Hulk's Protection

"Yū, is there a demon that can split one individual into two?"

Banner knew she was asking for his sake, and he looked at Yū expectantly.

"Yes."

Yū nodded. She had already figured out the abilities of every demon in Hell.

"Clone Demon, come out."

Before long, two identical demons appeared before them.

"Your Majesty, this is the Clone Demon. Its ability is cloning. As long as one of them exists, the other will never die. The drawback is that it can only make one clone."

After Yū finished introducing it, Banner eagerly moved to sign a contract with it, but Kino reached out and stopped him.

"Frank is my butler, and Blonsky has become my subordinate. Banner, tell me—why should I help you?"

"I'll become your subordinate too. I have seven doctorate degrees. I'm much stronger than that Abomination who only knows how to fight!"

The hope of separating from Hulk was right before him. Banner would seize it no matter what he had to pay.

The corner of Blonsky's mouth twitched. Were seven doctorate degrees really that impressive? They really were.

Kino thought for a moment, then nodded in agreement.

Seeing that Kino had agreed, Banner immediately rushed in front of the Clone Demon and shouted impatiently, "Hurry up and sign the contract!"

The two Clone Demons spoke in unison. "My price is that, from now on, you can only eat half of your own food. Of course, you can also have someone feed you."

Having learned from the previous example, it had not dared to demand an excessive price.

"I agree!"

In an instant, a mysterious force surged forth. Banner successfully signed the contract, and triangular patterns appeared in the palms of both his hands. The patterns shimmered with an eerie light, as if proclaiming the power of the contract.

Banner took a deep breath and used his newly acquired ability. His hands involuntarily stretched out to either side, as if an invisible force were pulling him apart.

At that moment, he felt the middle of his body slowly begin to split open. An indescribable tearing sensation spread throughout his entire body.

As Banner split apart, he looked to the right. A face identical to his own appeared.

However, that face was filled with confusion. After meeting Banner's gaze, it seemed to understand what was happening and let out a furious roar.

"No!"

Yet just as the split was about to succeed, a powerful force suddenly seized Banner, preventing him from continuing.

Then the force gave a violent tug, and Banner and his clone uncontrollably crashed into each other.

With a loud bang, Banner was knocked dizzy. He staggered back several steps before dropping onto the ground, his face filled with pain and unwillingness.

Banner frantically slapped his own face, both hands raining down like a violent storm as the smack, smack of each blow rang out without end.

His eyes were bloodshot, and he roared, "What do you mean, no? Come out!"

However hard and wildly he struck himself, it was completely useless. Hulk simply would not come out.

"Banner, stop! Let me ask him," Kino shouted.

Kino understood that Hulk was refusing to separate from Banner. The pattern on his wrist lit up as he used Hell's authority for the first time.

In Hell, he could strip away another person's soul according to his own will.

With a wave of his hand, Banner's body went limp and collapsed to the ground. Above it, the souls of Banner and Hulk appeared.

A thread connected the centers of their bodies. It shimmered with a mysterious light, as if maintaining the complex yet tightly bound connection between them.

"How strange. One soul actually has two different forms of consciousness."

Yū was somewhat amazed. No wonder they had chosen the Clone Demon.

"Isn't it just two personalities? People like that aren't common, but there aren't exactly few of them either," Blonsky said.

"You think demons have never seen a soul with multiple personalities? They're more like different states of consciousness existing within the same body.

"They're a complex symbiotic entity. They can't simply be classified as two souls, nor can they be regarded merely as two personalities. They're a unique state of existence.

"A soul like this is absolutely unique even in Hell. I'd love to collect it." Yū sighed regretfully.

Blonsky also looked toward the demons below. Every demon gazing at Hulk and Banner had greed in its eyes. If the Young Master had not been holding them back, they would have swarmed forward long ago.

In their soul forms, Banner could also see Hulk. He angrily questioned him, "Why did you stop me? Why did you appear? Why did you ruin my life?"

With seven doctorate degrees, Banner had once received preferential treatment wherever he went.

But because Hulk had appeared, his girlfriend left him, he lost his job, his assets were gone, and he had been left with nothing.

"Banner, weak, death. Hulk, strong, protect. Separate, cannot, protect."

Hulk was not angry. He merely forced out those few words in broken fragments.

Banner froze, his eyes widening as disbelief filled his face.

He had never imagined that this was the reason. All along, he had regarded Hulk as the source of his misfortune, yet he had never considered why Hulk had appeared in the first place.

At that moment, Banner's anger was like a flame suddenly doused with water. In its place was deep thought and confusion.

"Hulk, don't you want to come out? Taste delicious food, make friends, and experience everything in the world?"

"...Want. But Banner, important."

Hearing Kino's words, Hulk revealed a look of longing.

"Actually, you can. Let me explain how the cloning ability works."

Kino began explaining the ability to Hulk. Banner watched Hulk listen attentively, his expression complicated. It seemed that he had been misunderstanding Hulk all along.

"This way, you can protect Banner better."

"No lie to Hulk?"

"No."

"Hulk agree. Separate."

Seeing that Hulk agreed, Kino waved both hands and returned the souls of Banner and Hulk to their bodies.

Banner slowly stood up, took a deep breath, and used the cloning ability once again. This time, without the obstruction from before, everything proceeded smoothly.

The invisible force appeared in the middle of Banner's body once more. This time, there was no unexpected tugging or resistance.

His body slowly split apart. Although the process still brought tearing pain, Banner gritted his teeth and endured it.

At last, Banner and Hulk successfully became two separate individuals.

Banner stood where he was, his face slightly pale but unable to hide his joy. Hulk, meanwhile, moved his body around, excitement showing on his face.

"Hulk, I'm sorry for misunderstanding you all this time."

Banner had not expected it to go so smoothly this time. All they had needed was to talk things through properly.

Hulk looked at Banner and gave him a huge grin. "Banner, no problem."

At this point, Banner and Hulk's relationship had not yet become as hostile as it would in the future.

Kino was happy to see the two of them as well. He had bought one and gotten one free.

"Blonsky, you've been watching for so long. Have you made your choice?"

Kino looked toward Blonsky, inquiry in his eyes.

Meeting Kino's gaze, Blonsky said firmly, "Young Master, I only want the most powerful demon. Only the strongest power can defeat Hulk."