Everyone turned their attention to the swirling black sphere suspended in the air.
Even the least experienced bystanders could tell—it had something to do with the sudden disappearance of all the demons. But what exactly happened in there?
Inside that sphere... Luke and Belasco had gone head-to-head.
What had they done?
While questions buzzed in everyone's minds, the shadowy orb began to unravel. Threads of darkness peeled away and retreated to their original forms.
"Hulk's shadow... it's back!"
"Return!"
Hulk's face lit up like a kid who just got his favorite toy back—well, considering his childlike brain, that tracked.
But while Hulk celebrated, the rest of the heroes stayed on edge.
Everyone's eyes locked on the shrinking mass of darkness, bracing for Belasco's return. Tension crackled like static in the air.
The shadows shrank... tighter and tighter...
Then something sharp pierced through the veil.
"Is that...?"
"That's his sword!" Hawkeye tensed immediately, recognizing the demonic blade. "It's that demon's weapon!"
The rest of the Avengers snapped into defensive mode.
Even Daniel, though badly wounded, forced himself upright and summoned a protective spell.
"Hold on a second!" someone called. "Something's not right!"
As the last remnants of shadow faded, it became clear—
The ten-meter-long sword didn't belong to Belasco anymore.
It was held by a human-sized figure.
"It's that guy Mordo the demon's are talking about!" Iron Man exhaled a breath he didn't know he was holding.
But even then, no one fully lowered their guard. Luke had just faced down something that terrified even demons. Was he still himself?
––––––––––
"You think you can pick a fight with me... and I walk away empty-handed?"
Luke hovered in the air, standing on his own shadow like it was solid ground.
And in his hands... was Belasco's massive sword.
Just before the exorcism finished, Belasco had been powerless to stop Luke from snatching it away.
Luke gave the sword a curious look. "This thing's ridiculous. Who even fights with something this long?"
He gripped it with both hands and gave it a few practice swings. The blade was nearly ten times his height. The hilt alone felt like holding a skyscraper column.
"Would be nice if you could shrink a little," he muttered.
As if responding to his complaint, the blade burst into hellish flames—burning from the tip down to the hilt.
Luke's eyes widened. "Whoa. Okay then."
The sword began to shrink before his eyes, the infernal fire reshaping it, condensing its power.
He stared at the glowing weapon. "Is this like... a demonic version of Thor's hammer? No, wait—Ruyi Jingu Bang, is that you?"
When the fire finally faded, the sword was now a more manageable two meters long.
Luke gave it another swing—smooth. Powerful.
"Perfect," he said with a grin. "Bet Belasco's fuming in whatever dimension he just got banished to, kekeke."
With the weapon secured, Luke glanced down at the stunned Avengers.
He began descending from the air—stepping on shadows like they were invisible stairs.
Shadow magic could turn darkness into solid footing. For Luke, walking on air was just another Tuesday.
"You guys good?" he asked, landing lightly on the cracked pavement.
Seeing the entire Avengers squad looking scuffed, bruised, and confused made him smile.
Then, catching Tony Stark in a rare moment of disheveled chaos, Luke whipped out his phone with lightning speed and snapped a photo.
Click!
"Gonna make a fan account," he said under his breath, amused. "With these pics and some edited clips... I could hit ten million followers easy."
"Ahem, hello there."
Seeing that Luke didn't have any hostile intentions, the Avengers finally let out a collective sigh of relief. The battle they'd just been through had been brutal—far worse than the New York invasion a few months back. If that strange magician hadn't jumped in to help midway through, things could've ended way worse. Someone definitely would've died.
That thought brought Captain America back to the present.
He glanced around and spotted the man who'd helped them. "That guy's injuries looked even worse than ours…"
He walked over. "Hey, are you alright, uh… Mr. Magician?"
"Call me Daniel," the man replied, still lying on the ground.
Daniel's left shoulder was split open with a nasty wound—just a little lower, and it would've struck his heart. Luckily, sorcerers trained at Kamar-Taj weren't your average humans. Their bodies were strengthened by a mix of physical training and magical reinforcement.
Without that, Daniel would've been gone for sure.
Still, he looked awful. His face was pale, and he was clearly losing blood despite the quick magical patch-up job he'd done.
"So…" Daniel said slowly, his tired eyes narrowing as he looked at Luke. "You're that kid, huh?"
"Uh… what?" Luke blinked. "What kid?"
Daniel didn't answer.
He pushed himself up, gritting his teeth against the pain, and summoned a glowing portal beside him.
"Come find me at the New York Sanctum when you have time."
Without another word, he stepped through the portal.
Just before it closed, Luke thought he heard him muttering something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like a curse.
"Uhhh…" Luke scratched his head. "Did I… offend that guy or something? I don't even remember knowing him."
As the chaos settled, the teams Tony Stark had called in finally arrived.
Cleanup squads spread out, assessing the damage and trying to get control of the situation.
The good news?
After what happened last time in New York, America had gotten pretty efficient at post-apocalypse protocols.
The bad news? This mess was way bigger.
Several entire city blocks had been reduced to rubble—stretching from midtown Manhattan all the way to Hell's Kitchen.
Damage costs? Off the charts.
But that wasn't Luke's problem.
All he wanted now was to head home, sprawl on the couch, and get back to his not-so-glamorous, demon-filled daily life.
Well, almost.
There was one last thing to deal with.
"Mordo—that's your name right? Ahem, do you want to consider joining the Avengers?"
Tony Stark walked over, trying once again to pitch the idea.
"Don't worry," he added quickly, "we're nothing like SHIELD. We'd never mess with your personal life. You'd have total freedom. Privacy. Cool gear. Plus, we could really use someone like you…"
Tony laid it on thick.
After what they'd just been through, he understood how valuable raw power could be. And newcomer before him? He had plenty of it.
Luke didn't even blink. "First of all, the name's not Mordo. Second, I'm not joining any team."
The idea of becoming a full-time hero?
No thanks.
"I've got better things to do," Luke added with a smirk. "Like playing ranked matches online. Or summoning extradimensional demons and watching them fight. Way more fun."
Tony sighed and turned to Natasha. "Nat, why don't you try talking to him?"
Black Widow raised an eyebrow. "Seriously?"
"C'mon," Tony whispered. "You've got charm. Try the honey trap thing. Worked on me before." he added with a shrug.
Natasha rolled her eyes.
Natasha knew one thing.
Unlike the ever-hopeful Tony Stark, she wasn't so easily convinced.
She knew people like Luke—people who carried that kind of power—didn't get swayed by charm or cheap tricks.
He dealt with an Avenger-level threat within a short period amount of time, and it doesn't look like he's tired and injured from it. Maybe only Thor could do something like that, but she wasn't sure.
Powerful types like him?
They always had a code.
Principles. Something deeper holding them together.
She watched Luke's figure as it got smaller in the distance, her sharp eyes flickering with thought.
There was more to this guy than flashy powers.
...
Someone else thinking the same thing was Nick Fury.
Onboard the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier, the director stood in front of a massive screen. It showed a live feed of Luke walking away from the battlefield.
His one eye gleamed with interest.
"If we had someone like that on our side," Fury muttered, "there's no fight we couldn't win."
"Director, should I step in?" Agent Maria Hill asked, standing beside him.
Hill had picked up on Fury's thoughts immediately. Her expression was cool and composed. "I could... try the diplomatic approach. Or seductive, if needed."
Fury raised a brow. "No. Not you."
Hill blinked. "Natasha, then?"
Fury shook his head again.
"For someone like him, trying to manipulate or bait him is a death sentence," he said, voice low and steady. "The last thing we need is to piss off a guy that extinguished a demon swarm, and dealt with a demon holding a big-ass motherfuckin' sword."
"Then who are you thinking of sending?" Hill asked.
Fury tapped the screen twice.
A face popped up—a familiar one. Clean-shaven, warm smile, eyes full of calm patience.
Phil Coulson.
"Coulson?" Hill's lips curved. "Actually... yeah. No one better. He's got that natural trust buff."
Fury nodded. "For someone like that guy, only sincerity works."
His eye followed the feed one last time as Luke disappeared from view.
...
Meanwhile, Luke was already far from the battlefield, walking down a quiet street in Queens.
He had no idea that both S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Avengers were currently tangled in a brainstorming mess over how to win him over.
Principles? Sincerity?
If Luke had heard what they were all saying behind his back, he would've scoffed.
"The hell? You should at least try a seduction first! How do you know I'm not into it unless you try?"
And Tony Stark? Blabbering on about "freedom" and "privacy"...
"Just tell me how much you're paying, dude! I ain't signing up for a lifestyle—this is a gig economy now!"
He shook his head, muttering under his breath. "Bunch of weirdos."
Then he stopped in his tracks.
"Wait... I forgot something."
Money.
His eyes widened.
"Oh crap—Kingpin's stash!"
Luke slapped his forehead.
He had totally left the briefcase full of cash in that warehouse after wiping out the demon horde.
"Damn it! That was ten million bucks!"
He turned around, already pulling a teleport rune out of his system storage.
"No way I'm leaving that behind. Dirty money or not, that's rent for life!"
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