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When Loki appeared before him again, the most incredulous person was actually Thor.
He had always thought Loki was dead.
Dead in the battle with the Dark Elves, dead in his arms.
Thor even grieved for his mother and Loki's death for a period afterward, not wanting to return to Asgard for a single step.
Even returning this time, he hadn't planned to stay long.
But Thor never expected that the person he had mourned was now brazenly sitting on the God King's throne right in front of him.
"Loki!!!"
The initial worry for his friend instantly turned into rage towards Loki.
He strode forward with his hammer, menacingly walking towards Loki.
Thor's appearance startled Loki; he stood rooted to the spot, raising his hands to quickly defend himself:
"Calm down! Thor, calm down! I... I was just playing a tiny little joke..."
"A joke!? I thought you died before me! Again! But you deceived me again!"
Thor couldn't calm down at all.
During the period when Thor was exiled to Earth and became a mortal, he and Loki also had a dispute, and at the end of that dispute, Loki chose to flee into the cosmos.
Thor had thought that Loki, who had fallen into the deep space vortex of the cosmos, was dead and had grieved over it for a long time.
It wasn't until the Chitauri army attacked Earth and he met Loki again that he realized Loki wasn't dead.
This time was the same.
He had thought Loki died in front of him, truly died in front of him.
After all, Loki in his arms at that time had already lost the warmth a living being should have, and Thor couldn't sense Loki's life force, but now... Loki was once again alive and standing before him.
Thor was filled with rage towards Loki; he really wanted to teach Loki, who had deceived him again and again, a good lesson.
But the current Thor was no longer the reckless brute he once was; when he realized that it wasn't Odin here, but Loki, he reacted and asked:
"You're here, so where's Father King?! Where did he go?!"
"Cough cough, Father, I sent him to an old folks' home on Earth to retire. Don't worry, he's fine, really fine, you have to believe me!"
Loki raised his hands high, performing a French military salute.
Thor pointed his hammer at Loki in front of him, shook it a few times, and finally put the hammer down, considering there were outsiders present.
He pointed at Loki and said:
"When this matter is over, I'll come settle the score with you!"
"Phew..."
Seeing that Thor wasn't going to deal with him immediately but chose to settle accounts later, Loki also let out a long sigh of relief.
Although 'death penalty' had turned into 'stay of execution,' he was the dignified God of Mischief; finding a reason to deceive Thor during this period wouldn't be difficult, would it?
At worst, he could always run away and return.
But just as he relaxed, he felt the cold object on his neck.
Looking down at the strangely shaped weapon on his throat, Loki feigned composure and said to Kevin:
"Alright, I've changed back. Can you please remove your magical dagger now!"
"Heh heh."
Kevin said nothing, just smiled lightly, and firmly drew the dagger across Loki's throat.
Loki: "!!!!!"
When the cold blade sliced across Loki's neck, Loki's heart nearly leaped out of his chest.
Released by Kevin, he clutched his throat with one hand, while staring incredulously at Kevin with the other, seemingly not having expected Kevin would actually 'kill' him.
It wasn't until a while later, when Loki felt no pain in his neck and, upon releasing his hand from his throat, saw no blood that should have flowed out, that he understood everything.
"...You tricked me!?"
"Yes, this is just an ordinary dagger. Not to mention I didn't use force, even if I did, it couldn't break through your defenses."
Kevin smiled and threw the dagger away.
All that talk about a rune from the Collector that could break all magic was pure fabrication.
Leaving aside whether such a thing even existed in the Marvel Universe, even if it did, it should be a treasure from the Greek pantheon, and Kevin had never been to the Greek pantheon, so how could he create such a thing?
Even if the power of the Reality Stone was 'I think, therefore it is,' there still needed to be a basis for imagination.
However...
"The God of Mischief being tricked by someone else? It seems you're a bit unqualified as the God of Mischief."
Letting Loki go, Kevin casually grabbed an apple from the God King's high platform and started munching on it, while mocking Loki.
Kevin's taunt made Loki's face turn ashen.
The dignified God of Mischief being tricked by someone else's scheme would indeed make people laugh their heads off if word got out.
Loki glared fiercely at Kevin.
Clearly, Kevin's prank just now made him very displeased, but Kevin was enjoying it.
Nothing was more fun than tricking the God of Mischief with a scheme in the Marvel World, especially doing it right in front of Thor.
And what could Loki do if he was displeased with him? Could he come over and hit him?
He couldn't beat Kevin now.
Hmm... but if possible, it's better to prank Loki as little as possible.
Who knew if that 'God Loki' had become the Story God yet? If Loki had already become the Story God, Kevin pranking his parallel universe counterpart like this now might lead to him being settled accounts with later.
Although Kevin didn't think that Story God would be so petty...
In short, pranks should be kept in moderation.
The fact that the God King who had been staying in the palace all along was actually Loki, after Kevin pointed it out, Kevin gained two skill points, but that's beside the point; the entire palace was in chaos again because of this matter.
Odin was missing, and the current king was Loki, so the 'policies' Loki had previously set could not be implemented.
Thor temporarily took on the burden of king, first cleaning up the mess Loki left behind, and then remembered his promise to Kevin, immediately going to investigate the Dark Elves' technology.
However, after investigating, Thor found that things had gone a little awry.
"We have to find my Father King first."
Thor said to Kevin with a touch of embarrassment:
"Loki can't figure out the Dark Elves' technology at all. To study it, it probably needs my Father King himself."
"Alright, I knew it wouldn't be that simple."
Kevin wasn't surprised by this at all.
After all, ever since the Dark Elves' battle ended, Odin in the palace was actually Loki. With his temperament, he probably only thought about eating, drinking, and having fun after ascending the throne, and wouldn't consider these things at all.
He was actually surprised that Loki had truly studied the Dark Elves' technology for a period.
Carol, who had been following Kevin and generally understood what was happening, asked after the conversation ended:
"So, are we going back to Earth now?"
Thor didn't speak; he looked at Loki.
Loki, who was now re-chained, said weakly:
"I put Father in an old folks' home on Earth, so... yes, we're going to Earth now."
"Let's go. I'll have Heimdall send us over."
Having confirmed Odin's whereabouts, Thor took Kevin and Loki, intending to leave.
Carol, however, had no intention of continuing to follow them.
"Then you guys go, I won't be joining."
Earth was Nick Fury's territory, at least in Carol's perception.
Carol had promised Nick Fury to keep an eye on Kevin, and coming with him to Asgard was already showing enough benevolence; she didn't have time to travel to Earth with Kevin.
She still had many things to do.
"Alright then, help me tell Peter and the others that I won't be returning this time."
Knowing Carol was leaving, Kevin asked Carol to pass a message to the Guardians of the Galaxy.
The Guardians of the Galaxy had been with Kevin for a long time, just waiting for Kevin to 'rejoin the team,' but Kevin had something else to do and couldn't go back. Not saying anything would indeed be a bit much.
Carol left with Kevin's message.
Kevin, on the other hand, returned to Earth with Thor and Loki.
Odin was thrown into an old folks' home by Loki. The old and frail Odin didn't even think of resisting and stayed peacefully in that old folks' home, like an ordinary old man, tending to flowers and walking birds every day.
Perhaps because it was still a long time before the plot of 'Thor 3,' the nursing home where Odin was located had not been demolished, and everyone easily found him there.
This one-eyed old man, when they found him, was playing chess with another old man in the courtyard.
When he realized Thor and Loki had arrived, he didn't even turn to look at his two sons, saying with his back to them:
"You came earlier than I expected."
"Father..."
Thor saw Odin and breathed a sigh of relief. He came to Odin's side to speak but was stopped by Odin's raised hand.
"Wait until I finish this game of chess."
Odin said, picking up the 'knight' on the chessboard and moving it forward.
As sons, Thor and Loki did not disturb Odin's 'elegant pastime' and waited patiently on the side.
Kevin stood behind the two, gazing at Odin's back.
The two most powerful and impressive figures in the early Marvel Universe, Ancient One and Odin, Kevin had now met them both.
But the Odin before Kevin at this moment was even older than Ancient One; from his back alone, Kevin couldn't see any trace of the God King in him.
He was like an ordinary old man, permeated with an aura of decay.
Life eventually grows old, and even the God King is no exception.
Odin's chess game didn't last long. After it ended, he bid farewell to his chess friend and led Thor and Loki to the courtyard of the nursing home.
However, he didn't speak to his two sons; instead, he looked at Kevin:
"Was it you who exposed Loki?"
"God King, it seems you're seeing me for the first time. How are you so sure?"
Kevin asked curiously.
Odin smiled: "Although it's our first meeting, I heard Ancient One mention you."
Upon hearing this, Kevin originally intended to return a polite smile to Odin, but in just a moment, Kevin's smile vanished, and his expression turned serious:
"...Ancient One mentioned me to you?"
"I think my voice just now wasn't too soft, was it?"
Odin asked in a low voice, then looked Kevin up and down, discerning the crux of the matter on him:
"You came to me for the aether? I'm sorry, we in Asgard don't currently have the technology to extract the aether, but while we can't, someone else can."
"Sorcerer Supreme..."
"Yes, Ancient One is waiting for you. Go back. It's a good time for me to speak with my two sons."
After Odin finished speaking, he stopped talking to Kevin.
Kevin silently looked at Odin, recalling everything he had seen of Ancient One after his transmigration. Without hesitation, he created a portal and turned to leave.
Normally, Ancient One would not mention people unrelated to her when chatting with others.
And Kevin had always thought that he was that unrelated person to Ancient One before this.
Perhaps his identity was a bit special, a visitor from another world, worth Ancient One's slight attention, but overall, Kevin was no different from other ordinary mages.
He was certainly not worth her mentioning in front of Odin.
Ancient One's excellent disciple in her eyes was Strange; even if she met Odin, she would only mention Strange.
But now, when Ancient One met Odin, she actually mentioned Kevin.
Kevin didn't believe that the two Big Brother mentioning him was just casual chatter.
They must have discussed certain matters, which led to them mentioning Kevin.
For example...
The candidate for the next Sorcerer Supreme.
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