Ninety percent of the people in this world might have been completely unaware of it, but over the past two months, a dramatic upheaval had quietly taken place. A war had erupted without a sound, like a spring thunderstorm—beginning swiftly and ending just as swiftly, quietly drawing to a close before most people even realized it had happened.
People had not noticed, but that did not mean the impact did not exist. S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra, two colossal entities whose reach extended across nearly the entire world—though one could also view them as the two sides of the same organization—had both announced their departure from the stage of history at the end of this fierce battle.
Hydra had been thoroughly crushed, and its leaders had nearly all been wiped out. One or two members of its upper ranks might still have been on the run, but most of the power in their hands had already been lost. Even if they managed to regroup, they would only be at the end of their strength, no longer capable of restoring their former glory.
Although S.H.I.E.L.D. had played a crucial role in the operation to eradicate Hydra, the fact that the organization had coexisted with Hydra, openly and secretly, for decades had also been forced into the public eye. The news was practically a bombshell, and accusations and denunciations from nations around the world came pouring in. Many countries and agencies had already deeply resented the various privileges S.H.I.E.L.D. enjoyed, and with multiple forces fanning the flames, the super-spy agency was finally forced to face its fate of dissolution.
At least, that was how it appeared on the surface.
To the international community, S.H.I.E.L.D. no longer existed, and its commander, Nick Fury, had been stripped of all his positions. Deputy Commander Maria Hill simply sent her résumé to the renowned Stark Group, and within a week, she had transformed into an employee under Tony Stark.
But for another group of people, none of this was over yet.
As his final act before leaving office, Nick Fury found Agent Phil Coulson and solemnly entrusted the position of S.H.I.E.L.D. commander to the agent who had remained fiercely loyal to S.H.I.E.L.D. Under the leadership of the new director, Phil Coulson, a group of agents willing to stand by their beliefs and fight until the very last moment for S.H.I.E.L.D.'s founding purpose gathered once more. A brand-new S.H.I.E.L.D. rose from the ashes. Perhaps it no longer had its former privileges, resources, or technology, and perhaps it was no longer an institution recognized by international governments. But at the very least, it had inherited the name of S.H.I.E.L.D. and would continue to fulfill the duty of a shield.
Incidentally, when Fury handed over the director's position, he also gave Coulson a mobile device called the "Toolbox." It contained classified material he had left for the new director, including most matters in the S.H.I.E.L.D. database involving Level 10 clearance secrets.
But only secrets up to Level 10. The portions Fury had classified as beyond Level 10, known only to himself, had not been included. For example, the unknown figure codenamed "Black Knight." Fury had listed him at the very top of the "Most Dangerous Individuals" list in the Toolbox, yet provided no explanation at all of his identity or origins.
And Black Knight himself, the instigator behind the dissolution of those two great organizations and the force that had driven the world order into turmoil, was currently sitting in his private laboratory, surrounded by a holographic three-dimensional map four meters in diameter.
With a soft ding, Elizabeth came down into the laboratory carrying a black suit that had been pressed until not a single wrinkle remained.
"Your clothes have been dry-cleaned," she said. "This one is for you to change into."
"Thanks. Could you hang it on the rack for me?"
Elizabeth hung the suit on the coat rack in the corner. As she passed the display case for the combat suits, she casually glanced inside and noticed that the Black Armor standing in the case bore scars exposing its circuitry.
"Been through a hard fight, sir?" she asked casually.
"Not bad. I wouldn't call it a hard fight." Michael paused, then continued as if speaking to himself. "But I did run into two rather interesting enhanced individuals. One of them in particular—I don't know by what means, but she seemed able to control the power of Chaos Magic. Her magic was unfathomably deep, and her potential was astonishing."
"She?" Elizabeth caught the pronoun.
"Yeah, a pretty cute redheaded girl. You should meet her sometime." Michael shrugged. Pointing at several thick, ancient black-bound books piled on a nearby table, he said, "I specifically searched through my collection for information on Chaos Magic because of that, but there was pitifully little to be found. Still, it made me even more interested in the girl capable of wielding that power."
Elizabeth knew that when Boss said "interested," he meant purely an interest in unknown powers and knowledge, nothing else.
Because of her identity and position, Elizabeth had never dared to say it aloud, but while she truly admired and respected her genuinely super-genius Boss from the bottom of her heart, she also felt that in certain respects he was—though saying this about her Boss might have been disrespectful—dull as a block of wood.
"But Strucker's threat has also been eliminated. I personally confirmed that arrogant German bastard had breathed his last." Michael abruptly changed the subject. "Baron Strucker was the Hydra leader with the greatest power and ambition at this stage, but that was as far as he got."
"Then you really did succeed in eliminating this organization."
Michael shook his head.
"I only cut down most of its leaders," he said. "It's too early to call it 'eliminated.' Look here."
He swiped upward, turning the horizontal holographic map upright. Then he pulled out a remote and pressed the switch. Vast swathes of red immediately covered eighty percent of the map.
Elizabeth asked, "What is this?"
"The distribution of Hydra remnants across the Earth," Michael said. "I had Sherry organize it for me."
Elizabeth was somewhat surprised. "Then aren't they still spread all over the globe?"
"Because Hydra is that kind of organization," Michael explained calmly. "This world was infiltrated by them down to the bone long ago. Their shadow exists in every country, every organization, and every institution. All we did was cut off the head and eliminate the main force, but that did not uproot the organization's foundation.
Truly eradicating every trace of this organization is almost impossible. I even suspect that not even Hydra's highest-ranking leaders knew the full extent of the organization under their own command."
Michael settled into his chair and said, "The saying, 'Cut off one head and two more will grow back,' isn't baseless. It's just that the wounds they suffered this time were relatively severe, so they might need more time to recuperate and recover. But in the end, new heads will still grow, and they will return."
"Then does that mean they can never be destroyed?"
"Perhaps that really is the case, but I never intended to destroy them from the beginning." Michael clasped his hands before him, a cold gleam rippling in his blue eyes.
"I'm going to take their place before they have time to grow new heads."
Before you continue