Marvel's Strongest Mage

This time, Daniel didn't summon a towering water giant. Instead, with a simple sweep of his arms, a thick column of water surged up and spiraled across the air, barreling toward Bronski's legs.

At that very moment, Blonsky was pummeling Hulk, too focused on his assault to notice the watery force rolling toward him.

Calling it a "water rope" would be misleading. This wasn't something dainty or flexible—it was thick, dense, and heavy, easily the size of a bowl's mouth. It coiled with deliberate strength, perfectly fitting Blonsky's three-meter-tall frame.

With a vicious snap, the water wrapped around Blonsky's legs and yanked him off the ground.

The brute was launched into the air before slamming into the pavement with bone-cracking force. As dust and concrete fragments flew in every direction, the water tendrils twisted upward and downward along Blonsky's body, coiling tightly and pinning him to the street.

Viewers across televisions, security feeds, and drones around the globe let out a collective breath.

But they didn't look away.

There was still a haunting possibility that Blonsky might break free—again.

And then, just as that fear began to ease, another monstrous figure came barreling into frame.

Hulk.

Without hesitation, he threw a brutal punch straight into Blonsky—ignoring the fact that he was currently restrained by Daniel's water magic.

That single blow didn't just strike him—it hit the very essence of the water magic itself. The force dispersed Daniel's arcane energy from the water restraints in an instant, unraveling the spell like thread yanked from a seam.

The damage didn't stop there.

Blonskyrecovered instantly, snarling as he leapt up and drove a knee into Hulk's chest, sending the green giant hurtling backward.

But Blonsky didn't pursue Hulk.

He turned instead—eyes burning—toward Daniel.

His true threat.

Hulk, too, rose, and despite his earlier target, he now sprinted in the same direction.

Toward Daniel.

Watching from afar, Betty Ross's heart twisted in disbelief.

Moments ago, she'd begged Daniel to save Bruce. Now, Bruce—in the form of the Hulk—was rushing at Daniel with lethal force. And Blonsky too.

Two monsters, one man.

"Dad!" Betty turned to her father in panic. "You have to do something—help him!"

General Ross grunted. "Now you realize?" he muttered, before answering louder. "Don't worry. He'll be fine."

He sounded confident, but his tone held a thread of caution. Ross had witnessed Daniel's illusion magic firsthand back at his home. That alone had convinced the General that this man wasn't to be underestimated.

But Daniel didn't rely on illusions now.

Instead, he extended his arms, palms open—and from his hands, two crescent-shaped water scimitars formed, spinning with increasing velocity.

They launched.

Straight for Blonsky's ankles.

To a towering brute like Blonsky, the back ankle was a weak point—an Achilles' heel, both literal and strategic.

Daniel conjured more water blades. Then more. Scimitar after scimitar formed around him in rapid succession, shimmering in the air like liquid glass.

Within seconds, a torrent of bladed water streamed toward Blonsky's legs—a narrow river of death.

From above, it looked like a one-sided chainsaw.

Even beings as physically monstrous as Blonsky or the Hulk weren't impervious to damage. Their regenerative ability was high, but not infinite. And Daniel's magic had teeth.

The blades dug in.

Blonsky staggered after only a few steps. His ankle split open with a spurt of khaki-colored blood. He crumpled to the ground with a guttural snarl.

And then Hulk arrived.

Not to strike Daniel—but Blonsky.

The green giant slammed into him with renewed fury. Despite his injury, Blonsky fought back with equal ferocity.

Even with one heel torn open, Blonsky's upper body retained monstrous strength. And Hulk—despite transforming—still hadn't returned to full strength.

The battle between them raged, evenly matched. Blows shook the ground.

Daniel stood back, watching, puzzled at first—until clarity hit him.

Hulk was never targeting him.

He was going for Blonsky all along.

It made sense. Daniel wasn't a brute-force opponent. He used magic, maneuvered strategically. Hulk wanted a fight, a real one. Bronski was a brawler. A threat. The kind of enemy Hulk instinctively chased.

Daniel blinked.

So… should he even intervene?

"Daniel!" General Ross's voice snapped through his thoughts.

Daniel glanced back. Ross gave a sharp military signal—engage.

Technically, Daniel was still wearing a U.S. uniform. Obedience—on the surface—was required.

And Ross was right.

The longer Hulk fought, the faster he evolved. If they let this continue, the Hulk would spiral into something even more unstoppable.

Daniel's hands flicked into a seal beneath his sleeves, activating a concealed wand.

The water blades spinning midair suddenly veered.

They cut toward Hulk's neck like silent assassins.

Hulk felt the sting and turned—roaring. He launched a wild punch that obliterated one of the scimitars mid-flight. The magical construct exploded backward. Daniel had to stabilize the others quickly, or they would've been destroyed too.

Hulk was strong. Monstrously so. But, Blonsky was getting weak fast. 

Zipping between Hulk's fists, Daniel could see Blonsky's body beginning to buckle. The damage from earlier had never healed. His bone spurs deflected some of Hulk's attacks, but not all. His strength was depleted. He could only defend now.

And that was when Hulk shifted.

He stomped down—hard—on Blonsky's chest. The man gasped, nearly suffocating.

Hulk turned.

His eyes locked on Daniel.

Across the war-scarred street, Daniel stood thirty meters away, surrounded by swirling water.

Hundreds of water blade scimitars hovered, orbiting him like razors caught in a tide. The surrounding streams pulsed outward in perfect synchrony, their mirrored surfaces reflecting the firelit chaos behind them.

Silence fell.

Only Daniel and Hulk remained upright.

Blonsky lay broken between them—whether unconscious or unwilling to rise, no one could say.

In the distance, Betty gasped. "No—" she tried to call out. She knew what was coming.

Hulk roared.

He charged.

It was raw power—pure and thunderous. A rampaging force of nature.

Daniel's expression hardened. He couldn't treat Hulk like Blonsky.

This was no temporary powerhouse. Hulk had been fighting and surviving for years, pursued by militaries, monsters, and fate itself. His pain made him stronger. His rage was limitless.

Daniel raised his hand.

The water scimitars surged forward—all aimed at Hulk's neck.

But it wasn't enough.

Hulk had watched. He'd learned. He wasn't mindless. He was adapting.

The water blades came—and he punched them away, deflecting them with precision.

Suddenly, Daniel changed tactics.

The stream split midair—hundreds of thinner tendrils darted around Hulk's torso, legs, and back. They sliced in from behind—drawing thin trails of green blood across his flesh.

It didn't stop Hulk.

But it hurt.

And that pain… made him smile.

For a moment, Daniel's heart sank.

The cuts were healing—already. Just seconds later, Hulk's skin had repaired itself entirely.

Daniel exhaled slowly.

So be it.

He clenched his fist.

The water behind Hulk reformed into new blades and shot toward him again, carving more lines along his back.

The green blood arced through the air, but the wounds healed as fast as they formed.

The magic circled back and fused into a massive water sphere around Daniel.

A water polo.

Roughly five meters wide, swirling and growing with every drop of nearby liquid drawn into its mass. From the outside, it looked harmless. A simple globe of water.

But inside…

Daniel stood still.

Waiting.

Hulk didn't pause.

He crashed into the water sphere with full force, fists swinging.

Nothing.

The punches passed through. Splashes exploded outward—but the magic held.

Hulk charged straight into the water, sloshing forward until he reached Daniel.

Then he punched.

And missed.

Daniel had vanished.

Hulk blinked. Confused.

Then—there. Daniel was four meters away, outside the water sphere.

How? When?

Roaring in frustration, Hulk charged again. This time, he landed the hit—his fist crashing into Daniel's chest.

But—

He fell out of the sphere.

Literally.

The moment his punch connected, Hulk's body was ejected from the water globe, stumbling into dry street and war-stained air.

He gasped—his breath returning only now, water having filled his lungs moments before.