Chapter 3419: Children of Midnight (Part 29)

"Damn it!" the driver cursed. "Is this guy an ex-FBI agent? This PIT maneuver smells like a pig!"

"Lose him," D'Agostino said coldly.

But no sooner had he spoken than another intimate contact occurred. The driver slammed the steering wheel, but the car's momentum was already lost; it spun sideways, rotated once, and careened toward the oncoming lane.

However, the driver hired by D'Agostino was clearly no amateur; he had extensive experience dealing with PIT maneuvers. Instead of slamming the brakes and losing speed due to the violent shaking, he turned the situation to his advantage, drifting in the opposite direction.

Schiller also spun the steering wheel to make a U-turn, biting down hard on the tail of the Lincoln.

Despite the fact that stretched limousines are mostly used for ceremonial purposes, their performance and power are actually quite decent. While they can't compare to top-tier performance cars, they aren't bad, and for safety reasons, their collision-avoidance systems are designed to minimize damage during impacts.

Schiller's Ford, on the other hand, was a standard family car. Although it was a common, oversized American family model, its price and specs were leagues below the luxury vehicle, meaning its data couldn't possibly compete.

But clearly, the driver of the stretched Lincoln couldn't handle the length of the vehicle and lacked control over the rear end. After driving straight for a while, he was caught off guard again and kicked in the rear by Schiller.

The car lost control more and more severely, twisting left and right as if it were performing a funk dance on the road. The driver cursed while steering, and D'Agostino couldn't help but let out a string of profanities.

"I didn't realize your driving skills were so good, Doctor," Jarvis said.

"It's not my driving skills." It sounded like Schiller was being modest, but he was telling the truth; the one with the good driving skills wasn't Greed, but the Agent. He had even performed a PIT maneuver on Bruce before.

Seeing the stretched Lincoln losing control, Schiller actually slowed down, trailing far behind like a cat intentionally letting a mouse run, making it impossible for the Lincoln's driver to slam the brakes and go down with him.

This chase had led them to the edge of Manhattan. This was a residential area with wide roads and sparse traffic. Seeing this, a faint glint appeared in D'Agostino's eyes.

"Stop," D'Agostino said.

The driver wanted to say something, but eventually slowed down and pulled over to the side. Schiller, trailing behind, also reduced his speed, turned right, and pressed his car tightly against the Lincoln, pinning the front-right bumper against the Lincoln's rear-left. Given the length of the stretched limousine, it was impossible for anyone to drive out from that angle.

D'Agostino buttoned his suit jacket and stepped out of the car. Schiller also pushed open his door and stepped out.

"Now you have a perfect excuse to miss your appointment," Schiller said, standing by the car door. The intense midday sun in New York made him squint slightly, casting shadows from his eyelashes that made his gray pupils seem to vanish.

"No, I suddenly feel I should go to that appointment, because I've just encountered someone even more annoying."

"My pleasure."

With a low roar, D'Agostino's physique began to expand rapidly, tearing his suit to shreds. A minotaur with brown fur and massive black horns stood up.

Schiller looked up and saw the glowing red eyes on the bull's head. A giant fist with three fingers smashed down, sending both cars flying to the other side. But Schiller's figure had already vanished.

D'Agostino turned, only to see Schiller, who should have been right in front of him, suddenly appear a few meters away by the roadside, staring at him silently.

D'Agostino suddenly realized something. Schiller reached out a hand, and a familiar glow ignited; long, silver ribbons of light floated and intertwined, condensing into a cloak. The sound of the staff whistling through the air reached D'Agostino's ears.

He twisted his body violently, dodging the staff's strike. Immediately after, that figure leaped into the air, stepped on his raised arm, jumped onto D'Agostino's head, and thrust the staff downward with all his might.

Bang!

Awoooo!!!

A massive force struck the back of his neck; D'Agostino stumbled forward, rolled, and reached out to grab the person behind him.

But just then, he realized why that glow felt so familiar—he had seen the same light in the surveillance footage of the Roxxon Information Storage Center explosion in Oregon. That was the only piece of information he had been able to provide to S. H. I. E. L. D.

Endless rage engulfed D'Agostino. He let out an angry roar and swung his fists at Schiller.

But that figure vanished again, shifting as unpredictably as a piece of soft silver silk—seemingly intangible, yet shimmering with rippling light.

As D'Agostino swung his fist closer, he saw that there was nothing beneath the hood, yet he instinctively felt the person behind it was sneering at him.

This fueled D'Agostino's rage even further, and he chased after the figure, smashing wildly. Red lasers shot from his eyes, but they didn't crater the ground like physical attacks; instead, they vanished the moment they touched solid matter. Only the invisible energy lingering in the air proved the sinister and powerful nature of such an attack.

Schiller's figure kept flickering; D'Agostino couldn't touch him at all. But just as Schiller appeared again, D'Agostino let out a low growl, and a strange magical fluctuation rippled outward. Schiller felt his shoulders grow heavy.

"This is some kind of earth magic," Khonshu said. "In your human terms, it's gravity manipulation. But it has no effect on us, because moonlight is elusive. Even if the light falls upon the earth, no one can grasp it."

Schiller shifted again, moving out of the gravity field. Seeing that this move failed, D'Agostino changed tactics; red light ignited in the palms of his hands, and magical fluctuations spread out.

Then he raised both fists high and slammed them down. Two clusters of magical power expanded like solid matter.

Out of caution, Schiller flew into the air, avoiding the magical energy. To the naked eye, everything that touched the magical energy was locked in place by two red chains.

"It's hard for us to touch him," Khonshu said. "He possesses a unique magical power; if we make contact, we might be trapped."

"We don't need to touch him; we just need to stall for time."

The ensuing battle was just as Khonshu had described: D'Agostino couldn't catch the unpredictable moonlight, but Schiller couldn't get close to him either. The two played cat and mouse for a long time, neither able to land a hit.

Just as the stalemate reached its peak, the sound of a helicopter suddenly came from afar. Schiller smiled.

Bang! An explosive arrow detonated on the minotaur's head in a brilliant display of fireworks. Despite his magical defenses, the impact forced D'Agostino to take two steps back.

Following that came a barrage of flashbangs, sticky bombs, and capture nets, as if they were free of charge.

"Listen down there! You have violated the New York Supernatural Public Order Act! S. H. I. E. L. D. is placing you under legal arrest. Get on the ground immediately, or you will face charges of violent resistance!"

"Listen down there! You have..."

"He's the culprit who blew up the Oregon Information Storage Center!" D'Agostino roared. "This damn supervillain! You must catch him!"

But Schiller was nowhere to be found in front of him. The Moon Knight flew up lightly, turned, and appeared on the helicopter where Hawkeye was. Natasha glanced at him and ignored him.

"Minotaur down there! I suggest you get this straight: S. H. I. E. L. D. has unlimited enforcement authority in supernatural violent incidents! If you continue to resist, we will use lethal force!!! Warning one, warning two, warning three... Engage!"

The helicopter's turret activated, and large-caliber bullets rained down, firing wildly at the minotaur. Hawkeye was also firing arrows non-stop, each lethal arrowhead aimed at the bull's head.

Even with D'Agostino's astonishing defense and magical protection, he had no choice but to retreat. He turned and ran toward Manhattan.

"Can't let him run into the city!" Natasha shouted into her radio. "The target uses magic. Requesting mage support! Repeat... wait, he seems to be heading toward Stark Tower. Notify the Avengers to intercept!"

Captain America tapped his earpiece, raised his shield, and said, "A highly lethal minotaur is approaching from the eleven o'clock position. Avengers, you must stop him!"

Dr. Banner, who had just stepped out of his car at the street corner, turned to see a giant minotaur charging toward him. He was too close to the monster to dodge. Out of the instinct for self-preservation, the Hulk emerged instantly.

"HULK!!!!"

The charging D'Agostino had just run past the street corner when he heard a roar behind him; he didn't even have time to look back before he was grabbed by the ankle and hurled away with immense force.

The Lizard jumped out from behind a building, adjusted his glasses, and said, "I told you to stop him, not throw him away. Don't break any more buildings. The compensation fees will drive Nick crazy!"

The Hulk didn't care about that. He crouched and leaped high, slamming into D'Agostino and grabbing his horns to snap them off.

Awoooo!!!!

D'Agostino let out a heaven-shaking scream. The Hulk grabbed his neck and punched him twice. Just as D'Agostino tried to crawl up, the Hulk kicked him in the stomach, sending him sprawling again.

Peter, who could fly, arrived at the scene at top speed. He had intended to stop the Hulk, as he realized this minotaur was different from the others. If he could be captured alive, perhaps more secrets could be uncovered.

Just as he was about to step forward to stop the Hulk, he saw a familiar figure by the roadside. Wasn't that Dr. Octopus?

D'Agostino climbed back up, stomping his hooves on the ground. Half the road collapsed under him, and the flying debris nearly hit Dr. Octopus. He raised his arms to block the debris and took two steps back.

Peter couldn't care less about that; he flew forward to scoop up Dr. Octopus and placed him on the rooftop.

Doc Ock wasn't exactly a man of patience. He had been annoyed enough by the original Spider-Man and had gone on vacation for some peace and quiet, only to return and find someone causing trouble again.

He shoved Peter aside, deployed his mechanical tentacles, grabbed a high-energy ray gun, and jumped off the building.

(End of Chapter)

He pushed Peter away, his mechanical tentacles unfolded, and he jumped downstairs with a high-energy ray gun.

(End of chapter)