Marvel With Zanpakutou

"Who... exactly are you?!"

Hive’s pupils shrank slightly as it stared fixedly at the man.

The man made no unnecessary movements. He merely stood in midair, yet faint ripples surrounded him, emitting an invisible pressure. Hive could even vaguely smell the dense scent of danger permeating the air.

Wait... Yvette?

Hive’s heart trembled. That was its "mother’s" name.

Even inside this Hydra base, aside from the dead researchers and Schmidt, very few people knew "mother’s" name. So how did this suddenly appearing man know "mother’s" name?

"You... know my ’mother’?"

Hive pondered for a moment before cautiously asking.

"...Mother?"

The man’s gaze turned cold as an immense aura surged from his body.

Whether it was an illusion or not, the moment Hive met those deep eyes, it suddenly felt as though the sky had collapsed. An incomparable pressure surged in from all directions, like the terrifying pressure ten thousand meters beneath the deep sea, crushing its bones inch by inch.

Bang!

That pressure was as heavy as mountains. Hive simply could not endure it and was forced directly to its knees.

Its knees smashed heavily into the metal floor, actually denting it inward as crisp sounds of shattering bones rang out.

"Say it again. Who is your mother?"

Step by step, the man descended until he stood before the kneeling Hive, looking down at it with cold, indifferent eyes.

"Tell me exactly what happened to Yvette. Every single detail."

Anyone could hear that beneath that calm tone was hidden an incomparably violent rage.

As if responding to the man’s anger, the spirit particles drifting through the atmosphere became like rampaging torrents, continuously gathering within the surrounding space, almost showing signs of condensing into liquid form. In the region of such highly concentrated spiritual power, even breathing seemed like a luxury.

That power... this familiar feeling!

Kneeling on the ground, Hive immediately broke into cold sweat and quickly realized that the man before it was the true... origin!

’Mother’ Yvette’s power had likewise originated from this man.

Even if all the energy within every one of them were added together, it would still be far less than one ten-thousandth of this man’s. The difference in scale between them was like a stream compared to the ocean, a bird compared to the sky... utterly unreachable!

Under that terrifying pressure, the surrounding space itself seemed unstable, as though it might collapse at any moment.

"It... it was like this..."

Hive did not dare disobey and could only truthfully recount everything to the man, though it still kept a small trick hidden.

In the story it described, Hydra were the greatest villains.

The evil Hydra scientists had gathered samples of Yvette’s cells and bone marrow, creating it—this inhuman monster.

But in its heart, it had always hated those evil Hydra scientists. Thus, taking advantage of the base’s destruction, it escaped from the sealed container in order to rescue its equally imprisoned mother.

At this point, Hive even squeezed out several tears, putting on the appearance of a deeply filial child as it tearfully recounted Hydra’s various atrocities to the man. From time to time, it even inserted a few lines about how deep its love for its mother was.

In short, it was an innocent experimental creation.

And it deeply loved mother Yvette, even risking its life to come save her.

Hive lowered its head deeply, cunning light flickering in its eyes.

It understood humanity’s weakness. As long as it appeared innocent enough and pushed all blame onto Hydra, the man before it would absolutely not direct his anger toward it.

Because within this story... both it and Yvette were innocent!

As long as it could make this man lower his guard, even for a single instant, it could launch a sneak attack from behind and seize the chance to dominate and devour this powerful man!

Compared to Yvette and Steve Rogers, this man was what it desired most!

Just as Hive confidently raised its head and was about to continue crying bitterly, it met a pair of icy eyes head-on. That freezing gaze, carrying the suffocating stillness of dead water, instantly surged into its heart.

That was... undisguised killing intent!

The intense sense of danger, almost tangible in form, caused Hive to instinctively split apart its flesh, transforming into a swarm of parasites scattering in all directions.

Its reaction speed was already extremely fast, yet the man’s speed was ultimately even faster. He merely raised his hand casually, five fingers clenching tightly in empty space as highly concentrated spirit particles ignited instantly, and azure flames burst forth explosively.

"AAAAAHHH——"

Hive let out a miserable scream.

More than half the parasites after splitting apart failed to escape the attack range in time and were directly swallowed by the azure flames.

Boom!

The laboratory ceiling was pierced through by a pillar of azure fire as terrifyingly high-temperature flames ravaged the surroundings.

In merely a few seconds, the silver-white metal forming the laboratory actually melted into molten iron within the flames. Upon meeting cold air, it released waves of white steam that spread throughout the entire laboratory.

"Tch, splitting apart?"

The man curled his lips in disdain.

"I’d like to see how many more times you can split."

With a flick of his finger, the azure flames surged forth like raging tides, surrounding and cornering the fragmented Hive.

"Wh... why?!"

Driven into a corner by the azure flames, Hive—only half a body remaining—stared venomously at the man, shrieking miserably:

"I never offended you! Just like mother, I’m also a victim! Why are you trying to kill me?!"

It could not understand.

Clearly, just like mother, it too was a victim of Hydra.

Yet the man before it still wanted to erase it without the slightest hesitation.

Could it be... he had no sympathy at all?

The circle of flames grew smaller and smaller. As fear climbed to its peak, Hive finally collapsed and loudly begged for mercy.

"Ple... please spare me!"

Hive screamed painfully.

"I’m only an experimental creation! I’m innocent! You can’t kill an innocent life! Even for mother’s sake, please... spare me!"

"Next time, remember to act a little more convincingly."

The man’s gaze remained cold as he calmly said:

"At the very least, remember to smile while lying."

He had never seen such terrible acting. He did not even need to look carefully to see through it.

Those restless evil intentions, along with the killing intent and greed hidden in its eyes, were like a seven- or eight-year-old child putting on a clumsy performance before an adult. It was so laughable that it almost amused him.

"???"

Hive still could not understand where it had gone wrong.

But unfortunately, the man had no intention of explaining. He casually raised a hand and clenched it.

The azure flames instantly soared skyward. Extreme, terrifying heat ravaged everything as the Hive trapped in the corner was completely swallowed.

At the very last moment—

Hive suddenly remembered Steve telling it to learn more from humans.

"Could it be... I really should learn from humans?"

Carrying that final lingering thought, Hive turned to ashes within the flames.

The man could not even be bothered to inspect further. With a wave of his hand, the azure flames instantly extinguished as he turned and walked toward the sealed container.

Looking at the countless needle marks and wounds covering the girl’s body, a trace of anger and pity flashed through the man’s eyes. He wished he could drag Hydra’s people back out and torture them thousands upon thousands more times before his fury could finally subside.

The man slowly exhaled before raising his hand and shattering the container glass.

Green solution burst outward, but all of it was blocked by an invisible barrier. The girl, having lost support, weakly fell from the container and was caught by a pair of strong arms.

𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

A thread of spiritual power flowed into the girl’s body, awakening her sleeping soul.

"Lu... Ka?"

The girl opened her dazed eyes, timidly staring at the man as she bit her pink lips tightly.

"Is... is it really you? Did you really... come save me? Th... this isn’t a dream, right?"

"It’s me, Yvette."

The man held the girl tightly in a princess carry and softly said:

"I’ve come to get you. Let’s go home together."

"But... I don’t have a home anymore."

Yvette’s eyes filled with tears as she cried sorrowfully in a low voice:

"Grandpa... they’re all dead... I’m the only one left... Luka."

"It’s okay. I’m still here."

The man rubbed the girl’s golden hair and said:

"From now on, I’ll stay with you. Anywhere can be your home."

[ Ding~ ]

[Side Mission Updated!]

[Side Mission: The Premature Birth of Tiamut

Mission Description: One of the Celestials, Tiamut, will prematurely emerge on Earth due to the influence of an unknown power.

Completion Requirement: Within the three-month time limit, find and stop the birth of Tiamut.

Mission Reward: High-Grade Souls ×10, Soul Retrieval · Auswählen]