Shadow of the Beautiful World

In Gideon Malik's study, Merlin took off Icarus, he took a step forward, his right hand rested on Gideon's shoulder, his left hand moved forward, and his fingers spread out.

puff

The sharp Hidden Blade popped out from under Merlin's wrist, easily piercing through the barrier of flesh and blood, leaving a scar representing death on the chest of the old man who wanted to die.

The spirits numb the pain, but what was left still made Gideon Malik's eyes widen.

No matter how much preparation is made, death does not come peacefully.

He stretched out his hand to hold Merlin's wrist, he stared at Merlin, his eyes were beating with the last struggle, and he said:

You...dedicated to order...? Hehe...it will...destroy you in the end!

Thank you for your reminder.

Merlin looked at those eyes full of pain, and he said softly:

I will be careful.

The next moment, Merlin's dark red eyes were like swirling halos, absorbing Gideon's last consciousness into them, and activated the extremely proficient instigmatism spell, and he entered the consciousness of the Hydra leader.

But unfortunately, the thinking of the guy in front of him was also shrouded in the power of the dark divine book.

The dark divine book inhabited by the power of the ancient evil god Sithorn was once held by Lady Hydra among the leaders of the Hydra. , searches, and divination magics failed to capture the man's name.

Merlin hunted down many middle-level leaders of Hydra, and many attempts failed without exception.

And if Gideon Malik is really the supreme leader of Hydra, then he must also be protected by the power of the dark book, making it impossible for the Dementia Curse to collect any useful information.

However, when Gideon's consciousness was on the verge of shattering, Merlin still saw something interesting in his memory.

Not about Hydra, but about his family.

To be precise, it is a story about the true believers of the hive of the alien evil god.

A picture unfolded in front of Merlin's eyes. It was Gideon Malik when he was young. He and his father were in the study where Merlin was standing, and they seemed to be talking about something important.

That's what you have to learn.

His father took two stones, one black and one white, and said to young Gideon:

You have to be familiar with it, so familiar that you can know that it is white when you touch it... This is a matter of your life.

It's cheating! Father!

Gideon looked at the stone in his father's hand when he was young, and he shouted somewhat unacceptably:

Drawing the black one means being sent to be sacrificed to that ancient demon... But if I do as you say, then my cousin, wouldn't he just... you are making I will send him to hell with my own hands!

Do not be silly!

Gideon's father grabbed his son's wrist and said in a deep voice:

How do you think our family has been passed down from generation to generation? This trick has been around since the Middle Ages. Don't listen to those old men's stupid arguments. Serving a devil is never something to be honored. What is really important in life There is only one thing to do, and that is to live!

Listen to me, idiot! You must live! Just like what I did back then, just like what your grandfather did back then... You must pass on the blood of your family!

The scene in front of Merlin's eyes changed, and the young Gideon was dressed up, as if he was going to a dance.

Under the weird gazes of a group of haggard old men and old ladies, he and another young man somewhat similar to him stood in the hall of a Yorkshire castle. Before their eyes, there was a black velvet bag.

The hall was very quiet, and everyone was waiting for the result of the ceremony.

Gideon reached into the dark pocket, felt it, and pulled out a stone.

is white.

The other young man went berserk at the scene, weeping and falling limp on the ground, only to be picked up by others who put a heavy space suit on the terrified young man. On the person, and then half-pulled and half-dragged him into the underground hall of the castle.

The young Gideon Malik stood beside his father. He watched the scene with cold eyes, and he clenched the stone in his hand.

The picture changed again, Gideon was over 40 years old, and he was still in this study, holding a stone, and said to a little blond girl in front of him:

Stephanie, you have to learn it... Look, it's a simple trick...

crash

Gideon's memories collapsed before Merlin's eyes.

Merlin took a step back, and withdrew the Hidden Blade from Gideon Malik's chest. He looked at the old man lying on the chair in front of him, who had already lost his breath, and he sighed.

Everyone scolds those who walk in darkness, but they often forget that when darkness strikes, those who submit are the first to be attacked.

There must be something pitiful for a hateful person.

Perhaps, when Gideon himself sent his cousin to sacrifice to the hive, he already hated the hive.

Perhaps, he planned to send Merlin into the barren world, and besides killing Merlin, he also had another idea.

But now, death is like a lamp being extinguished, and these secrets will never see the light of day again.

Merlin took out a handkerchief and wiped off the blood stained on his fingers and Hidden Blade. He picked up Icarus, put it on his face again, and prepared to leave here.

Your Excellency Merlin, that ring...

Icarus reminded:

Weak electronic fluctuations were detected inside.

Um?

Merlin turned around and looked at the golden ring thrown on the table by Gideon Malik. He stretched out his hand and picked up the ring. During the flow of magic power, the ring was torn apart bit by bit. Under the cover, Merlin found a very small wiretapping device and a data card the size of a fingernail.

Snapped

Merlin crushed the eavesdropping device casually, then put the data card in front of his eyes and looked at it.

Due to its size, Icarus did not set up a decoder, so Merlin had to take the data card back to unlock the hidden data.

He glanced back at the corpse on the chair, he turned around and took a step forward, his figure was soon completely engulfed by the shadows.

After Merlin left, the last fiery red light of dusk shone through the window into the room full of death, and that light shone on Gideon Malik's icy corpse.

Blood dripped from the political mogul's fingertips, staining the last of his grip red.

That is a photo.

In that photo, the young Gideon hugged his wife and newborn daughter, smiling so happily, as if he had forgotten all the worries and troubles in the world.

His sins are over, the hive is dead, and the 3,000-year-old curse on his family is lifted.

His daughter, free.

—————————————

In the conference room of an upscale office building in New York City, a charity event about Hell's Kitchen neighborhood renovation plans has just wrapped up.

The beautiful Miss Stephanie Malik walked out of the conference room accompanied by several bodyguards. The young lady suddenly felt a fluster for no reason, and she stopped walking forward.

Hello, Miss Stephanie, my name is Wilson, Wilson Fisk.

A bald businessman with a large body but a gentle expression was about to seize this opportunity to have a few words with Miss Stephanie, who had a strong background, but was stopped by Stephanie's bodyguard beside the eldest lady.

Fisk is a big businessman who has become famous in New York City in recent years, but a guy like him who only has money, and Miss Stephanie's status...is too different.

I have to... make a phone call.

Miss Stephanie, who was a little pale, turned her head and showed an apologetic smile to Wilson Fisk. Her assistant immediately reached out to take the business card from Fisk, while Miss Malik herself, under the protection of a bodyguard, came to Arrived at the rest room of the office building.

But in the supposedly empty rest room, someone was waiting for him.

When Miss Stephanie walked into the rest room, the guy in a black slim trench coat was standing by the window, as if looking at the evening scene of New York.

Who are you!

The dedicated female bodyguard immediately took out her weapon and escorted the eldest lady away, but Merlin turned her head and threw the Yakesi seal with a wave of her fingers, making the two girls who walked into the lounge immediately let go of their guard, and they just looked so dull. stand there.

Merlin walked up to Miss Stephanie. This girl had a pretty face and a great figure. Even without the aura brought to her by the Malik family, she could still live well in this era just by relying on her star-like appearance.

Well, reincarnation is indeed a technical job.

Hello, Miss Stephanie.

Merlin took off his glasses, stretched out his finger, and placed it on Stephanie's forehead, he whispered:

I'm your father's friend, and I'm entrusted by him to come and give you something...

He asked me to tell you...

you're free.

The next moment, the Forgetting Curse was activated, and all the memories of the Hydra, the hive, and the family's dark stories in the young lady's mind were erased bit by bit.

Gideon Malik is dead, and he has paid for all his sins, so let this girl in front of him live her entire life as a pure daughter of a rich family.

Well, since she is passionate about charity, let her continue.

as if...

Pray for my father in hell.

A few minutes later, Merlin walked into the parking lot of the office building. Unsurprisingly, Agent Jasper Hitterwell with a big bald head was already waiting for him there.

Behind Agent Hitwell, there is Brock Rumlow, the senior commander of the S.H.I.E.L.D. Special Reaction Force, and several S.H.I.E.L.D. demon hunters assigned to the Special Reaction Force.

Behind them is the SHIELD high-level armed force unit transformed into a car... Smash, and the second machine Starscream that has just rolled off the assembly line.

Seeing Merlin walk into the parking lot, Rumlow immediately put his hand on the high-power pulse pistol at his waist, but the other Aegis demon hunters did not move at all.

They were trained by Merlin, they are members of the Aegis Demon Hunters, and Merlin, although he has no official position, is the undoubted spiritual leader of the Aegis Demon Hunters. It means that these demon hunters must perform.

Just like Natasha and Barton who were controlling Crush and Starscream, they also remained motionless.

Sorry, Chief Merlin.

The bald-headed internal affairs agent Hitwell walked forward with a suitcase. He lowered his voice and said to Merlin:

I don't know why the Chief gave us this order, but...

do not talk.

Merlin reached out and patted Hitwell's shoulder, and he said softly:

I understand.

He glanced at Rumlow, who hastily let go of his fingers on the pistol.

Merlin shook his head, stretched out his hands towards Hitwell, and said:

It won't make it difficult for you.

Come on, carry out your mission.

The internal affairs agent took out two special black gloves from the suitcase, he glanced at Merlin, and then handcuffed the handcuffs on Merlin's wrists. Merlin didn't resist, and let the agents escort him into the car, and then drove all the way to the Trident Building.

But things are happening again here...

The moment Merlin in shackles was sent into the meeting room on the top floor, he saw Alexander Pierce standing by the window of the meeting room, looking at the evening scenery.

The old man was waiting for Merlin here, and he seemed to have been waiting for a long time.

He turned around, crossed his hips, pointed at the handcuffs in Merlin's hand, and said to Agent Hitwell beside Merlin:

Untie this thing!

Your Excellency Chairman...

Hitwell said with some embarrassment:

It's an order from Commissioner Fury, and we have absolutely no idea what's going on. And, I can't...

Don't make it difficult for them, Pierce.

Merlin said:

I can understand Fury, it's... a protection.

All right.

The old man waved his hand and told Agent Hitwell to leave the meeting room. After the door was closed, Pierce looked at Merlin in shackles and said:

You killed him?

Yeah. Piercing the heart was straightforward, and he didn't suffer too much.

Merlin said softly:

Of course, the despair of failure will make him unwilling to go to hell, but I can only bring death, and I can't heal despair.

Pierce nodded. The old man was silent for a moment. He patted Merlin on the shoulder and said:

Thank you for doing what we wanted to do but couldn't, Merlin...

I didn't misunderstand you, you are a real hero.