Time was almost up, and the exposition was about to begin. Melin escorted Athena to the front of the stage. To truly experience the liveliness of such an exposition, one had to be among the crowd.
The people were indeed wild with excitement. Hammer Industries had been promoting this exposition for a long time. They didn't care whether Iron Man would be outshined—if anything, they were eager to see him fall. After all, that would make the show even more entertaining.
Before long, the lights went out, and the crowd quieted. Under the guidance of a single spotlight, Justin Hammer appeared, dancing his way onto the stage with—well, the only word for it was bizarre—a bizarre dance routine. Those who craved excitement cheered wildly.
But unlike Tony's fiery and passionate entrances, Hammer's only received some symbolic applause—and a few jeers.
"He looks like a clown," Athena muttered into Melin's ear.
"You can be more confident in your judgment," Melin replied with a smile. "He is a clown."
And truly, what else could Justin Hammer and his Hammer Industries be called?
A weapons company that made money reselling second-hand military arms and patching up outdated weaponry. Its leader, Justin Hammer, was a pure businessman with no technical knowledge whatsoever. Instead of investing in research or talent, he only cared about playing corporate games.
His opportunity to host this exposition was nothing more than a moment of fleeting glory—a small man briefly in the spotlight, unaware that he was merely a pawn being used. His brilliance would fade, and in the end, he'd bring ruin to Hammer Industries itself.
The applause was loud, but it couldn't quite cover the jeers.
Yet Justin Hammer, long accustomed to Tony's mockery, treated this as nothing. He ignored it all and began his speech.
"Ladies and gentlemen, for too long our brave soldiers have fought and died in battle… then Iron Man appeared, and no more lives were lost. But he—"
"Pfft—"
At his very first line, many in the audience nearly burst out laughing.
What was that supposed to mean? Was he implying that the military leadership were all idiots who couldn't command a battle?
Still, the ridicule didn't stop Hammer from continuing his speech and showing off his products.
He presented drones for the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines—alongside a suit dubbed War Machine, piloted by Rhodey.
"Tony really gave it to him, huh?" Melin said with a faint smile as he looked at Rhodey and his armor on stage.
Although the drones and Rhodey's entrance briefly swayed public opinion—making people think this was the future of the military—the tide turned again when a blazing streak of light cut through the sky like a falling star and landed on the stage.
Iron Man had arrived.
"Wow! It's Iron Man!" Athena clapped her hands excitedly.
"Do you like Iron Man?" Melin asked with a gentle smile.
"Mm-hmm… I like heroes. They're all good people!"
"Heh, yes… they're all heroes."
"Melin is a good person too! You're a hero!"
"Oh? I'm a hero?" Melin asked with a teasing smile.
"Mm! Because you saved me—and they saved lots of people too," Athena whispered softly into his ear.
So, she already knew who the Crane Saint Cletia and the others were—and had learned Melin's name from them.
After Tony landed, Rhodey moved to block him, thinking he was there to make trouble. Though Rhodey was grateful for the armor Tony had given him—it had made his military duties easier—he still knew when to draw the line.
Tony tried to reason with him, then turned to confront Justin Hammer.
"Where is he?"
"Who?"
"Ivan Vanko. Where is he?"
Justin's heart skipped a beat. If anyone found out that he had secretly saved a death row inmate and used him to get his hands on an arc reactor, it would spell disaster—not just for Vanko, but for Hammer Industries too. So he played dumb.
But Ivan Vanko, who had been hiding backstage, had no reason to hold back once Tony arrived. He remotely locked onto Rhodey's armor and took control of all the drones, raising their weapons toward Tony.
"Was it you?"
"No, no—it's not me! I'm locked out! Get out of here! The whole system's been taken over!"
As panic spread through the crowd, Hammer jumped off the stage and ran for his life.
Tony realized how bad things were—fighting here would endanger civilians. He took off into the sky, hoping to draw the battle elsewhere.
Rhodey's armor, under Vanko's control, gave chase. The other drones opened fire at Tony—but then…
"Crystal Wall: Seal!"
A translucent five-pointed wall enveloped the entire stage. Except for Rhodey, who had already flown out, every drone was trapped inside. The bullets that had been fired ricocheted off the wall at double speed, tearing through the drones and turning them into heaps of scrap in seconds.
For a moment, Ivan Vanko was stunned. So were the fleeing spectators. Then the arena erupted into thunderous cheers.
Once again, the Golden Saint of Aries had appeared at a critical moment to save everyone.
"See? I told you there was nothing to worry about," said Kanon calmly, seated as if nothing had happened.
Sitting beside him, Asura nodded. They had anticipated an incident like this, but hadn't been concerned. Including themselves, there were three Saints of Gold-level power present. Even if a god had appeared, they could have held the line long enough for civilians to escape—let alone deal with this kind of small-scale chaos.
If their location hadn't been so exposed, surrounded by people, they wouldn't have let Mu steal all the spotlight alone.
"So, Asura, how was your last mission with the master?"
"It was fine. We encountered the Norse god Thor and the goddess Sif—but they were still in an unawakened state. I didn't get a proper fight. Still, I promised Thor that we'd duel someday."
"Oh? That sounds exciting. Damn, I'm jealous."
"The master seems to get along well with Thor. If you want a match, I'm sure he wouldn't mind."
"Then it's settled! I want to see how I measure up against a real god."
"Are you two seriously chatting right now!?" Pepper shouted furiously, pinned to her seat by Kanon's telekinesis.
"Uh… there's nothing to worry about, right?" Kanon said awkwardly, pointing at Mu on stage. With him there, nothing could possibly go wrong.
"Nothing to worry about? You think this is nothing!? Why did this happen? How did Justin Hammer suddenly get Tony's reactor? Don't you think this all needs to be investigated? Or handled? Do you have any idea how arrogant Hammer Industries has gotten lately!?"
"Uh… fine, fine, you win. I'll go with you," Kanon sighed, standing up to follow Pepper. She was his boss, after all—he didn't really have a choice.
Asura left on his own. Though the drones were trapped within Mu's Crystal Wall, Rhodey had been released. The two were still clashing in the sky, and the damage wasn't small.
…
After interrogating Justin Hammer, Sharon Carter learned that Ivan Vanko had been hiding in one of Hammer's facilities. She immediately had Happy drive her there.
But when she arrived, Vanko was already gone. Still, it wasn't a total loss—they managed to regain control of Rhodey's armor.
"Hey, buddy, wake up—you alright?" Tony knocked on Rhodey's helmet.
"Ugh… you can take the armor back."
"Heh."
Tony chuckled at the joke and helped him up.
"So, you already took care of Ivan Vanko?" Rhodey asked.
"No, he got away."
"That's bad. As long as he's alive, he can build more drones and reactors. We need to find him," Rhodey said, frowning.
Hammer Industries alone was already trouble enough. If Vanko escaped to another country—or worse, to a terrorist group—the next time he appeared, they'd be facing an entire army.
"I think—"
Before Tony could finish, a massive suit of armor crashed down in front of them.
"Feels good to be back," a voice said.
The helmet opened—of course, it was Ivan Vanko. He'd taken Tony's advice and increased his reactor's power output. His armor was thicker, stronger, and his weapons—
Crack!
Two upgraded electric whips burst to life, crackling with terrifying energy.
"This looks bad," Rhodey muttered. "I'll have to use a special weapon."
"Special weapon?" Tony asked, puzzled.
Rhodey didn't answer. He stepped forward, a small missile rising from his left shoulder—Hammer's proudly advertised "Ex-Wife."
But the hopeful look on Rhodey's face soon vanished.
The missile shot toward Vanko—then clinked harmlessly against his armor and fell into the water with a splash.
"Hammer Industries?" Tony asked dryly.
"…Yeah…" Rhodey admitted awkwardly. He'd just made a complete fool of himself. He should've trusted Tony instead of a shoddy manufacturer.
Vanko sneered, glancing at the smoking water where the missile had fallen. He cracked his electric whips and advanced toward them.
Then—
A flash of golden light split the sky. Sword light shimmered, and in the blink of an eye, the whips charged with electricity were sliced into countless pieces. All that remained in Vanko's hands were two useless handles.
"Game over, Tony."
"Asura!? You—ugh, fine. You stole the spotlight again," Tony said, exasperated.
"Another Saint?" Vanko's expression hardened. He sealed his helmet shut, clearly ready to flee.
"Capricorn Gold Saint—Asura."
"Tch… you bast—"
Shing—shing—shing—shing!
Four arcs of sword light flashed. Asura appeared behind Vanko.
A moment later, the heavy armor on Vanko's body shattered into pieces, falling to the ground in a metallic clatter. He himself collapsed, his muscles and nerves severed—his spinal cord cut clean through.
Even if he lived, he'd never walk again. He was nothing more than a living corpse.