Natasha were waiting for us when the doors finally opened. "Already back to work?" I asked Kurt. "Fury is a real slave driver, isn''t he?" He''d just finished healing from the hole that Domina punched through him. Two Health potions had done the trick. I was happy to help, but it hadn''t been cheap. Kurt touched his chest in faux pain. "There''s no place where I''d rather be," he said. "This is important." That it was. "Natasha," I nodded at the spy. "Always a pleasure." She did not reciprocate. "Fury wants you to drop by after the scans have been handled." "Why?" I asked, reading Natasha''s mind. Oddly, it was blank, and I knew the reason why. Natasha had been training her mind to remain guarded around Jean. "You''ll have to ask him when you see him." I could''ve pushed further to unearth the secret that Natasha had been trying to hide, but I shrugged instead. "I guess I''ll find out eventually." Kurt led us through the facility until we arrived at a huge mess hall. The mutants stood up when they saw us. A few were perched up in the rafters of the room. The hostility rolled off them in waves, and I nearly snorted in disbelief. Didn''t these jackasses remember the shitstorm we went through trying to save their ungrateful asses. "The psychic and her boy toy," A buff blond guy huffed with his arms folded. By reading his mind, I could tell that he was easily one of the strongest mutants in the facility, and he was not a fan of Fury''s plan. The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. "Come to do the government''s bidding like the little lapdog that you are?" he scowled. "I already told Blue Skin and his G-men friends, we ain''t letting you touch our heads." A few other mutants lined up behind him, ready to back whatever asinine play for power he was about to embark on. "Jean doesn''t actually need to establish physical contact to use her Telepathy," I said, flashing him a shit-eating grin. "In fact, she''s probably done." I knew I was. I didn''t need Telepathy to know that Garret was guilty, but even I was impressed by his rap sheet. He had a fairly successful criminal career for somebody so dumb. He''d done it all from murder, to robbery, racketeering, extortion, fraud. Hell, the only redeeming quality the asshole had was that he wasn''t a rapist. His crimes numbered in the hundreds, and he''d have grown to be a local crime boss if Hydra hadn''t captured him. Ari, a blonde, diminutive girl, had quite the body count. Her mutation¡ªacid breath¡ªmade her deathly lethal to anyone who got too close. Living on the street, she had to defend herself more than a few times. The third killer was a girl named Lauren with a mutation that made her deathly accurate up to a ridiculous distance. She had the perception and accuracy to sheer off the wing of a fly with a knife and had been forced to use that talent for Hydra repeatedly. In fact, her job was so off-book that only Strucker knew about it. She didn''t seem too worried about the sorting, though, confident that we''d find her too useful to pass up. Finally, there was Armando Munoz. I got a strange feeling about him with my Devil''s Eye. His energy signature was constantly in flux, and reading his description explained why. He had a mutation called Reactionary Evolution. It took only a fraction of a second for me to realize he was the famous future X-men called Darwin. He had the unique ability to adapt to external stimuli to ensure his survival, and according to everyone else here. He''d accidentally killed more than a few scientists during experimentation. When SHIELD found out just how special he was, they''d started collecting blood from every mutant in the facility, but they all knew in the back of their minds this was about Adam. After all, it had happened before. When Jean tried to read his mind, she managed to get a surface-level read on him before he rebuffed her, suddenly evolving a mind shield even better than my own. I raised a brow at the interaction, and Garret continued to run his mouth. He jabbed his meaty fingers at me. "Don''t think we don''t get the news down here. You''re just as guilty as we are, Inferno Knight. You''ve killed far more people than everybody in this room combined." Hell, he was probably right. "And I bet the red head is not far behind." "That''s enough, Garret," Kurt finally spoke up. "I was on that mission, and that campus only survived because Jean and Dante were there. Things could''ve been so much worse." Garret scoffed. "Of course you''ll defend them. When he does it, its fine, but when we do it¡ª" "It''s to get revenge on a guy who looked at you the wrong way," Jean said, "or ''teach'' other rich girls not to flash their money. What about the last girl you killed before Hydra found you, what did she do wrong, except stand in your way." "You''re one to talk," he said defensively. "You burned down an entire school!" "And no one died except a mind-rapist who probably got off to fucking easy," I said, stopping Garret in his tracks before he got started again. "You''re not weaseling your way out of this shit. You need to get that into your thick skull. You shot and mugged and killed and after this shit is over, you''ll get dragged to court. So, why don''t you stop being a fucking pain in the ass and let the government keep you from becoming just another member of the demon army. I''ve seen what happens when they get their hooks in you. There is no coming back from that. So, big man. Pick your poison. Would you rather be a mindless demon slave that I''ll have to cut down eventually or behave and get protection from the United States." Garret''s mouth flopped open and closed as his mind raced for a rebuttal. However, it was Lauren who spoke up. "What about you?" she asked. "There''s no way in hell you didn''t do shit, before this hero business started." "True," I said, "but I didn''t delight in the murder and suffering of others like your boy Garret did. I was able to cut a deal with the government because of that. And I bet just about everybody here will be able to do the same, as long as your past isn''t too heinous. Isn''t that right, Nat?" Natasha gave me the side eye. I was basically putting the government on the spot and asking them to grant amnesty to a bunch of mutants with uncontrollable mutations. Fury won''t like that one bit. "You shouldn''t expect the same deal Dante got," she said. "He does a lot than just fighting for the government, but we should be able to do something about your charges if you cooperate." "Come on guys," Garret huffed. "You can''t believe them, right?" Lauren shared a look with Ari and the rest of the mutants. "We''ll work for you, but we won''t be putting our lives on the line for a maybe. We want something in writing, good pay, and a chance to get back our old lives." "I''ll have to talk to the director, but," Natasha said, "I''m optimistic." It was not what they''d expected to hear, but it was the best deal a bunch of former criminals could hope for. The sorting went off without much of a problem after that. Garret was promptly detained, while the rest of the children and adult mutants were given a chance and uniform, all under Fury''s say so. I would''ve advocated for them, but I was still recovering from the last time I did that. I made my way to Fury''s office next, curious to see how he''ll try to spin throwing me under the bus. Chapter 137 Chapter 138 I settled down in Fury''s chair with a loud sigh, and I was tempted to throw my leg over his table, but I could tell from screening his mind on the surface level that his kiddie-friendly view of me was gone. My new appearance unnerved him, especially the purple eyes. He was reviewing the fight he recorded of Isha and me in his head again and again, concerned about the fallout of my exposure to the world. "Funny thing happened when I turned on the news today," I said to Fury. "The government released an official statement, outing the Inferno Knight as a contractor called in to deal with the Demon threat. Apparently, I was instrumental in stopping the attack on New York, but the pressure of the day finally got to me at Culver''s college, and my ''decisions,'' led to three bombs going off." "It is what happened," Fury said, deadpan. "The world was eager to know, and we couldn''t stay silent forever." "I''m not sure what''s more surprising," I said, "the fact that you admitted Demons are real or that you admitted that I was only a ''contractor.''" Fury poured himself a glass of Whiskey and took a sip. "If I recalled, it was you who wanted that deal. If you''d been an official member of SHIELD¡­" "You would''ve still left me out to dry," I said offhandedly. "You needed a scapegoat and I had made those calls in the heat of the moment." "SHIELD leaves no man behind," Fury corrected with a stern look, and I could tell that on the surface, he believed that, but deep down, he knew that wasn''t always true. "That video didn''t help either," he said, and I huffed. "The public was desperate, we needed to tell them something." "You could''ve remained quiet about my involvement, you know? Retain plausible deniability. Blame the actual bombing on Domina." "And risk provoking a trigger-happy enemy? We also couldn''t very well let the public in on the inner-workings of SHIELD. You were the only player left on the board." He said Player, but I knew he meant pawn. "Still, I can''t help but feel like I''m walking away with the short end of the deal," I said. "My identity is shot. I''ve not even debuted as a hero and any idiot with a laptop can piece together my secret identity. You fucked me over, and I''m guessing you called me in here not to apologize. You have another mission for me, don''t you?" Fury sighed and took a long swig. "I''ll admit, we could''ve handled things better, but the world council had their minds set, and after a lengthy discussion, they''ve agreed to revamp your contract. Tripple your fees on every mission you currently deal with, increased security access, and priority on all gear and equipment you might need for missions." I shook my head. "I''ll take the money, but it doesn''t fix my problem. I need to be able to live my life without people hounding me every waking moment. I want a new identity, and I''ve picked out the perfect name. I''ll send you the details when the time is right," I said, crossing my legs and leaning into my chair. "So, I''m guessing you called me here to do something about Banner?" Fury nodded. "In Jean''s report, she said he underwent a dramatic transformation, but she''s still confident that his mind is still intact and that he will regain control with enough time." "It''s not going to be easy subduing him," I said. "As dangerous as you think I am, he''s a hundred times worse." Fury''s eyes widened slightly at that, and I could hear his mind work. He wondered why I''d willingly give up information about the Hulk after I worked this hard to ensure his creation in the first place. He was always of the opinion that I wanted to control him. He considered that maybe he''d underestimated me and my plans ran deeper and longer then he''d predicted. "Another vision?" Fury asked. "You could say that." "Regardless, we need all the help we can get and Betty Ross is ready to raise Hell if we don''t get her boyfriend back." "I''ll get on it, but the operation won''t be simple. I''ll more than likely have to take him down. Some reconnaissance beforehand would be very nice." "I''ll send some agents down there with a prototype jet we''ve been working on. If Banner is still there, we will find him." Fury said, taking another swig of his glass. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. "Just keep your distance," I warned. "He''s a lot more dangerous than you think he looks." I watched Fury debate offering me a glass before broaching the next topic. "Domina," he simply said. "What about Domina?" I asked, folding my arms. "What are your plans for her?" "I can''t take her in a straight fight if that''s what you''re asking, but I''m working on a few leads that could be effective, but they''re not cheap." "Don''t keep me in suspense," he said. "Spit them out." "We blow her up," I said flatly, causing Fury to blink at the ridiculous simplicity. "I''ve seen you walk out of explosions without a scratch," he said. "Won''t she just do the same thing?" "That''s always a possibility," I admitted, "but my demonic explosives are highly effective against my own kind. Get me a Hydrogen bomb, a few weeks of prep and an abandoned Island on the pacific, and I''ll put her in the ground." "Huh," Fury said. "That will take some time setting up, a shit-ton of paperwork, but it''s doable," he said, "but tell me you have a back-up plan. The last time went up against her half-cocked, she almost won." "She won''t this time." I said. The destructive sphere my Nephilim Bomb created was still vivid in my mind. "Even if she somehow survives, she won''t be in any condition to fight. We will put an end to this war before it can even begin." --- I left Fury''s office with Jean shortly after, and we were portalled over to McTaggert''s residence, where the bulk of the former students of Xavier''s institute waited outside for us. They had mountains of luggage arranged beside them, and the core members eagerly watched on as we approached. Kitty Pryde rushed over with a beaming smile and wrapped herself around Jean. "Oh my god, it''s been so long. I can''t still believe it''s already moving day." "I missed you too," Jean squeezed back. "You have no idea how long I''ve been looking forward to this." I huffed. "She burned through our savings setting up the mansion, and the construction couldn''t have ended at a better time. New York is hell on earth right now. The police are about to have a rough six months." "And that is why I think some of us should still stay," Scott voiced his concern. "Bad idea. You won''t last a second if the demons attack again," I said. "Believe it or not, I don''t want you dead." Scott twisted his lips. "If we can help, we should. We can''t hide away in Alaska while the world needs us." His words got nods of agreement from Bobby and the other X-Men. "New York doesn''t need our protection anymore," Jean said, "SHIELD has a mutant team now. They can handle the fallout from the fight. What we need now, Scott, is for everyone to be safe. We can''t let the demons get their hand on another member of the team. Please, let this go. For me." Scott face cycled through a myriad of emotion, the most prominent being hope. He thought there might still be something there between Jean and He. I damn near chuckled. What a simp. Jean shot me a side eye. Don''t say that. I shrugged. It was the truth. "Alright, Jean," Scott finally said. "We''ll follow your lead." Logan muscled his way to the front of the line. "I''d have led the kids on without ya if you insisted on staying," he said. "Your first job as leader is to get the kids out of harms way. Fighting comes secondary." "He''s not wrong," I said, deliberately piling on Scott. "Besides, Jean and I are still around for backup. And if the situation gets really desperate, the brotherhood can step in." "The Brotherhood!" Scott said with some disgust. "You worked with them?" A cursory scan around the room told me that Scott was not the only one who disapproved of the union. Well, tough shit. "Gladly," I said. "You need to get with the program, Scott. They''re on our side now, remember?" Scott turned to Professor Hank, who adjusted his glasses before he spoke. "We agreed on peace and cooperation. His actions are in line with that." Scott lips wrinkled at the claim, clearly hesitant to let go of old grievances, but I was done with his drama. "So, who''s ready to see the mansion," I said, rubbing my hands together excitedly. The kids thrilled. Beast and Logan were the first ones through the portal that Jean generated, and the kids filed in one after the other. They ooohed and Aahed at the lavish open space. The floors were hardwood and the main floor of the mansion connected to the three stories above and the two gigantic subsections below. One was for a little project I wanted to propose to Professor Hank, and the other was a private storage room only Jean and I could access. The house was far less extravagant out front. We had a huge outdoor gym and sparring area and a short perimeter fence that would be built up when I eventually had the time to focus on security. The house was far from complete, but the sorcerers had dropped by the previous week and installed a permanent cloaking rune that prevented ordinary people from finding our home with and without advanced equipment. We couldn''t completely hide it from the demons. As for defenses, we had nothing solid set up yet, but I had plans to buy a few automated machine guns, steal a few missile launchers, and work on alternative exit strategies that did not involve magic or teleportation. Logan whistled when he walked through the portal, drinking it all in. "This must''ve cost a fortune," he said. "Who''s footing the bill." "I just saved New York from Interdimensional Aliens, who do you think?" I lied. I didn''t want to tell them that the money came from our plunder. I wasn''t necessarily ashamed, just adverse to starting up more shit. I had enough to deal with as is. "Remarkable," Professor Hank said. "It''s amazing you were able to put this together so fast." I grabbed and lightly squeezed Jean''s shoulder and smiled. "You have Jean to thank for that. It was her little side project. You''ll be glad to know she based the design of the old mansion." My remark earned strange looks from everybody, but I pushed through the awkwardness. "That means you can recreate Cerebro, your lab, and the danger room, and anything else you need. We''re in it for the long haul, and I''m prepared to spare no expense insuring our future." "Thank you¡­" Professor Hank said. "Okay," I clapped. "Bed rooms are on the first and second floor, but the fourth floor is off limit." "What''s up there?" Kitty asked. "Wouldn''t you like to know," I said with a meaningful smirk. Chapter 138 I barely saw the kids after they moved in and dove fully into work as soon as I was sure they were in their rooms. For the first time in a long time, I looked at my full status and started to plot my next few steps. The obvious ones were to combine my weapon skills and maybe throw in my acrobatics, hand-to-hand skills, and meditation skills to produce an uber skill that literally transforms me into a god of war on the battlefield. I was also going to focus on upgrading my bread and butter, such as Gust and Burst, Cloak, Demon Evade, and Angel Evade. Focused Shot and Wind Blade could also use some love. I didn''t worry about Explosion Mastery and Promethean Body. They would get all the workouts they needed in the coming days and weeks. The second skill combination I was considering was combining Arcane Gunsmithing and Blacksmithing with engineering, coding, advanced physics, and perhaps a skill related to studying ancient languages. I was gunning for another Transcendent level skill. Several actually. Status Name: (Dante Sparda) Axel Warren Class: Arcane Forgemaster Lv 2 HP: 1870 SP: 1840 AE: 1420/1420 DE: 1460/1460 Strength: 124 Dexterity: 126 Endurance: 184 Vitality: 187 Angelic Energy: 142 Demonic Energy: 146 Acrobatics (Adept) Devil''s Eye (Adept) Blunt Weapon Mastery (Basic) Axe Mastery (Adept) Scythe Mastery (Basic) Chakram Mastery (Basic) Gun Mastery (Adept) Sword Mastery (Adept) Knife Mastery (Basic) Driving (Basic) Demonic Energy Manipulation (Adept) -Burst (Adept) -Cloak(Basic) -Focused Shot (Basic) -Wave of Devastation (Basic) Angelic Energy Manipulation (Adept) -Parry(Basic) -Angel Evade (Adept) -Gust (Basic) -Wind blade (Basic) Meditation (Basic) (E) Paradise Simulacrum (Basic) (R) Myriad Martial Art Mastery (Basic) (R)Moment of the Sage (Basic) (R)Telepathy (Basic) Arcane Weaponsmithing (Basic) Arcane Blacksmithing (Basic) Cosmic Promethean Body (Basic) Explosive Mastery (Basic) Class Skill (L) Decode and Forge (E) Arcane Lexicon (E) Harvest (E)Enchant Finally, I turned to the Shop and started browsing skills that would secure my future. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Six Eyes¡ª500 million Red Orbs They weren''t the stereotypical Weeb''s first choice. Still, unparalleled sight coupled with atomic levels of energy control and efficiency was about to shoot me into the stratosphere in terms or sheer power. I was looking forward to never running out of energy. Alchemy¡ª20,000 Red Orbs Alchemy would make sure I didn''t need to run to the shop each time I needed a friend who hadn''t been dosed by the new formula I planned to have a scientist synthesize for me. I was deliberating and researching other potential purchases that could wean me off the System for good when I considered my latest skill¡ªTelepathy. It allowed me to pluck and store vast quantities of information in my head, seemingly without consequences. Didn''t that mean I could do that with about just anything? I could raid Isha''s mind for techniques on Fire Control, Demonic energy manipulation and martial arts, and we could just about do the same for everybody on our team. I''m sure it would take some practice to get the kinks ironed out. Still, yeah, I had a feeling I could cheat my way to Master tier in a few short months and even learn new ones without purchasing them from the store¡ªlike ancient runes related to healing magics and artefacts that performed the same function with my plethora of skills. I could probably climb all the way to Grandmaster Tier in a few short years¡­ I nearly burst out laughing. This was fucking insane. After telling Jean of my outrageous plan, I yanked Rin off the couch, where he was lounging and talking to Wanda. "Hey I was in the middle of something," he yelled. "There''ll be plenty of time to flirt with witchy Red heads after you learn to win an actual fight." "Hey!" Rin protested. "No lies told, my dutiful apprentice," I said. "You don''t want Wanda saving you from every fight you get into, do you?" That seemed to stop the grumbling. We squared in the sparring area in the backyard, with dozens of kids watching from the windows. Rin raised his fist and assumed a boxing stance, ready to spar. We hadn''t technically gone all out since that one time we fought back at Pierce''s mansion, but he had no delusions that he''d actually win. More than anything, he was just super excited to show me how much he''d improved. "Not what I had in mind," I said. "But we can play for a bit before we get to the serious bits. No energy. Just straight technique." Rin smirked. "Are you sure about that boss man? Techniques also covers that summoning magic you use on your weapons." "I''m aware." This little shit. "You can''t possibly think you stand a chance?" "Masters Mordo and Kaecilius have been pretty thorough," he said. "I might surprise you." I raised a brow, clear mirth on my face. He was begging for an asswhopping. Who was I to deny the boy? "Very well. Show me then." Rin burst forward with impressive speed and unleashed a chain of devastating punches, kicks, feints, and even threw in an elbow strike, but none of them came close. It was surreal being able to effortlessly dodge attacks that could shatter stone and even kill Super soldiers without any skill or real effort. Rin had closed more distance than I expected. If he had a stat sheet, they''d all be in the seventies, with his strength maybe in the eighties. I bet it would ramp up considerably when he learned to absorb energy and dish out demonic attacks. It also highlighted how painfully inadequate Rin''s fighting style was. I ended the fight in one palm straight to the liver. He seized like he''d been struck by a lightning strike and crumpled to the floor. He was wheezing when I approached him, and he watched me wide-eyed. "I¡­ should''ve¡­.known." He said in between gasps, and I winked. "You should''ve." When the pain finally wore off, and Rin healed the damage, I had him sit, cross-legged in front of me while I assumed a similar position. "Eh boss," Rin said, scratching the back of his head. "I''ve tried this meditation thing before. It''s really not for me." "Who says we''re meditating?" I asked as I shut my eyes and used telepathy to reach out to his mind. ''You''ve finally awoken your demonic power,'' I said. ''You''re in the big leagues now.'' Rin gasped. "Boss you''re¡­" ''Shhh,'' I sent mentally. ''It''s a nice little trick I picked up after my upgrade, and I figured out a way to use it to shave months off your training.'' Rin beamed at the news, but he was hesitant. ''Master Kaecilius and Mordo said there''re no real shortcuts.'' ''Master Mordo and Keacilius don''t have a Telepath as a master and friend, and besides, they''re right on some level. I can send you everything I know about demonic energy manipulation, but it won''t suddenly make you any good at using techniques. It''ll take you weeks and probably months to get as good as I am, but at least you''ll have a clear road map and be able to avoid all the mistakes I did.'' Although he didn''t vocalize it, I could sense Rin was afraid he might never reach my level. We didn''t have the same affinities, and I learned things and grew faster than anybody he''d ever seen. How could he compete with that. He would rather come up with his own moves if he had a say in the matter. ''By all means young Padawan. Go crazy, but only after you''ve learned the basics,'' I said. ''Now brace yourself.'' With a gentle push, I started to share my thoughts and experiences manipulating demonic energy. He saw flashes of the book I learned about the nature of demonic energy from, and he experienced my personal struggle with it. The violent push, the lighting quick manipulation, the overwhelming sense of power. "Boss," Rin said with a gasp. "Too much." I immediately stopped the transfer, a bit surprised at just how little information he was able to take. I''d not even begun to give him the insights I got when I raised my skill to Adept-level energy manipulation. Scanning his mind, I discovered the problem. I hadn''t accounted for just how dense my sensory experiences were compared to Rin''s. His enhancements primarily focused on his bones and muscles, not his senses. He couldn''t see as far, hear as accurately, or see energy as I could. Directly relaying sensory information so far beyond his current physical capability not only stressed his mind but threatened to overwhelm them as well. He''d be able to adapt to the information eventually; I would''ve given him a stroke if I had kept up with the pace at which I was transferring the data. "That was¡­intense," Rin said, shaking his head. "Are you sure this is the only way?" "Yes," I said. "But I might''ve jumped the gun in my excitement. It''ll go smoother next time." I planned on consulting Jean, and I owed the Ancient one a visit. Apparently, we had lots to talk about. "For now, though, start practicing. We have a boatload of missions, all high-risk. And I can''t take you along if I''m not certain you''ll be able to hold your own." After I bid my student goodbye, I popped over to Jean, who seemed to be waiting for me in the kids'' rooms. She just finished helping the youngest settle in. "Well?" I asked as we strolled down the hall. "It could work," she admitted, "but it''s more limited than you think. It''s a technique called Mental Transference, and it''s essentially what I did to Xavier. It''s actually pretty common among Telepaths and Psychics." "I''m sensing a ''But'' incoming." "Regular people''s mind cannot handle the mental burden of having large swathes of information downloaded and removed repeatedly. Our sensory organs are the way they are for a reason." "Isn''t that essentially what you do when you read people''s minds?" Jean nodded. "True, but it''s on a much, much smaller scale and performed a lot gentler than you did with Rin. You shouldn''t do any damage if you know what you''re doing. But downloading or copying entire months or years of experience in a few short seconds¡­" "It''s enough to lobotomize most," I said, realizing what I''d almost done. "You''re lucky your apprentice has such an effective healing factor." "So, we can''t use it to train the rescue team," I said with a small sigh. "At best, I could probably use it on you, Rin, and a few criminals I really don''t like." "I didn''t say that," Jean said. "You can do it the way I did. Focus on the raw knowledge rather than the sensory experience itself. You could take it really slow, stealing and imparting a few memories at a time. It will limit what you can learn and bestow combat wise, but you''ll get better fast. If you gain enough control, I don''t see why you won''t be able to give and take memories without to dealing any permanent damage." Chapter 139 Learning that I couldn''t just power-level myself to the peak was disappointing, but I was not as limited as I had first thought. Jean explained how she drained large chunks of information from everyone from Trask to Whitehall. She basically went into their minds and dove into each associated memory concerning a particular subject she was looking for. Once she was satisfied, she could download the entire packet as raw data or a comprehensive sensory experience. Obviously, the smaller the memory is, the easier it is on the person she''s affecting and vice-versa. And it really helped her victims if they had some type of mental defense. It made the extraction process more survivable. Jean recommended not plucking more than three days'' worth of raw information or 12 hours of sensory experience from regular people. I could safely try double that with enhanced individuals and quadruple that with really strong people. In all scenarios, she made it clear that slower was better. Typically, going fast burned both you and the subject, but with my healing factor, it wasn''t that much of a concern. I did run the risk of breaking the subject before I got everything I needed. "Is that what happened with Hydra command?" "No," Jean said. "I was still burning really hot from the Phoenix. I would''ve melted through most of their minds regardless. It''s a miracle that Strucker even survived." "Good thing you didn''t read Trask yet," I said, and she nodded. "We''ll need his knowledge to counter the robots that he has Stark building to deal with us in case we step out of line." Jean looked at the ground when I brought that up. We''d discovered Fury''s little lab several hundred feet beneath the base after I left the meeting with him. He had a huge generator powering a psychic dampening device to hide the structure. I wouldn''t have picked it up if Jean wasn''t as powerful as she was. She was a bit hurt by the betrayal but not all that surprised. Fury was always the type to prep contingencies upon contingencies. "I still can''t believe Stark agreed to help him," she said. "The way you spoke about him. He sounded like a decent man." "Eventually," I said. "I said he''d be a decent man eventually. For now, he only cares about his bottomline, sleeping his way through the western hemisphere and pushing the envelope. Still, I have hope Stark won''t let Fury lift a finger against us if we aren''t clearly in the wrong." "You''re not suggesting we even entertain the opportunity?" Jean asked. "No way in hell," I said. "Our best course of action is you establishing a mental link with one of the head scientists. We have them feed us information periodically and keep us appraised of developments. We''ll be able to act well in advance if we ever need to." "I''ve already laid the ground work for a that, but I''ve not initiated the tether yet because I was unsure whether you''d approve," Jean said. "If we do this, we''ll be working directly against SHIELD. You''ve been hesitant to take that final step for a while." I didn''t deny it, but it wasn''t the complete truth either. "There''s a reason why I didn''t accept their contract when they offered it to me months back. Fury has likely been making moves against me since day one. I''m just finally returning the favor." Jean nodded, and the conversation stopped for a moment as she shut her eyes and activated her mole in Fury''s office. She opened a portal next, and we both popped out in Kamar-Taj in front of the Ancient one. She had a vast network of Eldritch Spells sprawled out in front of her floating form. "Ahh, you''re finally here," she said. "There is much to discuss." And there was indeed. Yao started with a bombshell that had me gritting my teeth and cursing the demons. Once again, Domina demonstrated that she had no true concern for collateral damage and potential fallout. She stole numerous viral samples from labs all over the world, and Yao theorized that it was to Frankenstein some supervirus to wipe out most of the human population. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. "She could be using it to fast track the Ascendant plan," Jean pointed out. "It would be easier to poison the regular population and create super mutants at the same time." "Quick thinking, Jean," I said. "If I was her. it''s what I''d do too." "You could very well be right," Yao said, "but I have an inkling her plan will be far more complicated than that. She''s always been the one for elaborate plans." I smiled. "Luckily, we have a ready source of information." "Isha," Jean face twisted. "Yup," I said, rubbing my hands. "It''s time we finally have a talk with her." My excitement was two-fold. Obviously, I wanted to know how to stick it to Domina and her other siblings, but I was even more curious about her techniques and how she created them. Maybe they could give me insights into improving my Fire and Wind skills. Yao led us through the bowels of Kamar-Taj, informing us of the rest of the intelligence she''d gathered and what she intended to do about the virus. She recognized there was some risk with leaving the virus in the arms of the enemy, but she was curious to see how things would play out. Domina was back in her little cave scheming and skulking, self-satisfied in her tiny victory, but we were uncertain about how she''d react if and when we struck at the heart of the plan she''d painstakingly executed. From the reports Yao gathered, She''d initially made great strides to keep her plans on the down low, but after a Cambion''s fuck up, she had her followers move out and steal the viruses outright anyways. The command had come so quickly after the attack that she assumed that we couldn''t have possibly intercepted her. She had no idea Yao was a step ahead. She was in for a rude awakening, but we couldn''t strike out without forethought. We needed to make sure there''d be no reprisal from Domina or the rest of her family when we won. Isha''s mind held the answers. She was chained down with dozens of inscribed chains in a room bathed in multi-colored inscriptions. She glared at me through the bars, and Yao spoke. "You will not be able to use demonic energy past those gates. She''s well restrained, but Isha is Isha. She hasn''t lasted as long as she has being careless." "Duly noted," I said. I pushed the metal double gates inwards after Yao spelled the doors open and walked in with Jean beside me. "I see they''ve been treating you well," I said with a smirk, hiding the profound sense of dread I experienced as my demonic energy became inert. I couldn''t use Devil''s Eye or any other skill. Trying to manipulate energy felt more painful than pulling teeth. "Don''t be eager to congratulate yourself," she said. "I''ve been in tougher spots." "You sure about that?" I asked. "Have you been in the presence of a Half-Angel, Half-demon hybrid, and his very pissed-off Omega Telepath friend?" "This is your final chance to cooperate," I said. "Tell us everything you know about your sister and the rest of the Cambions. Where are the mutants captured being kept, and how much progress have they made with the Ascendant project? I''m beginning to wonder if you knew about her crazy virus plan. Do you realize her entire revenge crusade was a cover-up for a plot to steal from the CDC and other disease centers? Isha''s eyes shot up, looking straight at me. The news had taken her by surprise. A nod from Jean confirmed it. "Yet another reason to expose the bitch," I said, but Isha only growled and tugged at her chain in response. "Last call," I said, giving Isha yet another chance I knew she wasn''t going to take. I moved out of the way, letting Jean take a crack at her. Isha leaned back slightly, trying to hide her fears. "You will find my mental defenses far more of a challenge than the humans you''ve cracked. "Didn''t I effortlessly slip into your mind during our fight?" I asked with a teasing grin. "And the farthest you went was reading my surface thoughts," she snorted. "Now that I know what I''m up against, you will get nothing from me." I laughed, not even bothering to waste my breath on her, turning instead to Jean. "Whenever you''re ready," I said. "And don''t be afraid to break her. She''s been in tougher spots apparently." Jean eyed the demon as she stalked her down. The hate in her eyes sent shivers down my spine. The last time she''d been this worked up, she ended Xavier. "I was hoping you''d resist. You have no idea how long I''ve been waiting for this," Jean said. "Entire villages were wiped out on your orders, sorcerers are dead, and we came uncomfortably close to dying on several occasions. Death is too good for you." "You were never the target," Isha said. "You sought out my operations. And the mutants we''ve taken so far would''ve been hunted down by their supposed friends and families anyways. I''ve heard rumors about what Xavier did to you," she said. "If we¡ª" "I''d choose my next words very carefully if I was you," I glowered at her. "I''m not above slapping a bitch, even if she''s in chains." Isha smirked. "It''s adorable how quickly you come to her defense. But you must realize that whatever it is you both have won''t last. You are a Nephilim, a creature even Belasco does not understand. You''ll likely even outlive us Cambions, while she has another 50 years if she''s lucky. It''s a shame really. All that power limited by humanity." "Is this the part where you pitch your little ascendant program to her?" Isha laughed. "I''m not so na?ve. You will come to me in your own time¡­" The Cambion sobered up when she noted that Jean still hadn''t spoken. She remained silent; hand stretched forward. She grabbed the Cambion by the head, and Isha gasped as Jean unleashed her psychic might on her ''robust'' defenses. Isha held on for five whole seconds before something shattered. She coughed up blood and looked at Jean in horror. "What¡ªare you?" "Stop," Jean commanded, and the words dried up in Isha''s throat. Her eyes were wild and panicked at this point. "I''ve heard enough out of you." Chapter 140 What followed were some of the most horrifying seconds of my life. Jean shattered her and made sure she was an open book after she left for another lesson with Yao. The sorcerer supreme was concerned that she¡¯d kill the Cambion if she tried to interrogate her, despite Jean¡¯s recent strides in controlling her abilities and Isha¡¯s durability. Jean didn¡¯t leave me high and dry, however. She made sure I still had access to the demon¡¯s mind by entering it and making some alternations. Jean made sure could not lie or hold back information when Yao, Jean, or I asked her questions, and she could only act in defense of herself if her life was in danger, or she¡¯d been removed from her prison cell without permission. She¡¯d also not allowed to inflict deadly harm on her attacker unless they¡¯re a demon. The entire thing reminded me of what the Originals from Vampire Diaries could pull off. All Vampires had compulsion magic in that world, but theirs were almost impossible to break and were so potent they could make you believe you were somebody else entirely and live that way for the rest of your life potentially. While Jean¡¯s compulsion had me feeling some type of way, I was not above using it for my gain. I got a chair and perched down in front of a scowling Isha with a pen and a bottle of whiskey as I had her answer every last question I had about the demon world. I found out some pretty outlandish and downright terrifying facts. Limbo was just as big as Earth but only had about an 8th of the population. Logically, it tracked, but it did not inspire a lot of confidence. Bombing a few million demons was one thing, but killing a billion of them¡­was murder on a scale that even I was not sure I was comfortable with. Maybe Jean and the Captain were right. Sure, I¡¯d like to have enough Red Orbs in me to fill several great lakes, but I wasn¡¯t sure I''d be able to spend it without handing my soul of Shin. The next interesting bit I found out was that my understanding of the Demon World Hierarchy was wildly inaccurate. ¡°The Cambions don¡¯t rule by fear,¡± she said. ¡°We rule by connection. The bloodline of each tribe flows through him because of the strength the Archdemons granted him. We share in that strength and blood tie, and our abilities are a manifestation of that connection. My Wind, Fire, and Wings earned me respect among the Steel Harpies of Shatter Peak. And Domina¡¯s potent Density magic made her beloved by the Titans and knights. Enrique¡¯s Darkness and Fire Magic made him revered by the Knight and Dream Runner factions. Corvus is the unspoken leader of the Blood Wraith faction. And Lumos¡­well, he¡¯s the voice of the Mind Mages and the Lesser Clans.¡± ¡°He¡¯s the second strongest after Corvus isn¡¯t he?¡± Isha nodded eagerly. ¡°And in time his strength will dwarf even the Firstborn¡¯s. He¡¯s only fifty years old. Imagine how much stronger he¡¯ll become in another 50.¡± I raised a brow. ¡°I thought your growth with age is exponential not linear. Wouldn¡¯t Corvus just keep getting stronger?¡± ¡°Certainly,¡± she said, ¡°but his momentum is unmatched by anyone¡­well except you. He went from piddling with Demon energy to the height of the establishment realm in a few short years. He quickly approaching the Condensation realm, and we have hope he will reach the Saturation realm in the next 100 years.¡± ¡°Is that impressive?¡± I asked, earning a shocked gasp that transitioned into a disgusted glare. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. ¡°How in the infernal circles did you even beat me!¡± I shrugged. ¡°A combination of really good genetics and exposure to exotic energies that would¡¯ve fried anyone else.¡± ¡°You¡¯re unnatural, more so than your philandering brother.¡± ¡°Aha,¡± I grinned, victorious. ¡°So, you two have an ¡®history¡¯.¡± I wagged my brows. ¡°Don¡¯t be preposterous!¡± she huffed, looking away. ¡°He was a rising talent I sought to use, nothing more, nothing less.¡± ¡°Your face says otherwise.¡± Her cheeks were turning red. ¡°How old was he again?¡± I asked. Silence. I could¡¯ve forced her to tell me what really happened between them, but I wasn¡¯t sure I was entirely ready to know. Learning about her past did incinerate any ounce of goodwill she¡¯d built up. Closeted Pedophilia. It was a surprise, but it should¡¯ve have been. After all, she was a demon. ¡°So, the demonic realms,¡± I steered the conversation back. ¡°How do they work exactly?¡± She huffed, muttering something to herself about the unfairness of talent before she went into detail of the hierarchy of power in the demon world. Most demons are born with a mediocre talent for demonic magic, which puts a hard limit on what they can achieve. Lesser demons don¡¯t usually go beyond basic inherent techniques which typically fell into the first level of demonic magic. According to Isha that was called the Awakened Stage. The awakened stage involved small expressions of demonic magic, limited to physical enhancements and energy projection. It¡¯s in the second stage that things get much more interesting. The Establishment stage, which I found out I was currently on, was where most Greater Demons in the Limbo were stuck. The rank is marked with greater control and precision with demonic energy, but up to a certain point. Demons and Cambions typically have no problem dishing out potent attacks at this stage. There¡¯s just hardly any substance to them. The Condensation stage was where the bulk of the powerhouses of the demon world sat¡ªthe older, greater demons. They had unnatural control of demonic energy, were able to form constructs with it, create physical shields from esoteric elements, and achieved grand feats of power and control that amplified their power exponentially. Domina and the second-ranked demon, Lumos, were on this level. Finally, there was the saturation stage which granted you God-like control over your chosen element. That control is fully expressed in a powerful technique called a Domain. It put you at the upper echelon of the Marvel Universe, comparatively, from her description. Belasco himself was on this level, and if Corvus really pushed himself, he could manage a single Domain activation before his body broke down. They can affect entire cities with wide-area area-of-effect spells and skills that are akin to reality warping. Isha told me that Belasco once unleashed a temporary domain that prevented all demons in the capital city from using their demonic magic. Reportedly, Eva and Sparda could also pull off similar feats but were, in Isha¡¯s opinion, less impressive. In the final battle that took their lives, Eva created a Domain that transported the hearts of every demon in a concentrated area to another dimension, instantly killing anyone without sufficient magical resistance or multiple hearts. Sparda piled on by unleashing a domain that forcefully halved the strength of an army of 500,000 demons for an entire minute. He also made them unable to see him and made their weapons physically betray them. Belasco, Corvus, and Mundus had to pull out domains of their own to counter Sparda and subdue him. Even after throwing everything at him, they were still unable to kill him. So Mundus took him away and imprisoned him. I whistled at the story, appreciative of the information, but I was more concerned by the absurd power levels in the demon world. It begged the question, if they were that powerful, why hadn¡¯t they just invaded us? When I asked, Isha turned pale and clamped her mouth shut, but slowly, Jean¡¯s command kicked in, and she was forced to unburden herself. ¡°Agamotto¡¯s wards and Sparda¡¯s alterations... The planet must be taken a certain way or else all of it would¡¯ve been for nothing.¡± ¡°Go on,¡± I frowned. ¡°Each Sanctum is a fortress with wards so extensive even Belasco himself could not bring it down. That is why we¡¯re going to the source, attacking the planet itself...creating a counter array to interrupt the one Agamotto set up all those years ago¡­ My eyes widened. ¡°The properties and acquisitions worldwide. They¡¯re not random, are they?¡± Isha opened her mouth and then viciously clamped down on her tongue, but in seconds, the damage already started to repair itself. I grabbed her by the neck, staring deep into her eyes. She glared back at me with gritted, bloody teeth. ¡°You will tell me EVERYTHING when you¡¯re healed, and you will answer without delay or interruptions,¡± I spoke. ¡°Or I¡¯ll have Jean pry the answers from your head. She may look sweet, but her temper runs even hotter than mine.¡± The conversation resumed when she was healed. Isha was forced to be even more forthcoming with her words, and she answered every question I had. It took significantly longer to pry all of her secrets from her. But in 12 hours, I knew everything she did about the counter arrays and the foundation of demonic magic. Chapter 141 Yao was lost for words when I told her what I found, and she remained that way for minutes. "A counter array¡­" she muttered, "How could I have not seen it." I shrugged. "The demons made it a point to be very distracting. Their real targets are buried within hundreds of purchases, and their attacks on the mutant and human population were designed to misdirect all who come looking. Not even Isha knew all of the locations. After falling out with Belasco over her little tryst with my brother, he became less than forthcoming with every last location, but she knew 50 out of 80 locations. Supposedly, the array is to be powered by the soul of the human slaves they''ve bred and nurtured over the past 20 years¡ªabout 400,000 or the lives of a quarter of the demon population," I said with a palpable disgust. "If they succeed, they can merge Earth and Limbo, finally put the sorcerers and demons on equal terms." "They''re relentless¡­and monstrous," Jean''s expression mirrored mine when I found out. "But for the first time in a long time, they don''t have the upper hand," I smiled. "It''s a shame I couldn''t find more about the virus. Apparently, Isha is not as beloved as she pretends to be. Although, I get the feeling that this virus plan is something relatively new." "The array changes everything," Yao said. "Beset by attacks on both sides. In all of the possible futures I envisioned, they were defeated long before they set off any array or virus." "Ilyana," I said. "She''s supposed to somehow overthrow him, right?" Yao nodded. "Her along with an incursion force consisting of the X-Men, and on occasion, particular members of the Brotherhood. She claims his throne and becomes the new Queen of Limbo¡­but with what I just learned of the army of Limbo, it''s a wonder she succeeded at all. A billion demons is not a force anyone can hope to stand against. Even the mighty forces of Asgard would think twice about going up against them." "So, what are our options, fold or¡­" a small smile crept to the corner of my lips, "we could always hijack the array for ourself. Use it to permanently reinforce the barrier between our worlds, or break the link between it. Either way, with some precise compulsion done by Jean and speed reading the minds of demons I bet we could avoid the all-out war." Yao looked at me like I was insane, but slowly, her expression morphed into that of cautious understanding. "Your plan could¡­work," Yao said hesitantly. "It would require some clever maneuvering, but if we time it right, we could cut Domina off from the unlimited resources of the demon world, destroy her virus, rescue the lost mutants, and thwart their unification plot simultaneously." "Let''s not forget whatever Fury is plotting," Jean chimed in, and I nodded. "It will be massively complicated," Yao said. "Nothing can absolutely go wrong¡­but if we pull this off, we can finally be done with the demons." "And what a relief will it fucking be," I said. "But for this to work we need to get under Domina skin. Force her off-balance and keep her that way until we''re done. And I think I might have the perfect means to distract her." I said, quirking a positively devious smile. "What do you have in mind?" "Heroes," I smiled. "It''s 2003, the Nation is reeling from the greatest terror attack it''s ever seen, I think the world is long overdue for some superheroes." The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. After grabbing a bite and talking a bit of strategy with Yao and Jean, I resumed my interrogation of Isha in earnest. I learned about all of the locations of Domina''s safehouses, her investments, how her organization runs, the locations of her safehouses, her enchanted workshops, and her Japan headquarters. It was where her space mages are housed, and it was the key to permanently grounding Domina." I also learned of the locations of the other Cambions, as well as their identities, the array of stations they were supposed to protect, and so much more. It took 24 more hours to wring her for information before I left her in a collapsed heap, finally ready to return to the compound, ready to work. Before I left Kamar-Taj, I had one last conversation with Yao. With my new forging skills, I needed new runes to grow my catalog, and she was happy to help. She started me off with a shield that automatically generated an Eldritch overlay over itself when struck and a copy of the enchantment that doubles the effect of gravity upon activation. The second enchantment especially caught my eye since I figured it''d help me upgrade my Promethean body and rapidly gain stats while I trained. I also requested several Barrier enchantments, even after Yao promised she''d come to erect a few herself. Once I got back from Kamar-Taj, I poured over the formulas, going as far as to break out the enchanted under robes that Yao gifted me, and I formed a few powerful runes read for inscription on the weapon or armor of my choice. Demonic Aegis¡ªChanneling the Raw Demonic energies that flow through you, create a one-use intangible shield durable enough to protect against most physical and magical attacks. Estimated Durability¡ª150/150 Gravity Seal--Channel energy into your Seal to slowly increase the wearer''s gravity. Maintaining a steady current will leave the weight unchanged. Sudden Shifts in energy level will cause a corresponding change. In a flash of inspiration, I tried combining my protection Seal with the Demonic Aegis Seal. The result was my first genuinely impressive Seal. Demonic Aegis Seal¡ªChannels your Density and Gravity affinities into a powerful protection seal to create a multi-use intangible shield that surrounds the body of the user. Protects against physical and magical attacks. It is stackable and can be activated without demonic energy. Estimated Durability 250/250 I whistled. Now that¡­is a rune. My progress with runes had me hungry to smith, so I headed up to the backyard forge I''d set up and got to work. I still had infernal metal in spades and the means to make new ones. So, I started with something simple but important. Bracers. They were easy to make, had just enough surface area to take two Demonic Aegis Seals and had enough durability and space to handle two Aegis seals. They should be powerful enough to withstand any bullets, stray punches, or attacks squishier members of the new X-Men team might run into. I made a starting batch of 10. Two were obviously for me, another two for Jean and Rin, and the fourth pair for Cyclops. Believe it or not, he was leadership and could use the extra tankiness. The final one was for Beast. He was the brains of the operation, and I needed him alive. I also forged a second set of four gravity seal bracers. They were for physical training, and the very next morning, I dragged Rin out of bed. He groggily followed me but thankfully didn''t bitch about it. Handing him, the Bracers perked him right up. "You like?" he nodded, grinning, and I laughed deviously. "You''re going to wish you hadn''t said that. You''re going to be training with them starting today." When I described the effect of the runes to him, he suddenly wasn''t so sure if they were for him. "Oh stop being a baby. I would''ve killed for this back when I started training. This will improve your energy control, durability and stretch your pool. You''ll accomplish what took me week to accomplish in days, all the while you''re getting a workout." "When you put it like that¡­" "Well," I said, popping on the Bracer, channeling angel energy into them. "There''s nothing to it. Start jogging, we''re going a lap around the property. And don''t fall behind." I slowly ramped up the energy output until I felt a considerable strain. I was bleeding Angel energy heavily, so much so that I estimated I''d be empty in about 30 minutes or so, which was perfect. There''d be no point to this if I could go on for hours. My meditation skill needed some love anyway. I shot off into the woods while Rin was still fiddling with the energy level. "Hey! Wait up," he raced after me with sharp, jerky movements. Chapter 142 The jogging session lasted two hours, and we both stopped several times, Rin to recalibrate his energy levels and me to meditate to refill my Angel Energy. We hit the weights next. I found out my new maximum bench press was over 5000 pounds easily. Considering that was what I could accomplish with just my chest muscles alone, I tried not to be too disappointed. My deadlift was more than double that, and all of my lifts had shot up considerably. With the seals, even calisthenics became intense. When I really ramped them up, each push-up really had me sweating buckets, and each crunch had me wincing, but it was all worth it. That training session lasted three whole hours. I didn¡¯t see any bump on my stat screen quite yet, but I was sure a few days of it, paired with the dedicated skill training and spars I had in mind every evening, would put me in another stratosphere of power in a few weeks. Now that I was done with the morning training, I started with the first phase of our plan--finding somebody brilliant enough to prepare the ingredients for the Uber Serum. I arrived at a familiar name¡ªDr. Maya Hansen, creator of the Extremis formula and the indirect cause of the most uninteresting Iron Man movie to date. Speaking of movie superheroes, Peter Parker was 18 and right around the time he got his spider powers. The Oscorp visit was right around the corner. I wondered if I could contribute to that. Daredevil had also surprisingly made his debut. He was still in his mask and sweater phase, but I was confident he was on the right path. I was seriously considering supercharging him and setting him loose on the Hand. Jessica Jones was in her late teens, bright-eyed and full of life, and her friend, the child actor, Trish, orbited around her. She desperately wanted to be a hero. I was considering granting her wish and letting her loose on the Hand, but I wondered if it would be too unethical. Luke Cage just got thrown into Prison, while Danny Rand was still MIA, but his future paramour Collen Wing just opened her Dojo where she unknowingly trained Hand soldiers. I grinned. It¡¯s time I changed all that. But first, I needed to complete my Uber formula. I had one Dr Hanson to track down. It was surprisingly easy to locate her once you knew her future trajectory. She was in the San Francisco office of a start-up that would later become AIM. I followed her after she left her office and slipped into a local diner where she usually had her dinner sometime after her. I was in my mask, of course, but strangely, my eyes remained purple; something about them shone through the disguise. I settled down in the booth behind her, ordered some coffee and pie, and pretended to peek my head out and scrunch my face as I noticed her. ¡°Oh my god,¡± I began, ¡°you¡¯re that famous scientist, aren¡¯t you?¡± She looked up from her papers. ¡°Dr Hanson, right?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± she said with a polite smile before turning back to her work, but I was determined to have a conversation with her. I got up from my seat and approached her. ¡°I¡¯ve read your paper on DNA biological coding. You¡¯re the Tony Stark of genetics.¡± Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. She looked up from her work once more, finally taking the time to look at me. ¡°I¡¯ve met Tony Stark. That¡¯s not the compliment that you think it is.¡± I settled down in the seat in front of her. ¡°I¡¯ve met Stark as well, and I¡¯ll beg to differ. Sure, he thinks with his dick, but there¡¯s no denying his genius.¡± She sighed but did not refute me. ¡°It¡¯s probably why you showed him your Extremis Formula.¡± I watched in slow motion as her mind shifted from finding me mildly attractive but annoying to wary. ¡°He told you?¡± ¡°Not in so many words, but in my line of work, you get pretty good at reading in-between the lines.¡± ¡°Who are you?¡± Hanson asked, hand slowly reaching for the Mace in her purse. I smiled, pointing at the TV, which was running yet another story of my superheroics. Some news anchors had dubbed me the savior of New York and the Campus, claiming that people should be grateful that I was fast enough to reach Culver University in the first place. It was the most flattering interpretation I¡¯d seen so far, which was more than a bit concerning. A lot of people online couldn¡¯t seem to get past the fact that I might not be human. In fact, some crazies theorized that mutants were a long-lost relatives of the demons. In their eyes, it¡¯d explain some mutants¡¯ inhuman appearances. ¡°No,¡± Hanson shook her head. ¡°You can¡¯t be him.¡± Fear and disbelief warred with pure curiosity. She was about to ask me to prove it when I let a stream of demonic energy flow from my hand and set it alight. My signature Nether flame flickered deep red and black. The fire lasted long enough for her to gape at the display before it vanished. ¡°Oh my god,¡± she covered her mouth. ¡°It is you. I have a million and one questions.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be happy to answer all of them. Hell, I¡¯ve even throw in DNA samples, but I need your help, Doctor,¡± I said. ¡°The New York attack is just the beginning. More are coming, and your research and skills could help me prevent another tragedy.?¡± ¡°How?¡± she eagerly asked, leaning forward ever so slightly. ¡°You already know, Doctor. Extremis.¡± Her smile vanished. ¡°The research is not even public yet. How did you even know about it?¡± I tilted my head slightly. ¡°Come on, Doctor. We¡¯ve already established I don¡¯t operate within conventional parameters.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not an answer,¡± She insisted, and I relented. She would not trust me unless I gave something away, however small. ¡°I¡¯m Clairvoyant,¡± I said. ¡°I see the future sometimes, and that¡¯s how I know of the Extremis and its potential.¡± ¡°Clairvoyance,¡± She scoffed. ¡°You can¡¯t be serious.¡± I shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s no more ridiculous than manipulating Hell fire. My eyes foretold of the New York attack and this meeting. Believe what you want, but it¡¯s the truth. And before you ask, I don¡¯t get to pick and choose what I see. I just see it. Oh, which reminds me, you want to get out from under your boss, Killian. He¡¯s dangerous.¡± Maya¡¯s eyes went wide at the last bit, and her breath hitched. A voice at the back of her head had doubted Killian all along, but the offer to work for AIM, had been too good to pass up at the time. My words seemed almost prophetic. ¡°Clairvoyance is undocumented among mutants. What you¡¯re claiming you¡¯re able to do should be impossible.¡± I smiled. ¡°Come on now Doctor. What is it that scientists always say? Magic is what science can¡¯t explain?¡± ¡°Now you¡¯re just patronizing me,¡± said Maya. ¡°I¡¯m really not,¡± I said. ¡°My clairvoyance is the least magical thing about me. The world is far more complex and stranger than you can imagine, and I can show you the bits that the secret societies and the government keep to themselves. Who knows what you¡¯ll find,¡± I shrugged. ¡°The answers you¡¯ve been searching for all of your life could be closer than you think.¡± Hansen pretended to deliberate, but I knew I already had her. ¡°I¡¯m going to need more proof that you¡¯re who you say you are before I agree to anything¡­but if you¡¯re right...¡± ¡°Welcome aboard Ms. Hanson,¡± I said with a full-faced grin and slid a card over to her. ¡°I¡¯ll be in touch.¡± I turned intangible when I was sure no other eyes were on me but hers and chuckled internally as she lost her shit. Any doubt she had evaporated with that little trick. She called Killian immediately, telling him that she needed to talk. I didn¡¯t expect her employer to let her go without much of a fight, especially since she was the head of the genome project, but I planned to have Jean him. Slowly but surely, I was building up a powerbase, and Hanson was only the beginning. Chapter 143 Chapter 144 Lauren''s POV I made my way toward the common area, knife dancing in-between fingers. My body was still adapting to the Seed of Gluttony, and my dexterity was not what it once was, but I understood that the setback was necessary. It would lay the foundation of my new strength. It''d been only a few short weeks, but the Seed was already doing wonders. It wouldn''t really come alive until I claimed my first life, but every act of consumption granted it more power. The common area was packed with children playing soldiers, chatting excitedly about their future lives and missions. Some of them actually deluded themselves into thinking they were saving the world. I scoffed. They couldn''t save anyone. They were already dead. In fact, this entire universe was. It was all forfeit when the higher beings that watch this realm let Shin the Avaricious through during a Multiversal bleed. I settled down opposite Garrett, who sat alone, hunched down, shoveling his cereal. He was getting transported today. "You''re acting like they''re tossing you in some prison instead of a fancy witness protection program." "Our mutual friend told me that I''m going to the Raft, not some uppity protection compound in off-state New York. I''d rather take a 6x6 cell in Pelican Bay," he said with a loud crunch of his cereal. "That''s good news, isn''t it?" I asked, leaning forward. "Saves us the trouble of breaking into the prison in the first place. I hear the Juggernaut and Graviton are down there." "I wouldn''t have minded taking a load off before the hard work starts," he said, rubbing his neck. I rolled my eyes. "Tell me how you nearly became a crime boss again?" "A mean left hook and constantly getting underestimated." I flashed him a knowing smile, to which he frowned. "You''re suffering from your own success really. You play the role of idiot a bit too well." "I''m not that good a bullshitter," he said. "That psychic bitch and her boyfriend should''ve seen through me. That seed you gave me must''ve finally done something. I was getting sick of shoveling food in my mouth.¡± Garret pushed his plate aside. "Everything worthwhile takes time," I said. "You know that. Your seed might start out small but in time it will you the strength to crush¡ª" "Mountains," he completed with a dismissive wave. "I remember the pitch." "Don''t tell me you have doubts?" "I''m still eating, aren''t I?" he said, folding his arms. "I saw the visions; I signed on. I''m seeing this shit through to the end." "Good," I nodded and leaned in even closer. "I had to check in before you left." Despite giving him an ample view of my breasts, Garret''s eyes did not wander. The master had tasked me to prod him for more weaknesses, but Garret was a wall. I''d drawn him in with the promise of power like any other hopeful, but past that, I didn''t really understand what made him tick. He was prideful but self-aware, cautious when the situation demanded it, and not so angry that he let it affect his actions. "How goes it with the pipsqueak?" he asked, nodding toward Amando. The boss wanted him more then anybody I''ve recruited so far. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ''His mutation was the key,'' he said. Hell, if I knew what it meant, but I knew better than to question the boss''s motives. Curiosity like that could get you killed. "I already have an in," I said with a razor smile. "His dead girlfriend. He''ll sign up to save her?" "Could he actually, do it? Bring her back from the dead?" "The boss? He''s a God. I can''t imagine there''s not much he can''t accomplish." "That''s not an answer," he pointed out. I rose to my feet. "Eat your cereal," I said. "I''ll see you on the other side big man." He grumbled something about me being a condescending bitch as I left, and he was probably right. --- Dante''s POV My second target for recruitment was somebody unenhanced but formidable nonetheless. She had the most strategic potential out of all of my hopeful recruits. The problem was she was fiercely loyal to her employer. I needed to change that. I looked up from the magazine I was flipping through at a local convenience store when she walked in. I was wearing a pair of sunglasses that hid my eyes, and I wore my magic mask as usual. Today, I was a blonde with high cheekbones and a low stubble. I flashed her a smile, which she completely ignored. She went about her business, picking up basic toiletries, groceries, and, strangely, a tub of ice cream while I hung back, flipping through my magazine, but I could tell she was watching me. She cut through an aisle, vanishing from view before sneaking up behind me, holding a knife to my liver. "Move an inch and I''ll leave you bleeding on the floor," she said. "Woah, woah," I said, pretending to shiver the slightest bit. "Take it easy. Smiling at a pretty lady is not a crime." "Dante?" she whispered, immediately lowering the knife. I spun around on the spot, flashing her a smile. I watched in amusement as Natasha quickly put two-and-two together. With my identity blown, I couldn''t go anywhere public with my real face, and she''d already seen my face-changing mask in action once. "You could''ve called or visited me at the office." "But what would be the fun in that," I said, restocking the magazine I was formerly reading. I plucked a business one with Emma Frost, of all people, in front. She just announced she''d be pitching in to repair the damage done alongside Tony Stark and a few billionaires. Interesting. I flipped open the magazine and dove into the first article. "Do you need something?" she asked, with some irritation. "I''m here to concede on our bet," I said matter-of-factly. "With the shit going on, I don''t see myself making time to become a coding savant. Far more into blacksmithing." "So you did make that armor that you''ve been wearing," Natasha said. "We just assumed it was the sorcerers." "You could''ve asked me if you really wanted to know," I said with a shrug, turning another page. "Perhaps another time," she said. "If that''s everything I think I''m going to leave. And don''t follow me. It won''t end well for you." "Get your mind out of the gutter, Nat," I said. "I came here to fulfil the terms of the bet. Don''t you want to know about your sister?" Natasha froze, and I finally looked up from my magazine. "I''ve found her. Or her base at the very least." "How?" she asked in a shaky voice. It was the most unsettled I''d ever seen her. "Research and patience," I shrugged but then added. "I saw visions of a Widow some time back and tracked her down. She told me all about the Red room, and your code name, Black Widow. Certainly fits with that attitude of yours." She pulled me out of earshot deeper into the store, and I let her. "That''s impossible," she said. "I destroyed the Redroom. All the widows are gone." "That''s obviously not true," I said with a raised, ''confused'' brow. "And I don''t know what game you''re playing by denying it. It literally took me half a day to find and subdue the Widow. She wasn''t particularly discrete." Natasha''s eyes glazed over as she digested the information and put the pieces together. There was no way SHIELD didn''t know that the Widows and Dreykov were still operational. Fury was keeping things from her. She couldn''t trust him. "Anyways¡­ I''ll he happy to give you the location, but I want to come along." "Why?" "Because they''re bound to have good tech, obviously," I frowned in confusion. "Once I handle the Hulk mission, I''ll be wide open. You know how to reach me." I tucked the magazine under my arms and started making my way to the Cash register when Natasha spoke. "You didn''t have to help me, why did you?" I spun around and gave her a confused look. "I made you a promise, Natasha. I''m obviously going to keep it." My words stumped her even more. Although I wasn''t obviously telling her everything, she knew I was serious about saving her sister. Natasha thought I was a bit of a dick, but she knew how much I cared about the people in my life, from vouching for Rin to saving Jean and rescuing the mutants. I''ve not outright betrayed anyone yet, but she''s also seen how brutal I could be in combat. I was a dangerous man with mysterious powers and unclear motives. She could never let her guard down around me. Chapter 144 I returned home after I met with Natasha. With the preliminary recruitments done, I had time to begin my training properly. My little discussion with Isha made it clear that I was still in the Establishment realm and not as far across as I''d hoped. I was smack-down in the middle, not that that I could complain. It''d only been a few months since I started training. By all rights, I was a prodigy, but given the threats we were about to face, it was nowhere near strong enough. I ramped up my physical training more, slowly bumping up the Gravity while adding in lifting boulders and trees, sprinting, and exercising my various weapon skills. When I was not breaking my body and reforging it constantly, I trained with Rin, who was quickly getting the handle on his demonic energy. After testing his affinities with another ritual that Jean performed under the guidance of Yao, we got back results that surprised everyone, even Yao. Power Accumulation Adaptation Kinetic "This is starting to get ridiculous," Yao said, looking on in disbelief. "Is three good?" Rin asked sheepishly, causing her to quickly cycle through a multitude of emotions before answering calmly. "Yes, having more than two affinities is almost unheard of.¡± ¡°Wait,¡± Rin said, face scrunched in thought. ¡°Haven¡¯t I seen the boss man use like four magic types?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve only used three technically, but I have eight,¡± I said, offhandedly. Rin¡¯s mouth flopped open in surprise mixed with disgust. ¡°How? Why?.¡± Don''t take it personally,¡± Yao said. Despite Yao''s advice, Rin did, in fact, take it personally. He threw me a face, and I wagged my brows in amusement before he declared. "Well, that just means I have more time to focus on my strengths." "Great attitude," I smiled. "Doesn''t mean you''ll win, though, but great attitude." "Don''t let him get in your head," Jean encouraged, but I knew it was already too late. On a hunch, I had Professor Hank look into Rin''s genetics. I was curious how much had changed since his awakening. His demon side was virtually invisible medically before our last mission. Now, I wasn''t so sure. Professor Hank confirmed my suspicion the second he peered through the microscope in his newly assembled lab. "Holy shit," he said, and I nearly chuckled. It was odd hearing him swear. Several projects were under construction. A few were very recognizable¡ªthe jet, for one, and the Danger room. "His cells are like nothing I''ve ever seen before. I''m not sure I even recognize the structure," he explained. "I think I can help with that," I said, producing the corpse of a demon I fought during the raid. "There''s plenty of fresh blood there. He and I are distantly related to these things." I also provided my blood and some of Isha''s. He had regular mutant blood in spade, so he didn''t need that point of reference. He was silent for up to an hour, during which everyone departed except for me. It was like a dam burst when he finally looked up. According to him, Rin was a whole new Species. He wasn''t quite human or demon or mutant. He was like all and none of them. Professor Hank theorized that he would have all of the advantages of each species and none of the drawbacks. Like mutants, he would quickly gain a handle on the basics of his ability, but unlike them, he would grow stronger with every interaction if he so chooses. Because of his adaptability, he would not age as quickly. Finally, age would make him naturally stronger, like the Cambions. In the Professor''s own words, "Rin is like an Omega-level mutant who will never reach his peak." It now made a lot of sense why the demons wanted to make more of him. Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. It was like what I got but with a lot fewer restrictions. I was kind of jealous, but then again, I had two energy sources to pull from, an ability to learn seemingly complicated things on the fly, and a class that lets me empower myself directly. So, who was I to complain? Still, the thought of my apprentice overtaking me in the near future lit a fire under me that made me take to my Demon and Angel Energy training with a fury. A few days of constantly burning both energies had bumped me up some numerically. My control had also never been better. It made what came next easier. Cloak, according to Isha, was a move only a few demons could pull off and was literally the difference between the extraordinary and the faceless hordes. Cloak gets ridiculously powerful and energy efficient at higher levels. It gave triple-digit damage boosts, better defense depending on your affinity, and a signature skill tied to the form. For Isha, who''d mastered her Wind and Fire cloaks so completely she combined them, it was her White Fire Cloak. On her command, it could render anybody stupid enough to touch her to ash, and it turned all of her fire and wind attacks into White Fire. She was also considerably faster in her White fire form. The benefits had my mouth watering, and I had practically demanded that she teach me how she trained her fire to be so hot. It was shockingly nothing revolutionary. She set things on fire every waking moment, worked on temperature control and energy condensation, did a lot of restriction training, and just kept at it for an ungodly amount of time. She had the same answers for her Wind magic. She didn''t always start out with Wings. It was only after she trained enough that she could handle a set of Devil Arms, whose primary benefits were halving your weight. A little fine wind manipulation, and she could fly on command. Isha, however, had a ton of advice for Cloak. Since I had more than one affinity, I had to explore each one first before I thought of combining them to create something even more ridiculous. As for improving my energy expenditure and defense, she recommended ramping down the input and working on controlling the output before raising it back to the former limit. There were artifacts designed to help with just that, but Isha recommended I learn by practice. It was the superior method, in her opinion. And so, I followed her instruction, which had been begrudgingly given, and finally tried channeling my affinities into Cloak. I started with Density since it was the affinity I had the most success conjuring aside from Fire. Energy sputtered out of me, first as a red and black film before slowly shifting hues to Maroon. It wafted off me in a thin, long line rather than flickering like a flame, and I got a fresh notification as my strength swelled. You''ve gained two new Cloak Form. Density: Grants a 50% immunity to ALL Density magic and effects, improves the potency of all Density Techniques by 50%, and grants a flat 25% Strength, Agility, and Endurance boost. Nether Fire: Grants an 80% increase to all Fire techniques and grants a flat 50% Endurance and Strength boost. Cost 40 DE to activate and 1.5 to maintain every second used. I grinned. All I had to do was develop a Density technique. I put that to the side for now and focused on completing my set. Slowly, I ramped down the technique and switched to Mind affinity, which oddly came off as a pinkish hue. I had an inkling that it was supposed to be transparent, but because of my inadequate control skills, some of the raw demonic power bled through. Mind: Grants a 50% immunity and increase in all Mind Skills and boosts perception, cognitive speed, and energy control by 25%. This version of Cloak was like an adrenaline shot to the brain. The world slowed down, and my mind sped up. For the first time ever, I realized that my mind affinity could do just more than read minds. I could grant myself a cognitive boost, trick my brain into feeling less pain, and increase my focus to make energy training, in particular, more intense and productive. The sky was the literal limit. Before I lost myself to a fairly obvious epiphany in retrospect, I switched to the last demonic affinity I had¡ªGravity. Gravity: Grants a 50% immunity and boost to all Gravity magic. Boosts Strength, Agility, and Endurance by 25% The Gravity cloak was a Dark, almost earthy green that made me feel connected to the planet¡¯s gravitational field. It felt its weight and draw and implicitly understood that if I had enough energy and control, I could make it work for me, disrupt it temporarily to keep me suspended in the air, or generate Gravity myself and push and pull if I wanted. The experience so enthralled me that I said fuck it and gave it a go. With considerable mental strain, I gathered a clump of energy in my hand and infused a boulder at the edge of the property with Gravity energy. With a herculean effort, I tried tipping the gravity scale in the weightless direction with my Cloak still activated for the extra boost. The rock only rumbled slightly before it stopped. "That was anticlimatic." For the next three hours or so, I tried it over and over again, getting closer every time until I felt the energy merge with the rock, and a notification flashed onto my screen. New Demon Technique¡ªGravitational Touch: Increase or reduce the relative Gravity of an object or person with demonic energy by touching them. Technique lasts for 5 seconds. Cost: 30 per activation. I grinned like a madman and spent the next 30 minutes testing it out. For such a binary skill, it had far more complicated uses than I envisioned. I could use it to do everything from making myself and objects lighter to upping the Gravity on my target and temporarily disabling them. When I touched a poor wolf on the edge of the property. It sunk to its knees, body shaking as it tried to get upright. I was giddy with excitement at the possibilities. Next, I moved onto Density affinity and tried to create a skill, modeling it on what I''d heard about Domina''s technique. Shifting your density and the density of inanimate objects. I easily got it down in under an hour. Density Shift: Alter the density of your body and objects you touch. Affect your density by 30% for variable physical enhancement. Density Increase grants 40% strength boost and 20% speed debuff. Density Decrease grants 40% speed boost and a 20% strength debuff. Costs 15 DE per second. I had mixed feelings when I read the description. On one hand, I could push my weapons much farther with the same restrictions more or less, but on the other, I was gaining a structured skill that seemed to apply to everything I touched not just my weapons. I held on to creating a new powerful technique for my Mind attribute since I already had one and focused on testing and synergizing what I already had. Chapter 145 Dante''s POV. One week later. "Looks even bigger in real life," Rin said, squinting as he looked at the skyscraper Ulysses Klaue had turned into his fortress. "Wouldn''t be any fun if it was easy to break into,¡± I said. Every inch of the building was covered in state-of-the-art security and weapon technology, some so advanced that they weren''t even on the market yet. Madripoor was the Singapore of the MCU, and it was where the worst turned to when the world rejected them. Here, they couldn''t be extradited, arrested, or judged, but they did abide by a basic rule¡ªeverything was permitted as long as you kept the peace. Don''t, and the city''s most powerful players will descend and annihilate you. Rin and I were about to break their cardinal rule spectacularly. Luckily, I hit like a fucking truck now, and Rin was not far behind. "How do you gentlemen want to play this?" Natasha asked. Fury had asked her to babysit us, and she was only too happy to oblige. Reading her mind, I knew she intended to test me somehow, and I was happy to let it happen. Anything to get the soldiers I needed. "I say we go through the front door," Rin said, smashing his fist together. He wore a set of modified gauntlets I''d made for him. They were covered in Impact and protection runes. "What? Tired of losing every spar?" I teased, and he made a face. "It''s not a fair fight and you know it," he protested. "You''re always changing things up." "And you can absorb energy, I don''t see the problem." "Do you always bicker like this?" Natasha interjected. "Pretty much," I said with a shrug. To be honest, I, too, was itching for a good fight, but Klaue''s men weren''t going to provide it unless we ran into something interesting up there. "You know I could just phase up there and demand Klaue unlock the safe where the Vibranium is stored. It''ll save us a lot of time." "Why not just do both?" Natasha suggested. ¡°We split up and meet in the middle. You go high, and he goes low." I raised a brow. "And you planning to stick down here or come up with me?" "I think I''ll stick with the kid," she said. "I don''t know much about Rin. I''d like to change that. Besides, I''d at least, be able to back him up in a fight." That was only half the truth. She was trying to divide us and tap Rin for information. He was young, hormonal, and not very bright, in her opinion. He was an easy target. If she got him talking, Natasha bet she could get him to open up about a weakness, plan, or ulterior motive she could exploit if it came down to it. It was a shame none of my weakpoints were actually weak. As for the big picture plans; no one except Jean was privy to them. It¡¯d still be amusing to watch her stumble all the same. I even had a ¡®weakness¡¯ lined up for her to discover. "Fair enough," I said, summoning a pair of Bracers covered in protection runes. She caught them easily. "This don''t exactly go with what I''m wearing," she said. We were all dressed in streetwear. "Rin seems to be rocking his well enough." His metal gauntlet looked especially out of place with his black V-neck long-sleeved shirt and loose pants. She threw me a stare that communicated just how unflattering she found that comparison. "It''s for your protection," I explained. "Just believe you''re safe and you will be." "It this another one of your strange magic armors." "That''s technically a Bracer," I said with an obnoxious smile and waved. "Rin will fill you in on the rest, and oh let him take point. You''re a world-class agent, Nat, but you''re still very squishy. Let him take the heat, he can handle it." Before she could complain, I activated Angel Evade and turned intangible. "He does that sometimes," Rin said sheepishly, obviously feeling the need to explain my behavior. ''She''s going to try and get in your head,'' I sent to Rin telepathically. ''Don''t let her.'' ''Thankfully, the kid didn''t flinch and tip her off. He was used to my mental intrusions by now. And just like Jean did, I kept a mental tether to him for his good. He needed to be able to access me whenever especially if we were on a mission. I won''t see him hurt again. ''Copy that, boss,¡¯ Rin sent back with a smirk. "I suppose I shouldn''t be surprised," Natasha sighed. "Dante has always been¡­odd. So, it''s your mission. How do you want to start?" Rin blinked. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. "We¡­ugh¡­go through the front door I guess." I chuckled at the exchange as I scanned the high rise and started to prep myself. First, I triggered Density Decrease which granted me a passive 40% speed buff in exchange for lowering my weight by a third and nerfing my strength by 20%. Next, I activated Gust at full capacity and leaped, which threw me about 10 floors into the air. I was going to the thirtieth floor, so it was not quite enough. My legs glowed red as I channeled my newest Unified skill, Advanced Burst. (R)Advanced Burst (Adept) Release demonic energy in a concentrated Burst. Energy discharged can be slowly released, spread out or focused, and charged for a greater effect or released quickly. Five instances of Burst can be stacked concurrently before release. Cost and damage depend on charge time. The skill combined the best parts of Burst and Focused Shot into a powerful pseudo-manipulation skill. The skill held onto what made Burst and Focused shot so powerful while shoring up on their weaknesses. I let off two instances of a mid-sized Burst, each costing about 20DE. The air cracked, and suddenly, I was looking through the window of the 30th floor. Angel Evade faded and Ophion shot out, weight augmented greatly by Density Shift. It impacted with a boom, digging through the bomb-proof window of Klaue''s penthouse. The claws didn''t get far in, but it was just enough leverage to quickly shift direction and yank myself toward the glass. Eryx covered my fist just before I impacted the glass, carrying four small-sized bursts funneled into the knuckles of the gauntlet. I Quintipled the weight of the glove just before the impact to make it more devastating. The punch landed squarely at the center of the claw marks Ophion had made earlier, exploiting the weakness. The glass imploded with a resounding crash, and the destruction rippled outward, destroying the windows of the two floors above and below. I dove through the devastation with no small measure of satisfaction and landed in a corridor covered in vibranium, strange markings, and sealed-off compartments. I heard a loud hiss and a wall dropped, sealing off the broken window. --- Rin''s POV "Woah," Natasha exclaimed as a Reddish purplish Shield manifested before her. It was covered in strange, complicated patterning and words that burned your eyes when you looked at them too long. "Finally," I said, pushing off the wall. "How is any of this possible?" she asked, and I shrugged. "Dunno. The boss is the blacksmithing genius. Ask him. All I know is that he comes up with this ultra-cool stuff and he just hands them to me to break." "You''re not the least bit curious?" "Why would I be? The boss is never wrong and he looks out for us. Why would I rock the boat?" Natasha blinked, clearly off-balanced by my words. Dante had told me about Natasha''s backstory. She had a past very much like mine and had been rescued by a friend who later became his partner. She knew the value of somebody who was in your corner unconditionally. I hoped Dante''s relationship would reach the level Natasha and Clint had, but for now, I was just the screw-up kid he''d been dragging around since the day he met me. I''d hoped beating him would change his mind, but given how quickly he grows. I doubt I''d be catching up anytime soon. The alternative was impressing him, and this was my opportunity to do just that. "You might want to keep those Shields up. Things are about to get serious." I started out with a stride that quickly shifted to a jog and a full sprint. Several yells went off in the building, and I heard a mechanical whirl. The double doors that led into the building swung close as multiple turrets emerged from the garden''s ground, uprooting soil and shifting aside seemingly fixed stone statues and fixtures. "Find cover!" I yelled at Natasha, but she was already moving before I spoke, sliding behind a huge statue of Klaue. He was smirking, one leg firmly planted on a chunk of ore that I assumed was supposed to represent Vibranium. I bet the Wakandans weren''t laughing. I pulled out my new and improved revolver from my side holster. It was covered in glowing Red Runes and pointed at the turrets. I pulled the trigger, and I felt the recoil in my stomach. A super-heated glowing red bullet speared through the metal containment of the machine gun pelting my flickering shield. The gun sputtered. A second bullet destroyed it entirely, and I shifted to my next targets and repeated myself; all the while, my shield rapidly weakened. After taking out the third turret, Natasha peeked her head out and fired a few shots from her energy pistol at two turrets, taking them out. And I destroyed the final Turret by lobbing a demon-energy grenade at it. The explosion bathed me and the environment around in shrapnel, and I spied Natasha''s shield out suddenly. "Are you okay back there?" I asked. "Yes," she said, standing up. "Just saving my energy." "Don''t need to," I said as we approached the building''s door. I cocked my fist back as I charged up the energy and swung. The lock holding the doors close shattered as they flapped inwards. "The Shields are pretty durable. They can withstand anything they can throw at us." The ground floor was deserted, and half of the lights were dim. "Are you sure about that?" she asked, and a moment later, I heard an elevator ding. It eased open, and a large humanoid creature muscled out. It was over 10 feet tall, with long twisted horns and thick red skin. His hands were longer than his legs and packed to bursting with muscles. They were thicker than Natasha''s and my head combined, and his hind legs were twice as large. "Oh hell." -- I slowly turned around in the inscription-lit corridor of the floor I was trapped in, amazed. I threw a light punch into the steel wall and listened as they hummed with a resonating song. Their nature was obvious without the test, but I had to check them to be sure. To any other invading force, they would''ve meant checkmate, but I was not exactly normal. The inscriptions lining the walls, though, had me concerned. They answered a question I''d had for the longest time, a question even Isha didn''t have answers to. Klaue had never been successfully robbed, even though he''d been sitting on a ton of Vibranium for a decade. Everybody that went after him was never heard from again. The runes on the walls explained why. I saw an entwining set of three. The first was designed to dampen teleportation. I recognized it from the wards Yao set up in the libraries of Kamar-Taj. The second was identical to the sets I saw in Isha''s prison cell. It was designed to neutralize demonic powers. However, these only dampen them. I could still feel the thrum of my telepathy. I''ll, however, admit it was fainter than before. "Ah¡­a visitor!" A cracked South African voice boomed through the walls. "It''s been a while since I''ve had one of those?" "I''m guessing it has something to do with your reputation," I said. "It seemed like a great idea at the time, but it''s a bit of a curse really. No one has tried stealing from me in years. Usually, mysterious deaths are a siren call to us unsavory types." "Vibranium layered on top inscriptions," I hummed. "I''m impressed. You''ve got a sorcerer on staff?" "A freelancer," he confessed. "She''s a wily one. More likely to split you in half than honor a deal, but her work is second to none. It helps if you''re a good lay. I grinned. "Sounds like there''s a story there?" "You''re oddly calm for somebody who is about to die," he said. "I''ve been in tighter spots.¡± "Are you sure about that?" He snickered. "Tougher blokes than you have come into my home and tried to rob me. What makes you think you''re better." "Because I''m built different," I let out a ridiculous internal laugh as soon as I said it, but it had the desired effect. "Built different?" Klaue sounded almost offended. "Well, we''ll see, won''t we?" Chapter 146 Chapter 147 "Built different?" Klaue sounded almost offended. "Well, we''ll see, won''t we?" Several panels opened up in the wall and ceilings, and in an instant, I was bathed in fire hot enough to melt bone. My clothes and face-changing mask vanished just before the fire touched my skin. The heat was like a warm shower, washing away the grime and dirt I''d accumulated during the day. The burn lasted for nearly 60 seconds. When it waned, I stood there, smirking, naked. "I¡ªIt''s you?" Klaue said with a gasp before he devolved into a raucous laugh. "Christmas in fucking July. Inferno knight in my home. Ha! And to think you''d just walk straight in. Couldn''t have planned it better." "You''re delusional if you think you can take me," I said, taunting Klaue once more. "Haven''t you seen the news?" "I have, and I''m not like those fucking amateurs. I''ve dealt with plenty of your type. I know how to make you really hurt." A foreign presence snuck through the mental protection of Promethean body faster than I could react. It commandeered my five senses almost without alerting me and superimposed a mental projection of Vibranium-tipped harpoons firing out of the wall and spearing through my limbs. They pulled back, compelling my physical body to obey, and held me taut as I screamed in agonizing pain. I saw the illusion for what it was, but it didn''t hurt any less. With the little control of demonic energy I retained, I started gathering energy, folding it in on itself and compressing it. The presence noticed my resistance and slipped up momentarily, letting a flash of panic slip through. I heard a loud hiss as the Vibranium wall blocking off the corridor hissed and raised upwards. A large black man came through. He was easily over seven feet tall and was dressed in an outfit that barely contained his bulk. He charged me with a startling speed as I detonated the accumulating energy, flooding the hallway in Nether fire. The black man howled. "Shit!" Klaue hollered over the speakers. The detonation also had the convenient side-effect of flushing the Telepath from my mind. I rocketed forward with a Gust as I activated Density Increase for the 40% strength spike and packed Arbiter''s Axehead with demonic energy. I spiked the density of the axehead the moment it impacted the man, sending him rocketing down the corridor. I slid past the falling Vibranium wall and came face to face with a pair of women. My demonic energy and control flooded back, returning me to my full strength, and I immediately used Devil Eye on a pair of women I found in the corridor. Regan Wyngarde (Lady Mastermind) Daughter of the infamous Mastermind, an old enemy of Xavier, she''s a second-generation mutant turned mercenary currently employed by Sebastian Shaw. She''s spying on Ulysses Klaue and her team, masquerading as help seeking asylum in his Vibranium Tower against demons hunting mutants worldwide. She is a powerful Telepath and mental illusionist. Philippa Sontag (AKA Arclight) A bloodthirsty ex-soldier who awakened her mutation that granted her superhuman strength, durability, stamina, and the generation and manipulation of shockwaves. Currently employed by Ulysses Klaue but secretly loyal to Sebastian Shaw. Huh. Good to know. I quickly looked back at the big black guy and read his information. Michael Baer (AKA Blockbuster) A mutant with a physique unlike any other. His strength, endurance, and durability dwarfs some of the strongest physical Marvel players. Serves Klaue momentarily but secretly works for Shaw. "So, this is how you maintain control," I said as Blockbuster pushed himself to his feet, panting and stamping away the fire. "I almost feel bad for what''s about to happen." "You''re certainly overconfident," Arclight said as waves of vibrational energy rolled off her. "Good." If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. "Don''t underestimate him," Mirage warned. "His fire could kill you." "You''re going to pay for that you little freak," Blockbuster said after he finally recovered. I smirked. "Now''s it''s a party." They charged as one, and the world ground to a halt when Blockbuster''s fist were inches from my face. I pushed to the left, pulling Ebony and firing off multiple body shots at Mirage while activating Mind Cloak. My Telepathy range spiked, and my mind opened up as I received a flat boost to my mental speed, perception, and energy control. I tapped into Arclight''s mind and immediately shut her down, bombarding her with multiple instances of a detailed early morning jog with Rin. The world picked up speed before I finished uploading the information, and I leaned to the side, barely dodging Block Buster''s charge, earning me an instance of Demon Evade. Arclight stopped mid-step, crumbling with a startled scream overlapping Mirage''s. Five bullet holes suddenly appeared on her torso, dropping her to the floor. That only left Blockbuster, who looked at his downed partners, a bit anxious, especially by what I''d done to Arclight. I sucker punched him in the jaw with three Burst as I accelerated near-instantaneously with Gust. It was reaching the upper-limit of its Basic level and I was expecting an upgrade any day now. It laid him out, but he got up fairly quickly checking his lip. It was bloody. The blow had not hurt him as badly as the fire had. His back was still covered in second-degree burns from it, and his chest was bleeding, but Blockbuster was not under any delusions that he could take me. If he was faster maybe, but my speed was a big fucking problem. And don¡¯t get him started on the strange invisibility thing he¡¯d seen me do on the news, the disappearing weapons, and whatever invisible attack I¡¯d used to ground Arclight. "You should run," I said. "You''re not getting paid enough to risk your life. I''m sure Shaw will understand." Baer''s eyes went wide. "How did you¡ª" "Just point me in Klaue''s direction, and I won''t have to give you an aneurysm." Baer''s mouth flopped open and closed before his face hardened, and he looked at me. "Let them go, and you have a deal." "Don''t run far. We need to have a conversation about your other employer." Blockbuster''s eyes went wide. He couldn¡¯t believe I was psychic on top of everything he¡¯d already seen. I was a major player who appeared seemingly overnight and was bad fucking news for his employer. Shaw wouldn''t be pleased that I''d derailed months of preparation in an instant. They''d been hoping to use the team to infiltrate Wakanda when the Dora Milaje and the new Black Panther eventually try their hand at Klaue. The plan was to take down their border defenses and hold it open for a strike team personally assembled by the Hellfire club and a powerful backer. Shaw was hoping to topple the Nation and seize its assets and tech, making the Hellfire club the most powerful faction in the world overnight. The plan had taken years to set up, and the team had even gone as far as eliminating Klaue''s former protection, not that the eccentric asshole needed it. Anybody that made it past his corridor would have to deal with the man and his armor, and not even he could contend against that. "I knew you were no good from the second I hired you!" Klaue roared over the intercoms. "You should know better than to double-cross me. You''ll never make it off the Island." "Nothing personal Klaue," he said. "Just looking out for my people." "You better pray the mercenaries and the other players get to you before I do," Klaue hissed across the speakers before it abruptly cut off. There was a bit more emotion than I expected from the trickster thief, but Blockbuster seemed genuinely rattled by the threat. I turned to Blockbuster. "You know what kind of nasty surprise he has waiting for me?" "No idea," he said without flinching, lying straight to my face. I could''ve gone through the trouble of tracking him down later for intel, but I was fresh out of fucks to give. I summoned my lighting whip and struck, seizing the startled man. Thick bands of lightning surged down the whip, holding the asshole in place while I raided his mind. Mirage tried to pit her will against mine so I gave her something to worry about. Ebony materialized in my free hand and I put another shot in her stomach, eliciting a shocked gasp from her. Blockbuster roared like a beast unchained and tugged hard against the bone and infernal metal links. I slapped on Gravitational Touch channeling it through the whip, and grounded him. He was drooling in seconds as I forcibly ripped information from his brain. When I began to untangle the information I learned, I knew it¡¯d been the right call. Domina had been busy. She recently approached the Hellfire club, bringing gifts, namely the super soldier serum and other goodies. Shaw had had the formula flown to Madripoor, where Oscorp''s most powerful minds were currently dissecting it, but the Black King was certain it wouldn''t be long now before he could start mass-manufacturing supersoldiers. But that was not the bit I found the most interesting. Shaw''s mysterious backers wanted Vibranium to make more powerful weapons but were also eager to seize Wakanda for reasons Shaw was not entirely clear on. He had no intention of giving it up, but Domina didn''t need to know that. I guessed that the demons wanted to knock off two of the four remaining Array points they''d been unable to erect successfully. The third point was in Antarctica, and the final was in an underwater trench not far from the Yutacan region. Shaw had been so desperate to conquer Wakanda that he''d forced the only major player with the power and the experience to topple a nation out of retirement by orchestrating the assassination of his wife. It was Mirage''s first illusion job for the Black King, and her effortless success had cemented her place in their organization. I smirked. It''d be a real shame if Wenwu ever found out. Now that Shaw had the Hand and the demon''s backing, he was deliberating how to play both sides for maximum benefit. I laughed out loud at the sheer ambition. Fuck, Shaw deserved the protagonist title more than I did, but I was going to change that. I was about to ruin his year. Chapter 147 Rin''s POV The monster let out a loud huff before it ambled out the elevator. Its eyes darted back and forth before he rumbled out. "You''re not supposed to be here," he said. "Now you can never leave." "Huh¡­he can speak?" I said. "Why wouldn''t he be able to?" Natasha asked. "In my experience, the bigger the demon is, the less sense they make." "I''m not a demon!" the monster bellowed. "I''m a mutant." "Really!" Rin blinked. "I mean I''ve seen some strange mutants in my time, but never one so..." "Inhuman," he completed. "We make it a point to avoid your kind. You humans are the same. Thieves, liars, murderers. I will enjoy breaking you." "I was going to say big¡­not inhuman. Not that you care. I''d prefer not to kill you if I can help it." The mutant''s lips curled. "Afraid?" "Yeah," I scoffed. "For you. I''m not that great at holding back. I might kill you." The mutant laughed as he strode forward. Each step shook the marble flooring. "We''ll see." He rushed forward, surprisingly quickly for somebody of his size, and swung with his meaty hand. I brought up my shield as I rooted myself in place. The kinetic energy of the hit reverberated through the shield, causing it to flicker once. I flared my affinity¡ªsomething that Dante recently taught me to do¡ªand drank in some of the energy of the blow. The move, unfortunately, had the side effect of weakening my shields as well. Luckily, I had a few more shields to draw on before I started having to worry. The mutant blinked in surprise and cocked his fist back to strike again when Natasha opened fire with her pistol. The energy projectiles burned his skin, and he let out a pained roar as his gaze zeroed on her, giving me the opening I needed to deactivate my shield and strike out. My gauntlet connected with his stomach with a meaty slap. I discharged my energy a micro-second after impact. The combination sent him stumbling back, clutching his stomach in surprise. I''d not quite got the release timing down, and I''d used a lot less energy in that blow than I intended, but it''d done its job. I rocketed forward with a leap and violent release of energy, sending me barreling straight into the mutant. He reacted faster than I expected and lashed out with his meaty stumps. I barely got my shield in front of me in time. The hit sent me flying and made my shield quiver. As I spun in the air, I got a flash of the monster lunge at Natasha. She''d put a pillar between them. So, he''d had to contend with that and her ridiculous accuracy. But that didn''t seem to bother him one bit as he barreled through the pillar to get to her. The stone slowed him down, but not enough. He took a swipe at her, which sent her flying. Luckily, her shield sprang to life at the last second. The blow threw her into the hard wall. I released a burst of kinetic energy from my back and legs to reorient my flailing body, but I failed miserably. However, I had enough control to direct my falling body at the mutant as I released my next burst. It was by far the most powerful I''d used since the fight started, and it burned through 10% of my reserves. The monster looked up when he heard an explosion overhead and moved far back, enough to dodge my descent. My shield activated, as did my absorption affinity, but I still shattered nearly every bone in my body. Only the rapid energy influx from the impact and my shield breaking kept me awake. This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. My body started regenerating with a mental prompt, and I spent all of the energy from the crash in a one-way direction blast straight into the chest of the mutant. It ripped him off his feet and sent him flying straight into the wall. The impact cracked the marble like an egg. The monster burst out of the wreck with a roar just as I climbed to my feet. He had a large bruise on his chest and most of his face. "You''re going to pay for that!" he roared. "Help me keep him distracted," I called over to Natasha as I started to fill my gauntlet with energy, preparing a move I''d seen Dante pull off hundreds of times. Natasha sprang into action with no question as she peppered him with laser fire. It blistered his already raw skin, and it made him visibly wince, but his eyes never left me, certain I was the larger threat. Neither of us expected Natasha to chuck a grenade at him. His eyes were wide like saucers, and he tried to move, but the explosion spread too far too fast. My second set of shields tanked the blowback, as did Natasha''s. Through the smoke, I spotted him. He was down to one knee. I sped over, hand packed with Kinetic demonic energy, ready to put him down. I paused when I noticed he was not trying to move and spoke. "She got you real good," I said. "Whatever Klaue is paying you can''t be enough that you''d be willing to die." "Some¡­things¡­are more important than money," he said in between breaths. With a roar, he charged me. His attack would''ve been far more effective if he hadn''t telegraphed it with his speech. I stuck my hand out and let the energy flow in a concentrated beam. It burst out of me in a violent rush of reddish light. It punched through his chest and hollowed out his ribcage. He crumbled to the floor, eyes wide, like he''d been surprised that he''d actually lost. "He seemed like a decent enough guy," I said as Natasha walked up. "If you''re willing to ignore the blatant Speciesism." "Still, I''d like to have spared him. He reminds me of some of the old gang," I said. It''d been a while since I''d seen Kurt and Armando Munoz. They weren''t the prettiest looking, but we got along just fine. "I''m sure they won''t mind you stopping over," she said. "Fury has been meaning to talk to you for a while now." "I¡­ uh will ask the boss." ---- Dante My plans changed substantially after everything I learned from Baer''s head. The Telepath went from a loose end to another pawn I could play in a much larger game that was slowly spiraling out of control, but I was nearly done with the set-up. Shaw''s involvement caught me off guard, but it was nothing I could not rapidly adjust to and factor into my greater plan. I had always planned to visit Wenwu to see the inscriptions on his ten rings. Sure, it would''ve been simpler just to take them, but I was not entirely sure if that was even possible, given how mystically attuned they seemed. After bandaging the Telepath and feeding her a healing potion, I killed Baer and Arclight. The Telepath actually charged me in a blind rage, desperate for revenge, but I shut her down hard with a punch, knocking her out, and stuffed her in a closet after tying her up. I broke the door handle so that she couldn''t get out and marched up the stairs to deal with Klaue. He''d put on a psychic inhibiter at some point to stop me from gleaning information from his mind, but it was too late at this point. I knew what I was walking into. Luckily, whoever had installed those inscriptions had not covered his chambers. To compensate for that, Klaue had gone overboard, installing multiple turrets that fired energy cannons at any unauthorized personnel that approached his room. There was also another wall trap that drained all of the oxygen out of the room instead of flooding it with fire just outside his door, but it was largely useless against me because of Angel Evade. I entered his room, which was every bit as disorganized and lavish as I expected. Tons of rare items were strewn about, such as jewelry, takeout, clothes, and women''s underwear. A figure sat in front of a wall of computer screens, seemingly observing the various levels. On the ground floor, Rin just finished making light work of the mutant protecting the building, and dozens of mercenaries came rushing out of a second elevator. "Can''t anybody do their fucking job!" Klaue''s voice resounded from behind the chair, and I instantly knew he was a decoy. My senses were sharp enough to know that the sound had come from somewhere lower than his mouth should''ve been. His body also had no micro-movement. No slow rise and fall from breathing, no body twitch, nothing. "Apparently, they can''t," I said as I summoned Ivory and fired behind me. The bullet connected with a loud clang, and Klaue grunted. His voice came from behind this time. I ducked and spun around to face him just as a large metal staff whizzed past my head. Klaue was dressed as I''d foresaw¡ªin a Vibranium body armor powered by a purple energy core. On his head was a crown that neutralized all Telepathy, and in his arms, he held a Uru weapon covered in ancient rune markings and motifs. Asgardian Runes. Klaue had somehow gotten his hands on the Berserker staff. I was looking forward to studying it in my own time. "Love the ensemble," I said. "You look like you could take on an entire army." Klaue scowled. "I''ve had just about enough of you." Chapter 148 Klaue raised a hand and fired a beam of kinetic energy at me. I leaned to the side to dodge and opened fire with Ebony and Ivory. My fingers blurred, unleashing a wave of energy bullets. Ten splashed harmlessly on his armor, while two hit the crown on his head. The impact unbalanced him and tore deep grooves in the psychic inhibiter, giving me the opening I needed to use Ophion to retrieve the contraption and mentally crush Klaue. I bombarded him with memories of Phoenix fire burning me and watched in surprise as he crumbled to the floor, screaming. "Oh wow," I said, stepping over to him. "I thought you''d last longer with your whole discount Captain Jack Sparrow bit, but I guess Phoenix Fire pretty much humbles everybody." I squatted down to his level and touched his head to stop the memories. Vulnerable and still recovering, it was easy to power down his armor and strip him for critical information¡ªwhich he had plenty of. Klaue was unofficially a billionaire with his hands in the cookie jar of the world''s underbelly. He had hundreds of safehouses, weapon lockers, and Vibranium caches on all continents. It was enough that I could give T''Chaka everything we found here directly, buy goodwill with Fury, and still have enough left over to build a Vibranium Twilight Sentinel and Adamantium weapons. To walk away with all of that money and resources, I had to destroy all of Klaue''s drives and wipe his memory, but I knew that wouldn''t be enough to fool somebody like Fury. He was too paranoid and understood how twisted minds like Klaue''s work. He would expect hidden caches, and that''s why I had to make sure he didn''t see me coming. While I was at it, I could also get on Stark''s good side and expose Fury''s hypocrisy. All I needed was a good trap. I pointed my gun at Klaue''s chair and shot through it, destroying his drives in the process. I also scanned his mind to make sure he didn''t have any foreign server bays or leaked the details of what happened here to anybody. Once that was taken care of, I continued my mental dive into Klaue''s memories. The one bit that interested me the most was that Kaecilius was the mystery sorcerer who made Klaue''s inscriptions for him. He was apparently cutting black market deals and gathering resources in preparation for some operation. That didn''t surprise me much. During the dive, I learned all about Klaue''s tower and the massive bullet we dodged by starting at the ground and top floors. The middle floor was where all of the madness was. He spared no expense making sure they were impenetrable, not that it would''ve stopped me. However, I was most impressed by his lengths to protect his hoard. It turned out, the madman had two vaults. One in a hidden wall behind a statue I passed on the way to his room. That contained about a quarter of his total Vibranium haul, while nearly half was stored on a hidden floor that was outside the construction plans of the building. Klaue had apparently murdered everyone, from the architect who made minute modifications to every floor to ensure the mystery floor existed to the team that constructed said floor. It was enough Vibranium to build several fighter jets, and I planned to hand over every last bit, which amazed Klaue. It didn''t take him long to figure it out, though. "You''re after the foreign caches aren''t ya?" he chuckled as he strained against his shackles. "Aren''t ya supposed to be one of the good guys?" "I thought the mental torture and executing your best mutant mercenaries would''ve given me away." "God, I hate Telepaths." "They don''t like you much either," I said as I cuffed him to a railing when we came to the closet where I''d stuffed Lady Mastermind. I stepped in and placed a phone call to Jean. "I''m going to need an evac for a little present I found taking down Klaue." "Present? Don''t tell me it''s a weapon?" she asked. "I''ve noticed a theme with all of your gifts." "It''s not a weapon," I defended. "It''s a person?" The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. "Huh?" "I found a Telepath I know you''ll love interrogating. She has some information about Domina''s new partners and might be the best illusionist I''ve seen." "That''s not the flex you think it is," she said. "You''ve only seen one." "If you count Xavier, it''s technically two, but my point still stands," I said. "She can make you feel pain by tricking your brain." "Wow¡­ that''s¡ª" "I know," I said. "Hurry up. I want her out of here before we call for the extraction team. Fury can''t know about her." "You have something planned for her, don''t you?" Jean asked. She was familiar with my methods. "I think you''ll approve this time," I smiled. "When you''re done embedding her; neither her or Emma Frost will see you coming." "Who''s that?" Jean asked. "An opportunist with a moral compass, sometimes," I said. "She may side with us or Shaw, depending on which side has the better offer." "Sounds like we''re better off taking her off the board," Jean pointed out, surprising me a fair bit. I knew I shouldn''t be complaining. I was the one who encouraged her to be more ruthless, but I didn''t want her killing a potential asset before we even had a conversation with her. "Maybe," I said. "But she has a lot she could teach you and me. I''m not sure we should jump the gun quite yet." "Alright," she said. "Just send me a picture, and I''ll be right there." I took a picture of the closet I was in, and Jean appeared through a portal of swirling golden and red energies, dressed in black fatigues. "You bring me to the most interesting places," she teased with a smile, and I grinned. "You wouldn''t have any fun if I didn''t." We''d both been crazy busy these past few weeks; her with the kids and portaling, and me with the training, smithing, plotting, and everything else, but I''d be lying if I said I didn''t notice that she''d been coming onto me a little bit. Her twentieth birthday was coming up, and though we hadn''t exactly spoken about it, she got the sense that I perceived her as a child, even though we were basically the same age and would live equally as long. Although my skills didn''t exactly say it, I knew ageless immortality was not that far off, and Jean was the avatar of the Phoenix. She was probably going to survive the heat death of the Universe. From her perspective, there was no reason why we shouldn''t get together. In my opinion, we could still use some breathing room. "Don''t do this," Regan started to speak immediately. "You have no idea who you''re messing with. Ask about Sebastian Shaw. He''s¡ª" "The Black King, owner of a multibillion-dollar company, and an Alpha-level mutant with the ability to absorb all form of energy and use it." Her eyes went wide. "Even I don''t know about his mutant ability. Just who are you?" "Would you believe him if he said he''s Clairvoyant?" Jean teased. "Hey!" I said, mock offended. "That''s my line." "It''s not my fault that you''re too slow," she chuckled. Regan''s eyes rapidly switched between us. "What the hell is going on?" "Nothing you need to worry your pretty little head about," I smiled as Jean flicked her finger. A portal opened below her, swallowing the started Telepath and depositing her in one of the many cell rooms in Kamar-Taj. "One last bit before you go," I said. "It''s about our Vibranium hoard. I need you to delete some memories from Klaue''s head." "What do you have in mind?" I grinned. "You''ll absolutely love it." --- Klaue was weak at the knees when I popped out of the closet. He frowned when he saw me but shook it off, and together, we made our way down to the fourth floor, where Natasha and Rin faced down Klaue''s mercenaries. The elevator door eased open to reveal a floor in chaos. Rin was firing beams from one hand and blocking attacks with the other while Natasha assisted with cover fire and precision shots. Anyone who paid too much attention to Rin took a bullet to the face. Still, they should have made more progress. The mercenaries wore a steel version of Klaue''s power suit, which not only provided surface coverage over all major organs but also considerable physical strength. Some of them were going toe-to-toe with Rin, albeit at slower speeds. He ducked and weaved through most hits, tanked a few to bank power, and unleashed kinetic punches that decimated whoever was unlucky enough to be in his way. Of the twenty they started the fight with, only fifteen remained, half of whom looked my way when the elevator door opened. The bullet fire came before I could even speak and would''ve ripped Klaue apart had I not acted. Aquila manifested in my hands. I felt somewhat nostalgic wielding the weapon. It''d been a while since I''d let the weapon purr. I swung out, creating four sets of teal shurikens. They flew as fast as the bullets and attached themselves to four unlucky mercenaries. The blades spun in tight rotations, eviscerating the howling men. That drew the attention of the rest of the mercenaries. Moment of the Sage activated when the bullets came close enough to do damage, and I activated Gust at max to give me a 70% speed boost, which I stacked on Density Cloak. I opted for Density Decrease, which increased my speed by 40%. The skill stacking effectively doubled my speed stats, and I made great use of it. My hands blurred as I fired off Round trip after Round trip, flooding the entire room with them. Dozens intercepted the bullets aimed at me mid-air, rooted and eviscerated them in place, while the others latched onto the rest of the mercenaries. When the three-second boost faded, the world caught up, and I pulled with Aquila, yanking all of the mercenaries in one direction. They didn''t come flying to me, however. I nodded at Rin, and he acknowledged the assist. His gauntlets warped with crimson light as I lobbed the hapless screaming mercenaries at him, and he let a rip. Blood, shrapnel, and body parts scattered in all directions, but me and Klaue were spared from it. I raised my energy shield just in time. Natasha and Rin got their shields up as well. "Holy shit boss!" Rin roared as life energy flooded him. "That was some rush." "Glad I coud help," I said offhandedly. "Couldn''t you have just shot them?" Natasha asked with a scrunched nose as she surveyed the carnage. "And deny Rin a chance to literarily explode people with his fist?" I joked, but there was a greater reason why I was doing this. Rin and I needed experience pulling off cooperative moves. I was going to be relying on him a lot more going forward. Klaue whistled. "And they say I''m twisted." "The upper floors are clear, and I''ve secured access to the vault," I said with a suggestive tug of Klaue''s cuffs. "What do you say we call in the extraction team and head home." --- The next chapter is on Wednesday, and it will be 3k words long. You''re going to love it. Chapter 149 Chapter 150 Jean Grey led the extraction team by opening a portal and letting several SHIELD strike teams through. Hundreds of soldiers flooded the building through a shimmering hole in space, and Jean made her way to me dressed in the same black ops fatigue that the other soldiers had. ¡°Like what you see?¡± she teased. ¡°As a matter of fact, I do,¡± I said with a smirk. I hadn¡¯t taken the time to inspect her ensemble in the closet properly, but now that we¡¯re in the open¡­ ¡°It¡¯s streamlined, flexible, and has tons of pockets. I mean they¡¯re no good for me, but maybe the new team could use something like this.¡± ¡°Are you talking about Jean or her clothes,¡± Rin asked. I raised a brow in faux confusion. ¡°You two lovebird can flirt later,¡± Natasha said. ¡°We need to lock down this building before the surrounding players get any ideas.¡± ¡°Right then,¡± I said, pushing Klaue forward. ¡°You¡¯re going to want to take him. He knows where everything is. I want to say sorry about the central console in advance. The fight got a little intense.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t end it immediately?¡± she asked. ¡°Believe it or not, the asshole had a full Vibranium body suit that is extremely impact absorbent. Makes him pretty difficult to put down without killing. He also had a strange magic weapon, which I snagged.¡± Nat frowned. ¡°Fury will want to see it.¡± ¡°And you can tell him that it¡¯s by paycheck for saving me several seal teams and an international incident. You have no idea just how much shit Klaue has packed in there.¡± ¡°I thought that¡¯s why we¡¯re paying you 200,000 for this operation.¡± ¡°It costs extra when you have to deal with bullshit magic,¡± I said. ¡°Besides, you should be over the moon. I¡¯m sure the Vibranium will more than make up for it.¡± Natasha kept her mind blank now that Jean was here, but she let it slip that the World Council was keeping a closer eye on me now that I was public. Jean went along with Nat, Klaue, and the extraction team to map out the building and all of the Vibranium depot. Klaue put on a good show, trying to hold on to every ounce of Vibranium by obfuscating and lying. He even tried to lead them into traps more than once. But after an hour, they discovered details about his hidden warehouses, weapon deposit, and bank account. Jean played her part as the uninterested Telepath and dictated the information as she received it, leaving them to use the information as they saw fit. She obviously kept parts of our share of everything but revealed enough to make Fury think he uncovered the motherlode when he went looking. The information team didn¡¯t connect the dots immediately, and when they did, they behaved as we¡¯d predicted and steered clear of Jean. Work sped up dramatically after the interrogation was done. Dozens of extraction teams mulled through portals with power tools, high-tech lasers, and rifles. Within hours, Klaue¡¯s skyscraper had been stripped of its Vibranium, leaving the surrounding players of Madripoor non the wiser. Fury didn¡¯t reach out until much later that day when I returned home to some beer and my Forge. I had the berserker staff laid out, dozens of paper with designs for weapons and was just about to head out to retrieve the first of the Adamantium in Manhattan. ¡°Twice in one day?¡± I asked. ¡°New York is not on fire, is it?¡± ¡°Fortunately for us, Domina is taking her sweet time,¡± he said. ¡°If memory serves, that¡¯s not a good thing. How close are you on the bomb project?¡± ¡°We decided that a nuclear bomb is far too much or a risk when there are a dozen other explosive options on the table.¡± ¡°By we you mean the world council,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m beginning to wonder. Who actually runs SHIELD. You or them?¡± ¡°Oversight exists for a reason, kid,¡± Fury said. ¡°Otherwise, you¡¯ll be come a tyrant without even realizing it.¡± Heh. Fury was subtle. ¡°You didn¡¯t just call me to tell me about the bomb. What do you need Fury?¡± ¡°The Inferno Knight.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t tell me one of the reasons why the World Council decided to out me was to broker a peace with Wakanda?¡± I asked, a bit baffled. ¡°They didn¡¯t need to ask. I was always going to be there.¡± ¡°It was actually me who recommended you be there, not them,¡± Fury said. ¡°I¡¯m not exactly pleased how this entire thing turned out, but it would¡¯ve been a waste not to use your status to cement the deal. T¡¯Chaka won¡¯t hear a proposal from the government and think it¡¯s legitimate, but he¡¯ll listen to you.¡± ¡°Will he now?¡± I asked. ¡°T¡¯Chaka recognizes a figurehead when he sees one. He¡¯ll know SHIELD is pulling the strings regardless. Might as well roll in with government SUVs and Quin jets.¡± ¡°Which is why you¡¯re going to be going with Jean by your side and a few other representatives from the Council. A sorcerer, and a representative from Magneto¡¯s team should seal the deal. The broad-spectrum approach will work to our advantage as will getting you off house arrest.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Even though you can handle it, we can¡¯t have our most valuable government asset on a hit list. We¡¯ve used Klaue¡¯s contact to put it out there. You¡¯re off limits. Anyone who cashes in your bounty gets a bounty on their head for double the price.¡± I frowned, seeing through Fury¡¯s ruse almost immediately. ¡°You do realize that will only provoke her?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve had a team of Psychologists look over her profile and history, and while she likes to make everyone thinks she is neurotic and unstable. She¡¯s everything but. She¡¯s far too organized and accomplished to lash out as long as we¡¯re not too aggressive.¡± ¡°That¡¯s one hell of a gamble at mine and the other mutant¡¯s expense. It just means the more dangerous elements will come looking for us.¡± I spoke. It was also a convenient way to side-stop both of his promises. No bomb or new identity. Granted, I didn¡¯t need it. But it showed me that I should¡¯ve been scheming against him ages ago. Still, I wasn¡¯t about to agree to anything without sweating him first. ¡°And let¡¯s not forget the kids. They¡¯ll be defenseless if the situation devolves further.¡± ¡°Nobody knows the location of your compounds except the sorcerers, you saw to that. And you were already in the crossfire of the ¡®big players¡¯ after New York. This tactic discourages the amateurs and buys you legitimacy with T¡¯Chaka, the Ten Rings, and any other major organization moving forward. We need them to fear you if we¡¯re ever going to make this alliance work.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll admit it¡¯s a half-decent strategy if you admit that you¡¯ve inadvertently put the kids in more danger. We¡¯re going to need better defenses. I want motion-seeking machine guns on the perimeter, turrets, mines, and dozens of motion detectors, all without any form of tracking.¡± Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. Silence. ¡°Don¡¯t you think that¡¯s a bit excessive.¡± ¡°You outed me for a second time, painted an even bigger target on my back, and tried to convince me it¡¯s for my own good, I should¡¯ve asked you for more,¡± I said in a scathing tone. ¡°Our relationship only works if we trust each other, Fury. Don¡¯t pull something like this again, for all of our sakes.¡± I cut the call and stared at the phone for a long moment before a smirk wormed itself on my face. Fury was trying to exert even more control over my life. The pressure from the World Council must¡¯ve been more serious than I anticipated, but I suspected it might¡¯ve not been that simple. This was the biggest chunk of refined Vibranium SHIELD has ever found. And even the ineffable Nick Fury is a bit stumped about what to do with that much power. Sure, he had other powerful secrets and means in his little treasure chest, but none of them were so pliable. A chunk of Vibranium gave Cap the SHIELD he used to win World War II. What could he accomplish with an entire complement of SHIELD¡¯s best scientists? Two days later, I stood beside Rin and Jean on an open field a few miles away from the village we¡¯d face the demons all those months ago. Natasha, Coulson, and Fury stood behind me, and behind them were several crates of Vibranium Ore, Ulysses Klaue, Fury¡¯s Mutant strike team, and a Quinjet with a Strike team. A small smile adorned my face when I noticed that I was unable to scan their minds. They were all wearing protection devices that kept me out of their heads. They wouldn¡¯t try so hard to keep me out if there was nothing to hide. The devices they wore was fare more elegant than Klaue¡¯s and wrapped around their necks instead of sitting on their heads like crowns. Luckily, no one saw just how excited I was, my face hidden by a new metal half mask, and I switched out my barebones armor for a Trench coat with dozens of metal plates strapped on, each carrying the protection runes. I also had a new Twilight Sentinel armor sitting in my Dimensional vault just in case. It was to be my public facing armor for mission with the Wakandans or anybody that could identify Vibranium or Adamantium. It carried 15 protection runes scattered throughout the body, half a dozen energy cores, several impact runes on my gauntlets, and precision runes on my knuckles. Rin got the same treatment, but he wore an upgrade of the casual armor I wore to fight Domina Hoard. It was made from metal really tough leather and 10 Protection runes. That freed up the gauntlets on his hands to take more combat runes like Precision, Impact, and Storage. Fully empowered with Burst, I was certain the kid could flip over a car. Jean had gotten the most love out of all three of us. She¡¯d gotten the Trench coat treatment. Except hers used raw materials from my first Trench coat on top of a corset-like armor. Overall, she had 20 Protection runes. She also had a short sword by her side packed with precision runes. All of that practice even netted me a fresh new upgrade in my class, bringing me to level four and bathing me with a lot of stat points. And while my fresh set of armor looked impressive on the outside, they pushed the limits of what I could get away with using regular Infernal Metal. With Vibranium and Adamantium, my weapons will be practically indestructible and will endure just about any offensive rune I could cook up and so would my armor. ¡°How long do you think they¡¯re going to keep staring at us like that?¡± I said to Jean with my eyes glowing red. I saw through the energy barrier camouflaging and protecting Wakanda. ¡°Not long. They¡¯re waiting on their Champion and King,¡± She explained. ¡°I can¡¯t imagine they feel very safe. It¡¯s not every day a small army of mutants and half-demons show up at your country¡¯s invisible border.¡± ¡°All the more reason why I think the kiddy club shouldn¡¯t be here,¡± I said loudly into the comms. ¡°I can feel the little girl squirming all the way from here, and Lauren seems far too comfortable, considering the situation.¡± ¡°Eat a dick, you white-haired prick,¡± Lauren said. ¡°It¡¯s her first mission, any my hundredth. Cut her some slack.¡± ¡°That¡¯s enough,¡± Fury said. ¡°This is neither the time nor place for this.¡± ¡°The wall is about to come down,¡± I said. ¡°The Black Panther has arrived.¡± The landscape in front of us suddenly shifted, transforming from a dense African Jungle to a plane occupied by hundreds of Wakandan soldiers. They wore colorful robes with Vibranium sown into them, and the backline rode =Rhinos and carried Vibranium weapons that hummed with a strange power. The Black Panther stood at the head, dressed in what I could best describe as flexible composite armor fabric that covered all of his features. His hand ended in claws, and he had a helmet shaped in the form of a Panther. He was enormous, easily over 240 pounds, and he had a bit of bulk in his middle section. I¡¯d expected a lot of things from T¡¯Chaka, but I did not expect the Black Panther to be a beefcake. I wondered how that transferred over to his strength, athleticism, and fighting ability. ¡°Wakanda does not take outsiders approaching its borders likely. What do you want Dante Sparda?¡± ¡°A deal, King T¡¯Chaka,¡± I said, banishing my half-mask. ¡°Wakanda does not involve itself with the outside world,¡± T¡¯Chaka pronounced. ¡°It¡¯s has been that for hundreds of years, and it will not change today. I will only warn you once. Leave.¡± My brows hiked up. Wow. ¡®I guess getting the bounty lifted only counted for so much,¡¯ I telepathically sent to Jean, who scrunched her face. ¡®I¡¯m still upset that he did that to you without your permission.¡¯ ¡°We went through a lot of trouble to set up this meeting,¡± I said. ¡°Stormed Klaue¡¯s impenetrable tower, stole all of his Vibranium, all for the chance to negotiate with you and save our world.¡± ¡°You would use what is rightfully ours as a bargaining chip to force cooperation?¡± ¡°Fuck yeah,¡± I said, hands stuffed in my Trench coat pockets. ¡°You would¡¯ve raised hell if we kept your precious Vibranium, and in case you¡¯ve not been watching the news, we have bigger things to worry about than fantasy metal we can¡¯t even process properly.¡± ¡°You hide behind your words, but your intentions are plain to see,¡± he said, scanning the entire team. ¡°You all hunger for power, most of all, him.¡± He pointed at Fury. ¡°Wakanda has always protected its people against all manner of threats. These ¡®demons¡¯ have never breached our border. We are safe and will continue to remain that way long after your war with them is over.¡± ¡°I know we have our differences, T¡¯Chaka,¡± Fury spoke up from the back, ¡°but I¡¯ve always known you to be a fair and sensible man. The demons are on every continent. And they don¡¯t care about your border. You can¡¯t bury your head in the sand and hope they go away.¡± A Wakanda on a Rhino huffed at the insult and spat to the side. ¡°Hide? Wakandans do not hide. You insult us Colonizer.¡± I chuckled at the exchange, and T¡¯Chaka ignored me, seemingly satisfied to talk to Fury for now. ¡°This is not the first time the Western world have claimed the world is about to end. It survived the First and Second world wars without Wakanda¡¯s interference, and it will do so again.¡± ¡°Except we¡¯re not dealing with some Nazi who discovered an artefact that he doesn¡¯t really understand,¡± I said. ¡°The demons are the real deal. I should know. I¡¯m part demon. The strongest among us can move faster than a fighter jet, manipulate gravity, fire, and other fundamental aspects of reality, and let¡¯s not forget our runic magic, and our endless hordes. Vibranium tech or not, you¡¯re fucked if they turn their attention on you.¡± ¡°So, the rumors are true,¡± A teenager about Jean¡¯s age said from the top of his Rhino. He was T¡¯Challa, and his mind buzzed with a thousand questions, but he knew better than to speak out of turn. I didn¡¯t need to see T¡¯Chaka¡¯s face to know he was seriously considering our offer. He¡¯d seen the reports. The demons¡¯ abilities flew in the face of everything they knew. It was like we were empowered by a god or something far more insidious. Still, T¡¯Chaka was not convinced, nor could he make this decision lightly and without the support of the council. ¡°The head of the tribes must convene on your request, but I have a few conditions.¡± ¡°You want Klaue, the Vibranium, and see what I can do,¡± I answered. ¡°How did you¡­¡± he began. ¡°Because it¡¯s the same thing I would¡¯ve asked for, which is why you¡¯re not going to get it,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ll agree to the spar, but nothing else.¡± T¡¯Chaka frowned behind his mask and looked at Fury. ¡°Does he speak for you?¡± Fury looked my way before he shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s his call. His team caught Klaue and retrieved the Vibranium.¡± I grinned, folding my arms. ¡°Don¡¯t be shy, Fury. You did handle transportation,¡± I said as Jean scanned Fury¡¯s mind. It¡¯d taken some time to bypass his device, but she had experience with mental inhibiters. She could¡¯ve gotten through immediately, frying his device, but I¡¯d wanted to play it smooth. Predictably, Fury had double dipped. Not only did he not deliver all of the Vibranium, he also kept Klaue¡¯s remote sites a secret. She pried the answers I was looking for out of him without alerting the paranoid director. He¡¯d delivered nearly all of the Vibranium we recovered but was keeping quiet about the remote caches. Only a handful of people were aware of them. ¡°We cannot allow you to depart with what is rightfully Wakanda¡¯s,¡± he said, his muscles shifting slightly as he prepared himself to fight. I raised a hand, scanning the small army in front of us. In the distance, the King had already scrambled a few jets with guns at the ready. Some were aimed directly at me. ¡°Tell you what? I will fight you for it,¡± I said. ¡°What?¡± The tension fled from T¡¯Chaka¡¯s body. ¡°We both feel very strongly about keeping the Vibranium and Klaue, and You¡¯re the Black Panther and King. Isn¡¯t that what your superpowers are for?¡± ¡°We could simply just take the Vibranium and prisoner,¡± T¡¯Chaka pointed out. ¡°Our customs don¡¯t require us to extend dueling privileges to outsiders.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right on both fronts, but what other options do you have? You may have Jets and Rhinos in the back, but between the mutants here and my team, you¡¯d be surprised how little of an advantage that actually is. Besides, can you really afford a war with the rest of the world when the demons are literarily at your doors,¡± I said. T¡¯Chaka grumbled, and his eyes narrowed as he considered my offer. ¡°I thought you said the Black Panther was one of the best fighters on the continent?¡± Rin spoke up, eying the older man up and down. ¡°I didn¡¯t think he¡¯d scare easily.¡± ¡°How dare you!¡± A bald spear woman standing some paces behind the King raised her voice, and T¡¯Chaka raised his hand to quell any more protests. ¡°I will battle the outsider,¡± he said, ¡°But be warned, do not fight me with any weapon you¡¯re not prepared to part with.¡± I laughed. ¡°It¡¯s funny you¡¯d say that. I have an entire arsenal I¡¯ve been meaning to try.¡± Chapter 150 With a mental command, I made my Trench coat disappear, replacing it with a sleeveless shirt. I ramped up my Gravity Bracers, which had been on me for several weeks now, raising the weight until my Dexterity was about 70, which seemed agonizingly slow compared to my current limit. All of those weeks of relentless training bore fruit, but I couldn¡¯t have predicted just how much of an impact Promethean Body would have. Name: (Dante Sparda) Axel Warren Class: Arcane Forgemaster Lv4 HP: 1900 SP: 2050 AE: 2000/2000 DE: 2000/2000 Strength: 170 Dexterity: 190 Endurance: 205 Vitality: 190 Angelic Energy: 200 Demonic Energy: 200 Even with my recent gains, I still wasn¡¯t confident I could take Domina on. Unlocking all of my affinity cloaks was one thing, but going up against somebody who could match my Devil Trigger stats casually and had an entire control tier on me was something else entirely. T¡¯Chaka would be light work, though. I was looking forward to experimenting with Density Shift and Gravity Touch. I¡¯ve used them in spars to surprising results, but I¡¯ve never really used both at the same time with a weapon. A spear materialized in front of me with glowing runes running up and down its side. It had a single Protection Rune, One Precision, and Storage. It was shaped like a Partisan, and I¡¯d chosen it as the final weapon to master before I tried to forge my next Uber Skill¡ªIt was going to be a combination of all of my weapon skills and martial arts. I called the spear Mercury. Shifting stances, I pointed the spear at T¡¯Chaka and announced. ¡°Whenever you¡¯re ready.¡± With no warning, he surged ahead, easily matching my current speed, and pulled both of his claws back, ready to strike. I stabbed straight at his head and unsurprisingly missed. He leaned to the side, grabbing the spear, trying to yank it away from me while he lashed out with his clawed feet. He was stronger than I expected; his strength easily reached the high 90s, according to my estimate. I leaned into the strike, ensuring his shin collided with my Bracer. I unsummoned Mercury, leaving T¡¯Chaka overextended and mid-air while my free hand reached for his other leg. He spun, both of his legs, a bladed dervish, and I leaned back with a smile and watched T¡¯Chaka land unsteadily. He looked up at me with an accusation. The hand I blocked with glowed with a greenish light. ¡°What¡¯s the matter T¡¯Chaka? Something weighing you down.¡± I had activated Gravity Touch just before he spun, and it spiked his relative gravity by about a quarter. Three more touches, and he¡¯d be unable to move, but I didn¡¯t want to end the fight too quickly. I summoned Mercury, filling it up with Demonic energy, and activated Density shift, quadrupling the weight of the weapon and closing the distance between us. T¡¯Chaka flipped back before the spear met the ground with an explosion of sand, and I pushed forward, mentally noting the slightly reduced speed of T¡¯Chaka. He was pushing himself harder to keep up physically, but I knew it was taking a toll. My spear blurred, whipping, snapping, stabbing, and twisting, but T¡¯Chaka stayed ahead easily enough. Just as the five-second duration of Gravity Touch was about to elapse, I overcommitted with a swing, leaving my flank open. T¡¯Chaka was unable to resist, stepping into my guard and striking out with a fierce swipe. I let him cut me, but I returned the favor with an overhead strike to the back that grounded T¡¯Chaka. I only swung at half-strength, but a hit like that wasn¡¯t something you could easily shrug off. I applied a Second instance of Gravity Touch, renewing the fading one. People gasped, and one of the warriors nearly broke rank and charged me. T¡¯Chaka was thoroughly rattled, struggling to rise to his feet. I motioned to strike him, and he promptly spun out of the way, leaving him open for a Spear Thrust to the gut, empowered by half of my strength and a density-augmented Partisan spear. It sent him streaking across the clearing. But he was already on his feet before the five seconds duration of Gravitational Touch ran out, raring to go again. Scanning his mind made me want to take this fight somewhat seriously. Both those hits did not damage him. If anything, they only drained his stamina. Between the Vibranium armor and his enhanced condition, he was immune to most physical harm. This was the Black Panther¡¯s true advantage¡ªdurability and unbreakable claws. Most non-mutants would be hard-pressed to put him down. I could see him cutting through most of our entourage without much effort. T¡¯Chaka leaped forward faster than he¡¯d ever moved before and came to a hard stop at the end of Mercury¡¯s haft, claws halfway through. And that was still only enough to stop his claws briefly. T¡¯Chaka twisted his claws, shredding the metal just before I had a chance to banish the weapon, and I went on the offensive with a spartan kick. It folded him, but T¡¯Chaka still wrapped around my legs, lashing out. His claws dug into my Achilles tendons, crippling my second leg and flooring me. Mercury vanished before we hit the ground, replaced by my short swords, which blocked his descending claws. His claws chipped them but did not break them this time. I¡¯d been paying attention and upped the Density to the limit of eight times. I headbutted T¡¯Chaka before he could make another move, grabbed both of his arms, and twisted outwards. He let out a surprised scream as I overwhelmed him, but he was not willing to give in yet. He detonated the energy core in his suit with a command. All of the Kinetic energy I¡¯d liberally given him came at me, and I let it hit me in full force. It practically skinned me alive and thoroughly disoriented T¡¯Chaka, giving me the opening I needed to really cut loose. I rocked his jaw with a left hook, sending him flying, and I was on his ass before he even landed. He shielded his midsection as soon as he hit the ground, but that was never the goal. I grabbed his leg and wrapped myself around him. He tried to resist and check my submission maneuver, but I could read his mind, and I was far too quick for him. After four more slaps of Gravitational touch coupled with an arm bar, he had no choice but to submit. He gasped when I released him, rubbing his neck. ¡°You¡¯ve been toying with me this entire time. You could¡¯ve ended it immediately.¡± I rose to my feet, ripping off what was left of my shirt to reveal my healed body. ¡°When you wrecked my spear, all bets were off.¡± ¡°I will honor the terms of our agreement as much I¡¯d prefer not to,¡± he said. ¡°You can leavWtie, but know that this is not over. That Vibranium and the man who stole it belongs in Wakanda.¡± ¡°Couldn¡¯t agree more,¡± I said, ¡°we¡¯ll clear out and be waiting for you at the abandoned village. I know our fight has given your elders much to think about. Hopefully. You see things out way and consider the offer.¡± I summoned another shirt and my trenchcoat before we boarded the Quin Jet to the village. On the ride, Lauren was surprisingly the first to speak. ¡°With the way everybody talks about you, ai was half expecting you to end the fight with a single punch.¡± I shrugged. ¡°Reality is often disappointing.¡± ¡°The boss could¡¯ve done it,¡± Rin said with a huff. ¡°But then we¡¯d never know what the Black Panther can do.¡± ¡°Huh,¡± she said, looking at me appraisingly. ¡°More than just a pretty face.¡± This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. ¡®He forgot to mention that it¡¯ll guarantee the Wakandans underestimate the threat.¡¯ I smiled at Jean. She knew me so well. ¡®The plan was always to tank the deal then re-establish a connection banking on my knowledge and Fury¡¯s dishonesty. Let¡¯s just hope the Wakandans are as Xenophobic as advertised.¡¯ T¡¯Chaka¡¯s POV. ¡°There should be no discussion,¡± the head of the Jabari tribe said. ¡°We take back what¡¯s ours by any means necessary.¡± ¡°And what of the consequences, Jabari?¡± the Hatut Zeraze head demanded. Her tribe trained and provided the Dora Milaje. ¡°It is our sons and daughters that will pay for your bloodlust.¡± The head of the River tribe nodded in agreement. ¡°You¡¯ve forgotten the warning the child gave,¡± he said. Our King is the strongest Panther in generations, and he can overpower him. Think of what the other two members of his entourage could do?¡± ¡°I recognize the girl,¡± I grunted. ¡°Jean Grey. She¡¯s the former student of Charles Xavier, and if the rumors are to be believed, she killed her teacher with the help of the boy I just fought. The third boy remains a mystery, but I¡¯m certain he¡¯s almost as dangerous.¡± ¡°All the more reason to act,¡± the Jabari elder said. ¡°What about his request for collaboration?¡± the Merchant clan head questioned, saving me the trouble of bringing that up. She was a deadlocked older woman with a multitude of piercings adorning her face. ¡°What of it?¡± The border tribe leader said. ¡°The laws are very clear on the matter. They¡¯ve guided us for hundreds of years, and they will continue to do so.¡± ¡°We cannot leave our Vibranium in the hands of the demon child,¡± The mining clan elder said. ¡°It will invite challenge, and more like Klaue will come.¡± I held in a long sigh. The Council was rarely assembled for this exact reason, but their situational opposition to the King¡¯s wishes was why Wakanda has lasted as long as it has. No king can rule unchallenged without becoming a tyrant, but at this moment, the decision and, ultimately, the responsibility fell upon me. ¡°Fury¡¯s team is powerful, but not so much so that they can stand up to Wakanda¡¯s Army. We will surround them in the night and come morning, make them relinquish their hold on what¡¯s rightfully ours.¡± ¡°What of the boy¡¯s threat?¡± The River clan elder asked. ¡°He might talk big, but he¡¯s even more desperate than we are,¡± I said. ¡°The demons have already attacked them. They¡¯ll raid another Western country before they ever reach us. We have the upper hand. It¡¯s in their best interest to negotiate.¡± --- T¡¯Chaka made his move sometime before midnight. Jean saw him coming from literally a mile away. Wakandan¡¯s stealth tech was so good, none of Fury caught the literal Army that had been slowly approaching us. Jean and I popped into T¡¯Chaka¡¯s command vessel after excusing ourselves for the night. Our sudden appearance shocked the man, but not as much as his men completely ignoring his commands. ¡°How are you doing this?¡± he demanded. ¡°You¡¯ve heard of my friend, Jean,¡± I gestured to her as I summoned a chair for both of us to sit down. ¡°Her powers extend far beyond just mind-reading. She defeated Charles Xavier, you know.¡± ¡°Oh please, don¡¯t make a fuss,¡± she waved at me as she settled down. ¡°You knew we were coming,¡± he said as the realization set in. ¡°Righto,¡± I snapped my finger. ¡°Your quick. My type of King.¡± ¡°You cannot force me to compliance,¡± he said. ¡°Wakanda will not be puppeted by some unnatural force.¡± ¡°Ouch,¡± I said. ¡°I mean technically we can make you do what we want.¡± I shared a look with Jean, who looked at T¡¯Chaka. The Panther narrowed his eyes. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t even know it happened,¡± she said, sending a shiver up his spine. He was tempted to reach for the Telepathic blocker he had installed into his suit shortly after our battle, but he knew that might set us off. ¡°Relax,¡± I said. ¡°We prefer not to. After we tell you everything we learned. You¡¯ll have no choice but to partner with us.¡± T¡¯Chaka raised his brow, but after I started to tell him about what I¡¯d learned from the Telepath, Regan, who Jean had learned the illusion trick from, and Shaw¡¯s plan for the country, his face warped. He was confident in dealing with a demon army even though he really shouldn¡¯t be, but add an enigmatic secret organization led by a Billionaire with access to some of the most powerful mutants alive, and T¡¯Chaka¡¯s confidence grew incredibly shaky. To cement his loyalty, I even told him about the array point inside Wakanda and told him the location of several that he could see to back up our story. His face turned dark when Jean showed him video footage we both took of several locations on the African continent we checked out a few days ago. ¡°I¡¯ll have to see the original files to confirm they¡¯re real.¡± I tossed him my phone. ¡°Knock yourself out.¡± ¡°If everything you say is true. It changes everything. Wakanda has never been more vulnerable than it has right now.¡± ¡°But it doesn¡¯t have to be,¡± I countered. ¡°I already have a plan in the works that will not only protect Wakanda, but everyone else on the planet. All you all to do is take Fury¡¯s offer.¡± ¡°Why?¡± T¡¯Chaka asked. ¡°You retrieved the Vibranium, you battled me, you¡¯re the one with the plan? Why bother with Fury at all.¡± ¡°Because even though I don¡¯t trust him, I understand that I can¡¯t do it alone.¡± T¡¯Chaka narrowed his eyes. ¡°I know why I don¡¯t trust Fury. But why don¡¯t you trust him?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve seen the news. They threw me under the bus the first chance they got, and tried to ¡®walk it back¡¯,¡± I shrugged. ¡°Who in their right mind would trust that.¡± T¡¯Chaka hummed in agreement. ¡°Fury has always put America¡¯s interests above everything.¡± ¡°Which is why it should come to no surprise to you that Fury is keeping Klaue¡¯s cache from you,¡± Jean said. ¡°What!¡± ¡°Come on, Jean! I was working up to it,¡± I tutted with false annoyance. ¡°What is she going on about?¡± ¡°Jean found something interesting when she interviewed Klaue a few days ago,¡± I said. ¡°He has hidden Caches worldwide in case you came for him,¡± Jean said, ¡°some of them contain Vibranium. Fury is planning to keep that part of his business secret, and only handing over the Vibranium we found in his tower.¡± ¡°I see,¡± T¡¯Chaka said. ¡°You¡¯re right. I¡¯m not surprised, but it makes me wonder what manner of man are you? You operate on the edge, playing both sides. How do I know you¡¯re not just as bad as him.¡± ¡°Because I haven¡¯t had Jean enter your mind and alter it,¡± I said. ¡°Unlike Fury, my associates and I are powerful enough to play this in a radically different way but we choose not to. Maintaining a network of mind-slaves is tedious and bound to make enemies of everybody who knows you. I¡¯d rather cut a mutually beneficial deal with somebody I genuinely respect.¡± ¡°What are you proposing,¡± he asked. ¡°Fury doesn¡¯t know you know about his little off book project. So, why don¡¯t you let us handle the collection for you,¡± I smiled. ¡°We get you all of the Vibranium floating about, and in exchange you break us off a piece so that we can adequately protect ourselves from the demons.¡± T¡¯Chaka was about to protest, but I pressed on. ¡°It¡¯ll only be for me, my apprentice, and our Telepath here. No one else has to know, and to further sweeten the deal, I throw this in.¡± I materialized a pair of Bracers perfectly sized for T¡¯Chaka. ¡°It¡¯s a portable shield generator fueled by my magic and is activated by thought. It has four layers of protection. Nothing short of a bomb will get through them. T¡¯Chaka will be safe at all times. You may have cracked perfectly cloaking but I know you don¡¯t have forcefields yet. This is the next best thing.¡± The King¡¯s brow scrunched in deep thought. ¡°Get me a set for every member of my family and you¡¯ve got yourself a deal. Do this, and I¡¯ll make an armor for all three of you, but the Council can never know this meeting took place. After Klaue is in custody, I¡¯ll ensure he gives up the location of the caches as well. That way when Fury¡¯s haul vanishes from under him, his attention will be focused on us and not you. And as for the Vibranium recovered, you can keep 10%. I have a plan to ensure you¡¯ll be able to use whatever you make in public.¡± I smelled a plan cooking. ¡°I knew I¡¯d like you.¡± I offered my hand, and he shook it. ¡°So, are you going to tell me your plan?¡± ¡°Only if you tell me yours.¡± --- The King withdrew his forces after our conversation, and come morning, T¡¯Chaka approached SHIELD and agreed to join the Council and even provide weapons, but only if his conditions were met. Every last scrap of Vibranium borrowed and used must be returned to Wakanda after the war, with no exceptions (except us, of course.) SHIELD must promise to mobilize forces to Wakanda should the demons ever bring their war to their doors. This stipulation was a safeguard in case my crazy plan didn¡¯t work, and I didn¡¯t blame him, but the entire interaction cemented our relationship with the Wakandans and secured our most valuable asset so far, Vibranium. The collection started that very night. Jean and I portaled all over the world that same night and ransacked every last public cache, excluding ours and presented it to the King. Fury had cleared out a third of them already, and given a few more days, he probably would¡¯ve gotten every last pound of Vibranium. But we were too fast. To really put the screws to Fury, I called in just as we finished and told him about the special ¡®favor¡¯ T¡¯Chaka had called in. Apparently, Klaue had traded the death penalty for the location of his secret stashes. I could practically hear Fury¡¯s teeth grind over the phone. I delivered the one ton of Vibranium we discovered and watched, amused, as T¡¯Chaka gave us the raw material in addition to the suit he had already manufactured. I told Fury he handed it to us to handle the next challenge coming¡ªfacing the Hulk. In the meantime, I made my first batch of Twilight Adamantium. It was my second attempt at mixing both Angel and Demon Energy into metal as I forged it. I idiotically tried it on my first batch of Adamantium, and surprisingly, it worked perfectly, but only because I used Unity. While I was at it, I bonded an extensive network of runes I¡¯d developed using all of the knowledge I¡¯d acquired so far. In my feverish dedication, I even reworked my Precision Rune using the runes I saw on the whip of the Nigerian woman. I tied in four advanced Precision runes, four impact runes, and as many as 10 storage runes for each energy side. I knew all of them would not fit on the weapon I intended, so I powered up Unity and used Unite on the liquid metal concoction. It cost me 10,000 DE and 10,000 AE. But thanks to my new stats and my meditation skills, it took me no time at all. When the liquid was ready, I poured it into a mold of a slender great sword designed to be an equal for Rebellion. The blade came out simple and straight. I sprung out with an ornamental handle using regular Twilight metal now. I figured it was time I graduated from using Infernal Metal. I was still using Unity to facilitate the creation and paid the energy tax, which I could now afford. The end result was something truly unbelievable. Severance (Grade Max-) 30,000 AE and DE, Runes. Forged with an innovative mixture of Adamantium, Demon Energy and Angel Energy, this slender greatsword is a masterwork far beyond the current level of the Arcane Forge Master. It possesses a few potent innate abilities alongside other potent runic enhancements. Conduit¡ªuniversal conductivity with all demonic and Angelic affinities Extreme durability¡ªthe influx and binding of all Nephilim affinities further enhances its ridiculous strength and potency. Adamantium edge--Cut through most materials with enough pressure and force. Enhancement Enhanced storage (1000 AE + 1000 DE) Enhanced Impact Advanced Precision Chapter 151 Severance (Grade Max-) Upgrade with 30,000 AE and DE, Runes. Forged with an innovative mixture of Adamantium, Demon Energy, and Angel Energy, this slender greatsword is a masterpiece far beyond the current level of Dante, the Arcane Forgemaster. It possesses a few potent innate abilities alongside other potent runic enhancements. Conduit¡ªuniversal conductivity with all demonic and Angelic affinities Extreme durability¡ªits ridiculous strength and potency are further enhanced by the influx and binding of all of Nephilim affinities. Enhancement Enhanced storage (1000 AE + 1000 DE) Enhanced Impact Advanced Precision I was practically drooling when I saw the stats, which pushed me to make even more Adamantium and start the next project I''d been thinking about for weeks-- a pair of combat boots made from Twilight Adamantium and Vibranium to complete Eryx. The gauntlets always came in clutch when I wanted to get up close and personal, but I always felt they were incomplete because I couldn''t throw out kicks without leaving myself exposed. Eryx (Grade 3), Third Evolution (5000) A pair of oversized metal close-quarter gauntlets with spiral engravings tap into Dante''s primal connection to Explosion. Deals 3x base damage of Rebellion with each Punch. Abilities: Mid-Tier Explosion Manipulation, High-Tier Fire Manipulation. Before I began forging in earnest, I grabbed a chunk of Vibranium and Twilight adamantium and fused it with Eryx using Unity. It was strange using Unity on a portion of Rebellion. After all, all of Dante''s arsenal was borne from the central weapon itself, but the upgrade went off without a hitch. In fact, it turned out better than expected, bringing the weapon to a summit I would''ve never attained with normal upgrades. Eryx (Grade Max-) Upgrade with 30,000 AE and DE, Runes. A pair of oversized Twilight metal and Vibranium close-quarter gauntlets with spiral engravings that tap into Dante''s primal connection to Nether Fire and Explosion. Deals 3.5x the base damage of a fully upgraded Rebellion. Adding Demonic energy greatly increases the damage output. Abilities: Conduit, Peak Explosion Manipulation, Peak-Tier Fire Manipulation, Extreme Durability, Titanic Force. Titanic force¡ªBreak through most materials with enough pressure and force. Osiris, Aquila, Arbiter, and even Rebellion got the same treatment. Max grade pushed Osiris''s damage to be 1.2x base Rebellion damage, increased the Wind manipulation to Peak, and increased the speed boost to 75%--which was unreal. Aquila got the most robust increase. The blade and its projections now matched Rebellion''s base output, and it granted me a passive boost to my dimension affinity when using it, raising it as high as Peak. I could now generate as many as seven spectral shurikens with each swing. Arbiter got 4.5x the base damage of Rebellion in the same grade, maxed out eruption powers, and maxed out weight manipulation, which let me 12x the weight of the weapon with enough energy influx. However, the weapon that changed the most was Rebellion. It gained a shifting turquoise look, a thinner overall profile, and a unique ability on top of the significant damage bump the weapon got. Endless Well: Rebellion can now act as a conduit for most demonic and angelic techniques and serve as an energy stabilizer when combining multiple affinities. It has no conceivable energy limit. The blade will not break regardless of how much energy is channelled into it. Passively channelling energy into it increases its base damage. I whistled, delighted that yet another shackle had been broken. I didn''t even need Shin''s stores to upgrade my weapons anymore. I could do that all by myself. The boots that started this entire upgrade spree came out better than expected. They were just as powerful as Severance. I used more Vibranium than Adamantium because I wanted to keep the boots relatively light for all of the kicking I''d be doing, but that didn''t stop me from bathing them in runes. A set of six impact runes and storage runes were paired on each boot. Because I used Vibranium as a base instead of Adamantium, the storage function of the boots came out better than expected. Overall, I was satisfied with the final product. Invictus (Grade Max-) 30,000 DE and AE, Runes Forged from Twilight Vibranium and Adamantium, the Invictus was created to be companions to Eryx and emulate most of its abilities, but with one notable difference. They are lightweight, whereas Eryx is heavier. Conduit¡ªuniversal conductivity with all demonic and Angelic affinities Vibrational impact¡ªBreak through most materials with enough pressure and force. Extreme durability¡ªextremely impact absorbent due to influx of Nephilim affinities. Enhancement Enhanced storage (900 AE + 900 DE) Enhanced Impact It was morning when I was done with my work spree, and just as I was about to begin working on the suit for the team, I noticed that I was out of Vibranium. Luckily, there was a hidden cache location I could hit up in mid-town, so I decided to make a day of it. Jean needed to check in with some of our future recruits, and It''d give me a chance to gather energy for the second Uber skill combination I had planned. Plus, a road trip would be the perfect place to ask for what sort of enhancement they''d want for their armors. After Jean portaled us to New York, I bought a convertible off a lot using my Peter Quill ID and paid in cash. I, of course, mentally pushed the man to forget the entire interaction and made sure he erased the tape for the day. The Cache was in a rundown neighborhood protected by retired contact of Klaue''s. I could sense him tense up the moment we parked, and he immediately recognized me. Today felt like a no-mask day, so I went with it. Jean put him to sleep before he could fetch his rifle, and we went about our business of retrieving the cache. Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. It was packed with nearly 100 pounds of Vibranium, several bars of gold, and 100,000 in different denominations. After Jean Teleported it back to the house, we hopped back into the car, and on a whim, I headed towards Mid-Town High. "Why are we changing directions," Rin asked. "I thought we were going to Hell''s Kitchen to see that blind lawyer?" "After we''re done with this," I said. "Peter Parker is my MVP. He''s the only one smart enough to lead this little team I''m forming, and pretty soon, he''ll be strong enough." "You know, we don''t have to drive all the way down to Mid-town. If I concentrate really hard, I can tell you what he''s thinking right now. What he is like." "You''re just showing off," I said. "But I want to get a good measure of the kid. I know more about him than just about anybody else. I know how he becomes what he becomes, and I know the trauma that pushes him to that point. I also know the lengths he''d go through to do what he think is rights." "You make him sound like the second coming of Jesus or something," Rin grumbled, and I smiled. "Jealous, my young Padawan? He might be impressive, but he is predictable. You and Jean are not, which makes you far more interesting as friends and allies," I said. "Growing as a leader is realizing you need both to succeed." The rest of the drive was mostly quiet, with Jean and I trading idle conversation. The first time she spoke up was just as we reached the parking lot outside Peter''s school. "You need to floor it," she said, grabbing my hand. "Peter''s in trouble." --- "Keep up, Ned," I yelled, tugging on the sleeves of his shirt as we climbed up the stairwell, taking two steps at a time. "You''re dead!" Flash''s voice echoed from below, accompanied by the thunderous footsteps of the football team. "I told you to leave it alone, Ned!" I yelled. "Why didn''t you just listen." "He''d never stop if I did," Ned said between huffs. "Somebody had to stand up to him." I muscled the door open and was nearly blinded by the natural light. We were on the roof, and Ned''s eyes popped wide open when he realized. "Well, you better hope he won''t throw us off that roof for making him tank his essay." "He wouldn''t," Ned said nervously. "Would he?" "You bet your ass I would," Flash came up behind us, and Ned and I gave him a wide berth. Three jocks flanked him. "I''m tired of you little shits not knowing your place. The coach has benched me because of you. I''m going to miss scouting season!" "Aren''t your parents super rich?" I asked. "Can''t they pay for your college?" "That''s not the point!" Flash snapped. "You need a reminder of how things really work." He stalked us down. "And I think a wedgie isn''t going to cut it this time." "Leave them alone, Flash!" Mary Jane came barreling through the door, panting. "I already told the principal you were up here. You could get into serious trouble." Flash''s face went pale, and Ned saw the weakness, so he pressed the advantage. "You''re not so big and scary now," he said. "When are you going to realize that in the real-world people don''t behave like animals." Flash eyes fixed on Ned and he rapidly approached him, driving Ned closer to the edge of the roof. "And when are you going to realize fatso that this all that brainpower is useless if you can''t throw a punch." He shoved Ned back, pushing him closer to the edge. "Are you going to let people fight your battles for you? MJ, that skinny twig Parker? When are you ever going to stand up for yourself," he said, pushing Ned to the floor. Flash might''ve had rocks for brains, but he was a fairly competent bully. He was trying to provoke Ned to fight back and give him a good reason to really hurt him. I put myself between them before anything else could happen. "Go, MJ. Get a Teacher." MJ hesitated for the slightest moment before she took off, and I turned to Flash. "Don''t know why you''re in such a rush, Parker?" he said. "You''re both going to get your asses kicked." "That''s enough Flash. A teacher will be up here any moment," I said. "You need to put a stop to this before it gets out of hand." "Of course you''d say that," he sneered, grabbing hold of my shirt. "You''re just as big of a pussy as your friend." He shoved me back. I stumbled backward, tripping on Ned''s legs, which were slightly stuck out, and went over the edge before I even realized it. The screams were deafening, none of them mine. The loudest was Ned''s. Panic flooded me when I saw the rapidly approaching ground. I flailed once, then twice, and promptly shut my eyes, expecting death. What I hadn''t expected was to feel a sudden weightlessness and two arms wrapped around me. The air around me suddenly shifted, and when I opened my eyes, my rescuer was setting me on my unsteady feet in the parking lot. I tried and failed to blink away the nausea, but I recognized his face immediately. "Incoming," a woman said. "Oh my god, it''s you. You''re Inferno¡ª" I lurched forward as the vomit poured out of me. --- ''Thanks for the warning, Jean,'' I sent with a disgusted look on my face. ''This were new clothes.'' I took several cautionary steps away from Peter; He was still projectile vomiting. Jean and Rin exchanged some looks. "I was expecting somebody more---" Rin spoke. "Put together?" Jean provided. ''He''s only fifteen. Cut him some slack,'' I sent mentally. ''So am I,'' Rin sent back. ''Fair enough,'' I admitted. ''But give Peter a chance he''ll surprise you.'' Peter, finally done with the vomiting, looked up and wiped his mouth. "What is going on?" "Saw you falling on my drive. Couldn''t very well let you die." Peter opened his mouth, closed it, and saw how fast we were away from the building where he had fallen. "You must''ve been moving at over 300 mph if you could catch me and bring me back to your car in seconds.'' "You''re quick, aren''t you?" He swallowed. "And you''re the Inferno Knight. Dante Sparda." "I didn''t pick that name, you know?" I said, chuckling. "The media does what it does, and it stuck." "It''s better than anything you could''ve come up with," Jean said, leaning against the car. "At least they didn''t call you Hell boy or Fire man." "I don''t know about Hell boy. It''s got a ring to it," I chuckled. "If anyone can pull it off, it''s you, boss," Rin said. "We''re in public, Rin. Please, call me Mr. Boss," I quipped, and Jean shook her head. Noting that Peter was obviously confused, Jean introduced herself. "Jean Grey," she offered her hand. "I''m his partner." "Peter Parker," he greeted with his cheeks flushed, "but you already knew that." ''A crush on first sight?'' I sent to Jean. ''I got to tell you. I''m really jealous, Jean.'' She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. ''Like you don''t have that effect on people. Rin practically worships you.'' Yeah, he did. It was cute in the beginning, but it was starting to become a problem. Case in point, I had to nudge him to greet Peter. "Rin Yamanaka," he said with a stiff look. "I''m his apprentice." "Apprentice?" Peter said, a bit surprised. "You''re all superheroes." Rin laughed at the mere suggestion, and Peter''s face flushed with embarrassment. "What do you think this is? A Saturday morning cartoon? In the real world, there are no Superheroes." "We''re all enhanced, if that''s what you''re asking?" Jean said. "I''ve seen theories circling around online that you''re some type of mutant." "But you''re not so sure," I said, reading his mind. "You think I am one of those things that attacked New York." "The violence reached his neighborhood," Jean said slowly. "His uncle was hurt." "I see," I said slowly, turning to Peter, who looked ashamed yet angry. "Jean, would you mind going to see the blind lawyer without me? You can drop off Rin at the Dojo." "I thought we were supposed to go together?" Rin protested, but I shook my head. "I''ll catch up to you. You can always call if you really need me." Rin had a complicated look. "I won''t," he finally said, turning to Jean. "Come on, let''s go." "See you later, Jean," I smiled and waved. "Don''t take too long," she said. "We need to be ready for the mission." I watched Jean walk away, disappearing behind a bend where she opened a portal, transporting them to their targets. Peter''s eyes followed Jean as well, but it was glued somewhere notably lower. "Like what you see?" "I didn''t mean to¡ª" "Hmm hmm," I hummed as I opened the door to my car. "Hop in kid. You''re a horny teenager. I don''t hold it against you." "Aren''t you like four years older than me?" Peter hopped into the car and then looked at me. "Wait, where are we going?" I put on a pair of sunglasses to hide the color of my eyes. I didn''t want any bounty hunter sniffing around. "To see your uncle," I said. "He''s in the hospital, right?" "No, they discharged him last night, but it''ll be weeks before he can go back to work." For a moment, I considered letting Uncle Ben be. The attack on New York was Domina''s doing, not mine, and I''d tried to keep the fight as localized as possible. I couldn''t intervene every time someone was in pain. That was a fast track to losing my soul. But Peter was important, and so was Uncle Ben. I couldn''t risk him dying before Peter became Spiderman¡­who knows, he might not need to die at all. The keys stayed in the ignition for a split second before I twisted it and let out a long sigh. "I''m going to fix up your uncle." "What!" "It''s the least I could do after everything that''s happened. You need the help." "Wait you can heal people!" "Among many other things," I said. "You were right when you said I was something else." "Wow¡­that''s just¡ªI have so many questions¡­but," he hesitated, and I read his mind. "You''re afraid that it''ll cost me something," I said. "It does, but it''s fine. It''s nothing I won''t be able to reverse eventually." Hopefully. "You didn''t throw that thug that hurt Uncle Ben through our apartment window," he countered. "Yeah, but he was in New York because of me. I had a bounty on my head for pissing off Domina." "Who''s that?" "Somebody a fifteen-year-old kid shouldn''t have to worry about just yet. Get some powers, then we can have that conversation." Peter pouted, and I pulled onto the main road and floored it. "You think you''re protecting me by keeping things secret, but you''re only making sure I can''t protect my aunt May or Uncle Ben when the time comes." I raised a brow at Peter''s tone. There was a fire about him, more than I expected. Maybe the break-in incident changed him more than I expected. Or perhaps I had no true measure of what his life had been up until this moment. "Tell me about the attack," I said. Chapter 152 Peter told me exactly what happened, and I realized he was far more prepared for the mantle of Spiderman than I gave him credit for. It turns out that it was Coulson who saved his uncle from the bounty hunter. The hunter apparently made his way across town after sustaining a major injury from one of my glancing blows, and he broke into their apartment to take refuge. Uncle Ben put up a fight and got stabbed for his troubles. The man was about to go after Aunt May when Peter stepped up. The hunter got a few licks in before Coulson showed up and put a hole in the bastard''s brain. "Do you think the agent did the right thing? I mean he could''ve rescued you without going for the kill shot." Peter took on a somber look. "I''m not losing sleep over his death, if that''s what you''re asking, but I would''ve taken a less lethal option if it was available." I nodded. "Good answer," I said. "Killing isn''t something that should come easy, but sometimes there are no better options." "Are you talking about those things that you faced?" "Yup. I must''ve cut through hundreds of them during the demon attack," I said. "When you''re in the thick of it, with enemies boxing you in at all sides, sparing your opponents shouldn''t be your first priority, not if the alternative means your death." Peter gulped. "Why are you telling me this?" "Because you''re a smart boy, Peter. That attack is only the beginning. I''m moving heaven and earth trying to make sure we can stop the lunatic behind all of this, but there are no guarantees," I said. "You might have to protect yourself and your family again before all this is over. I''d rather you not die." Peter''s lips formed a thin line, and he looked at me, mind racing. We were just houses away from his place. He clearly had a lot to say, but were out of time. I materialized a vail of healing potion and handed it to Peter. "Make sure your uncle drinks that. Every last drop," I said. "What''s in it?" "Magic and a tidbit of my soul," I chuckled, and he got the sense that I wasn''t lying. "Magic,¡± he mouthed. ¡°Is that how you do everything you can do?" "What else could it be?" I smiled at him and then produced a wad of cash. It was about 20k "Before you go on about handouts and debts and it''s not right," I said, "It''s not about any of that. This is about your Uncle Ben and Aunt May. Those bounty hunters were in New York for me. And after all those hospital bills, your family could really use it. As for where it came from," I produced a new phone, opened up the camera, and pulled Peter in for a selfie with my glasses raised. "That should make sure they believe you. My phone number is also in there. Call me in case of emergencies, and I really do mean emergencies." I kicked Peter out before he could get in a word of protest and waved him goodbye. I wanted to kid myself that the interaction had been completely calculated and there was a real reason behind everything I did, but I really did feel for Peter. The money should, at the very least, take the edge off financially and give him the cash he needed to put together a half-decent starter suit when the Spiderman thing finally happened. --- Jean POV I appeared in front of Matt Murdock''s apartment just as he finished with the last of his bandages. He''d had a particularly hard night at the docks dismantling, yet another Hand trafficking Ring, and the ninjas had been lying in wait with hatchets and knives. He''d succeeded with his mission but barely got out alive. Downing a glass of whiskey followed by a veritable cocktail of painkillers was becoming a nearly daily habit. It was a small miracle Foggy hadn''t discovered his injuries. Matt was instantly on alert when he picked up a new heartbeat outside his door, and he slowly rose to his feet. "I''m not here to fight you, Matt Murdock," I spoke in a soft voice. He heard me easily through the door, and his heartbeat spiked. A dozen thoughts raced through his panicked mind before concluding that I was an enemy ninja who followed him back home after the mission last night to finish the job. How else could I walk up to his door without him hearing me coming? Still, he found it odd that I would announce myself and allow him to prepare himself. Hand ninjas were not known for being honorable. Perhaps it was pride then. I almost chuckled at his frantic reasoning. His fears were not entirely unfounded. "What are you?" he demanded in a low voice to test how keen my senses were. "A mutant," I said. "I''m sure you must''ve heard of us." Talks of the mutant registration act had been popping up again in light of our latest heroics after the attack, but Matt hadn''t been paying much attention to it. Court cases and his nightly activities had consumed every waking moment. "You''re like that man with white-hair on the news," he said. "He''s a good friend of mine," I said, "and we have a common enemy. What if I told you that the Hand is responsible for the attack on New York." Matt froze. He trembled at the thought. He''d been mired in violence for weeks now, trying to set things right in Hell''s Kitchen, helping the neighborhood return to some semblance of normalcy. "That''s impossible. The Hand''s soldiers are masked ninjas and undead men. They thrive in the shadows. They don''t¡ª" If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. "Operate in public? Work with actual demons?" I asked. "Where do you think their reanimation magic comes from? Respectfully, you know next to nothing about the opponent you''ve sworn to defeat. And it''s going to get you killed." "How do you know so much? Why should I trust you?" Matt demanded. ''Because I can read people''s mind,'' I spoke telepathically as I stepped into the room via a portal. "And I could''ve killed you if I wanted to. And so could the Hand." Matt jumped, flipping backward, Hand reaching for a knife in his kitchen. He considered my words carefully before he decided to listen to what I had to say. He hadn''t the first clue on how to stop me yet, but he knew he''d make it out of this somehow. He''d been in tighter spots. "That confidence of yours will get you killed," I said, earning a slight frown from Matt. He was a bit full of himself, but I supposed he''d earned the right to. He''d dismantled entire criminal organizations with nothing but his fists. "Anybody told you that was annoying?" "I usually don''t tell them I can read their minds," I smiled at him, but that didn''t put him any more at ease. "You said I was uninformed," he said, relaxing his stance. "So, educate me." "I can best describe the hand as a pet project of a half-demon named Domina." Matt paled, his stoic fa?ade instantly dropping. "Demons? As in actual biblical fallen angels?" "Domina and her kin don''t come from any holy book," I said. "As my friend and master explain it, they''re technically aliens from another dimension hellbent on world domination." "You can''t actually expect me to believe that?" I raised a finger and made half of his apartment float. "They''re no stranger than what we already have on earth. They''re just more hostile." Matt''s body tensed. His senses perceived the impossible. I gently set the objects in his apartment down, and although he tried not to give away much, I could feel the panic rolling off him in waves. "Assuming what you''re saying is true¡­then why would this Domina bother with setting up international Cartels and Human trafficking rings." "Truthfully, I think it''s out of boredom and profit than anything else," I said. Matt''s mouth went dry, and he settled in a chair on the corner. "They see us as playthings." It was more of a statement than a question, but I answered anyway. "Yes," I said. "Regrettably so. And while you''re doing great work fighting them on the ground-level in Hell''s kitchen, we have a more immediate solution to the bigger problem." "You want to kill her," Matt said, with a tinge of concern in his voice. I recognized it. "Your compassion is misplaced," I said. "Domina and her family have murdered millions of people in the short 20 years that they''ve been allowed to operate on the surface, enslaved and experimented on hundreds of thousands, and will probably wipe us all out given the opportunity. They all need to go," I spoke with a finality that put Matt more on edge than my proclamation of the demons'' deeds. That could be a problem. I could''ve mentally pushed him and made Matt more amenable to my demands, but I knew that would make me worse than Charles. Manipulation was reserved for my enemies, not my friends and potential allies. "But we can''t win in a direct war against the demons. Their numbers are too great. However, we can close gates they''re using to travel to our world permanently," I said. "That is why we need fighters like you." "You can do all sorts of things with your mind and the news say that your partner can manipulate fire. I don''t see how I could possibly help you?" "Maybe not as you currently are," I said. "But you have the potential for so much more." "I''m not sure that''s what I want," he said. "Power had a habit of corrupting people, even those with the best of intentions." "You seem fairly well adjusted," I pointed out. "You can see better than most with no eyes, and you''re one of the best fighters in the country. On top of all of that, your endurance is borderline superhuman. All those advantages have not turned you into a monster." "Seeking out fights at night dressed in all black isn''t exactly well adjusted either," he said. "And what''s the alternative?" I questioned. "Let people suffer when you can clearly hear them. Let the demons plunge humanity back to the dark ages? Power is a lot like money. It doesn''t change you. It only reveals what''s underneath. And all I''ve seen in the time I''ve watched you is a genuine desire to help people. Do you have darkness in you? Yes, but so does everybody, and if you join us, you''ll have resources to overcome that darkness. Don''t let fear be the reason you refuse the call of duty," I said, then telekinetically floated a phone I had in my pocket to him. "Call the first number on Speed dial when you''re ready, and it should go without saying, tell no one about this meeting." I opened another portal with a twist of my fingers and stepped through. --- Rin I walked into the Dojo on the address the boss gave me came face to face with the woman who ran it. She was in her mid-twenties and slightly on edge when she saw me. Though she hid it fairly well, I could see the tension in her muscles. It was like a coiled spring, ready to lash out at the slightest moment. "Can I help you, kid?" she asked. "You''re Colleen Wing?" "I am. You looking to sign up?" she asked, and I shrugged off my jacket. "No," I said, ¡°I''m here to kick your teeth in. The leader of your crazy group is responsible for what happened in Culver University and New York. It nearly got me and my friends killed, and you''re going to help me get to her." Colleen blinked, my body immediately tensing. "I don''t know what you''re talking about." "You''re not a very good liar, are you?" I moved, closing the distance between us, and kicked out. Colleen stepped to the side masterfully and tried to sweep out my leg from under me, but I flipped and lashed out. It broke through her guard and sent her flying into the wall. I winced. My power control still needed more work. Dante had given a thousand and one lectures about holding back when fighting against regular people. Logan had been a great partner to test my limits, but I was constantly injuring him even when I didn''t mean to. "Get up," I said, deepening my voice, and Colleen looked up at me with some measure of surprise. "I''m not going to fight you, kid. What I am going to do is call the police," she said, springing up to her feet as she circled the room, moving towards one of her sparring swords. I scoffed. "Call the police? Don''t you mean your boss, Bakudo? Ever wonder who he answers to?" Colleen froze for a beat at the mention of her mentor''s name, and I pounced. She rolled to the side, dodging my kick, snatching her bokken as she came up and took a defensive stance, angling to the side. "That won''t save you," I said and pounced again with a kick, but this time, she was ready for me, lashing out with an extended stab to the chest as she stepped out of the way of my attack. I wove under the hit, mimicking the same technique she used, and we began to spar in earnest. I went after with a controlled frenzy, dishing out punches, kicks, knees, elbows, all attempting to overwhelm her, but Colleen the swordswoman was vastly different from Colleen the martial artist. She kept her distance, checking my advances with precise strikes from her bokken, switching stances when she thought appropriate, and weathered my attacks with as much grace as her petite form could manage. She targeted weak spots, trying to drive me back, but each hit made her blade vibrate in her hand, nearly throwing her off her game. After a minute of defending, I relented the slightest bit, and she went on the offensive, blending feints, footwork, and aggressive sword strikes into a devastating style that would''ve overwhelmed most, but it hardly left welts on my forearms. The fight came to an abrupt stop when I punched her bokken instead of trying to dodge or parry it as I''d typically did and shattered it. I sent her flying into the wall with a half-hearted palm strike to the chest, which drove the air out of her lungs. She was struggling to stand as I came close with an anger I didn''t have to fake. "Her name is Domina, and she''s the devil. New York and Culver are not her only massacres. Look into what happened in Japan in the 80s. The entire underworld collapsed, and one woman rose to the top. I know it was her because somebody who was there described her down to the color of her eyes," I said. "The second I saw her at Culver, I knew we were fucked. Every finger of the hand reports to her despite what Bakudo might tell you," I said, "and the means you''re training the foot soldiers of a mass murderer." Colleen''s eyes went wide. I squatted down to her level and produced a cell phone. "I don''t expect you to believe me, but you should be the tiniest bit curious. Call me when they try to kill you." Rising to my feet, I picked up my jacket, and behind me, Colleen was already on her feet, hands wrapped around her white Katana, ready to draw it. I paused. "You''re a liar just trying to get into my head." "We will see, won''t we?" I said, stepping out with a goofy smile. That went better than I expected. I stuck to the script and didn''t break anything. The boss would be proud. Chapter 153 Dante We met up shortly after each of our recruitment trips ended, we headed over to Fury''s. He apparently needed to have a chat in person. We split up shortly after we reached the building and were signed in. Jean wanted to check in on Piotr, Rin on Kurt, and his former mates, and I headed over to Fury''s, where he was waiting on me with his usual stoic front, but I could tell the burdens of running SHIELD was weighing on him. More than that, I also sensed that he was angry about the double-cross, but they were not the first words out of his mouth. "I need you in Antarctica before the end of the week," he said. I blinked. "I thought it was not that much of a priority?" "It wasn''t until it was," he said, then sighed. "What aren''t you telling me?" I frowned, scanning his mind, and was shocked by what I found. The preliminary scan of Antarctica produced results that I should''ve expected, but I still somehow did not foresee. The explosion of gamma radiation created a fallout that changed the ecosystem of the North Pole. Strange luminescent stone structures rose from the ground, the temperature in the fallout zone trended warmer, and most odd of all, thousands of creatures caught in the fallout zone went into hibernation in strange crystalline cocoons. Subsequent scans over the following weeks showed that they gained a notable gamma signature, much like the Hulk, who they noted had hidden himself in a system of underground caves to escape the scathing cold. Fury and the Council were for once in agreement about what to do about the discovery¡ªobserve and analyze. It was far away from any country, so it would not pose much of a problem if the situation developed negatively. Plus, if they had a resource that could help them potentially reverse-engineer super soldiers, they''d take it. They became even more certain in their choice when the survey team they sent made discoveries over the subsequent weeks. They found traces of Bruce Banner''s DNA everywhere across the Fallout zone. It permeated the very air, giving them even more reasons to believe that the explosion mutated the surrounding animals. Shortly after, they found a secondary mutagen source, and it was Vibranium. After my little double-cross with T''Chaka, Fury had been considering cutting me loose from the expedition altogether until the survey team suddenly went radio silent. That was a day ago. They sent a secondary survey team escorted by an assault team over, but only a pilot made it back. According to the pilot, some flying monstrosity ripped into them the moment they disembarked. If not for his quick handling of the onboard guns, they would''ve ripped the Quinjet apart. The beast hadn''t gone down easily either. The cameras of the Quinjet didn''t get a clear picture of it, but it looked to be some Owl-fox hybrid. And the entire situation had Fury nearly pulling out his hair. He thought they''d at least get a warning before the monsters came out of their chrysalis. Worse yet, he hadn''t been expecting them to come out that strong or dangerous. Beasts like that could easily cross over to Greenland via flight. They had weeks, if they were lucky, before they were fighting another major threat. Fury was greedy, but not so much that he''d refused to cut his losses when the situation was spinning out of control. He was ready to call in an airstrike to flatten the Fallout zone and make do with whatever they could recover, but Betty and the World Council stayed his hand. The professor wanted Bruce back like Fury had promised for her help with his formula and creating Prometheans, and the World Council wanted to cut down the population and preserve the site so that they didn''t lose a potential resource to combat the demon threat. All that explained how I came to be in Fury''s Chair. He repeated most of what I already knew but was light on the details of the motivations of the various parties involved and the Vibranium. He expected me to uncover the various players but wouldn''t budge about the Vibranium. It was SHIELD''s ticket to supremacy. "I need someone with their eyes on the ground and the strength to handle whatever monstrosities Banner''s blood and the gamma fallout created," he said. "I hope our survey team is still alive, but I doubt that. More than anything, I need you to cull the herd. We can''t let those monsters leave the continent." "Cull? Not exterminate? Don''t tell me you want to experiment on those things?" "It''s out of my hands. The World council have spoken," he said. "You try telling Professor Ross we can¡¯t get her boyfriend back." I hummed, crossing my legs. "What you''re asking is very different from what we agreed to," I said. "Mutated gamma monsters will not be easy to put down, even for us. And you said there could be potentially thousands of them." "But you can do it?" "Yes. Safely? Probably not." I was stronger than I''ve ever been in both of my lives and with my new weapons, I was one of the hardest hitters on the planet. Still, I was only at the second stage of energy control and wasn¡¯t all that durable either. Bullets only began to reliably bounce off my skin, and I wouldn¡¯t risk a Sniper shot to any vital organ. "I find that hard to believe," he said. "Between the new Vibranium body suit and your team mates, there are very few people you can''t bring down." "Very true," I conceded, "but we''re up against a small army of gamma mutated monsters who probably have better regeneration than Wolverine and strength that rivals some of the strongest demons I''ve fought. Vibranium is durable, but it''s not unbreakable. There are ways around the miracle metal. I need more time to make sure my team is protected regardless of how the miracle metal holds up." "You have something stronger than Vibranium?" Fury asked with no small measure of surprise. "You''ve seen it," I said. "Natasha has a pair on her wrist right now." "Oh,¡± he said, visibly deflating. ¡°They''re decent, but not Vibranium good." "What about 10 layers of them?" I questioned. "Do you think that is Vibranium good?" Fury leaned back in his chair in careful thought. It was better than any armor they currently had, and given how effective they were, he could see how his men could benefit from having at least a set for themselves. "Time is the one thing we don''t have. What would it take to get you ready before Friday?" "Expending an irreplaceable resource I''ve been saving forever," I said mysteriously. I was talking about my upgrade token. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. I planned to use it on my simulacrum skill to buy me a few extra days. And yes, you read right. Days, not hours. My Simulacrum skill has still not been activated since my rebirth and, thus, not received the affinity boost from having two of its major governing affinity rise several grades¡ªTime, Space, and Mind. Conservatively, I expected a 50% boost. If I was really lucky, I could get a day and change. Increasing the skill to Adept should net me two to three days of dilated time at the very least. I had intended to use the upgrade token on my current Transcendent level skill or the two other skills I planned on creating but desperate time called for desperate measures. The crafting one especially would''ve probably elevated me to a town-level threat in weeks, and the combat skill would''ve likely had the same outcome. Still, I wasn''t going to complain about getting a literal Hyperbolic time chamber. In the long run, this was probably better for me, but I wasn¡¯t going to let Fury know that. I put on a somber face and looked him straight in the eye. "This is going to cost you, Fury, and I''m not talking about money. I''m going to need something just as irreplaceable for what I just lost. Privacy in all of my dealings with Tony Stark." "Stark?" Fury said a little too quickly. "What do you want with him?" "That''s my business, now, isn''t it?" Fury frowned slightly. "Is that all?" He gave in a bit too quickly, and I instantly knew he planned to go back on his word, but I expected that much. "Not even close. I want a quarter of the monster''s bodies we recover from the mission." Fury was genuinely concerned at this point. "All of the fancy artefacts and weapons I make got to come from somewhere," I said. "You just found out were." Fury had a complicated look. "So, you tear them apart and what¡­" "Rediscover how their unique abilities work and see if I can replicate it with my weapons. Even if I fail, it''ll help me better understand alien and human biology and make my next project that much better." My revelation had Fury looking at me in a whole new light, and it wasn''t very positive. "Does this strange curiosity of yours extends to humans as well?" "I''ve not filleted anybody in a back alley and turned their carcass into a weapon if that''s what you''re asking," I said. "I try not to kill people who don''t deserve it, and monster parts are infinitely less creepy to work with." Fury didn''t comment, but it was clear he was skeptical about my repulsion. While we were still negotiating, I asked Fury to grant both Jean and Rin a personal favor each and finally capped things off by asking for three sets of Laser pistols and rifles I''ve seen SHIELD running around with lately. I would''ve preferred to ask for the schematics, but I didn''t want to tip Fury off. But I was sure Professor Hank could unravel it and learn how to make them given enough time. They were for my future team. My desire to keep Fury on his current path was also why I didn''t ask for the Tesseract. Finally, we also ironed out the actual monetary cost of the mission, and it was nothing cheap. I expected to make close to $5 million for the mission, and I demanded that Rin and Jean get the same treatment. After everything they''d done for the country, it was high time they got paid as well. Fury reluctantly concurred but emphasized I told no one else, especially not the mutant underground. Who knew what they''d ask for? I chuckled, rising to my feet, and hurried over to Jean, who was visiting Piotr again. "What''s up with the radio silence," I asked. "I was beginning to think the Phoenix got to you again or¡ª" The words dried up in my throat as I came face to face with Piotr Rasputin. He was standing beside Jean, who looked a bit winded, resting in a chair in the corner. Piotr''s confused demeanor shifted to rage in microseconds, and he moved. He closed the distance between us surprisingly quickly and swung. I, of course, dodged, causing him to lose balance and stumble, ramming shoulder-first into the wall. "Long time no see, Piotr. Glad to see you on your feet." "You tried to kill me!" he roared, swiping at me with a brutal backhand, which I stepped back to avoid. "Well, you gave me a burn wound that was almost impossible to heal," I said. "Can''t tell you how many times I almost died because of it." "I was in a coma for months because of you!" he roared, glaring down at me as he advanced. The ground shook with each step. "You tormented me with fire." "Would you believe me if I told you that wasn''t me?" He swung again, but this time, I blocked with my Demonic Aegis Shield. I heard footfalls coming from the door behind me. There was likely a nurse coming to check what the commotion was about. The sound of the impact reverberated through the SHIELD and spread in every direction. The hit took 30 entire points off the SHIELD and had me worried that I might have to take the fight somewhat seriously. Piotr cocked his fist back and let a second more vicious punch fly, but I stood immobile, mind racing with thought. I couldn''t let him keep going. He was going to hurt somebody, and I wasn''t going to be on the hook for that. I pulled out my phone and yelled over to Jean. "You okay in there?" No response came as I dialed Kurt. It went through almost immediately as a third thunderous punch came down. "I need you at in the infirmary. The metal guy is awake, and he''s trying to take my head off." "Stop hiding behind that SHIELD and face me, you monster!" "Nah," I said. "I''m good." Piotr roared again, pulling back his fist, but before it connected to my shield, two agents came running in with their guns raised. "Stand down in the name of the United States Government and SHIELD," he said. "We won''t ask again." "Get a hold of yourself before you do real harm," the second one added in a more moderate tone. "SHIELD, the government? Where did you drag me?" Piotr demanded. "You really don''t remember, do you?" I asked, prompting a confused but decidedly angry look from Piotr. "Jean was overcome by an extradimensional entity who took you over and used you to test me," I said, slowly, certain before I even completed my speech, he wouldn''t believe me. "That fire you see when you''re asleep. It''s the Phoenix''s, not mine. You''re as much as a victim of its whims as I am and Jean." Piotr blinked, slowly shaking his head. "No¡­you were hitting me," he said. "Yeah because you were trying to kill me with your fire. The X-mansion was caught up in our fight. You laid waste to the facility." His eyes twitched. "I¡ªI¡ªdon''t believe you!" he roared and swung again at me. Several things happened in the span of a second. Kurt appeared across the hall, 10 feet from Piotr, and the more vocal of the agents opened fire. I activated Gust and Burst. I ran into the bullets flying, using my shield to absorb the damage, and grabbed hold of both of the agents before promptly rushing them out of the room. When I reentered, Piotr was already swinging at Kurt, but the Teleporter was faster. He appeared behind the metal behemoth and poofed away with him. Kurt remerged a few seconds later with a slightly panicked look on his face. "Piotr is really something, isn''t he?" "What''s wrong with him?" he asked. "He just woke up from a few months in a coma after being stuck in a mental hell reliving the most traumatizing beatdown of his life. He''ll pull himself together eventually." Kurt and I chatted for a bit longer before he teleported back to the mutant barracks, where Rin was waiting for him. Now alone, I looked at Jean and wondered what got into her. We told each other everything¡­well, almost everything. And she hadn''t warned me she wanted to try and wake him up. To be fair to her, I just agreed to volunteer her services for a mission in the Arctic with an accelerated timeline. We were both in the wrong. I felt for her temperature to make sure she was okay before shaking her a few times. She was out cold. I carried her in my arms, obviously not comfortable with leaving her in SHIELD. Still, my heart fluttered just looking at her. The last time she was unconscious like this, The mansion came apart because of her mental tug-of-war with the Phoenix. I hoped this was just a regular bout of exhaustion that could be remedied with some sleep. If it wasn''t, I was not sure how we''d pull off the rest of the plan. --- Getting to Yao''s took a phone call and some patience. Jean was still in my arms, and I was debating feeding her a potion but held back. Buying potions from the store was becoming quite a crutch, and I wasn¡¯t ready to jump the gun yet without getting the opinion of an expert. Yao confirmed my worst fears. Whatever Jean did sidelined her out for the moment. She didn''t need healing. She needed rest. Thankfully, she''d be up and walking in a few days, so it wasn''t that big of an issue. "She can begin the compulsions once she wakes," Yao said as we strolled down a stone path leading up to the same underground chamber where I initially underwent my first full-body upgrade. "Perhaps it''s better that this happened now. What you both have planned would''ve pushed her to her limit." "I thought Jean was like me. Inexhaustible, unbreakable." "That''s not exactly true, now, is it? Don''t you remember your burns?" "How can I?" She gave them to me. I touched my chest. "They''re confirmation that she should be better." "Power like that does not come overnight." "Yes," I admitted. "But this war needs it to. It''s why I am here. I need to undergo another metamorphosis and get your opinion on an upgrade I''m trying to get." I spelled out my plans to Yao, confirming my calculations. From everything she knew about affinities, she told me my guess was not too far off. As for my second Transcendent or Uber skill, it was to be my combat one. The Simulacrum upgrade went off without a hitch. In fact, it turned out notably better than I expected. (L)Paradise Simulacrum (Adept) Visit a mental plane fashioned by the Legendary Dark Knight Sparda for an extended period of time, during which no time passes in the physical world. You can bring people in and out of your mental slice of Limbo at will. Available for 96 hours every Two weeks. I got four days instead of the three I predicted, but between all of my improved affinities, it wasn''t that much of a surprise. Where the Simulacrum skill improved what was already there, my new Transcendent skill remade me just like it did once. I fed all of my weapon masteries, martial arts, acrobatics, parry, Devil Aura, Devil Eye, and meditation to create something better than the sum of its parts, and I got what I bargained for and more. Chapter 154 The Simulacrum upgrade went off without a hitch. In fact, it turned out notably better than I expected. (L)Paradise Simulacrum (Adept) Visit a mental plane fashioned by the Legendary Dark Knight Sparda for an extended period of time, during which no time passes in the physical world. You can bring people in and out of your mental slice of Limbo at will. Available for 96 hours every Two weeks. I got four days instead of the three I predicted, but between all of my improved affinities, it wasn''t that much of a surprise. Where the Simulacrum skill improved what was already there, my new Transcendent skill remade me just like it did once. I fed all of my weapon masteries, martial arts, acrobatics, parry, Devil Aura, Devil Eye, and meditation to create something better than the sum of its parts, and I got what I bargained for and more. (Transcendent)Death Symphony (Basic) The complete synthesis of your most effective Martial and weapons arts to create something profoundly inhuman. It embodies Dante''s innate adaptability and aptitude for combat, granting a higher level of intuitive violence and performance. Predator''s Gaze: Based on Devil''s Eye, this skill runs on Demonic and Angelic energy and grants you a passive 150-meter-wide domain where you can sense and track everything. Narrow your focus and improve your tracking by designating any object or creature as your Prey. It expands the domain intuitively, allowing it to reach as far as your eyes can see. Ability to sense energy is retained. Death''s Shadow: Innately know the weak spots of all foes affected by Predator''s Gaze. Hitting weak spots automatically triggers a Critical hit. This boosts your Damage by 20%. Demon''s Guile: Receive a greater sense of balance, danger, and intuitive body control. Grants a passive stat effectiveness boost of 30% to your Dex stat and Perception. Asura''s Temperance: Grants a greater sense and control of your strength. Grants a passive stat effectiveness boost of 30% to your strength and a 30% boost to all resource regeneration. Phantom Reposte: Imperfect parries nullify 80% of the attack received and reflect 60%. Perfect parries block 100% of the attack and return 80% Feral Flow: Grants a 0.5 boost to speed, Damage, and concentration for each attack you land. The bonus lasts as long as he doesn''t doesn''t hit. Switching weapons doubles the bonus for one hit. Bonus stacks up to 50%. Reaper''s Call: Reaper''s Call: Leverage the metaphysical weight of your existence and use it to dominate those you deem as enemies. People caught in the range of your aura skill are affected differently based on their strength. People equal in strength feel a 10% reduction in concentration, speed and an unshakable sensation of fear. The percentage ramps up by 10% for every 20% lead you have on your opponents. The Fear status also drastically increases. Sustained by the energy your soul naturally radiates. Walking Arsenal: Automatically raises all weapons mastery to Adept Tier and improves ease of weapon mastery by 50%. Works for all future weapons. I pulled the blade off my chest with instinctive strength and ease, the changes already jumping out to me. Predator''s Gaze rippled out the moment I laid eyes on Yao for next to nothing. Detailed information about her tumbled out like a full-on Identity from a video game. Yao-Sorcerer Supreme A centuries-old sorcerer and master of the mystical and martial arts in the truest sense of the word. Her advanced age gives an unmatched insight into every branch of magic. She''s immune from aging but can be killed by a skilled enough fighter. Weaknesses: Connection to Dark magic, limited immortality. Strengths: Magic, Martial Arts, Time magic. I blinked rapidly, taking in the information. Parts of Yao''s body also lit up, and I saw a vast network of interconnected vulnerabilities. I knew what places to cut, hit, stab, or punch to inflict maximum Damage, and I was sure if I focused on my perception field, I could probably predict what spells she''d use before she finished casting them. The entire experience was alarmingly manageable as my mind and my body adapted to the changes. I was about an inch taller, and my muscles were not quite as full, but I knew I was stronger, faster, and could better handle my weapons. "You''ve changed again," Yao commented. "Your eyes will draw even more attention." I caught a look at my reflection in Rebellion and saw that they glowed a more vibrant purple with my Sight ability enabled. I figured it was because my ability ran on both energies instead of one now. However, what stood out the most were the vertical slits I had now instead of round corneas. They practically confirmed the speculations of my ancestry. I deactivated Predator''s Gaze to see if it would change anything. It did. My iris shrunk and rounded out, returning to their normal size, and I let out a breath of relief. "Congratulations," she said. "You''ve grown again." "Enough to fight Domina?" I asked. Yao tilted her head slightly. "You''re not quite there yet," she said, and I nodded. I summoned my shirt and threw it on. It was larger than I remembered. "Any updates on the virus?" "You''re not going to like it," Yao said. "They''ve all been taken to the demon world." Shit. Yao went into further details, and the more she explained, it became clear that the demons never intended to synthesize the virus on Earth. Though it begged the question, why not just transport them to Limbo the second they got their hands on it? "Infighting," she explained. "Domina''s power gives her authority over the Cambions present, but she still answers to her older brothers, none of which are on Earth. She''s likely receiving more scrutiny for her failure to kill you or Jean. And I''m sure contesting her bounty did not do her any favors either." "Do you think they''d go after her if they know she set up Isha?" "Unlikely," she said. "Lumos might. I heard he and Corvus have a soft spot for her but he''s most inactive and moral of them all." "I''m not going anywhere near a mind mage and light magic user without Jean as backup," I said with a sigh. "We stick with Regan, then. Yao nodded. "How goes the recruitment," she said. "Dr. Hansen is ready to proceed." "Three down today. Natasha''s coming along slower than I''d like," I said, "but we don''t absolutely need her or the widows." "Yes, you do," Yao insisted with some brusqueness in her tone. "My Sorcerers might be eager to volunteer themselves, but it doesn''t mean I will let them risk their lives before we''re certain." This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. "Unify has never failed," I said. In fact, I was convinced it would be so successful I could offer Yao the process as a replacement for drawing from the Dark dimension, but I had a feeling I already knew what her answer. "I should get going," I said. Domina "Isha''s alive," Lumos said in his wispy voice, "It''s our responsibility to look for her." "Is it?" Enrique questioned, legs crossed on the stone table at which we all sat. It was no secret how we really felt about Lumos and his devoted caretaker. He accomplished in years what took us decades. It''d been cute when he overtook me, but Enrique nearly started a civil war when he won their little duel. Corvus was so far beyond that he didn''t need to worry about him for the next century or so, but that didn''t mean he didn''t see Lumos as a threat. I''d descended to Limbo on his request for a proper meeting, drawing me away from my other responsibilities on the surface. Oscorp had been a fun but vital distraction. Finding out the Hulk formula was not nearly as stable as Bruce Banner had advertised had been a bit of a setback, but with Oscorp''s help, we''ve been pushing the envelope, developing numerous alternative means of stable applications and strategically engineered improvements. The little man was devoted to making the perfect soldier, and Shaw and I were looking forward to reaping the benefits. It''d taken some persuading to muscle my way into the invasion, and Shaw had only agreed to include me when I promised him all of the land and technology, 60% of the Vibranium recovered, and the heart-shaped herb. However, our plan, which I''d been years in the making, fell apart overnight. Somebody took out Klaue right under everybody''s noses, and no one knew it was, but I have a pretty good idea. Until we secured another path into Wakanda, I couldn''t afford to waste my time indulging the most obnoxious of my siblings. "The mind mages have not been able to locate her," I said. "Besides, Dante Sparda is not known for his mercy. He''s butchered every last demon Isha and I have sent after him. Why would he spare her?" "For information?" Lumos pointed out. "I''ve studied the boy as well. He''s more dangerous than you''re ready to admit. He''s a younger version of me, and he has Jean Grey and Yao in his corner. You need to take a firmer hand with him." "For once, I agree with the twerp," he said. "He grew from a pup to a wolf overnight. I say its high time you rally your little fan club of ninjas and hunt him down." "And risk making him a Martyr in the eyes of the humans?" I shook my head. "It''s smarter to draw him to us. By now, Fury should''ve recruited him to stabilize the situation in Antarctica. They can''t have gamma monsters running around the continent. I know a few Cambions and mercenaries that would love a crack at him," I grinned. "Let the monsters wear him out so that we can strike when he''s at his weakest." "I would like to tag along," Lumos said, and I blinked, certainly not surprised but suddenly conscious. "I promise they won''t kill him," I said. "Just beat him within an inch of his life. You can ask about your darling Isha when they return with him." "I insist," he said with a tone that brooked no arguments, and I found myself subconsciously leaning back. Lumos was not one to raise his voice or put his rank to use like this. He was the meekest of all of us. Staring into his rainbow-colored eyes and pallid white face, which was adorned with his yellow-wheat hair, I wondered if there was darkness beneath all that blinding light. Silencing Dante just became an even bigger priority. I fingered my ring, checking to see if the enchantment to prevent mind-reading was still working before I looked up at him and finally spoke. "Well, if you''re sure. I''ll be forthcoming with the directions." Enrique whistled at the exchange. "I guess that leaves me to update Corvus." --- Dante After taking a portal home, I told Rin of the new changes, and although he really wanted to come along with me, I insisted he wait at home for me. He was faster and stronger now, but not so much that he wouldn''t slow me down if we had to run. He eventually agreed, and after some last-minute modifications, I was off. I poured Vibranium into Ophion and received several upgrades that made the chain more energy-absorbent and improved the range considerably. Ebony and Ivory received the strangest boost of all. Each bullet I shot out got a passive density boost that made them ? as durable as Adamantium. After donning the full Vibranium armor and half mask T''Chaka gave me, I was off to Antarctica in my new trench coat. The cold air whipped around me, tossing up my mopy white hair. I drew in the dry air of the South Pole and opened my eyes, activating Predator''s Gaze. I grinned as my senses rippled out, rendering the surrounding area in agonizing detail. I picked up on twenty or so creatures easily. Most of them were some fox-bird hybrid that my Predator''s Gaze identified as a Blizzard Griffon. Blizzard Grifon Born from the amalgamation of a fossilized prehistoric fox, an Antarctic Skua, and human DNA. Weaknesses: Extreme heat Strengths: Supersonic Flight, Sonic Howl, Vibranium-reinforced body and skin, Radioactive Fury, Regeneration. I blinked at the description. That¡­was a lot, and I counted ten of them circling me. I was miles away from the epicenter of the reactor''s explosion and deep into the snow desert that made Antarctica so dangerous. Lucky for me, we were in the summer, so I didn''t have to worry about insanely low temperatures, but sudden wind storms, hidden services, hypothermia, and dehydration were still big concerns. Thankfully, I had bountiful resistance to all conditions thanks to my Promethean body, and I had the foresight to bring a trench coat. I could also turn to Cloak if things ever got too uncomfortable, but the cold was not my biggest concern at the moment. A piercing trumpeting sound was. To my left, at the edge of the basin, I saw a towering, blubbering monstrosity over 15 feet tall standing upright on unwieldy limbs. It had an elongated nose and translucent greenish skin that rapidly shifted colors. Frostguard seal Formed from the amalgamation of human DNA and a Seal. Weaknesses: Extreme heat. Sharp edges. Strengths: Superhuman strength, Explosive speed, Damage-resistant torso and skin, Radioactive Fury, extreme regeneration. "Super Walruses," I said. "Certainly not what I was expecting." Invictus wrapped around my legs with a single thought, switching places with my boots, and in my hands was Severance. Behind the leading Walrus, I counted eight others waddling closer at the edge of my Perception. I flung my body forward with a stomp, leaving a crater of snow and stone underneath my feet. The seal''s body lit up underneath my Gaze, revealing a multitude of weaknesses, most of which were concentrated around the limbs but not its neck and stomach. Its back was weak, though. The line about damage resistance came to mind again. I dropped into a slide, lashing out as I passed its limbs. The leg went flying, albeit with more effort than anticipated. Something deep shifted within after the first stroke. A strange strength bubbled from deep within me and saturated every last atom of my body. My mind stilled, my muscles twitched, and I felt more connected to my skills and abilities than ever before. Kicking the ground, I twisted to my feet with unnatural grace and slashed his left upper back. Blubber and blood came spilling out. The seal swiped at me with a brutal backhand, which I easily parried using Phantom Reposte. The parry was perfect, and the blowback took off its hand, leaving it exposed to a stab to the heart. I sent a Burst of Nether fire through the tip of the blade. It exploded, covering me with bone, fat, and blood. The beast flopped to the floor, but I didn''t get a notification, nor did its numerous weak points disappear. In fact, I noticed it was glowing. Green gamma energy started pumping out of its guts as its muscles bubbled and started to swell. New bone, tendons, and cartilage burst out of severed limbs. The beast was making a full recovery right in front of me. I could''ve ended it with a charged kick from Invictus, but I was here for recon, not Red Orbs. I flipped back, giving the creature some berth while I kept my senses trained on the Griffon circling above me. The seal was on its feet in seconds, limbs nearly double their former size. Green Vibranium scales covered areas it''d been formerly attacked. It let out a defiant wail as Gamma radiation poured off it and charged me. I snorted and handily dodged the charge, but I had to admit its speed was commendable. It circled around, charging me a second time, moving slightly faster, but it was still far too slow to touch me. Its speed reached the apex on the fifth charge, and I decided to switch things up. I planted my feet on the ground, filled my leg up with demonic energy, and stood in waiting. At the very last moment, I shuffled to the side and struck out. The Burst and Impact-enhanced hit rippled through its gut, sending it back dozens of feet. It was mostly healed when it climbed to its feet, new scales already sprouting. With enough time and hits, I could see how these monsters could become incredibly lethal, especially against regular combatants. I wondered how many times it could pull itself from the brink. Was the seal like the Hulk and had no perceivable limit, or was there a hard cap on how much explosive growth they could experience before they reached their peak? In any case, this wasn''t the time to test that. I needed to be sure I could take them down at all. I summoned Arbiter, filled it with Nether Fire, and sent the Axe head flying with a Burst. The blade made it two-thirds through its chest before exploding. Nether fire evaporated most of its torso. Only part of the skull and its mineralized skeleton survived. The monster did not get up. I got 2000 Red Orbs for that execution and turned intangible micro-seconds before the diving Griffon hit me. It had dived the moment it saw me pull out Arbiter, likely hoping to catch me off guard while still engaged in a fight with the monster. The near miss earned me an instance of Demon Evade, which boosted my base damage by 2.7x. Twisting to the side, I lashed out in a diagonal slash packed with Nether fire. It evaporated the Griffon''s head and heart before it could even react, and it collapsed to the floor dead, confirming my theory about the first kill. If you hit them in the head and heart simultaneously, they won''t get up. --- Read ahead on Patreon. up to Chapter 157 Chapter 155 After the first fight, I was committed to learning more about our enemy, but not at the expense of my safety. I cut loose, letting all of my skills shine for the first time, and it was the greatest rush of my life. Nether Fire wreathed around my body, granting me an 80% boost to Nether Fire Magic and a 50% boost to my Strength and Endurance. Reaper''s Call poured out, spreading equidistant until it occupied the area of my perception. The world drowned in a purplish haze as the creatures screamed out in pain and panic. I turned into a blur as I charged the herd of Frost guard seals and unleashed a fully charged Burst out of my hands. It melted the snow and slammed into them like an avalanche. I maintained the spray for five whole seconds, flash-burning the horde. When I cut the fire, I was down 80DE, and all eight monsters were still alive and rapidly evolving despite the extreme heat. I kicked things into high gear by adding Gust on top of my Nether fire cloak, transforming it into a wild inferno with purple sparks. For a moment, I was transfixed by the fire before I dumped a full Blast of Gust into the sea of flames before me, elevating it into a tornado of purple, red, and black flames. The air around me turned bone dry as several feet of snow instantly evaporated. It was like I was in the African desert. Above me, the pack of wild griffon monsters had flown closer during the course of our fight. Now, they couldn''t get away fast enough. They screeched and flapped their wings as they tried to distance themselves from the fire tornado, but I wouldn''t let them. I summoned Osiris, gaining another 75% boost in speed. An explosion of Gust from my legs sent me flying into the air, and judicious use of Ophion let me leapfrog from one Griffin to another. With quick strokes from Severance, I ripped them apart. I kicked the regenerating beasts into the rising Fire tornado below with a kick. Each execution made me faster and stronger. By the end, the fire tornado had collapsed, and I used swordplay to finish the final three griffons that survived the onslaught. At this point, I was over 150% faster than my base speed, thanks to my many bonuses. I turned to an old-reliable to deal the finishing blows. Trillion Stabs. With a flurry of my hand, I pierced their brains and hearts, sparing their bodies. They held secrets that could be game-changing for the future generation of Uber soldiers I would create. They also had the potential to become organic Vibranium farms. I landed with a broad smile and rapidly moved, gathering the bodies of the Griffins into my inventory. I cracked my neck and switched out Osiris for Eryx as the last of the horde finally made itself known. It was a large, burly thing with thick tree-trunk-sized arms packed with more muscles than should be anatomically possible. Its gut still stuck out like an overweight man, but there was a strange look in its eyes. An intelligence that defied logic. "Are you going to stare at me all day or are you going to make a move." It opened its mouth, letting out a chilling, unearthly crow that was supposed to intimidate me but did not shake me in the slightest. My aura still clung onto it like an existential cloak, fundamentally weakening it, and I was sure if I went all out, I could end the fight before it even began, but I came here to learn, not destroy, so I held back my hand and lowered my aura and Cloak. It blinked, confused, before letting out a determined roar and charged me. The snow and ground underneath it exploded, and it was on me in the blink of an eye. Its blow sailed past my face as I dug into its side with two fire-wreathed punches. I sent it flying back with a vicious hook to the liver. It landed on its feet with a pained roar and charged again. I sped up, moving faster than a second before because of my mounting bonuses from Feral Flow. It had reached 30% during the fight, and I felt every last percent. The ground cratered around us as we clashed, the damage absorbed by my Vibranium armor. I dug into its side while it was still recovering with a kick, spun rapidly to transition into another, and finished the combo off with a skull-cracking shot to the skull boosted by Invictus''s impact rune. The monster went skipping without most of its head, but its skin was already rippling before it came to a stop. While it evolved, I took the time to scan it. Adult Frostguard Elephant Seal Formed from the amalgamation of human DNA and a mature Elephant Seal Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Weaknesses: Extreme heat. Strengths: Superhuman strength, Explosive speed, Damage-resistant torso and skin, Radioactive Fury, Extreme regeneration. It was more or less the same, with more age and sense. Another roar came from the creature, deeper this time, as it climbed up to its feet. Its face and part of its neck were covered in Vibranium scales, and it''d grown a solid foot taller. Invictus threw me at it, but this time, the creature was fast enough to start moving out of the way. My kick still caught it flat in the chest, sending it skidding backward. It snarled, throwing itself forward. I flipped in the air, coming down with an impact-boosted kick to the face, sending it into the dirt. It rose to its feet almost immediately and swung at me. Parry activated, sending the hit to the side while unleashing a retaliatory kinetic explosion that left the creature wide open. I shot forward with both fists, slamming into its chest, detonating two small-sized Bursts. It flipped the monster over, sending it spinning. Another Burst flung me forward, zipping past its ragdolling body, and I switched directions with a well-timed Burst with Invictus. Whirring around like a top, I unleashed a devastating kick that slapped it hard into the ground, and I followed with two small bursts, propelling me downward to deliver a brutal stomp. The beast popped like an overripe cherry, but its chest and head miraculously survived. I stepped back and watched in amazement as Gamma energy and regeneration pulled it from the brink of death and repaired it in record time. A new spine grew in moments. Blood, organs, muscles, ligaments, tendons, skin, all new, fresh, stronger. It did not roar or scream or show any ounce of fear. It simply stared straight at me with its beady eyes and charged. Its jump in speed caught me off guard. A month ago, I wasn''t sure I''d have been able to dodge its charge. I ducked underneath the mass, activating Demon Evade. I came to a stop with a tumble, switched directions, and hit the beast with a flying kick. The monster ate the attack with crossed hands. My eyes widened a little bit as I watched the energy of the attack travel down its body and dissipate. Its scales were functioning like the inverse of my armor. They diverted the energy outwards instead of inwards. It swept my leg aside and reached out to grab my coat. I switched out Eryx for Rebellion and parried back the grab before switching to Aquila and swinging out. Seven projected shurikens splashed harmlessly against its hardened skin. It powered through and threw a punch at me. I vanished my trench coat and tanked the blow to the stomach. I felt a sudden weakness as my feral flow bonus vanished, and the blow whipped me backward. Its raw strength far outstripped mine. If not for my armor, he would''ve caved in my ribs. My armor hummed as I landed, and I swung outward with Aquila, unleashing a veritable storm of seven shuriken. Let''s see just how much damage its scales could handle before giving out. Each latched onto the beast and began to cut into its scales. It let out a warbling noise but didn''t slow down. In fact, it sped up. I shot forward with a stomp of using Invictus''s impact rune and unleashed another spray of projectiles. It dove to the left, dodging half of them, but three latched on, which was enough for me. Aquila morphed to Osiris, and my speed nearly doubled as I went to work. The blows rained down like a hurricane. I spun, twisted, switched stances, handled the blade with one hand, flipped, and even added tasteful shots from Invictus whenever I needed to parry a retaliatory attack. It was locked in the middle while I unleashed an assault to end all assaults, but it handled it better than I expected. By the fiftieth strike, its scales cracked, and it began to bleed, but it was still healing, not evolving, though. The third evolution seemed to be its last. Feral flow peaked, and it was like a mental dam had broken. Energy flow became more vivid, and attacks were easier to read. Every minute movement, particle of snow, and attack lay bare before me. My from became tighter, my blows rained down faster, and I expended less energy with each subsequent attack. And just when I thought I''d reached my limit, I saw it. The building resonance. The monster had been able to dispel most of the angel energy I''d forced into its body with each slash of Osiris, but enough had made it in over the hundreds of attacks I''d inflicted. My instincts screamed out, begging me to match the energy signature, and I did. I formed the beginnings of a wind blade, filling up Osiris until I was down about 100 AE. On a hunch, I pulled on the energy swarming inside of the beast, and I swung, and they collided, eviscerating each other. I immediately leaped back. Dozens of blade marks formed on the beast, and the speed and frequency climbed for five whole seconds. The wind energy rippling from the attack shook the air until it finally came to a crescendo. The air froze for a second before it exploded. A storm of Wind and angel energy consumed the beast and everything in a 20-meter radius. Only bits of bone were left over after the explosion cleared. The display earned me a notification. (Epic) Smite (Basic) Build up a destructive resonance of chaotic angelic energy inside an enemy by attacking it continuously. Detonate with an energy trigger. Works for all angel affinities. Minimum of 50 strikes required and a 50AE trigger. Build up more strikes for a more destructive detonation. I whistled. It took a few months, but I had mastered my parents'' skill list more or less. Demonic roar was still left over, but I supposed this was a good time to learn it. I was still riding high from my epiphany, so why the fuck not. Shutting my eyes, I sent my Vibranium half-mask to my storage, and I drew demonic energy to my throat. I activated Burst as I let out a fierce roar. It displaced the snow in front of me, scattered what was left of the monster in different directions, and echoed through the snowy wasteland. Surprisingly, I did not get a new skill, which was odd but ultimately appropriate. I had a more comprehensive Burst skill. Not every single use of it needed to be documented or quantified. On the same note, I dispelled my weapon and brought my hands together in a slap, activating Burst at the point of contact; it produced a similar result, prompting me to smile. I''ve always wanted to do that. Chapter 156 The rest of the mission went on without much incident. I reached the former research outpost and shot past it after I discovered chewed-up skulls and half-skeletons. The gamma monsters hadn''t been merciful. There were a handful of monsters still lingering at the site, but I chose not to engage to save myself time. I became intangible with Angel Evade and sped past them and hundreds of Griffins, seals, and mutated penguins. I took my time circling the desert, documenting every strange monstrosity I came across. Some stuck to rocky areas, others thrived in lowlands, but the sheer diversity of the mutated beasts baffled me. I counted Mamoths, ancient reanimated dinosaurs, half-man half-snake dinosaurs, and packs of roving eight-limbed wolves. Each subsequent creature had more scales, strength, and green pigmentation than the last. At the site of the gamma reactor explosion, I came across my first truly threatening adversary. They were humanoid with a bulbous head and tentacles sprouting from their neck and faces. They gave off ungodly amounts of gamma radiation that seemed to be climbing in front of me. Dozens of other creatures hung back out of fear or instinct. Eventually, the ballsiest of them decided to say F it and attack. It was the biggest Griffin I''d ever seen. It rained down Vibranium feathers from above and unleashed a directional roar that caused a whiteout. I was unsure if even I could''ve tanked the attack without using my Protection Runes. The strange squid things not only endured it without flinching but also fired their tentacles like sniper bullets, elongating without end until they touched the Griffin. The result was immediate. It faltered, losing a large portion of its Gamma energy. The rest of the tentacles swarmed it, draining every last drop of energy from its body. They seemed to have benefited from the meal as their bodies visibly rippled, but it was not so much that they grew in size. Only partial bones and primordial slosh were left over when they were done with it. My eyes widened at the ridiculous strength, and I wondered if it would be wise to enter the hole that they were guarding. A round of scans made my mood go from bad to worse. Juvenile Gamma Devourer Formed from the amalgamation of human DNA, Kraken DNA, Weaknesses: Extreme heat. Starvation. Strengths: Massively superhuman strength, massively explosive speed, vibranium skin, radioactive fury, gamma absorption, and massively superhuman regeneration. Blood of the Old. These were only the kids? I looked down into the hole with some trepidation. I didn¡¯t like that final line. My gut told me Quellitrax¡¯s fingerprints were all over this, but I should¡¯ve gotten a warning if he was trying to claim my soul again. Right? If these were the kids, there was bound to be an adult or two down there, and they were likely all feeding on the Hulk. What else was powerful enough to birth these monstrosities? My new eyes didn''t let me see through walls or stone, but the energy wafting out of the whole was unmistakable. There was something supremely powerful down there, and if it was indeed the Hulk, we couldn''t afford to wait until Friday. One of two things could happen eventually. The Hulk would run out of energy, giving birth to an evolving devourer with a lower consciousness that would rage out of control. Or the Hulk would remain true to his comic roots as an endless fount of rage and gamma energy, supercharge this beast beyond all known levels, and proceed to duke it out with the monster. Either way, the continent was fucked. I had to find out, and so I stalked my way to the crevasse and tried to slip by them. They noticed me immediately somehow, striking out with their tentacles. They slipped through me, causing my pursuers some measure of surprise before they redoubled their efforts. Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. Their bodies got a shimmering energy signature that was familiar. Although it was not distinctly magic, I recognized spatial manipulation when I saw it. Rather than let them tag me, I stopped dicking around and started phasing through walls, barreling straight at the biggest energy signature I''d ever sensed. I cut loose, drawing on Density Cloak, which is my fastest Cloak form by far. It granted a 50% boost to all skills and removed half of the debuffs those same skills organically cost. It also added a 25% boost to strength, speed, and endurance. Stack that baby onto Density decrease, and my speed jumped another 60% instead of 40, and I suffered a 20% drop in strength instead of 40%. Add Osiris on top of that for the 75% boost and Gust''s 55% boost, and I was over three times faster than my base. I breezed through an increasingly complicated network of tunnels and caves until I found an open chamber with two dozen more Juvenile monsters and six adult ones, all hanging from the suckers of a positively Lovecraftian monstrosity. Its skin was Ink-black, its 12 eyes were red and discolored, and its enormous, truck-sized tentacles tightly wrapped around the constantly shrinking and expanding body of Bruce Banner. He looked at me, reaching out with his arms, and I felt my stomach tightened. Fully stretched out, the monster would''ve been several stories tall. "YoU''vE FiNaLlY CoME." Oh, fuck me. I hate being right. "You''re one of Quellitrax''s aren''t you?" "fATheR ForEToLD yOUr ArRiVaL," it said. "ThE FeASt CaN TrULy Begin." Two of its many eyes shone, and I instantly felt the edges of my sensory domain shrink. I couldn''t sense past the borders of the chamber, and I instantly knew I wouldn''t be able to phase out either. "You know that gets really fucking annoying," I said as I stretched out my limbs, preparing myself for a fight. "What is your name? I owe you that much before I kill you." A keening sound came from the monster. "UlYeTrIx, 905th descendent of the Old One." I surmised that he was talking about Cthulhu. "Not fan of your old man?" I questioned. Its twelve eyes narrowed, and he gave a command. "TaKE hIM." The adult monsters nearly caught me off guard with the speed of their attacks despite having on my full-speed stack. I dodged the first tentacle, earning a Time Sage and Demon Evade bonus. I summoned Severance alongside Rebellion and went to work. My swords flashed out, unleashing multiple wind blades, sword slashes, and parries at the storm of tentacles. I removed quite a few, but they were already visibly regenerating even though we were in slowed time. I switched Rebellion for Osiris just as the bonus ended. Then, I dashed to the left as the tentacles sped up. They followed after aggressively, carving rivulets of stone up and down the chamber, but I didn''t remain idle while I moved. I dropped dozens of sticky bombs charged with both angel and demon energy, all with protective runic shields. By the time I looped around the arena twice, the monsters had crushed a few of them, but it was already too late. I flipped mid-air, dodging another twin-pronged Tentacle stab. I activated Time-Sage, earning me three seconds of slowed time. At the same time, I hit the detonation switch and the first of the five Bursts I''d accumulated in Invictus during the fight. The world went bright, and everything turned purple. Ulyetrix reacted faster than I imagined. His tentacle lashed out at me, moving blisteringly fast despite the slowed time, and I immediately activated Devil Trigger. Multi-colored demonic energy poured out of me, cloaking my body and enhancing all of my parameters by 300%, bringing my effective speed to 1800 with all of my bonuses stacked. The monsters stopped moving entirely, and the explosion slowed some of them, but they still moved fast enough to cause me to worry. Surprisingly, Ulyetrix''s tentacle still traveled faster than the blast. PUSH. FIRE I let out two rapid commands, tossing the tentacle back with gravity control and setting it on fire. Ulyetrix recoiled in pain, but that didn''t matter much now. My window for escape had elapsed. The Purple Fire explosion consumed everything. My vision went dark, and when I came to, I was lying on a bald spot in the middle of a purple inferno, staring up at the afternoon sky. My Vibranium suit was ruined, and my energy bars were half-filled. Reading through my notification, I saw a few things that alarmed and excited me. I had wiped out all of the juvenile and adult devourers with the explosion. The Juveniles netted me 3000 per pop, and the grown ones, 5000. I was walking away from the encounter with 84,000 Red Orbs. Bruce Banner was also thankfully alive as he was missing from the Red Orb breakdown. Unfortunately, so was Ulyetrix. As for how I was alive and relatively unharmed, I''d triggered my rebirth skill. "Figures," I cracked my neck. It was the only way I could''ve survived my hair-brained plan. I''d hoped the explosion would''ve distracted him long enough to let down the space lock so that I could get off all five Burst and escape. One look at Ulyetrix, and I knew I could not take him alone. With Jean, I might''ve stood a chance, but alone? Yeah, I was fucked. Creating a strike team just became a priority. But before I started shortlisting fighters, I reminded myself that jumping the gun was just as bad as being underprepared. There was no shortage of powerful people. Between them, I was sure we could hold it back long enough to deliver a coup de grace, which undoubtedly had to be a bomb powered by my purple fire. If its earlier behavior was any indication, it was likely very hurt by my fire. I was coming to discover that likely no one was immune from my Nephilim magic. It was often explosive, and it had the potential to hurt me as much as my opponents, but I¡¯d bet good money that no demon was immune to it. Besides, the professor only produced four serums, so I¡¯d stick to four soldiers. I was on the fence about enhancing Rin. I figured he''d grow more from absorbing the gamma energy in the snow and the creatures we''d fight. Excluding him, my top picks were Wolverine¡ªbecause he was durable enough to take the enhancement, Mordo because of how much more powerful he could become, and Pietro because heaven knew I needed a speedster by my side to run interference. It would also be tremendously helpful if he could actually deal damage without being scared; he''d be unable to bounce back from an injury. As for what Fury would think about my new super soldiers, I planned to own it but remain perfectly vague. I was about done with the Antarctician desert; all that was left was to check out the array location, which, incidentally, wasn''t too far away from the site of the reactor explosion. I had to see if they''d sped up their plans since Isha¡¯s capture. Chapter 157 Chapter 158 Lumos Our search for the Nephilim brought us to Antarctica, of all places. There''d been a tremendous energy spike near the sensors we''d installed close to the Array site. "He was here," Aloya said, rubbing the snow with a notable frown. "He came from that direction." She pointed at the horizon, where we spotted the smoky remains of a fire. It was so faint that someone without enhanced eyes would''ve caught it. "But there''s something else here poisoning the air." Radiation. I recognized the familiar sting from when I meditated under the sun to gather light in my earlier days. "Yeah, no shit, Sherlock," Crossbones snorted, hefting his gun with unnatural ease. He was still getting used to the strength of the modified Serum Domina gifted to him and his companion. It was based on the unstable version the missing professor made. Corvus''s blood essence loosely held it together, an essence any competent Cambion could easily pluck whenever it suited them. "I could''ve told you that. Remind me again why we needed babysitters after the serum your sister gave us?" he said, nudging the quiet mercenary beside him. Her name was Taskmaster, and she''d been silent since the first moment I met her, even long after the serum had restored her mental faculties and healed her body. Her mind remained tethered to her father, however. I was undecided on what to do about her. Release her from her mental shackles or enslave her will to mine. Either way, I reckoned she would be of much use, even after being considerably enhanced. "How dare you!" the fire knight escorting me demanded in a raspy voice, and his partner the Ice knight reached for his blade. My right hand, Van, summoned his Devil arm, a pair of daggers oozing Space energy, ready to gut the mercenary, who still looked so sure of himself. All that changed when I raised a finger, arresting everybody''s movement. He flexed his enhanced muscles, but he remained rooted in place. The fear rolled off him in waves, his mind struggling to reconcile my diminutive size and my impressive strength. "Val, take the mercenaries with you and check the fire," I commanded. "Yes, my prince," Val bowed obediently and marched off. Task Master was quick to follow, but Crossbones hung back and looked at me like I was some sort of monstrosity. My eyes snapped to him, and he diverted his gaze, trudging behind Task Master into the snowy tundra. I had half the mind to lobotomize him right there, but I didn''t lash out in anger. That was more lsha''s thing. I turned to Aloya, who remained in the snow, eyes wide and white in concentration, still soaking in information from the world around her. "There is Vibranium here," she said. "And something far more dangerous. And I''m not talking about the Nephilim." "What do you sense Aloya," I narrowed my eyes. ¡°Abominations. Isha reported sensing them weeks prior to her interaction with the son of Sparda. It¡¯s an interdimensional Invader.¡± "The sorcerers must''ve sent the boy to investigate," I concurred. "It appears so my prince," she said. "If they''ve staked their claim to Antarctica, building an array under their nose would prove challenging." "I suppose it''s a good thing that I insisted on joining the mission." --- Dante Fury spent the first ten minutes of the breakdown staring at me. The changes to my body were minimal this time, but they were still big enough for him to want to ask questions, but he knew better by now. At best, I''d tell him I''d undergone another spontaneous strength spike, requiring him to reconfigure his countermeasures for the umpteenth time, and at worst, it''s some strange demon thing I''d refuse to elaborate on and provide no context or explanation to. You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. By the end of the debrief, Fury was twisted and bent out of shape. "Jesus. H. Christ, can''t I catch a fucking break," he said, pushing off his seat. He poured himself a glass of whiskey and gulped it down, then swallowed another full glass. "I''m going to need every one for this. The Wakandans, the mutant liberation front, the Thunderbolts." "Thunderbolts?" "That''s what I''m calling the team," he said. "Wouldn''t have been my first pick, but hey, your team your name." Fury narrowed his eyes at me, then continued. "Even with all that help, it won''t be enough." "You should also probably have Tony turnover whatever goody you''ve had him cooking up," I chimed in with an innocent smile, setting Fury on edge. I rolled my eyes. "Come on, you''re predictable. Of course, you''ll have the most brilliant weapon''s engineer in recorded history working on countermeasures against the demonic invasion." "Still, Tony doesn''t have anything powerful enough to kill a twelve-eyed alien squid fast enough to surprise even you," he said. "I have a feeling its durability will be just as impressive as its speed." "At the very least," I grumbled. "If only Jean Grey had fallen ill," Fury said with an undertone of disappointment at me of all things. In his opinion, I should''ve had better control over Jean. Apparently, he saw me as a handler. I chuckled at the thought. I couldn''t handle shit. Jean did what she wanted, and I was just fortunate enough that she considered me a friend and partner. "Well, what''s done is done, and we have to make the best of a bad situation, and I think I might have a solution that might help us deal with this clusterfuck." I proceeded to explain my theory about my purple fire. It''d burned the monster badly, bad enough that it ran away with its tail tucked between its legs and decimated its new family. "And you just had this in your back pocket the entire time?" Fury asked. "It''s a nuclear option," I said. "You have your secret goodies, and I have mine. And it''s every bit as dangerous as I''m making it out to be. No one caught in its blast radius will survive." Fury frowned. "What are you talking about?" "A bomb obviously," I said. "We have the most talented weapon''s engineer since Howard Stark on retainer. I say we use him." "You just gave me a speech about how dangerous this Fire is. You want to weaponize it?" I shrugged. "It''s either that or have a Lovecraftian Horror slinking about unchallenged. Besides, I thought you''d be happy. This way we can prep for Domina and the rest of the Cambions all at once. Naturally, I''ll hang onto a few for safe keeping when it''s all said and done. Never know when you''ll need one." Fury''s lip twisted at my shameless power grab. "I''m not agreeing to anything concrete. We''ll have to see the man himself." Tony was at SHIELD¡¯s cafeteria when we found him. I didn''t bother feigning surprise when I saw him. "Fancy seeing you here, Tony," I settled across from him, and he raised a brow at my casualness. "How goes your ultra secret armor research project?" Tony looked at Fury, who sighed and nodded to the agents to clear out the cafeteria. "No, he didn''t tell me," I said. "And it''s not that difficult to figure out. The Sentinel parts disappeared. Fury is looking for soldiers who can go toe-to-toe with demons, and we just stumbled upon a huge stockpile of exo-skeletons when we raided Klaue''s place. It''s not that hard to figure out." "You''ve changed again. Definitely more relaxed than last time," Tony said, plucking an apple from his tray and chomping on it. "A bit too laisse faire for the leader of the most dangerous team in our little coalition." "I could say the same thing about you," I said. "Brilliant, Billionaire, and oozing enough Tech to make Elon Musk jealous." "He''s the poor man''s version of me," Tony smirked. "So, what are you after? Seeing as you two hate each other, you''d not have come together if it wasn''t important." Fury and I shared a look, but neither of us denied it. "We need a bomb, Tony," Fury said. "And you have tons in your armory," he said. "I''d argue way too much." "You can never have too many bombs," I interjected with a smile. "But what we need is the bomb to end all bombs. I want you to make something that amplifies these." I produced a pair of angel and demon-charged bombs. They strummed with energy, catching Tony''s eyes as he leaned in and stretched his hand. I offered them to him, and he looked down at them and then up at me. "The wiring is not the best and C4 is a suboptimal choice, but all that is window dressing isn''t it," he said. "What happens when they both go off?" "A purple fire explosion exponentially greater than the sum of its parts," I said. "The fire is not nuclear if that''s you¡¯re worried about, but its¡­very thorough. Nothing I''ve hurt with that fire has survived." Something clicked in Tony''s head, and he glared at me. "So, that''s why I was able to recover next to nothing from the head of the Sentinel. You torched it. Even the metal was unusable. So, who''s the target of your monster bomb?" "A Lovecraftian horror monster. It''s faster, tougher, and more durable than anything we''ve ever seen. Since a mini-nuke or Hydrogen bomb is not on the table, I figured this was the next best thing." Tony looked up at me, then down at the bombs in his hands, mind whirring. "I could retrofit something to work with some of the yield from our experimental missiles. Would you prefer remote detonation or something you can launch from the Quinjet." I shared a look with Fury, but he was, apparently, leaving all of the planning up to me. "Half and half," I said. "Somebody fast enough can get them set in place before the Squid realizes what''s going on, and if that fails, we could always bombard it from the sky with artillery." "How much of these bombs do you want exactly?" Tony asked. I had produced well over 300 bombs, so I emptied a quarter of my stockpile. "How many can you make?" Tony and Fury gave me pointed looks. "You''ve got to tell me how you do that," Tony said. Chapter 158 After some discussion, Fury promised to let me keep a third of whatever surplus was left over from the mission, along with the bombs provided. Tony was certain we could make fifty high-yield missiles, all of which he demanded to oversee the creation and allocation of personally. That was Tony¡¯s way of inviting himself to the Antarctican conflict. Fury warned him what we¡¯d be up against. Beasts that moved faster than human eyes can track, charging at us with every intention to rip out our guts and play with it, but he was sure he¡¯d be fine. His exo-suits were ready for battle, apparently. Since he was in such a good mood, I asked Fury to excuse me while I negotiated a little side deal with Tony. The billionaire seemed surprised that Fury would even entertain it, but a deal was a deal. ¡°Fury might¡¯ve pimped me out,¡± Tony said, ¡°but I never said I was open for business. The bombs aren¡¯t enough for you?¡± he asked. ¡°They are but I try to keep my eyes on the big picture,¡± I said, ¡°and you¡¯re a big part of that.¡± Tony rolled his eyes. ¡°Right your visions.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t believe me still?¡± I raised a brow, and he shrugged. ¡°It occurred to me that you could¡¯ve been spoofing off your mutant friend,¡± he said. ¡°Yet, you¡¯ll readily believe my magic fire and watch me tear through a group of enhanced soldiers.¡± ¡°Clairvoyance is a whole other can of worms.¡± I touched my lips. ¡°I suppose you have to see it to believe it. How have your Paladium cores been treating you?¡± I asked him, and he blinked, a bit startled. ¡°How did you---¡± he trailed off. ¡°Your friend knew about the secret lab this entire time. Probably has someone down there feeding you information.¡± That was completely true, but I denied it. ¡°Fury has a secret lab? Entirely expected, but still surprising. And no, I don¡¯t need her to spy for me. I can do that all by myself,¡± I smiled. ¡°They don¡¯t last very long do they?¡± ¡°No, they do not,¡± he said. ¡°Makes you wonder what Trask used to power his first-generation Sentinel,¡± I mused. ¡°I could always ask him for you, or help you move onto something entirely better overnight.¡± Tony laughed. ¡°Unless you have a few doctorates stuffed up your ass and somehow have access to confidential Stark industries files, I don¡¯t see how you could help me.¡± My smile only grew wider. ¡°1974 Stark Expo model,¡± I said. ¡°Your father called it the city of the future. He hid the secrets of how to build a clean, abundant source of energy in the exhibit. It should help you perfect your reactor.¡± Tony froze. ¡°You¡¯re lying.¡± ¡°Am I now?¡± I asked. ¡°If I¡¯m right, I want something in exchange for my little help. A few reactors to tinker with. This incident with the alien squid is just the preamble. We¡¯re heading to the demon world sooner rather than later. I¡¯d like to have an energy battery should I need it.¡± Tony knew it was a bad hand, but he took the bet anyway, shaking my hands. His ego demanded he took the deal. Either way, it was a win-win for him. He would¡¯ve freely given me Stark Tech if I asked, but he was a little suspicious that I¡¯d gone through all this trouble. He concluded that I wanted no oversight with his tech, which was never a good thing, but if my hunch panned out¡­it would be worth it. Not long after, I left Fury¡¯s headquarters with a long checklist of items to make and people to recruit and train. The first people I contacted were the Mutant Liberation Front. Mystique, of all people, picked up, and she was not too happy to hear from me. ¡°What do you want?¡± ¡°It¡¯s great to hear your voice too mystique,¡± I said. ¡°Can you put Pietro on? Just calling to deliver our next mission as council.¡± She initially told me to fuck off in not so many words. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°You can find another group of do gooders to help you save the world. We¡¯ve fulfilled our quotas,¡± she¡¯d said. It took explaining the nature of the threat to even consider bringing it to Magneto. She still insisted that the Liberation Front be heftily rewarded for their contribution, and I agreed. Apparently, they¡¯ve been recruiting more mutants, and they had more mouths to feed. Magneto didn¡¯t bother getting on the phone with me. It was enough to promise through his second in command that he¡¯d be at Fury¡¯s place the very next morning with his team to confirm his commitment. Before the call cut out, though, I asked to speak to Pietro. ¡°What we¡¯re up against is unlike anything I¡¯ve ever seen, and I think our only shot of survival is you,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ve been working on an enhancement program. If I¡¯m successful, it should strengthen your body and abilities, allowing you to move faster than ever before. Are you¡ª¡± ¡°Yes,¡± he cut me off. ¡°Of course, yes. If your formula is like that thing you hooked me up with in New York, then I¡¯ll be glad to work with you.¡± ¡°Excellent,¡± I smiled. I gave him an address where he could meet me before cutting the call. --- An hour later, Pietro showed up at my apartment in New York, and Mordo portalled us to the compound in Alaska. Pietro immediately drew attention from the kids, and it wasn¡¯t long before they were swarming me, asking questions. I had to shoo them away repeatedly. By the time I came to the entrance of my forge, Logan and Scott stepped to me, hands folded. ¡°Logan,¡± I grinned, ¡°just the angry short, indestructible mutant I wanted to see. How would you like to escort us to Antarctica to save the world.¡± ¡°What is he doing here?¡± Scott demanded. ¡°For all your speeches about safety and secrecy, you bring an enemy to our base?¡± ¡°We portalled here,¡± I pointed out. ¡°He literally has no idea where we are. We could be in another dimension for all we knew.¡± Pietro blinked, surprised. ¡°Are we?¡± ¡°N-¡° ¡°He could just run off to the nearest town,¡± Scott half-yelled. ¡°Kid got a point,¡± Logan backed him up. ¡°Oh come on,¡± I said, grabbing Pietro by the shoulder. ¡°The man nearly died in the battle in New York, which, I should remind you, you were both absent during. He¡¯s earned the benefit of the doubt. Besides, he knows I¡¯d kill him if he ever tried that,¡± I said with my widest smile. A chill ran down Pietro¡¯s spine. ¡°Thanks for the vote of confidence,¡± he muttered. ¡°Anyways,¡± I said dismissively, ¡°if that¡¯s all, I¡¯d like to get back to recruiting Logan. It¡¯s not like the fate of the world depended on it or anything.¡± I rolled my eyes, but Scott was determined not to let me talk my way out of this ¡®mess.¡¯ ¡°Jean can¡¯t be okay with this,¡± he said, then looked around. ¡°By the way, where is she?¡± I sighed, bracing myself for the incoming shouting match. None of them took the fact that Jean had been hospitalized very well. ¡°What were you thinking!¡± Scott yelled. ¡°It¡¯s your job to keep her safe. She told me that herself.¡± I raised my brow at that. I didn¡¯t know they were still that close. Whatever. ¡°I can¡¯t stop Jean from doing what she wants. Literally no one can. If it makes you feel any better, it was all to bring Piotr back. He¡¯s awake now.¡± ¡°She pulled the boy out of his Coma,¡± Professor Hank asked, surprised. ¡°Most impressive.¡± He¡¯d been to SHIELD headquarters more than once to check on the boy¡¯s conditions in-between the sporadic development of the mansion. He¡¯d come no closer to waking him up since the first day. I was glad at least somebody was happy because Scott was still pissed. ¡°He should¡¯ve never been in the coma in the first place,¡± he said. ¡°Everything started going to hell when you showed up at our doorstep.¡± Here we go again. The fight continued for three minutes before Mordo stopped it. ¡°You can rip off his head later,¡± he said. ¡°We¡¯re losing time we will never get back. The world is in peril, Logan Howlett. Will you answer the call to arms?¡± Logan grunted. ¡°Course I will, like I have anything better to do.¡± ¡°Thank god that is over,¡± I said, pushing the door to my study open. It contained all of the Vibranium we pilfered. I stored all of it and my smithing tools in my inventory before turning around. ¡°Did somebody say something about saving the world?¡± Rin said, swinging around the corner. ¡°Oh boss, you¡¯re back.¡± ¡°Just the man I wanted to see,¡± I said. ¡°Looks like we¡¯re all set. Mordo, could you please help us with a portal.¡± The sorcerer did as asked, and just as we were about to step through, Scott spoke up. ¡°I¡¯m coming with you.¡± I froze. ¡°The hell you are. I didn¡¯t invite you for a reason. You¡¯d be dead in seconds.¡± ¡°Jean is on the other side of that portal,¡± he said. ¡°You said something about the monks giving her treatment. Well she needs someone by her side while you¡¯re away.¡± His intentions seemed pure enough from reading his mind, but I still didn¡¯t like it. ¡°You don¡¯t have a problem with that, do you?¡± he asked, suddenly throwing the spotlight on me. Every eye in the room swiveled to me. ¡°Of course he does,¡± Pietro spoke up in obvious confusion. ¡°You¡¯re going to try to move in on his woman when he¡¯s literally half a world away.¡± ¡°The boss doesn¡¯t like it when you call her that,¡± Rin chimed in. ¡°He says they¡¯re just ¡®friends,¡¯¡± he announced with big air quotes. My face betrayed me, and I blushed ever so slightly, a fact broadcast to every single person present. Logan was not surprised. Beast was a bit wary about the matching; Pietro shrugged and figured it was only a matter of time. Rin was shipping us hard. Mordo literally couldn¡¯t care less, while Scott was livid. I knew this nonsense would only get worse the longer I entertained it, so I waved my hand dismissively and sighed. ¡°You can come,¡± I said, ¡°but please don¡¯t get any ideas. Jean would kill me if she found out I let you get killed.¡± That made him only bristle more. I smirked as the scenery changed, and we appeared in the private courtyard of the ancient one. She was standing beside Doctor Hanson with a small bag pack on her person. ¡°Ready to begin?¡± ¡°Begin what?¡± Rin asked excitedly. ¡°He hasn¡¯t told you,¡± Yao said as a matter-of-factly. ¡°I suppose I should give the doctor a chance to explain. It¡¯s her serums you¡¯d be imbibing.¡± ¡°Imbibing?¡± Logan was immediately on edge, claws edging from his knuckles. ¡°You trying to run experiments on us?¡± ¡°Well yes and no,¡± Hanson unhelpfully provided, and Logan nearly blew a gasket. Chapter 159 Scott was about to break into a diatribe when Rin spoke up. "He''s trying to make sure you can keep up, Logan. You¡¯ve seen the news. Do you really think the boss man can¡¯t contain you?¡± "What did you say?" Logan growled. I raised my hands and gathered my thoughts. It was sooner than I planned to do it, but the development in Antarctica was putting a tailspin on my plans. Scott looked even more confused, but I decided not to give him the satisfaction. ¡°Jean is in her room in one of the taller hills. You should go see her,¡± I said to him. ¡°But in the meantime, you need to excuse us. What I''m about to say next is need-to-know, and since you''re not part of this mission¡­" "Are you kidding me?" Scott protested. "I''m a member of the council you put together. After everything you put us through, I¡ª" "¡­are entitled to nothing," I cut him off. "You said you wanted to see Jean. I¡¯ve agreed to take you to her. My secrets are mine alone. Get to stepping or go home." Scott''s face twisted in a rictus of rage. "You''ll trust a member of the Brotherhood before me?" he demanded. I shrugged, and Scott scoffed, looking over at Logan for backup, but the mutant disappointed him. "The kid is right. It''s his secret, and his mission." Scott shook his head and waved his hand. "No one should come crying to me when everything goes to hell!" He stomped off, and we all watched in silence. Yao opened a portal with a flex of her wrist and whispered something to a guard some distance from Scott. "He''ll tell Scott where to go," she said. Pietro was the first to break the silence. "And I thought we bickered," he chuckled. "To chase him off like that¡­" "Well, he''s swung at me every fucking chance he''s ever had," I said. "Besides, I''d have done the same to anyone here if I thought they shouldn''t be a part of the conversation." "I know you have your issues with the kid," Logan rumbled, "but you''re trusting speedy over here. Didn''t you say he ran you off the road?" "Well, he''s apologized and proven himself since," I said. "Scott hasn''t. When you hear what I''m about to tell you, you''ll understand the need for secrecy." "Well," Logan grunted, "Don''t leave us in suspense." I took a deep breath to center myself before I spoke. "I have the ability to combine things on a conceptual level." "Wait what! That''s not¡­possible," Hansen spoke first, and her words came out jumbled and stilted. "So you can combine things and what¡­make them better?" Pietro asked. "It''s a little more complicated than that, and it takes a lot of energy, but yeah, essentially." "The Catalyst you talked about," Hansen muttered in realization. "You''re it." "Would this magic thing of yours work if you try to combine say a donut with a hotdog?" Pietro said wistfully. We all gave him odd looks. "Speedster munchies, I get it," I said offhandedly, "but yeah, it''s technically possible, even though it''d be a supreme waste of power." Logan shook his head. "So that''s why you were so hush hush about it. Somehow, I''m not even surprised you can pull this off. You could tell me you were a god at this point, and I just might believe ya." "Thank for the vote of confidence, Logan," I smiled, "but I''m not." Not yet. "Now you know everything, more or less. Professor Hanson has been helpful enough to synthesize two extremely powerful superhuman serums. Combined together, they''ll be potent to enough to level the playing field between you and most things, even me." This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. "What is it going to cost us?" Logan asked. "No such thing as a free lunch. Power like this gotta cost something. Is it going to screw with our minds or slowly destroy our bodies from the inside out." Logan raised justifiable objections that made the threat of Unify even more real. I could''ve lied to them, telling them they had nothing to worry about¡ªwhich, in my opinion, was most likely the case¡ªbut lying to a group of people who I''d be leading to the biggest face-off of my career didn''t seem very wise. "Unify has not made a bad match yet," I said, "but it is within the realm of possibility, but I still think you should take the risk regardless." "Why." logan asked. "Because we''re up against a literal giant squid monster, and an entire ice desert filled with monsters," I said. "Going nuclear is not really an option considering it was a reactor that birthed those monstrosities in the first place, and they have fliers faster than actual jets. Our only option are literal soldiers, and you''re the best that we have¡­but you''re not enough as is." "So, we either agree to be mutated or the world burns," Logan finished. "Very well put Mr. Howlett," The sorcerer supreme said. "It if brings you any comfort, I will personally oversee your rebirth myself just as I did Dante''s last two." "Who are ya again?" Logan asked, and I looked at him incredulously. I was about to speak when Yao raised a hand, stopping me. "We''ll have time for introductions and ego-measuring after we''re tucked away in your Simulacrum," she said. "Remaking you will take many days and will take more out of me than I''ve given in a long time. I will not be able to join you in the North Pole. But Mordo will take my place and assist you in whatever ways he can." The news was a disappointment, but I understood it well. Yao was a glass cannon. She might be incredulously powerful, but she was limited by the deals she''d made and her mortal body. It made me even more determined to find a way to free her from the Dark Dimension''s hold and help her. That was if she''d take my help in the first place. After some last-minute idle conversation, we were all set up for my Simulacrum. Logan was still understandably skeptical about the whole thing. His tune changed after we entered the Simulacrum, though. The world shuddered, and suddenly, we were floating in an endless space with a grey cloud overhead, a wild sea thrashing beneath us, and a ruin of a fallen city floating in between them. "Good god," Dr Hansen''s breath hitched. "This should be¡­impossible." "A bit more desolate than I was expecting," Yao commented as she looked around, "but then again, your father always did have the flair for the dramatic." "Your Dad made this place?" Rin spoke up. "You''ve been holding out on me boss." Pietro scanned the Simulacrum with some trepidation. "Running around this place is a death trap." "Not if you know how to time your jumps properly," I said. "We''ll practice after all the madness, but for now let''s set up camp and strategize." And so we did. We found the remains of a nice townhouse and set up there. Yao packed beds, freshly cooked food, enchanted stones, and enough heat to keep everyone warm. We sat around on the table as I broke down my plans. "Logan should go first," I said. "He''s the most resilient, and the formulas are guaranteed to make him even tougher. Next should be Mordo. He''s great under pressure, an impressive fighter, and should have plenty of time to practice with Logan while I work on the final Rebirth, Pietro. Anybody got a problem with that?" "You won''t hear me complaining," Pietro raised his hands. "Third place is just perfect." "What about me?" Rin asked with a bit of anger in his voice, and I looked at him, a bit baffled. "What about you? You''re already plenty strong. You''ll get even stronger with all of the gamma you''ll be absorbing at the North Pole. You''ll have no problem keeping up." "But you said we need to be stronger, not just keep up," Rin pointed out. "With Jean sidelined, you need somebody powerful enough to keep up with you. Pietro might do fine, but I''m stronger, and can heal just as fast as Logan here." "Actually, you can''t," I said, "but I take your meaning for it. It''s not that I don''t want you get stronger, or want you to surpass me, or any other reason you''ve cooked up. I just don''t think you''re ready for another paradigm shift when you barely have a handle on your powers as they are. Powering you up at this stage would do more harm than good. Besides, I''m not even sure I could give you the upgrade you deserve. Your DNA is far more complicated than most." Rin frowned, not exactly satisfied with my answers. "Your DNA is far more complicated than mine." "Exactly, but it Is mine, as in the power was made for me. As in I don''t need an inherent understanding of biology to use it." Rin made more protests, but he finally simmered down after I promised him something that was just as good as an upgrade¡ªa new armor and weapon. We sat down together and drew up plans for his first Devil Arm. It was a shifting weapon like mine, but it had 2 forms instead of 6. It¡¯s first form would be a longsword, and the second form, a great hammer. It would synergize wonderfully with his Vibranium body armor that I planned to enchant to help him better absorb and tank hits. I didn''t start smithing immediately, though, saving myself the trouble until I was done with the Rebirths. Pretty soon, I was standing in a familiar Spell circle with Mordo and Yao looking in as they wove a temporal dilation sphere. Transforming Logan would cost me 300,000AE and 300,000DE, and that is factoring in the hidden upgrade of improving his regular Adamantium skeleton and adding a thin membrane on top of his skin to improve his durability. Logan and Rin were going to be the Tank of this fight, and I needed him to be durable enough to shoulder that responsibility. Filling up Rebellion actually took less time than before. Between my inflated energy regeneration, Devil Trigger, and a lot of energy channeling practice, Yao finished the session with enough juice to go one more round if needed. I walked up to Logan with Rebellion, letting off an aurora of colors and energy. "Ready?" I asked. "Nobody is ever ready to have their atoms rearranged," he said, clutching the serum gun in his hand. He drew in a long breath and then injected himself. Before he could start screaming, my blade went into his stomach, and I triggered the process. Chapter 160 Logan was screaming for nearly five minutes straight as his muscles bubbled and swelled, and his skin flashed a silvery white at times. At the ten-minute mark, it all stopped, and Logan fell to the floor. Without needing to scan him, I already saw the improvements. He was significantly taller¡ªabout six feet, notably thicker, and seemed to be constantly radiating heat. I scanned him, getting a full read of the improvements. Logan ''Wolverine'' Howlett One of the most powerful mutants to ever inherit the Feral mutation, Howlett was blessed with bone claws, which were later laced with Adamantium, an unmatched healing factor, and animalistic instincts. Those mutations are further enhanced and changed with the addition of Extremis and the super soldier serum. Weaknesses: Extreme Cold Strength: Improved superhuman physiology, Extreme heat generation, and conductivity, Adamantium Skin, Twilight Adamantium skeleton, infrared vision, night vision, heat sense, massively improved superhuman regeneration. I whistled at the result, breathing a bit heavily from exhaustion. "That good?" Pietro asked. "Oh yeah," I said. "Those monsters won''t know what hit them." I went back to forging while Logan was resting and started on My Twilight Sentinel armor. I had been putting it off for a while now. It was high time I created the ultimate defense against attacks from all sides. I started with the underclothes first. Opting to use my destroyed Vibranium armor as a base as well as the remains of the most powerful monsters I faced in the dessert. The Devourers were greener than even the mutated seal things, but their durability was undeniable. It took some searching, but I found some of their remains, and it''d taken more effort than I''d care to admit to pry off their skin. I merged it with what remains of my armor, some twilight Vibranium and Adamantium, and finished it off with some basic Demon Aegis protection runes. The end result was a grey and silver scale-patterned body suit that I was determined to make the standard for my new legion of operatives. I bet Peter would kill to have a suit like this. Twilight Devourer Skin Suit Made from the remains of one of the most dangerous predators ever to roam the earth, the Devourer Skin suit is impossibly durable, energy absorbent, and possesses self-repair capabilities fueled by energy absorbed. Each scale regrown comes back stronger. Abilities Evolving scales¡ªEach scale severed or destroyed comes back twice as durable. Works up to three times. Extremely impact resistant Energy absorption Enchantment Protection Runes Storage runes¡ª900DE/900AE. Next came the Twilight Sentinel Armor. Actual work didn''t start until I completed the blueprint and created a shortlist of runes I planned to add. I also started work on a new rune that was supposed to make moving around in all of that Adamantium easier. A Weight Reduction Rune Decode and Forge and Enchant made it easy to pluck parts from my Gravity Seal and Demon Aegis seal to forge something new and different. It reduced the effective weight of an object by 60%, which was perfect for my purpose, and it had its inbuilt energy storage system, which meant I didn''t have to micro-manage it or draw from the storage runes that liter my future armor. The breakthrough with the runes was enough to start me on another upgrade spree. Using insights from the whip of the African Sorceress, I was able to upgrade my precision rune and give it a more effective edge. The change was ever so slight, graduating from Precision Rune to Precision Rune II, which amounted to about a 30% boost in effectiveness. The Rune and every other one in my arsenal got another round of improvements when my arcane weaponsmithing skill finally reached Adept Tier. Tired of having two separate smithing skills, I decided to combine both, creating an Epic skill that was far better than the sum of its parts. Advanced Arcanemsithing Taps into the primordial strength of aspectless magic and combines it with all manner of arms. Tinkerer: You gain a basic intuitive understanding of how all weapons work, regardless of complexity. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. Impact Rune--> Arcane Amplification: Temporarily empower any magical or physical technique, infusing them with Demonic or angelic energies. Cost 30 AE or DE for her activation. Demonic Aegis Seal -->Demonic Aegis Shield II: Drawing on your knowledge of density and gravity magic, generate a shield that protects you from all forms of attacks. 450 Durability points. Precision rune --> Precision rune II: Greatly improves the overall effectiveness of your precision rune by 50%. Rune of Accumulation--> Storage Rune II: Greatly improves the effectiveness of your Rune. Storage runes can now store up to 400 energy points. Weight Reduction Rune --> Weight Reduction Rune II: Reduces the relative weight of an object by 70% Gravity Seal--> Extremes are more pronounced. Rune miniaturization-->Runes are overall smaller and easier to inscribe on metal or any surface. Symbiosis --> Your Arcane magics effortlessly integrates with technology. The upgrade had me frozen in awe for a solid minute straight, re-strategizing. Some of the upgrades were so game-changing I was almost tempted to leave out a chest hole for Tony''s reactor and try to get my hands on repulsor beams. Ultimately, I decided against it. I likely had an entire asteroid''s worth of Vibranium to mine. Later iterations of my armors could be more technologically advanced. For now, I needed something that could deal damage and protect me. After some consideration and a great deal of work, my final rune stack looked something like this. 30 protection runes, 12 impact runes, 9 precision runes, 1 weight reduction rune, and 25 storage runes. After I was done synthesizing them all, I moved to creating the armor itself. Using the first iteration as a template, I made something a bit more streamlined out of solid Vibranium as a base and merged them with specific monster parts. The metal shards from the morphing cambion who could control metal and some Vibranium scales. It produced two distinct but important effects. Armor Manipulation allowed me to partially manipulate the metal that made my armor temporarily so that I could integrate more physical weapons like Invictus without exposing myself and losing some enchantments. Evolving Scales ensured my armor had self-repair. Finally, I fused the melted-down Adamantium and the multitudes of runes. The end result was something that felt like it was straight out of a high-fantasy novel. I felt like a god in it, like I was constantly in Devil Trigger. So much energy strummed through the storage runes in the armor, and I felt like I could maintain maximum output for hours on end. After reading through the description, I reckoned I could. Twilight Sentinel Armor Made from the amalgamation of Adamantium, Vibranium, organic demon metal, and the scales of a slayed devourer. It is Forgemaster Dante''s greatest creation yet. It is impervious to all but the strongest physical and magical attacks and will strike fear in the heart of all who see it. Abilities Armor manipulation Evolving Scales Adamantium Defense Energy conduit Enchantments Demon Aegis Seal II Arcane Amplification Precision Rune II Weight Reduction Rune II Storage Rune II Like my skinsuit, the armor came out Silver with a purple undertone, but it looked distinctly different from the first iteration of the Twilight Sentinel Armor. Unnecessary sharp edges were eliminated, and the armored face was covered in a strange pattern reminiscent of Damascus steel. I was very pleased with the finished product. And just as I was about to start on Rin''s armor, my apprentice came for me. Yao was ready for me, apparently, but Logan was still asleep. Mordo was next, and his transformation cost 300,000 for each resource. I also integrated a hint of Adamantium as well for extra defense. The end result was what I imagined a base-level human would achieve should they be put through the process. Mordo A Powerful Master Sorcerer and combatant, Mordo is one of the most decorated members of the Sorcerer Order on Earth. Formerly limited by his body and human mind, his potential has been unshackled by the combination of the Extremis and super soldier serums. Weaknesses: Extreme cold. Strength: Enhanced mind, Magic, Extreme heat generation and conductivity, Superhuman physiology, healing factor, improved senses, and combat ability. Mordo was up minutes after the process was done, and he was fucking jacked. He went from his impressive height of 6 feet to 6 feet 3 inches. Muscles were practically bursting from his strained robes. His eyes glowed red, and his hands lit up with heat energy. He nearly lost control of the heat until Yao calmed him down with soothing words. The heat vanished just as quickly as it appeared, and within an hour, he was sparring with Rin, who was offended by the sorcerer''s improved physique. They were practically neck and neck physically, with stats approximately over 100 in every category. It wasn''t long before he moved onto spells. They came out blisteringly fast, and he chained together so many complex spells even I had trouble keeping up. The Ancient one even complimented him on his display, causing the stone-cold Mordo to preen a little at the praise. I chuckled internally and traded a few barbs with everyone before heading back in. Dr. Hanson especially had questions about the entire process, understandably. She didn''t even need to ask for an enhancement before I offered to upgrade her at a later date. For now, I was going to make her a demon Aegis bracelet to protect her from all danger. It wouldn''t take much for anyone to connect the dots, and I''d forced her into the lifestyle. The least I could do was properly protect her. Rin''s armor was a light version of Twilight Sentinel with more Vibranium than Adamantium. It was a half armor mostly carried by a modified Wakandan body suit. I merged some devourer skin, a silver of Adamantium, and impact runes. Energy absorption wasn''t particularly a problem because of the vibranium base. For protection, the armor received 20 improved Demon Aegis seals and a Weight reduction rune to keep the armor as light as possible. The morphing weapon was what consumed most of my time. I first created the hammer, modeling it after one of the many great hammers I saw in one of my favorite video games, Elden Ring. But I didn''t go too crazy with the size, opting to settle for something lightweight enough to swing around one-handed but large enough to utterly devastate the monster. It had a Vibranium core and handle and an Adamantium shell. I enchanted it with all of the Arcane Amplification runes I could reasonably stuff into it. By comparison, the sword was more conservative. It was still broad, nearly as tall as Rin was, but it was completely made of Adamantium and enchanted with several Precision II and Amplification runes. I skipped the storage runes in both instances because Rin wouldn''t want more energy. He was practically a walking reactor. I already hooked him up with the cheat that his father popularized in the comics¡ªpunching the wall to generate kinetic energy and bank it for a future conflict. I finished off weapon creation by combining both weapons using the organic metal from the cambion I killed earlier as a Catalyst. The end result was a weapon capable of spontaneous transformation. The downside was that you had to bear the weight of both weapons simultaneously. I fixed that problem with a Weight Reduction Rune. Rin called the weapon, Rose, naming it after his mother. I didn''t object. Chapter 161 If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Chapter 162 The team and I went at it for nearly 12 hours straight after our first bout. Each time, I limited different abilities, learning to fight against opponents with some of my repertoire sealed away. Surprisingly, my angel abilities became my favorites once I got a handle on fighting with them exclusively. I was nowhere as fast as Pietro, but I trained my body and Predator gaze to be so sensitive that I could predict which direction he was coming from. After that, it was simply dodging, triggering Time Sage, and dishing out some sweet vengeance. It didn''t always work, though, as Pietro adapted quickly and learned to be more elusive with his attacks. He had to work a lot on his acceleration. He was either too fast and easy to counter or too slow to dodge my counterattacks and traps. Gust and Wind Blade also got a hell of a workout, as did Aquilas and Osiris, causing both skills to upgrade. Wind Blade (Adept) Radically increase or reduce the damage of a Wind blade by feeding energy into it before attacking. All attacks get a flat 50% damage boost. Wind blades are dramatically easier to conjure. Costs reduced to 10 AE per blade. Gust (Adept) Channel angel energy into your wind affinity and generate a strong gust that grants a passive speed boost upon activation on self. Maximum speed bonus has increased to 70%, medium bonus to 45%, and low activation to 25%. Gust is also 50% more effective and easier to manipulate. By the time we left the Simulacrum, Wolverine had grown the most. The Extremis formula affected his regeneration more than we anticipated. Now, he no longer had to sleep, breathe, or eat if he didn''t want to. He was a perpetual energy machine that produced ludicrous amounts of heat energy, which he funneled into his claws, movements, and breath attacks. He would''ve been a legitimate threat had I not been entirely immune. Rin was a close second. Between the deluges of heat energy and training with me, we were closer than ever in stats. I''d estimate he had about 150 across the board. Add a bit of juice, and he could go toe-to-toe with me. With enough time and absorption, Rin even managed to match my stats in my Devil Trigger form, though he couldn''t maintain it for long. His energy manipulation went to hell, and he ended up chasing after me, bleeding massive amounts of energy with every step. I beat him without ever laying a finger on him. It was a humbling experience for my young apprentice, but ultimately, it was very useful information. Ulyetrix wasn''t the type to hold back. He might charge Rin all the way up without even realizing it. Mordo didn''t fall behind either. He got ridiculously fast at weaving spells, his hands practically a blur as he cast increasingly complicated portals and counterspells to combat me and Pietro. When we exited the Simulacrum, Scott was in the courtyard talking to Kaecilius with worry etched on his face. "You''re the only one I know who hasn''t drank the Dante Kool-aid," he said. "How safe do you think the mansion is?" "Safe enough that you don''t need to share your concern with a perfect stranger," I said with a forced smile. I had made it a point to keep the mansion''s location hidden from Kaecilius but not Mordo. This version of the sorcerer was honorable enough, but he was far too desperate and hungry. "Do you have a problem with me?" Kaecilius asked. "No more than you do with me," I said. "Just because I look like my brother doesn''t mean I am him." ''No, you''re worse,'' I heard him think. "Wait, you have a brother!" Pietro asked. Logan also looked similarly surprised. "Twin brother," Rin clarified. "Apparently, he was the boss before the boss was the boss." "Thanks for the running commentary as always, Rin," I said with a tight smile. Turning to Scott. "And as for you, the compound is as safe as it can be. We have turrets, shields, mines, and an omega-level mutant on the premises. Nothing is getting in. And even if it manages to, it''s not getting out alive. No one knows where we are, and the mission would last a few days at most." Scott opened his mouth to speak, but Kaecilius cut him off, eyes scanning Mordo, Pietro, and Logan. He threw an accusatory stare at me. "You remade them." I shrugged. "The fight demanded it." "How many more of us do you plan to¡­change?" he asked, with a confusing mix of jealousy and rage, which I was not surprised to sense off of him. He was offended that Mordo was likely more powerful than him, even if he didn''t necessarily agree with my methods. He also wondered if I ever planned on extending the olive branch to him. I did not, but I didn''t outright say that. "As many as we need to," I said, "but we really don''t have time for this." Mordo moved before I even had to ask. "I''ll gather my squad." "And I''ll go visit Jean," I said. Rin tagged along as I walked past a disgruntled Scott and Kaecilius. Logan and Pietro hung back to talk to them. Jean was still asleep when I found her, but her mind was awake. She mentally reached out, and when I connected to her, I found myself standing in a copy of my workshop at the mansion. "I see the illusion training is coming along well," I said, not bothering to turn around. I knew she was standing right behind me. "You''re no fun," she teased. "You could''ve pretended to search for me." "Well, I just came back from 4 days of smithing and no sleep. I''m a bit on a short fuse, all things considered." Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. She touched my chest. "You do feel very different." Her touch felt warm, and I smiled. "Thanks." Her voice, however, did nothing to soothe the growing anxiety concerning the impending fight. "You know I expected Quellitrax''s third attack, even accounted for a giant monster. What I hadn''t foreseen was you getting hurt." "I''m fine¡­for the most part," Jean clarified. "I''m just recovering. Healing Piotr took more energy than my body could safely output, which basically fried my nervous system. The Phoenix is taking this opportunity to teach me about healing myself with my abilities. It''s very complicated." "My potions still work just fine." "And you''re literally selling your soul bit by bit," she said. "I won''t be a part of that." My lip stiffened, and I sighed. "Take all the time you need, but don''t take too much time. I''m hopeless without you." Jean''s mental projection somehow blushed. "Of course you are." -- The next morning, we gathered in an open field outside Wakanda with our entire strike force. Tony had spent most of the morning rigging Wakanda''s fliers with five Nephilim rockets each, which were supposed to be saved for the final confrontation. The rest of the bombs were remote-triggered and were in my dimensional pocket. The group was divided into three strike teams, each comprised of members of the Thunderbolts, the Mutant Liberation Front, and the new SHIELD strike force. Tony had told no lies when he said that his exoskeletons were ready. They all ran on arc reactors but looked like proto-iron man armor. Their thrusters were short-distance, and they had dual repulsors on their hands as well as retractable swords for piercing monsters in close combat. They also had a Uni-beam for an ultimate and carried Stark Industries'' new energy cannons. Every other person else was gifted with white Vibranium suits that granted more protection from the environment than anything else. They''d make fighting in the snow easier, but with their protection bracelets, they should be extra tanky. Tony also provided several Arctic exploration vehicles retrofitted with low-yield missiles and 50-Cal guns for easier transportation around the frozen desert. Each team also had its resident sorcerer whose duty was to coordinate long-distance attacks and provide avenues for rescue, retreat, interference, and escape. Team one comprised the acid-spitting girl, three exoskeleton soldiers, Tony Stark, Captain America, Clint Barton, and Rin. Team two consisted mostly of members from the original Brotherhood¡ªSabertooth, Magneto, and Wanda. Their numbers were supplemented by Kurt, Mordo, and three exoskeleton soldiers. The final group consisted of Lauren, five exoskeleton soldiers, Wolverine, and Pyro. Pietro and I were the final team because no one else could keep up. Besides Wakanda''s air support, I estimated we''d be racking up the highest kill counts. Our team also had the secondary function of searching for Ulytetrix. When we were satisfied that the monster population was sufficiently culled, we''d converge on the squid and attack. If everything went well, Ulyetrix should be dead before morning, and I should be soaking up the greatest Red Orb windfall of my life. "What do you think our odds are of this plan actually working?" Clint, who was in charge of team one, asked. "Is the sky blue? I have absolute faith that shit will hit the fan the moment we run into Ulyetrix." Clint laughed. "Pragmatic to a fault. You''d have made a great agent. Or a terrible one, depending on who your superior was." I shrugged. "I''m just being realistic. Who knows what kind of eldritch horrors that monster will have waiting for us. 12 hours is a long time to give an alien octopus to prepare. Even with the heaviest hitters on our side, I still think it''s going to be close." Clint sighed in acknowledgment. "What I''d give to have Natasha by my side. Why did she have to be away on mission." "Shouldn''t it be the other way around," I asked. "I can''t imagine you''re excited to fight an entire continent of horrors." "If I don''t, who will?" Clint asked. "True enough," I muttered. Mordo walked up to me and spoke. "Everyone is ready." "Right," I said, collecting myself. The strike team cleared a path for me, and I made it to the front of the group. From a cursory scan of their minds, I could tell that they were nervous¡ªeven the virtuous Captain America questioned the immediacy of the mission. That kind of doubt could get them killed. Although the notion made my skin crawl, I made an exception and offered a rousing speech. "I''m not going to sugarcoat this. This will probably be the hardest challenge any of you have ever faced. It will be your first contact with something truly alien. Have no illusions that they will be friendly. Their leader is raising an army of monstrosities. Most of us standing here don''t see eye-to-eye on a lot of things, but we can all agree that having a threat in our backyards is a bad thing. So, I say we storm the arctic, kick its ass, and get back to plotting against the demons." There were no cheers by the end, but I wasn''t expecting any. It wasn''t that kind of speech, but I did sense it¡ªthe mood had lifted. We stepped through different portals, arriving at Antarctica simultaneously. The wind roared around me and Pietro. It took some time, but we all synched over satellite radio. Fury''s voice rang out. "Alright, you all know what to do." --- Rin. The fighting started almost immediately. A pack of hungry Ice-covered wolves rushed in our direction, and Tony Stark was, surprisingly, the first to speak. He caught it on the sensors on his suits and tapped a few buttons on a floating display above his hand. "Incoming," he warned, unloading a salvo of missiles from the Snow Truck that escorted us. Most of the wolves dodged the explosions, and the few that didn''t either died immediately or were rapidly regenerating well into their second phase of evolution. "Open suppressive fire," Clint ordered, and the soldiers fell in line and fired as one. They bathed the landscape in blue energy fire, flash-frying whole body parts of animals, only to watch them rapidly regenerate and become faster and stronger. But it was like the boss reported; they all had limits. Energy fire converged on each enemy the soldiers managed to cripple, and they quickly finished them off, but it came at the risk of leaving their flanks open. The 50-Cal guns whirred to life when the monsters came to a close, but they had less effect than even Tony Stark predicted. Some monsters managed to wade through the Tsunami of energy fire well into their third phase and became extremely impact-resistant. I had to step in to keep our resident genius safe. My longsword morphed into a hammer as I rocketed forward with demonic energy. It came down with a brutal finality with all of its runes singing. The beast exploded in a spray of bones and gore, and I spun around, moving on to my next target. A beast that was trying to muscle down the Captain. He ducked underneath its charge, letting it slide over his extended hand blade. It opened up the wolf''s side. It screeched in annoyance and charged again. The Captain let his rifle fall to the side, dangling off his strap, and raised his shield. He brought down the edge on the neck of the charging beast with all of the strength the exoskeleton provided, and decapitated the monster. Before it could recover, the Captain put his blade through its heart. He didn''t even look winded. Perhaps that confidence was why he didn''t sense another wolf trying to tackle him from behind. My modified energy pistol cleared my hip, and I put a hole in its eyes, stopping it dead before it recovered. Three extra shots rang out, perforating its head and heart. The Captain turned around to look at me and nodded in thanks while I joined the fray. The rest of the pack fell shortly after. By the end, I was bursting with energy, enough to strengthen every aspect of me ever so slightly. The cost of permanent enhancement has grown substantially since my rebirth, but the trade-off has been worth it. I was stronger than I could''ve ever imagined, and I could now control demonic energy. "That went surprisingly well," Tony Stark said, raising a section of his armor to reveal his face. "I''ll say," Clint interjected. "We were almost run through." "You should let me charge their line before the fighting start next time," I said. "Are you sure that''d be wise?" The Captain asked. "You''d take friendly fire." "I''ve grown a lot since the last time you saw me Cap," I said. "I can take it." Captain America looked at Clint, who nodded. "Noted then." Chapter 163 Chapter 164 Wanda Our trek into the wilderness was slow and silent; all attention focused on the pair of newcomers to this mission. Kurt, I was familiar with, and so was Magneto by association. After the mission at the lab, he''d drilled me for information and knew almost everything I did about the teleporting boy. I didn''t know what Magneto was thinking, but from what I knew of him, it probably involved some scheme to pull him over to our side, and I wasn''t necessarily against it either. We were the true victims of this war with the demons. Even now, after the demons have stopped their assault, mutants are still disappearing. It started with the Morlocks under New York, but it had spread countrywide. People wanted somebody to blame for the incident in New York and other unexplainable things that have happened over the years. The battle of New York, the bounty that Domina placed, and the video that surfaced of Dante''s fight more or less pointed the finger at mutant kind. We had people with monstrous features in our ranks. SHIELD and the Thunderbolts helped some, but we spearheaded the fight. On Magneto''s orders, Dante and Jean were left out of the fight for mixed reasons. They were too recognizable for one, and they were frankly needed elsewhere. I''ve torn through dozens of mutant hate groups across the country and sent over ten people to SHIELD''s protection camp, but we were still losing people in spades. We were all desperate to put an end to the madness, which was why we were all so surprised when Pietro disappeared in the afternoon yesterday and returned several times faster and stronger than he already was. Now, I didn''t think even Magneto could stop him. Predictably, Magneto asked him to divulge his secrets, and surprisingly, he refused. "Why?" demanded Magneto, standing up from his chair. He had to look up slightly at Pietro, who''d grown several inches taller. "Because Dante asked me to," he said with a shrug. "You would choose him over your kind?" Magneto''s voice went dangerously low, but Pietro didn''t blink. They''d actually never fought, but everyone who''d seen them in action knew Magneto would likely win. His electromagnetic barrier made him immune to all but the most powerful mutants, and while Pietro was fast. He couldn''t move faster than the seasoned mutant could think. But now, I wasn''t so sure. "I CHOOSE to keep my promise to a friend who gave me a second chance when he didn''t need to,¡± Pietro said. "Dante Sparda didn''t empower you out of the goodness of his heart," said Magneto. "There is always a price to pay." "You don''t hear me complaining, do you?" Pietro grinned. "I''ll gladly answer when he calls. In the meantime, I''ll be saving more lives and giving Wanda a break." He smiled at me. "Heavens knows she needs it." Magneto spotted a deep frown for the rest of the day, and he nursed it well into the mission. His face changed for the first time when we ran into our first horde. "A pack up ahead," I announced the moment the monsters entered my sphere of perception. It was magnitude larger than it''d been at the university, and reading the demon taught me a few tricks about dealing with inhuman minds. I couldn''t control them because of the distance, but I got a general feel for their minds. They were the half-snake-half-man monstrosities that Dante had spotted. He''d called them Lamias. "Ten of them," I said. "They''ve spotted us." "It''s the heat in our bodies," I heard a voice say beside me. I nearly lost my balance. It was the sorcerer Mordo. "When did you¡­" I started, but his hands were already moving. It blurred, and when they stopped, they were spread wide apart. A complicated Mandala of burning red energy manifested in front of him. "Forgive me," he said. "They¡¯re drawn to heat, and my heat regulation could use some work.." He closed his hand, and the Mandalas separated into five segments, each one smaller than the last like some magical magnifying glass. "What are you doing?" I stammered out. "A spell," he impassively answered. "Sun of Cinnibus," he announced, and a potent ray of heat energy erupted from his palms. The heat doubled in strength with each circle it passed through. It was almost white when it crossed the final mandala. With unnatural ease, Mordo snapped the ray to the right and promptly stopped the spell. Explosions went off in the distance, and a wave of heat and snow crashed into us. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. My mouth fell open, and so did the rest of the group. Their consciousness was gone. He''d killed them all with one spell. "What the hell was that?" Kurt Wagner was the first to speak. "Forgive me?" Mordo said. "The enhancements must''ve been more significant than I expected." Magneto''s eyes widened. "He enhanced you too, didn''t he?" --- Lauren My eyes narrowed to slits and stayed that way all the while I watched Logan Howlett cut through a horde of overgrown seals. I had been initially wary of him when I noticed how different he was from the files Fury had passed around, but seeing him in action stumped even me. He moved with serpentine grace, and his claws left cauterized wounds with every stroke. In the span of a few seconds, he''d cut through the first horde we encountered with a feral smile. One by one, the monsters all dropped to the floor, hearts and brains destroyed. Every other member of the group oohed and aahed at his efficacy, and I could even hear Fury making comments over the intercom as an agent relayed what he''d just witnessed. I believed the words were "unnatural." He had no idea. My fist tightened. The boy was bolder than HIS majesty anticipated. He will not be pleased to hear of this. Ever since Dante''s deal with the phoenix, the master had been limited to only the boy''s notification screen. His actions were only clear to him when Dante purchased something from the store, which rarely happens these days. The boy wised up, finally, it would seem, at the worst possible moment, and stopped using the store almost entirely. The master now mostly relied on me to gather intel for him, which, given my skills, wasn''t that difficult. Still, some things inevitably slip through the cracks. Garret needs to hear about this. Taking Dante down just became much more difficult. We cannot let Prometheus keep going at its current pace. --- Norman Osborn "Are these figures right, Dr. Connors," I said, eyes glued on the tablet he handed me. "You''ve stabilized the formula." Dr. Connors nodded. "Lizard DNA," he hummed. "Who would''ve thought. We''d had so much hope for wolves and spiders." "You have no idea what this means for us," I spoke in a calm voice. I could finally treat my son and protect my family from the true dangers of the world. "This could open so many doors for us." With this, I could auction of the formula to major governments and private entities worldwide. Every major faction would have ample protection against the eventual demon invasion, and I''d be untouchable. Who says you can''t get rich off doing the right thing? I''d be untouchable after this deal goes through. Not even the demons would dare cross me. My lips began to part in a Cheshire grin. "Sir?" I handed the tablet back to Connors with a schooled expression. "Lock down the information. No one else can know about this. Take one of the sub labs and continue on with your work, Dr. Connors." "Yes sir," he said with some hesitation, "but the work would go a lot faster if we had a bigger team. Some of our brightest are still testing Spider and Wolf DNA." "Leave them," I said, looking at Connor''s missing arm. "I know you''re hungry for results, but it''s still early days for the other teams. I''m curious to see what they''ll come up with." Why stop at one formula when you could have multiple? The Doctor looked like he had much more to say, but I wasn''t interested. "If that is all, Doctor." Connors excited my office with a complicated look on his face, and I poured myself a drink from a decanter in the corner. I took my time savoring the smell before I swallowed a gulp of Bourbon. "Celebrating?" Electricity ran up my spine, and I nearly dropped the glass in my hand as a wave of panic and fear overwhelmed me. Domina! Shit. I took a deep, steadying breath and spun around with a schooled expression. "Just finally reaping the fruits of millions in R&D. Nothing concrete yet, but it''s a step in the right direction." I took another measured sip and stared at her. She was in a white business suit that accentuated her hair and flawless face. How much did she know? "Hmmm," she mused. "It wouldn''t have anything to do with the formula, would it?" Her question gave me my answer. She had likely been listening the entire time. "It''s not ready for use if that''s what you''re asking," I said. "It''ll likely be months before we find a stable formula that might work, and then there''s human testing¡­" "Don''t be modest," she waved. "Dr. Connors seemed confident in his readings. You could fast track this if you wanted to." "Why would I?" I asked. "Hundreds of men before me have gotten it wrong? Bruce Banne was no different. Why would I rush the single most important human enhancement program in the history of the country?" "Greed," Domina said. "Don''t pretend like your company doesn''t thrive because of it. How many malpractice lawsuits are you fighting again?" "Too many," I defended, "which is why I have to do this right. I have too much riding on it." "Because you plan to sell me out?" Domina asked without skipping a beat, and I matched her gaze with genuine outrage. "Because my son needs it," I said. "He won''t survive without the formula." Domina had a leisurely smile tugging at the edge of her lips and stared at me for the longest time. It made even me uncomfortable. I wasn''t usually at the receiving end of this sort of scrutiny. "Who am I to question a father''s love for his son," she finally said, getting up from her chair with a huff. I let out a small sigh and swallowed another gulp, which turned bitter in my throat when Domina spun around. "You know what, I''m so moved by your dedication to doing things right, I''m sending over some of my brightest minds. There''s only so much your isolated team can accomplish They need sleep, rest. My men won''t. It should help speed up the process. Get your son the help he needs sooner." "You really don''t have to," I said with a forced smile, but Domina wasn''t having any of it. "Dr. Connors doesn''t work well with others. Your intervention might actually end up costing us more time." "Nonsense," she insisted. "They''re there to help not ask questions, and they''re familiar with most of the research." "This is science," I said quickly. "I''m not sure there''s much we can do to speed things up." "Still, you will have the help if you need it," she said and vanished with a crackling sound. I almost threw my glass across the room but schooled myself in case she was still watching. I swallowed the rest of the Alcohol. This was far from over. I still had two other divisions rapidly approaching stability. If just one of them created a working Serum, I could still go forward with my plan. I will not be trusting a lunatic with the future of my planet, no matter how nicely she threatens me. - Chapter 164 Fury ¡°Sir, it¡¯s nothing like I¡¯ve ever seen,¡± a starstruck soldier prattled on the phone. ¡°The way he¡¯s moving, cutting through them like they¡¯re nothing. It¡¯s unnatural, sir.¡± ¡°Of course it fucking is,¡± I snapped. ¡°Haven¡¯t you forgotten who we¡¯re working with?¡± I huffed. I knew it was not his fault, but my temper was on a short fuse these days. The world had gone mad. Eldritch monsters in the north. Mutants were getting strung up all over America, and SHIELD didn¡¯t have an effective response for any of those problems. It went far beyond Dante now. The World Council and the president were breathing down my neck, and there was even greater pressure to make Prometheus work, but there was something that wasn¡¯t clicking with the formula. Dr. Ross swears that Bruce would know what to do. Hence, we had to pry him from the arms of the Octopus monster. Part of me suspected she could be stonewalling so that she could get what she wanted, but I wasn¡¯t mad at it. What made me livid was how great Dante was at maneuvering events to his advantage. If he was to be believed, I basically funded some successful experiment that allowed him to create three enhanced individuals on a dime. We¡¯ve been at that for decades now! I wasn¡¯t entirely convinced that he wasn¡¯t spying on me somehow. We had mental blockers around the most sensitive areas of the facility, and I tried to avoid Jean Grey in general. Still, I was beginning to think his Clairvoyance was far more targeted than he was leading us to believe. He seems only to know things that benefit him in some ways. If he hadn¡¯t been able to predict events before they happened somewhat accurately, I would¡¯ve assumed he was a Telepath. I froze¡­ That made a hell of a lot more sense than Clairvoyance. It would explain how he¡¯d been able to manipulate us from the start. Granted, everything couldn¡¯t have gone his way, but it was plausible. How he was able to anticipate the invasions and guess the Cap was still alive was still a mystery, but it certainly made more sense than vague future sense. ¡°Damn it,¡± I muttered. ¡°He could be taking us all for a ride.¡± Random incidents started to add up quickly. The meaningful looks with Jean Grey. Knowledge of our contingency programs. My eyes went wide. The son of a bitch probably already knew about Prometheus. Our secondary mission in Antarctica just became that much more important. ¡°Get me, Heller,¡± I ordered one of the technicians on the job and stepped out of the room to talk to the agent on my phone. ¡°How is it looking,¡± I asked. ¡°Any trouble?¡± ¡°Closing in on the extraction point sir. The stealth tech is out of this world. We¡¯ve flown through five hordes. Nothing has seen us.¡± I nodded. ¡°You can thank Stark for that.¡± The mining operation was always something we intended to start farther down the line, but new information had changed my mind. Apparently, the boys down at the lab finally finished their analysis of the data the survey team sent back on the Vibranium they studied, and it was radically different from the one we already had. They were just as durable as Wakandan Vibranium but didn¡¯t absorb energy like it did. Instead, it dissolved metal, making it the ultimate counter for a weapon expert like Dante Sparda. The second vital bit of information I received was in-depth scans of the outer limits of the desert. There were huge stores of Vibranium there with the least enemy concentration. Stark had a stealth plane he¡¯d been developing on the side for SHIELD that made our current best bombers look prehistoric. So, I hatched a plan and was rapidly putting it into effect. All that was left was to make sure that nothing else leaked out to him or his girlfriend. I still had to test him just to be sure, but I had a feeling about these things. And if I was right, that meant I couldn¡¯t trust another word out of his mouth, and I had to take a more proactive approach to containment. --- Dante Pietro and I exploded forward the moment our feet touched the snow and wrought untold havoc with all of the speed and lethality we could muster without drawing too much into our reserves. If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. I gave Pietro a pair of Twilight Adamantium shortswords I fashioned just for him and let him go buck wild. I wielded a remade version of Mercury, Severance, and Kurogiri, my new Uchigatana. I¡¯d taken care to give it the same runes severance had. Only I¡¯d emphasized Precision over sheer power. I took on entire hordes by myself, parrying, cutting, stabbing, and letting off the occasional Smite. Pietro and I got serious for the first time in the mission when I ran into a dead horde of emaciated wolves. Their bodies had been completely drained of Gamma radiation, and the culprit floated above us, chasing down an odd hybrid wolf who¡¯d grown wings of all things, but it was not nearly fast enough. A tentacle pierced through its chest, and it dried up in real-time. The monster that had destroyed him was familiar yet different. It had wings now, a well-muscled upper body and all of its tentacles migrated below its midsection. For balance, it had a pronounced tail sticking out of the forest of writhing tentacles. Most terrifying of all, however, was the large draconian wings adorning its body. ¡°Is that¡ª?¡± Pietro spoke beside me with some trepidation in his voice. ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t say it had wings,¡± he said. ¡°It didn¡¯t,¡± I said, using Predator¡¯s gaze on the monster, though I had a feeling I already had my answer. Modified Gamma Devourer Formed from the amalgamation of human DNA, Kraken DNA, Snake DNA, and Pterosaur DNA Weaknesses: Extreme heat Strengths: Massive superhuman strength, massive explosive speed, vibranium skin, adaptive growth, gamma absorption, and massive superhuman regeneration. Blood of the Old. Oh hell. My eyes lingered on Adaptive Growth. It was most likely absorbing the abilities of other monsters it had consumed. I summoned Severance in my right hand and activated Cloak: Fire. It¡¯d been a while since I¡¯d used it, but it was old, reliable, and, frankly, my most powerful offensive cloak technique. ¡°You might want to stay out of this one, Pietro,¡± I warned. ¡°It¡¯s fast.¡± And indeed, it was. It roared with its maw, unleashing all 20 of its tentacles at me, but I was not the same Dante that its brothers and sisters had fought a few hours ago. I had a few new tools to play with. I used all 4 Arcane amplification and Precision II runes on my blade and swung, activating Burst at medium output, consuming 30 DE. The air screamed as a torrent of Black and Red flames flowed out. It reduced the approaching tentacles to ashes and climbed up its body before splitting it in half. Pietro gaped. ¡°Where have you been hiding that!¡± I laughed. I hadn¡¯t used Arcane Amplification during our spar because none of my weapons had the new runes. Rin¡¯s attack power went through the roof when he started using the runes during our spar, and if it wasn¡¯t because of my parry, speed, and experience, it might¡¯ve legitimately killed me. Wanting to enjoy the power of the improved runes myself, I upgraded Severance while the other factions were organizing themselves. I could barely afford the 60,000 cost to upgrade the weapon and the runes, but it had been worth it. Arcane Amplification granted a 30% increase in power on all techniques for one second for the low cost of 30 DE or AE, and my new Precision Runes granted a massive increase in cutting power for 10 AE. Stack all four of those together with my most potent element and a Cloak that improved my fire effectiveness by 80%, and I could basically one-shot an enemy that had me running a few short hours ago. The falling remains of the monster swelled and twisted and bloomed to life with a surprising vigor. Gamma radiation gushed out in waves as the monster regenerated. New bones and muscles replaced charred ones, and black obsidian scales grew over them to give the re-emerging beast a meaner, sturdier look. Its eyes glowed green, and I counted a few more tentacles than I previously did, and I noticed it had a distinctly wolfish snout. There were several changes to its stat sheet when I scanned it. It now had Wolf DNA and ice manipulation and no longer had fire as a weakness. All of its physical stat went up an entire category except healing. What I was looking at downright terrified me. If any of the team ran into one of these, it¡¯d be game over if they couldn¡¯t strike it in the head and heart immediately. Thankfully, this spontaneous growth didn¡¯t seemingly come without some concession. It had lost the ability to Adapt and absorb Gamma radiation, meaning this was the end of the road for it, and that warmed my heart. I attacked first this time around, switching my fire Cloak for Density and activating Gust. I also summoned Osiris. I exploded forward with an enhanced Gust amplified by Arcane Amplification. The Devourer roared and flapped its wings, sending forward a wave of Ice and debris, which I easily phased through and rematerialized in front of it, swinging with energy flowing into my blade. Two tentacles went flying, and another two joined them before it could recover. Its hands came down in a brutal crash, and I phased through them and split them from its shoulder with two swift, arcane-boosted wind blades. It howled in pain, and the snow started to whip around us, raising a small storm that was supposed to blind me. My blade flashed out with unerring accuracy, splitting the never-ending tide of tentacles. The monster tried to regroup and fly out of the storm it¡¯d raised, but I was prepared for it. My new Uchigatana appeared in my free hand and sent a charged wind blade alongside Severance, taking its wings off. For the first time in the fight, the monster used its tail, spinning around and whipping out to strike me. I stepped back from the attack with a skillful use of Burst, reappearing several feet away. The monster panted and glared at me, but it was mostly in one piece. I summoned Ivory, packing her up with so much Angel energy the gun vibrated. ¡°That was fun.¡± The monster juked to the left when I pulled the trigger, but its bulky body worked against it. It was consumed by a storm of wind blades that slowly rose to a crescendo. The monster lasted longer than I expected, but by the end, only clumps of viscera and minced bones were left. ¡°We need to leave the hordes to the regular teams,¡± I said to Pietro. ¡°This new Modified Devourers have to be our focus or this expedition will be over before it¡¯s even begun.¡± --- Chapter 165 Lumos I ducked underneath an acid spray, swishing my hand to the left. A tentacled monstrosity split in half, and a descending Light Spear pinned him to the ground. It writhed underneath the heat but recovered at extreme speeds, pushing the back of the spear. Shutting my palm, I crushed the monster''s head and heart. Before its struggling seized, I was bombarded with three more streams of acids. I transformed into Light and materialized behind the monstrosities who''d attacked, sending spears through their heads and hearts. They fell to the snow, lifeless. Four more monsters replaced the dead ones and hissed at me, sending forth an avalanche of tentacles. I snorted and brought my hands down, crushing them with the full weight of my telekinesis. My glowing eyes darted to the horizon, fixing on the lingering presence that had watched me while I decimated its horde. There had been over thirty of them at first, all overwhelmingly powerful. They were far too much for my entourage, so I''d commanded Val to portal them away, leaving me to fight off the horde, but only after they incurred a few injuries. It took more effort out of me than I''d care to admit, requiring me to draw deeper into my demonic energy pool than I had in a while, but I wasn''t worried. My pool was vast, second only to Corvus himself. I spent entire years of my youth forcefully expanding my energy pool and meditating under the sun. What I lacked in sheer power, I more than made up for in precision and volume. This unknown foe would be the latest in a long line of monsters who''d fall by my hand. "You can''t hide from me," I said. "Show yourself. End this farce." Reality inverted, and I came upon a sight that caused even me some pause. It was a myth come to life. The Kraken laid before me¡ªor, more accurately, some abstraction of it. It had 12 eyes, each pair shining with an unknown power and tentacles to match those eyes that were as thick as school buses. "Your kind is far more powerful than I''ve been led to believe," a voice rumbled. It came across as chaos, designed to scramble the mind, but I was well beyond paltry tricks. Its strength was vast like mine, but where I knew the limits of my energy pool, his seemed to eclipse my senses and grow stronger with every pulse. My eyes narrowed, and I pinpointed the cause of it¡ªsome creature buried underneath its bulk. He was siphoning energy from it. "You do not belong here," I said. "Return to the void from where you came or I will be forced to remove you." Its twelve eyes wandered in every direction, but mine and it took a long moment to answer. "No. Far too rich, far too promising. After I harvest you and the Nephilim, I will scour this planet, then perhaps turn my attention to your home world." I narrowed my eyes. It had to die here and now. With a flick of my finger, I summoned my Devil Arm, SoL. It was a golden Partisan spear with a modified spearhead and a glowing white gemstone at the center. It helped me gather sunlight and transform it into Demon energy, amplifying all of my Light-based and mental attacks by a wide margin. My body enhancement technique, Ruler''s Cloak, swaddled me, raising the surface temperature of my skin to a ridiculous degree. The snow around me for nearly a hundred feet instantly melted, releasing steam. Ruler''s Cloak was my crown jewel. It enhanced all of my physical parameters by over 200% and my magic by 350% by my latest estimates. This technique transformed me into a god of war on the battlefield, and I was delighted to see how the monster would handle me. I twirled the spear, pointing the tip at one of the monster''s eyes, and cast a Light Spear. It appeared in front of it instantly, nearly six times more potent than it was before. Its eyes flickered before it impacted, and the world was drowned in white. The Earth shook, and steam gushed into the atmosphere endlessly. It wasn''t dead. I doubt it was injured. Its psychic presence barely fluttered. Unwilling to risk a mental battle with him, I settled for observing his shift in emotion from a distance. I floated above the chaos, summoning ten more Light spears and bombarding the monster with all of them. The ground roared at the devastation, but the beast seemed immune to my assault. The tenth spear finally earned me a reaction. Six tentacled lashed out deceptively fast. They were all covered in some blackish film of energy fraying at the edges. That had probably been its shield. My spear lashed out; an ultra-condensed thirty-feet long energy blade manifested on the very tip. It sheared through the first tentacle like butter and went halfway through the second one, surprising me a fair bit. I channeled my telekinesis into the blade, giving it a real edge, and swished out with actual effort. Five of the six tentacles sheared off, and I closed the distance between myself and the beast, displacing the air around us. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. All twelve of its monstrous eyes blinked at me in calculated amusement before one glowed. They were a deep blue. I suddenly froze, trapped mid-lunge, unable to physically move, suspended by some power that terrified me. It was like I was trapped in one of Corvus''s domains. The monster cackled. "12 hours ago that was only strong enough to prevent teleportation. Now I can hold the likes of you. I wonder how much more powerful I will become." A second set of eyes glowed. They were green, and new tentacles began to sprout in the place of the severed ones. They were a slightly deeper shade and moved with more weight. I could instantly tell they were stronger. It was like its spawns. It evolved given enough time. Its renewed tentacles began to reach for me. "You''ve been an amusing distraction," it said. "I''ve enjoyed our time together." "I''ve not," I sent to it through my telepathy, surprising it briefly before I detonated a chunk of my demonic energy, flaring both of my affinities. A wave of Light, heat, and Telekinetic force rippled out in all directions. The monster''s hold on me intensified, snapping my limb and puncturing several organs, but just before it could finish me off. The attack reached it, and it screamed. It was a guttural, disorienting thing that shook the air so much I nearly fainted. It was gone by the time I regained control of my body, and my natural regeneration kicked in, and I stood in the middle of a crater very familiar. I spat a clump of blood. To think I did just as good as the Nephilim. Whatever this thing was, it took precedence over eliminating the boy. We couldn''t let it gather more power, even if that meant collaborating with Dante Sparda. --- Rin After the first horde, we hit our stride, maintaining a fairly steady advance into the desert. Tony assumed the role of guard, but I remained as vanguard, and I was our first and only defense against the hordes. Waves after waves of them crashed against my body, but none of them lasted more than a few seconds against my sword or hammer. Every hit I tanked, blocked, or ate filled me up, replacing energy that I lost, allowing me to maintain Cloak indefinitely. All of the gamma and life energy I gained went into upgrading every aspect of my body to ensure I was strong enough for our final confrontation. Dante had deliberately sent me down the path where he observed the most monsters, and it had been paying off. Already, I noticed I was about 5 percent stronger than when we started the mission. In addition to pure power gains, I was also using the opportunity to sharpen my weapon''s skill and drill down on the basics. Dodges, parries, stances, effective strikes. It all got equal attention. Our toughest fight so far was with a group of mutated seals, like the very same ones Dante fought when he got here. They put me through the paces physically, and my demonic energy control got a real workout as I tried to absorb every incoming strike. However, I ended things by channeling energy into the hammer form of Rose and enhancing my strike with Arcane amplification before bringing it down on the toughest monster''s head. The explosion took most of its upper body. We were a quarter of the way through our designated route when it happened. A portal opened in front of me, and a group leaped out. "Back off everybody!" I yelled. I felt the demonic energy rolling off them before I even got a good look at them. They were Cambion and demons. The group consisted of two knights dressed in armor covered in demonic energy¡ªone fire and one Ice. Two mercenaries stood at their sides, wearing protective armor. The one to the right was holding up an unconscious Cambion. Finally, at the rear was an unmasked dream runner with a mask covering his lower face and holding a pair of bloody daggers. All were wounded except the mercenary in a metal skull mask. "Make any sudden movements, and I will gut every last one of you," the assassin said in a raspy voice. He was bald with ash-white skin, and his tone reminded me way too much of that jackass, N''tesh." I snorted. "You sound pretty sure for a guy who is outnumbered and tired. How about I make you the same fucking offer. Drop your knife or¡ª" Ahhh! A scream ripped from the throat of our group sorcerer as the Cambion appeared in front of him, dagger sticking out his throat. Fear gripped my heart. I hadn''t even seen him move. Move? No. He hadn''t moved. Had he? He''d simply appeared in front of him. The soldiers surrounding the dead man turned their guns on the demon on instinct and would''ve almost pulled the trigger had the Captain not raised his voice. "Hold." "Shit," Tony barked into the comms. "Transmitting feed now. I''m calling the brotherhood for help." He was initiating the emergency measures we''d put in place. In the cases where our sorcerer died, and we needed help, we''d transmit a video feed from our current location and have a skilled sorcerer open a portal. Of all the scenarios the leadership had cooked up, I''d never thought it''d be a dream runner that''d push us to use the portal. "Val!" The fire Knight roared. "We''re in no position to start a fight." "The fight came to us," Val said quietly. "You know we can''t let them live. Our presence here can''t make it back to him." "You''re one of those Dream runner fuckers, aren''t you?" I seethed, channeling energy into my blade and body. "It''s been a while since I''ve killed one of you." All of the demons turned to me, eyes wide with surprise. "I thought my senses were deceiving me?" The Fire Knight said. "I do not recognize you," said Val, pulling the dagger free from the dead soldier''s neck. A man almost pulled the trigger, but Captain America shot him a look. "Which Faction do you serve." "Is that a fucking joke?" I scowled, ramping up my energy output even higher. Val froze, and the eyes of the sorceress who''d been unconscious darted open. "Ascended," she whispered, and I dashed forward. The ground exploded under me as I charged toward Val with the tip of my blade. He vanished, rejoining his group just before I ran him through. "He''s fast," Val muttered. "Keep him alive," the Ice Knight said, pulling his longsword free. "We''ll take care of the rest." "No, you won''t," Clint said. "Open fire." Tony, the rest of the soldiers, and Cap sent a wave of energy bullets that set the space in between us on fire. I charged into the madness with a cold determination and urgency to put every last one of them in the ground. Dante had told me what would happen if the demons learned of my evolution before we could spring our trap. Their focus would shift entirely. Dante would stop being their first priority. I''d be. The demons hissed when the first few energy bolts struck but soon went on the defensive. The Ice Knight stuck his blade into the ground and pulled it free, raising a wall of Ice that shielded them. Chapter 166 Rin''s POV I charged at the Ice wall, my sword transforming into hammer form and swelling with energy. Pivoting on my feet, I swung, shattering the center of the structure with a wild vortex of energy. Only the Fire Knight and Val waited for me behind the structure, and they went on the offensive immediately. The Fire Knight swept downward in with a fiery cut that projected a compact blade of energy. Eyes wide, I dove to the side, narrowly escaping while I pulled my energy pistol from my waist and let off several rounds. The knight raised his shield, absorbing the impacts. Val was behind me when I came to a stop, stabbing at my side. The impact blunted against my Vibranium skinsuit, and I let off an explosion of demonic energy, sending him spinning. I followed after with a hammer strike, but he was gone before I even spun around. The Fire knight had closed the distance between us in that time, bringing his blade down on me. I caught his strike with my bare hands, absorbing the energy of the strike and a chunk of his demonic energy. He tried to pull back, but I activated my Cloak, spiking my physical strength and absorption rate. The fire on the demon''s blade sputtered out, and he abandoned it with clear panic on his face. Val stabbed at my side this time around, but I was faster than last time, catching him by his hand and drawing deep from him as well. He sputtered in surprise, looking up at me. He tried to stab me with his other dagger, filling it up with dark energy. The attack vanished before it even touched my armor, and I took a page out of Dante''s book, flashing him a wicked smile as I let out a wave of kinetic energy. It shoved the charging Fire Knight back and thoroughly discombobulated Val. I raised my hammer high and brought it down. It was inches from his face when I heard the Ice Knight''s voice boom. "Stop! Or they all die." My eyes widened slightly. In my fervor to end the fight quickly, I''d overestimated the fighting prowess of the other members of my team and underestimated the enemy. I spun around to find three out of our four soldiers subdued. The last one was dead. Clint and the Cap frozen neck down. The Snow vehicle we''d brought was in a similar state. The Ice Knight stood on the hood, looking down at me. "You''re coming with us." He sounded so sure of himself, which only pissed me off even more. "I don''t think I am," I said, my grip tightening around Val. He was almost halfway empty. He energized his blade once more and took another swing at me, but it once again dinged harmlessly off my armor, the kinetic and shadow energy stolen. "He can steal demonic energy," Val croaked out a warning. "Don''t underestimate him." The Ice demon''s eyes widened slightly and bored into me, regarding me carefully as it leveled the tip of its blade at Clint. "He''s the softer of the two," he said. "Do not make me repeat myself." "Help''s here, Rin," I heard a familiar voice whisper in my ear, and it immediately filled me with energy. "Your team is safe." It was Wanda''s voice. The aura around my Cloak intensified as my energy swelled and my grip on Val tightened. The sorceress who''d been crouching in the snow to the right spoke. "Kill them all." The urgency in her voice was unmistakable. All hell broke loose, and everyone acted. Val surprisingly lopped off his hand with a single stroke of his other dagger, leaping back in shock and pain. The Fire Knight unleashed a powerful wave of fire that engulfed me. Shit. I spread my hands out, rapidly pulling in the fire as I charged toward the Fire Knight. Wanda had assured me I was free to act, but if Val somehow managed to escape because of my hesitation¡­Dante would tear me a new one. Wait, Wanda! This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. ''You still there?'' I asked mentally as I finally came out of the fire, coming face to face with a slightly started Fire Knight. ''If you are, please don''t let that demon escape.'' The Fire knight clicked his tongue and stomped the snow, flooding it with demonic energy. Steam rose as the snow rapidly evaporated, and I winced as I was overwhelmed by a burning sensation. I shoved it to the back of my mind as I leaped forward. My hand palmed the helmet of the Fire Knight before he could react, and I slammed him into the ground. Energy poured out of my fist a second later in an explosion that warped his helmet and had him groaning. Fire poured out of every orifice of the knight in a last-ditch attempt to push me off, but it only made me stronger. The heat cooked me under the Vibranium, and I healed almost instantly. Rose shifted from her Hammer to Blade form, and I activated my Precision runes, stabbing down. It sent straight through the demon''s eye, ending his life. It was a satisfying sight, but it did nothing for the pit that was growing in my stomach. My eyes searched the battlefield, but Wanda was nowhere in sight. Mordo was here, however. He was engaged in a fast-paced duel with the Ice Knight. He dashed, swayed, moved, and opened portals to redirect icy attacks but never returned any of his own. Just when it seemed the master was on the back foot and the monster was about to win, a portal opened up in front of its feet as it charged at Mordo. It hurriedly leaped backward, which led him straight into the second portal Mordo had opened up behind him. Eldritch whips wrapped around his neck, pulling him halfway through before the portal abruptly shut, splitting him in half. Demon blood and offal spilled into the snow, letting off steam. Every other living member of the team had recovered and was watching the last of the exchange, freed from the ice, likely by Mordo or Wanda''s hand. "Jesus Christ," Tony muttered. "Maybe you should''ve been on our team instead of the kid. No offense." I was too distraught to even dignify the snide remark with an eye roll. "Something the matter?" Mordo looked at me, clear concern in his eyes. "The Dream runner and the sorceress escaped." "They did not," Mordo simply stated. "Wanda took off to the east when they vanished." "Oh¡­" I said, pleasantly surprised. She''d heard me. I felt a warm tickle in my chest. --- Dante Gust pulled me downward as I filled Severance and Rebellion with demonic energy. Below, two pairs of Modified Devourers chased Pietro around. He constantly zipped around, casually shattering the sound barrier as he rapidly repositioned, setting both of them up for my arrival. Behind me, six more modified monsters lay dead, victim to our overwhelming power and teamwork. Pietro sped off one last time, slingshotting past me. The monsters gave chase, practically tumbling over themselves to rip at him. Eventually, one did leave the other behind, throwing out its numerous tentacles. That was when I pounced, tapping Burst. I appeared in front of the unknowing monster with a cross-slash, ripping through its heart and brain, and immediately struck the second devourer. I landed with a thud. 14,000 Red Orbs appeared on my status screen as a reward for the takedown, and I wasn''t even panting. I was, however, covered from head to toe in devourer gunk. I was tempted to burn it all off with a flash of fire, but I was rationing energy so much I didn''t dare. Pietro sped up to me and made a disgusted face as he wiped his armor down. "I think I''ll have to burn this suit after the mission. I don''t think I''ll ever get all the blood and guts out." "And waste all that good Vibranium?" I said, "you have no idea what I went through to get it." "Aren''t the scales of those monsters what your suit is made of? They can''t be that valuable." "Uh." As much as it pained me to admit it, he was right. It begged the question, though. "Who told you about the scales, though¡­wait. Let me guess. Rin." Pietro gave an awkward smile. "The kid can be a bit overeager sometimes." "His greatest strength and weakness." We saw a pinprick of light in the distance that expanded into an explosion. The shockwave and sound reached us moments later. The light was so bright it hurt my retinas and fried Pietro''s. He healed back when the light subsided. "What the hell was that?" Pietro blinked. My throat felt dry. That was demonic energy¡ªa lot of it. "Lumos," I whispered. "We need to get out of here." That was power on a scale I hadn''t ever seen. Even in Devil Trigger, I doubted I could output that much damage without relying on my bombs. And even if I could, I sure as hell couldn''t sustain it for long. Lumos, on the other hand, could. Isha hadn''t minced words when he said the Demon Prince was out of my league. One didn''t climb to second place in the Cambion hierarchy without significant power. He reportedly had more demon energy than Rank two and was said to even rival Rank One, but that was not what truly made him dangerous. It was his dual affinities. He had three ways to piece you apart. Light, Telekinesis, and Telepathy. All very powerful, all with the potential to bring you down. If you failed on one front, you failed in all. He was likely fighting Ulyetrix, who seemed just as dangerous, if not more. I''d gladly fight whoever came out of this debacle¡­but both of them at the same time? That was suicide. I sped off, activating multiple Bursts that propelled me in the opposite direction. Pietro shot ahead of me. The presence of the demons just added a whole dimension of difficulty to the mission and raised all sorts of new worries and variables. What were their intentions? Did they plan to set off the array sooner than we''d anticipated? Or did they know about Ulyetrix''s invasion or planned to retrieve Banner themselves for some other reason? Chapter 167 I wasn''t certain of anything, but it was clear this couldn''t be a coincidence. The third strongest Cambion doesn''t just show up by accident. They knew something I didn''t, and I prayed it wasn''t what I thought it was. That Isha was alive. Mind Cloak immediately flickered on, enhancing all of my mind-based abilities by 50% and increasing my resistance to all mind-based abilities by another 50. It wouldn''t be enough to keep Lumos entirely out of my mind, but it should make it much more difficult to break in. What I really needed was some kind of mental dampener. I gnashed my teeth. Of all of the things I''ve pilfered from SHIELD over the months, why was it that the one thing I forgot was a fucking mind-dampener? My heart raced. If Lumos got into my head, it would be game over. Months of plans and maneuvering gone in an instant. Hell, I wasn''t even sure I''d survive. "Boss man," Rin''s voice came over the radio. "Boss man, you there?" "Rin? What''s going¡ª" I sensed something moving at the edge of my perception at impossible speeds, completely derailing my train of thought. It was comparable to Pietro at his fastest and would''ve run me through if I hadn''t turned intangible. A streak of light crashed in front of me, raising a wall of stone and snow. Slowly, a figure rose from the crash. He was five foot tall, draped in winter wear, and held a golden spear with a white gem in his right hand. "Shit," I cursed. "Dante Sparda," said Lumos in a surprisingly soft voice. "We need to talk." "Talk?" I asked as I summoned my Twilight Sentinel Armor. It appeared around me, giving my voice a sinister, metallic tilt. "And here I thought you were trying to kill me." "You defeated the monster once," he said. "I was curious as to how you managed that." "I evaded your attack, didn''t I?" I asked. "If you haven''t also heard, I''m quite the smith." Lumos eyed my armor up and down. "Your armor is impressive, but not quite enough." His eyes glowed, and he flourished his spear. "Perhaps a test is in order. I''m curious to see what makes the Son of Sparda such a formidable threat." Shit. Gust blew out, scattering the snow around me, and Osiris appeared on my back. I shot forward, enhanced by Arcane Amplification. The distance between us vanished, and I brought Severance down, activating Burst, Precision II, and another Arcane Amplification. My blade shone blinding Red and Black as Nether Fire exploded out. The ground underneath us shattered, and the air groaned, but Lumos remained in the same spot, entirely unphased, my blade hovering inches from his head. "I suppose I was expecting too much," Lumos said. "You are still a child." I rapidly pulled back, but Lumos acted before I could orient myself, sending an invisible wave of Telekinetic energy at me. The attack would''ve punted me a quarter of a mile away if it hit, so I went intangible again and pushed forward, circling Lumos in tight arcs. I sent out multiple enhanced Wind blades at him, all of which splattered helplessly against his shield. Lumos opened his hand, releasing his spear, and to my absolute horror, it whipped upwards and shot at me like a sniper round. The stone in the spear lit up, and my instincts warned me I''d take serious damage if it hit. It wouldn''t have punched through the armor by any means, but I suspected that the sheer force would''ve liquified my insides. I parried the hit with an activation of my Demonic Aegis Seal, and the spear miraculously reversed direction. There was a look of surprise when the weapon slapped hard against Lumos''s Telekinetic Shield. "That was unexpected, but unsurprising," he said, opening his palm. The spear spun around once more, tip turning to me. "Maybe there''s more to you. Show me." Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. The white gemstone on the spear glowed again, and I suddenly felt my limbs freeze up. Instantly, I recognized his telekinetic grip, and I flared Burst along with Arcane Amplification to fight it off. But it was too late. A beam of light slammed into me a split second later. I barely got Demonic Aegis and Parry up in time. The energy exploded in every direction, but it eventually converged on Lumos''s shield. He tried to pivot away from the light stream, but it followed him as I twisted and turned. With more mental focus, thanks to my Mind Cloak, I used the lull in the battle to try to shake off the telekinetic grip he had on me, but it was like a steel trap. I let out a growl of frustration. "Boss!" I heard Rin scream in my ear. "Are you okay?" "I''m fighting Lumos. Keep everyone away," I yelled. "And that goes for Pietro as well. This is going to get a whole lot more dangerous." "That was kind of you," Lumos said dispassionately. "You''re more than my siblings give you credit for." "Fuck you," I roared, and Lumos shut his open hand, increasing the pressure on his hold. "This will not stop until you show me what you''re truly capable of. What did you do to drive the monster away. Show me your power." I clamped my mouth shut, refusing him the satisfaction of seeing me squirm. Dropping the barrier, I let Lumos''s light punch into my midsection, but not before detonating a charged Wave of Desolation. The forceful explosion freed me of his hold, allowing me to dash to the left and get out of the direct path of the wave. I fired off a rotating tunnel of Gust at him, which earned no reaction. Mid-flight, an amplified Nether fire burst mixed with the wind, turning the tunnel fiery. For the second time in that fight, I saw Lumos''s brows hike up, and he had to raise a second hand to reinforce his barrier as the attack reached him. I kept pumping energy into the attack, fanning the flames long after the damage boost from Amplification expired, and even threw in more Netherfire directly with Burst. It took some finagling to get the right ratio to keep the purple fire burning, but when I did, it was glorious. The heat surged, and I felt the greaves of the gauntlets of my armor heat up tremendously. The spear, which had stopped attacking me at some point, suddenly spun, lashing out. My Aegis Shield appeared just before it made contact, parrying the attack. A fraction of a moment later, a Telekinetic force slammed into me from above, pinning me and my shield to the ground. The impact had been so painful that it elicited an actual grunt from me. I could''ve activated Devil Trigger, but that''d mean giving up one of my trump cards before the real fight. Besides, I still had other cards to play. My Twilight Sentinel armor wasn''t only built for defense. I was saving Devil Trigger for the inevitable backstab. Lumos needed me for Ulyetrix, and he was probably going to kill me after we dealt with the monster together. If I let him dig through my mind, I bet that inevitable backstab would happen even sooner. That''s why it was so essential I kept my Mind Cloak active. Another Wave of Desolation went off, freeing me from his grasp, and I pushed to my feet, glaring at Lumos. The snow in a cone around him had evaporated, and the ground outside his protective bubble was blackened and flickering with purple fire. "That was a start," he said, touching his chin, "and quite novel. The things my brother would give to dissect you Nephilim. Vergil had a similar edge in combat¡ªTeleportation and Space manipulation. Not even our best Mages could hold him. I''d assumed yours is your many affinities or your smithing, but you''re far more complicated are you." "You sure love the sound of your own voice," I said. "And you''re fighting with one hand tied behind your back. Your Mind Cloak does not give you the advantage you think it does." I dropped to one knee as a pain suddenly struck. My head bloomed with a sharp, dizzying pain, and I felt my mental walls shudder. "It''s assuming for you to assume I couldn''t break you whenever I chose." I pushed back the invasion with a grunt and a flex of my mental energy and Telepathy, but it was like wrestling against a wave. I let out a frustrated scream as I activated Arcane Amplification, marshaling even more energy into Telepathy. The effort got me a fresh notification. Telepathy has reached Adept Tier. Listen and transmit thoughts directly into people''s minds. 4DE per second. Cost increases based on distance and task. Communication can easily be rebuffed by Telepaths powerful enough. Your defense and mental capabilities are now 70% more effective. Link up to 10 people to your mind at the cost of 25DE per person after 4 people. The burden of information transfer and acquisition has been reduced by half. The difference was immediate. Where I struggled to form any defense, I now had it spades, and my Mind Cloak and Promethean body''s passive boost only enhanced that. The genuine look of surprise in Lumos''s expression was priceless. What was formerly a paralyzing aneurysm reduced to throbbing migraine. It also meant that I could afford to switch my Mind Cloak for another element and finally unleash my armor. Severance materialized in my hand, and I gathered a chunk of demonic fire energy, activated Fire Cloak, and all the Arcane Amplification and Precision runes in my armor and my blade. The influx of power nearly ripped me down the middle, but I brought my blade down for a Cataclysmic slice. Lumos''s mental power shot into the stratosphere at the very last second, and I felt a Telekinetic tug, pulling my hands in one direction. My mental walls got instantly overwhelmed, but it was too late. It was like a bomb went off. The ground shattered, and the pressure flung me back, but not far enough to escape the fallout. It was like a giant had taken an axe to the ground. It tore an impossibly deep and wide rent into the landscape that was hundreds of feet long. Nether fire coiled into the air like some infernal pillar, and it quickly spread. It was a few magnitudes lower than the ray, and the subsequent explosion I saw Lumos let off earlier. The attack cost me 510 DE and 130 AE and shattered every last bone in my body. Chapter 168 I''d expected a disgusting amount of damage and blowback, but not this. It looked like a scene out of an apocalypse movie. Lumos''s psychic presence had vanished, but I had no delusions that I''d somehow managed to kill him. There hadn''t been a notification. I quickly raised my Mind Cloak. With gust, I guided myself out of the fallout range, which took a hell of a lot more effort than I intended. I was healed by the time I landed. What I hadn''t expected was Lumos waiting for me. Half of his shirt was burned off. His hand and part of his obliques spotted second-degree burns that were rapidly healing. I saw a hint of apprehension in Lumos''s eyes. It was like he wasn''t staring at a lesser. If I didn''t know any better, it was like he almost respected me. As well, he should. There had been 12 Arcane amplification runes in my armor and 9 Precision runes coupled with the other 8 runes in my sword. As if that was not enough, my Fire Cloak granted another 80% boost to the already ridiculous attack. If I''d added wind in, it could''ve been enough to kill him, but that would''ve meant sacrificing my revive. I was saving it for the Quellitrax fight, too. Still, his disheveled state told me I''d come really close. His clothes were covered in burns, and his hand was still healing. "Satisfied?" "Very." The Last of Lumos''s wounds visibly healed. "You still held back," he stated. "Your purple fire would''ve done more permanent harm." "That would''ve left me facing the squid alone," I said. "You''re no doubt an asshole, but you were on the right track. If even you couldn''t take him down, then what chances do I have." "What about your team?" Lumos said, causing me to raise a brow. My face lost its color when I realized my mistake. "You were in my head," I ground my teeth. Lumos looked unphased. "Only for three seconds, but it was enough to see flashes of your entrance into the North Pole, and my true target." I had no means to confirm his search was as limited as he claimed, but there was frankly nothing I could do about it, and he knew that. We had bigger fish to fry, and he wouldn''t risk telling me all this if he didn''t think there was no deal to be made. "What do you propose?" "I want my sister back," he said, and I scoffed. Mordo was going to fucking lose his shit. "In exchange for what?" "The lives of your allies," he said. "I might struggle slightly to put you down, but your allies will fall easily enough." The respect I saw was imagined, after all. It also confirmed that Lumos''s scan was just as brief as he described, as far as the team is concerned. "Some would," I said. "But you''re really underestimating them if you think you can fight them and me at the same time." "Perhaps it is you who is underestimating me," Lumos said, letting the threat hang in the air. "Let''s say for argument''s sake that I handed you back your sister," I said. "It wouldn''t save her, you know. She won''t survive long while Domina is in New York. I mean, how long did she mourn her before she started scooping up her property and contacts?" No answer came. "I mean, don''t you find it suspicious that Domina set up this elaborate multi-city plan to kill me for ''hurting Isha,'' but couldn''t be bothered to finish me off herself?" I raised a brow. "Your sister was weakened and still healing from her injuries, and I''d just wiped out two Cambions, a small army of mercenaries, and demons. What did she think was going to happen? Also, why didn''t she just finish me off at research campus when she had the chance?" "You''re not suggesting I trade one sister for another?" "I''d hardly call that traitorous bitch a sister, but I''d say the decision is up to you. But I''d like to point out that there''d be no point rescuing Isha if you can¡¯t trust Domina."Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! "Killing her will only bring chaos to the surface," he pointed out. "Enrique and I will be tasked with hunting you down and crushing what''s left of the human resistance. Even that Telepath of yours cannot stop us." "Wanna bet?" I grinned. "The way I see it, you''ve got nothing to lose. Domina dies, your sister is safe, and you get an early crack at the earth mightiest heroes. If you''re sure you''re stronger than you have nothing to worry about." Lumos remained quiet for a long moment. "You will not win against Enrique and I." "I''m not hearing a no." "Survive this ordeal. Then we''ll talk." I clapped my hands. "That''s all I wanted to hear." --- Wanda POV The demon moved surprisingly fast despite carrying a woman in his arms, and she did her very best to shake me with a sudden snowstorm. The pair shot off in another direction and teleported ahead. Their tactic would''ve worked if I wasn''t a telepath. I kept up with them fairly easily, using my Telekinesis to keep me aloft. Likely sensing they''d not be able to shake me off, they abruptly stopped, swiveling back, and Val leaped at me with his blade. A year ago, I was green enough that his plan might''ve worked. Entering inside his mind, I used my favorite new trick. SEIZE Every last muscle in his body froze, and I casually swept him to the side, sending him sprawling in the snow. The woman he''d been carrying looked worried as understanding dawned on her. "You''re a Telepath as well," she said. "We''ve heard nothing of you." "I guess that''s a good thing for me," I said, stretching my hand forward, but she was faster. The snow underneath me exploded. It blinded me and sent me flying. Before I could orient myself, solidified chunks of Ice closed in all directions, and I shockingly lost track of both the woman and the teleporting demon briefly. The Ice almost boxed me in before I released a pulse of raw Telekinetic energy. It swept back all of the chunks, the small snowstorm the demon had raised to blind me, and the retreating forms of both demons. I SEIZED their bodies before mine touched the ground, panting, and I pulled them close. Rin hadn''t communicated more with his feelings than words, and I knew he wanted them both dead. Coming back to life was a really big deal, even with the demons. Over our many phone calls, he''d essentially told me it meant he was some super demon. His dad was a super powerful mutant, and he refused to tell me anything about it. His mom was some nameless Demon who died a long time ago. He apparently inherited both of his parent''s abilities. That was why he was so hard to kill and why the demons wanted him really badly. Well, they couldn''t have him. My palms slowly shut as I choked the life out of them. I hated killing, but these days, it was the only thing I seemed to do. The demons and the monsters had to die, and so did the more extreme activists and criminals, both on the human and mutant sides. These demons were drops in the bucket, but lately, I''ve been feeling the weight. I couldn''t wait for all of this to be over. Dante''s POV Things moved rapidly after my little altercation with the Cambion, and news flooded in, none of them good. Lumos was determined to call off our tentative ceasefire when he learned all of his men had died at the hands of my apprentice. He changed his mind when he heard about Rin. "Let me see him," he demanded. "No." I didn''t want him getting inside Rin''s head. And while keeping him a secret was a legitimate strategy, I long decided it was the wrong one. We needed him for the final fight, and Lumos was going to find out one way or the other. It could be on my terms. It was a gamble how he''d react, and I had a feeling I couldn''t have hidden him any longer, even if I wanted to. "I can see why they reacted the way they did," he said over the fresh comms and he was using to connect us to the rest of the party. "They recognize demon royalty when they see it. You are a living, breathing marvel. Generations of history and research, all rendered obsolete in front of biology and natural selection." "I''m sorry," Tony Stark chimed in. "Are we just going to pretend like we''re not talking to the literal prince of darkness?" "Don''t you mean, Light?" Pietro joked. "Haven''t you been paying attention?" "What do you mean he''s Royalty?" Magneto asked, giving voice to what the team was all wondering. "He didn''t tell you. I suppose I shouldn''t be surprised. The creation of Ascendants like him is half the reason why we''re invading the surface. Our father desires the advancement and evolution of our race. Surrendering him will likely save thousands of mutants from a horrible fate," he said. "Are you saying the string bean led us to the slaughter?" hissed Sabertooth. "I ought to rip his throat out." "Watch yourself, bub," Logan snapped. "Somehow this doesn''t surprise me," Lauren, the sniper said. "After everything you and that uppity girlfriend said about the past and doing what''s right. You kept this from us." "Not all secrets should be given breath," T''Chaka added. "Knowledge of the child''s condition would''ve only sown further division within our ranks." "For something this important, we should''ve been read in," Lauren insisted. "We could''ve saved so many people?" "No, you wouldn¡¯t have.¡± I finally spoke up. "For argument''s sake, let''s say that we believe Lumos, which is a big fucking mistake by the way. The only reason he''s even throwing in his lot with us is because of the Alien. He doesn''t want them fucking up whatever plans they have for us. Giving up Rin, who is fourteen years old, by the way, wouldn''t have changed much. I found out about Rin''s dual nature shortly after the demons stopped taking mutants. They would''ve taken him and still fucked us over anyways. Feel free to deny it, Lumos." I spun to Lumos, who was assessing me with inquisitive eyes. There was the slightest tilt of his soft lips as if to say, ¡®well played.¡¯ "Our intentions for the human world have never been much of a secret," the demon prince said. "It is our birth right. Our father Belasco ruled hundreds of years ago, and we have risen to the surface to reclaim our birth right." "That''s not ominous at all," Tony commented. "He''s the embodiment of evil," I said in a monotone voice. "I get it. We still have an entire continent of monsters to eradicate.¡± Chapter 169 The discussion turned very focused after our fight. The particulars of our strategy evolved significantly now that we had the demon prince on our side. He favored a direct approach. Find Ulyetrix, hit it with everything we have, and deal with the fallout afterward. We, of course, pointed out that the Devourers were a real fucking problem, and he suggested that the few of the strongest fighters on our side stay behind and hunt them down while he, Rin, I, Pietro, and Mordo hunt down the big bad. Everybody rejected that plan for obvious reasons. It would leave us at the mercy of his telepathy when the fight ended. Wanda was our only means of mental protection. Fury offered several mental blocking collars, but I knew those only worked against average Telepaths. Thankfully, Magneto pointed that out without me needing to reveal just how I knew that. But I also had the inkling it would be a short time before my improved mental prowess was revealed as well. Today just kept getting better! Eventually, we settled on a plan. The heavy hitters get drawn from their teams to seek and destroy the Devourers using Wanda''s Telepathy as a guide. When we''re done, we all converge on Ulyetrix, finish him once and for all, and rescue Banner. At some point, Lumos made it clear just how advanced the Ulyetrix¡¯s spatial abilities had gotten, but thankfully, he had a solution for that. He had nothing for the regeneration, but I had a particularly nasty strategy I¡¯d been sitting on. --- I stood on the peaks of one of the hills in the desert, looking down on the expanse with my enhanced vision. Ulyetrix was a dot this far up, even to my senses. "Ready?" I asked Lumos, who didn''t dignify my question with a response. His body turned white and vanished, reduced into a beam of light that traveled impossibly fast, covering the distance quicker than most of us could react. We heard a loud crash, and the earth shook. The beam arced out, avoiding a particularly nasty tentacle swipe from Ulyetrix. ¡°The bait is in the water.¡± Mordo said. "Alright Pietro," I said into my comms. "How''s the charge?" We heard a large whoop as a streak of blue and red lightning zipped past our hill. It circled the massive arena where Lumos was battling Ulyetrix. He was holding more lightning than he''d ever done before. His skin was breaking, and I could sense his distraught, but he kept moving, kept building, kept gathering. Ulyetrix¡¯s eyes snapped to Pietro, allowing Lumos to unleash his attack. A light spear materialized around Lumos¡¯s actual golden spear, and he thrust upwards, slamming it into Ulyetrix¡¯s face. It missed all his eyes, but the impact had been so powerful it whipped the alien¡¯s head upwards. "Now!" I yelled, and Mordo complied, opening a portal in front of Ulyetrix¡¯s most powerful eyes. His blue and green eyes. The former controlled space, and the latter his regeneration. Pietro flew through the portal, body ablaze with electricity, and thrust his hands forth like some god of war. Lightning thicker than tree trunks forked out, splashing into the startled alien''s eyes. The two sets popped like a pair of overripened fruits. Ulyetrix¡¯s eye sockets blackened, and its entire body spasmed as he toppled over. In a desperate act of vengeance, the monster flung its tentacle forward, trying to ensnare Pietro, but Wanda yanked him out of harm¡¯s way with her Telekinesis. Lumos, who stood a few feet away from Ulyetrix, sent out a Telepathic Burst. I only grasped its edges, but I recognized a command call when I heard it. Several cloaked demons appeared in the area¡¯s hills and valleys and began to chant in some unrecognizable language. It lasted for a few seconds, about as long as it took Ulyetrix to gather himself. His massive tentacles rose and twisted as he tried to pull himself up. That was my cue. Devil Trigger Demonic energy poured out like a dam had burst, flooding the air with a sanguine, malevolent aura. I hefted Severance and activated my speed stack. Density Cloak, Gust, Density Shift, and Osiris. Burst flung me forward at impossible speeds, and a portal materialized in front of me, carrying me straight above the tentacles wrapped around Banner. Burst and Wind blades activated simultaneously, along with all of my Precision runes.This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. My blade swept downwards in a brutal lash as the muscles and the bones in my body shattered and repaired themselves. The mass of twisting Nether fire energy struggled briefly against the brackish barrier on the alien''s skin before splitting it in half. Two tentacles flopped to the snow, and I switched out Osiris for Ophion, firing its head into the press of tentacles before the beast recovered. It latched onto a barely conscious, shrunken Hulk, and I PULLED with my Gravity Affinity. "You dare!" Ulyetrix¡¯s voice boomed out as a set of red eyes shone. Red light bathed the area before Ulyetrix¡¯s attack landed, superimposing its might on the rapidly shifting landscape. Demonic energy exploded through freshly hewn cracks in the earth and snow, transforming the valley we found ourselves in into a domain of Limbo. It restricted greater dimensional magic, like instant teleportation and Spatial locks, but it did nothing for the sudden wave of energy that exploded out of Ulyetrix¡¯s body. Twilight Sentinel came in clutch again. My Aegis manifested just before the wave hit me, reflecting the damage and flinging me backward, along with a thoroughly ravaged Hulk. It turns out that tanking the equivalent of a bomb to the face while weakened was more than even the Hulk could handle. Mid-air, I torqued my torso and flung him far. Mordo''s portal appeared mid-air, ferrying him to safety on the other side of the planet. Yao was waiting for him in the desert, ready to yank Banner out of his Hulk body and help his mind heal. Separated from his source of power, Ulyetrix let out a shriek that shook the hillsides around us and triggered avalanches on far-off peaks. A portal formed beside me, and Rin stepped through, body vibrating with energy. This was three times more powerful than he''d managed previously, and I could tell he was closer than ever to me in raw physical stats. The real question, however, was how long could he maintain this. I knew exactly how much time I had. 1760/2150 DE 1960/2190 AE Twilight Sentinel Armor 4200/5000 DE 4500/5000 AE Just under nine minutes of sky-high stats and unlimited Demon Energy use. That meant all Arcane Amplified Demon Energy attacks, and Shield cost me nothing. I only had to worry about the Precision Rune application. Over six thousand Angel energy seemed sufficient enough. With Wanda connected to most of our minds, I was also confident enough to use my various cloaks and abilities without apprehension. ¡°Let''s cut this squid down to size,¡± I said. ¡°I''m in the mood for Calamari.¡± --- Logan''s POV I let out a roar as my body exploded, and fire poured out of every orifice. With a ground-splitting leap, I tackled one of the monster squids, trying to get at our group, and skewered it with my claws. I unloaded a massive payload of heat energy that fried it from the inside out as I ripped it in half. Before it could regenerate, two precise Adamantium knives speared through its head and heart and looped around to settle back just above Magneto¡¯s shoulders. He floated around the battlefield, providing help where he could. They were two of the twenty sets of Adamantium knives Dante had prepared for Jean. He was letting the Brotherhood leader borrow it for this fight. I did not exactly approve, but we were at war. A salvo of rockets descended from the sky, obliterating a wave of approaching Snake monsters. John, who now went by Pyro, stuck his hand out, manipulating the fire into a concentrated jet and pushed it forward in a line, destroying the heart and head of a charging Squid-thing. From the top of several vehicles on a hill behind us, the soldiers provided suppressive fire with energy bullets and strange oversized gun cannons. I whistled. Warfare has certainly come a long way in my lifetime. I remember the chaos of World War I and the horrors of World War II. I¡¯d been certain we wouldn¡¯t survive the following decade. Yet, here I was, fifty-something years later, fighting alien squids in Antarctica with fire claws. Who knew what the world would be like in another half-century? ¡°Fifty years,¡± I grunted, leaping forward and slashing down a stray Ice wolf darting up the hill with impressive agility. I stuck my hand in the snow beneath us, releasing a massive deluge of heat. It destabilized the slope. Dozens of climbing wolves fell to their deaths. I ducked out of the way of a diving Squid monster with Griffin wings and came up swinging but had to abort at the very last moment. It was on me. My body danced with unnatural ease, ducking, weaving, and slashing, but I could barely keep up with the thing. It cut me more than once. Lauren, who was quickly becoming my favorite new mutant, put a bullet in the thing¡¯s brain, and one of the two sorcerers we had opened multiple portals in front of its attacking tentacles, allowing me to spear its heart and finally bring it down. I nodded at Lauren and her friend, the acid girl, who were perched higher up on the hill than me. They helped where possible, but Sabertooth, Pyro, and I were the only frontline fighters. The sorcerers helped control the flow of monsters, and so far, our strategy had worked, but we couldn¡¯t hold on forever. Somebody always cracked, and when that happened, it¡¯d be up to me. It always was. I took small comfort in the fact that I would come out alive no matter what happened. I wasn''t even sure I could die anymore. Whatever Dante did to my body turned back the clock and then some. I was stronger, faster, quicker, tougher, and far more perceptive than I¡¯d ever been, and I was slowly getting better. That''d only happened when I first awakened my mutation. When I told the kid about it, he laughed and broke into one of his speeches. "That skeleton of your is no longer dragging you into an early grave, Logan,¡± he said with a goofy grin. ¡°Heck with your new enhancement, anything is theoretically possible. You could develop new mutations, grow longer claws, cover your nails and teeth in Adamantium¡­One thing is for sure though, you''ll probably live for another 200 years.¡± I was fucking horrified. I always drew comfort in the fact that one day, I would die. When my body started slowing down in the decades since I was implanted with the Adamantium skeleton, I took it as a sign that my time was coming. I''d expected a lot out of his experiment, but immortality was not one of them. My facial wrinkles were gone, my skeleton had stretched, and my muscles swelled. It brought up a question I¡¯d not considered in decades. What do I do with my immortal life? Chapter 170 Vergil I stepped out of a shimmering portal cut in space by Yamato and slipped my blade back into its sheathe. The nebulae sky of Knowhere greeted me. Miner drones flew out of the giant eye socket of the Celestial, and personal vehicles zipped across the sky in a sort of organized frenzy that hinted at some quiet rulership. The collector controlled Knowhere and had a bit of a reputation for being a kleptomaniac, but I knew he wouldn''t dare move against me while I was here. More than half of the galaxy''s factions wouldn''t, at least not without a substantial force behind them. And even then, it''d be a mistake. The crowd parted as I walked, my trench coat swaying behind me. With a step, I vanished, reappearing in a private apartment several blocks away, where she waited for me. My Skrull data broker, Nix. "You sure know how to make an entrance." Nix took on the appearance of a conventionally attractive brunette, Novan, and greeted me with a sultry smile and suggestive tilt of her body, but I saw her trembling muscles. I wasn''t offended by it. You tend to get that sort of reaction when you split a moon in half. Granted, it was one of Mundus''s, and most of the universe despised him and other Demon Lords¡ªthe ones that were alive anyway¡ªbut the point still stands. "What have your spies on New Limbo dug up about him?" I asked, stepping out of the view of the window. She was hesitant to speak. "About Mundus specifically? Nothing¡ªbut you''ll be glad to know that my spies on Earth bring news of your brother." My eyes bored into her, and she flinched slightly but maintained her controlled facade. "I don''t pay you Five thousand credit a week to spy on my whore brother." "But you''ll want to hear this!" She insisted. "Dante made the international news there in a big way. He''s taking on the demons. Rumor has it he put Isha Stormfire in the ground, and he''s started a quiet feud with Domina." I raised a brow. That didn''t sound like something he was capable of, nor would he be bothered enough to pursue. The last time I checked on him, he was on a cocaine-fueled bender while he chased down some Predator he''d been hired to dispose of. He gave up halfway through because he was out of breath and too exhausted. "Doubtful," I said, prompting Nix to hand a tablet. "Take a look yourself." It was an enhanced video that showed Dante ripping through a group of enhanced soldiers with a ferocity and competence that I found mildly impressive. Next was an image of him wielding blackish-red Fire, followed by several others of him in armor with several weapons as he faced down Isha. "He''s apparently a contractor for the biggest spy agency on the planet and is spearheading their push against the demons." I handed her back the tablet and stood there in silence. This changed everything. "Will you be going back?" Nix asked. "No," I smiled. "He can handle it." All he had to do was awaken. "I thought you''d be a lot more eager to help him given how much time you''ve dedicated to finding your father." "And whose fault is that?" I demanded. "I''ve been paying you for how many galactic days now?" She swallowed. "My patience is not infinite, Nix." I teleported out of the room, leaving behind a shivering Skrull. --- Dante Ulyetrix''s Red and Black eyes glowed in unison as he whipped his tentacles at us. Lumos appeared in front of us in a golden shimmering Cloak and thrust his hand forward, materializing a Telekinetic shield that intercepted the hit with a ground-shaking clash. "Come on!'' I sent it to Rin as I leaped over the shield, channeling Gust and Nether Fire into my blade. I activated all of my impact runes and swung down. The air whipped up in a frenzy as a pillar of Purple Fire rose into the air. Rin appeared beside me a moment later, preparing to swing his sword. A tentacle stabbed out of the pillar, aiming directly at Rin. I Burst mid-air, pushing him out of the way, and tanked the stab to the chest. The impact dented my Twilight Adamantium armor, flinging me far out of the battlefield.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. Every bone and muscle below my neck must''ve shattered and repaired itself. STOP was my first thought when I was conscious enough to think. A wave of Mind energy flowed out of me, arresting my movement mid-air. Eyes wide, I spun around in marvel. I''d expected Gravity or Density Magic, but not Mind. I had the jump in my Telepathy to thank for the recent discovery. It was also a stark reminder that in this mode, I could use the sheer brute strength of my affinity to my advantage. With a smirk, I called on my Density magic, summoning Arbiter and filling her up with energy. I pushed Density shift as far as I could manage while rocketing back towards the battlefield, aided only by my budding Telekinesis. It was a mess when I arrived. W. Pietro was zipping around the battlefield, planting bombs and hurling bolts of lightning, which only seemed to piss it off more. Rin was hurling concussive bursts of Kinetic energy, shredding errant tentacles that stuck out of the inferno targeting him, while Lumos was rapid-firing spears of light as he danced around the battlefield-mid-air. I started adding Fire energy to Arbiter at some point, ramping up the heat and quantity until it hurt to think and move. Using three affinities at once threatened to overwhelm me, but not before I hurled the Axe at Ulyetrix with every ounce of energy I had in my body and Mind. Mind worked to accelerate the speed of the Axe to ridiculous degrees, and Gravity warped the laws of physics and made Ulyetrix the new densest object on the planet as far as my Axe was concerned. I didn''t need to warn Rin or Lumos before they cleared out. The space around Arbiter warped and flashed with Red and violet light. Ulyetrix¡¯s multicolored eyes flashed just before the impact which washed the battlefield in a searing white light that would''ve blinded me if I wasn''t in Devil Trigger. The Fire erupted outwards shortly after, slowly, then almost too quickly, in an expanding shockwave of red Fire that quickly turned purple as the five bombs Pietro hid went off simultaneously. The sonic boom came a skip later in an ear-splitting clap that shook the earth and sky. Every inch of Ulyetrix rippled and heaved as it was beset from above and below by impossible pressures. The transparent black film covering its body grew so dense that I could barely make out its features, but it ultimately collapsed. The Axe didn''t just cut it into Ulyetrix; it tore him apart, shredding through dense muscles and sinew. Tentacles erupted in chunks, blasted apart from the shockwave that ravaged the monster''s form. The ground beneath us shattered like glass as a crater formed underneath his body. The Fire grew more intense as the aftershock faded, swarmed, and twisted into a fiery twister. I would''ve sworn he was dead had it not been for the lack of notifications. "Don''t let your guard down," I telepathically sent to Rin in between my pants as my body rapidly repaired itself. "It''s not dead yet." We were nearly a quarter mile away, looking on at the devastation. A golden dot spiraled into existence, growing to the size of a head, and Mordo spoke through it. The suddenness of it all made it difficult to initially focus on the substance of his words, but they went through soon enough. "I have to leave. They need me. The numbers of Devourers are higher than we estimated." "Shit," I said, sending Lumos a dirty look. He''d claimed to have scanned the environment and said it shouldn''t be too challenging for our team to clear out the demons. He was playing some dirty game, but I was ready for him. "Well if you have to go, you have to go¡­" I said. Deciding on Mordo as our sub had been hard. Wanda was too valuable to give up, as was Rin, and I wasn''t about to leave anyone alone with Lumos. So, it came down to Mordo. We really didn''t need portals to win this fight. Though they would¡¯ve been an exceptional value add. Rin and Pietro gave their votes of confidence, and soon, I felt Mordo vanish from my perception sphere. Lumos raised his spear, looking on at the Purple Flame Tornado with an intensity I''d never seen before from the Demon Prince. "What are you doing?" Rin asked. "Making sure." The sky swelled with demonic energy before a pillar of light descended. It casually matched and surpassed the intensity of my previous attack, atomizing the Earth and the snow and creating a vacuum of air that should''ve asphyxiated all of us. The sight was sobering. That was what I was up against after this ordeal with Ulyetrix was done. He¡¯d managed that with just a Cloak technique. Five whole seconds passed before a frown emerged on my face. Something is not¡ª I twisted to the side, avoiding a punch to the face, and froze mid-air as an alien mind forced itself upon me. "HaHaHa. DiD You THiNk That WouLD''Ve Been ENOugh!" Ulyetrix! Several tentacles slammed into me, sending me flying, but I recovered quickly, zipping forward to rejoin the fight. Ulyetrix was in a radically different form. His twelve sets of eyes had merged into six, spread across his disgustingly humanoid face. The colors were green, red, maroon, pale white, black, and blue¡ªeach representing an aspect of his power. He towered over us at nearly seven and a half feet tall with exaggerated features. His limbs were cartoonishly long, and his body was surprisingly devoid of tentacles. That changed when ten burst out from his back, surging at Rin, but my apprentice batted them aside with concussive blasts of kinetic energy. The tentacles diverged upon impact but converged around him like a fleshy snare. Severance shimmered as I sliced down, projecting a line of Nether Fire. The protective barrier around the shield shimmered but remained on their path. Lumos appeared in a flash of light in the midst of the tentacle cage, spear coated in a mix of telekinetic and light energy. He danced in a white flourish, cutting through all the tentacles. With a maximum Burst further amplified by my armor, I appeared in front of Ulyetrix, Severance, on a downswing, surging with Fire, wind, and several Amplifications. Ulyetrix''s lips stretched into a manic grin as tentacles burst out from his forehand and wrapped around each other in a fleshy braid covered in spurs, throbbing with reddish energy. He swung the meaty maul. The sky exploded with color as he parried my attack, much to my surprise, and stabbed at my gut. Lumos charged him from behind with a light-covered kick, moving so fast that even I could barely react. Ulyetrix''s maroon and green eyes shone as his entire body somehow stretched and twisted, narrowly avoiding Lumos''s attack while his hand still stabbed at me. My Aegis manifested at the last moment, parrying his attack and leaving him open to a Gravity attack. DOWN. DOWN. I''d briefly slipped into Cloak before initiating the attack, and it did wonders, driving Ulyetrix down to his knees. I pressed down further with my Mind affinity, keeping him rooted. Lumos came at his flank with a glowing spear stab, but it barely cracked the coat of darkness that protected his skin. His red eyes flared, and a concussive wave rippled out. My Aegis parried the attack thanks to Moment of the Time Sage, and Lumos folded his arms, raising a Telekinetic shield, but it wasn''t enough. The wave that rippled out sent us both flying. Chapter 171 Rin withstood the kinetic blast Ulyetrix let off easily enough by absorbing most of the energy and charged the alien while I struggled to gather myself. His skin was practically bursting with light. His hammer came down in a titanic roar, power amplified by the runes powering the weapon. Ulyetrix''s green and black eyes glowed again as more tentacles burst out of his side, twisting into tree trunk-sized braids covered in a black protective film. The ground underneath him disintegrated, thousands of micro-fractures spreading across the surface of Ulyetrix''s shield. "Another energy thief," Ulyetrix crooned. "I can''t wait to add your hunger to my own." Two Tentacles spurted out of his knees. I had my hand outstretched, ready to pull Rin back with the aid of my Gravity affinity, but Pietro arrived before me, whizzing the youngest member of our team out of the tentacle''s reach. He casually passed a charge of electricity he''d been building up to Rin, replacing the batch he lost in the exchange. "Don''t worry," Pietro said, referring to the longstanding mental link we''d established. I''ll keep planting bombs and running interference." "Be careful," I sent back. "All it takes is¡ª" "A tap, I know, and I''m dead." In his eyes, he must''ve found my obsessive worry a bit condescending, but I was not about to face the scarlet witch after mistakenly getting her brother killed. Besides, we needed him more for the fight to come. Our exchange happened in under a second, which was an eternity in this fight. Lumos shot forward, nearly too fast for me to track. I had to switch to my Density Cloak again to keep up visually. He shot past Ulyetrix but looped back only to be greeted by a dervish of red-spiked back tentacles flailing in a calculated fury. Each swipe let off a kinetic burst upon impact that shook the air, and I shot forward. Burst wrapped around each leg, activating Density Shift for a speed boost and flexing my affinity even more to ratchet up the speed. The boost was even more dramatic. It easily doubled, letting me close the distance quicker than before. Halfway there, Moment of the Sage triggered, and I threw myself backward with a Burst, avoiding a twisted knotted tentacle that aimed straight at my chest. It reoriented before I even touched the ground and tried again, but my superior technique allowed me to pivot again, throwing me hard into the ground. I summoned my new Uchigatana to join Severance as the tentacle suddenly blossomed, sending dozens of tentacles raining down. My Uchigatana was filled with spatial energy, and Severance with Gravity energy. I channeled Gravity''s shift into it as I swayed and moved, leveraging my new epic combat skill, symphony of death, to guide my movement. My still-waning speed boost from Moment of the Sage quickly renewed and was chained into one of my favorite techniques, Demon Evade, for an extra 2.7x damage boost. I parried attacks with both weapons, quickly racking up Feral flow. I became faster and more dangerous with every movement and attack, slowing down Ulyetrix and pumping him full of angel energy. Fifty hits came and went before Ulyetrix could even realize it, and he paid for that mistake nearly instantly. Rin unleashed a powerful wave of focused kinetic energy that shattered the Black film coating his mid-section. Lumos sent five super-condensed spears that eviscerated his mid-section. And just as Ulyetrix¡¯s red and white eyes glowed, preparing to unleash what I was sure was a devastating attack, I triggered Smite with a wind-infused cut that took out the tentacles that had been assaulting me.This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. His body froze and suddenly sprouted with dozens of slashes that jerked him in several directions. A chunk of flesh went missing with each new slash. The suddenness gave us some pause, but not so much that we delayed his ass-whooping longer than necessary. Lumos brought his spear down, telegraphing the earlier attack he''d used, bringing down a ray of light that disintegrated everything in sight. Not to be outdone, I raised Rebellion, filling it with as much Nether fire and Wind Energy as I could manage. The mingling happened almost instantly, as if on instinct. My armor glowed purple as I activated all my offensive runes and lowered my blade with a final swing. The result was explosive. Another massive rent appeared in the already barren landscape of our fight. The power level on display was frankly more than I ever imagined wielding. Yet, here I was, dishing it out casually. Painfully, frustratingly, it was not enough. The ground beneath us exploded as a massive, building-length tentacle shattered and restructured the earth, lunging at us. My hand immediately reached out, jerking Rin in my direction, but not before a tentacle snapped him up. "No!" I heard a manic cackle in my head before a head-splitting mental storm assaulted me. I was suddenly whisked away, transported to a world on fire. Thousands of charred bodies dotted the streets between empty half-erect sky-scrapers. The only thing alive in the hellscape was a man covered in black scales with a Blood-red ''S'' emblazoned on his chest. He was floating in the air, nearly half a mile away. His crimson eyes snapped to me, and for the briefest moment I swear he could see me. The sky exploded as the monster shattered the sound barrier racing towards me. My eyes snapped shut, and when they opened, I was in a barren world plagued by eternal night. The moon was red, marked with concentric circles with nine magatamas. A strange tree stretched into the sky, from which branches of hundreds of men and women hung, wrapped in painful bliss. "You should''ve faced me alone," the voice boomed. "Your God warned you. Now watch as I lay waste to your world." With a roar and a shove, I marshaled my mental strength and pushed him out. I was mid-air, falling, when I came to, blood leaking out of my armor silts, my body still somehow empowered by Devil Trigger. Regeneration fixed what the alien''s magic broke in my brain instantly, and when it did, I reached out with my affinity, confirming where everybody was. Surprisingly, I was held aloft by Lumos''s magic, who was a few hundred feet down. Pietro was down there with him, his mind shielded by the Chaos magic of his sister, and Rin was somewhere in between, getting dragged this way and that as his consciousness rapidly faded. "Ulyetrix was draining him." Shit! I moved, my body transforming into a blur as I called on my Mind and Density affinities, flexing them hard as I pushed downward into the darkness. The low light didn''t affect my eyes, and I cut loose with a beam of Gravity Magic and Demonic fire. Ulyetrix was taller and faster than ever, and Rin was unexpectedly missing as his mental presence had vanished. It took a moment to recognize that it was buried within Ulyetrix''s. The alien swayed to the left, transforming into a blur, and reappeared somewhere behind me, sending a bramble of tentacles to rip me from the air. It didn''t work before, and it didn''t again. I ping-ponged in the air with gusts and Burst, rapidly switching directions until I landed. Pietro threw a bolt of lightning. All the while, Ulyetrix attacked me. His eyes shone red, and his body twisted as he casually avoided the assault. The same happened for the dozens of attacks that followed from Lumos. "I cannot hold back against him," Lumos sent as I dodged. "I regret the loss of the Ascendant, but---" "No!" I cut him off. "We have to save him. I think you underestimate just how powerful Rin''s absorption ability is. If the alien somehow manages to steal it from him¡­he won''t need touch to steal energy. This little domain won''t be able to hold him." "All the more reason why we should end this before it gets out of hand," Lumos insisted. "Easier said than done," I sent. "We need to give Rin time." "To do what? Weaken an Eldritch monster who is orders of magnitude beyond him?" "He won''t win," I admitted. "But he can drain him, or at the very least distract him." Lumos''s expression softened some. "One minute," he finally sent. "That is all the time you get." I let out a steadying breath. That was an eternity in high-speed conflict, but I ultimately feared it would be a waste. Rin was already at his limit with the energy he had packed earlier, and I feared that any more might genuinely push him over the edge. Yet, he''s survived dying before. I only hoped it wouldn''t come to that this time around. "What''s the new play?" Pietro asked through a connection his sister opened up for him. I could feel her mind lingering in the back, quietly judging and weighing. "Largely the same. We pin him down, rain down pain so that he doesn''t slip away this time, and let the Wakandans finish him off. Hopefully, we''ll be able to pull everyone out before the bombs hit," I sent. "Should I plant the bombs?" he asked. "No," I answered. "Hand them over. He''ll be expecting you to try that a third time. Stick to Lightning throws." --- Chapter 172 Heller POV ¡°Double up,¡± I whispered furiously. ¡°You don¡¯t want to get caught out in the open when one of those packs finds us.¡± We¡¯d made a lot of sound during our ore harvesting. We¡¯d initially come, ready to dig to carve into the earth and hunker down until we mined enough of what the boss called Anti-metal, but luck had been on our side. Whatever fucked up changes were happening to Antarctica caused some of the metal chunks to float to the surface and breach the ground. All we had to do was carve it out and transport it¡ªa task that proved impossible considering all of our equipment was made of metal! We learned why they called it Anti-metal the hard way. We had to use our blasters to rip apart the Ice. What we hadn¡¯t anticipated was just how loud the Vibranium was. It was like sounding a gong with each Blaster fire. Thankfully, the sound faded fairly quickly. One of the enthusiastic researchers mentioned the anti-metal being extremely energy absorbent and hard. I remember reading both in the information packet. I let out a short breath, surveying the icy waste through my HUD scanner, my finger thumbing the safety and triggers of my gun. If things went bad, it¡¯d happen fast. It was every agent¡¯s dream to gain Level 7 access and become a Special Agent, but that came with certain risks that seemed downright fictional¡ªmining an exotic mineral in Antarctica in a stealth plane while keeping an eye out for mutated monsters was an example. Still, I was determined to make something of myself Fury couldn¡¯t beg me to take this mission a month ago. I would¡¯ve spat in his face¡­ Well, I wouldn¡¯t actually spit in the director¡¯s face, but I would¡¯ve been a hard sell. I had a beautiful girlfriend, a baby on the way, really good pay, and a life I couldn¡¯t truly complain about. All that changed when she left me with a note a week ago after she aborted my kid and vanished. The experience put a lot of things in perspective. I knew I¡¯d find love again one day, but for that to happen, the free world had to be safe. And there was no greater call to action than a mission to secure a means to protect ourselves against an alien asset. I¡¯ve had brief interactions with the ¡®kid¡¯ in question, and I didn¡¯t like him one bit. He spoke to officers and agents like they were beneath him, talked to Fury like an equal, and allegedly killed a SHIELD agent. ¡°All done,¡± I heard somebody yell to me from inside the jet. ¡°Get us out of here,¡± I said into the comms. ¡°I don¡¯t want to be here for one second longer than I have to be.¡± I backed away from my post carefully as the rest of the soldiers retreated. Just before I climbed up on the ramp, I thought I saw a figure in the snow, but my radar picked up on nothing. She was only there for a moment before she was gone. I blinked. My first instinct was to raise the alarm, report it in, and have the soldiers scout it out, but it was probably something that was going to get them all killed. The stealth tech made us virtually undetectable by most equipment and human senses. ¡°Take us up,¡± I said, climbing up the ramp. I just had to hope we put enough distance between us before shit hit the fan. We got what we came for. No reason to rock the boat. Dante¡¯s POV The air exploded in a crescendo of steel, red spurs, lightning, and light beams. Magic-infused energy fire peppered out of my modified blaster as I fired at Ulyetrix. The beast swung, twisted, and dodged all attacks and counterattacked as it blurred across the landscape. He was stronger than ever, faster than ever. Yet, I wasn¡¯t worried. I was even excited. The fight showed me just how much I¡¯d been underestimating how powerful Nephilim were. I had been forced to create techniques on the fly, self-immolate, and wrench my sanity back from the brink of death. And I was stronger for it. Granted, that window of invincibility was rapidly shrinking, but while I had it, I was determined to make the best of it. My left hand stretched forth, and I sent out two commands instead of one. FALL. TRIP. Wild demonic power rushed out of me, my two affinities sounding off each other as they twisted into a wicked spell that tried to latch onto Ulyetrix impossibly fast. It swamped the ground below us, tugging on Gravity and Mind affinity, dragging the alien to his knees. Still, he broke out of it with an activation of the ability of his maroon eyes¡ªreality manipulation. It had taken a moment to figure it out, but when we did, it became obvious, and we knew we could accurately predict his moves. Ulyetrix stretched impossibly fast, his eyes jettisoning him mid-air, where Lumos was waiting for him with a Telekinetic bitch slap. He blocked it, playing exactly into our hand. He didn¡¯t notice the bomb attached to the attack before it was too late. The explosion shattered his shield and destroyed several tentacles, opening him up to a barrage from all of us. He wove through the press of energy bolts, using his tentacles to pull and push at impossible speeds, all the while lashing out at us with concussive blasts. I surged ahead with an earth-shattering stomp, propelled forward by Nether Fire, Telekinesis and Density Shift, and my Mind Cloak.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. Juggling all these abilities simultaneously hurt my mind, but the alternative was losing Rin, and we were running out of time. Lumos gave me one minute, half of which was already gone, and I was going to make the best use of it. I wove through the mind field of concussive blasts with Pietro to my flank and Lumos somewhere behind us. He¡¯d pulled another disappearing act, erasing his physical and mental presence from my perception and, hopefully, Ulyetrix¡¯s too. He¡¯d started using this tactic when our assault began anew. Pietro fired thick streams of lightning, countering the concussive blasts, and I released waves of Nether fire that battled against and overcame the smaller blasts. ¡°It¡¯s too late,¡± Ulyetrix crooned. ¡°He¡¯s mine now. And soon, so will you.¡± ¡°Shut up,¡± I barked out. The monster¡¯s teeth widened as the spurs on its many-tentacled arms shone, unleashing compressed waves of concentrated kinetic energy. It sheered stone, shook the air, and shattered the left side of my entire body and armor. Angel Regeneration plus my regular regeneration was quick enough to repair the damage. My armor took care of itself, and my sheer momentum and budding Telekinesis made sure I didn¡¯t lag behind. I was fully healed when I clashed with Quellitrax, or at least tried to. My fully charged slash split the landscape. Quellitrax¡¯s Maroon eyes shone as his body flowed like water and wrapped around my limbs. He spun me around, holding me in front of a confused Pietro before he lashed out. The speedster barely avoided the attack. Lumos struck a moment later, unleashing a pillar of light that swallowed me and Ulyetrix up. The pain was unbearable. My armor heated up so quickly and violently that I swore the runes were about to erupt. My flesh and a chunk of muscle vanished within in an instant, flash-fried. By some miracle, all of it didn¡¯t break my concentration, allowing me to follow through with the plan. Nether fire and Wind cojoined in my throat, and all of my strained runes sang in unison. A pillar of Purple fire surged out at point-blank range and deleted the head of Ulyetrix. It¡¯d happened so quickly that I¡¯d been surprised that we¡¯d even succeeded. The monster, predictably, didn¡¯t die, but we were counting on that too. ¡°Now!¡± I sent to Lumos. One technique seamlessly switched for the other. The second prince of Hell yanked the thrashing alien into the air and swiped his spear at it, splitting his stomach open with a pillar of light. Tufts of Rin¡¯s hair bubbled to the surface in what I assumed must¡¯ve been a moment of weakness for the Alien monster before it was yanked back into the morass of undulating tentacles. Masses clumped to gather above Ulyetrix¡¯s shoulder to try to replace his head, but we didn¡¯t give him a chance. My regeneration took care of the extensive burn damage as I summoned Aquila and charged another Purple fire attack in my chest. I sent 20 fully charged, glowing, shuriken flying, spending well over 500 AE. I let them all run wild on his central body, cutting it to thin strips and slowly building up Smite. Then, I let another Nephilim fire attack fly. It drew a wicked line down his torso, scorching it. Lumos spear swung out impossibly fast as he unleashed attack after attack on the squirming monstrosity. In that time, my spectral blades had well exceeded the 200 cut limit of Smite. Pietro lent his help with a brutal lightning arc that further paralyzed it. I capped things off with a gunshot infused with dimensional affinity. Ulyetrix practically erupted, shredded apart into a hundred rapidly recovering bits as dimensional energy ripped it apart. ¡°You think this is enough!¡± he shrieked, sending all of us reeling. ¡°I did not forge all six of my eyes, and crawl through the fabric of space-time to die to an infant!¡± ¡°Yet that¡¯s what¡¯s about to fucking happen,¡± Pietro said, blurring his hand, building up another electric charge. His green eyes suddenly sprouted from his rapidly changing body. Lumos was about to torch it before a hand suddenly stuck out. It was Rin¡¯s. I launched Ophion. It wrapped around the kid¡¯s battered forearm and pulled him free ever so slowly. Ulyetrix, remaining the stubborn bastard that he was, materialized several tentacles, forcefully growing them with his green eyes, but Lumos came in clutch. He launched several precise telekinetic blades, shearing off tentacles and entire body parts. At some point, I wrapped my body in my budding Telekinesis and boosted my strength. And it worked. I pulled Rin out just before Pietro bathed him in a spray of lightning. Rin was barely conscious when I pulled him free, and Ulyetrix¡¯s regeneration surged as Smite wore off, but it was too late. We already had Rin. Pietro zoomed off with him, leaving Lumos and me behind to hack at the constantly rippling, screaming body of Ulyetrix. We traded earth-shattering blows and blasts. Ripped apart from his energy source, he was rapidly diminishing, but not so much that he couldn¡¯t still put up a modicum of a fight, however futile it was. ¡°Tell the Wakandans to get ready,¡± I sent to Wanda, who was watching our fight from a peak far away. ¡°W-What. Of course. Right on it.¡± The anxiety oozed through our connection. A less telepathically inclined me would¡¯ve written that off as nerves, awe, or fear, but I sensed there was something underneath all of that. A growing distrust. Ulyetrix recovered quickly after the thrashing. His strength somewhat returned to his initial base form, and he even managed to regrow all six eyes, but it didn¡¯t save him. His warps were too slow and predictable, his kinetic explosions were parried away and easily avoided, and our collective minds rendered all of his mental assaults futile. After two long minutes of hurling everything at him, he was still healing and morphing at ridiculous speeds, though it was at the expense of his combat strength. ¡°You should¡¯ve accepted my offer, Alien,¡± Lumos said, holding a struggling Ulyetrix up in a telekinetic vice grip. My hand stretched upwards, supporting Lumos with Gravity Magic. Even weakened, he was no slouch. Ulyetrix let out a long and deep laugh. ¡°Should I? Eldritch gods are not the forgiving sort, but neither are demons or humans.¡± My mind immediately went to Rin. ¡°What did you do?¡± I demanded, flexing my budding Telekinesis. I sent an arm flying. He laughed. ¡°What have I done! What are you going to do? My father and your God are old rivals, you know. He¡¯s seen a thousand champion sacrifice their world for power. Some are reluctant, most enjoy it, but all of them eventually do it. You¡¯ve made it further than most without having to sell most of your soul, but that will change, and I think it¡¯s only right that the humans know it.¡± My heart dropped. ¡°What did you do!¡± He cackled. ¡°I told the little witch spying on us, of course. After seeing the state your apprentice is in, She¡¯ll no doubt tell her friends, and they will tell the rest of your team. Soon, everyone will know what you are¡ªa predator like your master. You didn¡¯t think I¡¯d give up after you ripped the boy away from me. You¡¯re a pretender, Dante Sparda, and now everyone knows. I heard the Wakandan fliers fly overhead. They were in position. Lumos¡¯s mental energy fluctuated, and I suddenly felt a wall erected around my mind. My focus shifted immediately, switching to Mind Cloak and pushing against it with Telepathy. It didn¡¯t budge. ¡°What are you doing!¡± I yelled at Lumos. I heard the sound of rocket fire and all twenty-five bombs deployed. ¡°Really, are we about to do this now? He¡¯s trying to worm his way out of this!¡± ¡°I can hold him just fine,¡± Lumos said in a dispassionate voice, but his eyes betrayed his anger. He assumed a fighting stance, leveling his spear against me. ¡°Forgive me Isha. I cannot let him live.¡± My mind and body kicked into fifth gear as I marshaled every last ounce of energy, preparing for one last tectonic outburst of repulsive Gravity. It should level Lumos, fling Ulyetrix far, and give me enough time to¡ª Strength fled my body as I stumbled forward, half of my vision suddenly gone. The pain was sudden, too sudden. Blood poured out of my helmet as my body gave out, and I dropped to my knees. Did Lumos just kill me with a shot to the eye? I heard Ulyetrix¡¯s booming laugh. The bombs hit a second later, bathing the world in purple fire. You¡¯ve killed Ulyetrix. 1,000,000 Red Orbs. Chapter 173 I woke up with a scream, mind racing as demonic energy poured out of every orifice. It mixed with purple fire and bits from my rapidly disintegrating Twilight Sentinel armor. Bones regenerated; muscles wrapped around them. Blood and skin came next and went quicker than I could process. My life-saving skill might''ve triggered, but that did nothing for my condition. Purple fire surged around me, burning thousands of Celsius hot, melting and consuming everything in its path, including me. I would''ve screamed if I had the tongue or the mental energy. I went into immediate panic mode, triggering Devil Trigger and spiking my regeneration. But it all didn''t seem to be enough. The surge of vitality my life-saving skill provided was quickly fading. Even though my skin felt more durable than ever, and more strength flowed through my body than the last time I was in Devil Trigger, I knew I had few seconds at best. So, I shifted strategies and tried to escape the inferno. Burst exploded out of my right side, sending me flipping deeper into the raging purple fire inferno. Drops of liquid metal sprayed out. I flexed my Telekinesis and Gravity affinities, pulling me up and away, but my luck ran out before I was halfway through. My mind grew hazy, and my control slipped. It became brutally clear: I was going to die. And there was no one coming for me. Not Shin, Jean, or any other teammates who probably hated me. The lying, the training, the killing¡­What was it all for, scrambling every second of every day? Tiptoeing the line between morally grey and utterly reprehensible¡ªall to fail when I came so fucking close! I should''ve fused Rin''s DNA with my own and amped myself with the formulas as I''d done for the rest. I should''ve trained harder, pushed my affinity further instead of fucking babysitting. And I should''ve just given the kid what he wanted. Maybe he would''ve been quick enough to dodge that grab from Ulyetrix. And l should''ve just fucking gone for the infinity stone; consequences be damned. But it was too late for that now. I would end up back in the void before I ever got the chance to live. ''Maybe you should try that,'' a stray thought suggested. ''What do you have to lose.'' Recently, I came up with a theory on how to awaken my Angel Trigger. A death blow through demon energy triggered the change the first time. Doing the same with Angel Energy might work. The only problem was¡­ I''d been down that road several times before and failed. Yao and I chalked it up to a true lack of desperation. The cushion of an extra life and a hair trigger for Angel Regeneration made it impossible to truly feel the fear of death without risking it all. It was no mystery why I was afraid of dying. I''d stacked skills upon skills and devised a nearly impenetrable armor so that I was never at the mercy of Shin again. Yet, here I was¡ªabout to kill myself with no assurances I wasn''t inadvertently giving him what he wanted. As I banished what was left of Twilight Sentinel Armor, exposing my rapidly deteriorating body to temperatures that exceeded the sun''s surface, I summoned the only weapon I was sure wouldn''t melt immediately. Rebellion. I expelled a ton of wind energy to buy the smallest respite as I filled the blade with dimensional energy. I figured this would be the quickest. My hand shook slightly before the blade went in. The world fractured and split into a thousand realities. A dozen worlds whizzed past me impossibly fast, realities I could''ve only dreamed of in my wildest fantasies. I saw mountains split apart by a titanic conflict waged by humanoid figures, a world drowned in dystopian machines and magitech, and fantasy worlds pushed to the edge by eternal conflict. My body recovered as I underwent this baptism of light and energy, and my understanding bloomed. Dodging attacks with my dimensional affinity was just the beginning. Dimensional travel was its true purpose, and learning to fold space seemed like a nice bonus on top of that.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. The shattering stopped, and the world reoriented itself. I found myself floating in the murky demon-energy-infused sky of my simulacrum. As I scanned the realm with fresh eyes, I realized it wasn''t some simulated dimension attached to my mental plane. It was a real place first created by Sparda but now maintained and ruled by me. I jerked forward, a sudden pain erupting from my back as memories flashed in my mind. It was knowledge I could not possess yet made an astounding amount of sense to me as a half-angel. The mark between my shoulder blades glowed a blinding white as Wind, dimensional, and pure energy poured out of me. I reined it in with a flex of my will, and they split into two balls, settling just above my shoulder blades. A pair of ethereal blue wings formed, and with a flex of them, I sent out a shockwave that shook the dimension. New Ability Unlocked. Angelic Ascension. Tap into your angelic Ancestry and draw on the strength and wisdom of your forbears. The secrets of the Multiverse are yours to unravel. Skills are 200% easier to learn and grow when in Angel Ascension. Nullifies the cost of Angelic Regeneration and doubles the effectiveness, increases strength, vitality, and endurance by 200%, Increases speed by 500% Costs 100 AE to activate and 10 AE per second to maintain. Greater affinity manipulation becomes easier. You''ve unlocked a new Epic Skill: Astral Wings. By drawing your most powerful affinities, you''ve recreated one of the great magics of your people, the Angels. Create wings made of pure energy that grant flight, increased defense, control, and speed and greatly boost the effectiveness of all of your Angel Affinities by 100%. Every subsequent Wing boosts the effectiveness by another 30% until the limit. The current limit is 2. Each Wing costs 750 AE. Wings can be destroyed with enough force, stored, and used to channel angel skills. You''ve unlocked a Cardinal Affinity. Anathema Flame (Low) A nascent flame of a Nephilim god, it has the potential to burn through concepts and forge divinities. The flames of Anathema are bound to the will of the Nephilim that created them and will Burn through all they''ve deemed the enemy. The Flames can only be resisted and quenched by magic of equivalent power. You''ve unlocked Anathema Channel (Transcendent) Channel the Flames of Anathema by drawing your Wind and Fire affinities simultaneously. 100DE and AE per second. Congratulations: You''ve unlocked Telekinesis (Epic) Through stretching of your Mind Affinity, you''ve learned to impose your will upon the world to great effect. Limited to low-level feats of manipulation for now. Congratulations: Cloak has reached Adept Tier. All passive bonuses receive a flat 30-35 percent increase in all parameters. Combining Cloaks for a greater boost is now possible. Gravitational Touch has reached Adept Tier Doubles Gravitational pull when the technique is activated. Density Shift has reached Adept Tier. Density Increase now grants a 60% strength buff for a 25% debuff. Density Decrease grants a 60% Speed boost for a 25% debuff. Congratulations: Dimensional Shift Adept has evolved to Dimensional Jump (Expert) Designate a target and shift into a dimension you choose before reappearing at your target without delay. To jump and stay in the dimension you''re shifting to, release the technique mid-execution. Cost 50AE. Name: (Dante Sparda) Axel Warren Class: Arcane Forgemaster Lv7 HP: 1940--2500 SP: 2190--2500 AE: 2100/2100 DE: 2100/2100 Strength: 178-220 Dexterity: 193--260 Endurance: 211--250 Vitality: 194--250 Angelic Energy: 215- 290 Demonic Energy: 219-280 Reading the notifications was surreal. The stat bump from learning the new ability, added to the rapid gain triggered by the fight, was unbelievable, but I was most excited by the new skills and information surging through my mind. I played back the fight in my head. I saw ways I could''ve better used my affinity and skills. It flooded my mind with potential ideas and theories on using my newly acquired powers. Yet, I didn''t let my mind wander for long. Lumos was still out there with Rin, and as much as I loved Pietro, he didn''t stand a chance. I needed to end this fight fast. Everything that was to come after was a complete mystery. What was left of my Twilight Sentinel Armor wrapped around me. I noted that the sections that had melted off had already begun to repair themselves. In a few more hours, I expected the armor to be as good as new, but for now, I was locked out of the energy reserves and the many runes etched into the armor. It could be a major handicap, but another side of me saw this as an opportunity. I was supposed to be dead. If I was smart and vicious enough, the fight could be over before it even started. Dimensional Jump activated, and my vision split into two. A portal opened before me, and I was in the fire again, but it didn''t harm me. Or rather, it couldn''t. It was mine. I looked through the fire, eyes zeroing in on Lumos, who was standing over a half-dead Pietro and Wanda. Rin was on his feet, panting. I saw Red. Chapter 174 A technique formed in my mind¡ªlike one of the many inspired by Devil Trigger, but I didn¡¯t unleash it. This technique harnessed my Time affinity, and my experience with Moment of the Time Sage gave me a pretty good idea of what it would do. I just had to know when to use it. I activated Dimensional Jump again, picking a destination¡ªright behind Lumos¡¯s head. A line of fragmented light and reality streaked around me as I stepped into my Simulacrum and back. I appeared behind Lumos, Rebellion drawn, mid-swing, blade packed with Anathema Flame. His body was part light energy when I emerged from the gate. He dematerialized before my blade could touch him, transforming into a streak of light that regained form several hundred feet away from me. His eyes were wide with surprise and fear as his Cloak technique reactivated, bathing him in a golden glow. ¡°How?¡± he asked. ¡°That shouldn¡¯t be possible. You should be dead.¡± My wings flared, activating Gust, and I rocketed forward. My blade swung down, this time armed with Wind and Dimensional affinities. Lumos leaped and twisted, but not quickly enough. A line ran down the length of his body, fountaining blood. An impossibly deep rent appeared in the ground behind him. It was deeper than any cut I¡¯d managed too far, and it was obvious why. A new Angelic Ascension technique blossomed in my mind¡ªDimensional Edge. It sent everything my projected energy blade touched into another dimension. Lumos face warped in a rictus of rage. It looked almost alien on the overconfident Prince¡¯s face. I thought I¡¯d have to dig even deeper before touching him, but it seemed the Demon Prince was making this easy for me. The difference that overwhelming speed made was astounding. I activated Gust again, this time at maximum output, and tagged on all of my speed buffs¡ªDensity Cloak, Density Shift, and Osiris. One moment, I was across from him; the next, my blade clashed against his floating spear. It rang out like a gong as Lumos finally got serious. He pulled out another Cloak form. His considerable aura shrunk, adhering to his skin like a tattoo. It was my turn to be blindsided. He was in front of me, spear inches from my eye when the word froze. The technique I¡¯d been nursing finally bloomed. TIMES STOP. I knew I¡¯d made a mistake the moment the technique flowed out of me. It was beyond me despite how far I¡¯d come. I instinctively knew deactivating it would likely yank me out of Angel Ascension. But I didn¡¯t worry. I could hold the technique for as long as Angel Ascension held. I could almost taste the panic rolling off of Lumos¡¯s frozen body. ¡°Now this is more my speed,¡± I cackled, raising Rebellion high and swinging it down with a finality. Lumos aura exploded outwards in one last desperate outpour. The temperature rose to staggering degrees, and I felt the slightest bit of resistance all around me as Lumos attempted to undo my technique. He wrenched himself out of the path of my blade in jerky, unnatural movements, puppeting himself with pure Telekinetic energy. Lumos tried bombarding me with a mental storm, but it barely phased me. Between overtaxing his mind to remain lucid in the extreme time dilation and all of the other technique he was juggling, it was child¡¯s play to break his hold. He fell back with a scream, blood gushing from his mouth. ¡°Don¡¯t do this!¡± he sent. ¡°There¡¯s still a deal to be made.¡± ¡°I think I¡¯m good,¡± I sent as I slashed with Rebellion, channeling dimensional and Wind energy. I immediately knew something was wrong the moment the attack landed. My time bubble popped, Lumos¡¯s body dropped, and I suddenly found myself jerked out of Angel Ascension, blood gushing from my nose and ears. Rin and I shared a look before I was suddenly yanked through a dimensional gate. The world came into focus long enough to catch myself with Telekinesis as I came inches from crashing through a large Tower Bell. I had to Telekinetically lower myself to the ground with a grunt, dropping into the parking lot of the building. I banished my armor with a thought and just sat there with bone-deep scars, my body crisscrossed with wounds I didn¡¯t remember getting. Not crossing my time and dimensional affinities should¡¯ve been the most obvious thing in the world. It was probably why Ascension ended. I hoped using TIME STOP wouldn¡¯t have this effect on me every time I did it. I pulled myself up with considerable effort and triggered Angel Regeneration but was shocked when the ability didn¡¯t work. Several notifications popped up. You¡¯re experiencing an Affinity Strain for your imprecise manipulation of two of the four fundamental aspects of reality. All angel abilities are unavailable for 4 hours. You¡¯ve killed. Lumos, Second Son of Belasco. 500,000 Red Orbs. 1500/2500 HP Quite the bump in rewards, but then again, he¡¯d been inordinately strong. I was certain the fight would¡¯ve gone on for much longer if I hadn¡¯t frozen time. I had been right about my hunch. Angel Ascension was orders of magnitudes stronger than I anticipated. Both of my modes were. I just was never in any of them long enough to really appreciate them. I let out a long sigh. I would be falling back on both of them in the coming weeks. Everything had essentially gone tits up after Ulyetrix¡¯s declaration. No cajoling or mind-bending would put the genie back in the bottle. Fury likely already knew, as did Magneto and the rest of the Thunderbolt.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! Confronting them would likely be the most difficult conversation of my life, and I expect that the double-crosses are already happening as we speak. I was likely in for a world of hurt, yet I found myself oddly¡­relieved. I didn¡¯t need to bother with the charade anymore. None of them could stop me, and I had the power to take on the rest of the cambions¡ªexcept number One, SHIELD, the Brotherhood, and Sebastian Shaw¡¯s little Cabal. Heck, even the counter array plan was a complete breeze now. Our greatest obstacle was penetrating the Spatial strongholds where the demons regulate the portals. Jean and I had been running a long con using Telepathy to slowly hypnotize several Array operators to shut down their spatial shield from the inside out. I was supposed to run in and plant several Anathema Flame bombs while Domina was distracted by Collen Wing and Matt Murdock, but Dimensional Gate took care of that problem entirely. As for the arrays, Jean and the Sorceress Supreme have been working on several demons and cambions that reside on the surface, slowly altering their minds and corrupting them with false information. The work had already taken months because of Lumos. We had to take it extra slow so as not to show our hand, but that didn¡¯t matter anymore now that he was dead. The only thing I couldn¡¯t do was raid the demon world alone, but that could change if the Tesseract were in my possession. I couldn¡¯t fight the grin on my lips as I realized I was becoming even more untethered from death and potential consequences. I only cared about how my very few friends would react to learning about my origin and mission. I let out a tired breath and broke into a coughing fit as I rose to my feet, switching to casual wear. It was then I heard voices coming from the edge of the lot. My tired brain and body only caught the end of the conversation. ¡°Stay back, Ken,¡± a woman screamed. ¡°I¡¯m not kidding.¡± ¡°I saw you stuff my watch into your bag, Gabby,¡± he snarled. ¡°It cost me 5 fucking grand. There¡¯s no way in hell I¡¯m letting you walk away.¡± ¡°Kah¡ª¡± ¡°Just give it!¡± Two rounds rang out into the night, and I heard a thud. Three quick steps carried me to the scene of the crime as I watched a man with his fingers wrapped around a gold watch, bleeding out through a hole in his gut. ¡°You sure fucked him up good,¡± I said casually, not looking up at the woman. She was a Redhead with thin lips and big green eyes. Freckles dotted her cheeks, and she quivered under the attention. ¡°Stay back!¡± she yelled. Two rounds rang out, splashing harmlessly around my reinforced skin. Her eyes popped out as she tossed her gun to the side. ¡°Oh my god. Oh my god, please don¡¯t be hurt.¡± ¡°Jesus,¡± I grunted. ¡°That hurt a lot more than it should¡¯ve.¡± Deflecting or stopping the bullet with Telekinesis would¡¯ve likely been the smarter choice. But I was bone tired and already regretting stepping in. ¡°You¡¯re not hurt?¡± the girl said, then slowly scanned me up and down. ¡°Well, not any more than you currently are. You¡¯re one of those mutants, aren¡¯t you? You have to help him.¡± ¡°Are you sure about that. You did just try to kill him after robbing him.¡± Talk about flipping the gender dynamics. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean for things to¡­please just help him.¡± ¡°Where¡¯s the nearest hospital?¡± I asked with a sigh as I picked up the body of the dying guy she shot. ¡°Fourth street,¡± she quickly said. ¡°Which is in what direction?¡± She blinked and pointed north. I was off with a flash, covering dozens of blocks before depositing him at the emergency room and speeding back to the parking lot. The girl was gone when I returned, likely trying to get a head start on the police. I could¡¯ve made a bigger deal out of this and chased her down, but I was far more concerned with making the best of my downtime. Four more hours until my world went to shit. I sped back into town and tracked down a bar. Naturally, all attention turned to me when I walked in, and they were understandably freaked out. I was still bleeding out of several wounds, covered in strange pock marks and cuts. It would¡¯ve been a bigger, fucking problem had I not ordered everyone to pretend like I was just anybody else. Ordering a bottle of whiskey and visibly healing from my wounds as the night progressed didn¡¯t help much either. At some point, I got tired of re-applying Telepathy and just summoned a hat, ridding myself of the attention. An hour into my bottle, brooding and idly watching the game, the same woman I¡¯d spared slipped into the bar. She avoided direct eye contact with everyone and searched the room carefully. She missed me, my silhouette hidden behind a barrel-chested man enjoying the game on the bar¡¯s frustratingly small singular TV set. She ordered a sweet drink to take the edge off, and I settled beside her almost without her notice. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you be out of town by now?¡± I asked, startling the girl. She nearly spilled her drink, but I steadied it with my hand. She stood up, putting some distance between us. Her abrupt action drew some eyes that I had to forcefully divert. A thousand thoughts ran through her mind, all bad and desperate. She was about ready to book it when I spoke. ¡°Calm down,¡± I said. ¡°If I was after you, I¡¯d have found you thirty minutes ago.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to run away.¡± ¡°Of course you did,¡± I said, ¡°And I don¡¯t fight demons.¡± ¡°You¡¯re that guy with the fire powers,¡± she said, eyes widening in realization. ¡°What do you want from me?¡± ¡°Honestly? Nothing. I¡¯d like a conversation. Out of curiosity mostly.¡± ¡°And if I don¡¯t want to talk to you?¡± She said, shifting defensively. ¡°Then nothing¡­¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m off the clock, and you¡¯re no criminal mastermind. A crappy thief with itchy fingers, yes, but a danger, hardly.¡± Her lips twisted in annoyance. ¡°Anyone told you you¡¯re kind of an asshole.¡± ¡°A few times,¡± I said. ¡°But I don¡¯t take most people seriously.¡± ¡°Maybe I should take your advice,¡± she said. ¡°Let your comment roll off me.¡± I raised a brow. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, would you like to graduate from novice thief to murderer? Because those type of people get radically different treatment.¡± She raised her hand placatingly and settled down beside me. ¡°Geez. You¡¯re sassy. The news makes you out be the root of evil, not some emo-kid drinking away his problems.¡± I said, rotating the glass in my hand. ¡°They may have been onto something with that report.¡± She looked at me, a bit alarmed, then slowly asked. ¡°What are you talking about?¡± ¡°I got forced into a deal with somebody powerful a long time ago, and an old enemy exposed the details of it. Suffice to say the terms are a bit concerning for everybody on earth.¡± ¡°Why are you telling me this?¡± she asked in a small voice. ¡°Because I¡¯ve lied to everybody I¡¯ve met for so long now it¡¯s getting hard to keep it all straight,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m more powerful than I could¡¯ve ever imagined, yet I¡¯ve never felt so terrible.¡± ¡°Can you tell me exactly what you agreed to?¡± she asked. ¡°I won¡¯t bore you with the details, but let¡¯s just say I¡¯m working around them.¡± ¡°Then you have to get over yourself and come clean if the earth really is in danger,¡± she said. ¡°I might be going to jail, but I like breathing¡­like a lot.¡± I raised a brow. ¡°I just told you I might¡¯ve sold out the planet to save my hide. Where¡¯s the outrage?¡± ¡°I did just shoot someone,¡± she said. ¡°I¡¯m in no position to judge a real-life superhero.¡± ¡°I told you I¡¯m no hero.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not a monster either,¡± she said. ¡°Monsters generally don¡¯t reflect and go out of their way to help people when they really don¡¯t need to.¡± ¡°My deal got people killed.¡± ¡°A deal you were coerced into,¡± she pointed out. ¡°Unless you¡¯re ready to start giving me hard facts, I¡¯m not really changing my mind about you. I¡¯m not saying you¡¯re a saint, but you¡¯re leagues beyond the true sickos of the world. Cut yourself some slack,¡± she finished with a small smile, and I folded my arms, leaning back into my chair. I gave her words some thought. I had no idea where the confession came from, nor did I feel any ounce of regret for how things had unraveled. But it was there, buried underneath all of the one-liners and violence. I have to level with Rin and be honest with Jean about everything, including the initial deal for the Phoenix Flames. ¡°Thanks for listening,¡± I said, getting up. I materialized a wad of cash and handed it to her. ¡°For your commissary or escape¡ªif you manage that much. Good luck, Gabby.¡± ¡°Hey, I never told you, my name?¡± ¡°The guy you shot did,¡± I said off-handedly as I strode towards the exit. Before I left, I took one last look back and connected to her mind with Telepathy. ¡°Forget ever meeting me and our meeting until I say otherwise. Also, stick in town.¡± I ordered. I¡¯d had no intention of interceding on her behalf, but I enjoyed the conversation, and I was feeling generous. I was also going to stop by the hospital and make the police drop, and the victim drop the entire matter. Was it fair? Unlikely. But I was also going to hand him a fat wad of cash for his hospital bill and compensate him for his pain. He¡¯ll likely spend the rest of his life wondering who shot him, but I was okay with that. I pulled out one of my many burners from my inventory and dialed a phone number I hadn¡¯t in weeks. Regan. ¡°The timeline has moved up,¡± I said. ¡°It¡¯s time you meet Wenwu.¡± Chapter 175 My next call was to the Sorcerer Supreme to update her on the situation. ¡°I suppose congratulations are in order,¡± She said. ¡°You¡¯re now complete.¡± ¡°I still have a chunk of my soul missing, but pretty much yeah¡­¡± ¡°From what you tell me, it won¡¯t be a problem in the long term,¡± she said. And she was right. I had the entire thing mapped out. After the demon threat was dealt with, I was going to hunt down the Infinity stones and use them to permanently enhance every aspect of myself, including my Soul and Mind¡ªgive me more time to prep for the final sever. When Jean and I grow powerful enough, I¡¯ll finally call in my chit with the Phoenix and extricate Shin from what¡¯s left of my soul. ¡°Probably¡­¡± I finally answered. ¡°I want to have a talk with the big guy before we sent him back. Is he okay by the way?¡± ¡°As fine as he could possibly be considering he¡¯s spent the last few weeks as mental prisoner to that monster.¡± ¡°Here¡¯s to hoping he¡¯s lucid enough to strike a deal.¡± Our conversation turned more theoretical and technical. Our plans rapidly changed now that Lumos was dead¡ªa fact that still stunned Yao. There had been opportunities to take out the high-ranking demons, but she¡¯d always stayed her hand because of the potential fallout. Now that shit was about to hit the fan, Yao figured, why not bust out the big guns. She agreed with the more direct approach and went even further with her plan than I did. Since I could penetrate the Japan Relay station, she figured why not target all of the other teleportation relay stations the demons have on the surface and take them out. It would put them out of commission and buy us time to prepare for the big conflict. While the Sorcerer Supreme was at it, she also suggested creating a killing ground for Domina now that I could teleport¡ªaka a location where she couldn¡¯t use Demon Energy. My angel side was strong enough to beat her unenhanced. I teleported to the desert after Yao texted me a picture of a Dune. There was a slight twinkle in her eyes as I emerged. My appearance also drew the attention of Bruce Banner and Kaecilius, who had been tasked with helping him. ¡°Fascinating,¡± she muttered. ¡°It sure is,¡± I said. ¡°And I barely understand how it works.¡± She tilted her head. ¡°It¡¯s like one of our gates, but wilder. Careful when you use this new ability. There¡¯s no telling where you¡¯ll end up if it becomes unstable.¡± ¡°So, it¡¯s true then, you killed Lumos?¡± Kaecilus stepped up. I nodded. ¡°Loped off his head after we killed the Squid Alien. Took a lot out of me though.¡± ¡°I see¡­¡± Kaecilius tentatively said. I could see his next question coming from a mile away. ¡°Does this mean we can finally end Isha? Her biggest supporter is dead. You¡¯ve already know everything she does. There¡¯s only so much maneuvering you can do with her now.¡± ¡°Not necessarily,¡± I said. ¡°Look, I know you¡¯re eager to get revenge, and I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll get it. But we¡¯re back to square one. We can¡¯t afford to play it safe.¡± ¡°Were you ever going to tell us?¡± Kaecilius asked. I tried scanning his mind, but I noticed numerous barriers set up. He finally figured something out. Good for him. ¡°Tell you what?¡± ¡°About the deal to sell us all out. Scott texted. Everyone who you¡¯ve ever worked with knows.¡±The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. ¡°Word sure gets around fast,¡± I scratched my chin and contemplated a viable answer. ¡°People told me I was being paranoid and unfair, but you¡¯re just as dangerous as your brother.¡± ¡°Probably,¡± I said honestly, surprising Yao quite a bit. ¡°I mean I¡¯ve lived since the first moment I¡¯ve met you, but the difference is that while he might¡¯ve fucked over an entire planet, I don¡¯t think I could have that on my conscience. Several exit strategies are in the works, none of which I can trust you with. Yao is familiar with the details. If you want to know. Ask her¡­Until then, I think I¡¯m going to talk to Bruce Banner.¡± I walked past a clearly fuming Kaecilius, who was glaring at Yao, and stepped into the massive array Yao had set up for Banner. Despite spending several weeks with Ulyetrix, he looked no worse off than when Jean last laid eyes on him, but his mental health was in shambles. I didn¡¯t need to be a Telepath to realize it. At the center of the array was a mat covered in delicious foods. A temperature control spell regulated the heat that filtered into the array, and there seemed to be some mental spell that basically blunted most negative emotions. I settled down across from Banner, and he looked up at me. ¡°I suppose I have you to thank for my rescue,¡± he said. ¡°And the Government,¡± I said honestly. ¡°They paid me, but I would¡¯ve come for you regardless. It¡¯d have been sooner if I knew that monster had its hooks in you.¡± ¡°It arrived the second day,¡± he said in a thin voice. ¡°I was moments away from freezing to death when it attacked me. It used to be as big as a wolf¡­but it grew fast.¡± I whistled. ¡°I know this probably doesn¡¯t mean much, but I¡¯m sorry this happened to you?¡± ¡°Are you?¡± he asked with as much emotion as he could muster under the array. ¡°I¡¯ve had a long time to think on what your partner said. She said you had plans for me, and that I was important for the fight to come. Your team came for me before things started spiraling out of control. I got the impression that you knew what was about to happen, and the¡­Thing confirmed it. Did you feed me to that monster.¡± I could¡¯ve denied it, tried to engender myself to him, but he deserved the truth after everything. ¡°I have some idea of how the future is supposed to play out, and sometimes what I¡¯ve seen comes true. Other times, an Eldritch Alien spawns in the North pole and attacks the foremost expert on Gamma radiation,¡± I said. ¡°But you knew about the other guy?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± I said. ¡°He will be a very big part of the fight to come.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve had enough fighting to last a lifetime,¡± Banner said, arms hugging his sides. ¡°I won¡¯t be your soldier.¡± ¡°You should probably tell Fury that when you find Betty,¡± I said. ¡°She spearheaded the whole rescue thing. And some promises were made on your behalf.¡± He had this distant look in her eyes. ¡°I¡­suppose I will thank her. But I will not fight.¡± I shrugged. ¡°I very much doubt that. It¡¯s in your nature. You stepped up the last time the Reactor started overheating. If the world is in genuine danger, I think you¡¯ll help, and if you don¡¯t, I¡¯m still here.¡± ¡°What do you want from me?¡± he asked. ¡°You don¡¯t strike me as the sentimental sort.¡± ¡°Fair enough,¡± I conceded. ¡°I¡¯m here to help you with your Jekyll and Hyde problem.¡± Bruce¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°I-I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about.¡± ¡°Your body language indicates otherwise,¡± I said. ¡°Feel free to correct me if I am wrong. You were not in the driver¡¯s seat the entire time the Alien was excoriating your brain. You were spared from the worst of it by the Other guy. The personality that comes with the beast. He might¡¯ve been a welcome advantage in that difficult situation, but now that it¡¯s all over. You¡¯re having a hard time keeping him in check¡­It¡¯s the anger that triggers it. It¡¯s why you¡¯re hesitant about seeing her again.¡± ¡°That¡¯s enough!¡± Bruce yelled, and his irises shone green. ¡°There it is,¡± I said. ¡°How does it feel?¡± ¡°Paralyzing,¡± he breathed. ¡°I imagine it would,¡± I said. ¡°I have come with an offer Bruce. I will solve your green man problem, and in exchange, you promise to stay out the fight between me and Nick Fury.¡± ¡°He knows about your past, doesn¡¯t he?¡± Bruce realized. ¡°What is your answer?¡± Bruce turned pensive. ¡°What kind of solutions are you offering exactly? I don¡¯t want to get rid of that side of me¡­ for better or worse.¡± ¡°And you shouldn¡¯t,¡± I said. ¡°With the threats on the horizon, you¡¯d want some type of protection for you and Betty. What I am offering is to merge both sides of you, elevating your mind and body.¡± Bruce looked understandably apprehensive, so I explained further. ¡°It will shave years off of therapy and will saddle you with a ton of rage, but you will be lucid at all times,¡± I said. ¡°It¡¯s certainly better than the alternative.¡± ¡°Out of curiosity. Could you remove him?¡± ¡°No,¡± I said honestly. ¡°If an Alien energy thief couldn¡¯t rip that part out of you, I don¡¯t stand much of a chance.¡± Banner didn¡¯t seem entirely convinced, but he took my answer at face value, likely realizing that I wouldn¡¯t get rid of the Hulk even if I could. ¡°Think on it,¡± I said, standing up. ¡°You have twelve hours to give me a response.¡± I also tossed him a Cell phone. ¡°Call your lady. I¡¯m sure she¡¯s worried.¡± After bidding Yao goodbye, I moved on to the next stage of my plan¡ªfinding the Red Room. We were too early in the timeline for the head asshole to have a floating fortress. So, it was still anyone¡¯s guess where the Widows were trained. Luckily, I still had two fresh leads trapped in the basement of Kamar-Taj to help with that search. --- Chapter 176 Unsurprisingly, the Widows didn¡¯t know where Dreykov was based, but they pointed me toward several active Widows who might. One in particular interested me than the rest. Yelena Romanoff. She was in Budapest wooing the son of an important dignitary and potential collaborator. It took less than an hour to track her down, and I considered multiple avenues of approaching her before I settled on just flat-out talking to her. She was dressed in a ravishing black dress and had just stepped outside her building when she spotted me standing there. I was in an oversized shirt, jacket, and hat, and she tried not to linger, but I sensed the slight shift in stance, the slow speed up, and the tension in her muscles. Relax,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m not here to fight you, Yelena Romanoff.¡± She froze briefly before spinning around and reaching for her gun. It didn¡¯t budge from her purse. ¡°No need to make a scene,¡± I said with a tight smile. ¡°We have lots to talk about.¡± Yelana¡¯s face betrayed no emotion. ¡°Telekinesis. That was not in the information packet. You¡¯re a lot more interesting than you seem.¡± ¡°The purple eyes weren¡¯t a tip?¡± I chuckled. ¡°There¡¯s a lot about me that you and Dreykov don¡¯t know.¡± Her eyes widened. ¡°You will get nothing out of me.¡± ¡°Sure, I will. Let¡¯s take a walk. Go somewhere public where we can discuss.¡± We settled in a small caf¨¦, and Yelena ordered a drink for both of us in Dutch while also passing a secret code word to the waiter, telling her she was in danger. The custom was that the waiter was supposed to call the police whenever the sign was passed. I invaded her mind with Telepathy and subtracted the loaded portion of the conversation from her mind. She stood there momentarily, stumped, before she went on with her order. ¡°If you wanted a date, you could¡¯ve just asked,¡± Yelena said, eyes lingering on the clearly confused waiter. ¡°I try not to make a habit of getting into compromising positions with contract assassins.¡± ¡°The false modesty is insulting,¡± she said. ¡°You hold most of the power here.¡± "Only most? Not all?¡± She smiled. ¡°You don¡¯t seem like you underestimate your opponent because she''s a woman.¡± "Never,¡± I said. ¡°Some of the strongest people I''ve faced are women.¡± "Killed, don¡¯t you mean?¡± she asked. ¡°Some of the strongest people you¡¯ve killed are women.¡± ¡°Is this the part where you say you and I are not so different?¡± ¡°You kill demons and mercenaries,¡± she teased. ¡°I remove obstacles in our path to progress.¡± ¡°Sounds like brainwashing to me.¡± "Typical American. Always thinking you have all the answers.¡± The waitress returned with our drinks. I ignored mine. She took a sip. ¡°You didn''t drag me in here to trade banter. Why am I here?¡± ¡°The weather in Budapest, the local pastry, and your sister.¡± The mirth vanished from her face. ¡°My sister is dead.¡± ¡°Not quite,¡± I smiled. ¡°She¡¯s very much alive. And she knows you are as well. She just thinks you¡¯re doing great in Dreykov¡¯s care.¡± ¡°You¡¯re lying.¡± ¡°Maybe,¡± I said, ¡°but it¡¯s got you thinking, and it has me wondering why you¡¯re so loyal to an asshole who ripped you and your sister away from the only people who loved you and trained you to kill on behalf of Russia. If I didn¡¯t know any better, I¡¯d say he was controlling you somehow. Pheromones, perhaps.¡± Her brows hiked up slightly in confusion. ¡°What are you implying?¡±Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. ¡°I¡¯m not implying anything,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m saying you¡¯ve been mind-jacked, and while I could spend the next five hours convincing you of that. I¡¯m working on an accelerated timeline. So, I¡¯m just going to help you.¡± I raised a hand, and she kicked the table at me, but it didn¡¯t budge. ¡°This will hurt like a motherfucker,¡± I said as I entered her mind and searched for Dreykov¡¯s influence. Finding it was easier after the mental colonoscopy that the Alien and Lumos gave me. I now had an acute understanding of how the mind operated. Add that to the newest skill upgrade, and it was gravy. It did help that I had some experience with this procedure already. The spies Jean captured had not been overly eager to join my crusade after I freed them of Dreykov¡¯s influence, but I sensed Yelena would be different. She gripped the table and spasmed for five whole seconds before she snapped out of it. Blood flowed down her nose, and her eyes snapped up to me, impossibly wide. ¡°How do you feel?¡± ¡°Fuck you,¡± she spat. ¡°Fuck you too,¡± I smiled back. ¡°Your mind is the clearest it''s been in decades. How do you really feel?¡± She blinked. ¡°Angry. I want to kill you for doing that to me, but I want Dreykov more.¡± ¡°Enough to partner with me and help me bring down his entire organization?¡± ¡°What do you want with Dreykov?¡± she asked, wiping the blood off her nose with a napkin. We¡¯d started to attract more attention now, but I was on it. I made sure they thought we were just another everyday couple. Passionate, but otherwise normal. ¡°He sent two of his people after one of my assets,¡± I explained. ¡°Can¡¯t have a wild card making moves with everything that¡¯s been happening.¡± ¡°You know something I don¡¯t?¡± ¡°Haven¡¯t you been paying attention to the news?¡± I asked. ¡°Demons raining down in New York, seismic activity in the North Pole. Mutants being hunted. Vigilantes popping up worldwide. There¡¯s a reckoning coming, and I''m the only one that can save us.¡± ¡°Quite the ego on you, but that doesn¡¯t answer my question,¡± Yelena said deadpan and a smirk crept up my face. ¡°The demons are coming soon, and as awesome as I am, I need people to fight with me. People with potential. Your Widows uniquely qualify. They will be well compensated for their efforts, of course. In addition to unshackling their minds.¡± ¡°You want to turn us into your own personal army?¡± ¡°Only for a short while,¡± I said, ¡°and when our business is done, they walk away with a fat check and something they want more than Dreykov''s head on a spike.¡± Yelana¡¯s breath hitched. ¡°A chance to be whole.¡± --- ¡°So, this is headquarters?¡± I said, looking down at a fortress hidden in the Siberian tundra. The snowy wind whipped all around us. Yelena stood beside me, staring through her binoculars, wrapped in several layers. ¡°I expected something¡­bigger.¡± ¡°It¡¯s an in between station,¡± Yelena explained. ¡°Dreykov said something about a flying fortress in a meeting a few months back.¡± ¡°Kinda disappointed that I don¡¯t get to take it apart,¡± I said idly as I summoned one of the many Infernal Steel Katanas I¡¯ve made over the months. ¡°Could you take a few steps back, please?¡± I said as my hand began to heat up. Yelena did as asked and watched with a deep fascination as I poured fire into the blade, turning it dull Red. I kept it in the air with Telekinesis while I summoned a chisel and began to etch runes onto its side. When I was satisfied with the markings, I poured magic into it, giving the runes life. The runes lit up with a dull purple as an Aegis of Protection seal took hold. Heat rapidly sapped out of the runes when I stopped channeling Nether fire into it. I tossed Yelena the blade, and she caught it gingerly and inspected the writing.¡°What do the strange writings do?¡± ¡°Think fast!¡± I said as I summoned Ivory and fired a shot at her. She raised her blade to block it, manifesting a purple protective barrier around her. ¡°Does that answer your question?¡± She lowered her guard as I disappeared the gun and looked at the shimmering runes at the side of the blade. ¡°What were those words?¡± ¡°Magic,¡± I said. ¡°Everything I do is. And there¡¯s a whole lot more where that came from. Try to remember that when you see your sister.¡± I switched out my casual wear for my Twilight Devourer Skinsuit. ¡°Now, let¡¯s get this over with.¡± The shift was immediate. One moment, we were standing outside of the fortress. The next, we were in a long hallway. Several floors below Dreykov¡¯s office. The alarms went off immediately. Gas pumped out of pipes, mutant dampeners whirred to life, and dozens of Widows ran down the hall. They were dressed in black clothes and had masks on their faces. A Gust from each hand sent the gas and the Widows flying. Yelena created a bubble around herself and held it to keep the sleeping gas away, and I telekinetically ripped the breathing masks from each of the widow¡¯s mouths so they got a mouthful of knock-out gas. In seconds, they were incapacitated, and I stemmed the flow by twisting the pipes that carried them in. ¡°Okay. I¡¯m not doing this on every floor. We¡¯re cutting through,¡± I said. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Yelena asked, to which I pointed my hand upwards while gathering Nether Fire at their tip. I activated Burst, releasing a beam of concentrated fire that burned a hole through multiple floors, giving up a clear path to Dreykov¡¯s floor. ¡°That,¡± I finally answered, floating upward with Telekinesis. ¡°You coming?¡± She offered me her hand, and I floated her up with me. Several widows tried to rush us on the way up. All of them were ignored. We arrived at Dreykov¡¯s office in seconds, and outside of it stood several Widows decked in an upgraded version of Klaue¡¯s armor. The dampeners came up as soon as they saw us, and they opened fire. The bullets bounced off my body armor while Yelena raised her shield to block the gunfire. I got to work immediately, accelerating. I grabbed the first widow by the throat, ripped out the core of her armor, and tossed it at an incoming group. Gunfire focused on Yelena to avoid friendly fire, which gave me even more room to move. Five seconds later, all of the Widows were on the floor, weighed down by their dead armor. A Wind blade blew through the reinforced metal doors of Dreykov¡¯s office, and we came face to face with a potbellied man in his early forties with little more than a scowl going for him. ¡°I''m a bit disappointed, if I''m being honest,¡± I said. ¡°The big, bad Dreykov, I was expecting something, not just this.¡± "Dante Sparda, I presume,¡± he said. ¡°Your reputation precedes you.¡± "So does yours,¡± I said, ¡°so I know you''re already cooking up some hair-brained scheme. Where''s the controlling device you''re using to keep the Widows in check?¡± Chapter 177 Dreykov looked surprised. "How did you¡ª" "Come on," I looked at Dreykov, thoroughly disappointed. "Telepathy and Telekinesis. It seems the rumors about your Clairvoyance are greatly exaggerated." I shrugged. "Everybody needs a schtick." I stretched my hand forward and was surprised when Dreykov hit a button on his table. A row of metal with red etching rolled forward, joining to form an intricate array, and most of my demon magic vanished. Dreykov grinned, using the chance to hit a second button that opened a trap door in the ground. Yelena surged forward, rushing to reach him before he went through, while I rolled my eyes and fired Ophion at him, yanking him to the side. Several Adamantium daggers fanned out, pinning him to the wall while I summoned a wind blade and blasted the array of figures. They fizzed out, and I was restored. "That was anti-climactic," I said, taking a step closer. Dreykov put up a brave front, but I could tell he was thoroughly rattled. "Now. Are you going to tell me how to free the Widows, or am I going to have to rip it out of your head before she takes it?" "You''re going to kill me anyways," Dreykov said with a deep gasp. The pain from the slam must''ve really taken a lot out of him. You know, for a mastermind. He really was fragile. Yelena put her blade to his throat. "After everything you''ve done. You''re lucky we didn''t flay you first." The look in her eyes changed, and she smiled and looked my way. "Why don''t you give him the same treatment you gave me?" "Remind me never to get on your bedside." "Too late." Heh. I lazily raised my hand and joined our minds. I was surprised to find a Mind Palace. A complicated structure filled with multitudes of doors guarded by faceless female silhouettes who charged me immediately. I snapped my fingers, pancaking all of them in an explosion of gore that was manifested on the outside. Dreykov spurted blood from his nose, ears, and mouth. "Great defense. Weak body," I said to Yelena. "I could crack him like an egg, but that''ll likely kill him before we get the answers we''re looking for." Alarms suddenly went off around the facility, and Yelena got a look on her face. "What is it?" "Self-destruct sequence on our Nuclear Core," Dreykov wheezed. "Only I have the passcodes. Leave now without Yelena, and I will shut it down. Don''t, and we all die." Yelena and I shared a look before I turned to him. "What''s stopping me from just coming back when you turn it off?" "The same threat I just made. The Reactor comes back on," he said. "The Widows scattered around the base are under explicit instructions."The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. I looked back at Yelena with a face that clearly communicated my intentions. "You can''t be serious." "I''m fast, but not that fast," I said. "You promised," she spat, removing her blade from his throat. "You shouldn''t believe everything you hear." She swung at me, and I froze her with Telekinesis before plucking the dagger holding Dreykov to the wall back. "So, we have a deal, Mr. Sparda," he said, picking himself up with some strain. I flashed him a bold smile. "No. We don''t." Mind Cloak flared to life alongside Devil Trigger. The world slowed down before Dreykov could react, and I entered his mind and grabbed hold of one of his sentries and searched its mind. It had no information about the codes in particular. But it did hint at the most protected areas of Dreykov''s mind palace. It was Child''s play to track it down, the codes to the formula, and the hypnotizing mist he uses on the Widows and the counteragent. When I was through with him, he was a vegetable, and Yelena was free again. She shot me a dirty look. "Try that again, and I''ll chop off your dick." "You could''ve just asked if you wanted to see it," I said, turning to Dreykov. "Anyway, you got what you wanted. Put him out of his misery while I''m working on the gas and the countdown. There''s a lot of work to do before we can leave this base and very little time. I have a feeling SHIELD is only a few hours behind us." --- Wanda''s POV "I knew the boy had dark forces fueling his powers, but an Outer God was the last thing I would''ve expected," Magneto said in his seat in our tower. After our fight, I''d told him everything against the warnings of my Brother and Rin. Both were adamant that Dante deserved a chance to defend himself, but they didn''t see what I did. The monster had held nothing back. I saw visions of a world between universes and caught part of the conversation between the Outer God pulling Dante''s Strings and his bare Soul¡ªit was like staring into a Sun. It was obvious he was being coerced into some deal, but the Alien, Ulyetrix, pointed out that it didn''t matter as long as the end result was the same. The things he''s bartered for are fundamental pieces of reality that hold your Universe together. If he gains even one of those stones, so does his Patron, and at that point, he''ll be far too powerful to stop. You think he''s impressive now; wait until he can bend reality to his whim with a single thought. Regardless of his intentions, you have to kill that boy before he becomes too powerful. Stone or no stone, Shin has his claws in him, and Dante Sparda is no ordinary Champion. He has no limits. "I''m not ready to write him off just yet," Pietro said. "He''s been good to us, even after everything." "Toad might''ve gotten a little physical, but it''s the cost of operating underground," Mystique said. "We''ve more than repaid our debt. I say we heed the monstrosity''s warnings." Sabertooth grunted, and Night Kat quietly stared on. Pyro shrugged. "Perhaps," Magneto admits, his eyes lingering on Pietro, "but we should also consider his parting words for what they were¡­an attempt to turn us against each other and put us at odds against one of the most powerful assets on the planet. He elevated Pietro from a middle of the rank Alpha level mutant to close to Omega. From what you tell me, your speed is still growing, Pietro?" "Every day," he said with an uncomfortable look on his face. "Imagine how much more powerful we could all be if we underwent the same treatment," he said. "The brotherhood will finally triumph. No longer bowing to humans. No longer fearing their weapons. Even blocked, the new strength, regeneration, and pyrokinesis would guarantee our safety." "You said it yourself, Erik. His powers come from somewhere profoundly dark, and at the cost of all of us, it would seem," Mystique pointed out. "On that basis alone, we should put him down on principle." "I''ve heard similar rhetoric and vitriol from Purists and Haters," Magneto defended. "We should at least hear him out before we decide. Otherwise, we''re not better than the humans." "So, you want to exploit him before you kill him," I said in a small voice. All eyes turned to me. Pietro practically scolded me with his eyes, but the risk had been too great. "She has the right idea," Night Kat said. "Been waiting to pay that pretty boy back for ages now." Sabertooth opened his mouth, but Magneto shut him up before he could voice his opinions. "That is an awfully crude way to describe a multi-faceted issue, young Wanda. I hope we''re right about him. The boy has certainly shown our kind more kindness than most humans these days. He''s closer to us than humans will ever be, but our rules remain very clear. We remove all threats to the flourishing of mutant kind, even if they happen to be one of our own." --- Chapter 178 Fury''s POV Tony Stark sat at my desk, legs crossed, while Captain America paced in the background, and I stood by the window with a glass of whiskey in my hand. "That Antarctican metal couldn''t have come at a better time." Tony Stark said. "I mean, Aliens are one thing. Eldritch Octopus gods and void monstrosities are another. To think Lovecraft had it right?" "The fringe horror writer?" Steve Roger asked. "Well, he didn''t stay on the fringe after he died," Tony said, "and apparently, he''s got the inside track on our extradimensional friend." "How can we know any of the information Wanda shared was real," Rogers asked. "It sounds a bit far-fetched if you ask me." "Ordinarily, I would agree," Tony said, "but it does put a lot of the kid''s power and actions in context. Wanda talked about acquiring some mystical fire, which Jean Grey had in spades. Shortly after their interaction, his fire also changed entirely. And whatever these stones are, he seems to think Fury has one. That''s why he allied with us in the first place. He''s been playing extradimensional Chess while we played Checkers." "How does the demon element fit in?" Steve asked. "It''s anyone''s guess," Tony said. "But I imagine he has to care, considering how far he''s gone to win our trust and help out." "Doesn''t matter if he does," I finally spoke up, sipping liquor from my glass. "We can''t trust another word that comes out of his mouth or expect him to follow through on his promises." "I don''t know about the other part," Tony said, stepping up. "He was on the money with the Arc Reactor, and I can''t tell you how much I''ve learned from his strange bombs. They shouldn''t work or exist, but they do. And don''t get me started on his shields. They''re light years ahead of anything we have available." "I''m not going to entertain a hostile Alien monster just because you''re curious," I snapped, and Tony approached me. "Hostile, probably," Tony said. "Alien hardly. I get it. You don''t trust him, and he''s dangerous, but we know half of the story. Let''s hear him out before we crucify him. And from everything the Wanda girl showed us and the satellite pictures, it''s in our best interest to do that. "And watch as he plots to steal the Tesseract, use us to fight off his enemies, and create more enhanced soldiers?" I asked, veins popping out of my neck. No one who''d gone through the enhancement process talked about it, but I had a hunch that Dante was telling another lie when he said the process was a radical, one-time thing. "I don''t think Tony is wrong about this," Roger said thoughtfully. "We''re missing something big here. He could''ve just gone after the Tesseract if it''s the power he wants. He chose to strike a deal with you, build a relationship with you, and even bring in the Wakandans. There''s a connection between the Demons, his alien overlord, and SHIELD that we''re not seeing. And until we see it, I say we play ball, at least until the demons are taken care of." "I can get on board with that," Tony smiled, looking my way. I reluctantly grunted. They were right, of course. My emotions were getting the better of me. This wouldn''t be my first time dancing with the enemy. "We need the time anyway. We have an effective containment or elimination system to deal with him, except maybe Nuclear Power, which I''m not sure would work." I said. Pinning him down would be another challenge in itself. "It''s like every time he fucking fights, he flushes millions of dollars of R and D down the toilet." "I thought you were making strides with the Sentinel program?" Steve asked. "We are, but not for him," Tony admitted. "They can handle most superhuman threats and the competing armor technology that has been popping up worldwide, just not him. Even if our Anti-metal weapons break his weapons, he has his runes, telekinesis, gravity, Space, time¡­need I go on?" No. He didn''t need to. I always knew this day would come. I hadn''t just realized how difficult it''d be to fight him. Even if we managed to turn everybody on his team, I had doubts. There''s always something with him. Some hidden power, some new weapon. I was determined not to let that happen again. Because if there''s one thing I knew for sure about that kid¡ªhe was not the forgiving kind. I had to authorize it.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Experimentation with Gamma Radiation, Ulyetrix, and Banner''s DNA. Betty and our other scientists had already taken a cursory look at the relationship between both DNAs and gamma radiation and were convinced the secrets to stabilizing Armando''s DNA and making superior supersoldiers lay somewhere in between. I would let Dante have any of the other specimens he asks for. Not just Ulyetrix and his eyes. I could only imagine the horrors he would unleash with them. "You good, Fury?" Tony asked. Before I could answer, the door to my office swung open. It was Natasha with a grave look on her face. "What''s wrong?" "It''s Dante, Sir," she said. "He''s surfaced." "Where?" "Alaska, Sir," she said. "He''s talking to the X-Men." "Call the council," I ordered. "It''s time we sat down." --- I arrived back at the mansion with Yelena in tow, a nuclear reactor in my inventory, alongside several perimeter defense systems, and all of the Widows freshly untethered. We appeared at the edge of the property near a river, where they could have their first candid conversation in years. I left Yelena to pitch me while I dealt with the remaining mutants. Rin must''ve sensed me before I emerged from the forest because many were waiting for me in front of the mansion with various looks, none clearly happy. Scott, in particular, looked disgusted. Beside him stood Professor Hank and Logan. The former was concerned; the latter more stern. And behind them were Bobby and Kitty Pryde. Both looked disgusted, but not quite as much as Scott. Rin surprised me the most. He had a numb look that hid deep pain and anger. And it wasn''t only because holding back the truth eroded trust. I summoned a chair and sat down, crossing my legs. "So, who wants to start?" No one spoke. "No accusations of being a traitor, no righteous anger and indignation for my perceived betrayal." "What do you mean perceived!" Scott yelled. "You lied to us, hid the truth, manipulated Jean, and used us to fight your battles. You''re worse than I could''ve ever imagined." "Allegedly," I corrected teasingly. "Allegedly worse." I couldn''t help myself. "The jig is up, boss," Rin spoke up. "The monster showed me some things, too. A deal you made with your boss that one time you and Jean disappeared for an afternoon." That earned me pointed and shocked looks from everybody. Jeez. That''s what I get for getting a half-decent apprentice. "And what exactly did it show you?" Rin folded his arms. "I heard what you said. You agreed to recruit two people with the potential to reach solar-system levels of power." I took a moment to gather myself and resisted the urge to massage my brow in frustration. Ulyetrix really shat the bed, didn''t he? "I mean this with every offense," I began, "but none of you exactly meet those standards. Only a handful of people on the planet do. And after everything we''ve been through, Rin, did you really think I would do that to you? I fought to get you out of Ulyetrix''s belly, for god''s sake. I killed Lumos for you!" I was a bit heated by the end. "You can accuse me of many things, but caring is not one of them." Rin''s expression softened some, as did Bobby''s and Kitty''s. Guilt was pretty effective when deployed strategically. They seemed willing to give me some grace, but not the rest of the leadership. "So, what do you plan to do then?" Professor Hank asked. "Whether you like to admit it or not, your action affects us deeply." "Frankly, I don''t think you can handle it," I said. "It''s strictly need to know." "Sorry, bub. But that doesn''t work for us," Logan said. "I''ve always felt like this was a dictatorship, and now I understand why," Scott said, stepping forward. "We might''ve been making the decisions, but you''ve been pulling the strings all along." "You could say that about anybody," I refuted. "You think Jean doesn''t know about any of this? And what about T''Chaka, Fury, and the Mutant leader? They have secrets upon secrets, affecting you in ways you cannot even begin to comprehend." "Are you seriously trying to equate keeping some government secret to cutting a deal to Slavery and cutting a deal for reality warping artifacts? Are you ever going to take responsibility for the pain you cause?" "I will. If I''m directly responsible for them," I said. "I was never going to fucking sell out our universe to some Eldritch fuck face. When you have a gun to your soul, you say what you need to say." I paused, letting out a long breath. "If it hadn''t been me, it would''ve been someone else. Shin was always coming for this universe," I said. "You have no fucking clue how lucky all of you are that it was me. His other agents don''t get a choice." "Other agents?" Hank asked, apprehension clear in his voice. "So, now you want to listen," I huffed. "Shin the Avaricious has had his eyes on our universe for a while now and has been sending agents here for a long time. I happen to be one of the stronger ones. That''s why he''s tasked me with gathering a few things for him." "Other agents," Logan said with some anxiety in his voice. "There''s more than one of you?" "Oh yeah," I said, "If Shin''s words are anything to go by, Jean was at the meeting. She can show you if you don''t believe me. They''ve been working in secret for a while now, so who''s to say who they are and what their agenda is?" "This has to be another trick," Scott insisted. "Every word of his mouth has been a lie since we met him. We can''t start trusting him now." "You''re really overestimating me if you think that," I said. "You think I''d go through the trouble of rescuing mutants, building a secret stronghold, and training you because I was whipping up some galaxy-brained betrayal plot? At the very least, I trust that I can''t fool Jean of all people. If she were sure I was a danger to you all in any way, she would''ve run me out of the mansion ages ago." Scott''s expression finally softened some. "I suppose we''ll have to wait and see. Jean should be waking up any day now." I nodded. "That good enough for everybody?" Several nods came, and I finally smiled, turning to Rin. "We are long overdue for a talk," I said. At first, there was no response, but then I saw apprehension. "I''m not sure I''m quite up for that, boss." His eyes didn''t meet mine. "Oh," I muttered. "Okay then. I suppose it''s time I tended to our guests. Logan, do you mind escorting me." -- Chapter 179 Yelena POV ¡°I will not leave my future in the hands of a demon,¡± Petra said, her sharp voice cutting through the clearing. She was 5 foot 11 with a figure cut from Greek marble. She was every man¡¯s wet dream and every woman¡¯s envy. She had been Dreykov¡¯s right-hand man and the unofficial leader of the Widows before Dante and I appeared. Petra claimed to be just as much of a victim as the other girls. I obviously didn¡¯t believe her, but Dante didn¡¯t poke at her story, surprisingly. My gut told me she was hiding something, and the Demon Prince probably knew what, which confirmed my theory that this was some kind of test to gauge my conflict resolution skills. ¡°From everything you¡¯ve told us. He has the power and means to be far more dangerous than Dreykov. Even entertaining him is a risk.¡± Several widows nodded, understandably apprehensive of Dante Sparda, as was I. But I knew things they didn¡¯t. This was our best chance¡­our only chance, really, to survive. ¡°We¡¯ll be in even greater danger if we do nothing,¡± I said. ¡°Just because we left the red room doesn¡¯t mean it left us. We¡¯re wanted in nearly every country and have rap sheets longer than any reasonable government entity will forgive without major sacrifices. This is the best deal we¡¯re ever going to get.¡± ¡°What if we don¡¯t want a deal?¡± Petra asked. ¡°What if we want to become our own protection? We still have the contacts, the information caches, and the resources Dreykov had. We should go into business for ourselves. Grow our organization from the ground up. Become so powerful not even SHIELD would dare cross us.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll be dead in a year without Dreykov¡¯s connections and government assurances,¡± I said. ¡°We can restore them,¡± Petra argued. ¡°A few widows have nurtured connections in the Kremlin.¡± She finished with a sultry twist of her lips. ¡°Pussy can¡¯t buy us diplomatic immunity, Visas, and the armed contracts we¡¯ll need to survive.¡± ¡°Maybe yours won¡¯t,¡± Petra smirked, and a few Widows followed suit. ¡°You were always lousy at seduction. Couldn¡¯t get past the drama of it all. It seems you¡¯ve improved.¡± I snorted. ¡°Accuse me all you want; it doesn¡¯t change the mathematics of it all. Even if we all go underground and do everything right, there are too many cameras, insufficient resources, and intelligence. All those ¡®connections¡¯ you have in the Kremlin will dry up as soon as they hear of Dreykov¡¯s death. Meanwhile, we have the biggest opportunity we¡¯re ever going to get staring us in the face, and we¡¯re too afraid to entertain it. I¡¯m not asking you to trust him. I¡¯m saying work with him. After that, we can strike out on our own and work with whoever we want, with restored bodies and super soldier physiques.¡± The Widows exchanged pointed looks as if in some kind of Telepathic communication, and Petra twisted her face. She knew the argument was lost but gave voice to the concerns that they still had. ¡°What about assurances?¡± Petra asked. ¡°It¡¯s stupid to do business with a man with this much advantage over us. And these enhancements¡­ have you actually seen somebody who successfully gone through the transformation?¡± ¡°Great questions, Petra,¡± I heard a voice say from behind the tree. It was Dante who had switched back to the same style of oversized clothes he had on when I first laid eyes on him.Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. I squinted, and somebody blurted it out before I gave words to my suspicions. ¡°It¡¯s the Man Beast,¡± a girl whispered. ¡°Not very nice,¡± Dante tutted. ¡°He prefers Logan or Wolverine, whichever is easiest. But yeah. Slap an entire foot of height and 30 pounds of muscles on an already impressive man, and you get this. Logan 2.0.¡± He said with a dramatic wave of his arms at Logan. Logan let out one of his famous grunts. The women started to get a measure of him, some more sultry than others, but the evidence was undeniable. ¡°Doesn¡¯t hurt his chances with the ladies, too,¡± he chuckled. ¡°And in case you¡¯re in doubt. Please, do the thing.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not your damned Show dog,¡± he snapped at Dante, who didn¡¯t react. ¡°Come on, Logan, we talked about this,¡± he said. ¡°The operations need to happen, and unless you want to have that conversation with the kids, world-class mercenaries are our best bet.¡± ¡°And what if they go bad?¡± he asked, glaring holes at the girls. They returned the favor, but he didn¡¯t seem bothered by it. ¡°Come on. You¡¯re the last person to judge someone because of their past, especially if they weren¡¯t in total control,¡± he said, dropping his flippant tone. Logan didn¡¯t concede, however, and turned his glare to him. Dante sighed, raising his hand in mock defeat. ¡°Fine. I¡¯m creating a troupe of super-powered soldiers, after all. It¡¯s only right I put some limitation on them,¡± he tapped his chin thoughtfully before his demeanor shifted. The air grew heavier and hotter, and it became much harder to organize my thoughts. ¡°Leave ordinary people out of your extracurriculars. Don¡¯t play with their lives, and definitely don¡¯t kill them. Break these rules, and you die. There will be no negotiations, mercy, or begging. I will find you wherever you are on the planet and kill you. If what I¡¯m asking is too much for you, then leave now.¡± No one moved. I didn¡¯t know if it was because of the fear, blind confidence that they¡¯d be able to manipulate Dante, or genuine interest. We were all covered in sweat, and I swallowed nervously. I¡¯ve seen Dante do all sorts of impossible things, but I¡¯ve never quite internalized just how big of a threat he was until now. He flipped again, all smiles as he spoke. ¡°Obviously, I¡¯ll want to keep tabs on you at all times so that I can enforce the rule, but it will be nothing invasive. Just a Ring you can never take off,¡± he said. ¡°But in exchange for that, you get¡­¡± he gestured to Logan, who pointed his fist at the Lake opposite to us. His claws shot out and lit up like a Christmas tree before expelling a beam of concentrated fire into the water. A wave of superheated steam rolled in fast, but Dante raised his hand and sent a wave of wind at it. It collided with the wall of steam and summarily snuffed it out. ¡°Well, you may never quite reach his level, but this is in the cards for all of you. You also get accelerated healing, which works retroactively, and a million bucks.¡± After those words, the mood shifted. No explicit words were shared between widows, but the verbal confirmation of my promise practically guaranteed their compliance. The power didn¡¯t hurt, though, despite the threats. ¡°Well, at least for those of you who get to stay,¡± he added. Petra frowned, echoing the thoughts of most Widows. ¡°What do you mean? I thought this was a done deal. You wanted the Widows. Yes?¡± ¡°But do the Widows want me or what I can give them?¡± Dante asked. ¡°You¡¯re all very capable, but most are not trustworthy. You¡¯d run away the first chance you get. Some of you are even thinking about it right now. That is why all of you must undergo a rigorous mental assessment before you can undergo the procedure.¡± ¡°And give you open access to our minds and secrets?¡± she protested. ¡°You¡¯re already letting me transform your body,¡± he said casually. ¡°What¡¯s one more violation between business partners.¡± Petra and a few other Widows scowled, and I had to step in to stop the arrogant idiot from pissing away this opportunity. ¡°The girls raise a fantastic point,¡± I said. ¡°We need to trust each other if we¡¯re ever going to fight together.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll settle for grudging respect and common interest,¡± he said. ¡°The mind-scan is non-negotiable unless you¡¯re willing to comb through the widows and trim the fat yourself personally?¡± My eyes widened. That son of a bitch. The Widows turned their animosity my way, and I glared at Dante. He took my silence for an answer with a clap. ¡°No weak links, lairs, or double-agents. The final list should be a third as large, barring some major miracle,¡± he said, producing a phone. ¡°Call the number in there. Somebody should be giving you a ride to a safe location I¡¯ve arranged in the mountains. I will join you shortly.¡± Chapter 180 Dante I appeared in front of SHIELD HQ with a snap, to much alarm and panic. Dozens of soldiers came pouring out, and I spotted several snipers shift into positions on rooftops. I raised one hand and spoke loudly. "I''m coming in, Fury," I said to a camera. "Still using the conference room?" Silence. A ''Yes'' came from a speaker inside the building, and I vanished again, reappearing inside the conference room. The room was certainly not packed but fuller than I expected. Logan, Scott, and Beast were on a video call, along with T''Chaka, while Fury, Captain America, and Tony Stark were settled in, mid-conversation. Without activating my Telepathy, I already sensed it. A mental blocker. I caught Fury looking at me and saw that his eyes were stone cold. In fact, all of his face was. I''d never seen him so focused, so locked in. "So, she told you." "What happened in Siberia?" "I did," I said. "I lost a bet to Natasha a while back and promised to save her sister. So, I did. There were a bunch of Widows there as well, all under some mind control, so I helped them as well. It was the moral thing to do." "Moral," Fury scoffed. "And where are they now?" "Safe," I said. "Seeing as the United States government and half of the world want them. It was the smart thing to do." "You''re lying," Fury said. "Or at least keeping things from us." I scoffed. "Look who''s talking. You have an entire R and D department devoted to capturing and killing me. And don''t get me started on his new-age suppressors for mutants. Let''s not forget stealing from the Wakandans and ignoring the widow''s plight and your little Prometheus project. How''s Armando feeling these days?" Tony and Steve Rogers barely reacted, having likely been read into the secrets; neither did T''Chaka. It was Magneto who seemed the most expressive. He looked vindicated almost, looking at me as if saying, ''I told you so.'' I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. "Looks like Wanda''s visions aren''t the only things you''ve been sharing. Still, I''m surprised he had the balls to tell you. And that some of you are still here." I looked at Steve and Tony Stark. "The demons need to go," Tony said. "Then, we can go digging through Fury''s closet." "That how you feel too, Cap?" I asked Rogers, who met my eyes and spoke with more resolve than I expected. "I don''t see eye-to-eye with Fury on most things, but how to deal with you is not one," he said. "Lines need to be drawn in the sand. We need to know if you''re with us or¡­" "Against you?" I chuckled. "You''re the ones holding the secret meetings behind my back. Where''s the trust? Hmm." My comment got an eye roll out of Tony Stark. "I can see that whatever Wanda told you has you shaken. So, I''ll answer your questions. What do you want to know?" "The deal. Tell us everything you remember." "Didn''t Wanda already tell you?" "We want to hear your side." I gave a non-committal shrug as I reviewed everything that happened with Shin but with certain changes. I told them I was always Dante Sparda. I told them about the deal I made under the threat of Annihilation, the concessions I made to ensure things don''t get too out of control, the agents walking around, and why Quellitrax and his offspring are after me. "So, you see, none of this is technically my fault," I said. "The only thing I''m guilty of is making the best of a bad situation. If anything, you should be thankful. I''ve been busting my ass off since day one. Most people would''ve sold you out by now." "How magnanimous of you," Fury said, deadpan. "See, what did I tell you, Fury? The kid is not all bad," Tony said. "I still have a hard time wrapping my head around the super-secret agents, and the people trading is kinda worrying, but everything else lines up with what the Witch Kid told us."Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Rogers nodded in agreement, but he still had some reservations. "Between SHIELD, The Wakandans, and Magneto, we should''ve at least heard of some of these agents. It''s hard to miss a powerhouse of your stature." "Yes, it is," I said. "Did you think I would''ve put Shin''s name out there if I had much choice? The squid forced my hand, and Shin will probably come after me hard because of this, but you asked for the truth, so here it is," I grinned. "I can''t imagine how much havoc he could wreak with total control of my body." "What do you mean?" Rogers asked, clear trepidation in his voice. "Uh, well," I started. "I''m only a tenth as powerful as I could be if I were willing to sacrifice much more of my soul." "A tenth?" Magneto gasped, looking at me incredulously. Wolverine''s eyes bulged, and even Beast shifted in his seat. Fury remained stoic, and Tony whistled. "Over a certain percentage, I lose full autonomy of my actions. Most of what I have is because of what I am. Half-demon, half-angel." "Angel?" T''Chaka spoke up. "Like the Christian God?" "No," I said. "My mother was from a different Reality entirely. The point is, there''s no telling how much these agents have sacrificed¡ª" "And there''s no telling how much you would as well if push comes to shove¡­is that what you''re trying to say?" Fury asked. "You know me so well," I flashed him a Cheshire grin. "So, any more questions?" Indeed, there were. Tons of them. Magneto seemed awfully interested in the process I''d done for Pietro, as was Fury. I told them that it was a costly process, and could not be done without great preparations and consequences. They also asked about how I intended to pay Shin since his reclaiming my soul wouldn''t be in their best interest. I told them I was working on a solution. "As long as that solution doesn''t include the Tesseract, because you''re never going to get it,¡± Fury said. "Never is such a strong word," I said casually. "It could permanently sever the connection between Limbo and our world. Solve the demon problem altogether." Fury narrowed his eyes. "And you could hand it to the god monster to save your hide." "If you think I''d do something that myopic, you don''t know me very well," I said. "You''re right," he said, his voice oozing venom. "We don''t." I supposed I couldn''t blame Fury for his reaction. He was taking his well. After all, I lied and schemed behind his back from the moment I met him. I raised my hand in mock surrender. "Alright. At the very least, do we get paid? I mean, Rin and I risked life and limb, and I want my money and monster parts." Fury exchanged a look with Tony before he nodded. "We will credit your account as discussed and give you half of the monster parts, but Ulyetrix''s body is off limits." I raised a brow. "You can¡¯t really dispose of him or use him to fashion weapons like I can. Don''t tell me you''re trying to experiment with his DNA?" "Don''t be ridiculous," Fury said. "It''s disappearing into our Vault, where all of the darkest artifacts shield has uncovered over the years end up." "If you say so," I shrugged. I was expecting Fury to pull something like this. That didn''t mean I wouldn''t get the Alien¡¯s eyes and the Tesseract in the end. There had been no overt threats or promises, but I knew he was gunning for me now. "What about Lumos''s body, though?" I asked. "I''m not budging on that." Fury had a genuine look of surprise that spoke volumes. "You don''t know where he is." "His body vanished moments after you did," Rogers explained. "We just assumed." "Could he still be alive?" T''Chaka asked. "Not possible," I said, "it''s probably some Teleportation artifact that whisked his body away after the fact. Either way, the demons know now, and they''ll be coming for us." I turned to Tony, looking at the glow beneath his chest. "Seems like my idea panned out. I''ll be stopping by your mansion later to get the reactors you promised, and don''t try to set me up with that weak shit. I''ll know." We likely had further business to discuss. This version of Tony was more down the middle than I expected, but it was a welcome change. I wondered how far he''d come with his AI. I turned to Fury next. "Now that the formalities are handled, let''s discuss the demons. They''re the big threat on the horizon, and they''ll be rapidly closing in now that somebody important is dead. I want to take point." I went into the details about my plan to hit all the relay stations with Yao, Rin, Jean, and a few high-ranking sorcerers in tow. "What if Domina and this Enrique guy show up?" he asked. "I have a trap for both of them," I said. "Rin and Jean will handle them while I continue with the mission. If we''re successful, we should be able to stop the Cambion and other demons from teleporting in." "And what about the demons stuck at our side," he asked. "Most of them should be drawn to the destruction of their relay station. We get them all in one spot and pull the trigger," I said. "As for the stragglers, it will give your people something to do. The plan should buy us at least a year until they can invade us again." Fury''s face took on a complicated expression. I could tell he didn''t trust me, but I wasn''t giving him much choice. He had to agree or look like a contrarian, especially with how forth-coming I was being. However, I had no delusions that we were both approaching an inevitable confrontation. Hopefully, I''d have Six Eyes and be several times stronger before then. "So, what do you say?" "I''d like some of Magneto''s people in the mix, and aerial support is never bad," Fury hemmed. "But I otherwise think it''s a decent plan." "Some of the members of the X-Men have also insisted on being present," Beast said over the video call. "They feel like they''ve not been pulling their weight." "Does some members include Scott?" Beast offered a tight smile, which I waved away. He wanted to keep an eye on me, which was fine. I couldn''t care less. I waved. "It¡¯s fine. Since all of our bases are covered, I''d be collecting my bounty, grabbing Colossus, and be on my way." The next hour or so were some of the tensest of my life. SHIELD''s people watched me like a hawk as I walked through the New York headquarters for what was likely the last time. I stuffed the thousands of refrigerated mutated carcasses into my inventory before swinging by the holding cell and grabbing Colossus. He was naturally not too glad to see me but was far less aggressive. Chapter 181 "Seems like the alone time has done your attitude some good," I said casually, and he snorted at me. "Just get me out of here," Colossus snapped, and I shrugged, using Dimensional jump to transport us back to the mansion. I left immediately again, heading over to Jean''s. She was still asleep, but her mind wasn''t. She wrapped me up in a tight hug. "Oh my god! You figured it out!" "At death''s door, but yeah!" I chuckled at the memory. "And that''s not all that''s different about you. You''re now like me. A full psychic. Telepathy and Telekinesis." She jabbed her finger at my chest playfully. "Trying to replace me?" "Come on," I laughed. "I''ll need a few more years of serious practice before that can happen." "Hey!" She slapped my shoulder playfully and suddenly twisted her lips, sensing my inner turmoil. "What happened?" I shook my head. Of course, she figured it out immediately. "They know," I said, telling her everything. I didn''t hold back about the isekai thing, either. I wasn''t expecting her reaction. She laughed and then laughed some more at my surprise. "Of course, I knew. The Phoenix told me. I''m still a bit hurt that you didn''t trust me enough. But to be fair, it isn''t something you can just casually bring up." I nodded. "I can''t exactly tell the girl I like that her world and her friends are fiction in mine." Jean''s face lit up. "So. You finally admit it. You do like me?" "I just called your world fiction, and that''s what you choose to focus on?" "The Phoenix said our lives are all fiction in some universes, and vice versa," she said. "The Multiverse is infinite." "Huh. That makes sense. And it''s kinda cool that you have a multiverse-spanning entity whispering in your ear." Jean''s smile waned a bit. "It certainly takes some getting used to, but yeah. Me and her are closer than ever." "Well, I''m happy for you," I smiled. "Kind of wished I had the same deal with Shin, but we''d sooner rip each other souls out before we see eye to eye on something." "I wish I could help you kick him out somehow," she said. "You already are," I said. "The Phoenix promised me a favor. I just have to wait until she''s satisfied with my performance. Any update on that, by the way?" "She''s warming up to you," Jean teased. "We both are." "Would a date in, say, France help at all?" "Oh yeah." She wrapped her hand around my waist. "There''s this pastry place I read about last week. It''d be perfect for our first date." "It has to be after we take care of Domina and Enrique," I said. "What about Lumos?" "Oh. He''s dead," I said a little bit too casually. She slapped me on the shoulder. "Cut his head off after my power-up. "Way to bury the lead," she laughed. "Was it intense, drawn out, exhilarating!" "No¡­ not really," I said. "A lot''s happened since we last talked. Let me show you." I opened my mind to her for the first time without fear of judgment or criticism, and she poured over every memory since we departed up until this very second. "Wow. You''ve been busy," she said. "I had to recalibrate, take several arrows out of Fury''s quiver, and draw the attention to me," I said. "It will make the changes you and Rin are going through all more surprising." Jean hummed. "Telling him about the soul contract was a gamble, but I think it was the right choice. It should make them really rethink their positions. Talking about the deal you made should help you draw in Magneto as you planned. That should make a dent in your soul debt," she said grimly, and I nodded.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. While I would''ve preferred to have the Phoenix bail me out, that ship sailed when I made a deal with Shin. The Phoenix agreed to no interventions, so that meant I had to hand over basically everything I promised. The planetary level souls¡ªBelasco''s first Born and Magneto were my picks¡ªthree infinity stones, a hell dimension, and murder Belasco. The favor I was planning to ask the Phoenix for was to strip Shin''s agents of all power and ban them from this dimension. But that could only happen after my debt was settled. "So, you don''t feel some type of way about me sacrificing him," I double-checked with her, looking deep into her eyes. "I''m more worried about how Rin is handling all of this," she said. "He''s been a bit distant," I admitted, "but I''m not overly worried. I''m sure talking to you might help a bit." "It might. Or maybe giving him a break from all of this would be smarter. He''s only fifteen still." "Better yet, I should just ask him what he wants." Betty I looked up from my charts, and the door to my lab hissed open to reveal Natasha. She was a knockout beauty with a stunning figure and a perpetual smirk on her face as if she knew some secret the rest of us were missing. Only something was different about her today. There was a certain look in her eyes, and her smirk wasn''t quite as wide. "What''s wrong?" I asked with more panic than I intended. "Did something happen to Bruce?" "No," she smiled, popping back to her former self. "He''s still decompressing in the desert. The Sorcerer Supreme says he''ll need a few more days before he''s back to his old self." I shook my head. "I still can''t get used to the fact that magic is real¡­With the DNA I''m studying, I suppose it''s not that far of a stretch considering what it came from." "You''ll get used to it," Natasha said. "It''s part of being a high-ranking SHIELD agent. You see it all. The good and bad." My brows furrowed. "Now I know something is really wrong. This is the first time I''ve ever heard you been remotely critical of SHIELD." Natasha''s smile grew tighter. "I didn''t exactly bad mouth the company. I was just being honest." "Exactly," I said, and Natasha''s lips curved. "Quite the lip on you, doctor," she teased. "Thanks," I said. "So, do you want to talk about it?" "I received some¡­news." "That bad, huh?" "Not necessarily¡­ It''s complicated," she said in a tone that made it clear she was done with the topic. "So, what brings you down here?" "Fury approved the research," Natasha answered, suddenly businesslike. "We are to begin immediately." "Oh," I said, suddenly sullen. It was the news I''d been hoping to hear. After everything that happened with Dad, Bruce, the North Pole, and the bodies of the soldiers we recovered from the incident, it was clearer than ever that we needed some type of effective response team against the strange and supernatural. Still, the lengths we''ve had to go to was worrying. Nobody had been hurt yet. But experimenting with Alien DNA, Gamma Radiation, and Armando¡­it sounded like the formula for a Frankenstein''s monster. Yet, I could not stop. "Are you okay?" Natasha asked. "Hmm. Fine. I''m just thinking about how hard the next round of tissue collection will be on Armando. He takes it all with a smile," I said. "It''s¡­concerning." "Would you rather he not?" she asked. "I suppose not," I mumbled. Armando was in the training room when we found him sparring with Kurt. His evolutions had gotten more pronounced and stable over time. He could instantly remember Adaptations that his body has enacted whenever he''s faced with a similar challenge, and Kurt Wagner''s teleportation was something he was very familiar with. He sprouted several eyes that appeared all over his body, and his skin gained a bluish-wispy coloration. They were supposed to interfere with Kurt''s teleportation once they were in contact, but they did nothing to protect him from the sword Kurt had picked up. With an explosion of neon, Scott appeared behind him with his blade drawn, striking at his Achilles heel. Armando hopped over it, his skin warping from the waist down into biological metal. He descended with a kick that Kurt barely dodged, whipping out with his tail and holding a knife at his midsection. Armando leaned away from the hit, his fist wrapping up Kurt''s tail and yanking him close. Kurt tackled him, dagger in his free hand, cutting a line down Armando hand. More of his body reacted, turning to Bio-metal, giving Kurt the opening he needed. He teleported them into the air, then teleported himself to safety. Armando hit the floor with a loud crash, and he stood up, fully erect, body shimmering with bio-metal. Clint, who I''d barely noticed, clapped as he came to the center of the room. "Good start, both of you," he said. "Kurt. You need to work on being less obvious. And Armando, your switches have improved, but you need to get them faster. They''re your greatest strengths. Lean into it." Armando had a serene look on his face and bowed. "Thank you for the instruction." "I''m just glad I got you this time," Kurt said, sheathing two of his daggers and his sword. "Now. I''ll have to cook up with something new." "And yet you manage each time," he said. "Doesn''t make it any easier," Kurt quipped. "Luckily, I''ll have some time before our next round. The Doctor is here." Armando turned to me, unblinking. "Is it time, Doctor?" "Yes¡­" I said slowly. Armando followed us back into the lab, and we sat him down in a chair with dozens of high-speed lasers, high-frequency blades, and needles. The collection process, as you''d imagine, was horrifically difficult for both of us. Armando adapted to the different collection vectors far too quickly, so we had to learn to overload his mutation so that we could collect samples from him with any measure of success. Armando claims to barely feel any of the pain, but do something enough times, and it does chip at you. "I''ll try to make this process as quickly as possible." He nodded from his spot in the chair. "What changed?" he asked suddenly. He wasn''t one for small talk. I blinked, looking in Natasha''s direction. "We recently collected DNA that we suspect will allow us to complete our project." "How much do you need?" he asked. "A lot," I answered truthfully. "It''s new territory. We don''t know what we''ll find." He nodded. "Then take as much as you need. I can handle it." "No¡­this is¡ªwe can''t abuse your generosity, Armando." "I knew what I was signing up for when I agreed to the experiments," he said. "It''s what she would''ve wanted." My heart ached. He spoke of her often. He lost an old girlfriend to Stryker''s schemes and missions. She was apparently the life of the group. All the Thunderbolts I''ve questioned loved her. "A new generation must rise if the Thunderbolts and other mutants will ever chance at a normal life," he said. "I''m only doing my part." "That''s brave of you," Natasha said resolutely. My thanks didn''t come so easily. Words hung in my throat. The necessity of it all didn''t make any of this easier. Chapter 182 Armando''s POV Lauren was waiting for me when I returned to the common area. She had a big smile on her face, still dressed in snowwear from the mission. "How was Antarctica?" I asked. "Duller without you there," she said, wrapping me up in a tight hug and kissing me deeply. My lips spread slightly. "The feeling is mutual." She lifted up her sniper case and made her way towards her quarters. I followed behind her. "How was training?" "The ''skills'' are doing wonders," I said. I had been a bit skeptical when she approached me with a plan to save all of us and downright dismissive when she started talking about a god, but my tune changed when she showed me her skills and offered me a few of my own. She''d called it a bloodline. A race change that conferred a lot of benefits, the least being video game-like skills. It felt deeper, like a fundamental shift akin to awakening a mutation again. It unlocked two potent skills to start me off. Adaptive Combat Instinct and Shapeshifting. The former was responsible for my growing combat prowess, and the latter helped with the form changes, partial transformation, and recalling Adaptations. "Good," she smiled. "You''ll be ready for him in a few months now that we have the Eldritch DNA and samples of both Vibranium sources." My brows furrowed in thought, and Lauren caught it. "I get it. You''re scared, but you''re doing the right thing. The mission all but confirmed the Prophecy," she said, holding my hand. "The telepath girl saw it. He''s betrayed the Earth for power. It won''t be the demons that take us out or the machines. It will be Dante Sparda. And you''re the only one who can defeat him." "I know," I said. "It''s just that he saved our lives and is a friend of Kurt''s. It''s taking some time to adjust." Lauren squeezed my hands. "You''ll get there." --- Dante I reappeared at the mansion with a crack and frowned as I stepped out of my study and scanned the building. There was no sign of Rin. My perception picked up on everybody except him. I appeared in the common room where Bobby and Kitty were in the middle of a conversation. Both jumped when they saw me. "How''s it hanging," I smiled. "Good?" Kitty answered uncertainly. It was barely perceptible, but she was trembling. I terrified her. "Where is Rin?" I asked. "He''s in New York," Bobby answered. "On a date with Wanda, I think." "Wanda¡­" I murmured darkly. I didn''t blame the Scarlet Witch for what she did, but the situation still upset me. Some part of me wanted to thank her for the exposure, but the suddenness of it all still irked me. I was just hitting my stride. The plan was going well, and now this. I pulled out my phone and dialed Rin''s number. Before it went through, a text message buzzed in. I''ll do it. A smile blossomed on my face. It was from Banner. He was in. I rang Rin several times, only to have my call go straight to voicemail. Eventually, I got sick of calling and decided to portal into New York My Astral wing stretched out, freshly formed, and I took the city in. I sped up, breaking the sound barrier as I activated my Telepathy. I started from the residential tower that the Brotherhood kept and circled out, searching for them. Several times, people pointed at me as I flew all over. I found Wanda''s mental signature before I found Rin''s. They were seated in a Diner, sharing breakfast, when I teleported into the building. A waiter nearly dropped her tray, and a girl jumped, nearly bumping into her boyfriend. I used Telekinesis to prevent both accidents, drawing even more attention to me. There was a lot of whispering and pointing until somebody came out and said it. "You''re that demon kid, right?" I didn''t respond, looking straight at Rin. Wanda stared at me, her expression a mix of apprehension and anger. Considering what happened a few days ago, I thought it best not to connect to his mind suddenly. I pulled out my phone instead and sent a text message. Meet me on the roof and don''t bring her. I vanished with a pop, reappearing on the roof of the building, and Rin came up with me with Wanda in tow. My jaw tightened when I saw her. "What did you want to talk about?" he asked. No Boss this time around. "I should''ve trusted you," I started with a flat-out apology. Bullshitting and grandstanding won''t work with him. He deserved the best from me. "You''ve been by my side since Hydra, and you should''ve heard the full truth from me, not some doctored version from your girlfriend." "Don''t you dare," Wanda said. "I saw you." "You saw whatever the Alien showed you. Was most of it true? Yes. Is it missing a lot of context? Yes." "I could say the same thing about you," she said. "He told me what you said to them when you got back. There''s no guarantee you''re telling the whole truth either."Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. "True," I admitted. "I guess it''s just a question of trust. Have I betrayed it so thoroughly that you cannot believe me anymore?" Rin''s lips quivered. "I do believe you, boss, or at least I''m trying to." I smiled. He called me boss. "So. What do I got to do to set things right between us." Rin looked at Wanda''s way before he started speaking. "I''d like you to stop treating me like a kid. I went into the deep end with the Alien squid fight, and I handled that Shadow ninja guy well enough before you stepped in." "He was about to bisect you," I pointed out. "That''s not the point," Rin glared at me, and I raised my hands in surrender. "Alright. Alright" "I just want to handle some missions on my own. Maybe help out in New York. I hear the fighting between the mutants and the Purifiers is really getting insane. I don''t want to be in your shadow for the rest of my life." Harsh but fair. I stuffed my hands in my pockets and looked at him for a long moment. "Anything else?" He bunched his hands. "I also want Stryker. You promised me I could have him all those months ago. And you''ve done nothing about it." I blinked, giving it some thought. Nobody on our crew was vulnerable to the Sentinels or any other hell beast Fury could cook up. And even if they were, I could end Fury''s budding Sentinel project if I so chose. "I''ll drain Trask and trade him for Stryker," I said. "But it has to be after we deal with the demon threat. Fury and I aren''t understandably on the best terms now." Rin nodded reluctantly but added one last amendment that shocked me. "If it''s possible¡­I want us to use Unity on each other." My eyebrow shot up, and my aura swelled out. It had evolved again. It was now a mixture of my Angel and demon powers intermingled. It sent Wanda staggering, and Rin froze. "Sorry," I said quickly, pulling back my aura. "I hadn''t meant¡­" "It''s fine," he said. "I didn''t tell her what it was." "And what''s stopping her from looking into your mind anyways and ripping out the answers?¡± ¡°I¡¯d never!¡± Wanda shot me a look, and Rin held her hand. ¡°I trust her,¡± he said firmly, ¡°kind of like how you trust Jean. I scoffed. ¡°If it makes you feel any better my mental shield is stronger than ever. ¡°Is it now?¡± The last time I checked, his shield was in its infancy. It was potent against smaller threats and amateurs, but against a true prodigy and future witch like her, I wasn''t sure even I could hold out indefinitely. Scanning his mind changed my mind somewhat, though. The shield was, in fact, robust. Far more robust than mine was when I first obtained Telepathy. My eyes wandered from Rin to Wanda and settled back on Rin. "Just be careful." He nodded but still looked at me expectantly. "Yes," I said. "Obviously, don''t expect it to happen anytime soon, but it''s something I will definitely visit in the future after you''ve adjusted to your recent bump in power and have squeezed every ounce of potential out of your body. I''m not just holding out on you because I feel like it. Giving you hard skin is one thing. This might open you up to Shin." "Oh," Rin swallowed. "Bet you didn''t think of that," I said. "I know you''re desperate for some kind of balance or certainty, but pumping yourself full of power you can barely control will help neither of us." I pulled out my phone and texted Tony Stark. He replied immediately. He was in a penthouse he was renting in New York and would love to meet me. "I need to get going. I have another meeting to get to, and you two have a date to finish." With a loud crack, space split open in front of me, and I slipped through, reappearing on the balcony in front of Stark''s apartment. I floated there, held up by Telekinesis, and placed a call. Tony picked up. "I''m outside." "Then tell the doorman to buzz you in," he said. "I left your name at the desk." "Look outside," I said. Tony¡¯s eyes widened as he stepped out of his office. "Well. That''s not something you see every day," he said. "Jarvis. Get the door, will you?" "Of course, Master Stark," said an animated voice from somewhere deep inside the house. "I really appreciate you not just barging in here," Tony said, walking over to the bar. He poured himself a glass and another for me. "I feel like I know you so well, yet this is the first time we''re meeting one-on-one." "I could say the same thing about you. Playboy Philanthropist turned warmonger and weapon''s developer for an autocratic government agency." "Autocratic?" Stark chuckled. "Come on. We aren''t in a 6 v 1 meeting. You don''t actually believe that." "I didn''t," I said, "until Fury started experimenting with things you know should be left damn well alone. Do you know what it took to actually put that bastard down?" I joined him at the bar. "I have some idea," he admitted. "Most of the satellite photos are blurs, but we''ve been able to piece it all together." "If Fury succeeds with his little Prometheus project, you''ll have another Quellitrax on the loose, only one we might not have the firepower to bring down." Tony smirked. "With how quickly you''re growing. I have complete faith in you." I rolled my eyes. "All I can do is say my piece. What you decide to do afterward is entirely up to you." "You''re right about that," Tony said, taking a sip. "So, why don''t we do something about that." I raised a brow. "What do you have in mind?" "Another deal," he said. "I saw that armor of yours in action, and I have done the calculations. With the speeds you were moving at and the power of his hits, even Vibranium would''ve cracked. And it''s not made out of that stuff you had the other soldiers carrying, either. This¡­is something new." Leave it to Tony Stark to figure it all out. "My payment first. Then we can talk." "Of course," he said, setting his glass down. He walked over to the back wall and punched in several codes into something that looked like a mirror. A laser line flashed out and scanned his retina before the frame holding the mirror swung open, revealing a full-body length Safe. Tony reached into the upper compartment, pulling a case. The door shut as he walked away from it, and he set it in front of me. My Predator''s Gaze scanned it, and I sensed the electrical energy pouring out of it. It was like staring into several reactors. "These will do nicely." "So. The deal?" I vanished the case with a wave. "The metal from my armor is far too heavy for you," I said, switching into My Twilight Sentinel armor. The ground quivered slightly, and Tony''s eyes fixed on the various joints, the dull hum of energy, and the dozens of runes. "Tons of enchantments go into keeping this thing light enough for even me to use. You won''t be able to build a portable exoskeleton armor with this, much less any mobile machinery, for that matter. You''re better off with a lighter alloy I''ve been working on. It uses Vibranium as a base, paired with some Adamantium and a shit ton of my energy." "Did you say Adamantium?" Tony sputtered. "How did you even...You made it, didn''t you? That explains the weight." I nodded. "So, how much metal do you need exactly?" "Enough to build several suits," he said. "That can be arranged," I said, "but you''ll have to call me in to do the final casting. These metals are not very malleable once set." "I gathered," Tony said. "So, what do you want in exchange for a virtually indestructible suit of armor?" "Schematics to your Iron Man suit projects outfitted with a version of Jarvis that answers only to me." Tony''s eyes went wide, and he took a step back. "That''s¡ªI never told anyone about the Iron Man project, and I always have a dampener nearby. There''s no way you could''ve known." I smiled. "Come on, Tony. You really didn''t think a mental blocker could stop me, did you? So, the deal. Are you game?" Tony visibly cycled through a myriad of emotions before he settled on blind confidence. He laughed. "Fuck it. I''ll show you my secrets if you show me yours. I want to study your energy. I want something you''ve enchanted filled with a ton of it and access to more should I need it." I looked at him sideways. I could''ve said no, but curiosity got the better of me. I was excited to see what he''d come up with. I switched out the armor for my Skinwalker suit, which fit me snugly and produced a slab of unused Twilight Vibranium. I stepped into the air with Telekinesis and shifted into Devil Trigger with as much control as I could manage. I shook the apartment, but I didn''t knock out Tony Stark. Several Tiny Adamantium blades appeared from my inventory as the slab heated from the inside out from Nether fire. The knives ran up and down the brick, covering it in layers and layers of storage runes. When I was done, the brick had the capacity to hold 2000 AE and DE, surprising even me. Maybe it was time I revisited my bomb designs. I could do so much better now. The energy flowed out of me in a flash, and I switched to Angel Ascension and did the same. The entire process took me less than 3 minutes. I stepped down from the air and floated him the chunk of Vibranium. "Do we have a deal?" Tony eyed the slab greedily. "We most certainly do." I left his home with Jarvis''s Source code, schematics to the Iron Man armor, and enough Arc reactors to flatten a city. Chapter 184 I teleported to Antarctica next. Some SHIELD agents still mulled about collecting body parts and retrieving chunks of Vibranium. I scanned the minds of the miners and teleported to one of the deserted locations. A Density-infused Axe chop split the ground for hundreds of meters, letting me pull an apartment building-sized chunk of Vibranium from the ground with a combination of Density, Gravity, Telekinesis, and Devil Trigger. It vanished into my inventory before I reappeared in lower Manhattan. Regan was waiting on me by a street corner, wrapped in oversized clothes. She was thinner than I remember and had bags under her eyes. I wasn''t privy to what Jean had done to her, but the guilt of what she''d done to Wenwu''s wife was getting to her. She jumped when she saw me, and I could sense the question at the tip of her lips. "Don''t worry," I assured. "I won''t let him hurt you." "Okay," she muttered in a low voice. With a complicated expression, I held her by the shoulder and activated Dimensional Jump. We were in a deserted forest in China faster than she could blink, standing in front of an imposing compound that looked abandoned on first brush, but Predator''s Gaze allowed me to see through the deception. Dozens of Ten Rings agents clung to the walls and hid behind structures, ready to pounce. Regan gasped the second her mind located them, but I mentally urged her to relax. "I''ve come with a proposition, Wenwu," I called out, "though I''m surprised you''re hiding. You''re not nearly as hospitable as the legends say." There was silence for a long time before the double doors of the central stone building swung open. A tall, lithe man stepped out in a modern interpretation of traditional warrior attire. He had a square jaw, was 5ft 11 inches tall, and had 10 mystical rings humming with considerable power around his forearms. "How do you know my name?" he asked. "Come on," I said. "You must''ve heard of me. You know what I can do." "Only in passing," Wenwu said. "Leave. You are not welcome here. I will not warn you again." "Not before you hear what I have to¡ª" Wenwu''s fists shot forward, all ten of his ring firing at supersonic speeds. In one singular move, I sent Regan to an Island in my simulacrum and summoned Rebellion. The blade burst with Neither Fire as I swung, parrying the first Ring. Nine more Rings followed a fraction of a second later. They were all parried at increasingly fast speeds. They flew in every which direction, carving deep rents into the vegetation. Wenwu summoned back his Rings with a flick of his wrist as he closed the distance between us with a superhuman leap. Two Rings gathered around his fist as he threw a punch. Demonic Aegis flickered on just before impact, sending him skidding back. The eight other rings attacked me from all sides. I teleported behind Wenwu before contact, lashing out with a kick, Invictus wrapped around my leg. Wenwu barely got his rings up to block the hit, but it made no difference. His rings and arms were swatted to the side, leaving him open, but I did not press my advantage, far too stunned by the suddenness of my teleportation. I''d meant to open up a portal into my Dimension using Dimensional jump like always, but I''d simply teleported instead--no middle dimension necessary. I saw a notification at the edge of my awareness but ignored it for now. I had a Warlord to sweet talk. Wenwu skidded back several meters, and his hands shot forward. The rings returned, nine rings circling a central one like a solar system on fast forward. I raised a brow, still floating in the air. "You do know your attack won''t touch me?" "I''ve dealt with overconfident children like you before," he snorted. "People who do not fear their betters."Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. "You talking about the gang that murdered your wife?" I asked, causing Wenwu to freeze slightly. "The girl you nearly pureed was the one who hypnotized them to carry out the deed." His hands dropped slightly. "That''s not possible." "Just like Tao Lo isn''t?" I asked. "Come on. You''ve seen what''s out there. Monsters, mutants, demons. A telepath shouldn''t surprise you." "How do I know you''re telling the truth?" He asked. "Because Shaw hiring somebody to force you out of retirement because he wants a Trillion-dollar gold mine makes a hell of a lot more sense than ancient enemies murdering the wife of an immortal warlord, especially when it guarantees death." "No," he whispered, his rings slowing down. They climbed up his arms and lost their color. "How could he?" "He needed your men," I said. Wenwu''s dark eyes shot up, meeting mine. "Why are you telling me all this?" "He''s in business with people that make you look like a saint," I said truthfully. "I want him out of the picture." "It would be my pleasure." == Dante I left Regan with Wenwu after gifting her a bracelet. It contained a charge of my demonic Aegis. It should buy enough time to call me if the situation with Wenwu deteriorates. I teleported into my Dimension and arrived in a starkly different environment. I had gotten the inkling that it would change significantly since Angel Ascension and my little epiphany, but I underestimated how much. The floating Islands were larger and more plentiful, the storm clouds overhead had taken a distinctively purplish tone, and off on distant Islands, I saw things that should''ve been in my inventory floating in the void, suspended. "What the fuck is going on?" The notification I''d been putting off gave me my answer. The abilities¡ªWeapon Vault, Dimensional Storage, and Paradise Simulacrum have merged into a Transcendent Ability. (T) Dimension of the Demi-God. Located in the Soul of a budding Nephilim and fueled by their affinities, life force, and powers, the Dimension of the Demi-God is under the complete control of the Demi-God Aspirant, Dante Sparda. Land Mass, Authority, and Power will grow over time. Current abilities include: Instant Transportation: Limited to known places in this Universe Timelessness: Limited to 1 week for visitors. 2 weeks for Dante Sparda. Expanding Mass: The size of the Dimension grows with increments in strength in any category. The notification put it all in context and raised several more questions. This said Abilities, not Skill, which meant it did not have the growth potential my other skills did. Yet the description said otherwise. I expected that the abilities would just keep rolling in with every subsequent level up or something. It also further simplified my growing skill list. Three Space abilities were now distilled into one. The introduction of a personal dimension also gave me an excuse to put a plan in motion I''ve been thinking about for a while now. Moving my base of operation to my Dimension. It was unassailable, only accessible to me, and I could eject anyone, anywhere I pleased in the Marvel Universe as long as I''d been there before. It''d be stupid not to take advantage of it. The mutants could have the mansion. I didn''t need it tying me down. I leaped off my platform, soaring blisteringly fast, and landed with surprising grace, using Wind to blunt my descent. The combination repeated itself until I stopped at the center of the realm. "This will do nicely," I said, folding my arms. All I had to do was find a way to transport a house into my Dimension. How hard could that be? Before I started with any of that, though, I teleported to the station I set up when I was forging my Twilight Sentinel Armor and summoned the hunk of metal. It had fully recovered from the beating I took in the North Pole, and I could tell from a glance that it was more durable. The Evolving scales mechanic had restored and reinforced the missing scales. I was planning on pushing the armor to and well past its limits. I summoned all six of the cores I retrieved and scanned them. Arc Reactor A new-gen Arc reactor constructed by Tony Stark, capable of generating potentially limitless energy if the output of the radioactive material is not exceeded and the reactor overheats. Current limit per second: 5 gigajoules per second. I whistled. These things were mobile power stations. What exactly did Tony Stark hand me? I shook my head. If only he knew. Well, there was no time like the present. Let''s see what manner of horror I could whip up with this. I busted out a marker, electrical engineering, and physics textbooks for this project and started studying. Luckily, with my advanced mind, it took no time, especially with my new and upgraded Cloak. Hungry for more information, I teleported to Universities, purchased books, downloaded academic papers, and read through most of Stark Tech''s patents and technology. Pretty soon, I knew what I could do with the reactor. I started with the Symbiosis effect. It allowed me to tap into technology directly and combine it with my demonic and angelic energies. I created a vast network of miniaturized runes designed to fit on the outside of the reactor. All were storage runes. I also planned to bolster the vulnerability of the outer shell with the most energy-absorbent and resistant substance I had, Twilight Vibranium. Add copious amounts of devourer blood into it, and it should be able to repair itself if it sustains damage when provided with enough energy. However, to start my experiments, I needed Rin. When I told him the long and short of it, he was happy to help, especially since I promised he could drain half of their capacities. Chapter 185 Dante With a mental command, I willed the armor to unravel and cover me like I typically did when I summoned it from my inventory. It fit like a glove thanks to the additional weight reduction rune and the power core. The rush was nothing like I''ve ever experienced. I could taste the power; my fingers crackled with it. With a brief activation of Burst, I was hundreds of meters in the air. My new gains to demonic energy finally showed its fruits. It was easy to forget that each bump in stat expanded my demonic reserves and amplified its power. By the time I hit 700 DE, I couldn''t imagine how much more devastating a fully charged Burst from me would be. Speaking of which, I decided to test out my newly upgraded weapons. Creating a pair of Astral wings, I flew to the edge of my dimension and hovered in front of several ruins. I started with Eryx first. The metal armor around my hand flowed to other parts of my armor, and smoldering gauntlets replaced them. I unclasped them and stared in wonder as the joints articulated, each section ending with downward-pointing spurs. I twisted my wrist and flexed my forearms. Eryx''s new form looked downright demonic, the inner heat of the gauntlets shining through. I teleported to a broken-down wall, cocked my fist back, filled it with a smidge of demonic energy, and swung. The wall shattered in a flash of red and black fire. The ruin behind it was bathed in an avalanche of debris and fire. A projected blade from Arbiter was enough to destroy what was left. Switching back to Eryx, I charged my fist until it reached the maximum limit Burst allowed. My hand was blacker than night, and the air around it quivered with a shimmering reddish energy. I brought it down on the island with a cataclysmic crash. It simply vanished, consumed in a draconian roar of primal heat and magic. The flame flowed like a cascading wave, sweeping other islands and setting distant ruins on fire. "Okay¡­these weapons are a tad stronger than I remembered. Or maybe I am." I cycled through the rest of my original weapons. Osiris''s cuts were devastating, slicing through stone like butter, and using Aquila was like standing in the eye of a storm. Each weapon could summon up to 12 blades with a single swing. Using both weapons simultaneously, with my wings active, I could shred through a room of enemies before they even knew what hit them. Rebellion proved to be the most impressive by a long margin. Fighting with it was a dream. My wind blades were never so crisp, and Gravity Touch was never so smooth. The real excitement started when I manipulated fire freely in preparation for Anathema''s flame. With Mind and Fire Cloaks active paired with the innate Fire affinity bonus of Eryx, controlling my flames never felt easier. With a snap of my fingers, I summoned two dozen fireballs as large as my body and sent them hurtling at various Islands. They hit with the force of a C4 blast, eviscerating chunks of the island. I tried a fiery roar next, breathing out with as much force and power as I could muster. The flame blocked out the horizon, bathing several islands in a black and red firestorm.If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Next came concentrated attacks, shrinking human-sized fireballs to the size of my torso. When my control failed me, I pushed further with Telekinesis until it was the size of my head. All hints of red were gone from the ball, and the result was every bit as devastating as I expected. It vaporized an Island like it was nothing. For a while, I practiced compressing my fireballs and letting them rip. I quickly ran out of islands and eventually settled for just blasting my fire into the ocean below us. When I had my fill, I finally busted out my Anathema fire. I had nowhere near the control I''d expected, but it was disgustingly potent. A head-sized fireball accomplished what took several full-body-sized orbs, and I didn''t even try compressing the flames. I had nowhere near the control. But what I did enjoy and practice in spades was letting out bursts of fire and setting Rebellion on fire and practicing with it. I didn''t need to expend energy to sustain the fire once lit, and Rebellion was the best fit for the fire structurally. Cutting some poor schmuck with this would mean game over, which was fantastic news for me, considering what we were up against. My practice lasted for half a day; time I spent exploring the limits of what I could now do. Density Shift went farther now, and channeling it into Burst produced a hell of an impact, almost on the level of a fully charged Nether Fire punch. I could say the same for Telekinesis and Gravity. Things started to get truly ridiculous when I combined multiple affinities. Toward the end of practice, I finally worked up to my amplified attacks using my Sentinel armor. I was not ready for the jump in sheer destructiveness. The armor had over 20 Amplification runes, each granting a 30% boost in power. The output of a single swing was powerful enough to part the ocean at the bottom of my dimension. I grew worried for the integrity of my dimension when I added a few precision runes to the mix. I didn''t dare touch Devil Trigger or Angel Ascension with this much power. My Angel abilities proved to be just as impressive. A fully charged wind blade could easily split islands, and a fully powered Gust cleared entire ruins. My power level was beginning to get up there, all without reaching the condensation stage of energy manipulation. The last thing I did before stepping out of my dimension and back into the real world was raise my class to level 22. My skills tied to the class underwent a fundamental change, and it was worth burning the 1.5 million Red Orbs it took to elevate the class. I barely had a quarter million orbs left over when it was all said and done. Reaching the first milestone at level 15 doubled the stat gain per level and the effectiveness bonus I gained from Runesmthing. It was now 80%. Decode and Forge, the skill that allowed me to copy and enchant artifacts, grew as well. Now, I could get a general feel for what pieces I needed to understand to create something above my current skill level. It was what kept me from making a version of the 10 rings for myself. Harvest, another class skill, now allowed me to make weapons, armor, and artifacts that granted stats. The next few days were going to be interesting. Name: (Dante Sparda) Axel Warren Class: Arcane Forgemaster Lv22 HP: 2720 SP: 2940 AE: 3390 DE: 3320 Strength: 264 Dexterity: 282 Endurance: 294 Vitality: 272 Angel Energy: 339 Demon Energy: 332 -- Dante I was there when she woke up the very next day. Rin was out in New York again with Wanda on a date, and I was sitting by Jean''s bedside when her eyes fluttered open. It was like staring at the sun. The warmth blanketed me, cosmic fire rolling off her in multi-colored embers of power. Her iris glowed red, and Predator''s Gaze gave me an accurate enough gauge of her strength. It far surpassed my base and rivaled mine in my new Sentinel Armor with Devil Trigger activated. My face lit up when she saw me. "Good morning," I smiled and touched her cheek. She held my hand and leaned forward to kiss me. It was warm and enrapturing, and it was like a dam broke. I allowed myself to feel the pull fully. How much I cared for her, how much I needed her. "You have no idea how long I''ve waited to do that," she said. "I do have some idea," I said. So, what do you want to do first?" "What do you think?" she smirked. Chapter 186 We came down the mountain range, practically locked at the hips. Jean wanted to hold hands, but I wasn''t much for public displays of affection. Yao smiled when she spotted us, looking up from a lengthy scroll she was reading. Mordo stood by her side, and the corners of his lips curled the slightest bit. "It''s good to see you up," he nodded at her. "We were starting to worry." Yao''s eyes searched our bodies carefully before she spoke. "I see you''ve finally worn him down." "He came to me himself," Jean declared shamelessly. "It was a moment of weakness," I said, earning a playful slap from Jean, "but I wish I''d given in sooner." "You''re both unified," she said. "I suppose it''s appropriate considering what comes next," she said, folding the scroll. "I take it he''s told you?" Jean nodded. "SHIELD and the mutants are not taking the news well." "It is to be expected," she said. "I have spoken to Wakanda and informed them of the plans you''ve set into motion. You''ll have T''Chaka''s support should you ever need it." I exhaled slowly. I was concerned for a while there. Wakanda was the one enemy I didn''t look forward to fighting if it came down to it. "How is the trap array going," I asked. "The modifications to the Array in the Sahara are nearly complete. It should seal the demonic power of all those who enter," she said. "But it has a fixed limit. It can occupy Two, maybe three demons on Domina''s level. Any more¡­and it breaks." "A little less wiggle room than I''d like," I said, "but I only need a second. Besides," I wrapped my hands around Jean. "I could always tag her if I need the support." "Happy to help," Jean said in a chipper tone. "Missed a lot while I was out. Ready to get back to work." "There''ll be plenty of fight to go around," Yao said. "Finally, there''s something Mordo wishes to discuss with you." My eyes shifted from Yao to Mordo, who seemed a bit flustered before he began to speak. "Some others have approached me since I returned from the Antarctician trip about the changes I''ve undergone. I know we briefly discussed having some sorcerers undergo the process¡­" "Oh yeah," I said, "As long as you trust them, and the Ancient one is fine with it." "I wouldn''t have allowed him to bring it up if I wasn''t." Mordo nodded, and we began to go over the candidates. Two of the five he suggested were seasoned sorcerers and warriors I''d never met. The fourth was the brave young sorcerer who lost his legs in our rescue mission in Africa. The final name was predictable but surprising all at the same time. Kaecilius. "Seriously, him? I never thought his pride would allow him to ask," Jean said what I was thinking. "It didn''t at first, but he got over himself when he heard of our fight in the North Pole. He could''ve been there to watch the secondborn fall if he hadn''t so thoroughly alienated the both of you. He said, and I quote, ''saving the planet should be bigger than any vendetta, especially one that''s partially fulfilled.''" "Oddly mature of him," I said, "but I would''ve preferred to hear it from him." "He''s away on a mission," Yao explained. "I have known him for a long time, and he''s always been loyal. The death of his family cut deep. I''m certain you both understand how much that pain can warp a person." Jean and I shared a look. We did, indeed. Losing Charles was no picnic for Jean, and she still hadn''t faced her biological parents. When I shared everything with her, I also shared what I knew of them in the stories. In this universe, they''d also abandoned her, let Charles Xavier take her from them, and erase the memory of her loss. Even after his passing, they''ve not made overtures to find her.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. On the other hand, I lost everything when I was at the height of my career to a bathroom tile. Everything I''ve done since was to ensure that never happened again. I have cheated, killed, and lied to protect my soul, and Kaecilius reminded me of the ugly parts of me. It was exactly why I couldn''t trust him with that kind of power. I knew the lengths the alternate version of him went to in the pursuit of truth and power. Our version of Kaecilus was not far off. He would murder anyone who he perceived remotely as a threat, present company included, and was not above backstabbing the very people that empowered him. "We''re sorry," Jean said, and I completed the speech. "I cannot include him in the program. I can''t trust him like I trust you." Mordo nodded somberly. "I had to ask." Our talk turned granular. We discussed the amended plan. Dr. Hansen was already brewing additional serums, and Yao needed more time to mobilize her people. But starting tomorrow, we plan on gathering all of our prospects and enhanced and start preparing them. With my new skill, we had even more time to train and prepare. Come the day after, we would be ready to move on all of our targets¡ªthe various cambions and the towers. After that, we can discuss the Invasion plan. The mutants have suffered enough in Limbo. But for now, we rested, unwinded, and finally went on our first date. There was no use putting it off. -- Jean whisked us to Paris with her own form of teleportation. It wasn''t unlike what I could do. Where I rode my dimension and came out in pre-selected locations, she rode the Astral realm, the vast mental plane that connected every conscious mind. "So does that mean there''ll be no portals in your future?" I asked. Portals, after all, were a staple in her magical arsenal. "No shoptalk today," she said. "We''re in Paris. The city of Love. I say let''s make it a day we''ll never forget." We started from the Eiffel Tower, then toured museums and raided the luxury stores of Paris. Jean wanted to give me a full makeover, questioning my tastes, but that''s where I drew my first hard line. "What fun is being rich if I can''t wear what I want? A man needs his boundaries, and this¡­is one of them." She took it better than I expected, and we hit the pastry shops next, trying every manner of pastry that caught her eye. We started getting concerned looks from other buyers when we left with bags bursting and sat on top of the highest building and gorged ourselves. Finally, we ended the day at a fancy restaurant that Jean Mind-controlled us access to. She wore a ravishing black dress, and I wore a white suit that matched my hair color. We talked as we ate some of the best food I''d ever tasted. "Six months ago, if you told me I would be in Paris with you for our first date¡­ I''d think you were crazy." "You would''ve probably fed me some bullshit line about not seeing it in our future," she said mystically, waving her hands. I chortled. "I would''ve sprung for something vaguer and more respectful of your thing with Scott." Her lips twitched, her smile growing wider. "Of course you would''ve." "No, no. I''m serious," I said defensively. "It''s no secret that I didn''t like the guy, but even if I was into you, I wouldn''t cross that line." "On account of the age difference?" "Partly. You''re technically 20, and I''m 27, but it''s a bro code thing. Going hard on him in a fight is one thing; going after his girl is another." She took a sip from her cup. "So, you''ll lie and manipulate government officials and keep secrets from those closest to you, but you won''t make a pass on a girl in a relationship?" I frowned. "You have to know that I did what I did in the beginning out of necessity. I was boxed in on all sides and had no allies. I had to think on my feet." "I know¡­" she said. "I''m just getting used to this new side of you. I only have your time in our universe to go off of. She said. I have no idea who you were in your former life?" "You don''t?" I was a bit surprised. "I intended to show you everything." She shook her head. "There''s some barrier keeping me from diving deeper. The Phoenix also refused to elaborate. Apparently, she thinks prying into your boyfriend''s past without his permission is a rocky way to start our relationship." I cracked a grin. "Listen to her. She knows what she''s talking about." She rolled her eyes. "Please don''t make her any smugger and condescending than she already is." "You know what they say about listening to your elders," I shrugged. "About the same thing they say about picking your girlfriend''s side over her mother''s." "Nicely played." My lips twitched in amusement. I suddenly got up from my seat, drawing attention. "You said you wanted to know more about me." I offered her my hand. "Before I made a career out of cracking heads, I used to play the Piano a lot. Thanks to recent enhancements, those memories are just as vivid as yesterday''s. "Play me live music at a restaurant? A bit clich¨¦, don''t you think?" She took my hand. "It''s never failed to impress." We sat down on the bench, and I ran my hand over the keys to the Piano, searching my mind for a song I wished I could''ve set aside time to play¡ªGolden Hour. I wasn''t one for soft, romantic pop ballads, but fuck it, when in France. My fingers danced across the Piano, and I transmitted the words and the Chorus as I remembered to her mind. It was a amazing watching her face slowly shift from amusement to pure joy. I was ushered back to my table with cheers, claps, and observations. People finally recognized me, but not Jean. A few took photos, but before we sat down, Jean teleported us back to her room at Kamar-Taj, startling me a bit. "You didn''t think we''d just go back to eating after that, did you?" she said, giving me a hungry look. The sex was phenomenal. Chapter 187 We spent our evening moving into my realm. Thanks to the new Time dilation mechanics, I suggested buying a tent or building a cabin in preparation for the visiting candidates, but Jean thought otherwise. "We''re impossibly rich," she said. "Let''s just buy a mansion. You said you could theoretically add land masses to your dimension." I rubbed my chin. She did have a point. Why go through the trouble of constructing another mansion when I could buy one and make adjustments later? I would need to set up a reservoir and waste disposal system. But all that could come later. "I know just the eccentric Billionaire to ask." Tony sold us one of his houses in Hollywood Hills, and it only cost us 2 million. Thank God for 2001 prices. Searching through the house, it became obvious why he was okay parting with such an impressive piece of real estate. It had no AI attached and was mostly stocked with booze and clothing. It took the better part of a day to set things up, buy water tanks, fill them up and hook them up to the house. In the meantime, I purchased a Diesel generator and hooked it up to a humongous tank to solve my power problems. I could focus on creating an impenetrable fortress later. We spent the rest of the week of dilated time testing the limits of Jean''s new body, working on combination attacks, bombs and more weapons for the both of us, and a new armor for her. There was also a great deal of sex. She insisted on not needing anything bulky, and I concurred, but that didn''t stop me from creating the most badass body suit I could think of It had a tinge of all three metals woven into the fabric: 10 impact runes, 15 protection runes, and 20 storage runes. I even offered to buy her a storage ring, but she refused, saying she could always teleport and summon her weapon and armor from her place in Kamar-Taj. She suggested I give the ring to Rin instead. He wanted to be a crime fighter. So, he needed to be ready for anything within a moment''s notice. After exhausting all the dilated time Jean could get away with, she departed, leaving me a week to drill down on my stats, work on my affinities, create numerous demonic cores, and look deeper into computer engineering. Jarvis was too great a resource not to utilize. Before I left, I created one more ability combination using Unity¡ªsomething that has been a long time coming. I combined Wave of Desolation with Advanced Burst (E) Demonic Burst (Adept) Release demonic energy in a controlled Burst. Energy discharged can be slowly released, spread out or focused, and charged for a greater effect or released quickly. Greater Ease of use and effectiveness with multiple affinities. Ten instances of Burst can be stacked concurrently before release. I hadn''t expected this much of an increase, but the difference in power and versatility was night and day, and I used this newfound strength to strike at the heart of Domina''s power. Oscorp. -- Dante. Later that night. Wenwu and ten other members of the 10 rings slid across a wireline, landing on top of the roof of Oscorp, where I waited. We were all dressed in black fatigues, carrying single-bladed swords and knives strapped to our backs and sides. "Glad you could join me," I smiled. "Knocking over Shaw''s biggest investment is no fun alone." "Fun?" Wenwu scowled. "I did not come here for Fun. You promised me leverage." "And you will have it," I said, kicking down the door into the building. "Security cameras have been disabled. They know we''re coming, but it won''t matter. Your people can head up to get Osborn, while you and I head down to get you your leverage." "What is it?" Wenwu asked. "You''ll find out soon enough." Wenwu nodded to his second in command, a tall, ethereal-looking man with a strange mask. His name was Death Dealer.This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. He broke off from us with his own team, heading for the top floor, where Osborn''s office was. Meanwhile, Wenwu and I went lower, riding the second elevator as low as it would go. Unsheathing Steel Bane from my side sheathes, I carved a hole in the bottom of the elevator car and dropped several hundred feet. My Twilight Devourer skinsuit absorbed the impact. Wenwu landed a second later beside me. His rings reached the ground before he did, and he lowered himself to the ground carefully. I pried the door open with my bare hands, coming to a hallway packed with soldiers holding energy rifles. Shit. They opened fire immediately. I took a bold step forward, practically appearing in their backline, lowering myself and performing a 360-degree leg sweep. I sent them flipping. Before they hit the ground, I was on the move, ripping guns from confused soldiers and flinging them into groupings of others. It took less than five seconds to incapacitate a team of 20 soldiers. All their guns were pretzeled, and they were carefully knocked out. ¡°Impressive.¡± Wenwu said. We continued down the corridor, coming up to a large blast door. My eyes narrowed, and my perception skill went into overdrive, scanning every single detail of the subterranean corridor and the lab door on the other end. "Do you see something?" he asked. "I''m not sure¡­" I muttered. It seemed like the perfect spot for an ambush. "We don''t have time for this. I shall bring down the gate." "Wait!" I raised a hand as I sensed movement in the shadows. "They''re coming." The lights in the corridor flickered off and on. The hallway was suddenly packed with bare-skinned, hulking wolf-porcupine hybrids with dozens of spines sticking out of the backs. Rages¡ªthirty, by my count. Two of the Rages were substantially larger than the lot, and I pulled my Uchigatana Kurogiri in preparation for a fight. Wenwu reacted immediately, sending all 10 of his rings, crushing the heads of Rages. They popped like water balloons full of blood. I zipped into the fray swinging. I took off the hand of an offending rage, followed up with a decapitating slice, flipped over his dying body and split a second rage into two. The surviving Rages let a rip, peppering me with rows and rows of charged, kinetic spines. My Steel Bane daggers replaced Kurogiri, and my hands blurred, deflecting and parrying waves and waves of attack, all without flinching. I started thinning out the herd, summoning throwing knives, intermediately sniping particularly aggressive Rages. In seconds, we were down to the last two. They felt like some of the stronger, greater demons I''d faced, which, given my current strength, didn''t mean much. I got to work immediately, sending dozens of throwing knives, fanning out. They dodged easily enough by flanking Wenwu and me, forcing us to the center while they pounced. Their bodies were suddenly aflame with pure demonic energy. They shattered the ground when they kicked off with a snarl. Wenwu went left while I went right. Pulling Kurogiri again, I slid under the charging demon''s attack, disemboweling him. The rage landed with a surprised scream and jerk, but it did not relent, charging me immediately. My lips spread wide as I parried, blocked, and checked every single attack. I went on the offensive when I summoned Steel Bane to my offhand, taking swipes at the Rage. A feint revealed an opening. Vanishing both of my weapons, I pulled the Rage''s overextended hand over my shoulder, and Judo flipped that sucker with all of the strength I had. The floor splintered. Kurogiri went through its throat before it could recover. Looking over my shoulder, I saw Wenwu stand over the crushed body of the second Rage. He was panting. He marched over to the blast door keeping us out of the lab and ripped it open. Dr. Connors and his assistants were frantic when we stepped into the lab. They were in the middle of destroying the serums and experiments. I put a stop to all of that with a single word. "Stop." They all froze. My voice had more of an edge to it because of my hidden features. I pointed at Connors. "We are here for him. Behave yourself, and no one has to die. "What''s going on?" Connor asked, shivering. "Leverage," I said to Wenwu, and he raised a brow. "Mr. Connors here is the head of the Osborn Super Soldier research and development team. She would give you just about anything to get him back. Connors took several steps back, shivering. "No. Please don''t do this. You can take the research instead. We have finished the Serums. You don''t need me." "I was about to ask about that next," I said, nodding to who I assumed was his second-in-command. "Pack up the mutated spiders, and samples of the Lizard, Wolf, and Cat serums." He hesitated, looking over to Connors. Before the older man could answer, I appeared before the mousy, balding man and pinned him down with my glare. "He can''t save you. Now do as you''re told." He gulped and slunk away. "Who are you?" Connors asked in a shaky voice. I walked up to the disheveled professor and strapped a bracelet I produced from my inventory onto his arm. "Don''t lose that. It will protect you until this entire ordeal is over. You''ll be fine," I playfully tapped his cheeks. "What do you think you''re doing?" Wenwu demanded, rings glowing. "We agreed to a hostage situation, not to you turning the professor here into a super soldier factory." "We never agreed to you leaving with his research either," Wenwu said. "It''s my payment," I said. "If everything goes well, you get his body. I still have to put her in the ground by myself. I think that''s more than fair. You can''t touch the researchers either." Wenwu''s jaw tightened. "This is not over." Couldn''t agree more. He was going to lash out. Probably not right here in front of witnesses, but perhaps later. Maybe demand something more from Domina or make the demands without telling me first. Whatever it was, it would only serve my ends. After I left this building, I was going to ensure it. After collecting the genetic samples, I led the scientists out of the lab and proceeded to thrash it completely by hand, destroying their samples and machines, much to the scientists'' horror. We left them in the tunnel and met up with the rest of Wenwu''s group. They''d killed Osborn, but I could feel the disappointment and fear rolling off them. They''d failed to obtain Osborn files as intended. Oscorp''s entire mainframe had been penetrated, copied, and subsequently wiped, thanks to Jarvis, which was how I discovered a back door. Domina wasn''t losing her edge after all. Wenwu was furious when he departed that night, and pondered long and hard about how to punish me, settling on allying with Domina after Shaw was dead and exposing Regan to gain points. The Stage was set, and the ball was in her court now, but given what I know of Domina. She''d react fairly predictably. Chapter 188 I stopped by Peter Parker¡¯s room just before midnight. He fell out of his chair with a shriek when he saw me. My Twilight Devourer suit didn¡¯t help either. His Uncle Ben came running up the stairs, and I vanished just before the door swung open. ¡°You alright, Peter?¡± ¡°Yeah¡­¡± he coughed. ¡°Just saw a spider.¡± A smile slowly spread across Uncle Ben¡¯s face. ¡°Don¡¯t stay up all night.¡± The door eased shut, and I waited a few more seconds for Uncle Ben to leave before teleporting back into his room. ¡°Long time no see, little homie.¡± ¡°Dante?¡± he whispered. ¡°You scared the piss out of me.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t mean to¡­okay, maybe I did mean it the slightest bit, but I¡¯m here to recruit you. Your Uncle Ben is A-Okay; you¡¯ve been putting the cash to use, now I¡¯m calling upon you¡­that is if you¡¯d have me?¡± Peter blinked, his heart speeding up, as he hurriedly put away notes with lines of calculations and theories. A chunk of them looked like gibberish. ¡°Wow, this is really happening. I thought I had months, at least, with how busy you are.¡± ¡°Time flies by really fast when you¡¯re a mercenary for the government,¡± I folded my arms, disappearing the mask that covered my face. ¡°A big fight is coming soon. It¡¯ll likely rock all of New York, and it¡¯s happening tomorrow, so we have about a week of dilated time.¡± Peter blinked. ¡°Wait, you have a hyperbolic time chamber.¡± ¡°The magical equivalent,¡± I answered, grabbing his shoulder. ¡°Pack a bag. Your life is about to change. Once you become enhanced, there¡¯s no going back. Knowing you, you¡¯d feel compelled to help people, and that means your life stops being your own. It¡¯ll belong to the people of New York. The world. College, Girlfriends, Jobs¡ªeverything takes a back seat. And don¡¯t get me started on the many challenges of having sex when enhanced¡­¡± Peter clamped his ears. ¡°Okay. I get the picture.¡± ¡°Do you? Because this is how I look 90% of the time,¡± I said, gesturing to my suit. ¡°It¡¯s a lot, but I love it.¡± Peter scrunched his face in thought before getting up from his chair and walking to his wardrobe. ¡°Not many people get the opportunity to make a real difference. Steve Rogers didn¡¯t back down when the call came.¡± I snorted. ¡°And you¡¯re not in the army.¡± ¡°True. But you saved me and Uncle Ben when no one else would. I just want the chance to do that for somebody.¡± ¡°That¡¯s as good a reason as any, I suppose,¡± I said with more emotion than I intended. It was the first genuine thank you I¡¯ve gotten since I¡¯ve been outed. I wondered if he''d still feel the same way once I told him about my overlord. ¡°Pack your things, and leave your Uncle and Aunt a note just in case we don¡¯t make it back before you have to wake up. We have a few more stops.¡± Daredevil was running for his life when I found him teamed up with some girl around my age with black hair and a leather jacket. She was chucking hand ninjas left and right while Peter and I watched from the roof. ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to help him?¡± he asked. ¡°Jean¡¯s vetted him, but I want to see what he got.¡± He was a blur, striking and flipping with his batons. All his blows were nonlethal but devastating. Knees, liver, necks, heads, even privates. Nothing was off limits. ¡°Oof,¡± I made a face as he took down yet another ninja with a body throw. The fight ended as Jessica clotheslined an acrobatic ninja. ¡°He can move¡­¡± Peter said. ¡°Oh, he can,¡± I said. ¡°But you¡¯ll move even better when I¡¯m done with you. Come on, let¡¯s go say hello.¡± I leaped off the rooftop and landed with barely a thud. The impact absorption on my Twilight Devourer armor was no joke. Daredevil¡¯s and Jessica¡¯s head whipped in our direction. ¡°Uh¡­Dante, I don¡¯t think I can¡ªAaaaaah.¡± Peter screamed his head off as I levitated him down the building, and Jessica growled. ¡°It¡¯s not enough that you¡¯re chasing us. You bring kids into this, too?¡± She rushed straight at me and hurled a punch at my face. ¡°Jessica, wait,¡± Daredevil warned, and I smirked underneath my mask. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. The punch landed with a dull slap against my outstretched palm. ¡°Decent power,¡± I commented. Her eyes went wide in surprise, and she pulled back. I let her. I vanished my mask. ¡°You should know who I am?¡± Jessica blinked. ¡°You¡¯re that demon kid that Jameson can¡¯t stop talking about.¡± ¡°Dante Sparda,¡± Daredevil said. ¡°I¡¯m acutely aware of who you are and your methods.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t approve, I take it?¡± ¡°Killing makes you no better than them,¡± he said firmly, and I snorted. ¡°Oddly simplistic considering what you do during the day, Daredevil,¡± I said. ¡°You, of all people, should know better.¡± Daredevil put away his batons. ¡°Killing is only acceptable under very strict conditions,¡± he said firmly, ¡°otherwise, where does it stop? We¡¯re vigilantes; we shouldn¡¯t get to decide who gets to live and die.¡± ¡°But I do,¡± I said firmly, ¡°and the world is better off for it. Do you know how many thousands of demons, enemy supers¡¯ soldiers, and mercenaries I put down to prevent a repeat of what happened in New York? And when that didn''t work, who do you think they called to clean it up?¡± My aura slowly unspooled, pressing on him, but his resolve never waned. ¡°Because you can do all that is precisely why killing should be a last resort for powered people. Once you start killing, you forget where the line is. And your past tells me you might¡¯ve never even found that line to begin with. You¡¯re suspected of murdering dozens of drug dealers, a store owner, and a fixer in Vegas. Who¡¯s going to stop you if you ever go over the edge?¡± ¡°You, hopefully,¡± I said, stunning Peter and even Jessica. "What?" Daredevil said slowly. "Espousing absolute morality is easy when you don''t have to make the big calls. You want to keep people that are on my level in check? Accept my offer. ¡°Okay. That just took an interesting turn," Jessica muttered. "You want to make me like Captain America," Daredevil said. "Stronger, faster, and more durable than that," I said, "with far better senses and eyesight, of course." Matt stood there in silence for a long moment before he shook his head. "I''m happy where I am." "That''s awfully convenient, isn''t it?" I said, my tone slowly turning colder. "I''m giving you the means and opportunity to shut down Domina and the rest of her psychotic family and save billions of lives in the process, but you''re afraid that you''ll be just as bad as I am?" I scoffed. "Maybe you''re not the man you thought you were." "You can''t tempt me into taking your offer!" Daredevil growled, and I rolled my eyes. "I don''t have to bait you. Do you know why I chose you and not any other bruiser off the street, Daredevil? Because you''re one of the only people alive with the morals, skills, and personal stake to win this fight. You''ve been called. Are you serious about saving the world, or are you just talk?" Daredevil visibly deflated. My words seem to have taken the fight straight out of him. The ball was in his court now, but I had a feeling he was leaning in my direction. I turned to Jessica. ¡°You¡¯re going to be a pain in the ass to work with, but you¡¯ve got skill, no doubt, and the desire to do the right thing. The options are open to you too if you want it.¡± Jessica blinked, pointing to herself. ¡°Me? Really? Listen...I think I already have all the superpowers I can stomach. Plus, fighting the head of a super-secret shadow organization doesn''t seem like my scene.¡± ¡°Neither is internment camps and slavery, I bet,¡± I said casually. That got me strange looks. ¡°What? That¡¯s their endgame. They want to take over our planet. Subjugated populations don¡¯t typically flourish under the boot of tyranny.¡± Jessica swallowed. ¡°You left that part out,¡± Peter muttered, and I hummed. ¡°Did I?¡± I turned back to Jessica. ¡°So, are you onboard?¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to need to see proof,¡± she said tersely. ¡°I would expect you to,¡± I nodded, then turned to Daredevil, whose skin was several shades paler. ¡°I will not kill,¡± he insisted, and I shrugged. ¡°Just make sure they stay down, and we won¡¯t have problems.¡± Unlike Peter, neither of them wanted a go-bag. I grabbed them by the shoulder, and we vanished, reappearing on an Island in my dimension. I left them to Jean before we started playing twenty questions while I swung by the apartment of my next recruit. Colleen Wing. She jumped at the opportunity to get payback for her students. Relations between her and Bakudo had just broken down, and she was about to go on the run. Next, I visited Yelena. She had a dark-skinned Widow in an arm bar as she rattled off questions, and they answered through gritted teeth. I let the scene play out with peculiar interest. Once she was satisfied, she let go, and I teleported between them. ¡°And I thought I was a hardass,¡± I chuckled at Yelena. ¡°Still miles better than getting a mental colonoscopy,¡± she said. ¡°I take it you¡¯ve narrowed down your list.¡± ¡°10,¡± she pronounced. ¡°There are only ten other people that I trust.¡± I nodded. ¡°Round them up. It¡¯s time.¡± ¡°Something¡¯s happening?¡± ¡°We¡¯re going on the offensive.¡± I teleported the girls to orientation, where Jean would explain the broad strokes of our plan. Kamar-Taj was next, and finally, I dropped by the mansion in Alaska and whisked away some of our heaviest hitters. I also offered some of the kids, including Scott, a chance to become part of the program upon Jean¡¯s request. ¡°So, are you in?¡± I asked, hands on waist akimbo. ¡°You¡¯ve seen what Logan can do now? Given what¡¯s coming, it just makes sense to empower all of you.¡± ¡°I¡¯m obviously concerned about the enhancements and how they¡¯d manifest in each of us, but you¡¯ve proven they¡¯re safe enough,¡± Professor Hank said diplomatically. ¡°Ultimately, it¡¯s a question of trust.¡± ¡°Obviously, the answer is no,¡± Scott scoffed, and I rolled my eyes. ¡°Jean asked for this. So, trust in her word, not mine,¡± I said to the small group gathered in front. Bobby looked anxious but hopeful, and Kitty¡¯s eyes searched around the gathering. Logan already decided he trusted me, and Rin was on board. Without word to the contrary, I figured everyone was on the same page. I clapped. A few sorcerers from Kamar-Taj will watch over the kids while we are away, but there was one mutant I wanted to get off the street before things started to spin out of control. Rogue. At first, everyone except Logan was hesitant to help me locate the lost girl, but they quickly changed their attitude when I told them of her mutation. Power Absorption. She was probably the only mutant that could take me down aside Rin. Rogue was the most powerful piece on the board, and no one knew it yet. She had to be protected at all costs. To my utter horror, we could not find her after nearly an hour of searching with Cerebro. I grew hysterical at some point, even questioning Professor Hank¡¯s expertise, but the truth was simpler and more worrisome. She¡¯d either been taken by the Demons or Shin¡¯s men. I didn¡¯t know which was worse. Chapter 189 Fury¡¯s POV. ¡°Hey, Fury,¡± Dante¡¯s insufferably chipper voice said over the phone. ¡°This is a courtesy call. We¡¯re moving ahead with the plan. I¡¯ve set up something with the 10 rings. They should be making a threat tomorrow that should elicit some kind of reaction out of Domina. We can¡¯t predict what, but I have a pretty good idea where she¡¯d turn up.¡± I sat up from my chair, yelling into the phone. ¡°That was you and the 10 rings at Oscorp? The United States of America does not negotiate or collaborate with terrorists!" "The CIA would beg to differ," he said off-handedly, and I gritted my teeth, knowing he was partly right. "SHIELD is not the CIA." "And we''re dealing with a world-ending crisis. If we can''t bend the rules now, there''ll be no rules left to bend, and besides, you know why Oscrop had to go." Shit. It was no secret that the Demoness was working with Oscorp, likely on some kind of third-generation supersoldier serum. "You could''ve handled the situation better!" ¡°There was no stopping Wenwu when he got angry,¡± he said casually. ¡°Apparently, Shaw and his Cronies were responsible for his wife¡¯s death. He wants their head on a spike, and I¡¯m obliged to see him mount it. Besides, drawing her out is easier than facing her at the Teleportation stations." ¡°I don¡¯t like it,¡± he said. ¡°Of course, you don¡¯t,¡± he said, ¡°but it''s what you agreed to. Tell your Thunderbolts to stand by, find your mechs some pilots, and get the Alien parts into your Adamantium vault. You can¡¯t let them get their hands on it.¡± I gritted my teeth. Of course, he knew what the Vault was made of. I dug my hand into my coat pocket and produced THE pager. I¡¯d sworn I¡¯d never call her unless I really needed to, but this had gone on long enough. The terrorists, the demons, the lies. I am experimenting with Alien DNA, for Christ''s sake. I hit the call button. She would not approve of the many lengths I¡¯ve gone to keep us safe, but that was the price of power in this new world. Professor Ross¡¯s research proceeded well above schedule, and she was certain she¡¯d managed to find a way to create super soldiers without risking exposing them to alien DNA. She wasn¡¯t certain how it worked yet. Still, all of the animals she¡¯s injected with the combination of the formula derived from Banner¡¯s Unique DNA and Armando¡¯s genetic material have all stabilized. They came out ridiculously strong and seemed to climb in strength up to a certain limit before stagnating and dropping off. We were weeks from human trials because Ross was understandably skeptical of how well the formula worked. As far as she and every other scientist could tell, Armando¡¯s DNA was a mystery of modern science. Ambrosia, as it were, and a ridiculously potent one at that. Betsy even theorized that the formula could awaken secondary mutations in some mutants. It was another reason why she wanted more time to prepare¡­ But with how things were going, we might be out of options. It didn¡¯t help that the World Council was breathing down my neck. My Thunderbolts, while effective, couldn¡¯t be everywhere, and Stark¡¯s Iron Men, while powerful, were not yet ready for a massive rollout. After a few factories, then maybe. ¡°You still there, Fury?¡± he asked. ¡°Yeah. I read you loud and clear. We¡¯ll make the preparations, and the Thunderbolts will be waiting for your word. I¡¯m trusting you against my better judgment, Kid. Don¡¯t screw me.¡± ¡°Come on. Have I ever?¡± I slammed the phone in his ear. Cheeky little shit. -- Domina. I stood at the center of a decimated lab with crushed equipment, torn-up tiles, and metals twisted impossibly harshly. Lumos¡¯s adoptive mother stood beside me, draped in her signature pristine silver armor. Her black horn glistened in the artificial light, and her porcelain skin and hair gave her an almost human feel¡ªif her eight-foot frame didn¡¯t shatter that illusion. She towered over most humans and demons.If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°He was here,¡± she proclaimed. ¡°I don¡¯t sense a lick of demon magic,¡± I said, not necessarily disagreeing with her. This was the kind of misdirection I would¡¯ve pulled, and that¡¯s how I knew Dante did it. I wanted to hear her thought process, though. ¡°I smell him,¡± she said. ¡°His stench was on Lumos¡¯s body when you brought him home.¡± Her pitch-black eyes pinned me down. ¡°He was the strongest of us,¡± I said. ¡°We would¡¯ve only been in the way.¡± ¡°He has your scientists, your formulas, and killed the head of your puppet corporation. What do you intend to do?¡± She would be unsatisfied with any answer that did not include disemboweling him. So, I told her what she wanted to hear. ¡°I will cripple his allies, tarnish whatever is left of his good name, and make the humans suffer before I kill him. But first, we must find our scientist.¡± -- Dante ¡°You all know why you¡¯re here,¡± I said to the small crowd gathered in the lobby of my mansion. ¡°We¡¯ve put up with these demons long enough. I say it¡¯s time we ended it.¡± The next few days were some of the most agonizing of my life. I was constantly in Devil and Angel Trigger, enhancing everyone, but I was more or less happy with the final result. Synthesizing the various formulas on hand was a breeze for Hanson now with copious access to Enhanced DNA, especially Logan¡¯s. Extremis was perfected, and the various SuperSolider alternative formulas laid the groundwork for the newly enhanced. All of the Widows except Yelena got the Wolf version of the Supersoldier Serum plus Extremis. It gave them superhuman strength, enough to put their physical strength, speed, and senses in the low to mid-hundreds like mine used to be. Their fire manipulation was not as potent as Mordo or Logan''s, but in exchange, they got slightly faster healing. The five Sorcerers chosen got the Lizard and extremis combo. It was potent and granted them strength, reflexes, and regeneration I¡¯d expected Dr. Connors to gain when he ingested the Lizard Serum. All of the X-Men got the regular Supersoldier and Extremis set-up. But just to make sure they were extra-durable, I added some Vibranium to make their skin tougher, as Jean had insisted. Jessica Jones, Matt Murdock, and Collen Wing also got the wolf and Extremis mix topped up with a sprinkle of vibranium, but only Peter Parker and Yelena received the spider venom from the mutated spider that I stole from Oscorp. After I¡¯d collected it, I¡¯d enhanced it, pumping it full of demonic energy, Angel Energy, and Vibranium. They emerged from a 24-hour coma slightly taller, bursting stats in the high hundreds, and webs and skin with the toughness of vibranium. Finally, they had stingers they could eject and use to deliver poison. Adding Extremis to their bodies pushed them well over the 200-stat milestone. After that, I crashed while Jean and the rest of the X-men organized the newly enhanced and helped them get a handle on their body. When I got out of bed a day later, I worked on armor for everybody on the team. It was nothing fancy¡ªjust Vibranium body suits and light armor paired with a dagger and a larger weapon of choice. Most chose long swords and arming swords, while DareDevil forewent the dagger and stuck with a collapsible staff. The work took me well over 48 hours, and we spent the last day sparring. I was in for a surprise all around. The Widows performed better than I hoped. Their coordination and skills had me on the backfoot more than once, even with my Transcendent fighting skills. I could only keep track of so many moving objects in my perception sphere. Once they realized that, they tried overstimulating me in hopes of creating an opening, and it worked. I got my ass handed to me for the first time in a long time, and I spent several hours practicing with them, improving my hand-to-hand skills and swordplay. The X-Men were also a pleasant surprise. Considering their already robust base, it came as no surprise that turbo-charging them put them all in a different stratosphere. Kitty was blurry, flying and phasing so fast that nothing could touch her. Bobby flash-froze the entire platform the second our fight started and proceeded to nuke it with an explosion of fire. And Colossus¡ªwell, he was just a ball of metal and rage itching to get his hands on me. He failed miserably, of course, but it might¡¯ve been a different story if I didn¡¯t have a dozen tools in my back pocket. Scott got the most out of his enhancement. He went from being able to only channel energy from his eyes to emitting the stuff out of every orifice on command. His eyes glowed red, matching mine, and his new status gave me some pause. Scott Summers The leader of the New Generation of X-Men and blessed with the leadership skills and confidence of the former leader, Charles Xavier. His mutation kinetic optical blasts have undergone a massive transformation because of their flexible genetic makeup and the Extremis formula. Strength: Improved Superhuman physiology, extreme heat and kinetic generation, manipulation, and conductivity. Weaknesses: None I shot Jean a look as if to say, look at what you¡¯ve up and done. He charged at me with the ferocity of a bull and lashed out with an explosive, energy-soaked punch. I parried it easily with a slap of my hand and retaliated with an elbow to the liver, which he tanked and clamped down on. I twisted before he could react, legs snaking around his head, and pulled downward, throwing him into the dirt. His body whipped around like a coiled spring, lashing out with a kick as I landed, and I spun around, parrying his kick with one of my own. Frustrated, he rose in the air, gathering kinetic energy before he let a rip. I parried the beam of energy with my bare hands, the sheer power pushing me back several feet. I had to twist my body, directing the beam back at him to get him to stop. It sniped him in the shoulder, sending him spinning, and he struggled to wrestle back control. ¡°Not bad,¡± I called to him. ¡°You went a bit hard, but that was impressive.¡± He shot me a furious glare and darted away. ¡°What crawled up his ass?¡± I asked. ¡°I just pushed this asshole into upper Alpha-level status.¡± ¡°He knows, boss,¡± Rin said from the sidelines. ¡°Knows about what?¡± I asked, trying to play it off. ¡°Come on,¡± Kitty laughed. ¡°The way both of you have been ogling each other. She looked in Jean¡¯s direction. ¡°You might¡¯ve been able to play it off, but she can¡¯t.¡± ¡°Oh boy,¡± I muttered, massaging my brow. ¡°Just what I need a few hours before D-Day.¡± Chapter 190 Chapter 191 It took some cajoling, but Scott and I eventually made up. Okay. Maybe made up is a strong word. He was insulted that Jean didn¡¯t officially break up with him before getting with me, but after she explained the suddenness of it all, he let it slide¡­kinda. He still hated my guts, and his respect for Jean seemed to have nosedived, but he liked her enough still, which was enough for the operation. ¡°Alright,¡± I said, clapping as we all stood around the metal roundtable I threw together. ¡°We¡¯re dividing the teams into X-Men, The Widows, the Avengers, the Brotherhood, and Ferrymen.¡± Peter raised his hand. ¡°Uh. Excuse me. Why are we called the Avengers?¡± I blinked. ¡°Cause, you know, you¡¯re avenging Earth or something. Don¡¯t think too deeply about it. I stole the reference from Fury to piss him off.¡± Bobby snorted. ¡°Gotta take the wins when I can. It goes without saying, but everyone from New York is part of the Avengers. Your job is to protect SHIELD. They¡¯re the second-highest priority target aside from Kamar-Taj. It¡¯s where some of the planet''s most powerful weapons and artifacts are stored. If it were compromised, it¡¯d be basically game over.¡± ¡°Then why aren¡¯t we guarding it?¡± Scott asked, folding his arms. ¡°No offense to the other Vigilantes here, but we have more experience working as a team and¡ª¡± ¡°Primary mutations that allow you to outclass everybody?¡± I asked. I took his silence as answer enough. ¡°You¡¯re not entirely wrong,¡± I said, eyeing Peter from the corner of my vision, ¡°but people surprise you. That¡¯s why your team, a portion of the Ferrymen, the X-Men, and the Brotherhood are in charge of thwarting whatever city-destroying plan Domina is cooking up. We¡¯ve just thrown a massive wrench in Domina¡¯s plan without her Super Soldiers to invade Wakanda. She¡¯s going to retaliate somehow. At the very least, she won¡¯t have the help of some of the most powerful demons on Earth on her side.¡± ¡°How can she retaliate?¡± Peter asked. ¡°You said time stops when we¡¯re in here.¡± ¡°Well, she¡¯s a planner just like me,¡± I said. ¡°She likely has something up her sleeve. And that¡¯s why we will be hitting her and every Cambion on the planet with everything we have. The Widows will team up with Kamar-Taj and Rin to locate and eliminate every last Cambion and secondary collaborators.¡± Kitty blinked. ¡°That sounds a bit drastic.¡± I shrugged. ¡°What were you expecting? We crossed the point of no return in New York. The Cambions have made it very clear how they feel about us. Leaving some of them alive is just flat-out na?ve. Besides, pulling your punches during a fight against an opponent you can¡¯t restrain is foolish. Considering what they¡¯ve done, I thought the mutants, more than anyone, would understand the necessity of all this.¡± ¡°I understand the necessity of force during dangerous times like these,¡± Professor Hank said carefully, his very human face wrinkling with intense emotion. Glancing at his surface thought told me that was an overreaction. Returning to his human form was still taking some getting used to. Without ever knowing, my enhancement apparently triggered the change and further enhanced his beast forms. It was over Two meters tall, and his hide was thick enough to stop bullets. ¡°I cannot stand in good conscience and allow you to condemn 48 half-humans without any examination whatsoever.¡± Jean spoke up in place of me. ¡°Trust me, we¡¯ve done all of the examinations we need to do. I will not lie and tell you that they are not complex people like you and me who make mistakes but they are not children. The youngest of them is several decades old. And they¡¯ve all actively participated in the slavery, mutilation, and kidnapping of a human being at one point or the other. Any court of law would gladly grant them the death penalty.¡± Beast swallowed but did not raise any further arguments, but Scott did. ¡°And what about you?¡± he echoed Matt¡¯s earlier sentiment. ¡°What about your crimes?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not innocent, but I¡¯m not some heartless monster. Most people in this room would be dead twice over without me. All I can hope for is that the good I¡¯ve done cancels out some of the bad.¡± Logan grunted, obviously agreeing with the sentiment. ¡°The Best I can offer is to ask the Widows to spare those willing enough to cooperate and give us information.¡± Beast shared a look with Matt Murdock. ¡°We could live with that.¡± -- Enrique. ¡°We start from New York, and rip and tear until he peeks his head out, and we can snap it off,¡± I said with a shrug, looking at the squad of Homonculi standing behind me. They stood nearly as tall as me, quiet as the night, faces misshapen and raw, twisted by Corvus¡¯s unholy experiments. Their veins pulsed, and their bloodshot eyes tracked everything I said and did wordlessly, but they were harmless¡­relatively. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. At least to me. The firstborn had coded them with explicit instructions¡ªto obey every order I gave without fail as long as it led to the death of Dante Sparda. ¡°What do you think, Windu?¡± I nodded to a masked, pale-skinned, gaunt demon draped in a black cloak. Two Katana handles stuck out. And in the odd case that Corvus¡¯s toys didn¡¯t behave. I had the head of my guard with me. He was worth at least two Greater Demon elders. And I was worth five. ¡°Quite the ensemble cast you¡¯ve assembled here,¡± I heard Domina crow behind me. ¡°I thought you would¡¯ve thrown the Drakes and the harpies a bone. Invited some of the Elders to join the hunt.¡± ¡°They heard about the hunt; they¡¯re free to join if interested.¡± ¡°Oh, come on,¡± she waved, ¡°you and I know your offer is as real as your mother¡¯s love for our father.¡± ¡°She¡¯d run him through the first chance she got,¡± I smiled. ¡°What do you want, little sister?¡± Her lips twitched. She hated it when I dug at her like this, even though she played it off. ¡°A conversation. It¡¯s high time we gave this hunt the attention it deserves, don¡¯t you think?¡± A smirk quirked on my lips. ¡°As I recall, you¡¯ve had your go at the runt and failed miserably. Whatever will I need your advice for?¡± Her lips twitched. ¡°Because I know something you don¡¯t. How the brat thinks.¡± I raised a brow. ¡°He¡¯s an overconfident twit who got lucky one too many times. It can¡¯t be that hard to puzzle him out.¡± She tutted. ¡°And risk him getting away and surpassing you in a month? Don¡¯t make the same mistake I did.¡± My smirk faltered. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll bite.¡± ¡°Above the city,¡± she said. ¡°Some conversations are better kept in the family.¡± We were above the Chinese relay station when she finally broke. ¡°That half-breed has ruined us.¡± I blinked. She was no fan of Lumos. ¡°To take our brother¡¯s death this hard? There¡¯s no need for theatre.¡± She scowled. ¡°Forget Lumos, I¡¯m talking about Oscorp.¡± ¡°Ah. Your viruses?¡± If you wanted to break a population, starve their children, jail the fathers, and break the mothers, but systematically wipe them out with a virus? It was a bit too¡­boorish even for my twisted palate. But what did I care? As long as I ruled in the end. ¡°Most of the samples have been transported to Limbo, No?¡± ¡°I had the man-child working on something far more radical,¡± she whispered. ¡°It would¡¯ve given us true authority and control when it came time to divvy up the planet.¡± My brow inched higher. She had my attention now. What she was saying directly went against First Born and Father¡¯s mandates. They decided who deserved what in the end. I let out a belly laugh. ¡°If you think your small super soldier army could hold a candle up to the unlimited forces of Hell, then perhaps I¡¯ve underestimated you.¡± She didn¡¯t look insulted. In fact, she looked at me as if I was the one out of his mind. Was I missing something? ¡°It can be done. With the support of all of the Cambion, several Fortune 500 companies, a few Alpha and level mutants and enhanced, it can be done.¡± ¡°What are you blathering on about?¡± I narrowed her eyes. The Cambions? Mutants? They¡¯d never side with her. ¡°The Raft. SHIELD¡¯s little Superhero prison. Think of the sheer offensive power trapped between those four walls.¡± ¡°You¡¯re serious,¡± I said, the mirth vanishing from my voice. She nodded. ¡°Think about the politics of down below. We were born to be figureheads to keep the peace between the factions. None of the older demons truly respect us. To them, we¡¯re nothing but half-breed curiosities that should¡¯ve been put the sword a long time ago¡ªeveryone except him. Corvus,¡± she said with no small amount of venom. My gaze dropped low to check the location of the Homonculi. They were no joke, but she wasn¡¯t wrong. I was tolerated by the Drakes and venerated by the fringes of the Dream Runners. Without my overwhelming strength, I couldn¡¯t imagine¡­ ¡°Father is working hand in hand with our own brother to replace us. When was the last time you thought he asked for an update on the human world? He¡¯s too busy competing with the Other Demon Gods that crossed over. The mutants want nothing to do with the experiments. Do you realize how easy it will be to get them on our side, especially if we promise them a Utopia? All we have to do to finally be free is to remove a few obstacles in our path¡­¡± Her eyes darted low. The Relay station. ¡°You can¡¯t be serious?¡± ¡°We wouldn¡¯t have to work too hard,¡± she said. ¡°Let the humans storm the stations and let it play out. They take care of the link from below, and we mop up after the fight,¡± she whispered. ¡°Import a few loyalists under the guise of being thorough, rework the global array to ensure they never get back in, and take over a continent. Easy as pie.¡± She was insane. But it was just enough that her plan could work. ¡°Just one problem with this plan of yours. Why risk all that I have instead of just turning you over.¡± ¡°Because you have far more to gain,¡± she said, floating closer. ¡°Think about it. Literally whoring yourself across a continent you own. Tell me that doesn¡¯t get you off.¡± I cracked a wide grin. ¡°You¡¯re a nut job, you know that?¡± She shrugged. ¡°It makes me wonder how he ever got his hand on your formula in the first place?¡± She cracked her first genuine smile of the evening, and it all clicked. The bitch. ¡°You always had a spare,¡± I muttered, and her eyes twinkled. ¡°I had a back door in Osborn¡¯s system since day 1. He even thinks no one knows about the private server. It was a contingency in case they came after my project. I had several sensors and runes in that place. I should¡¯ve been alerted the moment he used Demon magic in that building, or she used her Telekinesis.¡± She looked somewhat pained. ¡°But you couldn¡¯t trust anyone of importance with your crown jewels. That¡¯s why you settled for a few Rages.¡± ¡°So, what do you choose?¡± she said, head drawn back. She looked regal, almost. ¡°You know me so well, sist¡ª¡± There was a shift in the air, and my cloak flared. A thick layer of black fire wrapped around me and manifested wings. I nearly summoned my spear and thrust when my mind registered the energy presence. I raised my hand in time to stop Domina¡¯s attack. Not that it would¡¯ve done much. It was Windu. ¡°Speak?¡± I growled. ¡°It¡¯s the Ten Rings. They¡¯re demanding the head of Shaw in exchange for the scientist.¡± Domina smirked. ¡°And so it begins.¡± -- Chapter 191 I appeared in front of Wenwu¡¯s forest mansion with Jean to a sight that caused me some pause, responding to the panic button I¡¯d given Regan in secret. The Cambion were here, and they were pissed. Wenwu¡¯s forest mansion was on fire, wreathed in Dark flames that sloughed stone. Above, Wenwu and Enrique clashed. Enrique had an easy, almost hungry look in his eyes while Wenwu was fighting for his life. Whatever his plans were when he sent the ransom video, I was sure it didn¡¯t include this. ¡°Take him,¡± I sent to Jean. ¡°Gladly,¡± she smirked. She was gone, and Enrique was sent flying into the wilderness with a ferocity that terrified even me. I zipped into the mansion with a Burst, and time slowed down as the demons materialized from thin air, using some kind of space-related invisibility that was completely ineffective against my perception. Regan, the professor, and Wenwu¡¯s children were huddled in a corner, just underneath a collapsed beam. And from my left, I saw a partially manifested Domina charging at me. To my right and back, two strange monstrosities brimming with power that rivaled Domina, and above me, I sensed the likely orchestrator of the ambush, a man obscured in a mask, plunging downwards with a pair of katanas. I wouldn¡¯t have sensed him if I wasn¡¯t so sensitive to dimensional energy. I let the look of surprise play on my face for the briefest moment before replacing it with utter mirth. My wings manifested, and I exploded forward with Gust, Burst, and Invictus¡¯s Impact runes. I slowed down just enough to touch all four hostages and teleport them to Kamar-Taj before reappearing behind my ambushers with a smile playing on my lips. ¡°You can teleport now?¡± Domina asked, stumped by the sudden information. She was dressed in an infernal metal body suit covered in heavy runes, some of which I didn¡¯t recognize, but I got the gist. They essentially boosted her Density magic by a great margin. ¡°Didn¡¯t you think I¡¯d figure it out?¡± I chuckled. ¡°His teleportation magic,¡± the faceless man began. ¡°It¡¯s not space-based. It¡¯s dimensional.¡± Well, can¡¯t have him giving up all of my secrets. I teleported forward, faster than any of them could react, or so I thought, my hand wrapping around Domina¡¯s neck. The faceless ninja was mid-swing when we popped into the desert, and I had no doubt he would be a moment behind us. I covered Steel Bane in Anathema flame and stabbed at her gut, straight through one of the biggest runes in the suit. I was halfway through when she went intangible and darted backward in surprise. With a yelp, she discarded the armor, glaring at me as it was subsequently engulfed. ¡°What the hell was that?¡± We were standing in the eye of the Sahara. ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Weren¡¯t expecting a fight?¡± Her eyes darted around the arena, recognizing some of the fresh runes we¡¯d added, and her face went pale immediately. She dashed backward, accelerating quickly, drawing on her Density affinity to lighten her, but she wasn¡¯t quick enough. I was waiting behind her with a shoulder check when the array went on. I felt it immediately, the demonic magic in my blood vanishing instantly. My demon energy-based enchantments and techniques were cut off, but so was hers. I was working with half of a repertoire, but she only had her body. Several demons portaled in to my left, ushered by the Masked Dream Runner, likely tracking me here somehow. I hadn¡¯t been counting on that, but I was prepared nonetheless. ¡°Don¡¯t go anywhere,¡± I smirked as I teleported out, and somebody else leaped out of a portal, replacing me. Yelena was fully kitted in body armor that used all three metal types I''ve been experimenting with. She had a new Katana, a downscaled version of Severance but with a Shield and only Precision enchantments instead of impact. It ran purely on Angel energy for an occasion such as this. ¡°What is this? Do you think this child can hold me?¡± she yelled. ¡°I suppose we¡¯ll find out, won¡¯t we?¡± Yelena snorted in her thick Russian accent while I charged straight at the enemy. My Twilight Sentinel armor wrapped around me as I sped up dramatically. I drew on my core, filling Eryx up with Anathema fire as I charged at the hulk of a monster racing to meet me. He was twice as large as I was, stringy and long, with claws that were nearly a foot tall. Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. I activated several impact runes as I closed on him, tripling my speed. Before impact, I saw a hint of recognition in its eyes. Fire poured out in a cone, melting the sand and leaving glowing black glass in its wake. The explosion flung it several dozen feet back. And it stood there for a long moment, Anathema fire licking at him, before sloughing off alongside a layer of crystallized blood armor. It cracked and melted into nothing before it hit the ground. An aura whipped out from its sinuous body so thick it was nearly solid. If his defense was this good, I wondered what his offense was like. Two katanas slipped through my sphere of perception, almost skewering me from behind, and experience told me they¡¯d damage my armor if they touched me. They carried space magic--one of the only things that could cut through my robust defenses. The second blood demon that escorted the pair was not far behind. He flew on wings made of blood and had produced more from seemingly nowhere, filling it up with magic in preparation for an attack. I flipped on my new favorite Cloak configurations. Mind and Density. Since the upgrade, they both granted an 80% boost in magic effectiveness, on top of the 55% boost in several base attributes. It matched my new style well¡ªoverwhelming force. Severance appeared behind me, slashing upwards at the last possible moment, triggering Demon Evade and Moment of the Sage to buy me three precious seconds. My telekinesis-controlled blade swept upwards, parrying his Katanas, leaving him open to an Impact and Precision rune- accelerated dagger throw to the throat. It went halfway in before he teleported, as did I, reappearing behind the flying blood demon and swinging Rebellion. The blood surrounding him spun, lightning fast, splitting into a dozen tentacles, attempting to block my advance. A beam of concentrated Nether fire arced out from my blade, slicing through the blockage and slamming into the chest of the monster. It scored a deep wound that violently repaired itself even before his flesh stopped burning. His Aura burst out a moment later, and it was followed by the muted aura of the Dream runner. I smirked. ¡°This just got a hell of a lot more interesting.¡± I tried teleporting, but my connection was stifled by the teleporting Dream Runner, who closed the distance between us nearly three times as quickly as he had previously moved. Behind me, dozens of blood spears manifested, attacking from all angles, trying to box me in, but I dashed forward with several bursts. Summoning Kurogiri in my free hand and a giant spear behind me, I telekinetically commanded it to start spinning. It parried the hundreds of blood spears, crushing them, helping me gain the extra 50% boost that Symphony of Death provided through my Feral Flow subskill. I met blades with the Dream Runner, our bodies an explosion of sparks and energy. His blades were coated with the same demonic potency his Cloak had, and they shoved back the Aura of Netherfire I had on my blades. Our hands and body danced, moving at speeds I could¡¯ve never previously conceived of, but maintained comfortably. He was better than me on technical skill, and I could see him eking out a victory eventually. Thankfully, this wasn¡¯t some honorable sword duel. Anything goes. I separated abruptly by whisking myself backward with sleek wind manipulation while simultaneously blasting him with a wind tunnel. He dispelled it with a crisp Iai slash, which left him open to a Gut¡¯s style Great sword that suddenly manifested at his side at dizzying speeds. It was boosted by Dimensional and Wind energies, so I know it wouldn¡¯t be as easy to block. While he was distracted by the attack, I swung at him, speed and impact substantially buffed by runes. He dodged both attacks simultaneously, zipping straight up into the waiting payload of Anathema-flame grenades that I chucked at him. His eyes widened as we were bathed in Purple Fire. He dropped his lock of my Dimensional affinity and opened several portals around himself, letting the fire wash over them instead of him. Noting that I was sufficiently distracted, the other demons pounced. Sand exploded as the clawed demon leaped towards me. The spears of the blood the winged demon had been using shattered and cracked as they liquified, turning into floating blood orbs that began to glow with a sinister light. Still, I was unbothered as I flickered my Aegis on, instead focusing all of my attention on the retreating figure of the Dream Runner. I foisted the full strength of my Adept-Tier Telepathy on him. Its effectiveness was nearly doubled by my mind Cloak, but that was not enough for me. I tapped into the near-limitless pool of Demonic Energy I had churning in my core and unleashed the mother of all mental attacks¡ª a memory of me melting in my flames at the North Pole on a loop over and over again. Every sensation, every pain amplified to the nth degree. I juiced it up using all 10 impact runes to ensure no one came out unscathed. The Dream Runner died immediately, and the flames of Anathema swept him away. The other demons had very different reactions. It whipped them into a frenzy, both attacking with full force despite the flame. Their attacks bounced off my shield repeatedly, each round doing more and more damage to them, their auras and regeneration wobbling. Tired of indulging them, I teleported behind the Claw demon and punched him with a half-charged telekinetic Burst aided by ten impact runes. The sand exploded in a monstrous geyser as he hit the desert floor, and I closed the distance between me and the second blood demon with a teleport, snatching him by the neck. The blood floating around us returned with force, but not before I exploded in a conflagration of Nether Fire, scorching him. His new Cloak held up surprisingly well. That changed when Eryx manifested around my hand, enhancing my affinity further, and I switched Cloaks from Density to Fire, boosting the heat to ridiculous heights. His regeneration could barely keep up. I ended things with a wisp of Anathema flame, transforming the inferno around us to the center of a purple star. He turned to ash in seconds. By the time the Clawed demon recovered, I was floating above it, the inferno I created earlier hovering behind me. I brought it down with a ruthless indifference, wiping him from existence. He was gone within the blink of an eye. I turned back to the array just in time to catch the end of the fight. Chapter 192 Yelena POV I twisted, flowing underneath Domina¡¯s staff swing while I slashed out. Domina''s knee shot up, and my blade bit into her Vibranium armor. She twisted back, separating her staff into a pair of batons that she brought down. My senses alerted me in time, and I activated my Aegis shield. The attacks bounced off them, leaving her open to a massive web attack. The fluid gushed out of my free hand like a geyser. There was a flicker of surprise in her eyes before she twisted away with precise footwork, but not quickly enough. Some of the fluid got on her, slowing her down enough for me to go on the offensive. A leap ate up the distance between us, and I swung downward with all of my might, triggering the strange runes etched onto my blade. They were sharp enough to sheer through vibranium, much less whatever metal her batons were made of. My blade slipped through her hastily raised guard like it was paper and carved a long line down her torso, cutting through muscles, ribs, and hip bone. She stumbled back with a sputter, blood fountaining out, and held up both hands in mercy as her batons tumbled free. ¡°What did he do to you?¡± she sputtered out in between bloody gasps, and I felt a twinge of something in my chest. She had seconds if she was lucky. ¡°He set me free," I said. I knew how she worked, but I indulged her anyway. She let out a laugh. ¡°You traded one master for the other.¡± I hesitated, and she was instantly in front of me, body covered in a purple glow. Her hand wrapped around mine, holding me in place as a punch dagger went through my throat. Her glow faded as she pulled the dagger free, opening up my throat. I didn¡¯t feel the pain until I hit the ground, gasping. My body spasmed as blood gushed out. I had too much air and not enough, and I clawed at my neck as an icy dread set in. I saw Dante floating in the air, hundreds of feet away, eyes locked on me. He saw the entire thing happen. Hell, he could''ve probably saved me if he wanted to, but he let it happen. Rage poured out of me. That snake. My instincts had been right about him. Domina had been right about him. He''d been playing us this entire time--me, the Widows, and the children. Domina roared with laughter that lit a furnace in my heart and sent molten heat pumping through every vein in my body. It was excruciating but familiar. The Extremis. Dante had said the formula couldn¡¯t save me if I lost my head or heart, but I didn''t quite lose my head, now did I? The blood flowing out of me turned molten red as fire poured out of every orifice. My body stitched itself together, and I swung up just in time to see the dread in her eyes. Domina was at the edge of the array standing inches away from Dante. His body was bathed in a red and purple aura, and his glare seem to pin her in place. The sight of him sent chills down my spine, and it appeared I was not the only one. Her eyes darted from him to me, then back to him. That turned out to be a mistake. I rushed her, aided by my new heat, and stabbed into her back with two stingers that ejected from my forearms. They pumped poison toxic enough to down an adult elephant into her system. She crumpled immediately, but I didn''t stop stabbing. I stabbed until only bone and pulp were left and roared out in anger, my rage turning to Dante. He didn''t so much as flinch. "Got that out of your system?" "You could''ve helped," I snarled at him, molten spittle spraying out of my mouth. It was odd, to say the least. "I would''ve stopped her if you were in any real danger," he said. "So, I nearly died so that you could prove a point!" "And to unlock that," he pointed at my chest. A molten network spread out from my heart throughout my body, imbuing me with a new strength that I could hardly contain. I could tell you this much, though. It felt like I''d just scratched the surface. "You would''ve never tapped into Extremis if you knew you had a safety net. If it makes you feel better, I went through the same thing when I unlocked my powers." I closed my fist and let out a long breath. That did, in fact, make me feel better. "So, you''re not secretly manipulating all of us for your devices?" He smirked. "Oh, I obviously am. You just get as much out of it as I do." "I hate you," I said shaking my head as I stepped over Domina''s body. "Hate you too," he smiled. Neither of us said anything for a time as I got my breathing under control and the heat from my Extremis faded. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. "Good to go?" he asked, and I grunted. ¡°When am I not.¡± -- Jean My telekinetic shove slammed into Enrique''s surprised face, hurling him hundreds of feet away. He carved a thick line through the vegetation as he crash-landed. Peering through the smoke, I saw him bent on one knee, body wrapped in a fiery cloak that manifested. Underneath the thick aura of fire laid an intricate armor set covered in runes that drew me in. What Dante would do to get his hand on those runes? I hummed. I¡¯ll try not to damage his body too badly. ¡°Not bad,¡± Enrique said with an amused tilt to his voice. ¡°You¡¯re a lot more exciting than Ororo and Ilyana said.¡± My psychic energy crashed into him immediately, pinning him down. The wind whipped, and trees shattered in the background. He fell to one knee with a surprised grunt but looked excited nonetheless. That''d change soon enough. My mind slammed into his like a battering ram, and he put up a brave front, marshaling the dark aura that whipped around him. Several runes on his armor flickered to life and blinked repeatedly. I was through most of his enchantment when a scream pulled my attention. Wenwu hung dead from the blade of a tall, lithe demon in silver armor. She had snow-white hair and porcelain skin. I would''ve sworn she was human if not for her large horn, golden eyes, and tremendous frame. Although it was faint, I could see the resemblance to Lumos. The ten rings slid off his hands, and she looked at them briefly before she snorted and pointed her blade at me. A ray of light shot forward, and I created a shield at an angle, sending the beam bouncing off to the side and cutting a line through the jungle. Everything the light touched turned to ash. While I was occupied, Enrique pounced, sending several blades of aura stabbing out of my shadow. It forced me to reinforce the passive Telekinetic aura around me. The strength of the shadow blades caught me off guard, sending me stumbling, and that small gap was all it took. Enrique vanished in a puff of flames and shadow, reappearing behind the Light Demon. He grabbed her shoulder, and before I could recover, they were gone. I chewed my lip in frustration. I can¡¯t believe I fell for that. ¡°He played me. At least he didn''t get the ten Rings." I reached out and floated them over. New toys aside, the fight was not a total loss. I saw flashes of the girls in his mind. Ilyana was fully grown, and Storm was her caretaker now. A warm feeling tugged at my heart. It wasn¡¯t too late. We could still save them. I closed my eyes and dove into the Astral, searching for Enrique¡¯s mental signature. I was in his head long enough to recognize it anywhere, and with my recent enhancements, I could find him anywhere on the planet with enough time. I stood there for close to a minute before my eyes snapped open. Brazil. He was at the relay station. Space folded, and Dante appeared some distance with his hand wrapped around Yelena. I hesitated briefly before I waved them over. There was nothing between them¡ªthat much was clear from Yelena¡¯s thoughts, but I had the sense whatever happened had brought them even closer. ¡®I found them,¡¯ I sent, and he smiled. ¡®Enrique?¡¯ ¡®He had back up. Some greater demon. She was fast and powerful. I got careless. They escaped to the Brazil Relay station.¡¯ ¡°They''re no doubt gathering reinforcement," he said, not that it''ll help much." He looked over to the dead body of Wenwu and floated it over, sending it into an aspect of his pocket world where time stood still. I offered him the Rings, but he said no and encouraged me to play with them for a bit. Most odd, however, was his intentions with Wenwu''s body. He had no plans to dissect the thousand-year-old warlord and use the knowledge gained to further empower himself. He thought Wenwu¡¯s children deserved a chance to say goodbye. They were innocent in all this. His phone vibrated in his pocket, and he answered it, putting the call on speaker. ¡°I''ll be headed there shortly, boss. Mordo scoped it out. They''re expecting us or something." ¡°Need help?" ¡°No. We can handle the Hell Fire Club. Me and the old man are overdue for a meeting anyways,¡± he said. Dante had entrusted the task of eliminating the Hellfire club to Rin specifically. Considering what they¡¯d been planning, there was no use in keeping them around anymore. They were beyond redemption besides Frost. She wasn¡¯t evil, just opportunistic, and business savvy. Considering the payout that would be coming from this job, Dante wanted the front end of our business in the best hands. And Frost could be bought. ¡°I¡¯m sending over the picture now,¡± Dante said, forwarding a picture of Domina¡¯s dead body. It was ghastly, but an effective tool for demoralization.¡± He wanted a clean sweep when all of this was said and done. No more looking over our shoulders. No fear from the various factions, which meant putting certain things in place before all of this was over. ¡°There¡¯s also something else,¡± Rin said. ¡°It¡¯s already on the news. Dozens of Lizard monsters, stone demons, and shadow monsters are attacking a military base in the middle of the Ocean.¡± ¡°The Raft?¡± ¡°Could be it,¡± Rin muttered, ¡°but something else is going on here at SHIELD HQ in New York. It hit hard, but I gave as good as I got. There are also dozens of other creatures with white skin.¡± ¡°They must¡¯ve planned this before Domina died,¡± he muttered, shaking his head. I could feel his emotions rise. ¡°Of all the places they could¡¯ve chosen to attack.¡± The Raft was the only superpowered prison in this timeline, according to Dante. It was where SHIELD sent the worst of the worst, and some of them were actually powerful enough to contend with the strongest members of our pre-enhanced team. He sighed, massaging his brows. ¡°Either way, we planned for this. The X-Men will take point on the Raft mission. A sorcerer should get them there. Pietro and Wanda should also head over.¡± It made sense. His speed and her Telepathy. She should be able to shut down all but the strongest members. And the Avengers had no slouches in their roster, not even the new kid, but that was why he was Magneto was staying behind. ¡°Magneto is in charge of the remaining Avengers and the Brotherhood. And tell the team they need to stop pulling their punches, or they''ll die,¡± he said. ¡°Uh¡­Boss. I¡¯m not sure that putting him in charge is the best idea.¡± ¡°I know we can¡¯t trust the asshole as far as I can throw him, but I have something he wants. Tell him his cooperation is the price of the conversation, and that he can keep the Adamantium knives." He shared a look with me, and I nodded in approval. It left the pathway to the Soul deal Magneto was hungry for.¡± Finally, Dante¡¯s voice softened a bit. ¡°And as for the Hell Fire Club thing¡ªwhatever you decide, we¡¯re with you.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll call you when it¡¯s all done,¡± Rin muttered and cut the call, and Dante looked at Yelena, who drew in a deep breath. Something had her rattled, but she was dealing with it well enough. There was no real mental solution to trauma¡ªtrying to fix Colossus taught me that. The best I could do was mood regulation, which she didn¡¯t look like she needed. ¡°So, which relay station are we hitting up first?¡± she asked. ¡°Change of plans,¡± he said. ¡°Head over to SHIELD HQ and jump in if you¡¯re needed. I have a feeling.¡± ¡°Shin?¡± I asked, and he nodded. ¡°Who¡¯s that?¡± Yelena asked, and Dante smirked. ¡°Survive this, and maybe I¡¯ll tell you.¡± She huffed. He snapped his finger, opening two portals. One led to his domain, the other to New York. Yelena leaped through both in a single bound, arriving on a rooftop a few blocks away from SHIELD HQ. The portal snapped shut behind her. Dante cracked his neck as he walked over to me. ¡°I¡¯ve never been to Brazil.¡± ¡°Neither have I. Maybe we should take a trip after this.¡± ¡°Do you think they¡¯ll even let us?¡± ¡°If we don¡¯t blow up the Amazon too bad.¡± Chapter 193 Dante Jean arrived first, latching onto the thoughts of one of the many demonic Anaconda that they had patrolling the deep waters of the floating Relay Station on the River. Shielded from sight by numerous light, space, Angel, and illusion runes, they were partly prepared for an attack from me but not from her. She thrust her hand forward, firing all ten rings she''d recently acquired, bombarding the head of the snake. It popped, spilling viscera and gore in every direction. Its titanic body crashed into the side of the temple, alerting the demons of our presence. Two dozen Dragonlings poured out of the structure, armed in partly rusted armor covered in water and muck with cudgels identical to the first Garok I ever fought. Their description told me they were Water Dragonlings¡ªbulkier, meaner, and stronger than the Newt I faced. Steam rose from the backline, shrouding the little protection bubble separating the temple from the real world. Water snaked up from the River, twisting and turning, springing up at Jean. But before they ever touched her, two spears descended, both charged to bursting with Netherfire. It flashed cooked the rest of the Anacondas, the Dragonlings and destroyed most of the temple, exposing the inner structure. Molten stone sloughed off the outermost fixtures. I sucked in a deep breath. It still threw me for a loop just how much more powerful I was because I could craft. At the center of it all stood a glowing Decahedron with rune symbols that constantly shifted. Something was coming through¡ªthe waves of energy rolling off it told me as much. Enrique and the demon knight appeared. I expected Enrique to be the more emotional of the pair, but the way the Light-skinned demon knight stared made me realize I had a true enemy in her. For her, this was personal. Enrique whistled. His eyes wandered to my spears. "I get it now. Who would''ve thought the Orphan boy was a half-decent Rune Mage? That''s how you kept up. If you think your little energy core put you on the same level as me--" "Why don''t you come up here and find out?" I cut him off. "And rob Adora the chance?" he chuckled. The woman unsheathed her blades. They were long, curved, with ornamentation. Her pristine silver armor reflected the moonlight and was packed with dozens of runes¡ªmost of which I couldn''t identify. "Lumos was born to be a god," she hissed. "And he would''ve grown to be one if you hadn''t killed him. Prepare for a slow death, worm. You''ll make me wish I''d killed you." I smirked. "Bring it on, granny." She was a blur. One moment, she was on the ground; the next, her blades were inches from my neck. The runes on her armor lit up¡ªAngel energy suppression runes designed to restrain me so she could put me down. A beam of purple lightning surged from my core. She slipped past it, and the thick beam punched into the Decahedron with barely any effect. Beside me, Enrique was on Jean with a fury. His body enveloped in a cloak of flame and shadow, spear punching down at her shield. Adora struck from behind with twin descending strikes, blades bathed in light, and I parried with Kurogiri, my body exploding with Density shift, Mind, and Density Cloaks. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. I saw the faintest flicker of surprise in her eyes before they vanished, and she rained down fury. We blurred, ping-ponging around the closed arena¡ªshe chasing me as energy built up in my chest. She saw this and pushed and stopped holding back. The temperature in the dome shot up once more as Enrique unleashed his potent attacks. Beams of flames, tentacles, and pillars twisted into the sky; all the while, Jean casually rebuffed and returned the favor with her storm of Kinetic Rings and Adamantium knives. They battered and punched through his armor like Tofu and missed him by millimeters at times, but I knew how the fight was leaning. Just when Jean grabbed hold of his body, the Decahedron finally stopped, and a troupe of Greater demons emerged. Ten tall, gaunt, silver-clad demons like her¡ªLumenari, the description read. Dozens more Mind Mages stood behind them. These ones were not hunched over. They had a confidence to them, and a collective raise of their staves put an end to Jean''s mental interference. I exchanged looks with Jean, and we collectively agreed that it was time we stopped playing with our food. My hand stretched out as the full might of my Telekinesis latched onto Adora suddenly, and every last Lumenari in her group unleashed hell, including her. Two dozen Light spears came at me from all angles. A beam as wide as a school bus also descended from above, personally summoned by Adora. I dodged at the very last moment, activating my damage and speed bonus from Devil Evade and Teleport. Instantly, I was behind her, swinging with Arbiter, blade wreathed in purple flame. She shattered my mental grip in time, but not quickly enough. Arbiter cleaved through her Light Cloak, protection and all, weight heavily augmented by Density affinity. Her armor saved her from being bisected, but not by much. Her guts were hanging out when she whisked herself away with light. I was waiting for her on the other end with another slash, which she dodged, playing into the Steel bane daggers I had floating behind her. With Anathema flame on their tips, they punched through the armor, easily unloading several impact and precision charges. It was over before Adora even realized she''d been hit. Her body exploded, flesh and bone reduced to ash and offal. The explosion commanded a lull, drawing everyone''s attention and giving Jean the space she needed to end the fight once and for all. She summoned the visage of the Phoenix. It was a maddening, all-consuming illusion that turned nearly every surviving demon catatonic. My Steel bane daggers zipped around the battlefield, executing survivors. Before they reached Enrique, he snapped out of the illusion with a loud bellow. His aura poured gushed out of him, twisting and rising as he prepared to teleport yet again. Jean stopped him this time with a flick of her hand. The rings hovering around her exploded with Phoenix fire and zipped at him impossibly fast. They banished the darkness and consumed him. The only reason he didn''t die was because Jean wasn''t done with his mind. He knew more about Corvus and the girls than any demon we''ve encountered. While she stripped his mind for everything it was worth, I tended to the Decahedron, which had started spinning again, summoning Rebellion. I channeled Anathema flame and brought it down on the strange device, destroying it and whatever else was left of the temple. I stored my blade away and returned to them. Enrique was covered in burns that seemed all too familiar. "I thought you''d be harder to fight," I confessed. "Didn''t even have to use Devil Trigger." "What did you do to me?" He gasped as he tried to call on his natural healing. His skin squirmed, but the burns didn''t heal. "I burned you with the fire of the Phoenix," Jean answered in a scathing voice. "Now that I know everything you''ve done, I almost regret holding back." Enrique let out an uproarious laugh that quickly devolved into something strangled, desperate, and confused. "Do me a favor and shut down the rest of the stations, will you?" he asked. "You''re running out of time." "Why are you trying to help us?" "Because Corvus will switch up strategies now that he''s dead," Jean answered. "He also doesn''t want any of the demons conquering the earth." "If I can''t have my paradise continent, they can''t either." I suppose that tracked. "Any last words?" I asked. "Y--" One of Jean''s daggers stabbed through the back of his skull and came out through his eyes. He collapsed to the ground dead, and I received 500,000 Red orbs. "We should kick things into high gear," I said, vanishing his body and weapon off-handedly. The kill hadn''t surprised me in the slightest. He had it coming. Angel energy gushed out of me, and my muscles spasmed as I activated Angel Ascension. "I get the impression that we''re not ready to face Corvus." "You have no idea," Jean said as we vanished, heading over to the Japanese Relay Station. Chapter 194 Peter Parker A few minutes ago, in SHIELD HQ The tension in the room was palpable when we arrived. The sorcerer had portaled the X-Men outside, leaving Rin to lead us into the meeting. I may have my problems with him, but he handled the attention that the teams shot our way unflinchingly like Dante or Jean would. But I couldn''t help but notice that their looks at him were quite different from the ones they directed at us. They were a mix of wonder, bemusement, surprise, fear, hunger, and even searing hate. Under the black Vibranium suit we all wore, goosebumps broke out on my skin. It''d come from Lauren, the leader of the Thunderbolts. According to the information packets Jean provided, her mutation was uncanny precision. She could hit her mark consistently with any ranged weapon she had even an ounce of training in. She hid her true feelings well, though, underneath a mask of surprise and curiosity; it contrasted her friend, Armando''s, which was mild curiosity bordering on indifference. "What''s all this?" a gruff voice called from the end of the table. It belonged to a monster of a man covered in shaggy fur. He had bright yellow eyes and canines that stuck out of his mouth, and he sat beside a naked woman with blue skin. "The Avengers," Rin announced with a smile. "Dante''s new team. He saw how hard you''ve been working to keep New York safe and thought you could use some help." He looked his girlfriend''s way, Wanda, the Red Head Psychic. "I, for one, appreciate the thought," Magneto''s eyes roved over us hungrily, earning a glower from Jessica. "What are you looking at, Old man?" "Am I to assume that you''ve all been enhanced like my friend, Pietro?" he asked, and I swallowed. "What about it?" Rin demanded, and Magneto flashed him an innocent smile. "Just taking stock of our new teammates." Nick Fury, the only person I couldn''t get a read on, finally spoke. "Let''s get this strategy session over with." "I think the Thunderbolts should guard the inside while the Avengers stick to the outside," Rin offered. Fury''s jaw tightened when Rin said Avengers, but he nodded in agreement. There was an understanding between them. Fury didn''t trust Dante and his people. And vice versa. "I guess we''re on the outside too, then," Pietro said, throwing his legs on the table and leaning back. "Like it better anyway. More room to move." The door to the room eased open, and a familiar voice spoke. "The building has been secured, the cannons armed, and the surrounding buildings have been evacuated. They''ll be no casualties if they attack." "Holy shit!" Jessica blurted out. A strangled gasp died in my throat. Colleen Wing muttered something under her breath, and Matt Murdock took an unsteady step back. "It''s really him¡­" Captain America stood in front of us, dressed in armor so advanced it was practically sci-fi. Beside him were a male and female agent similarly dressed. Behind them was Tony Stark, genius inventor and one of the smartest men in America. You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. "Please, please," he said, chuckling as he entered the room. "There''s enough Tony to go around." "Mr. Stark," I blurted out. "Oh wow. I know everything about you." Tony raised a brow. "Who let the crazed fan in here?" "Spider-man here is just star-struck," Rin explained, grabbing me by the shoulder. I almost shoved him off. He didn''t like me much because Dante paid attention to me, and I didn''t like him much because he was bloodthirsty and rude. But then again, he was Dante''s favorite student. "He can''t help it," he added before letting go. There was an explosion, and the entire building shook. Fury''s entire demeanor changed. "Control. Talk to me. What the hell is going on out there!" "Uh sir, there seems to be a¡­Chinese Dragon outside. He''s leading an army." ¡°What the hell did I sign up for," Jessica muttered, and Rin moved, tapping Mordo, who was standing at the back of the team. "Give me a view from the roof. I need to see this by myself." Mordo complied, and Rin stepped through, clothes billowing behind him. He had a look of concentration as he faced the Dragon. True to the description, it was a Eastern Dragon. Two long horns stuck out of its elongated face and dark, baleful eyes. Its black scales shimmered in the sun as it hung lazily in the air, and its thick trunk made its small limb even smaller in comparison. Its head reared back as fire gathered in its mouth. One moment, Rin was on the roof, and the next, he was in the air, a few feet from his mouth. The fire bathed him, forcing him into the side of an empty office building and threw him through several floors. A few people gasped behind me, and I winced. It was never easy seeing him take a hard hit like that. None of us could take punishment like he did. The air ruptured in a sonic boom as dust cleared out, and the Dragon flew back. It twisted in the air, blinking in confusion before it let out a roar. His demonic soldiers charged the building, but the first line never made it back to the barricade the agents set up. Turrets spurred to life, unloading 50 caliber shots that tore through several demons, and Scott gave a battle cry that ripped everyone from their seat, even as we watched across the portal. The X-Men join the fray, charging into the monstrous wave that came down on the building. I swallowed, the air pregnant with tension, and I looked around the room for direction before finally speaking. "Should we get out there and join them?" I asked in a small voice. "You might want to hold off on that," Fury spoke, his hand firmly placed on his earpiece. Rin darted back into the room at that moment, clothes covered in soot and burns, though he seemed hardly bothered by it. "What is the hold-up?" he asked, looking our way. "You''re on defense." And it was then Fury told us about the attack on the Raft. There were sightings of flying demons in the vicinity, and several guard outposts had already fallen. The demons were leading a two-pronged approach, just like Dante had predicted. "Get Dante on the phone," Fury ordered Rin. "He wanted to lead the operation. He gets to make the hard call of splitting up our forces." Dante stuck to the initial plan he proposed while we were training, which included a few notable changes. The X-Men and Wanda and Pietro were breaking off, responding to the Raft call. Rin and Mordo were peeling off to deal with the Hellfire Club, while the rest of us stayed behind to deal with the Dragon and his army. "Uh, no offense to this big-brain plan of Dante," Johnny, the resident pyromaniac, spoke up, "but I think literal Dragon trumps prison break. We need our heavy hitters here. You know, where they can heavy hit." I hate to admit it, but some timid part agreed with him. We''d all trained for the fight, but none of the Avengers were ready to take on the army. Hell, most of us haven''t even taken a life before. "Dante enhanced them like he did Pietro, remember?" Rin asked, one foot through the portal set to whisk him across town. "You underestimate just how much firepower they have between them. They can take down that Dragon if they put their mind to it. And if they can''t, the boss left Magneto in charge," he said, looking at the ancient mutant who watched the entire conversation with a quiet smile. "He says you should talk after this," Rin said before turning to the rest of the room. "If things get really bad, just call the boss. He can teleport back here and deal with the problem if it comes down to it. He also said the Adamantium knives are yours now." That revelation caused equal parts excitement and discomfort. Before he departed, he looked at me in particular. "The boss saw something special in you. Don''t let him down."