The beam of light descending from the sky instantly caught everyone's attention. It moved effortlessly across the battlefield, and wherever it passed, swathes of monsters were annihilated.
"What is that…?"
Roger stared blankly at the sudden beam, completely at a loss.
"Stark, what do you think's going on?!"
"How the hell should I know?!"
Tony Stark anxiously watched the light. The Blood Pool monsters were already more than enough of a headache—this was the worst time for new unknowns to show up.
"That's the Bifrost! The Rainbow Bridge from Asgard!"
From aboard his aircraft, Thor recognized it immediately and shouted in shock.
"What?!"
Nick Fury couldn't hide his surprise.
In the next second, the beam vanished—replaced by an army of over ten thousand warriors in shining armor, weapons in hand.
Leading them at the front was none other than Odin.
"ASGARDIANS—CHARGE!"
Odin raised his Eternal Spear, his voice echoing across the battlefield and making sure Earth's defenders knew exactly who had arrived.
"CHAAARGE!!!"
The Asgardian warriors roared in unison, their formation slicing into the monster horde and trampling over anything in their way.
Asgardians possessed far superior physical strength compared to humans, and that was just baseline. Professionally trained Asgardian soldiers were monsters in their own right. By comparison, even someone like Captain America would barely count as average among them.
And their weapons? They far surpassed Earth's technological level.
Which was why, even when facing monsters many times their size, the Asgardians cut them down like harvesting crops.
"So they're Asgardian soldiers… That must be Odin? Pretty badass. I wonder what kind of materials their weapons are made from—maybe I can get my hands on some."
Tony Stark watched their primitive-looking gear wreaking havoc with immense interest.
Before he could keep speculating, a group of large, bat- and eagle-like monsters suddenly swooped toward him, forcing him to drop all other thoughts and focus on defending himself.
"Sir, all of your backup suits have arrived."
Jarvis's voice came through. Tony looked toward the horizon.
Dozens of Iron Man suits, each with different sizes and colors, were flying in.
"Tony, those are your backup suits?! That many?!"
Rhodey was stunned.
"Yep. Threw them together over the past few days. Always good to prepare for the worst."
Tony grinned as he watched his army of suits arrive, proud of his creations.
"AaaaAAAAHHHH!!!"
A sudden scream from above drew everyone's attention.
Thor was plummeting from the aircraft—apparently, he had jumped out at some point but had yet to open a parachute.
"Idiot! Open your damn parachute!!"
Rhodey shouted in frustration.
As if the battle wasn't chaotic enough already—now they had to babysit this guy?
Was this really the same self-proclaimed badass prince of Asgard?
"Huh? Open the parachute?"
Thor scrambled to pull it open—only for the parachute to deploy just as he slammed into the ground.
"Thor-sama!!"
Thankfully, his four companions—Sif, Hogun, Fandral, and Volstagg—were nearby. They rushed to help him, pulling away the parachute so he could stand.
Luckily, Thor's Asgardian physique saved him. A normal human would've died on impact.
"Hey, guys… long time no see."
Thor looked at his four friends awkwardly, unsure what expression to show.
He had been hesitating about joining the fight, but when he saw the Asgardian army appear, his long-dormant warrior's spirit reignited, and he impulsively leapt from the aircraft.
But the painful crash brought him back to reality—he had lost his powers. Was he even qualified to fight anymore?
"Thor, lead us into battle again!"
Sif clapped him on the shoulder, eyes full of determination. The other three nodded with equal intensity.
Seeing their expectant faces only deepened Thor's guilt. He no longer had what it took to lead them.
"Sorry… I don't have the hammer. I can't do anything now."
Thor lowered his head in defeat.
The sight of the once-mighty, fearless Thor acting so broken left the four warriors visibly shocked.
"You can! Even before you had the hammer, you led us into countless battles!"
Sif, unwilling to see him sink into despair, handed him her sword.
But Thor couldn't even hold it properly. It slipped, embedding into the ground, and he nearly fell over with it.
"You led us without Mjolnir before. You faced every foe without flinching. How can you be like this now?"
Sif's voice trembled with frustration as she watched Thor slump, struggling to even grip a sword.
ROOOAAARRR!!!
Suddenly, a wave of monsters charged toward them. The four warriors had no time to worry about Thor. They rushed to intercept the threat.
"…How did I become like this?"
Thor repeated Sif's words to himself and looked down at the blade. The reflection showed his face: weary, bloated, with heavy bags under his eyes. He looked nothing like the god of thunder he used to be.
He looked around.
Everyone was fighting. No one was retreating. Even as casualties began mounting—among both Kamar-Taj sorcerers and Asgardian soldiers—those remaining fought without fear.
Compared to them, Thor felt utterly useless.
"What am I doing? I'm the proud prince of Asgard—the God of Thunder! How can I just stand here doing nothing?!"
Enraged by his own weakness, Thor roared and forced himself to lift the sword with all his strength.
"Even without Mjolnir—even without divine power—I am still a warrior of Asgard! To protect my people, to defend Midgard, I will fight to the death!!"
With a mighty yell, he thrust the sword into the charging lynx-like monster, piercing its chest. Then he yanked it out and rushed toward the beasts attacking his four friends, swinging the blade to give them cover.
Seeing Thor fight again, the four warriors grinned with joy. Their morale surged, and they pushed back the monsters at his side.
Far away, in the desert of a small town in Mexico, Mjolnir began to tremble.
Sparks of lightning danced across its surface.
Sensing the change in Thor's heart, the hammer slowly rose into the air—then rocketed into the sky, heading toward the Blood Pool battlefield.
(End of Chapter)
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