Several days earlier.
"I want..." Hermione's voice was slow, deliberate. "The Bifrost."
Her eyes flashed with something feral.
"Absolutely not."
Loki didn't hesitate. Not even for a second.
The Bifrost was Asgard's foundation—its deterrent second only to Odin himself. In some ways, more terrifying than the All-Father. Loki had let the Frost Giants in to justify wiping them out, not to commit actual treason.
And even if he agreed, Odin never would.
Hermione knew he'd refuse. She also knew that even if he handed it over, she couldn't exactly haul the damn thing back to Earth in her pocket.
"Relax. I can't take the Bifrost." She paused, letting the silence stretch. "I just need to use it."
Another beat.
"To destroy Jotunheim."
Loki's smirk died on his face. He stared at her like she'd just sprouted a second head.
Suddenly, he regretted everything.
He'd thought he was insane. Turns out this Midgardian witch made him look like a cautious accountant.
Hermione read his expression like a children's book and smiled sweetly.
"No rush. Take your time thinking it over."
She pulled a crystal orb from her robes and set it on the table between them.
"But before you decide, you should probably watch this."
Loki frowned at the orb. Inside—nothing. Just blank mist.
"What is it?"
"Some... interesting footage."
Hermione reached up, fingers brushing her temple. Glowing white threads—memories—pulled free from her mind and drifted into the orb.
The crystal rippled. Images began to form.
Loki leaned closer, curious. Then his expression shifted. Confusion. Disbelief.
Horror.
He saw—
He saw things that made his blood run cold.
Present.
"Pleasure doing business."
Hermione brushed past Loki and approached the Bifrost control dais. Her fingers grazed the surface.
"Hmmmmm—"
The entire platform thrummed to life. The Bifrost ignited.
Energy spiraled inward—faster, brighter, a vortex of raw cosmic force. A massive beam of rainbow light erupted from the center, punching skyward like a spear aimed at the heavens.
Target: Jotunheim. Home of the Frost Giants.
"NO!!"
Thor's roar shook the bridge.
He couldn't believe it. Hermione—the Midgardian sorceress who'd helped him—was about to annihilate an entire realm?
He summoned Mjolnir.
The hammer screamed through the air, wind howling in its wake. It slammed into his palm, and thunder exploded outward. The Levicorpus curse shattered like glass.
Thor's boots hit the ground. His eyes burned with fury as he charged toward Hermione.
"Your opponent is me."
Loki materialized in his path, Gungnir leveled.
"Loki! Move!"
Thor's voice cracked with desperation. If he didn't stop Hermione, Jotunheim would be ash.
"I won't let you pass."
Loki's tone was flat. Final.
They collided.
Mjolnir met Gungnir. The impact was a thunderclap that rattled the Bifrost's foundations. Energy waves rippled outward, cracking the crystalline surface beneath their feet.
Meanwhile, Hermione kept her hands on the control dais, feeding it magic. The rainbow beam thickened, blazing brighter.
Just a little longer. Then Jotunheim would vanish.
And the souls of countless Frost Giants would be hers.
A smile tugged at her lips.
She'd tested this before. Distance didn't matter—if her magic touched the weapon, Dark Harvest triggered. The soul energy would flow to her no matter how far away the kill happened.
And the only weapon of mass destruction she could access?
The Bifrost.
So from the very beginning, she'd been planning this. Exploit Loki's ambition. Exploit Thor's righteousness. Exploit the Bifrost's apocalyptic firepower.
All to reach this exact moment.
"BANG!"
Loki was outmatched. Thor hammered him across the bridge. He hit the ground hard, and Mjolnir pinned him by the chest.
"Useless Loki."
Hermione cursed under her breath.
The guy had Gungnir and the Casket of Ancient Winters—two god-tier artifacts—and he couldn't stall Thor for five damn minutes?
Pathetic.
And that helmet...
She couldn't help herself. Those ridiculous curved horns made him look like Bambi's edgy cousin. Absolutely hideous.
Hermione kept channeling magic into the dais with one hand, firing hexes with the other to keep Thor at bay.
"Hermione! Why are you doing this?! Aren't you supposed to be a hero?!"
Thor couldn't understand. Just hours ago, she'd been his ally.
Now she was a monster about to erase a world.
Hero? What am I, Emiya Shirou?
Hermione didn't bother answering.
"Save your breath."
"Incarcerous!"
Thick magical ropes materialized mid-air, coiling around Thor like pythons.
Hermione said nothing. Just kept feeding the Bifrost.
Thor struggled, eyes locked on the beam—growing brighter, thicker, unstoppable.
His expression hardened.
He called Mjolnir back. Lightning erupted around him, white-hot and furious. The ropes burned away.
Then he made his choice.
He raised the hammer high—and brought it down on the Bifrost itself.
He was going to destroy it. Stop this madness at any cost.
Even Loki looked stunned.
He'd thought he and Hermione were crazy. But Thor? Thor was a whole new level of stupid.
Destroying Asgard's greatest weapon... to save their mortal enemies?
Is his brain made of muscle?!
"I'm sorry, Jane..."
Thor whispered her name as he swung with everything he had.
Eighty! Eighty!
Hermione nearly laughed.
The person you should be apologizing to isn't Jane Foster on Earth—it's every single Asgardian citizen!
This was like watching a general destroy his own country's nuclear arsenal mid-launch because he suddenly decided mercy was more important than survival. Never mind that the enemy had just tried to assassinate his king.
It was beyond absurd. It was abstract.
Hermione had no words.
"BOOM—"
The explosion was deafening. The Bifrost began to crack, fractures spreading like spiderwebs.
With one final, earth-shattering roar, the bridge shattered. Chunks of crystal tumbled into the void.
But it was too late.
The beam had already fired. Jotunheim was consumed.
And in Hermione's mind, the Mysterious Magic Book chimed softly.
[Dark Harvest]
[Current Soul Energy: 105,927]
───── ⊹ ⊹ ─────
📖 80+ chapters ahead — full story available
🔍 Search "patreon.com/DarkGolds
───── ⊹ ⊹ ─────