Once Kingpin left, Peter finally returned to his normal state. Matt remained seated, asking Peter with an unperturbed expression, "What do you think of Fisk's words?"
"Without a doubt, Fisk has his eyes on the New York mayoral seat. What we don't know right now is whether he plans to run this year or wait until four years from now."
The current Kingpin wasn't terrifying, and his threat level wasn't high. If Kingpin were to become the Mayor of New York—well, the threat level still wouldn't be exceptionally high, but it would absolutely be incredibly disgusting.
Setting aside the fact that Kingpin's prison sentence hadn't even concluded yet and he was currently out merely because his methods had secured him medical parole, even if he intended to run, it was already October. Theoretically speaking, it was a bit too late; an October Surprise wasn't meant to be that surprising. If Kingpin truly wanted to run, he would have to find a political party to back him, kick out the current candidate, and offend that candidate's supporters. Could he really get elected like that?
Fisk did have some money, but in a place like New York, his wealth didn't amount to much. Running for office required throwing around serious money, but throwing money around didn't guarantee an election victory.
"It's definitely impossible this year. Fisk will take risks, but not pointless ones. He will certainly participate in the election at the end of '17 and plan to get elected in '18. We still have plenty of time to stop him."
The best method would be to find Frank the Punisher and have him put a bullet through Kingpin, but unfortunately, Frank had been planning that exact move for four or five years and had attempted it three or four times, failing every single time so far. If he failed again during Kingpin's campaign, it really might trigger an October Surprise that pushed Kingpin right into office.
"Then what about his last sentence?"
Matt asked Peter again. Faced with this question, Peter was completely at a loss. "I don't know either. The people who buy Roxxon stock will turn into demons? How do they turn into demons? Do they literally turn into demons?"
"Maybe?"
"Hey, boys!" The old priest walked into the chapel holding a broom. He didn't know Peter was Spider-Man, so he primarily looked for Matt. "You two better come over here and take a look at the television."
Peter was surprised, "There's a TV in the church?"
"The church can even have Wi-Fi. Alright, let's go see what the father actually saw."
Peter and Matt arrived in front of the television and subsequently witnessed a rather shocking scene. The Daily Bugle was broadcasting a live report on a "terrorist attack." Ghost Rider and Elsa Bloodstone had teamed up to pursue a millionaire, engaging in a massive brawl on the streets of New York. Given that these two possessed very low name recognition and didn't exactly look like good guys, it was quite normal for it to be described as a terrorist attack.
Meanwhile, J. Jonah Jameson was still calling for superheroes to come out and handle the situation.
Peter offered an apology, then walked outside to make a phone call. The priest watched the television with a deeply worried expression; leaving Bloodstone aside, the appearance of Ghost Rider undoubtedly delivered a massive shock to him as a devout believer. As for Matt, while he listened to the news playing on the television, he simultaneously listened to the contents of Peter's phone call. On the other end of the line, Peter was communicating directly with Strange.
"What do you mean that manager has already been possessed by a demon? How was he possessed? Because Roxxon Energy's stock rose too drastically, he got possessed? What kind of nonsense is that? What is the logic connecting these two things? You're still looking into it?"
Peter was utterly speechless. Now they finally knew what Mephisto was up to. No matter what methods he used, he had certainly anticipated that the Roxxon-Stark war would inevitably break out one day, so he designed this system to allow demons to possess these people through some form of connection linked to the stock.
However, many doubtful points remained no matter how one looked at it.
Peter walked back into the small room. After bidding a slightly apologetic farewell to the priest and Matt, he departed quickly, found a secluded spot, and immediately opened a portal to arrive inside the Sanctum Sanctorum.
At this very moment, Strange had not rashly intervened, but was instead watching the chaotic situation on the New York streets. Peter walked up to Strange's side, looking at the imagery Strange had summoned using water inside a large cauldron, and hurriedly asked, "Can you use a spell to directly blast the demon's soul out of his body?"
"It wouldn't be very effective. The biggest problem is that even if we did that, all we would get is an empty shell. That person's soul has likely already become Mephisto's property."
Strange knit his brows, sensing that something was amiss. "But theoretically, Mephisto shouldn't have a way to allow the souls of the demons under his command to enter our world. You have to understand that the reality barrier cannot be breached so easily. Furthermore, I haven't detected any flaws or gaps in the reality barrier."
"Which means... Mephisto has mastered a secret passage, a passage that allows the demons under his command to directly enter our universe. If he has such a passage, why doesn't he come in himself?"
Strange shook his head, offering a different explanation: "Or perhaps, he is simply utilizing a large number of demons that he had already left behind in our world. Take the Spirit of Vengeance of the Ghost Rider, for example; that is an existence left behind in our world. But even if Mephisto sent a batch of demons through the rift opened during the Nimrod incident, they wouldn't be sufficient in terms of either quantity or strength."
Then how did these demons get in?
"Do we need to notify the public..."
"Right now, Roxxon and Stark Industries are at war. At a time like this, the Avengers or some other organization announces that 'people who buy Roxxon Energy stock might be possessed by demons'? Think about what would happen if you did that."
Strange shook his head repeatedly. Leaving aside the initial intent to save people, the Avengers currently had a very clear conflict of interest with Roxxon Energy Corporation. If you said something like that at this juncture, you would simply be asking for trouble.
Peter thought about it for a moment, then suggested, "Then let's go notify Nick Fury. It might be better if S.H.I.E.L.D. handles the announcement... Furthermore, based on the previous deductions made by the Avengers, there is a high probability that the people at Roxxon don't know about this. We can even inform the people at Roxxon about it and let them turn on each other."
"I am afraid Mephisto will be one step ahead of you. Mephisto isn't some fool like Belasco, who originated as an ordinary human on Earth and became a dark mage after receiving help from Chthon's creations. He is a born liar and demon, an existence that converses with God in Faust—though there is a high probability that God does not exist."
Speaking to this point, Strange let out another helpless sigh. "I am willing to bet that Mephisto—no, Mephisto might have already established contact with the people of Hydra long before things went wrong. Mephisto must have provided Roxxon with a cooperation plan that looks completely beneficial and entirely harmless to them."
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