Apologetically bowing my head to Freyja and Odin, I took full responsibility for the ruined courtyard. Offering to repair the extensive damage, Odin told me not to worry about it with a big grin.
"Those foolish guards can clean up this mess once they have fully healed. I will not punish my son-in-law for defending my daughter's dignity and honor.", Odin stated, with a firm nod. "Raise your head, Victor von Stark. I wish to see the man who won my little girl's heart."
Doing as he requested, I retracted my helmet and slowly lifted my head. Pleased with what he saw, Odin stepped forward and exchanged a firm handshake with me. Patting me on the back, he enthusiastically introduced me to the rest of the family. As he did so, Freyja slowly walked around me, taking everything in.
"Is something wrong?", Odin asked, noticing her peculiar behavior.
"Far from it, I am just surprised our beloved daughter managed to find herself such a fine young man.", Freyja commented, smacking me on the back. "So, when are you two going to grace us with more grandchildren? Odin and I are not getting any younger, haha!"
"M… MO… MOTHER!!!", Loki stammered, turning bright red from embarrassment. "We only became a couple a short time ago."
"Ha! It has not stopped you two from going at it like jackalopes.", Balder commented with a stupid grin. "You are very vocal in the sack, little sisters. Should I tell our parents some of the naughty things you have been saying in private?"
While he intended to further embarrass Loki, the comment elicited a very different emotion. Storming up to her brother, instead of a deadly blow to the face, Loki grabbed his shoulders and drove her knee straight into his crotch. Repeating the motion a dozen times, he began to foam at the mouth and crumpled to the ground.
"How many times must I tell you?! Keep. Your. Nose. Out. Of. My. Business!", Loki snapped, repeatedly driving her stiletto heels into his groin. "You are playing with fire, my dear older brother. If you know what is good for you, you'll forget everything you heard."
Using magic to illustrate herself cutting off his manhood with dull shears, Balder vigorously nodded his head in acknowledgement. Swearing to never tell another soul what he heard, he raggedly pleaded with her to stop. Satisfied he got the message, Loki returned to my side with a relaxed smile.
"Welcome to our family, Victor!", Freyja said, ignoring her son's pained groans. "Take excellent care of our mischievous daughter."
"Loki entrusted her fragile heart to me, and I will be damned if I make her regret doing so.", I said with conviction. "I will shower her with all the love and affection she can handle. She will want for nothing and always have a shoulder to lean on in tough times."
Satisfied with my response, the All-Father and All-Mother gave me their blessing to marry Loki. Enthusiastically clapping her hands, Loki retrieved a wedding planner from her spatial storage and began reviewing it with me.
"Ahem… Little sister, I believe you have forgotten something important.", Aldrif remarked as Thor and she approached us. "Lord Stark, would you consider having a friendly duel with my brother Thor and I?"
"I would love to have a sparring match with you two, but we have more pressing matters to attend to right now. Have you forgotten the Headless Celestial is still at large?", I reminded them. "Hela and several of your kinsmen are trapped within that abomination. The longer we wait, the more mental anguish they will be forced to endure."
Having forgotten about it, Aldrif and Thor quickly changed their tune. Wisely choosing their kinsman over our duel, they turned to Heimdall for his help.
"Do you know what the creature looks like?", Heimdall asked me.
"If you will allow me, I can telepathically transmit a mental image of it to you.", I answered.
"Please proceed.", Heimdall agreed.
Conjuring up a mental image based on my comic book knowledge, I sent it to the All-Seer with an apologetic smile. Upon seeing its grotesque figure, Heimdall's face contorted with revulsion as the hair on his neck stood at attention. Surprised by his strong reaction, Odin asked to see the entity's visage as well.
"My word!!", Odin shouted, gripping Gungnir tightly. "You mean to tell me my family and our kinsmen are trapped inside that monstrosity?!"
"Anyone slain by All-Black or unfortunate enough to have crossed paths with the Headless Celestial resides within it.", I confirmed.
"Odin, it would be wise of us to summon our peers before proceeding any further. Zeus and the other leaders are just as desperate to liberate their fallen as we are.", Freyja stated.
Agreeing with his wife's suggestion, Odin turned to his son Hermod and requested he take care of it. Departing immediately, the rest of us retired to the Great Hall to chat and wait for their arrival.
---Thirty Minutes Later---
As deities and heroes began arriving by the dozens, Odin took the opportunity to introduce me to everyone. Shaking hands with various pantheon leaders, all of them expressed their gratitude for restoring access to the Mortal Realm. Promising to lend their strength in the future, should I ever need it, I graciously accepted their offer.
"Hold on a moment, Father!", Hercules interjected, marching up to me with an angry scowl. "This man is related to our kinsmen's killer. Why do you treat him with such respect when it is his family who caused this mess?!"
"Hercules is right, I do not trust him!", Eternal Zuras spat, eyeing me suspiciously. "He is bedding Asgard's most- "
"Choose your words cautiously, Zuras. You are free to doubt my trustworthiness to your heart's content, but I will not allow you to slander my wife.", I interjected, causing Asgard to shake with my simmering rage. "Anyways, you are the last person here who should be giving lectures about trust. Tell me, did you feel any remorse when you strong-armed the Eternals into abandoning the earth and humanity?"
Striking a nerve, the de facto leader of the Eternals leapt out of his seat, fuming with anger.
"What was that, welp!?", Zuras snarled as his colleagues tried to hold him back.
"You are a coward, deserter, and unfit to be called Prime Eternal.", I coldly stated, having heard of their dereliction of duty from Agamotto previously.
"I don't care if you are Odin's son-in-law! You are a dead man!", Zuras howled.
Lunging at me like a rabid beast, I teleported the bystanders around me away and made no move to stop him. Unleashing a torrent of chaotic blows upon me, Zuras kicked up a small dust storm as he called me every vile name he could think of. After a few minutes of venting his anger, he ceased his onslaught and staggered backward, panting heavily.
"Ha… Haha!! Who is the coward now, fucker!", Zuras laughed as the dust began to clear. "If you managed to survive that, your bitch of a wife can haul your ass away from- "
Falling silent, Zuras was horrified to see me standing there without a scratch on me. Turning his gaze toward his hands, he realized they were nothing more than bloodied stumps now.
"What… How… Impossible!", Zuras screeched, taking another step away from me.
"Drop dead, pathetic urchin.", I commanded, snapping my fingers.
Pinching off dozens of vital blood vessels in his brain, Zuras crumpled to the ground without another word. As his body spasmed on the ground, I used the C'tan's teachings to claim his powers for myself. Watching as I used Biotransference to devour Zuras' soul essence and take the Celestial's blessing, everyone stared at me in utter horror. Unsure if they should intervene or let me carry on, they ultimately chose the latter option.
"Where did you acquire such a horrifying ability?", Zeus questioned as Zuras' body turned to dust and blew away.
"A primordial race called the C'tan have been imparting me with their vast knowledge in exchange for the life essence of vile criminals. It sounds bad, but I am acquiring immense power while making the universe a better place for all.", I said, creating a small star system in the palm of my hand. "I possess the power to bend the whole of creation to my will within a certain range of myself. In addition, I possess extensive magical knowledge and power. If I am being frank with you, there is very little I am unable to achieve if I put my mind to it."
Giving them a small display of my tremendous power, the entirety of the Asgard continent began to violently shake. Manipulating the landmass like a piece of soft clay, I increased its surface area by twenty percent, moved poorly placed mountain ranges, and rapidly regrew ancient forests. Witnessing this process with their own eyes, Heimdall's and Odin's jaws fell open from shock.
"I am not arrogant enough to believe I am the strongest being in all of creation. There are many who tower above me at heights I cannot yet begin to fathom.", I spoke, thinking of my family, friends, the Caspiel Empire, and the Imperium of Man. "Countless people have entrusted their lives and futures to me. I am obligated to protect the happiness and joy we have all fought so hard to achieve. I will continue to improve myself until one day I stand atop everyone, and none remain who can threaten them!"
My sincere words pacified any doubts the various pantheon leaders had about me. With the certainty we were all working toward the same goal, Odin and I started catching everyone up on the current state of things.