Because of the influence of the AllSpark, more and more Decepticon mechanical lifeforms were turning into Autobots.
Even the most conservative estimates placed their numbers in the millions—far beyond the forces General Ross commanded.
Unprecedented despair pressed down on the shoulders of these young soldiers.
They roared from the depths of their throats, unleashing torrents of bullets in a desperate attempt to fight back.
The result was all too obvious.
The gap in power was far too great.
Bullets striking mechanical bodies were nothing more than tickles.
This was a battle with no suspense.
Tony Stark stood watching as the streets ran red with rivers of blood, his heart tangled with a storm of emotions.
Yes, Senju Haruto had done similar things before, but back then the targets were the Ten Rings, terrorists scattered across the Middle East.
What Haruto did in those moments looked almost like justice.
But now…
Now the ones he was slaughtering were young soldiers.
Warriors of this country.
The so-called army of justice.
The most unyielding guardians this planet had.
"Enough, Haruto."
Stark stepped toward him, voice low and heavy, hoping he would stop.
Haruto had already shown unimaginable power.
Those soldiers would never dare to raise their weapons against him again.
"Not enough."
Haruto's tone mirrored Stark's.
Stark's face twisted with discomfort. His right hand trembled as he hesitated at the edge of an impossible choice.
No matter what, Haruto was the man who had once saved him. Stark had no desire to hurt him.
But the carnage before his eyes was impossible to accept.
Torn in half by the choice, Stark's thoughts drifted to using the last traces of energy in his reactor—to strike Haruto by surprise.
"Stark," Haruto said suddenly, still facing away from him. "Would you hand over your technology?"
"What?"
Stark froze, his hand hanging midair. His expression faltered.
Technology?
Hand it over?
To who?
"The reactor. The Iron Man suit. Whether you admit it or not, they're extraordinary weapons. Do you think the Defense Department will just sit quietly by?"
"No, they won't. They're among the most power-hungry people in the world. They'll invoke national security, pull every string they can, and force you to hand those things over."
Haruto spoke without hesitation.
It was, in truth, nothing more than the plot of Iron Man 2—the usual game of the Defense Department.
Right now, Stark was still reeling, unable to understand how Haruto had transformed piles of scrap metal into living machines.
But Stark was one of the sharpest minds alive. Even if he didn't immediately connect the dots, all he needed was the barest nudge to see where the trail led.
And he understood instantly—Haruto wasn't bluffing.
This was very likely a problem he would face one day.
But if he chose to compromise…
He would no longer be Tony Stark.
"If those bastards think they can rip my tech from my hands, the sun will have to rise in the west first."
Stark's voice brimmed with absolute confidence, as though daring the Defense Department to try.
"So am I."
Haruto nodded, then finally turned toward him. His lips curved into a faint smile.
"The power I hold will never be handed over to you humans either. That's why it's necessary to shatter your fantasies from the very beginning.
"And besides… haven't you underestimated me a little?"
Haruto's eyes gleamed with the look of someone who had already seen through Stark's plan. He traced a circle in the air with his finger.
At once, a ring of fire appeared beneath Stark's feet.
The concrete beneath him vanished, replaced by the interior of Stark Industries' arc reactor facility.
Before Stark had time to react, his body dropped into freefall.
He tried to muster his last reserves of energy, but the fiery circle closed above his head, shrinking and vanishing from sight in the blink of an eye.
He struggled upward, but it was too late. His suit's energy reserves were below three percent, the faint light beneath his boots sputtering out.
His body plummeted again.
"Damn it—!" Stark cursed, forced to fire off tiny bursts of power in staggered intervals to slow his descent.
Boom!
He crashed against the ground with a thunderous impact, carving out a shallow crater.
Luckily, the final energy bursts had cushioned the fall, and the armor absorbed the rest. He wasn't seriously hurt—
But the pain was still very real.
"Haruto…"
Stark muttered the name, realizing this was no accident.
Haruto had calculated every variable, sending him somewhere else without letting him come to real harm.
"Where the hell am I…"
He removed his helmet, scanning his surroundings—
Only to see several familiar faces.
Agent Coulson of the Department With the Ridiculously Long Name.
Pepper Potts, his assistant.
For reasons he couldn't quite name, seeing them again filled Stark with an unexpected calm.
"Tony!"
Pepper rushed to him, checking him over frantically.
Coulson crouched low. "Mr. Stark, do you know what happened? Just moments ago, our cars, our smartphones—they all transformed into humanoid machines. What in the world is going on?"
He asked without hesitation, though his mind had already pieced together part of the truth.
This was almost certainly connected to the man who had saved Stark.
But asking Stark directly was the only way to confirm more details.
"What's going on?"
Stark let out a bitter laugh. If only someone could come and tell him the answer.
"I hate to use the word god, but make no mistake—the power that man holds is already dangerously close to it."
His words dripped with frustration.
He had seen it clearly: before becoming a steel tide, every one of those constructs had been nothing more than ordinary machines.
In a single instant, Haruto could create millions of mechanical soldiers.
A Mechanical War God.
That was the only title that fit.
And worse—Stark had no idea how such power could ever be restrained.
Throughout human history, no matter the disaster or crisis, humanity had always found the courage to face it head-on—sometimes even to triumph.
The song of courage was humanity's anthem.
But this time… facing Haruto…
The only hope Stark could think of was praying Haruto never chose to become mankind's enemy.
And the most terrifying thought of all—
If any machine could be awakened by him…
Would that include the Iron Man suits?
Even nuclear warheads?
"We'd better pray he has no interest in destroying the world," Stark muttered darkly, bitterness lacing his voice.
Or perhaps… he needed a suit of armor that wasn't made of metal at all.