At the Hammer Industries press conference, the atmosphere was once pushed to a climax by Justin Hammer's exaggerated performance and the neatly lined-up "Iron Soldiers." However, this false prosperity did not last long.
The real opening belonged to two steel figures tearing through the sky.
The gold and red shimmering Mark 4 "New Era" and the silver-grey, sturdy War Machine arrived one after another, taking over the scene with absolute presence. Tony Stark ruthlessly exposed the fatal flaws of the "Iron Soldiers," and the moment Tony landed, disaster struck—more than half of the robots went out of control, guns blazing, turning the venue into a purgatory.
Tony and Rhodes were locked in a bitter struggle, and what was worse, the uncontrolled artillery fire began to sweep indiscriminately toward the civilian areas that had failed to evacuate in time. When four missiles, trailing tails of death, lunged toward the emergency exit packed with hundreds of people, time seemed to freeze.
Just at this critical moment—
The air above the exit rippled gently and transparently, like the center of a lake disturbed by a pebble. A pure white figure simply stepped out from the center of the ripples, walking on invisible stairs.
It was still that divine gown interwoven with pure white and pale blue, flowing with the luster of stars and moon. Her platinum-blonde hair fluttered slightly, the phantom of a pale gold crown on her forehead was calm, and the gem of the staff in her hand held power in check. Artoria had descended once again in the form of the "Herrscher of Finality."
But unlike her first manifestation in Nevada, which carried the supreme aura of the end and rebirth of the entire Universe that made souls tremble, she now still exuded an inhuman majesty and tranquility, but that overly heavy shell of "divinity," which one dared not look directly at, seemed to have thinned a bit. Deep within those golden eyes reflecting the return of all things, the clear light belonging to "Artoria" seemed to shine through more obviously.
Facing the incoming missiles, she didn't even make any obvious spellcasting gestures; she just cast a calm glance at them.
"Freeze."
A simple syllable resounded directly in the minds of Tony, Rhodes, and the few civilians below who had not yet been completely swallowed by fear. It was not a grand proclamation, but more like... a sigh that was slightly helpless and felt like "what a pain."
Those four menacing missiles, as if they had crashed into an absolutely invisible wall of sighs, stopped abruptly a few meters away from the crowd, then silently disintegrated and dissipated, leaving not even a wisp of smoke behind.
After easily resolving the deadly crisis, Artoria's gaze turned to the crowd below who were scared out of their wits and crying out in terror. Looking at those faces distorted by extreme fear, and feeling the despair in the air that was almost condensing into substance, her brows furrowed almost imperceptibly.
"Alright, it's okay, don't be afraid." Her voice rang out directly in everyone's hearts again, clearer this time, still ethereal, but strangely trying to soften the tone, "It's too dangerous to stay here, I'll send you to a safe place."
As her voice faded.
A warm, pale golden light, like the softest veil, brushed over every terrified civilian. The moment the light touched them, the extreme fear was washed away as if by a warm current, their heartbeats inexplicably calmed, and a sense of "being able to trust, being able to be protected" welled up. Many people subconsciously followed the guidance of that voice and closed their eyes.
The light flashed and then receded.
The hundreds of civilians crowded at the exit and nearby bunkers disappeared instantly without a trace.
At a safe assembly point several kilometers away, in the same light, the people appeared safely. Warm sunshine, soft grass, a peaceful environment... Many people opened their eyes in confusion, and then erupted into a clamor of survival, mixed with tears and ecstasy.
"Oh God! We're saved!"
"Is that the white... Angel? Goddess?"
"She spoke to us! She told us not to be afraid!"
"Thank you! Thank you!"
Waves of gratitude echoed at the assembly point.
Meanwhile, at the press conference venue, it was suddenly empty. Artoria let out a soft sigh, feeling that maintaining such a large-scale, soothing spatial transfer was much more tiring than just fighting; it was mostly mental exhaustion. But what made her feel even more "tired" was maintaining the "Herrscher of Finality" form itself.
Unlike the outburst during that critical moment, this time she switched actively, and her consciousness was clearer. She could clearly feel how vast and... "exclusive" this power from the supreme throne of the Honkai World was. That "divinity" which looked down upon all things and defined order was like a cold, heavy crown, constantly trying to assimilate her emotions and thoughts, pushing her toward the position of an "Arbiter" who was absolutely rational and indifferent to everything. The sliver of soft emotion belonging to "Artoria" that had risen when saving the civilians was now being rapidly "smoothed out" by the icy coldness of divinity, as if it were an "error" that needed to be corrected.
No, I can't stay in this form for too long. She realized clearly. Continuous use of power, combined with the erosion of divinity, made her spirit feel a deep fatigue—not physical, but a "pulling sensation" at the soul level. She needed to return to a more stable form that was closer to her own essence.
With a thought, she no longer maintained the manifestation of the "Herrscher of Finality."
There was no earth-shattering change. She saw the divine force field around her, vast as a sea of stars and causing space to ripple slightly, rapidly contract and withdraw like an ebbing tide. The luxurious divine gown of pure white and pale blue melted like light, flowing and changing, transforming into a simpler, more maneuverable combination of a white shirt and dark blue trousers, topped with a beige trench coat. Her platinum-blonde hair returned to its original, supple golden color, though it still fluttered slightly without wind. The phantom crown on her forehead and the scepter in her hand vanished silently. Those golden eyes that had reflected the scenes of the end also turned back into clear and resolute emerald green.
Artoria had changed back to a state closer to her daily life, or rather, closer to her "Saber" essential base form. Although her temperament was still ethereal, carrying a calmness forged through the baptism of war, that suffocating, supreme divine pressure had faded, replaced by an introverted toughness and sharpness belonging to a "Guardian."
She landed back on the ground, her feet stepping on the debris-filled floor, and she swayed slightly. Her complexion was a few shades paler than before, but her eyes had regained their familiar clarity. She took a deep breath, dispelling the lingering cold aftertaste of "Finality" in her mind.
"Phew... This is more comfortable." She whispered to herself, flexing her wrists. Although her power level had dropped significantly, the mental burden was greatly reduced, and more importantly, she was "Artoria," not an avatar of some divine throne.
Just then, Tony and Rhodes also landed near her, their faceplates opening, and both of them looked at her with lingering shock and a hint of inquiry.
"Just now... thank you." Tony spoke first, his tone uncharacteristically solemn, "Those civilians..."
"Just a passing convenience." Artoria waved her hand, interrupting his thanks, her gaze sweeping over the remaining wreckage of the Iron Soldiers she had casually "cleaned up" earlier, then looking at Tony and Rhodes, "Are you two okay?"
"A few scratches." Rhodes checked the status of his armor, "Stark, those robots..."
"Cleaned up very thoroughly." Tony interjected, looking at Artoria, his eyes complex, "Every time I see you, it makes one wonder if they haven't woken up from a dream yet."
Artoria didn't pick up on that, as her perception had already caught a violent energy fluctuation deep within the underground bunker that was climbing crazily, filled with hatred and a desire for destruction. "It seems the trouble isn't over yet. There's a big guy coming out from below."
As if to confirm her words—
"Stark!!!"
A roar mixed with endless hatred, years of humiliation, and hysterical madness, like the dying howl of a wounded beast, suddenly exploded from deep within the underground bunker!
"Boom!!!"
Above the bunker, the thick reinforced concrete was violently torn open and blown away from the inside by a force of extreme brutality! A huge, hideous metal giant, full of the roughness of manual forging and pure desire for destruction, slowly stood up amidst the sky-filling dust and rubble—Ivan Vanko's avatar of revenge, "the billion"!
Looking at that steel colossus exuding a violent aura and listening to Ivan's roar filled with personal grievances, Artoria raised her eyebrows slightly, stepped back a few paces, and put her hands into the pockets of her trench coat, adopting a "please go ahead" stance of watching the show.
"You two solve your 'centuries-old grudge' yourselves." She said to Tony and Rhodes, her tone flat, "If you need to clear the field or prevent stray bullets from hurting the innocent, I can help. But the duel between the protagonists..." She gestured toward "the billion," which was screaming frantically, and the livid Tony, "I won't get involved in that."
Her meaning was very clear: saving people was her duty, but the private feud between Tony and Ivan was another matter. She would not fight for Tony.
Tony looked at her, seemingly understanding her meaning, and the corner of his mouth curved into an arc mixed with fighting spirit and coldness: "Just what I wanted. Rhodes, the warm-up is over. Let's teach this 'genius's' son what... a technological generation gap is, and the price of messing with other people's things."
Rhodes also replied in a deep voice: "Received. War Machine, ready."
The two closed their faceplates again, the armor engines letting out a low roar, and they took up a fighting stance, one on the left and one on the right, facing "the billion."
Artoria walked to a relatively intact low wall, leaned against it, and really began to "watch the show." She could feel that the power within her was calming down from the shock of the form switch just now. Although she was no longer the Herrscher of Finality, the combat instincts and basic attributes endowed by her Saber essence remained. She quietly observed the structure of "the billion," evaluated its threat level, and at the same time... split a sliver of her attention to keep an eye on the surrounding environment.
Just then, a slight buzzing sound, different from the armor engines, came from high above.
Artoria sensed something and looked up.
She saw a helicopter painted with the logo of a well-known news station, the Daily Bugle, our little Spider-Man's boss. Somehow, it had broken through the evacuation cordon set up by the police and was hovering hundreds of meters above the venue! Clearly, it was the omnipresent media, finding a gap in the chaos and risking coming here to get first-hand footage! On the side of the helicopter, a high-definition telephoto camera lens was aimed directly at the imminent battlefield below, and... behind the low wall, at that girl with blonde hair and blue eyes, wearing casual clothes and possessing a unique temperament!
Artoria's heart skipped a beat.
Crap! I was too busy watching the show and paying attention to the battlefield, I forgot about the media! The descent of the Herrscher of Finality form and the rescue must have been filmed, and now, looking like this...
She subconsciously wanted to turn sideways to avoid the lens, but it was already too late. The camera on the helicopter obviously had excellent performance, and the lens was firmly locked onto her, capturing her slightly pale but undeniably beautiful face, golden hair, emerald green eyes, and that outfit which was so out of place with the battlefield yet exceptionally calm, clearly, and transmitting it via live signal to countless screens around the World.
"Look! There's another person there!"
"It's a girl! Who is she? How could she be there?"
"She seemed to be talking to Iron Man and the others just now!"
"My God, she looks so calm... in a place like this..."
"It's her! It must be her! After that white... Goddess disappeared, she appeared! They must be related!"
Through the audio collection equipment remaining at the scene, the reporter's voice on the helicopter, excited to the point of distortion, could be vaguely heard, accompanied by various speculations about Artoria's appearance and identity.
Artoria: "..."
She silently buried her face in the collar of her trench coat, but knew it was useless. It's over, I'm really exposed now. Although it's just the "Saber base form," being filmed head-on, in the same frame as Iron Man, and appearing in a place like this... even with my toes, I can tell how much trouble is coming next.
She sighed helplessly, withdrew her gaze, and looked back at Tony and Rhodes, who were about to start fighting. Forget it, let's just deal with things as they come. For now, let's ensure these two guys don't get taken apart by that big iron hunk, and as for the media and the trouble afterwards... we'll talk about that after the fight.
At least, in her current state, compared to that "Herrscher of Finality" look from just now, it should... be a bit easier to explain, right? Probably.
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