'Banner, you're not strong at all!'
Deep inside their shared consciousness, the Hulk shouted indignantly.
The highly anticipated fusion of Bruce Banner's intellect and the Hulk's raw physique was, unfortunately, not accompanied by any actual increase in combat power. In fact, it was the exact opposite. Because Banner was actively in control, utilizing the meditative breathing techniques and anger-management suppression he had spent years mastering, the Hulk's infinite, escalating rage was completely neutralized.
Meliodas had originally held back, expecting that after the giant green beast gained intelligence, his combat power would skyrocket.
But the outcome was brutally decided in just a single, humiliating exchange.
Banner had arrogantly assumed a technical Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu starting stance and loudly declared the start of the second round. Then, he was promptly given a ruthless, supersonic beating. The martial arts techniques he had learned were utterly useless against a demon with thousands of years of combat experience. The fight between the two had reverted to a brutally simple truth: a pure contest of overwhelming physical stats, in which the suppressed Hulk fell hopelessly short.
After being thoroughly pummeled, Banner lay sprawled on his back in a crater, panting heavily.
Inside his mind, the little Hulk had fallen into a state of deep depression, throwing a tantrum and completely refusing to come out and fight any longer.
The massive green body gradually shrank, the muscle mass evaporating as he reverted to the fragile, human form of Bruce Banner.
"Not fighting anymore?" Meliodas asked, tilting his head.
Facing the demon's cold question, Banner could only continue to gasp for breath, clutching his bruised ribs.
Meliodas slowly walked over to him, giving the exhausted human a dismissive glance. Deeming the man a non-threat, he did not develop any intention to kill him.
Instead, Meliodas turned away and looked toward the iconic dome of the nearby Capitol Building. He raised his hand casually, summoning a sphere of pure, compressed demonic darkness.
"[Hellblaze: Prison Fireball]."
He flicked his wrist. The black sphere struck the Capitol Building, and the historic structure was instantly engulfed in a roaring sea of inextinguishable black fire.
His demonic wings unfurled, and his body began to ascend back into the air, resuming his programmed mandate to wreak absolute havoc around the city. Black Hellfire began to ignite everywhere he flew, melting steel and turning monuments to ash. The sound of emergency alarms was incessant.
"Hey! Natasha!"
Standing guard beside the unconscious Tony Stark, Banner used one hand to hurriedly wrap medical bandages around Tony's torso while tapping his earpiece to connect to the Avengers' encrypted comms.
"How much time more do you need?!" Banner panted, watching the black flames spread across the skyline. "We've already been completely wiped out over here!"
"We're here, Bruce!" Natasha's voice crackled over the radio. "And we've brought several allies!"
The exact moment Natasha's voice fell, the cloaked Quinjet descended rapidly, touching down on the ruined avenue with a massive rush of wind.
"Quick, help me get Tony on board," Natasha ordered, sprinting down the ramp with Hawkeye right behind her. "There are emergency medical supplies and an auto-doc inside the jet."
Tony Stark was carefully lifted out of his mangled Iron Man armor by Banner and Clint. His waist was heavily wrapped in white bandages, but the fabric over his chest was already stained deep red with blood from the Demon Sword's slash.
Banner followed the two agents as they carried Tony into the jet. And at that exact moment, the so-called "helpers" they had retrieved from New York finally stepped out onto the ramp, coming into Banner's view.
Hovering a few inches off the ground, dressed in a revealing purple outfit and holding Hawk the pig in her arms, was the Boar's Sin of Gluttony, Merlin.
Stepping heavily onto the asphalt with a body of impossibly robust, chiseled muscles, glancing down at Banner from his towering height, was the Lion's Sin of Pride, Escanor.
Adjusting his glasses, a young, expressionless man with pink hair and an androgynous appearance stepped out next. This was the Goat's Sin of Lust, Gowther.
The last remaining person, stretching his arms and yawning lazily, was the Fox's Sin of Greed, Ban, whom Banner and Tony had seen earlier on the satellite feeds.
The eccentric group of knights completely ignored Tony Stark's critically injured state and casually walked off the jet, looking up at the burning capital.
"How interesting. Is the Captain still on a rampage?" Ban smirked, whistling at the destruction. "This time, it seems he's really gone a bit too far."
"It doesn't matter, Lady Merlin," Escanor boomed, puffing out his massive chest. "Leave it all to me. I shall teach the Captain a good lesson."
The Prideful one, whose overwhelming existence even gods could only look up to, shamelessly approached Merlin, eager to impress her. Absolutely no one in the world could command Escanor—except for Merlin.
"Alright, Escanor. Settle down," Merlin said, her golden eyes tracking the black blur in the sky. "The most important thing right now is to stop the Captain from continuing his widespread destruction. Gowther, can you sense the Captain's mental world?"
Merlin interrupted Escanor's attempt to get closer and instead directed her inquiry to the Sin of Lust. Among the Seven Deadly Sins, only Gowther's magical abilities directly targeted the mind and soul. Now that Meliodas was under enemy control, logic dictated they should first try to break the spell using Gowther's telepathy. If things went smoothly, perhaps they wouldn't even need to risk a physical confrontation.
"I will try," Gowther replied, his voice completely deadpan.
He raised his hand and fired a concentrated beam of magical light into the sky.
"[Invasion]!"
The pink light streaked across the city and instantly struck Meliodas, who was currently wreaking havoc in the skies above the Washington Monument.
"Gowther. You're here too."
Inside Meliodas's mental world—a dark, turbulent void of swirling demonic energy—Gowther's calm figure slowly materialized.
"Ah. Yes," Gowther adjusted his glasses. "Captain, are you planning to completely destroy this world? Elizabeth would be very sad if she knew."
"Elizabeth..."
Gowther, entirely expressionless, began to directly poke at the deepest, most vulnerable parts of Meliodas's mind. Everyone in Britannia knew that Princess Elizabeth was a gentle soul who absolutely hated war. To end the Holy War, she could even accept being cursed, separated from the one she loved, with each tragic reincarnation allowing them to meet and remember their past for only three days before dying before his eyes.
And Meliodas's greatest, most profound love was Elizabeth. For her sake, he had betrayed his own clan and was even willing to kill his own father, the Demon King.
"Elizabeth!"
In the mental world, Meliodas's consciousness violently fluctuated, deeply troubled by Gowther's words. Two entirely different thoughts began to continuously tangle and war in his mind.
However, coiling tightly around Meliodas's soul was a massive, ethereal Golden Dragon—the absolute mental manifestation of the World Item, [Downfall of Castle and Country].
In the end, it seemed the reality-altering power of the World Item was still slightly stronger than the memories of his lover.
"Get out, Gowther," Meliodas's expression gradually calmed, his eyes going dead once more.
In the mental world, the Demon Mark flared, and Meliodas forcefully waved his hand. Gowther's projection was violently expelled from the mindscape.
"It seems it didn't work," Gowther said, blinking as he regained his consciousness in the real world. He opened his eyes and gave his analytical answer to the group. "The Captain is indeed being controlled by a supreme-tier spell. I couldn't wake him up either. Within Meliodas's mind, there are two opposing forces. One is his own spirit, and the other takes the shape of a massive golden dragon."
"Is that so?" Merlin stroked her chin, a calculating smile appearing on her lips.
"Ban," Merlin ordered smoothly. "You go and stop the Captain first. At the very least, engage him in close combat to make him halt his destructive rampage. Buy us time until it is exactly noon."
Merlin looked up at the sun, which had only been rising for a few hours.
"Escanor, you can then make your move."
At this current time in the mid-morning, Escanor hadn't yet reached his peak, invincible strength. If he engaged a fully demonic Meliodas right now and they weren't careful, the Lion's Sin of Pride might actually be cut down by the Captain with a single strike.
"Ah! Understood!" Ban cracked his knuckles, a feral grin spreading across his face. "I was just thinking of having a good, proper fight with the Captain anyway!"
"There is absolutely no need for that, Lady Merlin!" Escanor protested, stepping in front of Ban and blocking his way.
Escanor turned to look at Merlin, his gaze extremely serious and deeply offended. He was the Lion's Sin of Pride, Escanor. How could he possibly tolerate being sidelined and looked down upon, even if the tactical order came from the woman he loved?
"Escanor," Merlin said, her tone suddenly authoritative and sharp. "Please proceed exactly according to my plan."
"Yes! Of course, Lady Merlin!"
Escanor, who had been radiating overwhelming, prideful energy just a microsecond ago, instantly deflated. His expression changed the moment Merlin spoke, transforming from a proud, arrogant god among men into an entirely submissive simp.
"Tch," Ban rolled his eyes, glancing at Escanor with annoyance.
Now that no one was blocking his path, Ban engaged his magical power, leaping high into the air and charging like a bullet toward the explosive shockwaves in the sky to intercept Meliodas.
"Hawk," Merlin said softly, looking down at the pig in her arms. "Do not use any more of your power to summon anyone else right now. Keep them in reserve. Later, I might need you to summon a very specific person to break that mind control."
After giving Hawk this cryptic instruction, Merlin floated higher off the ground, turning to look at Gowther and Escanor.
"Let's go too," Merlin commanded. "Let's get closer to the epicenter. Ban's immortality is useful, but alone, he won't be able to hold off a serious Captain for long."
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