As the most prosperous commercial district in Tokyo, even if it is already late at night, the flashing neon lights and the endless flow of people are not sparse. Rather, in the blurred night, there are more people immersed in the atmosphere of revelry and wealth.
In this environment, Matt Murdock and Erica, who were wearing black suits, windbreakers, and sunglasses, were like pebbles on the roadside, hardly attracting anyone's attention.
If you throw it inadvertently, it will be hurriedly taken back in the next second like an electric shock.
In the minds of ordinary people, those who dress like this are undoubtedly extreme people, and their temperament is that of a ruthless character who will be pointed at with a gun if they look twice.
"Matt, where are we going?" Erica asked in a low voice, pulling on the collar of her windbreaker.
"The logistics warehouse near the station," Murdoch replied: "Van Helsing's next target for us."
"Warehouse?" Erica said with confusion: "We didn't know where he was half an hour ago."
"That Uma lady just told us."
"……Have it?"
"Previously, when she was visiting Kabukicho, she heard rumors that the 'most beautiful dancer' came to the store she destroyed, so she happily went there and then seized control of the entire Kabukicho," Mo Mo said.
Doc said without looking back: "Just now, someone took advantage of their own channels to get good goods and laughed at her for not knowing how to drink. Guess what would have happened next if we hadn't come?"
"So you think this is Van Helsing's way of 'helping the Hand control Tokyo'?" Erica seemed to have figured it out: "But why not let us seize power directly?"
"Perhaps he originally had this plan, but changed his mind after seeing 'Ms. Uma'," Murdoch tilted his head and glanced at her: "You have been entangled with her for a long time, what do you think of her?
"
"She? She is straightforward, sincere, enthusiastic, and kind -" Erica started to count her fingers.
"Forget it, I shouldn't ask, the natural attraction between 'darkness' is the best filter," Murdoch interrupted: "As the sister of the 'Lord of the Dark Dimension', she naturally has the ability to understand these'
The people walking in the darkness have control, so they can control these underground organizations in an almost comical way and carry out 'transfers'."
"...I don't understand." Erica was in a daze.
"To sum up," Murdoch paused for a moment: "Uma only needs to beat up those gangsters to seize their territory, and Van Helsing has already marked the key targets."
"But that is his own 'contract'. Even if the Hand finally controls the dark side of Tokyo with the help of Ms. Uma, it will be impossible to destroy Tokyo Tower."
"That's exactly the problem," Murdoch stopped and looked at the large warehouse that had appeared in his field of vision: "The gang leaders he marked all have 'substitutes' given by the 'Arrow'."
————
A moment later, inside the warehouse.
"Don't think that I don't know that you are sent by the Botou guy! That guy has a good plan and wants to control us through the power obtained from some rubbish demon deal. There is no way! We have our own way to preserve these
If the power is not controlled by him yet, you just wait-ah!"
"Sorry, I couldn't help it." Erica retracted her shuriken and looked at Murdoch with a guilty conscience.
"It's not a big problem." Murdoch "looked" at the gang leader who was turning into black and gray, and turned to the other thugs who were trembling with fear and stern expressions: "Are you going to fight to the end?"
"No, no." "Nothing."
Perhaps the scene of the leader turning into ashes was too shocking. The thugs dropped their machetes, water pipes, and bats into a pile with a clanging sound, and then ran away one after another.
"Is it okay to let them go?" Erica kicked the katana that had just been split into two pieces with her bare hands.
"It doesn't matter," Murdoch replied while "looking around" inside the warehouse: "The influence of the 'black mud' has spread to most of the city. There will only be more and more guys with 'substitutes' like this. I'm very worried."
I want to know what SHIELD plans to do in the end."
"Missile washout?"
"..."
Murdoch was thinking about how to correct Erica's misconceptions when he suddenly frowned and "looked" like the "ashes" left by the gang leader.
They did not scatter and disappear after being eliminated like other guys with "stand-ins". Instead, they were constantly trying to gather together.
Can they still be reshaped into individuals?
boom!
A thick black tentacle shot straight out from where the ashes gathered, and followed the "hand" to fish around. However, Murdoch had already withdrawn far away from its attack range, and raised his hand to block the attempt.
Erica rushes in and attacks.
"It has no source, and the location of the 'root' only extends about half a meter underground," Murdoch explained to her: "In this case, it is very dangerous to speculate on its behavior based on its appearance."
As if to confirm Murdoch's words, a circle of lavender, illusory tentacles emerged out of thin air around the black tentacle. They were relatively inflexible, and they just stiffly launched a direct attack on the "outer circle" after appearing.
The slaps that cracked the floor disappeared.
"So that's it," Murdoch took out his short stick and brushed the stick flowers: "The target that Van Helsing induced Ms. Uma to attack is not only the gangster 'node' who can control the dark side of Tokyo, but also has a stand-in from the 'beast'
, if she comes in person, she will directly absorb the latter. Not to mention whether others can handle the 'substitute', under normal circumstances, they cannot directly seize control of related things."
"Ms. Uma wants to recruit me as her dependent, so I should be able to do it." Erica's tone sounded a little eager to try.
"But didn't you agree?"
"I don't want to be separated from you, Matt."
"..."
Gululu——
At this time, the sudden change in the dark tentacles saved Murdoch, who didn't know how to respond to his girlfriend's direct kick.
After the previous sneak attack and ambush failed, this tentacle began to "compress" itself, becoming shorter and thinner, and gradually transformed into a human shape.
Before Murdoch could finish thinking, it had transformed into a tall, muscular man wearing a hooded cloak with pointed ears.
However, no one would regard it as a human being, because its body is made of "black mud" that is almost asphalt-like.
Is this... the embodiment of memory or a simple imitation of shape? It seems that either way is not good.
At this moment, the tall man, who was completely black and had just been "sculpted", and who did not look like a human in any way, spoke word by word in a hoarse and low voice:
