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Chapter 22 Marvel's Corrupt Exorcist
🕑 Added 2025-05-10 02:39:15 +0000 UTC"If demons show up again, you'll handle it," the Ancient One said, her voice calm and confident.
"It’s a simple sigil for someone like you. Quick draw, done. Nothing too tricky,"
She paused, then glanced sideways at Luke, her tone shifting.
"But have you ever thought about this... what happens if the barrier between our dimension and theirs completely breaks down?"
Luke tilted his head, brows furrowing.
"What do you mean?"
"The more energy you absorb, the stronger your connection to that other world becomes," she explained. "The dimensional wall gets weaker every time. Eventually... the two worlds could merge."
Luke's heart skipped a beat.
"Merged? Like permanently?"
"Yes," she nodded. "And when that happens... will you still be able to evict them?"
Her words hit like a thunderclap. Luke's eyes widened. That possibility had never crossed his mind.
"System," he called out in his thoughts. "If a demon becomes a native creature of this world... is it still considered evil?"
[No.]
The system’s response came fast and clear.
[Only entities from outside this dimension are labeled as evil. Native beings—like Thanos and the others—cannot be exorcised. They belong to this world.]
Luke swallowed hard.
"So... if they settle in, there's no way to send them back?"
[Correct. The concept of exorcism relies on the target having a place to return to. Once they become local... there’s nowhere to send them.]
"Wait a sec..." Luke muttered, eyes narrowing. "My powers... they’re not just demonic anymore."
His mind flashed back to the Shadow Demon Shaco—the one who almost fused with him. That wasn’t just any energy. It was something more.
"That's your issue to sort out," the Ancient One said, reading his expression.
"But I assume, now that you understand what’s at stake, you’ll be a bit more careful with how you use your powers."
Her earlier sternness faded, replaced with a faint smirk.
She could tell the warning had landed.
"Relax," she added, more gently. "We’re still far from that worst-case scenario. You’ve got time to figure things out."
With a wave of her hand, a golden portal shimmered open beside them.
"Come. I want to show you something."
Luke followed her through the glowing doorway and stepped into the core chamber of the New York Sanctum.
At the center stood a massive floating sphere—like a globe, etched with intricate magical sigils and glowing with thousands of tiny golden dots, all constantly shifting.
"This," the Ancient One said, gesturing toward it, "is the heart of the temple. A relic left behind by Agamotto himself. It tracks all magical disturbances on Earth in real time."
She placed a hand gently on the sphere.
"If another dimensional invasion happens, this will detect it before anyone else does. You'll have plenty of time to act."
Luke’s eyes widened. He stared at the glowing orb in awe.
"Whoa... yeah, this thing’s amazing."
"From this moment on," she said, turning to face him, "you are the temporary guardian of the New York Sanctum."
"Wait—what?!" Luke nearly stumbled. "You’re kidding, right?"
"It’s only for now," she assured him. "Until Master Daniel recovers. Then you can decide if you want to stay."
Before he could protest, she snapped her fingers.
A tattered black cloak appeared in the air, hovering between them.
"This is the cloak I promised you earlier," she said with a wry smile.
Luke stared at the thing.
It looked more like a ripped-up curtain than something magical.
He opened his mouth to refuse—but the cloak moved on its own, flying straight onto his back.
As soon as it touched him, thick black tendrils of energy erupted from its torn edges.
The cloak repaired itself in seconds, and the dark aura spread through the air like a living shadow.
A wave of evil energy surged around him.
Luke’s entire appearance shifted—his clothes, his stance, even his expression.
It all changed.
He didn’t just look powerful.
He looked like a frickin' villain.
"What... what is this thing?" Luke stared at his reflection, frowning.
He looked like a villain straight out of a dark alternate Marvel timeline—his aura radiated malice, and the black cloak clinging to him gave serious Dark Dimension vibes.
"I look like some bootleg Dormammu’s understudy," he muttered. "Even Satan would offer me a smoke out of respect."
The cloak swirled ominously around him, pulsing with thick, dark energy. It wasn’t just tattered—it moved like it had a will of its own.
"Nah, this is killing my whole vibe," Luke grumbled.
But the second he said it, the cloak shifted.
All the black tendrils and the ominous energy faded away like mist in sunlight.
The aura vanished.
The cloak remained, but now it looked freshly restored—sleek, regal, and eerily similar in design to Doctor Strange’s Cloak of Levitation… except this one was pitch black.
The Ancient One watched calmly.
"This is the Cloak of the Great Shadow," she said, her voice softer, more reverent. "You might think it’s a copy of the Cloak of Levitation… but it's actually the original. The Cloak of Levitation was inspired by this."
Luke blinked. "Wait, for real?"
Ancient One looked at Luke's form, a rare flicker of seriousness in her eyes.
"The original owner of this cloak wasn’t someone you just name-drop lightly. They called him He Who Holds the Darkness. And this cloak? It’s only a piece of what he wore—just a fragment. But even that fragment became a relic all its own." she added, grim in her voice,
Luke gave the cloak another skeptical tug. "So what's it actually do? Other than making me look like a final boss?"
The Ancient One raised an eyebrow. "Find out for yourself. It can do everything the Cloak of Levitation can... and more."
Luke rolled his eyes but didn’t argue. The cloak had already proven itself creepy, at the very least.
The Ancient One could see Luke still looked unimpressed. She sighed, half amused.
'This boy... doesn't believe anything unless he sees it with his own eyes,' she thought. 'He probably thinks the gifts I’ve given him are too little.'
"I might need to rethink leaving the New York Sanctum in your hands," she said aloud, half-jokingly.
Luke shot her a look, about to reply—until she silently produced a leather belt.
He blinked. "Uh... are we about to duel or something?"
She smirked and handed it to him.
"Simon Toth’s Space Belt. Enchanted storage space inside. Also allows for instant teleportation—no sling ring needed."
Before she could finish, Luke had already strapped it on.
"Protecting the reality is my solemn duty!" he declared dramatically, hand on his chest. "If you’re trusting the Sanctum to me, you’ve got nothing to worry about, Master!"
The Ancient One gave a knowing smile but said nothing.
She simply handed over the key to the New York Sanctum.
Then, without fanfare, she turned and stepped through a glowing portal.
Luke stood in the Sanctum’s quiet halls, the key heavy in his palm.
"I just stepped out for a quick visit, and now I’m a guardianm, shit went from 0 to 100 real quick..." he muttered, staring dazingly at the sanctum he was now in charge of protecting.
He stared down at the key, the reality of it settling in.
Everything had happened way too fast.
But still… he wasn’t mad about it.
The Ancient One had given him a lot. And that conversation about the dimensional barrier?
It wasn’t just some lecture. It had cracked something open inside him—a realization.
His system, wasn’t flawless.
It had rules. Limits.
As long as something's marked as an extradimensional entity, no matter how strong it is, it gets expelled.
But whether it's Belasco's twisted arrogance or the Ancient One's warning, one thing's clear—just having the system isn’t enough.
It’s like forging iron. You have to be strong yourself.
Sure, the Supreme Exorcist System can force demons out, but it doesn’t solve the root of the problem.
"In the end, it still comes down to power."
"Against beings that rank just below the cosmic entities—the Celestials, the Living Tribunal, or even dimensional lords—"
"Without power, you’ve got no say."
Luke still remembers what Belasco sneered at him—"If I kill you, your soul’s mine."
That’s the brutal truth of overwhelming power.
They don’t talk.
They don’t negotiate.
You want to make deals? Forget about equality.
If you’re just an ant, those top-tier beings are the boots.
"Otherwise, it'll turn into something like Strange’s bargaining tactics."
Luke couldn’t help but think about Doctor Strange’s standoff with Dormammu in the movie.
Was that really a negotiation?
Not really.
Dormammu just got tired of killing him over and over again.
If Dormammu hadn’t gotten bored, who knows how many more times Strange would’ve died?
"But luckily, I’m not Strange,"
"Dormammu can’t kill me."
Luke reached into his pocket.
Ever since he almost summoned Quagus by accident last time, Luke had been carrying around a whole deck of ritual cards.
Each one etched with its own exorcism pattern.
From hell lords to multidimensional fiends, he had one for each.
"I just need to take it slow. As long as I don’t go poking the big bosses, I think I’ll be fine."
He had thought things through by now.
All that talk from the Ancient One about dimensional rifts and merging worlds? Probably just a scare tactic.
If it was really that bad, that bald sorcerer wouldn’t have peaced out so casually.
"No way I’m the guy who’s supposed to handle that mess..."
"She totally tricked me into being the guardian of the New York Sanctum."
Luke rubbed his chin.
If he remembered right, the Sanctum was the first place Kaecilius hit in the movie... and yeah, this was it.
He looked down at the stairs.
The previous guardian, Master Daniel, definitely got wrecked right on this spot.
"Great. Just great."
Snapping out of his thoughts, Luke glanced around the hall, packed with enchanted artifacts.
A wicked idea sparked in his head.
"Since I’m the new guardian, does that mean... all this gear is mine now?"
His eyes lit up.
First thing he locked onto were the three Rotunda of Gateways from the Doctor Strange movie.
Just twist the circular thingy, and boom—you can be anywhere on Earth.
Yeah, teleportation spells can do the same, but those doors? Way cooler.
You can literally see the other side through them before stepping in.
"Gotta take one. Bring it back to the crib."
"That way I can bounce between spots whenever I want."
Decision made, Luke picked up one of the doors. With his other hand, he tapped the space belt around his waist.
A flash of light.
The entire door vanished into the storage’ belt.
"Man, having storage relic is the best."
…………
At the same time Luke was casually raiding the New York Sanctum...
Elsewhere, in Coulson’s special ops squad, Agent Grant Ward slipped away from the group.
He found a secluded spot and pulled out a secure phone.
"I have something urgent to report."
"It might be the key to our entire operation’s success!"
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