Chương 40: Demonic Cult

Entering Rand Tower was actually quite easy, as Danny had shown Mason a private entry he used mostly as Iron Fist. Sneaking into Danny's penthouse on the top floor, which was empty, Mason finally got in the shower. As he scrubbed the blood off of him, he finally got to see the extent of his injuries. The worst was by far his hand, where only his bones were left intact, with most of the muscle gone. That would probably take him a while to heal, even with the help of Chi.

Actually, Chi was what made a complete, autonomous recovery possible. Next was the injury on his back, from that second sniper bullet. Mason did not know what caliber Bullseye had been using, but even that glancing blow had torn a chunk from his back. It should not take as long to heal, but it would still probably take a few days. Then, it was mostly his limbs being covered in cuts, all inflicted by that army of ninjas.

Although he had remained in control of the fight, they would occasionally manage to get a strike in. Some of the cuts were deeper than others, but under the influence of his powerful Chi, they were already starting to scab, even for the largest ones. So when he was finally clean, Mason raided the kitchen for food and finally sat down to meditate and expedite the healing process. Hours passed quickly, and he barely felt them pass as he remained deep in meditation, pondering upon the mysteries of the Gravity Dao.

He was able to give it his whole, undivided attention, since he did not feel he had to worry about his close ones in the immediate future. He stood to reason to believe that he had wiped out all members of the Hand in the city, or very close to it. Since they likely had Awakening Masters in their organization, or at least had them at some point, the Hand certainly knew how strong he would be.

So it would not make sense for them to hold anything back if they wanted to kill him, which they did for some reason, meaning they should have sent everything they could at Mason today. Of course, there may have been a few of them still left in the city, between lucky survivors of the assault or members who could not be pulled for one reason or another, but as Mason had already told Danny and Daredevil, they did not exist in a vacuum.

The Hand occupied a position of great power in the city's underworld, and with nearly all of their men killed, all the other criminal organizations in the city would fight to devour their assets. As for Fisk, Mason had already taken down one of his top enforcers a few days ago, and he had just killed his top one, Bullseye. Adding to that all the trouble Daredevil and Iron Fist should have been giving him in the past few days, he should be more worried about surviving than mounting an attack on Mason's loved ones.

Besides, Fisk did not employ brainwashed ninjas; he hired thugs. Thugs that could be stopped just fine by the security around his family. As for Minx, she would most probably be watched by the police, the FBI, or even SHIELD, seeing the proportions things had taken. And finally, one would have to be mad to go after someone he cared about after today. He had just slain over a hundred ninjas in a matter of minutes in a brutal showdown. So Mason meditated without a worry until he was interrupted.

Mason felt Danny coming from far away, but what he did not expect was the second presence. A hunched-over old man, one he recognized very well. Master Izo. Cocking an eyebrow, Mason smiled and asked, "What's up? Missed me, old man?" Danny, who had been about to say something, found his words stuck in his throat as he rapidly looked between Mason and Izo, whose back suddenly straightened. Finally, he exclaimed, "You didn't say you were his master!" he turned to Mason and added, "And you! What are you doing here?!"

Mason waved his injured hand dismissively, replying, "I got dirty, and I needed a place to wash myself. I also needed to get in touch without using my phone, so here I am. But I'm more interested in what the old man is doing here." Izo showed no signs of elder fatigue any longer as he walked with his hands in his back, replying, "I was here to help, Stupid, but you had to be your hotheaded, stupid self and take them head-on, you monster."

Izo knelt next to Mason, hands on his thighs, and Mason exclaimed, "There's no need to throw nasty words like that around! I'm sure you could have done it in your youth, old man." Izo snorted and turned to look at Danny, who was standing there awkwardly, and asked harshly, "Will you be eating roadside grass all day, or will you help me heal him, Stupid!" Danny blinked, and Mason laughed, "It's a term of endearment for him. I wouldn't mind the help of the Chi of a dragon, though. Flesh takes a while to come back."

Danny finally moved, taking a similar stance to Izo as the two placed their hands on Mason and channeled their Chi. As they did, Danny exclaimed, "What an astonishingly powerful Chi. I have never felt one so potent, aside from Shou-Lao." This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. Izo grunted, "Don't let him deceive you; he is the freaky one." he looked at Mason, "Have you awakened your Spirit as well?" Mason smiled, knowing where the misunderstanding came from.

A typical master who had Awakened only the first two of their Three Treasures could only reach a value of '6' in their Treasures, while Mason's were around 7 or 8.

"I'm halfway there. Should take me a week or two to get there, from what I can feel." Mason nearly preened in comfort as he felt the two's Chi follow his own, working on restoring his injuries. After several hours of meditation, all the cuts had already been healed, so all that energy concentrated on the two bullet wounds.

Although they mostly focused on the healing, they were all experienced masters at wielding Chi, so Izo still said, "The New York branch of the Hand has been eradicated, in case you were wondering." Mason nodded.

"I figured they sent pretty much everybody they could. I guess Lady Bullseye was the leader of the local branch?" Izo shook his head.

"That foolish child is only the Chunin of the local branch. There was still the Daimyo of the North American branch above her, Hirochi. He was killed." Mason frowned, picking up on his master's tense.

"Is? Not was? I crushed her heart into pieces." Danny spoke up at that, "That's why we were together, actually. We discovered why the Hand wanted to kill you, and so many others. What their true goal is."

"Well, don't keep me waiting." It was Izo who explained, "The Hand has been infiltrated by an occult order that predates even the organization, an order that worships a primordial demon. You may have killed many of their members; through the dark magic they earned by worshiping this demon, they have become capable of resurrecting the dead."

"That's bullshit."

"It is a trick, as is all magic. Magic is nothing more than a shortcut, a swindle from higher powers. By resurrecting, their souls become forfeit, property of that demon. They are corrupted from their core, and their path is cut off. That is why the Hand has not seen another Awakening Master in hundreds of years." Mason looked at Danny, who said, "Surprised me too. I guess K'un-Lun's information was quite old." Izo continued, "I said they had not produced a new one, but that does not mean they cannot convert one."

Mason tilted his head.

"So they wanted to kill me to resurrect me and bring me back under their service? That sounds… kinda dumb. Even if they can resurrect their people, they still lost many resources by getting their entire branch killed. Doesn't seem worth it for one little me." Izo replied dryly, "Dying wasn't in their plans. By all means, those kinds of numbers should have killed a second stage Awakening Master."

"Really? Then you lot are more useless than I thought. I was only at about 80%, because of the wound on my Spirit. Without Bullseye or Minx, I could have probably done it hit-less." Izo stared at him coldly, taking the insult to heart.

"That's why I asked if you had reached the peak, stupid. Your Chi is as strong as a Peak Awakening Grandmaster."

"Your notebook said you never met one." Izo countered, "I didn't write that; that's just your assumption. The creator of the Hand, my Master, Kagenobu Yoshioka, was the only one I ever met. He built the Hand from the ground up, and your Chi feels as strong as his. Maybe stronger."

Mason shrugged, which caused both of their faces to show surprise, as that should have broken his meditation, and he said, "Then he probably wasn't really at the peak; he must have awakened his Spirit but not cultivated it to its absolute. But if I am at what you consider to be the standard of a Peak Awakening Grandmaster… fine, I guess I can accept your explanation. But surely they would have expected to lose a bunch of their men, even if they managed to kill me. Would it have really been worth it?"

Izo remained firm in the way only an old Japanese grandpa would, and he replied, "It would, because their goal is not to grow their forces; it is to unseal their master. They need a large concentration of Chi for that." Mason looked at Danny, commenting, "Then why did they not attack the Iron Fist, also known as the greatest source of Chi on the planet?"

"Who told you they didn't?" Mason paused before mumbling, "I guess I missed a thing or two, huh. Well, that doesn't sound very good." Izo nodded.

"The Iron Fist would be most suited to finishing the story." Danny nodded, the slight gesture visibly shaking his Chi.

"The world was not always as peaceful as it is today. In ancient times, the Earth was littered with demons and their infernal forces. Back when humanity was too weak to defend itself, before the creation of Martial Arts and Magic, we were nothing but game and entertainment to them. Even when the Arts were discovered, their might remained overwhelming." Mason noticed that Izo looked particularly distasteful when magic was mentioned, like even hearing about it left a sour taste in his mouth.

"History is as much legend as it is fact, but according to the ancestral teachings of K'un-Lun, it was only through an extraordinary gathering of forces that the situation was changed. Back when the Arts were only One, the Sorcerers cultivated a supreme personage, a Sorcerer Supreme. At the same time, the Martial Masters saw the birth of the seven Immortal Weapons, masters who transcended the human condition by taking the power of mighty beings.

It was said that, aided by the Gods, they repelled the endless demonic hordes, created the Seven Capital Cities of Heaven, and imprisoned the demons in the Eighth City." Mason listened to the story, comparing it to his own knowledge, and said, "Then let me guess. The demon worshiped by the Hand is imprisoned within the Eighth City, and their lifelong goal is to free it." Izo immediately corrected, "Not lifelong. Kagenobu would have sooner died than accepted that beast's offer. I suspect he may have."

Danny added, "Normally, all seven of the Immortal Weapons must mix their Chi to open the seal to the Eighth City. But through the countless years of its existence, the seal has eroded; we suspect it may be broken, even if the Chi of some of the Immortal Weapons is missing." Mason pinched his eyebrows with a frown.

"You're not about to tell me all the other Immortal Weapons are dead, are you?"

"Not yet, fortunately. But the Hand is said to possess an unstoppable weapon, which they used to kill four of us. Aside from me, only the Fat Cobra and the Prince of Beggars remain, and that is only because they remain hidden." Mason sat silently for a moment, pondering the issue, before saying, "I will help, of course, but I can't leave yet. I understand this is a time-sensitive issue, but I must take down Kingpin before leaving." Danny nodded, and Izo snorted, "No one asked you to leave yet.

The priority is to find the Immortal Weapons before they do, and protect them. The Chaste is already working on that." Mason nodded, closing his eyes as he gave all his attention back to meditation to speed up his healing.