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Big Black got up from the floor, defeated, and flopped onto Sylas' bed. He pulled the blanket over himself like a sulking kid.
"Move."
Sylas glared. "I'm literally lying here."
Whoosh—
Without a word, Big Black phased straight into the Shadow Realm, sinking through the mattress and vanishing.
Sylas turned to Little Black. "You could've let him win once. You bullied him into emotional collapse."
Little Black signed rapidly:
He insisted on fighting. Also, Master… I have a plan.
"A plan?" Sylas dragged a chair closer. "Alright, hit me."
Little Black continued signing:
We've always relied on dark magic to unleash fear. But magic alone isn't enough anymore. The era has changed. We need tech.
Sylas blinked. What has this little gremlin been studying?
To elaborate, Little Black pulled a silver mechanical arm from the Shadow Realm sleek, metallic, newly upgraded.
Master, this is the prosthetic you made a while ago. I finished the improvements.
"Nice." Sylas gave him a thumbs-up.
And Little Black's point hit him hard: the Shadow Legion's gear needed modernizing.
Cold weapons were outdated.
This was the age of firearms, explosives, and black-ops tech.
Imagine the Shadow Legion carrying SMGs… grenades on the belt… tactical upgrades…
Their power would multiply instantly.
And if Little Black couldn't invent tech?
Then they'd steal it.
And if they were stealing tech?
The most obvious target was Tony Stark.
"Little Black, think you can make black-ops weapons?" Sylas asked, placing a hand on his shoulder.
Little Black hesitated, then signed:
I can try.
He sank into the Shadow Realm and vanished, off to build their next generation of weapons.
"Go get 'em, our chief scientist," Sylas said proudly.
---
After sending the Shadow Legion out to perform both heroic and villainous tasks, Sylas discovered a hidden rule:
You couldn't farm the same event repeatedly.
Punish a gang once? +100 Justice Points.
Second time? +50.
Third time? +10.
But use a different method?
Fresh points again — both Justice Points and Sin Points.
"Whatever. I've got 1,205 Sin Points."
He opened the system.
"Time to upgrade the Shadow Legion."
[New Ability Unlocked: Dimensional Traverse]
[Advanced Legion Units Available: Blade Swarm, Night Bat Squadron, Troll Guard, Samurai Unit, Xeno Unit, Devourer Legion, Pincer Hunters, Mantid Corps]
"Unlock the Devourer Legion!" Sylas commanded.
[Unlock Failed. Requires 500 Sin Points for faction access. Each Devourer soldier costs 5 Sin Points.]
"Of course the expensive one." Sylas sighed.
Regular ninja = 1 Sin Point.
Devourer soldier = 5 Sin Points.
Devourer Legion access = 500 Sin Points.
He summoned his mask.
Leapt out the window.
"When you're broke… grind it yourself."
---
"ROOOOAR!!"
A massive, sand-colored brute rampaged through the street.
"HULK! COME OUT!"
BOOOOM!
Something plummeted from the sky, cracking the pavement.
A green arm burst out.
Then a huge, muscular green titan rose from the crater.
"HULK!!"
Hulk charged.
Abomination charged.
CRASH!!
Two monsters collided, shattering the street.
"Shadow Legion evacuate civilians!" Sylas ordered, wearing the mask of the Xeno Unit.
He couldn't unlock the unit yet, but the system allowed cosmetic masks no powers, just disguises.
Dimensional Traverse removed the old five-meter teleport limitation though it cost him 200 Sin Points.
Shadows burst from corners, rooftops, and under ruined cars the Shadow Legion pulling civilians out of danger at lightning speed.
---
In the Air
"What am I looking at?" General Ross muttered aboard a jet.
"No idea, sir," the pilot replied.
"Ninjas?"
---
Elsewhere
"Great. He's back," Tony groaned as he suited up.
"Sir," JARVIS reported, "the mask on the unidentified subject differs from the previous encounter."
Two images appeared:
—Sylas' dark Tāra mask
—Sylas' new Xeno mask
"Same guy or not, I'm checking it out."
Tony blasted off toward Parker Street.
---
As Hulk and Abomination threw cars and each other around like toys, civilians fled screaming.
"Where'd these little pests come from?" Abomination snarled, noticing the Shadow Legion.
Hulk took advantage and smashed Abomination's jaw.
"HULK!!"
"Out of my way!" Abomination growled. His bone spikes stabbed into Hulk drawing green blood.
Hulk ripped up a car and slammed it across Abomination's head.
Sylas avoided flying cars with agile jumps and flips.
Then—
A massive concrete slab broke loose above fleeing civilians.
Sylas' eyes glowed.
"Cut."
Twin laser beams sliced through the slab, turning it into harmless debris.
People looked back to shout "Thank you!" before sprinting off.
A voice spoke behind him:
"Not bad. Kind of heroic, actually. Strange, considering someone matching your mask stole from me."
Sylas turned.
Tony Stark hovered behind him.
"Which thief?" Sylas asked calmly.
He had decided already:
Tāra mask = his Sin persona
Xeno mask = his heroic persona
Two identities.
Two reputations.
No overlap.
Tony tilted his head. "So you don't know… or you're pretending you don't know?"
He blasted an incoming truck without looking.
"HEY! GIANT GREEN MEN!" Tony yelled.
"Fight AWAY from the civilians!"
Both Hulk and Abomination turned toward him.
Tony: "Great. Now they're mad at me."
Sylas perched on a streetlight. "You attract hatred easily."
"Yeah, well—maybe it's the charisma." Tony shrugged.
BOOM!!
Abomination lunged at Tony.
Tony used full thrust, dodging by inches.
"Be careful," Sylas called from the rooftop.
Even he would've been crushed by that blow.
"Hold on, big guy! Let me finish talking to Mask-Man before you yeet me across the city!" Tony shouted as shoulder missiles launched.
Meanwhile, Hulk had somehow acquired a massive steel chain and was swinging it like an ancient war weapon.
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~Support with 200 PowerStones = 1 Bonus Chapter
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