Hey everyone, it's me Hide Shinyama.
It has been five weeks since the last chapter. I was hoping to release it a week earlier but life gets in the way.
Anyway…
Issei has finally arrived at the scene after the Hulk has just brutally massacred armies of Supernatural warriors and their leaders.
Issei plans to end the Hulk's rampage once and for all.
Will he succeed?
Find out in…
Chapter 68 – Issei's Plan
15th of November, Sunday, 4:42 am – In the ruined downtown area of Tokyo
Sirzechs was stunned at seeing the Sekiryuutei here. What was he doing here? Did he not teleport him back to Kuoh?
Also, what did he just hear Issei say. Did he hear that correctly? Did the Sekiryuutei call the Hulk Bruce? Wait, was he actually trying to solve the problem by talking to him?
Sirzechs shook his head.
No, the Hulk was a mindless monster that would destroy all and anything in its way. He had to do something. With that, Sirzechs quietly charged his magical energy in his body with all his strength.
With Issei now getting the Hulk's attention, the Hulk walked over to the brunette.
"Bruce! Listen to me!" Issei began to speak to the Hulk in English. "I'm not… your enemy. I'm here to help you."
With that, Issei removed his helmet and revealed his face. Although it was still dark outside, the Hulk could still see Issei's face because of the glow on his own body. The Hulk stopped and looked at Issei with recognition and some confusion. Currently, the two of them were standing face to face at ten meters away from each other.
"You… Hyoudou…?" the Hulk said to Issei, having calmed down from his anger.
Issei smiled at this.
"So, you remember me," Issei said in relief. "Yes, I'm Issei Hyoudou and I have come to help you."
"Issei… Hyoudou…" the Hulk repeated Issei's full name.
"Yes… that's right…" Issei answered with a nod.
The two of them stood there in silence for a while until something caught their attention.
[RUMBLE!]
An ominous aura emerged from Sirzechs Lucifer as the Power of Destruction covered his whole body all while exuding great power.
"What the…?" Issei voiced out in shock.
[Be careful, Partner!] Ddraig said to Issei. [Sirzechs Lucifer is going all out now!]
"All out?" Issei questioned Ddraig, as he stared at Sirzechs in shock.
Indeed, it was exactly as Ddraig said. Sirzechs was going all out. The Power of Destruction was expanding and destroying the soil he was standing on. Moreover, the oxygen in the air seemed to be sucked out for Issei was starting to feel like he was suffocating. Issei also fell to his knees.
"Hard… to… breathe…" Issei gasped as he clutched his throat.
"For… Grayfia… Milicas… and the whole World…" Sirzechs mumbled to himself as he slowly advanced towards the Hulk.
[BOOM!]
With each step, Sirzechs made the earth tremble as if he was a giant colossus taking a step forward.
[Partner, let us back away! It's too dangerous for you to be here!] Ddraig told Issei.
"But… the Hulk…" Issei voiced out with concern.
Despite this, Issei could not help but back away from Sirzechs.
The Hulk, however, did not feel intimidated in the least bit, nor did it seem like he was under any suppression whatsoever. Instead, he just felt anger at Sirzechs and walked towards him.
[BAM!]
With each step the Hulk took, the ground under him formed cracks. It was clear that the Hulk was also suffering from the effects of Sirzechs' Aura of Destruction (for that was its name). Yet, the Hulk remained undeterred.
Sirzechs then made his first attack. He raised his hand and fired a huge magical orb of Destruction at the Hulk.
[BOOM!]
The Hulk threw a punch at it and…
[BOOOOM!]
…obliterated the orb causing a huge explosion.
(((WHOOOSH!)))
"WHOA!" Issei cried out as he was knocked to the ground by the huge winds.
The winds were so powerful that pieces of nearby buildings were being torn off.
[This is really bad!] Ddraig could not help but remark. [The whole city is going to be destroyed at this rate!]
Meanwhile, Sirzechs fired orb after orb at the Hulk with rapid speed with the Hulk intercepting each of them.
[BOOOM!] [BOOM!] [BOOM!] [BOOM!] [BOOM!]
With each punch, the Hulk caused huge explosions, creating blast waves that could be heard and felt in the distance.
Sirzechs continued firing more of magical attacks, trying everything in his power to destroy the Hulk.
Normally, Sirzechs would retreat with the Hulk coming closer to him. But Sirzechs was too desperate to think about retreating. All he cared was to destroy the Hulk here and now and he used everything in power to do so, hoping that his Power of Destruction would achieve this.
Also, the Hulk became more bruised and burnt with every explosion, his skin became charred from Sirzechs' magic attacks. But the Hulk refused to stop until he finally reached within the range of Sirzechs' destructive mantle covering his body.
[SIZZLE!]
"GRR!? GRRRR!" the Hulk growled with gritted teeth, as he felt the scorching pain of Sirzechs' Power of Destruction sizzling his skin in its purest form.
Nevertheless, the Hulk pressed on as he stepped into the core of Sirzechs' aura.
Seeing that long-ranged magical attacks did not do anything against the Hulk, Sirzechs decided to concentrate his attack with his aura.
[RRRRRR! WHOOOOOOOM!]
"GRAAAAHHH!" the Hulk cried out as his flesh began to eat away from his body.
Still, the Hulk did not give up as he moved forward to get closer to Sirzechs.
Issei, not wanting to see any more, called out in desperation.
"STOP! DON'T!" Issei called out helplessly.
Issei wished he could do more, but he was far too weak to approach Sirzechs and the Hulk.
It was then that the Hulk's skin suddenly glowed again. But this time it was with such intensity that it illuminated the whole battlefield.
[Shine!]
The Golden light nearly blinded Issei's eyes because of how bright it was.
"What is happening!?" Issei asked Ddraig.
[I have no idea! But I find it strange that the Hulk has been glowing Gold ever since this mess of war started!] Ddraig answered.
"This…!" Sirzechs exclaimed as the Golden glow of the Hulk intensified.
Although this phenomenon caught Sirzechs by surprise, he shook it off. He needed to destroy the Hulk here or else…
It was then that the Hulk reached out and seized Sirzechs by the throat.
"GRKH!" Sirzechs gasped as the Hulk clenched his hands around his throat.
"HULK… KILL YOU!" the Hulk roared as he choked the living daylights out of him.
"GACK! COUGH!" Sirzechs choked and coughed violently, causing Sirzechs' Aura of Destruction to subside.
Seeing that the pressure was gone, Issei quickly stood up and ran up to the combatants.
"Stop! Both of you!" Issei called out and rushed towards them.
Sirzechs tried his best to remove the Hulk's hold on him but could not for he had spent nearly his entire strength on his Aura of Destruction. He could feel himself becoming weaker and weaker. And then his Aura of Destruction vanished with the Hulk still choking the life out of him.
And just before Sirzechs lost consciousness…
[Shine!]
"Huh?" Issei voiced out in surprise, as the bright Golden light on the Hulk's body shone once more. The light was so strong it enveloped the whole area.
And then… Sirzechs, the Hulk and Issei vanished into thin air.
15th of November, Sunday, 4:48 am – with Sanma and the others, Nerima
It was still dark, and the air was chilly that morning in Nerima. It would be a rather uneventful time, had it not been for the battle not too long ago.
The whole Tengu residence was in ruins. And even though Sanma and his friends won the battle, they had no place to sleep anymore. Thus, they had to ask their neighbors for a temporary sleepover.
The neighbors, having witnessed the battle from their houses, were sympathetic to their plight. Thus, the Tengu family and Sanma could secure a place to sleep.
But Sanma could not help but stay awake. In fact, he was so restless that he was currently outside staring at the moon above.
"Cat Fu…" Sanma said softly.
The death of the Chinese Amazon still weighed heavily on Sanma's mind. Sure, he always had been annoyed by her antiques to get him to fall in love with her and bring him home to China. But even so, he still loved her and wanted her to be happy. Cat Fu killing herself… just was not what Sanma wanted.
Sure, Sanma may have finally found the love of his life – that was Ukyu Kuongi – and in doing so also ended this dilemma regarding his romantic interests. But this whole ordeal left Sanma empty.
"Why did it have to end this way?" Sanma asked himself. "Is this the destiny of those who walk on the path of Hokuto Shinken?"
While Sanma was contemplating this…
[Shine!]
"What the…!?" Sanma exclaimed as he covered his eyes because of the sudden brightness.
And just as the brightness subsided and the Sanma opened his eyes, the sight before Sanma left him stunned.
"HUH!?" Sanma exclaimed in shock once more.
For standing before him were none other than Issei, the Hulk and the half-dead Sirzechs with the Hulk still in the middle of choking him.
With all three of them suddenly appearing in Nerima in front of Sanma, they all stopped what they were doing and looked around.
"Sanma!?" Issei called out to his friend with widened eyes.
"Issei!?" Sanma exclaimed in surprise upon seeing Issei.
"Hmm!?" the Hulk grunted looked around at his whereabouts.
This made the Hulk drop Sirzechs to the ground, allowing him to breathe again.
[Did that Golden flash on the Hulk's body just teleport us?] Ddraig wondered.
"Teleport?" Issei voiced in confusion. "Is that what happened?"
[Look around you! This is obviously a street in Nerima. And we were not there previously] Ddraig explained.
"Right…" Issei acknowledged as he recognized the type of buildings in the area.
"What's going on?" Sanma asked Issei.
"It's…" Issei started to speak only to be interrupted by the Hulk.
"GRRRR…" the Hulk growled and glared at Sanma.
"!?" Sanma widened his eyes in surprise at what the Hulk just did.
Seeing the Hulk's hostile demeanor, Sanma took a martial arts stance.
Issei quickly responded by stepping in between the two of them.
"Wait! Wait! This is all just a misunderstanding, so calm down!" Issei tried to calm the situation down.
But just then…
[Shine!]
…the Hulk glowed with a brightly Golden light and Issei, the Hulk and Sanma vanished.
"Sanma! Issei!" Motohama called out from the distance as both he and Matsuda rushed to the scene.
They anxiously looked around but found no one except the unconscious Sirzechs. They had just gone out looking to call in Sanma, only to witness the Hulk, Issei and Sirzechs appear out of nowhere and then disappear with Sanma just as quickly.
"Where did they go? And who is this guy?" Matsuda wondered as he looked at Sirzechs, who remained behind.
"Let's take him with us. Maybe he can tell us what happened to Issei and Sanma," Motohama suggested.
"Good idea," Matsuda agreed.
Both boys hoisted Sirzechs over their shoulders and carried him to the house where the Tengus were staying over.
15th of November, Sunday, 4:50 am – with Issei, the Hulk and Sanma, Scandinavia
"What the where…!?" Issei exclaimed as he looked at his surroundings.
"Wha-!? How!?" Sanma voiced in a panic at the sudden turn of events.
[Not again…] Ddraig groaned in annoyance.
"YOU!" a voice familiar to Issei suddenly was heard.
Everyone turned to look and behold there was Loki standing up from his throne in outrage and surprise. Upon looking around, it looked like they were in a huge hall in some distant place.
"LOKI!? But how!?" Issei cried out in incomprehension.
[We must be in Loki's domain!] Ddraig reasoned.
"For real!?" Issei voiced in surprise.
"LOKI! HULK SMASH!" the Hulk roared and rushed at the Nordic God.
"You damned… FENRIR!" Loki called out for Fenrir and the great Nordic Dog jumped in.
"This is bad…" Sanma said as he readied himself to fight against what looked insurmountable odds.
Luckily for Sanma though, the Hulk was more focused on fighting Fenrir and Loki. Fenrir bit down hard on the Hulk's shoulder.
[BITE!]
"GRR! Stupid dog!" the Hulk said as he endured the pain of being bitten by one of the World's most powerful fangs.
The Hulk shoved a thumb into Fenrir's eye.
"WHIMPER!" Fenrir whimpered in pain as he ended up letting go off the Hulk.
The Hulk followed up by taking a firm hold of Fenrir and punched hard into Fenrir's snout several times.
[BAM!] [BAM!] [BAM!] [BAM!] [BAM!]
Fenrir could only take in the punches as the Hulk pinned him down and repeatedly bruised Fenrir's face.
As the Hulk was punching away, Loki made his move.
Loki was about to fire a lightning blast at the Hulk with his hands.
"NO MORE! I SHALL FINISH YOU ONCE AND FOR ALL!" Loki declared, not even caring about hurting Fenrir and only focusing on getting rid of his greatest menace ever.
Not even Thor was this great a source of irritation as the Hulk.
And speaking of irritations to Loki…
"I don't think so!" Issei called suddenly.
Loki briefly widened his eyes for he saw that Issei fired a Dragon Shot at him.
[Dragon Shot!]
"Tch!" Loki clicked his tongue and raised a magical shield to protect himself.
[BOOM!]
The shield took on Issei's attack perfectly. However, in doing so, Issei unexpectedly bought a few seconds of time for the Hulk who had just finished pummeling Fenrir.
"HULK SMASH!" the Hulk roared in a fury and with a bright Golden glow on his body…
[SHATTER!]
"GUAK!"
…destroyed the shield with one blow and landed a hit on Loki simultaneously.
Loki was sent flying into his throne, wrecking it.
The Hulk was not finished as he charged at the downed Loki and grabbed his cape.
"YOU…! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!? I DEMAND THAT YOU LET ME…!" Loki could not finish his demand to let go for the Hulk…
[SMASH!] [SLAM!] [BAM!] [BOOM!] [WHOOM!]
…smashed him to the ground multiple times like a ragdoll.
"UGH! AGH! STOP! GUAH! KEUK! OGH!" Loki yelped and groaned helplessly for the Hulk was too strong for him to resist.
And the Hulk himself decided to continue his merciless assault, slamming Loki a few more times.
Issei decided that enough was enough and ran up to the Hulk.
"BRUCE! STOP THIS!" Issei called out to the Hulk.
Sanma just stood there dumbfounded at Issei's actions, but not for long.
"I don't know what's goin' on here, but if Issei wants to stop the Hulk…" Sanma left the sentence hanging and took action.
Sanma followed Issei and just as they both reached the giant green man…
[Shine!]
"What the…!?"
"Again!?"
Issei and Sanma cried out as the Hulk's skin glowed Gold once more and they both vanished with the Hulk into thin air, leaving both Fenrir and Loki behind.
"Uuuuuuuhhhhh…" Loki breathed out in pain as he lay there on the ground with multiple bruises and injuries.
Once again, the Hulk and Issei Hyoudou had humiliated him, only this time it was in his own house, which was now significantly wrecked.
"I hate my life…" Loki first words were after receiving one of the worst humiliations in his life.
15th of November, Sunday, 4:51 am – Hades' Throne Room in the Realm of the Dead
[WHAT! You… UGH!] Hades yelled in shock before the Hulk promptly punched him in the stomach.
"Where are we now!?" Issei wondered as he was perplexed at the sudden change of location once more.
[That's Hades over there… This must be the Realm of the Dead…] Ddraig reasoned.
"YA'LL SERIOUS!?" Sanma reacted in shock.
"But why is this happening? Why were we in Nerima first, then at Loki's place and now here? What is going on!?" Issei demanded that somebody give him an explanation.
[I don't know but the Hulk's mysterious glow has something to do with it! It was not so yellow and sparkly before all this!] Ddraig reasoned.
Before Issei or Sanma could say any more, suddenly…
[Intruders!]
[Lord Hades is under attack!]
[It is the Hulk and some other trespassers! Kill them all!]
Several high-class Grim Reapers came rushing at the two boys with their scythe ready.
"This is not good…" Issei said with a serious look.
"But we've got no choice!" Sanma said as he dodged the scythe of one the Grim Reapers.
"Dang it!" Issei cursed as he fired a Dragon Shot at another Grim Reaper who shielded himself in time.
Meanwhile, the Hulk had broken a few more joints by yanking at Hades' bones, dislocating them.
Hades could not help but cry in pain and fear for he remembered the last time the Hulk had beaten him up, which left him paralyzed with fear.
Issei and Sanma were no match for the Grim Reapers and so the two of them were pushed back towards the Hulk.
And at that moment, after punching Hades' face several times the Hulk was about to land the finishing blow. And then the Hulk suddenly glowed again.
[Shine!]
[WHAT!?]
[THE LIGHT!]
[MY EYES!]
And once more, Issei, Sanma and the Hulk had vanished into thin air.
Hades just lay there on his throne mangled once again with his aides tending to him.
[Blasted thing… Cough… Ugh…] Hades cursed as he coughed and groaned.
Although he had no idea how the Hulk had reappeared into his throne room, he knew that Loki had some explaining to do. No, actually… Was there not the Anti-Hulk alliance that was supposed to take care of the Hulk? What were they doing? Hades decided to give the Alliance a call instead.
15th of November, Sunday, 4:52 am – With the Anti-Satan Faction
[BOOM!]
"AGH!"
"WHAT!?"
"WHAT BY THE NAME OF LUCIFER!?"
"WHAT THE HELL!?"
Suddenly, the Hulk, Issei and Sanma were in another unfamiliar place with a lot of Devils.
The Hulk had accidentally landed his finishing blow intended for Hades on one of the assembled Devils present and…
(((KABOOOOM!)))
…created a shockwave that blasted all the Devils behind that Devil, killing them all instantly and leaving no trace behind except blood and guts. Even the wall and the walls behind the walls of the building they were in had been obliterated.
"Somewhere else again? And man was that messy!" Sanma said in shock at the gruesome scene before him.
"SORRY!" Issei apologized as he made a half bow on the Hulk's behalf.
But the Devils there were not so inclined for niceties. After recovering from the shock of seeing their comrades die so suddenly, they gritted their teeth in anger and got out their weapons.
"OUR LEADERS! OUR NOBLE LORDS!"
"HOW DARE THESE HUMANS KILL THEM!?"
"KILL THEM!"
"DEATH TO… KEUK!"
The Devils there cried out before the Hulk decided to beat them all up.
"GUAH!" "UGH!" "AGH!" "DON'T!" "KYAAH!"
The Hulk either kicked, punched or stomped on them all. Regardless of whether those Devils (and they were clearly strong Devils either at Mid-Level or High-Level rank) used magical attacks, weapons, spells or even their bodies, none of them could do a thing to the Hulk.
[Partner, I don't think these Devils are the benevolent kind. I think these are bloodline purists] Ddraig explained to Issei.
"Huh? What does that mean? That they're bad guys?" Issei asked Ddraig.
"Well, whatever they are, it seems they ain't gonna let us leave here alive, huh?" Sanma noticed as the various hostile Devils appeared before them.
"I guess there is no other choice!" Issei said as he used the Boosted Gear…
[Boost!]
…to charge himself up.
Issei and Sanma did their best to fend off the enraged Devils by blocking their attacks with their armor or limbs.
Sanma rushed forward at a great number of Mid-Level Devils standing before him with weapons in their hands. He suddenly swept through the ranks his enemies and then…
"Hokuto Hyappō Zan! (北斗百方斬 – North Star Every-Way Beheading)," Sanma called out his move.
"AGH!"
"WHAT IS… UGH!"
"AUGH!"
The various Devils screamed as their bodies exploded from the inside.
"What is this!?" a female High-Level Devils screamed in terror at Sanma's actions.
"I don't know! But we must get… EUK!" a Mid-Level Devil gasped as he froze in his position and fell down with ice all over his body.
The female High-Level Devil looked at the cause of this phenomenon and saw Issei using the power of his ice orb to freeze every single enemy in his vicinity.
"You… damned… HUMAN!" the High-Level Devil screamed as she approached Issei with the intent to kill him only for the Hulk to suddenly throw a punch at her.
[BOOM!]
The High-Level Devil had her head blown off, killing her instantly.
This caused the remaining Devils to draw back in fear. The Hulk was far too powerful! They were completely helpless! What could they do!?
The Hulk was about to crush those Devils next. As the Hulk stomped his way over to them, Issei and Sanma tried to stop him. Issei even took hold of the Hulk's arm (a move that made Ddraig wonder if he had lost his mind).
"Bruce! Stop! That's enough!" Issei pleaded with the Hulk.
The Hulk, however, yanked his arm away from Issei and glared at him.
And just then, the Hulk glowed again and sent himself, Issei and Sanma to another place.
The aftermath of fight were the strewn and obliterated bodies of many Devils.
The Devils could not help but cry in utter despair.
"Our cause! Our leaders!"
"Lady Katarea Leviathan! Lord Shalba Beelzebub! Lord Creusery Asmodeus!"
"It's over! We have lost!"
Yes, they had good reason to cry. After all, they were the Old Satan Faction and with their leaders now dead, having been obliterated by the Hulk's first powerful blow against them, had now lost the purpose for their organization. With the leaders of the Old Satan Faction now dead, they could never overthrow the current leaders of the Devils.
15th of November, Sunday, 4:54 am – With the Hero's Faction
"Please, STOP!" Issei begged the Hulk as he backed away from the angry mutated man.
At that moment, Georg, Heracles, Cao Cao and Jeanne of the Hero Faction were standing right behind Issei and were caught off guard by the sudden appearance of their guests along with their subordinates.
And that was also when the Hulk swung a punch at Issei and Sanma who just barely dodged the punch in time.
The members of the Hero Faction tried to block the Hulk's punch but…
[BAM!]
"UGH!" "AGH!" "OW!" "OOF!"
[CRASH!] [CRASH!] [BAM!]
…the Hulk sent them flying and crashing through several walls, knocking them out without the opportunity to fight back.
Sanma, on the other hand, had the opportunity to take down the Hulk. He used a flurry of punches as appeared behind him.
"ATATATATATATATA! WATAH!" Sanma screamed and launched a hundred blows on the Hulk's body.
The Hulk tried to punch Sanma, missing him barely as the latter dodged him by a hair's breadth.
"Grrr… Ugh!" the Hulk grunted as he felt pain coming from within his body and then…
[BOOM!]
Blood ruptured from within his body, causing it to explode from some parts of his torso.
"Hope that calmed ya down!" Sanma said to the Hulk.
But the Hulk refused to go down. Instead, he swung at Sanma who dodged the Hulk skillfully.
"Intruders!"
"Get them!"
Several members of the Hero's faction came rushing in and tried to take down Issei, Sanma and the Hulk.
"Sigh… Here we go again…" Sanma sighed right before knocking down the first opponent with a punch to the solar plexus.
The Hulk had also been obstructed by the many Hero Faction leaders, hence he had to fight them off, too.
Issei blocked off the attacks of several attackers with his armored arms. But he was more focused on trying to calm down the Hulk than trying to take down any of the Hero Faction members.
Meanwhile, the Hulk proceeded to run through a crowd of Hero Faction members and knock or crush them to the ground.
"AGH!" "COUGH!" "KEUK!" "UGH!" "NO!"
[Does this guy ever get tired? I feel like he does not get tired at all!] Ddraig remarked.
"Yeah, and that Golden glow seems to strengthen him somehow…" Issei mused as he dodged two swords being swung at him.
[Indeed. But he must have some kind of weakness!] Ddraig reasoned. [All I know is that that Hulk is always angry. If we could somehow soothe his anger…]
Issei nodded. Yes, that was the answer. Issei knew this already, yet with all these enemies coming at them non-stop, it was impossible to calm the Hulk down.
As Issei was thinking about all these things, a cudgel hit Issei square in the chest.
[WHAM!]
"UGH!" Issei grunted before falling to the ground.
His attacker was about to hit Issei again before Sanma kicked the attacker away.
"Focus, Issei! Lose concentration and ya're dead!" Sanma reminded Issei.
"I know but listen! We gotta calm the Hulk down somehow!" Issei told Sanma.
"Calm him down how!?" Sanma asked as he punched and kicked three opponents at once while Issei parried a sword.
Just then… the Hulk shone Gold again…
[Shine!]
…and the two boys and Hulk disappeared again.
The Hero Faction had been in disarray and had to halt operations for the next two days. For that was how long it took for the Hero Faction leaders to recover from their injuries.
15th of August, 6:32 pm – Somewhere in Nerima
As they opened their eyes, Sanma and Issei found themselves at a familiar sight. Nerima. Or more specifically, they seemed to be in one of the parks in Nerima.
But the strange thing that it was evening. Was it not supposed to be nighttime?
Why was that so?
But they had no time to think for the Hulk came swinging at them both with his fist.
Issei and Sanma both dodged quickly. Issei and Sanma split up with Issei going in one direction and Sanma in another. The Hulk ended up settling for Sanma as his opponent and thus pursued after him.
Issei took the time to look around. At least there was some good news. There were no enemies nearby, nor any innocent bystanders. This time he could calm the Hulk down.
[But Partner… Sanma is still around…] Ddraig said to Issei.
True enough, even though there were no attackers or bystanders, the Hulk still saw Sanma as an enemy that he needed to fight.
In fact, the Hulk tried to grab and punch him without any fatigue (despite his injuries) while Sanma tried to take the Hulk down with his Hokuto Shinken moves.
Sanma had just thrown a kick at the Hulk's shoulders from behind.
"Hokuto Gōkin Bundan Kyaku! (北斗鋼筋分断脚 – Steel Muscle Cutting Kick)!" Sanma yelled out the attack after executing it.
The Hulk felt his arms getting weaker but not weak enough to stop fighting.
The Hulk tried to tackle Sanma, only for Sanma to jump over him.
"Come on! When are ya gonna calm down!?" Sanma asked the Hulk exasperated.
Sanma was getting tired of fighting this muscle-head. If this kept up, they were going to fight all day!
Seeing this, Issei came up with an idea. It was a risky move but right now, there was no other choice.
[Partner, this is foolhardy. The Hulk also sees you as an enemy, too!] Ddraig reminded Issei.
"I know… but it's the only way," Issei replied to Ddraig with a solemn expression.
The Issei turned to face Sanma. It was all or nothing now.
"Sanma!" Issei called out to the pig-tailed martial artist.
"A little busy here!" Sanma answered back as he backed away from the Hulk's punch.
"I know but I have an idea! Get out of here as far as you can! Leave him to me!" Issei told his plan to Sanma.
"WHAT!?" Sanma voiced incredulously.
"You've got to trust me! The Hulk sees you as an enemy he must defeat no matter what. And he has defeated hundreds, perhaps thousands of enemies all night non-stop. You won't stand a chance against him if you fight him!" Issei explained.
"And ya think ya can fight him better!?" Sanma retorted.
"Not fight! Persuade!" Issei clarified. "Now get out of here! Go hide somewhere until the coast is clear!"
Sanma looked at Issei with skepticism all while he barely dodged the Hulk's punch.
"Guess I'll trust ya!" Sanma said and ran for it.
"YOU NOT RUN!" the Hulk roared.
But Issei stood in his way.
"You won't go after him! You're dealing with me!" Issei said to the Hulk.
The Hulk did not take Issei's efforts to block kindly.
The Hulk made his way over to Issei to pound him into the dirt.
But then…
[Shine!]
…the Hulk glowed brightly once more before vanishing together with Issei.
Somewhere in an Empty Dimension – Unknown Time
After the flash of light had vanished, Issei found himself at a shocking sight. The place he had landed in was empty. It was just pure White and there was nothing but that same whiteness. It was as if they had entered a dimension with nothing in it except this bland whiteness.
The Hulk did not care about his whereabouts and promptly walked over to Issei to fight him. The Hulk reeled his fist back to punch Issei.
But then, Issei did the unexpected.
"This is it…" Issei simply said and did the unthinkable.
[Dismiss!]
Issei dismissed the Red Scale Mail and was standing in front of the Hulk in normal clothing.
The Hulk stopped where he was and looked at Issei in confusion. But Issei was not finished yet.
He knelt to the ground and raised his hands in the air.
"I surrender. I don't want to fight anymore, Bruce," Issei said to the Hulk.
The Hulk remained confused by Issei's actions. He did not know what to do at this point.
Which is why the Hulk stood down. He relaxed his shoulders and just stood there, simply looking at Issei. What also happened to the Hulk was that the Golden glow covering his body had vanished. The Hulk was Green once more.
"Issei… Hyoudou…" the Hulk said slowly.
"Yes, that's right," Issei affirmed.
The Hulk stared at Issei for a bit. And then… he remembered!
The kind boy that he had met back in Kuoh. The one who told him that he wanted to help. Issei was the first person to show him kindness. And here he was, repeating the same act of kindness again.
"You… not enemy… You… Hulk's friend…" the Hulk said to Issei.
Issei smiled at this.
"Yes, that's right, Bruce," Issei said to the Hulk. "I'm here to help. Bring you home. But for you to go home, you need to stop fighting."
"I see… Hulk not fight…" the Hulk said to himself. "Hulk will stop fighting…"
And that was when the Hulk stood down, making Issei's plan work.
Indeed. The whole plan to end the Hulk's rampage was to stop fighting. Issei had noticed that the Hulk only attacked those who showed aggression towards him or tried to hurt or kill him. But so many powerful beings tried to fight the Hulk with everything that they had, only to fail in the end. Which was why the opposite had to be done. To be peaceful and non-aggressive.
Issei would have succeeded in his endeavor earlier had Sirzechs not interrupted him.
[I can't believe it worked] Ddraig marveled.
The Hulk ended up sitting on the ground with his legs crossed.
Issei did the same and so they just sat there, staring at each other, unsure who would make the first move.
It was then that the Hulk suddenly shrunk in size.
He shrunk and his skin turned pale.
In the end, he became a normal man. No, rather he became the man he was supposed to be.
Bruce Banner.
Taking a deep breath, he said to Issei.
"Thank you, Issei Hyoudou," Bruce said to Issei.
"You're welcome, Bruce Banner," Issei answered in English.
After a few seconds, the two of them were enveloped in a bright light one last time before disappearing from the White void.
15th of August, 6:37 pm – with Sanma, somewhere in Nerima
"I hope the plan worked. I can't hear anything from the park," Sanma said as he looked in the distance from where he had come from.
"But I guess I can trust him. I mean, it's Issei, after all," Sanma said nonchalantly.
Deciding not to worry too much about Issei, Sanma decided to go home.
And as he made his way home, he noticed two strange things.
First, it was still evening and not nighttime.
The second thing was even weirder.
It was warm. Too warm.
It was supposed to be autumn and last he checked it was quite chilly. But why did it feel like summer instead?
"Somethin' is not right here…" Sanma concluded as he looked around suspiciously.
That was when he realized a third thing.
The neighborhood looked a little different than what he was used to. The occasional houses here and there seemed different somehow. He did not know how to say it but it just seemed… a bit off.
What was going on here.
Just as Sanma turned around a corner…
"OOF!"
"OOF!"
…he knocked into someone, causing both him and the other person to fall to the ground.
"Hey, watch it!" Sanma rudely said to the person who bumped him.
"Watch it yerself!" the other person replied just as rudely.
That was when Sanma looked at the offender, making him freeze in shock.
For sitting before him was a boy around the same age as Sanma with a Mao suit and his dark hair tied to a pigtail.
In other words, the boy looked exactly like him.
The other boy looked in shock at Sanma, making him point his finger at him.
"Who the heck are ya!?" the boy demanded of Sanma.
"That's my question! Who are ya? And why do ya look like me?" Sanma asked back.
"Stop pretending! I know that ya're a clone of some kind!" the boy accused Sanma.
"I'm a clone? Ha! Ain't no way I, Sanma Raotome, could ever be someone else's clone!" Sanma retorted.
His opposite froze for a while after hearing Sanma's words before chuckling.
"What are ya laughin' at!?" Sanma demanded.
"If ya're really gonna pretend to be me, ya're already failin'! Ya got my name wrong," his opposite chuckled.
"Whaddya mean?" Sanma asked again.
"My name is Ranma Saotome," Sanma's lookalike introduced himself. "And I have to admit, ya really suck at getting my name right."
"Ranma… Saotome?" Sanma repeated the name of his lookalike in surprise.
And then it was Sanma who ended up chuckling.
"If anything, I'd say ya're the one who got my name wrong. Like ya switched around the first syllables of my first and last names up. So, who's really the clone?" Sanma quipped humorously.
"Whaddya say!?" Ranma Saotome demanded outraged. "Ya wanna fight!?"
"Anytime!" Sanma Raotome accepted the challenge. "Wanna head that way?"
"Sure!" Ranma agreed.
And so, both boys headed towards a nearby field to fight it out. Both of them took a stance.
"Get ready!" Ranma declared.
"Ready when you are!" Sanma answered back.
And then the two boys rushed forward and threw their first kicks at each other.
15th of November, Sunday, 5:00 am – With Bruce and Issei, Park in Nerima
Even though both of them could not fluently speak the other person's language, they understood each other on a deeper level. The ups and downs of beings with immense power and massive responsibility in using it. And that allowed them a sense of comfort to be found each other's presence.
Issei and Bruce found themselves in a park similar to the one where they had been before. Only this time, it was the Nerima of their World. And seeing that they were both back, the two of them fell asleep on the grass. Both of them were exhausted from fighting and running non-stop.
Yes, indeed. They deserved that rest.
And as they were resting, Shinyama Hide walked up to them and with a snap of a finger covered them both with a blanket and stayed with them until they both awoke.
"You've done well, Issei. You've done well…" Shinyama said to the brunette.
And that was the Chapter 68 of The Lone Vigilante Issei.
Now about this chapter.
I originally had planned to make this chapter whackier by making the Hulk teleport to all the villain hideouts in the story so that he can literally wreck the entire High School DxD World. But I ended up limiting myself to what I have written. I wanted to get this chapter out quickly since I waited too long for it to come out.
And yes, I ended the Hulk's rampage with Issei using peaceful means, something no other character in this story thought about doing. And that is also what happens in that old Hulk TV series. The Hulk rampages and only ends his rampage when he comes across someone innocent or some peaceful scenario before transforming back into Bruce Banner. And I like the idea of a person doing something so radically different from the mainstream to achieve something.
Also, as for Sanma and his situation, I plan to do something with him and his original counterpart Ranma Saotome from the original Ranma manga. What do I plan to do with them both? I'll give a hint. It is related to my other fanfiction titled "A Conversation". Do give that a read before the next chapter comes out. It is a one-shot so it will not take too long to read.
In the meantime, what did you think of this chapter?
Did you like it?
Please read and review, I would like to hear from you.
And as always, I hope to see you around next time.
Until then.
Hide Shinyama
