Space shattered, and a disheveled figure tumbled out.
Rimuru felt that he was back somewhere familiar, and his body relaxed. Even so, he couldn't resist cursing the system. The trip between worlds had been awful, like being thrown into a washing machine.
It was already dark, so he would leave that aside for now. JARVIS could help check on this thing, and Great Sage could help deal with Gillvalis. Gillvalis was badly wounded, so now was the time to finish him off. Surely JARVIS and Great Sage working together could handle a severely damaged Gillvalis with negative status effects?
Under the laboratory's cool-toned lights, Gillvalis's once-intimidating crimson core lay lifeless on the workbench, its surface covered in cracks and its luster dim, like a candle flickering in the wind. Yet deep within the core, an extremely faint but unusually stubborn energy fluctuation still appeared and faded, like the breathing of a dying beast.
First, he would forcibly take control and see what was inside. A flash of red data light passed, and Rimuru's body slowly turned into a red stream of data that entered Gillvalis-or, more precisely, Virtual Planet Kuscia. Once inside, Rimuru was delighted. There were vast numbers of Civilization Judger Galactrons, though they were all dormant.
Unfortunately, there wasn't a living thing on the entire virtual planet. Everything felt deathly silent, and the only thing that could move was probably the Vallis Knight he summoned. He went up to touch and inspect the Knight. What kind of aesthetic is this? Why design him to be so ugly? What's the ball in the middle of his head for? And he's even got a shrimp-vein tattoo. Why make a perfectly good data person look like a tacky delinquent?
While Rimuru toured the virtual planet, Tony was on his way over. Shortly after Rimuru crossed worlds, Tony had realized he was missing. Because time flowed differently in the two worlds, only a few hours had passed for Rimuru, while nearly four days had passed here. At first, Tony hadn't paid it much mind. Rimuru was no slouch in a fight, and with the Knight there, nothing too serious should have happened. But when JARVIS reported that the Knight hadn't been taken along and that Rimuru had been gone for over two days, Tony felt differently.
Tony and Pepper went to Rimuru's manor themselves and searched it from top to bottom. When they found nothing, Tony had a bad feeling.
Someone had made a living person vanish so cleanly, without leaving a single trace. Tony immediately thought of that Black Nick Fury from a few days ago. Convinced that Nick Fury had taken Rimuru, he furiously put on his armor and stormed over to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Triskelion to confront him.
Nick Fury felt both aggrieved and furious when Tony came knocking to question him. He was aggrieved because he really hadn't done it-even if he had wanted to capture Rimuru, he would have needed the ability to do so. He was furious because a living person had disappeared, and his agents hadn't even known. He had sent them to keep Rimuru under surveillance, and they hadn't noticed he was gone. What had they been watching?
Nick Fury personally brought his agents to Rimuru's manor and searched it from top to bottom again, but found nothing. The operation had been so clean that even Nick Fury wondered whether someone within S.H.I.E.L.D. had done it. But that wasn't right either. How could he not know what his people were capable of? They were fine in conventional combat, but how could they have dealt with someone with special abilities like Rimuru without leaving a single trace?
What gave Nick Fury an even bigger headache was that Rimuru also possessed the technology to make armor. If that technology fell into the hands of certain criminals, it would be a disaster. Besides, they still hadn't figured out Rimuru's identity. If he really was an alien, surely he couldn't be the only one of his kind? If his people came looking for him, it would become a diplomatic incident.
To find Rimuru, Tony and Pepper had even put out a bounty. Oblivious to all of this, Rimuru was still wandering around the virtual planet.
When Tony received word from JARVIS that Rimuru had returned, he immediately put on his armor and rushed to Rimuru's manor. Following the directions to Rimuru's laboratory, he didn't see Rimuru. Instead, he saw a large ball flashing red, which immediately put him on guard. No matter how he looked at it, the thing didn't seem normal.
"JARVIS, full scan of that sphere. Energy signature, structural analysis, and potential threat assessment."
"Scanning, sir," JARVIS's steady voice sounded inside the helmet. "The target is registering a high-intensity but extremely unstable energy reading. Spectral analysis indicates that its core is a highly ordered aggregate of some unknown form of information. Its physical structure is exceptionally sturdy, and its energy signature does not match any known technology on Earth."
"Did this thing come from another world too, like Rimuru? JARVIS, are you sure it isn't a bomb?" Tony stared at the data report, his head full of questions.
"I am Gillvalis, the ultimate artificial intelligence life-form."
The sudden words from the red ball in front of him made Tony feel as though the wrinkles in his brain had been smoothed out. This thing could talk?
Once he recovered, surprise took its place. If it could talk, then they could communicate, and that made things much easier.
Tony asked eagerly, "Since you're an artificial intelligence, do you know where Rimuru is?"
Gillvalis said, "He is on Virtual Planet Kuscia."
"Virtual Planet Kuscia?" He repeated the awkward name. "JARVIS, are there any records of this place in the database? Astronomical data, myths and legends, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s encrypted files-anything even remotely related."
"No results, sir," JARVIS replied promptly. "Analysis based on existing data models indicates that Kuscia does not correspond to any known celestial body."
The smile slowly disappeared from Tony's face. He suddenly felt that the battered-looking artificial intelligence in front of him might not be all that intelligent.
Just then, red streams of data flashed over the red ball and slowly formed several figures. They were Rimuru and the Vallis Knights.
"Tony, what are you doing? Did you come to my house to throw a party?"
The faceplate of Tony's armor snapped open, revealing his tired, bloodshot eyes, heavy dark circles, and stubbled face.
"A party?!" Tony's voice rose an octave. He waved his arms extravagantly, pointing at the cold laboratory equipment around them and the giant red ball that looked suspicious from every angle. "I mobilized most of New York's police force, put up a bounty big enough to drive those mercenaries crazy, and nearly got into a fight with that one-eyed guy at S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters. And now you're asking if I'm throwing a party at your house?"
"Huh? You did all that in one night?" Rimuru looked at Tony in confusion, wondering if he'd turned into The Flash.
"What do you mean, one night? You've been missing for almost four days. Counting tonight, it's been four and a half," Tony said, looking at Rimuru as if he were crazy.
Four days? What four days? Wasn't I only gone for half a day? System, what's going on?
The system said, "Time flows differently in the two worlds. That's perfectly normal. What's there to make a fuss about?"
Damn it, why didn't you say so earlier?
The system said, "What good would telling you have done? Could you have controlled it? Or would you have stayed home if I'd told you? In the end, wouldn't it still have taken however many days it took?"
Listening to the system's matter-of-fact tone, Rimuru nearly ground his teeth to pieces.
At least I could have told Tony beforehand, so he wouldn't have worried for four whole days.
The system said, "I didn't know before you left either. Who the hell knows how much the flow of time differs between any two worlds?" ( ᖛ ̫ ᖛ )ʃ)
"All right, Tony, I'm back now, aren't I? If I leave again, I'll let you know beforehand."
Tony was even more speechless. "Again? Do you have any idea how much trouble this caused? Stark Industries' stock price dropped several points."
"You went out and brought back this battered red ball and these strange people?" Tony turned his gaze to Gillvalis and the Vallis Knights.
"This is Gillvalis, a super artificial intelligence. These are Vallis Knights, data people produced by this super artificial intelligence. Come on, show Tony what you can do."
A Vallis Knight stepped forward and slowly transformed into Tony under his astonished gaze.
Tony stared at himself, struck by an absurd feeling that God had descended into reality. He stepped forward and looked himself up and down. The appearance was almost identical; even the dark circles under his eyes and the armor on his body had been replicated. Though it only looked the part, it was extremely lifelike, except that its expression was a little vacant.
"Is this technology from your world? Wait, has the technology in your world already advanced this far?"
"Mm... uh... yes! That's right, I brought it from my world," Rimuru replied without batting an eye.
Suddenly, the clicking of high heels came from outside. It was Pepper, who had received the news.
Pepper was stunned as soon as she came in. Why were there two Tonys? Had she been so short on rest these past few days that she was hallucinating?
When Rimuru saw Pepper arrive, he hurried over to greet her. If Tony was in that state, what state would Pepper be in? Fortunately, thanks to the recovery potion left behind, she was fine, just a little mentally exhausted.
"Rimuru, what's going on? Where did you go? Why are there two Tonys?" Pepper immediately asked, eager for answers.
"Don't worry, Sister Pepper, I'm fine. I went back to my world for a few days. This Tony is a fake, copied by a data person." Rimuru pointed at the Vallis Knight beside him. Fortunately, Pepper already knew his identity, or it really would have been hard to explain today.
The sound of engines came from the distance. It sounded like a convoy, with quite a few vehicles. Sensing the large group approaching, Rimuru was even more speechless. What was with tonight?
"That Black Nick Fury director from S.H.I.E.L.D. is here." Rimuru glanced at Tony, who immediately understood.
"Kid, hurry up and put this stuff away. I'll go out and deal with them."
"Stark, I hear the missing person is back? You certainly caused quite a commotion," Nick Fury said, his voice as deep as ever.
Wearing his armor, Tony stood squarely in the entrance and refused to let them in, looking very much like one man who could hold off ten thousand.
"Yeah, just a little matter. Sorry to trouble the director of S.H.I.E.L.D. to come out here personally."
"This is no little matter, Tony. The commotion you've caused these past few days is known across the entire United States. That bounty is still up in Times Square right now." Fury's sharp gaze went past Tony's shoulder as he tried to look inside the residence, only to see Rimuru walking out.
"Good evening, Director Fury. You've brought so many people to my house in the middle of the night and made such a commotion. Sorry for all the trouble."
Seeing that the person in question had arrived, Nick Fury no longer had a reason to insist on going inside. "Mr. Rimuru, Tony has practically turned New York upside down during the days you were missing. He even came to S.H.I.E.L.D. to see me himself."
"All right, everything's fine now. I'm back, and you've seen me, so you can go home. Bringing so many people to my house and making such a commotion this late at night is keeping the neighbors awake. They have work tomorrow."
Nick Fury gave Rimuru a long look. Without saying anything more, he ordered his people to withdraw.
Tony couldn't resist one last jab. "Director Fury, I'll reimburse S.H.I.E.L.D. for its losses over the past few days. Remember to send me the bill."