But reality would never rewrite itself because of its unwillingness; the disparity in power between the two sides was already worlds apart.
Mavuika's expression was indifferent. She deliberately restrained the vast majority of her divine power, using only pure physical strength, firmly controlling the aftermath of the battle within a tiny radius to avoid affecting the remaining civilians and buildings in the distance.
With a slight turn of her body, a lift of her wrist, and a casual push, she easily neutralized every fierce attack from Abomination. With a backhanded punch to its shoulder and a kick to the back of its knee, her movements were as swift and clean as if she were merely playing.
Occasionally, a wisp of golden-red Fire would overflow from her fingertips, lightly searing Abomination's skin and leaving behind charred burn marks. It roared in pain repeatedly, yet it could not even touch the hem of Mavuika's clothes.
The last shred of Abomination's sanity snapped completely the moment it realized this.
"Ah——!!!"
It roared at the sky, its voice devoid of anger, leaving only the most primitive, Beast-like madness of being cornered.
It grabbed that school bus—that yellow school bus weighing over a dozen tons, overturned on the side of the road—and swung it toward Mavuika as if it were a wooden stick.
The school bus carved a huge arc in the air, accompanied by a piercing scream as it tore through the air.
Mavuika did not dodge.
She raised her hand, and the moment the school bus touched her palm, it was incinerated by the suddenly rising Fire.
Abomination was stunned.
The next second, Mavuika moved.
With a twist of her wrist, she clenched her fist and struck back at Abomination with speed faster and power greater than when it had attacked.
Bang——!!!
Abomination flew backward, smashing through an abandoned shop, breaking a concrete utility pole behind the shop, and finally crashing heavily onto a pile of car wrecks at the end of the street.
It lay there, panting heavily, its entire body covered in fine wounds.
Those charred marks covered its whole body, spreading across its earth-yellow skin.
Abomination completely lost consciousness from this punch, its massive body collapsing onto the ground as it passed out.
The entire street was silent.
The soldiers of the Military stopped firing; they stood there holding their guns, stunned, like statues.
Their gun barrels were still smoking, but no one pulled the trigger again.
Civilians hiding behind cars peeked out from their hiding spots, their faces filled with disbelief.
Some were trembling, some were crying, and some had their hands pressed together in prayer, whispering to themselves, unsure if they were praying or giving thanks.
Mavuika stood amidst the ruins, her golden-red hair draped over her shoulders, fluttering gently in the breeze.
She looked as if she had just returned from a walk and happened to pass by.
Then, she looked up toward the helicopter that had just landed not far away.
General Ross's helicopter had already landed. He stood beside it, his hand still resting on the cabin door, maintaining the posture he had when he got off.
He had seen many storms.
In the jungles of Vietnam, he had seen comrades blown to pieces by landmines.
In Operation Desert Storm, he had commanded an armored division of tens of thousands.
During these three years of hunting Hulk, he had seen that green monster tear apart tanks with its bare hands, leap fifty meters into the air, and move through a hail of bullets as if walking through an empty field.
But he had never seen a scene like this.
A four-meter-tall monster that could throw cars with its bare hands and whose skin could not even be pierced by machine gun bullets——
Had been knocked to the ground by a woman using only her hands, in just a few moves.
And that woman looked even younger than his daughter.
General Ross blinked, confirming he was not dreaming.
But a soldier's instinct made him calm down first, and he immediately ordered his soldiers loudly: "Seal off the scene! Clean up the battlefield debris! Get Bronski under control! And Hulk, do not let it get away!"
Abomination lay in the ruins, having turned back into Bronski. The bare-chested special forces soldier was curled up there, trembling all over, unable to tell if it was from the cold or fear.
Mavuika stood not far away, her back to him, seemingly preparing to leave.
General Ross took a deep breath and stepped forward.
While giving orders, he straightened his uniform, announced his name loudly toward Mavuika, and walked quickly toward her, his eyes filled with the ambition of someone determined to succeed: "Madam! I am General Ross of the United States Army! Thank you for your help. Could you please stay for a moment and talk?"
He desperately wanted to make contact with this mysterious woman who could easily crush Abomination and bring this terrifying power under the control of the Military.
"I saw everything you just did," General Ross said, trying to make his voice sound steady and powerful.
"You defeated a threat that our Military could not subdue despite using every means at our disposal. On behalf of the United States government and the American people, I express my gratitude."
General Ross paused, then continued: "But at the same time, I need to know your identity. Who are you? Where do your abilities come from? Are you under the jurisdiction of any government or organization?"
His tone began to carry that habitual, commanding inflection.
"People like you, possessing such power, cannot just act as you please. We need... to establish communication channels, we need to set rules, we need——"
Not far away, Hulk finally snapped out of its daze. Seeing the soldiers closing in, its eyes flashed with violent crimson once more. It let out a deafening roar and suddenly kicked off the ground, leaping!
Its figure soared into the air like a giant cannonball, leaping hundreds of meters in a single bound, instantly jumping out of the Military's encirclement and disappearing among the city buildings.
Watching Hulk's terrifying jumping ability, General Ross's soldiers could only look on and sigh, unable to pursue at all.
With everything settled, Mavuika had no interest in General Ross's solicitation, not even bothering to look back.
Her figure flickered, a faint golden-red light rippling around her body, and she took flight, chasing directly in the direction Hulk had left.
Both Hulk and the mysterious woman had blatantly ignored him, leaving just like that.
General Ross's face instantly turned livid, looking extremely ugly.
Betty folded her arms, glanced coldly at her father, her tone full of mockery: "What did I say, Father?"
Betty walked closer. Her voice was not loud, but every word felt like a needle pricking into General Ross's heart: "You have chased him for three years, and what is the result? The monster you created nearly destroyed half of Harlem, and the person who could truly stop all of this would not even talk to you."
General Ross was silent.
Betty sneered: "Banner was right; we caused all of this, and we are all responsible."
Although she was reluctant to part with Banner, she was even less willing to see her lover imprisoned, dissected, or exploited by her father.
She turned and walked in another direction.
"Betty," General Ross called out to her.
Betty did not look back.
"Where are you going?"
"To a place without you," Betty's voice came back.
General Ross opened his mouth, wanting to say something to stop her, but in the end, he said nothing.
He watched his daughter's back disappear around the street corner, then turned back to look at the chaotic street.
Although Hulk and that mysterious woman had both left, Abomination had been brought under control; at least this trip was not a total failure.
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