Chaos Bolt had always been famous for one thing.
Penetration.
It wasn’t a spell that dealt ordinary fire damage. Its true destructive force came from condensed fel energy, forged into pure chaos.
Fel was corrosive by nature.
With the sole exception of the Holy Light, which opposed it directly, fel consumed and contaminated nearly every other form of energy it encountered.
Compress enough of it into a single projectile and release it...
Only the mighty shields of a paladin, sustained by overwhelming Holy Light, could reliably stop it.
Even a priest’s Power Word: Shield lacked the purity to withstand it.
Every other magical barrier simply dissolved before the arrow’s relentless corruption.
There was a reason veteran Warlocks loved the spell.
It ignored defenses.
When it landed, opponents usually stopped being opponents.
Against armored enemies, piercing power often mattered more than raw explosive force. A grenade might flatten infantry, but if you wanted to punch through a tank, you reached for an armor-piercing shell instead.
That was exactly why Evenson hadn’t opened the battle with Chaos Bolt.
He hadn’t been certain it could kill the Abomination in one strike.
Soul Fire, on the other hand, could be strengthened almost indefinitely by consuming additional Soul Shards. It seemed like the safer option.
In hindsight...
It had been the wrong decision.
In fact, several parts of this battle hadn’t gone particularly well.
The reason was simple.
Evenson had almost no real combat experience.
Modern Earth was nothing like Azeroth.
Compared to a world constantly at war, Marvel’s Earth was practically peaceful.
Sure, he’d wiped out the Dead End Gang.
But slaughtering ordinary criminals barely qualified as combat.
He hadn’t even needed complete spells.
A casual blast of fel fire was enough to reduce them to ash.
The only reason he’d bothered harvesting their souls afterward was because they were useful.
His fight against Obadiah Stane hadn’t counted either.
The Iron Monger armor had been formidable.
Obadiah himself had not.
Beneath the metal was still an ordinary man, physically weaker than plenty of street thugs Evenson had met before.
He’d exploited that weakness and ended the fight with cleverness rather than overwhelming force.
This...
This had been his first genuine battle against a true powerhouse.
Fortunately, although Soul Fire had been a tactical mistake, his massively overcharged version had crippled the Abomination badly enough to make everything afterward possible.
Without that opening, he never would have survived long enough to kite the monster toward the Hulk.
The battle was over.
Everyone breathed easier.
While the Hulk reunited with Betty, Evenson walked over to the Abomination’s corpse.
He knelt beside it.
"Smashing my car wasn’t enough, huh?" he muttered. "You had to make me work for it too."
He placed a hand above the corpse.
"You’re not getting off that easily."
The soul had only just left the body.
Perfect timing.
Dark purple light spiraled upward before condensing into a brilliant Soul Shard.
Evenson smiled in satisfaction.
"Very nice."
He turned the crystal over in his hand.
"...I think I know exactly what to do with you."
Not far away, Bruce Banner finally released Betty from his embrace.
He’d made his decision.
He no longer belonged in normal society.
Staying with her would only bring more danger into her life.
Besides...
Any future with Betty meant dealing with General Ross as a father-in-law.
Honestly, wandering the wilderness suddenly sounded far more appealing.
Without another word, the Hulk disappeared into the night.
General Ross watched him leave.
His expression was conflicted.
For years, capturing Bruce Banner had been his obsession.
But today...
The Hulk had saved his life.
For the first time, Ross wasn’t sure whether he still wanted to continue the hunt.
"General."
Ross turned.
The strange mage who had killed the Abomination was walking toward him.
"You’ve got bigger problems than Banner."
Evenson gestured toward the devastated dock.
"You should probably start thinking about how you’re going to explain... all this."
Ross studied him carefully.
"And who are you?"
The question had been bothering him ever since the battle ended.
After all, this man had killed the Abomination.
Anyone capable of that demanded answers.
Evenson chuckled.
He removed his mask.
"My name’s Evenson Richter."
He smiled.
"Special Consultant to S.H.I.E.L.D."
Technically, he’d only held the position for a few days.
Technically.
Ross’s eye twitched the moment he heard the word S.H.I.E.L.D.
His relationship with the agency had never been friendly.
After the incident involving the mutated corpses, it had only gotten worse.
Still...
He forced himself to remain calm.
Tonight’s disaster was catastrophic.
If S.H.I.E.L.D. decided to press the issue, he could very well find himself standing before a military tribunal.
"What does S.H.I.E.L.D. want?"
Evenson shrugged.
"I have no idea."
"That’s Director Fury’s decision."
"I’m not here on official business."
Ross blinked.
"Personal business?"
That changed things considerably.
Negotiation became possible.
"What do you want?"
Evenson raised one finger.
"First."
"The Abomination’s body goes to S.H.I.E.L.D."
Ross narrowed his eyes.
"That doesn’t sound very personal."
"If S.H.I.E.L.D. officially demanded the body," Evenson replied, "do you really think this incident could still be covered up?"
Strictly speaking...
It probably could.
Blame everything on the Hulk.
Tell the public that the green monster rampaged through New York, while Major Emil Blonsky died heroically resisting him.
Most civilians couldn’t tell the two monsters apart anyway.
But Ross hadn’t thought that far ahead yet.
He hesitated.
"Major Blonsky was a United States Army officer."
"His remains belong with the military."
Evenson snorted.
"Let’s not insult each other’s intelligence, General."
"You’ve already created two monsters."
"You planning to make a third?"
Silence.
Ross wanted the corpse for research.
Nothing more.
After several long seconds...
He sighed.
"...Fine."
"You have my word."
Evenson nodded.
"Good."
"Official business is finished."
A smile slowly spread across his face.
"Now let’s discuss something personal."
Before Ross could react, Evenson grabbed him by the front of his uniform.
"The lunatic you created smashed my car."
"It was my first car."
"My only car."
"So..."
He leaned in.
"Are we settling this the official way..."
"...or the personal way?"
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