After Hydra had been thoroughly purged, the entire Triskelion fell into a strangely vacant standstill.
Two days and nights of silent infiltration and replacement, followed by a comprehensive purge on the final night, had left S.H.I.E.L.D. with a staggering number of personnel dismissed and positions vacant.
The vast organization, whose interlocking parts had once operated at high speed, now had vacant posts everywhere. Its field operations were nearly paralyzed, logistics had ground to a halt, and offices stood empty, with equipment unattended, files unsorted, and no one to receive instructions.
The bustle that had once continued day and night had vanished completely, replaced by a cold, deathly emptiness. The vast S.H.I.E.L.D. had almost entirely lost its ability to function normally.
As agents dispersed to deal with the aftermath, count the vacancies, and clear away the wreckage of the battlefield, a light figure passed through the security perimeter and walked slowly into the devastated headquarters lobby.
Rimuru had received word and come over too, to see what had become of S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters.
He was startled when he saw Pierce's corpse, beaten to death while still alive. He had been beaten so badly that his own mother wouldn't have recognized him. There was no need to ask; Tony had definitely done it.
Apart from Tony, consumed by a blood feud and completely out of control, no one in S.H.I.E.L.D. would have delivered such a reckless, utterly unrestrained beating.
He glanced sideways at Nick Fury, who stood silently nearby, and instantly understood the tacit approval and indifference in the director's eyes.
Pierce's crimes were unforgivable. He bore the blood debts of a century-old Hydra, had plotted to overthrow the world order, and had countless innocent lives on his hands.
More importantly, only Hydra's forces within S.H.I.E.L.D. had been uprooted today. The organization's remaining