"Ahhh—this is unbearable! Beating on lifeless objects is way too boring! Someone come fight me properly!"
The Electric Pull-Cord Monster rampaged like a madman, smashing everything in sight.
Every strike carried close to a hundred tons of force. Even the shockwaves alone were enough to punch straight through a human body in an instant.
In a sense, the Electric Pull-Cord Monster was nothing more than a weakened version of the Hulk.
"Run! Run for your lives!"
"What is that thing?!"
"Oh God, please save me!"
"..."
Under the monster's wild, unrestrained punches, people fled in panic, scrambling to put as much distance as possible between themselves and the humanoid abomination.
Even bodyguards who normally had full confidence in themselves didn't dare provoke it.
They couldn't guarantee that the pistols in their hands would do any meaningful damage.
The Electric Pull-Cord Monster didn't bother chasing them. To him, weak humans weren't worth fighting.
"Humans really are trash!" he roared.
"Not a single one of you dares to stand up!"
"Hey, big guy," a voice cut in calmly.
"I can't exactly pretend I didn't hear that."
Tony Stark, carrying his red suitcase, stepped directly into the monster's path.
As a superhero—and with this being his own establishment—Tony felt it was absolutely necessary to deal with this idiot himself.
"Iron Man, huh?" the monster sneered.
"Perfect. You'll be the test subject for my training!"
"Yeah, yeah," Tony shot back.
"How about I twist your head off and shove it somewhere uncomfortable, tough guy?"
He pressed a button on the red suitcase.
With a sharp mechanical snap, it unfolded instantly.
Red-and-silver armor spread outward, wrapping around Tony's body in just three seconds, sealing him inside completely.
That three-second transformation time, however, was a fatal flaw.
If the Electric Pull-Cord Monster hadn't wanted to fight a fully armored Iron Man, Tony's ordinary human body would've been killed ten times over in those three seconds.
This was the portable armor system.
Normally compacted into a suitcase, once activated it deployed over the entire body—designed specifically to prevent assassination or ambush.
But the portable armor had serious drawbacks.
Only a single armor layer. Extremely fragile.
In past battles, even a few strikes from Whiplash had left it in terrible condition.
It could fly, but with severe limits on speed and altitude. Its only real weapon was the palm-mounted arc pulse cannons.
"Eat this!"
Tony raised his hand.
A blazing arc pulse fired straight out, striking the Electric Pull-Cord Monster head-on.
Black smoke rose from the monster's shoulder, carrying the faint scent of burnt flesh.
But it was nothing more than a superficial wound.
For a monster with absurd regenerative abilities, this barely counted as damage—it would heal in moments.
Though not a defense-specialized Tiger-level monster, the Electric Pull-Cord Monster's durability was far beyond what arc pulse cannons could break.
"That's it?" the monster roared, utterly disappointed.
"Is that all Iron Man's got?!"
He had finally found a chance to test his strength—with Iron Man as his sparring partner.
Yet this so-called superhero turned out to be laughably weak.
"Tough hide…" Tony muttered.
Both arc cannons fired nonstop.
Blasts rained down like a storm, hitting from every angle, covering every blind spot.
But even under sustained fire, the result was nothing more than loud noise with no substance.
To the Electric Pull-Cord Monster, it felt like a full-body massage.
"Enough! I'm bored!" the monster snarled.
"The famous Iron Man is this pathetic? Die!"
Completely losing interest, he exploded forward.
In an instant, he crossed dozens of meters, appearing right in front of Tony.
A red-gloved fist, tearing through the air with a deafening boom, slammed directly into the Iron Man suit.
The colossal force transferred straight through the armor.
The already fragile Mark V instantly twisted and warped.
Tony was sent flying like a kite with its string cut, crashing into the wall and embedding there like a human-shaped sculpture.
"WARNING! WARNING! DAMAGE LEVEL AT 84%!"
"…I screwed up," Tony groaned.
"But where the hell did a monster like this even come from? That kind of strength isn't human."
"Let me deliver the finishing blow, Iron Man!"
"Oh, hell no," Tony cursed.
"That's not funny at all."
He tried desperately to move the armor.
But with critical systems destroyed, the suit refused to respond.
The Electric Pull-Cord Monster stepped closer.
His towering shadow completely engulfed Iron Man.
A fist the size of a sandbag rose high into the air, ready to end it all.
If that punch landed—
Even a heavily armored Mark II wouldn't save Tony. The shock alone would pulverize his skull.
"My first hunting target!"
"Iron Man!"
Whoooosh—
A white oak cross infused with holy light came spinning through the air, hurled with monstrous force.
It slammed straight toward the Electric Pull-Cord Monster.
He raised both arms just in time to block.
But the moment the radiant cross struck him head-on, his expression twisted in pain.
The overwhelming weight behind it instantly bruised one arm black and blue, thick black blood seeping out.
Both arms went numb.
The force of that blow was no weaker than his own full-power strike.
"Attacking the weak isn't something a true powerhouse does."
Dropping down from the second floor, Seraphina Dawnshield landed atop the holy white oak cross.
Though moments ago she had been drunk, her eyes were now razor-sharp and clear.
As the Hero League's current C-Class First Seat, Seraphina's raw strength was far beyond normal human limits.
Anyone foolish enough to underestimate her because she was a woman would pay a brutal price.
"Heh… you actually hurt me," the monster laughed, shaking his numbed arms and wiping away blood, excitement surging across his face.
"Much better than that paper-tiger Iron Man. You're a real opponent! I'm getting serious now!"
"Very well," Seraphina said calmly.
"By the guidance of the Holy Light… today, I'll send you to meet Michael."
"..."
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