After that—
Leon and Thor moved in coordinated strikes, working seamlessly together. One punch, one Frost Giant down. Every deliberately restrained blow was calibrated to knock out a towering giant without killing them.
But the thrill of mowing through fodder—
Quickly faded in the face of an army whose numbers seemed endless.
Leon summoned Bast and Arcee to assist, yet even that barely changed the tide.
The Frost Giants of Jotunheim were like stray dogs on a roadside back on Earth—
Just when you thought they were gone, another one would spring out from nowhere.
"Ah—!"
"How long is this supposed to go on?!"
Leon's patience finally snapped as he turned to Thor.
Thor replied helplessly, "Until they're willing to sit down and negotiate in good faith."
"Impossible."
"Absolutely impossible."
Leon had never been one to follow rigid procedure.
If he had this kind of time to waste, he'd rather go make a few new friends instead.
But since he had already come to help Thor—he would see it through.
A ruthless glint flashed across Leon's eyes. He signaled Bast to assume her Black Panther form. With a single powerful motion, she seized Thor and the Warriors Three—one in each massive paw—and launched into the sky.
Lady Sif, the only one left, was carried aloft by Arcee in Combat Mode.
Even in Combat Mode, Arcee retained full flight capability—just not as specialized or fast as her Motorcycle Mode.
"Leon, what are you doing?"
Thor's eyelid twitched nervously. He feared Leon might wipe the Frost Giants out entirely in a fit of impatience.
"Relax, Thor. I'm not going to exterminate them."
"I'm just giving them some time… to cool off."
After all, the Frost Giant race still had long-term "labor value" in Leon's eyes.
There would be plenty of time for them to weep later.
As for now…
Heh.
A crooked grin tugged at the corner of Leon's mouth as he rose into the sky.
Then he raised one hand.
The plasma remote-control ability of his Storm Template, amplified by his status panel, manifested as a colossal hand forged of deep-violet lightning—
The Hand of Heaven.
It seized every Frost Giant exposed on the battlefield, dragging them together into a single mass.
One grip—
Instant freeze.
"The winter has come."
"Ice Age."
With that invocation, Leon's figure transformed into a prismatic meteor, plunging downward toward the clustered Frost Giants gathered in the Hand of Heaven's grasp.
The moment he struck—
Jotunheim, already a frozen wasteland, seemed to descend into a true planetary Ice Age.
Like a star extinguished of its plasma spark.
All visible Frost Giants were encased within a colossal crystalline glacier.
Thanks to their innate racial physiology, they would not freeze to death. Given enough time, they would slowly thaw and break free.
This was the "cooling-off period" Leon granted them.
But even that was not enough for him.
There would inevitably be Frost Giants hidden in the shadows—survivors ready to coordinate from outside.
That wouldn't do.
Leon's primary purpose here had been training—testing exactly how far he could push Aionsega.
And so—
Boundless frost energy erupted outward from the War God Armor.
Two and a half hours later—
The vast world of Jotunheim—
Had been frozen in its entirety.
From distant space, the planet now resembled a luminous blue crystal orb.
Magnificent.
Terrifying.
A creation worthy of a god.
From this moment forward—
The might of Asgard's God of Battle would resound across the Nine Realms.
Odin had warned Leon that he could not yet unleash Aionsega's full power—and that the artifact might even backlash against him.
Leon had been mildly unconvinced.
Now—
With only the first seal, Guardian, released—this was already the result.
He didn't dare imagine what would happen once the remaining two seals were lifted.
Behind him, Thor and the others could only stare in stunned silence.
Thor even began to question whether he was truly Odin's biological son.
Why was Leon, the adopted one, given an artifact this absurd—
While he himself had to struggle with nothing but a hammer?
…
Leon rejoined them in the sky, gazing down at his handiwork with satisfaction. He let out a long breath.
A faint, all-too-familiar sense of spiritual exhaustion crept in.
Odin's warning had not been empty words.
Fortunately, Leon had not recklessly opened the second seal.
After some internal "discussion" with Aionsega, he discovered something astonishing—
Odin had entrusted the authority to lift the seals directly to Aionsega itself.
And after a bit of persuasive sweet-talking—
The still-young divine artifact had been more than willing to comply.
Truly, placing nuclear launch authority in the hands of a naive child carried certain risks.
Thankfully, Leon was cautious enough not to test fate.
"Cruel, perhaps," Leon said softly, admiring the frozen planet.
"But beautiful, isn't it?"
"It is," Thor admitted.
"And…"
"Nice armor."
Thor tapped lightly against the Eternal Core embedded in Leon's chest.
After Leon's earlier guidance, Aionsega had learned to recognize allied units, and did not retaliate this time.
"You too," Leon replied with a grin.
The compliment, however, lacked credibility coming from someone currently operating on a completely different power tier.
Thor could only laugh awkwardly.
For a brief moment, he wondered whether he should go ask Frigga for an upgrade as well.
The thought had barely formed—
When Mjolnir floated up beside his head.
It had no eyes—
Yet somehow its silent stare burned into him all the same.
"Hey! Mjolnir!"
"You're the best—mwah!"
Thor hurriedly kissed his hammer and gave it an affectionate rub to soothe its apparent jealousy.
…
With the Frost Giant crisis fundamentally resolved, Leon and the others returned triumphantly to Asgard.
But soon, Vanaheim sent word requesting aid.
Thor barely had time to rest before setting out again.
Leon joined briefly for the spectacle, but after failing to obtain anything noteworthy from the Daily Sign-In, he quickly lost interest in expanding the map or testing artillery.
After bidding Thor farewell—
Then saying goodbye to Odin and Frigga—
Leon, now leagues beyond where he once stood, finally returned to Earth.
To the Malibu Mansion he shared with Tony.
"J.A.R.V.I.S., where's Tony?"
"Sir remains in closed-door training."
"Hey?"
Extending his Observation Haki, Leon scanned Tony's Workshop.
He found Tony seated cross-legged, eyes closed—almost like a cultivator in meditation.
Magnetic fields pulsed through his body—chaotic at times, orderly at others—circulating in rhythmic convergence.
Even more astonishing—
Tony's physical condition had undergone a qualitative leap.
He had surpassed Pepper's level and was steadily approaching Soldier Boy-tier durability.
"…What the hell."
"That's insane."
Leon could only marvel, lacking a scientific explanation.
He chose not to disturb Tony.
After confirming there was no danger, Leon left the mansion and headed to Stark Tower with Eve, who had returned to Earth alongside him.
He intended for Eve to train under Sharon Carter and gradually take over her secretary responsibilities.
Partly to monitor Sharon—who was still technically a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent—
And partly to ease the pressure of Leon's periodic "inspections."
Truly, there were few bosses as considerate as Leon Stark.
Sharon Carter: He really… I'm moved to tears.
Eve: Same.
"Hmm?"
After thoroughly "moving" both secretaries to tears, Leon suddenly paused.
"Arcee… did I forget something?"
"What do you think~?" Arcee replied faintly.
Her Partner Mode form shimmered as vibranium nanites shifted across her surface, transforming her appearance into a sleek woman clad in a black bodysuit, snow-white hair flowing down her back, azure eyes gleaming sharply.
"Watch out!"
"I forgot about 2B!"
Leon's cooldown reset instantly.
Without hesitation, he switched battlefields—
Preparing for a new "operation."
…
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