[Mysteries On Marvel] Chapter 109/110 (Patreon)

"What was that sound?"

Outside Sector 16, Coulson, who was attaching a small timed explosive to the sector's access door, suddenly asked the agent beside him.

The agent, handing Coulson the explosive, seemed confused. "What? The timer's beeping?"

Coulson shook his head, dismissing the thought. Waving his hand, he retreated five meters away with three of his subordinates, standing with their backs to the door.

He had already activated the timer, and in a few seconds, the explosive would detonate. There wasn't enough time for Coulson to linger on his unease.

Whatever that sound was, he would find out once they entered Sector 16.

Coulson was now accompanied by just three well-trained agents.

As for Pepper, after Eren's warning call, Coulson had assigned one of his agents to escort her out of the so-called danger zone.

Pepper's role had only been to guide them to the hidden Sector 16 lab. Now that they had located it, there was no need for her to stay, and Coulson saw it as an opportunity to gain favor with both Tony Stark and Eren.

If there was indeed danger in Sector 16, it might even earn him a favor from those two—something that could be incredibly valuable down the line.

Well, he thought ruefully, maybe he already owed Eren a few favors himself.

Boom!

As Coulson was lost in thought, a muffled explosion broke the silence.

The heavy electronic gate of Sector 16 had been blasted open by SHIELD's specialized explosives.

"Check your weapons!"

With the gate breached, Coulson and his team drew their handguns and cautiously advanced.

Eren had repeatedly warned them about the dangers within Sector 16, and Coulson wasn't about to take those warnings lightly.

He even took out a special device resembling a remote control. It was a SHIELD distress beacon—pressing the button would alert the nearest SHIELD headquarters, summoning reinforcements.

The moment Coulson and his team stepped into Sector 16,

Buzz!

The dim, shadowy lab was suddenly illuminated as rows of lights flickered on, one by one.

"Something's up!"

The abrupt transition from darkness to light caused the seasoned agents to instinctively dive for cover, anticipating an attack.

But several tense seconds passed, and no assault came.

Just as their nerves began to ease, a deep, heavy sound of footsteps echoed through the space.

Then,

Boom!

With a deafening crash, a massive mechanical arm smashed down, obliterating an agent and the cover he had been hiding behind.

A colossal steel robot, towering three to four meters high, emerged from the shadows, standing before them.

Without waiting for orders, the two remaining agents opened fire on the giant machine.

But bullets that could tear through human flesh had no effect on the robot's alloy frame, producing only harmless sparks.

The giant robot instinctively raised one of its mechanical arms to shield its head. When it realized the bullets couldn't even scratch its armor, the machine paused.

A guttural voice, tinged with Obadiah's chilling tone, emerged from the robot.

"Flesh is weak. Only steel is eternal..."

Just moments ago, Obadiah's human body had been powerless against bullets. A single handgun had been enough to shatter his limbs and end his life.

But now, resurrected in the Iron Monger, Obadiah felt invincible. Bullets that had once been fatal now couldn't even pierce his "skin."

The stark contrast left him intoxicated with his newfound power.

With a laugh, the massive robot stomped its mechanical leg, shattering several tiles as it closed the distance to one of the agents in an instant.

Boom!

A steel fist came down, turning the agent's head into a spray of blood and gore.

"Damn it!" Coulson cursed under his breath as his brown eyes narrowed in horror.

At that moment, he finally understood the danger Eren had warned about.

This monstrous machine was far beyond what his small team could handle. If Pepper had stayed with them, she would have been torn apart in seconds.

"Damn it! Obadiah actually created this kind of mechanical monstrosity. Things just got a lot worse."

Without hesitation, Coulson pressed the distress button in his hand and shouted to the last remaining agent, "Retreat!"

Then he turned and ran without looking back.

Bang! Bang!

The remaining agent fired two shots at the Iron Monger's head before quickly retreating. As he ran, he kept glancing over his shoulder at the massive robot.

Unbeknownst to him, those gunshots were his death knell.

The bullets ricocheted harmlessly off the Iron Monger's head, leaving faint sparks.

Remembering the vulnerability of his human form, the robot's eyes flared crimson, glowing like searchlights.

"I hate the sound of bullets," it growled.

Raising one arm, it launched a small rocket from its mechanical limb.

Boom!

The explosion ripped through the retreating agent, reducing him to a spray of blood and fragmented flesh.

(End of Chapter)

After killing the last agent, the Iron Monger turned its crimson, glowing gaze toward Coulson, who was sprinting into the entrance corridor of Sector 16.

The heavy steel behemoth's legs ignited with bursts of flame, unleashing immense propulsion power.

Like a berserk bull, the Iron Monger barreled through precious equipment, leaving a trail of sparks and destruction as it charged into the reinforced corridor—built with bunker-level strength.

But within the confined space of the corridor, the Iron Monger's massive frame became a liability, slowing its pursuit.

Sensing the monstrous presence closing in behind him, Coulson gritted his teeth and pushed his body to its limits, narrowly evading the steel hand that reached for his back.

With a sharp left turn, Coulson disappeared from Obadiah's sight.

The Iron Monger crashed into the corridor walls, lodging its massive steel body in the tight confines.

Watching Coulson's fleeing figure vanish, a cold, menacing voice echoed from the mechanical giant.

"You can't escape. This time, no one will stand in my way… no one…"

Once outside Sector 16, Coulson sprinted toward the laboratory's exit, quickly dialing SHIELD's New York branch.

"This is Coulson. I need heavy firepower support immediately. Obadiah has built a massive suit of armor that looks even stronger than Tony Stark's Iron Man suit. Standard firearms are completely ineffective against him."

"We'll need significant heavy artillery to take him down…"

As Coulson ran, the ground ahead of him suddenly cracked open.

The Iron Monger burst through the surface, its hulking form emerging from the debris.

Without hesitation, Coulson grabbed a high-explosive grenade from his belt and hurled it at the mechanical behemoth's head, diving in the opposite direction as he did.

Boom!

A fiery explosion engulfed the Iron Monger as it was still halfway out of the ground.

Coulson, flattened against the ground, wasted no time. After evading the blast's initial shockwave, he bolted toward a nearby building for cover.

He knew from SHIELD's records that Tony Stark's smaller Iron Man suit could withstand tank shells. There was no way a single grenade would destroy this larger, heavily-armored machine.

Betting on such slim odds was foolish; his only option was to buy time, using the surrounding structures to evade the Iron Monger until reinforcements arrived.

But just as Coulson reached a wall for cover,

Whoosh!

A small rocket from the Iron Monger's arm shot toward him, slamming into the wall ahead.

Boom!

The explosion's force sent Coulson flying backward.

His left arm was severed, and his upper body was drenched in blood. He lay motionless on the ground.

The Iron Monger emerged from the flames, its body scorched but otherwise unharmed. Its crimson eyes glowed with disdain.

With one heavy step, it crushed Coulson's discarded phone, which was still connected to SHIELD.

"Pathetic humans…"

After eliminating the last agent, the Iron Monger's glowing red eyes scanned the surroundings. They quickly locked onto a black Audi speeding away from the Stark Industrial Complex.

The car, carrying Pepper, was fleeing at high speed.

"Pepper… I gave you a chance. Since you've chosen to stand against me, be prepared to pay with your life."

Muttering to itself, the Iron Monger's massive steel frame shifted slightly.

A second later, its legs and palms ignited, unleashing flames and smoke that lifted the heavy machine into the air.

After adjusting its trajectory, the Iron Monger shot off in pursuit of the black Audi.

Inside the black Audi

Sitting in the backseat, Pepper anxiously looked out the rear window.

Seeing the terrifying figure, engulfed in smoke and flames, closing in on them, she shouted to the SHIELD agent driving, "Faster! It's catching up to us!"

"I'm already at full speed!"

The agent, his foot pressed firmly on the gas pedal, replied through gritted teeth. Beads of sweat trickled down his forehead.

The distant sounds of explosions from the lab had already set them on edge.

Determined to protect Pepper, the agent had immediately floored the accelerator, pushing the car to its limits.

But the Iron Monger's propulsion system, designed by Stark Industries' top engineers, gave it a flying speed far beyond anything a ground vehicle could match.

High above, less than fifty meters from the fleeing car, the Iron Monger raised its massive right arm.

The rotary cannon mounted on its arm locked onto the black Audi carrying Pepper.

"Farewell, Pepper."

(End of Chapter)

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