"Wait…"
A sudden realization struck Coulson, one that felt far more severe than anything he'd considered before.
As the Supreme Sorcerer, Senju Haruto's words were not something he could doubt. If Haruto claimed the hammer was tied to the Norse gods, then it could only mean one thing—beings people had always assumed to be myth, mere stories passed down through legend… were all real.
For reasons unknown, those gods hadn't shown themselves in the world of humans. But now, with Thor's hammer fallen here in New Mexico, it was as if a fuse had been lit—one that could tear open the boundaries between dimensions, dragging those distant gods into the mortal world.
Whether it was like that bearded man had speculated—divine judgment—or something else entirely, it wouldn't be long before the so-called Norse gods descended upon this land.
Perhaps they'd come to choose a successor.
Perhaps they'd simply come to reclaim the hammer.
Either way, the ripples would be enormous.
No—this wasn't just possible. It was inevitable.
We're talking about gods.
"Haruto… this isn't going to cause any problems, right?" Coulson swallowed hard, asking cautiously.
He had no concept of what sort of powers these gods possessed, or how strong they truly were. As an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., the thought gnawed at him—what if these beings ended up standing against them?
After all, in Coulson's eyes, their strongest trump card at present was Haruto, the Supreme Sorcerer. Beyond him, they had Captain Rogers, a figure of moral authority and inspiration.
But Haruto, for all his immense strength, wasn't a god.
Could his power really measure up to theirs?
The more Coulson thought about it, the more he wished Haruto were only joking—teasing him for the sake of a scare.
Yet one look at Haruto's serious expression made it clear—he wasn't joking.
"Who knows?" Haruto shrugged, entirely unfazed.
Norse gods, in his eyes, were hardly lofty beings. If anything, he thought of them as pitiful. Especially Thor.
Back when Haruto first watched The Avengers, he had thought Thor was basically the comic relief of the group. A so-called god of thunder who lacked dignity and wisdom, who needed Stark and Banner to solve anything remotely intellectual, and who was outwitted by Loki time and time again.
Only as the Marvel stories went on did Thor's character grow richer.
In Thor: The Dark World, he'd witnessed his mother's death, powerless to stop it, and was left tormented by Loki's supposed sacrifice.
In Thor: Ragnarok, he gained his brother but lost his father. Then Asgard itself was reduced to ashes under Surtur's blade.
And yet, Thor did not break. He became king of Asgard, led his people toward Earth to begin anew.
But fate wasn't finished with him.
On the way to Earth, they encountered Thanos. Their ship destroyed. Countless Asgardians slaughtered before his eyes. And then Loki—his last true family—died right in front of him.
Still, he didn't give in to despair. He journeyed to Nidavellir, forged Stormbreaker, and returned to Earth for a desperate battle against Thanos.
But even then—even in his godly armor—he failed to change the outcome.
He regretted not aiming for Thanos' head.
And when Captain Marvel arrived, he joined her in venturing to the Garden to try reclaiming the Infinity Stones, to undo the tragedy.
But that, too, ended in failure.
All of it, step by step, forged the broken, heavyset Thor who came later.
And yet Haruto knew—if another man had lived through all that, he might have shattered far earlier, perhaps even turned dark.
Looking back over all the Marvel films, Haruto realized he actually liked Thor.
Unlike Stark, who bore godlike power in a mortal body, Thor was a true god. The thunder god of Asgard.
"Don't you want to try?"
Coulson's voice broke through Haruto's thoughts, pulling him back. The agent had returned to his side, gesturing toward the hammer.
Truth be told, Coulson hadn't been surprised at his own failure. That outcome had been expected. But he had high hopes for Haruto.
This was the Supreme Sorcerer, master of countless spells. Not yet a god, but likely the person on Earth most capable of lifting the hammer.
"Me?" Haruto blinked. He hadn't been interested in Mjolnir at all.
But Coulson was good at stirring up a crowd. He clapped, calling for Haruto to give it a shot.
And Haruto's sharp features, commanding aura, and heroic bearing only fueled the enthusiasm. The gathered tourists quickly joined in, cheering him on.
They'd come here for fun, after all—how could they pass up this spectacle?
Haruto glanced at their eager faces, then at the hammer lying at the crater's heart.
S.H.I.E.L.D.'s reinforcements wouldn't arrive for a little while yet.
Why not?
With that thought, he stepped forward.
Coulson instantly fell silent, eyes widening, terrified of even blinking and missing the moment.
The truth was, he was far more nervous now than when he'd tried himself. Deep down, he believed—Haruto was the one who could actually lift it.
Haruto was already close. Standing at the edge of the crater, the hammer was only a short walk away.
Less than half a minute later, he stood before it. One small bend at the waist and his fingers could brush its handle.
Back before he'd crossed into this world, Haruto might have dreamed of possessing such a weapon.
But now, the desire simply wasn't there.
"Humans really are strange creatures," he muttered to himself.
Things that once seemed impossibly out of reach could become things you no longer even cared to look at. Like when he was a child, and strawberry preserves were a rare luxury—something his family bought only for birthdays or when he was sick. But as an adult, passing the jars in the supermarket, he didn't even glance at them.
Congratulations, Host. You've reached the sign-in location!
Initiating sign-in.
Please do not exit midway.
1%...
22%...
…
97%...
100%!
Congratulations, Host. Sign-in complete!
Reward obtained: Awakening of Thor's Power!
BOOM!
As the system's final tone faded, a surge of raw, untamed energy exploded into Haruto's body.
It was as if thunder roared in his ears.
This wasn't anything like the Lightning Release of the Naruto world. Lightning Release merely channeled chakra with a lightning attribute into different forms—an energy born of the user.
But this—this power felt as though it came from the very heavens themselves.
In that instant, every storm, every thunderclap across the world seemed to fuse with Senju Haruto.
This was true divine power.
Something far beyond any Lightning Release technique.
Even a strike like Kirin paled to nothing before it.
...
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