"Matt? You escaped?"
The girl, Kate, exclaimed with joy, immediately putting away her longbow to rush forward.
However, as she passed by Shield, he grabbed her arm firmly.
"Hey! Wait a minute!"
"Are you sure this guy always dresses in all black?"
Shield, having pulled Kate back rapidly, spoke with a voice heavy with indescribable gravity.
Originally treating this as a simple raid mission, his expression suddenly tightened upon facing this person who might be Matt Murdock.
Although the person in front of them dressed seven or eight parts similar to the Daredevil in the files, the most important difference was that the Daredevil, known for his red suit, was now clad entirely in pitch black.
Especially his eyes—flashing with red light—made him look more like a man-eating beast.
At this moment, the vibe this suspected Daredevil gave Shield didn't feel at all like a street hero who upheld the law and a no-killing code.
Instead, it felt more like something familiar to him...
"A Demon!"
When this word left Shield's mouth, even Kate, whom he was holding back, vaguely sensed something was wrong.
Facing the corpses scattered on the ground, this "Daredevil" didn't scold her for being too heavy-handed as he usually would.
Instead, he walked calmly straight through the dismembered bodies, his expression unchanging...
No, not unchanging!
In that moment, Kate even saw a hint of a smile on his exposed lower face.
"Matt? What are you..."
Worried, Kate was just about to ask.
But in that split second...
The black-clad Daredevil before them turned into a bolt of lightning, charging toward them at breakneck speed.
With no time to think, Shield raised his massive shield to protect Kate.
But the next moment.
BOOM—
A deafening explosion echoed through the entire underground cavern.
Shield felt an unparalleled force transmit from his giant shield through his entire body.
Even the boost provided by his Muscle Enhancement Armor couldn't fully withstand this violent power.
In an instant, the Quinque Shield in Shield's hand was nearly knocked flying, and he was forced back uncontrollably for several steps.
His feet plowed two clear furrows into the solid ground before he barely managed to stabilize himself.
Crack~
A crisp cracking sound came from the shield's surface.
The opponent's violent strike had left a clearly visible fist imprint directly on his Quinque Shield.
The intel never said Daredevil, a street hero, had superpowers related to physical enhancement!
Cursing inwardly, Shield didn't dare to be slow in his movements.
He immediately tapped the shield against the ground again.
Magma sprayed from the shield's surface, forcing the black-clad Daredevil back.
"Hey! Little girl! Are you sure this is the Lawyer Matt you talked about?!"
Seeing the opponent leap back several times to create distance but seemingly not intending to attack again immediately, Shield quickly asked Kate beside him.
But now, even Kate became hesitant.
In truth, she hadn't known Lawyer Matt for very long.
Having accidentally arrived in this world, she only became temporary partners with him because he picked her up first and was a kind-hearted superhero. Together, they fought crime while searching for a way home.
If Daredevil hadn't been suddenly captured by this villainous organization called the Hand, Kate would probably still be dealing with petty thieves on the street while slowly getting used to this familiar yet strange world.
But Kate wasn't a rookie hero after all.
In her original world, she had experienced quite a few major events.
Looking at the appearance of the black-clad Daredevil opposite them, Kate quickly offered a possible guess.
"This should be Mr. Murdock. But... he might be possessed by something."
As they spoke, the black-clad Daredevil moved again.
His figure was like a ghost.
In this dimly lit underground space, a moment of inattention could cause him to vanish from sight entirely.
Fortunately, having learned his lesson, Shield was mentally prepared this time.
After Kate fired several electric arrows with tethering ropes to restrict the opponent's movement slightly, Shield raised his shield again to block the follow-up attacks.
Thresh also used continuous strafing fire from his Quinque Gatling to force the black-clad Daredevil to keep moving.
For a moment, the situation fell into a stalemate.
However, watching the suspected Daredevil mutate further—the small horns on his head, meant to be cowl decorations, seemed to come alive, curving and growing longer...
And feeling the force of the attacks on his shield growing stronger...
When ominous purple mist began to surge around the opponent, Shield knew clearly that if they dragged this on, defeat was the only outcome for them.
Even if Green Bull and Samira arrived to support them, they might not be able to handle this monster.
However, just as Shield thought of Green Bull and the others, Samira's voice rang in his helmet's earpiece.
"Captain, the Hand's high command isn't inside the building."
"But we found some paper documents. They seem to be conducting some kind of demon sacrifice ritual underground, trying to gain power by sacrificing human souls to a demon called 'The Beast'!"
In fact, the documents Samira and Green Bull found on the top floor also mentioned "Kunlun," "Iron Fist," "Black Sky," and other information.
But knowing the current situation, Samira didn't mention those irrelevant details at such a critical juncture.
It seems I didn't feel it wrong earlier. It really is a demon? But isn't this demon's power a bit excessive?
Maybe we should retreat for now!
Glancing at Daredevil, who was now wreathed in intense purple energy, Shield's heart turned cold.
Ultimately, their mission was just to seize the Dragon Bones and capture one or two high-ranking Hand members for the Young Master to interrogate.
If this were Hawkeye, whom the Young Master was somewhat familiar with, in danger, Shield might have tried his best to help.
But whether it was this woman named Kate or that Daredevil, they were just unexpected accidents in this mission.
Whether they lived or died had little to do with his squad.
However, just as Shield's gaze turned icy and he prepared to order a retreat...
The black-clad Daredevil in front of him seemed to sense his intent. He suddenly grinned maniacally, revealing an incredibly twisted expression.
"Haaa~ Become nourishment!!"
Then, the deep purple aura around him exploded, shattering the ground beneath his feet.
In the blink of an eye, his figure turned into an afterimage and vanished from the spot.
Shield didn't have time to react before he felt an unparalleled force slam into his side.
BOOM—
A terrifying shockwave wrapped in purple energy detonated completely.
Kate, whom Shield had been protecting behind him, was blown away several meters by the blast.
And Shield, wearing thick heavy armor, was launched like a cannonball, smashing heavily into the wall of the underground cavern.
A large web of cracks exploded on the hard rock wall, and massive chunks of stone crumbled to the ground with a crash.
"Cough~"
Even with the armor's shock absorption, Shield felt blood rush up his throat.
In the distance, seeing his captain knocked flying, Thresh frantically pulled the trigger and charged at Daredevil.
However, no matter how dense the rain of bullets was, not a single one landed on the opponent.
Instead, before Thresh could get close, he was backhanded by the opponent and sent flying as well.
Watching Daredevil, wreathed in rising purple-black aura, walk toward him step by step with a savage grin...
Shield, his vision blurring slightly, could only hear the ceaseless beeping of alarms inside his helmet.
F! Since when do monsters have a berserk mode?!
Shield struggled to prop up his body, forcibly pulling himself out of the shattered wall. Raising his shield again, he fixed his gaze on the monster before him.
But just then, a voice suddenly cut into the comms channel.
"Hello? Hello? Shield, can you hear me? The rest..."
The next moment.
Shield felt a hand rest gently on his shoulder.
And the voice that should have come from the comms channel seemed to appear suddenly right beside his ear.
"...leave it to me~"
---