Ch.: 13. Story, Back to Hotel, Evacuation, Ultron

The story went like this: *"There was once a city named Sokovia. It was neither rich nor poor, a place where people lived happily and spent their peaceful lives going about their daily chores. One day, wild animals began attacking the city, both day and night. These attacks disrupted the lives of the citizens. Sokovia's ruler called a meeting and, after consulting with the city's prominent figures, decided to increase the number of troops patrolling at night in shifts. The decision was accepted by everyone at the meeting, and the ruler immediately ordered his commander to implement the plan. The commander nodded and beat his chest in salute, promising to fulfill the order within a few hours.

The very next day, Sokovians saw groups of soldiers patrolling outside the city. They were relieved. But one night, a tide of wild animals descended upon the city. Many lives were lost in the attack. The following day, the city's ruler decided to build a wall around the entire city. Many citizens joined the effort, and the wall was completed in a few months. Life returned to normal, and the people were happy again.

However, the ruler was deeply worried. Reports indicated that the city's rations were running out quickly, and nearby villages were demanding food. The city lord refused, citing that Sokovia itself didn't have enough to feed its people. Although there were farms within the walls, the land had been significantly reduced during the wall's construction. Additionally, a lack of rain that year had led to poor crops, which also caused the wild animals to turn toward the city in search of food and water.

One day, some desperate people climbed the city wall to loot the food supplies. The vigilant soldiers managed to repel the attack, but the ruler knew such incidents would only grow more frequent and fierce. Saddened and troubled, the ruler sought guidance from the Sokovian temple priest and requested a grand prayer to seek a solution from the gods. The priest agreed, and preparations for the prayer began.

The following week, a large prayer ceremony was held, with all the citizens of Sokovia participating. Miraculously, the city began to rise from the ground and flew to a place far away. After a day's flight, Sokovia landed in a lush area surrounded by mountains, rivers, and forests. The people rejoiced, finally feeling safe and hopeful again."*

The story ended.

Manav sat in a daze, reflecting on the history of Sokovia, the flying city.

"So Sokovia has a curse to fly in the air?" he muttered to himself.

He put the book back on the table but noticed a white slip of paper in the spot where he had taken the book. His attention had been on the book earlier, so he hadn't seen the paper. Picking it up, he saw Sokovian writing on it, with one word written in English: 'Artifact.'

Manav tossed the paper back onto the table.

"Well, anything can happen in this world. This is the Marvel world, after all. What if there really was an alien device that fell into that Sokovian temple in ancient times?" he said to himself with a touch of sarcasm.

"So, is this old man living in this mine to find that artifact, or what?" he mused, shaking his head.

"Whatever. Let's get out of this room. The stench is starting to get through the gas mask," Manav muttered, stepping toward the door and closing it behind him as he left.

Manav walked deeper into the mine, pondering the artifact. If the old man had spent his life searching for it and died here, the chances of Manav finding it seemed slim.

"But if I could keep the city in the air—neither falling nor flying—maybe even Iron Man couldn't destroy it. I could become the city's lord. But how?" Manav said to himself, thinking aloud.

"Should I put stone blocks beneath the city, where the anti-gravity engines installed by Ultron are located?" he wondered.

"But where would I stand to place the blocks and support the city in mid-air?" Manav paused, staring at the stone wall in front of him.

"Well, as long as the Minecraft power isn't removed, blocks can stay in the air. Let's think about it later. For now, I'll mine these stones to prepare for whatever's needed when the city takes to the skies," he decided, pulling out a stone pickaxe.

Stone blocks began falling as Manav chipped away at the wall.

"Let's fill my chest with stone blocks," he said, focusing on his task.

Manav emerged from the mine, glancing up at the dark sky.

"Looks like I've been down there for a whole day," he said to himself.

Throughout his time in the mine, he had eaten cakes to replenish his hunger bar as he dug for stone blocks.

"Time to head back and sleep," he muttered, making his way toward the city.

After an hour of walking, Manav arrived at the hotel he had checked into earlier. Inside, he found the old man at the counter dozing off.

"Hey, uncle! Give me the room key," Manav said loudly, startling the old man awake.

"Huh? Who comes this late at night? Oh, it's you. Where were you for two days? I thought you'd been kidnapped," the old man said, fully waking up.

Manav was surprised—he thought he had been in the mine for only a day.

"Well, I met some friends, so I was with them. Now give me the room key; I need to sleep," Manav said, making an excuse.

"Here," the old man replied, handing over the key and waving him away dismissively.

Manav shrugged, took the key, and headed upstairs to his room. Entering the room, he closed the door behind him.

"I lost track of time. The good thing is, the Ultron war hasn't started yet," he muttered while preparing to take a bath.

After cleaning up and changing into fresh clothes, Manav drew the curtains and lay down on the bed, falling asleep while lost in thought.

---

The next morning.

Manav was still sleeping peacefully, unaware that the city was being evacuated by the Avengers.

The old man from the hotel was woken by his son, who hurriedly urged him to leave. Together, they informed the remaining customers and cleared out.

"Did you inform all the customers?" the old man asked his son.

"I did, and most of them have already left. Now hurry, get in the car," the son replied, rushing him outside.

"So why is the city being evacuated?" the old man asked as he got into the car.

"I don't know. The Avengers came and said the city would be attacked," the son replied, speeding down the road.

---

The hotel was now empty, but Manav remained in his room, still dreaming sweetly. The son had not thought to check his room, as Manav had come in late.

---

In the church, Iron Man confronted Ultron. A massive drill emerged from underground, and Ultron gestured toward it.

"It's my creation—a device that will be the weapon of extinction," Ultron declared.

"Sir, I can't analyze the machine's workings, but vibranium is used in its construction," AI informed Tony Stark.

"This is how you end, Tony. This is peace in my time," Ultron said with a menacing tone.

Ultron's army of robots began attacking the city as people were evacuated. Tony Stark, receiving the alert, flew off to counter the attack.

As Stark left, Vision descended from above, landing on the church's roof.

"Ultron," Vision said, addressing the machine.

"My Vision. They really did take everything from me," Ultron replied, his voice filled with anger and hatred.

"Alright," Ultron growled, leaping toward Vision and grabbing him by the neck.

Vision quickly countered, placing his hands on Ultron's head and severing his connection to the Earth's internet. For a moment, Ultron was stunned as he was cut off from the network.

When Ultron regained his senses, he angrily punched Vision to the ground. Vision, weakened, lay still as Ultron approached the vibranium-core machine.

"You shut me out of the network? Do I care? You took away my world, now I will take yours," Ultron declared, activating the machine.