Sorcerer in the Marvel Universe

Umbrella had always sold itself as a biotechnology company.

More importantly, that promise had been one of Evenson’s favorite ways to keep people interested.

Ross was a perfect example. He had agreed to work with Umbrella and continued following the twins’ recommendations for several reasons. Umbrella had helped elevate his position, and its mysterious origins had certainly intrigued him.

But what truly impressed him was the biotechnology.

Ross believed Umbrella possessed mature, cutting-edge biological technology. That was what he had been waiting to see.

Evenson had always intended to make that reputation a reality.

A company’s signature technology was most valuable when nobody else could easily replicate it.

The mechanical exoskeletons were impressive, especially for something that was nearly ready for mass production. But there was an obvious problem.

People could easily dismiss them as a cheaper imitation of Tony Stark’s Iron Man armor.

Worse, if Stark’s technology was eventually reproduced or adapted from Umbrella’s work, the company could end up looking like a copycat rather than a revolutionary force.

That would severely limit Umbrella’s influence and its ability to change the world.

From the beginning, Evenson had believed Umbrella needed exclusive control over at least one truly unique core technology.

Things were different now.

In the past, Umbrella and its supposed biotechnology had existed entirely inside Evenson’s lies and ambitions.

Now the company was real.

It had funding.

It had facilities.

And most importantly, Evenson had accumulated a considerable stockpile of valuable research materials.

His biotechnology program was finally ready to move from fantasy to reality.

Then this mysterious competitor appeared and disrupted everything.

They threatened not only Umbrella’s future profits but Evenson’s entire plan to establish a monopoly over advanced biotechnology.

Naturally, he was worried.

"All right. Countermeasures."

Evenson planted his hands on his hips, his expression dark.

"I assume you’ve already figured out how we’re going to deal with this competitor."

He had absolutely no doubt the twins would have an answer.

Salorath and Oleseth had once been among Kil’jaeden’s most capable servants. Schemes and manipulation were practically their native language.

Their plots had once been capable of bringing entire cities, even entire worlds, to their knees.

Eliminating a business competitor should have been child’s play.

The twins exchanged a glance.

Then Oleseth casually shrugged.

"You tell us."

Evenson stared at her.

She continued, "You’ve been the company’s absentee owner since the day we founded it. Every little responsibility gets dumped on us. If the entertainment room downstairs weren’t so comfortable, I would’ve hired a secretary to run the whole company and spent the rest of my time relaxing."

"What?"

Evenson blinked.

They really didn’t seem concerned.

At least, not nearly as concerned as he was.

His eyes shifted.

Then inspiration struck.

"Listen. I don’t think either of you understands how serious this is."

He leaned forward.

"If this competitor stays in business, they’re going to eat into our future profits. And if our profits shrink, your entertainment budget is going to shrink with them."

That got their attention.

Ever since arriving on Earth, the Eredar Twins had somehow become even more decadent than they had been in the Twisting Nether.

Once, they had dreamed of conquest and destruction.

Now they were rapidly evolving into professional shut-ins.

Food. Drinks. Entertainment. Smoking.

That was practically their entire schedule.

If running a company hadn’t been entertaining enough to keep them interested, Evenson wasn’t entirely convinced they would have agreed to do it at all.

So appealing to their sense of duty was useless.

Money was much more effective.

His message was simple:

If I screw up this business and lose all our money, you’re going back to living like ordinary people.

They’d be buying laundry detergent by the kilogram.

The horror.

Unfortunately, the twins weren’t that easy to manipulate.

Salorath lazily scratched one of her horns.

"You’re a co-owner of the company. You own fifty percent. Surely you have an opinion on something this important."

"Oh, thank you for remembering that."

Evenson’s voice dripped with resentment.

"I hope you remember it when the dividends are distributed, too."

Oleseth gave him a sympathetic look.

"You know perfectly well that your current circumstances make it inconvenient for you to suddenly have access to a large amount of money."

"My circumstances?"

"We’ve already put your share somewhere safe."

She spoke with the patient tone of someone explaining finances to a child.

"When you’re older... no, when the time is right, we’ll give it back to you. We even found an excellent place to keep it."

She paused for emphasis.

"Eight percent interest."

Evenson’s eyes lit up.

"Seriously? You found an investment with returns that high?"

"Of course," Salorath said confidently. "It’s a hundred-year fixed-term deposit. Naturally, the interest is substantial."

Evenson’s expression froze.

He clutched his chest.

For a moment, he genuinely felt as though he’d been punched.

A hundred-year deposit.

He wasn’t sure whether he should laugh or cry.

At this rate, protecting Earth had just become a financial obligation. He needed to make sure the planet survived long enough for him to collect his money.

And perhaps he should make absolutely certain that whatever bank was holding it didn’t collapse before maturity.

"A hundred years," Oleseth said with an amused smile, drawing out the words. "Such a terribly long time."

She paused.

"Or perhaps I should say terribly short. It’ll be over before you know it."

"Hmph."

Evenson turned away.

There was no way he believed these two former demon masterminds didn’t understand the difference between the perception of time held by immortal beings and that of mortals.

A hundred years meant something very different to them.

Evenson sighed.

Financial independence was apparently not happening anytime soon.

Fine.

He shook his head and returned to the matter at hand.

"You wanted my opinion? Here it is."

His expression hardened.

"We find the competitor. Then we make them disappear completely."

The twins stared at him.

"Their existence threatens my plans. Any threat to those plans needs to be eliminated."

Evenson waited.

He had to admit, that sounded appropriately ruthless.

A proper villain’s solution.

The twins looked unimpressed.

Very unimpressed.

Salorath stared at him for several seconds before finally raising one hand.

"I have no idea how you’ve survived on this planet for so many years."

Evenson’s eyebrow twitched.

"Maybe you’ve spent too much time around lesser demons," she continued. "Your intelligence may have started declining to match theirs."

Oleseth rolled her eyes.

"Your brilliant plan could have been invented by an abyssal demon with a head full of sulfur."

Evenson’s face darkened.

He’d heard plenty of insults in his life.

But this one hurt.

There had once been a very wise woman who described abyssal lords as large, powerful, and spectacularly stupid creatures.

Being called large was merely stating a fact.

Being called stupid?

That was personal.

"Fine."

Evenson folded his arms.

"What would you two suggest?"

"Acquisition."

Salorath barely lifted her eyelids.

"At our company, I’ve got an entire floor filled with market analysts, researchers, investment risk specialists, accountants, forensic accountants, and lawyers."

She spoke as though she were discussing something completely mundane.

"They’ll monitor the competitor. They’ll investigate their finances, evaluate their technology, study their organization, and assess their vulnerabilities."

She smiled faintly.

"Then, once the dust settles, we’ll buy them."

Evenson listened.

"The company, the technology, the research team..."

Salorath’s smile widened.

"Even the founder himself, if necessary, will become an Umbrella asset."

Evenson slowly nodded.

"That’s..."

"Efficient?" Oleseth supplied.

"Yes."

"Profitable?"

"Very."

Oleseth’s smile turned almost predatory.

"And we may be rather aggressive when negotiating the price."

Salorath shrugged.

"Why do all the work yourself when you can simply buy the finished product?"

Oleseth gave him an utterly shameless smile.

"I, for one, am looking forward to it."

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