"Is this the effect of Gimmel?"
Kurogai Blackwood murmured as he observed the now-enlarged desert lizard. The moment the energy from the Fifth Eye Ring settled in his body, he instinctively understood the ability he had just unlocked.
[Gimmel] — Triggers accelerated growth in the target upon contact.
Apparently, the bullet had forced the still-young lizard into a rapid state of maturity. That's why the beast's frame had suddenly swelled—it had gone from juvenile to fully grown in seconds.
"So you were still a kid? Not even fully developed. Interesting," Kurogai muttered with a hint of amusement. His voice was calm, almost lazy, as if watching a curious science experiment unfold.
Without hesitation, the Time Clock etched in his golden eye shifted again, ticking to the next mark. The fourth tick lit up.
Another gunshot echoed.
Bang!
The bullet struck the oversized lizard once again, and in the next moment, its massive body began to shrink—returning to its original, adolescent form.
[Dalet] — Reverses the target's state by manipulating its personal timeline.
"Time reversal," Kurogai whispered. "So it doesn't just age or shrink the body… it rewinds it."
But he could tell that Dalet's power wasn't limited to mere de-aging. That wasn't its true potential. It went deeper.
To test this theory, Kurogai raised his hand. Arcane energy gathered, twisting and spiraling around his palm. The air hissed as it condensed into a translucent, razor-sharp Wind Blade.
With a flick of his wrist, the blade slashed through the air.
Shhk!
The giant lizard was sliced cleanly in two. Its severed body thudded to the sand, lifeless.
Kurogai's expression didn't change. He calmly pointed his pistol at the lizard's corpse and pulled the trigger once more.
Bang!
The bullet struck dead center, and then… something incredible happened.
The two halves of the beast's body began to reconnect, tissue knitting together in real time. The wound sealed as if time itself was repairing it. Then, with a shaky breath, the lizard opened its eyes—alive once more.
The moment it regained consciousness, it let out a terrified hiss, scrambled to its feet, and sprinted away in a panic.
The once-fearsome predator was now reduced to a quivering shadow of itself, too scared to even glance back at the figure who had just brought it back from the dead.
Kurogai didn't pursue it.
Instead, he looked down at the barrel of his gun, thoughts swirling.
"This… is the true power of Dalet," he said, eyes narrowing. "Temporal reversal so complete it can even bring back the recently deceased."
But there was a limit. The power only worked on targets who had died within a short time frame. Beyond that, resurrection would be impossible.
He frowned, not out of disappointment, but contemplation. His Time Clock—known as Zafkiel—wasn't exactly like Kurumi Tokisaki's. There were differences, but none that caused him concern. If anything, they made the ability feel more personal, more… his.
And he still had more testing to do.
He raised a golden-glowing hand and conjured a temporal ring—like a portal swirling with golden time energy.
Moments later, the same panicked giant lizard, which had just fled for its life, fell straight out of the halo and landed clumsily at his feet.
It looked up at him, shaking.
Kurogai smirked. "You're not getting away that easily. We're just getting started."
The creature looked nearly on the verge of tears. But caught in the web of Zafkiel's time manipulation, it had no hope of escape. The desert, for now, was his laboratory—and the lizard, his perfect test subject.
Time blurred as Kurogai continued to experiment with the upgraded abilities of the Fifth Eye Ring.
While he honed his newfound powers in the isolation of the desert, the consequences of his earlier battles were beginning to stir elsewhere.
---
Meanwhile, deep within S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters...
"Sir, this report just came in from Canada."
Agent Maria Hill entered Nick Fury's office, placing a sealed file on his desk.
Fury raised a brow and opened the folder. Within seconds, his expression darkened.
"Heterochromatic-eyed individual spotted... engaged in combat with the monster created by Dr. Bruce Banner… complete destruction of a northern Canadian town?" he read aloud, voice growing tight.
"Damn it," he muttered. "What was Kurogai doing in Canada? And why in hell was he fighting Banner's alter ego? That thing's practically a walking disaster."
Fury clenched his jaw, flipping through the surveillance photos and incident reports.
He knew Banner's case well. Even if S.H.I.E.L.D. officially didn't meddle in military matters, they kept close tabs on all "accidents" resulting from super-soldier experiments—especially ones like the Hulk.
But none of it explained why Kurogai had crossed paths with Banner… or worse, gone toe-to-toe with the Hulk and lived to tell about it.
Just then, Fury's AI assistant chimed in.
"Director, the World Security Council is requesting a live update."
He sighed and accepted the call.
"Fury," barked a stern voice from the Council feed, "how did your subject Kurogai and Dr. Banner end up leveling a town in Canada? You were supposed to be monitoring both of them!"
Another voice joined in. "Canada is putting pressure on us. They want accountability. Immediate accountability."
"You've been overseeing Kurogai's file for months. This is your mess—fix it."
Fury's jaw tightened, but he remained calm.
"Gentlemen," he said flatly, "I'd like to remind you that the military was the one running experiments on Banner in the first place. He didn't just become the Hulk on his own. And as for Kurogai, I'll admit we've been tracking him closely—but he's a wildcard. The situation's evolving faster than we predicted."
There was silence for a moment.
Then the same voice continued.
"We don't care who started what. All we care about is containment. Blackwood's powers are a liability—and you will bring him in, Director Fury. Along with Banner."
Fury exhaled through his nose. The Council didn't want explanations. They wanted control.
"As of now," said another Council member, "S.H.I.E.L.D. is officially tasked with recovering both Kurogai and Banner. Handle it quickly and quietly."
Fury nodded once, then ended the call.
He leaned back in his chair and stared at the ceiling.
"Two ticking time bombs in the wild... just great."
He had a feeling the chaos was only just beginning.
---