62- Amputation (2)

Mason would never get tired of the rush that came with seeing hundreds of people fall to the ground unconscious, following his Spiritual Outburst. One moment they were rushing at him, intent on killing him, and the next they ate the ground.

Beside him, Danny tanked the outburst much better than last time at Fisk’s Tower, his facial features only scrunching up for a moment before he recovered.

Although they had suddenly been reduced to less than a percent of their numbers, the people of the Hand simply watched, having fully expected this.

However, Mason himself was surprised by the effectiveness of his Spiritual Outburst. He expected it to take out a chunk of the Hand, of course, but by the look of things, he had taken out absolutely everyone of their ordinary numbers. It was hard to tell whether there were still some stragglers left behind, still hiding, but at least they no longer attacked.

Then, a large figure walked out of the shadows. Fat Cobra. The Immortal Weapon stepped on top of the unconscious ninjas as if they were not there, sneering at Mason with an expression he knew could not be his. "Truly exceptional. This won’t help you today, you arrogant twerp. I still can’t believe you saw an obvious trap and decided to jump right in."

As he said this, several other figures appeared. First were the other five Immortal Weapons, then came the members of the Chaste, led by Stick and Izo. Mason looked at his old master for a moment, taking in the scarlet eyes of possession, before sighing.

Mason grabbed at his white haori before giving the group another look, and he snorted, "You’re holding back on us. You are not worth me putting in 100%."

He let go of his haori, leaving it on as he kept his posture loose, the cane blade pointing down. As ceremonial clothing, it looked just dashing in Mason’s opinion, but he had to admit it hindered him a little. It was a loose cloth that could be easily grabbed, like a cape, so he would have to discard it if he truly wanted to fight seriously. These guys did not warrant that.

The Beast spoke through Izo this time, no doubt to fuck with Mason’s head. "You are pathetic, you worm. You think taking down an emissary of that brute Set makes you special? He is just like you, a mindless beast with more power than reason."

"So you had something to do with that?"

The Beast laughed through everyone, but spoke only through Izo, "Did you truly believe a man like Wilson Fisk could employ even a bootlicker of Set? Or that you ever even faced them was because they were kind enough to wait for you? By the Demiurge, your mere existence embarrasses me. You see a shiny thing in the middle of a labyrinth, and your first instinct is to grab a hammer. Stupid."

Mason raised an eyebrow before saying, "I’ll have you know I am a very good hammer. I just got to hit you a few times to break you. Now, stop dawdling, and bring out that infamous weapon of yours."

Izo looked at the silent Danny, sneering, "You might be an insufferable brat; you did surpass any and all expectations. Here I wanted to deal with a thorn in my side, and you actually chose to deliver to me the last thing I need to open the seal on the Eighth City."

Danny and Mason looked at each other, and the Beast burst out into laughter all around them. "That seal is not an easy thing to circumvent, not even with my means. Even I couldn’t open it with only six of the Immortal Weapons. But then you went ahead and brought that cowardly dragon with you. You wanted to meet the weapon? Have it your way."

Two of the members from the Chaste stepped aside, and a new figure appeared amidst them. Neither Mason nor Danny had even noticed him arrive.

The new arrival was surprisingly short, barely any taller than Ashley, Mason’s 14-year-old sister. But he still drew an intimidating figure, even to those who would not recognize him at first glance.

He had taken to the Hand’s dressing theme, with an outfit of black and red, only revealing his muscular arms and the lower half of his face. Actually, his limbs were thick enough that they almost looked like logs. As for his mask, it was quite atypical, as it had two long black ears rising on both sides of his head.

He held a sword that somehow gleamed in the darkness, yet Mason still found his gaze sticking to the man’s hands. How could he not, when he was facing the Wolverine?

Mason immediately noticed that there was something strange about Wolverine. Mason’s Divine Sense picked up on something different than any of the others, and that was that the presence of the Beast on Wolverine was very faint.

But just then, Danny suddenly leapt forward, his fist glowing a solid gold. He moved fast, faster than Mason had ever seen him move. Faster than Mason could even follow. Even Wolverine only barely had the time to raise his arms to protect his chest.

One moment he was next to Mason, and the next he stood in front of Wolverine. There was no one who could stop him as he slammed his glowing fist right into Wolverine’s sternum. And it was only at that moment that Mason noticed Danny’s boots were glowing with azure blue runes.

The impact was so powerful that it emitted a shockwave that forced everyone a step back, while Wolverine was sent flying without being able to offer any resistance. Both of his arms were blasted aside, and he got punched in the chest.

He reached one of the walls nearly instantly, and blasted through the tough black stone like it was made of glass. His body tore a hole through it, making him disappear from sight. And still, the whole cave shook for several more seconds before calming down.

But none of the people present waited several seconds.

With Wolverine out of the fight already, they all rushed at Danny, whose body sagged a little from his punch just now. Even though they had seemingly lost their greatest weapon, this was the perfect opportunity to take down the Iron Fist.

Meanwhile, Mason knew for a fact that the Wolverine was not someone who could just be put down, not even by the likes of the Hulk. At least not permanently.

But if he had to face Wolverine, Mason would rather fight him alone than alongside all this crowd. Besides, Danny needed his help.

While Danny retreated, Mason sprang forward, slashing his blade at the closest enemy. She was a woman, one of the Immortal Weapons. The Bride of Nine Spiders, the Immortal Weapon of the Kingdom of Spiders.

She tried to send a palm strike into Mason’s neck, but he was faster, his blade cutting into her uncovered collarbone. But he could immediately tell there was something wrong, as he felt no resistance, as if he was slashing the air.

The Bride’s body was cleaved apart, but there was no blood. Instead, the wound revealed countless miniature spiders had replaced her flesh, rapidly reforming into her original shape.

Caught unprepared, Mason had no choice but to tank her palm. She struck his chest, and it felt nothing like a palm strike. Instead, it was as if a giant spider had bitten him. And with that bite came venom.

Thankfully, with Mason’s potent Chi coating the point of impact, the strike’s force was considerably lessened, and the poison nearly instantly dispersed.

Still, Mason felt a faint ache where he had been struck, and he noticed the skin there had turned a little greenish. The color dissipated, too, but it all but confirmed that none of the Immortal Weapons could be underestimated. They all had their quirks.