"Why do you need that much blood?"
"For world peace. Do you believe me?"
"…"
Matt Murdock looked at him like he was asking: Seriously?
Of course he didn't believe him.
"Then stay out of it."
"I mean, if I were really some maniac, would I be paying for blood?"
Aron shrugged.
Killing civilians and summoning demons?
Even the Ancient One wouldn't tolerate such a thing, and he himself hadn't sunk that low.
In human history, those types always ended up as villains.
"Alright," sighed Matt.
"I'll connect you with some people."
Truth was, Murdock had contacts all over New York. As a lawyer, he knew who to call. And how to handle things in the gray zone.
"Thanks."
Aron was just about to get up, when a chill crept down his neck.
Instinctively, he turned toward the window.
A rocket, smoky and deadly, was flying straight at them.
R… P… G…
Too little time.
BOOM!
Glass shattered. In an instant, explosion. Flames and smoke engulfed the whole apartment.
But the next second, Aron jumped out through the smoke, unscathed.
Daredevil, too, thanks to his intervention, hadn't suffered serious injuries.
"Were we compromised?" Aron asked as he looked through the shattered window.
On the roof of the building across the street, a squad with an RPG, just loading a new projectile.
"I don't think they know who I am," answered Matt, coughing and pulling on his red suit.
"They just found the rented apartment. I wasn't directly targeted."
Aron gave him a blank look.
"Didn't you say this was a 'safe place'?"
"…Well, it was."
Matt sounded like someone who just lost all credibility.
"Those are Kingpin's people. Last time I sabotaged one of his deals, a ten-million-dollar contract."
"Ten million?" Aron shook his head. "You suck at negotiations, lawyer."
Without hesitation, he opened the door and stepped outside.
"Target spotted! Fire!"
Bullets rained down on the entrance.
Aron didn't even flinch.
Bullets hit him, but with no effect. Not a scratch.
Even when he first activated his demonic power, he had tested normal guns. Total immunity.
Now? Even higher level.
"Shit! He's a monster!"
"Quick! Prep the RPG!"
But it was too late.
Aron jumped straight from the street.
BOOM!
The ground beneath his feet exploded as he launched, like a bullet fired from a cannon, soaring toward the building across the street.
The attackers' eyes were wide open in panic.
Emptying an entire mag didn't help.
Aron landed among them like a projectile with a soul.
"Aaaa!!!"
Screams echoed through the treetops of Hell's Kitchen.
Aron stepped forward.
The white guy on the roof was still frantically pulling the trigger, but only clicks came from the barrel, an empty mag.
"Next time you get born, bring an extended magazine."
With one slap, Aron sent him flying over the edge of the roof.
A fall from the seventh floor. He ended up as a bloody stain on the asphalt.
"Shit! He killed Joe!"
The remaining attackers opened fire, but bullets bounced off him without any effect.
His slaps flew like tank blows. One by one, they fell.
"Goddamn it, die already!"
The last attacker managed to load the RPG. He didn't care that it was too close, he aimed straight at Aron and fired.
THUMP!
The rocket launched.
But Aron grabbed it mid-air.
The rocket exploded half a meter from him, a direct hit.
The explosion wrapped the entire roof in a fireball.
And then, from fire and smoke, Aron stepped out. Unscathed. Not even his clothes damaged, protected by a demonic barrier.
Poof.
The only remaining attacker dropped to his knees. His face collapsing in terror.
"You're... the devil…"
Aron approached, lifted him without a shred of effort, and tossed him down the stairwell like an empty bag.
CRACK!
—
When he got downstairs, Daredevil had just arrived fully suited up, red costume, heart pounding in overdrive.
"You… killed them all?"
He couldn't see, but his senses told him enough.
Body. Blood. Metal. Death.
"Well, what else could I do?"
Aron looked a little uncomfortable. It was the first time he'd actually killed someone. Technically.
And that robber from the other day?
Doesn't count. If he thinks he's asleep, then he's alive.
"You could've disabled them. Called the police."
Daredevil's voice was cold. The rules were clear. No killing.
Aron shrugged.
"They were launching RPGs at me. You'd lecture them about rehabilitation?"
Then he looked around at the bloody chaos.
And paused.
"You know what? You're right."
Daredevil raised an eyebrow.
Was this... a change of heart?
"I shouldn't have killed them."
...
"???"
Matt was confused. Thought Aron had some kind of catharsis.
But then came the follow-up.
"I should've let them draw my blood. So much blood wasted for nothing."
Aron slapped his thigh, genuinely angry about the missed opportunity.
People?
Who cares about that. Blood is a resource. And he just spilled it on concrete.
Daredevil sighed deeply.
"You know… you and Frank Castle are the same breed."
Aron looked at him, tilting his head.
"Punisher?"
"Yeah. Killing as an answer. No mercy, no rules."
Matt's voice was tired.
He knew things wouldn't stop now.
"Kingpin will know you were here. And he'll know you killed them."
He wanted to handle the problem himself, but everyone knows Daredevil doesn't kill.
But Aron?
Aron kills. And still complains that he did it too quickly.
"It's fine."
Aron seemed calm. Almost indifferent.
He hadn't planned to mess with local bosses, but when someone starts shooting rockets at you, it's no longer optional.
"And you don't have to set up that blood bank contact for me."
"I know where I can get as much as I want."