The atmosphere in Thor's cabin suddenly became tense.
The girls' eyes were all focused on the tablet that the Rogue Anna handed them. The image on the screen was frozen on the moment Tony Stark stepped into the raging storm without looking back.
The golden portal slammed shut behind him, and the sparks vanished.
The next second, the live stream camera on the tablet suddenly switched to an overhead view from a high-altitude drone.
Under the pitch-black night sky, a tiny figure was plummeting rapidly from a height of hundreds of meters, with a black ocean below, churning with towering waves like the gaping maw of a demon.
"Is he crazy?!" Li Qianhuan exclaimed, the bag of potato chips in her hand falling to the ground with a "thud." "He jumped down without wearing armor?"
"He was prepared." Thor's voice was calm; he could tell this was just the man's usual flamboyant and showy entrance.
Before the words were even finished, a sudden change occurred on the screen.
In near-Earth orbit, several Stark Industries satellites quietly opened their launch bays.
One after another, devices gleaming with a cold metallic light were launched, trailing long flames, like a flock of steel Falcon tracking their prey, shooting precisely towards the falling figure!
Their speed was so great that they left blinding red streaks in the air, but just before they were about to make contact with Tony Stark, they suddenly slowed down in a way that defied the laws of physics.
"Buzz--"
Accompanied by a low, mechanical hum, the incoming devices began a dazzling array of precise assemblies centered around Tony's body.
The metal panels snapped shut seamlessly, massive mechanical arms extended from both sides of the torso, two thick leg structures stretched downwards, and a colossal, suffocating head completed the final locking at the top.
Just a second before Tony Stark was about to crash into the sea, the assembly came to an abrupt halt.
A colossal battle suit, seven hundred meters tall and gleaming with gold and red paint, replaced the tiny human figure!
"BOOM!!!"
The Anti-Celestial Armor crashed into the Atlantic Ocean like a meteorite falling from the sky, landing with the precision of a superhero!
The splashing water reached hundreds of meters high, resembling a small tsunami.
Almost at the same moment it fell into the water, an indescribably enormous shadow surged up from the seabed, opening its terrifying maw like blooming flower petals, and biting at the armor.
The giant armored vehicle didn't even adjust its posture; it simply raised its right arm and delivered a plain right hook, which landed squarely on the giant sea serpent's jaw.
"Bang--!!"
The dull thud seemed to vibrate my eardrums even through the screen.
The once-fierce ocean behemoth didn't even have time to utter a mournful cry before it was slammed back into the unfathomable depths of the sea by this punch.
"Wow..." Li Qianhuan and Kitty exclaimed in unison.
A Magik Illyana's eyes. She had never been particularly interested in powers other than magic, but this pure, violent, technologically created behemoth was indeed beyond her imagination.
"Get away, guys! Watch out, you might get bitten by that sea snake!"
Tony Stark's signature, slightly mocking voice blared from the megaphone mounted on his armored chest.
The live stream camera immediately switched to the cargo ship that was teetering on the edge of the giant waves not far away.
The crew members on deck stared in disbelief, looking up as if they had witnessed a miracle.
They certainly recognized Iron Man, but could someone tell them when Iron Man created something as big as a Gundam?
However, the presence of Avengers means the presence of dangers that mortals cannot handle.
The captain was the first to react, shouting at the top of his lungs, "Turn! Hard! Get out of here!"
The cargo ship began to flee in panic, but the battle had only just begun.
"Splash--"
The sea was torn apart again, and the giant serpent shook its head and resurfaced.
This time, everyone saw its full picture.
The dark green snake was covered with hard scales, and a row of purplish-red fluorescent thorns on its back shimmered ominously in the night. Four ferocious claws grew from its belly, and most eerie of all were its petal-like crest and the four tentacles that swayed around its mouth.
It seemed stunned and enraged by the punch it had just received.
"Roar--!"
With a sharp shriek, it locked onto the golden-red giant before it.
Tony Stark had no interest in engaging in any pre-battle standoff.
The Anti-Celestial Armor raised its hands, and two thick palm cannons cleaved through the rain, striking the giant serpent precisely in the chest.
"Boom! Boom!"
The explosion illuminated the entire sea area as bright as day, yet after the flames subsided, there wasn't a single charred mark on the giant serpent's body.
"Sir," JARVIS's calm electronic voice sounded from inside the armor, "The target's surface has been detected to have highly efficient energy absorption properties; both electrical and nuclear attacks will be converted into its own energy. Switching to physical attack is recommended."
"What about magic?" Tony asked casually.
JARVIS's data stream seemed to pause for a fraction of a second before he replied in a somewhat uncertain tone, "... Theoretically, it can cause effective damage, sir. But relevant combat data is lacking."
"Alright, you can play with it for a bit."
Tony casually gave the order, handing over control of the armor to JARVIS: "Autopilot mode, stretch your legs."
And so, on this stormy night filled with lightning and thunder, in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, the most primitive and savage battle of giant beasts since the age of dinosaurs unfolded.
JARVIS, maneuvering his 700-meter-tall armor, punched and kicked the sea serpent, each strike accompanied by a whistling sound that tore through the air.
The sea serpent was equally formidable, sometimes biting with its massive jaws that could easily crush an aircraft carrier, and sometimes sweeping across with its mountain-like tail.
The two colossal beings were engaged in a pure clash of power, and each exchange made the sea tremble.
Inside the wooden cabin, several girls watched intently.
"This... this is even more exciting than watching a Hollywood movie!" Li Qianhuan exclaimed excitedly.
"Its power is immense," the Rogue Anna analyzed, frowning. " Mr. Stark's armor doesn't seem to have much of an advantage in terms of strength."
As she said, the situation quickly changed.
The sea serpent seemed to have grown tired of this hand-to-hand combat. Two pale beams of lightning suddenly flashed in its eyes, and then shot out, striking the Anti-Celestial Armor squarely in the chest!
"Sizzle--!"
A blinding flash of lightning erupted, leaving a noticeable dent in the armor's breastplate.
"Warning! Chest armor damaged by 12%!" JARVIS's voice rang out.
Before the armor could react, the giant snake opened its mouth and spewed out a thick, foul-smelling green venomous mist, which clung to the armor's chest like a leech.
"Sizzle sizzle sizzle..."
The high-strength alloy armor was corroded, emitting puffs of white smoke.
"Warning! The corrosion rate of the outer armor is continuing to rise!"
Immediately afterwards, the sea serpent's four tentacles began to twitch, and the surrounding seawater seemed to come alive, transforming into giant water spheres, each over a hundred meters in diameter, which bombarded Tony Stark relentlessly like a barrage of cannonballs.
Each impact caused the massive armor to stagger backward.
"Maria Law School..."
Inside the armor, Tony Stark finally lost his patience. He muttered under his breath, "Is this never going to end? Do you really think I'm here to be your punching bag?"
He hadn't made a move yet, instead analyzing the thing's attack patterns and, incidentally, mentally constructing a sufficiently stable defensive array capable of covering the entire 700-meter armor.
Now, we have enough data.
He raised his hand and quickly traced intricate runes in the air in front of him.
"Alright, game over."
The moment he finished speaking, golden magic runes burst forth from his fingertips, spreading instantly and crawling across every corner of the Anti-Celestial Armor like living creatures!
A dazzling golden shield, centered on the armor, suddenly unfolded!
Just as the shield was taking shape, another giant water sphere hurtled towards it, crashing into it without even causing a ripple. It simply disintegrated and vanished without a sound.
The corrosive poisonous mist and the violent energy rays vanished without a trace the moment they touched the magical shield, as if they had disappeared into thin air.
The balance of power shifted instantly.
The sea serpent seemed to sense something was wrong, letting out an uneasy hiss and instinctively trying to retreat.
But it was too late.
"It's my turn."
Tony's voice turned cold.
He raised his armored right hand, palm up.
Golden light gathered in his palm, and a gigantic Sword of Vishanti, hundreds of meters long and made of pure magical energy, appeared out of thin air!
With the magical shield, Tony didn't even bother dodging the opponent's futile attacks. He controlled the massive armor like an executioner wielding a sharp blade, walking step by step toward the behemoth that had begun to tremble with fear.
There are no fancy moves, no unnecessary actions.
It was just a simple and clean horizontal slash.
The golden sword light drew a dazzling yet deadly arc in the pitch-black rainy night.
"Pfft--!"
The enormous, petal-shaped snake head was easily severed, tumbling into the sea amidst a shower of dark green blood.
The enormous, headless snake writhed wildly in the sea a few times before finally collapsing limply, completely lifeless.
The battle is over.
So fast that it takes forever to react.
The Anti-Celestial Armor bent down, grabbing the snake's head—larger than a cargo ship—with one hand as if it were a chick, while the other hand held the enormous corpse, hundreds of meters long.
Then, he made a casual gesture in front of him.
A colossal golden portal, several times larger than the armor itself, burst open on the sea, revealing an endless dark void beyond.
Tony Stark, piloting his armor and dragging his spoils, walked into the portal without looking back.
The golden sparks died down, and the portal closed.
The storm continues, the lightning continues.
However, the two enormous creatures that were fighting on the sea surface had vanished without a trace, as if they had never existed.
The live-streaming drone circled in the air once, but ultimately could only point its camera at the empty, undulating sea.
Thor's cabin was deathly silent.
Li Qianhuan her mouth open and forgot to pick up the potato chips that had fallen on the ground.
Rogue and Magik looked at each other, their faces filled with disbelief.
Kitty even stood up from the sofa, staring intently at the tablet screen, which was now just a blur of waves.
Finally, Thor broke the silence.
He took the tablet, turned off the live stream, and muttered to himself with a playful smile on his face.
" Tony's getting more and more cunning; he's even come up with the Anti-Celestial Battle Armor."