Shadow of the Beautiful World

Hiss, hiss

On the top floor of the dilapidated Trident Building, the originally bright lights in the hall flickered.

Reed's underground psychic interference device is extracting the building's energy, dimming the lights.

The dark magic power of Merlin who stepped into it was also surging, making this hall like an eerie ghost shrouded in darkness.

Pierce leaned on a cane and stood in the hall. The fake Fury was tied to a chair beside him. His face was covered with blood. It seemed that Pierce had tortured the fake before Merlin arrived.

Merlin was standing by the broken window.

Behind him, icy raindrops slapped the ground, and in the gloomy sky, a pale thunderbolt flashed away.

Dazzling lightning illuminated the hall, casting Merlin's distorted shadow on the ground.

He looked at Pierce, and Pierce looked at him.

There was no one else in the hall.

You've been a Hydra since the beginning

Merlin said in a hoarse and cold voice:

You've been Hydra since the first time I met you, right?

right.

Pierce looked calm.

Merlin had already broken through layers of shackles and arrived in front of him. If there were no accidents, it would be his death in a few minutes.

But the old man was very calm, as if he didn't care about death anymore.

Instead, it was the fake Fury who was tied up beside him, and he looked at Merlin in horror.

The icy murderous aura wrapped around Raven's body made every heartstring of this fake tremble.

Before you were born, Merlin.

Pierce whispered;

I am already Hydra. This identity is not something I can choose. You have to understand that Hydra is a secret organization. I inherited this identity from my parents.

So it's all fake?

A trace of sarcasm appeared on Merlin's face.

I don't know if he is mocking Pierce.

Still mocking himself.

He stepped forward, and in the cold wind and rain blowing from the window, he said:

Your friendship with Fury, your care for me, your assistance to S.H.I.E.L.D., what you said, what you did, are all fake?

It depends on how you look at it.

Pierce shrugged, with a look of confusion in his eyes, he said:

Except for Hydra, everything I do is what I want to do.

I remember our first long conversation, I told you that the world needs a better order, a new order, and I'm not kidding.

I see Fury as a friend, a real friend.

Pierce said:

When I ordered him to be killed, I was in pain. Of course you can think that I am still acting but the pain cannot be faked.

Snapped

Pierce threw something over, but Merlin held it in his hand.

Fry and the others are being held by these Skrulls on their ship, which is leaving the solar system

A lot of people have been replaced, Merlin, these guys are planning to launch a war, a subversive secret invasion.

Are you counting on me to save them?

Merlin looked at the crystal-like spaceship key in his hand.

He looked up, looked at Pierce, and said:

It's all come to this point, what can they do when they come back?

We can stop them!

Pierce held out his hand, he pointed to the sky, and he said:

I already know the disguised identities of all the Skrulls who have entered this world, as long as we enter that information into the main console of the Insight Project, we can

Gone!

Merlin says:

The main console was blown up, Steve did it himself, and the insight plan is over.

We can reset it! Merlin.

Pierce said stubbornly:

It only takes less than a day to hear from me, these Skrulls are dangerous, they hide all over the world.

If you catch one, everyone else will notice it, and you must clear them all at once!

Insight planning can do it, you just need to press a button

As long as it's your button, I won't press it!

Merlin interrupted Pierce, saying:

My trust in you, Pierce, has become a catastrophe. You have abused it and turned everything I wanted to protect upside down.

It was you who made me realize that all this is just a joke

The duties, the missions, the things I wanted to be kinder to the world, the things I did with everything I did

I thought I knew who I was lying for, I thought I knew what my hands were bloody for, I thought I was doing the right thing

I am proud of this, and I am willing to live in the dark and walk in the shadows for them

I convinced myself to build a fortress of my mind against the nightmares that came at midnight

boom

The angry war halberd in Merlin's hand hit the ground like a drumstick hitting a drum.

In the echo of that deep voice, Merlin let out a chuckle.

But you turned it into a joke.

Pierce, you ruined it all

You turned me into a ghost!

His fingers clasped tightly on the war halberd, and the bones of his hands made a light sound, which represented his mood at this time.

No, maybe it's not your fault

I am a monster who was born with disasters, and I still want to have a family. You used lies to weave a dream for me. Maybe I should thank you.

He looked up and said to Pierce:

A dream that lasted 18 years, but now, it's time to wake up from the dream.

Don't say that.

Gritting his teeth, Pierce said:

You're not a monster, you're not

I watched you grow step by step, I watched you do great things in S.H.I.E.L.D., and I watched you dedicate everything to order.

You're not a monster, Merlin.

I also regret that we have come to this point, but there is still a chance to save it now.

He raised the cane in his hand, and he said to Merlin:

Use it, Merlin.

Use it and you can restore everything. You are a wizard, you can rely on it and you can still continue to live your life. I will help you bear all this.

Pierce said:

I will reveal my identity to the world and I will die with this fake.

We will bear all the sins, all the crimes, Hydra will be completely destroyed today, and you, you will be the hero who turned the tide.

You can still go back to the world under the sun, you can justifiably take over S.H.I.E.L.D., and I will give you all the resources left by Hydra!

And me, I only have one last request.

The old man said:

The vision project failed, everything I longed to see didn't come, I failed, but you haven't

You can still keep order and shape what we want

No!

Merlin waved his finger, and a surge of magic power broke Pierce's cane, knocking the golden apple emitting orange light to the ground.

It fell at Pierce's feet.

Merlin says:

No, it's over.

You and I, we have no future, what you desire, what I once wanted to protect, that order

Never again.

swish

Merlin stuck the halberd in place, and in the burning flames, he drew out the dark golden long sword.

He held his sword and walked towards Pierce.

He said:

It's all over.

Just today

Pierce bent down, trying to pick up the fallen golden apple.

But the next moment, Merlin's cold blade was on Pierce's neck.

Don't touch it again.

The old man raised his head, and Merlin looked into Pierce's eyes, and he said:

Everyone will blame the people who bring evil, but they often forget that the first evil to attack is poor people like you.

Pierce, you're already dead, do you understand?

Merlin reached out and grabbed Pierce by the collar.

Rudely dragging him through the blood-soaked hall, pinning him against the broken glass, making him kneel there.

He let him look at the chaotic battlefield in front of him, the raging fire, the tumbling thunder, and the city in the distance that was already full of fireworks in the darkness.

He stabbed his own thoughts into Pierce's mind with a cold gesture.

Just like the icy water washing the filth, Pierce made a painful sound under the washing of will.

He knelt there, covered his forehead with his hands, and let out screams.

Under the impact of Merlin's spiritual power, the shackles of the golden apple on his will were like a dam being washed away.

Amidst the sound of shattering, Pierce was released from the mental washing of the golden apple.

You're already dead

The moment you hold the golden apple, Pierce with a little conscience is dead and replaced by a puppet who thinks he's done great things.

Merlin looked at the old man kneeling there with dazed eyes, but he had regained his sobriety.

He said softly:

Open your eyes, Pierce.

This is the great thing you do, and this is the order you want

crash

Another ray of lightning streaked across the sky, completely illuminating the dim earth, allowing Pierce to see a piece of ruins.

A ruin of scorched earth and wreckage, ravaged by uncontrolled forces.

The blood, the corpses buried in the ruins, the burning land, the smoke floating in the city.

There is also the insight mothership, which is exploding and burning, falling from the sky into the open sea.

The psychic interference device set by Reed has begun to take effect. Under the ruined Trident Building, those awakened controlled subjects rushed out like headless chickens.

In a daze, they followed the evacuated agents of Tianyanhui, and together they withdrew from this desperate land of destruction along the edge of the battle situation.

No

Pierce looked at all this, which was completely different from the scene he had originally imagined.

But the restraint of the golden apple's thinking made him forcefully ignore all of this, and now he is sober.

In the moment of sobriety, the great ideal that has been adhered to, like a sandcastle under the tide, collapsed under the impact.

No!

The old man grabbed his hair and let out a mournful howl like a wolf.

It shouldn't be like this

He was like an old dog with a broken spine, curled up on the edge of the hall in the precarious wind and rain.

Save them!

He grabbed Merlin's foot, and he looked up.

His face was full of pleading, and he said to Merlin holding the sword:

Save them, save this city, you can do it, Merlin, I know you can, save them!

I can not do it.

Merlin squatted down, he looked at Pierce, at the desperate old man, and said:

I can't do it anymore, I can't even save myself.

But Pierce, who? Who made this happen? Who took the last of your conscience? Who pushed us into the end of it all?

The man behind the scenes, who is it?

Mephisto

Pierce clenched his fists, and he explained anxiously, like a child who wants to prove himself.

He said:

That devil, he gave me a choice, I refused, but was forced to sign the contract by him, my original plan was not like this

I didn't intend to do all this, I didn't intend to hurt them.

Trust me, Merlin, I didn't

I believe.

Merlin said softly:

I believe that once you, he would not do such a thing, but the big mistake has been made, Pierce, I am very sorry.

Big Mistake

Pierce looked back at everything in front of him, the light in his eyes dimmed.

Amidst the storm and thunder, he said:

Yeah, someone has to be responsible for all this. I will take the blame and your stigma will be cleared, but you still have a chance Merlin, and you can continue to do the right thing.

I do not need.

Merlin reached out and grabbed Pierce from the ground, and the shadow of the dark magic on the battlefield dissipated at this moment.

The light returned to this ruined land, exposing everything that was covered under the sun.

He said to Pierce:

I don't need it anymore. Not only will you accept your fate today, Pierce, I will accept mine too.

This is just the beginning of my story and it will come to an end, and I'll embrace it.

Yeah?

A smile flashed across Pierce's pale face, and he said:

No matter where you are, Raven always comes prepared. I guess, you won't admit defeat, no matter who it is, right?

Yeah, they thought they were going to win, but I'm not going to let them do that.

The corners of Merlin's mouth curled up, outlining a cold smile, and he said:

I need you to do me one last favor, Pierce

I need a murder.

What an odd request.

Pierce curled his lips, he reached out and brushed his hair, he said:

Then do it, Merlin.

Pierce closed his eyes, and he said softly:

If it really helps you

No!

Don't do that!

The call from below reached Merlin's ears, but Merlin turned a deaf ear.

Steve threw out his shield, Batman threw out his Batarang, and even the demigod Diana threw out her lasso.

They're stopping Merlin from doing something stupid.

The head of the World Security Council, Alexander Pierce, may be to blame for everything.

But now there is no evidence, if Merlin kills him in full view, Merlin will be finished.

A hero who saves everything becomes a murderer.

farewell.

In a low voice, Merlin flipped his wrist, and pierced Pierce's chest with a cold sharp blade.

Blood splattered everywhere.

Don't let pain and darkness define your life, Merlin, you still have a future.

Pierce's bloody fingers rested on Merlin's shoulder with the last of his strength.

He tried his best to show the last smile on his face, just like saying goodbye to an elder, he said:

To keep going where the light doesn't reach you have to burn yourself.

Merlin, I'm sorry, I left you again, a mess

He fell to the ground, blood gushing from the wound, leaving the old man to bid farewell to the world in a pool of blood.

Merlin held his hand, and he looked into Pierce's eyes, death was swallowing him, he couldn't speak anymore.

But Merlin knew what the last plea in Pierce's eyes represented.

He said to Pierce:

I'll save Fury

Um.

Alexander Pierce nodded with difficulty, a trace of regret flashed in his eyes amidst the tumbling pain.

hailhydra

he whispered.

The rain stopped.

Thor also dissipated.

An old man who caused the disaster died, at the hands of his chosen heir.

death takes life

But it doesn't take away the humiliation, what a pity

I have made a choice as you wish

Merlin raised his head, looked at the sky, and said:

Everyone, are you satisfied?