NOVEL NEXT Chapter 68: 68. Fight
'.....'= Thoughts
"....."= Conversations
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Harry's eyes were fixed on Pierce, whose cold, calculating stare met his own. There was no more hiding, no more playing games in the shadows—this was the moment everything would unravel. But Harry had made up his mind: Pierce would not leave this room alive.
The tension in the chamber was palpable, thick with the weight of impending violence. Harry's team stood behind him, poised and ready. Wei's eyes flickered with controlled energy as his hands moved in subtle patterns, preparing spells in the event of immediate combat. Mark, Emma, and Sarah each had their own unique auras about them, their powers simmering just below the surface, ready to burst forth.
Quake's fingers twitched, the faintest ripple in the air hinting at the seismic power she wielded. Hellfire stood beside her, his hands already glowing with the telltale flickers of flame. Pierce, cold and composed, remained in the background, while Fury maintained his typical air of calm authority, though the tension around his single eye betrayed his readiness for action.
"Harry," Pierce finally spoke, his voice low and strained, like an uncle chastising a wayward nephew. "You've become something I never thought possible. After everything I did for you… After everything SHIELD did for you… This? This is how you repay us?"
'Does HYDRA have a specialised acting class or something?' Harry wondered as he couldn't even find a single fluke in him.
Pierce shook his head slowly, sadness written across his face. "I always knew you were special, Harry. I saw your potential when no one else did. I treated you like family, and this is what you've become? A traitor, breaking into SHIELD, turning against everything we stood for. For what? The Tesseract?"
"I loved you like a son," Pierce continued, his voice cracking as if the words pained him. "But look at you now… surrounded by criminals and freaks, ready to kill me because you've convinced yourself I'm the enemy. Is that what you are now, Harry? A killer?"
Harry let out a deep yawn and muttered," Are you done?"
"Save your speeches," Harry continued, his voice cold and sharp as a blade. "I'm done playing games with you, Pierce."
Before anyone could react, Harry flickered out of view with the Body Flicker Technique, reappearing almost instantly in front of Pierce. His hand crackled with the growing charge of Lightning Rat Violent Quake, a devastating jutsu that sent electrically charged disks homing toward Pierce.
But Pierce had anticipated the attack. A barrier of energy flared around him as Hellfire leaped forward, hurling a wall of flames toward Harry to deflect the incoming disks. The room exploded into chaos.
"Now!" Harry yelled as he flipped backward, avoiding Hellfire's inferno. The team sprang into action.
Wei conjured shimmering shields of light, creating protective barriers that separated Harry's team from Fury's agents and the Inhumans. His hands danced as he prepared more intricate spells, weaving the fabric of reality to counter the rapidly escalating danger.
"Sarah, Emma, take care of the drones!" Mark shouted.
Sarah and Emma nodded, their hands weaving through the air as they summoned powerful arcane energies. Sarah, with her mastery over elemental magic, sent a blast of wind and fire that collided with the defense drones hovering near the ceiling. The drones spun wildly, their circuits shorting out as Emma followed up with a burst of crackling energy that disrupted their controls.
Quake moved to strike, her seismic powers causing the ground beneath Harry's feet to shudder violently. But Mark was ready, his hand raised high as a barrier of translucent energy enveloped the group. The tremors rippled through the barrier but dissipated harmlessly.
"Not today," Mark muttered, his eyes glowing with power as he focused on keeping the protective spell intact.
Hellfire surged forward, flames licking at his skin as he unleashed a torrent of fire at Harry. Instinctively, Harry performed a series of rapid hand signs, summoning the Doton: Doroku Gaeshi—an Earth Wall technique that erupted from the ground, shielding him from the inferno. The fire crashed against the earthen barrier, but Hellfire's relentless onslaught began to melt through it.
Harry grinned. 'Perfect.' He leaped over the barrier, landing directly in front of Hellfire, his Lightning Release: Overdrive technique already in motion. His fists crackled with lightning, and before Hellfire could react, Harry struck with a barrage of punches enhanced by the speed and force of his technique. The sheer speed of the attack left Hellfire staggering backward, his flames sputtering as his body was wracked with electrical surges.
Pierce, seeing the chaos unfolding, retreated slightly, positioning himself near Fury. Fury, ever the tactician, kept his eye on both Harry and Pierce, his mind working to assess the rapidly deteriorating situation.
"Wei!" Harry called, eyes narrowing at Pierce. "Can you hold them off while I take care of this?"
Wei nodded, his hands already glowing with magical energy. "Go," he said calmly. "We'll handle the rest."
With a swift movement, Wei sent out a wave of magic, creating a shimmering distortion in the air that knocked Quake and Hellfire off balance. Quake struggled to maintain her footing, the ground around her twisting and warping under Wei's spell. Mark and Emma took the opportunity to advance, their combined magic forming a swirling vortex of energy that kept SHIELD agents at bay.
Harry didn't waste another second. His body flickered once more as he reappeared beside Pierce, his Rasengan already formed in his hand. Pierce's eyes widened, caught off guard by Harry's sheer speed. Before he could react, the swirling ball of chakra slammed into him, sending him flying backward into a wall. The impact shattered part of the vibranium-reinforced surface, and Pierce crumpled to the ground, gasping for breath.
But Harry wasn't done. He advanced, his face grim and determined. "You're not walking out of here alive, Pierce."
Pierce coughed, struggling to rise. Despite his injuries, a sinister smile spread across his face. "You think you've won?" he rasped. "You have no idea what you're up against."
"You are not Pierce...," Harry uttered though he was not that surprised by the revelation as he knew Pierce would definitely won't take any unwanted risk.
The moment Harry hit Pierce with Rasengan, he knew that something was unusual afterall Pierce was just a normal human and he would die immediately after getting hit with Rasengan, an A ranked Ninja technique.
Fake Pierce ignored Harry, his cold gaze shifting to Nick Fury. "So, you've finally decided to betray SHIELD?" he sneered, his voice laced with mockery. Fury didn't even flinch, his usual calm demeanor intact as he scanned the room. Without bothering to justify himself, Fury's voice cut through the chaos like a commander barking orders.
Whereas Harry chopped on the fake Pierce's neck, making him fall unconscious.
"Everyone, stop attacking!"
Harry, too raised his hand to signal his team. "Stand down," he commanded, watching as Wei, Mark, Sarah, and Emma immediately disengaged.
Wei let out a long sigh, stretching his arms. "Man, it's harder to fake a fight and make it look real than actually fighting," he muttered under his breath, a faint smile playing on his lips.
Hellfire who looked aggrieved and shouted at Harry," You basta*d, don't you know the concept of holding back?"
Few bruises could be seen on his face and the anger on his face was clearly visible.
"I did hold back. Is it my problem that you are so weak?" Harry retorted without feeling even a bit guilty. "Don't act innocent now, I know you weren't holding back either," Harry continued and looked knowing at Hellfire.
Hellfire turned away from Harry as he knew that he was the one who had become quite excited during the fight and couldn't put the entire blame on him.
But the defeat in fight just had left him feeling quite angry.
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