Chapter 368 Adopting the Hellboy

Hellboy.

Originally named Anung Un Rama, he is a superhero from Dark Horse Comics, which is not part of the same universe as Marvel and DC.

Dark Horse Comics is the third largest comic book publisher in the United States, behind only Marvel and DC.

However, in the 21st century, amidst the long-standing rivalry between Marvel and DC, this third titan almost got knocked out, as its fame couldn't quite match the other two.

Yet, as the saying goes, a camel is bigger than a horse. Dark Horse Comics still possesses its iconic comic book characters and has adapted many of its works into popular media.

Such as: Hellboy, The Mask, Sin City, Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense, 300, Alien vs. Predator, among others.

From another perspective, one of Dark Horse biggest contributions was their movie adaptations, like 300, which introduced Zack Snyder—a director with a very distinct style—to Warner Bros.

Of course, these are all asides.

Shazam looked at the red-skinned, horned baby Constantine was holding, lost in thought.

What going on here?

Did the dimensional barrier crack?

Did daolong summoning ritual actually bring a Dark Horse Comics character into the Marvel Universe?

Though surprised, Shazam wasn't entirely taken aback by this thought. He had already been briefed by the Ancient One about the possibility of such occurrences.

Moreover, with hints of Hellboy appearance, compared to characters like Deadpool, Hellboy didn't seem too far off base.

"A demon?"

"This is what daolong summoned?"

Quicksilver and Wanda, observing the baby in Constantine arms, instantly recognized its demonic likeness and understood its identity.

However, they couldn't understand why daolong, who had confidently claimed he could summon a powerful demon lord from hell, ended up summoning a demon baby that seemed incapable of speech.

"What should we do?"

Constantine looked at Shazam, who appeared baffled.

Clearly, both were at a loss.

Not just Constantine and Shazam, but also Anton, standing beside S.H.I.E.L.D. leaders, Coulson and Hill, outside the castle, sharing the memories of Constantine and Shazam, also found themselves puzzled.

All this effort, and they summoned a baby version of Hellboy...

"What wrong?"

Coulson and Hill noticed Anton zoning out, seemingly having discovered something, so they asked.

"Nothing."

Anton shook his head, returning his focus to the castle now fully breached by S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, and stated simply, "It ending."

"Yes."

Coulson nodded, agreeing with Anton conclusion.

"It ending!"

Strucker death did not affect the outcome.

Regardless of Strucker fate, he couldn't change the fact that this Hydra base was being thoroughly overrun by S.H.I.E.L.D. agents.

Furthermore, daolong conflict with District 13 was doomed to fail.

On one hand, he overestimated daolong.

On the other, he overestimated Quicksilver and Wanda, or rather, he underestimated Shazam capabilities.

"Let go."

Shazam glanced at Quicksilver and Wanda beside him, then signaled to Constantine, and the four of them slowly left the area.

Quicksilver and Wanda were very cooperative.

They knew Shazam could easily kill them.

Only by obeying could they survive.

They didn't want to die.

At least, not before they had achieved their goal of revenge against Tony Stark.

The four, carrying a non-human baby, walked out of the area.

Outside.

The battle between daolong and District 13 continued.

However, daolong clearly wouldn't last much longer, his four dark assassins being systematically exterminated under the suppression of the Ghost Rider, Johnny.

For them, the Ghost Rider was almost like an executioner.

Armed with the Penance Stare.

Gan, Wen, Cui, and Shan felt regret as their souls were consumed by the flames of hell, leaving no possibility for their revival.

Meanwhile, the multitude of Shadow Legion ninjas, though numerous, posed little threat due to their limited individual capabilities.

The members of District 13 hardly expended any effort in combating these foes, maintaining their high spirits even as the numbers of emerging ninjas dwindled.

Victory was in sight, and no one was about to retreat at the last moment.

"daolong, you have failed! Surrender now!" Old Dad shouted loudly.

"Surrender?" daolong sneered.

"What nonsense are you spouting, old man? You think I would lose to you? I will never lose to you in my life!"

"We shall see about that," Old Dad retorted.

"The demon I summoned has already appeared wait until he tears you into pieces."

Despite the unfavorable situation, daolong remained composed, not taking Old Dad threats or the surrounding chaos seriously.

Even the deaths of his four dark assassins didn't shake him the sacrifices would be worthwhile once the demon was truly summoned.

He could sense that the demon he summoned was already present in this world, signaling he had gained another demonic minion.

"Ha ha ha ha!" daolong laughed loudly.

"I can feel him coming, getting closer and closer. You're all doomed! Soon, you will learn what a demon from hell is like."

As he spoke, a surge of demonic energy instantly swept through their surroundings.

Old Dad expression changed drastically.

Even those like Jackie Chan, who were insensitive to demonic energies, felt a chill, sensing that something was amiss—perhaps Shazam and Constantine had not successfully stopped the mysterious summoning ritual after all.

"Oh no!" Old Dad muttered, his gaze intensely focused on the entrance of the summoning ritual.

The Ghost Rider, Johnny, who had just finished off the four dark assassins, also fixed his flame-filled hollow gaze on the approaching foe.

"Oh?" But what he saw was not an enemy, but an ally.

A faint voice arose, seemingly with a hint of laughter.

"daolong, is this the demon you spoke of?"

As he spoke, the first things to appear from the entrance were a pair of hands and the baby they held.

Everyone turned towards the sound and witnessed an astonishing scene.

Constantine emerged from the entrance, cradling a baby with goat horns and deep red skin that looked like dried blood, which made onlookers uneasy.

What was most terrifying was that despite the baby innocent face, it radiated a horrifying demonic energy, as if its small body harbored unimaginable power.

"He..." daolong was stunned.

He stared in disbelief at the baby Constantine was holding, baffled.

"A demon child, a baby?"

daolong was incredulous. "No, how is this possible? How could I have summoned a demon baby?"

"Unfortunately, what you see is the reality," Constantine said as he shifted the baby in his arms, looking at the Hellboy, Anung Un Rama, with his eyes wide open, innocently.

He understood why, in the original storyline, Hellboy adoptive father, Professor Broom, would want to adopt such a non-human child with demonic lineage.

"Your last resort is gone, daolong."

This time, Old Dad burst into laughter.

He held the dried lizard, chanting, as the words echoed in everyone ears.

"Evil spirits and demons, begone!"

"Evil spirits and demons, begone!"

A green demonic mist erupted from the mouth of the lizard, instantly enveloping the stunned daolong, sealing his formidable demonic energy.

"No!!" daolong collapsed to the ground, utterly despondent.

Subsequently, the members of District 13 advanced and captured daolong.

Meanwhile.

The battle inside the ancient castle was drawing to a close.

Hydra members, lacking top-level combatants, couldn't possibly withstand the assault from S.H.I.E.L.D.

Their calls for Strucker would go unanswered.

Leaderless, Hydra personnel inside the castle were defeated in succession, most dying in battle, with the remainder captured.

The incident came to a perfect conclusion.

There was just one issue unresolved.

What to do with the demon baby Constantine was holding.

Kill it?

Even if Constantine didn't stop them, members of District 13 like Jackie Chan couldn't bring themselves to do it.

Jackie Chan, although decisive, was exceedingly kind-hearted.

jade was naturally fearless.

Old Dad and Tru go without saying—they would never harm a life proactively.

Only Chief Black hesitated.

And Johnny, as the Ghost Rider, looking at the baby with demonic lineage in Constantine arms, felt no evil from this little one.

It normal for a baby to be born innocent.

But what baffled Johnny was that this baby was a demon.

In everyone imagination, demons are utterly evil and cunning creatures, embodiments of humanity dark side.

However, for the first time, Johnny discovered that a demon child could be just like a human child—born clean and innocent, despite being surrounded by hellish flames, yet bearing no sin.

This was the first time Johnny didn't feel aversion towards a demon, but instead was filled with curiosity.

"Constantine, how do you plan to handle him?"

Jackie Chan looked at the man holding the demonic baby, both curious and troubled.

He wasn't sure what Constantine was thinking, but he knew he didn't want to see Constantine kill a baby, even if it was a demon.

After Jackie asked his question, everyone in District 13, including Old Dad, Johnny, Tru, and jade, all turned their gaze to Constantine.

Constantine looked around, somewhat amused by their reactions.

"Do you really think I would kill him?" he countered.

"We can't think of any other way to deal with a child who has demonic lineage," Jackie admitted honestly.

Everyone else nodded in agreement.

Indeed, not just Jackie, but everyone else was at a loss for how to deal with the child.

"It simple. Find him a suitable place to be adopted," Constantine suggested.

"Adopt him?" Jackie and the others showed surprised expressions, exchanging looks.

Constantine decision took them by surprise. While it was a possibility, making it a reality seemed far-fetched to them.

Who could adopt a demon? Who would want to?

Although Jackie and the others were reluctant to kill a life that appeared newly born, they were also unwilling to adopt a demon that might grow up to turn on its caretakers.

"It not impossible for District 13 to adopt him," Chief Black suddenly brightened up with an idea.

"No," Constantine shook his head.

"Not District 13. You'd turn him into a weapon, and that defeats the purpose of adoption."

"Then who do you plan to let adopt him? Batman? Yourself? Or maybe Shazam?" jade asked curiously.

The others waited for Constantine answer, intrigued by the idea of Batman adopting the demon.

"No, not Batman, not me, and certainly not Shazam. He shouldn't be raised with any ulterior motives by us…"

As Constantine spoke, a familiar voice suddenly emerged from behind everyone.

"It me."

As these words were spoken, everyone turned to see Anton, along with Coulson and Hill, standing in a corner of the area, having listened to their conversation.

It seemed they had been there for quite a while.

"I will adopt him," Anton announced, looking around at everyone astonished expressions.

"I can adopt a demon. As it stands, I am probably the only one who has the capacity to do so."

After this statement, Coulson and Hill, standing next to him, displayed the same shocked expressions as Jackie and the others.

"You?" Everyone stared at Anton, puzzled as to how he could have such confidence and conviction to adopt a demon.

"I am a member of the Justice League, associated with your Dark Justice League and District 13.

Additionally, I am the leader of the Men in Black under the World Security Council and one of the founders of Wayne Enterprises.

I also have good relations with the military and the World Security Council…" Anton briefly introduced himself, then added, "

No one is more qualified than me to adopt him in a legitimate and proper manner."

Anton logic made sense.

Of course, there might be better candidates than Anton to adopt the demon in Constantine arms.

For instance, Jackie Chan, a member of the Dark Justice League and advisor to District 13, could be a suitable choice.

But looking at jade next to him, Jackie felt that if the demon, or rather if jade and the demon grew up together, the demon true nature might reveal itself sooner than expected, turning into a disaster.

"Alright," Constantine waved his hand dismissively. "We can discuss this issue after we leave this place.

However, I will definitely find him a suitable foster family where he can grow up in the right environment." He paused,

"And who knows? Maybe when he grows up, he might become an asset to us."