Lord of Cinder in American Comics

And so, Stan left, and Stark returned to his work environment to begin developing his own armor. Meanwhile, news from the outside world also arrived.

Seeing the riots outside in the news, Stark became even more determined to complete his work.

In the evening, while Stark was painting Unit-01, he heard a message from Jarvis.

“Sir, Obadiah Stan is at the door.”

"Let him in. Pepper will entertain him first. I'll go upstairs in a bit."

After saying that, Stark prepared to continue with his work.

Not long after, Stark's studio door was opened, and Stan walked in from outside.

"Oh, just a moment, I'll be done in a minute."

Stark turned around and called out, then went back to his work.

However, just as Stark was about to continue, his body suddenly stiffened, and someone reached out from behind him and supported his body as he was about to fall.

"Relax, relax, keep breathing. You remember this, right? It's a shame the government didn't approve it."

Stan extended a hand from beside Stark's ear, holding an ultrasonic generator and showing it to Stark.

"Inducing temporary paralysis, with a wide range of applications, your design, Tony."

As he spoke, Stan placed Stark on the floor, reached behind his ear to remove two protective devices, and placed them back on Stark's body.

As Stan continued searching for his target in Stark's workshop, he said, "Tony, I've been waiting for this opportunity for a long time. I've always wanted to kill you, but I was also afraid of killing this golden goose that only lays eggs."

This time, a fool is preparing to cleanse the entire world, and through his opportunity, I can also make up my mind to become the sole ruler of Stark Industries.

Having located the Arc Reactor, Stan held it in his hand and looked down at Stark on the ground.

Stark, trembling, asked, "Where's Pepper?"

After putting away the Arc Reactor, Stan smiled easily and said, "Don't worry, she's just like you now. But wait, I'll put you two together and make you a pair of star-crossed lovers."

"I truly thank you, Tony, for giving away one last golden egg before you die. Did you really think that just because you came up with an idea, it was yours? Your father, who created the atomic bomb, what would the world be like now if he had been as selfish as you?"

As Stan was delivering his grand speech, the studio doors were pushed open, and Pepper, who was lying on the floor, struggled to push the door open, preparing to alert Stark.

However, all of this was in vain. Stan had made all the preparations before he came in, and no one could send a message. Moreover, the world was now on Valentine's countdown, and law enforcement had neither the manpower nor the time to deal with Stark's problems.

Squatting down next to Pepper, Stan pinched Pepper's chin and fiddled with her head.

"What a pretty face. Don't worry, I'll bury you and Tony together later. Think about tomorrow's news: the riots sparked by Valentine, billionaire Stark and his secretary both killed in their home, and me, Obadiah Stan, forced to take on the heavy responsibility of developing new weapons and leading the Stark Industries back to its former glory. Perhaps after that, the Stark Industries will have to change its name..."

After putting Pepper down, Stan took the Arc Reactor and went to Stark's side.

“Stark, this is your Ninth Symphony, a masterpiece, look at it.”

Stan even lay down next to Stark, putting his arm around his shoulder as he used to, turning Stark's head so that his gaze could look at the reactor.

Stan's deep voice continued to echo in Stark's ears.

"This will be your legacy. A new generation of weapons will use it as their heart, and these weapons will bring the world back on track and put power back in our hands, in the right hands."

I really hope you can see my prototype. I had someone design one; it has more firepower, thicker armor, and is completely different from yours. Now it even has its engine.

After boasting about it, Stan put the Arc Reactor in his hand into the box he had brought.

Stan turned away to deal with the items he had brought, while Stark, lying on the ground, rhythmically moved his fingers, issuing commands to Jarvis.

'Protect Pepper with armor and take her to see Ash.'

Stan, who was standing nearby, also noticed Stark's little trick. Stan stepped on Stark's hand and said, "Tony, you really are naughty."

The sound of shattering glass rang out, and the unfinished armor next to Stan flew from behind, knocking Stan away.

Then the armor covered Pepper's body, protecting her completely. The engine started, broke through the ceiling, changed direction, crossed the entire meter, and flew from the west coast to the east coast.

Pepper arrived at Firelink Shrine just as Ash returned. An imperfect system caused the radar to mistake it for a missile attack.

Because this was a prototype that Stark had just designed, and it hadn't had time to perfect or install other functions, not even a communication module, Pepper was completely blind for more than an hour while traversing the entire length of the world at supersonic speed.

They couldn't get any information about Stark at all, and even communicating with Jarvis yielded no results.

After listening to Pepper's fragmented account, Ash asked, "What was Obadiah Stan doing when you last saw him?"

Pepper recalled the final scene and couldn't help but cry again.

"I saw Stan holding a knife, about to stab Tony on the ground..."

Chapter 160: Tears of Parting

The murderer stabbed the victim, who was lying on the ground unable to fight back.

Anyone could see that the victim was doomed.

After saying that Stan had stabbed Stark, Pepper realized the reality and burst into tears.

"Tony...how...did he...?"

Pepper was still sobbing as she mourned Stark when Ash interrupted her.

"Let's go check it out first, maybe Tony isn't dead!"

"Look~ This is the East Coast, more than 4,000 kilometers away from the West Coast. Even at supersonic speeds, it would take one or two hours to fly there."

Pepper wiped away her tears and awaited Ash's decision. Since Stark had sent her here in this emergency, it meant that Ash was someone she could trust.

"Let's get out of here first. Teleportation can't be activated inside the sacrificial site, so I need to make a phone call first."

Ash took Pepper away from the sacrificial site and walked all the way to the outside of the site's walls before taking out his family heirloom, the telephone.

Pretending to call someone else, Ash didn't actually make the call. In fact, they were in two different dimensions, and the Dragon Academy had no signal at all.

"Hey? Are you there? Come over and help me out."

As soon as he finished speaking, a portal sparkling with fire opened in front of Pepper, and Constantine, dressed in a black robe, stepped out.

Constantine, with a cigarette dangling from his lips, asked in a nonchalant tone, "What's wrong, Priest? Why are you looking for me now?"

Ash pointed to Pepper beside him and said, "This lady needs to leave for the West Coast. Could you please open the door and let us through?"

As Constantine spoke, the cigarette butt on his lips glowed and dimmed in the night, drawing Pepper's attention.

"You can't just say the West Coast! Where exactly is it?"

Pepper said at the fastest speed he could speak, “10880 Mabury Beach, zip code 90265.”

However, Pepper's words drew a questioning look from Constantine, as if to say, 'Where is that?'

If you've never been to a place, and you only hear the name of the place, who, besides the deliverymen who roam the streets all day, could quickly find the exact location?

Pepper looked at Constantine's puzzled expression and seemed to understand something as well.

However, Constantine quickly changed his mind and reached out to pluck a hair from Pepper's blond hair.

"Think about where you want to go, but make sure it's a safe location, otherwise the portal will cut through everything."

Upon hearing Constantine's words, Pepper quickly closed her eyes, intently considering Stark's location and the surrounding environment. Meanwhile, Constantine twirled his hair around his hands, continuously forming hand seals as he searched for the location.

Soon, a new portal opened before Pepper's eyes. Looking across, she could see Stark's workshop, the bright lighting highlighting Stark lying in a pool of blood on the ground.

"Oh my god, Tony!"

Pepper screamed and hopped towards Stark on the other side.

Not daring to move Stark on the ground, Pepper touched Stark's face, checking his condition while issuing orders to Jarvis in the studio.

"Jarvis, quick, call the police and get medical assistance!"

“I’m sorry, Ms. Pepper, during the hour, thirty-seven minutes and forty-six seconds you were gone, I was calling for medical assistance, but unfortunately my external sensors and the building’s communications were blocked.”

Upon hearing Jarvis's explanation, Pepper held Stark's body and tried to check his vital signs.

After feeling Stark's breath, Pepper screamed, "Ash, save Tony! He's alive!"

"Of course he's still alive, don't worry."

Although Stark has a deep-seated knife wound in his chest, under some kind of force, Stark's life has not ended, but has been maintained in a strange balance.

Ash shook the dragon bell, and a milky white light flashed, gradually being absorbed into Stark's body.

Soon, Stark's breathing became heavy, and his eyes under his eyelids began to dart around.

"Cough cough," Stark coughed and spat out a mouthful of blood that had congealed into a black clot, which splattered onto his chest.

"I'm still alive? You got here so quickly?"

Stark surveyed his surroundings and soon spotted Ash and Pepper, who was holding him.

Ash said while shaking the dragon bell, "Save your breath. You're spitting blood. This knife must have already pierced your heart and gone deep into your trachea or esophagus. Don't talk. Let me finish the spell first."

Stark obediently shut his mouth and even his eyes, feeling the continuous repairing sensation coming from his body, which made him hum aloud.

"Alright, get up. You only have some aftereffects of blood loss. You'll be fine after a few days of rest. As for the scar on your chest, I suggest you see a plastic surgeon. I'm not the right person for you."

After Ash put away the dragon bell, Stark, with Pepper's help, sat down on a chair nearby.

For the time being, Stark could only replenish his blood volume by drinking water. He kept refilling his cup until Ash stopped him. Licking his still dry lips, Stark asked Ash, "Ash, did you already know that Stan had a problem?"

To Stark's surprise, Ash answered the question very directly and simply: "Yes."

"Then why didn't you remind me first?"

"Please, look at yourself from before. If someone came up to you and said your good Uncle Stan was going to kill you, what would you think?"

In response to Ash's question, Stark shook his head, which was spinning from lack of blood, and said, "I would assume he has ulterior motives and then hand him over to Stan."

Ash shrugged, making a helpless gesture, and said, "That settles it then!"

Stark lowered his head, looking at his blood-soaked shirt, touching the scar on his chest, and said with a somewhat ambiguous tone, "What did I see after I died?"

Stark's problem stemmed from the fact that after being stabbed by Stan, his life was rapidly slipping away, only to be stopped by a flame at the very end of his life's journey.

Just as his life was nearing its end, a flame carried him to a desolate place. Ashes piled up into endless hills, and the sun in the sky was being devoured like a solar eclipse. A huge figure clad in armor sat beneath that sun.

Stark, witnessing this scene, was unable to make a sound or move; he could only stare at the apocalyptic landscape until a warm, milky-white light brought him back to reality.

Ash grabbed a chair and sat down opposite Stark, saying, "Do you remember the blessing I gave you and Pepper before you left?"

Stark held Pepper's hand, looking into her still worried eyes, and said, "I remember, I originally thought this was just a procedure for leaving your shrine."

"That was a miracle taught by Moen, the apostle of Archbishop Kalim. It allows a person to escape death once and for all. It was originally created to give the dying a chance to say goodbye."