I quickly closed in on Malekith and delivered a powerful kick to his abdomen. Caught off guard by my sudden speed increase, Malekith couldn't react in time and took the hit directly.
Thud!!!
Malekith grunted in pain.
Malekith was sent flying back by the powerful kick and slammed into a rock.
Boom!!
Without giving Malekith a moment to breathe, I threw explosion cards in rapid succession as I charged toward him.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
He gasped.
Once I was close enough, I jumped, spun, and drove my kick down onto Malekith's head.
Crunch!!
He let out a choked cry.
I spoke to Malekith as he lay fallen.
"If you're going to boast about hiding your power or not knowing there were strong warriors around, you should at least stay on your toes. Planning to end it like this?"
Malekith shook his head to clear his mind and stood up.
"Grr... I underestimated you too much."
My attacks and taunting changed the look in Malekith's eyes. It seemed like the real fight was starting now. I was also reluctant to end it here—honestly, it had been a while since I'd felt the thrill of a good fight after getting so strong.
This time, I went in first, aiming a kick at Malekith's thigh, but he lifted his leg slightly to deflect it and immediately countered with a punch. However, I blocked that punch with my arm.
"Good, now you're waking up."
"You monster! To think you match my strength even after I've transformed into Kurse."
Malekith grimaced as he spoke. It seemed he had gauged my strength somewhat during our clash.
"Sorry to say, but in this universe, there are plenty of monstrous beings stronger than you. Don't get arrogant."
"Damn it!"
Malekith had wanted to deal with me quickly and drive out Asgard, but he seemed to realize it wouldn't be easy with how strong I was.
We clashed again, exchanging blows several times in a heated back-and-forth. I was thoroughly enjoying the fierce battle—it had been a while. Although Malekith wasn't an opponent worth risking my life over, he was strong enough to make our duel thrillingly close.
"You're still not using all your power, are you!"
As we kept fighting, he grew tired while I showed no signs of fatigue, and he finally seemed to grasp the difference between us.
"That's right. Honestly, you're not at that level."
"You son of a bitch~~!!!"
Hearing that, Malekith let out a roar and lunged at me. Whether from rage or despair, he had lost his reason—there was no technique, just wild swings fueled by raw power, trying to land at least one hit on me. But those reckless punches were even easier to dodge.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh~!!
Seeing that I couldn't expect more from Malekith, I decided to finish it.
"I wish we could've played a bit longer. Pity, it was fun."
I pulled a staff-sword from my Inventory and cleanly severed Malekith's head in one swing. Since it was a clean cut, he likely felt no pain.
Thump!
Ding!
You have acquired the [(SSS)Kurse] ability.
[(SSS)Kurse] Continuously consumes mana to increase strength and stamina tenfold.
'Wow... this ability is like the Kaioken or something.'
Seeing that mana kept draining while the [Kurse] ability was active, I figured it wasn't meant for continuous use, so I turned it off. Still, with that massive tenfold boost, it would come in handy in dangerous situations.
After dealing with Malekith, I looked over to where Thor was fighting—it seemed they were wrapping up too—so I quickly searched the pockets of the fallen Dark Elves who hadn't transformed into Kurse, found a few Kurse Stones, and stashed them in my Inventory.
Then I moved to where the captains were fighting. There, I saw Algrim already dead, Thor and the Captain preparing to fight again, and Jessie sitting down exhausted. The Hulkbuster armor was a bit damaged, so it looked like Banner had pitched in hard.
When I appeared, the members looked at me with stunned expressions.
"What happened? Did you win?"
Thor asked with a surprised face, so I mixed in a little lie as I answered.
"Yeah, I won. Luckily, he was weaker than that guy over there, even though he was bigger."
"I see... that's a relief."
At my words, Thor and the Captain slumped to the ground. They seemed pretty tired from dealing with Algrim. Then Jessie, who was resting, spoke up.
"Really a relief... Honestly, I didn't even have the energy to move anymore. I was worried about how to handle an opponent who seemed even stronger than this one."
Banner chimed in.
"Tell me about it... I'm really relieved."
As we were resting, the Warriors Three members came and spoke to Thor.
"Thor, you need to let the soldiers know we've won."
"Hoo... right."
Thor stood up, went to a spot where all the soldiers could see, raised Mjolnir high, and shouted.
"This is our victory!!"
Woo~~~~!!!!
Asgard's soldiers and we all cheered, savoring the victory. Then, the Warriors Three and soldiers suddenly grabbed Pietro and hoisted him up for a celebration.
"Hero! Pietro~~~!!!"
Woo~!! Woo~!! Pietro~!! Pietro~!!
Everyone knew from this battle how big a role Pietro had played. Pietro was beaming with joy as they celebrated him. Wanda and I couldn't help but chuckle at the sight.
We helped with cleanup, transporting the dead and wounded, then took the Bifrost back to Asgard. As we moved toward the royal palace, residents showered us with flower petals and cheered. Watching countless petals fill the air and people waving and cheering, I felt my chest swell with emotion. It must have been like medieval generals returning in triumph.
Entering the palace, we went before Odin. Thor stepped forward to announce our victory.
"King Odin! We have returned safely after winning the war against the Dark Elves."
"You've all worked hard! Well done! Once the funeral for the fallen soldiers is over, we'll hold a three-day festival to honor your achievements!"
We rested for a day, and the next day held the funeral for the sacrificed soldiers. Asgard's funeral involved placing the bodies on small boats, sending them off from the city into the sea connected to space, where archers shot fire arrows to set the boats ablaze. We watched the solemn ceremony quietly.
Another day passed, and the festival began the following day—for three days, we pretty much drank non-stop. I don't remember much except Fandral hitting on Jessie again and getting a slap. After the festival ended, we headed to the Bifrost to return to Earth. Thor decided to come along this time, and the Warriors Three came to see us off.
"Farewell, comrades! I won't forget the battlefield we shared."
At that, the Captain stepped forward.
"Same here. May peace be with Asgard."
We exchanged handshakes and farewells with the Warriors Three, and finally returned to Earth. Wanda came back with us after talking to Queen Frigga. Arriving in England via the Bifrost, the other members were waiting with the Odyssey. Since I'd been updating them periodically, they already knew.
"Welcome back, everyone worked hard!"
Motherfucker came down from the Odyssey first and greeted us warmly. The Captain shook hands with Motherfucker and exchanged greetings. We boarded the ship together, chatted, and headed back to the U.S. On Earth, there were occasional monsters and races from other kingdoms, but the members who stayed behind said they'd handled it well with the gravity control device Dr. Selvig made.
We all spent a night at my house, but the next day, trouble erupted. Learning that many Asgardian soldiers had died in the war, Jane blamed herself and said goodbye to Thor. Thor tried to convince her it wasn't her fault, but she seemed unable to face him anymore, saying it was due to her rash actions that so many people in England died and Asgard was dragged into war.
"Jane... think it over again. It's not your fault. Even without you, the Dark Elves would have attacked various kingdoms eventually."
"No... if I'd acted more cautiously, I might have prevented the tragedy in London. This is clearly my fault. I'm sorry, Thor..."
Thor let out a deep sigh and said.
"Hoo... Jane, I'll keep waiting."
Thinking about it calmly, it's true that because of Jane, things got tangled—the Convergence connected the Dark Elves' homeworld and Earth, leading to these sacrifices—but in a way, it was also a problem caused by me changing history, so I planned to give Jane a chance later with the Zeronic Serum from Project Zeronic I was working on.
Project Zeronic aimed to combine the strengths of the Super Soldier Serum, Extremis, and, though not yet researched, the Kurse Stones to create a serum that turns humans into superhumans. I'd been thinking about this for a while; since Marvel had so many drugs causing dramatic changes, I thought, 'What if we minimize their drawbacks and combine only the advantages?'
'If this succeeds, we could mass-produce heroes to protect themselves even without me.'
Anyway, because of Thor and Jane's issue, the atmosphere at home wasn't great. That evening, the Captain and Thor went out for a drink and came back.
The next day, as promised, we all took my private jet to Disney World for fun. There was a change in the group—aside from those who participated in the battle, Deadpool and Natasha came along too. These two joined because they were bored. Natasha was fine since she could share a room with me, and Deadpool got Thor's room since he wasn't going. The funny thing was Deadpool came without his mask, and everyone was amazed at his appearance, especially the Captain.
"Whoa... I had no idea Deadpool was such a handsome hunk..."
"Hahaha, I do have that kind of反转 charm, don't I?"
If I hadn't fixed him, Deadpool would still have a face like a rotten avocado, so it was a bit absurd hearing him say that, but I let it slide.
We arrived at Disney World and had a blast.
Since it was a VVIP tour, we entered without waiting in lines. The rides were the same, and they assigned us two guides who seemed more stunned by us. With bodyguards around, we could reduce autograph requests a bit, but the Captain diligently signed them all. We ended up doing some too.
While having fun and eating, the Captain said.
"The world really has gotten better. They made this place kids love so much. I feel like I've returned to my childhood."
"That's true."
But I was curious what he'd say if he saw the PC trend hitting the U.S. soon, with gay men in skirts guiding and serving at Disney World.
Anyway, we played happily for a week and returned home. This time, Natasha came back wearing a Minnie Mouse headband and outfit—she definitely seemed to have enjoyed Disney World. Wanda wore one too at Natasha's urging, but she looked eager to take it off.
The next day, I visited Asgard with Wanda. From today, Wanda was to learn magic from Frigga. But Wanda looked a bit nervous.
"Don't be so nervous. The cultures are different, but the Queen is definitely a good person and will treat you well."
"I see."
I reassured Wanda and took her to Frigga, who welcomed her warmly.
"Welcome. Your name is Wanda, right?"
"Yes, Queen Frigga. Wanda Maximoff."
"I see. Let me show you your accommodations and facilities first."
Frigga took Wanda around for a tour. After that, we agreed I'd pick her up once a week, and I left the palace. I still had some business in Asgard—I needed to ask Heimdall to go to another planet, Jandar, which required securing funds in units, the universal currency.
Of course, I planned to trade minerals, but since I didn't know which ones were valuable, I had to survey the market first. So I met with the Warriors Three members to chat and asked Heimdall, but they didn't seem to know much.
Instead, Asgard quickly made a medal-like item for me—it was like an Asgardian certificate of identification; carrying it around would earn respect anywhere, as long as I didn't run into troublemakers.
I thanked them and asked Heimdall to transport me to Jandar.