Endless wails rippled through the depths of the sea.
All around that colossal being, every creature swept up by its sonic wave fell into complete madness.
Countless fish, shrimp, and other deep-sea lifeforms went on a rampage, crashing about wildly and attacking any living thing in sight.
It did not take long before scarlet blood dyed the surrounding waters red for miles.
The bodies of innumerable fish, shrimp, and large deep-sea creatures kept rising to the surface…
No one knew how much time had passed. By the time the dreadful wailing ceased, within a radius of about ten miles around the colossal being, only a heavily scarred giant deep-sea shark remained alive; not a single other living creature could be found.
In the next instant, a bizarre tentacle covered with countless eyes shot out like a spear, instantly "tearing" through a large swath of seawater, piercing straight through the deep-sea shark that was over ten meters long.
Immediately afterward, that terrifying giant tentacle gave a slight shudder, and the shark's body shattered into a mist of blood.
Having torn apart the only "living" shark in the vicinity, the octopus-like behemoth behind the sunken ocean liner seemed to calm just a fraction, the frenzy in its eyes slightly abating. Yet it continued to shift between madness and agony.
Amid this madness and pain, more "eyes" appeared to split open on its body. At the same time, countless eyes burst apart, turning into streams of blood that dripped down onto the huge sunken liner beneath it.
Just moments earlier…
The haze of fate within the Balance Space had washed away the trace of curse-like marking that was clinging to Eren, and through some mysterious connection, it also washed over the body of this colossal existence.
In a flash, that invisible strike heavily wounded it.
While suffering this inexplicable injury, the innumerable eyes of this horrifying entity lost sight of that "prey" it had just locked onto.
Yet because of the sudden damage, with its mind teetering between sanity and madness, it soon forgot about that prey which had briefly piqued its interest.
Following its instincts…
With its soul severely injured and most of its eyes ruptured, the now-weakened giant stretched out those dreadful tentacles exuding a strange aura, greedily absorbing the lingering "essence of blood and flesh" in the surrounding water to restore itself.
After sucking dry the blood-stained water around it, the behemoth, countless eyes on its body shattered, coiled itself around the enormous sunken liner and slowly sank down into the ocean floor.
…
Meanwhile…
After confirming that Eren's spirit had been fully cleansed of any unknown curse or mark, the haze of fate that had poured down from the Balance Space rolled back, taking Eren's spirit along once again into that mysterious dimension.
When all the haze of fate had returned to the Balance Space, the strange realm—somewhere in an unknown dimension—gradually settled once more into calm.
Reappearing at the edge of that river of fate, Eren stepped upon the dense white mist flowing like mercury, gazing at the ceaselessly surging river of fate and the ancient, unchanging balance scale standing upon it.
He felt a sense of inexplicable reassurance.
Recalling how the Balance Space had just employed that white mist to "wash away" and "erase" the eerie figure bound to him, Eren let out a long breath. He also realized he knew far too little about this mysterious space.
That strange phantom clinging to him earlier was likely the mark or curse left by the deep-sea behemoth that had "locked onto" him.
Eren guessed that the moment he was targeted by those hundreds or thousands of eyes in the dream, some unknown curse or marking had clung to his soul.
Putting together the earlier words—"I… see… you…"—it seemed that mark or curse might possess a certain awareness, or at least a way to pinpoint his location.
And that probably had triggered the "hidden" Balance Space in this unknown dimension.
The haze of fate within the space had come crashing down from above, instantly washing off the mark or curse that clung to Eren's spirit.
Even though the terrifying being behind the ghost ship in the dream was powerful, compared to the river of fate, who knew how far below it truly stood?
It could not even withstand the cleansing of that ever-present haze of fate in the Balance Space.
Hmm! Could this be considered discovering a hidden function of the Balance Space?If he ever suffered a curse in the future or got marked by some terrible entity, could he just use the Balance Space to wash away the mark or curse?
It seemed that, from now on, he should spend more time in the Balance Space whether he had business there or not.
At the very least, he could ensure he was not unknowingly cursed by something unknown.
While noticing this hidden function of the Fate Space, Eren also realized that this realm did not welcome other intelligent beings besides himself; otherwise it would not have had such a strong reaction earlier.
As for him…
It must be related to that ancient balance scale. Only because of that was he treated differently by this space.
Thinking this, Eren once again looked over at the balance scale that stood unmoved on the silver river, seeming as eternal as time itself.
After lingering in the Balance Space for about an hour, Eren returned to reality.
Because of what had happened last time, as Eren went through the files S.H.I.E.L.D. provided, he was notably more cautious.
Practically every time he opened a new folder, Eren would flip a coin to perform a quick divination.
Glancing at the brand-new silver coin in his hand, Eren could not help missing that previous coin of his that had developed a faint trace of spiritual energy.
Unfortunately…
That coin had been in Harlem, and along with Eren's avatar, it had been turned to ash under that "soul shockwave."
Who knew how long it would take for the coin in his hand now to become as spiritually attuned as the old one.
…
"Whew…"
Rubbing his somewhat tired eyes, Eren picked up the cold coffee from his computer desk, drank it in one gulp, then closed his eyes and stretched out in his chair.
"Finally done."
He exhaled a slightly bitter breath, opened his eyes again, and glanced at the clock on the wall.
"It's already six. Didn't expect I pulled an all-nighter. No wonder my eyes feel so dry."
Last night, after nearly the entire evening's efforts, Eren finished reading all the strange case files that S.H.I.E.L.D. had copied onto that silver USB drive.
There were quite a few bizarre incidents on that drive.
And because they had been sorted by S.H.I.E.L.D., most of them genuinely involved the supernatural.
Among these, besides some bloody cult sacrifices set up by evil groups and a few hoaxes involving people pretending to be gods or ghosts, most concerned various extraordinary creatures.
Some were reminiscent of ghouls, water spirits, ghosts, or other dark beings from ancient lore, while others were strange, mutated monsters beyond description that appeared out of nowhere.
Compared to those old, legendary creatures of darkness, these aberrant lifeforms were stronger, more frenzied, and far more dangerous.
From what these documents showed, the damage caused by these mutated creatures was vastly greater than that caused by the typical monsters of legend.
But…
Fortunately…
He did not find anything as horrifying as that ghost ship in these files.
Otherwise, Eren really would have been shocked by just how many terrifying creatures were hidden in this world.
Based on the dates marked on the files, Eren also noticed that, recently, such incidents were on the rise. The closer to the present, the more frequent they became. And the creatures involved were growing even stronger.
…
"Seems like ever since Iron Man kicked off the era of the extraordinary in this world, all sorts of monstrous entities are beginning to appear on stage, scrambling to make their debut?"
Shaking his head, Eren shut down the computer, then yanked the silver USB drive out and tossed it into Oddball's mouth nearby.
After all the days S.H.I.E.L.D. had handled it, this USB drive was certainly not "clean."
Eren had no intention of holding on to whatever hardware S.H.I.E.L.D. might have tampered with.
He had already memorized the contents of the drive, so there was no further need for it.
"Chomp!"
The USB drive, glinting silver, was bitten into pieces by Oddball's row of sharp teeth the moment it entered its mouth. Then, via Oddball's seemingly bottomless stomach, it was quickly broken down into the most basic particles.
No matter how many tricks S.H.I.E.L.D. might have embedded in that USB drive, all of them were rendered useless once inside Oddball.
Seeing Oddball swallow the silver USB, Eren, who was on his way to the bathroom to take a shower, paused momentarily and pointed at his computer."Swallow that too."
Just as Eren inserted the USB stick earlier, the firewall he personally coded after crossing over had been hit by several unknown viruses.
He did not even need to think about who was behind this.
Though these viruses were quite formidable by current standards, they were still rather helpless against a next-gen firewall Eren had designed himself.Had Eren not worried that directly destroying them would damage some of the files on the USB, he would have wiped them out earlier.
Even if the computer was never truly compromised, Eren no longer wanted it.
Not for anything else—just that it was too old and had terrible specs. Even the firewall Eren wrote almost overloaded it.
Given that Eren was not short of money now, he decided he might as well buy a new, high-performance machine. He would write a custom firewall so no one could invade his privacy again.
As for the study materials from the PC's previous owner, those were no longer necessary.
…
When Eren finished his shower, the sky outside his window was growing pale.
After a quiet night, the streets of Chinatown were slowly becoming lively again.
Emerging from the bathroom, Eren—who had spent the whole night reading—did not feel like making his own breakfast, so he pulled on some workout clothes, grabbed some loose change, and headed downstairs.
The moment he stepped outside, that uniquely bustling morning sound of Chinatown greeted him.
The tempting aromas of steamed buns, fried dough sticks, soy milk, pancakes, rice rolls, and other specialties rushed to meet his nose, immediately making his mouth water.
Compared to Eren's carefully balanced meals, which only met his nutritional needs, these foods—crafted to conquer the human palate—were far more flavorful.
Following the street right outside his door, Eren sampled one breakfast item after another until he was stuffed. He then patted his stomach and wandered toward a nearby park.
There was still about an hour before class. Eren planned to use this time to jog around the park, clearing away the fatigue of sitting up all night.
This particular park was built around a small man-made lake. It had beautiful scenery and a dedicated path for running along the lake.
Thanks to the lovely landscape and well-designed track, it was a popular spot for morning runners—especially female runners.
As for the men, Eren suspected they might be drawn more by the scenery of the women themselves.
Strolling into the park at a relaxed pace, Eren began jogging along the lake path once he felt his breakfast was partly digested.
With each step he ran, the food in Eren's belly got more thoroughly digested and broken down, so his pace steadily increased.
Soon enough, he started passing other joggers, leaving them behind with cries of surprise.
After two laps around the park, Eren—practically flying by everyone else and lapping nearly every runner there—caught the attention of a group of women.
Seeing him speed by like the wind, his lithe, athletic form on full display, these ladies couldn't help staring.
If he used that speed and stamina on me…The mere thought made their bodies tingle, and more than a few cheeks flushed slightly.
Meanwhile, the men who had come to watch those same women looked at Eren with unspoken envy.
"Hey."
Just as Eren started his third lap, a figure he knew all too well caught up from behind.
That was…Steve?
Raising an eyebrow as he watched Steve accelerate toward him, Eren turned his head back around and kept running.
Seeing that Eren apparently had no interest in saying hello, Steve felt slightly embarrassed as he rubbed his nose. But he was not upset. Instead, he sped up, quickly passing by Eren.
Witnessing Steve's form leaving him in the dust—his pace even faster than before—Eren remained calm, continuing to run at his own speed. If Steve had hoped to recreate that scene from the movies of easily overtaking someone lap after lap, that definitely would not happen here.
But…
After several laps around the park, once Eren had worked up a light sweat, he stopped by a small convenience store near the track, bought two bottles of water, and waited.
Not long after, Steve came by again, and Eren tossed one of the bottles over.
"Here."
"Thanks!" Steve grabbed the water in surprise. "I thought you didn't want to talk to me."
"No, I just don't like hassle, that's all."Eren took a swig from his own water, then looked at Steve. "So tell me, what do you want, Steve?"
He was taken aback. "So…you know me? And you guessed I came looking for you?"
"Of course. You're famous. Our school still keeps your old PSA tapes to show kids who need counseling. I was one of them once."
"Wow. I would never have guessed." Steve studied the cheerful, good-looking young man in front of him, trying to imagine why he might have needed psychological support.
"I lost my only living relative last year."
Eren said this calmly, but Steve immediately froze, then offered an apologetic, "I'm sorry."
Eren just shook his head. "I'm not here for an apology. Let's get straight to the point, Steve: why are you here to see me?"
From the moment Eren saw Steve, he understood the morning's tarot had shown that he would be dealing with "trouble" today.
"Well, Natasha told me meeting you would be… unique. I wasn't sure what she meant, but now I see." Steve surveyed the surroundings. "Mind if we go somewhere else? This isn't the best place to talk."
"No, this is convenient enough." Eren snapped his fingers.
With that snap, a wave of invisible energy rippled out from them.
In the blink of an eye—under Steve's astonished gaze—a circle with a radius of around twenty meters around the bench where they sat somehow emptied of other people, as if everyone had absentmindedly moved away.
Those who passed by simply skirted around that area, never truly noticing them. It was as though they were invisible.
Steve stared at this unbelievable sight. "Wow…is this…some kind of superpower?"
"This world doesn't revolve solely around super soldier serums or superpowers." Eren shook his head. "You could call it a small magic trick."
"Really?" Steve clearly had doubts. "I've never seen any magic like this."
At the moment, Eren and Steve seemed to be enclosed in a boundary that separated them from everyone else in the park. People simply walked by without glancing in their direction.
Before his long sleep, Steve had seen plenty of illusions and magic shows, but none this extraordinary.
"That's just because you haven't seen enough of the world. If you've watched the news, you'd have noticed a six-winged angel recently emerged from myth and ended the disaster in Harlem. Next to that, my little trick is nothing."
"A six-winged angel?" Steve frowned. Having just woken up a couple of days ago, he really had no idea about that incident. I guess I really need to catch up on everything that's been happening in the world.
He decided to set that aside for the moment and took a deep breath. Then Steve said softly, "Last night, Fury arranged a trap aimed at catching some Hydra agents hidden in S.H.I.E.L.D. But…the infiltration goes deeper than we ever imagined."
"The plan got leaked…a lot of people died, and aside from some small fry, we failed to catch any major Hydra targets."
"Oh?" Eren nodded. "But what does that have to do with me?"
"It's definitely related." Steve's expression grew serious. "Those Hydra members on the earlier list…all died in last night's operation."
Steve's face darkened. "I heard from Fury that the original Hydra list came from you, which is why I've come—besides those on that list, do you know about any other Hydra members?"
"They're all dead?" Eren shook his head. "Looks like Fury is more ruthless than I thought."
"What do you mean?" Steve asked, puzzled.
"Steve, don't believe Fury too much. He's not as simple as he appears. I handed over that list to Natasha a week ago. With his abilities, he could have thoroughly investigated every single one of them by now."
"Whether those people are alive or dead probably doesn't matter anymore. It's entirely possible that last night's failed operation was planned by Fury himself so that Hydra would drop its guard. Then, when the time is right, he can strike a fatal blow."
"So don't let yourself become his pawn."
Though Eren's words were speculation, he found them quite plausible. S.H.I.E.L.D. might have been thoroughly infiltrated by Hydra, but Fury definitely was not as clueless as he appeared. Given Eren's warning, plus Fury's hidden methods, Eren suspected Fury had already uncovered that Alexander was Hydra's main figure in S.H.I.E.L.D.
Now that every Hydra name from the list had died, it might simply be part of Fury's plan to lull Hydra into lowering their defenses.
Eren's mental power was already awakened, so as he spoke, he subtly influenced Steve. Steve frowned deeply, pondering Eren's comments.
When all was said and done, he and Fury had only met a few times since his revival. They were not as close as one might assume. Eren's words planted a seed of doubt in Steve's mind.
After a long silence, Steve said, "I'll verify that for myself. If it's true, I won't let Fury off the hook. Those agents who died last night shouldn't be sacrificed like pawns."
"But if you do have more information on Hydra, I'd still like to hear it. Trust me—no one understands Hydra's danger better than I do."
Interesting.
Through his mental perception, Eren sensed Steve's sincerity. Even the statement "I won't let Fury off the hook" was absolutely earnest.
I guess that's how he is…just so…straightforward.
But Eren found himself genuinely curious about what things would look like if Steve and Fury ever ended up at odds.
Still, while Eren's mind churned with countless thoughts, none of it showed on his face. He pretended to hesitate, then leaned in to whisper, "If you insist, you might want to check up on a senator named…well, let's just call him 'the senator.'"
"Oh, and as a friendly tip—seeing as you did give me some counseling on those tapes—once you get home, take a good look around. I bet Fury has installed all kinds of 'gadgets' in your house by now."
With that, Eren pulled out his phone, looked at the time, and said, "Alright, it's late. I need to head back for class."
He snapped his fingers again.
The concealing boundary around them vanished at once, letting the surrounding crowd stream back into the area. Eren merged into the flow of people and jogged away the way he had come, leaving Steve alone, momentarily lost in thought.
…
Steve's imposing figure attracted plenty of female attention. As soon as Eren lifted the screen of illusion, several women who had been eyeing Steve made their move.
"Hey there, handsome, you here to run too? Want to run with us?"
Even as they spoke, more than one of them reached out boldly to feel Steve's chest, abs, and even…that firm backside.
A single man out of his time, who had been asleep for seventy years, was not prepared for such a situation.
Caught off guard by their enthusiasm, Steve hurriedly fled the park.
…
Racing straight out of the park, Steve jumped into a flashy sports car that had been parked and waiting for him. As soon as he climbed in and shut the door, effectively "blocking" those women's fiery gazes, Steve let out a long sigh.
Natasha, in the driver's seat, eyed him with amusement. "Not going to get any of their numbers? A few of them seemed pretty cute."
Steve rolled his eyes. Then his smile faded, and he grew serious. "Natasha, while I was talking to the kid, everyone around us just walked away. It was like there was a twenty-meter-wide bubble where people simply ignored us. You notice anything unusual?"
Natasha's expression shifted. "You sure? I was watching from the car and didn't see anything. It looked normal to me…"
But she trailed off abruptly. Her face changed again. She shut her eyes and concentrated, frowning deeply, then reopened them, looking troubled.
Steve asked, "What's wrong?"
"For a moment just now, it was like I lost track of you two," she said quietly. "In my memory, I do recall you two talking, but I can't recall the actual details of what you were doing or saying… It's as if my memory from that time got blocked or altered somehow."
That was simply impossible given her training, yet it had happened.
For a moment, both Steve and Natasha fell into silence.
Finally, Steve let out a breath. "It seems that kid is far more mysterious than we realized. At least we got something out of it this time."
Natasha perked up at that. "You mean more names on Hydra?"
He shook his head. "Not exactly. All he said was to take a good look at a senator. That's all."
"A senator?" Natasha typed quickly on a tablet, eyes darting over the screen. Soon, a photo of a big, heavyset man appeared.
"That's him?" Steve asked, peering at the picture.
Natasha nodded. "There's only one senator in New York with that name. But he's got real influence here. Investigating him won't be easy."
"I see," Steve said. "Still, it's better than having no leads at all. If he really is Hydra, then he's definitely not small fry."
Natasha agreed. "Then let's go report this to Fury. Investigating a sitting senator is beyond my current authority. We need the go-ahead."
With that, she revved the engine, and the official S.H.I.E.L.D.-registered sports car roared away. However, neither of them noticed how, when Natasha brought up Fury's name, a subtle ripple flashed through Steve's eyes.
(End of Chapter)
[Check Out My Patreon For +20 Extra Chapters On All My Fanfics!!][www.p@treon.com/zaelum][+500 Power Stones = +1 Extra Chapter][Thank You For Your Support!]