Under the watchful eyes of Natasha and surrounding onlookers, Hulk soared through the air before crashing heavily at the far end of the street.
BOOM!
Though Richard hadn't employed his full strength, Hulk still flew dozens of meters before impacting the pavement, creating a visible crater upon landing.
The depression wasn't particularly deep, and the force of impact meant little to Hulk's incredibly resilient body. But compared to the physical damage, the blow to Hulk's pride proved far more significant.
Simply put, from his "birth" until now, Hulk had never experienced such indignity. Typically, he was the one who sent others flying. Now, he found himself on the receiving end of such treatment.
More critically, this humiliation had occurred before Natasha.
Unlike Banner, Hulk never concealed his affection for Natasha. This explained why she alone among the Avengers could coax him into relinquishing control to Banner.
Though Hulk didn't fully comprehend the complexities of romantic love, one thing remained absolutely clear: he didn't want Natasha to view him as inferior.
If Hulk's earlier emergence had stemmed from Natasha's unintentional words triggering his competitive spirit, now he experienced genuine rage—or rather, fury!
For Hulk, anger functioned like adrenaline in ordinary humans, dramatically enhancing his already formidable strength and durability.
Relatively unharmed, Hulk immediately rose to his feet, turned toward Richard, and released a roar reminiscent of some primordial beast. Then he charged at Richard like an enraged rhinoceros.
THOOM! THOOM! THOOM! THOOM!
Hulk's footfalls resonated like war drums—dull, yet conveying tremendous power. Each step left crater-like depressions in the hard pavement.
In mere moments, Hulk closed the distance to Richard and raised his right fist to strike.
Facing this onslaught, Richard didn't employ Teleportation to evade. Instead, he swung the Masamune with practiced precision.
Gravesong!
Four lightning-fast cuts materialized instantly, the razor-sharp blade of the Masamune repeatedly slicing through Hulk's massive frame.
SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! BOOM!
Unlike Richard's previous applications of Gravesong, the final strike not only carved through Hulk's body but sent him flying backward.
The concluding move of Gravesong always incorporated a repelling effect against enemies. However, Richard had seldom employed this aspect before, or rarely had opportunity to utilize the technique's full potential.
Ordinary mutant agents and normies typically fell to the first three strikes of Gravesong. Benjamin, the operations chief at the Los Angeles branch, might have experienced the knockback effect of Gravesong's final strike, but at that time, Richard's skill had been only level 2, without the fine control he now commanded.
Finally, Richard had found a worthy opponent to experience the full capabilities of his Gravesong technique.
Under everyone's astonished gaze, Hulk was propelled backward a second time, flying dozens of meters before crashing heavily onto the street.
Neither Natasha, who knew Hulk intimately, nor the spectators who had only read about him online had expected the massive green behemoth to be knocked away twice in rapid succession by someone of Richard's relatively modest stature.
Even Hulk himself hadn't anticipated this outcome. He had assumed he needed only minimal effort to crush the slender Richard. Instead, he hadn't even managed to land a single blow, while Richard had inflicted five or six wounds on his body.
Though unfamiliar with Richard, Hulk knew with certainty that he disliked him intensely. Just as before, Hulk quickly regained his footing and charged Richard again.
Once more, with a resounding impact, Richard sent him flying.
After realizing direct assaults proved ineffective, Hulk immediately changed tactics. He approached a nearby car, effortlessly hoisting it overhead. Then, wielding the vehicle as a makeshift projectile, he hurled it toward Richard.
Observing Hulk's strategic shift toward ranged attacks, Richard still refrained from using Teleportation. Instead, he relied on his natural agility to calmly evade the vehicles Hulk launched at him.
When a car could be avoided with a single step or half-step, Richard chose straightforward evasion, allowing the vehicle to sail past within centimeters. When dodging would require multiple steps, he cleaved the car in two with his Masamune, letting the bisected halves pass harmlessly by.
CRASH! CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!
Hulk launched vehicle after vehicle as though their supply were inexhaustible. Despite his focused aim, none of the projectiles connected with Richard. In fact, watching Richard's calm evasions only intensified Hulk's rage.
Soon, all nearby vehicles had been commandeered and thrown by Hulk. These unfortunate cars now littered the street behind Richard like discarded toys.
Though Hulk's ranged assault failed to harm Richard, it created considerable danger for onlookers. When Hulk had thrown the first car, spectators positioned behind Richard realized Hulk showed complete disregard for their safety.
They had believed themselves adequately distanced from the conflict, able to safely observe the spectacle. Reality proved otherwise: witnessing superhuman combat at close range entailed significant risk, even for non-targets. Flying glass fragments and vehicle debris posed lethal threats to unprotected bystanders.
After several unfortunate individuals sustained injuries from shrapnel and wreckage, spectators filming with their phones recognized their status as mere onlookers, not front-line journalists obligated to risk their lives for headlines. Without prompting, upon seeing the injured, the crowd dispersed rapidly.
Neither Richard nor Hulk paid attention to the fleeing spectators.
When Hulk had exhausted all available projectiles, Richard elevated his Masamune and addressed his opponent.
"Your ranged attack is over. Now it's my turn."
With these words, he raised his right hand, palm upward, and channeled his internal mana.
Black Materia!
As his mana reserves depleted, a completely black energy sphere approximately 20-30 centimeters in diameter manifested above Richard's palm, resembling a miniature black hole.
For those unfamiliar with Final Fantasy VII, the name "Black Materia" offered little insight into the skill's nature. In reality, it summoned a magically-formed meteorite that descended from the sky to strike enemies.
In the game, Black Materia's power remained constant. However, the version Richard commanded derived its power directly from the mana invested. Simply put, greater magical expenditure produced larger meteorites with proportionally increased destructive capacity.
Additionally, Richard could determine the altitude from which the meteorite descended. In-game, meteorites typically fell from ten to twenty meters above targets. Here, Richard could freely choose whether the meteorite fell from mere centimeters away or thousands of meters overhead.
Higher altitude generated stronger impact force upon landing. However, it simultaneously reduced accuracy against mobile targets—unless the opponent remained oblivious to the impending celestial threat and stood motionless beneath it.
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