"Get out here. I know you're not dead!"
Not only did Steve fail to relax his guard, he instead tightened every muscle in his body.
The sensation from that punch just now left him uneasy, as though he had never truly struck the opponent.
"No wonder... when I saw you, I felt a strange sense of familiarity."
Hive's uniquely cold voice echoed throughout the smoke-filled corridor, piercing like a loudspeaker and drilling deep into the mind.
Tap... tap... tap...
Accompanied by distinct footsteps, a figure gradually emerged from the smoke.
Hive appeared completely unharmed.
Aside from the neat black suit now stained with dust and wrinkles, there were no visible injuries.
Steve's heart sank slightly.
It seemed he had still underestimated this guy.
He understood the power of that punch very clearly. Even bronze walls or iron barriers could not withstand it. An entire hill would have been blasted apart.
Yet Hive had taken Giant's Strike head-on and still remained perfectly fine. That alone already explained a lot.
"What? Surprised?"
Hive grinned as though victory was already in his grasp and calmly said:
"You don't need to think too much about it. That punch was indeed powerful. Even I wouldn't dare take it directly. I merely used a little trick."
"A little trick?"
Steve raised an eyebrow, waiting for him to explain.
Villains always seemed to share certain bad habits.
Among the most common—
They loved explaining their abilities to enemies.
"Your fist never hit me from the very beginning."
Just as Steve expected, Hive began demonstrating his strange power.
Part of his body suddenly split apart into countless parasitic beetles before rapidly reassembling.
"Like this. I can freely manipulate my own flesh."
After witnessing the demonstration, Steve's brows furrowed deeply.
Just from seeing it alone, he already knew how troublesome this ability was.
If he wanted to completely destroy Hive, he would have to eliminate every single parasitic beetle.
Otherwise, as long as even one survived, Hive would revive again.
His survival capability was practically top-tier.
"Steve Rogers, after seeing your ability, I suddenly came up with a new idea."
Hive made no attempt to hide the greed in his eyes. His naked gaze was so oppressive it made one uncomfortable.
"Join our glorious evolution!"
He was... inviting him?
Steve was so stunned by Hive's words that he froze for over ten seconds.
Yet Hive continued speaking excitedly on his own:
"I will grant you the status of God's Apostle. From now on, you will answer only to me. When the new world begins, your position will be second only to mine. Just like the Holy Son Jesus. Well? What do you think?"
"I refuse."
Steve sneered, unable to conceal the disgust in his eyes.
"You want to take over my body, don't you?"
"Hehe, it doesn't matter if you refuse."
Hive seemed completely unsurprised, as though he had expected this answer from the start.
The greed in his eyes only intensified, as though he wanted to devour Steve whole.
"You probably haven't noticed yet, but the powers we possess... are extremely similar."
"What do you mean?"
Steve's heart stirred slightly.
"What do you mean by 'extremely similar'?"
"That left arm... I don't know how you obtained it."
Hive pointed toward the arm covered in black-and-red patterns resembling a devil's grin and bared his teeth.
"But the energy inside your body comes from the same source as mine and Mother's. It is the exact same unknown power."
"What did you say?!"
Steve's entire mind shook violently.
His pupils contracted sharply into needlepoints, trembling uncontrollably.
Hive revealed a sinister smile and seized the opening created by Steve's shock.
His feet suddenly exerted force against the ground.
Boom!
Like a cannon exploding in place, cracks spread across the incomparably hard metal floor.
Whoooosh—!
Hive lunged forward like a hungry tiger pouncing on prey, instantly crossing twenty to thirty meters.
As the metal corridor trembled, waves of nauseating foul wind surged outward.
The air rose like crashing tides while Hive's body rapidly expanded, swelling several times larger like an inflated balloon until he resembled a giant.
Without any technique whatsoever, he simply clenched his fist and punched forward.
Yet that straightforward strike carried the overwhelming momentum of heaven collapsing and earth shattering.
The air itself seemed as though it would be blasted open into a gigantic hole.
Shrill screams from the raging wind echoed through the corridor, whipping up stormlike waves that sought to devour the man before him.
What terrifying momentum!
What horrifying strength!
Steve had no time to think further.
He retreated half a step while both feet sank half an inch into the ground.
As the saying goes: strength rises from the earth, fists follow the heart.
A master of combat, he assumed his stance.
His left arm traced a half-circle through the air as he mobilized every ounce of strength in his body.
Twisting his waist, storing force, and throwing the punch all happened in one fluid motion.
A perfect fully charged heavy punch.
The next instant—
The two fists collided!
BOOM—!!!
Terrifying force exploded into the ground as visible shockwaves spread outward.
Accompanied by thunderous explosive roars, the metal flooring emitted unbearable screeches.
Centered around the two combatants, the floor continuously piled upward behind them like walls before being crushed again by tsunami-like shockwaves.
"What a heavy punch!"
Steve's eyelids twitched violently.
After exchanging fists head-on with Hive, he had actually fallen into a disadvantage.
His entire face flushed red, thick veins bulging from his forehead as he endured the terrifying force.
Every bone in his body crackled like firecrackers exploding.
Hive fared no better.
Half of his arm had been blown apart.
Even though he had used tricks to seize the initiative and Steve had only reacted hastily, the difference in strength still existed.
Under the violent collision of their fists, not only was half his arm obliterated, his entire body was blasted backward like a cannonball.
He smashed against the corridor wall, carving out a trench over two meters wide and more than a hundred meters long!
"I want your body more and more now... Steve Rogers!"
Hive rose back to his feet as though nothing had happened, casually dusting himself off.
Greed churned within his eyes.
"It would be a shame to damage such a body. So for once, I'll let you witness... the power that belongs to a god!"
At the center of Hive's forehead, a crack slowly appeared.
Then suddenly—
The crack split open violently, revealing a vertical amber eye.
That cold and emotionless amber pupil stared at Steve silently.
It carried no life, no emotion whatsoever, like the eye of an icy puppet.
Simply looking at it sent chills down one's spine.
"In the name of God..."
Hive slowly spread his arms wide as though embracing the world itself.
His face filled with intoxicated delight.
"Under the gaze of God's Eye, accept the supreme blessing, Steve Rogers!"
Buzz...
The amber vertical eye emitted an eerie purple glow.
Alarm bells exploded inside Steve's mind as he instinctively stepped aside to dodge.
Yet when that terrifying glow faded, he hurriedly checked his body—
Only to discover that there were no injuries whatsoever.
"Look at your right foot, Steve Rogers."
Hive pointed toward his left foot, revealing a bizarre grin.
Steve lowered his head.
His expression immediately changed.
At the ankle of his left foot was an eyeball-shaped symbol.
"What the hell is this thing?!"
Steve tried to wipe the mark away, only to discover that it seemed branded deep into his flesh and could not be erased at all.
An ominous premonition instantly rose within him.
"It means... your left foot now belongs to my 'Domination.'"
Hive crooked his finger.
The corners of his mouth stretched all the way to his ears, making him appear even more grotesque.
"If you still don't understand, then let me demonstrate."
"In the name of God... I command you to walk over here."
"M-My foot... what's happening to it?!"
Under Steve's horrified gaze, his left foot moved uncontrollably, stepping forward half a pace on its own.
"This is the power of a god."
Hive laughed triumphantly and crooked his finger again.
"As long as I desire it, everything in this world can be dominated by me!"