Thor was found by the Warriors Three and Sif, learning that Odin had merely fallen into the Odinsleep.
Realizing that Loki's claims were complete lies meant to deceive him, his heart was filled with mixed emotions.
There was anger at being deceived, but also joy in knowing his father was still alive.
"Thor, while King Odin is in his slumber, Loki has usurped the throne of Asgard. You must return to Asgard with us to stop him." The Warriors Three and Sif wanted Thor to return with them immediately.
Hearing this, Thor smiled bitterly. "I am no longer the God of Thunder of days past. I have lost all my divine power; I cannot even lift Mjolnir. Even if I return, what good would it do?"
Suddenly, not far away, a multicolored beam of light descended from the sky.
"The Bifrost? Who else has descended from Asgard?" Thor asked.
"Loki is currently acting King of Asgard; he has forbidden anyone from coming to Midgard to find you. We came here in secret," Sif replied, frowning.
"Could it be that Loki realized we came to Midgard and sent pursuers?"
"Then we must be ready to fight." The Warriors Three drew their weapons.
The SHIELD team led by Coulson surrounded the Destroyer armor that had descended from the sky.
Sitwell looked at the Destroyer armor: "Is this one of Stark's new mechs?"
Coulson shook his head gently: "I don't know. Tony won't tell me anything."
Just as he was about to step forward to speak, Loki, seeing this group of SHIELD agents blocking the way through the Destroyer's eyes, opened the faceplate directly. Surging energy was revealed as it prepared to fire a destructive beam.
Seeing the situation turn dire, Coulson shouted, "No! Get out of the way!"
The scorching ray shot by the Destroyer armor instantly annihilated the SHIELD vehicles.
However, Loki did not have the Destroyer continue chasing Coulson and his team; the Warriors Three and Sif were his targets.
In Loki's eyes, Coulson and the others were merely insignificant bystanders. He had only attacked because they blocked his path.
"It seems this big guy has no interest in us," Coulson said, watching the Destroyer move away.
"Fortunately for us," Sitwell said, still shaken.
"Judging by its direction, it's heading for the town."
Coulson frowned. "Call for backup immediately and notify the town to evacuate."
"It's the Destroyer armor! Loki actually sent it here!" Fandral, of the Warriors Three, was both shocked and furious upon seeing the armor.
"Loki shouldn't be able to unleash the Destroyer's true power yet; we might still have a chance," Volstagg, the oldest, analyzed calmly.
"I have completely lost my divine power; I'm afraid I cannot fight alongside you. However, I can go evacuate the civilians. I leave the Destroyer to you," Thor sighed and said.
Inside a convenience store.
Leah and Kent were shopping when they suddenly heard the emergency evacuation announcement.
"What's going on?" The two ran out of the store, only to see the Destroyer armor wreaking havoc.
Although Loki could not utilize the Destroyer armor's true might—essentially only able to make it move—it was still enough to crush the Warriors Three and Sif.
This was because the four of them were completely unable to inflict any damage on the Destroyer.
Even though Loki could not unleash the power of the laws imbued upon the armor by many gods, the mere existence of these powers made the Destroyer armor indestructible.
Attacks that did not touch upon the power of laws could not affect the Destroyer at all.
Although the Warriors Three and Sif were experienced in battle, possessed great strength, and used Asgardian enchanted weapons capable of easily destroying the armor of any tank, aircraft, or submarine on Earth, as well as releasing various magical energy attacks, they were completely helpless against the Destroyer's defenses.
Even when they found an opportunity to stab their weapons into the Destroyer, it had no effect. The interior of the Destroyer armor was completely hollow, containing only powerful energy gathered by the law runes.
Energy bursts capable of destroying small interstellar warships still proved useless.
Watching the Destroyer slice through a roadside house with a beam of light like a hot knife through butter, Kent stepped forward, preparing to act.
"Kent, it's too dangerous," Leah said, gently tugging at the corner of Kent's shirt.
Kent smiled. "Since I have abilities beyond those of ordinary people, I must use them for something meaningful. This guy is wantonly destroying the town; this is exactly when I need to use my strength. Don't the heroes in the comics we read together always step forward when everyone is in danger?"
Loki maneuvered the Destroyer armor to hammer Volstagg to the ground. He prepared to fire a destruction beam to finish off the one who dared to defy him.
"Damn it, Volstagg!" Sif, Hogun, and Fandral exclaimed in unison, immediately rushing to the rescue.
Just a moment before the beam fired, Kent delivered a flying kick to the Destroyer's head, causing the beam to deviate slightly.
It carved a deep gully into the ground.
Kent gazed gravely at the Destroyer armor as it turned its head toward him.
"Henshin!"
Biological chitinous exoskeleton and nano-metal armor combined to cover his entire body.
Kent transformed into Kamen Rider Ichigo and charged at the Destroyer armor.
"Detestable! A mere Midgardian dares to defy the King of Asgard?" Loki was furious, urging the Destroyer to fire a destruction ray at Kent.
The moment the Destroyer's faceplate opened, Kent rolled to the side, dodging the ray that would melt and obliterate everything.
Closing in on the Destroyer, he executed a clean sweep kick, attempting to knock it down.
Although one of the Destroyer's feet was shaken loose by Kent and left the ground, the other foot firmly supported it. At the same time, the Destroyer was able to bend down and swing a fist at Kent.
However, the Warriors Three arrived with support just in time; energy blasts released from their enchanted weapons intercepted the Destroyer's attack.
Kent seized the opportunity to dodge the blow.
The Asgardian quartet swung their weapons from different directions, stabbing and slashing at the Destroyer.
Volstagg grabbed the Destroyer's head from behind, attempting to restrain the most threatening destruction beam.
Kent leapt into the air, gathering his full energy, and landed a Rider Kick on the Destroyer's neck.
With their combined efforts, they finally managed to knock the Destroyer to the ground.
"I didn't expect Midgard to have a warrior as powerful as you," Fandral said to Kent in surprise, sensing the immense power of the Rider Kick.
"Midgard? Never mind that. Do you have any way to thoroughly destroy this guy?" Kent asked, his expression darkening slightly as he looked at the unscathed Destroyer.
"The Destroyer is inscribed with law runes left by the gods; it is almost impossible to destroy. We can only figure out a way to stop it from moving." Sif thrust her divine sword into the Destroyer armor, agitating the energy within to temporarily halt its movements.
"More accurately, we need to make Loki lose control of the Destroyer. It is impossible for us to actually disrupt the Destroyer's functions," Volstagg added.
(End of Chapter)