MARVEL: BUYING GODHOOD

Diablo Pov

The engine of the Rolls-Royce purred so softly that it was almost imperceptible.

Traffic was light at this hour, most people either finishing brunch or heading back to work.

I guided the car through the streets with practiced ease, my attention split between the road ahead and the rearview mirror.

My Lord had been unusually quiet since we left the meeting.

“My Lord?” I asked after sensing his gaze settle on me through the mirror.

“Is this car secure?” he asked calmly.

I gave a respectful nod.

“Yes, My Lord. The cabin is soundproof, regularly swept for surveillance devices, and shielded against external interception. No one outside this vehicle can hear a single word spoken within it.”

He nodded once, satisfied, before turning toward Helen.

“There is something I need to tell you.”

Helen straightened slightly, her expression turning serious.

“Arthur isn’t dead.”

The words alone were enough to make her eyes widen.

“I sent him to one of our mining operations in Africa,” Chris continued, his voice steady.

“It’s isolated. No phones, no contact with the outside world, and no one there cares who he used to be. Before he arrived…” He paused for only a heartbeat.

“…his tongue was removed.”

Helen’s breath caught.

“He’ll spend the rest of his life digging rock with enough food and water to keep him alive. Every day he’ll remember the mansion he lived in, the expensive clothes he wore, the meals he wasted, and everything he threw away because of his own greed.”

Chris stared out the window, his expression calm.

He let the silence linger before continuing.

“I could’ve killed him. But that would’ve been easy. Too easy.”

A faint smile tugged at the corner of his lips, though there wasn’t an ounce of warmth in it.

“I don’t like giving people easy endings.”

His gaze finally shifted to Helen.

“If someone decides to threaten me, betray me, or come after the people I care about, I want them to remember that choice for the rest of their lives. I want them to wake up every morning wishing they’d made a different one.”

His voice never rose.

It remained almost conversational.

“If Arthur eventually decides he can’t live with that anymore… then he can end it himself. That’s his decision.”

He leaned back against the seat.

“I’m not interested in deciding who’s good or who’s evil. That’s not my job.”

“I’m simply not the kind of person who lets someone hurt me or my family and walk away thinking they got away with it.”

Silence settled over the cabin.

After several long moments, Chris finally asked the question that truly mattered.

“So… after hearing all of that…”

“…do you still see me as family?”

Helen didn’t hesitate.

“Yes,” she answered, meeting Chris’s eyes without a hint of uncertainty.

“And every time you ask me that, my answer will be the same.”

“Okay.” He nodded once.

“Then I’ll tell you who Diablo is… and why he suddenly appeared in my life.”

I kept my eyes on the road, though my attention shifted to the conversation behind me.

Master…

Were you truly going to tell her?

The truth about his reincarnation had always been one of the few secrets that absolutely could not be revealed.

It wasn’t because he feared Helen would betray him; it was because the knowledge itself was dangerous.

The fewer people who knew, the safer everyone remained.

Still, if Master had decided to reveal it, then he must have already considered every possible outcome.

I had long since learned that questioning his decisions served little purpose.

The silence stretched for several moments before my Lord finally spoke.

“I’m a mutant.”

Helen frowned.

“A… mutant?”

For a brief moment, I almost turned my head.

A mutant?

Master wasn’t going to tell her the truth.

He was giving her another one.

Understanding dawned on me almost instantly.

As expected of my Lord.

If Lady Helen truly believed Master was a mutant, then anyone who searched her memories would find exactly that.

There would be no trace of another world, no reincarnation, and no System.

Only the story Master wanted others to see.

Even I couldn’t find a flaw in it.

My Lord had trusted her…

Just not with the truth.

Helen continued looking at My Lord with visible confusion, the unfamiliar word lingering in the air between them.

“A mutant?” she asked cautiously.

“What does that mean?”

My Lord remained calm, as though he had expected the question.

“It means I was born different. Mutants are humans born with a genetic mutation. When that mutation awakens, it grants them abilities that ordinary humans don’t possess.”

Helen stared at him without blinking.

She searched his face for the slightest hint of amusement, but there was none.

His expression remained completely serious.

“I’ve never heard of anything like that.”

“You weren’t supposed to.”

She frowned.

“What do you mean?”

“The existence of mutants has been kept secret for decades. Most mutants have no desire to be found, and those who know about them have every reason to keep it that way.”

The cabin fell silent once more.

Helen slowly looked away, trying to process everything she had heard.

None of it sounded believable.

If anyone else had said those words, she would’ve dismissed them immediately.

As impossible as it sounded, Chris had no reason to lie to her.

More importantly, nothing about the past few days had been normal.

She still couldn’t explain how Diablo had appeared out of nowhere, how Chris had bent that steel table with his bare hands.

One impossible answer was beginning to explain every impossible question.

After nearly a minute, she finally spoke again.

“So… how do you know all of this?”

My Lord’s gaze shifted toward me through the rearview mirror before returning to her.

“Because of Diablo.”

Helen instinctively followed his gaze until her eyes met mine.

“He found me shortly after my mutation awakened,” My Lord continued.

“He recognized what I was before I understood it myself. Everything I know about mutants… I learned from him.”

Helen looked at me for a long moment before turning back to lord, countless questions now filling her mind.

“Then… what’s your power?”

“My mutation lets me grow stronger by consuming rare things,” My Lord replied.

“The rarer the object, the greater the benefit I receive. That’s why I wanted control of that company so badly. It wasn’t the company itself I wanted… it was what it possessed.”

Helen’s eyes widened slightly as pieces of the puzzle finally began fitting together.

“So that’s why…”

Chris gave a small nod.

“I couldn’t explain it before.”

She sat quietly for a moment, digesting everything she had learned before another question came to mind.

“Then… Diablo is a mutant too?” Helen asked quietly.

“Yes,” My Lord answered.

She glanced at me before her curiosity got the better of her.

“Then… what’s his powers?”

A faint smile appeared on My Lord’s face as he shook his head.

“I can’t tell you.”

Helen looked puzzled.

“But… you just told me yours.”

“Because mine is my secret to share.” His voice remained calm, carrying no hint of apology.

“A mutant’s ability is personal. No one has the right to reveal another mutant’s secret. We only tell people we trust enough to make that choice ourselves.”

For a brief moment, Helen simply stared at him.

Then understanding slowly spread across her face.

He had told her.

Despite how dangerous this secret was…

despite everything…

he had trusted her with it.

A warmth spread through her chest that had nothing to do with the conversation itself.

“Thank you…” she said softly.

“For trusting me.”

My Lord simply smiled.

“Like you always say… we’re family.”

Watching the exchange through the rearview mirror, I finally understood what lord had intended from the beginning.

Lady Helen no longer saw this as merely an explanation for my appearance.

She saw it as proof that lord had placed his faith in her.

In truth, Master had revealed only the secret he wished her to know while burying every dangerous truth beneath it.

Yet Lady Helen’s gratitude was genuine, because so was Master’s trust.

He had simply entrusted her with the only truth she needed to carry.

As expected of my Lord.

He had protected every secret that truly mattered…

While making the person in front of him feel trusted beyond measure.

I guided the Rolls-Royce to a smooth stop before glancing into the rear view mirror.

“My Lord, we’ve arrived at Miss Gwen’s college.”