[Mysteries On Marvel] Chapter 86/87

In the spacious, brightly lit room, countless threads stretched like a spider's web, connecting the walls and ceiling to an enormous loom that dominated the space.

Clack.
Clack.
Clack!

A golden shuttle darted swiftly through the dense network of threads on the massive loom, its movements like a stream of golden light, mesmerizing to behold.

Despite the carnage throughout the textile factory, the colossal loom continued its relentless work, weaving without pause, indifferent to the chaos.

"So this is the Loom of Fate," Eren muttered, gazing at the machine that formed the very foundation of the Brotherhood.

The Loom of Fate—the cornerstone of the Assassins' Creed. It was also Eren's ultimate objective in this carefully orchestrated plan.

As he stepped closer, standing mere feet from the loom, Eren found himself at a loss.

"Now that I've found it, how do I offer it to the Scales of Fate? Do I need some kind of ritual?"

Just as he pondered this, a message emerged in his mind:

[Touch it.]

All he needed to do was touch the Loom of Fate with any part of his body to offer it to the Scales of Fate.

"That easy, huh?" Eren smirked and extended his hand toward the loom.

As his right hand approached, the golden shuttle, sensing impending danger, transformed into a streak of light and tried to escape the loom.

But the moment Eren's hand made contact with the Loom of Fate, the streak of light froze mid-air, as though time itself had been halted.

No, it wasn't just the shuttle.

Everything in the room—every thread, every motion—became still, as if frozen in time.

A distorted vortex materialized in the air, swallowing the entire loom, golden shuttle included.

Once the vortex vanished and the room returned to normal, a cascade of information poured into Eren's mind.

[Ding!]
[The host has successfully offered the anomalous artifact 'Loom of Fate,' extracting 2 points of this world's destiny essence and gaining 10,000 Fate Points.]
[Scales of Fate functions being updated…]
[Ding!]
[Update complete.]

Eren had anticipated that the Scales of Fate's upgrade would take some time, but it was done in an instant.

"Well, that was quick," he remarked to himself before the new feature caught his eye.

[Exchange]

The name was simple, but the feature's capabilities left Eren stunned.

[Exchange: Place sufficient weights on one side of the Scales of Fate, and you may exchange them for anything you desire. Remember, anything.]
[Note: You must have sufficient weights.]
[Evaluation: 'Fate' is omnipotent.]

The audacious claim of "Fate being omnipotent" felt less exaggerated in light of this terrifying ability.

"What an incredible power…"

Unlike the Fate Manifestation feature, which required Fate Points, this new ability relied on the inherent value of items placed on the scales. If the value was deemed adequate, the exchange could proceed.

Eren's mind raced.

"What if I placed this world's six Infinity Stones on the scales? What could I get in return?"

His musings were cut short by the sound of intense gunfire from nearby.

"Guess now's not the time for daydreaming," Eren muttered. With a flash of his figure, he exited the now-empty room.

Stepping out, Eren immediately spotted Cross stumbling out of the study, bloodied and pale, with Sloan close behind.

Cross's body was riddled with wounds, fresh blood soaking through his clothes, highlighting his precarious state.

Sloan, however, didn't look much better. Though he pursued Cross with a dark expression, he bore bullet wounds in his abdomen and right arm.

At the moment Eren offered the Loom of Fate to the Scales, Sloan had experienced a chilling dread deep within his soul.

Sensing his hesitation, Cross seized the moment, suppressing his pain to unload the entirety of a handgun's magazine at Sloan.

Though Sloan managed to evade most of the lethal shots, he couldn't avoid two bullets that tore into his flesh.

To his frustration, Cross used the distraction to leap through a factory window, shattering it as he fled.

The ritual Sloan had been preparing to please the demon was ruined.

"You want to die? I'll gladly oblige," Sloan growled, grabbing a thick leather-bound book from the study. From within, he drew a pitch-black handgun and sprinted after Cross.

Having never imagined Sloan would become this terrifying, Cross burst through the window just in time to see Eren emerging from the room that housed the loom.

Thinking quickly, Cross yelled, "Do something! I can't hold him off much longer!"

Trailing behind, Sloan also noticed Eren's masked figure.

"Oh, you've brought a friend? Good. I'll kill you both," Sloan sneered, raising his weapon and firing.

Eren froze.

Having successfully obtained both the Loom of Fate and the formula for the restorative wax, Eren had been ready to leave, his mission completed flawlessly.

Now, thanks to Cross's diversionary tactics, he found himself caught in the crossfire.

(End of Chapter)

"Damn it!"

Before Eren could explain himself, Sloan's bullet was already flying toward him.

Left with no choice, Eren swiftly dodged behind a brick column, using it to block the incoming shot.

Meanwhile, Cross took advantage of Sloan's momentary distraction. With a quick maneuver, he dodged the bullets and leapt down to the first floor of the factory.

Realizing this, Sloan shifted his focus entirely onto Eren, who remained concealed behind the column.

"You think that column will protect you?" Sloan sneered, preparing to fire again.

But before he could act, a barrage of seven or eight high-explosive grenades rained down toward him, as if scattered like flower petals.

"F**k!"

The sight of so many grenades descending upon him caused Sloan's expression to twist in fear.

Even with the powers granted by the demon, Sloan was not immortal. He remained vulnerable to bullets, and such a dense cluster of grenades would reduce him to nothing but ash.

With a forceful kick off the wall behind him, Sloan propelled himself toward the staircase leading to the first floor.

"Perfect timing," Cross muttered, seizing the moment as Sloan hung mid-air.

He raised his gun and fired three bullets in quick succession, each aimed at vital points—the head, the heart, and the torso.

"Damn it…"

Sloan's instincts screamed danger as he caught sight of Cross, but suspended in mid-air, he had no way to maneuver.

Bang! Bang!

He managed to shoot down two bullets, but the third pierced his abdomen, tearing through his kidney.

"F**k…"

Before he could curse further, the deafening explosion of the grenades rocked the entire factory.

Caught in mid-air, Sloan was blasted away by the devastating shockwave created by the grenades.

The explosions shook the factory to its core, collapsing part of its aged walls.

"Ugh!"

Sloan was hurled back over a dozen meters by the shockwave, coughing up dark red blood.

His condition was pitiful.

Not only had the blast ravaged his internal organs, but his unlucky landing had caused him to impale his leg on a butcher's blade. The sharp steel sliced through most of his thigh, leaving his leg barely functional.

Even so, Sloan's fate was better than Cross's. The assassin had been engulfed in the flames and crushed beneath the rubble caused by the collapsing walls.

At the same time, the chaos in the factory had triggered a flood of emergency calls to the NYPD.

Terrified residents, shocked by the deafening explosions and relentless gunfire, berated police operators with furious exclamations.

"Is this still New York, or have we suddenly moved to a war zone in the Middle East?"

"What the hell are you doing? Protecting taxpayers, my ass! You're wasting our money!"

At NYPD headquarters, the police chief's face had turned a deep shade of crimson.

This incident was a massive failure, and he knew his position was at risk if he couldn't contain it.

Determined to save his career, the chief mobilized every available officer from dozens of precincts.

"All units, listen up!"

"There is an intense conflict at the Brooklyn textile factory. Mobilize immediately and secure the area!"

Among the responding officers was George, who had received an early warning from Gwen. Leading a convoy of police cars, George floored the gas pedal, racing toward the scene.

As engines roared, George's mind raced with worry.

"Gwen… please be safe!"

In the factory, Eren observed Sloan through the wall using his enhanced vision.

Sloan's aura was no longer the blindingly powerful force it had been when Eren had first glimpsed him in the study. It had dimmed significantly, though it still lingered.

His injured leg, however, was clear evidence that Sloan's mobility was severely compromised.

"Still alive, huh?" Eren mused.

"But with that leg, he's just a sitting duck."

Eren began retrieving every grenade he had hidden on his person.

These grenades, sourced from Mr. X's private armory, had already proven invaluable. But after this encounter, his once-abundant stockpile was nearly depleted.

"Damn, they're almost all gone," Eren muttered.

High-explosive grenades were quickly becoming his most-used resource, proving effective against both humanoid and monstrous threats.

Recalling how these grenades had taken down the human-faced spider and other adversaries, Eren resolved to restock as soon as this ordeal was over.

Using his enhanced sight, Eren confirmed Sloan's position.

With both hands moving in a blur, he lobbed nearly ten grenades toward Sloan's hiding spot, each grenade arcing through the air like a perfectly choreographed performance.

For added insurance, Eren simultaneously drew his handgun and fired relentlessly, raining bullets toward Sloan's position.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Hearing the grenades whistling through the air, Sloan instinctively ducked further into cover, forced to abandon any plans of counterattack.

Seething with rage, his face twisted in a mask of murderous intent as he growled through clenched teeth, "You bastard… I'll tear you apart piece by piece."

But before Sloan could act, the air was filled with a deafening roar.

(End of Chapter)

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