Chapter 40: What’s Your Name, Little Sister?

BOOM——!

Wanda didn't even have time to react.

A powerful explosion echoed above the base.

"What's happening?"

Baron Strucker grabbed a soldier and asked him.

Even the soldiers looked confused.

Soon the message spread down through the floors.

...

"The base is under attack!"

"Who? SHIELD? The Avengers?"

Strucker growled at the soldier who brought the news.

"Neither!"

The soldier shook his head, clearly frightened.

"Sir... it's that man. The one we tried to kill!"

...

BOOM——!

Doors weighing dozens of tons shattered under the force of Aron's blows.

The base in Sokovia, a former nuclear bunker from the Cold War era, built to withstand the first wave of a nuclear explosion, couldn't withstand him.

Even though he could've easily opened a portal or slipped through shadows and entered silently…

"Sometimes, brutality is the simplest solution."

Aron slammed his fist again, smashing what was left of the doors.

When they saw him, the Hydra soldiers froze in place.

He didn't look human.

More like something far worse.

A real demon.

More dangerous and terrifying than those who came through the space portal during the attack on New York.

"Summon the Shadow Warrior!"

"It's him! Aron! Aron is attacking!"

A Hydra soldier shouted at the top of his lungs.

They opened fire without hesitation.

Their weapons weren't standard; they used energy rifles that fired bluish beams.

Wherever they hit concrete, steel, or walls, everything would melt.

But even that couldn't pierce the fiery layer that protected Aron's body, the power of darkness and demons circling his skin like living fire.

"Your eyesight isn't bad. Shame you don't realize that sometimes a drop of water can drown everything."

Aron spoke calmly.

Then he disappeared.

One moment he was in front of them, the next, a shadow.

So fast that no one had time to react.

They were still looking around, desperately searching for him, and then...

Darkness. Pain. Then nothing.

Puff~

Puff~

In a few seconds, the hallway was covered with bodies.

None remained whole.

Some had their heads exploded like overripe watermelons. Others had limbs torn off, bodies ripped apart.

The smell of blood...

It was even thicker and more suffocating than in the rooms where they summoned shadows.

It was a massacre.

And it had only just begun.

...

"He's down!"

"Quick!"

"Summon the Shadow Warrior! Kill him!"

Just as Aron stepped deeper into the base, he heard the shouting and soon found himself surrounded by a group of enemy soldiers, similar to the ones he could summon from shadows himself.

"A summoning game, huh?"

He stopped.

He simply closed his eyes and focused his thoughts.

A massive amount of shadow energy spread from him like a tide.

In an instant, the entire Hydra base was pulled into a dark, shadowy realm.

Then, one by one, shadow soldiers appeared from the darkness. A massive number of them, densely arranged, flooded every corner of the base.

And they weren't just numerous, they were terrifyingly powerful. Each one was many times stronger than those Hydra tried to summon.

"Holy shit!"

That was the only response from many Hydra soldiers before they were turned into bloody chaos. Sliced to pieces, turned into red mush.

The same scene played out on every floor, in every room.

In just a few minutes, the entire base fell silent.

All that remained were Wanda, Pietro, the imprisoned children... and Baron Strucker.

Strucker was still alive, intentionally. Two shadow soldiers held him tightly by the neck. He didn't dare move.

His gaze fell on the remains of his men, flesh and blood spilled across the floor.

"That's all?" Aron laughed with disdain.

"This was supposed to be the famous base? Doors no one can break through?"

At that moment, Aron appeared in the sacrificial chamber. His palms were covered in black flames.

"You are…"

Strucker recognized him.

Everyone in Hydra knew about Aron. None of them wanted him as an enemy.

"I shouldn't have put all the resources into one project... But of course, no one listened to me," Strucker muttered.

Aron didn't care about his words.

"Begin the summoning ritual," he ordered shortly.

The shadow soldiers immediately dispersed throughout the room, gathering the blood of fallen enemies and returning to complete the dark ritual.

Wanda, Pietro, and the others were frozen.

But noticing that the shadow soldiers didn't react to them or want to harm them, Wanda gathered her courage and spoke.

"Thank you… for saving us."

"It's fine."

Aron waved his hand and looked at the girl who stood up.

Hm? Pretty tall.

He looked at her carefully, then casually asked, "What's your name, little sister?"

"Wanda Maximoff."

"What!?" Aron flinched. His gaze moved to the silver-haired boy beside her.

"And him?"

"My brother. Pietro Maximoff."

Aron paused for a moment. He realized who they were. The Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver.

"Wait. I'll open a path for you."

He used his demonic power to create a fiery portal.

"Don't worry," he said, "it looks scary, but it's actually safe. It's just a portal. You'll be safe on the other side. Go there and wait for me."

The children stood before the portal, hesitant.

But Wanda was the first to gather her courage and step through the flames.

After a few seconds, she reappeared.

"It's fine, go in, this uncle didn't lie to us."

Her words calmed the others. Slowly, they all passed through the portal.

They were all scared, not knowing if they were going from prison into an even worse trap.

But Aron didn't mind their caution.

Better to be suspicious than naïve.

Still...

"Uncle, huh?" he muttered to himself.

Wanda's tone as she called him that stung a bit.

The girl was maybe seventeen, eighteen years old… in the prime of youth.

And he wasn't much older.

Uncle?

That really hit him.