Escanor(Marvel)

New York had no idea that chaos was about to unfold.

Cars packed with armed men raced through the streets, all moving toward a single point, following a meticulously planned operation. At first, pedestrians didn't understand what was happening until the gunfire began. Panic spread like wildfire. People ran, desperate to find shelter. The assailants struck their targets swiftly, then vanished into the night, leaving no trace behind. It was a brutal, bloody provocation.

The city's top crime boss, Silvermane, couldn't let this go unanswered. He threw all his resources into finding and punishing those responsible. But it was all part of a well-laid trap. The moment his men crossed into enemy territory, they walked straight into an ambush. Most of them were wiped out. Only a handful managed to escape.

The police hesitated, unsure of what exactly was happening. And by the time they intervened, it was too late. Raids swept through the city, aiming to find and eliminate those behind the massacre. But Kingpin had planned ahead his men had left behind a trail of evidence leading not to him, but straight to Silverman's crew.

The authorities were furious. They couldn't allow the city to spiral into chaos again. But despite all their efforts, the raids only dealt minor blows to Silverman's operations. He had too many connections. In the underworld, he placed a hefty bounty on Kingpin's head, and his rival wasted no time in doing the same.

As the war raged on, the Cartel and Daredevil could do nothing but watch, waiting for the outcome. One was too badly injured to even stand. The other, though still on his feet, was just a man no one could endure this level of conflict forever.

Only Escanor had the power to intervene and put an end to the fight… but at what cost? Wiping them all out would mean condemning innocent lives as well. Crushing one side would only strengthen the other. No matter how he got involved, it would lead to an even worse disaster. Killing the crime bosses would only open the door for new, even more ruthless players.

After the bloodshed, the night froze in uneasy anticipation. No one made a move, all waiting to see who would strike next, hoping assassins would finish the job.

Days passed in an illusion of peace until everything was set in motion again.

"Where's the slab?!" Daredevil stared in shock at the empty case. This couldn't be happening. No one was supposed to touch it. It had been transported here after the museum job, locked in a safe. And now, as he checked it only an empty box remained.

"Son of a bitch…" Punisher clenched his jaw. "Someone snatched it right from under our noses."

"That's impossible. No one came near this place! My senses don't lie… to anyone," Matt groaned, his fists tightening.

"Unless you missed something when you stepped out of the office," Castle pointed out.

"It was only an hour. And you were here the whole time," Daredevil reminded him.

"Damn it… I didn't hear a damn thing. I was walking through the rooms. You know how paranoid I am, I would've noticed an intruder," Punisher growled through gritted teeth.

"Yet, here we are. It's gone. And now, it all depends on whose hands it ended up in," Matt said, his voice calm but firm.

"Shit… This is a goddamn disaster," Castle muttered, gripping his gun.

Meanwhile, across town, in a rented apartment, a woman sat with a slight smile, turning a precious artifact over in her hands the very one she had been paid handsomely to steal. Money didn't mean much to her, but the thrill of a job well done, of a successful heist, filled her with satisfaction.

"What could be so important about such a useless chunk of stone?" Black Cat mused aloud, twirling the artifact between her fingers.

Stealing it had been tricky, but nothing impossible. It all came down to a single moment one mistake by the opposition. She had waited patiently, watching for the perfect chance. The instant the Devil of Hell's Kitchen stepped out, she slipped inside. Without making a sound, Black Cat cracked open the safe, pulled out the slab, and carefully closed it again. The prize was hers, and she had just secured a hefty payday.

"Did you get the slab?" a voice asked as someone entered the apartment.

"Yeah, it's right here. Do you have the money?" she asked coolly.

"All here, as promised. Ten million yours," the stranger said, placing several heavy cases in front of her. "You'll get the rest once you hand over the slab."

"Catch," she said with a smirk, casually tossing the artifact forward.

In an instant, the masked man's hands shot up, catching it midair. His eyes widened in horror as his fingers instinctively tightened around it.

"What the hell is wrong with you, you idiot?! Do you want to get yourself killed?!" he hissed, clutching the artifact close to his chest. "If this had broken, we'd all be dead!"

"But it didn't, did it?"

"A deal's a deal," the stranger muttered, tucking the artifact into a case. "Silvermane will remember the favor you did for him."

"Then I'm out," Black Cat said smoothly.

She effortlessly grabbed the money, slinging the cases over her shoulder in one swift motion, and vanished gracefully leaping out the window.

***********

Having obtained what he desired, the Silvermane began preparing to claim immortality. The tablet was an ancient artifact capable of granting eternal life but only under certain conditions. It did not offer immortality freely; the price was life force. Life for life. The one who could control the tablet had the power to exchange a human soul for ten years of their own existence. It was not a gift from heaven but a curse from hell. The demon who created the artifact once fed on the fates of mortals through his followers, turning them into an endless source of power.

Now that the tablet was in the Silvermane possession, tension in the city grew.

Kingpin had somehow learned that the artifact was with him and could no longer sit idly by. He might try to seize the tablet by force or propose his own deal. But the Silvermane had stopped speaking to anyone.

For hours, he stared into the smooth, black surface of the tablet, as if hypnotized by its dark magic.

"Soon… very soon…" he whispered, his fingers tightening around the cold stone.

************

POV Escanor

My right to intervene in this conflict was questioned by me. I knew I could only make things worse, but I couldn't just stand aside. So, I did what little I could. I didn't let them kill those who couldn't defend themselves. Better that than doing nothing.

The message from Castle made me head straight to him. We exchanged only brief texts fragments so no one could piece together the whole picture.

"So, you're saying it was stolen?" I clarified, scanning their faces.

"Yeah," Matt confirmed. "And by now, the thief has definitely passed it to the highest bidder. It's either with Kingpin or Silverman. My money's on the latter. He's too quiet, unlike Kingpin."

"The plan is simple," I said, folding my arms. "We take the tablet from him. With me around, you won't have to worry about his goons."

"You can't just charge in recklessly," Matt objected. "I'll scout the area, catch the rumors, and figure out what we're up against. Then we strike."

I nodded, but deep down, I knew time wasn't on our side.

"And what about Kingpin?" I asked. "If we kill Silverman, Kingpin becomes the sole ruler of New York..."

Silence filled the room. We all knew the war was inevitable.

"We'll pick the lesser evil," Matt said at last. "Better a fragile peace under Kingpin than a bloodbath between him and Silvermann. But I won't stop until I gather enough evidence to put Kingpin behind bars. And I'm close just one more month, and I could finish my investigation. But this damn tablet… threw everything off course."

I trusted his judgment. He was right one step at a time. Trying to solve everything at once would only make it worse.

"So," Frank broke the silence, "we going in?"

"We're going in," Matt confirmed.

I glanced up at the sky above. The clouds thickened, dark and heavy, as if nature itself felt the coming storm. Strange… It wasn't just bad weather. Something else was shifting in the air.

It wouldn't affect my power, but it felt like an omen. A grim one.

Our small team reached the four-story building a place that could've passed for an office, if not for the high fences and the swarm of guards patrolling the perimeter.

Beside it stood another complex windowless, cold, and silent.

"Stay here," Matt instructed, slipping out of the van. "I'll scout ahead and report back." He moved swiftly along the street and vanished around the corner.

"Will he be okay?" I muttered, frowning. "I saw his injuries he's still not fully healed."

"If he says he'll manage, he will," Castle replied. "That's who he is. Stubborn as hell."

I fell into thought for a moment, then asked:

"Why did you get involved in all this anyway?"

The Punisher smirked, but there wasn't a trace of amusement in his eyes.

"I don't know. I don't share Matt's ideals… but at least he still believes in people."

"And you?"

Castle was silent for a moment. Then, quietly but firmly, he replied:

"No. After my service, I came back home, hoping to find myself again. But what did I see? An empty house… and the graves of my family. The bastards responsible for it are out there, and I won't stop until I hunt them down and destroy them. They're not people."

"Sorry if I touched a nerve," I said. I understood his feelings all too well.

"It's fine, kid. All that's left in me is rage and emptiness nothing else," Castle said quietly.

I glanced out the window, waiting for Matt's return. Time passed, but he was nowhere to be seen.

Checking my watch, I realized there were only three hours until sunset and my strength was already beginning to fade. We had to act now.

"Still no sign of Matt…" I said tensely.

"Yeah… something's wrong," Castle replied, his grip tightening instinctively on his weapon, ready for a fight.

"We're going in?" I asked.

"Kill every bastard in there," the Punisher growled, sliding the van's door open and flipping off the safety on his rifle.

The power of the sun surged through me.

Power Level: 40,000.

I straightened to my full height, every muscle brimming with solar might. The Punisher moved beside me, weapon raised and ready.

A blazing sphere of sunlight ignited in my palm, and without hesitation, I unleashed its searing radiance forward. The guards ahead froze in panic, some trying to flee but it was too late. A deafening explosion engulfed everything in its path, incinerating the front line of opposition.

I charged ahead like an unstoppable force of nature, obliterating anything that dared stand before me. Behind me, Castle coldly finished off the survivors I missed, his shots sharp and decisive.

We reached the windowless building our true target.

With a single mighty blow, I shattered the wall, sending concrete flying.

The scene inside made my blood boil.

Daredevil was bound to a metal pillar battered and barely conscious. Around him lay three others, their bodies twisted and lifeless, as if every drop of life had been drained from them. They were already gone.

And before them stood a young man, grinning from ear to ear. In his hands the tablet. Slowly, he lowered it toward Matt's face.

I cursed under my breath and surged forward.

My fist struck the tablet with earth-shattering force, shattering it into pieces and hurling its wielder across the room. He slammed into the wall and crumpled to the floor, blood pooling beneath him.

The artifact was destroyed. But the battle was far from over.

"Looks like we made it just in time," I said, turning to Daredevil.

"Yeah… just in time," he replied, his breath ragged and strained.

"So… that was Silvermane?" I asked.

Daredevil nodded. "Yeah. He was using that tablet on those people… and it was making him younger."

"Damn it. We should've destroyed that thing the second we heard about it. I didn't want to believe it was real…" Castle growled through gritted teeth.

"Silverman's dead. The tablet's destroyed. Like I said acting fast was the only way," I added, brushing dust from my hands.

"You're right," Daredevil said, his voice heavy with regret. "I relied too much on myself. My body… it still hasn't recovered from our last fight. I made a stupid mistake and it cost me."

"Then it's over," Castle muttered darkly, his eyes sweeping across the battlefield.

A gurgling, wet cough broke the silence.

"It's… not over… I won't die…!" Silvermane rasped, blood pooling beneath him. His mangled body shuddered and slowly, impossibly, he began to rise from the floor. "You've made a grave mistake… crossing someone… you never should have touched…"

His eyes flared a blinding, searing crimson. Broken bones cracked and reset, snapping into place with a sickening crunch.

"I give… my soul… for your power!" he roared. His voice echoed through the room, chilling the air with its raw, otherworldly defiance.

His body convulsed twisting, warping into something monstrous. Horns burst from his forehead with a sickening crack. His face contorted into a nightmarish mask of jagged, predatory teeth. His muscles surged and swelled, shredding through his clothing as his form expanded. His skin darkened turning a deep, searing crimson, as though steeped in agony and pure, burning hatred.

"I will kill you all…" he growled, his voice no longer human layered, warped, as if a chorus of damned souls spoke through him. "And then… I'll destroy everything you hold dear. Each of you… will pay in blood."

The transformation completed, and before us stood no man only a demon.

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