After Gawain leaped from Stark Tower, Coulson, who had been waiting outside for quite some time, immediately approached with a team of agents, pulling out his S.H.I.E.L.D. credentials as he walked.
“Hello, Sir Knight. I’m an agent with the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division. You can call me Coulson. Here are my credentials.”
Coulson offered the identification with a friendly smile, but Gawain made no move to take it.
“What is it you want, Agent… Coulson?”
“Sir, our division is responsible for handling anomalous incidents around the world. Would you be willing to have a conversation with us?”
“You handle anomalous incidents across the entire world?”
“That’s one way of putting it.”
Gawain gave him a flat look.
“You certainly think highly of yourselves.”
After saying that, he clearly had no interest in wasting any more words.
He simply turned and started walking away.
Coulson didn’t try to stop him.
He knew perfectly well that every agent present combined probably wouldn’t be enough to survive a single swing of Gawain’s sword.
Doing anything that might cause a misunderstanding right now would be disastrous for S.H.I.E.L.D.
Coulson was just about to contact Nick Fury for instructions when Fury called him first.
“Follow him. Tell him we’ve found another lead connected to the demon.”
“Yes, Director.”
Coulson ended the call and turned to look for Gawain— only to realize that the knight had vanished.
“Where?”
A calm voice suddenly drifted into Coulson’s ear without warning.
His heart clenched so violently it felt as though an invisible hand had grabbed it.
Pure instinct took over.
Coulson snapped up his pistol and aimed directly toward the source of the voice.
“Holy shit! You nearly scared me to death!”
Cold sweat beaded across Coulson’s forehead as he stared wide eyed at Gawain.
Once he realized who it was, some of the fear drained away.
Not all of it.
He quickly lowered his weapon, still watching Gawain closely as though afraid the knight might disappear again the moment he blinked.
Gawain, for his part, seemed entirely unconcerned about having a gun pointed at him.
He merely shrugged.
With his strength, what could an ordinary handgun possibly do to him?
Coulson had been badly startled, but he still had a job to do.
“According to our agents, the facility holding Obadiah Stane was attacked. Based on the evidence left at the scene, if it wasn’t the same demon from the other day, then whatever did it was almost certainly connected to that creature.”
“Lead the way. Thank you.”
This time, there was a faintly different note in Gawain’s voice.
It seemed this organization with the ridiculously long name was not entirely useless after all.
In a cave not far from New York, the Molten-Blood Demon emerged from a pool of magma.
It tossed a figure wrapped in molten rock onto the ground.
The man rolled twice before his face became visible.
Obadiah Stane.
“Cough… cough…”
Obadiah struggled to his feet.
“Mr… Demon… is there something I can do for you?”
His voice trembled.
He hadn’t forgotten that he had already resigned himself to being torn apart by Tony and S.H.I.E.L.D.
Then this demon had appeared and given him another chance at life.
After all, it hadn’t killed him.
That meant Obadiah still had value.
He simply didn’t know what that value was yet.
“You contemptible human.”
The Molten-Blood Demon stared down at him.
“Since you desire power, I shall grant you an opportunity to obtain it.”
It reached into the flowing magma covering its chest and pulled out something resembling a blood-red seed.
The instant the object appeared, the surrounding air seemed to boil.
The terrifying heat forced Obadiah to stumble backward again and again.
He opened his mouth to speak.
The Molten-Blood Demon suddenly lunged forward.
Before Obadiah could react, it drove the Molten-Blood Seed straight into his chest.
“AAAAAGH!”
The moment the Molten-Blood Seed entered his body, Obadiah felt an unimaginably violent force tear through him.
The agony dropped him to the ground.
He rolled across the cave floor, screaming uncontrollably.
Gradually, however, the screams faded.
Obadiah stared down at himself.
His flesh now looked as though molten lava were flowing beneath the surface.
He fell silent.
The transformation was complete.
He had become a Demonspawn possessing both flesh and magma traits.
Obadiah flexed his hands, feeling the tremendous power surging through his body.
A look of satisfaction appeared on his face.
He felt as though he could crush Tony to death with his bare hands.
This was stronger than the Iron Monger.
Far stronger. Find the original chapter at g.com.
“So… what’s the price, Mr. Demon?”
Obadiah had survived the business world for far too long to believe in free gifts.
Everything had a price.
If he had gained power, then sooner or later he would be expected to pay for it.
“Human, your task is simple.”
The Molten-Blood Demon bared its teeth.
“Create chaos.”
“Whether you torment that iron-clad man or strike at this nation itself, I care not. Create more chaos!”
“Serve us well, and you shall receive even greater power!”
“When my kind descends upon this world, you may even earn the right to survive!”
While manipulating Obadiah, the Molten-Blood Demon was practically using corporate psychological pressure tactics on a lifelong capitalist.
The irony was almost impressive.
Obadiah bowed slightly, his tone becoming deferential.
“Understood, my lord demon. I will create greater chaos for you, and for your kind.”
After decades of fighting his way through the corporate world, Obadiah had no problem lowering himself when necessary.
He knew exactly what he wanted.
After witnessing supernatural beings like the Molten-Blood Demon and Gawain with his own eyes, his desire for mundane wealth and political influence had already diminished dramatically.
Power like this was on an entirely different level.
That made the two of them almost perfectly aligned.
“Remember this, perform well, and you shall be richly rewarded!”
The Molten-Blood Demon pointed toward his chest.
“Through the Molten-Blood Seed, you may summon my manifestation.”
Its eyes narrowed.
“But before you do so, I suggest you think carefully about the price.”
With that, the Molten-Blood Demon dissolved into magma and vanished before Obadiah’s eyes.
Only then did Obadiah finally release the breath he had been holding.
The entire conversation had been an act of endurance.
A nonhuman supernatural entity like that naturally placed enormous pressure on an ordinary man.
And Obadiah had personally witnessed the Molten-Blood Demon’s terrifying combat power only days ago.
That made the pressure far worse.
Following the method recorded within the Molten-Blood Seed, Obadiah gradually restored his body to a normal human appearance.
Then he walked out of the cave.
If he wanted to create chaos, he needed more allies.
And in Obadiah’s opinion, Justin Hammer of Hammer Industries would make an excellent partner.
The two had once been business rivals, which meant Obadiah knew Hammer quite well.
“Heh heh…”
A vicious smile spread across Obadiah’s face.
“Just you wait, Tony.”
“Your Uncle Obadiah will be coming to see you again.”