Chapter 37 – Ragdoll Cat?
"…"
"System, is he really gone?"
Only after Lucifer had been gone for quite a while did Aron finally dare to move.
The first thing he did was address the system in his head.
Is he really gone?
[No demons detected.]
The system's response made Aron breathe a sigh of relief.
But then new questions arose.
"System!"
"Why did I summon Lucif…"
"Why the hell did you let me summon him from the DC universe!?"
Yes.
The one Aron had just summoned...
Was Lucifer Morningstar from the DC universe!
The very same one who is second only to God himself in terms of power!
If we translate that to the Marvel scale, that's a being on the level of One Above All!
An existence on par with the Living Tribunal or the Five Great Cosmic Entities!
[Since the user did not specify which universe Lucifer should be summoned from, the system performed a random summoning.]
The system's meaning was clear…
There are multiple versions of Lucifer, and if you don't specify, you get whoever.
"…"
"How was I supposed to know I could summon demons from other universes?"
Aron groaned.
He thought the "Heavenly Voice" could only summon entities from the Marvel world.
Who would've thought that a simple phrase could summon something like DC's Lucifer!?
System…
You're truly wonderful.
Luckily, this Lucifer was a "good guy," otherwise… Aron didn't even want to imagine what could've happened.
"You have such a function and didn't tell me!?"
[The user didn't ask.]
"…"
"Don't get angry, don't get angry… If you die, no one's replacing you."
Aron patted his chest and tried to calm his nerves.
Even though an unexpected event occurred, the result of the summoning…
For now, it looked good.
"The Morning Star's power that can resurrect the dead."
He spread his palm, and a thin golden energy appeared in his hand like a shimmering thread.
It held incredible vitality.
If he keeps that power within himself, according to Lucifer's words, he'll be immortal.
And if he uses it…
He can bring someone back from the dead.
"You can really tell he's one of the most powerful entities from a parallel universe."
"Quite generous."
Aron drew the energy into his body.
He could keep it for himself or give it to others.
In any case, one extra life.
…
After this incident, Aron had no desire to continue with summonings.
If you're not careful, who knows what you might summon.
One must admit the system is incredibly imprecise.
Both with exorcism and with summoning.
"Looks like I'll have to specify full name, address, and universe in the future…"
Aron shook his head and exited the mirror space.
"Meow, meow!"
As soon as he came out, a beautiful white Ragdoll cat ran toward him.
It let out a short sound and looked him straight in the eyes.
"?"
Aron was surprised.
He didn't know there were cats in the New York temple.
"Felicia?"
"Meow!"
"It's really you?"
"Hahaha… Didn't I tell you not to mess with things you don't understand?"
Seeing the doll-like cat nod its head, Aron paused, then laughed, almost mockingly.
After laughing, he lifted the cat into his arms.
"Meow meow!"
The cat squirmed nervously, trying to escape Aron's grasp, but it didn't stand a chance.
"Oh, why does it seem like you look prettier now than before?"
"Or you know what… just stay like this."
"Being a cat isn't that bad. I'll give you dried fish every day."
As he spoke, the doll-like cat's eyes were already filled with tears. Her white fur trembled slightly, clearly scared by what she heard.
"Alright, alright… I won't tease you anymore."
"I'll find a way to turn you back…"
He didn't get to finish his sentence.
The core of the temple, which looked like a crystal ball, suddenly lit up with a bright light.
At the same time, a familiar energy resonance spread from its center.
"Shadow demon?"
Aron frowned and immediately put the cat down.
He stared at the temple's core, from which the light was emanating.
Rays of light were connected to multiple points across the Earth, the nearest one in New York, others throughout Europe, and even on the opposite side of the world.
"Why so many locations at once… summoning shadow demons?"
The energy frequencies were familiar, identical to those from when he first summoned one of those demons.
And now… those same frequencies were appearing everywhere.
That meant someone had performed the summoning ritual at all those places simultaneously and succeeded.
"No other choice… I have to check this out myself."
As he said that, a circle of darkness appeared beneath his feet.
In the next second, he vanished.
"Meow?"
Looking toward the spot where he disappeared, Felicia, now in a cat's body, opened her eyes wide.
Meow meow?
Did you forget something?
---
New York, highway to Washington.
Nick Fury was furiously driving a black armored vehicle while over ten police cars chased after him, shooting with all they had.
A helicopter hovered in the air, also firing projectiles at his vehicle.
"Armor integrity at: 70%... 60%... 50%..."
He listened to the cold voice of the artificial intelligence as the situation grew more serious.
Fury's face was dark.
"Activate flight mode!"
"Flight mode error."
"Enable defense systems!"
"Weapon modules damaged."
"Engage autopilot!"
"Autopilot malfunctioning."
"Contact Agent Hill! And I swear to God, don't tell me communications are down too!"
Fury growled, ready to curse every engineer who worked on this vehicle.
Luckily, the system didn't annoy him this time.
"Connection established."
Soon Hill's voice came through—tense, confused.
"Director? What's happening? We lost contact with HQ!"
"Hill! Evacuate the carrier immediately! Hydra has infiltrated SHIELD! Alexander Pierce is a traitor! They just tried to kill me!"
"What!? The connection is bad! We're hearing gunfire, someone's attacking us!"
Heavy gunfire was heard through the earpiece, clearly indicating their ship was under attack too.
Fury was furious.
"Hill? Hill, respond!"
But only the sound of increasingly intense gunfire remained in the earpiece.
"Damn it!"
He threw down the receiver. When he looked up...
Standing directly in his path on the road was Alexander Pierce.