Chapter 50: The First Battle of New York: Daredevil Unleashed

"F*ck!"

Wade shouted and rushed forward, Blade following closely behind. Seeing this, the others quickly caught up as well.

When they reached the center of the square, the ground was covered in ash, but not a single figure was in sight.

Wade searched around, his expression blank. "Are they both dead? I can't even find a single bone shard!"

He scooped up a handful of ash and examined it closely. "Did they turn to dust?"

Thinking for a moment, he stuffed some of the ash into his pocket, muttering, "Oh, my friend, you were a true hero."

Blade's face also darkened, but he felt something was off. How could that guy die so easily?

Nick Fury, watching the scene from the monitors, jumped out of his chair.

Damn it, f*ck! Black Spider, you son of a... you did it... perfectly!

He calmed his excitement, putting on a grave expression.

"Everyone, even though we've lost Iron Man, for the safety of New York's citizens, we must continue the mission. Rest assured, I promise, in the name of S.H.I.E.L.D., we'll give him a proper burial! Now, you need to enter the building, capture the members of The Hand, and end this disaster once and for all!"

The group in the square exchanged glances until Black Widow spoke up, "He's right. The enemy hasn't been fully eliminated yet."

Wade snorted, "Let me tell you, I'm not doing this for the people. Iron Man wasn't exactly a saint, but he was my friend. I'm going for revenge!"

With that, Wade stormed into the building in a rage, Blade silently following close behind.

In the distance, Wesley's eyes were slightly red. "Fox, should we go in too?"

"No, we stay here."

"But..."

"That's an order!"

Fox lay prone on the rooftop, observing everything happening in the square through her sniper rifle's scope, her expression cold.

The moment Wade stepped into the lobby, a shadow flashed, and the next thing he knew, a size 58 boot slammed into his size 48 face.

"F*ck—" he yelled, flying backward.

The others immediately stopped in their tracks.

Standing before them was a figure dressed in a red suit, shrouded in black smoke, his eyes pitch black, his face marked with black lines, looking like a demon.

Hawkeye Barton, having worked in Hell's Kitchen before, recognized this figure. But recognizing him made him gasp in shock, "D-Daredevil?"

Blade was equally startled. How had Daredevil turned into this monster?

Wade, after hitting the ground, angrily charged forward. "I don't care if you're Daredevil or a real devil! You look terrifying, so get lost!"

He swung his two long swords and lunged at the figure. "Thunk!" The twin blades pierced straight through Daredevil's chest.

The group was shocked by how easily this happened. Only Wade sensed something wrong.

When he tried to pull the blades out, no matter how hard he pulled, they wouldn't budge.

Daredevil, with Wade's swords impaled in his chest, didn't make a sound. He tilted his head, glaring at Wade with his black eyes.

Wade was bewildered. "Huh? I've never encountered this before!"

In the next instant, he was kicked away again.

The two long swords were still embedded in the demonized Daredevil's chest. Within a few breaths, the portion of the swords inside his body corroded as if by a strong acid.

"Clang!" They broke in half and fell to the ground.

Gasp! Everyone took a sharp breath!

Seeing this, even Nick Fury started feeling dizzy.

A thought suddenly crossed his mind: Iron Man, where are you? Please come back!

...

Cohen hadn't turned to ash.

A few minutes earlier, during the lightning explosion that blinded everyone's vision, he had carried the unconscious Black Spider into the sewers.

There happened to be a manhole cover in the center of the square.

After entering, he dragged Black Spider down a narrow passage until he reached a slightly wider area.

Nine Spiders and David were already waiting for him there.

They had prepared a tall metal thermal cylinder, over a meter high, next to a pile of liquid nitrogen tanks.

This was something Cohen had specifically asked them to prepare to provide his most worthy prey, the Black Spider, with a new experience of death.

Minus 196 degrees Celsius.

A crisp freeze.

As a gold-level target, Black Spider clearly deserved such a unique method.

After stripping David of his shirt and pants, and despite David's resentful look, they securely tied up Black Spider and woke him with an electric shock.

Nine Spiders moved forward and injected Black Spider with a cocktail of toxins.

Some caused pain, some made him itch, some induced excitement, and others brought on hallucinations.

All of them were meant to tease his emotions, pushing him to his emotional limits.

Under the combined effect of the toxins, Black Spider's will finally broke, and he began to descend into madness.

Once he reached a certain point, Cohen shoved him into the liquid nitrogen-filled metal cylinder and screwed the lid shut.

Then he turned to Nine Spiders. "Let's go. It's time to meet the mastermind behind this summoning ritual, Alexandra."

David tried to stop them, "Uh... boss, things aren't going too well up there."

Cohen frowned, "What?"

David looked at his handheld monitor. The team led by Black Widow, Blade, and Barton was currently being beaten badly.

"The demonized Daredevil is incredibly powerful. The team upstairs can't hold on much longer!"

Cohen waved dismissively, "Don't worry, there are real heroes up there. They'll manage. Oh, and make sure Fox and the others take care of Wade and Blade."

David shrugged and said no more.

Cohen and Nine Spiders walked a few dozen meters deeper into the sewer when Nine Spiders stopped and pointed ahead. "I measured this area over the past few days. There's only a wall separating this spot from the second basement level of the financial building."

Cohen nodded and punched the wall a few times, causing it to collapse.

On the other side was indeed the second basement level of the financial building, where the summoning ritual had just taken place.

The altar remained, but the place was now empty.

The two paid no attention to the surroundings and walked straight ahead.

Nine Spiders carried some instruments, appearing to measure something.

Before long, after confirming the location, Cohen threw a few more punches, and an elevator shaft appeared before them.

Below, a pitch-black tunnel awaited.

But Cohen knew this was the direct path to the burial site of the Manhattan Dragon Bones.

Ever since he heard that The Hand's Five Fingers were planning to summon a demon, he'd been puzzled.

Sure, he had killed two of the Five Fingers, but was the remaining trio really so loyal that they sought revenge for their fallen comrades?

No way. Those old schemers weren't that noble!

Their painstaking effort to summon a demon had to have another purpose.

When he learned that the summoning ritual was taking place beneath the Midtown Financial District building, it suddenly all made sense.

The Five Fingers' real target had always been the Dragon Bones!

The demon summoning was just a ruse to distract and block their enemies!

The Five Fingers had been plotting, but so had Cohen.

The difference this time? He was the orlio behind, waiting in the wings!

(End of chapter)