Is this how HYDRA trains their assassins? Who reloads like that—single-handed mid-combat?
That minor flourish nearly cost Reed dearly. Once again, he found himself in danger. But even now, he hadn't given up.
Just as the Winter Soldier's finger began to squeeze the trigger, Reed hurled the car door in his hand like a makeshift boomerang. It spun through the air and struck the assassin's right hand with a heavy clang.
"Khmm..."
The Winter Soldier let out a muffled grunt, his grip loosening enough for the pistol to fall from his hand. In that same moment, Reed closed the distance, thrusting his rapier directly at the man's forehead.
Show mercy? Even if killing the Winter Soldier dropped his roleplay sync to negative numbers, Reed wasn't foolish enough to risk his life over a few percentage points.
He could always earn more roleplay progress later, but if he died, that was the end—and this damned system didn't come with a resurrection function.
Faced with the lethal strike, the Winter Soldier had no choice but to abandon his ranged assault. Dropping the spare magazine in his left hand, he raised his metal arm to shield his face, catching Reed's rapier.
Sparks flew as the steel blade clashed against cold alloy—but the sword couldn't leave a single mark on that mechanical limb.
His first strike deflected, Reed didn't falter. Guided by Alfred's battle instincts, he withdrew his blade before the Winter Soldier could grab it, then swept it low in a clean arc, aiming for the assassin's thigh.
Clang!
Blocked again. But this time, it wasn't the metal arm—it was a combat knife, alloyed and razor-sharp.
While using his metal arm to defend, the Winter Soldier had simultaneously drawn a knife with his other hand and now launched a fierce counterattack.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Metal rang against metal as the two exchanged rapid blows. In the span of a few seconds, they had already clashed numerous times.
But just as Reed had feared from the start—no matter how skilled Alfred was, no matter how sharp his instincts—he was still a man in his fifties. Fighting a super soldier who hadn't aged a day due to technological enhancements was not a fair fight.
The Winter Soldier's endless stamina, monstrous strength, and that invulnerable metal arm were steadily wearing Reed down.
"Howard..."
Inside the car, bloodied and groaning, Howard Stark turned his head toward the sounds of combat. His wife, Maria Stark, had been attacked earlier—her face crushed by that same metal arm. She lay beside him, barely breathing.
"Maria... hang in there..."
Despite his own injuries, Howard whispered to her, trying to comfort her even as his eyes tracked the brutal fight between the mysterious gentleman and the Winter Soldier. He was shocked that anyone could go toe-to-toe with a super soldier using only human strength—but right now, he was more concerned with how he could help.
Howard wasn't a fighter. But he understood enough to know that, regardless of technique, a normal human couldn't outlast a super soldier. That man in the suit was on borrowed time.
And Howard was right.
After parrying yet another powerful punch, Reed's arm began to tremble. The unrelenting assault had drained his stamina, and the strain in his sword arm was becoming too much to bear.
Finally, after blocking two more vicious knife swings, the Winter Soldier closed in again—this time with a brutal punch that knocked the rapier from Reed's hand and sent him sprawling across the ground.
He watched, dazed, as the assassin drew closer.
Oddly, there was no fear in his heart. Just a strange calm. He scanned his surroundings, eyes darting for any slim chance of turning the tide—and then he saw it.
Howard Stark was creeping up behind the Winter Soldier.
Reed didn't know much about Tony's father. He'd skipped shows like *Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.* because they seemed like too much effort. So, he had little idea what Howard had been up to between the end of World War II and his assassination.
But one thing was clear—Howard Stark was every bit the genius his son was. And a genius moving silently behind enemy lines meant he had a plan.
Reed didn't hesitate.
He pushed off the ground and lunged with everything he had left, throwing a desperate punch at the Winter Soldier's face. The assassin's knife slashed a deep cut into his arm, but Reed didn't slow down.
Unfortunately, the punch was caught mid-air.
The metal hand clamped down on his fist, tightening with cruel force. Reed could feel the bones in his hand start to give.
"Let go!"
His cry of pain served another purpose—it covered the sound of Howard's approaching footsteps.
Just as the Winter Soldier raised his knife to stab Reed in the heart, Howard struck.
He pressed a strange device to the assassin's ear and activated it.
Zzzzzzzzzzz!
A shrill, high-pitched frequency blasted from the device. The Winter Soldier immediately dropped to the ground, clutching his head. Blood leaked through his fingers as he screamed in agony.
"AAAHHHH!!"
The cold-blooded killer, HYDRA's perfect weapon, was brought low by sonic pain. The brainwashing began to falter. His mission, his orders—all of it slipped away as the Winter Soldier turned and fled, vanishing into the nearby underbrush.
But though the Winter Soldier was gone, the danger hadn't passed.
Howard, too, collapsed beside the device, writhing in pain. The soundwaves didn't spare him, and with his injuries, his breathing grew increasingly shallow.
At this rate, the once-great genius of war would die right here—on a quiet road, with no one to remember him.
Crack!
Reed smashed the device with his palm, reducing it to scrap.
"Ha... ha... ha..."
The sound ended. Howard gasped desperately for air, as if drowning and finally finding the surface.
"Th-thank you..."
"It was... nothing, really."
Reed offered a hand and helped him off the ground. He wasn't much better himself. The same device that drove the Winter Soldier insane had nearly deafened him. Blood trickled from his ears.
One second longer and he might have lost his hearing permanently.
"I can't... keep risking my neck like this..."
Leaning on each other, the two made their way back to the Stark vehicle. Howard gestured for them to check on Maria's condition.
Meanwhile, Reed opened his system interface, visible only to him.
The roleplay sync for Alfred had increased—from 1% to 15%.
"Only 14% from all that?"