A radiant figure clad in prismatic armor shot out of the Royal Palace of Asgard like an arrow loosed from the bow, streaking toward the Bifrost Observatory at blinding speed.
"Heimdall, open the Bifrost. I'm making a trip to Jotunheim."
"—!"
Seeing that Leon had absolutely no intention of slowing down, Heimdall didn't even have time for a greeting. He thrust the sword key into its slot and activated the Bifrost at once.
BOOM—
A surge of brilliant rainbow light flared across the heavens. Just before a catastrophic collision could occur, Leon arrived at the Observatory and was seamlessly caught in the beam, instantly transported to Jotunheim.
He was so fast that even Heimdall broke into a cold sweat. If not for the all-seeing sight granted by his watch over the Nine Realms—detecting Leon's movement the very instant he set off—
Had it been Skurge standing there instead…
He might not have even kept his hands.
Asgard – Royal Palace
Before the vast floor-to-ceiling window of the great hall, Odin Allfather and Frigga stood side by side, watching Leon's departure from start to finish.
"That child is always in such a hurry. I wonder who he takes after," Frigga said with a soft smile. But worry soon crept into her expression.
"Are we truly certain it was wise to give Aionsega to Leon so soon? That artifact never existed in Asgard's history before… and yet—"
"Frigga."
Odin turned his head slightly, cutting her off gently.
"What is meant to come will come. The children have grown. They have their own thoughts, their own paths."
"And we have grown old. It is time to step aside and let them do what they must."
"Fate has already revealed what will be. We need only wait for it to unfold."
Frigga sighed softly.
"I am only worried."
"No matter how powerful or how ancient they become… they are still our children."
Her brow furrowed faintly, maternal instinct making it impossible to cast aside her concern.
After all—
What mother wishes for her child to endure hardship and loneliness?
May everything still be in time…
…
Jotunheim
At this moment, Thor was retreating in rather undignified fashion alongside the Warriors Three and Lady Sif.
Behind them surged a seemingly endless army of Frost Giants—warriors and civilians alike, many never shown in the films—now baring their fangs after the death of King Laufey.
"Volstagg! I told you again and again—when you pull aggro, keep it subtle! Don't rile up the entire population!" Thor complained while running.
"I was just following our usual method!" Volstagg protested sheepishly. "How was I supposed to know so many Frost Giants would gather here?"
Because of his size, Volstagg needed both Hogun and Fandral supporting him just to keep pace with Thor's retreat.
"Thor, why not unleash a stormbreaker—scatter them with lightning? At the very least, break their formation!" Volstagg asked, confused. That had always been their way before.
"I cannot."
"Father's command was to suppress, not to slaughter. I will not further inflame the hatred between our peoples."
Having matured through hardship, Thor was beginning to understand Odin's intentions.
His former mindset had been narrow—thinking strength meant overwhelming force. True strength looked to the future.
Yet slowed by Volstagg, the Frost Giant army steadily gained ground. Thor couldn't simply take off flying while leaving his four companions behind.
Just as he was about to call for Heimdall to open the Bifrost for a tactical retreat—
BOOM—
A massive column of rainbow light crashed down from the sky.
"Heimdall??"
Thor blinked in confusion. He hadn't even called yet.
Then—
A familiar voice rang out from within the Bifrost beam.
Thor's face split into a broad grin. The Warriors Three looked just as delighted.
Only Lady Sif frowned faintly, turning slightly aside, her expression complicated.
(It was hardly easy to remain composed when one's beautiful, marriageable sister had been whisked away by some golden-haired interloper who'd descended from nowhere—
Even if said sister had willingly fallen for him at first sight.)
"Hey, Thor. And my friends—if there's fun to be had, how could you not invite me?"
Leon stepped out from the rainbow bridge of energy, clad in the War God Armor.
"Leon!"
"You came at the perfect time!"
"Let's suppress the Frost Giants together!"
Thor's voice rang with excitement.
The scene mirrored the time he had once eagerly sought Odin's approval to join battle.
Only this time—
He received affirmation.
"Of course," Leon replied.
"That's exactly why I'm here."
"Everyone—"
"Lower your heads!"
Leon flipped forward through the air, landing between Thor's group and the oncoming Frost Giant horde.
The "blue brutes" paid him no heed whatsoever.
They charged straight ahead.
"Yare yare…" Leon muttered lightly.
A crystalline wall of pure ice erupted from the ground at his feet, shielding Thor and the others behind him to prevent friendly fire.
Crackle! Crackle! Crackle!
Countless arcs of violet lightning erupted from Leon's body, shrieking like a thousand sparking blades.
He spread his fingers into clawed shapes, bringing both hands together before his chest. The violet arcs converged between his palms, compressing into a dark purple sphere of condensed plasma.
Then—
Leon flung his arms wide.
A deep-violet lightning storm detonated outward from his body.
It swept across everything.
Thor and the others were forced to shut their eyes against the blinding glare.
When they opened them again—
The Frost Giant army that had moments before swarmed like marching ants now lay sprawled across the frozen ground, bodies convulsing from paralysis. Only a handful of elite giants managed to remain standing.
"Leon… how did you do that?" Thor asked in astonishment.
If he could learn this technique, he wouldn't have to flee while holding back his true strength.
Leon grinned smugly. With a thought, the ice wall behind him dissolved instantly.
"Different fields, different expertise."
"If you want to learn, I can teach you."
The plasma lightning from Leon's Storm Template lacked the raw divine output of Thor's thunder, but that very limitation allowed far finer battlefield control.
And increasing its power was simple.
Brute force plus miracles.
With the energy conversion of the Starlight Template combined with Aionsega's dual Eternal Cores, he possessed effectively limitless energy scaling.
Any energy-based technique could be elevated beyond its original limits.
The ceiling depended entirely on Leon's own stats.
"Quit showing off," Lady Sif cut in coolly.
"More Frost Giants are adapting to the paralysis. They're starting to stand again."
"Oh?"
"Then I suppose I didn't try hard enough."
Leon replied with mock modesty.
"Yeah, yeah," Thor said, stepping forward.
"We know you're impressive."
"Let's finish this."
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Thor thumped Mjolnir lightly against Leon's armored chest.
Aionsega—newborn and still inexperienced in the subtleties of social interaction—misinterpreted the gesture as a challenge.
It reacted instantly.
Whoosh—
A burst of flame erupted—
Setting Thor's hair on fire.
"Oh, sh—!"
"My hair!"
The damage was minimal.
The humiliation, however, was catastrophic.
Under Thor's deeply aggrieved glare, he prematurely acquired the short-cropped look of Thor: Ragnarok—
With a hint of natural curl, no less.
…
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