Beast, War, and Mortal Will

At the other end of Washington District, the entire neighborhood had long since been reduced to ruins.

Ares stood atop a collapsed building, his scarlet cloak billowing in the smoke like the banner of Sparda.

His battle axe was deeply embedded in the ground, its blade still dripping with undried blood. He grinned, revealing his gleaming white teeth.

"Mortal, your anger... is quite amusing."

The ground suddenly cracked open, and a vibrant green figure shot into the sky, sending debris flying like a torrential downpour. Hulk landed heavily, and the asphalt beneath his feet instantly cracked.

His body was bulging with muscles, and the golden Taurus Cloth covered his massive frame, while the bull-horned helmet gleamed coldly in the sunlight.

"Hulk —I can crush you even without your Cloth!" he roared, clashing his fists together, the arm guards of his Cloth bursting with dazzling golden light.

Ares scoffed, drawing his battle axe, the blade igniting with crimson divine fire. "Anger? I am war itself!"

The next second, the two giant shadows collided with a deafening roar!

Hulk's fist collided with Ares's battle axe, and the shockwave instantly overturned all the debris within a hundred meters. Ares's battle axe struck Hulk's Cloth, sparks flying, but leaving only a shallow scratch.

"Tough?" Ares raised an eyebrow.

Hulk grinned maliciously, suddenly grabbed the axe blade, and yanked hard! Ares was caught off guard and pulled towards Hulk, only to be met with—

"Great Horn!!" Hulk's helmet horns suddenly lit up with golden light as he charged forward, his horns slamming into Ares' chest!

"Boom--!"

The God of War was sent flying like a cannonball, crashing through three tall buildings before finally coming to a stop. He looked down at his caved-in chest, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.

"...Interesting." Ares slowly stood up, his fighting spirit growing even stronger.

Ares ripped off the tattered breastplate, revealing a body covered in war god runes. His muscles began to swell, his skin gradually turned bronze, and his eyes became completely crimson.

"Mortal, you are worthy of my serious battle!"

His battle axe ignited with an even more intense divine fire, and slashed fiercely at Hulk. Hulk roared and fought back, but this time, the axe blade actually cleaved through the defenses of the Cloth, leaving a bloody gash on Hulk's chest!

"Pain?!" Hulk looked down at his wound, his eyes blazing with green light. "Hulk —the more pain, the stronger!"

His muscles swelled again, Taurus Cloth deformed accordingly, with sharper spikes extending from his shoulder armor, and his bull-horned helmet becoming even more ferocious.

Ares raised his battle axe, and the sky suddenly darkened, the wails of countless dead echoing across the battlefield. "Witness the end of the war!"

Hulk arched his back, clenched his fists, and the golden light of his Taurus Cloth coalesced into a roaring phantom of a giant bull. "Hulk —the strongest!"

The two forces collided with a deafening roar!

"Boom--!!!"

The entire neighborhood collapsed completely in the impact, the ground caved in into a huge crater, and smoke and dust billowed into the sky.

As the dust settled, Ares knelt on one knee, his battle axe shattered, divine blood gushing from his wounds. Hulk stood before him, his Cloth riddled with cracks, but the flame in his eyes remained undiminished.

Ares slowly stood up, and the broken battle axe reformed in his hand—this time it was no longer metal, but pure crimson divine fire.

His wounds healed at a visible speed, ancient war runes emerging from his skin. "Very good... very good!" His voice grew hoarse. "Let me see how much of the true essence of war you can endure!"

Hulk's feet sank deep into the ground, green energy seeping from the cracks in his Taurus Cloth. He grinned maliciously. "Hulk —loves to fight!"

Suddenly, Ares's figure split into twelve, each wielding a different weapon: spear, greatsword, warhammer... attacking Hulk from all directions.

The ground collapsed under the immense pressure of divine power, and the air shrieked from the rapid slashing.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!" Hulk parried with astonishing speed, and the bull-horned helmet of his Cloth suddenly shot out a golden beam, shattering the three clones.

But the remaining nine weapons pierced his body simultaneously—divine blood and Hulk blood mingled and spurted out.

"Roar--!!" Hulk roared furiously.

His muscles swelled again, his Cloth clashed once more, and the exposed muscles of his limbs glowed green; his wounds were healing at an even faster rate.

Ares' pupils contracted. "The angrier you are, the stronger you become?"

Hulk didn't answer. He grabbed the weapon embedded in his body, and with a sudden jerk, pulled Ares's clones all towards himself. Then—

"Hulk - Smash!"

He slammed his fists into the ground, and the shockwave spread out in a ring.

The nine clones exploded simultaneously, and Ares's main body was blasted into the air.

Taking advantage of the moment, Hulk leaped up, grabbed Ares's ankle, and slammed him to the ground like a hammer, once, twice, three times... each impact causing a small earthquake.

Three streets away from the battlefield between Hulk and Ares, a golden beam of light shot into the sky.

Hercules' lion-skin cloak roared with Kamui, and with a light tap of his mace, the surrounding rubble instantly turned to dust.

"Mortal, you wear the glory of Leo." The demigod hero's gaze fell on Steve's gleaming Gold Cloth. "But do you know that the Nemean Lion died a gruesome death at my hands?"

Steve's Star Shield clashed with the Cloth's arm guards with a crisp echo, "All I know is that heroes don't attack mortals indiscriminately."

Hercules suddenly lunged forward, his mace transforming into a hundred-meter-tall pillar the instant he swung it. Steve dodged to the side, and the ground where he had been standing was smashed into a crater thirty meters in diameter.

"Lightning Plasma!"

The gauntlets of the Leo Cloth burst forth with golden light, and Steve's right fist unleashed hundreds of punches in 0.01 seconds. Hercules blocked with his mace, and sparks from the collision of weapon and gold formed a streak of light in the air.

"Interesting!" The demigod laughed as he tore his upper garments, the totems of the Twelve Labors glowing on his muscles. "But such a punch wouldn't even Cerberus's skin!" (Cerberus)

He suddenly grabbed Steve's wrist and slammed the Warrior in his Cloth into the ground with an over-the-shoulder throw. The surrounding buildings collapsed in the impact, but the next second, a golden meteor shot out from the rubble.

"Plasma Lightspeed Fist!"

Steve's fist gathered energy like the sun, and Hercules finally changed color. He slammed his mace into the ground. "Earth Rage!"

The rock strata of the entire block surged up, forming a wave of earth thousands of meters high. The collision between the light-speed punch and the power of the earth triggered a chain reaction explosion.

As the smoke cleared, Hercules knelt on one knee, a fist Cloth clearly imprinted on his armor. Steve was also kneeling on one knee, blood flowing from his helmet.

"Mortal... your will..." The demigod hero struggled to his feet, "... reminds me of... my former self..."

Steve wiped away the blood, and the Star Shield and gauntlets glowed golden once more. "Then let's find ourselves again!"

A glimmer of clarity flashed in Hercules' eyes, but it was quickly swallowed by bloodlust.

He roared and ripped off the lion skin from his neck, which transformed into Nemean Lion that pounced on Steve.

Steve gritted his teeth and tried his best to muster his strength. The physical exertion from the Plasma Lightspeed Fist made every muscle groan.

His vision was blurred from blood loss, but his clenched fist still burned with a faint golden light.

The roar of the Nemean Lion shattered the remaining glass within a hundred meters radius, and its claws, sharp enough to tear apart even a god's body, plowed deep trenches into the ground.

Steve struggled to look up and saw Hercules standing behind the giant lion, his eyes swirling with a dark undercurrent of divinity and madness.

"Admit defeat, mortal." The demigod's voice was like a muffled thunderclap. "Your body has reached its limit." Steve's fingers dug into the cracks in the ground, the Star Shield's straps cutting deep into his flesh.

He remembered the skinny boy in the Brooklyn alley, Erskine's last smile, and the seventy years of darkness in the glacier.

"I can..." A stubborn smile tugged at his bloodied lips, "Play all day."

The Leo Cloth suddenly burst forth with an unprecedented radiance—not from the power of the constellation, but from a flame ignited deep within Steve's soul.

The cracks no longer flow with sweat and blood, but with pure light.

Hercules' pupils constricted sharply. "This is impossible..."

"Bang!"

Steve's fist struck the lion's jaw before the sound even began. It lacked the power of Plasma Lightspeed Fist; it was merely a simple straight punch. Yet, the Nemean lion's fangs snapped instantly, and its legendary invulnerable fur was branded with scorch marks by a mortal's fist.

"The so-called limit—" Steve staggered to his feet, the cracks in his Cloth flashing with an unusual white light, "Is meant to be broken!"

Hercules charged forward with a roar, his mace carrying the divine power to move mountains and fill seas.

Steve neither dodged nor evaded; his Star Shield and fist met the impact simultaneously. At the moment of collision, time seemed to stand still—

"Snap!"

The weapons of the Twelve Labors heroes have developed cracks.

Steve's arm bones groaned under the strain, but more light poured out of the crack.

His every breath was laced with blood, and his every heartbeat was like the thunder of a war drum. When Hercules' second attack came, Captain America did something that shocked Hercules.

He released the Star Shield.

Steve caught the mountain-crushing weapon with both hands; his finger bones deformed under the pressure, yet he held the mace firmly in place.

"Look closely, Hercules ..." Blood gushed from his seven orifices, but his voice was as clear as a tolling bell, "This is what mortals are like—"

A fist stained with blood pierced through the fragments of a divinely crafted weapon and slammed heavily into the demigod's face. Hercules staggered backward for the first time, golden divine blood splattering onto Steve's tattered uniform.

"--Will!" The Nemean Lion suddenly turned around, blocking its master's path and letting out a mournful cry. Hercules touched the wound on his cheek; the madness controlled by Hera had subsided, and the bloodlust in his eyes receded like a tide.

He saw that Steve was still in the punching stance, even though his body should have fallen long ago.

"Enough..." The demigod hero reached out and pressed down on the giant lion, the totem of the Twelve Labors gradually dimming. "You've won, Warrior."

Hercules' words finally eased Steve's tense nerves. He still struggled to keep from collapsing, but his legs had begun to tremble uncontrollably.

The demigod hero opposite him seemed to see through his persistence. Suddenly, he grinned, casually tossed aside the broken mace, and his massive body slumped to the ground with a thud, kicking up a cloud of dust.

"Call--"

Steve's body relaxed, and he collapsed onto the pile of rubble. He lay on his back, his chest heaving violently, and the Leo Cloth emitted a faint metallic scraping sound with each breath.

"Friday...I think I need...some medical assistance..." he said haltingly into the communicator.

From afar came Hercules's hearty laughter, so loud it made the ground tremble slightly. "Hahaha! What a mortal! You remember to call a doctor after the fight!"

Steve's lips curled up slightly. Through his blurry vision, he saw the demigod hero sitting cross-legged, taking a wine flask from his waist and drinking heartily.

The battlefield where Hulk and Ares were located was torn apart by blood and green light. Every time Ares's battle axe slammed down, it triggered earthquake-like shockwaves on the ground, while Hulk's heavy punches made the foundations of the entire city tremble.

"Bang!"

Hulk's right fist sank deep into Ares's abdomen. The God of War spat out a mouthful of divine blood, but grinned maliciously and slammed his forehead into Hulk's face.

The horned helmet emitted a deafening metallic hum, while the surface of the Gold Cloth remained completely still. Hulk staggered backward, his thick arms suddenly bulging with veins, and he grabbed Ares's cape with his backhand, swinging him around and slamming him into a bank building that had not yet collapsed.

"Boom--"

The thirty-story building collapsed like building blocks. Ares emerged from the ruins, his battle axe transformed into a giant warhammer engulfed in crimson flames.

He laughed wildly as he swung the heavy hammer overhead, "Looks like we need a more direct approach!"

The hammer slammed into Hulk's chest with devastating force, the Taurus Cloth emitted a deafening roar, but remained undamaged on the surface.

However, Hulk's body jolted violently, and a trickle of green blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.

"See that, Beast?" Ares laughed, spitting out blood. "Even the strongest armor can't withstand the force of the shockwave!"

Hulk looked down at his trembling hands, then suddenly grinned, revealing a gaping maw. What was truly chilling was that he was laughing.

"Hulk... I like it!"

The Taurus Cloth suddenly burst forth with a blinding light, and those golden rays formed an energy circuit on the surface of Hulk's skin that perfectly matched the Gamma Radiation.

His muscle density increased dramatically, leaving lava-like footprints on the ground with every step.

Ares' pupils contracted. "What kind of monster is this?"

His answer was the sudden disappearance of Hulk —the green giant, now with increased speed, appeared directly above the God of War, his fist wreathed in golden light falling like a meteorite.

"Hulk - the End the war!"

This punch distorted the very space around it. Ares' hastily raised hammer deformed upon contact, and his divine body pierced through several concrete walls before finally embedding itself into a massive marble wall.

As the dust settled, the God of War struggled to push aside the rubble. His left arm was twisted unnaturally, his breastplate was completely shattered, and the ancient runes symbolizing war were fading and extinguishing on his skin.

"No...it's impossible..." Ares struggled to his feet. "I am the Eternity war..."

Hulk's figure obscured the light. The Taurus Cloth remained intact, but the green light emanating from within reminded Ares of the oldest prophecy on Mount Olympus — Ragnarok.

"Hulk said... it's time for the war to go to sleep."

When the final uppercut struck Ares in the chin, all the floor tiles in the building were sent flying into the air. The God of War's body traced an arc before crashing heavily into the pool outside the building, splashing water dozens of meters high.

The pool water churned and boiled for a long time before finally settling into calm.

Ares' helmet floated on the water, his crimson mane that had once struck fear into the hearts of countless armies now clinging to the metal surface like ordinary cloth, wet and glistening.

Hulk stood at the edge of the pool, his chest heaving, steam rising from his green skin. He looked down at Ares' helmet floating on the surface, two puffs of white smoke exhaling from his nostrils. Suddenly, ripples appeared on the water—

"It's not over yet... monster..."

Ares's blood-stained arm suddenly burst from the water and grabbed Hulk's ankle.

The war god's battered body slowly rose from the water. "War... never ends..."

Hulk roared, his massive green foot slamming down on Ares's wrist. The sound of bones cracking rang out, but the God of War instead let out a maniacal laugh.

In that instant, Hulk bent his knees and leaped up, propelling his massive body hundreds of meters into the air.

Hulk--!

As he fell, he curled up into a ball, all the spikes on his Cloth unfolded, and his entire body transformed into a burning green meteorite.

Ares barely managed to raise his intact left arm, crimson divine power coalescing in his palm to form a final barrier—

"Boom!!!!"

The shockwave from the impact evaporated all the water in the pool, exposing the cracked bottom.

Ares's body was smashed deep into the earth's crust. When the dust settled, Hulk was seen kneeling in the center of the crater, which was a hundred meters in diameter, his fist still pressed against Ares's sunken chest.

The God of War's pupils had dilated, and the war runes had dimmed like extinguished embers. His lips moved, uttering the last few words: "... a worthy... opponent..."

Hulk slowly got up, staggered Earth Flow the edge of the pit, and suddenly his legs gave way, causing him to collapse to the ground.

He gasped for breath, baring his teeth, "Hulk... the strongest!"

Just as Hulk finished speaking, a figure carrying lightning crashed down beside him like a cannonball.

Thor's body carved a deep trench in the ruins, Mjolnir rolled to the side, his armor was shattered, and blood from his mouth stained his beard.

He struggled to sit up. "Hulk... watch out—"

Before he could finish speaking, a golden bolt of lightning tore through the sky and struck Thor like Divine Punishment!

The thunderous explosion shattered the ruins within a kilometer radius, and Thor let out a painful roar as his entire body was engulfed in lightning.

"You brat, are you Thor or the God of Hammers? Didn't Odin teach you not to rely on external things?"