Chapter 84: Eternal Life for Those Who Believe in Me

"Mr. Barton, this concludes the current investigation. I apologize for the misunderstandings that arose this time, but I believe we’ll have many opportunities for collaboration in the future. All for Hydra."

Barton: "..."

Roald: "..."

Even the Hydra agents were stunned.

Agent 1: "Is this for real? Is Director Hill one of us too?"

Agent 2: "No way, it can’t be! What are the odds?"

Agent 3: "So who’s her handler? Or is she our new handler now?"

Agent 5: "That’s impossible. A personnel change this big? I wouldn’t be left in the dark."

Agent 6: "Didn’t we all used to take orders from Hill anyway?"

When Hill shouted "Hail Hydra," Barton was left speechless, and the Hydra agents in the interrogation room were dumbfounded.

What was going on?

How were they supposed to cover for Barton now?

Even the acting director was one of their own.

The Hydra agents felt as though the clouds had parted and the sky was at last clear—but something still felt off. Instinctively, their fingers tightened around their triggers.

After a brief, tense silence, Hill, ever perceptive, sensed the shift in the atmosphere. Unflustered, she turned to Barton and said,

"Even if you’re not Hydra, or if you expose me, it’s all the same. You can never root us out. Cut off one head, and two more shall take its place. The whole agency is ours."

Hill’s words had several intentions: to test those around her, to test Barton, to test the agents in the room, and to safeguard herself as much as possible.

But once she spoke, the tension in the room eased. The Hydra agents relaxed, their hands falling away from their triggers.

Well, if Hill said it, she must be Hydra, no doubt about it.

Though on the surface, Hill hadn’t really proven or clarified anything, her maneuver managed to clear Barton of suspicion for the time being and extricate herself from immediate danger. She’d also sized up the situation and, despite Barton’s silence, had tested and validated his identity—eliminating suspicion from herself.

Watching all this unfold through Barton’s eyes, Roald pinched his own cheek hard, unable to believe what he was seeing.

"WDFK!"

Apparently, all it took for someone to be outed as Hydra was to shout "Cut off one head, two more shall take its place." These Hydra agents were terrifyingly straightforward.

Still, thanks to Barton, Roald had managed to make contact with Hill.

Even if the Hydra agents proved less than reliable, Roald was prepared.

Or perhaps, with the power of the Mind Stone, Hill herself might become a valuable asset to the Scourge.

"Mr. Barton, I apologize for what happened. I’ll restore your status and freedom through official channels. I trust you’ll make even greater contributions to the organization in the future."

"Yes, Ms. Hill. Perhaps I’m the one who should be apologizing."

"What do you mean by that?"

Hill was puzzled by Barton’s sudden shift in tone. The interrogation room darkened abruptly, and a frost began to spread.

"Ah, it’s blinding!"

A halo of light appeared in the interrogation room. Roald, dressed in new armor, appeared before Barton, arriving via the Space Stone. The agents in the room dropped to their knees, minds ensnared by the Mind Stone. Maria Hill was forced to shield her eyes from the dazzling light.

"Who are you?"

Maria Hill stumbled back, seized by an indescribable terror that threatened to send her into unconsciousness.

"Generally, you may call me the Lich King."

With a shimmer of frost, Roald stepped out from the halo and stopped before Hill. The skull on his breastplate stared directly into her face, vicious spikes and frigid metal exuding an eerie aura as the chill spread outward. Roald, his helmeted gaze fixed upon Hill, let waves of unending dread surge from his ghostly blue eyes.

He drew Frostmourne with deliberate slowness, its icy blade making Hill shudder uncontrollably.

With a thud, she collapsed to the floor.

"You’re afraid... of me?"

Roald planted his sword into the ground beside her, stooping to whisper in her ear.

"I can smell it—the scent of your fear, ripened, rich and sweet, laced with panic so intoxicating. Like the last supper before the end."

Hill was speechless. The surreal horror had nearly broken her. She lay paralyzed, the aura of death around Roald and the Mind Stone’s influence amplifying her terror, drawing out the hidden anxieties and cowardice that festered in the depths of her soul.

"Yes, you should fear me. You should adore me. Be loyal to your master!"

Roald raised his hand, letting the chill of Frostmourne’s blade glide across her fear. Runes of the soul began to flicker.

Ignoring Hill’s spiral into doubt and stupor, Roald’s lips twisted into something like a smile. He slowly removed his helmet, then lifted Hill to her feet.

"Take a good look at your master."

Roald stood silently, the dark power swirling about him in a ghostly blue glow. With Frostmourne drawn, he had already consumed the souls of every Hydra agent in the room. There was no pity in his eyes as he brought them level with Hill’s upturned gaze.

In an instant, the yellow of the Mind Stone and the blue soul-energies enveloped Hill, weaving back and forth. Through her, Roald gleaned a flood of information as her soul was steadily corrupted.

Alarms blared outside, but within the encircling frost, Roald continued his ritual. Barton, now leading the newly risen agents, fought off the rest of the intruders.

"Death will teach you gratitude, and fill your heart with awe. You will be mine, in soul and flesh alike...

"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you. When you cross the rivers, they will not overwhelm you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned, nor will the flames consume you. For I am your God, your savior. Your soul is the ransom you have given me, so that death may take your place. Because I treasure you and hold you in honor, because I love you, I grant you death instead of life. You are my servant... I alone am God; besides me there is no savior. Before me no true god existed, and after me none will come. Those who believe in me shall have eternal life..."

"Wherever I am, that is your heaven."

As the incantation echoed, Maria Hill’s skin took on an ashen pallor. Terror and painful memories etched irregular trails of tears across her cheeks, and Roald’s overwhelming soul-power nearly broke her.

"Aaah—"

A piercing scream reverberated through the mothership, warping space and time.

Hill saw it all. She felt her soul leaving her body, immense power flooding into her, the hazy lights of Washington flickering beneath the sky—her final thread of consciousness...