Lock waited quietly, but there was no movement from Svartalfheim.
The Bifrost had just opened — there was no way the dark elves hadn't noticed.
Either they didn't want to come out… or they didn't dare.
That punch Lock threw back in Asgard must have been seen here. No matter how stubborn Malekith was, he had to know Lock was not someone to provoke.
In that case, Lock had no intention of being polite.
If they wouldn't come out to talk, then he would force them out.
"I'll act first. Thor, you do the talking," Lock said calmly.
Thor blinked. "What do you mean—"
Before he could finish, Lock threw a punch toward the sky.
A soft boom sounded, and a massive, dark-blue energy fist shot upward. It soared for dozens of kilometers before stopping midair.
From a distance, it looked like a bright blue full moon hanging over the sky.
The glow bathed Svartalfheim in an eerie light, instantly exposing countless dark elves hiding in the shadows.
The elves panicked for a moment, scattering toward the nearest patches of darkness.
But Lock wasn't done.
Bang bang bang bang bang…
Dozens of soft booms rang out as Lock summoned more Infinite Divine Fists, until the entire sky was filled with glowing blue "moons."
Each fist mark floated in place, suspended under Lock's control. At any moment, they could crash down — a hanging threat, like dozens of Swords of Damocles.
The once lightless realm was now bright as day — a cold, ominous, blue day.
From the distance came countless guttural growls. Clearly, Lock's display had enraged the dark elves.
But none dared to act.
Everyone could feel the terrifying power of those floating "moons." If they fell, it would mean the annihilation of this land.
Thor finally understood what Lock meant by letting him "speak."
He stepped forward, Mjolnir in hand, and shouted:
"Malekith! Come out and face us! You dared to strike at Asgard — now face Asgard's wrath!"
No reply came.
Lock's expression didn't change. He simply snapped his fingers.
One of the floating fists plummeted and struck the ground in the distance.
BOOM!
The impact was like a nuclear detonation.
A giant mushroom cloud rose skyward as blue divine energy exploded outward for dozens of kilometers.
Mountains crumbled. The earth cracked open. Dark elves caught in the blast were disintegrated instantly, turning to dust and scattering with the wind.
Lock wasn't just being cruel for cruelty's sake.
This wasn't only about revenge for Asgard.
It was about survival.
Light and darkness — two races that could not coexist.
No matter how you painted it — justice or evil — the winner lived, and the loser was erased.
The reason the dark elves had been weak for so long was that the light had triumphed. Stars had been allowed to shine. Life flourished under that light — including humanity.
But if the dark elves ever succeeded in snuffing out the stars, half the life in the universe would die within a day.
This was why, thousands of years ago, King Bor — Odin's father — had led a massacre of the dark elves.
It was not cruelty. It was survival.
When the light of the Infinite Fist faded, Lock could sense tens of thousands of dark elves stirring in the distance — ready to strike.
But someone was holding them back.
Malekith finally appeared, walking slowly out of the shadows until he stood before Lock, Thor, and Jane.
"Thor Odinson," Malekith said coldly, "what do you want? The Aether is the sacred relic of our people. It was only right that we tried to reclaim it."
Thor's voice was firm.
"It's simple. Give us the method to safely extract the Aether. Do that, and the attack on Asgard will be forgiven."
"Impossible!" Malekith's voice rose, anger flashing in his red eyes. "Only we can control our sacred relic!"
"Really?" Lock said, his tone cold but amused.
"You only found the Aether a few thousand years ago. How exactly did it become your sacred object? Whose sacred object was it 13.7 billion years ago?"
Malekith snarled.
"In the beginning, there was only darkness! The universe belonged to us. It was your so-called gods and Celestials who polluted it with their stars!"
His gaze fell on Jane, weak and leaning on Thor's arm. He understood everything immediately.
"I can help you extract the Aether and save the woman," Malekith said at last. "But I have two conditions: the Aether belongs to me, and you must remove those first seals and swear never to interfere with us again."
Lock stepped forward, his aura pressing down like a mountain.
"You misunderstand, Malekith. You don't threaten us — we threaten you. You have thousands of people. We are just three. Which side has more to lose?"
Malekith threw back his head and laughed.
"My people will gladly die for the rebirth of our world. But will you throw away the woman in your arms?"
Lock didn't reply.
He simply snapped his fingers again.
Another fist fell.
BOOM!
A massive wave of dust tore across the wasteland. No one knew how many dark elves were erased this time.
Lock raised a divine barrier, shielding Thor and Jane from the blast.
Through the rolling dust, Malekith's face twisted with hate.
If Thor had come alone, he might have already agreed to Malekith's terms.
All that mattered to Thor was Jane's life.
But Lock could not allow Malekith to keep the Aether. If the dark elves regained it, they would try to plunge the universe into eternal night.
This was a line that could not be crossed — not for Jane's sake, not for anyone's.
Some dark elves in the distance were now readying weapons. Battleships lifted off from hidden bases.
Lock's eyes narrowed.
"It seems you've made your choice. Then there's nothing more to discuss."
He pressed his hand down.
Three of the floating fists shot downward, smashing directly into the approaching battleships.
The resulting explosions vaporized the entire fleet.
Even a mothership couldn't withstand Lock's Infinite Fist — ordinary ships had no chance at all.
Malekith finally broke.
"Stop!" he shouted. "I will give you the formula!"
Lock's tone was icy.
"Good. And don't try to trick me. If anything happens to Jane, I will wipe out your entire people."
At his words, the dozens of remaining fists slowly began to lower, appearing larger and heavier as they descended — a silent warning.
Malekith ground his teeth but transmitted the extraction formula.
Lock carefully compared it to his own experience manipulating space with the Tesseract. It matched.
"Thor," Lock said, "lay Jane down. Don't touch her. I'll handle this."
Thor nodded grimly. "Do it."
Lock gathered his divine power, following the formula step by step.
Slowly, a dark red substance began to seep from Jane's eyes.
In her mind, Jane saw the sun die. Darkness swallowed the Earth, then spread across the galaxy, extinguishing stars one by one until the entire universe was a silent, frozen grave.
The liquid Aether writhed in the air, alive, as though searching for a new host.
At last, Jane shuddered once — and the final drop of Aether was expelled.
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A/N: Advanced Chapters Have Been Uploaded On My Patreon
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