Chapter 736: Peril, Thanos, Peril (Part 2) (Patreon)

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Strange and Stark stood frozen in place.

Strange, with his mouth agape, stepped forward and said, "How... How can it be removed? Is it a physical entity? Isn't it supposed to be a ring of energy?"

Schiller casually handed the ring to him. Stark hesitated to take it, but upon closer inspection, he realized that the ring was indeed tangible. The light around it was intense, but it dimmed towards the center, resembling a circular light strip.

Stark took the ring from Schiller's hand, weighing it in his palm. He found it surprisingly light, comparable to Vibranium of similar size.

The ring had no discernible texture; it felt as if it matched the temperature and roughness of one's finger. Though holding it, it felt like holding nothing at all.

"What is this? What did you make it from?" Stark asked, examining the ring. "Its properties are quite miraculous, and the material seems unlike any known metal..."

Schiller cleared his throat and said, "Just a few days ago, I offered a sacrifice to God that pleased Him greatly and asked to visit Heaven, but unfortunately, He declined."

"At that moment, I had to settle for less. I hoped for God's blessing, but He refused that too. Of course, I wouldn't dare ask for more from the greatest and most merciful Savior. Thus, I was granted the status of an Angel."

With a snap of his fingers, the ring returned to Schiller's head. Stark couldn't discern how it moved, nor did he feel it disappearing from his hand.

Schiller again removed the ring from his head and said, "Clearly, I am now a glorious Angel, ranking not far below the seven archangels. God has showered me with praise, hence this special halo..."

Stark and Strange stood still, arms crossed and leaning back, both wearing expressions that read, "Did he skip his medication this morning?"

"If you don't want to tell the truth, you could just keep quiet instead of fabricating such stories," Strange said, shaking his head. "If someone like you could ascend to Heaven, I'd burn my Bible when I get back."

"I haven't been to Heaven," Schiller replied, twirling the ring on his finger. "I only received Heaven's residency and this ring."

Stark, ever the pragmatist, asked, "Alright, setting aside that absurd story, what can this ring do?"

"It can illuminate!"

At that, Schiller demonstrated to Stark and Strange.

Holding the ring, he paused, and then a soft glow filled the entire laboratory, brightening the space.

The ring was not a source of light itself; the glow did not emanate from the ring but appeared evenly throughout the room, making it very bright.

"And what else?" Stark continued.

"Um... it can expand and contract." After saying this, Schiller demonstrated again. The ring instantly grew to the size of a hula hoop, then expanded to half the height of the room.

Then, the ring began to shrink until it was invisible. "Moreover, I can recall it from anywhere, just needing a thought, and it will return to my head."

"Great, anything else?" Strange asked.

"Hmm..." Schiller pondered for a few seconds before replying, "Perhaps, it's incredibly durable."

"Come on, is this the 'Angel halo' God bestowed upon you? Other than being a light bulb, expandable, having an anti-theft feature, and being very durable, it has no other functions?" Stark asked incredulously.

"You're not saying this is something you struggled to acquire, right? Normally, shouldn't such an object have holy light, blessings, or similar abilities?"

After Strange finished speaking, he stepped forward, and Schiller handed him the ring.

Strange examined it and found it truly devoid of other uses. He tried to activate it with magical energy, but the ring absorbed it like a bottomless pit. Whatever energy was put in couldn't be retrieved, and it showed no reaction whatsoever.

Attributes like holy light, healing, and blessings were completely absent. No matter how they tried, the ring remained inert.

Stark and Strange, looking at the ring, were speechless. Stark shook his head, "This is the most useless thing that's appeared on you so far, really."

Strange nodded in agreement.

In their eyes, everything that appeared on Schiller was necessary: the symbiote Grey Mist provided immense mobility and danger prevention, the umbrella was made of magical material and could be used as a weapon and for defense.

But this halo, besides these basic abilities, seemed to have no other use, appearing quite out of place.

Yet, Schiller seemed to quite like this ring.

Strange shook his head, unable to comprehend the madman's thoughts. As for Schiller's story, both Strange and Stark took it as fiction, knowing that when Schiller didn't want to reveal the truth, he would concoct all sorts of outrageous tales – a consensus between them.

"Alright, let's test these few functions you mentioned," Stark said, taking the ring.

At that moment, Bruce Banner walked in, turning to close the door. "Tony, the data you asked for might only be ready next week... Oh, you're all here. What are you doing in here? And why are so many lights on in the laboratory?"

Banner looked around his laboratory, which was much brighter than usual. He smiled and said, "I wish my lab had these conditions. One of the ceiling lights in my lab is broken and still hasn't been fixed."

"It's no problem, Dr. Banner, I'll fix it for you later," Schiller replied, turning his head. Stark snorted and rolled his eyes, saying, "You don't think you can fix a lab's ceiling light just by screwing in a light bulb, do you?"

Schiller glanced at him but said nothing. Banner approached, pointing to the glowing ring in Stark's hand. "What's this? A new invention of yours?"

"It's the crystallized delusion of this psychologist... Forget it, Bruce, you're just in time. Let's test what properties this strange ring really has."

The two physics geniuses huddled together, leaving no room for Strange and Schiller to speak. They quickly conducted a series of experiments and successfully tested the special features of the ring.

The first feature was its ability to emit light. Stark discovered that the ring's glow did not follow physical properties; it could not be refracted but could appear anywhere.

The glow had no source. It simply lit up an area of about 50 meters, like brightening a picture, illuminating all objects within visual range.

No building could block it, and within the area it illuminated, there were no shadows; everything was bright.

The second feature was its ability to enlarge and shrink. This wasn't particularly remarkable except that it changed size very slowly and couldn't be used as a weapon due to its slow expansion.

Its weight changed with its size, but its density couldn't be measured. The limit of its shrinkage was beyond the micro limit observable by humans, so it was impossible to determine how small it could get.

As for the return function, it was just as Strange had said – a theft prevention feature. No matter where the ring was, Schiller could always call it back, ignoring space and environment. However, it would always return to a spot above his head.

Stark conducted other tests and found that the ring would only hover above Schiller's head. If anyone else held it, it wouldn't float above their head, a trait unique to Schiller.

The most crucial aspect was its hardness. None of the metals in Stark's lab, including vibranium, adamantium, molten steel, and other rare and expensive metals, could affect it after collision tests.

Stark attached the ring to a machine which held it from the inside and then began to spin it rapidly. As it approached a piece of adamantium, it sliced through it like butter.

Satisfied, Schiller nodded, "At least, it can be used as a knife, right?"

Stark and Banner shook their heads and sighed. Banner explained, "We have more efficient ways to cut similar metals. Moreover, in today's world, where efficiency is crucial, a material that cannot be mass-produced is meaningless."

Schiller sighed, "Well, it seems that's it."

"Wait, can't it be used as a weapon?" Strange asked.

"That's the odd part of it," Stark said, removing the ring and tossing it away. "Its ability to inflict damage depends on the force with which it's thrown."

"In flight, it doesn't accelerate on its own. Even if we could give it acceleration, why would we? Bullets don't need to be this hard…"

"In short, it's just a brick harder than anything else," Banner concluded astutely.

After multiple expert confirmations, the ring didn't seem to have any particularly special properties. Schiller speculated that these properties might be due to some religious symbolism and the act of crossing worlds.

As they were about to part, Schiller turned to Banner, "Let's go, Dr. Banner. I'm more concerned about the light in your lab and, of course, your mental state. How's your other personality doing?"

"I was just about to talk to you about that. There have been some changes recently, and I'm not sure how to describe them…"

"No problem, let's go to your lab and talk slowly."

Schiller and Banner drove to Banner's lab. Upon entering, Schiller noticed it was indeed dimmer due to one of the ceiling lights being out.

Transforming into Grey Mist, Schiller flew up to fix the light while asking about Banner's mental state. However, the ring still floated above his head in Grey Mist form, a sensation he wasn't yet used to.

As Schiller rose in the form of mist, the ring embedded itself in the ceiling.

With a crack, the ceiling was damaged, and the light Schiller was fixing, along with three others, went out instantly.

Looking at the now darker lab, Schiller rubbed his hands and said apologetically, "Sorry, Dr. Banner, your light might... But no problem..."

He took the ring from above his head and handed it to Banner. "Since this ring broke your light, let it take care of the lighting tonight."

With a snap of his fingers, the lab lit up brightly.

After Schiller left the room, Banner, holding the ring, shook his head in confusion.

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Next Chapter>>Chapter 737: Peril, Thanos, Peril (Part 2)