Floating high in the air, Ethan Blake remained completely still. Yet any Chitauri that came within his range were instantly crushed into fragments.
Within a radius of one thousand meters around him, the sky had become a forbidden zone.
No Chitauri soldier could survive there.
Ethan positioned himself directly beneath the portal.
Nearly three quarters of the Chitauri pouring out of the opening were destroyed the moment they emerged. The remaining quarter weren't spared because Ethan showed mercy, but because the number of enemies flooding out was simply too large.
His mind had limits. Even with telekinesis operating at full capacity, he couldn't eliminate every single one instantly.
Although the slaughter itself felt satisfying, Ethan found one detail slightly disappointing.
The Chitauri's soul quality was extremely low.
On average, killing one only increased the summoning energy bar by about 0.05%.
Ethan suspected it was related to their strange physiology. The Chitauri were half biological and half mechanical. Because of that hybrid structure, their souls were weak and incomplete.
Even so, the sheer quantity made up for the poor quality.
With Ethan blocking the portal like a living gatekeeper, the summoning energy progress bar was already approaching two hundred percent.
If quality couldn't provide enough energy, then quantity would.
Tony Stark arrived on the battlefield before Captain America and the others.
When he saw the scene in front of him—Ethan hovering in the sky while thousands of alien soldiers were crushed around him—Tony couldn't help exclaiming through the comms.
"Wow… Ethan. I'm really glad I didn't piss you off."
"Stop talking nonsense," Ethan replied calmly. "Handle the ones that slip past me."
"Got it."
Tony immediately accelerated away, targeting the Chitauri that managed to escape Ethan's telekinetic barrier.
Not long after, Captain America and the others also arrived on the battlefield.
High above them, on the rooftop of Stark Tower, Loki and a hooded figure quietly observed the chaos below.
The hooded figure stared at Ethan floating in the air.
"So that's the native who worries you," the figure said slowly. "Interesting tricks. But his telekinesis still falls short compared to Ebony Maw."
Loki smiled faintly as he twirled his scepter.
"If that's the case, then I'll leave him to you, Lady Supergiant."
The hooded figure slowly lowered the hood.
Blue skin was revealed beneath it, along with an extremely beautiful face. Her appearance was alluring, but her eyes were deep and unsettling, like a pair of endless abysses.
Supergiant.
One of the five generals of the Black Order under Thanos, a master of mind control.
Supergiant smiled faintly.
"I'll deal with him soon enough," she said calmly. "But before that, I've found someone much more interesting."
Loki blinked in confusion and followed her gaze.
In a distant corner of the battlefield, Bruce Banner stood awkwardly among the chaos.
Banner looked around nervously, clearly unsure what he should do.
Should he let Hulk out?
Banner hesitated for a long moment before abandoning the idea.
The current situation, although chaotic, wasn't completely out of control. If Hulk appeared now, Banner feared things might become even worse.
Loki frowned slightly.
"Is there something special about him?"
Since Hawkeye hadn't been controlled earlier, Loki had never discovered Banner's true condition.
Supergiant's smile widened slightly.
"There's a monster inside him," she said quietly. "A monster that even frightens me."
Her eyes gleamed with amusement.
"I think it would be entertaining to unleash it against the man you mentioned."
With those words, Supergiant focused her gaze on Banner.
Her mind-control ability activated silently.
Banner stood in the middle of the battlefield, watching civilians flee in panic while explosions echoed through the streets.
For some reason, irritation suddenly began rising in his chest.
Then anger.
A powerful urge to destroy everything appeared in his mind without warning.
What's happening to me?
Banner's thoughts barely formed before the growing rage drowned them out.
Reason disappeared beneath a tidal wave of fury.
Hulk appeared.
"HULK—!!"
The roar thundered across the battlefield.
Hulk's body began swelling rapidly as he roared. Muscles expanded violently, bones cracking and reforming as his already massive frame grew even larger.
Hulk had originally stood just over three meters tall.
Now he grew to nearly five meters.
Anger was the source of Hulk's strength.
The more furious he became, the more powerful he grew.
And at this moment, Hulk's rage had reached an unprecedented level.
His roar echoed across the entire battlefield.
Captain America, who was currently smashing through a group of Chitauri with his shield, immediately frowned when he heard it.
He pressed the communicator beside his ear.
"Natasha," Steve said. "Didn't you tell Banner not to transform unless things got really bad?"
"…Well," Natasha replied helplessly, "maybe some Chitauri pissed him off."
"Wow. Giant Hulk mode," Tony's voice echoed across the Avengers' comms. "That's actually pretty cool."
Hawkeye spoke next.
"There's only one thing I want to know right now. Is he going to attack us?"
"Probably not," Natasha began. "As long as we don't treat him like an—"
She stopped speaking mid-sentence.
Because Hulk had suddenly launched himself into the air like a massive artillery shell.
His target was Ethan.
Meanwhile, Ethan was still crushing Chitauri soldiers beneath the portal.
Although the killing felt satisfying, Ethan had not completely lost himself in it. His observation senses remained fully active, constantly monitoring everything happening around him.
The timeline had already changed.
Ethan still didn't know which member of the Black Order had arrived on Earth, but he knew one thing for certain.
None of them were weak.
Every single one of Thanos's generals was dangerous.
Because of that, Ethan remained extremely cautious.
He had also heard Hulk's earlier roar.
At first, Ethan had wondered who had managed to make Hulk so furious. He even felt a bit of sympathy for whoever Hulk was about to fight.
After all, everyone knew Hulk became stronger the angrier he got.
Then Ethan suddenly saw the massive green figure flying directly toward him.
…What the hell?
When did I provoke you?
Looking at the five-meter-tall Hulk charging toward him, Ethan felt a brief wave of nervousness.
He didn't dare try to stop Hulk using a telekinetic barrier. Instead, he instantly teleported away to dodge the attack.
Fine.
You're the Hulk.
I can't beat you, but I can definitely avoid you.
Except…
The moment Ethan reappeared somewhere else, Hulk immediately locked onto him again and launched another attack.
It was as if Hulk had completely identified Ethan as his target.
Ethan's expression darkened slightly.
Even a clay statue had its limits before anger ignited.
And Ethan had never been known for having a particularly calm temper.
Three thousand tons of telekinetic force suddenly erupted.
The invisible power seized Hulk's ankle and hurled him several kilometers away.
At that moment, however, Ethan realized something was wrong.
He knew very well that when Banner transformed into Hulk, he didn't lose all rationality. Hulk's personality was simple and impulsive, but he wasn't normally this completely unhinged.
Right now, Hulk looked like a feral beast.
Something was very wrong.
The more Ethan thought about it, the more certain he became.
There was only one explanation.
Hulk had been controlled.
....
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