Chapter 317 Extortion
Afterward, Darian asked Madam Gao many more questions.
Under hypnosis, Madam Gao told him everything she knew without reservation.
First, regarding Kunlun, this place was essentially the same as Kamar-Taj—a place where practitioners stayed.
The difference was that Kamar-Taj practiced magic, while Kunlun practiced martial arts.
However, the martial artists of Kunlun didn’t need to borrow from a Dimensional Demon God like sorcerers; they relied on cultivating an energy called Qi, which was the unknown energy inside Madam Gao’s body.
This Qi was like the internal power in martial arts stories, the foundation for performing various advanced martial techniques, such as releasing sword energy, smashing stones on one’s chest, Iron Crotch Technique, and so on.
Within Kunlun, there was a special identity called the Iron Fist.
Just like the Sorcerer Supreme of Kamar-Taj, the Iron Fist was the Guardian of Kunlun, the top powerhouse.
Although the title Iron Fist didn’t sound like much, their strength was quite formidable.
The skills of each generation’s Iron Fist lived up to the name; their fists underwent special tempering to possess incredibly powerful strength, known by Kunlun as the Iron Fist Power.
Simply put, it was a normal attack with a critical hit.
Darian lost interest upon hearing this; wasn’t this similar to his Charging skill?
Because of the Iron Fist and a group of Kunlun martial artists, it was naturally difficult for The Hand to seize the Dragon Bone.
To have the power to counter Kunlun, the Five Fingers of The Hand decided to summon The Beast.
The Beast’s background was very mysterious.
Even someone high up in The Hand like Madam Gao only knew fragments of information.
The only certainty was that The Beast was definitely not from Earth; it was likely a pure demon that had seeped through from some unknown dimension.
It could bestow its power upon those who worshiped it in exchange for formidable combat strength and even heaven-defying abilities like resurrection.
But the price was also high; those who accepted the power would gradually be eroded by The Beast’s power, eventually becoming its puppet and losing all self-awareness, just like those ninjas of The Hand.
Madam Gao and the other Five Fingers were wary of this, so they never dared to rashly accept The Beast’s power.
Someone like Murakami was forced by Darian to use a bit of The Beast’s power out of desperation.
Of course, even if he cheated, he still couldn’t beat Darian.
Who told Darian’s stats to be significantly higher than his?
However, that alone was far from enough.
The Five Fingers’ true plan was to summon The Beast directly to Earth, letting it possess a vessel to lead The Hand in conquering Kunlun and seizing the Dragon Bone to extend their lives.
And the best candidate for this Black Sky was none other than Matt’s ex-girlfriend, Elektra.
Hearing this, Matt’s expression changed drastically: "We must not let them capture Elektra!"
Elektra was quite moved to hear Matt say this.
It seemed her ex-boyfriend still had a bit of a conscience.
Matt continued, "That Beast is extremely dangerous. Once it descends upon New York, who knows how many innocent people will be affected..."
Elektra’s face instantly slumped.
Sure enough, a qualified ex is one covered in a white sheet.
Darian shook his head: "It’s useless. I said she’s the best candidate, which naturally means there are backup candidates, backups for the backups, and backups for the backups’ backups... Even if you hide Elektra, they can still use someone else to replace the Black Sky."
Madam Gao nodded in agreement: "Exactly. The Black Sky can be replaced; Elektra is not the only choice."
Darian asked, "Where is the altar?"
Madam Gao was straightforward: "Deep underground beneath one of our group’s construction buildings."
She didn’t hide anything and gave the exact coordinates.
Darian glanced at the quest; a new guide had already refreshed.
He nodded with satisfaction and pointed at the wall: "Go, get that guy in the wall for me."
Having received the order, Madam Gao turned and walked toward the wall where Murakami was embedded, dragging him out from the shattered brickwork.
Murakami had no room to struggle in her hands and was brought directly before Darian.
Darian observed Murakami and found that his injuries were mostly healed. His whole body exuded a sinister, bone-chilling, and eerie aura, clearly the work of The Beast’s power.
Without wasting words, he reached out and pressed his hand against Murakami, and a burst of holy and dazzling white light suddenly erupted from his palm.
"Ah!!"
Murakami immediately howled, his whole body twitching violently and writhing frantically.
"It really works," Darian clicked his tongue.
His Light Spell came with a holy attribute, and its suppression effect on such evil things was immediate, just like when he dealt with the Vampires before.
In extreme pain, Murakami pleaded, "My Lord, spare me! I am willing to be your lapdog!"
Darian ignored him.
He had too many lapdogs; someone like Murakami wasn’t worth his time.
The white light in Darian’s hand suddenly expanded, frantically pouring into Murakami’s body, illuminating him like a hollowed-out lantern shell, with beams of light shooting out from his seven orifices.
To Murakami, that holy aura was no different from boiling lava being poured into his body. Countless black snakes seemed to be squirming under his skin, thick black smoke billowed from his pores, and a continuous sizzling sound could be heard.
Murakami’s screams soon changed pitch, from sharp to hoarse, finally leaving only a series of muffled whimpers.
After a few moments, Murakami’s struggling abruptly stopped.
His body, like burnt charcoal, cracked from the inside out with countless fine patterns of light. With a crash, his entire person shattered into a pile of grayish-white ash, not even a decent bone fragment remained.
Darian withdrew his hand and clapped his palms: "Done. The evil within him has been completely purified by me."
Everyone:"....."
Even the ashes were scattered; how could the evil not be clean?
Matt looked shocked: "Is this... Holy Light?"
Although he couldn’t see, he could feel that gentle and holy light, and its restraining effect on Murakami’s evil power.
As a devout Catholic, he felt this was very much in line with his impression of Holy Light.
"That’s right."
Darian also knew Matt was a Catholic and nodded.
Matt’s Adam’s apple bobbed: "Since you can use Holy Light, then you are..."
Darian didn’t speak; he pulled out an Angel Halo and casually placed it on his head.
In an instant, his whole person was immediately given a layer of heavenly special effects.
In the void, a faint, ethereal hymn seemed to drift into their ears. The lyrics were indistinguishable and the source untraceable, but it made people want to stand up straight, fold their hands, and bow their heads.
Everyone gasped.
Under such a halo, Darian’s identity was self-evident.
However, aren’t those two Golden Desert Eagles in your hands a bit too out of place?
"How is this possible..."
Matt felt his faith waver a bit.
He could feel that the blood on Darian’s hands was probably far more than Frank’s.
Such a murderous fellow actually came from the denomination he believed in, and he even seemed to be an official member.
Darian chuckled: "Nothing is impossible. I was sent down to save these sinners."
Matt frowned: "Your methods completely go against the Lord’s will."
"How so?"
Darian said slowly, "Those I kill are all guilty. By killing them, I prevent them from continuing to commit crimes and protect the innocent from harm. Both sides benefit. Isn’t that a good thing?"
Matt countered, "But you deprived them of their lives."
Darian spread his hands: "Lawyer Matt, what you’re saying isn’t right. Although they lost their lives, they gained salvation. I believe God will forgive them, and my job is just to send them to see God."
Matt: "....."
This clearly wasn’t right, yet he couldn’t say where it was wrong.
Frank, standing to the side, felt satisfied hearing this.
Although he admired Matt, their ideologies always clashed.
Matt believed in procedural justice, while he believed in ballistic justice.
Since Matt was a lawyer and his mouth was his livelihood, they would debate every time they met.
As a result, Frank was left speechless every time. In the end, when he couldn’t win with logic, he could only use force. Only the winner could decide the fate of the criminal.
To the point where Matt’s fan base among criminals had skyrocketed, because they all hoped Matt would beat Frank.
And now, seeing Matt left speechless by Darian, Frank felt like he had just downed a whole bottle of ice-cold beer in the summer—refreshing from his throat down to his stomach.
He secretly noted Darian’s lines, deciding to use them the next time he debated with Matt.
Darian ignored the soul-searching Matt and had Madam Gao lead the way, preparing to head to the altar’s location.
Just as Madam Gao stepped out of the alley, a black car silhouette rushed forward, hugging the road.
Before the sound of brakes could even ring out, she was already sent flying into the sky.
Thud!
After a massive impact, Madam Gao’s body completed a difficult 1620-degree rotation in the air, tracing a perfect arc before slamming heavily onto the asphalt road dozens of meters away. She bounced a few times and then stopped moving entirely.
Darian: —
The offending car swerved for about ten meters before finally skidding to a halt.
Three figures rushed out of the car, two of whom were Darian’s acquaintances, the black-and-white duo Luke Cage and Jessica.
The remaining one was a blonde Caucasian young man, wearing an expensive suit and leather shoes, looking like a rich playboy.
[NPC: Daniel Rand]
[Codename: Iron Fist]
[Favorability: 0]
[Comment: The 66th Iron Fist, member of the Defenders. His normal attacks are like ultimate moves; he doesn’t care about this or that, his Qi pierces the heavens.]
Darian didn’t expect to encounter the Iron Fist himself so soon.
Unlike Ancient One, who was elusive every day, making it hard to see her even once.
Jessica quickly ran to the front of the car and, seeing Madam Gao lying on the ground, cried out in alarm, "Oh no, Daniel, you hit someone! And it’s an old lady!"
Daniel said in a panicked tone, "I didn’t know she would suddenly rush out. I didn’t have time to brake."
While they were talking, Darian had already moved.
Darian lunged to Madam Gao’s side, knelt down on her arm, and began to wail at the top of his lungs.
"Waaah, you died such a miserable death! Which heartless bastard hit you like this? What am I supposed to do now that you’re gone!"
His tears fell, his emotions were abundant, and anyone who heard him would be saddened.
Daniel froze on the spot.
He looked at the motionless Madam Gao on the ground, then at Darian, who was crying heart-wrenchingly beside her, and a strong sense of guilt instantly welled up in his heart.
In his view, Darian must be a relative of Madam Gao, which was why he was so heartbroken.
Daniel hurried forward, his voice full of regret and unease: "I’m sorry, sir, it was me. My brakes didn’t hold."
He was a good person; if he made a mistake, he admitted it. He didn’t even say something like "we’re all just trying to survive."
"So it was you!"
Darian suddenly stood up, grabbed Daniel’s collar, and said angrily, "Look at what you’ve done to her! Tell me, how are you going to compensate for this!?"
Daniel looked down at Madam Gao. She was covered in blood and clearly seriously injured.
But why did she look all black and blue, with two symmetrical black eyes?
Can a car hit someone like that?
Daniel didn’t have time to think it through and quickly said, "Sir, don’t worry, I will definitely compensate you. But the most important thing right now is to save her. I know medicine. Let me treat this elderly lady’s injuries, or her life will be in danger."
In fact, he intended to use the Iron Fist Power to treat Madam Gao.
His Iron Fist Power was not only powerful but also had healing effects.
If he wanted to, he could completely heal someone while beating them up, guaranteeing that after the beating, not even a single bruise could be found on them.
Daniel crouched down, took a deep breath, and extended his hands over Madam Gao’s chest. His palms lit up with a warm golden light, as if he were holding two small Suns.
But before his palms could get within two inches of Madam Gao, his wrists were grabbed.
The person grabbing him was Darian.
That hand was like a steel vice, gripping tightly. Daniel tried to pull away but couldn’t move.
"Who do you think you are? Do you have a medical license? Who’s going to be responsible if something goes wrong?"
Darian scolded harshly, glaring at Daniel: "I see, you don’t want to save her; you just don’t want to pay!"
Daniel quickly waved his hands: "No, absolutely not. Whatever compensation you want, just say it, and I will do my best to satisfy you."
Darian’s expression suddenly changed, and he grinned: "It’s simple. I need you to take me to Kunlun."
Daniel: "???"
At this time, Matt and the others also walked out of the alley.
Matt sensed the presence of Luke Cage and Jessica and said in surprise, "What are you doing here?"
Since the Purple Man incident, several victims had formed the Defenders. They often teamed up to bully the supervillains of Hells Kitchen and had known each other for a long time.
Luke Cage explained, "Recently, we’ve discovered a large number of missing person cases, and all clues point to The Hand. So we tracked down two of The Hand’s Fingers, Madam Gao and Murakami, and came here."
As he spoke, he pointed at Daniel: "As for that guy, we met him along the way. He’s also tracking The Hand, saying that danger is about to descend on New York, so he’s acting with us."
Matt was silent for two seconds, then gently shook his head: "You’re too late. The matter has already been resolved by us. Murakami... he has been redeemed.
"Redeemed?"
Luke Cage didn’t understand what he meant, thinking he had been sent to prison, and asked, "Then what about Madam Gao?"
Matt pointed at Madam Gao on the ground: "There, that’s Madam Gao."
Luke Cage:"...."
Jessica: "...."
Daniel: "...."
Hearing this, Daniel looked at Darian with a bewildered expression: "Then what is your relationship to her?"
Darian said righteously, "Her enemy, of course."
Daniel: "Then what the hell were you crying for just now!?"
***************************
Thoughts on where the plot is heading? Let me know in the comments! If you’re enjoying the ride, please leave a quick review and toss a few Power Stones my way. Every bit of support means the world! 🙌