At first, when Luca felt the heat at his waist, he didn't even realize what was happening.
After all, when Wong handed him that string of amulets, he had only given a casual, offhand explanation.
Since Wong hadn't detected anything useful on Gina, Luca had subconsciously underestimated the sorcerer's competence.
He had just carelessly hung the amulets on his belt, thinking of them as a token gesture.
But now, with every single amulet lighting up at once, Luca felt his blood run cold.
Without thinking, he leaped backward while simultaneously throwing a punch, unleashing a powerful [Chidori Current] into the dim laboratory.
BOOM!
Thunder roared, and lightning blasted equipment and tools flying in every direction.
However, once the lightning dissipated and the crackling of fried electronics died down...
Hajimi's voice rang out from the ceiling speakers.
"Sir, would you like me to turn on the lights?"
Still shaken and unsure, Luca peeked cautiously into the room from the hallway. Seeing no movement for a good while, he hesitantly spoke up.
"Lights on. Hajimi, is there anyone in the lab?"
"Sir, since you last left, no one has entered the laboratory."
As Hajimi responded, the lab lights flickered on rapidly.
Sure enough, aside from the mess caused by Luca's own attack, there was nothing unusual in the room.
"This..."
"Hajimi, get Si Bei down here!"
Five minutes later.
Si Bei stood calmly in front of Luca, having just finished searching the lab. in one hand, he held the glowing amulets; in the other, he dangled a severed mechanical arm.
"Sir, the amulets you gave me are reacting to this."
Looking at the unremarkable mechanical arm, the corner of Luca's mouth twitched.
What Si Bei was holding was the very arm that Justin Hammer had severed with her cloak during the fight with Three-Haro.
The cross-section of the arm was as smooth as a mirror, but otherwise, there was nothing strange about it.
Originally, when Luca was repairing the Three-Haro mech, he had been surprised by Justin Hammer's capabilities. But after Haro's analysis scan, they had concluded it was a clean cut caused by some form of energy attack.
Since the E-Carbon armor lacked the reinforcement of GN Particles at the time, it was slightly vulnerable to energy attacks, so Luca hadn't thought much of it.
He had simply removed the damaged limb and kept it in his lab, thinking he might study it later.
Honestly, keeping it was just a whim. If he hadn't decided to build a temporary arm today, he would have forgotten all about it.
But he never expected...
Her cloak's attack... was it using demonic energy?
Yes, the evidence was undeniable. Luca was now certain that Justin Hammer's red cloak was definitely not a product of technology.
Otherwise, the amulets Wong gave him wouldn't have reacted so violently.
A Demon Cloak? How did a guy like Justin—wait, girl—get involved with demons? Don't tell me her cloak is connected to Mephisto too?
He couldn't help it. Right now, anything even remotely related to demons made Luca instantly think of Mephisto.
Looks like I might need to have a little chat with the heiress of the Hammer family.
Although he had discovered her hidden identity earlier, Luca hadn't bothered to confront her.
Mainly because he didn't see Justin Hammer as a threat—just a small fry.
He already had leverage on her regarding her cooperation with Hydra and collusion with A.I.M., so he could crush her whenever he wanted.
Luca had been so busy lately that he planned to deal with this minor issue once his schedule cleared up. Plus, he didn't want to acquire Hammer Industries right now and inherit a bunch of trouble while Hydra was still running around like headless chickens.
But now that he confirmed she likely had a connection to demons, he couldn't just let her roam free outside his supervision.
"Hajimi, record the energy fluctuations remaining on this severed arm. Notify me immediately if you detect anything similar in the future."
Then, Luca looked at Si Bei, who had scouted the path for him.
"You can go back now. Just leave that here."
"Understood, Sir!"
Si Bei placed the mechanical arm back on the table, then disappeared into a puff of smoke with a poof.
Shadow Clone? That's a convenient ability.
Once Hajimi finished recording the energy signature—which was highly likely form the Hell Dimension—Luca pulled out his [Dehydration Gun]. Without a word, he "sealed" the mechanical arm.
Ever since learning from Wong that the compressed energy of the [Dehydration Gun] might come from the "Hex Dimension," Luca was determined to seal anything demon-related using the gun.
If the "conceptual power" of the System existed on the compressed energy cube, then even Mephisto shouldn't be able to sense what was sealed inside.
And if not?
Then let Mephisto go find the Ancient One! Since the Hex Dimension is under her jurisdiction now, if he has the guts, let him trace me through her!
After mentally cursing the old mage a few more times, Luca stored the cube away and prepared to resume his "Arm Explosion" grand plan.
However, looking at the wrecked laboratory, his face fell.
It's fine, it's fine. Don't get angry. caution is never a mistake! I'm rich now, it's just a little lab equipment...
...F! Justin! Just you wait! I'm putting this on your tab!
For the next few days, Luca completely cut off contact with the outside world.
Aside from taking a call from Wong, he even turned down Tony Stark's invitation to hang out upon his return to New York.
He threw himself wholeheartedly into the cycle of blowing up his current arm, crafting a new Devil Breaker, gathering materials, and synthesizing the next one.
Reasoning that he would likely learn the complete crafting process once he entered the Devil May Cry world, Luca didn't even bother analyzing or gathering data on these newly synthesized arms.
Fortunately, the materials for the next few arms weren't too difficult to find.
Even if he couldn't buy the materials ready-made, with his current capabilities, Luca managed to hand-craft what he needed.
After the [Overture] (2/5), came a mechanical arm called [Gerbera]. In addition to releasing shockwaves, this arm could fire a massive, sustained energy laser after charging up—a very impressive attack.
The 4/5 item was a strange arm called [Helter Skelter]. Calling it an "arm" was a stretch; the whole thing was basically a small drill. Its normal attack just spun the drill forward to cut, but its charged attack unleashed a move that sent Luca spiraling through the air in a frenzied corkscrew charge. It nearly made him throw up last night's dinner.
Finally, using a hodgepodge of "clocks, gears, and miniature force field generators," Luca synthesized the arm known as [Ragtime].
White light flashed before his eyes, and the world began to spin.
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