14: Contract

*Bang!*

Tony Stark, clad in his gold and red Mark III armor, was sent flying by Obadiah Stane's Iron Monger, crashing through a wall on the opposite side.

As Tony struggled to get up, he angrily shouted at the approaching Iron Monger, "Obadiah, why?"

"Why? Because Stark Industries is mine, not yours! You have no idea how much I've sacrificed for this company," Obadiah yelled back, raising the minigun on his right arm and aiming it at Tony.

In the next instant, a barrage of bullets rained down on Iron Man.

Tony quickly dodged as Obadiah swept the area with gunfire. Tony's boots ignited, propelling him directly toward the Iron Monger.

He raised his right hand and fired a repulsor blast at the Iron Monger.

Obadiah sidestepped the attack, grabbed Tony, and slammed him into the ground, shattering the pavement with a loud *crack*.

But it wasn't over yet. The Iron Monger raised its left foot, preparing to stomp on Iron Man. Tony rolled out of the way just in time and fired a chest-mounted unibeam at the Iron Monger, sending it flying back and crushing a car under its weight.

Furious, Obadiah got up and hurled a moving car at Tony. Tony caught the car with both hands, trying to protect the passengers inside.

Terrified, the driver floored the gas pedal, and as Tony set the car down, he got caught under it, leaving him in a very awkward position.

The Iron Monger, seizing the advantage, charged at Tony again. Enraged, Tony scrambled to his feet and charged right back.

While Iron Monger and Iron Man clashed, over a dozen black-and-white armored suits engaged the military forces.

Bullets rained down on the armored suits, including heavy-caliber rounds from vehicle-mounted machine guns and helicopter Gatling guns.

The black-and-white armored suits took to the sky to evade the bullets. Without hesitation, they retaliated, launching a heat-seeking missile from Stark Industries that streaked through the air towards a military helicopter.

Despite the helicopter's desperate attempts to evade, the missile struck its tail rotor. The helicopter spun out of control, crashing into a building with a thunderous explosion. Thick black smoke and flames erupted skyward as countless windows shattered, scattering glass everywhere.

Many inside the building were killed instantly, while others were trapped in the burning floors.

The pilots of the black-and-white suits laughed maniacally and fired missiles at the armored vehicles below. One after another, the vehicles exploded in fiery blasts, leaving the soldiers and agents scrambling to escape the inferno.

"These damned bastards," Coulson muttered, grabbing a rocket launcher and firing at one of the black-and-white suits.

The missile struck its target, causing an explosion that sent the suit plummeting to the ground. Its chest armor was completely deformed, and it lay motionless on the pavement.

"Not so invincible after all," Coulson sighed in relief. The material of the black-and-white suits was significantly inferior to the Mark III or the Iron Monger. To put it simply, the black-and-white suits cost only around 20-30 million dollars, whereas the Mark suits cost hundreds of millions, even billions.

"Kill them!" Enraged by their comrade's downing, the remaining black-and-white suits unleashed a barrage of bullets from their Gatling guns, spraying the area below. The agents and soldiers, unable to withstand the onslaught, retreated into the surrounding buildings.

The black-and-white suits pursued them into the buildings, causing chaos. Innocent civilians inside were caught in the crossfire, their screams of terror echoing as some of the buildings burst into flames.

Although the soldiers and agents didn't intend to cause harm, there was no doubt that civilians were caught in the crossfire.

"Even though this situation didn't go as expected, it seems to work in my favor," Andrew Evans raised an eyebrow, preparing to officially step into action.

He instructed the security downstairs to lock the building's doors.

Rebirth Group's Tower wasn't too close to Stark Tower, so it should remain unaffected by the chaos.

On the highway, a bus full of passengers was flipped over by the Iron Monger. The people inside screamed in terror, and when Tony Stark tried to help, the Iron Monger struck him with a powerful blow, sending him flying.

Tony attempted to lure the Iron Monger into the sky, but the Iron Monger didn't fall for it. Instead, he opened fire on the bus, forcing Tony to come down and fight him directly—or rather, take a beating.

Inside the bus, many were injured, crying out in pain and desperately pleading for help, but no one came to their rescue.

Just as the passengers were about to lose all hope, they suddenly found themselves on a floating island, surrounded by blue skies and white clouds, a stark contrast to the chaos they had just witnessed.

The bewildered passengers looked around and noticed that they weren't alone—there were many others on the island as well, all in varying states of distress. Some were covered in blood, others were charred black.

Only those filled with fear and despair were pulled into this illusionary realm, with a total of around seven hundred people—office workers, injured civilians from the highway, and severely wounded soldiers and agents.

Suddenly, the sky above them lit up with a blinding light.

Instinctively, everyone looked up, only to see a radiant humanoid figure made of fire. They all screamed in pain as their eyes burned, tears streaming down their faces.

No mortal should look directly at a god—a dramatic effect deliberately created by someone.

"You are here because you are on the brink of death," Kira clapped his hands, and everyone's vision was restored. He then spoke in a voice imbued with divine authority, "If you want to survive, sign a contract with me. In return for your life, you will give me your soul after death."

The crowd was stunned. Some tried to speak, but found themselves unable to. At that moment, a contract appeared in front of each of them: "This is the content of the contract. You have two minutes to decide whether or not to sign it.

Whether you sign or not, once you leave this place, you will lose all memory of this encounter."

The crowd was even more shocked as they stared at the contract before them. Most hesitated, but a few, after reading the contract, immediately chose to sign.

The reason was simple—they were on the verge of death. Now that they saw a lifeline, they naturally grabbed it tightly. After all, their souls would only be collected after they died.

Some were influenced by this and chose to sign as well. However, there were also many who refused, either because they didn't trust the suddenly appearing divine being or because they believed they could still be saved, and some were devout believers.

"My soul belongs only to God. If I die, it is because God is calling me," a middle-aged man silently recited. Kira waved his hand, sending him away, then said, "Anyone who wishes to leave may do so at any time. Remember, this opportunity comes only once."

A portion of the people chose to leave, while the remaining were visibly torn and hesitant. As time passed, more and more people signed the contract. By the end of the allotted time, about three hundred had pressed their handprints onto the contract.

"The harvest is decent. Next time, I might try recruiting some salespeople; the results could be even better. As for me, just striking a pose in the sky will suffice," Kira Evans nodded in satisfaction. At that moment, a surge of power flowed into his body from the Rebirth Hell—a reward from the underworld.

"As long as soul contracts are signed and the ownership is clear, my power will increase. This must be what the Ancient One referred to as responsibility," Kira mused. The responsibility of Hell was to ensure that souls have a place to belong.

With a wave of his hand, Kira now his human Andrew form sent everyone out of the illusion. Then, he turned to Howard, Trask, and Wind Demon and commanded, "Start the rescue."