BOOM!
THUD!
BOOM!
Hawk had been watching the birth of the Phoenix Cloth when, without warning, the Demon Hulk's massive hand tore through the mountain, seized him, and hurled him outside.
His body tore through the air, friction igniting sparks around him, before he slammed into the grasslands, bounced, and skidded across the earth like a broken meteor.
Until—
BANG!
He struck the golden dome of Wakanda's vibranium shield. His vision blurred. In the next instant, he was thrown beyond its barrier, crashing heavily into the plains outside.
The ground caved in.
The sound of impact echoed like a meteor strike, scattering cattle and sheep across the fields in panicked stampedes.
And startling, too, the newly arrived S.H.I.E.L.D. team.
At their lead was none other than Maria Hill.
She hadn't come chasing Hawk—her mission had been Bruce Banner. The man had vanished from New York. When his signal reappeared, it was in Africa. Strangely, Hawk's location had pinged in the same region.
So she came. Too late.
When Hill and her team arrived, they found carnage: broken bodies, scattered weapons, a battlefield already emptied of its main combatants.
But then—impact thundered. Smoke billowed. And their eyes were drawn back to the forest.
"What the hell…"
"Wait—listen!"
A low, furious roar rolled out from the trees. Closer. Louder.
And then—
BOOM!
The Demon Hulk erupted from the forest's edge, his massive frame blotting out the sky, descending like a mountain falling from the heavens. His hellfire eyes locked on Hawk, still prone in the crater. With a cruel grin, he raised his foot and stomped down.
KRAKOOM—
The plains split beneath the strike, shockwaves tearing outward like a tidal wave. Dirt and grass blasted skyward. Smoke and dust swallowed everything.
"Shit!"
"It's Hulk—but black?!"
"How the hell did he get out here?"
S.H.I.E.L.D. agents gaped, their voices cracking.
High above, Maria Hill narrowed her eyes, studying the forest where the two monsters had emerged.
On the ground, the smoke cleared.
"HUULK!!"
"DIE!!"
The Demon Hulk's giant foot pressed downward, hellfire blazing in his eyes as he glared at his prey.
Half-buried in the soil, Hawk braced himself, arms locked, straining against the crushing weight. His cosmos burned like a raging sun, the outline of the Phoenix Cloth flickering into being around him.
With a roar, Hawk forced the massive foot upward. Power surged from his body like a tidal wave.
"HUULK!!!"
CRASH!
The Demon Hulk's body toppled, slamming into the earth hard enough to carve another crater.
Hawk floated upward, battered, bleeding, clothes shredded until only a ruined pair of trousers clung to him. Blood shimmered like golden starlight under the African sun.
But in a few breaths, the wounds closed. His cosmos burned away the damage. By the time he steadied himself, only torn clothing betrayed the battle's toll.
Across from him, the Demon Hulk rose again, wiping dirt from his head with a hand the size of a truck. Hellfire eyes locked onto Hawk.
And then—
Hawk froze.
Someone was watching him through those flames.
No illusion. No mistake.
Within the hellfire, a figure appeared: a man with a neatly trimmed beard, a mocking grin, and the aura of infernal nobility.
The Demon Hulk's movements halted, his burning eyes flaring brighter as the figure's voice echoed from within them, deep and hollow like it came straight from the abyss.
"My name—"
"Mephisto."
Hawk's eyes narrowed sharply.
Mephisto.
The Lord of Hell himself.
"You've been whispering my name often," Mephisto's voice drawled, casual and taunting, like a devil idly toying with his prey. "Now that I'm here, why do you look afraid?"
Hawk said nothing, eyes locked on the apparition.
"So the Demon Hulk exists… because of you."
"Of course," Mephisto replied lightly, inspecting his hand as if bored. Then his grin widened. "You asked Hulk to carry a message to me when he went to hell. I heard it. Don't worry—your sister is perfectly safe. I gave you my word, didn't I? As long as you live, I'll protect her. Wouldn't want you to get a chance to kill me over it."
Hawk's chest tightened. He forced out the words.
"…Thank you."
"No need to thank me." Mephisto's smile curved crueler. "But I must admit—I'm disappointed. I expected more from you. Yet you struggle even against a toy I tossed back onto the board. If this is your limit, what gives you the audacity to threaten me?"
The truth hit Hawk like ice.
It hadn't been chance. Mephisto had remade Hulk, twisted him with hellfire, and thrown him back just to watch the show.
To Mephisto, the so-called Demon Hulk was nothing but a durable plaything.
Even the Sorcerer Supreme could pull Hulk's soul from his body with a single spell. Compared to the Lord of Hell, Hulk was nothing.
Mephisto leaned forward, his grin widening. "I'll leave you now. Survive, and your sister remains safe. Die… and I'll welcome you personally to my hell."
His form dissolved into chaotic flame.
The Demon Hulk stirred, shaking off his trance. His roar shattered the silence, and he charged again.
"HUULK—SLASH!!"
His massive arms swung together like a titan clapping hands, the shockwave scything the earth into ribbons.
But Hawk was already gone, flickering into afterimages behind him.
The monster spun, fist swinging. Hawk answered with his own strike.
BOOM—
The ground ripped open, sonic clouds bursting from the clash. Hawk was thrown back, blood at his lips.
"Damn it," he hissed. "He's stronger again."
Even as he recovered midair, his cosmos blazed.
And within it—
A golden light flickered.
The Phoenix Cloth, at last, was complete.
…
(End of Chapter)
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