"This is a good opportunity for the Demon Slayer Corps to enter S.H.I.E.L.D.'s radar, so it shouldn't be wasted..."
Quinn pondered slightly and looked at the Twelve Kizuki closest to Tamayo's location.
"Then, let's go!"
Manhattan, in a cafe.
Tony stood up and shook hands with the middle-aged man across from him. "Thank you, Captain George, for your help. I'll remember your kindness this time."
"You don't need to thank me. I'm telling you so much out of selfishness."
George shook Tony's hand, picked up the jacket from the back of his chair, and continued. "If you can, I hope you can find the murderers of these cannibal cases and bring them to justice.
I know it makes the police seem incompetent.
But it's been two months, and we haven't made any progress. The facts have already told the world about the police's incompetence."
"You don't need to tell me. I'd do the same regardless."
"I wish you all the best."
George took one last deep look at him and turned to leave.
Tony sat back in his seat, holding his coffee cup, lost in thought.
He'd made an appointment with Captain George Stacy to learn about the attack on a wealthy man's villa that had happened the night before, hoping to get more clues and details.
And he'd gotten more clues than expected.
Not only was there a scene full of cobwebs that looked like a spider's lair, but also many bullets that required a special pistol to fire, with power that could tear through alloy steel plates.
Moreover, based on this case, George had linked the frequent cannibal cases from the past two months and speculated that the murderer wasn't a beast but a criminal with extraordinary power.
But this speculation was so unsubstantiated and so bizarre that no one believed it.
George had told Tony about this, hoping Tony could use Iron Man's identity and resources to investigate the truth. He'd also told Tony the details of those cannibal cases one by one.
That's why they'd chatted from morning to afternoon.
And now, Tony was integrating the information he knew and reasoning through it methodically.
The case of the attack on the wealthy man's villa the night before... Judging from the scene, it undoubtedly aligned with his previous guess—that Blade as a vampire hunter had found a monster hidden in the villa and broken in to kill it.
It just wasn't clear whether the monster in the villa was a vampire or the demon that Tamayo had mentioned.
But judging from the surveillance video at the scene and on the streets afterward, there was an 80% chance Blade had escaped after losing. And battles between vampire hunters and vampires had never been recorded with the hunter fleeing in defeat.
Therefore, the possibility that the monster was a vampire was very low.
However, it couldn't be inferred it was a demon—it could possibly be other unknown monsters.
But the cannibal cases that had occurred frequently over the past two months were very similar to what Tamayo said demons would do. If you made assumptions on the premise that there were no vampires or monsters other than demons in the world, then the culprit was 100% a demon.
But there was a problem Tony didn't understand.
Demons had existed for almost a thousand years. If the murderer was really a demon, with their habits, it would be impossible for them to only start attacking humans two months ago.
Or had they just come to New York two months ago?
Considering the demon Tamayo mentioned came from Japan, this possibility wasn't impossible.
"Sir, people from S.H.I.E.L.D. are here."
At that moment, Jarvis's voice sounded in Tony's earphones.
Tony came back to his senses and looked toward the cafe door. The bald man wearing a coat and an eyepatch was walking toward him.
"Tony, there are many things we need to share with each other!"
Awakening from the depths of consciousness, Coulson opened his eyes. The daylight that suddenly met his gaze made him subconsciously close them. He raised his hand to cover them, and then...
Wait.
Wasn't my hand broken?
Coulson suddenly remembered something and sat up abruptly, displaying his intact hands before him.
"What's going on!?"
Coulson flipped his hands and looked back and forth in disbelief. After confirming he wasn't dreaming, he fell into confusion.
Was investigating Tamayo and Tony, then being attacked by demons, a dream?
"It seems the transformation went smoothly!"
At that moment, a calm voice came from beside him.
Coulson heard the sound and looked at the elegant woman in a printed kimono standing silently by the side—Bobbi and Yushiro standing on either side of her.
"...This isn't a dream, so what happened to my hand?"
Coulson shook his hands, his expression even more confused.
"I transformed you into a demon." Tamayo said indifferently. "Because you were already unconscious at the time and couldn't decide for yourself, after asking your companion, I transformed you into a demon. Compared to the amazing vitality of demons, your injury doesn't even count as an injury."
"Demon?"
Coulson was startled, then clenched his fists and felt the inhuman power coming from his body.
"It's actually true!"
Coulson lowered his fist, his eyes filled with disbelief.
But then he looked bitter.
S.H.I.E.L.D. was searching for extraordinary people all over the world and researching them, but that didn't mean they wanted to become extraordinary themselves.
In their previous missions, they'd come into contact with many extraordinary individuals.
However, these extraordinary people often became more egotistical because of their power beyond ordinary humans, doing things they thought were justified but would cause serious harm to society and others.
After many such examples, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s first reaction when discovering the extraordinary was to evaluate.
Evaluate whether their ability would cause harm to society, whether there was possibility of losing control of their ability, and whether they had dark mentalities like wanting revenge on society.
If any of the above possibilities existed, S.H.I.E.L.D. would contain them. If not, they'd sign a contract forbidding ability use and conduct periodic evaluations.
And throughout this process, someone would secretly monitor them.
In S.H.I.E.L.D.'s eyes, most superhumans were unstable time bombs that must be controlled.
Why would ordinary people want to become ticking time bombs?
With S.H.I.E.L.D.'s current technological level, although far inferior to the level after absorbing technology from Chitauri wreckage, it wasn't impossible to create an extraordinary person.
If Coulson had wanted to be extraordinary, he would already be extraordinary.
Now he'd become a demon. Whether voluntary or forced, he must undergo a period of detention and testing by S.H.I.E.L.D.
In this process, he'd inevitably be studied in various ways.
With a demon's super recovery ability, this research process might not be very friendly.
"You can rest assured."
Seeing Coulson's bitter expression, Tamayo thought he was worried about something else and said reassuringly, "Through medicine and body modification, I've long been freed from Muzan Kibutsuji's control and can survive on a small amount of human or animal blood. You don't have to worry about doing things that go against human ethics to survive, and you don't have to worry about suffering the same fate as Yahaba."
Hearing Tamayo's words, Coulson felt somewhat better.
Although she'd misunderstood his concerns, it was good news regardless.
He took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled. After completely calming down, he looked at Tamayo calmly. "Then, about demons, Muzan Kibutsuji, the Twelve Kizuki, and Miss Tamayo and Mr. Yushiro—please tell me everything!"
Character Notes:
George Stacy - From: Marvel Comics
NYPD Police Captain Father of Gwen Stacy Known for being an honest and dedicated police officer Often works with superheroes to solve cases beyond normal police capabilities
Chitauri - From: Marvel Comics/MCU
An alien race that will eventually invade Earth Their technology will be studied by S.H.I.E.L.D. after the invasion Referenced here as a future event that will advance S.H.I.E.L.D.'s technology