Eren had just taken a few steps when a grayish-black mist suddenly rose behind him, enveloping the area where Obadiah had died.
The moment the mist appeared, the entire world seemed to fall eerily silent.
As Eren walked forward, a terrifying aura emerged from behind him, causing his body to tense instantly.
His right leg, mid-step, froze in place.
The next second, a chilling wind blew past.
Just as mysteriously as it had appeared, the grayish-black mist vanished without a trace.
At the same time, the horrifying presence that had enveloped Eren also disappeared.
After the mist dissipated, several seconds passed before Eren dared to glance back.
The mountains were still the same, the road unchanged, and even the roadside weeds looked no different than before.
But Obadiah's luxury car now appeared as though centuries had passed in an instant. The vehicle was corroded beyond recognition, reduced to a rusted, skeletal frame.
As for Obadiah's corpse, which should have been beside the car, it had turned to human-shaped ashes. The sea breeze quickly scattered the remains into the air.
"Damn it, what just happened?"
Feeling uneasy, Eren's pupils darkened as he entered a semi-meditative state, attempting to divine what had transpired the moment he turned away.
But before he could begin, his intuition was overwhelmed by an infinite terror. It was as if attempting the divination would lead his very essence to be consumed by that boundless fear.
Swallowing hard, Eren cautiously withdrew from his meditative state, not daring to probe further into the mysterious event.
Although he didn't know what had happened, his instincts told him something ominous had occurred.
Shaking off the lingering dread, Eren quickened his pace, breaking into a short run before vaulting over the wall surrounding Stark's villa.
Unlike Obadiah, Eren didn't have authorized access to Stark's villa, so he had to rely on alternative methods to enter.
Fortunately, the Joker's abilities had given him exceptional agility and heightened perception, allowing him to evade the villa's ubiquitous security cameras.
After about a minute, Eren climbed onto the balcony and slipped into the villa, where he found Tony Stark slumped on the sofa, incapacitated by a device Eren had invented—a powerful electromagnetic disruptor.
Tony's body trembled slightly, wracked with pain.
Without the miniature arc reactor in his chest, the shrapnel lodged near Tony's heart moved closer with every beat, inching toward a fatal endpoint.
To make matters worse, the electromagnetic disruptor heightened Tony's suffering, leaving him gasping for breath and on the verge of suffocation.
Paralyzed, Tony was utterly helpless.
"Wow, you look absolutely pathetic," Eren remarked as he stepped into the living room, observing Tony's desperate struggle between life and death.
Hearing Eren's voice, Tony's bloodshot eyes flickered with a glimmer of hope.
His trembling body strained, his lips parted as though to speak, but the paralysis and darkened veins on his face rendered him mute.
Instead of immediately returning the arc reactor to Tony's chest, Eren pulled out his phone.
"Hold on," he said casually.
He snapped several photos of Tony from different angles. A moment like this—Tony Stark so utterly defeated—was too rare not to document.
Satisfied, Eren finally opened the briefcase and retrieved the miniature arc reactor that Obadiah had stolen.
Buzz...
As soon as the arc reactor was reconnected to the device in Tony's chest, he took a deep, life-saving breath.
"Ahh…"
While Tony recovered, Eren went to the bathroom to wash the electrolyte solution off his hands.
When he returned to the living room, Tony was still lying on the sofa, breathing heavily and unable to compose himself.
Eren dialed Pepper's number in front of Tony. The call was answered after just a few rings.
"Pepper, where are you right now?" Eren asked directly.
Tony, still gasping for air, froze when he heard Pepper's name. He hadn't forgotten Obadiah's chilling words when he stole the arc reactor:
"It's a shame you dragged Pepper into this. I had planned to spare her."
If Pepper got hurt because of him, Tony knew he'd never forgive himself.
Fortunately, his worst fears hadn't yet materialized.
Pepper's voice came through the phone. "Don't worry, Eren, I'm fine. I'm with Coulson, and we just got the arrest warrant for Obadiah. We're heading to Stark Industries to shut down his secret operation in Sector 16…"
At that moment, an image flashed in Eren's mind—Pepper's body riddled with bullets, torn apart.
His instincts screamed a warning.
"Don't go there, Pepper!" Eren interrupted sharply. "Leave immediately!"
Pepper hesitated, surprised by Eren's urgency. A second later, she replied, "It's okay, Eren. Coulson brought five experienced agents with him. I'm just showing them the way…"
(End of Chapter)
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