A cold, hoarse, yet strangely familiar whisper was echoing directly in the depths of his mind.
The voice sounded exactly like that of his long-deceased father, Brian Banner.
[You belong below, Bruce.]
The voice carried a twisted kind of tenderness, as if a venomous snake's tongue were licking his most vulnerable wound.
[They're all afraid of you— the Avengers, the whole world. They'll always see you as a monster that needs to be controlled and monitored. Listen to what they call you? Dr. Banner? It's just to remind you that you're just a cage, keeping the real Beast inside.]
Banner clutched his head, his nails digging deep into his scalp, trying to use the pain to dispel the devilish whispers.
He staggered back half a step, his pupils contracted violently, and his whole body trembled like a leaf.
"Stop... stop saying it!" He squeezed out these words through gritted teeth, his voice as weak as a candle flickering in the wind.
[Look at this throne, Bruce.]
The voice was incredibly seductive.
[When it shatters, all constraints will vanish. Release the Hulk, open that door. You no longer need to suppress yourself, no longer need to hide, no longer need to see those hypocritical smiles and the fear lurking behind them.]
Destruction is your destiny; that is your true freedom.
The heroes of 616 finally realized something was wrong.
" Banner?" Mister Fantastic Reed Richards adjusted his glasses, his gaze sharp as a scalpel, attempting to analyze the energy fluctuations in Banner's body. "Your physiological indicators are skyrocketing. What happened?"
Wanda Maximoff's expression also turned serious. She could sense an extremely evil and filthy spiritual force, like vines, coiling around Banner's consciousness.
"Something is invading his mind!" she hissed, her fingertips already glowing with a crimson, chaotic light.
Thor showed no confusion; his gaze swept over everyone and landed on the distant ruins of time.
The puppet Hulk, who had just been blasted away by Thor's lightning strike, stood there blankly, his empty eyes staring straight ahead, like a signal transmitter.
Under One-Below-All (OBA)!
The thought flashed through Thor's mind.
This old cunning bastard, when he was being suppressed on the main battlefield, actually resorted to the trick of cutting off the enemy's supply lines!
It's bewitching Dr. Banner in Earth-616!
If successful, a Hulk completely controlled by OBA... that would be a far more terrifying disaster than all the enemies combined!
Thor's heart sank.
We can't let him succeed!
"Get out of the way!"
With a roar, Thor didn't hesitate. He pushed off with his feet, his whole body like a cannonball. The Golden Battle Axe in his hand drew a sharp black-gold light in the air and cleaved down towards Bruce Banner's head without hesitation!
He didn't use his full strength with this axe blow; his purpose wasn't to kill, but to forcibly sever OBA's mental link using the judgment and order laws attached to the axe blade!
However, it was too late.
Just as Thor's axe was about to touch Banner, at that critical moment...
Bruce Banner slowly raised his head, which had been hanging down the whole time.
For a moment, his heart wavered.
Destruction is the only destination...
free...
It was this fleeting moment of relaxation, this yearning for freedom from a Soul Stone suppressed for half its life, that became the final straw that broke the camel's back.
"Roar--!!!"
A roar that was neither human nor even Beast, but rather like the very depths of Hell itself, exploded from Banner's throat!
His green skin ripped through his clothes at a visible speed, muscle fibers proliferated and expanded wildly, and his bones crackled with a sickening thud.
His body instantly grew to three meters, four meters, five meters...
An aura of destruction, more violent, more primal, and more pure than the previous puppet Hulk, spread out like the shockwave of a nuclear explosion!
Thor's Golden Battle Axe cleaved heavily into the now grotesque green head.
The anticipated severing of the mental link did not occur.
The moment the axe blade made contact with the skin, it produced only a dull, bell-like sound, before being firmly clamped by the unbreakable muscles and unable to advance any further!
Thor's pupils contracted sharply.
He saw those eyes.
That was no longer Dr. Banner's rationality, nor Hulk's anger.
It was a Void, a bottomless darkness filled only with the desire for destruction.
The next second, a green fist thicker than Thor's waist, accompanied by a shrill whistling sound that tore through the air, slammed directly toward his face!
"Careful!"
Scarlet Witch Wanda, Captain Britain Brian, and Doctor Doom Doom all attacked at the same time.
Crimson Chaos Magic, golden knightly energy, and emerald green magical shield—three powerful forces instantly intertwined to form a three-colored barrier in front of Thor.
"Bang--!!!"
The fist collided with the barrier.
There was no earth-shattering explosion, only a muffled thud that sent chills down your spine.
The defense, constructed by three top experts working together, shattered like a spiderweb of cracks the moment it came into contact with the fist!
Wanda, Brian, and Doom all let out a muffled groan, thrown back several steps by the violent force, their faces showing disbelief.
The three of them working together couldn't even withstand a single punch?!
Before they could react, the newly born Destruction Hulk had already grabbed Thor's Golden Battle Axe, and with his other hand clenched into a fist, he blasted it out again!
The target this time is Thor Odinson, who has just arrived to provide support.
"Monster!"
Odinson roared, his battle axe, which had once slain Celestial, now ignited with an indomitable fighting spirit as he slashed at the fist.
However, the result was even more disheartening.
The giant green hand completely ignored the sharpness of the axe blade and grabbed the axe along with Odinson's wrist!
Odinson felt an irresistible force surge through him, his wrist throbbed with pain, and the bones in his entire arm seemed to groan.
His pride in his divine power was like the cry of a baby in front of this monster.
The Destruction Hulk didn't even glance at him, casually waving his other free hand as if swatting away an annoying fly.
"Bang!"
Odinson's massive body was struck squarely in the chest by this punch, and he flew backward like a kite with a broken string, crashing into the deeper part of the Time Ruins, where he remained silent for a long time.
The entire venue was deathly silent.
All eyes were focused on the green giant that exuded an aura of endless destruction.
He slowly loosened his grip on the Golden Battle Axe, allowing Thor to withdraw the weapon.
Then he turned around and stood side by side with the puppet Hulk.
The two towering green demons, simply standing together, exuded a suffocating sense of oppression.
At that moment, Mephisto, who had been watching from the sidelines, finally consolidated his power after being severely injured by Loki, God of Time.
His wounds had healed, and although he was much weaker than before, his sulfurous eyes gleamed with unprecedented excitement and greed.
He walked gracefully to the two Hulk, a smug smile on his face, as if admiring his masterpiece.
"Truly... a perfect work of art."
He opened his arms, looking at Thor and the heroes on the throne, his voice full of mockery.
"Now, the game has truly begun."
Amidst the devastation, Thor Odinson, the God of Thunder, struggled to his feet, spitting out a mouthful of golden blood foam; his chest armor was completely caved in.
He glanced at the three monsters standing together, radiating an aura of despair, and then at his teammates beside him, whose expressions were solemn and even somewhat bewildered.
The warmth that Loki's words had brought to this battle-hardened Asgardians's eyes had faded, replaced by a clear, warrior-like resolve.
He grinned, revealing a smile that looked more like a grimace.
"Okay, guys..."
His voice was somewhat hoarse, yet it reached everyone's ears with exceptional clarity.
"Is there any super brain that can tell me what to do next?"