If not for Senju Haruto's timely intervention, Thor was certain he would've died on Midgard.
The Destroyer's power had far exceeded anything he had imagined. In his current state, Thor was no match for that monstrous construct.
And after returning to Asgard—he had failed to save Loki, who had chosen death over redemption.
He had been powerless again, unable to stop the activated Bifröst cannon.
In wisdom as well, Thor knew he still fell far short of his father, Odin.
Right now…
He was not qualified to inherit the throne.
Thor sank to one knee and spoke from the heart, confessing every thought and regret without reservation.
Not only that—he even asked Odin to entrust him with the duty of rebuilding the Bifröst.
Loki might have been the one who orchestrated everything, the true mastermind behind their suffering. But if Thor had realized his mistakes sooner—if he hadn't been so arrogant and reckless—perhaps none of this would've happened.
Odin looked down at his son, his eyes filled with quiet contemplation.
His intention had never been to punish Thor. He only wanted his son to understand that starting a war was easy—and even winning one was not the hardest part.
The true weight came afterward, when countless innocents were caught in the flames.
When suffering became endless.
When people lived their lives shrouded in despair.
A wise ruler must think not of conquest, but of how to make his people live in peace and happiness.
Now, Odin could see that Thor finally understood that truth.
More than that—he had grown.
If Loki had shared Thor's current humility and sense of responsibility, he would never have been blinded by ambition… and would never have fallen so far.
The thought filled Odin with sorrow.
He sighed softly, then spoke:
"Very well. Then I'll leave the task of rebuilding the Bifröst to you."
Odin's tone softened as he agreed to his son's request.
But he knew rebuilding the bridge would be no simple feat.
The Bifröst was forged through the power of dark magic—a force that now barely existed in Asgard.
For a fleeting moment, an image surfaced in Odin's mind.
A woman.
Hela.
She had always been the shadow in his heart, the one name he could never completely suppress.
If she were to return… Odin feared that Asgard would once again be drowned in blood and fire.
He could only hope that, by then, Thor would have grown into a true king.
"Rise, Thor," Odin said at last.
As Thor stood, Odin turned his gaze back to Haruto.
Since Thor had refused the throne, the coronation ceremony was no longer necessary—so the invitation Odin had extended to Haruto no longer applied.
Still, there was one thing that had been weighing on his mind.
"That weapon you used earlier…" Odin's tone shifted slightly as he brought up the matter that had caught his attention.
The Gungnir—his own spear.
Odin knew Haruto was the hero of this incident. The title of Supreme Sorcerer alone was worthy of his respect.
But this was no trivial matter.
It demanded clarification.
"You mean this?" Haruto replied calmly.
He raised a hand, and with a thought, drew Gungnir from his inventory.
It was genuine—the real Gungnir.
Or rather, Haruto suspected it was the comic version of the weapon, not the one from the movies.
After all, the system had always rewarded him with items straight from the source material—his Eye of Agamotto and Cloak of Levitation had both been from the comics.
And in the comics, power levels were far greater than in the films.
Come to think of it, in all the Marvel movies, Odin had never actually unleashed the true power of Gungnir.
That brilliant, comet-like weapon had never once appeared in its full glory—almost as if it didn't exist at all.
Yet the weapon in Haruto's hand now… it looked as if it had been pulled straight from another dimension—shimmering, solid, and alive.
"This," Haruto explained lightly, "is simply a form of construct magic—manifesting thought into reality."
As he spoke, his arm flexed—and in one smooth motion, he hurled the spear toward Asgard's palace.
It blazed through the sky like a burning meteor, fire engulfing it as it ripped through the air so fast that space itself seemed to distort.
The sudden display stunned everyone present—including Odin himself.
No one had expected Haruto to suddenly attack Asgard.
"Haruto! What are you doing?!" Thor shouted in shock.
But before his voice had even faded, the spear broke apart midair—disintegrating into a shower of golden light before vanishing completely.
Thor froze, wide-eyed, realizing he'd been fooled.
A moment's thought was all it took to understand: Haruto had just saved Asgard—why would he destroy it now?
He had only been demonstrating his abilities.
In truth, Haruto had simply recalled the spear back into his inventory after launching it.
Otherwise, that single throw could have torn apart the palace's defenses and devastated Asgard itself.
Even a conservative estimate of the casualties would've numbered in the tens of thousands.
But Haruto wasn't the kind of man who would slaughter innocents just to prove his strength.
Not everyone in Asgard was a god.
Most were ordinary citizens—no stronger than humans with firearms.
"Magic…" Odin murmured under his breath.
When he'd first seen the spear, it had looked—and felt—completely real.
The flight, the impact, the energy—it hadn't resembled magic in the slightest.
But when it dissolved midair, no other explanation fit.
No weapon could behave like that.
After pondering it in silence, Odin finally accepted the truth.
The level of magic Haruto commanded had long surpassed his understanding.
To surpass both the first Sorcerer Supreme and the Ancient One… it was only a matter of time.
No—
Odin's eyes flickered with awe.
Haruto had already surpassed the Ancient One.
"Well," Haruto said at last, breaking the silence, "since everything here has been resolved, I should probably return to Earth."
He paused briefly, a faint smile tugging at his lips.
"After all, I'm Earth's guardian."
Compared to Asgard, Haruto still preferred Earth.
If it weren't for the system's sign-in task, he probably wouldn't have come here at all—he would've left Loki for Thor to deal with.
But… one thought lingered in his mind.
Because the Destroyer had grown stronger than expected, Thor had barely had any strength left upon returning to Asgard.
Haruto had witnessed firsthand how close Thor came to collapse—how he'd been too weak to destroy the Bifröst himself.
That was why Haruto had stepped in.
In other words… if Haruto hadn't accompanied Thor back to Asgard—
would Earth have been destroyed?
Was that why the system had assigned him this sign-in mission—to prevent Earth's annihilation?
If that were true…
then these missions were far more than just a way for him to grow stronger.
Haruto frowned slightly. "If I hadn't come…"
But he quickly shook the thought away.
It didn't matter anymore.
The crisis was over.
It was time to go home.
Just as he was preparing to leave, Thor's expression turned apologetic.
"I'm sorry," he said. "But repairing the Bifröst won't happen overnight. You might not be able to leave here for… some time."
Of course, "some time" meant something very different to Thor.
For someone who had lived fifteen hundred years, even decades could pass like mere moments.
Haruto, however, wasn't concerned.
He simply raised his hand—and before Thor's astonished eyes—opened a shimmering portal using the Sling Ring.
And stepped through it without hesitation.