Chapter 34

Henri looked at me with a steely gaze. "Men ten times better than you have tried to break me. I've seen the horrors of the world, boy. You don't scare me."

My eyes flashed red as I coaxed some of my demonic energy, letting it leak out of me in waves. It formed a screeching, flaming echo that seemed to paralyze Henri.

Congratulations: You've unlocked the demonic technique: Aura.

Unshackle your demonic side, inflicting fear on the weak-minded.

"Maybe I should," I growled. "Don't make me ask you a third time, Henri."

"What are you!" Henri shivered; the once mighty gang boss now reduced to a blubbering mess.

"Haven't you ever picked up a Bible?" I chuckled.

"Demon!" 

"Answer the damn question," I roared, punching the ground beside Henri's head. It cracked.

"He's two bars down," he said, his face slick with sweat. "The place is heavily fortified. No one can get in. That's why I brought the sniper rifle." 

"Why don't you let me worry about that," I smiled. "Don't worry your pretty little head."

—

Gregory was holed up two buildings down from the firefight. Ten minutes into the struggle, police crowded the area while I climbed the roof of the building opposite Gregory's. After retrieving all of my knives, I left Henri's incapacitated men to their fates while I kidnapped the Russian boss and parked him and the car far away from the fight in an abandoned alley. 

I found my point of entry into Gregory's fortress on the back of an unknowing shmuck, leaning into the far wall across from a window on the third floor of the building.

I summoned Ophion, and Angel pulled to him. Glass shattered, and he was jerked forward suddenly, but the goon's body held until Ophion carried me into the building, knee first. 

I kneed the Albanian into the wall, knocking the air out of him. A punch to the jaw ensured he wouldn't get up for a while.

Gun mastery took over as I picked up his gun, checked the magazine, and vanished it into Devil Arm. 

The first man that came around the corner got a kunai to the shoulder and a palm strike to the jaw, lifting him straight into the ceiling before he unceremoniously crashed down, unconscious. I summoned a bat as I retrieved my knife and moved on.

I knew I was leaving red orbs on the table, but that was not the point of the night. I needed to show Shield I could be tactical and effective without killing.

Around the bend, I counted four men yelling something at each other in Albanian as they inched closer to where the noise had come from. There were probably a few other men hurrying up the stairwell as well.

I grabbed one of the two flash bangs I stole from Toad's men and chucked it into their midst. Somebody yelled as the flash went off, and Angel Evaded into their midst for the silent approach. 

I spread my palms and reduced my strength by half as I waded into the conflict. Devil Eye kept their information above their heads, allowing me to easily track them through the smoke.

Two strikes folded the first man, flipping him over. 

I blocked a knife strike to my left, wrapping up the arm under my elbow and spraining it. 

He screamed.

A strike to the face knocked the second man out. The third stupidly let a bullet fly, and I had to Angel evade in front of the fourth guy with Rebellion raised to save him. 

I put the surprised man down with an elbow strike to the midsection and slapped to the jaw, leaving me with the last asshole. His gun went off again, but I was behind him when it did. A firm chop to the temple rendered him unconscious.

Behind me, I heard dozens of footsteps thundering up the staircase to the floor I was currently on. I cracked a smile and got to work.

There was an explosion of movement– punches, kicks, gunshots, tumbles, and kicks. More than once, I had to draw deeper into my strength pool to make sure I was not overwhelmed, but by the end of it, I came out victorious, and no one ended up dead.

My time on the fourth floor, however, was considerably more difficult. 

They shred through the doors the second they heard my legs hit the top of the staircase, and I had to Angel shift immediately to avoid most of the bullets, though a few punched through my chest and gut. 

Angel regeneration healed me enough to clot the wounds, and I pulled Ebony and fired into the door hinges and locks, bringing it down and allowing me a clear entrance into the room. Angel Evade carried me into the room in a streak of blue light, and I maneuvered behind the guy with the largest assault rifle and clocked him in the head. 

I threw him to the left while diving to the right as the two other gunmen fired. Another Angel Evade brought me close enough to the second gunman to shove the barrel of his gun up and punch him in the throat. 

He crumpled, and before the third guy could fire, I was already by his side, slamming him into the wall. He tried to get up, but a swift kick to the face rendered him unconscious.

That gets easier every time. Angel Evade was frankly broken, or at least the way I used it was. I went around the room confiscating every second gun, pistol, and grenade. Believe it or not, those assholes had grenades, but they'd been far too scared to use them. 

My stash grew to fourteen assault rifles, one large case of ammunition, ten pistols, and one flashbang.

I was about to kick open the final door into the room where Gregory was holed up when I considered what I'd do in his situation. He was probably armed with something that could do a shit ton of damage, and as durable as I was, I didn't want to test if I could bounce back from taking an RPG to the face. So, I approached the situation from an angle he'd never suspect.

—

I came crashing into Gregory's window with Ophion, and a gun went off. As I'd predicted, Gregory had been packing. And it was an automatic shotgun. A finger of Orochi stabbed into his trigger arm when he swiveled to point the gun at me, and with a Burst, I closed the distance between us, disappeared his gun, and slammed Gregory into the ground.

He passed out without ever getting a word out.

The Albanian portion of the shipment was in Gregory's office, waiting for me; no trip necessary. I plucked the entire arsenal with a smirk on my face. There was a crap ton of grenades, launchers, and enough ammunition to take over a small fortress, but this was only half my take for the night.

The other half was waiting for me in a warehouse across town. I tied up Gregory and leaped out of the shattered window. I saw police cars parked below as I moved through the air. I gave myself a second boost to get me over the ledge of the building I'd just come from and landed with a stumble. It was a small miracle that Gregory didn't fall from my shoulder. 

"Quite the jump," I hear somebody say behind me. With a confused frown, I turned and came eye-to-eye with Natasha Romanoff. She looked nothing like her MCU counterpart, but her striking red hair, killer beauty, and hand-mounted stingers were a dead giveaway. They were both pointed at me.

"I'm afraid I'm not quite ready for our face-to-face yet, agent," I said.

"Drop the body."

"I'd rather not do that," I said. "Besides, Gregory doesn't look like he'll like it much. He's already sore and unconscious from the jump." 

"I'm taking you in, Dante Sparda," she said. "The director would like a word."

"I'm sure Fury would," I said, earning a surprised look from Romanoff.

"How do you know the director's name?" Natasha warmed up her stingers. 

I smirked. "That wasn't in my file, was it?"

"I said drop it before I drop you," She repeated. "You're not getting a third warning."

I raised a brow, scanning the building around me. In the distance, I noticed somebody with a bow and arrow on a high perch staring at me. 

I activated Devil's Eye and immediately identified him.

Clint Barton, AKA Hawkeye 

Clint Barton is an expert bowman, combatant, and one of the deadliest Agents of SHIELD.

With a smile, I lowered Gregor's body, holding it directly in the line of Barton's shot.

"I'd think you'd prefer a sniper, but a bowman also works." 

Natasha froze for a moment before she spoke. "I don't need backup to bring you to your knees, Mr. Sparda. If you've heard about me, you certainly know the stories."

Natasha Romanoff was infamous in the spy scene in this world. She carried out thousands of assassinations as a brainwashed drone before being rescued and then going straight and narrow. 

She, of all people, should be the most sympathetic to my cause if she dared to go against Fury.

"I've heard bits and pieces, Romanoff," I said, "And you don't scare me. Tell your director I look forward to seeing him."

"Don't -" Natasha started, but I was already moving. I chucked Gregory's unconscious body over the edge, startling her, and chased after him using Angel Evade.