Inside the church, the embers of the Impact still lingered in the air.
Just as the red and gold armor landed, the pitch-black rift emitting the scent of sulfur slowly vanished. A mysterious Witch holding a bone staff and a Demon surrounded by swirling gales stood in silent confrontation with the group.
"Alright, I'm ready to—" Tony's voice came from beneath his faceplate, but when he saw the standoff and the unconscious enemies littering the floor, his words came to an abrupt halt. "...Okay, looks like it's halftime."
"...Jarvis, scan these two uninvited party crashers."
The Devil composed of whirlwinds—Wind Demon—let out a cunning whisper made of countless friction-induced air currents, as if mocking them. His gaze toward Hulk was filled with provocation and amusement rather than mere bestiality.
"Look at that, a big angry green guy, like a lost little baby." Wind Demon's voice sounded like a mixture of countless voices, sharp and piercing. "Your rage smells... delicious."
The Witch ignored everyone else entirely, her gaze cutting straight through the crowd to lock firmly onto Lin Huai.
"Hmm? Promoted so quickly?"
Her voice was ethereal and cold. "It seems my Master's casual move back in Harlem actually facilitated the digestion of your potion?"
Lin Huai's heart skipped a beat.
He immediately understood the meaning behind her words. When the Abomination and Hulk had fought in Harlem, he was still a Sequence 9 Seer. That suddenly appearing Werewolf was clearly connected to the faction behind this woman.
"A Kamar-Taj sorcerer... an angry Beast... and a tin can..." Only then did the Witch's gaze sweep nonchalantly over Russell, Hulk, and Tony, as if evaluating the quality of merchandise. "It seems my 'partners' aren't entirely useless. Wind Demon, the big guy and the tin can are yours. Go play with them."
"With pleasure." Wind Demon let out a delighted whistle. His form flickered, appearing beside Hulk like a ghost as claws made of gale-force winds lashed out at Hulk's ribs.
Hulk roared and swung a backhand punch, but it hit nothing but air. Wind Demon's body dissolved into scattered air currents the moment the fist landed, only to reform on the other side. Simultaneously, the missile pods on Tony's shoulders opened, and several miniature missiles hissed out, but they passed through Wind Demon's cyclonic body without resistance, exploding in a series of sparks on the wall behind him.
Like an experienced matador, Wind Demon took delight in constantly using rapid feints and tricky angles to toy with both Hulk's heavy punches and Iron Man's firepower.
On the other side, the Witch raised her bone staff.
"Awaken," she whispered casually.
But before Lin Huai could act, the previously silent Sorcerer Russell moved.
"The undead should not walk among the living!" Russell took a step forward, his hands instantly tracing complex patterns in front of his chest.
With his low shout, several magic ropes composed of golden sparks appeared out of thin air, shooting out with the precision of living snakes to bind the four twitching, rising corpses of the cultists. The golden energy seemed to have a powerful purifying effect; the black mist on the corpses hissed upon contact with the ropes, and no matter how they struggled, they could not break free.
Seeing this, the Witch looked directly at Russell for the first time, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes.
And at that very moment, Lin Huai moved!
His figure darted out like a ghost, using a bizarre, joint-defying step to suddenly slide sideways like a clumsy actor losing his balance. This movement successfully tricked the Witch's visual lock. Then, using this awkward posture as a pivot, he spun his body violently and flicked his wrist, sending four more silver-glinting specialized cards flying!
Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish!
This time, the cards were aimed directly at the Witch herself!
The Witch didn't even move her feet. She simply waved her bone staff casually, and a translucent shield made of black mist blocked her front, easily deflecting all four heavy-hitting cards.
"Good body control, a wonderful impromptu performance." She spoke as if she weren't in a battle, but critiquing a play. "It seems you have quite the talent for being a Joker."
"Wind Demon, come back." The battle had lasted less than three minutes when the Witch spoke again, her voice clearly piercing through the battlefield.
Wind Demon, who was still tangling with Hulk and Tony, let out an extremely unwilling roar: "I've only just started warming up!"
Nevertheless, he turned into a gust of wind, swirling back to the Witch and enveloping her entirely.
"Today was just a greeting. We've seen what we wanted to see, and our Master's orders are paramount. Besides, I don't like the current time very much." The Witch's voice drifted out from the eye of the storm. "I look forward to our next meeting, unknown Mr. Joker. I hope by then, you can bring me an even more interesting performance."
As her voice fell, the tornado soared into the sky, tearing through the church's dome and vanishing into the heavens. Blinding sunlight shone down through the damaged roof.
Inside the church, only a mess and a few completely unconscious cultists remained.
Hulk's roars gradually subsided as he turned back into the panting Dr. Banner. Russell waved his hand, dispelling the golden magic ropes, and walked quickly to the altar to check on the innocent homeless man. He shook his head regretfully. "He didn't become a sacrificial offering, but his body was already weak. He was literally scared to death."
"Fuck... they just ran away?" Tony landed on the ground, looking at the hole in the dome in disbelief. "I didn't even get a chance to try the sonic cannon! There isn't even a rating phase—the customer experience is terrible!"
He retracted his faceplate irritably. Looking at the mess on the scene, he added crossly, "By now, I should have been on the track in Monaco with Pepper, getting ready to enjoy the sun and champagne."
Just then, Jarvis's steady electronic voice suddenly became extremely urgent, exploding directly in Tony's ear!
"Sir, emergency alert! Miss Pepper Potts is in danger!"
"What happened?!" Tony's heart instantly leaped into his throat.
"An attack has occurred at the Monaco Grand Prix! An unidentified assailant, wearing a crude exoskeleton powered by... another arc reactor, is conducting indiscriminate attacks on the F1 track! There is no matching identity information in the database!"
Another arc reactor?
Tony's mind buzzed. Before he could even react to this technical shock, Jarvis's next words sent him into an icy abyss.
"Miss Pepper Potts is on-site as a special guest of the event! Live footage shows the attacker is moving toward the VIP stands!"
"Pepper!"
From New York to Monaco? By the time he arrived, it would be too late.
Tony spun around violently, his reddened eyes locking onto Sorcerer Russell, who was preparing to clean up the aftermath. His gaze was filled with unprecedented urgency, pleading, and even a hint of fear he hadn't noticed himself.
"Sorcerer! Sorcerer Russell!" Tony's voice was hoarse with extreme anxiety as he rushed to Russell's side. "Quick! Open a Door! Send me to her! I'll do anything!"