Inside the Wooden Cabin
Lifting the carpet that had a strange hexagram pattern, Linen casually opened the cellar door beneath it.
Standing beside him, Tony Stark and Natasha Romanoff leaned forward curiously to see what was inside.
The moment Natasha glanced down, her expression turned grim. Tony's brows furrowed deeply.
In the cellar, more than a dozen children huddled together, trembling. The oldest looked to be around ten, the youngest barely three or four.
Across from them sat a table—on it were human legs, half-eaten, with blood still staining the wood.
"Damn it… Linen, don't tell me these kids survived by eating—"
Tony's voice caught in his throat as he stared at the gnawed limbs, his face paling.
Linen's tone was calm but heavy. "Just as you think. These children had no choice if they wanted to live."
He turned toward Natasha. "Now you understand why the bodies you found were only half there."
"Ugh…"
Tony's complexion turned green. He spun around, rushed outside, and threw up violently beside a tree.
"I'll call S.H.I.E.L.D. right now to get these children out of here," Natasha said quickly, taking out her phone.
The S.H.I.E.L.D. agent accompanying them peered into the cellar. The children were thin and terrified, but at least—they were still alive.
"Mr. Linen," the agent asked, confused, "why would those cultists kidnap these children? If the demon can be summoned simply through sacrifice, wouldn't this only increase the risk of being caught by the NYPD?"
Linen's eyes darkened as he explained, "Normally, yes. In most summoning rituals, a proper 'sacrifice' is enough to bring forth a demon."
"But this case is different. The one leading this ritual is a blood slave."
He glanced back at the cellar. "After seeing these children, I realized the blood slave isn't trying to summon the demon. He's trying to steal the demon's power."
"These kids are the final sacrifice required for that kind of ritual."
Having said that, Linen turned and walked out of the cabin.
The S.H.I.E.L.D. agent watched him leave, his lips pursed, his eyes filled with awe and curiosity.
Outside
"Ugh…"
Still leaning against the tree trunk, Tony Stark rinsed his mouth with the water bottle Linen handed him. The image of the cellar replayed in his mind, making his stomach churn again.
"Beasts… they're all just beasts!" Tony growled between heavy breaths. "For the first time in my life, I actually hate that New York State abolished the death penalty!"
"These monsters deserve to rot in hell!"
Linen folded his arms and looked at him. "I thought a playboy like you—someone born into the upper class—would've seen the darkest sides of this world by now."
"I've seen plenty," Tony snapped, "but this… F—!"
"Tony, are you okay?" Natasha asked as she approached after finishing her call for backup.
"I'll live," Tony said with a wave of his hand, taking another deep breath. "I'm going to hire the best psychiatrists and hypnotists in the world to make sure those kids forget what they went through."
"Natasha, have S.H.I.E.L.D. guard this place around the clock. The moment those bastards show up—call me."
"I'll blow their damn heads off myself."
Seeing the fury in Tony's eyes, Natasha nodded. "No problem."
Then she turned toward Linen, who had already opened a glowing golden portal. "You're leaving?"
"There's nothing more for me to do here," Linen replied. "If my guess is correct, the next ritual will take place in seven days. Stay here and monitor the area closely."
"Wait!" Natasha stepped forward. "What if they change the location or delay the ritual? What if they—"
"They won't," Linen interrupted. "Seven days marks the final stage of the ritual. They can't stop or move it now. If they do, the backlash from the incomplete ceremony will destroy them."
"I'm going with you," Tony said suddenly, stepping into the glowing circle.
He'd seen Linen's powers before, but witnessing him open portals so easily still blew his mind. The idea that this man could go anywhere in an instant was something even Stark tech couldn't replicate.
The two disappeared through the portal in a flash of golden light.
A moment later, the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent walked out of the cabin.
"Hey, where's Mr. Linen?"
"Gone," Natasha replied.
"Gone? Just like that?"
Hearing this, the agent's expression was full of regret. "Damn, I still had so many questions to ask him! Natasha, can you give me his contact info? Or better yet, convince him to join my division — the one handling supernatural incidents."
He sighed dramatically. "You know how desperate we are for someone like him. He recognized an evil ritual just by glancing at a six-pointed star! That kind of knowledge is priceless for S.H.I.E.L.D."
He muttered under his breath, "Compared to him, those so-called occult experts are a bunch of idiots."
Natasha shrugged. "Forget it. He'll never join S.H.I.E.L.D."
"Why not?" the agent asked, frustrated. "We waste millions every year on fake experts, while someone like Linen—"
Before he could finish, Natasha turned away to meet the incoming S.H.I.E.L.D. support team.
The agent sighed, then secretly pulled out his phone and typed a quick message, a scheming glint in his eyes.
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