"Pepper, I'm here to save you!"
Tony Stark, wearing the Mark III armor, descended arrogantly from the sky like a towering hero from Neon Genesis Evangelion.
However, the moment Tony saw Pepper laughing and talking with Rimuru, he suddenly felt like he couldn't breathe.
What the hell?!
What is going on here?
Especially when Tony saw the huge, stupid Iron Overlord rising up like a zombie, he felt as if he had suffered a hundred critical hits.
Wasn't he supposed to save the world and get the girl?
Instead, he heroically rushed in, saved the world—and the girl was chatting happily with someone else?!
He wasn't some Hollywood cop who arrived too late—so why did he always feel like he was late?!
Fifteen minutes earlier, he had been ambushed by Obadiah with an overclocked paralysis device. His body had gone stiff, completely unable to move.
He knew Pepper was in danger, and with great determination and willpower, he forcibly activated his armor and managed to install the Mark I arc reactor she had once given him into his chest.
Then he rushed here with everything he had.
People only admire the brilliance of success, but never see the tears and blood behind it.
"Tony, when did you get here? I hope you're okay!"
When Pepper saw Tony in the Mark III armor, her eyes lit up.
Her words made Tony's heart tighten. He had been standing here for a while, trying to maintain his heroic pose—and she hadn't even noticed?
"I'm fine. Sorry for making you worry. Are you okay?"
Tony forced out a smile uglier than crying, swallowing his bitterness.
"Of course! Tony, you have no idea how cool Rimuru's Wind God armor is! It's the coolest mech I've ever seen! She took down that stupid giant Obadiah in just a few moves!"
Pepper spoke excitedly, almost like a fan girl who had become obsessed with Rimuru and the Wind God.
Tony felt a sudden sharp pain in his chest—like he had taken tens of thousands of critical hits.
That slime stole my spotlight, stole my girl—draw your sword!
But at that moment, the Iron Overlord—who had just been barely standing—suddenly moved.
It reached out and grabbed the Mark III armor mid-air, then seized Tony's leg.
Before Tony could react, he was lifted like a hammer.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Left, right, up, down—slam after slam!
In the Iron Overlord's hands, Tony Stark was getting the same treatment as Loki in Thor: Ragnarok.
When it finally stopped, Tony lay on the ground, stiff and hollow-eyed, questioning his entire existence.
Why is this happening?!
"Tony, you shut down the weapons division—and then built the most powerful weapons system yourself. I never liked anything before… but I like this armor."
Obadiah, full of resentment from his earlier defeat by Rimuru, was now venting it all on Tony Stark.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The Iron Overlord stomped on the Mark III armor again and again, grinding Tony into the ground.
"For forty years, I supported you. I built this company from nothing, and I will not let anyone stand in my way!"
Seeing Tony being crushed by Obadiah, Pepper cried out anxiously:
"Oh my God!"
Did you fall asleep, or was Tony Stark completely immobilized?!
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