Shadow of the Beautiful World

When Fury, who received the news, rushed to the meeting room, he saw Merlin sitting on a chair, talking with Pierce.

Merlin still wore black handcuffs on his wrists, as if a prisoner was exchanging ideas with a lawyer. Agent Hitwell standing aside had an embarrassed expression. He couldn't offend these two big bosses at all, but he couldn't just leave it like this leave.

Fury walked into the conference room and gave Hitwell a relief. The director waved his hand, and Hitwell left the conference room as if he had been pardoned.

Fury closed the door and walked to Merlin and Pierce. He took the key out of his pocket and helped Merlin unshackle his hands.

Pierce, you should know that this is to protect him.

Fury turned to Pierce who was looking at him and said:

The news of Gideon's assassination and death has been blocked, but we don't have much time left. You still need to preside over the overall situation in the World Security Council. I don't want to see the entire council in chaos.

Mess? No, no.

Pierce said with a firm expression:

When a person full of energy is alive, everyone surrounds him, fears him, and is willing to be friends with him. At worst, he cannot become an enemy, but this does not mean that everyone likes him so much.

Gideon's assassination may be bad news, but whether it is a good thing or a bad thing, it will disappear with the death. Maybe there will be many people who want to make some troubles by this incident, but more People can only breathe a sigh of relief.

Compared to investigating Gideon's death, the political legacy left by my old friend is probably the focus of the council's next discussion.

Speaking of this, Pierce's expression was a little sad, and he said softly:

This is politics. We have no chance of winning against the living Gideon, but with his death, many difficult problems have been solved. Although I don't want to admit it, Merlin's private actions have indeed solved a big problem for us.

Fury nodded, he looked at Merlin:

Have you confirmed his identity?

Merlin knew what Fury wanted to ask, and he said:

He calls himself the 'Speaker'. This is exactly the same as the code name of the supreme leader of Hydra that we collected before. I have no way to check his memory, but I found this.

Merlin took out the pocket data card from his pocket, put it on the table, and said:

This is found in Gideon's emblem, maybe it will bring us some more 'surprises'.

I'll have the data experts decipher it right away.

Fury put away the data card, he glanced at Merlin, then at Pierce, and said:

About Today

Forget it.

Pierce stood up suddenly, and he said to Merlin and Fury:

Nothing happened today, today is just one day in a world that has no meaning.

Pierce said to Merlin:

You can erase memories, can't you?

Um.

Merlin nodded.

very good.

Pierce pointed to himself, then to Fury, and said:

Wash our two memories of this incident!

There are also agents outside who are responsible for escorting you back. Erase their memories. Since it has never happened, let it be completely forgotten.

this

Merlin hesitated, but Pierce emphasized his tone. He put his hands on the table and said to Merlin:

Today we cut off the last head of Hydra. This is a great victory. But everything that happened today must be forgotten. No one will remember what you did, and no one will sing about your sacrifice. Your great deeds will be buried in time, and it will be a secret that no one will know.

It's necessary because only then can we protect you and we can protect our true heroes.

really.

Fury hesitated a little, but he also nodded, and he said:

As long as there is a secret that exists in the heart, there is a possibility of being leaked. The death of Gideon Malik will make Hydra fall apart, but the thugs who lost their heads will definitely become more crazy, maybe they will be desperate Trying to avenge the leader.

This truth, every time more people know it, it will make your situation more dangerous.

I know, you are not afraid of their challenges, but you also have relatives, Merlin, you have to think more about them, like the tragedy of Richard and Mary, it can't happen again.

Fury took out the pocket data card from his pocket and handed it to Merlin. He said to Merlin:

This thing is in your charge. If there is any remaining information about Hydra in it, you can deal with it yourself. Also, remember to make up a better memory for me.

Take it easy.

Pierce sat back on the chair again. He looked at Merlin who drew out his wand, and he jokingly said:

Don't delete my other memories, it will be very troublesome. I am already an old man who is dying. I have enough diseases on my body. I don't want to suffer from amnesia again.

Will not.

Merlin smiled at the two people in front of him, and said:

I'll be careful.

Merlin waved his wand, and the white light of the Oblivion Curse danced on the top of the wand. It was like a white halo. Under Fury and Pierce's gaze, the light expanded rapidly and then disappeared in a flash.

cough cough

Merlin's cough woke up Fury who was distracted. He turned his head to look at Merlin, then rubbed his forehead in a daze, and said:

Where did you just say that?

Mission report on Blackstone, Yorkshire.

Merlin said to the blank-eyed Fury solemnly:

I have already reported the results of my encounter with the evil god and the hive where the hydra originated. After finishing the battle against the evil god, even if we have destroyed the inheritance of the hydra from the origin, that organization may soon fall apart. , I also found something in the ruins of Yorkshire castle.

Merlin waved the pocket data card in his hand, he said:

That castle was destroyed by the power of the Blackstone eruption. I doubt very much that the leader of Hydra died in it, but I will continue to investigate this matter until everything related to Hydra is over.

Ah, very good.

Fury nodded. Even though his unexpected distraction caused him to miss Merlin's report at all, his majesty as the chief made him not admit it.

He stood up and said to Merlin:

You have to make another written report on this matter and submit it to me. If there is nothing else, you can go to work.

Fury glanced at Pierce, who was dozing off beside him, and said to Merlin:

I'll send the old man back to his office.

Let's just take it home.

Merlin said to Fury:

Gideon Malik, director of the World Security Council, was assassinated today. That was his old friend. This incident had a great impact on him. He may need to rest. After all, he will be busy next time.

Speaking of the assassination of Director Gideon Malik

Fury looked at Merlin, and he asked:

Do you think this has something to do with Hydra?

Maybe.

Merlin said ambiguously:

With a premonition that his own defeat is coming, it is very possible that Hydra will suddenly go crazy. Director Gideon Malik has always supported S.H.I.E.L.D.'s pursuit of Hydra, and this director has a complicated political background. After being assassinated It will inevitably lead to chaos in the entire world security council, and this chaos can be used by HYDRA.

From this point of view, it makes sense for those Hydra elements to regard Director Gideon as an assassination target.

Merlin made a random analysis, and as usual put the shit bowl on the Hydra's head.

Fury felt that Merlin's statement was a bit far-fetched, but after thinking about it carefully, it was not unreasonable.

But the assassination of Gideon Malik was too sudden, so sudden that there was no warning, like an unsolved case, so experienced agents like Fury didn't know where to start.

I go first.

Merlin took out his pocket watch to check the time. He moved his shoulders and said to Fury:

I just had a fight with an evil god. I am exhausted now. Maybe, I have to ask for a few days off.

Ask for leave again?

Fury glanced at Merlin, and he said:

Your work attitude is very problematic recently, Merlin.

But I'm doing a great job.

Merlin shrugged and said:

Just take it as my annual leave in advance. I will arrange the work handover before I take the leave.

After finishing speaking, he walked out of the conference room quickly. Fury looked at Merlin's back and shook his head, but he didn't say anything.

boom

The door of the conference room was closed behind Merlin, and the camera in the corridor was also temporarily blocked by Icarus at this moment. Merlin was holding the wand, and he was holding the Axi seal, and said to the Hitwell agent guarding the door:

Hitwell, come, let me show you something good.

swish

The white light flashed away.

More than ten minutes later, Merlin came to the rooftop of the Trident Building alone. He looked at the city that had just been shrouded in dusk. The black night took over from the gorgeous and short dusk, bringing this world into darkness. But the lights lit up in the city make this night no longer frightening.

Merlin walked to the edge of the roof, he bent down a little tiredly, and sat there with his legs dangling in the air.

The wind at night blew his broken hair and stroked his cheek, making him breathe a sigh of relief.

He looked at the unclear stars above his head and the moon that had just risen. After washing away the memories of his companions and hiding those secrets that should not be known, the feeling of loneliness also rose in his heart.

That's the price of keeping a secret, not being able to tell it, not being able to share it, and bearing that weight alone.

He knew that what he did was right, and he knew that in the bright world, people like Gideon Malik were destined not to be judged, so he executed justice with his own hands.

As Pierce said, he accomplished what they wanted to do but couldn't do. This violated the law and didn't seem so fair. No one in this world knew what happened today, but Merlin would never forget it.

He embarked on the road of assassin no, he has been walking on this road.

Every step I take gets heavier.

Every step I take, I feel more lonely.

maybe this is

The price of this road?

—

Alexander Pierce returned to his home in Washington. The old man's wife had passed away more than ten years ago, and his children had their own families. Because of work, Pierce had been living alone in the mansion.

But tonight, the room was very quiet.

You're back?

A voice suddenly sounded from the darkness, startling the old man. He looked back, and in the dark living room, a woman in a wheelchair was staying there with her back to him, looking extremely mysterious.

How did you come?

Pierce asked hesitantly:

You should be in charge of the Umbrella Corporation's affairs over there in Raccoon City now. I don't remember calling you.

Of course you don't remember.

The woman said calmly:

You are also powerful enough, Pierce. In order to completely gain his trust, you dare to let him cast the Forgetting Curse on you. It is really ignorant and fearless. If Merlin checks the things in your mind while erasing your memory, then You really put yourself in the jaws of a tiger.

what are you saying?

Pierce said suspiciously:

What forgetting curse? Why don't I know?

Oh, the wisdom of mortals.

The woman shook her head and let out a mocking laugh. She picked up a strange crystal bottle from her hand, and a ray of pale light swirled around in the crystal bottle, like a sealed ghost.

Open it!

Mrs. Larson, who used to be Mrs. Hydra, raised her finger and used her magic power to hold the crystal bottle into Pierce's hand. She said:

Open it and you'll know what I'm talking about.

Pierce hesitated, but in the end, he stretched out his hand and unscrewed the lid of the crystal bottle, and the white light rushed out like a snake, and merged into Pierce's body along with his breath.

The memory that was copied and extracted in advance just returned to his mind. After a while, Pierce shook his head in the revival of the memory. In the dark, he said softly:

Heroes always keep their eyes on the enemy, and they trust the people around them. You can say that I am taking risks, that I am risking my life, but I have always had great confidence in Merlin. Facts have proved that Merlin is a real hero, and I, I am the one who stands in the shadow of the hero.

What should I do next?

Mrs Larson did not respond to Pierce's claims, asking:

You told me before that Gideon Malik's death represented the complete destruction of Hydra, so what about us people? Are we no longer villains?

We were never villains, we were never in the service of evil, remember that, ma'am.

Pierce took out a carton of milk from the refrigerator, poured it into a glass, drank it, and said:

We have truly merged into the darkness, and no one will stop us from moving forward. Next, it is time to devote all our energy to the real and correct cause.

We will build with our own hands a world where there will be no more crime, no more chaos, no more discrimination, no more war, protected by a new order.

That would be a victory for the new order