Chapter 63: Loki's Nightmare
When Xi Nian descended from the sky and snatched the scepter into his hand, not only the trickster god Loki but even Thor, lying on the ground, froze in shock.
"What did you just do? Give me back the scepter!" Loki's handsome, sinister face turned cold as he charged straight at Xi Nian.
"So you're Loki, huh?"
Compared to the flustered god, Xi Nian at this moment looked far more divine.
In his Magneto-Spider form, his whole body gleamed as though plated in silver metal. The spider suit traced his perfect muscular build, while magnetic energy rippled around him, forming a pressure field. His ice-blue eyes calmly reflected the oncoming Loki.
Even Thor, who was close by, felt his body grow heavier under that oppressive field.
Looking at Loki rushing forward, Thor couldn't help but shout, "Wait! It's dangerous!"
Clearly, those words weren't meant for Xi Nian.
"You deserve death."
As Loki reached him, Xi Nian gripped the gemmed scepter in his left hand and raised a single finger on his right.
Ssst!
Loki's body froze.
His eyes went wide with disbelief. A strand of metallic spider silk had pierced straight through the center of his brow, puncturing his golden horned helmet, exiting from the back of his skull, and burying itself deep into a building behind him.
"Loki!" Thor cried out in alarm.
But even as he shouted—
Ripples shimmered in the air just a meter behind Xi Nian, and another Loki suddenly leapt out!
Cold light and a flash of satisfaction glimmered in Loki's eyes. His real body lunged—one hand snatched toward the scepter, while the other drove a sharp dagger toward Xi Nian's back!
Faced with this, Xi Nian let out a quiet sigh.
If it had been anyone else, say Thor beside him, they might've fallen for it.
But unfortunately for Loki, he was facing Xi Nian.
Xi Nian, who simultaneously controlled spider powers and magnetism.
The moment his spider silk pierced the first Loki, Xi Nian already knew it was an illusion—there had been no resistance, no sensation of piercing flesh. And when Loki's real body appeared behind him, his spider-sense mapped out every movement in perfect clarity.
It was like playing a shooter game where a ghost player thought himself invisible, only to find out the opponent was using wall-hacks.
Why even bother trying?
Xi Nian didn't move, letting the dagger edge draw closer.
And then—
Schlk!
Loki's triumphant grin froze on his face. He glanced at his right hand—wait. The dagger was gone.
Where was it?
Looking down, his expression twisted in sudden realization. Oh… there it was.
The dagger had pierced through his golden armor, sunk halfway into his chest. Blood gushed along the blade.
Loki's eyes went glassy as he looked up. His other hand had failed to seize the scepter, halted just five centimeters away from the gemstone.
Yet that tiny gap felt like an uncrossable chasm.
No matter how desperately Loki strained, his hand could not move an inch closer to the weapon in Xi Nian's grasp.
"You're wearing far too much metal…" Xi Nian shook his head, turned to face Loki directly, and raised his hand.
Threads of green magnetic energy surged outward, wrapping around Loki's golden armor, lifting him completely off the ground until he floated a meter high.
Crack! Crack!
The sound of breaking metal echoed as the armor fractured and splintered under the magnetic force.
"Ughhh—!"
Loki's eyes reddened with veins, his limbs thrashing wildly as if strangled by an invisible hand. He could feel death breathing down his neck.
Fear flooded him as he stared at Xi Nian.
He didn't want to die!
"Wait!" Thor, clutching his wound, struggled to his feet and shouted, "Let him go!"
"Isn't he the one who caused this war?" Xi Nian asked curiously, glancing at the blond man in strange armor wielding a hammer.
"Yes." Thor hesitated, then added, "But he is my brother. We are gods, from Asgard above the Nine Realms!"
"And so?" Xi Nian tilted his head. "Whether he's an alien, a god, or a devil—what does it matter? He caused this war. Many innocent people died. Killers should pay with their lives. Isn't that only natural?"
Thor's words caught in his throat. He finally said, "Let him go. I will personally take him back to Asgard. There, he will face judgment under our laws."
Xi Nian stared at the floating Loki in silence. He didn't buy it.
Trial outside of Earth? That sounded like nothing more than a symbolic punishment—then letting him walk free again.
Images flashed in his mind: his classmates, Wanda's dead parents, Gwen nearly getting hurt. His eyes stayed cold as ever.
Sensing Xi Nian's killing intent, Thor grit his teeth. Suddenly he dropped his hammer and lunged barehanded at Xi Nian, yelling in midair, "Heimdall!!"
Xi Nian only glanced at him. A flicker passed through his ice-blue eyes, and Thor, clad in silver armor, was blasted backward, slamming into a wall.
At the same time—
A rainbow-colored beam of light shot down from the heavens, enveloping Loki entirely.
"Trying to escape?"
Xi Nian twitched his fingers, driving the dagger deeper into Loki's chest. Loki howled in agony, like a pig dragged to slaughter.
Xi Nian tried to pull him down with his magnetic field, but the rainbow bridge shimmered with the same kind of spatial energy as the Tesseract. In an instant, the light whisked Loki away, vanishing into the sky, disappearing beyond Earth into the farthest reaches of the cosmos.
"Haah!" Thor slumped against a wall, exhaling with relief at the sight.
"I hope your realm truly punishes him as he deserves."
Xi Nian cast him one last cold look before flying back toward Stark Tower's rooftop with the scepter in hand.
"Impressive…"
From the top of the building, Black Widow had witnessed the battle. Watching Xi Nian finish in less than half a minute and return as though nothing had happened, her lips parted slightly, her eyes glittering.
So strong.
The trickster god Loki, whom even Thor couldn't subdue quickly, had been utterly helpless before Xi Nian.
This was what true power looked like.
Landing on the rooftop observatory, Xi Nian faced the glowing Tesseract floating ahead. Without hesitation, he thrust the gemmed scepter forward.
Buzz!
This time, the gem at the scepter's tip did not shatter. Instead, it pierced straight through the energy shield around the Tesseract.
The blockade was broken.
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