Balder stared blankly at the unusual red-and-green figure standing nearby. Somehow, he hadn't noticed the strange man before, even though they were only a few meters apart.
What truly caught his attention, however, wasn't Renzo's appearance.
It was the three Infinity Stones embedded in his forehead and chest.
One of them radiated the exact same aura as the Cosmic Cube in Balder's hand. Waves of cosmic energy pulsed from both artifacts as they resonated with each other, their glow steadily growing brighter.
"Two Space Stones?!" Balder exclaimed.
Cosmic energy surged around him as he stared at the Space Stone in Renzo's chest in disbelief. Without thinking, he reached out to touch it.
Renzo was speechless.
First you ignore me, and now you're trying to take my Stone? Nice try.
"Didn't Odin ever teach you it's rude to touch other people's belongings?" Renzo slapped Balder's hand away.
"Watch your tongue!" Volstagg roared. Thunder crackled around Mjolnir. To him, speaking the All-Father's name so casually was an unforgivable insult.
"Don't try to scare me with your hammer, Thunder God."
Renzo remained completely unfazed.
Although Volstagg also wielded Mjolnir, he was still far behind Thor at his peak.
"I'm an Avenger from another universe," Renzo explained. "I ended up here by accident... and then had the bad luck to walk into this disaster."
He revealed his origins while quietly leaving out one important detail.
Wanda's transformation into the Scarlet Witch had something to do with him.
Of course, he wasn't about to admit that.
Ultimately, Wanda's fall had far more to do with Chthon's manipulation. If that ancient god hadn't pursued him into this universe, the future might have remained difficult—but it wouldn't have become this catastrophic.
He's incredibly strong...
Renzo couldn't help evaluating Balder.
The God of Light's aura was even stronger than Thor's current one.
He wasn't comparing Balder to Thor at his absolute peak, but to the Thor who had yet to fully awaken his own divine power. Before that awakening, Thor relied mostly on Mjolnir. Later, after obtaining Stormbreaker, he had reached an entirely different level.
Asgardians grew stronger with age.
That was why the older Thor seen years later was actually stronger than his younger self, despite his appearance.
Balder clearly benefited from the same trait. Judging from his overwhelming presence, he had likely lived for far longer than Thor.
"A guardian of the Infinity Stones... from another universe?" someone murmured.
The room erupted in surprise.
Only Charles, Reed, and Frank remained calm.
Each of them had already guessed, to varying degrees, that Renzo didn't belong to this universe. He had literally torn open space when he arrived, and Frank could sense countless divine blessings surrounding him.
Compared to the crisis threatening the entire world, one man's origins hardly seemed worth investigating.
Balder tucked the Cosmic Cube back into his armor and gave Renzo a friendly pat on the shoulder.
"So that's it!" he laughed. "For a moment, I thought Reed had figured out how to duplicate the Infinity Stones while I was away."
The compliment only made Reed smile bitterly.
If he could truly replicate the Infinity Stones, everyone would already have one.
"Balder," Charles interrupted, "this isn't the time for small talk."
His yellow hoverchair moved effortlessly beneath him, responding directly to his thoughts.
"Asgard's magical knowledge may be our only hope of dispelling the red mist."
When Odin had ruled, he had suppressed countless enemies that threatened Earth. Much of that success came from Asgard's vast magical traditions. Loki wasn't the only accomplished sorcerer Asgard had ever produced.
Amora was the greatest mage in modern Asgard.
Even Balder found it difficult to resist her enchantment magic, whose effects resembled the mind-altering influence of the red mist.
Balder immediately rejected the idea.
"Amora is too dangerous. If she's released, all Nine Realms could descend into chaos."
"No one asked you to release her," Renzo said, exasperated. "We only need her knowledge."
Did every Asgardian have muscles where their brains should be?
Charles might have been old, but he certainly wasn't senile. Why would anyone intentionally unleash another potential threat?
Both Wong and Mordo were Master Sorcerers. Analyzing enchantment magic would be difficult, but far from impossible.
After Strange's death, the Eye of Agamotto had passed to Mordo. Wong wasn't weaker by much, but Mordo had trained under the Ancient One longer and ultimately surpassed him in raw magical ability.
The discussion reached another stalemate.
Balder wasn't Thor, but in moments like this, his stubbornness was remarkably similar.
"I want to see just how powerful this little witch really is," he declared. "She's beaten all of you so badly you've forgotten how to fight."
Disappointment filled his eyes.
These were warriors who had once fought side by side.
Now they hid beneath the earth, struggling merely to survive.
He couldn't accept it.
Not for a moment.
Without another word, Balder transformed into a beam of light and shot toward the surface.
Volstagg had no reason to remain behind.
Mjolnir spun rapidly in his hand before lifting him into the air after Balder.
Silence returned to the Baxter Base.
Reed and Charles exchanged weary glances.
"He'll die out there," Renzo said with certainty.
"...Shouldn't we stop him?"
The moment the words left his mouth, he realized how pointless they sounded.
If anyone here had been capable of stopping Balder, they already would have.
Without another word, he walked back to Reed and resumed helping analyze the composition of the red mist.
...
Balder soon arrived above New York.
"So much darkness..."
He looked down at the city swallowed by endless crimson mist and surging chaos.
For the first time, he realized he had underestimated the witch.
He had believed Midgard's greatest magical strength lay with Kamar-Taj.
He hadn't expected someone capable of creating something this terrifying.
Balder silently vowed to drive this evil from the world.
Volstagg flew close behind him, Mjolnir surrounded by roaring lightning.
Perhaps he wasn't as powerful as Thor would one day become, but at this point in time, his mastery of Mjolnir far exceeded Thor's own.
"Watch this!"
Volstagg raised Mjolnir high above his head.
Dark clouds instantly swallowed the sky.
Thunder roared.
Lightning gathered from every direction.
The wrath of the gods descended.
"For Asgard!"
He swung the hammer downward.
Countless bolts of lightning crashed into the sea of crimson mist.
Thunder and chaos collided as though two worlds had slammed into each other.
When the explosion faded...
The lightning vanished.
The red mist remained.
Only a small section had briefly dispersed before fresh waves of crimson immediately flowed in to replace it.
Volstagg froze.
His thunder had crushed Frost Giants.
Dark Elves.
Fire Giants.
His name was respected throughout the Nine Realms.
Yet...
"It must not have been enough!"
Furious, Volstagg prepared another strike.
Balder stopped him.
"Something is wrong."
His expression had become unusually serious.
"This red mist reeks of black magic. It's even more sinister than the Dark Elves' sorcery."
He stared at the endless crimson tide with open caution.
In more than two thousand years, he had never encountered anything quite like it.
"If thunder won't work..." Balder smiled confidently.
"...then light will."
As the God of Light, he embodied one of the Nine Realms' purest divine forces.
Surely this chaos could not withstand it.
He spread both arms.
Radiant light poured outward like the morning sun, illuminating the city in brilliant gold.
The effect was immediate.
The crimson mist retreated wherever the light touched it, parting to create what looked like a wide path into the city.
"Hahaha!"
Balder laughed triumphantly.
"So that's all the witch can manage! Faced with a true god, she can only make way!"
Certain that the witch had lost her nerve, Balder strode into the opening.
Volstagg followed close behind.
The two Asgardian gods marched directly into the heart of enemy territory.
...
Wanda had been growing increasingly irritated.
Not because of discomfort.
Because she was running out of toys.
Every force she had sent against the Inhumans had been annihilated.
Even Captain Marvel, dispatched to destroy S.H.I.E.L.D., had never returned.
The remaining superheroes simply weren't strong enough to interest her.
"Renzo..."
She softly whispered his name.
As her power continued to grow, Chthon's memories became clearer.
Through them, she had witnessed another Wanda's life.
And Renzo occupied an enormous place in that Wanda's heart.
It filled her with both envy and pain.
Why did another Wanda get happiness...
While she had known only suffering?
She hated it.
She hated that she had never received the warmth or love that other Wanda possessed.
Again and again, Renzo had ruined her plans.
A twisted smile spread across her face.
Crimson chaos gathered around her, taking the forms of ghostly servants whose mournful cries echoed through the air.
If I can't have it...
Then no Wanda should.
She wanted to tear Renzo apart and cast his broken body before that other Wanda.
She wanted to see how she would react.
"Wicked witch!"
Balder's booming voice rolled across the sky like thunder.
"Leave Midgard at once!"
Wanda frowned.
A brilliant light exploded overhead.
She looked up and saw two armored figures dressed like Viking warriors descending from the heavens.
She hated the lofty arrogance they carried.
She wanted to drag them down from the clouds and let them experience despair themselves.
"Take this!"
Volstagg swung Mjolnir as he plummeted from the sky.
Thousands of bolts of lightning followed him, crashing toward Wanda.
She reacted instantly.
A shield of Chaos Magic formed around her.
Mjolnir slammed into it.
The impact blasted Wanda backward.
Volstagg was also thrown away by the recoil, crashing nearly a hundred meters across the street.
"Damn Asgardians!"
Wanda's eyes darkened as she transformed fully into the Scarlet Witch.
Black energy spread around her eyes.
Dark mist curled from her fingertips.
Chaos Magic and countless undead spirits lifted their queen into the air as an overwhelming aura spread across New York.
"Witch!"
Volstagg rose unharmed.
His sheer toughness even surpassed Thor's in some respects.
Lightning erupted around him once more.
The tremendous force shattered the air as it streaked toward Wanda.
Unlike the heroes Wanda had enslaved, he truly was a god.
Hidden beneath Volstagg's furious expression was complete confidence.
He was certain the witch would fall beneath his next strike.
"Put the hammer down."
Wanda spoke softly.
A faint smile curved her lips.
Before Volstagg could understand what had happened, Mjolnir suddenly slipped from his control.
It dropped straight toward the ground.
Taking him with it.
Boom!
The hammer slammed into the earth.
Volstagg crashed down beneath it.
"What are you doing, Volstagg?" Balder shouted. "Finish the witch!"
"It's not me!"
Volstagg desperately grabbed Mjolnir.
It wouldn't budge.
It felt as though the hammer had become impossibly heavy.
"How is this possible?!"
He was the God of Thunder.
Mjolnir's rightful wielder.
How could he fail to lift his own weapon?
Veins bulged across his face.
Sweat poured down his beard.
No matter how hard he strained...
The hammer didn't move an inch.
Wanda casually flicked her wrist.
Mjolnir flipped over and crashed directly onto Volstagg's head, pinning him beneath its immense weight.
Unable to move.
"You're next..."
She smiled coldly at Balder.
"...you annoying God of Light."
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