Chapter 49: Ten Seconds to End a Battle

At that moment, the only one who remained calm in the entire grocery store was Luke. After hearing the system's prompts in his mind, he was certain he wouldn't be harmed. His relaxed posture looked almost ridiculous given the chaos erupting around him. But he knew this wasn't a fight he needed to worry about. What did surprise him, if only briefly, was Sharon's swift takedown of the assassin. Then again, she was one of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s best. It was hardly shocking that she handled a hitman with such ease. Across the store, the female assassin had her pistol trained on Luke's chest. Her eyes were sharp, steady. Even witnessing Sharon's speed hadn't shaken her resolve. She directly squeezed the trigger. Or rather, tried to. Unfortunately for her, her finger wouldn't move. Suddenly, a glow, bright red and crackling with power wrapped around her hand. And then she saw it. The girl who had so warmly offered to help her shop just moments ago... was now floating in midair, her expression transformed from kindness to fury. Wanda's entire body shimmered with deep, angry crimson. Her eyes glowed with that same eerie light. A hand stretched toward the gunwoman, and power surged from her fingers. The pistol clattered uselessly to the floor. The assassin barely had time to register her mistake before... Boom~! With a flick of Wanda's hand, the woman was launched backward like a ragdoll. She crashed into two shelves, sending canned goods flying before crumpling to the floor, limbs twitching. It was clear she wouldn't be getting back up. ... Meanwhile, Sharon had already finished her part. Though her opponent was a skilled assassin, he was built for silent kills, not face-to-face combat. Sharon, on the other hand, was a master of close-quarters fighting. In less than five seconds, she had disarmed, floored, and fully restrained the man. The entire attack, from the dagger's first flash to the final blow from Wanda, had barely taken ten seconds. Two elite killers. Taken out in a corner grocery store. It was almost laughable. ... Both assassins lay on the ground now, stunned in different ways. The male, though bruised, accepted his failure with quiet dignity. He had witnessed Sharon's strength firsthand. Losing to her... he could live with that. But the female assassin was still reeling, body aching, spirit crushed. She had been utterly overwhelmed by someone she hadn't even seen as a threat. Even Sharon stared in disbelief at Wanda, who now hovered in midair, her powers crackling and uncontrolled. Sharon had read the S.H.I.E.L.D. reports, so she knew Luke's sister wasn't ordinary. But this... This wasn't just extraordinary. This was something else entirely. 'This girl is not normal at all. That's not human power...' ... Luke, unfazed, finished rubbing Doggo's head and stood up slowly, brushing off imaginary crumbs. Without a glance toward the woman writhing on the floor, he walked calmly toward the man Sharon had pinned. Doggo followed close behind, low growl rumbling in his throat. Wanda, still glowing faintly with power, floated down. Her expression was puzzled, but she held her tongue. Though she could be hotheaded, Wanda knew this was Luke's moment. And when it really counted, she deferred to him, after all, he was the head of their little family. Luke stopped in front of the assassin, hands in his pockets, a small smile on his face. "Well," he said softly, "didn't expect someone would send killers after me." The restrained man chuckled dryly. "Neither did I," he replied. "Didn't expect the women around you to be more dangerous than you." He wasn't wrong. And though he was bruised, he seemed almost at peace, like a man who had long accepted the cost of his profession. Luke tilted his head. "Let's make this easy. You don't want to suffer. Just tell me who sent you." The man's smile faded. He didn't answer. Luke already knew the type. Even Sharon's expression darkened. Assassins of this caliber didn't break. Their silence wasn't about loyalty, it was about survival. If he revealed his employer, it wouldn't just be his life on the line. It would be everyone he ever cared about. "I can't," the man said quietly. "Doesn't matter what you do. Just kill me now and save us both the time." Sharon's eyes narrowed, clearly frustrated. Even she couldn't get information out of a killer like this without proper tools. This one would need to be taken back to S.H.I.E.L.D. and pumped full of truth serum in order to extract any information. The room hung heavy with silence. ...