Antony suddenly swung a heavy punch.
The blow looked earth-shattering, but in truth he had held back most of his strength. The impact only knocked the Hulk back a dozen meters, causing no real, lasting damage.
Then—on purpose—he exposed an opening.
His body tilted slightly to the right, posture unstable, as if his stamina had finally given out.
The Hulk shook his head as he rose.
His terrifying regenerative ability was already hard at work. The holes burned through his palms were gone. His crushed nasal bone snapped back into place with a series of wet cracks.
"Ptui!"
He worked his tongue around his mouth, then spat out a mouthful of blood.
Mixed within it—three stark white teeth.
The Hulk stared at the teeth on the ground for a full second.
Then he slowly lifted his head.
The green in his eyes ignited.
Teeth.
Again.
Rage.
Humiliation.
Gamma energy went berserk inside his body.
The Hulk's already massive frame swelled again, muscles bulging grotesquely as his height increased by nearly half a meter, flesh threatening to tear itself apart.
"HULK——!!!"
He let out a roar that shook the sky.
Then he did something completely unexpected.
His colossal arms stretched violently backward, chest thrust forward—like a titanic bow drawn to its absolute limit.
The next instant—
His palms slammed together.
But not forward.
Behind him.
BOOOOM!!!
A terrifying shockwave detonated behind his back, the air exploding like a rocket engine.
Propelled by that monstrous recoil, the Hulk's speed shattered its limit.
Space itself seemed to compress.
In the blink of an eye, he appeared right in front of Antony.
BAM—!!
Antony didn't even seem to have time to react.
The Hulk's fist smashed straight into his abdomen.
This punch carried everything—rage, shame, fury, power.
"Ugh…"
Antony grunted.
This time, he didn't deflect the force with high-level Aikido techniques.
He took it head-on.
The impact ripped straight through his body.
Antony was launched away like a baseball struck by a perfect home run, carving a straight line through the night sky—toward Manhattan.
As he hurtled backward at insane speed, Antony remained calm.
Using the cloud cover as concealment, he flicked his right wrist.
A golden Infinity Gauntlet materialized around his hand.
The Reality Stone glowed faintly red.
"Reality modification: conceal gauntlet appearance…"
The red light flickered.
The brilliant golden gauntlet vanished from sight, visually reshaping into a perfectly ordinary red leather glove—identical to his uniform.
-----
Above Manhattan.
More than a dozen news helicopters were circling frantically.
"Something just flew in from that direction!"
"Wait—zoom in! That's Antony!!"
The cameraman shouted.
The lens locked on.
Antony came screaming out of the horizon, completely out of control, as if he'd been hurled by an unimaginable force.
BOOOOM!!
He slammed straight into a classical brick building.
Walls collapsed. Dust and debris erupted.
"My God—Antony just got sent flying?!"
"That monster's following him!"
In the distance, a green figure rapidly grew larger.
The Hulk followed with super-jumps, crashing down like a hunting giant—right into the square before the building.
"Stay on him! Keep rolling!"
Multiple cameras snapped into focus.
Zooming in—
Inside the half-collapsed structure—
Antony was standing.
Both arms raised.
Holding up a massive slab of concrete—an entire floor that had caved in when the load-bearing column snapped.
The Hulk saw him.
Without hesitation, he charged up behind Antony and smashed a massive fist into his back.
BAM!
Antony groaned, blood spilling from the corner of his mouth.
But he didn't strike back.
Didn't dodge.
His feet were planted like iron stakes.
His arms never wavered.
BAM! BAM! BAM!
The Hulk unleashed his fury, punching again and again.
Each blow carried devastating force.
Antony's body shook violently. His face twisted in pain. Blood stained his teeth.
Still—
He didn't let go.
Like a statue enduring endless suffering.
This image streamed live to the entire world.
"My God… what is he doing?"
"Why isn't he fighting back?!"
"Antony—run!!"
Countless viewers screamed through tears.
Even the Hulk hesitated.
He didn't understand why this small man wouldn't retaliate.
But confusion didn't stop him.
"SMASH!! SMASH!!"
Another barrage of punches.
BAM! BAM! BAM!
The invincible Antony dropped to one knee, chest soaked in blood—
Yet his raised arms never moved an inch.
Through dust and blood, his eyes stayed locked forward.
"Almost there," Antony calculated silently.
Visual effects maxed.
Audience emotions maxed.
Time to reveal the answer.
He drew in a deep breath and roared—
"GET… AWAY… FROM THEM!!!"
With that shout, his strength exploded.
The massive slab above him was hurled skyward.
KRRRRAAAASH——!!
As the upper structure was torn away, the shadows vanished.
Helicopter spotlights flooded the space.
And the cameras finally saw what Antony had been protecting.
There—
An elderly nun stood with her arms spread wide, shielding over a dozen trembling children.
Tear-streaked faces. Eyes filled with terror.
Behind them, on the cracked wall, hung a crooked wooden cross—
And a worn wooden sign:
St. Agnes Orphanage
The world went silent.
Reporters covered their mouths, tears pouring freely.
Viewers across the globe forgot how to breathe.
In that instant, everyone understood.
Why he didn't dodge.
Why he didn't fight back.
Why he endured the Hulk's fists without letting go.
Because beneath him were living children.
Orphans.
He was holding up the sky with his own flesh and blood—so they could live.
"Oh… God…"
The on-air reporter choked, voice breaking.
"He… he is a true hero."
"He is our guardian."
Antony stood there, face covered in blood—but eyes unwavering.
He wiped the blood from his lips and smiled.
Weak.
Gentle.
"Kids… it's okay now."
"As long as I'm still here…"
"…no one will ever hurt you."
System notifications exploded.
"Ding! Popularity +1,514,210!"
"Ding! Popularity +2,215,002!"
"Ding! Popularity +2,041,022!"
"..."
Ashley's scream tore through his earpiece.
"Oh my God, boss!! Combined live viewership has broken 1.2 BILLION—and it's still climbing!!"
The world had chosen its hero.
--------------
T/N:
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