Chapter 548 No, I can’t
It turned out that during the one-sided beating just now, Tony had not been sitting idly by.
He had secretly utilized his remaining floating cannons, using the entire arena as a canvas and crystal dust as wires, to ingeniously etch a massive magic circuit board within the dense, swirling dust mist!
"Checkmate!" Tony said calmly.
"Jarvis, switch to standard power source, initiate Rune Protocol!"
Click.
The Arc Reactor on his armor’s chest flickered off and on, completing the energy conversion.
A dazzling runic light shone from Tony’s chest.
A massive amount of magic energy surged out, shooting straight into the magic array in mid-air.
Boom!
The entire Crystal Maze suddenly lit up, and countless runes resonated in the air.
Rune Spell: Dagaz Inversion! Activate!
Dagaz represents dawn, awakening, and the reversal of polarity.
Under the amplification of the runic array, the power of this magic was magnified by more than ten times!
An invisible magic wave swept over the Iron Judge’s entire body in the blink of an eye.
The polarity of the energy gradually reversed.
The Hellfire on his body, which seemed impossible to extinguish, underwent a qualitative change under the influence of the polarity-reversing spell.
The scorching Hellfire turned into bone-chilling frost.
Crack, crack, crack!
The ice spread at a speed visible to the naked eye, firmly freezing the Iron Judge’s limbs and torso.
And under the instantaneous alternation of extreme heat and extreme cold, the Iron Judge’s indestructible Hell armor became extremely fragile.
Tony let go of the Iron Judge and slowly stood up.
"Goodbye, buddy." He walked over to the Iron Judge, who was frozen into an ice sculpture, and sneered.
The Repulsors finished recharging.
"Take your scrap metal and go to hell."
Bang!
A high-energy pulse slammed into the Iron Judge’s faceplate.
Crack—
The already fragile faceplate shattered violently, and fragments flew everywhere.
The light from Tony’s Repulsors flared up again, ready to press the advantage and blast the opponent’s head.
When the face hidden beneath the mask was exposed to the air and illuminated by the dazzling light of the Repulsors.
Tony was struck as if by lightning.
His raised arm froze in mid-air, and his lips trembled slightly as he said, "That comment about ’having no ass’... I take it back."
The faceplate automatically retracted, revealing Tony’s own face, which was filled with disbelief.
The sounds of the entire World were fading away from him.
The audience’s cheers, the roar of energy, Jarvis’s alarms—everything disappeared.
His eyes were filled only with that face.
That face which had left him forever on that winter night in 1991.
One of the founders of S.H.I.E.L.D., the creator of Stark Industries.
His father.
Howard Stark.
"Dad...?"
The entire arena fell into a deathly silence.
This call, transmitted through the live broadcast line, reached everyone’s ears.
The live feed thoughtfully provided a close-up of his face.
The audience of the Universe might not know what this meant.
But the billions of viewers on Earth were stunned.
"Holy crap?! Who is that old man? Why did Iron Man call him Dad?"
"I’m numb, it really is old Stark! I still have the clipping of him on the cover of Time magazine hanging in my house!"
"Can someone explain who this old guy is? Is he famous?"
"Kids! That’s Iron Man’s real father! Captain America’s shield was made by him!"
"What the hell did Thanos do? He dragged Tony’s dead father out of hell and turned him into a demonic weapon?!"
"How can he fight now? Do you expect Tony to kill his own dad with his own hands?"
"It’s too cruel, that damn devil!"
"This match is unfair! Protest!"
"Howard..." Steve stared at his old friend’s face on the big screen, his eyes burning with rage. "Thanos... you piece of trash!"
"Good tactic." Homelander sneered.
On the field.
Taking advantage of Tony’s lapse in focus.
A red light flared in Howard’s eyes, and he suddenly exerted force, breaking free from the trace of ice binding his right arm.
With a swift strike.
A sharp blade stabbed fiercely into the reactor on Tony’s chest.
Bang!
The reactor burst, and sparks flew everywhere.
The magic array lost its power supply and collapsed instantly.
"Ah!" Tony screamed and fell heavily to the ground.
The binding was released.
The frost on Howard’s body quickly faded, and the Hellfire reignited.
And Tony, having lost power, now had no ability to resist.
Howard strode forward, stepped on Tony’s chest, and pressed him firmly to the ground.
The battle blade, reignited with Hellfire, once again loomed over Tony’s head.
"Tony!" Steve roared, instinctively trying to rush into the arena, but he was firmly blocked by the platform barrier.
Earth also fell into a chorus of wails.
"Why is it like this! Is he going to kill even his own son?!"
Countless people closed their eyes, afraid to watch this human tragedy unfold.
They could not accept such a heartbreaking ending.
On the field.
Tony did not struggle.
He lay quietly on the ground, watching the deadly blade above his head, looking into his father’s eyes filled with madness and killing intent.
There was no fear of death in his eyes; he only softly called out the "secret code" that belonged only to the Stark father and son:
"No one can ever replace Howard Stark... except you, Tony."
These words were the swan song Howard left behind in an old videotape before he died.
It was the deepest expectation left by this father, who was not good at expressing love, for his son.
It was filled with an inseparable blood bond, like a bolt of lightning cutting through hell, tearing apart the soul shackles imposed by Mephisto in a fleeting moment.
The high-raised battle blade froze in mid-air.
"Ugh... ah..." Howard roared in pain, seemingly struggling against some invisible force.
Click.
The battle blade retracted into his arm, and the Hellfire on his body quickly faded away.
The red light in his eyes dissipated, and his human clarity returned.
"Tony... my son."
He tremblingly moved his foot away, bent down, and clumsily helped Tony up.
Tony’s eyes were red as he looked at his father, who was so close.
On this tragic arena, this pair of father and son, having crossed life and death, embraced each other tightly.
"Dad..." Tony’s voice choked up.
The entire arena was quiet; even the bloodthirsty Raiders of the Universe closed their mouths at this moment.
However, tenderness is always fleeting.
Only a few seconds passed.
Howard’s body twitched.
He pushed Tony away and clutched his cheeks in pain.
Boom, boom, boom—
Hellfire emerged from the gaps in the armor once again.
The red light in his eyes began to fight back violently, devouring the clarity in his eyes bit by bit.
"Tony! Listen to me!"
Howard grabbed Tony’s shoulders tightly, using his last bit of reason, and roared with effort.
"You are Earth’s line of defense! Don’t be like me, a coward manipulated by Mephisto!"
Tony was stunned and shook his head desperately.
"No, I can’t..."
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