Marvel: Playing Iron Man, Falling In and Out of Love with Jinx

Four days later.

BANG!!

Dakora's door was kicked open. Duke barged in, unshaven, eyes sunken with dark circles and bloodshot veins crawling across his eyes.

"Dakora, I need alchemical reagents, alchemical fluids, everything you can find, whether it's on the market or not! Bring them all to me!"

"Duke, how long have you gone without sleep?"

Dakora sighed as she finished tying up her hair in front of the vanity. "You can't keep pushing yourself like this. You need rest."

"I'm so close!"

Duke roared like a caged beast. "Just one step away, once I perfect the alchemical fluid that can blend seamlessly with antimagic dust, I can complete the mana circulation system!"

Seeing his haggard face, Dakora sighed and held out a hairpin. "Help me put this in."

"Women are such a hassle!"

Grumbling, Duke took the pin and carefully tucked it into her styled bun from behind.

"You complain, but your hands are surprisingly gentle. Not very honest, are you?"

"I'm your uncle!" Duke rolled his eyes.

"So what?"

"I'm older than you!"

"So what?"

"What will it take for you to get me those reagents and fluids?!" Duke grabbed her shoulders, trying to twist her around.

Dakora, helpless, stared into his exhausted face. "You need to rest first."

"I can't sleep until I finish this!"

"Then sleep anyway!"

Dakora forcefully pushed him out of her room and into guest room 273. Pointing at the bed, she ordered, "Sleep. When you wake up, everything you need will be ready."

"Sigh... fine."

Duke shrugged. "I'll rest. I'm counting on you for the alchemical fluids and reagents."

"Leave it to me. I'll handle everything."

Dakora shut the door behind him. Hearing the snores begin, she rubbed her forehead and sighed.

"Inventors are such a pain to care for."

"You'll get used to it," said Camille, silently appearing behind her. Dakora stiffened and straightened. "Grand-aunt."

Camille handed her a piece of aged wax paper. "Give this to him when he wakes."

She stared at the closed door with a nostalgic expression. "People like Duke, once they're lost in their work, become completely consumed by it. Your role is to support him in every way possible."

"And then... wait for the creation to be born."

"Yes, Grand-aunt."

"I remember when we accidentally created a mana solution while trying to synthesize artificial Hex Crystals. Give him that formula too."

"Then wait patiently for the results to bloom."

"Understood."

Camille's graceful steps faded into the distance, her grey dress sweeping across the ground. As her heel-blades softly clicked against the floor, memories of a certain figure resurfaced in her mind.

He had left her a string of prayer beads, a pair of heel-blades, a blueprint... and a heart that would never age.

And in return, he had taken her real heart.

...

When Duke finally awoke, it was already the afternoon of the next day. With the Super Soldier Serum as his foundation, a deep sleep had completely swept away his fatigue.

"That was the best sleep I've had in ages."

Scratching the back of his neck, Duke sat up just as the door opened and servants filed in with a full meal.

After eating, Dakora finally arrived, lugging a leather case. She set it before him, opened it, and revealed twelve neatly arranged test tubes.

The deep ocean-blue liquid shimmered in Duke's eyes. Dakora handed him the fluid's formula along with Camille's wax-paper blueprint.

"This is a by-product from our experiments in synthesizing artificial Hex Crystals. We call it Hex Solution. It merges seamlessly with mana and achieves the magical circulation effect you need."

"This is exactly what I needed!"

Duke's eyes sparkled. Dakora curled her lips.

"Besides the Hex Solution formula, there's also the blueprint Grand-aunt gave you."

"Camille gave me something?"

Duke retrieved the wax-paper blueprint. The moment his eyes landed on it, he fell into a stunned daze.

It was the schematic for Camille's Hex Core-enhanced heart.

"This is... stunning. Absolutely astonishing. It shatters everything I thought I knew. My designs are ancient compared to this!"

He couldn't believe such a masterpiece had been conceived over sixty years ago, back when technology had barely taken its first steps.

"The designer wasn't just a genius. They were a monster."

"Now that I've delivered everything, if you need anything else, I'll handle it, while I still have time."

"That's all for now."

Duke packed up the blueprint and closed the case. Just as he turned to leave, Dakora stopped him.

"Colin and his daughter from the Colin Workshop, and that blue-haired girl, have been asking nonstop about what you're doing."

"Cover for me a little longer. I'm almost done."

"Also, yesterday, Jayce Talis completed his Hex Crystal presentation. The family plans to invest and support his Hextech development."

"Not my problem."

Duke had zero interest in Jayce's resurgence. If he ranked every male hero he knew, even Viktor interested him more than Jayce.

"Fine, fine, my great inventor."

Dakora shook her head. "Go do your thing."

"Oh, right!"

Duke summoned WALL-E from his inventory and pointed. "Take care of WALL-E for a few days. If you can wear the suit, you can use it."

"Consider it a reward, Dakora."

He smiled, leaving WALL-E staring blankly at Dakora while he hurried away, carrying the case back to his lab.

Dakora eyed WALL-E curiously. "What do you want to do?"

"Go for a ride."

WALL-E answered honestly. Dakora's eyes lit up.

"Let me change real quick!"

A moment later, in a flower pavilion, Camille looked up toward the sky.

A red-blue blur streaked across the horizon, accompanied by the distant shouting of a certain excited girl.

"Ah, children..."

...

Back in the lab, Duke buried himself in his work again. With the new blueprint and Hex Solution, he couldn't stop.

Three days flew by.

Without rest, Duke quenched the final component and assembled the Hex Core-enhanced heart.

Using Camille's schematic as a foundation, he improved it with his own designs, handcrafting every part himself to ensure total secrecy.

Only Dakora and Camille knew what he was building.

The final product was a core device about twice the size of a fist, resembling a star encircled by orbiting rings. Under the influence of the Hex energy field, the outer brass rings hovered and rotated.

"It's done!"

Duke exhaled with joy shimmering in his eyes.

Cradling the Hex Core, he stepped into the adjoining workshop, where a steel frame powered by clockwork tech stood beside the ever-shifting pool of liquid metal.

Mana-infused tubes ran across the frame like veins, carrying Hex Solution laced with antimagic dust. A recess in the chest waited for the Hex Core.

"Time to witness a miracle."

Duke installed the Hex Core. With a soft click, it locked into place. He connected the tubes.

The core hummed. The outer rings spun, feeding mana into the Hex Solution.

The glowing blue liquid flowed like spring water through the tubes.

Duke watched in awe. With a snap of his fingers, he activated the final phase:

Fusion!

The liquid metal flowed like water, coating the frame. Following Duke's pre-set instructions, it filled every gap and wrapped around the skeleton.

In the blink of an eye, a mechanical beast with the head of a dragon stood before him. Its eyes remained closed, but a heartbeat thumped inside. If one listened closely, one could hear the flow of blood.

Mana surged through its veins.

Hextech, alchemy, and clockwork had fused to form its body.

"Awaken."

Duke exhaled a soft blue-tinged breath into the dragon's face. His voice was calm, yet filled with anticipation.

"My first of the Seven Deadly Sins, Pride."

The dragon's eyelids twitched, then opened to reveal a pair of deep sapphire eyes.

"ROAAAAAR!!"

(End of chapter)