Chapter 145: The Scent of Black Magic

Words : 1074 Updated : Oct 2nd, 2025

By the time Wanda and Daisy arrived at the docks, it was already eleven at night. Though New York was famously a city that never slept, the docks were a different story—by this hour, the area had become eerily deserted. The only sounds breaking the stillness were the gentle lapping of river water and the crisp echoes of their heels on the concrete. It didn't take long before the two discovered clear signs of a violent confrontation. Several massive shipping containers had been knocked over, others bore large dents as though something incredibly powerful had collided with them. There was even a cratered fist imprint in the ground—whatever caused it must have had unimaginable strength. Nearby, a small pool of blood shimmered faintly under the moonlight. Wanda knelt by it, splaying her fingers over the bloodstain. A deep red glow pulsed from her hand as she activated her Chaos Magic, attempting to trace the origin and sequence of the events. Thanks to Gene's relentless development efforts, Wanda had grown far more adept in wielding her powers. What had once been purely combat-focused was now a versatile set of abilities. One of them allowed her to psychically reconstruct past events from residual magical or emotional energy left at a scene. But this time… it didn't work smoothly. It felt as if something was blocking her powers—like trying to see a battlefield through a thick curtain. She could feel the presence of the conflict, even sense the clashing auras, but it was all blurred, obscured—like looking at a reflection in rippling water. Still, there was one thing she could sense with absolute clarity: an overwhelmingly sinister presence. One of the combatants had radiated a dark, ice-cold malevolence—cruel, feral, devoid of empathy or rules. A creature so dangerous it sent a chill down Wanda's spine. This was no ordinary skirmish. It had escalated beyond the jurisdiction of standard S.W.O.R.D. personnel. It now fell under the authority of the Sharp Blade Squad—Gene's elite unit for handling supernatural and extra-dimensional threats. "Wanda!" Daisy's voice rang out. She was now standing atop a sky-blue shipping container not far from the impact zone. "I think we found something!" Wanda approached, her expression sharpening as she followed Daisy's gaze. The faded white letters painted on the container had been deliberately scratched off—but not completely. Even through the scarring, Wanda could clearly make out the name: MASON INDUSTRY. "What's inside?" Wanda asked calmly. Daisy shook her head, pointing to the lower edge of the container. The door had been forcibly pried open and the power cut, giving them a view of the inside—empty. Not a trace of any cargo. Unless, of course… it was invisible. Wanda stepped closer to the container's entrance, immediately assaulted by an overwhelming surge of dark magic. The presence was so potent, so unfiltered, it was like a bonfire blazing in the dark. Impossible to miss. "What do we do now?" Daisy asked, uneasily shifting on her feet. "We report to the commander," Wanda replied, already dialing Gene. __ S.W.O.R.D. Headquarters — Gene Mason's Private Lab Inside a sterile lab filled with humming machinery and holographic displays, Gene paused his current task and answered Wanda's call. "Commander, apologies for disturbing you this late," Wanda began. "But Daisy and I stumbled onto something that might be related to Mason Industries." Gene's mechanical V-shaped visor pulsed faintly. "Go on." "We're at Dock C-121 in Manhattan. We found heavy signs of combat—and more importantly, an empty shipping container with your company's name on it," she said. "The area's saturated with dark magic. I tried using Chaos Magic to reconstruct what happened, but something's blocking me. It's being masked." Gene was silent for a moment, then said, "Understood. Thank you for the report, Wanda." "Do you want us to do anything else, Commander?" Wanda raised an eyebrow playfully. "We could investigate further, trace the origins, maybe help retrieve whatever went missing…" "No need," Gene replied coolly. "I've already assigned a specialist to handle it. You and Daisy should focus on enjoying your vacation." Wanda clicked the communicator off and exhaled. "What'd the commander say?" Daisy asked curiously. "He said he's taking care of it," Wanda replied with a dramatic roll of her eyes. "Also wished us a happy vacation. He didn't exactly sound concerned." __ Meanwhile, across the city... Jessica Jones dragged her battered body back to her apartment. She felt like every bone in her body had cracked. Her chest still burned from the hit she took earlier—her ribs were almost certainly broken. Any regular person would be dead by now. Fortunately, she wasn't regular. And she healed quickly. Still, the day had been absurd—so absurd it felt like something out of a cheap novel. She'd been hired by her landlord to find his missing nephew. Simple enough. But her investigation revealed the kid was involved in smuggling. The real kicker? The operation was being run by none other than Mason Industries, one of the most powerful conglomerates in the world. To make matters worse, she discovered the nephew had powers. Superpowers. After subduing him, she thought she was finally done. But that was just the warm-up. That's when the real threat appeared. A nightmarish creature calling itself Venom—pitch-black, oozing slime, with bulbous white eyes and razor-sharp teeth. Its breath smelled like rotting garbage. Now, every time Jessica closed her eyes, she saw it again. That monstrous face. That suffocating strength. Logically, she should drop the case. This wasn't worth it—not for a few months' rent. The whole situation was way beyond her pay grade. But anyone who knew Jessica Jones knew one thing: she never walked away. Sure, she had a temper and didn't exactly win popularity contests. But when it came to the truth, she was like a bloodhound. Jessica stood up, water dripping from her soaked clothes onto the floor. She wrung out her hair, releasing another stream of water. Still… it hadn't been a total loss, had it? She'd learned the name of the smuggled item: TARS-38604. She had no idea what that meant. But Mason Industries would. And Jessica Jones was going to find out. Even if it killed her. -------------- T/N: Access Advance Chapters on my P@treon: [email protected]/MPHFics

Chapter 145: The Scent of Black Magic

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