Chapter 365 Is This Magic?

"They are conspiring to summon demons."

Chief Black continued the conversation. Since they had followed Daolong trail to Italy and with S.H.I.E.L.D. becoming one of Area 13 allies—especially now that the enemy had escalated from just Daolong to Daolong and Hydra—he naturally chose to share intelligence with S.H.I.E.L.D.

"According to our estimates, Daolong has prepared many unnecessary magical items during his flight. Our magic consultant, Old Daddy, is very certain these are essential for a mysterious summoning ritual…" he said, glancing at Old Daddy beside him, "This ritual can open a portal through time and space to summon powerful demons from hell."

"That right," Old Daddy nodded. "It an ancient magic ritual. Historically, it said that in ancient times, someone used this ritual to summon the demon Satan."

"Satan?" Coulson expression shifted.

Although he had no understanding of the magical world, he had read the Bible, where Satan, once an angel created by God, fell and became a demon, turning into God adversary.

The strength of a being who could stand against God seemed self-evident.

"Understood," Coulson nodded, thinking for a moment before saying, "So, after we arrive, you handle Daolong and this mysterious ritual, and we'll take care of the rest of the Hydra members."

The roles were clearly divided.

Chief Black nodded.

He hadn't anticipated Daolong forming a link with the infamous Hydra. If he had known this earlier, he would have insisted on not only needing the help of the Dark Justice League members like Constantine and Shazam but also support from others like Batman.

However, even though Batman and others weren't positioned yet, at least they had S.H.I.E.L.D. as a fallback.

As sworn enemies, S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra had been at odds for a long time, and the former should have a thorough understanding of the latter.

Therefore, Chief Black was confident they wouldn't face the under-prepared scenario he worried about.

Shortly after.

As the group hurried towards the small town in northern Italy.

At that time.

In Valletta Aosta.

Castle.

This historic ruin had long been occupied by one of Hydra leaders, Baron Strucker.

After Alexander Pierce, a prominent public leader of Hydra, was captured, the leadership of Hydra had fallen into Baron Strucker hands.

Due to conflicts with the Justice League in the United States making it difficult for Hydra to operate, Strucker had shifted most of Hydra resources to Europe, which he already controlled.

Leveraging contacts and Hydra years of accumulation, Strucker successfully raised a powerful armed force, further expanded Hydra influence, and solidified his leadership.

He had even found a pair of siblings with superpowers, successfully brainwashed them, and started researching superhumans.

Although progress was limited, this led him to connect with a sorcerer from the magical world, or rather, a black magician, establishing sufficient ties.

This sorcerer from the magical realm, Daolong, promised Hydra that as long as they helped him summon demons, he would assist Hydra in training more sorcerers to rule the world.

Of course, Strucker knew that both parties were using each other.

But both parties also understood that as long as the other held value, cooperation could continue indefinitely.

Interests.

Always the best tie that binds relationships.

"Baron, sir."

Suddenly, one of Strucker subordinates knocked on the door of his room, looking very serious and slightly panicked, quickly said, "News from the airport, the head of Area 13, Chief Black, has arrived in Italy by chartered plane. Currently, the personnel accompanying him are unknown, but it certain that Area 13 has made contact with S.H.I.E.L.D."

"What?"

Strucker was taken aback, he had not anticipated such a sudden situation.

District 13 had emerged and established contact with S.H.I.E.L.D., likely indicating a partnership akin to that between Daolong and Hydra.

"Are they coming towards us?"

Strucker calmed down, looked at the messenger, and asked in a deep voice, "I need you to find out exactly how many of them are coming."

"Understood."

The subordinate nodded in agreement.

Moments later.

Through some secret channels, Strucker got hold of the personnel list of the S.H.I.E.L.D. and District 13 group, and his face grew completely somber.

"Baron, do we need to retreat?"

His subordinate asked cautiously.

"Retreat?"

Strucker was silent for a long while, took a deep breath, and said coldly, "No, it too late now, they're already on their way here, they'll be at the castle in half an hour at most."

"What should we do then?"

The subordinate actually had an idea.

"Get ready."

Strucker commanded, "Prepare for battle."

"Understood."

After that, the subordinate left.

Strucker then went inside the castle, to an old man with graying hair and an Asian appearance.

This man was none other than Daolong.

"Mr. Daolong, we don't have much time."

Strucker said, "You have half an hour to prepare your summoning ritual, and if you can't summon Satan, we're likely to be stuck in this castle."

"Oh?"

Daolong, hearing this, showed no sign of surprise and calmly asked, "The pursuers have arrived?"

"Yes."

Baron Strucker stated, "The enemy is very powerful, just Hydra and your power alone are not enough to confront them. Therefore, we need Satan assistance."

"Don't worry, the ritual has already begun and cannot be disrupted."

Daolong was full of confidence.

He turned to Strucker, "When the enemy arrives at the castle, they will find that they have bitten off more than they can chew."

"Let hope so."

Strucker nodded.

A moment later.

All of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents surrounded the castle perimeter.

Coulson, Anton, and others also arrived in the area.

In the dense forest.

Looking at the towering castle and its thick walls, Anton face was calm.

But his companions, including Coulson and Sheriff Blake, looked very solemn, sensing the tension of an imminent battle.

Especially the old man.

The old man looked very upset, sensing a rotten smell in the air.

This was the scent of demons.

"This is bad."

The old man looked around at his companions and warned, "This castle is filled with a very strong demonic aura, everyone, the demon has already been summoned."

Upon hearing this, the entire group fell silent.

Coulson had not yet reacted when he saw people like Jackie Chan looking horrified at the old man.

Jackie Chan exclaimed, "What?"

"The demon has already been summoned, does that mean we are about to face the demon Satan?"

Sheriff Blake was also quite terrified.

Having experienced the demonic invasion of District 13 before, he was fully aware of the presence of demons.

Especially now, it seemed the demon summoned by Daolong was not comparable to the demons faced by District 13 before.

The son of a demon lord and a true demon lord are not at all comparable.

"Gulp!"

Seeing the reactions of those around him, Coulson also realized the gravity of the situation and looked to the old man.

At this moment, the Ghost Rider, Johnny, was quite surprised, "Wasn't it said that the ritual required very complicated steps to complete?"

"Daolong is a very powerful sorcerer we underestimated him again," said the old man helplessly.

"Anton, where are Constantine and Shazam?" Sheriff Blake looked at his companions, voicing the most urgent question in his mind.

Regardless, as long as reinforcements arrived, they would stand a chance.

"They have arrived."

As he spoke, Anton looked towards the castle and said lightly, "They are now inside the castle."

"Ah?"

Everyone around him exchanged glances.

"When did this happen?"

Coulson was also greatly surprised.

At his side, Maria Hill, the Secretary of S.H.I.E.L.D. who had just regrouped with everyone and had been leading S.H.I.E.L.D. agents in monitoring the situation at the castle, was even more surprised as she looked at Anton and the distant castle.

"When did this happen?"

Hill could swear that she had been guarding here for most of the day, and the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents she led, all elite-level agents, were no weaklings.

However, even such a sharp team of agents was unaware of the tracks of Constantine and Shazam as mentioned by Anton.

"How could this be?"

Hill couldn't understand, "Could it be through magic?"

While contemplating.

Everyone looked at the castle, their expressions varied, but eventually, they all came to a common decision.

"Hydra has detected our movements their lines are fully retracting, and we can no longer observe any of their actions... This means, Hydra has fully understood their current situation."

Hill looked at the people around her, "In other words, we can't execute a stealth attack as previously planned, now our only option is a direct assault."

"Wait for my signal."

Anton suddenly spoke up, taking the initiative, "Constantine and Shazam have already infiltrated their inner castle, wait for their signal."

"What kind of signal?"

jade was curious.

"You'll know soon."

Anton replied.

Elsewhere.

Inside the castle.

Anton two magical identities, Constantine and Shazam, had already secretly infiltrated this castle.

They were sneaking around inside the castle.

Because they shared memories with their main body, they were very aware that Hydra, inside, had taken full precautions against the arrival of S.H.I.E.L.D. and District 13 members.

"The magic circle isn't here, it further inside."

Constantine suddenly spoke, looking at the Shazam beside him.

Although both were parts of Anton, capable of telepathic communication, their human nature made them more accustomed to using verbal communication.

"I can feel that the demon has already appeared... but for some reason, these places don't seem to have turned into the hell on Earth I had imagined."

Constantine was puzzled.

According to his knowledge of demons, even though what he knew were not the demons of Marvel but those of DC,

the commonalities between them let Constantine know that if there really was a demon here, it would not be as calm as it was now.

Of course, the Hydra members they had knocked out upon infiltrating shouldn't be included in this assessment.

"It is strange indeed."

Shazam fully understood what Constantine meant.

Since they were both parts of the same person with fully interconnected consciousness, if he couldn't understand, then no one could.

After pondering for a moment, Shazam eyes suddenly widened, sensing four rather significant forces of magic rapidly approaching him and Constantine.

"The enemy is coming!"

Following that, Constantine expression also became instantly serious.

Rewinding time to a few minutes ago.

When Constantine and Shazam had just entered the castle and taken down a few guards, their tracks were already captured by the dense surveillance cameras within the castle.

"The enemy is here... It those two from the Justice League!"

The subordinate reported this news to Strucker.

Strucker was standing right next to Daolong.

"Mr. Daolong, these two, please have your men take care of them."

Strucker knew very well that facing members of the Justice League, Hydra power alone was insufficient.

Fortunately, they had recruited a suitable person.

"Kam, Wen, Cui, Shan!"

Daolong nodded, picked up his wand, and summoned with a command.

Dark energy swirled chaotically around their space, then flew out towards the entrance, heading straight for Constantine and Shazam.

Meanwhile.

Daolong chanted a spell.

From the shadows around them, figures holding weapons and wearing masks surged forth.

"The Shadow Legion..."

Strucker, seeing this, showed an expression of astonishment.

Although it wasn't the first time he had seen such a scene, every time he saw it, it still stirred his mind.

If Hydra could master this extraordinary power...

The difficulty of conquering the world would be greatly reduced.

"It Daolong four subordinates and the Shadow Legion…"

Shazam quickly identified the identities of the newcomers.

"Our infiltration has been discovered, it time for the people outside to make a move and relieve some pressure for us."

Constantine and Shazam exchanged a glance.

The next moment.

Shazam soared into the air and raised his hand to release terrifying bolts of lightning.

Boom!

Simultaneously, the sky above the castle rapidly gathered dark clouds, and within those clouds, lightning flitted like fish, gathering into clusters before thunderously striking down towards the castle.

Lightning bolts, thick as an adult thigh, fell like rain.

Boom!

The ancient castle instantly crumbled, and its walls collapsed.

Many Hydra members lurking behind the walls were struck by the lightning and fell from the towering walls into the forest below, their cries of terror silenced.

This scene occurred just a few minutes after Anton response.

"Hiss—"

Everyone saw this, gasped, and turned to look at Anton.

"Is this the signal you mentioned?"

jade looked stupefied, watching the dark clouds in the sky and the terrifying lightning strikes, then looked back at the old man.

"Old man, is this magic?"

"How come it different from the magic you used to perform?"