Next to the energy core of the Kamar-Taj Research Center, Shiller and Strange stared at each other. Strange glanced at his watch and said, "Hasn't he been up there a bit long?"
Shiller also checked his own watch. Before Stark's ascension, it was planned for his elevation to the cosmos to take no more than 30 seconds, but it has almost been a minute and Stark hasn't come back yet.
Shiller pondered with a frown, but felt the time was still within a safe range. He then said, "Let's wait a bit longer. If there's no news in the next half minute, we'll contact Master Ancient One."
Strange had already taken out his phone, ready to contact the Ancient One about Stark's status if he failed to return in due time, and then let the Ancient One ask Eternity to observe Stark's situation.
However, at the one-minute mark, a golden light suddenly shone in the sky above Kamar-Taj. Strange stepped back and said, looking at the glow on the shield, "Is this... a new Demon God is born?? Right here on Earth, Tony may have..."
Strange took a deep breath, suppressing his somber expression, forcing himself to calm down and said in a steady voice, "All mages of Kamar-Taj gather! If you spot Tony Stark in Demon God Form, don't act rashly. Let him leave Earth's vicinity first..."
"Wait, Tony shouldn't ascend that easily…" Shiller also frowned. He had faith in Stark's self-control. In the Dreamworld, Stark was able to instantly construct an entire city, proving that his soul control strength was much stronger than most beings in this cosmos.
Thus, Shiller agreed to let Stark ascend once more, because he knew that Stark's reason was strong enough to suppress any stray thoughts. As long as he didn't wish to ascend, he wouldn't become a Demon God.
But now, circumstances were beyond everyone's expectations. During Stark's ascension to the cosmos, a new Demon God appeared on Earth. It couldn't be a coincidence. The only possibility was that Stark had indeed ascended to godhood.
As the mages were gathering at the energy core, the glow of magic blinked again. A neon stream descended from the sky, and within the light was Stark's figure. Strange and all the other mages were stunned.
"Tony, you didn't…. then what about this new god???" Strange asked with great confusion, and he saw that Stark looked frustrated. Stark surveyed the mages surrounding him and made a helpless gesture with his hand.
"Put your weapons away... It's hard to explain, but for now, I need to ascend again. You don't need to worry about me."
"Wait!" Strange called out to him again.
"I really don't have time to explain this!" Stark seemed to suppress his anger, he inhaled deeply, then said, "No need to worry about me, as long as I don't wish to ascend, I wouldn't become a Demon God…"
Stark tried to leave again but Strange called out to halt him one more time. Before Stark could spit out another word, Strange cut in, "Do you have any idea how much magical energy it costs for every second that you ascend? How should we calculate the electricity cost?"
"I'll pay for it!" Stark said grumpily. Finishing his words, he once again transformed into his Demon God Form and ascended to the cosmos.
Still on the ground, Strange sighed, waved at the group of Grand Mages, and said, "Disperse now, oh, wait, don't go yet, who's in charge of the finance department?"
The other Grand Mages took a step back as one, leaving Wong alone at the front. He said helplessly, "Who else could it be but me?"
Strange put his arm around Wong's shoulder, walking and talking to him, "You heard it just now, right? What did Tony Stark say?"
"Er… He said, we don't need to worry about him, and he can control whether he wants to become a Demon God. Honestly, that's pretty impressive, isn't it? If magical energy is sufficient, couldn't he always stay at the state beyond the cosmos?" Wong commented with admiration.
"Who told you that? Didn't you hear him? He just said he'll pay for it." Strange looked at Wong with a 'What's wrong with your hearing' expression.
"The value of magical energy can't be measured with any currency. It's priceless. Of course, sky-high price isn't Kamar-Taj's style. We need to have a rightful claim. Understand what I mean?" With his arm around Wong's shoulder, Strange pulled him closer, lowered his voice and said,
"The funding for Kamar-Taj's next quarter relies on the upcoming loss report, you should be able to handle this, right?"
Wong showed a troubled expression. Strange waved his hand and said, "Think about the market price of molten steel, then think about the still expensive, though falling, Vibranium. Think about the precious metal raw materials needed for Mithril, and the prices of those valuable gems used for energy storage…"
Unexpectedly, Wong, still with his troubled expression, said, "The magical energy of Kamar-Taj needs to be supplied to so many mages, losing so much at once will affect our next 3... I mean, 13 projects. The loss brought will be incalculable…"
Strange released his hold on Wong, then gave him a thumbs up.
Before turning to leave, he pulled the corner of his own eye down, making an even sadder expression at Wong. Wong responded with an OK hand gesture.