Natasha stared at the terrified man beneath the mask, pressing her gun against his forehead.
"Who ordered you to attack us?" she demanded coldly. "Was your target me—or Linen?"
The man trembled, his panicked eyes flickering toward the squad captain lying beside him.
Noticing his glance, Natasha immediately aimed her gun at the captain.
"Answer the question!"
The captain clenched his jaw and said nothing.
Just as Natasha was about to press harder, Linen stepped forward.
"Let me handle this."
He raised his hand, resting it gently on the captain's forehead, and turned to Natasha.
"Do you want to know how I found out SHIELD has been monitoring me ever since we first met?"
As his voice faded, Linen's eyes began to glow gold. He grabbed the captain by the collar and stared straight into his eyes.
"Look into my eyes!"
For a moment, the captain's body froze as if caught in a nightmare. Then he began to tremble violently, making strange humming noises from his throat.
"Tell me," Linen said darkly, "who's your target? Who sent you here?"
Under the pressure of his gaze, the captain's pupils dulled, and his voice turned hollow.
"Derrick Elro… paid us… The mission is to kill you… and stop you from interfering with the ceremony…"
The words barely left his mouth before his body convulsed violently. Foam spilled from his lips, and within seconds—he was dead.
"Derrick Elro?" Linen frowned and turned toward Natasha. "You know this guy?"
Natasha's expression hardened. "Yeah. He's a New York senator—and a member of the U.S. Senate."
Before they could say more, police sirens wailed in the distance.
"Linen," Natasha said quickly, "he just said they were trying to stop us from preventing the Advent Ceremony. That means something's happening right now. I'm worried the SHIELD agents stationed at the cabin might already be under attack!"
"Then we move. Fast."
Linen nodded and waved his hand. A glowing portal opened in front of them.
As they stepped through, Linen's fingers twitched slightly—
and razor-sharp magic threads flashed across the air, slicing the necks of the remaining wounded attackers.
He would show no mercy to anyone who dared to shoot at him.
[System Notification: You killed 23 attackers. Rewards: Skeleton Warriors ×23.]
Hearing the notification in his mind, Linen stepped into the portal and vanished.
Moments later, a fleet of NYPD cruisers screeched to a stop near the scene.
When Chief Boris stepped out and saw the mangled corpses scattered across the street, his face turned pale. He bent over and vomited.
"F*ck," he muttered, wiping his mouth. "This reminds me of the slaughterhouse I worked in back in Texas…"
After a few deep breaths, he straightened and barked, "Clean this up! Get all the bodies and fragments out of here!"
One of his officers hesitated. "Sheriff, aren't we going to investigate? This is—this is brutal—"
"Investigate my ass!" Boris snapped. "This isn't something we can get involved in!"
He waved his hand sharply, and his men immediately began clearing the scene.
Outside the cabin, deep in the suburbs of New York—
Gunfire echoed through the forest.
Da-da-da-da!
Boom!
Bang!
When Linen and Natasha emerged from the portal, they saw SHIELD agents exchanging heavy fire with a group of heavily armed mercenaries.
The agents were badly outnumbered. The forest ahead swarmed with enemies—at least three times their numbers.
If it weren't for Tony Stark, flying above in his Iron Man armor and blasting enemies one after another with his repulsors, the SHIELD team would've been wiped out already.
"You're late!" Tony shouted, landing beside them after a blast from his palm cannon cleared their path.
"Linen and I were attacked too!" Natasha said quickly—then spun and fired a clean headshot at a mercenary who had tried to ambush them.
"Thank God you're here," the director of SHIELD's Supernatural Division ran over, crouching beside them. "We can hold this area. Reinforcements are on the way. You two—go! The ones inside the cabin have already started the ceremony!"
Natasha glanced at Linen, her expression serious.
"It's not too late," Linen said calmly. "The ritual has just begun."
"Then what are we waiting for?" Tony growled, shoulder-mounted micro missiles launching into the forest. Several explosions followed, wiping out more hostiles.
He looked at Linen and Natasha. "I've seen undead before, but I'll be damned if I let a demon crawl out of that house!"
Linen didn't respond. His golden eyes gleamed as he walked toward the cabin without hesitation.
Seeing this, Natasha and Tony quickly followed.
The ceremony had begun—and whatever was inside that cabin was far worse than any of them had imagined.
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