On the other hand, aside from the issue of succession to the throne, Odin had always treated Loki and Thor exactly the same since childhood, never favoring one over the other, raising Loki as his own son. This was precisely why Loki's hostility toward Odin had always been so conflicted and unclear.
"Loki, give up that unrealistic fantasy of yours,"
Thor continued to persuade him.
"Come back to Asgard with me. Come home."
Thor truly believed that Loki was not evil by nature.
"Heh… I don't have a home,"
Loki said with a self-mocking smile.
"That place stopped being my home a long time ago."
Ever since learning the truth of his origins, he had never considered Asgard his home again. It was the home of the Asgardians—not the home of Loki the Frost Giant.
Thor froze. Loki's words pierced him deeply. He instinctively tightened his grip on Mjölnir.
"Listen to me, Loki, I—"
Boom!
A beam of light suddenly slammed into Thor, blasting him backward and carrying him straight up into the sky.
"?? I'm listening~~"
Loki tilted his head at the now-empty cliffside, cupping his ear theatrically.
Tony drove Thor higher and higher before plunging headfirst toward the forest below. At the last moment, Tony braked sharply. Thor, carried by inertia, smashed into the ground, carving a ten-meter trench before finally stopping.
Tony landed directly in front of him. Thor stood up unscathed, the two staring each other down.
"You will pay for this, Midgardian,"
Thor said coldly, summoning Mjölnir back into his hand.
"You took something that belongs to us. It needs to be returned."
Tony showed no fear whatsoever.
"And you—what opera troupe did you crawl out of?"
"That cape of yours is even more dramatic than someone I know."
"And that outfit—no undershirt? Doesn't that chafe?"
Tony's verbal barrage was in full swing. As he said, Thor's armor left both arms completely exposed, his upper body resembling a metal vest. The scaled soft armor he once wore was gone.
"Midgardians,"
Thor said imperiously,
"Loki will face judgment in Asgard. This world is not worthy of imprisoning him."
Tony snorted.
"Sure. Once he hands over the Tesseract, you can take him wherever you want. Until then, he's not going anywhere."
His faceplate snapped shut as Tony raised both hands, adopting a combat stance.
Thor sighed helplessly, glancing down at Mjölnir.
"Midgardians are as unreasonable as ever."
He hurled the hammer without another word.
Mjölnir smashed into Tony, the tremendous force sending him crashing through more than a dozen trees before he finally hit the ground.
That single strike caused five percent damage to the armor. Although Tony's suit was vastly upgraded and plated with vibranium on the exterior, the internal components were still high-strength alloys—no match for the raw impact of Mjölnir.
"Sir, armor damage at six percent. No critical issues detected. All systems operational,"
JARVIS reported immediately.
"Alright… guess he's got some bite,"
Tony muttered.
The thrusters ignited, lifting him back into the air.
Thor recalled Mjölnir, their battle unfolding clearly under Loki's watch from the distant peak.
Spinning his hammer rapidly, Thor summoned a violent gale.
Tony fired a repulsor blast, knocking Thor off his feet and slamming him into a tree.
Seizing the moment, Tony rushed in at high speed. A boosted knee strike sent Thor flying again—so hard that even Mjölnir was knocked from his hand.
Boom—crack!
Lightning split the sky. Thor was genuinely furious now.
Mjölnir returned to his grasp as he slowly raised it overhead. Countless bolts of lightning converged on the hammer, illuminating the pitch-black forest. Stray arcs obliterated every tree around him.
Tony stared, momentarily stunned.
This felt… familiar.
Then it clicked.
"JARVIS, get ready."
"All systems ready, sir."
Boom!
The lightning slammed directly into Tony—but instead of being destroyed, he calmly raised one hand. The electricity was absorbed completely, funneling into the hexagonal arc reactor on his chest.
"Sir, energy output has reached four hundred percent. It appears the experiment was a success,"
JARVIS reported.
"Wow—nice,"
Tony grinned.
"Looks like Lucas officially became my charging station."
Not only had his depleted power been instantly restored, it had overflowed massively.
Tony raised both hands. Three blinding energy beams fired simultaneously, converging midair into a single massive blast that slammed into Thor.
Thor didn't even have time to react. He was blasted backward, tearing through countless trees as the ground was churned up behind him.
Tony didn't waste the opening. He grabbed Thor mid-flight, soared upward, and smashed him straight into a mountainside.
Boom!
The impact gouged a massive crater into the rock. Tony kept going, dragging Thor upward along the cliff face, sparks flying as stone scraped violently against armor and flesh.
With immense effort, Thor braced himself, kicked off the rock, and broke free. Using his overwhelming physical strength, he reversed the hold and drove Tony straight back toward the ground.
Trees snapped like twigs as they plowed through the forest before crashing to a stop, both rolling across the ground.
Thor rose first and slammed a punch into Tony's helmet with a thunderous clang. Without vibranium, the helmet would have caved in.
Tony countered with a punch of his own—but Thor caught his wrist effortlessly. The two locked into a raw contest of strength.
Despite the armor's enhancements, Tony was clearly losing. Thinking fast, he fired a point-blank repulsor blast into Thor's face, forcing him off-balance.
Tony followed up with another punch, thrusters flaring at his wrist—but Thor caught him again.
Thor twisted and delivered a crushing blow, sending Tony flying. In sheer strength, Thor held an overwhelming advantage—far beyond what the armor could match.
Tony stabilized midair and charged back in.
The two collided once more, fists slamming into flesh and metal alike, the fight erupting into a brutal, no-holds-barred brawl.
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