Bare-Handed Against the Hulk, Portals Within Portals!

His massive body stood over three meters tall, radiating an oppressive presence.

Muscles bulged all over the Hulk, making him look like a Primordial Beast from a bygone age.

After transforming, Banner had retained a trace of reason deep in his subconscious. He could still tell friend from foe.

He had been killing in a frenzy, but he hadn't dealt any fatal blows to his fellow Avengers.

Now, though, things were different.

He had just arrived to find Steve lying in a pool of blood.

A stranger stood beside him, with a scarlet chain buried deep in Steve's chest.

Dark red magical energy churned within the chain.

To the Hulk, there was only one explanation: someone was killing his teammate!

"ROAR!"

The Hulk's eyes turned bloodred, and the last of his reason vanished.

An even more savage power erupted from within him.

The exhaustion from his earlier battles disappeared. He charged faster than before.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Each step punched a crater into the hard asphalt, making the nearby buildings tremble.

The Medical Apprentices had never seen anything like it.

They spent their days at Kamar-Taj memorizing texts and, at most, practicing meditation.

Now a one-ton monster was bearing down on them like a heavy tank. The fact that they hadn't wet themselves showed remarkable nerve.

Carter was a little calmer, though her voice still shook.

"Raine, you can handle him, right?"

"If you can't, let's get out of here! There's no reason to fight him to the death!"

Raine rubbed his brow, speechless.

What kind of luck is this? I save someone and end up running into a Hulk who's lost his mind.

And those Scarlet Contract Chains have one strange temperament.

Their destructive power was staggering, but their healing was painfully slow. Steve was still unconscious.

The Hulk was almost upon them.

Raine didn't retreat. He stepped forward and placed himself in front of the others.

"Hey, big guy. If I said this was a misunderstanding, would you understand?"

The Hulk had long since lost his reason.

The angrier he got, the stronger he became—and the less room he had left for thought.

He ignored Raine completely, raised his enormous fist, and brought it crashing down on his head!

The howling wind pressure stung Raine's ears.

Air compressed under that terrifying force and burst with a sharp crack.

"You really won't listen."

Raine sighed and snapped up his right hand.

Rings of Raggadorr!

A gold-and-red Magic Shield formed instantly, braced above his head.

BOOM!

Fist struck shield!

A terrifying shock wave exploded outward from the two of them.

Abandoned cars and chunks of concrete within a dozen meters went flying.

Several apprentices were blown off their feet and landed hard on their backsides.

The dust cleared.

Raine stood exactly where he had been, without giving an inch.

He even twisted his wrist and drove the Magic Shield forward.

BANG!

The Hulk's enormous body staggered back three steps from the force!

"Holy—"

The apprentices' eyes nearly popped out of their heads.

Was he even human?

Combat sorcerers at Kamar-Taj did focus on close combat, and they were far fitter than ordinary people.

But no amount of training should let a human body withstand a punch from the Hulk!

Raine had taken it head-on—and even knocked the monster back?

And you call him a sorcerer?!

They were screaming inwardly. Today had given them more shocks than the past decade combined.

Raine brushed the dust from his hands, his gaze calm.

"Your strength's impressive."

"Too bad you're not much of a thinker. You don't understand magic, so how do you expect to fight me?"

If Thanos had been standing there with the Infinity Gauntlet, Raine would have opened a Portal and fled without a second thought.

That guy could forcibly shatter all kinds of Laws of Magic.

But the Hulk?

To a sorcerer, someone who relied entirely on brute force was a fool, however hard he could hit.

Raine had taken that punch only because he wanted to test his body's current strength.

The result had pleased him.

"All right, that's enough. Go cool off somewhere."

Raine dismissed the Magic Shield and waved a hand.

The Hulk roared at the sky, kicked off the ground, and lunged at him again.

Boom, boom, boom!

The ground shook once more.

Raine stayed where he was. Without so much as lifting an eyelid, he drew a circle in the air with his right hand.

The Hulk was halfway through his charge when—

Whoosh!

The ground beneath his feet vanished, and a golden Portal swallowed him whole.

Raine lowered his hand, satisfied.

Seeing the danger pass, Carter took a few deep breaths and hurried over.

"Raine, where did you send that monster?"

"Oh, nowhere special. I opened a pair of linked Portals in midair, one above the other," Raine said lightly.

"Let him enjoy some free fall, get some air, and clear his head."

With that, Raine summoned the chains again, drove them into Steve's wound, and resumed the interrupted treatment.

Ding!

The Scarlet Contract Chains crave blood. Their mood is extremely volatile!

Healing efficiency has decreased again!

Raine rolled his eyes and ignored the system's commentary.

Over the next few minutes, he also sliced apart a dozen or so alien grunts that wandered too close.

Steve finally let out a muffled groan and slowly opened his eyes.

At first, his gaze was unfocused. Then his body tensed, and he stared warily at Raine.

Only after seeing the mangled alien corpses scattered around him and the scabbed-over wound on his chest did Steve relax.

"You saved me?"

"Clearly." Raine dismissed his magic.

Steve pushed himself to his feet, his expression solemn. "Thank you for saving my life. I'll repay you when I get the chance."

"But right now, I need to get back to my team. We're not done with those damn aliens yet."

He had barely finished speaking when static crackled through the communicator in his ear, followed by a jumble of voices.

"Captain? Can you hear us?"

"Captain, respond!"

"Tony, scan for the captain's location!"

"I'm busy dodging missiles! When am I supposed to do that?"

"Damn it! I saw the Hulk lose control and run toward where the captain disappeared!"

The channel was in chaos.

Everyone was frantic.

If the endless alien army overhead hadn't pinned them down, they would have come for him already.

"I'm fine. Back on my feet and good as new."

Steve pressed his earpiece and answered quickly. "I'm coming to help."

Cheers of relief came through the channel.

A group of civilians was trapped in the basement of a Brooklyn bank and needed immediate rescue.

Steve was about to sprint off when Raine reached out to stop him.

"Wait."

Steve looked at him seriously. "Don't worry. Once this battle's over, I won't forget what I owe you."

"Don't get me wrong. I'm not after a reward." Raine shrugged. "I'm just returning your big green friend."

As he spoke, Raine raised his right hand and snapped his fingers.

Whoosh!

A golden ring of light appeared in midair.

A massive green figure plummeted through it with a scream and smashed into the asphalt with a thunderous crash.

"ROAR!"

The moment the Hulk landed, he threw back his head and roared out of habit.

But when his huge eyes caught sight of Raine beside him, the roar stuck in his throat.

His towering body shrank back. He looked away, his expression almost aggrieved.

Being trapped in endless free fall had been sheer agony.

Steve was utterly baffled.

What was going on now?

In all his years, he had never seen the rampaging Hulk look so spooked.

The green brute had always charged headfirst into anything. Push him far enough and he would punch a god. So why was he cowering today?