Elric planted his feet firmly into the earth, his stance shifting into something far more serious.
Chakra—invisible to everyone watching, flowed downward from his core, sinking deep into the ground like roots, anchoring his entire stance completely immovably. His left arm extended forward, appearing relaxed and casual yet perfectly ready to respond. His right arm drew back slightly, coiled like a spring.
The Hulk, sensing the shift in his opponent's demeanor, charged forward with renewed fury.
His massive frame shook the already devastated ground with every thunderous step, each footfall leaving deep impressions in the cracked asphalt.
With a deafening roar that echoed off the surrounding buildings, the green behemoth hurled his enormous fist directly toward Elric's head.
At the very last possible instant—
Elric simply tilted his head slightly to the right.
Just a few inches.
Nothing dramatic.
The colossal punch passed harmlessly by his face, missing him by what couldn't have been more than two or three inches at most.
Close enough that he could feel the air displacement ruffle his hair.
Before the Hulk could even begin to register what had just happened, before his brain could process that he'd missed—
Elric moved.
His right hand snapped forward with blinding speed, fingers locking tightly and precisely around the Hulk's extended wrist.
At the exact same moment, his left hand clamped down hard on the Hulk's elbow joint.
Then—
Crack.
A horrific, gut-wrenching scream tore from the Hulk's throat.
He looked down in complete disbelief at his own arm.
His right arm was bent the entirely wrong way—completely and unnaturally reversed at the elbow joint. The arm that should have been straight was now folded backward on itself.
Intense pain exploded through his nervous system.
But instead of subduing him, the pain just fueled his rage even further, pushing him into even greater fury.
However, Elric gave him no time to react or recover.
Chakra surged through his body again.
Elric's left leg sank even deeper into the earth, reinforcing his perfect balance. With flawless timing born from countless battles, he smoothly shifted his entire body weight and drove his right leg forward in a devastating strike.
Crack.
The Hulk's right knee suddenly folded backward in a unnatural direction, the joint giving way with a sickening sound.
The giant roared in pure agony, his uninjured arm flailing wildly as pure survival instinct took over his mind—
—but Elric was already long gone from that position.
He'd leapt upward slightly, his body twisting midair with effortless.
WHAM—!
A perfectly executed spinning roundhouse kick smashed directly into the side of the Hulk's temple with devastating force.
The impact was so clean, that for just a moment the Hulk's eyes actually went unfocused.
His massive body visibly staggered.
Wobbled.
Then collapsed forward like a felled tree.
The ground trembled violently as the Hulk's enormous form crashed face-first into the destroyed street, sending powerful shockwaves rippling outward through the earth in every direction. Dust and debris exploded upward.
A moment of eerie silence followed.
But Elric didn't stop his assault.
Didn't pause to check if it was over.
Because he knew better.
He exhaled slowly, centering himself.
Chakra gathered intensely into his right hand, becoming dense and controlled, concentrated to a single point.
He stepped forward calmly.
And punched the downed Hulk square in the face.
BOOM.
The sound was like a bomb going off.
Deep cracks instantly spiderwebbed across the ground beneath them, spreading outward like frozen lightning.
The Hulk's body twitched violently.
BOOM.
And again.
BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.
Punch after punch.
Each strike was precise, perfectly placed, and utterly refined—every single movement shaped by combat experience spanning literally thousands of years of fights.
Unrelenting.
Mechanical in its efficiency.
A full minute passed like this.
Twenty punches in total, each one reinforced with chakra.
Finally—
The Hulk's body lay completely still.
Unmoving.
Silent.
His chest still rose and fell shallowly—he was alive, but thoroughly unconscious.
Elric straightened up slowly, standing tall above the fallen giant. His chest rose and fell softly, his breathing remarkably steady considering what he'd just done. He gazed down at the unconscious behemoth beneath him, his expression unreadable—somewhere between exhaustion and faint pity.
He muttered quietly, barely audible.
"Just stay quietly with me for some time."
This had always been the ultimate goal from the very beginning.
To make Bruce Banner hate the U.S. government just a little bit more. Just enough that, when the inevitable time came for Nick Fury to try forming the Avengers initiative, there wouldn't be even the slightest chance of Banner agreeing to join.
Keep him away from their control.
After this whole incident was over, Elric had already planned to just throw Banner into some random peaceful village somewhere—arrange a decent life for him, maybe give him some resources. Something quiet without anyone bothering him.
That would be more than enough.
Elric's gaze shifted toward Tony Stark, who was still hovering in the air maybe thirty meters away, just staring at the entire scene in what appeared to be absolute disbelief.
His helmet's eyes were locked on Elric.
If this man got any more involved in what was about to happen next, things would definitely become troublesome.
So Elric made a quick decision—the Hulk, or rather Bruce Banner, would be taken away immediately.
Right now.
Sokovia would work as a temporary destination.
Besides…
"This guy has seven PhDs," Elric thought. "Bruce Banner might actually be useful for something eventually."
He looked down.
The Hulk had already reverted back to his normal human form during the unconsciousness—just Bruce Banner now, covered in dirt and minor cuts.
Elric reached down casually, grabbed Banner's unconscious body, and smoothly lifted him as his own body began floating upward into the air.
Only then did Tony Stark finally seem to actually regain his senses.
Snap out of his shocked stupor.
He hurriedly engaged his repulsors and flew forward, stopping at what he probably thought was a safe distance.
About ten meters away.
Maybe a bit more.
"Well," Tony said, forcing a grin onto his face that probably looked more nervous than confident, "handsome guy… can I at least get the name of this incredibly impressive individual I just watched?"
Despite the casual, almost joking tone he was trying for, his deliberate ten-meter distance and clearly battle-ready hovering posture completely betrayed his actual tension.
He was scared.
Smart enough to be scared, anyway.
"No."
The reply was completely blunt.
Tony nearly lost his balance in midair from the unexpected bluntness of it—only managing to stabilize himself after JARVIS quickly adjusted the repulsor output automatically.
"…Okay then," Tony coughed awkwardly, trying to recover.
His voice suddenly trailed off as his eyes locked onto Elric again with focus.
Really looked at him this time.
Only now, in this moment of stillness, did the full reality of what he'd just witnessed truly sink in.
This man—this seemingly ordinary-looking man floating casually in midair—had just beaten the absolute shit out of the Hulk.
The same Hulk that had destroyed Tony's suit in seconds.
And this guy had done it the way a strict father might discipline an unruly child.
"…Sir," Tony said more seriously now, his tone completely shifting, "I genuinely want to thank you. You saved my life back there. Probably saved a lot of other lives too. If there's anything you need in the future—anything at all, no matter what it is—I'll do my absolute best to help you. I mean that."
"No need."
Elric's voice remained flat.
"Just be a good boy from now on."
He paused deliberately.
"And don't interfere in grown-ups' matters anymore."
The words hit Tony like a slap across the face.
Before Tony could even think of a response.
A dark, swirling portal suddenly opened in the air directly behind Elric.
Without another glance backward, Elric simply stepped into it smoothly, Bruce Banner's unconscious body still held casually in his grasp.
The portal closed immediately behind him.
Vanished.
Leaving Tony Stark just hovering there in midair above a destroyed street.
Completely speechless.
His mouth opened slightly behind his faceplate.
Then closed.
Then opened again.
No words came out.
"…Sir?" JARVIS's voice finally broke the silence. "Are you alright?"
"JARVIS," Tony said slowly, his voice slightly distant. "Did that just happen?"
"Yes, sir. That just happened."
"…Fuck."
Tony continued hovering there for another long moment, staring at the empty space where the portal had been.
"JARVIS, tell me you got all of that on video."
"I did, sir. However, I feel compelled to inform you that approximately 40% of the footage is corrupted or obscured. The individual's movements exceeded our camera tracking capabilities on multiple occasions."
Tony let out a long, shaky breath.
"Yeah," he muttered. "that sounds about right."
He looked down at the destroyed street below, at the massive crater where the Hulk had fallen.
Then back up at empty air.
"I need a drink," Tony finally said. "Several drinks. Maybe an entire bottle."
"Shall I inform Miss Potts of your estimated arrival time, sir?"
"…Yeah. Do that."
Tony turned slowly and began flying back toward the nearest functional airport.
His mind was racing.
Who the hell was that guy?
What else was out there that he didn't know about?
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