Regarding Malekith, Ethan had no intention of communicating with him at all.
Setting aside the man's ambitions and disregarding his capabilities, there was a more fundamental issue: due to their differing life forms and almost completely opposite environmental requirements, any possibility of coexistence was impossible. As such, the two sides were mortal enemies, with only one able to survive.
This wasn't a matter of justice versus evil. It was purely an issue of survival and stance.
So what was there to talk about? No matter what was said, it would ultimately end with one side killing the other… or being killed.
Since he had already taken action, there was no need to hold back. Ethan used the power of the Tesseract to create a space that existed between reality and illusion.
This space resembled outer space. The only downside was the surrounding "planets," which looked like background props made with cheap special effects. All of them glowed blue, appearing monotonous and obviously fake.
"Although I've been researching this move for a long time, this is the first time I'm actually using it… As expected, relying solely on the Tesseract can't perfectly replicate this technique."
Even though the "cheap special effects" planets looked a bit tacky, Ethan didn't mind. With a single thought, those planets exploded simultaneously. The terrifying shockwaves generated by their explosions were all directed by Ethan's control toward Malekith and the Dark Elves.
Despite their appearance, the planets were composed of the Tesseract's nearly limitless energy. The power unleashed by these explosions was even greater than Ethan had expected.
Just as the shockwave slammed into the Dark Elves, the "outer space" created by the Tesseract began to collapse.
Even with only a portion of the energy leaking out, the resulting blast carved a massive crater into the coastline where Ethan had been standing. The area between Ethan and the Dark Elf mothership was precisely where Malekith and his forces had been positioned.
Even the mothership, which had already been severely damaged and was shaped like a tall, narrow tower, trembled violently from the impact, as if it were on the verge of collapse.
As for the Asgardians behind Ethan, they felt only a slight tremor and were not harmed. Moreover, Loki had timely deployed an energy shield to block what little remained of the shockwave, protecting his troops.
Everyone had clearly seen what had happened. Although Ethan had created a relatively independent space, it hadn't been separated from the real world. For those who weren't pulled into the space, it looked like watching a projection with decent sound and visuals. So after the Dark Elves vanished, no one questioned where they had gone.
Everyone had seen with their own eyes how, in the explosion of those countless "cheap special effects planets," the Dark Elves were obliterated by the terrifying energy impact.
"In a sense, they didn't even leave dust behind."
Although Ethan's simulated move didn't reach the original version's level of vaporizing enemies down to the last atom, the destructive power was not far off.
What truly fell short of expectations was the level of energy control. The original move could freely direct the energy from the planetary explosions to hit multiple targets, or focus all the terrifying force onto a single enemy, or even concentrate it onto a single point.
In simple terms, it could perform both area-of-effect and high-precision single-target attacks.
This showed that the essence of the move wasn't just about raw destructive power, but precise energy control. Ethan had once thought his control was good enough, but found that when handling such an enormous energy source, there were still some minor deviations. After all, this was his first time using such a vast amount of energy.
If not for the lack of control, the impact directed at the Dark Elves wouldn't have dispersed as much. The outer space he created wouldn't have collapsed prematurely, and no energy would have leaked out to damage the coastline.
Looking at the large crater before him, Ethan could only pat Loki on the shoulder. "You can start designing that water park we talked about."
By now, the battle with the Dark Elves had entered its final stage. Only a few of their fighters were still fleeing through the skies, and their destruction was only a matter of time. Asgard's skiff fleet was pursuing them, having received orders not to let a single one escape.
There were also some straggling Dark Elf troops who had fled into the forest, but the task of hunting them down wasn't something Ethan needed to worry about.
He had accepted Loki's request and only took action in direct combat. Now that he had fulfilled his part, his job was done.
There was no need to haggle over the reward. Although Loki enjoyed trickery, his pride as both a god and a prince meant he disdained such petty tricks.
Ethan only needed to return and rest. Loki would naturally take care of the reward later.
Tony had also stopped flying around and returned to the ground.
This battle had allowed him to thoroughly test his new suit. While its performance was outstanding, it also exposed several flaws.
"As expected, you only find the problems with equipment after real combat."
Finding flaws meant there was room for improvement. Overall, Tony was quite satisfied with this trip to Asgard.
Based on the information he had received earlier, these Dark Elves had planned to plunge all Nine Realms into darkness, which meant Earth had been one of their targets as well.
This battle could therefore be seen as defending Earth. So, Tony felt no psychological burden over killing so many Dark Elves.
Logan and Selene had primarily dealt with foot soldiers, but the fight allowed them to test their full combat abilities. They both felt that their hard work over the past days hadn't been in vain.
These Dark Elf foot soldiers were stronger than elite human soldiers. With their weapons, one of them could take down an entire elite combat team.
If it had been during her days as a Death Dealer, encountering these enemies would have left Selene no option but to flee. But now, killing them was no more difficult than killing chickens. Her progress was astounding.
Logan didn't feel the same way. As someone who had lived through many brutal wars, he had a much more composed attitude toward becoming stronger.
Only Laura was visibly excited. This was the first time she had fully unleashed her combat potential. Still young and full of adrenaline, she hadn't yet calmed down.
If Logan hadn't held her back, she probably would've already chased some unfortunate Dark Elf deep into the forest by now.
As for Auriel...
Watching the majestic three-meter-long big cat licking its paws and then acting cute, begging for magic stones to eat, Ethan couldn't help but feel he had given it the wrong name. Should he rename it Sadaharu? After thinking it over, he decided against it—after all, it still looked more like a cat.
Upon returning to Thor's residence, everyone needed to clean up. Thor's bathroom was large enough, but neither Tony nor Logan had any habit of showering with others.
Tony had worn his Iron Man suit the entire time, and most of the battle had been fought using long-range firepower. So even if he didn't shower, it wouldn't be a big deal.
Logan was different. He had charged into battle more fiercely than anyone. His blood and that of the enemy were splattered all over him. Even though he politely offered to let Selene and Laura go first, Thor still led him to another bathroom to clean himself up.
"Is the Kursed Warrior taken care of?"
"Though it took some effort, I still defeated him."
By the time Ethan returned, Thor had already gotten back to be with Jane. He had wanted to go support his brother after finishing off the Cursed Warrior, but his father informed him that the battle was already over and Loki was leading the clean-up.
He didn't enjoy chasing down retreating enemies, so he skipped the rest and returned to stay with Jane while waiting for Ethan and the others to come back.
He was still thinking of asking Ethan to help remove the Aether from Jane.
Actually, even if Thor hadn't brought it up, Ethan was already thinking about it.
At first, he hadn't been interested in the Reality Stone, feeling it had no use for him. Besides, Jane wasn't in immediate danger. Even if things became urgent, Ethan had ways to suppress it. So even if they waited until after defeating the Dark Elves to handle it, it wouldn't be too late.
But now, things had changed. After using the Space Stone's power in combat, Ethan suddenly realized the Reality Stone might be very important for him.
Take, for example, the move he had just used. The planets he simulated using spatial energy looked like cheap props, completely fake at first glance.
Even though their fake appearance didn't affect the actual destructive power—since the explosion's strength depended on the energy's intensity and not on visual realism—this experience reminded him of something.
He hoped to one day condense his own magic power into a real planet. But did he truly understand what a planet was? Did he understand the world around him deeply enough? Though he had studied a lot, turning that knowledge into true personal understanding was no easy task.
Without some special method, he might only be able to gradually learn and master it through time. But the Space Stone had given him a hint.
The Reality Stone might allow him to understand everything in "reality" much faster.
(To be continued.)