After combining J.A.R.V.I.S.'s analysis and thinking it through, Tony came to a conclusion, ["I know where it should go…"]
Facing a disaster that could wipe out the whole world, Tony's usual arrogant streak surprisingly didn't show up.
Instead, he revealed an unexpected sense of responsibility and resolve.
He quickly flew beneath the nuclear missile and hoisted the seemingly ordinary warhead onto his shoulder.
"This trip might be a one-way ticket."
J.A.R.V.I.S. reminded his master in a tone more serious than ever before, ["Sir! Would you like to contact Miss Potts?"]
Even the AI assistant J.A.R.V.I.S. believed that Tony's choice right now was basically suicide.
Just as Tony connected with Miss Potts to say what sounded like his last words, a sudden change occurred on the rooftop of Stark Tower.
BOOM!
The hand Corin used to grip the Mind Scepter felt a violent tremor.
The energy released by the Tesseract slowly turned into thin strands.
High above, the portal through which the Chitauri army had been pouring endlessly into Earth's airspace began to visibly shrink.
But at this moment, global live broadcasts were all reporting on Stark, ["Even though we are trapped in such despair, we have recognized Iron Man, millionaire Tony Stark…"]
Tony was still carrying the nuclear missile, flying toward Stark Tower.
His eyes were filled with a firmness and gravity never seen before.
He looked nothing like the arrogant, joking, carefree Tony people were used to.
Just as Thor and Colonel Rogers finished off the surrounding enemies, and the Hulk also broke free from danger, they all looked up together.
Carrying the missile, Tony passed through the energy column surging up from the Tesseract and flew straight toward the portal.
At that very moment, Corin's hands were finally freed.
Watching Tony carry the nuke toward the portal, Corin only had one thought, "You sure about that? Charging in like that?"
The moment the thought formed, Corin unfolded his magnetic field and chased after Tony.
Not for anything else. Even though this war had already brought Corin quite a bit of profit, a nuclear bomb, the crystallized result of global scientific research, would definitely fetch a good price in exchange.
The spatial portal was slowly closing.
But Tony, carrying the missile, seemed locked onto his target, determined to deliver this big gift to the enemy's home.
Corin was getting closer from behind, but the portal was about to shut, and he still hadn't caught up to Tony, who was flying at full speed.
One fleeing ahead, one chasing behind.
At the very instant the portal closed, Tony, carrying the missile, finally passed through and arrived in a void-like universe.
There was no oxygen there, no gravity, only an endless sense of eternal loneliness.
But Tony had no time to think about that. There was only one thought in his mind, 'The nuke can explode, but not on Earth!'
His armor, already low on power, kept issuing warnings, but Tony had made up his mind. Even if it cost him his life, he would deliver this weapon of mass destruction into the enemy's camp.
The moment he entered space, Tony's body went numb.
Carrying the nuke, his body continued moving forward purely by inertia.
Watching through the monitors as Tony sent the nuclear missile beyond the portal, all the staff aboard the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier burst into cheers.
They had won.
At least, they thought they had won.
But had they really?
At the very least, their screens could no longer capture any image within the atmosphere.
Tony's Mark 7 armor continued to sound alarms as usual, but in the vacuum of space, his consciousness had already begun to fade.
Gradually, Iron Man let go of the arm that had been holding the nuke.
Driven by a sense of duty and responsibility he had carried for half his life, he never intended to make it back alive.
At that moment, Corin arrived.
To be honest, before entering the cosmic environment, Corin had serious doubts about whether his body could adapt to the vacuum of space.
But when he actually passed through the portal, he was pleasantly surprised to find that he seemed completely unaffected.
Under the influence of cosmic radiation, he even felt like he was getting stronger.
Breathing, air pressure, and everything else felt as natural as walking on flat ground.
That gave him plenty of confidence.
Seeing Tony Stark ahead of him, unconscious from pushing himself too hard, Corin didn't say much.
He just kicked him.
One kick sent the armored Tony back toward Earth.
At the very last second before the portal fully closed, Tony barely made it back into Earth's embrace.
Before losing consciousness, Tony thought he was still flying forward as planned.
His body had endured tremendous strain. He knew that if he didn't step up, there might truly be no one else who could.
Even with his proud personality, deep down Tony had always had a hero's dream.
Within his means, he built Stark Tower and hung his name high at the top.
But that kind of self-proclaimed label wasn't what he truly wanted.
He wanted the whole world to look at him.
To watch him.
To shout his name and remember him forever.
While his vanity played its part, he had long since seen himself as a guardian of Earth.
That didn't actually have much to do with Nick Fury's Avengers Initiative.
Tony Stark had his own choice.
So at this moment, he stepped forward.
Unfortunately, even as a genius engineer, he had never imagined that one day he would head into outer space to confront enemies.
So once he left the atmosphere, even with the suit's protection, he quickly fell unconscious.
Corin was different.
His current physique might not be overwhelmingly powerful, but the demigod body was enough to withstand the torment and radiation of the vacuum of space.
After kicking Tony, whose limbs were no longer under control, back toward Earth, Corin expanded his magnetic field and accelerated toward the nuclear missile.
The moment Corin approached the nuke, he had no thought of destroying the enemy in front of him.
All he had was a firm resolve to make money.
"Exchange!"
[Exchange successful! +100 million USD. Account balance: 505.1 billion USD]
"Damn it!"
After all that effort, Corin only received 100 million dollars.
The huge sense of disappointment made him curse out loud.
"What the hell, is Earth's stuff this cheap now?"
But carried by inertia toward the Chitauri camp, he didn't have time to dwell on it.
"Screw you!"
Thinking a nuclear bomb would bring him endless profit, Corin was clearly irritated now.
He unleashed his heat vision and freezing breath at the same time.
The densely packed enemy forces within less than a kilometer didn't even have time to react before they were engulfed in chain explosions and shattered by freezing.
In the vacuum of space, there was no air to carry sound.
His ears were filled with silence.
But the sheets of firelight in front of him eased his rotten mood a little.
At this point, who cared whether it was worth money or not.
Right now, he just wanted to vent.
Having left Earth, Corin no longer had any thought of making money. When he was in a bad mood, to hell with everything else.
The Chitauri army suffered a devastating blow.
Watching from afar, Thanos' expression stiffened, "Hm… it seems we'll have to move on to the next plan…"
As a being who dominated half the universe, Thanos didn't really care about the gain or loss of a single planet.
But the existence of the Mind Scepter and the Space Stone forced him to think carefully about his plans.
'Who is this man?'
A question rose in his mind.
He was called Thanos because wherever he went, planets were destroyed and he ruled supreme.
Yet on such an insignificant planet, he had encountered someone who disrupted his plans.
That stirred a trace of curiosity in him toward Corin.
The Chitauri army was just one of many forces under Thanos across countless systems. If they were wiped out, so be it. It was no big deal.
At this moment, watching Corin vent his fury, a cold glint flickered in Thanos' deep eyes.
After letting off some steam, Corin's mood improved slightly.
But when he turned around, he found that the portal had already closed, "Holy crap! How the hell am I supposed to get back now?"
Just then, Corin's body lit up with a blazing white glow, and a pure beam of energy shot toward a distant part of the universe.
═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═
[email protected]/AmbitiousTranslator
🥳Joining P@treon keeps me motivated and eager to work diligently, so please consider joining.🥰 You can access upto 20 advance chapter through P@treon.