Chapter 40: 40
Full of deep wounds but with an abnormally calm breath, Allen rose from the ground. Immediately, he extended his hand, and a small stone appeared, as if understanding the task the Philosopher's Stone began to heal the wounds instantly.
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– Wait, is this serious? Just happened?
– For God's sake, it's on the news!, earthquakes all over New Mexico!
– It was real...
Gwen: Allen!!
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Everyone asked many incredulous questions, but Allen didn't have the luxury to answer, not even to the terrified women who were staring at him.
Allen's white hair covered his eyes, making it impossible for the cameras to focus on him. He needed to focus, but he knew he had to say a few words to those who loved him.
"I'm so sorry... I know it must be hard to see me bleed... but I ask you, don't worry. I don't intend to risk my life."
It seemed like a message for everyone, and in part, it was. But Gwen, Mary, and Natasha knew it was primarily for them.
Allen's eyes focused on the horizon. 'Clear your mind, Allen... concentrate solely on defeating him.'
Allen's scattered attention focused solely on figuring out how to win. Hulk's strength increased every second, massively and seemingly without limits. It's a pity Hulk wasn't allowing Allen the luxury of thinking.
Hulk appeared over Allen; the air around him was parted, creating a heavy current that pushed trees, like witnessing a walking natural disaster. In an instant, Hulk turned the valley's peaceful atmosphere into chaos. Terrestrial animals, birds, and insects ran scared in all directions, sensing the imminent danger.
Even a couple of campers miles away on a hill witnessed this horror. Allen immediately extended Crown Clown to form a circular wall a hundred meters away from him and Hulk.
At the same time, he clenched his fist, combining Haki and cursed energy to its maximum capacity, even more than before. It's incredible what a life-or-death situation can evoke in a person. Normally, Allen should train for several months to achieve this.
"Don't underestimate me!" with a determined shout, Allen received Hulk's incoming fist with his own. Amid the impending apocalypse, the concentrated Haki collided with the monster's gamma-energy-infused fist.
The impact shattered the ground and nearby trees, but it was contained by Crown Clown, saving, in the process, the innocent couple who could only be frightened by Hulk's roar, along with many living creatures.
They seemed evenly matched, but it was only an illusion. A few seconds later, Allen began to give way until he kneeled on the ground. This was because Hulk's strength doubled once more.
"Damn it, this is ridiculous. In a few minutes, he'll be able to destroy the entire country... and shortly after..." Allen shivered. 'I have to flee,' he thought, but his thoughts shifted to the women waiting for him in New York.
'I can't...'
Allen became angry and conceded victory in the clash to Hulk, but before the beast could react, it received a blow from below that broke its jaw.
Allen struck him with an uppercut. "You might be stronger, but not faster!" a powerful wave of energy shot toward the sky; had there been clouds, they would have been pierced.
Allen disappeared again; this time, he kicked Hulk's side, sending him flying towards Crown Clown's wall. Allen transformed the surface of his innocence into something elastic; Hulk buried himself in the wall and, like a slingshot, was sent back to Allen.
Allen's leg turned black, powered by red Haki. He welcomed Hulk with a frontal kick, but Hulk reacted, grabbing Allen's foot and throwing him to the ground.
"Ugh!"
Allen crashed into the ground, causing an earthquake and a massive crater, sinking the entire ground. Crown Clown couldn't contain the damage within a hundred meters, and massive fissures spread across the vast valley, destroying thousands of hectares in its path.
Bothered by some internal injuries, Allen used his other leg to strike Hulk's hand and free himself. Then, despite the wounds, he leaned on the ground with his hands and kicked the giant green's abdomen, sending him skyward.
Allen glanced sideways at the destruction he did lament it. 'I was too naive to try to contain the damage against a monster I'm not even sure I'll defeat... kindness is a luxury of the strong' Allen must focus solely on Hulk, or he could die.
Gritting his teeth in frustration, Allen jumped in pursuit of Hulk, leaving the valley in ruins. One-tenth of the speed of light was no joke; Allen reached Hulk high above the clouds instantly and grabbed him by the face, then tossed him towards a desert area.
The giant plummeted faster than a meteorite and crashed into a mountain, destroying it. Allen followed suit and stopped in the sky. Allen and Hulk changed states again and were now in Arizona.
Hulk leaped towards him; Allen didn't move, but he didn't receive the blow. He waited until the last second, tilting his head to dodge, then dealt his attack to Hulk's temple.
Allen distanced himself for a moment, and then, Haki concentrated on his right foot with a forward spin. Allen kicked Hulk's head with his heel; the atmosphere trembled with the powerful strike, echoing throughout the state.
Hulk crashed into the arid rock and earth, causing a Richter scale 9 earthquake. There was no one near in danger other than some snakes and such.
Allen remained in the air thanks to anti-gravity; his eyes showed calmness, but he remained alert for when Hulk emerged from the ground and took the opportunity to slowly heal himself using the Reverse cursed technique. Although he wasn't competent in healing severe wounds, it could help him recover a bit.
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CNN: The White House stated the inhabitants of Arizona and deployed the army for evacuation. So far, it's known that a series of earthquakes have caused damage to many cities and towns in New Mexico, Colorado, and Arizona.
CNN: Damaged buildings are reported in Colorado and a broken dam in Arizona. It's still unconfirmed whether there are any human casualties. A gray day for America today.
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Ruby - Allen, please get out of there!
Nikky - Captain, I know you're strong, but your loved ones will be sad if something happens to you... I'll be sad too
Rick - Dude, heroism is overrated; it's not worth it. Just go; I do it all the time.
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GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!
Hulk screamed underground. "That's impossible..." Allen looked in shock as a huge section of the ground cracked.
Everyone watched in horror as a surface large enough to be an island was lifted from the ground and hurtled towards Allen as if nothing.
"It's five miles at least..." Allen observed this calmly. He could easily dodge it, but if that fell to the ground, it could have the same effect as what wiped out the dinosaurs.
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Allen wasn't the only one considering the consequences if that fell to the ground.
– Is this the end?
– Don't fuck me! I have my first date tomorrow!
– This is a joke, right?! Answer, is this a damn joke?!!
Rick - You have to get it away from the ground or say goodbye to life on Earth. *Burp*
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Allen read Rick's message and acted immediately, 'System!'
[At your service, improving Noro Noro ability]
Even though it hurt Allen, he used several unopened chests in the system's enhancement function to improve the ability extracted from Foxy. It might seem silly, but many people agree that Foxy's fruit is one of the most ridiculously strong in One Piece.
A purple glow appeared in Allen's hand, rapidly growing massive and enveloping the large island. The Noro Noro's slow-down effect, enhanced by the system, stopped the island.
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– That's... I don't know what to say.
– Are we safe?
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[Host finished! Fifteen fragments available!]
Allen breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing the system; he smiled and enhanced the skill he gained from Fujitora to blue, and then applied anti-gravity to make the island float in the sky.
Standing on the vast expanse of land in the sky, Allen looked down at Hulk several miles below with a disdainful gaze. The monster became enraged and leaped towards Allen.
Allen didn't dodge Hulk. The monster grabbed him by the neck and slammed him through the island until they came out on the other side.
Immediately, Allen upgraded Fujitora's ability from blue to purple, spending ten fragments to gain control of gravity, reaching Fujitora's level of development. It's wasteful to spend ten fragments individually; using iridescent tickets can help Allen gain more, but relying on luck is foolish. It's better to improve the abilities you already have.
Allen placed his hand on Hulk and crushed him into the floating island. A purple aura covered Allen, increasing gravity towards the center of the floating island to be a hundred times that of Earth.
Hulk felt the gravitational pull and fell towards the center of the island, which, in turn, gradually turned from a massive, irregular surface of five miles into a compressed sphere of high density.
Due to the uniform compression of gravity, it seemed as if a small planet had formed in the sky.
There's no hiding it; Allen was inspired by the planet of Kaio-sama from Dragon Ball; in this way, Hulk was forced to fight outside the surface.
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– Allen just created a planet, or am I crazy?
– Fool, that's not a planet; it's a reference... a huge and ridiculous reference... and perhaps a tribute.
Rick - Well thought, buddy. Now you just have to worry about defeating Hulk before his power becomes too much for you.
===
Allen breathed heavily, and although using abilities didn't consume energy as such, it caused him an enormous mental, spiritual, and physical burden.
Hulk emerged from the earth, it was obvious that a hundred times his weight meant nothing at these moments.
"RAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!"
Hulk jumped ten meters and landed on the planet's surface, the rock that was shot up fell back onto the planet and buried itself.
Allen landed slowly on the surface, Hulk shouted at him, his muscles expanded again, and his strength doubled once more...
"And am I the cheater?..." Allen whispered, feeling a lot of pressure, which caused concern among his viewers who heard him clearly. "...!!" Allen realized this and immediately expelled his Haki mixed with cursed energy.
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– It's complicated being a man, you're not allowed to show weakness, even when you don't want to be strong.
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A simple comment that caught the attention of many people. There were comments from people asking Allen to flee, but deep down, no one wanted him to. Only except for a few people. because, what would happen if World Breaker Hulk were set free, unrestricted, and reached their cities?
So people began to support him. Allen smiled at this situation. It wasn't a lie in the battle against Doomsday; he didn't feel it so close because he didn't have time to see comments, and unlike that time, people were genuinely afraid because it affected their world.
– What nonsense are they saying? Allen is just a kid!!
Someone interrupted the supportive comments and halted Allen's movements.
+10k credits – Listen, kid, I'm heading there, just hold on, buy some time.
"Playboy..." Allen murmured in amazement. 'Do you plan to come?'
Tony also commented through a donation while putting on his latest armor, Allen didn't know how to respond to that.
Gwen – Allen, leave this to the army, just run!!
MJ – Allen, please, go!! Please!!
In private messages, Gwen and MJ were asking him to run away. Also, Allen knew his aunt Natasha well and knew she must be taking a flight here at this moment, even if she was not there anymore.
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"GAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!"
Allen dodged Hulk's punch, formed a small plasma sun in his hand, and shot it through Hulk's chest. However, no one could rejoice; they just watched in horror as the wound closed ridiculously fast.
'I knew it...' Allen wasn't surprised to see the instant regeneration.
Allen wasn't a superhero; he didn't have to do this. In that sense, Gwen and MJ were right; he should flee.
But a vision of Hulk splitting the continent in half flashed through Allen's mind. 'System, how much time do I have?'
[Host, in five minutes, you won't be able to defeat him; the gamma energy within Hulk is starting to mutate, again...]
Unfortunately for Allen, Hulk is very powerful. However, this power is not an unreality. Most versions of Hulk are close to the ones already known, but within the vast infinite, some have done very absurd things.
There's Grey Hulk, who destroyed an asteroid twice the size of Earth. There's Savage Hulk, who destroyed a universe by merely clashing his hands, and he survived universal destruction.
There's the Hulk who defeated Onslaught; during their fight, Onslaught threw reality itself at Hulk, and it didn't hurt him. Moreover, Hulk was able to destroy armor protected by the rules of reality itself, surpassing Onslaught's mind power. Hulk managed to defeat a virtually omnipotent being that was at the level of a Celestial, one of the strongest.
Of course, Allen didn't know about this. However, facing Hulk, he knew what would happen if he didn't stop him.
This Worldbreaker Hulk is an artificial one created by the mutation of the excess gamma energy he absorbed, so he wouldn't reach those levels. Nevertheless, he's still extremely dangerous, and every second his power increases without limits.
Allen closed his eyes. 'I can't run...' Allen's gaze sharpened as he opened them again. 'I must stop him before he reaches that level!'
One thing was clear to Allen: he was the only person at this moment who could stop Hulk before it was too late.
Ignoring the comments and messages asking him to stop, Allen faced Hulk once more, this time ready to risk his life in the process.
Hulk roared as he lunged towards Allen, but the latter disappeared, and Hulk only hit the ground, destroying half of the small planet Allen had created. Allen immediately reconstructed it using gravity.
Then, he appeared and struck Hulk hundreds of times, leveraging his speed. The air ignited with plasma, and Allen didn't cause a nuclear explosion; he used his Haki to divert the particles from his path.
Allen felt a great impulse as he combined his boost ability with speed and accelerated even more. Allen recalled Flash's move that he couldn't execute; he circled the planet a hundred times almost instantly, gaining momentum.
Unlike Flash, Allen didn't have the Speed Force that prevents Flash from destroying everything in his path when accelerating so much.
"Speed is mass, the closer an object travels to the speed of light, the closer it gets to infinite mass..." Allen looked at Hulk, or rather, at Banner inside Hulk. The latter smiled and thanked Allen for stopping him.
Everyone felt a chill upon hearing Allen's words. He prepared himself, coating himself with Haki and activating all the defensive abilities he had.
Allen gritted his teeth slightly. "Infinite Mass Punch!" Allen impacted his fist against Hulk's chest; it was such a massive blow that it seemed to split the sky in the whole world.
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Rick – Finally, someone portrays what happens when a physical body travels at the speed of light, hahaha!
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Hulk was disintegrated along with Allen's mini-planet.
Allen appeared twenty miles away from there; he protected himself and used all his resistance to withstand his attack, but there was a price, and his right arm disappeared.
Allen looked at the disaster and the enormous amount of destruction he caused expressionlessly, and then he sighed in relief.
[Host!]
"...!"
Allen opened his eyes, staring at something ridiculous; far in the sky, a kind of green energy and smoke were gathering at a point, slowly taking the form of Hulk.
"Are you Majin Buu or something?!" Allen was in shock for a moment, but then, aiming his hand and heating the fire of Ace with the heat of Netsu Netsu, he managed to create plasma that he shot towards Hulk. However, Hulk finished regenerating and shouted as the plasma was dispersed.
"Now, he can just shouting?..."
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- "He's even faster than Majin Buu in regenerating! What the hell is Hulk?!"
- "Run, Allen!!"
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Hulk immediately fell to the ground destroyed and then jumped towards Allen, who had a hesitant expression. Allen disappeared from Hulk's path.
[Host... it's your decision...]
Allen sighed, letting out all his emotions. "Run?... of course, I want to run... No matter how you look at it, this is just stupidity... why do I have to face this thing?!..."
No one countered him; he had no obligation to do anything at this moment. All the viewers knew that if they were in his position, they would have already fled.
Hulk appeared in front of Allen, roaring to pulverize him. Fluorescent veins covered Hulk's entire body as gamma radiation became tangible.
Allen closed his eyes once more, seemingly showing defeat, and this scared everyone as they thought he was going to be killed.
Gwen, MJ, and Natasha screamed in terror, feeling as if their hearts were being ripped out.
But...
At that moment...
Time seemed to slow down.
"You know what? I can't run 'cause I've got something I can't give up..."
Allen's arm regenerated with the reverse cursed technique.
"And that's why... I'm willing to do anything..." Allen clasped his hands. "...Even if I have to make a deal with the devil."
The air was filled with a dark, bloody, and malevolent aura.
"Domain Expansion" black lines of tattoos appeared on Allen's face, nose, and forehead. "I'm sorry, Hulk and Bruce, I have to prevent you from reaching a level I can't touch..."
In front of the world's gaze, to prevent Hulk from becoming even stronger, Allen summoned his newly acquired domain.
"Malevolent Kitchen"
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(A/N: both malevolent shrine and malevolent kitchen are acceptable translations according to my research)