Lock smiled: "My skills are inferior. I deserved that beating."
His words stirred a hornet's nest. Even the gentle Sif slowly drew her sword, ready to punish this Earthling for insulting the prince.
Lock stood, brushing dust from his clothes. "It seems, unless we fight, this won't end well."
Thor laughed. "Ha! Lock, I've lost my divine power, so I can't avenge myself just yet. But they are my comrades—if they beat you, then it's the same as me beating you, hahahaha…"
Knowing now that his father still lived, Thor was in high spirits, his playful nature bubbling back to the surface.
Lock shrugged. "Then if I beat them, it'll be the same as hitting you in the face?"
Hogun, ever hot-tempered, yanked out his mace at once, ready to charge.
Thor waved him back. "Not here! Outside the town. Don't wreck these mortals' homes."
They moved to the desert's edge.
Hogun was first, rushing forward with his mace. "Let me teach you a lesson!"
With a soft pop, Lock caught the mace in one hand. The spiked head — sharp enough to pierce steel — couldn't even dent his skin.
"Come on together," Lock said evenly. "Don't waste time."
The Asgardians stiffened. They finally realized this man wasn't ordinary, and they stopped underestimating him. Weapons were drawn; they surrounded him in formation.
Sif's sword struck from the front, swift and flexible.
Hogun swung his mace from the side.
Fandral whirled his meteor hammer into a deadly orbit.
Volstagg, hulking and powerful, slashed from the rear with a greatsword.
In moments, a tight encirclement closed in.
Lock nodded inwardly. No wonder these four were Thor's most trusted. Their teamwork was flawless — enough to storm a Frost Giant stronghold.
All the better.
He slipped left, dodging the encirclement, and drove a fist straight at Sif.
Sif braced, pressing one hand to her sword's hilt, the other to the blade's pommel. Lock's punch bent the steel into a half-circle — then snap! The blade recoiled, blasting her back dozens of meters, dispersing the blow's force.
"Asgard's warriors are no joke," Lock thought, impressed. Her technique turned raw power aside, unlike any opponent he'd fought before.
Behind him, three weapons closed in at once.
Lock caught Volstagg's greatsword between two fingers. The big man's eyes bulged in disbelief. "Impossible…"
The meteor hammer whipped at Lock's head in a vicious arc. He tilted aside just in time, and with a flick of his fingers, redirected Volstagg's sword into Hogun's mace.
Clang! The impact rang like thunder. The greatsword flew from Volstagg's grip, and Hogun staggered, his hand numb, nearly losing his weapon.
In a few exchanges, the four had already faltered, their rhythm broken.
Hogun sucked in a breath, temper cooled. "No wonder you gave Thor two panda eyes. With that kind of strength, you are arrogant enough to back it up."
Thor rolled his eyes. "You just had to bring that up…"
Sif regrouped quickly, signaling her comrades to return to formation. This time, no one underestimated Lock.
Flames rippled to life along Sif's blade, flowing like a living thing.
The others' weapons glowed with divine energy, yellow sparks flaring as they readied their true power.
"Ahh!" Sif cried as she lunged, her sword blazing.
Even before her strike landed, Lock felt heat searing his chest, his skin blistering.
He laughed. "Good! This is the kind of battle I've been waiting for."
Until now, every opponent had tested only his physical strength — where he excelled, even above Thor. But against magic, divine power, and strange energy? That was new.
He caught the sword between his fingers — or tried to.
Sif twisted, refusing to withdraw. Her blade cleaved down. Lock's flesh split open, a jagged crack racing from his fingers to his wrist. Nearly half his palm was severed.
But his healing surged instantly. Muscle and sinew writhed like living worms, pulling torn flesh back together. Within moments, the wound began to knit closed.
The Asgardians pressed hard, not waiting for him to recover. All four attacked in perfect rhythm, striking and fading, never meeting his brute force head-on.
Even so, every blow Lock threw forced them to skid back hundreds of meters, sand spraying in clouds, craters gouged deep into the desert floor. The clash thundered like armies colliding, five fighters shaking the earth.
If not for Thor's warning, the town would already be rubble.
But numbers told. Four against one, all weapons blessed with divine power. Little by little, Lock's body accumulated cuts and burns, his skin scorched with every glancing strike.
Thor shouted from the sidelines. "Brothers, don't kill him! He is my friend from Midgard!"
Lock grinned, blood on his lips. "Thor… there's no telling who will be merciful."
Then — bang!
He vanished.
Supersonic strike. A technique he'd mastered at the last hammer tournament, driving his monstrous strength and speed to extremes. Unless you could react faster than sound, you would only be prey.
Fandral was first.
The meteor hammer spun — then Lock snatched it mid-swing, wrapping the chain around Fandral and binding him tight.
He chose the hammer first; its unpredictable arcs made it the greatest nuisance.
Even so, divine power bit deep. The spikes tore bloody holes in his hand, proof enough of Asgard's might.
Sif barked, "Back to back!"
The remaining three shifted instantly, pressing shoulder to shoulder, forming a defensive ring with no blind spots.
Lock tested it, circling. Wherever he struck, one defended while the other two covered. Against such a formation, only brute force could break through.
But every time his skin touched their glowing blades, it charred and smoked.
He thought grimly, even the Hulk would struggle against this. Unless he used his true trump card…
And with a crooked smile, Lock murmured to himself:
"Hulk smashes."
---
A/N: I have updated some small mistakes that were made in the initial chapter, such as naming consistency in a single chapter only, Tony's suit names, and some grammar mistakes. Special thanks to 'Psykotik' for mentioning it most of the time. At a point, I just thought he was my manager/editor who points out even a single mistake, just kidding, thank you everyone for supporting me, and please mention mistakes if you found them, have a good day, you all.
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