Sorcerer in the Marvel Universe

Nick Fury was still processing Peggy Carter’s impassioned declaration.

For one alarming moment, he imagined the future.

Peggy Carter leading a delegation into his office.

Maria Hill at her right.

Natasha Romanoff at her left.

Demanding better benefits, improved leave policies, and equal treatment for every female agent in S.H.I.E.L.D.

...

No.

This was an intelligence agency.

Surely that would never happen.

His eye drifted toward Evenson, who looked perfectly innocent.

This is your fault.

With a weary sigh, Fury asked,

"Is there anything else you’d like to confess?"

"Actually..."

Evenson nodded.

"You’ve been wondering about my followers."

"Good."

Fury folded his arms.

"That saves me the trouble of asking."

He had known they were unusual ever since meeting Hubs.

What he hadn’t expected was just how formidable they really were.

Captain America had been completely overpowered by the giant.

Natasha had been captured almost immediately.

An entire S.H.I.E.L.D. strike team had been flattened.

Only Melinda had been deliberately allowed through.

"You once told me Hubs was one of your magical creations."

Fury fixed Evenson with a probing stare.

"Are the others the same?"

"Did you create them from magic?"

"Mutate people?"

"What exactly are they?"

"Neither."

Evenson shook his head.

"Back then, explaining everything would’ve taken too long."

"So I simplified the answer."

He smiled.

"But today..."

"...I’ll tell you the truth."

"They aren’t my creations."

"They aren’t mutated humans."

"They never were human."

His smile turned faintly unsettling.

"They..."

"...don’t belong to this world."

Fury leaned forward.

"Then what are they?"

Evenson pointed at him.

"Melinda told you about Mephisto."

Fury immediately felt a headache coming on.

Recently, mythology had developed an annoying habit of becoming reality.

Asgard wasn’t just a collection of ancient legends.

It was an advanced extraterrestrial civilization.

Biblical demons apparently existed as well.

And the ruler of Hell had personally shown up on Earth.

None of these beings had the decency to respect his worldview.

The most frustrating part was that S.H.I.E.L.D. had almost no intelligence on any of them.

The Asgardians were manageable.

Lady Sif could answer a few questions.

With enough diplomatic effort, perhaps Earth could even establish formal relations with Asgard one day.

Hell was another matter.

How exactly were they supposed to gather intelligence there?

Throw an agent off the eighteenth floor?

And if they somehow reached Hell...

How were they supposed to send reports back?

Through haunting people’s dreams?

"Do you remember what Mephisto called me?"

Evenson asked.

"...Demon Wizard."

Fury spoke the title quietly.

"But are you one?"

"You’ve always insisted you’re a warlock."

Evenson’s expression became unmistakably proud.

"Among practitioners of dark magic, there are specialists."

"Some study demons."

"Some master curses that kill unseen."

"Others wield destructive hellfire."

He raised one finger.

"None of them are true warlocks."

"Because..."

"...only someone who has mastered all three paths earns that title."

"I told you before."

"Even among dark spellcasters..."

"...warlocks are exceptionally..."

He stopped.

Fury’s face hadn’t changed at all.

"...Why don’t you seem surprised?"

"I am surprised."

Fury answered calmly.

"Really?"

"I can’t tell."

Fury pointed at his own face.

"My eye’s opened as wide as it can."

Evenson examined him thoughtfully.

"...Still can’t tell."

"Maybe it’s because your face is too dark."

He threw up his hands.

"Come on!"

"I’m telling you my followers are demons."

"I’m a warlock who deals with demons."

"I’m supposed to be frightening."

"I’m supposed to be the evil one!"

Fury answered with perfect seriousness.

"The evil one..."

"...needed a job before I hired him."

Critical hit.

Evenson stared in silence.

Fury continued.

"Let’s review the facts."

He began counting on his fingers.

"A man who commands demons and practices forbidden magic..."

"...spent years worrying about rent."

"...works for S.H.I.E.L.D."

"...and has repeatedly risked his life protecting this planet."

He raised another finger.

"Meanwhile..."

"A so-called god destroyed one of my research facilities."

"Stole the Tesseract."

"Got dozens of my agents killed."

"And turned one of my best people into his puppet."

His voice hardened with every sentence.

"So here’s my conclusion."

"The power you wield may be cruel."

"It may be destructive."

"But you..."

"...have repeatedly protected this world."

"I can’t honestly call you evil."

Evenson was just about to applaud.

Then Fury added,

"That said..."

"...you’d better explain exactly how those demons arrived on Earth."

There it is.

Evenson had expected that question.

"A Demonologist’s lifelong goal is to form contracts with demons and summon them."

He shrugged.

"For a warlock..."

"...it’s practically basic training."

Fury frowned.

"You can summon living beings from another world?"

Humanity had spent over a century searching desperately for extraterrestrial life.

Meanwhile...

This man had apparently been importing it as employees.

"Yes."

Fury fell silent for a long moment.

Finally he spoke.

"You’re worried that Loki using the Tesseract will attract powerful civilizations."

"So why aren’t you worried about attracting attention from the demons’ world?"

"Or..."

"...are they simply too weak to matter?"

Evenson chuckled.

If that particular force ever noticed Earth...

Whether he worried about it or not would become completely irrelevant.

Instead of answering directly, he asked,

"S.H.I.E.L.D. claims to have eyes everywhere."

"If one tribesman vanished from a remote village in central Africa..."

"...would you notice?"

Understanding dawned immediately.

"So you’re saying..."

"...you’ve summoned too few to attract attention."

"Exactly."

"The demons live within the Twisting Nether."

Evenson spread his hands.

"It dwarfs our universe."

"The number of demons there exceeds the number of ants on Earth."

"If a few minor demons disappear..."

"...or even a few thousand..."

"...no one notices."

"’Minor demons?’"

Fury echoed.

"Hubs nearly defeated Captain America."

"That’s your definition of minor?"

Evenson nodded matter-of-factly.

"He’s a regular soldier."

"By their military standards..."

"...he’s roughly equivalent to a squad leader."

Not even an officer.

Just competent frontline infantry.

Fury’s expression became very serious.

"From this day forward..."

"...you are forbidden from summoning any more demons."

"Gladly."

Evenson waved dismissively.

"I can barely afford to feed the ones I’ve already got."

"Why would I want more?"

Fury’s expression didn’t soften in the slightest.

Seeing that, Evenson sighed dramatically.

He stood, raised one hand solemnly, and declared,

"I, Evenson Richter, swear upon the Well of Eternity, source of boundless magical power..."

"...that I shall never again summon another demon into this world."

Fury finally nodded.

That sounded sufficiently impressive.

Besides, Evenson hadn’t added any new followers in years.

The current group had all appeared together long ago.

Satisfied, Fury let the matter drop.

After all...

Honesty often made the best disguise.

Even Kil’jaeden had once been known as the Deceiver.

Before anyone could continue, the office door burst open.

A bald S.H.I.E.L.D. agent hurried inside.

"Director!"

"We’ve located Loki."

Fury immediately stood.

"Where?"

"Germany."

"Stuttgart."

"Königstraße 28."

"I’ll go."

Evenson answered before Fury even looked at him.

He already knew what was coming.

Peggy rose as well.

"I’m coming too."

She flexed one gloved hand.

"I’d like to see what my new abilities can really do."

Fury nodded.

Then added one final instruction.

"And bring our guest along."

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