Mysteries On Marvel

"Devout believers?"

Natasha frowned slightly. "You're saying one must be a devout believer in God to summon an angel?"

Eren gave a dismissive laugh. "What did you think? That anyone could just summon an angel? You really believe that God is so kind and generous, responding to any random call by sending an angel? Like interdimensional travel is so simple?"

Natasha wasn't actually a believer, so she showed no reaction to Eren's flippant remarks about God.

On the contrary, she seemed pensive after hearing him out.

If it really was as Eren claimed, then the sudden appearance of that six-winged angel in Harlem would make more sense. Otherwise, given how long S.H.I.E.L.D. has been around, they would surely have documented more than one angelic descent by now.

Still, if this is all true, then who exactly summoned the six-winged angel in Harlem earlier? Could it have been one of the high-ranking figures in Catholic or Christian circles—someone who, like Eren said, foresaw the demon's arrival and rushed to New York to summon the angel and save the city?

In that case, maybe I should suggest that the agency investigate prominent religious figures who've appeared in New York lately. We might turn up some clues.

Of course, it's also possible the mysterious summoner is someone local. That would make the search range a lot bigger.

Natasha glanced at Eren again, almost involuntarily. Even though Eren's sarcastic comments about God didn't fit the profile of a devout believer at all, she couldn't shake the feeling that the person who summoned the angel might be connected to him in some way.

Of course, she had no proof—only a gut instinct.

Seeing her uncertain gaze, Eren quietly sighed inwardly.

She still doesn't believe me? How did she end up suspecting me at all? Are women's instincts really that scary?

In the next moment, Eren's star-like eyes seemed to darken, becoming infinitely deep. Natasha, who had been watching him closely, felt as if her consciousness were being pulled into a bottomless abyss.

At the same time, the mental force field that had been quietly circulating inside the Aston Martin invaded Natasha's mind, helping Eren subtly alter her thoughts.

Having failed at hypnosis several times before, Eren didn't plant any deep-seated mental imprints this time. He simply nudged her suspicion of him toward the idea that some high-ranking member of the Church must have performed the summoning.

After all, it was already more plausible to suspect a prominent Church leader than Eren. Even if Natasha eventually broke free of this mild hypnosis the way Norman or Bucky had, she wouldn't find her new assumption strange, nor would she guess Eren had tampered with her thoughts.

A little over ten minutes later, the Aston Martin pulled up in front of a somewhat older apartment building. Natasha got out and leaned into the window. "Thanks. If the intel you gave me is legit, we'll compile some global data on supernatural incidents for you soon."

Not waiting for a reply, she headed toward the entrance with confident, graceful strides, then stepped into the lobby of a building labeled "Stark Apartments."

Eren watched her disappear through the door, a hint of meaning flashing in his eyes before he steered the car back toward Chinatown.

The USB drive he'd given Natasha was information gleaned from a Hydra base his "Joker double" had infiltrated—filtered by Eren and finally passed on to her. Though it didn't contain a huge list of Hydra agents, it included enough leads that, if Nick was even half as capable as his reputation suggested, he'd trace out some real clues to Hydra.

And given Nick's famously suspicious nature, he would definitely mount a relentless pursuit of Hydra after this, likely turning S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra alike into a madhouse—just what Eren needed to reap some rewards and deliver a dose of payback, teaching Hydra the severe consequences of provoking him.

Driving back, Eren kept glancing at the Magician's Ring on his finger. He had originally assumed it was different from those dangerous, taboo objects with severe side effects—he'd thought it might be a harmless extraordinary item. But he'd been mistaken.

The ring does have a side effect; it's just subtle enough to go unnoticed at first. Had his mental training not reached a point of inner tranquility, he might never have realized how the ring was quietly influencing his behavior.

The side effect is basically a growing desire to perform. After wearing the ring, the bearer unconsciously wants to show off in front of others—an understandable trait for a magician seeking the spotlight.

Reflecting on it, Eren realized that when he disguised his low-level Holy Light Healing as a magic trick for Helen, or when he summoned the six-winged angel atop the rooftop earlier, this urge for showmanship had likely played a part.

He could have been more discreet, summoning the angel from a hidden spot. If he had, not even Tony would've guessed his identity.

Yeah…

Similarly, that little stunt with Natasha and the USB drive—"magically" placing it at her chest—was probably also influenced by the same urge.

Eren swore he was only trying to perform a quick magic trick to surprise her… He had no idea she'd interpret it as flirting.

He rubbed his thumb over the ring, hesitating briefly before deciding to keep it on. "Forget it. I'll treat this as practice for playing the magician role."

When Eren finally returned to Chinatown, he parked in a nearby garage and went into his house.

Down in the basement, which he'd remodeled as part lab and part cold storage, lay the massive corpse of the Abomination. The six-winged angel that had carried the body here had long since vanished into motes of light once its time was up.

Eren stopped in front of the cold-storage door. Gazing at the Abomination's large corpse, he patted the head of the little monster at his side. "That corpse probably holds special power. Want to devour it?"

After all, the Abomination was created through an imperfect super-soldier serum combined with Hulk's blood.

Although its potential was definitely less than the Hulk's, the fact that it could overwhelm the Hulk at first showed that its body contained significant secrets. If the little monster could gain something by absorbing the Abomination's flesh, it'd be a boon.

Eren considered exchanging the corpse with the Scales of Fate, but he wasn't sure what it was worth. What if it's basically worthless to the scales? So he figured it was better to let his pet devour it.

The little monster tilted its head, enjoying Eren's affectionate pat, and looked toward the Abomination's mangled remains in the cold storage. A sharp "chomp" sound escaped its mouth.

Ever since the angel had brought the Abomination's body here, the little monster had caught its unique scent—so enticing it made the creature drool.

Yet it never tried to take even a nibble without Eren's permission. It had even collected the dripping blood in a glass jar, awaiting Eren's instructions.

Now, with Eren personally allowing it to feast, the little monster practically jumped for joy. It darted its long, wet tongue toward Eren's hand in a lick of gratitude.

"Stop! Quit licking me…"

Eren managed to push the drooling tongue away, only to find his sleeve soaked in monster spit. He scowled playfully at his "dog," then stepped over to a sink to wash the sticky drool off his hands.

The moment Eren turned around, the little monster's maw expanded to fill almost the entire cold storage. In an instant, the Abomination's huge corpse vanished—along with the jar of blood, which the monster eagerly licked clean.

As Eren, now with his back turned, dried his hands, he spoke again without looking. "Make sure you brush your teeth afterward. And hey, clean up the cold storage too, yeah? The Abomination was nasty-looking, and I'm pretty sure it left the place a mess."

"Chomp!" the monster replied. A red glow flickered over its body, and a moment later, the walls of the cold storage began to ripple as if alive. Sprinkler heads—more fitting for a bathroom than a cold-storage room—emerged from the ceiling, spraying down every surface.

Neat rows of towels appeared, somehow already soaked with cleaning fluid, wiping the corners of the room. Mops, guided by some invisible force, dragged themselves across the floor, and dirty water drained neatly away through newly formed grooves in the floor.

Once done, the little monster trotted to its oversized water basin to "brush its teeth."

Finished washing his hands, Eren glanced over at his pet, who was happily cleaning up, and at the seemingly animate cleaning tools busily making the cold storage pristine. He couldn't help but smile.

Ever since this strange creature was born, it had never once betrayed him. It was a faithful companion—and on top of that, he'd never had to clean his home again. Not needing to handle any housework sure is…nice.

Just as he was basking in that thought, Eren noticed a faint yellow radiance flicker around the little monster's body. The light quickly spread through the entire house, leaving subtle yellowish patterns on the walls and floors.

"…What's this?"

Surprised, Eren stepped forward and touched the wall and floor, which seemed to be veined with pale yellow lines. The little monster, done brushing its teeth, hopped over excitedly, letting out rapid "chomp, chomp!" sounds.

Thanks to his enhanced mental abilities, Eren found he could sort of decipher the creature's chatter. Stroking the monster's smooth head, he asked, uncertainly, "So you're telling me that after devouring the Abomination, you absorbed some unique power and grew tougher? Is that it?"

Hearing that Eren understood, the little monster made more happy "chomp, chomp!" noises, bobbing its big head in excitement.

Greater toughness…

The Abomination's skin was nearly impervious to conventional weapons—machine guns and rocket launchers couldn't penetrate it. So if the little monster gained a similar defensive trait, that'd be huge.

To confirm, Eren had it retrieve some "animated" firearms it had stored—pistols, submachine guns, and even a sniper rifle—and test them against the newly transformed walls.

After a round of gunfire, Eren noted a clear improvement. Already fortified by the monster's abilities, the walls now seemed to have an extra layer of protection. Pistol and SMG rounds couldn't even leave a dent. Sniper rounds did sink in a bit, but were ultimately bounced off by some invisible membrane.

"Not bad."

Seeing how his base of operations was now even more secure, Eren smiled. At the very least, he'd be able to sleep more soundly at night.

Elated, the little monster kept nuzzling him with its head. Then, a golden sphere suddenly rolled out of Eren's pocket.

(End of Chapter)

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