In Marvel : with Shadow slave Gacha system

The shadows felt alive, creeping closer with every step I took. My breath was steady, but my heart hammered against my ribcage as I moved cautiously through the dark, ruined base. The gun in my hand felt heavier than usual, my grip tightening as my eyes darted around, checking every corner.

How did it come to this? I thought bitterly, sweeping the area with my weapon.

It was supposed to be a simple job. Just protect the scientist, escort him to safety, and call it a day. Instead, it had turned into a nightmare. Something—no, someone—was hunting us. I didn't know if it was human, beast, or something else entirely. All I knew was that it came from the shadows, shifting shapes like smoke, striking without warning.

Twenty of my men—twenty good, hardened operatives—were gone, torn apart one by one.

The thought made me glance nervously at my own shadow.

Suddenly—thump.

My body spun instinctively toward the sound, my gun aimed at the rooftop. My finger hovered over the trigger, ready to unleash a barrage of bullets, even if it was just to make whatever it was bleed.

Thump.

Another sound, this time to my right.

I whirled around, weapon raised, but there was nothing there. The silence was suffocating.

"what was that you are probably thinking, right?"

The voice was smooth, mocking, and undeniably female. It came from my left.

I spun toward it, fist clenched, aiming to strike the speaker square in the face. But my punch met nothing but empty air.

"What are you even trying to punch?" the voice taunted, dripping with amusement.

I clenched my teeth, forcing myself to remain calm, scanning the hallway for any sign of movement. The voice wasn't coming from one place—it echoed, bouncing off the walls like it was part of the shadows themselves.

"You know," the voice continued, calm and confident, "I could just kill you here and now."

I didn't respond, too focused on pinpointing where she was hiding. Then the voice moved, shifting to the far end of the hallway.

"But have you thought about why I haven't killed you yet? All your friends are dead," she said with a chuckle, the words hitting me harder than I wanted to admit.

She wasn't wrong. Why wasn't I dead yet?

"Don't flatter yourself into thinking you're special," she added, her tone sharp.

Before I could react, pain exploded in my arm. I staggered back, glancing down to see an arrow—no, something made of shadow—piercing my bicep. My gun slipped slightly from my grip, but I managed to hold on.

Another arrow came faster than I could react, slamming into my chest and throwing me backward. I hit the wall with a sickening thud, my vision swimming as my head spun.

The shadowy arrow pinned me to the wall like a helpless insect.

As my vision blurred, I saw a figure emerge from the shadows, her steps deliberate and unhurried. She moved with an air of confidence, no hesitation in her stride.

"Do you want to know why you're still alive?" she asked, her voice cold, yet somehow playful.

I couldn't answer. My body was too weak to move, my strength fading fast as the shadow arrow burned against my chest.

"It's because you're the last one standing," she said, summoning a shadowy sword in her right hand. Its blade glinted like obsidian under faint light. "And I was getting bored waiting for your boss to send me new toys."

"Okay, that was fun as hell," Rin muttered to herself, her tone light and amused as she walked toward the door where the bodies of the imp and the scientists lay. The imp had been busy, devouring the bodies in order to increase its intelligence, though the results had been less than stellar. Rin wasn't disappointed, though; she wasn't expecting miracles. The imp, or Fiend as she liked to call it, had potential, but it needed time to grow stronger.

This particular base was one of many where mutants had been brought in and experimented on, hoping to turn them into super soldiers. But this was still early in the timeline. The anti-mutant weapons were far from being developed yet, and these experiments hadn't reached their peak potential. She didn't mind, though—it meant fewer obstacles for her to deal with, and she could move quickly.

Her objective was clear: destroy everything related to this organization and find those responsible. She had been picking off pieces of this puzzle for weeks, and today, she was closer than ever. The bodies of the scientists and the other soldiers had all served a purpose—now she just had to finish the job.

As she entered the room, she saw Fiend, sprawled on the floor, his stomach swollen from his feast. His little goblin form was comically at rest, chest rising and falling in the rhythm of a deep sleep. Rin rolled her eyes. It was always like this. Still, she couldn't deny that the creature had its uses.

She walked over to a nearby chair, seating herself and turning her attention to the computer. The screen flickered to life, revealing the files she had been combing through. The base might not have had mutants on-site, but the connection to other organizations could be valuable. If this group was linked to something larger, something deeper, it could help her take down multiple birds with one stone. Destroying this base would not only eliminate a growing threat but also keep her busy, filling the void of her boredom for a while longer.

Rin smiled, tapping her fingers on the desk. "First things first, destroy this organization, and then—" She glanced at the still-sleeping imp, then back at the computer. "And then we'll deal with the rest."

After spending what felt like hours combing through the organization's fragmented data, Rin leaned back in her chair, stretching her arms. The organization operated in isolated cells, rarely working together, which made tracking their full scope infuriatingly difficult. But she'd pieced together enough to know that this wasn't the last base she'd find. She was just about to move on when a sudden shift in her surroundings sent a chill down her spine.

Her shadow senses flared. Someone, no, multiple figures, had entered the perimeter.

One...two...three, she counted in her mind. Then one disappeared, replaced by two more. And suddenly there were five. They moved with precision, their presence fleeting but deliberate, like they were testing the waters before closing in.

Her fingers tensed. They're coming for me.

"I have two options," Rin muttered under her breath, her eyes darting toward the sleeping Fiend. The imp lay sprawled out, entirely useless in his current state. "Fight them...or run away."

She considered her options carefully. Running might be smarter—she had the data she needed, and leaving now would save her the trouble of dealing with this unexpected intrusion. But then she thought about how utterly boring running away would be.

"Ugh, running's no fun," she groaned, summoning her mask, [Definitely Not Me], and fitting it snugly over her face.

Standing in the dimly lit room, Rin stretched her arms and cracked her neck, her lips curling into a sly grin.

"Alright, then," she whispered to herself, her voice dripping with excitement. "Come at me. Let's see what you've got."