The Gorgon was utterly dumbfounded.
Never in his wildest dreams did he expect the Life Model Decoy trick. Logically speaking, Hydra was well aware of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s LMD technology. Because of this, he had verified that Elektra's corpse was absolutely real and not a decoy. Yet, what was the result?
The result was that Fury was still one step ahead.
More critically, all the Norn Stones were gone! This meant they wouldn't even have enough time to escape!
He had been counting on Daredevil to fall into depravity, growing three times stronger from the corruption, which, alongside a resurrected and mind-controlled Elektra, would give them a fighting chance against the Defenders and Spider-Man. Now, they didn't stand a ghost of a chance.
"Damn you, Spider-Man! Damn you, Daredevil! You all deserve to die!"
The Gorgon reached for his face scarf once more, intending to tear off his blindfold. Matt, who had already defected over to the hero camp—literally executing a leap away from the Hand—immediately yelled a warning: "Watch out! The Gorgon's ability..."
"...is just like his codename, petrifying anyone he looks at." Peter retaliated with a swift strand of web, pinning the Gorgon's hand directly to his face scarf. The infuriated Gorgon shrieked at Typhoid Mary, ordering her to burn the webbing away with her psionic flames.
But where was Typhoid Mary? She was already plotting her escape. Although the Hand had brainwashed her, her mental state as a psychiatric patient was highly unstable, meaning the brainwashing effects were rather subpar.
At this stage, the Gorgon realized one absolute truth: none of them were walking out of here alive today. Consequently, he barked a few words in Japanese to the elderly Japanese men behind him, prompting them to shout back in immediate opposition.
Peter, who didn't understand Japanese, curiously asked Matt, "What are they saying?"
"The Gorgon wants the Beast to possess him, but those old men are saying he isn't a qualified sacrifice."
The "Beast" was a demon that thrived on human corruption. Because of this, the greater the contrast before a person fell from grace, the deeper the Beast could interfere with reality, and the more immense the power it could grant the possessed vessel. Originally, Matt was an exceptionally ideal host. Once Daredevil fell and became a murderer, he would have provided the Beast with an immense amount of energy.
Even if Matt wasn't dark enough, the Gorgon had prepared Mister Negative as a contingency plan. Who could have guessed that Matt was a mole all along, and Mister Negative had been placed under Fury's protection? Everything was completely ruined.
To make matters even more infuriating, when he tried to force these stubborn old geezers to summon the will of the Beast, they actually refused him!
"No matter what he's planning to do or whether he can pull it off, we have to stop him! There's no need to play fair with these wicked, heretical forces—everyone, charge together!"
Peter bellowed a rallying cry, and the superheroes present—regardless of whether they fully grasped the situation—surged forward in unison. Moon Knight, charging while thoroughly bewildered, sought out the most famous hero among them, Spider-Man. Punching an undead ninja, he asked, "So, who exactly are we fighting here?"
"Uh... just hit whoever you see us hitting!"
Peter kicked an undead ninja back while inquiring of this highly distinctive street-level hero, "By the way, what are you doing here in Hell's Kitchen?"
"Steven received a request saying people in Hell's Kitchen needed help. Plus, once we arrived, it turned out Khonshu was interested in this place too... Wait, do you know about Steven and Khonshu?"
"If that second one is the Egyptian moon god, then yeah, I do!"
Peter sent an undead ninja flying with a punch. These undead combatants were a massive hassle; they felt no pain, feared no death, and there was no way to save or redeem them. The only upside was that upon dying, they dissolved into puffs of smoke without cluttering the area.
It sounded a bit macabre, but it was the reality. Peter and the others were steadily closing the distance to the Gorgon. Peter continuously fired webbing to bind the villain's hands and face, provoking the Gorgon into spewing a barrage of furious Japanese—undoubtedly a string of severe curses.
Finally, amid the Gorgon's enraged roars and the heroes' relentless onslaught—a column of black energy erupted straight into the heavens. The entire Shadowland fortress instantly buckled and caved in, causing everyone to plummet simultaneously.
As the most agile mobile fighter, Peter took note of Dagger, as well as Cloak, who was unleashing the powers of the Darkforce Dimension mid-air. Swiftly utilizing his webbing, Peter attached lines to as many people as possible while anchoring the strands to the surrounding structures of the fortress. Before the majority could crash into the ground, he caught them all in a massive web net.
"What happened? Why did the building suddenly collapse?"
Moon Knight, remaining entirely out of the loop, questioned repeatedly. Dagger stood up from the webbing and looked toward Cloak, who was still emitting energy waves, stating with uncertainty, "I'm not sure... but it feels like... it feels like the energy Tyrone is releasing has changed."
Changed? Peter grew instantly alert. The power sources of Cloak and Dagger were polar opposites and capable of neutralizing one another, meaning her words were highly reliable.
In other words, Cloak was discharging a different kind of energy? He was originally connected to the Darkforce Dimension; could he have switched dimensions now?
Recalling that the Gorgon was making a desperate last stand, Peter immediately hurled a Norn Stone at Cloak. The moment the Norn Stone struck Cloak, two entirely distinct spatial energies collided, instantly shattering spatial stability. Peter rapidly fired a web line to yank Cloak toward him, preventing him from being torn apart by the spatial vortex.
"Great job, Spider-Man."
Matt breathed a sigh of relief, then asked, "How did you know that trick would work?"
"Strange's library has records on the applications of Norn Stones. Even though the specific circumstances differed, I figured it was worth a shot."
Peter muttered in response while scanning the surrounding Shadowland. Darkness still enshrouded Hell's Kitchen; the Shadowland domain had not dissipated because of this.
An ominous premonition crept into Peter's mind. Just then, catching a sound, he witnessed the Gorgon rising from beneath a massive slab of concrete, casually shoving the debris aside.
The current Gorgon no longer concealed his eyes. He swept his gaze across the surroundings, yet no one turned to stone. His physical appearance had shifted to closely mirror his codename; his skin had turned an ashen green, taking on a texture resembling serpent scales. His eyes had transformed into golden, vertical slits. Most horrifying of all was his hair, which, like a true Gorgon, had turned into a mass of writhing serpents.
"So, this is what demon possession looks like? To be honest, I expected something a bit more aesthetically pleasing. I was kind of looking forward to a Medusa vibe, but a male gorgon is a hard pass..."
"You carry the aura of Gaia upon you... though it is faint."
The "Gorgon" cast his gaze over everyone present before locking onto Moon Knight, his face twisting into an ecstatic grin.