Monaco, the Historic Grand Prix.
Rimuru had come to Monaco on vacation with Tony and Pepper. The moment they got out of the car, a roaring wave of cheers swept over them. Tony was in much better shape than before and even did a little dance. Rimuru still didn't know why Pepper had become CEO of Stark Industries, though, or what Tony had been thinking.
When they entered the banquet hall, Natasha came toward them in a red dress, and Tony couldn't take his eyes off her. Rimuru exchanged a glance with Natasha and had to struggle to keep from laughing.
What caught Rimuru's attention even more was that another big shot was here: Elon Musk. When Rimuru had watched this before, he really hadn't paid any attention to such an inconspicuous character. Who would have thought he would later become the richest man in the world? Rimuru almost wanted to go over and ask for a photo together.
As Rimuru wandered around with interest, the biggest source of entertainment in the story came over: Justin Hammer, accompanied by Christine, who had had a one-night stand with Tony. Watching the idiot boast away, Rimuru wanted to shove the two jokers from a deck of cards into his hand and tell him he'd dropped his ID and a photocopy of it.
Just as Rimuru was starting to feel bored amid all the noise, Universal Sense told him that the story's main villain had arrived.
Holy crap. I have to admit, Ivan Vanko has some tricks up his sleeve. With all that gear on him, I have no idea how he got it halfway across the world. Just how much does he hate Tony's family?
Rimuru was watching Ivan Vanko wander around with great interest when he turned to look at the television and saw Tony taking to the track in a racing suit. A huge question mark appeared in Rimuru's little head.
Wait, isn't your life out of danger now? Why did you still get in the car? I think you're getting a little too cocky. You just haven't had a proper beating from society yet. Go ahead and race; society's beating will be here soon enough.
One look at Pepper and Natasha's reactions made it obvious that neither of them had known either. Had Tony's palladium poisoning gotten to his brain? Had the recovery potion stopped working?
At that moment, Ivan Vanko strolled forward, casually pushed open a gate and stepped onto the racetrack.
Engines roared on the track. The blue-and-white F1 car Tony was driving sped past, and he looked surprisingly professional, drawing gasps from the stands.
Rimuru pressed a hand to his forehead. Apparently, palladium poisoning or not, the "as long as I'm alive, I'll keep courting death" streak in Tony Stark's bones was beyond saving.
Rimuru hurriedly called out a warning. "Pepper, quick, take the suitcase to Tony. He'll probably need it very soon."
Even Happy had already realized something was wrong and was waiting there with the suitcase.
Out on the track, Ivan Vanko activated the Electric Whip. His clothes slowly burned away, revealing the rather crude apparatus underneath. He tested it on an oncoming race car, which had the sheer bad luck to get caught up in this.
Tony came speeding toward him and was sent flying by a lash as well. It had nearly knocked him straight out.
What was Rimuru doing, you asked? He was on his way over, since he hadn't gotten in the car. He'd wanted to, but Pepper had told Natasha to carry him out, and Natasha, as Pepper's secretary on the surface, could only do as she was told.
On the racetrack, Tony was getting his beating from society, scrambling and rolling under the lashes, when Happy came to his rescue. He stepped on the gas and pinned Ivan Vanko against a wall.
Pepper was badly frightened, shouting over and over, "Are you crazy?" Tony was yelling for more security, while Happy was shouting for them to get in the car. All three were talking at once.
After recovering, Ivan Vanko lashed out at Tony. Fortunately, he missed and only hit the door. Tony shouted for Pepper to throw him the suitcase, but Happy kept trying to knock Ivan out with the car, rocking it back and forth, so she couldn't get it out. Only after the airbags went off and Ivan Vanko sliced open the top of the car did Pepper manage to throw the suitcase out.
Huh? Why did the suitcase armor get bigger? It's almost the size of a medium suitcase now, isn't it? Rimuru felt things seemed to be heading in a strange direction.
Once Tony had finished putting on his armor, the spectators, always eager for more excitement, erupted. Rimuru arrived just in time to see Tony striking a pose and couldn't resist joining in the cheering. This was probably one of the more iconic highlights.
After showing off, Tony kicked his three-ton car away. Judging by how far it went, he was indeed a little stronger than before.
Then, instead of flying up or backing away, Tony prepared to unleash a big move right where he stood, only for Ivan Vanko to give him three lashes in a row. As cool as he'd looked showing off a moment ago, he looked just as miserable now.
"Tony, back up a little! Keep your distance and wear him down! What's with taking a beating before you even start fighting? Did you awaken some weird attribute?" Rimuru strolled over to the safety barrier and gripped the railing with his little hands. Watching with relish, he couldn't resist commenting.
But instead of an answer from Tony, he got Ivan Vanko's whip.
"You bastard, the little brat the butcher adopted." With that, he lashed out.
Fortunately, Rimuru was quick to react and dodged aside. Otherwise, a hit from that thing would surely have left him black and blue.
Although he hadn't been hit, Rimuru was still unhappy about it.
"Damn it, what's this got to do with me? I only made a couple of comments from the sidelines! You dare curse at me, and you even dare hit me?" Isn't this bullying an honest person?
In the heat of the moment, Rimuru fired an ultrasonic blast, but unfortunately, the wire fence blocked it, and Ivan Vanko only staggered twice.
Seeing that it hadn't worked, Rimuru prepared to finish him off with Black Flame Lightning, but Pepper stopped him. There were tens of thousands of people here now, and who knew how many more were watching the livestream? Pepper didn't want Rimuru displaying special abilities and killing someone in front of such a crowd.
Then Tony's voice drawled from the side, "What do you mean, I have some special kink? I was testing the performance of my new armor. What? This is a perfect chance to test it."
Oh, you sure put a lot of effort into that test, letting him whip you like that. Anyone who didn't know better would think an eighteenth-century slave owner was disciplining a slave.
After hearing that, Tony flew into a rage out of embarrassment. He yanked Ivan Vanko over and landed two punches, knocking him straight to the ground, then ripped off the crude reactor.
See? Wasn't that all it took? Why bother taking that beating earlier? Testing your armor, my foot.
Once the fight was over, the belated police took Ivan Vanko away.
Tony looked at the crude reactor in his hand, his expression turning even uglier. He had only just boasted that no one could make one in twenty years, and he'd been proven wrong so quickly.
In the banquet hall, Justin Hammer watched it all, a Dragon King smirk slowly spreading across his face.
On television, the senator who had faced Tony in court sat talking at length. He couldn't keep the corners of his mouth down; anyone who wasn't blind could see the "this is killing me" look on his face.
Rimuru sat nearby, also struggling to hold back his laughter. Tony had been so arrogant before; the more arrogant he'd been, the harder he'd been slapped in the face now. Fortunately, palladium poisoning wasn't threatening Tony's life, so he didn't look quite so bad, but the plate of food Tony had made was still just as awful.