Chương 16: Smash

Reincarnated or not, powerful soul or not, the Hulk was by far the scariest thing Mason had ever seen. The tall, green mountain of muscles set on destroying him should have sent him shivering in fear. Yet, as he noticed the Fantastic Four on their last leg, about to be finished, he stood out without a shred of hesitation. Then, as the Hulk attacked, Mason felt it before the Jade Giant even moved. It was the same as the first attack; he somehow felt it before it ever happened.

Having been receiving lessons from the old man for more than two months now, Mason instantly recognized this as the Breath having awakened. The Body Refinement Realm consisted of balancing the Three Treasures, while the Awakening Realm would have him awaken them. How exactly he had awakened his Breath before reaching completion of the Body Refinement Realm, Mason had no idea, but now was hardly the time to ponder on the matter.

Spinning past the Hulk's gigantic fist, Mason slammed the pipe he had picked up inside the building into the Hulk's liver. He did not even react to the strike. Feeling danger again, Mason leapt back, just in time to dodge the Hulk's attempt at swatting him aside as he kept laughing for some reason, "Is that all you got? I'm getting bored here!" The Hulk roared before taking a stance Mason easily recognized. A scary stance. He was about to clap.

Knowing the amount of destruction he would cause, Mason had no choice but to throw himself at the Hulk and drive his pipe into the Hulk's mouth. Although the Hulk crushed the pipe with a bite, he was still taken aback by having it shoved into his throat all of a sudden, and stopped what he was doing. However, Mason was now right in front of the Hulk. Even as he felt the danger, there was nothing Mason could do but cross his arms before himself as the giant fist slammed into him.

The impact was so violent that Mason did not even feel it, losing consciousness instantly. Only as his back slammed into the facade of another building close to Baxter Building did he regain consciousness. For a moment, he did not feel anything. He did not even realize he had lost consciousness for a moment. Then, pain wracked his entire body. He found breathing nearly impossible, and his left arm had been left completely unresponsive.

Voicelessly groaning in pain, Mason moved his Essence to heal the affected areas. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Although the effect was not an instantaneous heal, the pressure in his chest was somewhat relieved, and he managed to gasp a breath in. Lying in the crater his body had created, he felt the urge to simply lie there, take a rest. He had already survived a punch from the Hulk.

Were he to have some bullshit system, he probably would have gotten some insane reward for that. Considering he was only someone at the limit of humanity, but still very much human, he had already done more than could be expected of him. No one would blame him if he just remained there. But as he recovered his breath, Mason could see the situation. The Fantastic Four had made an unlikely comeback, and were all fighting Doom, and appeared to be getting the upper hand.

But now, the Hulk was turning his attention towards them, and was but a moment away from joining in. If the Hulk were to be added into the mix, the Fantastic Four's defeat was but a matter of time. And so, before Mason even realized it, he shook his body out of the crater, revealing the extent of the damage the Hulk's punch had done to him. His left arm was completely bent out of shape, with his radius bone sticking out of his elbow.

His shirt, already damaged from the fire earlier, had apparently been obliterated by the punch and was nowhere to be seen, exposing his bloody chest. Although his bloodied body somewhat covered his condition, his chest appeared to be caved in a little. It was not pretty to look at. His hair was also half red, covered in his own blood. And yet, despite his condition, through sheer guts, Mason laughed, the sudden movement bringing untold pain to his lungs, "Boy, who told you things were over!"

The Hulk's head snapped in his direction, and while others might have been surprised, a feral grin appeared on the Hulk's face. The beast was happy. The grin on Mason's face matched the Hulk's as he threw himself at the green giant. He ducked under the Hulk's fist and found his Essence geared into overdrive as his fist gained a bright yellow glow. Mason did not expect his fist to have any effect, yet as it slammed into the Hulk's face, his head was actually pushed back.

Though surprised, Mason quickly leapt back, narrowly dodging the Hulk's counterattack. But then, the Hulk slammed his foot into the ground, making Mason lose his balance for a moment. It was only a moment, but it was enough for the Hulk. The giant fist rapidly approached Mason, and staring at it, Mason felt it clearly: he was staring death in the face. But then, as the fist was about to hit, it stopped. Or rather, it did slam into something. An invisible barrier had appeared around Mason.

It struggled against the Hulk's fist, getting bent out of shape, but the fist had been stopped nonetheless. Taking a moment to look up, Mason noticed that while the Fantastic Four were still at it with Doom, the Invisible Girl had a hand extended his way. She was the source of the invisible shield. Then, Mason realized something. Doom was backing him. And the distance… it was just right.

Once more moving before his mind truly registered it, Mason leapt atop the Hulk's giant fist, his body moving with practiced agility as the Hulk's arm easily held him. With another step, he stepped onto the Hulk's face and used it to propel himself up. It did not deal any damage to the Hulk, merely enraged it more, but Mason's attention was no longer on him as he soared through the air, heading for Doom. Only as Mason's fist glowed golden did Doom appear to register his presence.

However, it was too late by then as Mason smashed his Essence-empowered fist into his face. The brownish armor covered in red runes was mighty, having received and tanked blows from the Thing, yet as Mason's Essence-empowered fist smashed into it, the red markings covering it faltered, as if they had been deactivated. Doom was only blown back for a couple of meters before stabilizing, but the punch did far more than that.

The spell weakening the Hulk, the Thing, and Mister Fantastic vanished, and the Hulk stood still for a moment before suddenly leaping away, disappearing from sight. Even as he recovered from the recoil, Doom stood still for a moment, as if struggling to believe what had just happened, before screaming in utter rage, "Puny man, how dare you foil Doom's plans!" Mason, who had struggled to even land on his feet, felt the adrenaline fueling him wearing off, and merely staying conscious was a herculean task.

Still, he made the effort to look up, straight at Doom, and give him the middle finger.

"Yeah. All it took to best you was a man." Mason had no idea what Doom responded to that as he promptly fell unconscious.