"So, you're saying he's actually a good guy?"
Hearing this, Luca nodded with a hint of uncertainty.
Whether judging by the "Judgment" nonsense the guy spouted earlier or his impression of the character from the original comics, Ghost Rider was generally considered a hero.
However, there were two problems. First, this guy had inexplicably popped out of Luca's Hell Gate. Second, he had attacked indiscriminately right off the bat. Luca wasn't exactly keen on just letting him go.
More importantly, Ghost Rider's most famous ability was the "Penance Stare"—the look that kills anyone with a guilty conscience.
If Luca had Si Bei unseal him and the guy decided to be an idiot and hit him with the "Look into my eyes" line... well, Luca didn't consider himself an innocent man.
After hesitating for a moment, Luca said, "This guy's abilities are actually pretty dangerous. Although there's a high probability he's a good guy, I think it's best we don't let him loose just yet."
Hearing this, a look of indescribable weirdness appeared on both Tony and Gwen's faces.
They looked at the man on the ground—trussed up like a mummy in chains, covered in dense, crawling runes, and passed out cold from trying to brute-force the seal earlier.
Then they looked at Luca—who had just casually punched a time-stop barrier into existence, freezing the guy's crackling flames into frame-by-frame slow motion.
neither of them could associate the word "dangerous" with the poor sap on the floor.
At this point, Gwen noticed several other glass cages on the left side of the lab, each holding various bizarre, demon-like creatures. A series of black lines virtually appeared on her forehead.
I think you, the mad scientist, are the dangerous one here!
However, while Gwen was mentally roasting him with a head full of question marks, and Luca was debating what to do with the Ghost Rider, Tony's attention had already drifted elsewhere, recalling the brief battle from moments ago.
"By the way... was that a gravitational distortion field? or a Higgs field effect after decay? Did you warp time? Or was it just pure spatial solidification?"
"I didn't see where the field emitter was. Have you managed to miniaturize it? Or was it a disposable field released via that dimensional compression tech of yours?"
Tony fired off a string of questions. Clearly, compared to the "good guy" who had inexplicably attacked the lab, Tony was far more interested in the deceleration field Luca had just deployed.
Honestly, Tony couldn't be blamed for being so puzzled.
A time-deceleration field was miraculous enough on its own, but what mattered more was the form factor.
Because the [Ragtime] mechanical arm had such a unique design, it wasn't convenient for daily wear. However, its functions were too powerful to leave behind, and Luca worried that if he didn't wear it constantly, he wouldn't have time to swap it out in a crisis.
So, Luca had actually been wearing this mechanical arm as his daily prosthetic.
To hide its appearance, he usually used the [Transformation Watch] to overlay a holographic disguise of "Luca"—essentially transforming into himself, but swapping the arm's model for a standard, realistic prosthetic.
This was why that seemingly ordinary punch had unleashed a time-slowing effect.
Tony hadn't even been able to spot where Luca was hiding the device.
However, since hiding the arm was just for convenience in daily life, Luca didn't intend to keep secrets from Tony on this front.
He immediately deactivated the disguise, revealing the bizarre [Ragtime] arm, which looked like a large mechanical clock face embedded into the limb.
"It's not as complex as you think. The core is a material taken from a demon that mastered time magic. The arm's function is mostly using technology to stably activate the magic within that material."
As he spoke, Luca shook his wrist casually, projecting another small deceleration field nearby.
Watching the electricity arc in slow motion within the spherical field, Tony's eyes lit up. New ideas popped into his head one after another.
"It just activates the corresponding magic? But if it can be released stably, couldn't we simulate it with other means?"
"We've already achieved conversion between electrical energy and basic magical energy. If we can determine the wave value of this time magic and adjust the simulation parameters of the intermediate particles..."
"As long as we can achieve stable time deceleration... particle collision observation, gravitational decay simulation, micro-nano level shielding! We could make breakthrough progress in so many projects!"
In fact, after experimenting day and night with Luca these past few days, although Tony hadn't fully grasped the practice of magic, his theoretical knowledge was already incredibly rich thanks to his genius intellect.
Especially since Luca's existing technology focused on combining tech and magic, the barrier to entry for Tony's research was significantly lower. It was no wonder he was so excited to encounter a field that interested him so much.
Listening to Tony's wild associations, Luca, who had originally only treated the deceleration field as a weapon, got interested as well.
Following Tony's train of thought, he rubbed his chin and said, "Actually, I've considered simulating time deceleration without relying on demon materials. But the deceleration field itself isn't just magic conversion; it involves the arrangement of magic circles and the traction of external elements. I suspect it's because magical energy itself affects the quantum realm more easily. It's like..."
Seeing these two men—who were just worrying about how to handle the Ghost Rider a second ago—suddenly turn around and start discussing "Magic Science" as if no one else was there, Gwen was dumbfounded.
Excuse me?! You two?! We just had an explosion! An attack! An attempted kidnapping?! How are you two chatting so casually in a lab that's basically a pile of rubble??
However, Gwen, who was so full of complaints she didn't know where to start, didn't realize one thing.
This state of affairs was actually the norm for Luca and Tony these past few days.
Learning, arguing, practicing, failing, discussing... even lab explosions weren't a new occurrence today.
It was just that the previous explosions hadn't been big enough to shatter the thick bulletproof glass on the top floor.
Otherwise, given the security level of the Aurantius Tower, there was no way people wouldn't have come to check and protect them after such a huge commotion.
Hajimi, who was already used to the duo's antics, had long since arranged for a large number of repair bots to stand by outside, ready to enter and clean up the mess.
"But... um... guys? This thing seems to be glowing again... Are we really not going to do something about it??!"