Coulson stared blankly at the scene before him, his mind having ceased to function.
This had never happened even once in his entire career!
In the past, he could at least say he was dealing with people, but Leon, he was truly encountering for the first time!
Soon, the Agents around him disappeared one by one, leaving behind only shallow, steaming pits.
Eventually, only he and Thor, who stood beside Leon, remained at the scene.
Thor was also stunned by the sight before him.
He knew Leon was strong, but he had never imagined that Leon's combat would be like this.
This was no longer a battle; it was a judgment.
He recalled the title God of Death from two millennia ago when Leon waged war across the Nine Realms.
It turned out that he had never changed; he had only been asleep.
Just as Coulson thought he too would be engulfed by the golden light, Leon lowered his hand.
The sky returned to a clear blue, as if everything that had just happened was merely an illusion.
But the lingering scent in the air and the several shocking craters on the ground all reminded him of what had just transpired.
"Alright, the flies have been cleaned up."
Leon clapped his hands, a gentle smile returning to his face, as if he had just casually done a trivial little thing.
He turned his head to look at Thor.
"Now, it's your turn."
He pointed to the lone hammer in the center of the pit.
"Go, Thor, your toy is still waiting for you."
Thor snapped out of his shock. He glanced at Leon, his eyes filled with awe, but even more so with a sense of powerlessness.
He nodded silently, pushed past Coulson who was blocking his way, and strode towards the meteorite crater.
Coulson stood frozen, completely at a loss.
Fight, he couldn't win.
Beg for mercy, the other party simply ignored him.
Now, he could only watch helplessly as Thor went to retrieve his toy.
Leon watched Thor's imposing back, the smile at the corner of his mouth deepening.
Poor Thor, he still didn't know that Father's enchantment was not just for show.
Without his divine power, he was now no different from a slightly stronger mortal.
Sure enough, as Thor jumped into the pit and gripped mjolnir's handle tightly with both hands, something comical happened.
He turned red, using all his strength, his arm muscles bulging and veins throbbing.
However, the hammer remained stuck, not moving an inch.
"Get up!" Thor roared, his tone perplexed and a little panicked.
Impossible! How could this be?!
mjolnir was his weapon, a part of his body!
Why would it reject him?!
He tried again and again, failing each time.
Finally, he knelt powerlessly beside the hammer, letting out a desperate roar to the sky.
"No!!!"
That sound, one would think his wife had run off with someone else if they didn't know.
Coulson came back to his senses, also looking at Thor with some confusion, not understanding why this guy was so fixated on a weapon.
Wasn't he Thor? Could it be... he was actually the God of Hammers?!
Leon stood at the edge of the pit, shaking his head.
"Sigh, how embarrassing," he muttered softly, but his voice clearly reached everyone's ears.
Thor suddenly looked up, his eyes bloodshot as he stared at Leon, as if he had found a lifeline.
"Leon!" His voice was hoarse, "Why! Why is it like this?"
Leon's figure instantly appeared beside him, looking down at him.
"Because you are too foolish, my dear brother. Father has stripped you of your divine power. You are now merely a mortal. And how can a mortal lift a divine artifact?"
Thor's face grew even paler. He knelt there, dejected, as if all his strength had left him.
Leon shook his head, no longer paying him attention, and slowly walked to mjolnir.
Looking at the hammer, he smiled faintly.
Then, he bent down and easily gripped the handle with one hand.
"Old friend, do you still remember me?"
His voice was very soft, like he was greeting a long-lost friend.
"Buzz!!"
Mjolnir let out a hum, as if responding to his call.
The runes on its surface lit up one by one, and brilliant blue lightning crackled around the hammerhead, beginning to entwine around Leon's arm.
Under the shocked gazes of Thor and Coulson, Leon effortlessly lifted mjolnir from the ground.
"This is impossible!" Thor murmured, feeling his worldview collapse.
Not only could Leon lift mjolnir, but he seemed to do it even more easily than Thor himself.
It was as if this hammer was destined to belong to him.
Well, poor Thor still didn't know that Odin had originally intended to give Leon the power of Thor, but unfortunately, Leon wasn't interested.
Coulson looked at the figure holding Mjolnir in the pit, and an absurd thought resurfaced in his mind, becoming clearer.
Perhaps S.H.I.E.L.D. had been targeting the wrong person from the start.
The one they should have been trying to win over was never the impulsive Thor, but this unfathomable older brother of Thor!
Although he didn't know what kind of God he was, he looked even stronger than Thor!!
Leon weighed the hammer in his hand, feeling the surging power of thunder emanating from it.
"Not bad, the feel hasn't changed."
He looked up, the clear blue sky reflected in his golden pupils.
Then, he raised the hammer.
In an instant, the weather changed dramatically!
The previously clear sky was instantly covered by dark clouds, and lightning danced wildly within the clouds, emitting deafening roars.
Leon's figure slowly ascended into the sky, blue lightning intertwined with the golden divine power emanating from him, making him appear like a God King descending.
He flew high into the sky, looking down at the temporary Base established by S.H.I.E.L.D. below.
"So..."
A smile played on his lips, his eyes cold.
"Let a fireworks display serve as my welcome ceremony for arriving on Earth."
He raised Mjolnir high above his head, and a massive amount of lightning descended from the sky, converging on the hammerhead.
"Boom!!!"
A thick, enormous pillar of lightning, carrying an aura of destruction, descended from the sky and struck the center of the S.H.I.E.L.D. Base.
There was no explosion, no fire.
Only the all-consuming White.
When the light dissipated, the Base, which had cost S.H.I.E.L.D. countless manpower and resources to build, along with all the high-tech equipment inside, had completely vanished from the ground.
All that remained was a massive crater over a thousand meters in diameter, bottomless, with edges as smooth as a mirror.
Coulson:???
You're amazing! You're so pure!
You're using our Base as fireworks?!
Leon slowly landed, casually tossing mjolnir in front of Thor.
With a hum, the hammer once again became heavy as a mountain, deeply embedding itself in the ground.
He took one last look at Thor, who was kneeling on the ground, and shook his head.
"Thor, experience the life of a mortal well. Only when you understand Father's painstaking efforts will you be able to wield this hammer again."
Having said that, he turned, his golden figure seemingly about to transform into light particles and depart.
However, just as he was about to leave, an angry roar came from behind him.
"Stop!"
Leon's footsteps paused.
He slowly turned back, a playful smile on his face.
Thor had already stood up from the ground, his eyes now bloodshot, staring intently at Leon.
His chest heaved violently, and his clenched fists trembled slightly from the exertion.
"Why?" Thor's voice was hoarse, every word seemingly squeezed through his teeth.
"Why is it you? Why do you always have everything so easily? Power, glory, Father's approval, even my hammer!"
He pointed at mjolnir on the ground, then at Leon.
"I've strived for thousands of years! I've fought across the Nine Realms for Asgard! I've given my all to become a warrior as strong as you!
But what's the result? The result is I'm stripped of my divine power, exiled like a mortal! And you, you lazy good-for-nothing who only knows how to lie in the garden sunbathing all day, can effortlessly lift it and control lightning!"