The time rewound to forty minutes earlier. Outside a Chinese restaurant in Chinatown, Sean faced Elektra, who held a long blade. Watching the black Passat drive away, the young man could not help asking, "Are you the Black Sky of The Hand?"
Sean studied the expressionless woman in red before him, who looked like an exquisite doll. Her beautiful black eyes brimmed with the cruel savagery of The Beast, as though a vicious predator inhabited that lovely body.
A sharp flash of steel cleaved through the air. Elektra said nothing. As the vessel carrying the Black Sky, aside from retaining basic human behavior, she was no different from a wild beast. And the longer the Black Sky remained within this body, the smaller and fainter Elektra's original personality would become, until it was completely swallowed by The Beast.
Elektra swung her long blade, its gleaming edge slicing through the air. Sean evaded with subtle footwork. He wanted to see just how terrifying the legendary humanoid weapon, the Black Sky, truly was.
Her black hair whipped wildly through the air as Sean frowned and dodged Elektra's frenzied attacks. Snow-bright arcs of steel traced deadly paths through the air. One moment of carelessness, and the razor-sharp blade would tear through flesh and carve his body into mangled pieces.
Just as he had expected, Elektra, now the Black Sky's vessel, had completely evolved into an instrument of slaughter. Moreover, as the battle continued, her strength and speed increased noticeably. Her red figure was like a ghostly phantom as she suddenly closed in on Sean, her long blade sweeping upward in a silvery flash as though it meant to split him alive in two!
A chill rose in Sean's heart. His fist, carrying tremendous force, slammed into the side of the blade and deflected Elektra's vicious strike. He immediately switched from defense to offense, pressing forward like a mountain. His tall frame radiated an intimidating presence as he threw a heavy punch. Unable to dodge in time, Elektra was struck in the abdomen, her soft body folding over like a lobster.
A powerful whip kick swept in from the side, sending the temporarily incapacitated Elektra flying. Her red figure crashed into a parked car, instantly caving in the metal door and shattering the window. Fragments scattered across the ground.
Sean stood tall, watching Elektra struggle to her feet, and clicked his tongue. "What astonishing willpower. A beast wearing human skin?"
Even someone like Luke Cage, that bulletproof hulk, would have found it difficult to get back up immediately after taking one of his heavy punches and whip kicks. Yet Elektra, her black hair disheveled, merely braced herself on her long blade with one hand, took a few shallow breaths, and recovered her fighting ability.
Those savage eyes stared fixedly at Sean, as though she could feel no pain at all. The only things driving that body were endless bloodlust and combat instinct.
Swift blade light tore through the air, accompanied by roaring gusts. The long blade became a mass of silver radiance, carrying a chilling coldness that made one's heart tremble as it enveloped Sean. A standing streetlamp was cleanly severed, its cut smooth as a mirror—proof enough of the astonishing strength possessed by the blade's wielder!
"We should sit down and talk, Elektra." Sean moved like an illusory shadow, his voice appearing and disappearing. "You can control it. Any power can be controlled, as long as your will is strong enough... Don't become its slave!"
Elektra remained silent. Her dark eyes flickered briefly before returning to normal. Her blade flashed with swift, violent force, like silver light blooming in the void. Sean's chest rose and fell as surging energy coursed through him like a tide. Time seemed to slow at that instant. His tall body became an afterimage as he avoided the fierce edge of her swinging blade, and a powerful arm swept through the air to clamp around the soft throat of the red figure.
"Elektra Natchios." Sean casually knocked the long blade from her hand. Leaning close to that exquisite, beautiful mixed-race face, he whispered, "You were adopted as a child by Stick, Daredevil's teacher. Later, you were fostered by a Greek diplomat. During college, you met Matt Murdock, a very charming young blind man, and the two of you fell deeply in love..."
His hoarse, low voice echoed by Elektra's ear. Struggle surfaced in her vacant eyes as The Beast within her mind roared violently, and piercing pain surged through her entire body!
Sean gradually tightened his arm, only stopping when Elektra began to feel suffocated. He gazed deeply at the pitiful woman whose body had been occupied by the Black Sky and said calmly, "You remember all of it... How you died, how you were resurrected, and how that beast filled with savagery seized your body! Elektra, you have your own name, your family, and your lover. That beast cannot control you!"
Elektra's legs kicked continuously. The near-suffocating sensation pushed her to the brink of death. The man's voice seemed alternately distant and close, like a call from somewhere beyond, awakening emotions and memories long buried and forgotten within her heart.
Sean stepped closer to the struggling woman in red. Looking at her painfully twisted face, he gently asked, "Tell me, who are you?"
He counted the seconds in his heart. Thirty seconds passed, yet the struggling Elektra still gave no answer. Sean's gaze gradually turned cold. With a regretful sigh, he prepared to strangle this blood-red rose with his own hands.
"...Elektra... Natchios." Amid harsh, rasping sounds, the woman in red, hovering at death's edge, spoke her own name in broken fragments.
"Well done." Sean released his arm. The black-haired woman in red dropped to her knees before him, gasping desperately like a fish deprived of oxygen.
The young man lifted Elektra's chin, a satisfied smile appearing at the corner of his lips. "Now, it is time for revenge."
"It seems you are not happy to see me." Sean spread his hands and walked to Elektra's side with a smile. "You place too much faith in the power of the Black Sky, and you underestimate the human will."
"Elektra, kill him." Alexandra rushed in front of the woman in red, issuing orders hysterically. The leader of The Hand had lost her usual poise and calm.
In the hundreds of years of The Hand's history, there had never been a case of the Black Sky slipping out of control. How could weak human will possibly resist the power of "The Beast"?!
This shattered Alexandra's understanding. She refused to believe Elektra had regained her consciousness and still tried to command this humanoid weapon.
"My name is... Elektra Natchios."
The black-haired woman in red swung her long blade and cleanly severed Alexandra's head without the slightest hesitation. Blood erupted like a fountain, splashing across that cold, exquisite face.
Elektra lightly licked the corner of her mouth. A nearly bewitching smile blossomed on her cold face, and a feeling of exhilarating pleasure surfaced in her eyes. Killing satisfied her; blood delighted her!
"Let us welcome The Hand's new leader." Sean clapped his hands, draping an arm around Elektra's shoulders and pushing her into the seat at the head of the conference table.
Looking around at the other four leaders, the young man wore a faint smile and softly asked, "Who is in favor? Who is opposed?"
P.S.: Second update. There might be another chapter. (￣▽￣)／
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