When they arrived, Matthew revealed something even more beyond common sense.
That terrifying aura—so overwhelming it felt almost tangible—instantly engulfed the entire ship.
Although that force wasn't directed at them, they could still vaguely sense the sheer destructive power contained within it. The entire vessel, and even the surrounding sea, seemed to be violently shaken and suppressed by that astonishing presence.
The once-calm ocean suddenly churned into chaos.
The ship trembled violently, rocking without end.
Aside from the three men inside the interrogation room with Reacher, everyone else on the ship had died.
The shock of that scene—both visually and mentally—was something no one present would ever forget for the rest of their lives.
"Well then, we'll talk next time. I still have work to do." Karla waved casually and headed into the ship's interior as well.
Watching her disappearing figure, Reacher turned to Matthew. "So, what are you planning to do next?"
Matthew looked at him and asked instead, "Don't you want to know who that important person is?"
"Who?"
Matthew's voice during the interrogation earlier had been low, and much of it had been drowned out by the sound of the storm and the waves. Reacher hadn't heard clearly, so he was genuinely curious about this so-called "big shot."
"Alexander Pierce."
Reacher's heart jolted violently, and he frowned. "The Secretary of the World Security Council?"
"Not just that," Matthew said calmly. "He's also Hydra's leader."
"What?"
Rumble—
A bolt of thunder exploded across the sky, and at the same time, it felt like one had detonated inside Reacher's chest.
His pupils contracted.
For a moment, he could hardly believe what he had just heard.
"Hydra… as in that Hydra?"
Matthew gave him a look that clearly said what else would it be?
Reacher took a deep breath and forcibly suppressed the shock surging inside him.
Countless thoughts flashed through his mind in rapid succession. It took him quite a while before he finally sorted through the chaos.
"Looks like I need to start preparing in advance."
He understood Matthew's personality very well.
Alexander Pierce was one of those people who stood at the very top—whether in public or in the shadows. The kind of man whose power was so immense that, if he wanted to, crushing someone like Reacher would be effortless.
But Matthew…
Matthew would never care about titles like "important figure."
His personality was far too sharp, too fearless. He was the kind of person who feared neither heaven nor earth.
Fortunately, he wasn't arrogant.
He was bold—but careful.
Still, once they moved against Alexander Pierce, the consequences would be enormous. The shockwaves it created would be on an entirely different level from what had happened in Margreave.
"There's no need to be that nervous," Matthew said, patting Reacher on the shoulder.
"He won't die that easily."
…
Washington, D.C., United States.
Inside a private standalone villa.
The night had grown deep.
After the maid left, only one person remained in the living room.
A middle-aged man sat on a barstool in a quiet, dimly lit living room, a glass of whiskey resting in front of him.
He wore a black sweater and loose-fitting pants, with slippers on his feet. His short blond hair was neatly trimmed, and his fair complexion carried an inherent authority—an unspoken pressure that made it clear he was not someone to be disobeyed.
He removed his glasses and set them on the bar, then lifted the glass and took a slow sip.
At that moment, his phone rang sharply on the counter. He picked it up and answered.
"Sir, the ship has completely lost contact. Our search turned up nothing useful."
"Nothing at all?"
His expression didn't change in the slightest, though his voice turned slightly colder.
"Yes, sir. The vessel was following its planned route, but all communication and signals suddenly cut off. It's likely someone activated signal jamming. Our team searched the area where contact was lost, but we found no wreckage. We can rule out a sinking caused by an explosion."
"At the time, the sea area was under overcast weather, with heavy clouds blocking satellite surveillance."
"It seems our Mr. Reacher has more backing than we expected."
He said this meaningfully, then fell silent for a moment before continuing.
"For now, abandon the capture operation. Switch to covert investigation. We cannot let Fury become aware of our involvement."
"Yes, sir."
"Jack Reacher… Matthew Brown…"
"Just how long do you think you can keep hiding?"
A faint, cold voice echoed through the silent living room.
Beyond the glow of the bar light, the entire villa was swallowed by darkness. The shifting shadows on the walls seemed almost alive, as if they might devour him at any moment.
...
In Minnesota, there was a small town called "Devil's Kettle," named after the local Devil's Kettle Falls.
The town was remote, isolated, and wrapped in a strange, unsettling atmosphere.
At the falls, the river would plunge into a massive whirlpool in the rocks—then simply vanish, as if swallowed by the earth itself. According to local legend, it was an entrance to Hell.
There was another story passed down as well: on nights of the waning moon, if someone sacrificed a virgin to Satan, the one who performed the ritual would rise to wealth and success.
It had always been treated as nothing more than folklore, something most locals didn't take seriously.
But half a month ago, everything changed.
Disaster descended, and fear and despair swallowed the entire town.
Because the demon from the legend had appeared.
For reasons unknown, a beautiful high school girl had, around two weeks earlier, seemed to become possessed. She began luring young men… and then devouring them.
At first, the disappearances didn't draw much attention. Missing teenagers were easy to dismiss in a remote town.
But as the numbers kept rising, people finally realized something was terribly wrong.
Only then did they discover, in horror, that more than twenty people had already gone missing.
When the local police began investigating, a report filed by a high school girl named Needy caught their attention.
According to her statement, she had a childhood friend named Jennifer.
Unlike Needy—a quiet, glasses-wearing bookish girl who didn't care much about appearance—Jennifer was beautiful, popular, and the kind of girl who stood out wherever she went. She dreamed of leaving the town for the big city.
Everything had been normal until half a month ago, when Jennifer began acting like a completely different person.
One night, Needy returned home and found Jennifer standing there covered in blood, her lips stained red, behaving in a deeply disturbing way.
She even opened the refrigerator and ate frozen raw meat, before vomiting up large amounts of black blood.
Terrified, Needy froze in shock—before Jennifer suddenly fled the house.
The next day at school, however, Jennifer was back to normal. Beautiful, composed, popular… and completely unaware of what had happened the night before.
From that day on, Needy noticed more and more people going missing—among them Jennifer's ex-boyfriend, and many of the boys who admired her.
Unease began to grow in Needy's heart.
Until one night, she followed Jennifer and witnessed her lure a young man into a small forest.
What followed was a scene of pure horror. Jennifer revealed grotesque fangs, her mouth stretching impossibly wide, and she tore the young man apart alive, devouring him completely.
Needy fled in terror and immediately reported it to the police.
But when officers arrived at the forest, they found nothing.
When they later located Jennifer, she was simply at home, as if nothing had ever happened.
It was as though everything Needy described had been nothing more than a hallucination.
Her report was dismissed as a prank, and she was even reprimanded by the police.
But by the time the investigation was finally taken seriously, it was already too late.
A strange fog suddenly enveloped Devil's Kettle.
The townspeople tried to leave, only to discover that the roads leading out of town had vanished without a trace.
Everyone was trapped.
Completely sealed inside the town.
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