Death is not frightening. What is frightening is knowing you are about to die but being unable to do anything but watch.
"Oh, right." Aaron's hand suddenly produced a grayish-white object. "I believe this is what your boss was looking for. Go back and tell them the keel is in my hands."
With that, an invisible hand lowered the ninja's body from the air.
"You!" At first, the red-clothed ninja considered fighting, but after careful thought, he chose discretion. He would never come back to this terrifying place, not even for all the money in the world.
"Alright, get going..." Aaron wasn't a good person, but he wasn't evil either. The Hand was a despicable organization, engaging in every dirty tactic imaginable. He had no love for them.
But just as the ninja was leaving through the window, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his chest. The moment he stepped outside, he collapsed. There were no signs of injury, and no hope of life.
From a distance, Natasha Romanoff watched in shock. She didn't know what had happened inside, but she was very familiar with the red-clothed ninja.
"Director, the Hand's red-clothed ninja is dead," she reported into her headset. S.H.I.E.L.D. had been monitoring this illegal organization for a long time but had never been able to locate the five fingers of the Hand. This red-clothed ninja was the highest-ranking assassin among them, a fighter whose skills were on par with Natasha's own. In some respects, he might have even been her superior. But this master had died under her very eyes.
"What happened?" the roar of Nick Fury, the director of S.H.I.E.L.D., came through the headset.
"I don't know. The Hand members went to the gallery to steal a painting tonight. But after they entered, all the ninjas except the red-clothed one never came back out."
"Hmm..."
On Nick Fury's desk, an unopened file lay before him. It was a superhero initiative created years ago to respond to extraterrestrial threats. However, for years, aside from Captain Marvel, no local superhero had ever emerged on Earth. Now, there was a potential candidate right in front of him.
"Investigate, but do not provoke him!" Nick Fury finally commanded.
S.H.I.E.L.D.'s archives contained a record of a tragedy in England ten years prior. A branch of the famous Windsor family, the Kent family, was buried in the heavy snow along with their century-old town. The strange thing was, the town wasn't in a perennially frozen zone. All the blame had been placed on the young baron of the Kent family, Aaron. But since the incident, Aaron had disappeared without a trace.
Natasha Romanoff jumped down and quietly approached the building. She had been here during the day, but now it felt far more terrifying. The gallery's owner didn't seem to be a believer in God, as the walls were covered with paintings of God being tortured. He either had bad taste or a deep-seated hatred for God. The boss had, in her first impression, seemed charming.
"Dead?"
Natasha arrived at the scene. At her feet was the red-clothed ninja's body. His entire body had collapsed, and his hands were raised in a final, terrifying gesture of fear.
"Hiss!" Natasha couldn't help but shudder. She didn't know that Aaron's eyes had been on her the whole time. Though she wanted to retreat, an agent's duty was to uncover the truth. So, Natasha obediently walked into the gallery.
"Snap!"
The lights in the gallery suddenly came on. Aaron's art was displayed all around the room. His style was interesting; at first glance, the paintings seemed to depict blissful, flawless scenes. But upon closer inspection, one was shocked by the horrific details within.
"Natasha Romanoff... A high-level S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. What's the point of coming to the gallery so late?"
A familiar figure appeared in front of her.
"Aaron?"
A shiver of fear shot up from the soles of Natasha's feet and straight to her head. She was frozen.
"Have you come to investigate? Unfortunately, this is just a small gallery, and I don't have what you're looking for." Aaron walked slowly down the stairs, a piece of cream cake with a bright red strawberry on top in his hand. He was wearing a black robe, and his black hair framed his pale face and blue eyes.
"No, I'm just here to represent S.H.I.E.L.D., to express our goodwill to you. We have no intention of offending you..." Natasha forced a wry smile. She wouldn't have been so polite if she hadn't just seen the red-clothed ninja fall dead in front of the door with her own eyes.
"Oh? Really?" Aaron took a small bite of the cake, savoring the taste. He then smiled lightly. "It's getting late. When are you leaving?"
(End of Chapter)
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