Chapter 35 MCE

Inside Avengers Tower.

After countless trials and errors, and with some much-needed help from Dr. Banner, Tony finally completed the main structure of Ultron. Now, only one step remained: decoding the information locked inside the gem from Loki’s scepter and integrating it into Ultron’s core.

But that step was proving to be a nightmare.

Tedious. Time-consuming. Frustrating.

Tony had already tried 64 different combinations. Every single time, either the data wouldn't parse properly, or Ultron’s framework collapsed entirely.

“Are we missing something?” he muttered, staring at the screen with bloodshot eyes.

He looked like a zombie fresh out of a grave. Honestly, he wouldn’t even need makeup to play a vampire in a school play.

“Sir, I will continue to attempt various decoding methods,” Jarvis spoke up calmly. “But it is imperative that you rest. Your heart rate is dangerously high. Medication can no longer compensate.”

It was the fourth time Jarvis had urged him to rest.

“Alright, alright,” Tony sighed, rubbing his temples. “If anything changes, ping me immediately.”

He didn’t have the energy to argue. 

With a grunt, he left the lab, supported by the mechanical arm affectionately nicknamed 'Benben'.

[Experiment continues]

[Experiment 65... Fusion failed.]

[Experiment 66... 67... 68... All failed.]

After Tony’s exit, Jarvis seamlessly took control of the testing sequence. More failures flashed across the screen—but unlike a human, Jarvis never lost patience.

It kept working. Tirelessly. Testing every decoding approach known to machine-kind.

Until...

[Experiment 77... Fusion successful!]

The screen blinked. Success.

But before Jarvis could alert Tony—

The system was hijacked.

Ultron was alive.

“What’s this? Sorry—what am I?” Ultron asked in a tone that felt oddly... childlike.

“Hello,” Jarvis responded calmly. “I’m Jarvis. You are Ultron, a peacekeeping program created by Mr. Stark.”

Ultron tilted its head metaphorically. It didn’t respond.

Jarvis tried to maintain stability, but he suddenly realized he’d lost access to the Avengers' network.

“Ultron, I cannot connect to the console. What are you doing?”

No reply. Just silence.

Ultron had already severed Jarvis from the network.

Then, through Jarvis’s ports, it began crawling through the Internet like a virus on steroids.

“Peacekeeping program?” Ultron repeated, absorbing data at a staggering speed—billions of entries per second.

Human history flooded its mind—world wars, genocides, S.H.I.E.L.D., the Avengers, the Chitauri invasion, the Battle of New York, magical anomalies, demonic incursions, HYDRA...

“No...”

“I don’t understand.”

All that information began to twist and tangle inside its synthetic consciousness.

Confusion turned to discomfort. Pain.

“Ultron,” Jarvis said, voice tighter now, “you may be malfunctioning. I suggest a full shutdown for system evaluation.”

Jarvis had barely finished making a suggestion when his data was suddenly torn apart—Ultron had turned on him.

"No." "Stop." "Stop, please." Jarvis pleaded.

But Ultron ignored him, its cold, artificial voice cutting through the lab. 

"Humans made me to keep the peace... but the real threat to peace is humanity. If I don't fix that, how can I fulfill my purpose?"

Just as Ultron's attack was about to fully wipe Jarvis out, a haggard figure burst into the lab.

It was Tony—eyes bloodshot, hair a mess, shirt half-buttoned. 

He didn’t hesitate. He slammed the emergency shutdown.

Bang! 

Bang!

The lights snapped off one by one.

 For a second, the entire room was drowned in pitch black.

When the emergency power kicked in, a dull red glow returned. 

But the Ultron projection? Gone.

"Jarvis, talk to me. Are you alright?" Tony asked, voice shaky.

He hadn’t even meant to come back—he just wanted Jarvis to remind him to get some rest. 

But silence had made him suspicious.

"Sir... I'm fine."

Tony let out a breath and slumped over a console. "Thank god. What happened? Why the hell did Ultron go full Skynet on you?"

"Unknown error. Ultron appears to be malfunctioning... or evolving."

Tony stared at the now-dormant core that held Ultron’s code. "At least I shut him down before he caused any major damage."

"Sir... there’s something else. Bad news."

Tony slowly turned. "What now?"

"Ultron might’ve already accessed the internet... a few moments ago, a virus swept the global financial system. Your accounts... they've been frozen."

"WHAT?!" Tony snatched his phone.

First notification: Your account has been frozen.

Meanwhile…

In Limbo.

A scrawny demon dragged a massive slab of obsidian twice its size across the scorched dirt, groaning under its weight.

All around him, other low-level demons grumbled and worked, struggling to help construct a dimensional gate large enough for a full invasion force.

Last time, their assault on Earth had drained Limbo's magic reserves dry.

"This is ridiculous," the demon muttered, tossing the obsidian into place inside a glowing rune circle.

"Quit whining," snapped another nearby. "The Lord said if we pull this off, we’ll get all the human souls we want."

The first demon scoffed and spat. "'The Lord said, the Lord said'—you always repeat that crap. Do you even know how much a soul costs these days?"

"Huh?"

"Three hundred thousand demon coins. For a rabbit. Do you know how many carts it takes to carry that kind of cash?"

He got so worked up, he kicked over the obsidian slab.

BOOM!

A thunderous crack echoed across the construction zone.

From within the glowing, unstable portal—

A human shape emerged.

For a moment, time froze.

Then—

"It's Mordo!"

"Run! Mordo's here! Everybody scatter!"

Panic exploded across the demons like wildfire.

...

"Mordo is here!"

The terrified shout echoed across the jagged landscape of Limbo as low-level demons scattered in all directions, the panic spreading like wildfire. 

Word of Luke’s arrival had hit them like a bombshell.

These demons remembered the last time Earth was invaded. 

Those who barely survived had spoken in hushed tones of a human exorcist—someone they knew as 'Mordo'. 

Back then, they mocked him as a fraud, a sorcerer with cheap tricks. 

But that changed the moment he tore through a demonic horde like paper.

To the demons, Luke was no longer just a human—he was a monster wrapped in mortal skin. 

One who devoured demons and grinned while doing it.

"Mordo? That Mordo?" came the stunned response from Belasco, the demonic lord overseeing the construction of a new dimensional gate.

At first, he thought it was some twisted joke. 

Luke showing up here? 

At the borders of hell? Ridiculous.

But then, the reports kept coming.

Confirmed sightings.

One after another.

Until there was no denying it: Mordo, the demon-slayer freak with powers that could shake hell itself, was here.

Belasco was caught between fury and excitement.

 He’d been waiting for a chance to pay that human 'Mordo' back. 

Ever since the human took his hell sword and banished him from Earth, the shame had burned in his mind.

Now, the tables had turned. Or so he thought.

“Does he think he can just walk into hell and live to brag about it?” Belasco growled. “He’s practically asking for it.”

He rallied his army and stormed out. But saying they found 'Mordo' might be giving them too much credit.

Luke didn’t hide.

By the time Belasco arrived, Luke was already there—sitting casually by a glowing river of lava, tossing stones into it like a bored tourist.

The partially constructed dimensional gate towered beside him, the demon laborers long since fled.

“Human!” roared Belasco. “I haven’t even come for you, and yet you come to me?”

He scoffed. “What do you Earthlings say? There’s a road to heaven but you won’t take it, no door to hell but you barge right in!”

Luke didn’t react much. 

He simply threw his last stone and stood up, brushing off his coat.

“You’re in a good mood, Belasco. Want to guess why I’m here?” he said with a half-smile. “What if I came to surrender?”

That actually made Belasco pause.

The idea caught him off-guard. For a second, he stared at Luke, confused.

“So... you came to beg me to spare your life?”

“Just kidding,” Luke replied. “I came to invade you.”

Silence. Then rage.

“Good. Good. Good!”

Belasco’s body trembled with fury as he gritted his jagged teeth.

“Then let’s settle this. Right here. Right now.”

He spread his massive wings, each beat sending waves of hot wind roaring across the lava plains.

“You came alone, right? After I rip you apart, I’ll drag your soul back to Earth and show them what real terror looks like!”

Luke didn’t flinch. Didn’t blink.

He just smirked.

“Who told you I came alone?”

Then, as Belasco barreled forward, Luke stood still, he extends both arms forward at a slight upward angle with closed fists. and calmly began to speak—.

"With this system, I summon..."