Chapter 368: Divine Status Shaken, Cul, You Are Too Old!
"Oh, my god~"
Tony couldn't help but open his faceplate and let out such an exclamation.
He had already given up trying to use Jarvis for energy index analysis because it was completely meaningless; even if he burned out Jarvis's CPU, it would be impossible to calculate the terrifying power of the scene before him.
Captain America's hand gripping his shield also subconsciously relaxed; the moment he looked at that Thousand-Armed Buddha, it was as if he were seeing God himself.
Gwen, Felicia, Sif, Daisy, and the other girls subconsciously exchanged glances, and all could read a deep sense of joy in each other's eyes!
Such a man was actually their boyfriend.
What else in this world could provide more security than this?
At this moment, the global audience was in an uproar.
The faith of countless people was deeply shaken at this moment!
After the God of Fear descended, neither God, the Buddha, nor Allah appeared.
Only that person appeared before everyone, using all sorts of incredible abilities to tell the world—even if you are a god, if you want to invade this Planet, I will beat you up!
In this instant, many people secretly made up their minds.
Why bother believing in God anymore!
From today on, I am the most loyal believer of The ArbiterChurch!
Believe in God and gain eternal life? ×
Believe in The Arbiter and gain eternal life! ✓
...
On the battlefield of Buenos Aires.
Complex emotions churned in Cul's snake eyes.
He had even given up on opening his mouth to mock or question anything further.
Because... it was already too late.
The intense, needle-like sense of crisis in his mind was reminding him at every moment:
He must immediately take action to restrict this Midgardian's creation from continuing to grow stronger.
Otherwise, even he might fall under this terrifying power!
With this thought, the World Serpent opened its jaws wide, and a mass of dark green energy rapidly condensed within its mouth.
The volume of the energy orb expanded rapidly; in just two seconds, it had expanded to a diameter of nearly one hundred meters, and the destructive power contained within it caused the surrounding air to twist and warp.
"Die!"
Accompanied by a roar, the energy orb transformed into a blinding beam of light and erupted outward.
It was so fast that even sound couldn't keep up, dragging a trail of dark green flames as it headed straight for Peter.
But... he was fast, but the Susanoo Buddha was faster.
It didn't even require Peter to make a command gesture.
The twin blades in the Buddha's hands slashed forward.
In an instant, an "X"-shaped blade aura that connected heaven and earth appeared.
The blade light flashed past.
That energy orb, nearly one hundred meters in diameter, was split into four quarters right from the center. The four remaining masses of energy grazed past the left and right sides of the Buddha, exploding into four mushroom clouds on the distant mountains.
With just one slash, Cul's confident attack was rendered futile!
Cul's snake eyes constricted violently; just as he wanted to make another counterattack, the Susanoo Buddha had already charged up.
A thousand giant hands and a thousand long blades slashed forward simultaneously.
Without a doubt, this was a nearly brutal saturation attack.
The moment the first wave of blade arrays hit Cul's snake body, his dark green scales were sliced open in over a dozen places.
Golden divine blood sprayed out, tracing a heartbreakingly beautiful parabola in the air.
Cul let out a painful hiss, his snake body instinctively wanting to retreat.
But the thousand hands would not give him the chance to retreat.
The second wave followed closely behind.
The third wave.
The fourth wave.
The blade shadows overlapped, layer upon layer, so dense that even light couldn't penetrate them.
Every pink long blade carried the terrifying sharpness of Senbonzakura after its Bankai.
Combined with the power of the Buddha and the burning effect of the Susanoo's Chakra flames.
The combination of these three abilities was not as simple as 1+1+1=3!
The entire battlefield echoed with continuous roaring.
The earth trembled, mountains collapsed, and even the clouds in the sky were torn into fragments by the shockwaves, revealing streaks of broken void.
The World Serpent's massive body struggled violently in this storm of blades, its snake tail lashing out wildly against the Buddha.
But no matter how he struggled, it was to no avail.
The defense of the Susanoo-clad Buddha was so formidable that it was almost on par with his World Serpent body.
Instead, the output of Senkei: Senbonzakura Kageyoshi could easily pierce through his snake scales, leaving streaks of wounds on his body!
The roaring sound lasted for a full two minutes.
Two minutes later, a figure flew out backward from the mushroom cloud.
It wasn't Peter. It was Cul!
The thousand-meter-long serpent body fell from mid-air, crashing through an entire ruin area.
The massive snake body dragged across the ground, carving out a huge trench hundreds of meters long.
The serpent's body slammed heavily at the end of the trench, the stirred-up dust blotting out the sky.
The global audience collectively gasped in shock at this moment.
The God of Fear, Cul—had been beaten back.
Not only that! His snake body was covered in dense wounds, and most shockingly, his tail!
That tail of his, which was over a hundred meters long, had actually been cleanly severed by the Susanoo Buddha; it was currently lying not far away, twitching crazily because the nerves hadn't died yet!
Although these wounds were healing rapidly at a speed visible to the naked eye, anyone could see that for every bit the wounds healed, Cul's snake body would shrink slightly.
The dark green scales also became noticeably dimmer after being repaired.
Cul was getting weaker!
His power of fear—the fear emotions he had harvested from seven billion people—was draining from his body at an even faster rate!
He struggled to raise his snake head from the trench, his vertical pupils mixed with rage and an emotion he was unwilling to admit, and dared not admit.
"You, you damn..."
Before he could finish his sentence, he suddenly stopped. Because he noticed Peter's expression.
At this moment, Peter stood atop the head of the SusanooBuddha, looking down from above at the battered serpent.
There was no excitement in his eyes, no arrogance, only a faint sense of regret and... pity!
"What a pity."
Cul's snake head turned slightly, those vertical pupils, now a bit cloudy, staring at Peter, and a hoarse voice couldn't help but squeeze out from his snake mouth:
"Regret what?"
"Regret that as an opponent, you are simply too old."
Peter's voice was very calm.
"So old that you have long since lost the will to fight."
These words exploded in Cul's mind. The serpent's body arched violently, its head held high, and the flames of madness reignited in those vertical pupils.
"Bullshit!!!"
Cul's roar shook the entire Buenos Aires.
"I am the God of Fear! Lord of the Nine Realms! My will is more eternal than the stars!"
"How could I have lost the will to fight?!"
The snake body soared into the sky again, its head crashing straight toward the Susanoo Buddha.
But this time, the momentum was clearly much weaker than before.
Peter didn't even use the thousand hands. The SusanooBuddha simply extended one hand and easily caught Cul's full-force Impact.
And the Susanoo Buddha's palm, having taken this Impact, didn't even have a single crack left on it.
An expression of disbelief appeared in Cul's vertical pupils.
"How is this possible? How could you, a Midgardian, become so much stronger in such a short time..."
Before he could finish his sentence, he suddenly stopped.
"Finally realized it?"
Peter's voice came from the top of the Susanoo Buddha, not loud, but as searing as a branding iron:
"It's not that I've become stronger, but that your authority as the God of Fear has already been shaken!"
Chapter 369: The Endgame, The god-beating whipAppears
"Authority... wavering?"
Cul's snake pupils trembled violently.
These two words pierced precisely into the reality he least wanted to face.
Peter stood atop the head of the Susanoo Buddha, arms crossed over his chest, looking down at the battered giant serpent before him.
His voice was not loud, but amplified by the energy of the Susanoo, it was clear enough to reach every corner within dozens of miles.
"You yourself are actually clearer on this than anyone else."
"Having been sealed for thousands of years, although your godhood remains, your will, energy, spirit, and even combat instincts have long since fully degenerated."
"As you are now, you have grown so old that you cannot even maintain your own godhood!"
In all fairness, if Peter were facing the Cul from thousands of years ago, before he was sealed, he would never have won so easily.
He might even have witnessed what true fear was, and might have truly faced the prospect of being beaten to death by Cul.
But now.
Cul was simply too old.
So old that he no longer had the spirit to make a comeback.
It was like Jordan's second comeback; although he was still hailed as the God of Basketball and still had the determination to dominate the basketball world.
However, the decline in physical stamina and the changes in the environment were real.
He might still be an unattainable god of the past in the eyes of ordinary role players, but in front of stars who were younger and in their prime, he was no longer an obstacle.
According to Peter's estimation, although Cul's status as a deity was higher than Hela's, if the two were to clash head-on.
Hela would definitely be the one laughing at the end.
"Shut up!!!"
Cul's roar turned into a tangible shockwave, causing the surrounding ruins to collapse even further.
The giant serpent's battered body arched again, and within its wide-open maw, a ball of dark green energy condensed frantically.
But this time, the volume of that energy ball was significantly smaller than before.
The diameter, which was originally nearly a hundred meters, was now barely over fifty meters.
Cul himself noticed this, and a barely perceptible panic flashed through his vertical pupils.
But he had no time to hesitate.
The energy ball whistled out, carrying his remaining rage straight toward the Susanoo Buddha.
Peter didn't even bother to mobilize the Senju.
The Susanoo Buddha simply swatted it away with one hand.
Boom!
That energy ball was swatted away, flying up to an altitude of over a thousand meters before exploding with a bang.
It failed to pose even the slightest threat to anyone present.
The global audience was silent for half a second, then erupted into thunderous cheers.
As for Cul himself, he was completely stunned.
He opened his mouth, wanting to say something more.
But Peter interrupted him:
"Cul, admit it, you have long since lost the dignity of a God King."
"Odin, who personally sealed you away back then, can now only rely on the Odin Sleep to struggle on the verge of death, let alone you, a former God King."
"As you are now, you are nothing but a remnant of the old era who refuses to accept your own failure."
A remnant of the old era.
These six words fell into Cul's ears, heavier than any physical attack.
The giant serpent's body began to tremble violently; several of the wounds that had been slowly healing now burst open again, and golden divine blood poured out once more.
"No... impossible..."
The serpent's head drooped, and the rage in those vertical pupils was being replaced by another, deeper emotion.
Peter saw it.
Fear.
The God of Fear had truly felt fear for the first time.
Not the pressure from the outside, but the fear of his own aging and being abandoned by the era.
Peter gazed at Cul from afar, the fighting intent in his eyes gradually fading.
To be honest, having fought to this point, he felt no ripples in his heart.
No matter how much the giant serpent before him bared its fangs and brandished its claws, in his eyes, it was just a trapped beast making its final struggle.
Thus, Peter, The Arbiter, delivered the final verdict:
"If you still refuse to accept your fate as a loser—"
"Within ten breaths, you will die here."
Ten breaths.
Four words, tossed out lightly.
But to the ears of the global audience, they were as heavy as a mountain.
It was not a wild statement.
Nor was it a threat.
Given the strength Peter had displayed, this was merely stating a fact.
In front of the global projections, countless people's breathing involuntarily grew heavier.
"Ten breaths?"
A hoarse laugh erupted from Cul's snake mouth, and his eyes suddenly turned fierce:
"Who do you think you are? A mere mortal of Midgard, daring to utter such wild words before me?"
As he spoke, he raised his serpent head again, struggling to maintain a majestic posture.
But those wounds still oozing blood, that segment of his serpent tail that had stopped twitching after being severed, those scales that had clearly dimmed by several shades—
None of these could hide his inner weakness.
To this, Peter couldn't be bothered to respond, simply taking something out from his storage ring.
It was an octagonal bamboo-jointed steel whip, primarily gold and red, covered with mysterious runes.
It was the divine artifact Peter had prepared for the current decisive battle—the god-beating whip.
The moment the god-beating whip revealed its true form, a low hiss escaped Cul's snake mouth.
The serpent tail, already missing a section, rubbed unconsciously back and forth on the ground—a sign of his anxious state.
He did not recognize this weapon.
But the aura emanating from that whip caused his godhood to have an instinctive repulsion.
That feeling was hard to describe.
It was like... a natural nemesis?!
"You think I would fear you?"
Cul spoke, attempting to say something to alleviate this anxious mood:
"I am the God of Fear! I am eternal! No power can kill me! No one can judge me; as long as fear exists, I am immortal!"
He roared almost maniacally, yet his voice carried a hint of trembling involuntarily.
His words were less of an oath and more of self-hypnosis.
Seeing this, Peter shook his head slightly, while counting down:
"Ten."
As he spoke, he tossed the god-beating whip into the air.
The moment the whip left his hand, the runes on it lit up simultaneously.
"Nine."
The gold and red light expanded rapidly in mid-air, and the three-foot-long whip body began to stretch and expand in a way that defied common sense.
"Eight."
Ten meters. Fifty meters. One hundred meters.
"Seven."
The whip body was still growing wildly.
Two hundred meters. Five hundred meters. One thousand meters!
When Peter counted down to "Five."
That god-beating whip, which had originally been only three feet long, had turned into a gigantic divine artifact spanning the sky.
Each bamboo-joint section was as large as a building, the golden chains were as thick as bridge pillars, and the runes on them rotated slowly in the air, releasing a pressure that made one's scalp tingle.
The Susanoo Buddha extended its right hand, closed its five fingers, grasped the god-beating whip firmly, and pointed the whip toward Cul.
At this moment, the global audience held their breath, and everyone realized one fact.
The next strike would directly determine the outcome of this war!
Chapter 370: Suppression, One Whip Shatters the Godhood!
Even ordinary viewers could feel the terrifying pressure caused by the god-beating whip through the sky screen.
The pressure endured by Cul, the former God King who was naturally countered by the god-beating whip, can be imagined.
Feeling the threat that was enough to make him fall, the fear in Cul's slit pupils had become so intense it was about to overflow!
"No... impossible..."
"I will not die! I will not be defeated!"
Faced with the threat of death, this God of Fear finally regained a hint of his youthful posture.
The Midgard Serpent's body arched violently, and from beneath its tattered scales, the final radiance of dark green divine power erupted.
But this time, the light did not spread outward.
Instead, it gathered upward along the snake's body, surging entirely into its mouth.
More accurately—it surged into his pair of giant snake fangs!
The originally stark white snake fangs visibly turned completely pitch-black, with dark green patterns flowing on their surface, emitting waves of terrifying, dead silence.
That was divine power of fear condensed to the extreme!
He poured all his remaining strength, along with the last sliver of energy stored in his scepter, into this pair of fangs.
This was Cul's strongest weapon.
The ultimate killing move capable of poisoning gods to death!
"Four."
The moment the voice fell, Cul had already lunged forward:
"Go to hell!!!"
Cul's roar tore through the horizon.
The Midgard Serpent's tattered body erupted with speed far exceeding before at this moment, its head thrusting forward with those two pitch-black fangs, tearing the air apart wherever it passed and leaving behind a visible spatial rift.
Faced with such a blow, Peter did not dodge or evade.
He simply controlled his Susanoo Buddha and brought the god-beating whip down heavily.
At the same time, his cold voice continued to count down in the air:
"Three."
The moment the whip fell, space began to faintly collapse.
The god-beating whip descended from the sky with earth-shattering momentum, meeting Cul's pitch-black fangs head-on.
The two ultimate weapons collided violently in mid-air.
The sky projection was cut off at this instant—Cul no longer had the strength to maintain the output of the projection.
This sudden unexpected situation made global viewers curse in anger.
But soon, someone discovered that Tony had already quietly started a global live stream.
Thus, viewers hurried back indoors as fast as they could, or opened their phones, praying to see the final result of this confrontation.
When they opened their phones and TVs, all they saw was pure white.
It was the explosion of energy, directly interfering with signal transmission.
When the image recovered, everyone saw a scene they would never forget for the rest of their lives.
The sky had been split in two.
No, not just the sky; Buenos Aires had also been completely torn apart by the two's strike.
The earth showed visible fractures, and one could even see dark red magma flowing deep in the mantle.
But because the two's clash was simply too exaggerated, the magma could not erupt, and the distant sea surface was boiling madly as if it had been burned.
Everything between heaven and earth seemed to be dyed in two colors.
On one side, endless gold-red; on the other, terrifying dark green.
The two colors collided, devoured, and annihilated each other madly at the intersection in the center.
There was no astonishing sound, no terrifying shockwave.
The moment the two divine artifacts collided, space collapsed because of it, and endless nothingness devoured everything; even sound could not travel within it.
Everyone was staring fixedly at the two colors in the arena.
Amidst the anticipation of the crowd, with eyes wide enough to split, the evenly matched colors finally changed.
The dark green... was receding bit by bit.
Replacing it was the gold-red light, advancing inch by inch.
The speed was extremely slow at first, but it soon formed an unstoppable momentum, swallowing the remaining dark green completely in the blink of an eye.
"No!!!"
Cul's roar came from that chaotic light, filled with despair on the verge of collapse.
He felt it.
His fangs were shattering.
Not the kind of shattering from being smashed.
It was the kind of shattering from being denied at the essence.
Every time the runes on the god-beating whip flashed, the divine power of fear on his fangs receded by a layer.
Those dark green patterns that had condensed all his remaining strength were being erased one by one by the gold-red light at a visible speed.
"This is impossible! This is absolutely impossible—!!!"
Cul pressed the last sliver of strength in his snake body into it.
But the only response to him was another fierce rune pulse on the god-beating whip.
Snap!
Finally, the two pitch-black fangs, over a hundred meters long, exploded in mid-air, shattering into countless pieces, and together with the divine power of fear condensed upon them, they turned into sky-filling dark green debris that drifted down.
The body of the god-beating whip whistled past the shattered fangs and struck Cul's snake head heavily.
Boom!!!
This whip strike directly smashed Cul's massive snake body down from mid-air.
After five seconds of dead silence, global viewers erupted into the craziest cheers of their lives.
The fangs were shattered.
That arrogant God of Fear had finally been defeated by their guardian—The Arbiter, My Lord!
About half a minute later, the collapsed spatial rift was gradually repaired.
Cul's Midgard Serpent body fell heavily onto the ground, half of its snake body crushed into meat paste by the immense force of the god-beating whip.
He could no longer move.
It wasn't that he didn't want to move, but that the power of the god-beating whip was still rampaging madly inside his body.
It was as if iron stakes were pinning him dead to the spot!
These iron stakes destroyed not just his mobility, but also his godhood!
It... was erasing Cul's divinity!
Cul's remaining half-slit pupil was filled with disbelief.
He was the God of Fear.
As long as fear existed in the world, he would not truly die.
This was an iron law written into his godhood, one that even Odin could not change.
But now, this iron law had been shattered by a single whip!
His life force was also rapidly draining away because of this!
In other words... he would die!
And soon!
In mid-air, Peter waved his hand gently.
The energy of the Susanoo began to dissipate, and the Wood Release Buddha also shattered, turning into sky-filling wood chips and purple light spots.
He floated down slowly from hundreds of meters high, indifferently spitting out the final countdown: "One."
The moment the voice fell.
Peter did not look at Cul, but turned and walked toward the Avengers.
At the same time, the Midgard Serpent's body began to slowly shrink, and snake scales fell off one by one.
Cul turned back into human form, and it was that stooped, frail, elderly image from when he first broke the seal.
No, even worse than that!
At this moment, his white hair was like snow, his face withered, half of his head shattered, and his body was covered in dense wounds.
With only his last breath left, he stared at Peter with resentment.
The next second, a mass of pitch-black liquid gushed out from the depths of his throat.
That venom, carrying a thick aura of death that had almost condensed into substance, turned into an extremely thin black line, shooting toward Peter's back at an unbelievable speed!
Chapter 371: The End of Fear Itself
That jet-black venom came without any warning.
There were no energy fluctuations, no spreading killing intent, and not even Peter's vaunted Observation Hakigave any warning.
Because this was not a physical attack at all.
It was a curse.
A malicious curse from a dying god.
The black liquid struck Peter's back with precision, penetrating his clothes and seeping into his skin.
In that instant, Peter felt as if his spine had been injected with an entire tube of liquid nitrogen.
Cold. Numbness. Then, it began to spread.
The scent of death started from the point of contact, spreading throughout his body at an unstoppable speed.
His spine lost sensation first, followed by his left arm, and then half of his torso.
Gwen, whose Spider-Sense had been enhanced by Celestial Energy, was the first to react.
"Peter!"
She exclaimed, rushing forward to check on Peter.
But before she could reach him, Thor, who had just been healed by the Shun Shun Rikka, grabbed her wrist:
"Don't go over there; that curse is not as simple as you think!"
"This is not something your healing ability can handle!"
Thor looked at Peter, who was covered by the curse, a pained expression appearing on his face.
He thought of the prophecy: "On the day the Serpent breaks its chains, only the Son of Thunder can end it forever."
"But after the Son of Thunder kills the Serpent, he will fall to the Serpent's venom within nine steps."
Was it because of his own incompetence that Peter had become the victim of the prophecy in his stead?
Thor felt truly ashamed before Peter, but in this situation, what could he even do?
This was a curse capable of erasing even gods; let alone him, even his deadbeat father, who had already fallen into the Odin Sleep, probably couldn't break it.
Seemingly noticing Thor's ugly expression, a twisted, maniacal smile finally bloomed on Cul's old face, which was barely recognizable as human anymore.
"Cough... cough cough, hahaha..."
The laughter quickly turned into violent coughing, and more black liquid gushed from his mouth and nose.
Yet he still stubbornly tilted his head back, staring fixedly at Peter with his one remaining, mostly unfocused slit pupil.
"You think... you've won?"
"Even if I die, I will drag you, this detestable Midgardian, down with me!"
These words were broadcast across the globe.
The hearts of countless viewers instantly jumped into their throats.
They had just been cheering wildly for The Arbiter's victory, only to see this scene in the blink of an eye.
The comment section was instantly flooded with panic.
"No way? That's impossible, right? That's The Arbiter! How could he die on the eve of dawn? What the hell is this!"
Ignoring everything, Gwen shook off Thor's hand and rushed to Peter, the Shun Shun Rikka on her hands glowing with a soft light that covered Peter's body.
She attempted to eliminate the curse facing Peter directly by using the power of rejecting reality.
But in the face of this god-slaying curse, the Shun Shun Rikka seemed somewhat insufficient; no matter how hard Gwen tried, the curse showed no signs of receding.
Beside her, Felicia watched this scene, feeling as if her heart had been gripped by an invisible hand.
Sif gripped the Excalibur in her hand tightly, her knuckles turning white.
Daisy's lips were pressed into a thin line, her chest heaving violently...
Just when everyone's hearts were in their throats because of the curse Peter was facing, and the atmosphere at the scene, which had finally relaxed, became incredibly heavy once again,
A voice completely shattered the existing atmosphere at the scene:
"I say... you haven't forgotten that I have my own built-in recovery ability, have you?"
As he spoke, Peter reached out to gently wipe the tears from Gwen's face, then turned around and faced Cul with a kind smile:
"Drag me down with you? Is this your final trump card?"
The next second, a warm white light suddenly shone from Peter's body.
It was the Horse Talisman being activated on its own at this moment.
The soft white light flowed rapidly along Peter's meridians; wherever it passed, the spreading aura of death was expelled, purified, and annihilated inch by inch.
His right hand, which had lost sensation, regained feeling.
His paralyzed right arm regained its strength.
The toxins that had invaded his torso were completely cleared.
It took no more than three seconds.
Peter went from his near-death state back to being lively and energetic.
Seeing this, Cul's slit pupils trembled violently.
He opened his mouth, wanting to say something.
But only more black liquid gushed from his throat.
His life force was fading at a rate visible to the naked eye.
"This... how is this possible? You were clearly just..."
"Clearly just looking like I was about to die?" Peter finished the sentence for him, his tone clearly carrying a hint of suppressed laughter:
"That was, of course... just to tease you~"
"How about it? Was there a moment just now where you felt like you had reached the pinnacle of life?"
Pfft~
Watching Peter's expression, which was clearly holding back laughter, Cul's complexion changed drastically, and he spat out a final mouthful of dull, golden divine blood.
After this final source of power was spat out, the light in Cul's eyes dimmed completely.
His body began to disintegrate from the tips of his limbs, turning into fine, dark green light particles that scattered in the air.
The dignified God of Fear, in the end, was actually... annoyed to death by Peter!
Silence. A silence that lasted for a full three seconds.
Then, the whole world erupted.
Cheers erupted simultaneously from every corner of Earth, piercing through screens, walls, and all physical barriers.
Above the ruins of Buenos Aires, the dark clouds began to dissipate at the same moment.
Sunlight shone down on the Earth once again.
Those who had been shrouded in fear for days couldn't help but walk out of their shelters, looking up at the sky, one by one moved to tears of joy.
Peter also walked to the scepter left behind by Cul.
The moment his finger made contact with the scepter, a familiar system prompt sounded in his mind:
[Golden sacrificial item detected: God of Fear's Scepter]
[God of Fear's Scepter: Cul's exclusive divine artifact; not only does it possess authority over fear energy, but it also provides additional power amplification for abilities like black magic and necromancy, making it the most precious artifact in the eyes of black mages.]
[Selling price: 150,000 sacrifice points]
Looking at the scepter in his hand, Peter hesitated for a moment before choosing to sacrifice it directly.
This thing was of no use to Peter, and no one around him was skilled in things like black magic.
The only one who could be remotely related to it was Wanda, the natural wielder of Chaos Magic.
But for Wanda, she already had her own exclusive weapon, the Darkhold, so this scepter wouldn't provide much help to her.
Instead of letting it gather dust, it was better to turn it into warm sacrifice points.
With a flash of light in his hand, Cul's scepter vanished instantly.
Thus, the Fear Itself major event was declared completely over.
Just as Peter was about to turn back to announce to everyone that the event was over and that they could go back to celebrate and relax, a golden pillar of light landed three meters in front of him without any warning.
It was exactly the same as when Peter had arrived.
Chapter 372: Asgard Under Attack
Watching the eerily appearing beam of light in the sky, Captain America and the others instinctively entered a combat stance.
Thor, however, smiled and said, "Don't be nervous, everyone. I think it must be that Heimdall saw that things have ended here and intends to bring me back."
Just as Thor finished speaking, a low and urgent voice came from the void.
The owner of the voice was none other than Heimdall: "Your Highness Thor."
"Asgard has suffered an invasion by unknown enemies."
"They are very strong, and they planted an inside agent in the prison beforehand. We are barely holding on!"
Hearing this, Thor's face instantly turned ashen: "What?! How is this possible? It has been less than 36 hours since we left the Bifrost Bridge, and Cul has already been defeated by Peter. Who else would attack Asgard at this time?"
Let alone Thor, even Peter was stunned at this moment.
Asgard under invasion?
In the original plot, this shouldn't have happened, right?
Could it be another butterfly effect caused by him activating the Chaos Magic inside Wanda ahead of time?
But what the hell does Wanda's awakening have to do with Asgard?
Just as Peter was scratching his head, Heimdall provided the answer: "According to my observations, the invaders appear to be the Dark Elves and... the Chitauri!"
Peter:???
Peter never expected that things would suddenly develop to this extent.
How on Earth did that group of Dark Elves, who were trying to control the Aether Particle, also known as the Reality Stone, get mixed up with the Chitauri?
Under normal circumstances, shouldn't it be after the plot of Thor 2 ends, and after the warriors of the Heavenly Palace deliver the Reality Stone to The Collector, that Thanos would make a move on the Reality Stone?
Besides, even if the plot of Thor 2 were to start, the timing doesn't match up!
Don't the Dark Elves have to wait for the Convergence, which happens once every few thousand years, to overthrow the Nine Realms using the Aether Particle?
In his memory, this time should be a year and a half after the Battle of New York, right?
But right now, it's only been a little over a month since the Battle of New York!
What the hell is going on right now!
Noticing that Peter also looked confused, Thor let out a long sigh and said, "Peter, although I don't know exactly what happened, the situation is critical, and I must rush back to Asgard immediately. If possible..."
"Don't worry, I will go to Asgard with you!" Peter said before he could finish his sentence.
"I suspect this matter might not be simple! Even for the sake of Earth's safety, it is necessary for me to get to the bottom of this."
Peter was speaking from the heart.
He was truly worried that Thanos was plotting something in the shadows.
If it were just a rebellion by the Dark Elves, he wouldn't care what happened in Asgard.
After all, without the amplification of the Aether Particle, that bunch of idiots were not even as strong as Laufey, and Thor could easily handle them on his own.
But when it involves the Chitauri, or rather, the Thanosbehind them, the situation is different.
This cunning old guy was quite cautious in the cinematic Universe of his previous life, waiting until Odin was completely dead before daring to make a move on Earth, fearing that Odin would risk his life to take him down together.
Now that he has actually ignored Odin and chosen to invade Asgard with the Dark Elves, there must be some unspeakable secret behind this.
"Good brother!" Thor excitedly punched Peter on the shoulder.
Sif also walked to their side, still clutching Excalibur tightly in her hand.
Seeing them like this, Captain America and Tony looked at each other and asked, "Do you need us to go and help as well?"
Peter shook his head.
"The mess here on Earth still needs you to handle it."
As soon as he finished speaking, Felicia jumped onto Peter's back from behind, wrapped her arms around his neck, and acted spoiled: "Handling the mess is enough for them... It's fine to take me along, right?"
"It just so happens that I haven't had enough fun with my newly acquired claws yet~"
Seeing her and Peter being so intimate, Gwen's lips moved, but in the end, she didn't say anything about wanting to go to Asgard with them.
Earth was in chaos because of Cul, and now was the time when she, as the Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, needed to step forward to eliminate people's fear and pain.
The hero complex in her heart did not allow her to "selfishly" abandon these people to go on an adventure to Asgard with Peter.
Not just her, but Daisy and Natasha also wanted to follow Peter to Asgard, but since they hadn't directly clarified their relationship with Gwen and the others, it was hard for them to speak up in this situation, so they could only suppress their thoughts.
Thus, after some instructions, Peter took Thor, Sif, and Felicia onto the Bifrost Bridge.
Before leaving, Peter suddenly remembered something. He slapped his forehead, hurried back to the battlefield to search, and put the other hammers into his storage ring.
At critical moments, perhaps these hammers could produce some unexpected effects.
As for Gwen and the others, they chose, either actively or passively, to stay behind and complete the post-disaster reconstruction work on Earth.
...
As the light flashed, Peter and the others appeared once again in the magnificent Asgard.
Even though they hadn't been gone for long, Asgard had already changed drastically.
Everywhere, armies of Dark Elves and Chitauri were fighting against Asgardian soldiers, while Heimdall was struggling to maintain Asgard's defensive barrier with his giant sword, and was directing anti-aircraft units to launch interception strikes against the unique warships of the Dark Elves in the sky.
"Heimdall, what is the situation right now?"
As soon as Thor landed, he couldn't wait to swing his hammer. The hammer, wreathed in lightning, smashed a group of Chitauri Soldiers, and then he asked Heimdall in an urgent tone.
"We are not very clear about the specific situation. A corrupted Cursed Warrior suddenly appeared in the prison. That guy is wreaking havoc all over the Heavenly Palace, and no one is a match for him."
"Just as we were busy mobilizing troops to deal with him, those damn Dark Elves brought the Chitauri army and stormed in!"
"Also..." Speaking of this, Heimdall's words paused strangely.
After a moment, he gritted his teeth and said, "I didn't detect their tracks at the Bifrost Bridge, which means... they completely bypassed the Bifrost Bridge's defense system and took an unknown path."
"And this path... only one person knows about it."
Clang! The moment the words fell, Thor's hammer couldn't help but pause.
Sif's eyes dimmed because of this.
No one knew better than them who that person, the only one in all of Asgard who knew about this path, was.
It was none other than the brother Thor had been thinking about all this time — Loki!
Chapter 373: Precise Rescue, Reversing Frigga's Fate
In the silence, Sif spoke first, her tone cold:
"I knew that liar couldn't be trusted."
"No."
Thor shook his head, his voice low:
"There must be some hidden reason. Loki has already had a change of heart; otherwise, he wouldn't have chosen to..."
"You can fool us, but don't fool yourself."
Sif retorted mercilessly. Clearly, Loki's previous act of deceiving everyone while taking advantage of the Odin Sleep had yet to be forgiven by Sif.
Seeing that Sif, who had grown up playing with him, held this attitude, Thor couldn't help but fall silent.
Deep down, he didn't want this invasion to be related to Loki, but after all, he had committed acts of treason in the past.
Before the atmosphere between the two dropped to freezing, Peter interjected:
"Alright, there's no point in arguing about this now; we need to see the truth for ourselves."
"At the very least, looking at the current situation, things in Asgard aren't too bad yet. We can just clean up this riffraff and be done with it."
Thor took a deep breath and nodded.
"You're right."
"Heimdall, what is the current status of the Asgardpalace?"
"The palace is still under our control, but one-third of the outer city has fallen. His Majesty Odin is still in the Odin Sleep and cannot be awakened. Queen Frigga is leading the palace guard to defend the inner city line."
Hearing Frigga's name, Peter gave a start, immediately recalling that in the plot of Thor 2, this was when Friggamet her fate.
"Go to the palace first!" Peter said, and without another word, he grabbed Thor and headed straight for the palace.
Their speed was so fast that they completely turned into a streak of light, leaving Heimdall and Sif looking at each other in bewilderment.
"What's going on with him? Why does he seem even more nervous than Your Highness Thor?"
"I don't know." Sif gripped the Excalibur in her hand tightly. A blinding light suddenly erupted from the sword, and with a wave of her hand, a massive golden sword aura flew out, instantly cleaving a Dark Elves warship in two,
"But Peter's intuition has never been wrong."
Heimdall looked at the Excalibur in Sif's hand, which seemed even more formidable than his own giant golden sword. He opened his mouth, but in the end, he swallowed back his doubts and teasing remarks about Peter.
...
At the same time that Peter was taking Thor to the palace, inside the palace, Frigga was leading a few remaining guards in a desperate defense of Odin's bedchamber.
Standing opposite her were four people.
The King of the Dark Elves, Malekith; the Cursed Warrior, Algrim; Ebony Maw, one of the Black Order under Thanos; and...
Loki!
To be precise, it was Loki controlled by the Mind Stone.
"Your Highness, you might as well give up the resistance sooner."
A gloomy smile hung on Malekith's pale face. He paced slowly, nonchalantly examining the dilapidated palace hall.
"Five thousand years. I have waited five thousand years!"
He extended his hand, and a dark red glow flowed in his palm—that was the unique color of the Aether Particle.
"Back then, your husband, that self-righteous one-eyed old man, thought he could rest easy after sealing me away?"
"He was wrong."
"Although the Nine Realms alignment hasn't arrived yet, so what? With the help of this new ally..."
Malekith glanced at Ebony Maw.
The latter returned a polite and restrained smile.
"The Aether Particle has returned to its true Master's hands."
"At that time, the entire Nine Realms will plunge back into eternal darkness!"
Frigga held her longsword horizontally in front of her, her expression calm. She didn't respond to his words; her beautiful eyes were fixed straight on her child—Loki.
"Loki!"
Frigga's voice cut through the noisy battlefield and landed directly in the ears of the silent black-haired young man standing at the very back.
"My child, look at what you are doing! Are you going to help outsiders destroy your own home?"
Loki's figure stiffened slightly.
A layer of unnatural blue light shimmered in his pupils—the mark of the Mind Stone's control.
But even so, Frigga's voice stirred a ripple in his heart.
"Mother..."
Loki's lips moved slightly, uttering two barely audible words.
The blue light flickered, seemingly showing a brief loosening.
Seeing this, Frigga's heart trembled, and she immediately raised her voice:
"Do you remember the promise you made when you were a child?"
"You said that when you grew up, you would protect Asgard together with Thor."
"Is this what you call protection? Or is it that... you still refuse to forgive your father?!"
Loki's blue pupils constricted violently.
The layer of blue light covering his pupils trembled violently, nearly shattering.
His hand loosened its grip on the dagger involuntarily.
"Interesting."
Ebony Maw spoke indifferently from the back.
The next second, he raised the Mind Stone in his right hand, and the tip of the gem shot out a beam of eerie blue light, precisely striking the back of Loki's head.
Loki's whole body jolted violently.
The brief loosening vanished instantly.
The blue light reclaimed his eyes, and it was even more intense than before.
Seeing this, Frigga's heart nearly broke.
"You despicable..."
"Your Highness," Ebony Maw interrupted her, "I advise you to save your strength. The control of the Mind Stonecannot be broken by some tender, sentimental appeal."
"Besides..."
Before he could finish, the Cursed Warrior had already rushed in front of Frigga, bringing his fist down with terrifying power.
Frigga dodged to the side, her longsword carving a spark along the opponent's arm.
As the Queen of Asgard, she was far more than just a mascot or a fragile magic user.
But unfortunately, the Cursed Warrior's skin was simply too hard; this strike didn't even cut through his epidermis.
Malekith took advantage of this opening and silently circled around to Frigga's side and back.
A short blade had appeared in his palm at some point.
Frigga sensed the threat from behind, but she had no time to spare.
Just as she was wondering if she would have to trade injury for injury,
Boom!
A golden flying slash, over a hundred meters long, descended from the sky, accurately slamming in front of Malekith and blasting him away.
At the same time, a bolt of lightning struck in from outside the shattered dome of the hall, slamming hard into the Cursed Warrior's chest and knocking the behemoth back more than ten steps.
"Mother!"
Thor's figure dropped from the hole in the dome, landing steadily in front of Frigga with a flip, mjolnir humming in his hand.
Just as Frigga was about to say something, she noticed a young man following behind Thor.
The young man landed in an extremely casual manner, his hands in his pockets, floating down from mid-air just like that.
Who else could this be but Peter?
Chapter 374: Backstab, Ebony Maw's Conspiracy
"Hmm～ It looks like we arrived just in time."
Peter scanned the situation, his gaze lingering involuntarily on Ebony Maw.
He then shifted his attention to the Cursed Warrior.
This guy had already recovered from Thor's lightning strike, the charred skin on its chest healing at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Peter tilted his head.
"Thor, does this big guy belong to you or me?"
Thor was about to speak.
The Cursed Warrior had already roared and charged forward, its two fists wreathed in violent dark energy as it smashed them toward Peter, clearly enraged by Peter's dismissive attitude.
Thor instinctively wanted to stand in front of Peter, but Peter was faster.
He didn't use Susanoo, nor Wood Release, and he didn't even take out the god-beating whip.
Peter merely raised his right hand, clenched his fingers, and met the attack with a punch.
The Armament Haki wrapped around his fist erupted into a visible shockwave the moment it made contact.
Bang!
The Cursed Warrior's brute strength, which was enough to go toe-to-toe with Thor, was completely powerless before this punch.
The moment their fists collided, the Cursed Warrior was sent flying uncontrollably, and its entire right arm, along with half of its body, exploded from the shoulder down due to the internal destructive force.
I got up, one-shot it, what else is there to say?
If he had encountered this guy before fighting Cul, Peterprobably wouldn't have been able to deal with this big guy so easily.
After all, in the movie, this guy could go toe-to-toe with Thor, and its performance was far more exaggerated than Malekith, who had obtained the Aether Particle.
Malekith was portrayed as a complete waste in the movie; he couldn't use the power of the Aether Particle at all. Later, he even had his arm cut off by Jane Foster and her companions using a space device, and was ultimately crushed to death by his own ship in a pathetic manner.
But after using the Human Emperor Banner to absorb Cul's All-Spirit Cavalry, Peter's soul and control over divine power had nearly doubled. Under these circumstances, dealing with this Cursed Warrior was naturally a piece of cake.
Thor watched the Cursed Warrior, whose half-body had been blasted away by Peter's punch, and silently lowered the hammer he had raised halfway.
Ever since he met Peter, he, the future God King, felt like he had been living in the other's shadow.
Frigga was also stunned by this scene.
But she was a person who had seen great events, so she quickly adjusted her mindset and gave Peter a slight nod of acknowledgment.
"Peter, thank you."
"You're welcome, Your Highness Frigga."
After responding to Frigga, Peter was just about to step forward to finish off the Cursed Warrior completely.
But just at this moment...
Hum.
A strange spatial fluctuation appeared beneath the Cursed Warrior without warning.
Before Peter could react, a deep blue spatial fissure cracked open on the ground, swallowing the dying Cursed Warrior whole.
The spatial fissure closed instantly after swallowing its target, disappearing without a trace.
Peter's footsteps halted.
Spatial teleportation?
His brows furrowed involuntarily, and his gaze instinctively swept toward Malekith.
At this moment, a dark red light was flowing over Malekith—it was the Aether Particle!
The moment Peter saw that light, a string in his mind suddenly tightened.
No, is this right?
How is this guy already using the Aether Particle when Jane Foster hasn't even come to Asgard yet?
According to the plot he knew, the Aether Particle should have been accidentally encountered by Jane Foster during the Convergence of the Nine Realms.
Then Thor would discover the anomaly and bring Jane back to Asgard, which would trigger a series of events like the Dark Elves' invasion.
But now, there was still a long time before the Convergence of the Nine Realms.
How did this Aether Particle end up on Malekith?
Could it be... Peter's gaze suddenly shifted toward the thin, withered figure standing behind Malekith, who had acted like an invisible person from the very beginning.
Ebony Maw.
"Did you bring this thing here?"
Ebony Maw did not deny it.
He didn't even bother to feign a disguise; meeting Peter's slightly grave gaze, he grinned and revealed a strange smile.
That smile was filled with the satisfaction of a cat playing with a mouse.
"Lord Thanos was indeed right."
Ebony Maw spoke slowly, his voice carrying a tone of near-religious devotion.
"You are indeed a sharp and troublesome fellow."
He tilted his head, and the smile on his face grew even more intense.
"People like you... cannot be allowed to live!"
Upon hearing these words, Thor's pupils constricted sharply.
A grave expression also appeared on Frigga's face, and she was ready at any moment to use magic to help Peterresolve any trouble that might arise.
Just when everyone thought Ebony Maw was preparing to use some incredible killing move against them.
In the next second, a sudden change occurred in the arena.
Puchi～!
The sound of a sharp blade piercing flesh rang out abruptly. Everyone looked around in confusion, only to realize the sound originated from... behind Malekith!
Malekith first looked down at his chest in disbelief, then turned his head to look back in unwillingness.
His gaze met a pair of emerald green eyes.
The owner of those eyes was none other than... Loki!
There was no warning.
Loki had suddenly launched a backstab against Malekith. Because everyone's attention was on Ebony Maw and Peter, no one had even noticed how he had snuck up behind Malekith!
"You?!"
Malekith let out a roar, his expression more ferocious than ever before.
"You wretched, treacherous bastard!"
Before he could finish his curse.
Ebony Maw suddenly moved.
He raised his withered, pale right hand, his fingertips tracing an extremely profound magic circle.
Deep blue runes swirled in the air.
With the appearance of these runes, the dark red light on Malekith's chest flared up and then began to tremble violently.
"What! This is impossible——!"
Malekith pressed his hands tightly against his chest, trying to calm the Aether Particle within him in this way.
But it was utterly useless.
Under his disbelieving gaze, the Aether Particle within him began to peel away from his body, thread by thread.
Those dark red particles, as if responding to some strange summons, gathered at Ebony Maw's fingertips, constantly condensing, compressing, and crystallizing.
Finally, under the astonished gaze of everyone, a gem the size of a pigeon's egg, radiating a scarlet light, hovered in Ebony Maw's palm.
Seeing this scene, the most shocked person on the scene was undoubtedly Malekith. Although his face was pale as paper due to the backstab and the loss of the Aether Particle, he couldn't help but roar:
"Damn it, so everything you said before about only wanting the divine artifacts and treasures in the Heavenly Palacevault was a lie! Your goal from the very beginning was the Aether Particle!"
"The Aether Particle?"
Hearing this term, Ebony Maw couldn't help but laugh:
"Compared to the Aether Particle, I prefer to call it... the Reality Stone!"
Chapter 375: Farewell, Peter Parker!
Ebony Maw held the crimson gem in his fingers.
The red halo refracted mottled light and shadows within the bedchamber, illuminating his noseless face.
"You claim to be the one in the Nine Realms who understands the Aether Particle best," Ebony Maw said, turning his head to look at Malekith, who had collapsed on the stone floor, "yet you do not even know how to mobilize its power."
Malekith glared at Ebony Maw:
"That is the sacred relic of our Dark Elves!"
Malekith roared, "Give it back to me!"
His voice echoed through the vast palace hall, carrying a hoarse tremor.
Ebony Maw did not answer.
He merely looked at the gem in his hand, his right index finger tracing lightly through the void.
Malekith turned his gaze toward the Cursed Warrior not far away.
"Kill him!" Malekith said, pointing at Ebony Maw, "Take the sacred relic back!"
The Cursed Warrior swung his only remaining left arm in the air, his knuckles making a dull sound.
The stone floor beneath his feet shattered instantly under the immense pressure, turning into countless tiny stone fragments. With a low roar, his massive body transformed into a black shadow and charged toward Ebony Maw.
Malekith struggled to stand up and lunged at Ebony Maw.
Facing their pincer attack, Ebony Maw simply stood his ground, his right index finger swiping gently downward.
The red light of the Reality Stone expanded in an instant, forming a curtain of red light.
As soon as Malekith's feet touched that curtain of light, his thigh bones emitted a continuous series of crisp cracks.
Without any external impact, his legs rotated three times within the curtain of light at an irregular angle, and then the muscles and skin of his entire thighs were torn apart, breaking into several pieces.
The lower half of the Cursed Warrior also fell into the curtain of light.
His thick leg bones snapped instantly, and black blood sprayed from the broken wounds, landing on the red curtain of light with a hissing sound.
Their upper bodies fell from the air and slammed heavily onto the stone floor.
Their lower limbs had completely vanished into the distorted space, leaving only their upper torsos wriggling on the ground.
Thor was startled at the sight; his knuckles gripping mjolnir turned slightly white from the force, and tiny blue electric arcs danced across his body.
Frigga stepped back, blocking the entrance to Odin's bedchamber.
Her hands were hidden within her wide sleeves, her ten fingers changing hand seals at an extremely fast speed, and the magic energy in the air began to converge toward her.
Ebony Maw's gaze passed over Thor and Frigga, landing on Peter.
"Let me be merciful and tell you one last fact," Ebony Mawsaid, raising his right hand and pointing his index finger at Peter,
"My true goal is actually not the Reality Stone, or rather, not just the Reality Stone, but also... you!"
Peter stood where he was, his hands still in his pockets.
He looked at Ebony Maw, his body showing no signs of tension.
"Did Thanos send you to find me?" Peter asked.
Ebony Maw held the Reality Stone in his palm, the red light shining through the gaps between his fingers.
"The great Master noticed your actions on Earth," Ebony Maw said, "Being able to annihilate five Chitauri Leviathanships single-handedly, and subsequently defeating the God of Fear—the existence of a guy like you in this Worldis not conducive to our subsequent plans."
As he spoke, Ebony Maw's right hand clenched tightly.
The red light of the Reality Stone erupted instantly, turning into circles of red ripples that spread outward at an extremely fast speed.
The space around Peter began to fluctuate violently like the surface of water the moment it made contact with the red ripples.
His body appeared refracted within the ripples, and the lines of his arms and legs began to become irregular.
Loki lay on the ground, his hands clutching his own throat, blue light flickering in his eye sockets before fading out completely.
He gasped for air, watching the scene before him.
"Damn it..." Loki whispered, "You bunch of lunatics."
Ebony Maw adjusted his collar with his left hand, his movements elegant and slow.
"Rulers of Asgard," Ebony Maw said, "You should feel fortunate. If it weren't for the Master's command, this gem would have reduced the entire Heavenly Palace to dust today."
Malekith crawled on the ground, leaving a long trail of blood.
He reached for Ebony Maw's boot with his only remaining right arm, but his fingers were repelled by an invisible red barrier ten centimeters away from the boot.
"You... liar..." Malekith's voice had become extremely weak.
Ebony Maw did not even look down at him.
He simply raised the Reality Stone above his head.
The red light completely enveloped Peter along with Malekith and the Cursed Warrior; meanwhile, the entire space began to visibly collapse into a funnel shape.
Peter raised his right hand, attempting to grasp something in his pocket, but his movements became extremely slow in the distorted space.
"It is useless," Ebony Maw said, "In the face of reality modification, your physical strength has no meaning."
Frigga's ten fingers stopped changing.
A golden circular magic circle appeared out of thin air ten centimeters beneath Peter's feet.
The runes on the magic circle emitted a soft golden light, attempting to forcibly hold onto Peter's body as it collapsed downward.
"Asgardian magic?" Ebony Maw said, "In the face of the Universe's primal power, this is merely a child's trick."
He applied slight pressure with the fingers holding the gem.
The red ripples crashed against the golden magic circle.
The runes on the magic circle stopped rotating instantly, then emitted a crisp sound, turning into countless golden fragments that dissipated into the air.
Frigga's body jolted violently, her face turning even paler, and she stumbled back three steps, her back hitting the stone door of Odin's bedchamber.
Thor let out a roar, raising mjolnir high and attempting to charge toward Ebony Maw, but the red light formed a red wall in front of him, forcibly blocking him out. Lightning struck the red wall, only stirring up circles of red ripples.
Peter's body was completely deformed by this point.
His head was stretched by half a meter in his vision, and his legs were compressed into a single point. Yet the expression on his face remained calm, and he had not even closed his eyes.
"Is this the power of the Reality Stone?" Peter's voice came from the distorted space, the sound refracted by the space, becoming extremely strange and hollow.
Ebony Maw did not read the hidden emotion in Peter's words; a smile belonging solely to a victor slowly appeared on his ugly face.
"Farewell, Peter Parker."
The moment his words fell, the red light suddenly contracted, turning into a black-red speck of light.
Subsequently, the speck of light dissipated completely, and where Peter had stood previously, only a void remained...
Chapter 376 Peter: Actually, I'm on the Fifth Level!
Thor stood frozen on the spot, staring at the empty stone slab, his pupils dilating in an instant.
"Peter!" A guttural, tearing roar erupted from Thor's throat.
The arcs of electricity on his body instantly turned into a blinding blue-white, all the runes on mjolnir lit up, and the power of thunder raged through the hall, cracking the surrounding stone pillars and walls with countless fissures.
Thor kicked off the ground with immense force, his body transforming into a streak of blue lightning as he charged toward Ebony Maw at incredible speed.
Watching the charging Thor, Ebony Maw lifted his right hand gently, the Reality Stone spinning amidst red light.
Red light condensed one meter in front of Thor, forming a transparent solid.
Thor's body halted the instant he struck the transparent solid.
His mjolnir slammed against the surface, erupting in a massive flash of lightning, yet it couldn't advance even a fraction of an inch.
The layer of transparent solid began to extend outward, wrapping around Thor entirely in the blink of an eye.
Thor was fixed in mid-air, maintaining his swinging posture, unable to move. The lightning on his body struck wildly against the interior of the transparent solid, yet it could never break through this imprisonment.
"Calm down, little princess," Ebony Maw said, watching the struggling Thor.
Veins bulged on Thor's neck. He opened his mouth wide, and his voice transmitted through the transparent solid, sounding extremely muffled:
"Damn you, give Peter back to me, otherwise I guarantee that none of you will leave Asgard alive!"
Ebony Maw retracted the Reality Stone into his sleeve, folding his hands over his abdomen.
"That Earthling is beyond saving; he was torn apart by the spatial turbulence, not even a scrap remains."
"However, Titan has no intention of being an enemy of Asgard, so as compensation for accidentally killing your ally, I can return Loki to you as an apology."
Thor stared fixedly at Ebony Maw, his nails digging deeply into his palms, blood dripping down his fingers inside the transparent solid.
"Don't look at me with those eyes. In this situation, are you sure you want to choose to declare war on Titan, on the great Thanos, because of one Earthling?"
Ebony Maw persuaded Thor unhurriedly, "Believe me, that is a price Asgard cannot afford to pay right now."
Thor's teeth gnashed together, his body trembling violently within the confinement, and the lightning from mjolnirbegan to converge toward him, clearly preparing for a final resistance.
But just at that moment, a hand landed on Thor's shoulder.
Frigga had appeared behind Thor without anyone noticing. Her right hand pressed onto Thor's shoulder, a warm magical energy flowing from her palm into Thor's body, calming his restless thunderous power.
"Thor, do not be impulsive!" Frigga's voice was low and resolute. "The dead cannot be brought back to life!"
Thor turned his head, looking at Frigga, his eyes full of confusion and rage.
"Mother!" Thor shouted.
Frigga did not look at him, instead casting her gaze toward Ebony Maw.
"Take your people and leave Asgard," Frigga said coldly.
Ebony Maw looked at Frigga, bowed slightly, and performed a salute.
"A wise choice, Your Highness Queen," Ebony Maw said.
He took a step back, and a black rift split open in the void behind him. The rift exuded a cold aura, and countless twisted light and shadows were vaguely visible within.
Ebony Maw's body sank into the rift, and then the rift rapidly contracted, disappearing without a trace.
The transparent solid wrapping Thor dissipated instantly, and Thor dropped from mid-air, his feet slamming heavily onto the stone slab. He used his hammer to support himself on the ground, gasping for breath.
"Mother, why did you stop me?" Thor demanded loudly. "Peter came to Asgard to help us! He just replaced me on Earth to deal with Cul, and saved you at a critical moment!"
"He is our savior, yet we just chose to repay kindness with enmity; this is not the royal way you taught me!"
Frigga looked at Thor, the expression on her face unnaturally calm.
She walked over to Loki, reached out, and gently patted Loki's shoulder.
Loki was leaning against a stone pillar at this moment, his face pale, his eyes still retaining a trace of exhaustion. He looked at Thor and sneered.
"Thor, is there nothing in your head besides muscle?" Lokisaid.
"Shut up, Loki!" Thor roared. "If it weren't for you leading the way, how could they have entered Asgard?"
Loki shrugged, did not refute, and simply turned his head to the side.
Frigga looked at Thor and sighed helplessly.
"Thor, do you think Peter is the kind of person who would be easily killed by others due to carelessness?" Friggaasked.
Thor was stunned for a moment, mjolnir hanging at his side, the lightning gradually fading away.
"But I saw with my own eyes that he was swallowed by the spatial distortion," Thor replied. "The power of the Reality Stone is something even gods cannot contend with."
Frigga gently stroked Thor's head, the expression on her face becoming somewhat amused.
"A hint for you: that kid took out the eight The Worthyunder Cul and seized their hammers," Frigga said. "Among them is the breaker of worlds hammer, which has the effect of breaking through the vast majority of magic and barriers in this World, including spatial boundaries."
Thor blinked, his muscle-filled brain beginning to turn slowly.
Loki rolled his eyes dramatically from the side and patted his own forehead with his hand.
"Idiot," Loki retorted, "It means that with that hammer in hand, it's impossible for him to be killed by distorted space. That cunning guy is just playing along!"
Speaking of which, he couldn't help but add silently in his heart: "Just like how I tricked you, and how he tricked me..."
Frigga nodded at this moment and continued to explain: "Before entering the spatial distortion, Peter didn't even open a protective barrier. He was using Ebony Maw's spatial passage to leave Asgard."
Thor scratched his golden hair, the rage in his eyes gradually fading, replaced by confusion.
"But why would he do that?"
"Because of Thanos," Frigga turned around, looking at the stone door of Odin's bedchamber. "The guy named Ebony Maw has Thanos behind him. If Peter is in the open, he will face endless schemes. Only if he disappears will Thanoslower his guard."
...At this moment, in the endless darkness and distortion, Peter was traveling rapidly.
The violent spatial storm was like countless sharp blades, constantly cutting at his body.
But Peter's body was always covered with a layer of warm white light; the power of the Horse Talisman flowed through his meridians, and any tiny scratches caused by the spatial storm were instantly healed by the white light, leaving not a trace.
And in his right hand, he held a war hammer emitting a yellowish halo—it was none other than the breaker of worlds hammer.
Just as Loki said, Peter was indeed playing along.
When Ebony Maw mobilized the power of the Reality Stone, Peter had already worked out the deduction.
The previous situation could be said that from the moment Ebony Maw got the Reality Stone, that knockoff Voldemortwas already in an invincible position.
Once he used the breaker of worlds hammer to resolve the distorted space, the opponent's reaction would definitely be to turn around and run.
With the Reality Stone's ability to modify reality at will, Peter might not really be able to stop the opponent.
Since that was the case, it was better to go with the flow and pretend to be torn apart by the spatial turbulence.
He had the Horse Talisman to protect his body, and the breaker of worlds hammer to clear the way; the spatial turbulence simply couldn't cause him any substantive harm.
More importantly, he still had the Stand United skill.
Whenever he wanted, he could activate the skill, instantly arrive by their side, and let that damn Thanos see what it meant to: "Surprise, mutherfucker~"