The Multiverse Hunter

Apologies for the two day silence, was very busy with work and had no time to write. Maybe I'll post another chapter in an hour or two…Maybe

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STAB! STAB! STAB! STAB!

Outside the grand hotel, two grotesque creatures clung to the sheer walls of New York's skyline, their scrawny purple limbs sinking razor-sharp claws into the concrete like it was made of paper. Their malformed heads twitched violently, large, lidless eyes darting in every direction as they sniffed the air, their nostrils flaring as they searched for one scent.

GROWL!

One of the goblins suddenly jerked its head toward the night sky, its breath coming out in ragged, hungry snarls. It had found something.

The other goblin snapped its gaze in the same direction, and in perfect synchrony, both beasts scuttled forward at an inhuman speed, scaling the walls with sickening agility. Wherever their claws struck, they left behind deep, jagged grooves, as if marking the city as their hunting ground.

Higher and higher, they ascended, leaping between buildings like shadows, creeping ever closer to their target—Ali.

"What are you doing?" Natasha's voice wavered, but she tried to keep her composure. Her fingers gripped the bed sheet tightly as she slowly edged backward, her emerald green eyes locked onto Ali, who stood at the foot of the bed, watching her with a wicked smirk.

Ali exhaled through his nose, tilting his head back slightly to stare at the ceiling as if contemplating something. "Fuck," he muttered, irritation flashing across his sharp features.

Natasha narrowed her eyes. His expression had shifted—gone was the predator circling its prey, replaced by something else, something distracted. She didn't know why, but she wasn't going to waste the opportunity.

With a sudden jerk of her arms, she ripped the bed sheet off the mattress and flung it into the air, creating a momentary white blur between them.

Ali's gaze instinctively flicked to the airborne fabric, his eyes tracking the unpredictable movement of the cloth as it fluttered erratically in the air.

In that split second, his fingers twitched.

A heavy weight materialised in his grip.

BANG!

A deafening gunshot rang through the suite, the muzzle flash illuminating Ali's cold, unreadable face.

The white sheet, still caught mid-air, became a canvas for destruction. A spray of crimson splattered across the fabric, creating an abstract horror of red and white as the force of the bullet tore through its target.

When the sheet finally drifted to the floor, it revealed the unmoving form of Natasha beneath it.

Blood seeped into the bed's expensive linens, darkening the pristine fabric. A thick pool formed around her head, soaking her once-vibrant red hair in an eerie halo of death.

Her once-fierce green eyes were wide open, frozen in a glassy, lifeless stare, a single bullet hole nestled perfectly in the centre of her forehead.

'What a waste…'

Ali let out a breath, running a hand through his hair before zipping up his pants as if the entire event had been nothing more than a mild inconvenience.

His fingers twitched again, and in an instant, the heavy desert eagle vanished, returned to his inventory without a trace.

But his mind wasn't on Natasha anymore.

His senses screamed at him, a subtle but undeniable warning prickling at the edges of his consciousness. He wasn't alone.

'Who the fuck is tracking me…'

He turned his head sharply, his eyes narrowing toward the shattered glass wall of the suite.

For a moment, he ignored Natasha's corpse.

The confirmation of her status had already appeared in his interface.

"Defeat an Avenger: (3/1)"

'So she really was one of them…'

Ali clicked his tongue and took a final glance at her motionless body. Even in death, she still looked beautiful—her face forever frozen in the stunned realisation of her final moment.

With a flick of his wrist, he pulled the bloodstained sheet back over her, covering her face. Whatever Natasha Romanoff had been in life, she was nothing now.

Because at that very moment, his instincts flared again—something was coming.

And fast.

CRASH!

The reinforced glass wall shattered as something inhuman tore through it like paper.

A goblin, small and hunched, but grotesquely agile, twisted unnaturally mid-air as it lunged straight for Ali, claws gleaming under the city lights, aiming directly for his throat.

ZZZZZZZZZZZ!

Ali barely had time to react, raising Captain America's shield with the Force in an instant. The goblin's claws raked against the vibranium, sending a burst of sparks flying through the dimly lit suite.

The sound was deafening.

"What the fuck are you?" Ali growled, his dark eyes narrowing as he took a step back.

The goblin didn't answer. It vanished.

Ali's pupils dilated.

The creature had disappeared.

ZIP!

His instincts screamed again.

Ali spun around just in time to see a second goblin materialising from the shadows behind him, moving at impossible speeds.

SLICE!

Ali barely lifted the shield in time as the goblin's claws scraped against it, the impact forcing him back a step. But his counterattack was immediate.

A crimson glow bathed the room.

Ali ignited his lightsaber, the brilliant red blade humming to life. He swung, aiming to bisect the goblin in one fluid motion.

But it was too fast.

The creature twisted mid-air, contorting its small frame to shoot between Ali's legs.

SPLASH!

Pain exploded through Ali's thigh as the goblin's claws tore through muscle, cutting deep into the bone.

Blood poured freely from the gaping wound, staining his pants dark crimson. His leg trembled under the weight of the injury, nearly giving out beneath him.

'Too fast,' Ali analysed instantly. 'And I can't control them with the Force.'

Across the room, the goblins retreated to opposite corners, their sunken purple eyes glowing with intelligence.

Ali took a slow breath.

'Fighting something faster than me… I need to change the battlefield.'

BOOM!

Ali exploded upward, crashing through the ceiling with sheer force.

The rooftop.

GROWL!

The goblins burst through the hole after him, their claws tearing through concrete as they climbed onto the rooftop, never slowing down.

Ali stood tall beneath the moonlit sky, blood dripping from his leg onto the cold stone.

He watched them.

"You think speed alone is enough?" he muttered, voice dark and menacing.

He sent the shield back into his inventory and tightened his grip on the lightsaber.

The goblins didn't hesitate.

They shot forward, circling him, erratic, unpredictable.

Ali exhaled.

'NOW.'

With perfect timing, Ali controlled the rubble from the destroyed ceiling, sending jagged stones hurtling toward the goblins' blind spots.

BANG!

One goblin was caught mid-air, a heavy piece of debris slamming into its small frame. It screeched, its ribs crushed, as it collapsed onto the stone.

The second goblin lunged.

Ali anticipated it.

His lightsaber swung in a deadly arc.

SLICE!

The blade cleaved through the goblin's skull, slicing clean through.

BURN.

THUD.

The creature fell in two.

But—

PSSSSSSSSHHHHH!

A thick purple mist burst from its corpse, enveloping Ali's face.

His vision blurred.

Everything turned purple.

Ali stumbled back, blinking rapidly, but the mist clung to him like a curse.

'I can't see.'

The remaining goblin rose.

It should have died.

Instead, purple energy seeped from its wounds.

The mist that had left its dying partner wrapped around its body, closing its injuries.

The goblin healed.

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Five chapters ahead of webnovel on patreon.com/Rondo312