Despite his complaints, Tony did not hesitate for a moment. He quickly maneuvered the armor toward the battle zone, launching two electromagnetic pulse rounds toward the monster's location.
The monster immediately swung its staff, releasing energy fireballs to destroy the missiles. Although it successfully intercepted the electromagnetic pulse rounds, performing unnecessary movements during the fight exposed a weakness.
The two Kamen Riders immediately seized the opportunity, relentlessly pursuing and attacking the monster, inflicting massive damage in a short time.
"I'll buy you time and create an opening. Use your finishing move and get rid of this monster quickly," Tony said to Li Hua and Elena, who were transformed as Brave and Snipe.
The Bugster creature seemed to sense the danger, roaring up at the sky, and fiercely struck the ground with its staff, causing a blinding burst of crimson light.
"Sir, there is a fierce unknown energy reaction nearby," J.A.R.V.I.S. reported immediately after detecting the anomaly.
Hearing this, Tony called up the surrounding view and saw fireballs forming out of thin air in mid-air, which were now launching indiscriminate attacks.
"Damn it! What is that? Magic?" He only had time to curse before immediately maneuvering his armor to evade the descending fiery energy balls.
Fortunately, the primary targets of these fireballs were Li Hua and Elena, who were transformed into Kamen Riders on the ground. Tony also used other ammunition—those ineffective against the Bugster creature—to intercept the fireballs, which allowed him to narrowly avoid being hit repeatedly.
Watching the fireballs slam into the ground and the sheer destructive power they unleashed, Tony couldn't help but break into a cold sweat, feeling a sense of dread. "J.A.R.V.I.S., calculate a route to get through the fireballs summoned by the monster. If this continues, the electromagnetic disruption rounds won't have a chance to hit the monster. This endless barrage alone will probably drain the Arc Reactor's energy."
"Sir, I do not recommend executing that plan. The electromagnetic pulse rounds also affect the armor's operating system. Even if you manage to fly through the fire-covered zone and approach the monster to deploy the EMP rounds, the armor is highly likely to shut down due to the electromagnetic pulse's proximity effect, leading to unimaginable consequences," J.A.R.V.I.S. advised after a comprehensive analysis.
Tony paused slightly at the warning, then spoke with a determined tone: "I don't care. If we don't eliminate this monster, who knows what kind of destruction it will cause? Besides, this monster is clearly aiming for my Stark Tower. I have to defeat it!"
"Very well, Sir, your wish is my command." J.A.R.V.I.S. only offered advice; the final decision always rested with Tony. Since Tony had decided, J.A.R.V.I.S. immediately began calculating and planning a route to assist Tony in safely completing the action.
Tony piloted his Iron Man armor through the relentless energy fireballs, approaching the Bugster creature. At the same time, his ammunition system was ready to fire electromagnetic disruption rounds and cryogenic liquid nitrogen rounds at any moment.
"Closer... just a little more." Just as he was about to enter the effective range for his ammunition to hit the monster, the armor suddenly shuddered. A fireball had grazed the armor on his right leg, causing the right leg thruster to fail. Tony instantly lost control of the armor, flipping over and plunging toward the ground.
Li Hua swung his sword, cutting through a fireball aimed at him. Seeing Tony falling vertically, he inwardly panicked. He wanted to rush forward to catch him, but four more fireballs rushed toward him. He was forced to retreat slightly to avoid the fireballs and couldn't immediately get close to catch Tony, who was plummeting from the sky.
"Damn it! J.A.R.V.I.S., increase the thrust on the armor's left leg and both hands!" Seeing that he was about to free-fall and crash into the ground, Tony shouted.
"Internal wiring failure, insufficient energy supply. System requires reboot. Please prepare for impact."
"Fuck!" Tony couldn't help but curse. He could only adjust his posture before landing to avoid taking too much impact.
"What's going on?" Tony had already closed his eyes, bracing for the crash. After several seconds, instead of the anticipated violent impact, he felt something catch him.
"What's happening?" Tony opened his eyes, perplexed, and saw that the one who had caught him was none other than the Bugster creature.
Furthermore, the Bugster creature had caught Tony in a bridal carry.
The scene was momentarily frozen, the atmosphere strangely silent.
Tony stared at the Bugster creature right in front of him, his mind completely blank. What is going on? Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing?
The Bugster creature laughed menacingly: "Tony Stark, you must not be harmed."
Hearing this, a bizarre and ridiculous thought flashed through Tony's mind: Could this monster also be attracted by my charm?
However, seeing the monster's appearance up close and hearing its coarse voice, a chill ran through him, and goosebumps erupted all over his body. He immediately shook the thought out of his head.
Seeing the situation, Li Hua's eyes flashed as if he understood something. He raised his Brave Sword, which had a flame-shaped blade, and immediately swung it toward the monster, completely disregarding the fact that Tony was still with the creature.
"Wait, you game boy, are you crazy! I'm still..." Tony saw Li Hua was sending a sword slash toward them without regard for his safety and quickly shouted.
Before he could finish, he was shoved away by the Bugster creature. He then watched as the Bugster creature took the full force of the attack for him. Tony stood there, stunned and disheveled by the wind. What in the world is happening?
Tony quickly recovered, firing all the remaining electromagnetic pulse rounds and cryogenic rounds from his armor at once. Simultaneously, an inexplicable feeling arose within him—difficult to describe.
Why do I feel like the scum who cheats someone's feelings, body, and money?
He shook his head, instantly casting off that terrifying thought.
The Bugster creature was busy blocking Li Hua's attack and couldn't spare a hand to intercept the missiles. Consequently, all the missiles hit, causing large areas of ice to appear on the Bugster creature's surface. Stunned by the electromagnetic pulse, it was momentarily immobilized.
"Now!" Li Hua immediately rushed toward the Bugster creature, pressed the button on his game cartridge, and shouted loudly to Elena.
"Critical Strike!" The sound effect played from the cartridge, and brilliant light flared up on Kamen Rider Brave's legs.
The Bugster creature had just shattered the ice when it was simultaneously hit by Brave's Finishing Slash and Snipe's final energy shot.
Taking the full force of the two Riders' Finishing Moves head-on, cracks of various sizes appeared all over the Bugster creature's body. They glowed and spread before shattering and bursting into specks of light that scattered and slowly faded into the air.
Tony watched from the side, slightly dazed, unsure what to say. The monster was finally eliminated, but why did it save him?
"What the hell was that all about?" Tony asked the Kamen Riders in a slightly resentful tone, seeking an explanation.
"Don't be mad. That was necessary. It was all done to eliminate the Bugster."
"Before a Bugster becomes a Perfect form, its behavioral logic is very clear and singular. Since it saved you, it shows that the monster's core logic absolutely dictates that it cannot harm you. Therefore, it was guaranteed to block my slash for you," Li Hua explained calmly.
"What do you mean? What is the behavioral logic of this monster?" Tony immediately pressed for more details.
"After the Bugster Virus infects a human, it gradually grows stronger. Conversely, the infected person becomes weaker until they ultimately vanish from the real world," Li Hua explained.
"It sounds like some kind of phantom thing is replacing the original human's existence," Tony frowned. "But how does that relate to the monster's behavior?"
"To accelerate its growth, the Bugster Virus constantly applies mental stress to the patient. The greater the stress of the infected patient, the faster the Bugster Virus develops. Therefore, the actions of these Bugsters are absolutely governed by the principle of increasing the stress of the infected person," Elena interjected.
"In other words, the reason this Bugster creature saved you is that your existence causes the infected person enormous mental stress, which is highly favorable for the virus's growth inside the patient."
Tony's eyes narrowed. "J.A.R.V.I.S., log that into the files."
"It seems I might need to watch my words and actions in the future," he reflected internally for a moment.
He had previously asked J.A.R.V.I.S. to look up the file on Henry, the infected patient. It appeared the infected individual had been under immense mental pressure because his company collaborated with Stark Group, and this pressure stemmed from Tony himself.
Tony knew full well that his usual self-indulgent behavior often caused significant stress to those around him, but he had always been indifferent to this fact.
After all, he was a billionaire, a playboy, a genius inventor, and the head of Stark Industries... what was wrong with being a little willful and self-centered?
However, having learned the relationship between mental stress and this unknown Bugster Virus, Tony decided that he needed to rein in his former personality somewhat when dealing with his friends and associates in the future.
"Speaking of which, this is the second time we've saved the President of Stark Industries, isn't it?" Elena said cheekily to Tony.
"Strictly speaking, I'm not the President of Stark Industries anymore," Tony countered, raising an eyebrow. "However, I truly owe both Ms. Game and the Game Boy my thanks for these two occasions. Name your price."
"There is indeed something we need to discuss with you."
(End of Chapter)