Chapter 205

Faced with Eren's half-smirking gaze, Tony Stark suddenly felt a little awkward.

A moment ago, his instinctive reaction was to tell Eren, a student still in school, and Pepper, a civilian, to hide in the basement.

But as soon as the words left his mouth, he remembered—Eren was far from an ordinary student.

In fact, Eren was the very person he had come to for help.

No one understood Eren's power better than Tony Stark, who had personally witnessed him summon a six-winged angel.

That was precisely why, after enjoying a Chinese dinner with Pepper, Tony insisted on coming to Eren's place the moment he was ambushed by that whip-wielding lunatic.

Because he knew—

Compared to waiting for uncertain reinforcements, staying near Eren was the safest option.

And reality proved him right.

Who else but Eren—who could summon angels—could instantly heal his back wounds?

But that realization also made Tony feel even more embarrassed under Eren's amused gaze.

Not wanting to embarrass Tony too much in front of Pepper, Eren only teased him lightly before asking, "Alright, now can you tell me who exactly is the guy banging on my door? And don't you have your Iron Man suit? How did you end up getting beaten this badly?"

"Don't even mention it," Tony grumbled. "Pepper and I had just finished dinner and were heading back when that lunatic attacked. My Mark V suit was still in its case—I didn't even get the chance to put it on before that bastard wrecked it. If I had my suit on, he wouldn't have stood a chance, even if there were ten of him."

As he spoke, the awkwardness on Tony's face faded into a serious expression.

"I don't know who that lunatic is, but he's dangerous. He's extremely skilled with whips, and he's wearing some sort of energy-conducting device that makes his whips emit high-frequency destructive energy."

"That guy sliced my armored car in half with a single strike. If I hadn't reacted fast enough, I'd be in two pieces right now. Wait a second—"

Mid-sentence, Tony's eyes suddenly widened as he looked at Eren's front door, which was still holding firm despite the constant pounding from the energy whips outside.

"Hold on, what the hell is your door made of? My high-end bulletproof car got cut in half in one hit, but your door is still standing after all this?!"

If someone was selling doors made of this material, Tony Stark definitely wanted to install a few in his own house.

After listening to Tony's description, Eren quickly pieced together the identity of the attacker.

If he was right, the guy outside trying to break down his door was none other than Ivan Vanko, aka Whiplash.

Sure, Vanko's father had collaborated with Howard Stark to develop the prototype of the Arc Reactor before being deported to Russia. There were some shady dealings involved, no doubt.

But that still wasn't a good enough reason for the guy to be wrecking his house.

Eren's home, reinforced multiple times over, had a significantly enhanced defense.

However, even with its improvements, it wasn't invincible—especially against the sustained, high-frequency attacks from Whiplash's energy whips.

With that in mind, Eren ignored Tony's questions and turned to Pepper. "Aunt Pepper, take Happy to the basement to patch up his wounds. Once I'm done dealing with the guy outside, you can come back up."

As he spoke, Eren subtly glanced at Tony.

But before he could say anything else, Tony spoke first. "I'm not going anywhere. Relax, buddy—I am Iron Man. I won't get in your way."

"Sorry, but in my eyes, Iron Man without his suit is weaker than a regular soldier. So, you're going to sit tight in the basement."

Eren scoffed, crossing his arms. "As for your attacker—trust me, I'll handle it. You've seen my power before."

Tony didn't doubt Eren's strength—after all, this guy could summon a six-winged angel.

That crazy whip-wielding maniac outside might be dangerous, but if Eren really wanted to, he could just summon that angel again and end it in an instant.

Still—

That last comment stung.

Sure, Eren was just stating the truth, but did he really have to humiliate Tony like that in front of Pepper?

Tony clenched his jaw.

Fine.

He had to build a more portable, instantly deployable suit.

His Mark V armor was already compacted into a suitcase, making it much more convenient than his previous models.

But during this ambush, he hadn't even had the chance to put it on before getting seriously injured.

And now, that carefully designed Mark V suitcase had been destroyed alongside his armored car before it even saw action.

Never again.

He would make something better.

Even though Tony was irritated, he still ended up being shoved into the basement by Eren.

While Tony had discovered some of Eren's hidden abilities during the Harlem incident, there were still things Eren didn't want him to know just yet.

As for Happy—

Despite casting a pitiful look at Eren, he reluctantly followed Pepper and Tony downstairs, gritting his teeth as his wounded back throbbed in pain.

Bang!

The basement door slammed shut.

Then, Eren made a gesture, commanding Oddball to lock the door from the outside.

With that taken care of, Eren waved his hand.

"Oddball, let the guy outside in. If we let him keep going, he's actually going to break the door down."

Click!

Following Eren's command, the battered front door, which had been barely holding together under Whiplash's relentless attacks, swung open.

...

Outside Eren's House—

Sparks crackled and arced across Ivan Vanko's body as he stood outside, energy whips humming in his hands.

He had just been about to increase his output, intending to blast this absurdly sturdy door into oblivion—

But before he could act—

The door opened on its own.

"It opened?"

He blinked in surprise.

Then, spotting the "scrawny" figure standing in the doorway, Ivan narrowed his eyes, as if piecing something together.

With a smirk, he spat out the toothpick in his mouth.

Then, without hesitation, he cranked the power on his energy whips to their maximum setting—

Electric currents surged through the glowing weapons, illuminating the street in a deadly light.

Silently raising his guard, Ivan Vanko nevertheless strode into Eren's house with exaggerated confidence.

Under the fluorescent ceiling lights, he glanced at the bloodstains scattered across the floor and sofa.

Then, wrapped in the crackling glow of his energy-conducting device, he spoke coldly:

"Kid, if you don't want to die, hand over the people who just ran into your house."

"Otherwise, I won't mind letting you have a taste of my whip..."

As he finished, a sinister grin spread across his face, making him look even more like the villain he was.

But instead of being intimidated, Eren simply waved his hand.

"Oddball, close the door."

The moment Eren gave the command—

BANG!

The heavy front door behind Ivan slammed shut, sealing him inside.

In that instant—

The arrogance on Ivan's face vanished, replaced by alarm.

His right-hand whip cracked through the air with a thunderous snap, aiming directly at Eren's waist with lethal intent.

The strike was swift, deadly—

Clearly intended to kill.

But just as Ivan attacked—

The floor beneath him suddenly collapsed into a pitch-black pit.

At the same time—

Six sharp spikes shot out from the ground, targeting his vital points.

"Shit!"

Sensing danger the moment the door closed behind him, Ivan had planned to take down Eren first before dealing with any other threats.

But this sudden trap completely disrupted his plan.

If things continued like this, sure—his whip might split Eren in half, but Ivan himself would be skewered like a porcupine.

Realizing the danger, he quickly redirected his energy whip, flinging it upward and wrapping it around the chandelier hanging from the ceiling.

Using the chandelier for support, he managed to halt his rapid descent—

And then, with a powerful yank, he propelled himself back upward.

At the same time, his other hand remained active.

His second energy whip lashed out like a serpent, crackling with electricity, cutting through four of the spikes before they could impale him.

But—

It was still a fraction too slow.

Just as his whip struck the fifth spike—

The sixth spike, coming from behind, pierced straight through his right calf.

"Argh—!"

Before Ivan could even cry out—

From within the dark pit below, a massive, fanged mouth suddenly lunged upward, snapping toward him.

"No—!"

As Ivan's face twisted in terror—

A silver bullet soared through the air in a beautiful arc—

BANG!

A clean, precise shot—

Straight through his forehead.

Ivan Vanko's energy whips might have been powerful—

But for someone like Eren, dealing with a high-attack, low-defense, low-health enemy only required a single bullet.

Blowing away the faint wisp of smoke rising from his suppressor, Eren casually flicked his wrist—

And the silver handgun vanished from sight, disappearing into whatever concealed space he had hidden it in.

Meanwhile, Ivan Vanko—

His brain blown out, his expression still frozen in disbelief—

Fell lifelessly into the darkness, his consciousness plunging into eternal oblivion.

At the same moment, a notification echoed in Eren's mind.

[Ding!]

[Congratulations, Host, for eliminating "Whiplash" Ivan Vanko ahead of time, causing ripples in the River of Fate. The Fate Balance has successfully absorbed 1,000 Fate Points.]

...Just 1,000 Fate Points?

As the main villain of Iron Man 2, Ivan Vanko's worth seemed a little low.

Then again, it made sense.

At this point in time, his Fate Energy hadn't yet peaked.

If this had been the fully upgraded version of Whiplash, backed by Hammer Industries, commanding an army of drones, and equipped with a full-fledged Iron Whiplash Armor, his Fate Points payout would have been much higher.

But, well—timing was everything.

Sighing in mild disappointment, Eren gestured to Little Monster.

"Dispose of the body."

With that, Ivan Vanko's corpse was swiftly dragged away.

As for the miniature Arc Reactor and his energy whip apparatus—

Eren thought for a moment before tossing them to Oddball.

Right now, he had no real use for these things.

Instead of letting them gather dust in storage, he figured Oddball might be able to absorb and repurpose them.

After all—

Oddball was Eren's ultimate defense system.

If it could integrate the energy whip technology, his home would gain yet another powerful line of defense.

(End of Chapter)

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