10: Failed Mutants

"Stop, or I'll call the police," Susan threatened, holding up her phone.

Her words angered the tattooed men, who then approached her menacingly.

Startled, Susan stepped back, but at that moment, a tall figure stepped in front of her.

"Oi. Get lost," Kira or so to say Andrew commanded.

The tattooed men suddenly looked terrified, panicking as they turned and fled. One of them was so scared that he tripped and fell with a loud thud.

"What the..." Susan blinked in surprise. Her boss's presence was incredibly commanding. Come to think of it, being around him made her feel very safe.

As the tattooed men ran away, the two homeless men breathed a sigh of relief. They stood up and gratefully bowed to Andrew and Susan before hurrying off into a nearby dark alley.

"Sigh* Mutants have it rough, and those who fail in their mutation have it even worse," Susan sighed.

"Failed mutants?" Andrew asked with an intrigued tone.

"Yes, not every mutant successfully awakens their powers. About twenty percent of mutants experience failed mutations, resulting in significant defects and weak abilities. Those two just now are known as Epsilon-class mutants,"

Susan explained, nodding.

"In recent years, life has become increasingly difficult for mutants. While some can hide their abilities, these failed mutants suffer the most. Many are driven from their homes, lose their jobs, and end up as homeless outcasts."

Thinking of something, Susan added, "I once studied mutant genes, so I know a bit more about them."

"Twenty percent of mutants fail their mutations?" Andrew's eyes lit up. What kind of souls are easiest to... trick? Ahem, to form contracts with? Naturally, it's those who have lost all hope, and those failed mutants are filled with hopelessness.

'I remember there's a mutant who can disable the X-gene. Hmm, right, I just happen to have an expert on mutants in my Hell.'

Andrew thought to himself. Those failed mutants would surely be willing to trade their souls after death in exchange for a chance to return to normal. If things went well, he might end up counting souls until his hand cramped. And in this world, mutants weren't exactly few in number.

...

The Hell of Rebirth.

In just over half a month, Rebirth Hell had undergone a complete transformation. Factories had sprung up one after another, and a large number of demonic beings, corrupted by dark energy, were working tirelessly under the command of a dwarf to build the factories.

These factories included a robot manufacturing plant, a large steel mill powered by volcanic energy, and various parts factories. It was clear that Andrew intended to manufacture robots.

The rapid construction of these factories was primarily due to Andrew himself.

With control over this Hell, building factories was a simple task for him. However, he couldn't create all the precision instruments needed, so he either had to purchase them from Earth or have the dwarf and his crew craft them by hand.

"There aren't enough workers, and the efficiency is too low," Kira (in his demon lord form) shook his head. Currently, Rebirth Hell only had a few hundred demonic beings, most of whom he had brought over from Las Vegas, and it was far from enough.

"BOSS"

The dwarf in his ghostly form floated before Andrew, respectfully asking.

"BOSS, you called for me?" His name was Bolivar Trask, a scientist who believed that mutants would eventually replace humans, leading him to develop the Sentinel robots with the intent to exterminate mutants.

To achieve his goal, Trask conducted experiments on mutants. When Mystique, also known as Raven, discovered this, she assassinated him during a conference.

Trask had made a deal with Mephisto before his death, so his soul was collected by Mephisto and had now fallen into Kira/Andrew's hands.

Andrew asked, "I want to know if you have any way to remove the X-gene from a mutant's body?"

"Mutants?" Trask's eyes lit up. This topic certainly piqued his interest. He replied, "BOSS, removing the X-gene is very difficult. It isn't an external element; it's ingrained in their biology. The best method would be to kill all the mutants, leaving none behind."

Andrew was speechless. He asked, "You really hate mutants, don't you?"

Trask, with a righteous air, declared, "No, everything I did was to prevent humans from being replaced by mutants."

"That's really... some noble(?) motivation," Andrew snorted. He then said, "There's a mutant called Leech who can suppress the powers of nearby mutants, but it's not permanent. Once they leave his proximity, their powers return. If I give you his blood, could you develop a method to permanently remove the X-gene?"

Leech was the young boy featured in *X-Men: The Last Stand*, whose blood was used by Worthington Industries to develop a cure for mutants. However, the cure was only temporarily effective—a detail the U.S. government didn't bother to validate beforehand, which, of course, was par for the course for them.

At this point, Worthington Industries likely hasn't developed the mutant cure yet. Of course, even if they had, Andrew wouldn't use a temporary solution to trick souls—he wasn't as unscrupulous as Mephisto.

"A mutant like that exists?" Trask's eyes gleamed with interest. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Permanently removing the X-gene might be impossible, but I could design a suppression device. Worn on the body, it would suppress the X-gene, turning mutants back into regular humans."

Andrew stroked his chin thoughtfully and asked, "A suppression device? Do you think those mutants who have failed mutations and are living miserable lives would be willing to trade their souls after death for such a device?"

Trask finally grasped Andrew's idea. He replied, "I think quite a few would be willing. But, uh, trading high-tech devices for human souls... that feels a bit strange."

"Because the style is off," Andrew quipped. He continued, "There are some issues with a suppression device. More importantly, it could potentially be hacked or tampered with by others, and we can't exactly go registering a patent for it."

"We could use a chip to replace the suppression device, but it would take quite some time to develop," Trask suggested. "BOSS, can't your demonic powers suppress the X-gene?"

"I can curse them to lose their mutant abilities, but releasing a large-scale, permanent curse would be difficult, even for me," Andrew admitted. Then, a sudden thought struck him. "Wait, if I had a special medium, my energy consumption could be drastically reduced."

Trask asked, "A special medium?"

"Yes, Trask. Can you extract the factor in Leech's blood that neutralizes mutant abilities and replicate it in large quantities? Those factors can serve as my medium," Andrew replied excitedly. "Using those factors to cast a curse would allow me to easily suppress the X-gene in mutants."

"No problem, but it will take some time and the right equipment," Trask confidently answered. Despite being from a bygone era, his intelligence was far from outdated.

Decades ago, Trask had developed a device capable of identifying mutants, and it was even portable. After his death, that technology was lost, and scientists had yet to replicate it successfully.

"Great, I'll arrange to get Leech's blood and the necessary equipment. Start your research as soon as possible. Trading curses for souls—now that's a more fitting approach," Andrew said with a smile.

The combination of technology and magic seemed to hold a lot of potential. In fact, Asgard had been following a similar path for ages.

Andrew mused to himself, "I possess a number of Hell Runes. I should study them thoroughly—they could also enhance my power."

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