"Rumlow, head to the Sacred Mountain tomorrow," Bul-Kathos said casually, eyeing the group.
The earlier events weren't trivial, but neither were they critical. Challenging the barbarian tribe demanded a price, yet these ants didn't warrant much attention.
Rumlow, still bleeding, consciousness fading, gripped his axe, head raised toward Bul-Kathos. Punishment was just the start, his hazy mind told him.
To barbarians, Hydra and S.H.I.E.L.D. were no different. Everyone in this building who owed a debt for their actions would learn: the cost shouldn't fall on others, and only self-sacrifice earns greatness.
The dimensional barrier faded, returning Fury and the others to reality. Dugan stood tall despite countless smoldering wounds, flicking off a charred foot and ruined shoe, balancing on one leg, still defiant.
He pulled out matches that had ignited in the heat, tossing them aside. "Anyone got a light?" he asked, voice low but firm, the stub of his cigar dangling, pain seemingly irrelevant.
He glanced at the writhing Amphibian with disdain.
Fury's decoy body knelt lifeless, one leg charred, half a shoulder like brittle twigs. Hill's bloodshot eyes bulged, body trembling like a stressed hamster, struggling to stifle screams.
"You killed Fury?" Steve, finally standing, surveyed the carnage and raised his shield.
He was unaware of Fury's prior actions, caught in the dimensional barrier with the rest.
"How long do you think you can stand before me?" Bul-Kathos mocked Steve's defensive stance. Barbarians, even against unbeatable foes, poured all into their next attack, embracing death—not cowering behind shields.
Steve, a superhuman, looked absurd facing an invincible enemy with a defensive pose, as if it would impress.
"I can fight you all day!" Steve leaned forward, tucking behind his shield, and charged.
"Noble warrior, you'd get along with Johanna. But all day? You overestimate yourself," Bul-Kathos said, lightly tapping the vibranium shield with his left hand.
The Immortal King's gauntlet left a deep dent. Steve shuddered under the unprecedented blow. Volusk had crushed countless demon skulls with those fists. Vibranium absorbed kinetic energy, but to Bul-Kathos, the shield was just gear with a block stat—far from stopping his casual punch.
Steve collapsed, body trembling, limbs weak.
"What do you want?" Fury's voice emerged from a new figure, unscathed, while his lifeless decoy remained. Like Pierce, Fury had a hidden life-model decoy. Now, his real self inhabited another, though soul-deep pain lingered, like a twisted spine, his shoulder and leg feeling like numb prosthetics.
"No need to act unscathed to pressure me. Your soul bears the wounds—new flesh won't ease that," Bul-Kathos said, uninterested in Fury's scheming.
He unhooked a potion from his belt, pouring it into Rumlow's mouth. Rumlow, who'd glimpsed the Immortal King's power on death's edge, felt his spirit surge despite his broken body.
"Rumlow, you're a fine barbarian warrior," Bul-Kathos praised, the first time in his presence.
Rumlow reappeared three meters away.
"I'm leaving. Got a student trying to tap the Dark Dimension—bit busy," Ancient One said, drawing a portal and stepping through. Seeing Bul-Kathos' restrained fury, she felt no need to linger.
Rumlow's wounds healed, leaving a cracked scar on his abdomen.
"Time to make those punks face their deeds. Rumlow, want to handle it yourself?" Bul-Kathos asked, pulling him up, ignoring Fury's grim expression.
"Let it be," Rumlow said, meeting Steve's calm eyes, feeling bored. He tore off his tattered shirt, leaving only the ancestral bracers from the secret realm. His cracked axe, battered by specialized gunfire, hung in his hand.
"Back at the Sacred Mountain, can I learn to forge?" Rumlow asked, walking away without looking back.
"Barbarians can choose any just path," Bul-Kathos replied casually.
Steve gripped his shield tightly. Fury, watching Rumlow leave, felt a flicker of regret. "Maybe I should've agreed to his demands."
But regret passed quickly. Fury never dwelt on the past—his eyes were on the now.
Finally got up to write! Aiming for seven chapters today!
(End of Chapter)
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T/N: Although I'm an inexperienced Editor, I do have a Patreon account! Although it seems like I don't have many supporters right now, my webnovel will be released in full every day, and the advanced chapters will be uploaded to Patreon.
It may not be worth it now, but who knows, it might be different in the future. Who knows!
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