This changed a lot of what Liam had planned to do here. If Hydra was responsible for what was happening in this town, it wouldn't be as simple to solve everything as he had thought.
The thought crossed Liam's mind heavily as his eyes scanned the place and the bodies lying on the ground. His jaw tightened for just a moment before he made a decision.
"Carrie, knock him unconscious and pull out all his teeth," Liam said after thinking for a moment, his tone cold and calculated, pointing at the man without even looking at him directly. He wasn't sure if the man had some way to kill himself, like he had seen in so many stories, so he chose the safest option and decided to remove all his teeth.
The Hydra member seemed shocked when he heard that. His eyes widened and his body reacted too late, trying to bring a hand to his mouth or step back. He wanted to do something—anything—but Carrie almost instantly removed every tooth from his mouth. There was no visible movement, just a subtle gesture as her fingers closed in the air. The effect was immediate: a wet sound, a muffled scream, and blood began to pour from the Hydra member's face.
Before the metallic smell filled the room, Carrie slightly frowned and, in the next instant, burned the wounds shut, stopping the bleeding and leaving the flesh charred as the man whimpered on the floor.
Liam stepped toward the teeth and examined them. In several of them, he found what appeared to be poison—capsules that would break with the exact amount of pressure needed to kill instantly.
"I wasn't wrong. He really did have a way to kill himself hidden in his teeth," Liam said to himself.
Everyone stared at Liam and Carrie in shock at how decisive and brutal their methods were. Some took a step back, others looked away, unable to endure the scene, and the silence grew heavy.
Liam didn't care about their reaction. He stepped forward and spoke, fixing his gaze on a single person.
"You." He pointed directly at Eleven. "Can you read memories?"
Eleven nodded, doubt in her eyes. She lowered her head slightly before lifting it again. She didn't know how he knew about that ability, and the certainty in his voice unsettled her.
"Good. I need you to review all of this man's memories. He's probably responsible for everything happening in this town," Liam said, pointing at the Hydra member, his voice firm and unwavering.
At that, Eleven's expression shifted to determination. Her lips pressed together and her eyes hardened at the thought that he might be the one behind everything.
"Damn, we found the mastermind," Mike said, amazed and relieved, a nervous smile on his face as if, for the first time, he could see a real way out.
"Don't overlook anything, and write down everything you find. It could be very important for all of your futures, even if you don't understand it yet," Liam said seriously, scanning each of them to make sure they grasped the weight of his words.
As Liam looked at the dead soldiers, he couldn't help but think they were probably the ones who kidnapped Hopper and took him to Russia. His hand slowly clenched into a fist. Even so, he wasn't sure if Hopper was alive. He shouldn't have survived an explosion like the one he had seen in the series—but he would find out soon enough.
"Alright, this is yours. If he wakes up, knock him out again. Carrie, let's go," Liam said, turning on his heel and walking toward where the portal should be, without looking back.
"I'm coming with you," Steve said, adjusting the bat on his shoulder and stepping forward decisively.
Liam nodded without any issue, and they continued until they reached a room where they saw a woman crying, her trembling hands covering her face as she stared at the place where a massive explosion had occurred.
Liam moved forward without any intention of speaking to Mrs. Byers, passing right by her. The air displaced by his movement made her pause her crying and look at them, confused, her eyes red and full of uncertainty.
"Steve, who are they?" Joyce Byers asked, confused, pointing at Liam and Carrie with a mix of fear and hope.
"They helped us get rid of the monster upstairs," Steve said, trying to sound calm as he glanced at what they were doing.
While they spoke, Liam and Carrie had already entered the room where the explosion happened. Carrie was floating in front of the portal, her body suspended in the air, hands extended as if opening it. The air around her vibrated.
Seeing this, Joyce ran toward them in shock, her voice breaking. "Wait—what are you doing? Stop!"
Liam, who was searching through the room, looked at her for just a moment. Their eyes met briefly before he continued digging through the rubble.
"Mrs. Byers, they're going to help us get rid of all the monsters inside the portal," Steve explained, recounting what had happened upstairs and everything that followed, gesturing as he spoke to help her understand.
While they were talking, Liam found what he was looking for buried beneath the debris—unconscious and injured. He crouched down and began removing chunks of concrete with effort.
"You're either really tough or incredibly lucky to still be alive after that explosion," Liam said to the unconscious Hopper as he freed him.
A moment later, with nothing left on top of him, Liam lifted Hopper onto his shoulders with ease and walked back toward Joyce and Steve.
Joyce's eyes widened in shock, and tears immediately began streaming down her face. Her hands trembled.
"Hopper," she said as she ran to where Liam had laid him down on the floor.
Liam simply nodded at Joyce's relief and turned toward Carrie, who had already opened the portal. A dark, cold air poured out from it.
"Let's go," Liam said seriously, never taking his eyes off the threshold.
"Yes," Carrie replied, descending slowly until she stood on the ground.
It's time for my strength to grow rapidly.
With that, the two stepped forward into the portal. On the other side, they found an exact copy of the underground base—but darker and more toxic. The silence was oppressive, and the environment felt as though it were watching them. They moved toward the exit, staying alert at all times, listening for any sound.
Minutes later, they were outside, staring at a version of the town identical to the real one, but darker, with an oppressive sky and countless roots twisting everywhere like living veins.
"What an incredible place," Carrie said in awe, slowly spinning around. Liam had told her a little about this other dimension and what to expect, but seeing it was completely different.
"Yes—and this is only the beginning," Liam said as he spotted what looked like a demogorgon charging toward them in the distance, far faster than any car, tearing through dust and roots as it ran.
"Leave this one to me. I want to test my new strength," Liam said, never taking his eyes off the monster, flexing his fingers as if feeling the power coursing through him.
"Hmm. I'll only help if things start going badly," Carrie replied, crossing her arms but keeping her attention locked on every movement of the demogorgon, ready to intervene at any second.
Liam drew his dagger, which glowed with an intense green light, almost alive, and sprinted toward the demogorgon. As he ran at full speed, he realized with unsettling clarity that greater strength also meant greater speed. The wind slammed against his face as his body moved faster than any human should be able to.
Within seconds, he reached the demogorgon. The creature leaped at him without hesitation, slashing with its claw, the air whistling from the sheer force of the attack.
Liam avoided the strike effortlessly, tilting his torso just enough as he slashed across the demogorgon's chest. The green blade sank into its flesh, drawing a scream of pain. The creature rolled across the ground from the brutal collision, skidding nearly ten meters before stopping and carving deep grooves into the earth.
Liam calmly turned and watched as the demogorgon stood back up. Its wound was slowly regenerating, the flesh sealing unnaturally.
Taking advantage of the moment, Liam glanced at his dagger and thought: Its body is very durable. I could feel resistance even with my new strength—and this dagger should easily cut supernatural beings like a demogorgon.
The demogorgon roared and charged again.
This time, Liam was ready. He lowered his stance and waited.
When it attacked with the same claw, Liam reacted even faster than before. He stepped aside, evading the strike, and slashed toward its arm. With the force of both his strength and the demogorgon's momentum, the blade cut through. Even so, he felt resistance in the bone.
Liam gritted his teeth and pushed harder.
A moment later, the arm hit the ground and bounced violently, flying far away from the sheer impact.
"GRARGHHH!" the demogorgon screamed.
Without wasting a second, Liam continued. His left hand was already moving. He released the dagger from his right hand, and it appeared in his left mid-motion, slashing toward the creature's neck in a fluid, lethal strike.
The blade cut deep but didn't fully decapitate it, drawing another scream. Liam kicked the demogorgon in the back with all his strength, sending it crashing violently to the ground.
His right hand was already moving again. The dagger reappeared there, and he slashed the back of its neck. The head still didn't come off, but it now hung unnaturally, barely attached.
Seeing the resistance, Liam raised his foot and stomped down on the demogorgon's neck.
BAMBAMBAMCRACK
He stomped three times until bones shattered. Then he stopped. With his right hand, the green-glowing dagger slicing cleanly, he decapitated the demogorgon completely.
Even decapitated, the creature's mouth twitched as if trying to scream, the movements slow and spasmodic—until they finally stopped.
[ABILITY ACQUIRED]
"These things are tough," Liam said as he looked at the dead demogorgon. A proud smile appeared on his face as he observed the motionless body.
"Well, it was still easy. In the end, it's just a beast—no strategy, just brute force," Liam added, slowly cleaning the dagger as its green glow remained steady, as if it had only just begun.