Jill, having barely eaten enough to fill his stomach, watched Bul-Kathos's forging with unwavering focus.
For a child, such concentration was something to boast about.
Bul-Kathos hadn't even touched the rock-hard black bread that could double as a nail hammer. Jill wondered if it could withstand the furnace's heat and be forged into something.
He watched the ring transform from a crude loop into a refined piece. He'd glimpsed a similar ring among Bul-Kathos's gold coins before.
Though unsure why Bul-Kathos was reforging it, Jill had learned to stay silent about the unknown.
"Jill, from today, unless I say otherwise, you must always wear this ring."
Bul-Kathos, ignoring the ring's heat, tossed it into a water bucket.
Though still warm, it would cool quickly.
Jill approached the bucket, eyeing the ring's faint orange glow with curiosity.
"Uncle, didn't you say you were forging a practice weapon for me?"
He glanced at Bul-Kathos, who was casually hammering a red-hot metal piece.
"Wait a bit. Your weapon's almost done."
As he spoke, the metal took the shape of an axe head.
Bul-Kathos grabbed a short stick, fitting it into the axe head.
He dunked it in the bucket, producing a loud hiss.
"Here, your practice weapon."
He handed the rough hand axe to Jill, his face serious.
Jill felt disappointed. He'd thought Bul-Kathos's day-long forging was for his weapon, but it took mere moments.
It wasn't even sharpened.
Taking it from Bul-Kathos, Jill barely felt its weight.
"The weapons you'll get during your trial won't be much better. This is enough to familiarize yourself with."
Bul-Kathos cleared the furnace's ash, shutting it down.
"Wear the ring. In a couple of days, you can go to school."
He grabbed Jill's half-cut black bread, chewing with a crunch.
Jill swung the axe, feeling no difference.
…
"I urgently need that power to recover. Director, you know what my injuries mean for a normal person."
Rumlow tried to move his barely functional arm, speaking urgently to Nick Fury.
"You should've filed a report first."
Fury felt uneasy; things seemed to be slipping from his control.
"I'll submit it, but I have something to report."
Rumlow's face was pale, his blood loss still plaguing him.
Seeing his trembling frame, Fury remained impassive. "Begin your report, Agent."
"On that mountain, I saw power beyond our reach."
Rumlow seemed to relive the memory. Though Fury had seen the footage clearly, he didn't interrupt.
"Not just the ghosts, the lone living man, or that odd boy—something felt off. It wasn't the people or ghosts, but the mountain itself!"
"You're saying the mountain is the source of that power?"
A glint flashed in Fury's single eye.
It would explain a mountain appearing out of nowhere.
Even in his wildest imagination, he couldn't fathom someone moving such a massif.
Even Captain Marvel couldn't transport a mountain, though punching through one seemed plausible.
Pain flickered across Rumlow's pale face, subtle but noticed by Fury.
"When I lost contact with HQ, I saw something unbelievable. But my memory stops there."
Fear crossed his face, perfectly timed. He knew Fury, ever suspicious, was watching.
"I'm certain I saw no enemies before passing out, and my injuries weren't caused by the mountain's natives."
Fury's expression grew graver.
"I suspect we have an enemy among us!"
Despite his frail state, Rumlow spoke firmly.
He aimed to plant the seed of internal betrayal in Fury's mind. His old boss, Alexander Pierce, had said Fury was the perfect S.H.I.E.L.D. director.
Thus, Hydra had to tread carefully, hiding until their plan launched.
Fury could investigate internally, and this was Rumlow's first step to sever one of Hydra's heads!
As a high-ranking Hydra operative within S.H.I.E.L.D., he knew their "cut one head, two grow back" mantra.
Now, he'd play a grand game, using S.H.I.E.L.D. to achieve his goal.
If Fury investigated Hydra's hidden branches, Rumlow could strategically leak evidence.
Step one: expose Pierce's Hydra faction to Fury!
"Any suspects?"
Fury's face remained unreadable, unsurprising to Rumlow.
"None, which is why I'm afraid!"
Rumlow paused, then continued:
"We set up S.H.I.E.L.D. surveillance gear everywhere we could reach. I'm certain I noticed nothing during that time."
"But you're sure your injuries came from one of us."
Fury interjected at the right moment.
"Because our missions are highly confidential, yet we were followed. That's what you're saying?"
"Yes. I can't recall how I was injured, but the natives' style isn't backstabbing, and they left me alive."
Rumlow swayed, as if speaking too much.
"What was their goal?"
Fury cut to the chase.
"The Barbarian King's reward for trial-passers!"
Rumlow gritted his teeth.
"I knew it the moment the footage came through—only someone nearby could know!"
A slender crystal vial appeared in his hand.
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