Exhaustion—
Always follows overexertion.
Sore back. Weak legs. Mental fatigue.
As if the body had been hollowed out.
Fortunately, Leon possessed Super Self-Regeneration.
The moment he activated it, the drained vitality rapidly restored itself.
"Hm?"
"2B… am I forgetting something?"
Leon lay face-down on an ice slab, enjoying a very thorough lower-back massage courtesy of 2B's stockinged foot.
Her over-the-knee high-heeled boots were casually set aside. Through the slit of her gothic dress, her gaze followed the elegant line of her own thigh down toward Leon.
"Master," she reminded calmly, "the damaged Mind Stone could be restored by Master Ancient One using the Time Stone."
"Good point."
Leon let out a satisfied hum, eyes half-closed.
"And—"
"Lord Loki is still trapped in the Möbius Loop of endless freefall created by your The Ancient One 's Ring."
"Watch out!"
"Oh right—!"
"No wonder my left eyelid's been twitching!"
Leon flipped over in one smooth motion, pulled 2B into his arms, and—quite deliberately—helped her back into her high-heeled boots himself.
Then he raised his hand.
A circular portal crackling with blue sparks opened 2.5 meters above the ground.
"AAAA—!"
BOOM!
The scream arrived a fraction of a second before Loki did.
He slammed into the ice hard enough to create a crater 2.5 meters wide.
Head may fall. Blood may flow.
But the hair must remain immaculate.
Thus, Loki's first action after impact—
Was not standing up.
It was fixing his hair.
"I have been falling for THREE DAYS!"
Leon crouched beside him.
"So. Feeling obedient yet?"
"Obedient my— … your sister's quite lovely, by the way~"
Loki's furious glare instantly transformed into gentle civility.
Because—
A 2.5-meter gleaming silver greatsword now rested lightly against his neck.
Virtuous Treaty.
"Gulp."
He didn't even need to test it. He knew the material—same tier as Lion's Fangs.
One twitch, and his head would roll.
"Calm down, Miss 2B, I mean no har—"
"Do. Not. Move."
The blade pressed fully against his throat.
"Lord Loki, if you so much as tilt your head upward—even if you are Master's adoptive brother—you will die."
"Relax! I'm not turning! I see nothing!"
Dignity was negotiable.
Survival was not.
To be fair, that was only in Leon's presence.
Against a true enemy?
Loki would likely choose differently.
"Enough, 2B."
Leon smirked. "If you keep scaring him like that, the Frost Giant royal bloodline might go extinct from sheer stress."
"Yes, Master."
She withdrew the blade. It hovered magnetically at her back, ready for instant deployment.
Leon hauled Loki to his feet.
"So what now?" Loki asked, pointedly ignoring the three days of gravitational torment. "You killed Ebony Maw. Who plays the villain now? Don't tell me I have to."
"Hey, not my fault," Leon shrugged. "I didn't know you only managed to lure over one member of the Black Order—and the most annoying telekinetic one at that."
"He had to die."
"So?" Loki crossed his arms. "Your plan. Your mess."
"Simple."
"If there's no Ebony Maw…"
"Then we make one."
Snap.
Leon activated Super Self-Regeneration.
Moments later—
An absolutely flawless Ebony Maw stood before Loki.
Identical in every detail.
And then—
Leon demonstrated his newly acquired Telekinesis.
At power levels vastly surpassing the original.
He tore an entire iceberg from the Antarctic continent and suspended it overhead.
Loki couldn't even see the summit.
If that thing fell—
Sheer mass alone would annihilate armies.
"You—you can mimic him, fine, but how do you also have his powers?!"
Loki looked personally betrayed by reality itself.
The iceberg dropped.
The impact shook the continent.
Shockwaves howled across the frozen landscape.
Leon walked over, steadied Loki by the shoulder, and patted his cheek lightly.
"Brother. Who do you think I am?"
"The stronger I am, the more secure your future throne of Asgard becomes."
"…You have a point."
When defeat is inevitable—
Join.
When resistance fails—
Recline and enjoy.
Loki had already begun mentally drafting blueprints for a grand statue of Himself the Magnificent.
Then—
He instinctively reached for something.
Air.
He froze.
The Scepter.
Leon hadn't returned it.
"Brother," Loki said carefully, extending his hand. "I believe the Mind Stone Scepter belongs to me."
"Uh…"
"Well…"
Leon tossed something over.
"No Scepter."
"But here's the Mind Stone."
Loki caught it.
Held it up between his fingers.
Examined the cracked yellow gem.
Its glow gone.
Its surface fractured.
"…Haha."
His expression twitched.
"Very funny, Brother. This is just a cracked yellow crystal."
"It looks like a Mind Stone to you?"
"It's not about looking like one," Leon replied casually, hands behind his head. "It is one."
…
Loki stared.
Then stared harder.
Then stared in silence.
His silence—
Was deafening.
◇ BONUS & SUPPORT ◇
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 10 reviews — drop a comment!
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ Read 70 chapters ahead on P@treon → patreon.com/Sagamaster789