Demon

To Ancient One, the future held infinitely many possibilities. Some were more likely, others less so, and when interference from other dimensions came into play, those probabilities shifted as well.

But Shimizu periodically synchronized himself with his original body, causing the once-established course of events to change again and again.

Even though each change was small, it still gave him cause for concern.

The reason he had deployed two artifacts was not merely because Ancient One genuinely wanted to beat up Blizzard’s planner, but because he believed it was necessary.

Shimizu had no idea what Ancient One was thinking.

Right now, with the Net of Zoroaster tucked into his arms and the Eye of Myriad Phenomena monocle over his left eye, he walked into his home.

Mordo followed behind him, along with two Kamar-Taj sorcerers clad in yellow monk robes with hoods.

"Oh, Wade, this estate of yours looks just like something out of a movie!"

A young blond sorcerer curiously surveyed the golf course and swimming pool of Wade Manor before following Shimizu toward the living room.

"He has far more than just one estate. All right, Carlisle, this is Master Wade’s home. Let’s not be too rude."

Mordo spoke to the young blond sorcerer behind him.

The other sorcerer, a bald middle-aged Asian man, merely rolled the prayer beads in his hand with an expressionless face, unmoved.

"Young Master Wade."

Butler George entered the living room carrying a tray of tea and gave Shimizu a slight bow.

"George, prepare some lunch for my friends."

"Certainly, Young Master Wade. Should I prepare more vegetarian dishes?"

George looked over the guests, who were dressed somewhat like monks.

Shimizu looked to Mordo.

"No need. We eat meat, but we generally don’t drink alcohol or eat heavily flavored food, lest it disturb the peace in our hearts."

Mordo shook his head.

"No, Mordo, I think you should eat some. Tranquility is a state of being, a state in which one remains unmoved by external things. Only by learning to find peace amid chaos can you ensure that your heart remains calm at every moment."

Shimizu said this to Mordo.

Casting spells required intense concentration, so some sorcerers believed they needed to reduce the interference external material desires had on them in order to maintain their magical power at all times. This had even given rise to ascetic sects.

But that school of thought had gradually become the belief that the more hardship one endured, until one grew accustomed to suffering and could maintain inner peace amid extreme pain, the less anything in this world could shatter that peace.

Shimizu admired such people, but did not particularly agree with them.

That was merely one path toward inner peace.

That old man Ancient One ate with grease all over his mouth and never avoided spicy food, yet it did nothing to stop him from being the strongest sorcerer on Earth.

"To neither rejoice over material gains nor grieve over personal losses—to control one’s heart whether facing good or bad things, that is true tranquility. Master Wade, I have learned much."

The bald Asian sorcerer pressed his palms together and gave Shimizu a slight bow.

Upon hearing the words "Master Wade," George’s body stiffened.

"Young Master Wade, don’t tell me you’ve become a monk?"

"No. Why would I become a monk? I can’t live without alcohol, meat, or beautiful women. I have tens of billions of dollars in assets—how could I possibly become a monk?"

Shimizu said helplessly.

"That’s good."

Knowing the Wade family would not die out, George contentedly carried the tray away.

"Before we eat, let’s discuss the dimensional anomaly that appeared here. This is the location detected by the Orb of Agamotto. It’s here. After lunch, I plan to visit the New York Sanctum with Liu, then investigate it."

Mordo pulled a crumpled map from his breast pocket and pointed to a location on it.

"Watos, display a map of New York. Zoom in on Lexington Avenue in the Manhattan District. Use Osborn satellites to monitor the area in real time."

Shimizu snapped his fingers. The table in the center of the living room immediately sank into the floor, replaced by a row of small projectors that displayed a real-time holographic overview of Lexington Avenue above the table.

"No need to investigate so quickly. That could alert them. This works just as well for now."

Mordo: …

"Have there been any murder cases in this area recently? Summoning creatures from the Hell Dimension generally requires an extremely bloody ritual."

The bald sorcerer surnamed Liu looked at the holographic display.

"Watos, retrieve records from the New York Police Department and FBI for unnatural deaths and missing persons in this area and its surrounding districts over the past three months."

Windows instantly popped up above the holographic map of New York, dozens in total.

"The Eye of Agamotto detected the dimensional disturbance at 10:48 this morning."

Master Liu added the information.

The windows vanished at once.

Because it was now 10:53.

Five minutes was not enough time for anyone to discover anything.

"Should we ask the sorcerers stationed at the New York Sanctum?"

The blond sorcerer Carlisle raised his hand.

"We already did. They’re investigating too, but they haven’t found anything. Still, over the past few months, they’ve frequently detected abnormal energy signals in this area, without any results."

Mordo raised his phone, displaying chat records from Messenger.

"Display all unnatural death cases in this area from the past three months. Exclude closed cases such as traffic accidents. Check the last known locations and social connections of all missing and deceased persons. Search their emails, phone records, social media, and chat apps. Identify overlapping connections among them."

Shimizu spoke again.

The number of cases rapidly dropped to a little over ten.

Shimizu quickly reviewed them and soon identified something suspicious.

Eight of those people had joined a private association called the Covenant Assembly in the months before their deaths.

And while not all of them were necessarily wealthy or powerful, even the least affluent among them was a lawyer at a New York law firm. Every one of them belonged to society’s elite.

"Gather all information online related to the Covenant Assembly."

Shimizu instructed Watos again.

Before long, Watos pulled up one piece of information after another and placed them before Shimizu.

"A cult that encourages others to indulge in immediate pleasure, with wolves and fish as its totems. It looks like a heretical sect."

"It doesn’t just look like one. If they summoned a demon, then they are one. Wade, can you find their location?"

Mordo sprang from his chair, looking ready to skip lunch and go wage a bloody battle against demons.

"Not yet. We still haven’t found their exact gathering place. I’ll have Watos monitor all communication devices belonging to other people connected to them. In any case, let’s eat first."

Shimizu turned toward the doorway.

Several chefs in white hats pushed a dining cart into the room.

The Covenant Assembly did not keep Shimizu and the others waiting long.

Watos monitored every overlapping account on the social media and chat apps of those eight people, tracked the phones associated with those accounts, and used signal tracking to lock onto their real-time locations.

When several locations overlapped, it would be time to close the net.

"Try to keep the disturbance to a minimum. Should I notify the police first?"

In an alley outside a bar, Shimizu asked Mordo and the other two sorcerers.

"No need. We’re very experienced in handling this sort of thing."

Mordo replied steadily.

"All right, but whatever’s inside doesn’t seem ordinary."

Shimizu used the Transparent World to peer into the depths of the bar. A thread invisible to the naked eye swiftly extended from his left sleeve and darted into the bar.

Mordo took the lead, bringing Carlisle and Master Liu toward the bar’s entrance.

Shimizu stood where he was and thought for a few seconds. Then he formed a Hand Seal and used Transformation Jutsu, changing into someone else before entering.

As a billionaire and an Avengers superhero, his face was highly recognizable—not only in New York, but throughout all of America.

To avoid unnecessary trouble, it was better to disguise himself.

Wearing an utterly ordinary white man’s face and using the Net of Zoroaster to cover the glowing portion of the Mind Stone Scepter, Shimizu walked in with steady steps.

Mordo and the others moved quickly. The three coordinated smoothly, covering one another as they used portals to avoid the crowd’s sightlines, swiftly dealt with the guards, then charged all the way into the basement.

This was an underground dance hall, and every person wore a mask or hood.

When Shimizu stepped past the unconscious guards and entered the dance hall, he even saw people wearing Iron Man masks and Lightning masks among the crowd…

"Wow, a masquerade ball. Though one of them isn’t wearing a mask."

Shimizu looked toward a wolf-headed man in a suit who was approaching them with an alluring white-haired woman in his arms.

"I told you, if we kept this up, we’d easily draw the Sorcerer Supreme’s attention."

The woman whispered to the werewolf at her side.

"But we haven’t done anything that bad."

"Don’t forget what happened this morning."

"Darling, that was an accident. Besides, didn’t we try our best to trap that thing in the restroom? I can barely maintain my human form anymore."

The werewolf scratched his head, then obediently stood before Mordo with the woman.

Mordo and the others exchanged glances.

It was their first time seeing someone this cooperative.

After some discussion, they finally understood what had happened.

The pair were named Earth Wolf and Bona, and both came from Britain.

The former was an earthbound spirit, while the latter was the Lady of the Lake. Unwilling to remain trapped in one small place, they had abandoned their divine offices, which had become so weak they possessed almost no power, and left Europe to make their way in the world. They sought followers, acquired blood offerings, and grew stronger.

The Covenant Assembly had been founded by the two of them. They used supernatural power to draw in the wealthy and powerful, then occasionally selected some scum to sacrifice in exchange for benefits and power.

But an accident had occurred during that morning’s sacrifice. The two had inadvertently turned the sacrificial ritual into a summoning ritual and called forth a demon from Hell.

Fortunately, the two had some sense and knew to take remedial action in time. Otherwise, if the Kamar-Taj sorcerers discovered what they had done, they would likely deal with the pair as well.

So they temporarily sealed the demon inside a restroom, intending to figure out how to eliminate it later. Ideally, they would do so before the Kamar-Taj sorcerers arrived, which might lessen their punishment.

"Take us to the restroom. After we deal with the demon, you’ll come with us to Kamar-Taj and beg the Sorcerer Supreme for forgiveness."

Master Liu rolled up his sleeves, revealing his powerful arm muscles as he stared at Earth Wolf and the Lady of the Lake.

"Yes!"

Earth Wolf quickly led them toward the restroom.

"We used up almost all the power I’ve gathered over the past half year, and spent quite a few other things besides, just to barely confine it in the restroom."

Outside the restroom door, Earth Wolf pointed at the seal on it.

He had sealed the entire restroom, and the door was the key to opening the seal.

"What should we do? I suggest luring the demon out and drawing it into the Mirror Dimension."

Mordo looked to Shimizu for his opinion.

After their previous battle, Shimizu had earned his respect through his strength.

"That works."

Shimizu nodded slightly.

Whenever Kamar-Taj faced a relatively difficult magical incident that might cause considerable commotion, they would try to have a sorcerer proficient in Mirror Dimension magic lead the operation, in order to minimize the incident’s impact on the mundane world.

"My artifact can protect multiple people at once, while Carlisle’s artifact can increase our speed of escape. The two of us will go in and lure out the demon. Wade, I’ve heard you’re very powerful and your spells are devastating. You should hide in the Mirror Dimension first, then deliver the killing blow once the demon enters."

Master Liu said to Shimizu.

He had not seen Shimizu’s battle with Mordo, though he had heard about it.

But he was still unsure of Shimizu’s combat experience, so he assigned him this relatively safe but important task.

"All right."

Shimizu gave a slight nod.

Mordo took a small makeup mirror from his pocket, propped it up on a stand before the restroom door, and cast a spell to open the Mirror Dimension, like shattered glass.

Shimizu stepped inside.

After waiting only a little over ten seconds within the Mirror Dimension, Shimizu saw Liu and Carlisle burst in through the entrance.

One of the prayer beads in Liu’s hand glowed slightly dimmer than the others, while Carlisle held a crystal ball that continuously released blue mist around them, allowing both men to move with astonishing speed.

"It’s coming."

Shimizu gripped the Mind Stone Scepter.

He had already cast a spell on the scepter, using Chakra to imitate mystical energy and form the Vishanti Sword at its upper end, transforming the scepter into a gleaming greatsword.

A jet-black, faceless monster rushed in. It had a huge mouth, and its body resembled an enlarged, twisted bookworm.

This was a demon?

Why was it so much uglier than I imagined?

That appearance was downright embarrassing for demons.