"Hello, I'm Ophelia, from Hungary."
She took a drag of her cigarette, slowly exhaled the smoke, and said in Hungarian-accented English: "I'm sorry for soiling your coffee, but I believe you wouldn't mind making another cup for me as well."
"Do you like drinking coffee at night?" Shiller asked, looking at her.
"It depends. If I intend to go to sleep early, of course, I will not. But tonight is bound to be an interesting one, don't you think?" Ophelia's voice was normal, her tone didn't possess a coquettish playful flirtation, yet she still managed to capture one's complete attention.
Shiller sat in his chair, looking her over while recalling the image of Natasha in his mind. Comparing the two women's allure, he thought that perhaps because he wasn't a target of Black Widow's mission, Natasha hadn't deliberately tempted him. Therefore, he felt that Lady Hydra was more enticing.
"What are you thinking about?" Ophelia leaned forward, placing her elbow on the table, supporting her chin, and asked by looking into Shiller's eyes.
"I'm thinking about another woman," Shiller replied.
Ophelia fell silent.
"Are you trying to deliberately provoke me?" Ophelia leaned back, but her gaze remained locked on Shiller's eyes, "You've killed many people recently, some of them were on my side."
"Yes, you had your moles planted in Pierce's operation, only to have them all turned into traitors," Shiller said, "Don't give me that fierce look, I'm just stating a fact."
"Regardless, your time has come, Doctor." Ophelia glared at Shiller, who raised one hand and said, "Wait, let me make a phone call."
Anger was now barely hidden on Ophelia's face, but Shiller walked to the telephone table by the door, dialed a number, and said to the person on the other end, "Go ahead."
With a loud "crack", a bolt of lightning struck the rooftop of the newly renovated old bank. A few seconds later, an explosion-headed woman burst out of the window screaming, "Doctor!! I will kill you!!!"
Following that, the sky brightened again as another bolt of lightning struck. Ophelia was unable to avoid it and was blasted away. When she got up, her body was radiating a black energy.
This energy formed around her like a shield, she looked up and roared, "Who is it?! Show yourself!!"
In response, the lightning strikes continued relentlessly. With the frequency of the strikes, Ophelia didn't dare to resist using her energy shield. She kept moving, and the lightning strikes chased her around New York State.
Soon enough, this extraordinary weather phenomenon attracted many spectators. Many Hydra agents recognized the figure enveloped in dark energy as the renowned Lady Hydra.
Above the clouds, Loki held Mjölnir in one hand and a globe in the other. Streaks of lightning descended from the hammer, chasing Lady Hydra and forcing her to flee in desperation.
Ophelia had given thought to countering the attack and wished to fly up to see the source of the lightning strikes. The problem was that she was running out of energy. Maintaining the shield left her unable to maintain flight, and vice versa.
She didn't have a physical body capable of withstanding these terrible lightning strikes. Everything depended on the dark energy. Just as she was trying to draw more from it, she found that the demon god she was contracted with was unreachable.
Ophelia was near frantic. She didn't communicate with that great entity often but each time she could borrow substantial power. This was her lifeline, but right now, Xeseon was unresponsive no matter how urgently she called. Despite Ophelia's pleas, the Great Shadow Cision remained silent.
So, what was Xeseon doing exactly?
In the Grand Shadow Dimension imbued with Chaotic Energy, a redhead girl holding her arms said, ".... it's not that we want to change the terms temporarily, it's that the Demon Gods of the Hell Dimension have united in protest, claiming that the Holy Sanctuary's terms for you were too generous. This, they say, is disrespectful to them as old clients."
"But I'm stronger than them!" Xeseon roared, "Don't you know that? Haven't you noticed that you're much stronger than those useless contractors?"
"Cut it out." Wanda snorted coldly, "Don't think I don't know. Aside from me, you've groomed quite a few secret followers, all human females, just what are you up to?"
Wanda made a somewhat disgusted face, "That reminds me of certain philandering scumbags, who say that they treat me best on the surface, but secretly say the same to all other girls...."
In truth, Xeseon couldn't fully comprehend what she was talking about. He felt that the emotions of humans as organisms were too volatile, completely unfathomable to him. His contractor Wanda seemed to only have two states in a day, angry and very angry.
There was a reason for Wanda's attitude. As a mutant herself, she had extraordinary abilities. She could even apply her reality-altering powers to Xeseon.
As long as she believed herself to be Xeseon's follower, she could provide him with an endless supply of tremendous Faith Power. Simply put, it was Xeseon who was courting Wanda.
While Wanda was making a scene on this end, Ophelia incessantly called Xeseon. Although Xeseon didn't understand Wanda's emotions, his instincts told him that if he accepted another follower's call at this point, let alone doing business with the Holy Sanctuary, he would lose his Earth Agent.
So as Ophelia continuously called, Xeseon continuously hung up. Ophelia was then left with no choice but to use the small amount of remaining Dark Energy for self-preservation, unable to counterstrike.
However, the amount of energy her body could store was limited. Soon, the stockpile dwindled. Ophelia was forced to focus on evasion, unlike before, where she could dodge one blow and tank two.
At this point, the lightning strike changed its strategy, becoming denser, driving Ophelia to constantly move.
She was chased from her starting point in New York State, passed Mexico, and went through Colombia, passing through Brazil, arriving in Argentina, and then was forced to cross the Pacific Ocean to Australia.
Then from Madagascar, she headed north, passing through Congo, Sudan, Egypt, and the entirety of Europe, before traversing Kazakhstan and reaching Siberia.
After she reached the endless wilderness of Siberia, a helicopter suddenly landed in front of her. A familiar figure stepped out of the aircraft.
"Evan Brown?!?!" A disheveled, seemingly delirious Ophelia shouted: "You were supposed to be assassinated! How are you still alive?!"
"...Wait! Save me!! For the sake of being colleagues, I was betrayed by that damnable doctor!!"
Evan Brown, his hair turned white, walked forward and shook hands with Ophelia, speaking to her in Russian, "Hello. Let me reintroduce myself. My name is Yevgeny Zakharov, senior officer of the KGB."
"I went to New York in December 1977 on a long-term sleeper agent mission, and joined the Hydra New York State Division in the course of my assignment."
"With your assistance, I subsequently held positions in the IRS, the Federal Reserve, the Treasury Department, and...the U.S. Congress."
Yevgeny chuckled and said,
"Hail, Hydra."
Ophelia fell silent.