Chapter 93: The Holy Church of Seafood

“Tony Stark, you will pay for your words and actions! Now, witness my divine power!” After absorbing the flesh and blood of several people, the appearance of this divine envoy changed completely.

Like the cultist Tony had encountered before, tentacles sprouted from his lower body. Yet, his upper half remained shrouded in tattered black robes, and his hands still looked human.

“Hey buddy, do all of you seafood cultists know this trick? The one I dealt with earlier looked just like you,” Tony sneered, eyeing the familiar form before him.

“How dare you blaspheme the holy sect! I shall tear your soul to shreds!” The divine envoy, clearly enraged by Tony’s words, sent all the tentacles beneath him surging toward Tony.

“I’m not into seafood lately.” Tony raised his hand and launched two homing missiles. He had already instructed J.A.R.V.I.S. to lock onto the envoy’s chest and head. To be safe, Tony decided to deliver two precise strikes to the envoy’s weak spots.

The missiles exploded, sending the divine envoy crashing into the walls of the White House. Even this symbol of the American government seemed on the verge of collapse under the assault of Tony’s two missiles.

Seeing the envoy seemingly incapacitated, Tony quickly flew out of the crumbling building and moved to the side of the escaping president.

“Mr. President, you need to get out of here immediately. As for repairs to the White House, I think—” Before Tony could finish, a loud rumble erupted from behind him.

Turning toward the sound, Tony saw a massive black shadow slowly rising from the wreckage of the White House. Its form was growing, now towering three stories high.

“Damn it, get out of here! Are these seafood cultists affected by nuclear radiation or something?” Sensing danger, Tony flew above the ruins and launched an attack at the obviously enlarged monster.

As another battle threatened to erupt, President Don Chuan and his advisors hurriedly evacuated. The general entrusted by Fury successfully reached the president. Their primary mission now was to escort the president onto Air Force One.

The enlarged monster was none other than the previous divine envoy. Now, it appeared even more grotesque and bizarre, completely devoid of any human features. It bore a striking resemblance to the Shuggoth Tony had encountered in the Antarctic space.

But Tony was certain this was not a Shuggoth. For one, it lacked the mental corruption inherent to the Shuggoth, and it did not possess that creature’s fluid, shape-shifting form—just a mass of uncoordinated tentacles.

Remarkably, the monster could still produce a human voice. Its unknown vocal organ directed a furious shout at Tony in the sky: “Damn you, Iron Man! You dared to wound my noble body. You will pay for your actions!”

“I gotta ask—do all you seafood cultists only have this one line? Or have you really become seafood so your brains are just swimming in saltwater?” Tony rolled his eyes, finding the cultists’ repetitive words irritating. He always suspected these cultists weren’t all there mentally, but how else could they have orchestrated such a grand scheme?

“You understand nothing. Only the True God can save us! You arrogant fool, prepare to die!” Countless tentacles shot forth from the monster, but Tony would not let them strike him.

“Judging by your current form, is your faith in a tentacle god or an octopus deity?” Tony dodged the tentacles while firing back with all his weapons, but neither missiles nor lasers could harm the divine envoy in this form.

“Blasphemer! You defile the True God!” The envoy’s strikes quickened, yet they couldn’t match Iron Man’s speed. Instead, it lashed out helplessly, and the White House crumbled entirely under its wrath.

“Good. You have thoroughly enraged the great servant of the gods. I will show you what true fear is.” The divine envoy, unable to fend off Iron Man, stood still, taking hit after hit. Yet, the fury that had clouded its mind suddenly cleared.

Tony was surprised. Since encountering the cult, the members had always seemed arrogant, reckless, and easily provoked into fury, which made them vulnerable. But this envoy had suddenly regained composure, a fact that earned Tony’s grudging admiration.

“Rare indeed—among your seafood cult, there’s someone like you. Or rather, some monster. Ever thought about changing careers? Maybe try being a circus clown?” Tony teased, buying time since none of his weapons were effective anymore.

“Your courage is admirable, human. You have repeatedly provoked our holy sect. Now it’s time for your punishment,” the envoy intoned oddly, as if chanting an unknown incantation. Tony soon felt a threatening aura emanating from him.

“Weren’t you human just before?” Tony asked, perplexed by these monsters who alternated between calling themselves humans and denying it. Didn’t they consider themselves human even when insulting others? Or had they completely rejected that identity?

“You will never comprehend the greatness of the gods. Only devout followers like us receive divine grace, becoming forerunners granted eternal life,” the envoy’s voice burned with fanaticism, which only made Tony more mocking.

“If your ‘eternal life’ means turning into a puddle of slime, I think I can do without that divine grace.” As chairman of the Aesthetics Association, Tony was fed up with cultists’ grotesque transformations. That was also why he was certain these cults were evil—no god would turn their devotees into such hideous beings. Such a god had to be a dark deity.

“Arrogant Iron Man, you know nothing of mortal limitations. You’ve wasted enough words delaying me. Too bad—my goal is achieved. Come forth, Source of Corruption, plunge this city into darkness!” The envoy’s voice sent chills down Tony’s spine. Then he watched as the giant form shrank, transforming from a three-story monster into a small creature barely a meter tall.

“That it? The so-called Source of Corruption is this thing?” Tony chuckled upon seeing the small flower atop the envoy’s head. He had expected some terrifying entity, but it was just a common roadside flower. J.A.R.V.I.S. detected no high energy from it.

“Since that’s the case...” Before the envoy could finish, Tony’s lasers struck him. Previously, the envoy’s massive form had rendered Tony’s weapons ineffective, but now, shrunk down, Tony wasted no time finishing him off.