Loki knelt on one knee, gasping for breath. Half his green cloak had been incinerated, and only one of the antelope-like horns on his helmet remained.
The reason Loki was in such a miserable state was Wanda. Despite his best efforts to dodge her conjured phoenixes, several of them had still struck him.
He was furious—but more than that, he was terrified. He had never imagined the sorcerers of Earth could wield such overwhelming power.
He had always regarded Earth as a backwater planet, its magic pitiful at best. How could so many powerful spellcasters suddenly appear one after another? Alex Ray was one. The woman attacking him—Wanda Maximoff—was another. And then there was the Sorcerer Supreme, who was supposedly on par with Odin himself.
Loki had never actually witnessed the Sorcerer Supreme's power. He used to think Odin only acknowledged the title out of some ancient courtesy.
What a joke of a title. He had believed the Sorcerer Supreme was just another elder being humored by the old guard.
But now, Loki realized he had completely underestimated Earth. These people could see through his illusions like they were made of glass.
Could it be that all Earthlings could see through them? That couldn't be right. His illusions had worked before—just not on these monsters.
Meanwhile, Alex Ray stood to the side, calmly observing Loki.
He'd been closely monitoring the battle, ready to intervene if Wanda was in danger—but clearly, she wasn't. Her power had grown exponentially. It put him at ease.
Arms crossed, Alex watched Loki with a relaxed expression, as if enjoying a live performance. His actual opponent—Kaito Daiki, the man transformed as Kamen Rider Diend—wasn't even a threat at this point.
Alex had mobilized no fewer than ten Riders to overwhelm Kaito in a direct confrontation.
It wasn't that Kaito hadn't summoned Riders of his own. He had. But Alex's summoned Riders weren't in basic forms—they were advanced, fully upgraded. Kaito's Riders, on the other hand, were in base form and were destroyed almost instantly after appearing.
Alex could hear Loki's thoughts and smirked silently.
He sensed Loki's rage and dread, and he understood the trickster's doubt and frustration. Unless Loki could conjure an entire city illusion like his older variant—the "God of Stories"—then Alex and the others would always see through his tricks.
In fact, most of the stronger heroes in Hell's Kitchen and the more adept sorcerers at Kamar-Taj would easily pierce through Loki's illusions now.
Frankly, Alex figured Loki still needed at least two and a half more years of training.
Loki's arrogance was the real problem—he needed a proper humbling. The only reason he could even hold his ground against Wanda was because she was still young. If she had the level of control she displayed in Avengers: Endgame, Loki would've been obliterated in a single spell.
Of course, Alex had no intention of killing Loki just yet. The trickster still had value. One reason was that the "God of Stories" version of Loki from Alex's dream gave him pause.
Until it was clear whether that version of Loki was friend or foe, it was better to keep this one alive.
Besides, Alex didn't actually dislike Loki. After all, Loki had once sacrificed himself for Thor—and that act alone proved he wasn't truly evil. Plus, Alex could sense Loki's emotional turmoil.
At his core, Loki was a man starved for affection—everything he did was to earn Odin's approval.
Honestly, if Alex had been in Loki's shoes, he might've made worse decisions. Loki was still too innocent in some ways.
Alex also sensed something off—an external influence affecting Loki's mind.
His eyes narrowed toward the scepter in Loki's grip. Was it the Mind Stone?
Still, a lesson had to be taught. And Alex intended to collect interest on the debt Loki owed.
You can't handle the Mind Stone, Alex thought silently. So just hand it over to me.
Loki scanned the battlefield, realizing how dire his situation had become. He was already considering escape.
Then, in a move that caught Wanda completely off guard, Loki raised both hands and shouted, "I surrender!"
That's right—Loki, the God of Mischief, just surrendered. Shameless.
He looked at Alex, who stood with infuriating ease to the side, and then at Wanda—who was still hurling phoenixes without a hint of exhaustion.
There was no point in dragging this out. Loki couldn't win—and he wasn't stupid enough to die trying.
Besides, this was part of the plan.
Just as expected, Wanda froze for a moment, stunned by Loki's sudden capitulation. Her eyes darted to Alex in confusion.
Loki seized the split-second opportunity, vanishing in a flash of green magic—reappearing behind Kaito Daiki.
"Go!" he barked. It was their only shot at retreat.
Kaito understood. He first blasted away the Riders surrounding him, then hastily summoned a dimensional wall.
Before stepping through, Kaito canceled his transformation and shot Alex a meaningful look.
There was defiance in his gaze—he hadn't admitted defeat. It was more of a silent challenge, as if to say: Next time, I'm going all in.
Kaito refused to believe he was weaker than Alex. He knew Alex hadn't used his full strength—but neither had he.
Loki, meanwhile, was both smug and resentful. Smug because he'd tricked Wanda. Resentful because he still couldn't accept losing to a woman standing next to Alex.
He rushed through the dimensional wall, glancing back nervously, afraid Alex would chase him down at any second.
Just before disappearing, Loki spat out a final threat:
"Just wait! The Chitauri army will soon descend upon Earth—and when they do, I'll be the one ruling this planet. I don't care how strong you are, Alex Ray—you can't save everyone once the invasion begins.
When the time comes, you'll kneel before me and beg. Hehehe!"
What Loki didn't know was that Alex had already made preparations for the Chitauri. He was simply waiting for Loki to bring them.
Loki thought he had successfully deceived both Alex and Wanda.
But truthfully, there was no way his pitiful acting had fooled Alex.
Alex had let Loki escape—on purpose.
The next second, Loki emerged on the other side of the dimensional wall, far away from Alex's reach.
He looked around frantically, making sure he hadn't been followed.
Then, filled with misguided triumph, he laughed up at the sky. "Alex Ray, you're not so special after all! You've been dancing in the palm of my hand!"
But just then—a golden halo silently bloomed beside him.
Before Loki could react, a hand reached through the portal and snatched the scepter from his grasp.
"Thank you," came the voice, cool and casual—belonging to none other than Alex Ray.
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Bonus Chapter - 150 Power Stones
2nd Bonus Chapter - 300 Power Stones
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