Jason escorted Alessa and her team back from the Dragon Bone chamber to the second underground floor of the Financial Building.
As they emerged, he heard a shout from below as David poked his head through the access hole leading to the sewers. "Boss, you finally made it up!"
"Why are you down there?" Jason asked.
David noticed the three women behind Jason and instinctively covered his chest with his hands. "The tremors are getting stronger by the minute. If you hadn't shown up soon, I was planning to make a run for it!"
"What's the situation with the battle upstairs?"
David shook his head vigorously. "It's over—more than half your Avengers team has been wiped out!"
Jason raised an eyebrow in surprise. "What? That quickly? Didn't Hawkeye join the fight?"
"That's precisely the problem!" David exclaimed. "Hawkeye got contaminated and controlled by the demon. Shot Wade right in the knee with an arrow. Then he rushed the defensive line and started killing indiscriminately—took down more than a dozen agents and cops before they managed to drop him with concentrated fire."
"May, Ward, and Rumlow from S.H.I.E.L.D. were also affected and turned on each other. When Wade saw this happening, he detonated a bunch of grenades, knocking them all unconscious—sent himself flying more than thirty feet in the process. Now only Blade and Black Widow are still standing!"
Jason was momentarily stunned. The Beast can corrupt minds too?
Although Barton was essentially the team mascot, his mental attributes were indeed subpar. I thought at least you'd be safe!
But Wade's actions troubled him. Since when did he become so self-sacrificing? That doesn't fit his character at all.
"Is Wade okay?" he asked.
David rolled his eyes. "Let's see—he's already in the terminal stages of cancer, took an arrow to the knee, got kicked twice by Daredevil, and then caught in his own explosion. The prognosis isn't great. Even if he somehow survived all that, he's probably been corrupted by the demon by now. Honestly... I don't think there's much point in trying to save him."
"Dammit!" Jason cursed. "If anything happens to Wade, I swear I'll make Nick Fury pay for it!"
"Uh... wasn't it Daredevil who beat him up?"
"The one who shot him was Barton, a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, the ones who turned on each other were S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, and the ones who failed to protect him were S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. Nick Fury bears undeniable responsibility for this mess!"
David considered this logic and nodded. Can't argue with that reasoning!
At that moment, another violent tremor shook the building, sending dust and fragments of stone raining down from the ceiling.
David's face went pale as he frantically waved his hand. "Boss, we need to get out of here fast, or we'll end up buried alive! Use the sewer system! The streets are completely compromised. Hundreds of thousands of people across more than a dozen blocks have been affected—they're becoming increasingly violent! The neighborhood closest to here has already started showing signs of cannibalism. This is literally hell on earth!"
Jason gestured to Alessa. "Escort David through the sewers and get to safety!"
"What about you?"
Jason shook his head and sighed dramatically. "I must fulfill the responsibility bestowed upon me by the heavens... and save the world!"
"What?" David's eyes widened in disbelief. "Boss, we're talking about actual demon here. Are you serious?"
In the square outside, the demonically enhanced Daredevil toyed with Blade and Black Widow like a cat playing with wounded mice.
Blade was drenched in blood. Even with his half-vampire physiology, he couldn't hold out much longer. His consciousness was fading, his body only functioning through sheer determination.
Natasha's condition was even worse.
Yet her eyes remained exceptionally clear, seemingly untainted by the demonic influence.
As a former Red Room operative who had survived the harshest training imaginable, her will had been forged in fire long ago.
But willpower alone couldn't bridge the gap in raw power.
Another powerful tremor shook the area. The glass windows of the Financial Building shattered one after another, fragments filling the air like crystalline rain.
Natasha knelt on the ground, clutching a tactical knife in her hand. Despite being a product of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s advanced technology, the blade was now notched and dulled.
Even in her state of exhaustion, her mind remained extraordinarily clear. Suddenly, everything around her seemed to slow down.
Blood gathered at the edge of her chin, suspended in time before dropping...
Blade was knocked away again, his eyes slowly dimming...
The sound of her own heartbeat pounded in her ears...
Perhaps it was her indomitable will affecting her body, but somehow her exhausted muscles responded. Her powerful legs exploded into action!
Wind rushed past her face as glass shards fell from the sky like deadly blades, but she didn't attempt to dodge them.
The fragments sliced across every exposed inch of skin, leaving crimson trails in their wake.
A droplet of blood smeared across her left eye, filling her vision with red, but her hand holding the tactical knife remained as steady as a veteran butcher's.
Thunk!
Perhaps it was the magnificent spectacle of glass fragments reflecting the bright red emergency lights that distracted Daredevil, but Natasha's American Ontario MK3 Navy knife plunged directly into his throat!
She didn't stop there. Continuing her momentum, she rushed to Daredevil's left side, her hand still gripping the knife's handle. Like a neon samurai performing a ritualistic execution, she yanked the blade sideways!
In an instant, she had nearly severed Daredevil's neck.
Natasha pressed on, driving the knife into Daredevil's back before her strength finally gave out. Her legs buckled, and she collapsed to her knees.
"Impressive performance, truly," came a calm voice from behind her.
Kingpin.
He stood in the doorway of the hall, a red ghost mask covering his face, having silently observed the confrontation between Black Widow and Daredevil.
"Unfortunately... it's all for nothing."
Before Natasha's horrified eyes, Daredevil bent his arm at an impossible angle and extracted the tactical knife from his back.
Then he straightened his head, which had been hanging limply due to his severed spine.
In an instant, black energy swirled around him, and the wounds—fatal a hundred times over to any normal human—began to heal.
"You're not participating in a battle between humans," Kingpin explained, "but a war between mortals and gods!"
He spread his arms wide, his voice brimming with fervor. "Look at this world! Look at this decaying city! Once glorious and magnificent, now reduced to ruins! The officials, the elites, the wealthy with their bestial hearts treat this place as their private playground! All their filth and refuse dumped here! They've made life unbearable for the common people! This city lacks order—a powerful order that everyone must obey!"
More explosions echoed in the distance, likely triggered by the recent earthquake.
The sky had turned a dark crimson, and the air reeked of smoke and burning materials.
A helicopter flew overhead in a hurry, but its destination clearly lay elsewhere.
It seemed everyone had forgotten about the battle raging here—forgotten that this very spot was the epicenter of the chaos engulfing the city.
"You'll never succeed!" Black Widow rasped, her voice hoarse but defiant. "Because in this world, there will always be heroes who stand up!"
Kingpin sneered. "I believe you're mistaken. No such thing exists in this world! Our corrupt and decadent society is the perfect proof of this!"
He waved dismissively. "Daredevil, kill them now."
Hearing the command, Daredevil tilted his head, studying Natasha with the predatory focus of a beast, and began walking toward her with measured steps.
Suddenly, several bright blue energy bolts streaked through the air, striking Daredevil and sending him flying backward! Black vapor dispersed from his body as the impact caused visible damage!
A distinctive voice with a commanding presence rang out: "I'm telling you, motherfucker, I'm the hero!"
Nick Fury had arrived!
Behind him stood Hill, an injured Coulson clutching his arm, and several other agents. They wielded strange weapons with an unmistakably advanced, almost alien design.
Kingpin laughed uproariously, as if he'd just heard the funniest joke. "Daredevil, have we been entertaining ourselves for too long? These insects actually believe they can challenge us? Let's educate them on reality!"
The moment those words left his lips, Daredevil surged forward, launching himself into the air. Mid-leap, black demonic energy erupted around him as he descended like a massive predator!
His speed was so overwhelming that Fury and his team couldn't even bring their weapons to bear in time.
"Oh shi—"
BOOM!
The impact sent Nick Fury flying like a ragdoll, his body soaring through the air trailing blood, his fate uncertain.
Kingpin's laughter echoed across the devastated square. "Now then! Who else wants to stop me? Who can stop me? Come on! I'm not afraid!"
"Uh..." an awkward voice suddenly interjected.
"Well... actually, I've been standing here watching for quite a while. You just didn't notice me, so I kept quiet. Kingpin, why don't you look behind you? I'm right here!"
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