The stench of scorched metal, burning blood, ionized ozone, and molten earth permeated the air. Shattered remnants of corpses and soil were scattered across the courtyard. Ancient buildings were half-collapsed, with only a tall stained-glass window miraculously left intact.
After Phoenix set Solomon down, he stumbled a few steps, his balance unsteady.
He was immensely grateful for his armor. The shockwave had severely disrupted his vestibular system, and without the armor and shield, his internal organs might have been reduced to pulp—though no one had tested this hypothesis. Despite the protection, dizziness clouded his mind. Pink and blue flashes and bright red spots danced before his eyes, interspersed with dark shadows. Even with his eyes closed, the chaotic vision remained, making him feel nauseous.
Although the reactor explosion was catastrophic, its destructive radius miraculously didn't encompass the entire Greenwich University campus or the Thames' far bank. Instead, the blast heightened the effects of the celestial convergence, displacing smoke and pulling foreign elements into the area. Ice and snow from Jotunheim, wild fire-lizards from Muspelheim, and fairies from Alfheim all appeared amid the chaos, along with other creatures Solomon had never seen before.
After confirming that his android assistant was undamaged by the explosion, Solomon immediately dispatched Phoenix to hunt down the Dark Elf soldiers who had dispersed to capture civilians. Thanks to Solomon's early warnings, the soldiers had little success, finding only a few rebellious students who had hidden on campus. Even S.H.I.E.L.D. agents hadn't known these students were there.
Sif groaned and sat up, shaking her head.
Asgardian physiology was far superior to that of the Dark Elves. Sif recovered consciousness faster, instinctively stabbing a Dark Elf soldier lying beside her before realizing she had already killed him. Her blade sank into lifeless flesh, yielding no further result.
"Well, you wouldn't mind dying twice," she muttered, standing and dusting off her helmet. She then helped a dazed Volstagg to his feet. As she scanned the battlefield, her eyes locked on Malekith, who was ascending higher and higher. Thor, however, was nowhere to be seen. Worry filled her thoughts, and she started toward Malekith but only managed a few steps before a naturally formed portal swallowed her whole.
She wasn't the only one affected. Solomon watched helplessly as Phoenix vanished mid-flight. His own magic, aimed at Malekith, was twisted by chaotic gravitational forces, creating another scar on the Greenwich library. Frozen in place, Solomon dared not move. Without a clear path to Malekith, any step could hurl him into another realm—possibly Muspelheim's magma, from which he doubted he'd return alive.
"By the Vipers of Valtorr! You will be stopped," Solomon incanted. Hundreds of black-and-green venomous snakes materialized and slithered toward Malekith. Most of the conjured creatures vanished in the chaos, but a few managed to reach Malekith's feet.
That was enough.
Shield in hand, Solomon charged along the path cleared by the snakes. The android followed, her explosive rifle roaring as she laid down suppressive fire to give her master an opening.
With each step, Solomon's form seemed to grow larger. The metallic clanking of his armor echoed ominously, and the boosters on his back extended once more. Flames burst forth, propelling him to near supersonic speed. He surged forward with ferocious momentum and terrifying rage, leaping directly at the Dark Elf King. The force of his jump caused a small explosion in the scorched earth beneath him.
"Die, alien!" he roared, his sacred sword slashing upward at the Aether-shrouded Malekith. Powered by the Dragon Wings and the might of his stigmata, the blade collided with Malekith's protective barrier in a flash of blinding light.
Using his shield like a battering ram, Solomon crashed into Malekith, both of them tumbling into the wreckage of the library, smashing through massive stone columns.
Before Solomon could rise to strike again, the Aether erupted from Malekith, forming a colossal war hammer under the Dark Elf's control. It smashed into Solomon, sending him hurtling backward. Malekith, visibly drained and haggard, stood unflinchingly amid the rubble. Without uttering a word, he lunged at Solomon, crimson waves of the Aether surging behind him like a horrifying ocean of blood.
Solomon, now rolling across the charred earth, quickly raised his shield to block Malekith's punch. Even so, he was bombarded by countless Aether-forged projectiles. The impact drove him backward, his armored boots gouging deep trenches in the ground.
Malekith wasted no time. The celestial convergence's critical moment was approaching, and he couldn't afford delays. His faith in primordial darkness and the Aether warned him that the enemy before him was his greatest threat—far more dangerous than any Asgardian.
Empowered by the Aether, Malekith's speed became a blur, and his punches against Solomon's shield echoed throughout London. The sheer force hurled Solomon across the battlefield again. The android's explosive rounds were swallowed by the Aether, vanishing without a trace. Before the android could intervene with her greatsword, Malekith clashed with Solomon's sacred sword, their confrontation triggering a massive wave of crimson energy.
They tumbled together into a spatial rift, emerging moments later above the Thames. Crimson tendrils surrounded them as they plummeted into the river, splashing violently before disappearing beneath the surface.
Thor, wreathed in flames, emerged from a rift over London's financial district. He held Mjolnir in one hand and Loki, dressed in green and gold, in the other. Loki's expression was one of exasperation. Having escaped his shackles, he had stumbled into a portal, only to be intercepted by Thor, who delivered a brotherly reprimand before accepting Loki's claim of accidental misplacement in another realm.
Meanwhile, a grand mass was taking place. Father Moro presided over the secret society's ancient ritual, wearing a tall white miter and holding a golden crozier. The clergy chanted psalms, their voices harmonizing as sunlight streamed through stained-glass windows depicting the Passion of Christ. The light converged behind the depicted figure, whose eyes wept blood in both sorrow and compassion.
A silver dove perched nearby, next to a scroll sealed with red wax. Unseen forces reverberated through the Aether plane.
On the battlefield, Solomon's body began to radiate a brilliant golden light. His movements grew faster, his strength greater. His sword gleamed like a lightning bolt in the darkened world. The stigmata within him found long-awaited fuel, igniting Kabbalistic essence into an invisible fire that burned his spirit. Pain and ecstasy mingled as his soul swelled, golden flames pouring from his helmet's darkened eye slits.
In the astral plane, his soul expanded and his war cry reverberated like thunder, shaking the spiritual realm. News of Abraham's bloodline's revival spread through the heavens. Gabriel sounded his horn, heralding the coming judgment, while angels unfurled their wings, laughing and singing hymns.
In hell and the abyss, demons roared in fury. Their weapons raised, they reignited the ancient Blood War, sacrificing blood and souls to the Seventh Throne.
Solomon entered a trance-like state, consumed by rage. He could not tolerate heretics defiling sacred ground. His only thought was to kill the abominable alien before him and save humanity.
"We proclaim Your death, O Lord, and sing of Your resurrection; we await Your glorious return!"
"Alien!" Solomon raised his sword high. Light gathered above him as he stood in the black storm like a divine figure, the sole beacon in the darkness. With his sacred sword raised, he delivered humanity's judgment. The faithful drank of holy blood as golden flames surged, countering the Aether's steel-ripping tendrils. Countless tormented souls wailed in the spirit world before being obliterated by the golden power.
"For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are Yours, now and forever!"
"Die!"
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