A Family Should Stay Together

"General Ross, you—you need to calm down. We can talk this out."

Staring at General Ross, whose arm had suddenly swelled until it was thicker than his thigh, General James had completely lost his former bluster. He no longer dared say anything about sending General Ross before a military tribunal.

Just moments ago, General James had watched with amusement as General Ross seethed with anger, powerless to do anything to him.

But before long, he stopped laughing.

A strange red light descended from the sky and entered General Ross's body.

Soon, the man's body began growing taller and bigger, as if it were being inflated like a balloon.

General James had once been able to look General Ross straight in the eye. Now he had to look up at him.

Seeing a fist as big as a real sandbag, General James swallowed and cursed inwardly.

Wasn't divine grace supposed to be hard to come by? How come this deity called the Blood God kept blessing this man at the drop of a hat?

And the Blood God had chosen to bless him right after he and General Ross had fallen out for good. Why hadn't the deity ever blessed me?

But whatever General James thought, he now had to face one problem.

How could he persuade General Ross to move that sandbag-sized fist away from his forehead, instead of cracking his skull open with a single punch?

General James's expression flickered rapidly between terror and pleading. He tried to keep his voice calm and sincere. "General Ross, I...I admit I was too impulsive before. I didn't consider the consequences. I understand your contributions and sacrifices. I shouldn't have questioned your loyalty or honor."

He raised his head slightly, doing his best not to look directly at the fist that seemed capable of blowing his head apart in an instant. Then he continued, "General, we've worked together for years. I've never forgotten everything you've done for our country and its people.

"This was just a misunderstanding. Congress wanted to use this defeat to cut our military budget, and I lost my head for a moment."

At that, General James's voice trembled slightly, but he still summoned the courage to try appealing to General Ross's emotions. "General Ross, we both know that sacrifice and glory go hand in hand in the balance between war and peace.

"We may have our differences, but in the face of the bigger picture, we should be comrades in arms, not enemies. Please give me a chance to make things right. Let's work together toward a greater goal."

"Comrades? I'm afraid my comrades aren't you people anymore."

Looking at General James, who had gone from arrogant to craven, General Ross found the man laughable. General James had been so swaggering before; now he was groveling just as much.

"If not us, then who?"

Seeing that General James still hadn't caught on, General Ross had no interest in wasting any more words on him.

He reached out with his other hand and placed it on General James's head. Then he clamped down with both hands. After a brief, sharp scream, General James's head burst like a cream puff, its contents splattering everywhere. A quick roast over a fire, and even a passing child would have said it smelled delicious!

"General Ross, we've always been your loyal subordinates!"

The soldiers who had come to arrest General Ross were already trembling with fear. Especially once he turned his gaze on them, they promptly gave him the French salute.

They did it so quickly it was downright embarrassing.

General Ross ignored their surrender. He punched them one by one, turning them all to pulp.

General Ross looked toward Banner and the others, who were still tearing through the army in the distance. Without a word, he joined them, slaughtering the troops from behind.

The force had already been on the verge of collapse. With General James dead and General Ross defecting, the army's morale sank to rock bottom.

Chaos erupted throughout the ranks. Soldiers fled in every direction, but wherever they ran, they couldn't escape the superhuman warriors pursuing them.

General Ross and Banner's group descended like the Grim Reaper. They moved with lethal speed, and each attack sent another enemy crashing to the ground.

Under the combined assault, the soldiers had no choice but to surrender and offer their faith to the great Blood God.

As the soldiers surrendered one after another, the atmosphere on the battlefield shifted. The fierce fighting gradually died down, leaving a deathly silence broken only by the occasional panting and faint pleas for mercy.

General Ross stood on high ground, looking out over the scene before him, his heart a tangle of conflicting emotions.

"Did I win, or did I lose?"

General Ross murmured to himself, his voice echoing across the empty battlefield, heavy with sorrow.

Banner came to stand beside General Ross, his eyes filled with equally complicated emotions.

This old adversary was both his lover's father and the one who had spent so long trying to hunt him down.

Last time, Banner had spared him because of Betty. Now he had come after him again, but this time he would never be able to pursue him again.

"Ross, we both know this isn't the outcome you wanted. But sometimes, that's just how fate works. It pushes us down unknown paths. Now, the only thing you can do is join us. Besides, Betty's here too. This is the perfect chance for our family to be together."

General Ross looked at Banner with a complicated expression. His inner struggle flickered like a candle in a gale.

What Banner meant by "join us" wasn't simply fighting alongside them. It meant abandoning everything from his past, including his loyalty to his country and army, and his sense of himself as human.

But did he have any other choice now?

At least he still had Betty. As Banner had said, it wasn't so bad for a family to be together.

Meanwhile, back at the camp, Betty was still there, protected by just over a dozen oddly shaped "monsters."

When the artillery first began firing, Betty's heart had pounded without stopping.

She was afraid Banner might be hurt, and afraid he might never be able to turn back and live an ordinary life with her again.

Now that the artillery had fallen silent, her heart had settled—but then it began to race again.

What if her father brought back Banner's corpse? What would she do then?

As Betty's thoughts swirled, the footsteps outside the camp gradually grew clearer. She jerked her head up, her eyes shining with both hope and fear.

The "monsters" also grew alert and gathered around Betty, forming a protective ring.

"Banner! Thank goodness—you're all right, aren't you? You're...?"

Betty spotted Banner at once, but before she could say anything else, the person behind him left her frozen in place.

"I'm sorry, Betty. I put you through so much."

Although General Ross's appearance had changed drastically, Betty recognized him from his voice.

"Father? How did you end up looking like this?"

"This is all a gift from the great Blood God. Now our family can finally be together."

Hearing the adoration in her father's voice as he spoke about the deity, Betty's knees went weak, and she nearly fell to the ground.

Was she the odd one out after all?