At Drax's words, everyone turned to look at the Red Hulk.
The towering giant was impossible to ignore.
Still, very few agreed with Drax's opinion that the creature looked like him.
At least, Tony Stark certainly didn't.
To Tony, the Red Hulk looked far more like Bruce Banner after transforming into the Hulk.
That thought sparked a strange idea in his mind.
"Could this be another monster created from Hulk serum?"
It wasn't an unreasonable guess.
Over the past several months, Earth had seen more and more monsters like this, each one terrifyingly powerful.
Although Abomination had died...
His existence had changed the world forever.
He had proven that true superhuman evolution was possible.
The original Super Soldier Serum could push the human body beyond its normal limits and awaken hidden potential.
But even at its peak, it merely brought someone to the limit of human capability.
Steve Rogers was the perfect recipient of that serum.
Even so, he could not escape its inherent limitations.
The Hulk Serum was completely different.
The Hulk's power had already surpassed everything humanity believed possible.
Even now, countless people still coveted that unimaginable strength.
Of course...
The Hulk wasn't the only object of their desire.
Thor's divine power...
And Nolan's extraordinary strength...
Were equally irresistible temptations.
The difference was that Abomination's serum was the easiest to obtain.
Thor's power came from the divine bloodline of Asgard.
That kind of power had already surpassed the limits of human science.
As for Nolan...
People had once believed he possessed little personal combat ability.
But recent events had completely shattered that misconception.
The world now knew how frightening Nolan truly was.
Ironically...
That only made him untouchable.
When Nolan had supposedly been "just an ordinary man," every nation on Earth had already found him impossible to deal with.
Now that he had evolved into someone whose personal strength rivaled legends...
No one would dare target him.
Today, Nolan stood in a class entirely of his own.
Every government on Earth had no choice but to consider his influence before making any decision involving him.
Bruce Banner stared curiously at the Red Hulk.
Then he walked forward.
As he moved, his body rapidly transformed.
Within moments...
The enormous Green Hulk stood upon the battlefield.
He clenched his fists.
Rolled his neck.
Loosened his muscles.
"Leave this oversized brute to me."
"I've always wanted to find out..."
"Who's stronger?"
"Him..."
"Or me?"
No one objected.
Truthfully...
They were curious as well.
Since there were no immediate threats besides the monster itself...
Watching two Hulks settle the question sounded perfectly reasonable.
Bruce fixed his eyes on the Red Hulk.
The creature possessed no intelligence whatsoever.
Its eyes were filled only with bloodlust and savagery.
Reasoning with it was impossible.
Bruce knew this battle mattered.
Soon, they would face Thanos.
His greatest weakness had always been his lack of combat experience.
The original Hulk...
The raging personality everyone called Hulk...
Had merged into him.
That personality no longer existed independently.
Bruce's own consciousness now dominated the transformation.
But because he retained his intelligence...
He could no longer unleash the Hulk's instinctive ferocity.
He lacked battle instincts.
He lacked combat techniques.
Most importantly...
He lacked the overwhelming desire to fight.
And that was something he desperately needed to change.
In the past...
He hadn't cared.
The Hulk's overwhelming strength had always been enough to crush nearly every opponent.
Bruce himself had never enjoyed fighting.
But after facing Thanos...
He finally understood how insignificant that confidence really was.
Only by combining strength with skill could he hope to survive against someone like Thanos.
Whether he liked fighting or not no longer mattered.
Thanos threatened the entire universe.
Running away was no longer an option.
Looking around, Bruce grabbed a wrecked car and hurled it at the Red Hulk.
The Red Hulk casually slapped the vehicle aside.
Then, in return...
He seized an enormous boulder and threw it straight at Bruce.
Bruce had seen the Red Hulk knock the car away so easily.
He assumed he could do the same.
He was wrong.
The massive rock smashed squarely into his face.
Boom!
Bruce was sent flying across the street.
"Damn it..."
Bruce shoved the shattered rock off himself and cursed.
He had thought he could block that attack just like the Red Hulk had.
Clearly...
He couldn't.
Thor laughed.
"Hey, Banner."
"You both turn into Hulks."
"So why does it feel like there's such a huge difference between the two of you?"
As he spoke, Stormbreaker spun effortlessly through his fingers like a toy.
"The fight's only just started."
Bruce shot back irritably.
But the instant he turned his head...
The Red Hulk stomped the ground.
Boom!
Like a charging tank, it launched itself straight at Bruce.
Before Bruce could even turn back around...
The monster slammed headfirst into him.
Bruce flew backward again, crashing heavily into a nearby building.
Thor shrugged.
Then wisely shut his mouth.
Sure, teasing Bruce was entertaining.
But he had no desire to watch his friend actually lose.
They were teammates.
Jokes were one thing.
Victory was another.
Unfortunately...
Thor's silence changed nothing.
Bruce became little more than a punching bag.
The Red Hulk tossed him around like a rag doll.
Thankfully...
Bruce's body was incredibly durable.
Although he looked miserable...
He wasn't seriously injured.
Still...
He finally admitted something.
He couldn't handle this opponent alone.
After another brutal beating left him dizzy...
Bruce helplessly turned toward the others.
"I've thought about it."
"Maybe I should save my combat training for another day."
"Right now..."
"I need some help."
"If we don't stop this thing soon..."
"It'll destroy the whole street."
Tony immediately grinned.
"Now that's something I can work with."
Without hesitation...
He blasted into the air.
His Vibranium Armor accelerated instantly.
At full speed...
He slammed a punch into the Red Hulk's head.
The impact knocked the giant's face sideways.
The Red Hulk slowly turned toward Tony, its expression filled with fury.
Tony merely smirked.
"Hey, big guy."
"If you've got a problem..."
"Come after me."
"Maybe you'll actually catch me."
"And if you do..."
"You can beat me up all you want."
As if understanding the challenge...
The Red Hulk stomped the ground.
The earth shattered beneath its feet.
Its enormous body shot toward Tony like a missile.
Fortunately...
Tony wasn't Bruce Banner.
Even if his own reflexes couldn't match the monster's speed...
J.A.R.V.I.S. could.
The artificial intelligence instantly took control of the armor.
Before Tony consciously reacted...
The suit had already dodged sideways.
The Red Hulk's punch struck nothing but air.
The monster roared in frustration.
Its murderous gaze locked firmly onto Tony.
At that moment...
Thor stepped forward.
Stormbreaker rose into the sky.
Thunderclouds gathered instantly.
Lightning descended from every direction, pouring into the axe until it blazed with divine power.
Looking at the Red Hulk, who hadn't even noticed him...
Thor frowned.
"Hey!"
"Look over here!"
His frustration from losing to Thanos still burned inside him.
Now...
He finally had something worthy of venting that anger upon.
The Red Hulk turned toward the sound.
Before it could fully face him...
Thor hurled Stormbreaker.
Wrapped in endless lightning...
The divine axe tore through the air.
The Red Hulk reacted astonishingly fast.
Its mind hadn't fully processed the attack...
But its body already had.
Instead of dodging...
It reached out to catch the weapon.
Seeing that...
Thor smiled.
"You think Stormbreaker is that easy to catch?"
The next instant...
The Red Hulk successfully grabbed the axe handle.
But at the same time...
Boundless lightning exploded from Stormbreaker.
The divine electricity surged across the giant's entire body.
In an instant...
The Red Hulk was scorched black from head to toe.
Even so...
It didn't fall.
Its durability and regenerative ability exceeded everyone's expectations.
Thor didn't hesitate.
He charged.
He had no intention of giving the monster time to recover.
Grabbing Stormbreaker once more...
He unleashed another torrent of lightning.
Unable to endure the divine energy any longer...
The Red Hulk instinctively released its grip.
Thor caught Stormbreaker midair.
Then...
He brought it crashing down with all his might.
This time...
The Red Hulk had no chance to respond.
Stormbreaker, wrapped in overwhelming lightning, struck the giant squarely.
Boom!
The Red Hulk collapsed to the ground.
Thor exhaled slowly.
"The fight's over."
His expression remained perfectly calm.
Hawkeye and the others stared at him in stunned silence.
When S.H.I.E.L.D. began developing the Mjolnir Armor...
Thor had always been one of their primary benchmarks.
After all...
They hadn't invested such staggering resources solely to prepare for Thanos.
Asgard itself had also been considered a potential threat.
According to their previous assessments...
An ordinary human wearing the Mjolnir Armor should have been able to compete with someone like Thor.
After all...
Nolan had once completely overwhelmed Thor while wearing the same armor.
If Nolan could do it...
Surely the gap couldn't be that large.
Reality proved otherwise.
Clint Barton was already among the strongest humans alive.
Wearing the Mjolnir Armor...
He had been completely overwhelmed by the Red Hulk.
Even Bruce Banner's Hulk had struggled badly.
Yet when Thor entered the battle...
Everything ended almost instantly.
Was an Asgardian god really this powerful?
The answer completely overturned everything they thought they knew about Asgard.
Many people on Earth had begun believing that humanity's current technological advancements had finally placed Earth on equal footing with Asgard.
Now...
That belief seemed laughably naive.
The gap remained enormous.
Still...
The important thing was that the Red Hulk had been defeated.
Steve Rogers walked over to Thor.
"I thought I'd already overestimated your strength."
"I never imagined you'd become this powerful."
Thor laughed loudly.
"Back then, I hadn't fully awakened."
"I've experienced two awakenings since then."
"I'm nothing like I used to be."
Steve nodded.
"Then how do you compare to Nolan?"
"And what about Thanos?"
"Do you think you can defeat him?"
Thor's smile slowly disappeared.
"One day..."
"I'll surpass both of them."
That single sentence already answered everything.
Tony Stark stepped forward.
"This trip into space wasn't just about finding the Guardians of the Galaxy."
"We also fought Thanos."
"Twice."
The atmosphere instantly grew heavy.
Finding the Guardians had always been their mission.
That part was good news.
Fighting Thanos...
Had never been part of the plan.
Steve carefully looked over everyone.
Only then did he relax slightly.
He had expected casualties.
Yet somehow...
Everyone who had left Earth had returned.
Scott Lang frowned.
"Is Thanos really that powerful?"
He still couldn't shake the feeling that Doctor Strange had exaggerated the Mad Titan's strength.
Tony's expression turned grave.
"Thanos..."
"Is far stronger than any of us ever imagined."
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