The Kill

True to her words, Tohka immediately rose into the air under Pepper's stunned gaze. A massive sword appeared in her hand, and then, as if that weren't enough, a golden throne dropped onto the rooftop, smashing a deep hole in the sturdy floor.

"The Final Sword (Halvanhelev/ハルヴァンヘレヴ)," she called out. But it didn't end there. As she spoke the sword's name, the shattered throne slowly reformed, materializing into a massive greatsword over ten meters long, to Pepper's utter amazement.

Tohka stood holding the sword but did not attack immediately. She knew that her peaceful life might vanish after this, something she hoped to avoid.

"Haha, I did it!" At that moment, Tony's triumphant voice rang in Tohka's ears.

"Don't get too cocky, you idiot. Watch your back," Tohka warned, ignoring Tony as she focused on the scene behind her. The falling steel giant had restarted and was charging toward Tony in midair.

"What the fuck?" Tony was at a loss. Physical attacks couldn't penetrate the opponent's armor, and his energy cannon couldn't fire due to insufficient power. With his smaller size, he was no match in terms of strength either. Ultimately, it all came down to his lack of energy.

"Do something, Tohka!" Finally admitting defeat, Tony directly turned to Tohka for help, regardless of what Pepper might think.

"Got it, leave it to me. Stay at altitude and lead him toward me. And keep your altitude—otherwise, you know what'll happen if my attack hits the city," Tohka quickly shouted at Tony in the air. While she wasn't afraid, she really didn't want to engage the giant in close combat; that would definitely draw a lot of attention.

"Understood, I'm on it. Just don't attack recklessly. One hit from you could destroy part of the city." Tony was well aware of Tohka's destructive power; if her attack hit the city... well, let's just say it wouldn't end well. Even Tony wasn't sure he could contain the fallout. His enemies, like his former competitor Hammer, might seize the opportunity to strike.

"I know." What Tohka didn't mention was that in her reverse state, she could probably send Manhattan into the ocean with a single strike. However, she had no idea whether she could control herself in that state. Moreover, she had never experienced the kind of extreme stimulation needed to trigger the reversal.

"All right, Tony, are you ready? Dive toward me." Watching Tony about to be overtaken but still holding Obadiah Stane's attention firmly in the air, Tohka knew this was the perfect angle. She didn't hesitate any longer.

"Got it." Hearing Tohka's instructions, Tony quickly adjusted his trajectory and dove toward their position.

"Alright, three, two, one—Tony, get out of the way!" Without giving him time to respond, Tohka swung her massive sword forward, unleashing a hundred-meter-long blade of energy straight toward Tony.

"Hey, hey! Are you trying to kill me?" Tony shouted as he quickly dodged to the side. The purple energy blade narrowly missed him, but Obadiah Stane wasn't so lucky. With his massive size and low agility—not to mention Tohka hadn't warned him—he couldn't react in time and was struck directly by the purple sword energy.

The people of New York felt like they were dreaming tonight. In the skies, two battling robots clashed—one, the massive one clearly a villain, was grabbing cars without concern for the people inside and throwing them at the smaller one. Meanwhile, the smaller robot withstood the attacks and fought back fiercely in aerial combat.

But the most unforgettable moment came when a hundred-meter-long purple energy slash streaked across the sky, shining brilliantly even in the dark of night. The attack struck the massive robot directly, splitting it in two before continuing upward and vanishing into the sky. At the same time, the struck robot exploded violently.

"Huff, huff, are you okay?" Seeing the disheveled Tony, Pepper hurriedly ran over and hugged him tightly.

"I'm fine, sweetheart." Looking at Pepper, Tony removed his helmet and carefully embraced her. Wearing the Iron Man armor, he was essentially a weapon of war, and one wrong move could hurt her.

"......"

Speechless as she watched the two, Tohka felt that staying here any longer would only mean being force-fed dog food.

"I'm leaving. You two take your time chatting." Saying this to Tony, Tohka turned into a streak of light and disappeared before their eyes.

"So, Tony, care to explain what's going on with Tohka?" Watching Tohka disappear, Pepper finally voiced her question. Although Tony had previously asked her to trust Tohka for protection, she hadn't expected Tohka to be this powerful.

"Well, it all started when I..."

After returning to the villa, Tohka couldn't be bothered with the mess in the house. She went straight to her room and collapsed into bed. Cleaning up was someone else's responsibility—it wasn't her problem.

And so, an eventful day came to an end. However, in a hidden building, two people were engaged in conversation.

"Well, have you confirmed it? That man is Tony Stark," said a one-eyed black man, addressing his subordinate. He held a set of photos in his hand, clearly showing the combatants from earlier.

"Yes, it's the playboy himself. But bringing him into the Avengers might be a bit tricky—he's a pretty unruly guy."

"I know, I'll figure something out. But more than him, I'm interested in this person." Fury pulled out another photo, showing Tohka Yatogami in full battle attire. Even through the photo, an intense aura seemed to radiate from her.

"She's Tony's adopted daughter. Her strength is exceptional—our preliminary assessment suggests she could hold her own against Magneto. However, we haven't been able to identify the material of her weapon or armor, though it doesn't seem to be metal," Coulson said, looking at the photo of the young girl. He found it astonishing. He had known the girl briefly before and was aware of her considerable strength, but not to this extent.

Despite his thoughts, Coulson continued his report: "If we classify this girl by mutant standards, she would be at least a Level 4 mutant. However, the blood samples we've obtained show no traces of the X-gene."