Over the Afghan Desert
In the vast void above the Afghan desert, a black crack tore through the fabric of reality, spreading like a fracture in glass.
Moments later, a thin figure plummeted from the rift.
If anyone had been watching, they would have been shocked to see that the falling figure was merely a nine-year-old child.
Below, chaos raged. A group of terrorists fired relentlessly at a humanoid figure—one that stood defiantly against their bullets.
Tony Stark gritted his teeth, gripping the flamethrower in his Mark I suit. His heart pounded with fury. Ethan was dead, and he was going to make sure these murderers paid in full. Just as he prepared to unleash a scorching inferno upon them, something unexpected happened.
The falling figure from the sky crashed directly into the terrorist base.
Boom!
A cloud of dust erupted as a deep crater formed at the impact site.
Tony's grip on his weapon tightened as he turned his gaze toward the pit. His first thought, instinctive and pragmatic, was that a missile had failed to detonate upon landing.
The terrorists shared his concern. Silence fell over the battlefield as everyone hesitated, wary of making the wrong move.
The closest to the pit was Tony himself, clad in the bulky, makeshift Iron Man armor. He hesitated for a moment, then took slow, deliberate steps toward the impact site.
No one dared to fire. If it was a bomb, any wrong move could mean instant death.
Then—
"Ah! Bah, bah, bah! What the hell?! Why did I land in a desert?! That old dragon didn't mess with my coordinates on purpose, did he?"
A small head emerged from the pit, coughing up sand.
Before the child could even process their surroundings, a trigger-happy terrorist reacted on instinct, raising his rifle and pulling the trigger.
Bang!
"Kid, look out!"
Tony lunged forward, his armored frame shielding the child from the bullet. The round ricocheted harmlessly off his metal plating.
The child, Lin Mei, blinked. His bright blue eyes shifted—subtly at first, then unmistakably—his pupils contracting into vertical slits, like those of a cat or a lizard.
Tony, unaware of this transformation, crouched beside him. "Hey, you okay, kid?"
Before Lin Mei could respond, the terrorists opened fire again, unleashing a hailstorm of bullets. The armor-clad Stark gritted his teeth and wrapped himself around the boy, shielding him from the relentless barrage.
Lin Mei's thoughts raced.
Where am I? This doesn't seem right…
Did I mess up my teleportation? No, impossible! With that old dragon's help, the coordinates should've been perfect!
But as he took in the sound of gunfire, the metallic scent of ammunition, and the man in crude iron armor protecting him, realization struck.
This was Earth.
The very Earth he had left behind.
Unlike the magic-saturated world he had been in, this one ran on science—on weapons, machines, and technology. The presence of firearms was proof enough.
And then, he looked up at the man shielding him.
A rough, primitive Iron Man suit.
Tony Stark.
Lin Mei's eyes widened. "Wait a minute… aren't you—Tony Shit?!"
Tony flinched, the unexpected insult cutting through the tension. "What—?!"
The boy's astonishment deepened as a sudden thought hit him.
If this really is Earth… then did all my time in Fairy Tail's world only last a single night here?!
Lin Mei's mind spun, but before he could sort out his thoughts, a sharp voice snapped him back to the present.
"Kid, do you know me?"
Lin Mei smirked. "Of course I do! Super genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist!"
Despite the dire situation, Tony let out a small, exasperated chuckle. Even in the middle of a firefight, his ego appreciated the recognition.
"Alright, mystery kid," he said, his voice tinged with amusement. "Since you know me so well, how about we get out of here before these guys ruin our good mood?"
With that, he activated the thrusters on his suit, ready to blast off and escape.
Except—
Nothing happened.
Sputter. Crackle.
The terrorists had shot up the Mark I's rudimentary thruster system.
"Oh, come on! You've got to be kidding me!" Tony groaned.
His escape plan had just gone up in smoke. Originally, he had intended to ignite the missiles outside the cave, wiping out the terrorists in one fiery explosion before taking off. But now, with his thrusters disabled and a mysterious kid in tow, that plan was completely shot.
The realization hit him like a punch to the gut—he wasn't making it out of here alone anymore.
Desperation flickered across Tony's face.
But before he could come up with an alternative plan—
Lin Mei exhaled.
A wave of energy pulsed from his small frame.
It was subtle at first, then undeniable—an oppressive, ancient power rolling off him in waves.
Tony barely had time to react before the sheer force of it launched him backward.
Thud!
He crashed against a pile of debris, momentarily stunned.
"What the—?! What the hell was that?!" Tony gasped.
He struggled to his feet, his mind racing. The kid—this tiny, seemingly ordinary child—had just pushed him away with nothing but raw power.
Lin Mei stood in the middle of the battlefield, his small frame illuminated by the flickering firelight of the terrorist base. His slit-like pupils gleamed, a predatory glint in his gaze.
For the first time since arriving, he stopped holding back.
And Tony Stark, genius inventor and armored warrior, could only watch in stunned disbelief.
Ding! Ding! Ding! Dang! Dang! Dang!
The sharp clatter of bullets echoed across the battlefield as Lin Mei slipped out from Tony's protective grasp.
Gunfire rained down on him—but something was off.
Instead of piercing his body, the bullets merely bounced off, clinking harmlessly to the ground.
Tony's eyes widened in disbelief.
What the hell?
Blue lightning crackled around Lin Mei, dancing across his small frame like living serpents. As the glow intensified, Tony caught sight of something even more shocking—tiny, shimmering scales now covered the boy's skin.
Tony's mind raced. The only logical explanation he could grasp was—
"Oh, shit! Kid, are you a mutant?!"
That was the only thing that made sense. Mutants were known to possess strange, supernatural abilities. Maybe this was some kind of bulletproof mutation?
Lin Mei smirked, unbothered by the bullets still being fired at him. "Well… yeah, you could say that. I am a mutant."
He clenched his fists, and the crackling energy surrounding him surged even brighter. "But this? This power I'm using now? It's not from my mutation."
Tony barely had time to process those words before Lin Mei's entire body became engulfed in roaring blue electricity. The air itself trembled, thick with raw energy.
"This power…" Lin Mei said, his voice carrying a hint of pride, "is a kind of magic! Dragon Slayer Magic!"
Tony stared, completely stunned. His rational, science-driven brain struggled to comprehend what he was witnessing. Magic? In the real world?
"Wait, wait, hold on—are you telling me magic is actually real?!" Tony blurted out, his voice rising in disbelief.
Lin Mei grinned. "Well, what do you think?"
Tony opened his mouth, then closed it. Nope. Can't process this right now.
While Tony was busy questioning his entire worldview, the terrorists watching this scene had a much simpler reaction—pure, unfiltered terror.
"The devil!" one of them screamed.
"This is the devil!"
Panic spread like wildfire. Some dropped their weapons, others turned to flee. The ones who still had their wits scrambled to open fire again—only to realize, deep down, that their bullets wouldn't do a damn thing.
Because whatever they were facing…
It wasn't human.