"Where exactly is this place?" Thor muttered, standing up amidst the scorched earth. The God of Thunder tightened his grip on Mjolnir, completely shocked by the apocalyptic scene unfolding before his eyes.
"What the hell is going on here?" he wondered aloud. "Why are there so many demons crawling around? Is that old boy Heimdall going blind in his old age?"
"He couldn't have missed Earth completely and dropped me straight into Hell, could he?" Thor grumbled to himself.
"Thor! Long time no see!" a familiar voice called out through the chaos.
Hearing that particular tone, Thor's hand subconsciously tightened its grip around the handle of his hammer.
"Ethan Hunt. What a coincidence," Thor said, forcing a strained smile. He instinctively shifted his stance, subtly trying to hide Mjolnir behind his back. "Did you also decide to take a midnight stroll through Hell?"
"What Hell?" Ethan replied, his lip curling into a wry smirk. "This is Earth. Hell just decided to launch a full-scale invasion."
"I honestly thought you noticed the spatial disturbance and came down here to help us out," Ethan added.
"I originally came here to handle some personal matters," Thor admitted. "But that is not important right now. Let us settle this invasion first."
"That light earlier... that was the Bifrost," Roarke realized, his demonic eyes narrowing. "Which means you are an Asgardian."
"I am Thor, the God of Thunder, Crown Prince of Asgard, and the future ruler of the Nine Realms," Thor announced grandly.
He pointed Mjolnir directly at Roarke, his gaze turning icy. "Devil from Hell, get off the Earth immediately, or you will be forced to face the wrath of my thunder."
No matter what the people of Earth might think, the Asgardians firmly believed that Midgard was an inseparable part of the Nine Realms. It was considered the sacred and inviolable territory of Asgard.
Hell had maliciously taken advantage of the recent period when Asgard was busy suppressing localized rebellions. By extending its demonic claws toward Earth twice, the realm of Hell was making a naked, unforgivable provocation.
It was as if the demons thought Odin could no longer wield his spear, Gungnir. Or perhaps they simply felt that Mjolnir wasn't hitting hard enough these days to command respect.
"Tell me, Thor, where exactly is your grand Asgardian army?" Roarke hesitated for a brief moment before finally asking the pressing question.
"To deal with someone like you, I alone am more than enough," Thor bluffed, though his eyes flickered nervously.
The truth was, he had come down to Earth in secret to search for his missing girlfriend, Jane Foster, so he was naturally entirely alone. Even if Heimdall was actively watching this chaotic scene unfold right now, it was logistically impossible to mobilize and deploy the Einherjar so quickly.
Furthermore, the recent turmoil across the Nine Realms had only just been quelled. Initiating a massive, multi-realm war against Hell just days after Asgard had finally found peace was the absolute last thing Thor wanted to see.
"Is that so? Then let us test that theory," Roarke said in a chilling tone.
Realizing that Thor was completely without backup, the demon felt a massive wave of relief wash over him. Although Roarke genuinely did not want to make a permanent enemy out of Asgard, did he really have any other choice at this point?
If he retreated back to Hell empty-handed now, Mephisto would undoubtedly execute him for treason. Therefore, his best option was to go all in and risk everything on this battle.
He would lay all his capital on the table. If he lost, it was game over, but if he won, he would bring his newly harvested souls back to Hell to challenge Mephisto's throne.
What's more, the tactical situation hadn't actually changed that drastically. Compared to just a few minutes ago, the enemy forces had only gained one extra person and a magical hammer.
Even with a legendary weapon in play, how could two mortals and an isolated prince possibly turn the tide against an infinite legion?
"Kill them all, my loyal fighters! Their flesh and souls are my gifts to you!" Roarke commanded.
As soon as his voice echoed across the ruins, the demonic horde roared with unrestrained excitement. For the mindless beasts, the math was incredibly simple: warm flesh plus a human soul equaled an irresistible feast.
Meanwhile, the higher-tier devils among the ranks hung back, greedy intelligence flashing in their glowing eyes. These elite subordinates of Roarke were too cunning to foolishly rush the front lines like common cannon fodder.
Watching the seemingly endless tide of demons rushing toward them, Thor did not hesitate for a single second. He raised Mjolnir high above his head and roared out a mighty battle cry.
"I am Thor, the God of Thunder! For the glory of Asgard!"
A violent, earth-shattering peal of thunder answered his call. Under the mystical influence of Mjolnir, the electrical activity within the dark clouds surged with terrifying violence.
Looking up, it appeared as though an entire, roiling sea of pure lightning had been suspended in the sky. Thor essentially opened the floodgates at the bottom of this electrical ocean.
He directed the cascading energy, causing countless jagged bolts of lightning to rain down and ruthlessly bombard the charging demon army.
On the other side of the battlefield, Ethan Hunt looked up at the electrical storm, his eyes reflecting the brilliant flashes of light. He raised his hand toward the sky and made a sharp, pulling motion downward.
By manipulating the electromagnetic vectors and atmospheric pressure, Ethan forcibly dragged the entire sea of lightning down to an altitude of barely a hundred meters.
This terrifying display demonstrated his absolute, scientific mastery over both wind vectors and localized electromagnetism.
With a deafening boom, the condensed electromagnetic energy poured down upon the battlefield like a catastrophic flood.
The concentrated lightning bolts moved as if they were living, electrical dragons, wreaking absolute havoc among the demonic ranks. The sheer voltage instantly superheated the air, burning the weaker, fragile demons to piles of ash in a microsecond.
"You can control the lightning as well?" Thor asked, looking at Ethan with genuine surprise.
He recalled seeing the mortal use some minor electrical tricks during a previous encounter, but it had been absolutely nothing compared to the raw power of a true god. Yet, in just a short period of time, Ethan's abilities had evolved drastically.
By manipulating the flow of electrons, Ethan's control over the localized lightning had reached a terrifying level that even the God of Thunder could no longer simply ignore.
The emotions swirling in Thor's heart at this moment were incredibly complicated and frustrating. On one hand, having a highly capable comrade-in-arms during a demonic invasion was undeniably a good thing.
On the other hand, the prince still vividly remembered that this mortal actually possessed a hammer that hit harder than Mjolnir. Thor, who was incredibly proud, absolutely did not want to lose face in his own domain of expertise.
Full of petty grievances, Thor could only swing Mjolnir harder and faster at the approaching enemies, violently venting his inner depression on the demons.
"Whether it is summoning lightning or swinging a hammer, I was obviously doing it first," Thor whispered bitterly to himself. "So why in the Nine Realms did you suddenly become so incredibly proficient at it?"
Meanwhile, Roarke's expression had turned significantly uglier than Thor's. It was painfully obvious that the demon lord had drastically underestimated the combined combat power of these two individuals.
By joining forces to attract and weaponize the storm, Ethan and Thor were currently tearing through the demon army as easily as walking through an empty field.
"Useless trash! I suppose I will have to handle this personally," Roarke snorted coldly. The ancient demon immediately turned around and plunged his physical body straight into the roaring magma waterfall.
The very next moment, the entire cascade of molten rock began to tremble violently. A gargantuan hand made of superheated, cooling magma stretched out from the fiery waterfall, grabbing the edge of the dimensional rift.
This was quickly followed by the emergence of a truly ferocious, horned demonic head and a pair of massive, leathery bat wings.
Roarke had transformed into a towering giant demon, standing over thirty meters tall. In terms of physical appearance, he looked remarkably similar to Mephisto's true form, though his raw mystical power was still substantially inferior to the Lord of Hell.
"Die, you miserable ants!" Roarke bellowed, his voice shaking the earth.
With a massive sweep of his arm that physically tore through the sea of lightning, Roarke clenched his molten fist and smashed it downward, aiming directly to crush Ethan and Thor into paste.
Boom! The devastating impact sent shockwaves through the ruins, but the giant fist was abruptly halted in mid-air. Ethan had raised his slender arms, manipulating the kinetic force vectors to perfectly negate the momentum of a fist larger than a house.
Remaining completely calm and composed, Ethan flashed a mocking smile at the towering demon. "I am sorry, but your kinetic output is still far behind what I can deflect."
Taking advantage of the block, Thor had already launched himself high into the air. Under the mystical attraction of Mjolnir, countless streams of raw lightning rapidly converged, completely enveloping the Asgardian prince in blinding energy.
"Feel the thunder!" Thor roared furiously at the top of his lungs.
He swung Mjolnir with all his godly might, smashing the hammer directly down onto Roarke's extended, magma-covered arm with the force of an endless electrical storm.
A massive explosion of superheated magma chunks went flying in every direction. Unable to withstand the terrible concussive force and concentrated lightning, Roarke's massive arm was easily blown clean off his body.
"Get away from me!" Roarke growled in absolute agony. Enduring the severe pain, the giant demon swung his remaining hand in a wide, desperate backhand arc.
The massive slap connected, swatting Thor out of the sky with such overwhelming force that Mjolnir actually slipped from his grip. The legendary hammer tumbled through the air and crashed heavily into the dirt, landing directly in front of Ethan.
Ethan silently glanced down at the legendary hammer resting at his feet. After a brief moment of consideration, he ultimately decided not to touch the weapon.
He knew from personal experience that the raw power generated by wielding that specific hammer was far too terrifying to casually unleash. The last time Ethan had swung a hammer with his vector manipulation, he had completely shattered a mirror dimension created by the Ancient One herself.
If he applied that same level of exponential kinetic amplification to Mjolnir here on Earth, a single strike would likely wipe half of Eastern Europe off the map.
As far as the current tactical situation was concerned, a desperate demon like Roarke was simply not worth paying such a catastrophic collateral price.
Further down the battlefield, while Thor recovered and engaged fiercely with Roarke once more, the armored Coulson and Father Moreau were locked in a desperate back-and-forth struggle with a smaller flanking group of demons.
Meanwhile, Johnny Blaze could only stand helplessly by the sidelines and watch the carnage unfold. As an ordinary mortal man once again, his standard-issue submachine gun was completely useless against these supernatural beasts.
He had spent years bitterly hating himself for being burdened with the uncontrollable curse of the Ghost Rider. Ironically, as he watched his allies fight for their lives, he now hated himself even more for being completely powerless to help them.
Johnny's heart pounded with extreme anxiety, completely consumed by an overwhelming sense of powerlessness. Just as despair began to set in, Luna, who was standing quietly beside him, suddenly spoke up.
"Tell me, boy," Luna asked softly, her eyes glinting with an ancient, calculating light. "Do you truly desire power?"