Chapter 26: The Potential of the Demonstone

Luke piloted his mech above Hell’s Kitchen, his mind deep in thought.

He had already figured out why the Black Widow, who was supposed to be undercover at Stark Industries, appeared here tonight. Unexpectedly, it was because of him. A manipulator of luck... It seemed the commotion he caused that day had caught the attention of S.H.I.E.L.D., whose eyes and ears stretched into every corner. It wasn’t hard to explain. He had indeed gone a bit overboard that day, not because he didn’t want to keep a low profile, but because the system’s potion was so powerful. With double luck, keeping a low profile was simply impossible.

Ordinary people who saw him dominate the casino that night might not think much of it, perhaps believing he was possessed by the God of Gambling or simply enjoying a streak of incredible luck. However, S.H.I.E.L.D., with their deep understanding of the world’s peculiarities, would immediately recognize something unnatural behind that gambling spree. Clearly, someone was manipulating luck.

Imagine a gambler who, after losing just one round at the start, won every subsequent game throughout the night. The odds of that happening were probably lower than lightning striking the same place twice in succession.

(As a certain God of Thunder might say, "I can do this!")

With the Russian connection as a cover, Black Widow was sent in as an undercover agent.

“So this is the legendary butterfly effect, isn’t it?” Luke mused.

His arrival had already caused a small shift in the original plot. Although this change seemed insignificant—surely the billionaire had no shortage of secretaries—the future consequences of this butterfly’s wings were unpredictable to Luke.

For instance: Without Black Widow reporting on the billionaire’s condition to the director, there would be no delivery of his father’s legacy, and would the billionaire then meet his untimely end?

Luke suddenly found himself anticipating what would happen next...

Perhaps it was his time spent recently with Lotus, but Luke noticed he was becoming more cunning. Or maybe it was his resentment toward the wealthy; as a struggling engineer who could only scavenge for scrap to build his mech, he was quite pleased to see the billionaire faltering.

Of course, when push came to shove, he wouldn’t mind helping Tony cure his palladium poisoning.

The magic box could yield all sorts of things, including universal antidotes. With just one bottle, he could restore Tony to his lively, flying, wisecracking old self.

At that point, Luke wouldn’t mind extracting some “medical fees” from the billionaire. After all, his household was still waiting for rice to cook, and he had grander, stronger mechs to build.

With these thoughts, Luke had already flown over a Mexican gang’s stronghold. He estimated they had the ammunition he needed.

The process of seizing the ammo was effortless...

A group of Mexicans tried to resist, but Luke demonstrated what “justice from above” truly meant, and... well, that was the end of it.

Luke returned home fully loaded, carrying a bounty of ammunition back to his secret warehouse. The night’s work was done.

Even after his departure, Hell’s Kitchen remained lively. The tenacious Russians showcased their warrior spirit, holding their own against greater numbers. Both sides gradually escalated to heavy firepower. Explosions occasionally illuminated the night sky above Hell’s Kitchen.

This was far from over.

After Luke’s two major disruptions, the gang leaders, unaware of the truth, assumed their rivals were responsible. The gang war looked primed for another escalation...

In his secret warehouse, Luke paid no mind to any of it. He remained aloof, unconcerned, detached from the fray.

Upon his return, he installed four machine guns onto his air combat mech, Gale—modified versions of the AK-47 and MP7. With no need to worry about running out of ammo, he significantly increased their firing rate.

During testing, a sandbag was shredded into rags in mere seconds.

Four machine guns could deliver the firepower of eight people firing simultaneously. Luke was quite satisfied with the result, as it compensated for the lack of conventional firepower in his air combat mech.

Currently, Gale had three combat strategies:

First, close-quarters fighting, employing Luke’s unique mech martial arts, inspired by DNF skills, mainly used against light targets. The limiting factor here was Gale’s material strength. Built from scrap, its materials were inferior even to Mark II, only marginally better than the ill-fated Mark I.

If facing a Mark V suit, with its high-strength materials, Luke knew he would need to play to his strengths, relying more on technique than brute force to offset the material gap.

Second, machine gun suppression. The combined firepower of four guns was enough for most situations. In theory, Luke could outfit his mech with guns all over, but that would be pointless—and unsightly.

Third, aerial bombardment. Tonight had already proven the overwhelming power of “justice from above,” far exceeding his expectations.

The improved second-generation grenades were not just twice as strong as the first homemade ones, but two or three times stronger, at least.

Luke realized he hadn’t underestimated the effect of the grenade modifications, but rather, he had underestimated the potential of the magical core—his unique material!

Thinking it over, he felt at ease.

In the DNF universe, the first to study the magical core was an organization called “The Seven Gods' Sheath Wings.”

The “Mechanical Seven War Gods” were seven genius engineers who, in order to overthrow the rule of the Ninth Apostle, Bakal the Explosive Dragon King, joined forces to create the ultimate humanoid combat machine, the “Mechanical War God” Geboga.

Five hundred years later, “The Seven Gods' Sheath Wings” inherited their legacy, becoming the highest scientific institution in the heavens, gathering the brightest minds.

Melvin, who loved handing out high-tech rings to everyone.

The mad scientist Giselle.

Both were core members of “The Seven Gods' Sheath Wings,” along with Pella Vane, Nain Sieg, and Merry Faioniel—many familiar names.

One could imagine the immense scientific power of this group, akin to Stark Industries within DNF, a hub of wisdom at the forefront of heavenly science.

When the Seventh Apostle, Anton the Devourer of Flames, arrived in the heavens, the magical core appeared alongside Anton’s magical energy.

Melvin was the first to study it, discovering its peculiar and potent energy, declaring that it would lead to breakthroughs in existing science.

The main feature of the magical core was that it contained the energy of the Seventh Apostle.

To Luke, it was like uranium ore: dangerous, but brimming with incredible energy.

If he could find a way to properly harness it, he could tap into these astonishing potentials—much like nuclear fission unlocks uranium’s power.

Luke admitted he was currently using the most primitive method.

He ground the magical core into fine powder and used it as an additive to gunpowder.

The energy released this way was likely just a drop in the ocean.

Yet even that drop, as tonight’s field test proved, was extraordinarily powerful.

“To truly understand the magical core, I’d need advanced chemical and physical knowledge, which I currently lack. But there is someone who has it... In the movies, Tony manages to discover a new element to replace toxic palladium, thanks to a hint from his father.”

Luke realized that if he wanted to fully unlock the magical core’s potential, he couldn’t avoid involving Tony.

“By now, Tony should have arrived in Monaco, right?”

In the movie, Tony faces a Russian madman wielding dual electric whips in a racing competition—Whiplash. The two battle live on global broadcast.

Luke felt it was time to head to Monaco himself, to participate in this unique festival of destruction!