"Damn it—I've had enough of this! You trash-talk me to my face?!"
Tony immediately raised his hand, ready to fire a repulsor blast at Darren—but Scott stopped him.
"I'm not just taking the suit… I'm taking everything."
Scott didn't finish his sentence, instead signaling Tony to leave with Barton.
Tony understood instantly. He grabbed Barton and shot into the sky. At the same time, Scott shrank down and leapt onto Anthony.
The countdown hit zero.
As the bombs detonated, the golden particles reacted violently with the explosion. The entire building began to collapse inward. At the center, it looked like a miniature black hole, devouring everything around it. In the blink of an eye, the entire skyscraper was gone—completely swallowed—leaving behind nothing but bare ground.
Darren stood there in shock.
Everything he had—his life's work, all his research, all his data, all the particles—vanished along with the building.
As the structure collapsed, Darren and the helicopter were dragged downward.
Boom!
The helicopter exploded upon impact, engulfing Darren in flames.
"Nicely done! I'm starting to like you, Scott."
Tony, still holding Barton, gave Scott an approving nod as he looked at the now-empty lot and burning wreckage.
After dropping Barton off on the Quinjet, Tony descended to the ground, where Scott had already returned to normal size.
"Finally… it's over…"
Scott looked at the flaming debris and let out a long breath.
But suddenly—
A yellow blur shot toward him.
Before he could react, Scott felt like he'd been hit by a bullet and was sent flying backward, pain exploding in his chest.
"Jarvis!"
Tony shouted, rushing toward Scott.
"Target locked, sir."
Jarvis immediately identified the source—a tiny, fly-like figure in a yellow suit.
Darren.
He wasn't dead.
Scott quickly reacted, shrinking again and engaging Darren mid-air. But Darren had no intention of fighting—he turned and fled. His suit had built-in propulsion; he didn't need an ant to fly.
Scott mounted Anthony and gave chase, with Tony following behind. Without the ability to shrink, Tony relied on Jarvis to track both of them.
"Damn this shrinking tech—my weapons are useless!"
Tony cursed. To him, the two were like flies. Using repulsors would be overkill—and worse, he risked hitting civilians—so he could only trail behind.
Darren sped off, with Scott close behind. Scott had already guessed Darren's destination—his daughter Cassie's home was in that direction.
"Anthony, faster!!"
Scott urged, but Anthony was already at top speed. It still wasn't enough—Darren's modern propulsion far outclassed a flying ant.
"Damn it!"
Scott swore, then stood up on Anthony's back.
"Anthony!"
With one last burst of acceleration, Scott used the momentum to launch himself forward—
At that exact moment, Darren turned his head.
Bang!
The two collided mid-air. Darren's trajectory went wild as Scott clung to him. They grappled violently in the air—
Then crashed straight through a nearby window.
Glass shattered as they tumbled into a room.
Suddenly—
A crimson energy surged around them, freezing both in place.
"Scott Lang… this is the second time you've broken into my place. And this time you brought a little yellow guy with you. Ever thought about picking a different location?"
Carl's voice sounded from behind.
Wanda raised her hand, Chaos Magic flowing into both of their suits. Instantly, Scott and Darren were forced back to full size, crashing heavily onto the floor.
They had just smashed into Carl's office.
Strangely, Moguri hadn't activated the barrier this time, which piqued Carl's curiosity.
Floating nearby with his staff, Moguri frowned, deep in thought.
Carl himself had been too excited to sleep. Gwen wasn't home—she had gone back to deal with her two younger brothers after their disastrous exam results—so only Carl and Wanda were at the office, chatting.
Because—
The three-month deadline had arrived.
Carl's powers had fully returned, and he was in the process of receiving his system rewards.
[Ding~ Congratulations, Host. The three-month period has ended. All your abilities have now been fully restored. Issuing mission rewards~]
Carl listened with delight. For the first time, the system's voice sounded genuinely pleasant.
[Ding~ Congratulations, Host. You have completed the mission and successfully destroyed Ultron's plan. Reward: Summoned Beast—Ifrit~]
Boom—!
The moment the system finished speaking, intense flames erupted around Carl. The air in the office was instantly dried out, filled with a scorching, violent aura.
Fire flashed in Carl's eyes—then, just as suddenly, it subsided.
Miraculously, the flames caused no damage at all. Not a single piece of furniture was burned—not even a spark. The fire moved entirely according to Carl's will.
"System, what's going on? When I got the Phoenix before, nothing like this happened."
Carl asked quickly. He could clearly feel it—Ifrit's flames were far more violent than the Phoenix's, even surpassing Ram's lightning in sheer destructiveness.
[Ding~ Host, the Phoenix's flames are Flames of Rebirth, while Ifrit's flames are Primordial Fire. Their nature is fundamentally different. The Flames of Rebirth focus on healing, with weaker offensive power. The Primordial Fire, however, exists purely to destroy. Furthermore, your template—Clive Rosfield—is inherently compatible with Ifrit, making the flames even more intense.]
Only then did Carl understand.
So this was his true "native" summon.
No wonder the reaction was so overwhelming.
With that realization, Carl's consciousness sank into his inner spiritual sea…
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