[Vol. 3] Chapter 9: The Hunt for Purple Man

Finn raised his sword high, unleashing a jet of flame two hundred meters long that forced Purple Man, who was armed with an automatic rifle, to retreat. He then sprinted behind the FedEx truck, tore open its metal cargo door, and slipped inside.

“So the so-called Fire-Breather is actually a cowardly little rat!” Purple Man mocked. “Do you really think hiding in the truck will save your life? Or are you planning to use the money inside to threaten me? Jessica Jones, Iron Fist—kill him!”

Jessica Jones grabbed the back of the truck, lifted it off the ground, and shook it violently. Iron Fist leaped high into the air and punched straight through the metal cargo compartment.

“You idiots!” Purple Man roared. “Get inside and kill Finn! Don’t damage the money!”

Jessica slammed the truck onto the ground. She pressed one hand against the cargo compartment and was about to tear through the metal when—

A gleaming sword burst through the truck’s side, piercing straight through her palm. The blade withdrew and struck again. A flash of silver tore open her thigh, and blood gushed from the wound like a spring.

Inside the truck, Finn used his sword to carve a doorway into the metal wall. As he kicked it open, he sent the bleeding Jessica flying as well.

Covered in blood, she crawled desperately across the ground, dragging one leg behind her as she tried to reach Finn and kill him. He had severed the tendons in her thigh, leaving her unable to stand. Despite her tremendous strength, she had no healing factor.

“Master, help me! I’m dying!” she pleaded, struggling to rise. The blade had also cut an artery, and she was rapidly losing blood, her body growing cold.

“What a useless piece of trash!” Purple Man showed not the slightest concern for her. He ordered Iron Fist, “Draw Finn away. I’m going to get another truck.”

He craned his neck to peer through the hole in the cargo compartment. His purple face turned deathly pale.

“Where’s my money?! Where’s my money?!”

The cargo compartment was completely empty. Nothing remained, as if the piles of cash and gold had never existed.

Purple Man clawed at his scalp and shrieked, “Finn! You vile vermin! How dare you steal my money!”

“You should be worrying about your own life, not the bank’s money.” Finn sneered as he walked toward Purple Man, sword in hand.

Behind him, Iron Fist’s kneecaps had been shattered. He couldn’t stand and was still groaning in agony.

Daredevil, the last of the Defenders to arrive, finally appeared. His entire body was wrapped in a skintight suit, with a mask covering his face completely. He was breathing through a scuba tank.

Seeing Jessica unconscious from blood loss, he cried out in anguish, “Swordsman, you went too far!”

How many nicknames do I have now? Finn grumbled inwardly as he continued after Purple Man.

Purple Man fled blindly, panic driving him forward. He was the rat now, and Finn was the cat hunting him.

The bank guards and armored couriers rushed over, trying to grab Finn by the legs and slow him down.

He swept his sword through them, cutting them down where they stood, and continued pursuing Purple Man.

Purple Man ran like a madman. Using his mind-control abilities, he had gone largely unchallenged in Hell’s Kitchen. Even the crime lord Kingpin had been forced to give him a wide berth.

But this was the first time he had encountered an enemy immune to his control—and that enemy showed no mercy whatsoever. Finn was willing to kill his way through anything, even attacking superheroes on his own side without hesitation.

It reminded Purple Man of another lunatic who wore a bulletproof vest marked with a white skull and slaughtered criminals without blinking.

“Everyone! All of you, come out! Obey my command!”

Faced with the threat of death, Purple Man released more pheromones than ever before.

Throughout the run-down neighborhood, countless residents walked out of their homes and ran toward Finn with blank expressions.

Children, elderly people, middle-aged women, young men, Black people, white people, Latinos… They surged toward Finn like a tide, trapping him in a whirlpool of humanity.

A skinny little girl with a ponytail stepped in front of him and spread her thin arms wide.

“Don’t hurt Master!”

“Don’t hurt Master!” echoed a small boy with a runny nose, a filthy rubber ball tucked beneath his arm.

“Don’t hurt Master!”

“Don’t hurt Master!…”

More and more people gathered around him. Thousands surrounded Finn so tightly that he couldn’t even take a step.

To catch Purple Man, Finn would have to carve a path through them—a path paved with the blood of innocent people.

Finn had no qualms about slaughtering the thousands of controlled civilians. But if he actually did it, he would unquestionably be branded a monstrous criminal.

In a world crawling with superpowered people, countless superheroes would come after him, eager to make a name for themselves by taking him down.

By then, everyone would be out to get him. Completing his mission to establish a branch of the Spacetime Destruction Bureau would be out of the question.

So Finn could only stare through the shifting sea of heads as Purple Man escaped.

“Finn, just wait! I’ll find out who you really are! I’ll torture your family and lovers to death! I’ll have my fun with them right in front of you! I’ll make you and them tear each other apart!”

Purple Man’s shrill laughter and vicious threats faded into the crowd.

“That bastard… I really should’ve learned how to fly.” Anger churned in Finn’s chest as he forced his way through the packed crowd.

BANG!

A thunderous gunshot shattered the sky.

The people around Finn suddenly broke free of Purple Man’s control. They looked around in confusion, their eyes still hazy.

Daredevil finally caught up, two short batons in hand.

“That’s the Punisher’s custom large-caliber sniper rifle! He must have hit Purple Man!”

“Great. I’ll go finish him off!”

Finn shoved a young man aside and moved forward. Though people surrounded him on every side, no one tried to stop him anymore.

“I’ll lead the way. I can smell Purple Man’s blood.” Daredevil took the lead.

Though blind, his senses of touch, hearing, and smell were extraordinarily sharp. Even Wolverine, with that bloodhound nose of his, couldn’t match his sense of smell.

Following the scent of blood, Finn finally caught up with Purple Man behind a thick wall. A bullet had shattered the bone in one thigh, and he was slumped in the corner, his wound slowly healing.

The Punisher crouched in a distant high-rise, his sniper rifle trained on Purple Man’s position. If Purple Man stuck his head out, he would take a bullet. If he ducked back, Finn’s sword would be waiting for him.

“Wow, your blood is purple too!” Finn said, feigning surprise.

Purple Man glared at him with poisonous hatred and demanded bitterly, “Why? Why are you immune to my control?!”

“You’ll have to ask death.”

Finn swung his sword horizontally.

Purple Man’s head parted from his body. Dark-purple blood sprayed from his severed neck like a fountain, blooming across the snow-white wall like a violet flower.

“Purple Man is finally dead!” Daredevil let out a long breath and finally dared to remove his breathing mask.

He turned to Finn and said sincerely, “Swordsman, you’re a hero to all of Hell’s Kitchen!”

“I’m not called Swordsman.” Finn looked exasperated. Why did everyone call him something different? What was with all these ridiculous nicknames?

“Um… Finn, would you be interested in joining the Defenders?” Daredevil asked earnestly.

“Not interested.”

Finn waved him off, picked up Purple Man’s head and body, and stored them inside the Spacetime Crystal Case before tossing the case into his storage space.

A dead Purple Man was more useful than a living one. His research value was extremely high.

Finn was very interested in pheromones capable of controlling other people. He decided to study them carefully and make use of them for himself.