At this moment, The Daily Bugle's live broadcast had gathered an unprecedented number of viewers across the country and the world. For the first time, a superhero was fighting a monster right in front of the public. It felt like a movie scene but was happening in reality. People were filled with excitement and anticipation. Yet, some wondered: what if such monsters appeared near them? Would someone come to save them?
The military forces of various countries were also closely watching the broadcast, eager to analyze the advanced suit worn by the Storm Swordsman.
On the screen, the enormous monster stirred once again.
Abomination felt his power surging with his rage. His muscles tensed, fists clenched, yearning to crush the figure before him.
Suddenly, the sky lit up—a barrage of missiles flew towards him, their explosions resonating throughout the area. Iron Man hovered in the air in his red and gold suit, having stabilized the helicopter and launched a new set of missiles at the massive green monster.
Tony Stark had reinforced his missiles, realizing their earlier firepower was insufficient. Now, his arsenal packed greater destructive force.
Yet, against this evolved Abomination, it didn't seem as effective. Out of the smoke burst the giant shadow, targeting him. But with JARVIS's warning, he managed to dodge in time.
Abomination charged past him, making Tony shudder. Increasing his thrusters' power, he gained more distance from the monster.
"This guy—is he Hulk? All green?" Tony asked, hovering near Noah and looking at the giant, who had landed, leaving a massive crater in the ground.
"No, it's not Hulk. It's Abomination," Noah replied.
To be honest, Noah hadn't expected Abomination to evolve like this. That didn't happen in the movies. In Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and She-Hulk, Abomination could control his transformation and wasn't this savage.
Initially, Noah thought he'd shifted to that version, but upon closer inspection, he noticed the differences. His skin was green, like the Hulk's, radiating a similar energy.
Noah suspected the changes might be due to Samuel Sterns's lab. Bruce Banner was unaware of it, but Noah knew the lab contained samples of Hulk's blood. Likely, Abomination had mutated due to those samples.
"OK, suits him pretty well. Look at that face," Tony shrugged, firing a series of powerful beams at the monster.
The monster raised an arm, blocking the beams. Small wounds appeared on his skin, sending clouds of steam into the air. The pain distorted Abomination's face, but the injuries healed within seconds.
Tony was astounded. Such regeneration was beyond him.
Recently, his life had been full of challenges. First, he fought Ivan Vanko, known as Whiplash, then joined forces with a man calling himself Thor to face new threats. In that battle, he'd been more of an auxiliary force, but he still felt deeply involved.
After meeting Thor, he sensed the world was changing too quickly, and he was struggling to keep up. Now, facing this giant monster, he wondered if he needed new technology; otherwise, he might meet even scarier foes next time.
Abomination, consumed by rage, attacked again. Tony soared into the air to avoid his strike, and Noah appeared beside him.
"Lee, why not use that laser like you did in New Mexico?" Tony shouted, dodging another blow from the opponent. He swore he'd develop an even more powerful suit after returning; otherwise, fighting giants like these would become impossible.
"Uh, for this monster, I don't need to use the laser yet. Lissandra, bring out the thing," Noah said.
Under Tony's and all the viewers' gaze, Noah extended his hand, where a long katana made of nanomaterial began to form.
It was a plasma blade.
Noah took the sword and made several swift moves, slicing the air with a sharp whistle, demonstrating the sharpness of the weapon. This was the plasma blade, a weapon specially designed for the PROJECT: Yasuo suit.
"Look! The Storm Swordsman finally drew his weapon! We may soon see why he's called that!" exclaimed the reporter with excitement. Her enthusiasm stemmed from a recent message from headquarters: the number of viewers had surpassed the population of an entire country. She urged the pilot to lower the helicopter, forgetting the recent danger.
"Oh, that's one cool-looking thing," Tony noted, watching the sword take shape and again firmly resolved to work on nanotech. It was truly impressive.
"Mr. Stark, watch closely," Noah said, lifting the sword and making a few cuts.
"Swish! Swish!"
Two white air blades sliced through the night sky, speeding towards Abomination.
"Roar!"
Abomination, noticing the air blades, raised an arm to defend himself, but the sharp energy cut into his flesh, leaving a deep wound from which green blood flowed, exposing the bone.
"Roar!"
The sharp pain only fueled his rage. His muscles tensed, and his body grew larger. The wound began to heal quickly.
"This ability's not bad," Noah said, observing the opponent, and began to ponder Hulk's strength. If he could persuade Banner to provide a bit of Hulk's blood for research, perhaps he could create an ability that would increase strength based on rage levels.
He descended to the ground, standing on the shattered highway, and made a taunting gesture towards the monster.
Infuriated, the foe, unable to bear the mockery, started charging toward him like a tank, destroying everything in his path. Under his weight, the road cracked and shattered.
Noah, watching the approaching Abomination, surrounded his sword with gusts of wind. When Abomination drew near and tried to strike with both hands, Noah raised his sword to block.
Abomination's strength had increased manifold after his mutation. The ground beneath Noah's feet began to crack, the fractures spreading in all directions. But as soon as Abomination's hand touched the blade, it was dealt a crushing blow.
The whirlwind enveloping the sword started spreading across the monster's arm like a meat grinder, tearing through flesh and exposing green bone.
"Roar!"
The excruciating pain made the monster howl. The whirlwind spread quickly, destroying half of his arm. Under the intense pain, Emil Blonsky's mind temporarily took control over Abomination's fury, and he quickly severed the remaining part of his arm, still unaffected by the whirlwind.
"Argh!"
He then leapt back, trying to escape from Noah.
For the first time, fear appeared in his eyes instead of rage. He understood he needed to flee and wait for his arm to regenerate before returning to take revenge.
Noah, unaware of his thoughts, dispelled the shield protecting him from the blood mist and began gathering magical power in his hand while looking at the monster. He intended to finish the fight.
"Let the world witness what it means to be the Storm Swordsman."
A whirlwind began forming around Noah, then spun faster and faster, turning into a visible tornado.
At this moment, a giant tornado appeared on the street, with Noah, holding his long blade, at its center.
"Oh my God, go higher!" the reporter exclaimed, noticing the tornado quickly rising, nearly reaching their helicopter. She finally understood why this superhero was called the Storm Swordsman. "Is this truly not magic?"
Abomination, seeing the approaching tornado, filled with dread, started running in the opposite direction.
"Swish!"
Noah swung his sword, and the giant whirlwind, infused with slashing energy, charged toward his opponent, destroying everything in its path.
Abomination couldn't escape and was engulfed by the whirlwind. The sword's energy was so sharp that the white vortex began to turn green—this was Abomination's blood.
Within seconds, the whirlwind began to dissipate, leaving nothing of the foe in its wake.
[Mission Complete]