In the laboratory, Tony had spent a full half hour locked in a standoff with a screen full of pink icons, the armor's babyish voice, and colorful lights that kept flashing like a disco.
Every technological solution had failed, and the top-of-the-line AI was completely at a loss. The usually proud and arrogant genius had finally run out of anger, leaving him with nothing but deep resignation.
But soon he sensed something was wrong. Where was that laughter coming from?
Rimuru and the other two were laughing so loudly that the sound had reached Tony's floor.
Now he understood. Only that cute, squishy, grudge-bearing slime could have messed with JARVIS so subtly, blocked every technological means of investigation, and been so childish and petty about it.
"All right, I give up."
Tony raised a hand and rubbed his throbbing temples. He spoke into the empty laboratory, his tone utterly conciliatory, with none of his earlier, near-frantic irritation. "I know the three of you are up there watching the show."
As soon as he finished speaking, the evening breeze stirred gently by the laboratory's floor-to-ceiling windows.
Scarlet magic slowly spread like mist, and the concealment barrier covering the entire tower peeled away layer by layer. JARVIS's long-stalled detection systems instantly returned to normal, and the abnormal activity logs for the various devices and the blocked signals were all unlocked.
Pietro appeared in a flash and leaned against the window, raising an eyebrow with a chuckle. Wanda walked slowly out of the magical apparition, her expression gentle as she withdrew all her Chaos Magic.
Most conspicuous was the little blue figure floating in midair. Rimuru hovered directly in front of Tony with his little arms folded, his golden eyes narrowed slightly as he looked at him in silence, a little smug.
All