Then, the two of them along with the surrounding soldiers immediately drew their weapons, surrounding Fini and the Dark Elf. Even Heimdall unsheathed his longsword, his eyes locked tightly onto that mask.
Only now did he realize that his eyes were actually unable to see through the mask to discern the person's appearance.
"Sigh."
Looking at the figure before him, although Fini had expected this, he still felt a slight twinge of disappointment in his heart. This proved that the Aether still preferred the Dark Elves and had not been successfully turned to his side.
"Hmph, if you won't listen to reason, so be it. Once I throw you back into the furnace and remold you, you'll know who actually has a future!"
Fini muttered resentfully to himself. Keeping his gaze fixed on the person in front of him, he asked, "Who are you?"
Algrim did not answer Fini's question, only speaking in a deep, gravelly voice, "You have something on you that does not belong to you!"
He hadn't expected things to turn out like this. Their original plan was to use the opportunity to enter the dungeons first, release the prisoners, and cause internal chaos in Asgard before taking back the Aether.
But he never imagined that just as they reached the entrance, they would find the host of the Aether standing right before their eyes. While it was a bit disappointing that they couldn't cause destruction in Asgard, the most critical priority right now was bringing back the Aether.
"It doesn't belong to me right now, but it will in the future!"
Fini said indifferently. Once he wiped out the Dark Elves and restored the Aether back into the Reality Stone, it would rightfully belong to him.
Hearing Fini's words, Algrim was furious. He didn't say anything further, walking straight over and reaching his hand out to grab Fini by the neck.
Because the Aether required a host, he didn't intend to kill Fini directly, but prepared to bring him back to Malekith.
But Fini wasn't someone he could just grab whenever he wanted. Facing the outstretched palm, Fini lunged backward, avoiding easy contact with him. He couldn't guarantee whether the Aether would take the opportunity to transfer straight into the opponent's body.
However, Algrim's move signaled the official start of the battle. Behind Fini, Fandral and Volstagg rushed forward instead, engaging him in combat together.
This time, Algrim did not purposely allow himself to be captured, fighting back fiercely instead.
Although Algrim was the greatest warrior of the Dark Elves, Fandral and Volstagg were still two of the Warriors Three. Not to mention, they had Heimdall, who was stronger than both of them, and Fini, who was much, much stronger, standing right beside them.
So before long, Algrim fell into a disadvantage.
Seeing this, Algrim knew that he ultimately could not escape his destiny of sacrificing himself for his race. He drew out the Kurse Stone from his wound and began the sacrificial transformation.
"Be careful!"
Algrim's anomaly caught everyone's attention almost instantly. Not knowing the situation, the crowd dared not be careless and hastily backed away.
Only two Asgardian soldiers failed to react quickly enough--or perhaps they wanted to claim the glory--and rushed forward recklessly, thrusting their spears in an attempt to kill Algrim.
But with a roar from Algrim, a burst of red and black matter erupted, directly turning the two soldiers into dust.
Everyone's expressions changed. Because the Dark Elves had been gone for so long, up until now, no one except Fini had actually recognized Algrim's true identity.
But looking at Algrim, whose entire body was shrouded in a red glow and whose armor had shifted, everyone present could understand the severity of the situation.
"Go inform His Majesty!"
Fandral ordered the remaining soldiers to report to the palace first, then made a strained joke with Volstagg: "I didn't expect the two of us to bring back such a massive trouble."
"A trouble that can be solved isn't called a trouble!"
Volstagg bellowed, raising his axe and charging forward furiously.
But Algrim, who had been at a disadvantage just moments ago, completely ignored the axe hacking toward him. With a casual swing of his hand, Volstagg was sent flying at an even faster speed, collapsing onto the ground and unable to get back up.
"Volstagg!"
Fandral called out to Volstagg with an unsightly expression. Seeing that he wasn't responding, his eyes turned bloodshot as he prepared to charge forward as well.
However, he was stopped by Fini after taking just two steps. Earlier, Fini hadn't expected Volstagg to be so impulsive and failed to react in time. Now that he saw Fandral about to go and throw his life away as well, how could he let him have his way?
Fini then pulled out several bottles of healing potions from his Storage Magic, handed them to Fandral, and said, "Leave him to me. Go check on Volstagg quickly!"
Fandral glanced at Algrim in the distance, took the potions, and immediately ran to Volstagg's position. Compared to his own strength, he trusted Fini's power much more.
Next, Heimdall came to Fini's side with his sword raised, asking with a grave expression, "Is he the danger you sensed?"
"Barring any surprises!"
Fini nodded. Whether it was turning those two soldiers into black ash or the strike that sent Volstagg flying, he could see that Algrim's strength had undergone a earth-shattering transformation.
Just moments ago, he had found it a bit strange that Algrim's strength seemed too weak. Only now did he realize that he simply hadn't completed his transformation yet.
Unfortunately, due to the interference of the Aether, he couldn't equip Incursio.
"Keep an eye on the surroundings. I suspect he might not be alone!"
Fini hadn't forgotten that in the original plot, the Dark Elves arrived in a spaceship to raid Asgard, so he reminded Heimdall.
Although he wanted to use Asgard as a shield to take the brunt of the attack, there was no need to let them suffer heavy casualties. Otherwise, it would be difficult for him to clean up the mess at the end.
Heimdall nodded, carefully searching to see if there were any other enemies.
Having paid the price of sacrificing his life, Algrim's strength had received an unimaginable boost, but he also understood that he still couldn't take on the entirety of Asgard all by himself.
Thus, he looked at Fini once more, walking over step by step.
However, right at that moment, a figure suddenly flew in from the distance, landing right next to Fini and Heimdall.
"Who is he?"
Looking at the bizarrely styled, masked Algrim before them, Thor turned his head to ask Fini and Heimdall.
While he was accompanying Jane just now, he ran into the panicked soldiers rushing to report to the palace. Upon learning of the situation, he immediately used Mjolnir to fly over.
"Barring any surprises, an enemy!"
Fini said simply, not explicitly pointing out that it was a Dark Elf. In any case, with Odin's knowledge, he would absolutely figure it out in the end anyway.
"Alright!"
Thor didn't care who the opponent was, he was just incredibly furious.
He had just been describing to Jane how beautiful, powerful, and peaceful Asgard was, only to be hit with an invasion in the blink of an eye. This was practically a slap to his face.
So after speaking, Thor threw his hammer straight out, wanting to deliver a preemptive strike. Unfortunately, he had clearly underestimated Algrim's strength.
Fini also hadn't expected Thor to make a move so directly, lacking the time to warn him how strong the opponent was. Though even if he had warned him, given Thor's personality, he would probably have thrown the hammer sooner or later anyway.
Facing the flying Mjolnir, Algrim did not dodge. His hand glowing with a red and black light, he swung his arm with immense force, swatting the hammer away like a fly.
It even smashed through the wall of the observatory, flying right out of the Bifrost.
"Ah! My hammer!"
Thor instantly shouted out in heartache, hastily reaching out his hand to summon Mjolnir back.