"Dad, did that friend of yours already leave?" Lia asked as she saw Ryan coming over alone.
"He has his own matters to attend to. He just stopped by to visit me, but he couldn't stay for long," Ryan nodded, then shot Lia a glance. "You're slacking off again."
"Kent can handle all this easily by himself. If I go help, I'd just get in the way," Lia replied matter-of-factly.
"What's wrong?" Lia noticed that her father's expression seemed a bit unusual.
Ryan glanced toward Kent not far away. "For the time being, don't drag Kent around town anymore. Don't go stirring up trouble."
"Relax, we won't cause any trouble," Lia said with a smile.
"I'm not worried about Kent. I'm worried about you. If I hadn't stopped you earlier, wouldn't you have already dragged Kent out to try lifting that hammer outside town?" Ryan shook his head lightly, looking as though he had seen right through her.
Lia pouted. "What's wrong with just trying? I heard that hammer is incredibly magical. Kent might not even be able to lift it anyway."
Ryan let out a helpless sigh and spoke earnestly. "The men in black who set up that research base around the suddenly appearing hammer belong to a very powerful special organization. Kent's uniqueness—it's best not to let them discover it. Otherwise, the consequences would be unimaginable."
Lia's eyes rolled slightly at his words. "So the person who came to visit just now is also from that special department."
Ryan laughed softly. "You figured it out."
Lia rolled her eyes. "I'm not stupid. There are rarely any outsiders in town, and his neatly pressed suit—wasn't that obvious enough?"
"So that means, Dad, you used to be an agent of that secret department too?"
Lia seemed to have discovered something incredible, her mouth falling open in surprise.
"That's all in the past," Ryan said, his expression turning inscrutable.
At dusk, Thor and Jane were hiding outside the temporary S.H.I.E.L.D. base.
"They seem to be heavily guarded. Do you have a plan?" Jane asked anxiously as she watched the patrolling S.H.I.E.L.D. agents.
Thor said, "When it gets dark, I'll charge straight in."
Jane's eyes widened. "That's your plan?"
Thor nodded solemnly. "As long as I get my hammer back, all problems will be easily solved."
Jane stared blankly for a moment, then ventured, "How about… considering another approach?"
"There's no need. These Midgardians can't stop me. I am Thor, the God of Thunder, seasoned by countless battles," Thor said confidently.
Fine then. Jane shook her head helplessly, deciding that Thor must be having another episode of intermittent delusion. Seeing that she couldn't persuade him, she planned to contact Dr. Erik in advance so that when Thor got caught by these men in black, she could get him out.
Night quickly fell.
"Jane, don't worry. I'll definitely help you get all your things back."
After calling out to her, Thor leapt up and charged straight toward the research facility.
Seeing this, Jane could only press her forehead and pray that the agents wouldn't immediately use lethal weapons against Thor.
"Agent Coulson, someone has infiltrated the base and has already taken down several of our agents. His target appears to be the mysterious hammer in the central area."
Coulson looked at the screen, watching Thor effortlessly knock down S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, his expression uncertain.
"Should I stop him?" Hawkeye's voice came through the communicator.
Coulson shook his head slightly. "No. Let him in. Perhaps this person has some special connection to that mysterious hammer. We might gain some insight from him."
With Coulson's deliberate arrangements, Thor successfully reached the hammer.
"I've finally found you, my Mjolnir." Thor's eyes shone with excitement as he thought of reclaiming his divine power, his heart surging with anticipation.
He stepped forward, grasped the hammer, and lifted it casually.
Something felt wrong.
He grabbed it with both hands and strained with all his might to lift Mjolnir.
"Why, Father!"
Thor confirmed that he had lost the right to wield Mjolnir. His spirit crushed, he collapsed to his knees.
In truth, when he failed to lift the hammer with that casual attempt, Thor had already vaguely sensed this outcome. But unwilling to accept it and refusing to believe it, he exerted all his strength again and again, yet still could not lift Mjolnir.
No matter how unwilling he was, he had to admit that he was no longer the master of the hammer.
"Take him away," Coulson ordered, seeing that Mjolnir showed no unusual reaction.
Thor was utterly despondent, offering no resistance as he was dragged away.
"It seems Father truly is angry. He showed no mercy at all, directly stripping Thor of his qualification to become king." Loki, concealed by magic so that no one could detect him, watched the scene with a complicated expression.
"If that's the case, my foolish brother, then just stay obediently in Midgard. Watch as I become the King of Asgard, destroy the Frost Giants, and establish immortal achievements—unify the Nine Realms and become the greatest ruler Asgard has ever known," Loki murmured with a smile.
After everyone left, Loki also tried to step forward and lift Mjolnir himself.
"You ungrateful hammer." Loki's face darkened. He decided to go see Thor again—and stab him in the heart one more time.
Thus, Loki appeared before Thor and wove him a story.
Odin, exhausted and deeply worried after Thor's reckless actions had triggered a war with the Frost Giants, had succumbed to stress and suddenly passed away. Loki had been appointed in a moment of crisis to temporarily act as king of Asgard.
In order to reach a peace agreement with the Frost Giants, Thor had to be permanently exiled to Earth, never allowed to return to Asgard.
Thor actually believed it.
After being deceived by the God of Mischief countless times throughout his life, he still hadn't learned his lesson.
Perhaps he thought that Loki wouldn't joke about something so serious.
And so Thor fell into deep self-blame, finally beginning to truly reflect on his past actions.
Perhaps this was why Odin allowed Loki to act freely—only in this way could Thor genuinely start to examine himself. The greater the setback, the greater the growth gained.
Watching Thor sink into pain and despair because of his lies, Loki put on a sorrowful face and completed his farewell.
The moment he vanished, he couldn't help but burst into triumphant laughter.
Next would be to lure Laufey, the King of the Frost Giants, to Asgard, then kill Laufey himself—accomplishing what even Odin had failed to do.
Thus becoming the unquestioned heir to the throne of Asgard's God-King.
Not long after, Jane Foster and Dr. Erik arrived with forged credentials to take Thor away.
"He's just a doctor who's gone mad. Sorry for the trouble he caused you," Dr. Erik said to Coulson.
"All right. You may take him," Coulson replied, his gaze shifting slightly.
"The documents are obviously fake," a technician said in confusion.
Coulson nodded. "Of course I know. But keeping him locked up here serves no purpose. No matter what we ask him, he doesn't say a word."
"Let him go, and send someone to follow him. We might actually uncover some useful clues that way. I always feel that this man isn't just a simple madman," Coulson said, frowning.
Based on his many years as an agent and the countless people he had encountered, Coulson was certain that Thor was no ordinary person—yet what exactly made him extraordinary was something he couldn't quite put his finger on.
(End of Chapter)