My Ultimate OP System: Summoning All Dragons, Gods, Heroes & Villains-Chapter 119: Tampering With The Dead

The Next Morning...

Ethan calmly walked down the stairs, fully dressed in a three-piece suit and ready to leave.

Percival followed behind, sliding one hand into an ash-colored overcoat as he adjusted the collar with the other.

As they reached the base of the staircase, the entrance door swung open and Eduardo walked in, with Hayley following close behind.

Ethan’s heart skipped for just a second. Not in the way it did when Isabella walked into a room. This was different.

More like his body system recognizing someone it had once been conditioned to react to.

And Hayley had that teasing grin on her face as she walked toward them, her eyes staying fixed on Ethan’s the entire time. There was something about the way her tail swayed around as she moved, easily captivating anyone who looked.

Percival quickly said, "Sorry, I forgot to tell you, Hayley, but I’m not going today anymore."

Hayley barely glanced at him. "You think I really came here just because I wanted to get you?"

Then she turned toward Ethan, her smile widening just a bit as she tilted her head just slightly to the side. Her gaze lingered a little too long to be casual.

Percival laughed. "Get your eyes off him, Ho."

"I’d rather take you home, pretty boy," Hayley said in a mischievous, playful tone, while her smile curved just enough to make it clear she wasn’t joking.

Ethan scoffed in amusement for a second, "Hello there, Hayley."

"You look like a fine gentleman, Ethan," she said, letting her eyes drift over him slowly before meeting his gaze again. "Looks like you boys are off somewhere important?"

"Yes, and you should get going, Hayley," Percival shot back quickly.

Hayley motioned her head toward Percival while still staring at Ethan. "How do you manage to keep this little weener around?"

Ethan chuckled a bit, and Percival laughed too before saying, "Fuck you, Hayley."

Ethan then said, "Well, Hayley, we do have to go."

"I see," Hayley said, still smiling.

Right then, a beaming Francesca stepped in from one of the side rooms. She had heard Hayley’s voice from the kitchen and came rushing out.

"Oh my! Is that my lovely Hayley?" Francesca called out with genuine joy in her voice.

Hayley’s expression softened immediately as she walked over to embrace Francesca.

Ethan gave Eduardo a nod, and with that, the men left the manor.

Hayley paid half her attention to them as they moved toward the door, then turned back to Francesca and said, "What do you say we spend the day together while the boys are out?"

Francesca looked even more excited. "You came right on time! I just made a fresh batch of ragù this morning."

Hayley’s eyes lit up. "Say no more."

She followed Francesca back toward the kitchen.

—

A while later, the vintage sedan pulled up to the State Morgue, a gray stone building under the direct control of the Enforcers’ Department.

Chief Enforcer Roland was already waiting at the entrance. He had a peaked cap over his head, and was dressed in his formal blue uniform with gold trim along the shoulders and collar.

He had a neutral expression as he watched them approach.

Ethan, Eduardo, and Percival stepped out of the vehicle and moved ahead.

Roland’s gaze shifted immediately to Percival. "He can’t come in."

Percival looked puzzled. "Huh?"

Roland didn’t even pay him any more attention. Instead, he turned toward Ethan and Eduardo. "I’m already breaking protocol just letting you and Mr. Stark inside."

Ethan glanced at Percival and gave him a nod.

Percival sighed and muttered, "Wonder what we’re doing in a morgue anyway."

Then he turned and walked back toward the car as Ethan and Eduardo proceeded forward into the morgue.

-

They moved through a series of hallways lit by dim fluorescent lights overhead, and eventually, they came to a more private segment near the back of the building.

Roland spoke briefly to an attendant stationed at a desk near a set of heavy double doors. The man nodded without asking questions and stood from his post, walking away to give them privacy.

Roland led them through the doors into a long room lined with rows of steel compartments built into the walls. Each compartment had a small nameplate attached to it.

Then he stopped at one near the end of the row and checked the tag attached to it.

"Joe Sanderberg," he said.

He turned toward Eduardo with a frown on his face. "We were just about to send his body to the burn pit before you called."

Then he added with disapproval in his tone, "This is unethical and should not be done in the first place."

Eduardo reached into his coat and slid out an envelope, handing it over without a word.

Roland opened it slightly and glanced inside at the billnote tucked within. He sighed deeply, looked back up at Eduardo, and asked, "You swear that this is not being sold to an outsider?"

Ethan spoke up before Eduardo could respond. "Do we present ourselves in need for money?"

Roland sighed again and pocketed the envelope before asking another question. "What sort of sorcery is this meant for? Or is this for a summoner looking for a high-class summon?"

"None of that should be your concern, my good friend Roland," Eduardo said with a smile that made Roland visibly uneasy.

The Chief Enforcer then turned back toward the compartment and pulled open the drawer.

Inside was Joe’s body, covered by a white sheet from head to toe. His preserved form lay still on a steel tray.

Both Ethan and Eduardo watched as Roland took hold of Joe’s hand through the sheet, pulled it out slightly, and produced a short knife from his belt.

Then he made a clean cut across one of Joe’s fingers at the base joint.

There was little to no blood at all as Roland placed the severed finger into a small transparent bag and sealed it before handing it over to Eduardo.

Ethan felt no particular rebuff at what he was seeing. It wasn’t his first time seeing a dead body.

He handled so many criminal cases in his former life that dead bodies were practically a norm for him, especially when it came to requirements for evidence gathering and legal proceedings.

Roland then said quietly, "I hope someone matching his description isn’t brought to us for another case anytime soon. I really hope."

"You have nothing to worry about, Chief Roland," Eduardo said calmly.

With that, both Ethan and Eduardo turned and left.

Roland stood there for a while, staring after them with a deeply displeased look on his face. Then he glanced down at the envelope in his hand and sighed again.

If this was ever found out by anyone above him or within Internal Affairs... he would be facing an untold amount of trouble.

One that could lead to an aggravated life sentence or worse.

There was a specific department within the State Morgue where the bodies of dead awakened were kept separate from ordinary civilians. Whether they were criminals or lost-and-found bodies didn’t matter; they all went into that section.

Their bodies, however, were not meant to be kept for long periods of time. Within seven days of arrival, they were sent to a burn pit if no one came forward for lost bodies or if no family claimed criminal bodies.

And it was considered a serious crime for any enforcer or morgue personnel to sell any related body part of an awakened after they died.

Why was it this way?

Because every dead awakened could potentially be called upon as a summon spirit.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​