"What—?!"
Thor didn't even have time to react before the Kurse's fist slammed into his chest.
BOOM—!
Thor felt like he'd been hit head-on by a planet.
His body shot backward over a hundred meters, smashing straight into a black rock cliff and embedding itself so deeply that he couldn't even pry himself free.
"No! Thor!!"
This time, Jane Foster was truly terrified.
The Kurse slowly turned his massive head toward Loki.
Loki twirled his dagger between his fingers, staring at the monster who had just treated the God of Thunder like a kicked ball. An extremely forced smile appeared on his face.
"H-Hey, big guy…"
"You remember me, right? I… I showed you the way once."
The answer came in the form of a boulder hurled at supersonic speed.
Loki barely avoided it with an illusion—but the creature was already there.
A single punch slammed Loki into the ground, shattering stone beneath him.
The gap in strength was absolute.
Total domination.
As the Kurse stepped forward, lifting his massive foot to crush Loki's skull—
"WAIT!!"
Loki suddenly threw both hands up and shouted.
"I surrender!! I know where the other half is!!"
The foot stopped—hovering inches above Loki's nose.
Malekith walked over slowly, gazing down at the God of Mischief.
"Give me one reason not to kill you, Asgardian."
Loki scrambled to his feet, brushing dust off his clothes. The fear vanished instantly, replaced by a sycophantic smile—the look of someone who had found a new master.
"The reason is simple."
Loki pointed toward Thor, still embedded in the mountainside.
"Because I hate him. I hate Odin. And I'd love nothing more than to see Asgard burn."
"And besides…"
Loki leaned closer, lowering his voice, eyes glinting with cunning.
"…I know exactly where the other half of the Aether is."
"It's in Midgard. Earth."
"In the hands of a very, very arrogant mortal."
"I can take you to him."
Loki spread his arms theatrically. "After all—I'm the best guide in the Nine Realms."
Malekith stared directly into Loki's eyes, searching for deceit.
Several seconds passed.
Then he sneered.
"If you lie to me, I will rip out your soul and roast it in darkfire for all eternity."
"My honor," Loki replied with an elegant bow.
In the distance, Thor finally tore himself free from the rock, just in time to see everything.
"LOKI!!!"
Thor's roar was filled with disbelief—and betrayal.
"You surrendered?! You sold us out?!"
Loki looked back at him coldly.
"The wise survive, my brother," he said.
"You've always relied on brute force. I rely on living."
With that, Loki turned and followed Malekith toward the ship.
"Goodbye, Thor."
The Kurse turned back, preparing to finish the job.
"MJOLNIR!!"
Thor knew the battle was lost.
He stretched out his hand.
WHOOOOM—!
The hammer tore through the air—not to strike, but to pull Thor forward.
Thor grabbed Jane, wrapping an arm around her.
"GO!!"
They vanished in a bolt of lightning, streaking into the filthy clouds above.
Malekith watched them escape—but did not give chase.
"Let him run," he said calmly.
"Time is short."
"Set course for Midgard."
-----
Earth – United States, West Coast
One second, it was a calm afternoon.
The next—someone flipped the switch on the sky.
The blue heavens vanished beneath a suffocating blanket of darkness.
WOOOOOM—!!!
The atmosphere itself screamed.
A colossal black cross-shaped warship appeared above the Pacific Ocean—so massive it blotted out the sun.
The Dark Elves' flagship.
The Ark.
Inside the bridge.
Malekith closed his eyes, sensing the pull of kindred power.
"I feel it…"
He snapped his eyes open, staring down at the blue planet.
"It's here. The pulse is faint—but it's on this continent."
"But the location is unclear," he frowned.
"The host is suppressing its power."
"Then make her stop," Loki said, standing beside him, gazing at Earth with a cruel smile.
"These mortals are fragile. Emotional. Panicky."
"Give them just a little pain."
Loki pointed at the cities below.
"Fear will shake her emotions. The Aether will destabilize."
"Like pouring boiling water on an anthill."
Malekith nodded once.
"Begin."
"Deploy all fighters."
"Turn this continent into a sea of fire."
-----
Earth Defense – Immediate Response
"WARNING! WARNING! Massive unidentified object detected!"
"This is NOT a drill! THIS IS NOT A DRILL!!"
The Pentagon erupted into chaos.
At the top floor of Vought International, Antony calmly swirled a glass of red wine while watching satellite feeds.
"So. They're finally here."
He glanced sideways.
"Is the nationwide broadcast live?"
"It's live! All networks! Streaming platforms too!" Ashley's hands were shaking—half fear, half excitement.
"The whole world is watching!"
"Good."
Antony set the glass down.
"Notify all city heroes—and the trainees."
"If you don't want to die, focus."
"The show… has begun."
SHHHHH—SHHH—SHHH—!!!
Thousands of scythe-shaped fighters poured out of the Ark like a swarm of locusts.
They didn't discriminate.
Or rather—their target was everything that moved.
Washington.
New York.
Boston.
Philadelphia.
Major U.S. cities were hit simultaneously.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Skyscrapers collapsed like children's blocks under energy fire.
Streets became hellscapes.
Cars flipped.
People screamed.
The world burned.
"This is your defense?!"
President Ellis roared from the White House bunker.
"Where's the Air Force?! Where are the SAM systems?!"
"Mr. President, missiles are already away!"
In the sky, thousands of Tomahawks and Patriot missiles streaked upward—modern fire dragons charging ancient myth.
Technology versus god-tech.
The result was devastating.
As the missiles closed in—
Black ripples spread across the Dark Elf fighters.
Singularity defense fields.
HUM—
No explosion.
No fireball.
The missiles—each worth millions—vanished on contact, swallowed whole.
"…What?!"
Generals stared in disbelief.
"That's impossible! Even intercepted warheads should detonate!"
Then came the counterattack.
Several scythe fighters swept over a U.S. military base.
They dropped small, unremarkable black spheres.
Annihilation bombs.
BOOOOM—WHOOOM—!
The ground collapsed.
Miniature black holes formed.
Jets.
Armored vehicles.
Missile launchers.
Entire buildings—
All were torn apart, stretched, crushed, and devoured by a fist-sized void.
Three seconds later—
The black holes vanished.
All that remained…
was a perfectly smooth, circular crater.
The darkness had arrived.
--------------
T/N:
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