"Fat... Thor, why did you come here?"
Since she had set a goal, Artoria quickly took action. Leaving a clone at home, Artoria followed the video address to a small town. Using the green U.S. dollars in her hand, Artoria bought a lot of strong liquor and lured Thor out. Artoria felt a little emotional looking at Thor, who was now two sizes fatter. She opened her mouth to say something, but seeing Thor's depressed appearance, Artoria softened her tone. After all, without suffering a huge setback, how could a guy whose personality was comparable to a Husky be devastated like this? It seemed he must have experienced a major upheaval. Although Artoria was eager to know the truth, she decided to consider his feelings now, lest he do something rash like commit suicide.
"Asgard is finished, destroyed. Everyone is dead."
Even upon seeing his comrade Artoria again, Thor's expression remained numb, his eyes filled with dead silence. He only looked at the table full of liquor. Without waiting for Artoria's permission, he opened two bottles and began chugging them. The liquor, over sixty percent proof, went entirely into his stomach with just two gulps. Artoria looked at him with great confusion. Couldn't he say a few more words? Who was the killer? Thanos or Hela? Artoria watched Thor's state with a headache, realizing that judging by his appearance, he likely wouldn't share any more details about this matter.
"Has he been like this recently?"
Since Thor had become like this, Artoria wanted to find clues from another person: Jane, Thor's girlfriend on Earth. Fortunately, Artoria had Jane's phone number. One call and Jane came over, ready to pull him away. But how could Jane possibly drag this guy who had gotten fat like a bear? While Jane was frustrated, Artoria started talking to her, specifically hoping to get the clues she wanted from Jane.
"Yes, ever since he..."
Although she was quite wary that Artoria's beauty might charm Thor away, after careful consideration, she thought she was overthinking it. The current Thor was just a drunken bum, while Artoria was a Rich and Beautiful Heiress; how could she possibly fancy him? Thinking this, she stopped holding back and recounted everything that had happened since she met Thor, which also relieved some of her stress. After all, although her relationship with Thor could be considered that of lovers, the long periods without contact, coupled with his status as a Prince, made her feel somewhat unworthy of him. When she learned about the destruction of Asgard from Thor, while she felt heartache for Thor, she also unconsciously breathed a sigh of relief—the hurdle of status was cleared. However, taking care of a drunken bum was extremely difficult, and she still had to work to earn money, so she had been very exhausted lately. Having someone to listen now was actually quite nice.
"She doesn't know who the real killer is? He passed out, and after waking up..."
After briefly listening to what Jane said, Artoria frowned. The matter was becoming confusing again. If it were the eldest Princess Hela, given the personality of the three Asgardian 'Princesses' who instantly demand submission, Thor would definitely fight Hela. But based on the circumstances, it didn't seem like the eldest Princess Hela was responsible. If it wasn't Hela, then the chance of it being Thanos was even smaller. The two known possibilities were ruled out. So, borrowing the words of a certain detective: eliminate the impossible, and whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.
"Odin? Why would he do that?"
Artoria instantly realized something. Since Thor didn't lose an eye, it was highly likely that Odin was plotting something behind this whole affair. Why suspect Odin? Because Artoria remembered activating a Yggdrasil Seed, and the Ancient One had told her who received this seed. Undeniably, Odin might have used the Yggdrasil Seed to do something, moving the Heavenly Palace away from Asgard. Why wouldn't he take his son along? Perhaps he wanted to use the encounter to train the fellow, as such things had happened before. But this strike and trial seemed a bit excessive, didn't it? Did Odin recently meet a muscle-bound tough guy named Sparta and discuss educational methods?
"Keep a close eye on him, and contact me if you run into any trouble."
Since things had already devolved to this state, Artoria no longer chose to trust the unreliable plot. With everything in such chaos, following the so-called storyline would definitely backfire. Artoria patted Jane's shoulder and left the small town. She needed to continue overseeing the unfinished Hyperion. Only when the Hyperion was complete could Artoria embark on her next space journey. However, Artoria seemed to have forgotten one thing: the Inhumans' Terrigen Crystal still hadn't been found, and the target of the theft hadn't even been confirmed.
"She's gone."
After Artoria left, Thor, who had been continuously gulping down fine wine, stopped his binge drinking. This made Jane, who was beside him, think he was drunk! But then he mumbled that sentence. Jane didn't quite understand, but only Thor knew the pain in his heart. The disappearance of all his people, including his parents and Loki, was a fatal blow to him. Although he immersed himself daily in the numbness of alcohol, he knew and understood clearly in his heart that he was lost. Fortunately, he had his beloved hammer and Jane accompanying him; otherwise, he wasn't sure what irrational things he might do.
"Midgard, my idiot older brother must be here!"
Loki... the Evil God Loki, Thor's younger brother, was currently piloting a small spacecraft into the Solar System. The ship was moving fast. He could already see the immense size of the sun and the surrounding fixed stars. He looked at the blue Planet and showed a wicked smile. In fact, he was also completely confused about why he woke up lying among a pile of corpses. But he knew Asgard seemed to have been 'destroyed'. Being clever, he searched several times but found neither his father nor his mother; perhaps they had escaped. At the same time, he also didn't find the corpse of his foolish older brother.
Since he hadn't found Thor, he decided to try his luck on Midgard; maybe he would run into him. He felt Thor definitely knew something. What he didn't know was that after he flew the spacecraft away from the sky, the so-called 'corpses' vanished. Behind him, Frigga reluctantly watched the spot where Loki had left. After gazing for a moment, Frigga turned and departed. The previous scene had all been conjured by her using magic.
"Asgard has been destroyed, so does the King still need to exist?"
Ordinarily, he wouldn't be willing to go look for Thor; he would be quite happy to go kill his foolish older brother. But now, the Throne of Asgard he was vying for—Asgard itself no longer existed. Was there any need to fight for this dispensable title? For a moment, he hesitated. However, he absolutely needed to know the news about his parents. Although he didn't care for the Old Man, his mother truly treated him well, and he didn't want anything to happen to her.
"Thor."
Seeing that Thor showed a tendency for a brief recovery, Jane quickly struck while the iron was hot, diving straight into Thor's arms and gazing affectionately at the bearded drunkard before her. She wanted to use love to restore her lover's sanity. Hearing Jane's tender call, Thor lowered his head and stared blankly at Jane for a moment, then opened another bottle of wine and started drinking. This made Jane feel like her genuine feelings had been thrown away, with a thousand 'Grass Mud Horses' galloping in her heart. This emotionally stunted man—was she not pretty? How dare he ignore her.
"Go live your life with your wine!"
Jane, whose brain was throbbing with anger, looked as if flames were about to shoot out of her eyes. She glared fiercely at Thor and angrily spat out that sentence. She turned and left the place, leaving behind only Thor, who continued his binge drinking. She truly couldn't imagine that the handsome male God who was once like a Heavenly God had turned into such a worthless drunkard. Although people encounter all kinds of setbacks, they can always get back on track promptly. Was he, a God, worse than a human? How could he be so decadent for so long? Thor's behavior made Jane feel like her sincerity had been fed to the dogs, making it difficult for her to accept. She decided to break up with Thor.
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