"Pepper, run!"
Tony hurriedly pushed Pepper into the basement.
"Tony!"
Pepper had barely gotten the word out.
The Insect God smashed straight through the wall right then, appearing in front of them, showering them both with chunks of concrete.
But Tony had already pressed a trigger, and his entire body was covered in nanotech armor in an instant.
He grappled with the Insect God, who casually sent the several-hundred-pound Tony Stark flying. Tony crashed through another wall.
"Jarvis, next time remind me to reinforce the walls around here."
Tony shook his helmet, concrete grit sliding off his body. He rose to his feet and was about to deploy his weapons against the Insect God when the Slicing King launched a surprise attack from the side. Twin blades slashed across Tony in a flash.
The nanotech armor on both of Tony's arms was sliced clean off.
Fortunately, the armor was sturdy enough that the moment it was cut, the Slicing King's blades ran out of force and couldn't continue through his actual arms.
Still, it sent a chill down Tony's spine—he'd almost lost his arms.
"Demon-level monsters: the Insect God and the Slicing King!"
Tony's database had intel on these two monsters, but he'd never expected two Demon-level monsters to actually attack him.
Since when had monsters gotten this smart?
"And me, Wrestler Rhino!"
A massive rhinoceros-man came charging, plowing through wall after wall of Tony Stark's house until it stood before him.
"Demon-level monster, Wrestler Rhino?!"
Tony's face inside the nanotech armor instantly went grim. What the hell was going on? Why were there three Demon-level monsters?
Did the Monster Association really value him that much?
Tony cursed under his breath, but that didn't mean he had no way to deal with three Demon-level monsters.
He'd been mixing it up with monsters for a long time now.
The nanotech armor on his arms regenerated, then shifted into weapons.
Blue lasers shot from Tony's palms. Not understanding the threat, the Slicing King charged right in, only to have his body punched through effortlessly by the blue beams.
Counting on his formidable defense, the Insect God stepped in to replace the Slicing King and threw a punch at Tony.
Tony's right-arm nanotech armor rapidly swelled into a massive hammer. Several thrusters on that arm fired in unison as he swung, smashing into the Insect God and sending it flying like a home run.
Wrestler Rhino immediately seized Tony, ready to slam him into the ground.
But Tony's feet reconfigured into a cross shape, anchoring him to the floor. Wrestler Rhino couldn't budge him for a moment. Then Tony's left hand formed a sharp blade, and he spun around and slashed.
However, Wrestler Rhino had thick, tough hide. Tony's slash only produced sparks and a shallow bloody gash. By then, the Slicing King was already charging in again, twin blades swinging.
A port opened on Tony's back, and he fired several blobs at the Slicing King. On impact, they rapidly spread, forming nanotech restraints that locked up the Slicing King's movements.
At the same time, facing Wrestler Rhino, a fierce glow ignited on Tony's chest, and a unibeam blast sent the rhino-man flying.
But Tony was also sent flying by an elbow strike from the Insect God.
"Taking on three Demon-level monsters at once is still a bit much. Jarvis, why haven't the others shown up yet?"
Tony kept firing energy blasts to keep the three monsters at bay. Even the Insect God couldn't eat more than a few hits before being knocked back.
"The other S-Class heroes are already rushing over as fast as they can."
Jarvis replied.
"Fine. Looks like I need to round up some backup first."
Tony activated a protocol he'd pre-set.
Instantly, inside the basement, several faces of the Iron Legion lit up with power.
Right in the middle of the fight, the Slicing King was suddenly hit by an energy round and disintegrated into nothing.
It shocked the Insect God and Wrestler Rhino.
Then they saw an Iron Man holding something that looked like a massive cannon.
"It's Zod Heath's Fusion Cannon!"
Both the Insect God and Wrestler Rhino recognized that weapon.
"Oh? You actually know it?" Tony said, a little surprised.
Of course the Monster Association knew it. Zod Heath was considered the strongest human, and he was far from simple—always elusive, never showing himself easily.
But the weapons and equipment he developed could make even Dragon-level monsters' hearts skip a beat. Take this Fusion Cannon, for instance—hadn't the Slicing King just been erased without so much as a grunt?
Keep in mind, the Slicing King was a Demon-level monster!
Truth was, even Zod hadn't expected Tony to replicate the Fusion Cannon. Or rather, he'd never released the technology at all, and yet Tony had just gone ahead and produced it.
Then, a bullet wrapped in electric arcs shot in from a distance. Wrestler Rhino's horn was pierced straight through by the round. The bullet then tore through his body, punched through the floor, and collapsed half of Tony Stark's villa!
The Insect God didn't react until Wrestler Rhino was dead, and then dove for cover to one side.
"That was a little overkill."
Tony Stark said it casually.
The electromagnetic kinetic gun, firing a secondary adamantium round, had destructive power capable of punching through seven high-rise buildings.
But considering he was aiming at his own home, Tony Stark had dialed down the output.
Even so, it scared the remaining Insect God's face pale and white.
Was this guy insane?
"Alright, what are we waiting for? Send him to hell."
At Tony's command, dozens of Iron Legion suits opened fire on the villa with electromagnetic railguns. The railgun was a different weapon from the kinetic gun—it fired electromagnetic waves, not as ridiculously powerful, but still easily capable of penetrating most armored targets.
And now with concentrated fire, the villa's load-bearing columns, walls, everything, was shredded. The house collapsed.
The Insect God, hiding inside the villa, was riddled with holes. Pepper Potts, still in shock, had only just escaped covered head-to-toe in an Iron Man suit. Now she watched the entire villa gone, flattened to the ground. Pepper pressed a hand to her forehead. Sure, New Stark Industries was making plenty of money now, but a villa like that still cost a fortune.
Not to mention they'd just paid a property tax bill. It hadn't been long at all, and now he'd demolished his own house. God knew if the insurance company would even accept the claim.
"It's okay, Pepper."
Tony thought Pepper couldn't handle the scene, so he quickly went over, hugged her, and comforted her.
By then, the forces of S.H.I.E.L.D. had finally arrived. War Machine and Iron Monger surrounded the site, and every single S-Class hero rushed over without exception.
"Stark, are you okay!"
If I'd waited for you guys, I wouldn't be.
Tony quipped inwardly.
Still, the attack on him immediately drew high-level attention from S.H.I.E.L.D. and various countries. The Monster Association really was making a major move!
/-\
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