Demons and Angels

Wang Bert leaned back in his chair and asked, "Can’t work for me anymore? Wade, don’t tell me someone poached you?"

Wade gave a miserable laugh. "If only I were that lucky. I have cancer. I’m dying soon. That old bastard God really never loved me."

Seeing Wade’s despairing face, Wang Bert laughed inwardly. He pretended to be confused and asked, "You have cancer? So what?"

"So what?"

Wade stared at him in disbelief. "BOSS, it’s cancer. I can’t keep working. I need treatment and see if I can live a few more months."

"You think getting cancer means you don’t have to work anymore? Dream on."

Wang Bert snorted coldly. "Get your ass back to work. Do you know how much I lose for every day you delay? Selling you wouldn’t even be enough to repay the debt."

"BOSS!"

Wade was furious and aggrieved. Wasn’t this too heartless? He even wanted to squeeze the last remaining value out of a cancer patient.

Wang Bert shouted with the air of a shameless capitalist, "What? Let me tell you, unless you die, cancer or even full-body paralysis, you’ll still come to work like a good little employee."

"…"

Wade trembled with rage. Yuriko could not help saying, "Wade, Money Power. Omnipotent Money Power."

"What bullshit Money Power? Hmm, Money Power?"

Wade cursed at first, then suddenly realized what she meant. He shouted in delight, "BOSS, you can cure me?"

"Isn’t that obvious? It’s not like I haven’t cured it before. Seriously, is your brain stuffed with grass? You have the greatest boss in the Entire Universe, yet you’re still acting like you want to live or die?"

Wang Bert said irritably, "Even without me, you still have Deadpool. Just switch bodies. Deadpool’s body is immortal."

"I just didn’t think of it. The shock was too much, and my brain went offline."

Wade was a little embarrassed. With a flattering expression, he said, "BOSS, help cure me. I may not have money, but I promise I’ll work every day and do overtime every day. Uh, if you’re interested in me, I wouldn’t mind either… Ah!"

Wang Bert hurled the globe from his desk at Wade’s head and cursed loudly, "Wade, you’re about to become a father. Can you be a little more serious?"

"Oh, right. I’m about to become a father."

Wade rubbed his head and said, "I can’t keep acting like this. I need to set a good example for my child and let him become a gentleman."

"A gentleman? That kind of gentleman?"

Wang Bert mocked him. "Enough nonsense. I’ll treat you right now. Don’t worry, it’s safe and has no side effects. You’ll be better in an instant."

"BOSS, I’m ready."

Wade said excitedly. Wang Bert did not waste words. He raised his hand, snapped his fingers, and said, "Done. Now get back to work."

"That’s it?"

Wade blinked. If Wang Bert had charged him money, he would definitely have thought the man was a scammer. At least throw in some special effects or something. Wang Bert sneered. "Do you expect me to hold that disgusting thing in my hand and show it to you?"

"Definitely not. You don’t want to see it, and neither do I."

Wade gave an exaggerated salute and said, "BOSS, I, Wade Reborn, will return to work immediately. Starting today, I am a merciless work machine. Use me as you please. No need to be polite."

With that, Wade eagerly turned and left—he was going to the hospital for a checkup to confirm that he was really fine. It was not that he did not trust Wang Bert, but this matter was too important to him. Besides, his boss could really be a bastard sometimes.

"This guy."

Wang Bert could not help cursing. Yuriko asked, "BOSS, I always feel like you treat Wade differently."

Wang Bert shook his head without answering. Since he had cut off the possibility of Deadpool appearing, he naturally had to treat Wade better. Otherwise, he would be letting Deadpool down too much.

"Deadpool, this is the life you truly wanted, right?"

Wang Bert murmured softly. Vaguely, he seemed to see someone giving him the middle finger.

"No need to thank me. It’s what I should do."

Wang Bert smiled. At that moment, Wade ran back into the office and said, "BOSS, there’s something I almost forgot to mention. Domino told me something seems off with the Mutant Brotherhood."

Wade explained in detail what Domino had reported. Wang Bert frowned slightly. Was something about to happen within the Brotherhood?

"Have Domino find out what’s going on."

After thinking for a moment, Wang Bert ordered, "The situation for mutants is good right now. We can’t let the Brotherhood come out and drag us down. The negative impact would be secondary; the military might use public opinion to force me to eliminate the Brotherhood."

"Okay."

Wade nodded. Since he was not going to die, Domino’s head would naturally remain his responsibility.

At the Mutant Brotherhood New York Branch, Domino received Wade’s call and asked in astonishment, "Weren’t you about to die? Why are you suddenly so energetic?"

"With BOSS around, dying isn’t easy even if I want to."

Wade grinned smugly and relayed Wang Bert’s instructions.

Domino nodded. "No problem, leave it to me. I won’t die anyway. Wade, I don’t know what happened, but I’m glad you didn’t die, even though I’ve always wanted a different contact."

"Should I say thank you?"

Wade complained. "Be careful. If anything feels wrong, immediately use the bracelet to teleport away."

"Don’t worry. I value my life very much."

Domino hung up. After thinking for a moment, she took out a bottle of liquor and got herself drunk. Then she walked into the hall and cursed loudly in front of everyone, "I thought joining the Brotherhood would let me take revenge on those damn humans. I never expected the Brotherhood to be a bunch of cowardly turtles."

"Another lunatic."

Quite a few people frowned at her words. A female mutant walked over to support Domino and said, "Domino, you’ve had too much to drink. I’ll help you back to rest."

"I’m not drunk. I want revenge on humanity."

Domino shouted loudly. According to her observations, the sneaky people all shared one trait: they were filled with hatred for humans.

It was perfectly normal for mutants to hate humans. Before Wang Bert appeared, mutants were more detested and revolting than demons in the eyes of ordinary humans.

In a corner, a figure quietly noted Domino’s appearance, preparing to report to John shortly. If nothing unexpected happened, they would soon have another companion.

Meanwhile, in a room within the branch, Azazel was deep in thought. Human Torch said, "Azazel, what are you still hesitating for? Don’t tell me you want to be a coward like Magneto? Believe in the Doomsday Master with me. When the time comes, whatever you want, you’ll have it."

"John, I am indeed dissatisfied with Magneto. The problem is that the Doomsday Master wants to destroy the world."

Azazel said, "I haven’t enjoyed this colorful world nearly enough yet."

"Your outlook is as shortsighted as mine used to be. The Doomsday Master told me that this world is false. Only by destroying the false world can we transcend it and enter the real world."

Human Torch said, "Besides, My God is not only the Doomsday Master, but also the Hell Lord. He possesses an entire layer of Hell. There is everything there. I guarantee you won’t be disappointed."

"A false world? The Hell Lord?"

Azazel looked stunned. Thinking of something, Human Torch smiled and said, "Azazel, don’t you think you and the Doomsday Master are a perfect match?"

"A perfect match? A demon and the Hell Lord are indeed quite compatible."

Azazel laughed helplessly. After thinking for a moment, he asked Human Torch, "Human Torch, do you know how many years I’ve lived?"

Human Torch asked in confusion, "Are you older than Wolverine?"

Azazel sighed. "Much older. I have lived for thousands of years."

Human Torch’s eyes widened. "Thousands? Don’t tell me you met Napoleon and Alexander?"

"I really did meet them."

Azazel smiled. "In fact, the demons recorded by humanity were me."

Human Torch looked utterly shocked. "The demons recorded by humanity were you?"

"Not just me, but also my kin. We are Demon Type Mutants."

Azazel said, "Besides us, there was also a group of Angel Type Mutants. Thousands of years ago, for certain reasons, we fought a great war. In the end, the Angel Clan was nearly wiped out, while our Demon Clan was exiled to a small dimension. Only I was lucky enough to escape disaster and remain on Earth.

"Humans witnessed that history, but they were rather ignorant. They mistook the war for a religious conflict where angels crusaded against demons."

"So that’s the truth behind angels and demons?"

Human Torch was dumbfounded. Everything Azazel said was completely beyond his imagination.

"Sorry, but that is the truth."

Azazel spread his hands and said, "All these years, I’ve been searching for a way to save my kin. At first, I had no clue at all. Later, I came up with a solution: constantly produce descendants and use their power to bring my kin back.

"I was close to succeeding, but Mystique took away the most important Descendant, Nightcrawler, causing all my efforts to fail. Human Torch, if you can help me capture Nightcrawler, I am willing to believe in the Doomsday Master.

"Not only me—my kin will all believe in the Doomsday Master as well and become true demons."

"Capture Nightcrawler?"

Human Torch hesitated. Nightcrawler was a mainstay of the Mutant Guardians and stayed at the Mutant Affairs Department all the time. Capturing him would not be easy at all.

Seeing this, Azazel continued, "Human Torch, you and I are alike. We both hate Iron Man to the bone. But with our strength, it is impossible for us to kill Iron Man. Even if we defeat him, it would be the same, because he can teleport away."

Human Torch nodded. "Iron Man’s spatial ability is indeed troublesome. That’s one of the reasons I recruited you. Your spatial ability can help us counter Iron Man."

"I can’t. Though I hate to admit it, I truly am no match for Iron Man."

Azazel shook his head. "To deal with Iron Man, we need my kin. If you can rescue them, Iron Man is as good as dead. Several hundred demons would be more than enough to take care of him."

"I see."

Human Torch was tempted. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Fine, I’ll help you capture Nightcrawler. But first, we need to take control of the Brotherhood. Otherwise, we won’t have enough people to capture Nightcrawler. He’s a core member of the Mutant Guardians now."

"No problem. I’ll help you take control of the Brotherhood."

Azazel was overjoyed when Human Torch agreed. He asked, "Human Torch, how many people have you recruited already?"

"A little over ten."

Human Torch replied, "They have received the Doomsday Master’s blessing. They are much stronger than before."

"That’s a little too few."

Azazel thought for a moment and said, "How about this? I’ll take you to the other branches to secretly recruit mutants dissatisfied with Magneto, then transfer all of them to the New York Branch."

"Good idea."

Human Torch’s eyes lit up. He had not chosen the wrong person. Azazel was even more useful than he had imagined.

Azazel said, "Manpower won’t be a problem. Next is Magneto. To control the Brotherhood, we must deal with him. The problem is that he is extremely powerful, capable of matching an entire army by himself."

"Leave Magneto to me."

Human Torch said arrogantly, "I’m confident I can defeat that old bastard."

Azazel looked at Human Torch and said, "Human Torch, Magneto is not that simple. His true strength far exceeds your imagination."

"It’s my true strength that far exceeds your imagination. I am the Doomsday Master’s messenger, Jealousy."

Human Torch raised his hand. A mass of pitch-black flames blazed in his palm. Even Azazel felt a chill in his heart upon seeing those flames, as though he were about to die at any moment.

"A divine messenger? It seems the Doomsday Master favors you greatly."

Azazel glanced at Human Torch and said, "Let’s make two preparations. If you can defeat Magneto, that would naturally be best. If you cannot, we’ll use Quicksilver to threaten him. Magneto cares deeply about Quicksilver."

"I said I can defeat Magneto."

Human Torch was somewhat displeased. In his eyes, Azazel clearly did not trust him.

Azazel was skilled at reading people. Seeing Human Torch’s unhappy expression, he immediately said, "Quicksilver is very fast. We must capture him first. Otherwise, if he escapes, he will expose our plan."

Human Torch hesitated for a moment before nodding. "That makes sense. Then we’ll capture him first. I want to burn both father and son to death at the same time."

"I’ve wanted to burn Magneto to death for a long time."

Azazel smiled. "No time to waste. I’ll take you to the other branches right away to persuade those mutants."

"Fine."

Human Torch nodded. Azazel then placed his hand on Human Torch’s shoulder, and the two vanished at the same time.

The next day, President Richard summoned a large number of reporters for a press conference. The reporters were somewhat speechless. He was about to leave office, so why was he holding press conferences every day? "Maybe it’s precisely because he’s about to leave office that he holds them every day. If he doesn’t hold them now, he won’t get another chance later."

One reporter whispered, and the others laughed. Although the election had not begun yet, everyone knew President Richard was doomed to lose.

Seeing that the reporters were uninterested, President Richard snorted inwardly. He said, "There are two matters for today’s press conference. First, I want to tell you that I have never intended to give up on reelection. Over the next half month, I will launch speeches across the country to promote my platform."

"Huh?"

All the reporters were dumbfounded. Had President Richard’s brain really not been kicked by a donkey?

A reporter in black asked bluntly, "President Richard, as far as I know, your campaign has been suspended for several months, and you even diverted your campaign funds."