Chapter Sixty-Nine: The Maelstrom of Chaos (Seeking Recommendations)

Bang! A massive piece of chest armor was flung out, crashing heavily onto the ground.

Immediately after, Tony staggered out from the chest of the Anti-Jayce Armor, sparks flickering across the surface of Mark II.

Too much energy was no good either; the internal energy had burned through the circuits and protective systems, even affecting the central core compartment.

"Jarvis, record this. Remind me to always carry an extra blank compressed battery in the future," Tony said, holding his head.

"Sir, based on calculations, adding a blank battery sufficient to store the highest energy peak from your combat records would result in the armor being overweight. You will need to redesign the suit," Jarvis replied mechanically. The recent energy spike had exceeded two hundred percent of the maximum.

"Then remind me that Anti-Jayce Armor Mark II needs increased energy storage and rapid-release modules," Tony said, shaking his head. Once he regained his composure, he didn’t even glance at the wreckage worth hundreds of millions beneath him. His thrusters flared, and he soared up to a nearby high-rise.

Their battlefield wasn’t in the city center but rather on the outskirts, and with the ferocity of the fight, there had long been no one left nearby.

He didn’t hurt me, I didn’t hurt him—let’s call it a draw this time, Tony consoled himself. Two opponents, one down, one to go. As long as he could defeat the remaining one, he could consider his objective barely achieved.

Anti-Viktor Armor! Launch!

This time, Tony equipped his armor in advance. Viktor was even less likely than Jayce to give him a chance to prepare; if he tried suiting up in front of him, he’d probably be instantly swept away by a death ray.

"Viktor!"

Having shaken off Tony, Jayce rushed to the scene, roaring at Viktor who stood waiting in calm readiness.

It was as if he wanted to vent all the bitterness he’d endured over the past month in that single shout.

"I’ve been waiting for you," Viktor replied, his tone utterly flat.

Jayce was infuriated by Viktor’s expressionless face, but as soon as he raised the firing barrel of the Mercury Hammer, several black dots sprang from his body.

The black dots rapidly unfurled, enveloping Jayce in a chaotic gravitational field that shifted every second, testing the limits of his physical endurance.

Lightning Domain!

Struggling against the overwhelming gravity, Jayce unleashed surging currents, beginning to construct an electromagnetic field around himself.

The field, distorted by the gravitational chaos, formed only in fragments. Yet the effect was mutual—the gravity field was also disrupted.

Once the gravitational suppression faltered, its effect diminished greatly. Jayce swung his hammer, smashing the nearby gravity generators to pieces.

Viktor had expected as much. If Jayce could be restrained by a few gravity fields, he would hardly deserve to be called one of the two great prodigies of the Hextech Research Institute.

"Jayce, humanity has limits. In my brief scientific career, I’ve learned one thing: the more you pursue precision and repeatability, the more you realize humanity’s limits! So, embrace machinery! Embrace glorious evolution!"

"You’re insane." Jayce suddenly grew calm, aiming the hammer’s barrel at Viktor below. The electromagnetic acceleration array spun to life, loading compressed energy rounds with a hiss and ejecting spent casings to the side.

"Surge of Power!"

"Chaos Storm!"

Energy built to its limit at the Mercury Hammer’s muzzle. This time, instead of discrete plasma shots, a continuous, powerful energy beam burst forth!

Compared to Jayce, Viktor’s attack had a much subtler windup—just a singularity generator released from the side of his mechanical arm.

Energized, the singularity became the eye of a terrifying chaotic storm, shredding earth, electricity, air, and everything else in its path.

Jayce’s attack was no exception. As the energy beam entered the storm, it was twisted and torn apart, its connected energy units reduced to nothing and swallowed by the singularity.

Moreover, the singularity’s range kept expanding, even faster than Viktor had calculated.

"Jayce! Join me! Join the march of glorious evolution!" Viktor called up to Jayce on the rooftop.

Jayce didn’t reply. He simply shoved all his remaining compressed energy rounds into the Mercury Hammer, increasing both the quantity and caliber.

Everything has a limit. With enough firepower, nothing is indestructible!

A thousand meters above, Tony had been observing for some time. The duel below was fair—he couldn’t interfere.

In truth, Tony had long since been spotted; his armor’s outer shell was made from a material similar to tempered glass, offering excellent defense against lasers but providing virtually no stealth.

Suddenly, Tony dropped abruptly as his thrusters flared wider in a struggle to regain stability.

"Sir, the force beneath you is increasing. I suggest you evacuate immediately," Jarvis advised.

The singularity’s pull from Viktor had surged, and there was no sign of it stopping.

In just a second or two of hesitation, Tony was already caught in the gravitational field, unable to break free.

On the ground, Jayce’s feet had sunk into the concrete, yet his body was still being drawn toward the singularity as the entire building began to tilt.

Viktor wasn’t faring much better. Sparks flew from his right mechanical arm—Jayce had overcharged the singularity, pushing it beyond Viktor’s control threshold. The singularity was teetering on the brink of chaos.

Eject the compressed rounds!

Jayce expelled the spent rounds from the Mercury Hammer, cutting off the energy supply to the cannon. Clinging to the wall, he found himself too close to the singularity, the pull nearly impossible to resist.

Anti-Viktor Armor—jettison!

High above, Tony shed his armor shell entirely, letting it be sucked into the growing chaos below.

Freed from the extra weight, Tony’s suit thrusters blazed at full power, clawing him inch by inch out of the gravitational field.

Viktor’s mind raced. If he didn’t act soon, the singularity’s pull would spiral out of control within a minute, engulfing even the safe zones he’d designated. He, being closest, would be the first to be sucked in and torn apart.

Thud!

Just as the situation threatened to spiral beyond control, a stone-like object suddenly plummeted from the sky, crashing into the heart of the chaotic storm and shattering the singularity generator to pieces.