At the Puffball Collective’s urging, Hulk shatters the mystic chains guarding the gate to its homeworld. Beyond lies a barren desert, seemingly lifeless. But the silence hides a horror: the N’Garai demons, ancient monstrosities that once annihilated the Puffball’s people.
As the threat emerges, three spectral figures—Goblin, Guardian, and Glow—manifest from Hulk’s mind, warning him of the peril. A brutal clash follows. Hulk defeats one demon after a grueling battle, but another strikes him down, leaving him wounded and vulnerable.
Surrounded and bleeding, Hulk learns the truth: the Puffball was no victim, but the architect of destruction. It had once commanded the N’Garai to ravage worlds, and now sought to use Hulk to unleash them again.
In a moment of clarity, Hulk activates the “Fail-safe” spell, retreating to the Crossroads. With grim resolve, he restores the mystic chains, sealing the gate and trapping the Puffball with the demons it once controlled.
As the N’Garai turn on their former master, Hulk—betrayed and broken—is left in the Crossroads, encircled by Goblin, Guardian, and Glow. Their presence offers no comfort, only the haunting echo of trust lost and danger narrowly escaped.
> Incredible Hulk, The (1968 series) comic book info and issue index
