"You're finally back! Hurry up and help! I can't hold on much longer!" Constantine's eyes lit up with relief as he saw Hellboy return. He shouted out desperately, making it seem like Serdar was about to kill him, even though he wasn't visibly injured at all.
"..." Hellboy was momentarily speechless at Constantine's dramatic plea. Nonetheless, recalling how Robert had saved him from Kaire earlier, Hellboy felt indebted to help, albeit reluctantly, as Robert had requested.
Hellboy's hesitation also stemmed from his uncertainty in dealing with Serdar. If he were confident in defeating Serdar, he would prefer not to team up with Constantine, considering how unreliable he found him. Constantine's frantic outburst only reinforced this perception.
"You're back?" Serdar's gaze narrowed as he noticed Hellboy's arrival. A sense of wariness crept into his heart because Hellboy's appearance confirmed part of Constantine's earlier claims. This was a situation Serdar had hoped to avoid.
"Boom!" A deep rumble echoed from afar, and the ground trembled. Only then did Serdar sense the intense vibrations from the battle between Robert and Kaire, realizing how formidable their clash was. This validated Constantine's assertion that they were backed by a force rivaling a hellish overlord.
"Bang!" In Serdar's moment of distraction, Hellboy seized the opportunity, mirroring the earlier turn of events in Robert and Kaire's fight. Serdar was sent flying, a severe dent in his chest oozing blood.
Hellboy stood where Serdar had been, his massive right fist glowing brightly. This was Hellboy's most powerful punch, successfully wounding Serdar under the element of surprise.
"Hiss!" At the same time, Constantine didn't waste the chance either. Using some strange sorcery, he caused Serdar's chest to shatter, making blood that hadn't spilled earlier now gush out.
However, the blood of a top-tier demon had terrifying corrosive properties. As it splattered, it eroded the ground around them. Constantine, who had been about to collect some of the demon's blood, had to abandon his plan and leap aside to avoid both the corrosive blood and Serdar's impending retaliation.
"Bastards!" Serdar roared as Constantine ducked out of sight. His aura surged, and his chest wound forcibly closed, stopping the blood flow. Serdar's cold eyes locked onto Hellboy, as Constantine was nowhere to be seen. His fury would now have to be vented on Hellboy.
With a swoosh, Serdar vanished from Hellboy's view. Hellboy's pupils contracted as Serdar disappeared, but his keen danger sense picked up the incoming threat from his side. Hellboy quickly adjusted and fired his oversized revolver in that direction.
"Bang!" The holy-charged bullet hit Serdar, but contrary to Hellboy's expectations, it didn't send Serdar flying this time. The bullet pierced through Serdar's body, but he still managed to land a punch on Hellboy, sending him sprawling to the ground.
"How can this be?" Hellboy, feeling the pain from the blow, was confused. He had successfully used this technique to knock Serdar away in their last encounter. Yet now, despite injuring Serdar, Hellboy found himself worse off.
"The last time we met, I could have killed you, but your background made me hesitate. Now, I have no choice. Don't blame me; blame yourself for coming back to die and forcing me down this path!" Serdar's eyes gleamed with cold light as he reappeared before Hellboy, conjuring a sphere of terrifying energy aimed straight at Hellboy's head.
"Bang!" Hellboy, weakened and unable to dodge, could only raise his powerful right fist to block the attack. But just then, a magical shield materialized in front of Hellboy, absorbing Serdar's lethal strike.
"You owe me for this one. That spell cost me dearly!" Constantine's voice drifted from the shadows. Shielding Hellboy from a top-tier demon's fatal blow had come at a significant cost to Constantine. Yet, he couldn't just stand by and watch Hellboy get killed. Not out of camaraderie, but because he knew he couldn't face Serdar alone. If Hellboy fell, Constantine would need to expend even more of his resources to survive against Serdar, potentially risking his own life.
Thus, Constantine acted decisively, preserving his front-line fighter to avoid direct exposure to Serdar's attacks in the ensuing battle.
"Thanks, I'll remember this!" Hellboy nodded, acknowledging that despite Constantine's motives, he had indeed saved him twice from Serdar's attacks. Especially this second time, without Constantine's intervention, Hellboy might have been dead. Hellboy felt he owed Constantine a debt of gratitude.
"Damn you!" Serdar, facing the magical shield, seethed with rage. He detested Constantine's underhanded tactics more than anything. They were more infuriating than rodents lurking in dark corners. Serdar now understood why Constantine, despite not being exceptionally powerful, had made a name for himself across various realms, including hell. Constantine's tricks were endlessly annoying.
"Crack!" Fueled by Serdar's fury, his power surged, and the magical shield in front of Hellboy shattered under the strain. But it was too late for Serdar; Hellboy had enough time to dodge his subsequent attacks and launch a counter-offensive.
"Boom!" This time, Hellboy's massive right fist didn't directly strike Serdar but instead punched the air, sending a powerful shockwave that tore through Serdar's body, causing his blood to spill once more.
"Good! Very good!" Serdar took a deep breath, examining his injuries. His body began to swell, shifting from a somewhat human appearance to a monstrous form. His aura intensified, breaking through the constraints of Earth's dimensional suppression and revealing his true demonic might.
"It seems this guy is our target!" As Serdar's transformation took place, Tony Stark's voice rang out. He and the other Avengers had arrived just as Hellboy's shockwave tore through Serdar. At first, they had trouble discerning who was the real threat, as Hellboy's demonic appearance made him seem like the villain. But seeing Serdar's monstrous transformation, it became clear who their target was. Next to Serdar, Hellboy almost seemed benevolent.
"It's all about context…," Tony thought.
"Damn! You guys are here too! If I knew you were coming, I wouldn't have wasted so many of my tricks earlier!" Constantine popped out from his hiding spot, looking excitedly at Tony and the others. He genuinely felt that if he had known reinforcements were coming, he wouldn't have bothered saving Hellboy, which he saw as a waste of his resources.
Constantine had no particular attachment to Hellboy and would have felt no remorse seeing him die, given their lack of personal connection and Hellboy's earlier indifferent attitude towards him.
Constantine's opportunistic nature was evident. Now that Hellboy's usefulness to him had decreased, his demeanor had shifted dramatically.
"Be careful. This guy is stronger than before. If you lack strong defensive capabilities, it's best to engage from a distance for safety," Hellboy advised, looking towards Tony and the Avengers. He knew of the Avengers from military briefings and was particularly a fan of Steve Rogers, having grown up with stories of Captain America's patriotic heroism.
Seeing the Avengers arrive gave Hellboy some relief. Though he wasn't sure of their exact capabilities, their history of handling numerous crises suggested they were formidable allies.
"Alright!" Steve Rogers nodded at Hellboy's warning and quickly issued commands. "Hellboy, keep holding the front. Bucky and I will provide support from the sides. Morbius, look for chances to exploit his wounds. Spider-Man, adapt as needed. Iron Man, give us covering fire from a distance!"
Steve's orders ensured that each member of the Avengers could maximize their strengths in the battle. As for Peter Parker, Steve wasn't fully aware of his current abilities or if Serdar had any specific means to counter Venom. Thus, he left it up to Peter to find his own opportunities in the fight.
"Understood!" The Avengers responded in unison and took their positions. Tony Stark was the first to strike, unleashing his arsenal on Serdar.
Having previously defeated a hellish demon alone, Tony knew all too well how resilient such beings were. He didn't hold back his firepower, ready to expend every bit of his energy reserves.
The concern about running out of power didn't worry Tony. He had additional suits already on their way and could switch to another or recharge from them if necessary.
"Ssh!"
"Ssh!"
"Ssh!"
Energy beams tore through Serdar's massive, grotesque body, but the demon's flesh quickly reformed like clay, sealing the wounds without spilling any blood. It was as if Serdar in his current form was a completely different entity from before, possessing a fundamentally different life structure.
"Boom!" Angered by Tony's attacks, Serdar retaliated instantly, launching an invisible force that struck Tony's armor, sending him crashing into the ground and embedding him in the earth.
"Watch out!" Steve Rogers warned the others, rallying them to maintain their positions and stay vigilant. The battle had now escalated to a critical point where every move mattered, and the fate of their world was hanging in the balance.
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