"Your plan,"
Fury's hollow eye sockets locked onto Gravik,
"…stinks just like your soul."
His flaming fist swung violently.
BOOM—SIZZLE—!!
The punch smashed squarely into Gravik's face.
The extreme heat instantly melted half of Gravik's cheek, flesh bubbling like wax.
The sheer force sent him flying backward, crashing into the control console behind him and showering the room with sparks.
The surrounding Skrull warriors trembled at the sight.
But instinct still drove them forward.
"For the Skrulls!"
They raised alien weapons and charged, trying to stop the burning demon.
"A swarm of vermin."
Hellfire surged around Fury's body as he whipped his arm.
The Hellfire chain lashed outward.
"Feel pain!"
CRACK!
The blazing whip swept across the hall.
Three Skrull warriors were sliced clean in half at the waist.
No blood flowed from their wounds—because the flesh had been instantly cauterized into charred black ash.
"AAAAAH—!!"
The remaining warriors opened fire in panic.
Fury opened his jaws.
A fan-shaped blast of hellfire roared from his mouth.
Any Skrull touched by the flames—armor, skin, bone—was reduced to ash in seconds.
A skeletal claw seized a fleeing Skrull by the head.
"Look into my eyes!"
Hellfire surged through the victim's pupils, scorching his soul.
Within moments, the Skrull collapsed into a smoking corpse.
It was a massacre.
In less than two minutes, more than a hundred charred bodies littered the hall.
The remaining Skrulls—seeing such horror, and unsure whether their new leader was alive—scattered in terror.
Fury stepped forward after finishing the underlings.
He was preparing to end the extremist leader with the ultimate judgment.
"Face your judgment."
But suddenly—
Gravik laughed.
"Ha… hehe… hehehe…"
He slowly stood up.
The half-melted cheek had already regenerated completely.
Under his skin, an orange glow pulsed like molten lava flowing beneath flesh.
"Hm?"
Fury's flaming skull flickered.
"Extremis virus?"
Gravik rolled his jaw, grinning smugly.
"Not bad, Fury."
"But it's not enough."
His body began to mutate violently.
His left arm swelled grotesquely, tearing through his sleeve.
The skin turned deep green.
The muscles bulged like concrete pillars.
It was the arm of the Hulk.
Meanwhile, the right half of his body hardened into rough gray armor.
Jagged bone spines burst from his back.
The traits of Abomination.
"What…?"
Even Fury's flaming skull tilted in surprise.
"Did you forget who I am?"
"I'm Gravik."
"The commander you sent to lead the post-battle cleanup team."
Fury's voice grew low.
"I remember now…"
"The Battle of New York… and the Dark Elf invasion."
"I ordered the Skrulls to disguise themselves as Damage Control workers."
"To collect blood samples and tissue from super-powered beings on the battlefield…"
"So we could prepare for future threats."
Gravik grinned.
"Exactly."
His body blurred.
A streak of afterimages appeared.
Quicksilver's super-speed genes.
"And now…"
"I'm the threat."
Fury saw only a flash.
Then—
BOOM—!!
A colossal force slammed into his chest.
His flaming skeleton blasted through three layers of reinforced concrete walls.
Debris exploded outward.
"Damn gene-spliced freak…"
Fury spat a glob of flaming saliva.
He hurled his burning chain toward Gravik.
But—
"Too slow!"
Gravik vanished.
He reappeared instantly beside Fury.
Fury turned and unleashed a torrent of hellfire from his mouth.
But Gravik didn't dodge.
His skin turned icy blue.
Frost spread across his body.
The power of a Frost Giant—one of the few forces capable of resisting hellfire.
"Got you!"
Gravik reached through the flames and seized Fury's skull.
He lifted him into the air.
His arm bulged—transforming into Hulk strength.
He squeezed.
Trying to crush Fury's head.
"GRRAAH!"
Fury roared.
Hellfire exploded from his body.
"I AM IMMORTAL!!"
His skeletal claws grabbed Gravik's wrist.
Hellfire burned into the green flesh.
SZZZZ—
The smell of scorched flesh filled the air.
The Hulk arm blistered and cracked under the flames.
Gravik grimaced and released him.
But moments later—
His regeneration restored the damage completely.
The two monsters collided again.
This was a battle between monsters.
The underground base was torn apart.
Walls collapsed.
Steel beams melted.
The fight moved from the nuclear facility into the ruins of Pripyat city.
Eventually—
They crashed into the abandoned amusement park.
The rusted Ferris wheel groaned in the cold wind.
BANG!
Gravik smashed Fury into the bumper car arena.
Several rusted cars crumpled beneath the impact.
Gravik fell from the sky like a meteor, both feet aimed to crush Fury.
Fury rolled away.
His chain wrapped around the Ferris wheel support beam.
With a violent yank—
The massive structure collapsed toward Gravik.
Gravik caught the hundred-ton steel frame with one arm.
With the other—
He formed a massive frost spear.
"Die, Fury!"
Just as the fight reached its peak—
A gust of wind swept across the city.
The heavy gray clouds above Pripyat suddenly split open.
Sunlight poured through the gaps.
Golden rays fell directly onto the amusement park.
And onto the two combatants.
SZZ—
The hellfire around Fury's body suddenly shrank the moment sunlight touched it.
The endless stream of power… faltered.
"What?!"
Fury froze in shock.
His movements slowed for just a moment.
"Ha!"
Gravik instantly noticed.
"What's wrong, old man?"
"Running out of fuel?"
Gravik rushed forward with a savage grin.
His fists hammered into Fury.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Fury was beaten back relentlessly.
His flames grew weaker.
Even the bones of his skeleton began to crack.
"Damn it… why?!"
He staggered backward until he crashed against the railing of the spinning airplane ride.
Dropping to one knee.
Just as confusion overwhelmed him—
A familiar voice echoed inside his head.
"Confused, Fury?"
Mephisto.
"Wondering why your power collapses under sunlight like a man suffering from… premature failure?"
"That's not my fault."
"Remember that little trick you tried in the contract?"
"You thought using that pathetic seal could cheat power out of me for free?"
Mephisto's laughter filled Fury's mind.
"HAHAHAHA—!"
"If it's a fair deal…"
"Then the exchange must be equal."
"You paid an incomplete price."
"So naturally…"
"You only receive incomplete power."
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