"He looks like he's about to collapse..."
"Then why don't you go first?"
The sounds of battle around Loki seemed to be fading into the distance. Dozens of Frost Giants had surrounded him, cautiously probing at him with their razor-sharp blades.
"Get back!"
The cold glint of steel jolted Loki back to his senses. He swept Gungnir through the air, startling the Frost Giants around him. Their gleaming blades immediately withdrew as they hastily opened a wide space around him.
But it was not long before another blade reached toward him.
Feeling the strength gradually draining from his body, Loki's legs buckled. He hurriedly propped himself up with Gungnir, barely managing to remain standing.
The frigid blades crept closer, until their gleaming edges were practically pressed against Loki's face.
A defeated, dying king always seemed to draw out the deepest cruelty in others. When they saw him hanging his head without responding, their courage swelled. No one knew who moved first, but someone slammed the flat of a heavy blade against Loki's head.
"Clang!"
Loki's iconic helmet was knocked from his head and crashed onto the ground with a crisp metallic ring.
Its gleaming golden surface was immediately stained with ugly grime. One of the horns Loki had always taken such pride in broke cleanly in two with a sharp crack.
As Loki watched, a profound sense of helplessness rose within him. Hideous blue figures filled his vision, their weapons glinting everywhere he looked. He shook his head, but no matter how hard he tried, he could no longer see them clearly.
"Your Majesty, hold on! We're coming to save you!"
Faint shouts came from somewhere nearby, yet they sounded impossibly distant to his ears. It seemed the gods of Asgard were desperately trying to break through the Frost Giants surrounding them and reach his side.
Within those frantic cries, Loki heard a respect and reverence he had never received from them before.
Unfortunately...
He narrowed his eyes and realized that he could no longer make out their faces at all.
"This feeling... isn't half bad..."
Once the surrounding Frost Giants finally realized that Loki was truly at the end of his strength and had completely lost the ability to fight, their courage grew. Slowly, they tightened the encirclement.
"Let it end here..."
"All of this began because of me. It should end with me as well..."
"I'm so tired..."
Relying on his hazy memory, Loki turned toward where Laufey stood in the sky. Gathering the final trace of strength left in his body, he shouted, "Laufey! You win!"
"Do whatever you want with me, but spare the innocent people of Asgard!"
The only response Loki received was a single icy command.
"Kill him!"
"Ha..." As the blades descended and cold light filled his vision, Loki let out a quiet sigh. With a bitter, resigned smile, he straightened his clothes, smoothing every fold before standing tall once more.
"Boom! Rumble!"
"Crack!"
Without warning, the wind began to blow.
The dense, oppressive clouds hanging low over the battlefield due to the gathering of so many Frost Giants suddenly seemed to change color.
Thunder rolled through the dark clouds. Deep within them, brilliant flashes of lightning suddenly erupted, illuminating the gloomy land below as brightly as day.
"Thunder?"
The sudden, deafening crash shook everyone to the core, causing even the chaotic battlefield to fall silent for a moment.
"Asgard's skies are always clear. Severe weather is exceedingly rare. Why would thunder suddenly appear out of nowhere?"
Amid the confusion, another thunderclap exploded across the land.
The once-still clouds suddenly churned under the influence of some unseen power, forming an enormous vortex. Countless bolts of lightning raced through it, causing the entire world to flicker violently between light and darkness.
"Unless..."
After repeatedly confirming that he was not imagining things, Loki's eyes snapped open. His gaze passed over the Frost Giants surrounding him and locked onto the distance.
Not far from Fenris, whose enormous body was completely encased in ice and utterly devoid of life, another figure had somehow risen soundlessly to his feet.
That figure had also stopped breathing. His body should have been frozen completely rigid by the cold.
"Thor!"
Although Loki's vision was too blurred to see clearly, that familiar, broad figure had long since been engraved into his very bones.
He recognized Thor's back with a single glance. His voice overflowed with undisguised delight.
"I knew it!"
"There's no way that old bastard Odin would really let you remain a mortal for the rest of your life!"
"Crack!"
Loki's excited cry was swallowed by the rolling thunder.
A colossal bolt of lightning descended from the heavens in a blinding flash, striking Thor with unerring precision.
The rough clothes he had casually acquired on Earth were instantly reduced to scattered ashes by the heavenly lightning, revealing Thor's powerfully muscled body.
Within the flickering white light came the faint clatter of armor. In the blink of an eye, an exquisitely crafted suit of silver armor appeared from thin air. Its scale-like plates arranged themselves before covering Thor's entire body once more.
A brilliant red cape unfurled behind him, snapping fiercely in the howling wind.
Thor slowly opened his eyes and raised his right hand high into the air.
In the distance, an ornate hammer that everyone seemed to have forgotten suddenly began trembling and humming violently, as though responding to a summons.
The moment it sensed Thor's will, brilliant runes lit up across its surface. This time, they did not slowly fade as they had before. Instead, they grew brighter with every passing second.
"Hum!"
With a deep vibration, Mjolnir suddenly shot into the sky. Its explosive acceleration nearly broke the sound barrier as it flew straight toward Thor.
The Frost Giants blocking its path had no idea what was happening. They saw only a flash of silver before a tremendous force tore through their bodies. Their internal organs were crushed into pulp in an instant, and they collapsed lifelessly to the ground.
Mjolnir barreled through everything in its path, smashing a bloody road through the densely packed crowd.
As it approached Thor, however, it gently slowed down before obediently placing its handle into his open palm.
"Boom!"
As the lightning surrounding Thor gradually subsided and the blue glow faded from his eyes, he felt the return of the strength he had missed for so long.
With a slight flex of his body, his formidable physique effortlessly expelled every trace of cold left behind by the dagger Laufey had casually created.
That familiar sensation flowed into his mind.
Yet as Thor raised his beloved hammer once more, he felt none of the joy that should have come from recovering what he had lost.
His gaze swept rapidly across the battlefield, taking in the entire situation within moments.
The first thing he saw was Fenris's enormous body, frozen in the ice nearby.
He looked almost alive, but the powerful aura of life that had once radiated from him was completely gone. No matter how desperately Thor searched for it, he could sense no miracle.
"Fenris..."
(End of Chapter)
[Get +30 Extra Chapters On — P@tr3on "Zaelum"]
[Every 300 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter Drop]
[Thanks for Reading!]