Chapter Summaries

Evenson returned to the Air Bus after helping Klayya remove the spell’s effects and tried to explain their argument to Melinda. He coaxed Klayya into opening her door by threatening her favorite manga, only to be knocked down by the door.

• Evenson returned to the Air Bus, and Melinda questioned him about why Klayya had come back angry.
• Evenson told Melinda that Mephisto had completed the transaction for Coulson’s soul and wanted to discuss another deal.
• Melinda asked whether Evenson had worn cat ears and danced the Mighty Dance during the ritual, and he denied it while blaming Klayya for the prank.
• Evenson went to Klayya’s room and tried apologizing and proposing marriage, but she kept the door shut while playing a game.
• Evenson threatened that Old Thief Qingshan was dead and Elementary School Reaper was on hiatus, prompting Klayya to fling open the door and knock him to the floor.

Evenson convinced Klayya that he would arrange for Mephisto to resurrect Old Thief Qingshan and make him resume drawing manga. He then admitted that he had initially been drawn to Klayya because of the emptiness in his soul.

• Klayya rushed to check Evenson's injury after he claimed Old Thief Qingshan was dead, then demanded to know whether it was true.
• Klayya proposed making Mephisto force Old Thief Qingshan to finish his manga in Hell, and Evenson offered to arrange his resurrection instead.
• Klayya agreed to let Evenson handle it and told him to leave, but Evenson noticed that she was nervous and stayed to explain himself.
• Klayya asked whether Evenson had been drawn to her because of the emptiness in his soul, and Evenson admitted that it had been true at first.

Klayya confronted Evenson after he admitted that the Eredar Twins had been right about why he was drawn to her. Evenson persuaded her that his attraction had grown into genuine love, but Klayya left him facing an awkwardly accurate guess about his preferences.

• Klayya ordered Evenson to leave after he admitted that he had first been attracted to her soul as a substitute for his missing piece.
• Evenson argued that attraction to traits of the soul was no less valid than attraction to appearance or character, and Klayya calmed down.
• Klayya tested Evenson by shaking her chest, then teased him for being more shallow than he claimed.
• Evenson embraced Klayya, apologized, and told her that their time together had made his love genuine; Klayya accepted his reassurance.
• Klayya asked what traits the Eredar Twins had that attracted him, then guessed it was their horns and hooves, and Evenson awkwardly agreed.

Klayya reassured herself about Evenson’s interest in non-human girls, then threw him out of her room when his attempt to act romantic went wrong. Melinda thanked Evenson for his help and pulled him into her room, leaving what happened next unstated.

• Klayya decided Evenson’s interest in non-human girls did not threaten his sincere feelings for her, but warned him to behave himself.
• Melinda practiced Tai Chi with her newly empowered green flames in the Air Bus cabin.
• Klayya threw Evenson into the hallway and warned him not to think about that kind of nonsense again.
• Evenson discussed Coulson’s recovery with Melinda, who worried that something was still wrong with him.
• Melinda thanked Evenson, then pulled him into her room and shut the door.

Evenson returned to S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters after the mission and went to brief Nick Fury on a powerful visitor who wanted to discuss tourism and diplomatic relations with Earth. He summoned Mephisto, one of the Seven Lords of Hell, as Nick Fury prepared to hear his report.

• Evenson secretly showered and changed his clothes after spending the night with Melinda, then insisted their relationship remained only friendship.
• Klayya noticed Evenson's freshly washed clothes, while Melinda acted as though nothing had happened between her and Evenson.
• The team celebrated completing the mission and arrived at S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, where Rumlow and his agents parted ways with Evenson.
• Melinda told Klayya that Evenson would attract other women's attention and revealed that she had secretly broken his anti-scrying Magic.
• Evenson and Nick Fury both said they had important news, and Evenson introduced Mephisto as a visitor interested in discussing Earth tourism and possible diplomatic relations.

Mephisto visited Nick Fury to obtain permission to vacation in the human world, while explaining his identity and defending his reputation. Nick proposed granting him permanent residency, which would bind him to agreed rules whenever he returned to Earth.

• Mephisto introduced himself to Evenson and Nick Fury by reading from Goethe's Faust, then described his past deal with a mortal.
• Evenson and Mephisto argued over whether Mephisto's actions had been intended to enlighten the mortal or merely lead him to ruin.
• Nick Fury asked why Mephisto had come to Earth, and Mephisto said he wanted a long vacation and needed an influential sponsor.
• Nick Fury suggested that Mephisto apply for permanent residency rather than a tourist visa, so the rules would continue to apply whenever he visited Earth.

Nick Fury negotiated Mephisto’s immigration terms, and Mephisto accepted dual-nationality treatment despite his reluctance. When asked how he would contribute to humanity, Mephisto offered money, priceless assets, and help for S.H.I.E.L.D.’s personnel in Hell.

• Mephisto explained that sinners could only earn redemption by fully admitting their crimes without making excuses, and Nick Fury redirected the conversation to immigration.
• Mephisto agreed to Nick Fury’s dual-nationality arrangement, then claimed credit for ending the Vietnam War, the Cold War, and the threat of World War III.
• Nick Fury rejected Mephisto’s past accomplishments as insufficient, so Mephisto offered three billion pounds sterling, the unclothed Mona Lisa, and Vatican City.
• Mephisto revealed that he had also helped humanity reach space through a deal with Buzz, and Evenson joked that he deserved a monument and temple.
• Mephisto offered to make things easier for Nick Fury’s colleagues and subordinates in Hell by giving them work with the Pioneer Corps, which he could subcontract to S.H.I.E.L.D.

Nick Fury accepted Mephisto’s offer to assign S.H.I.E.L.D. agents in Hell to construction work, then tried to add a request for intelligence on Hydra. Mephisto refused, and Evenson helped end the dispute without escalating it.

• Nick Fury valued Mephisto’s offer to give S.H.I.E.L.D. agents in Hell construction work and asked whether the arrangement would last.
• Mephisto promised the work assignment was permanent, though the crew would be reduced after the special circumstances passed.
• Nick Fury accepted the offer and asked Mephisto to question dead S.H.I.E.L.D. agents for information about Hydra infiltrators.
• Mephisto refused, saying the dead could not interfere with the living, and warned Nick Fury not to mistake his generosity for weakness.
• Evenson urged them to set the dispute aside, and Nick Fury understood and agreed.

Nick Fury negotiated with Mephisto for favorable treatment of deceased S.H.I.E.L.D. agents’ souls, then asked him to erase Phil Coulson’s memories of Hell. Mephisto refused to alter Coulson’s soul directly but offered to cover the memories with fabricated ones.

• Evenson recognized that Mephisto was holding back the dead agents’ secrets as a bargaining chip, and advised Nick Fury to accept the deal to keep Mephisto in the human world.
• Nick Fury agreed to Mephisto’s terms but asked him to erase Phil Coulson’s memories of Hell.
• Mephisto refused, explaining that the memories were engraved on Coulson’s soul and that removing them would require dangerous, precise tampering.
• Evenson confirmed that extracting such a tiny piece of Coulson’s soul was unrealistic and dangerous.
• Mephisto proposed covering the memories with a layer of film and fabricating false ones instead.

Nick Fury weighed Mephisto’s risky plan to alter Coulson’s memories against a painful operation he could barely bring himself to use. Mephisto praised Fury’s willingness to suffer for others, recalled Joan of Arc’s refusal to betray her principles, and then declared Fury’s plan would not work.

• Mephisto proposed uploading a Trojan virus into Coulson’s soul, but admitted he could not guarantee the procedure would be safe.
• Nick Fury explained that his alternative was brain surgery involving three days of conscious nerve stimulation that would inflict extreme pain on Coulson.
• Fury admitted he did not want to subject Coulson to the surgery unless there was no other choice.
• Fury said he chose to act wickedly and suffer so others could live happily, prompting Mephisto to compare him to Joan of Arc.
• Mephisto recounted how Joan refused his offers and accepted execution rather than prolong the war, and said she had gone to Heaven.
• Mephisto told Fury that he was not truly like Joan and that his plan would not work.

Nick Fury and Evenson helped Mephisto negotiate a lengthy agreement for his residence in Los Angeles, and Mephisto agreed to treat Coulson using his own method. After Mephisto left, Nick Fury assigned Evenson a supposedly easy visit with Gideon Malick.

• Mephisto explained that Nick Fury's proposed surgery would not change Coulson's soul, so Nick Fury agreed to let Mephisto handle the treatment.
• Mephisto produced a twenty-meter contract, and Nick Fury and Evenson spent the night reviewing and revising its clauses.
• Mephisto signed the agreement, including terms governing his residence, political activity, and possession of drugs, then left to celebrate.
• Evenson complained that Nick Fury had given him another assignment, but perked up when Nick Fury described it as a cushy visit to Gideon Malick.

Evenson learned that Gideon Malick had invited him to visit, ostensibly because Malick’s daughter Stephanie wanted to hear about Magic. Evenson accepted for the promised reward, while Nick Fury warned him to prepare for the visit and asked whether he understood Malick’s real purpose.

• Nick Fury explained that Gideon Malick had resigned from the World Security Council after the Battle of New York and now advised the President.
• Evenson recognized that Malick’s invitation followed his deliberate efforts to draw the Hydra leader’s attention to his ability to summon creatures from other worlds.
• Nick Fury said Malick’s daughter Stephanie was interested in Evenson’s Magic and had asked him to visit, while Minister Pierce had pressed S.H.I.E.L.D. to arrange it.
• Evenson agreed to go after Nick Fury hinted that Malick might offer a valuable gift, and Fury told him to handle Coulson’s situation and prepare properly first.
• Nick Fury asked whether Evenson understood Malick’s true purpose, and Evenson answered that he did.

Nick Fury explained that Gideon Malick wanted to win Evenson over as part of an effort to keep the Avengers independent from S.H.I.E.L.D. He admitted S.H.I.E.L.D.'s unchecked power could become dangerous, and Evenson agreed to consider the Council's offer.

• Nick Fury told Evenson that powerful officials feared S.H.I.E.L.D. could use the Avengers as a private army and wanted the team to serve as a check on it.
• Evenson realized Gideon Malick's dinner invitation was meant to win him over, and Nick Fury explained that he seemed easier to recruit than the other Avengers.
• Nick Fury told Evenson he would not oppose him accepting the offer because S.H.I.E.L.D.'s power needed restraint and its leadership could not be trusted forever.
• Nick Fury warned that Hydra subversives could exploit S.H.I.E.L.D.'s unchecked authority to commit atrocities, and Evenson eventually said he understood.

Evenson accompanied Nick Fury and Klayya to the Tahiti base to summon Mephisto and repair Coulson’s condition. Mephisto arrived, bypassed the locked hospital door, and prepared to get to work.

• Evenson agreed to help Nick Fury’s plan to let Gideon Malick recruit him, but prioritized Coulson’s treatment first.
• Klayya complained about returning to the plane, while Evenson anxiously wondered whether she knew about his night with Melinda.
• Nick Fury took Evenson and Klayya to the Tahiti base and had the staff leave before Evenson summoned Mephisto.
• Evenson called Mephisto’s number from the contract, and Mephisto appeared after the call rang three times.
• Mephisto opened Coulson’s password-locked hospital room door with his powers and prepared to finish the job.

Mephisto visited Coulson in the hospital and repaired the membrane in his head, warning him not to scratch it open. Coulson appeared to faint, but secretly thanked Mephisto with a golden, slit-pupiled eye before falling unconscious again.

• Mephisto greeted the restrained Coulson and explained that he had made Coulson’s punishment in Hell less severe.
• Mephisto warned Nick Fury, Evenson, and Klayya that they would all eventually die and fall into his hands.
• Evenson told Klayya he knew the method of immortality and wanted to spend eternity with her.
• Mephisto pressed his hand to Coulson’s head to repair the membrane, and Coulson screamed before going limp.
• Coulson briefly opened an eye with a golden vertical pupil and silently thanked Mephisto before closing it again.

Mephisto struck a deal with Nahash and warned it about the dangers of controlling Coulson too often. On the Air Bus to New York, Evenson argued with Nick Fury about his shabby clothes, hoping Gideon Malick would buy him a suit.

• Mephisto explained that the contracts did not require Nahash to leave Coulson's body, then claimed a favor from it.
• Mephisto warned Nahash that repeated control or a broken membrane could expose its presence to Coulson.
• Mephisto considered asking Nahash to find something belonging to a graceful woman.
• On the Air Bus, Nick Fury objected to Evenson visiting Gideon Malick in wrinkled, faded clothes.
• Evenson refused to change, arguing that S.H.I.E.L.D. should reimburse him for suitable business-trip clothing.
• Nick Fury reminded Evenson of his advance salary, consultant pay, and disability compensation, then asked whether he was poor or merely cheap.

After Nick Fury exposed Evenson’s wealth, Evenson and Klayya argued over his stinginess before Nick agreed to provide him with S.H.I.E.L.D. suits. Evenson explained that Gideon Malick’s daughter wanted to hear his stories as an excuse for her father to win him over, leaving Klayya wary that other women might try to claim his attention.

• Nick Fury revealed Evenson had substantial savings, prompting Klayya to confront him about downloading a cracked version of a game instead of buying her a gift.
• Evenson claimed he was both poor and cheap because he hoarded his money for security, and Nick Fury offered to give him one of his suits before promising several S.H.I.E.L.D. suits and a dry-cleaning machine.
• Evenson told Klayya that Gideon Malick’s daughter was a year older than him and that her request to hear his stories was really a ploy to win him over.
• Klayya suggested that Gideon might use a marriage alliance, and Evenson reassured her that he would prefer an alliance with Kamar-Taj.
• Klayya remembered Melinda’s warning that Evenson’s revealed strength would attract attention and worried that another woman might take him away.

Evenson returned to S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, demanded a ride home and three uniforms, then came back to find his shop workers exhausted and angry. Klayya reopened her busy shop while Evenson learned he may have locked up his employees’ living expenses through mobile banking.

• Klayya decided she would report Evenson to the Eredar Twins if he misbehaved, then asked him for their phone numbers and tucked them away.
• Evenson reached S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters and demanded that Nick Fury arrange his ride home and provide him with three uniforms.
• An agent drove Evenson and Klayya home, where Klayya opened her shop to waiting customers.
• Evenson entered his own shop and found Sarah and the others exhausted; Topsy complained that he had locked up their living expenses through mobile banking.

After Hubbs betrayed Evenson by revealing his hidden bank card to the Eredar Twins, Evenson punished him and prepared to carry out his plan involving Gideon Malick. Evenson left for Malick's manor in a limousine, while Klayya secretly contacted someone with important information.

• Evenson realized one of the babies had revealed his hidden bank card to the Eredar Twins and accused them of betrayal.
• Sarah and the others confronted Hubbs, who admitted he had traded the information for premium dog food from the Twins.
• Evenson ordered Sarah to interrogate Hubbs about his reward, then rested before planning how to fool Gideon Malick.
• On the appointed day, Evenson prepared for his meeting with Malick and told Sarah to sell his extra suits and bring back cash.
• A driver sent by Malick picked Evenson up in a stretched Lincoln, and Klayya watched him leave.
• Klayya called someone and said she had important information to share.

The Eredar Twins discussed whether to interfere after a call warned them that Evenson was going on a blind date, suspecting the caller was trying to manipulate them. They ultimately decided to check on him as he approached Malik Manor.

• The Eredar Twins stored Umbrella Corporation's secrets in their underground Final Doctrine and used it as their private lounge.
• Saloras and Aurelles discussed a bank card and the subordinate who had been taken down.
• Saloras argued that the caller wanted them to upset Evenson by interfering in his supposed blind date.
• Aurelles worried that Evenson might truly be seeing someone, but Saloras insisted he would not act recklessly.
• The Eredar Twins decided to go take a look, and the marks they had placed on Evenson's arm faintly flashed as he neared Malik Manor.