Alaric saw that Tony had lost consciousness and, at the last moment, activated the [Reincarnation] magic.
He had lied to Tony that the spell might fail—how could Alaric possibly make such a mistake?
A white magic ring appeared in Alaric's palm and aimed at Tony.
As Alaric's magic was unleashed, Tony, who was slumped in the chair, slowly began to float.
A black aura of death appeared, wrapping around Tony, growing thicker and denser.
Alaric turned the magic ring in his hand, as if using time magic to reverse the flow of time, and the aura of death on Tony's body began to change.
Little by little, it turned white.
The aura of death transformed into life energy, beginning to reshape Tony's body, to heal and restore it.
The most obvious thing was the large hole in Tony's chest, which gradually closed as it healed.
There were also those incomparably fine metal shrapnel fragments that slowly floated out of Tony's body, then gathered into a ball under Alaric's control.
When all the black aura of death on Tony's body had completely turned white, Tony was as good as new.
Even some of the hidden injuries Tony had accumulated over the years were healed together.
Alaric ended the magic and let Tony fall gently back into the chair.
Judging that it would take Tony some time to wake up, Alaric stood up and left the study.
...
When Tony opened his eyes again, after sinking into darkness, he saw his parents and himself as a child.
He was like an observer, watching everything from his past.
Then he noticed that his parents' eyes, as they looked at him, were full of tenderness and love.
He also saw Potts and how she had always silently stood behind him, solving every hardship in his life.
For the first time, Tony saw, from another perspective, how others treated him and how he treated the people around him who had always waited for him.
He felt sorrow and guilt.
Now he hoped that time could turn back, that he could return to childhood and properly say goodbye to his parents.
To truly appreciate every effort Potts had made.
But did he still have a chance?
Tony was thinking about this when he suddenly realized he was flying rapidly toward the sky.
Everything before him was moving away quickly.
"No."
Tony thought he was going to die and that his soul was ascending to heaven.
"NO!!"
In reality, Tony's eyes snapped open, and he shouted.
Because of the sudden movement, both he and the chair fell backward.
"Ouch!"
"Huh?! Pain? I'm not dead!?"
Tony rubbed the back of his head and quickly realized, rejoicing.
He looked around the familiar room before him and saw that he was still in the study.
He quickly touched his chest and looked down.
"Fuck! What's this with me!?"
Tony was thrilled to discover that the hole in his chest where the reactor used to be had completely disappeared!
And at that moment, Tony felt his body filled with vitality!
As if he were several years younger!
Tony excitedly stood up, swung his fist, and jumped up again and again!
Absolutely certain!
Completely fine!!
He felt like this was the best he'd felt in years!!
"Alaric!!"
Tony called out for Alaric and had already started toward him, when he noticed the reactor on the table, grabbed it, and rushed outside!
From now on, he would no longer need to wear that damned reactor!
"Alaric!!"
"What are you shouting for, quiet down."
Alaric appeared downstairs, holding a bowl of noodles.
"Alaric! My best friend!! You did it! I'm fine!"
Tony ran down the stairs, overjoyed, wanting to hug Alaric.
Then, bam! Tony hit an invisible wall and crouched down holding his nose.
"Hmm… What are you doing!?"
"What do you think? Don't knock me over." Alaric rolled his eyes and went back into the kitchen behind him.
"What's for lunch! I'll have a bowl too!" Tony hurriedly got up and followed him.
At the table, Tony ate the hot noodles with an expression of total satisfaction.
Back then, everything he ate had a bitter taste, and he had no appetite.
Now that his health was restored, he felt his appetite return!
"Thanks this time!" Tony said seriously in gratitude.
"Hmm."
"Good thing your magic worked, or I would've thought I'd gone to heaven."
Tony recalled everything he saw, his expression a little uneasy.
"You think you'd just go to heaven on your own?"
"I don't care if it's hell or heaven, as long as I don't die!"
Tony said carelessly.
"Well, with me around, you really can't die." Alaric nodded.
"Didn't you say it was only a fifty percent chance? I almost died, you know!" Tony looked at Alaric speechlessly.
"That was a lie for you, my success rate is 100%, even if you died, I could bring you back."
Time magic was no joke.
"One hundred percent… You lied to me!?" Tony suddenly stood up, staring at Alaric in disbelief.
"Yes."
"Y… you're too…" Tony was speechless in front of Alaric's righteous expression.
"You went too far!!"
"Alright, you've finished eating, right? Go back after the meal."
"Can you send me back with magic? I want to try that too!" Tony said hopefully.
"Why, don't you need your car?"
"Screw that!" Tony waved his hand grandly.
"You think I still need to drive?"
"… Then I don't care!"
"Alright." Alaric snapped his fingers, and a portal appeared beneath Tony's feet.
"No, wait…"
Tony's face changed, he clearly didn't want to experience teleportation again!
In front of Main Street.
Tony appeared abruptly and fell to the ground.
"Ahh! Damn it!"
Tony held his backside and got up.
Seeing this, he had no choice but to drive back by car.
He opened the door, looked deeply once more at the temple entrance, and sat inside.
Tony had engraved Alaric's kindness deeply in his heart.
...
A few more days passed, and Alaric spent his days peacefully and leisurely.
The only regret was that Jane's paper was still unfinished!
"I don't know what to write." Alaric complained helplessly.
Then that night, a commotion rose again in New York.
Alaric, bored, planned to take a look to see if he needed to intervene.
When he arrived at the scene of the chaos and saw the robots wreaking havoc, he immediately knew what it was about.
The decisive moment of Iron Man II had arrived.
Alaric looked at the robots firing missiles and was just about to deal with them when someone unexpected appeared.
A figure in a black-and-white suit with a hood swung down from a nearby building and kicked a robot that was about to shoot at bystanders.
"This is… Spider-Woman?!"
Alaric stared at the silhouette in confusion.
"And where are the little spiders? The team!"