"The titles of the past have dimmed with time and are hardly worth mentioning anymore. Why not hear about some of my more recent accomplishments instead?"
Harry began counting on his fingers.
"Let's see... master of the floating city, Destroyer of Hell, Godslayer, and a Planeswalker of Worlds. Well? Those titles carry enough weight, don't they? They sound pretty good, right?"
Harry's voice was confident and flamboyant, full of the youthful energy unique to someone his age.
Even though every single thing Harry said was the truth, it was obvious that their enemy, the Dark Elf leader Malekith, did not believe a word of it.
Malekith snorted coldly, disdain flashing in his eyes. In his view, this young man was just talking big, trying to use these grandiose titles to frighten him.
After all, how could some brat barely in his twenties possibly possess such an absurd résumé and that much power?
Not only was Malekith not shaken by the long list of titles, the smile on his face instead grew even colder.
Without even lifting his eyelids to properly look at Harry, he dismissed him entirely and turned his gaze toward Odin, mocking him as he said,
"Odin, where exactly did you find this clown?
The aura of his soul shows he's barely over twenty.
And you actually expect me to believe that some twenty-year-old brat still wet behind the ears has that kind of history?
Destroyer of Hell? Godslayer? Ridiculous beyond measure!
Do you have any idea how powerful a Hell Dimension is? If he had truly destroyed one, would Mephisto ever let it go? How could he possibly still be standing here unharmed?
And Godslayer? What, are you trying to tell me that he can kill a demon god at least on the single-universe level?
Hmph. Odin, you really have gone senile. You can't even make up a decent story anymore.
But I am different. I am still in my prime, and this time, victory in our struggle will belong to me!"
Faced with Malekith's mockery, Odin showed not the slightest sign of anger.
On the contrary, the corners of his lips lifted slightly, and a smile appeared on his face.
Malekith looked completely confident, but what he did not realize was that every single title he had just laughed at was absolutely true.
Even for Odin, that made the whole situation rather entertaining.
He was eagerly looking forward to seeing what expression this "old friend" of his would make once he learned that Harry had been telling the truth from the start.
Putting on a helpless look, Odin let out a heavy sigh and slowly said,
"You don't believe the truth when you hear it, so what exactly do you want from me?
Malekith, I advise you to be sensible and run while you still can.
Once Harry makes his move, even I would struggle to withstand him, let alone you."
After hearing that, Malekith's expression still did not change. His eyes remained filled with contempt.
In his view, Odin was just bluffing, trying to scare him off with absurd, sensational claims.
He sneered inwardly. In the entire Multiverse, while it might theoretically be possible for someone in their twenties to possess single-universe-level power, the odds were so tiny as to be almost nonexistent.
No matter how he thought about it, he could not imagine under what circumstances a being of that level would appear right in front of him.
A cold gleam flashed through Malekith's eyes as he raised a hand, causing a thick mass of Aether to surge into his palm.
He stared at Odin with eyes full of hatred, his voice seeming to squeeze itself out from between clenched teeth, each word icy cold.
"Odin, I won't settle things with you today.
But remember this well. Before long, the armies of the Dark Elves will arrive at Asgard's gates and formally declare war on you.
When that day comes, it will be your end!"
Malekith had only just reclaimed the Aether and still needed time to fully adjust to it.
At the same time, after ages of wandering and displacement, the homeland of the Dark Elves, Svartalfheim, had long since fallen into ruin and desperately needed to be rebuilt.
The race as a whole urgently needed a peaceful place to recuperate and restore its former strength.
Because of that, there would still be a brief period of calm between Asgard and the Dark Elves before the Nine Realms fully converged.
For both sides, that stretch of time would be a race against the clock.
Asgard needed to strengthen its defenses as quickly as possible to prepare for the coming crisis.
The Dark Elves, meanwhile, intended to use that breathing room to reorganize their forces and restore their homeland so they could seize the advantage in the future showdown.
Of course, Malekith believed Odin was thinking exactly the same thing.
Right now, if he and Odin clashed head-on and started the war immediately, then even if Asgard won, it would still suffer devastating losses.
Odin had grown old. If he overused his power, there was a very real chance the energies within him would spiral out of control and kill him on the spot.
For ages, Asgard had relied on Odin's prestige to keep surrounding forces in line and maintain its rule.
If the All-Father were lost, the neighboring powers that had long coveted Asgard would swarm in without hesitation.
Under the strain of being torn at by every side, Asgard's total destruction would only be a matter of time.
So Malekith was certain that for the sake of Asgard's survival, Odin would never dare casually start this battle.
A smile rose on Malekith's lips, and just as he was about to turn and leave, a voice suddenly rang out behind him.
"Wait. Who said you could leave? Do you think Asgard is the sort of place you can come and go from whenever you please?"
Malekith stopped in his tracks and slowly turned around, his eyes full of malice.
Following the voice, he discovered that the speaker was the child he had previously dismissed as irrelevant.
Even though Harry had spoken up to stop him, Malekith did not take this brat seriously at all. He could not even be bothered to spare him a proper glance.
He merely turned his body slightly to go around Harry and looked straight at Odin instead as he coldly demanded,
"Odin, do you truly mean to fight us to the death at a time like this?
You should know perfectly well that Asgard can no longer afford a war. Is it really worth dragging all of Asgard down just for the sake of one ignorant little brat?"
But Odin did not answer Malekith's question, because he intended to leave the stage to Harry.
And Harry had no intention of answering him either, because Malekith was not worthy of one.
An Infinity Stone belonged in the hands of whoever was most capable.
For someone like Malekith to simply fuse it into his body and use that as his only method of gaining power was without question the worst possible way to use it.
Harry reached into his Pocket dimension and instantly pulled out his wand.
Then he swung his arm sharply.
In an instant, the surrounding space began to twist and shatter at a visible speed.
In the blink of an eye, the fractured space swallowed everyone present.
The moment Malekith sensed the earth-shaking changes in the surrounding space, his eyes widened. He stared at Harry, lips trembling, and ground out through clenched teeth,
"Damn it, you little brat, you really dare make a move! Odin, since you insist on war, then we'll settle the victor today!
Algrim, go deal with that hateful sorcerer at once. Do not let him ruin our plan! I'll keep Odin occupied myself, so make it quick!"
Algrim was a man of few words and brutal action. He gave a heavy nod, his great bull-like head fixed on Harry, already prepared to crush this clueless sorcerer to death.
Malekith stepped in front of Odin, his whole body wrapped in crimson Aether, his face grave as he stared at him.
He naturally knew the gift of the Aesir: the older they grew, the stronger they became.
And when one of the Aesir approached death, that was also when they were at their weakest, because once they used their power, there was a very real chance their aging body would fail to contain the immense force within them and self-destruct.
Of course, that was also when they were at their strongest. If they abandoned all restraint and erupted with their full might, they could unleash several times their usual power.
A smug look tugged at Malekith's cold face as he mocked,
"Odin, since you think he can defeat me, then I'll have my subordinate tear him apart while he's still alive!
I'd like to see whether he's really what you claim he is, whether he truly is a single-universe-level powerhouse... er... er..."
Malekith had been arrogant just moments ago, looking immensely pleased with himself.
But very soon, he was no longer able to stay pleased.
The smile on his face froze in place.
Because a thick, muscular arm suddenly came flying out from behind him without warning, carrying a fierce gust of wind, and landed with a heavy thud right before his eyes.
Even though it was only a lone severed arm, Malekith's face instantly turned deathly pale, his eyes filling with horror and disbelief.
The owner of that arm was none other than his comrade of thousands of years, Algrim.
They had known each other for ages and shared a nearly perfect understanding. Their coordination had long since reached the point of instinct.
That was why, even reduced to this single arm, Malekith recognized it immediately.
Wait... what exactly was going on?
Hadn't he sent Algrim to tear that sorcerer apart?
As the mightiest warrior among the Dark Elves, as Kurse, what kind of person could rip off Algrim's arm? And why had that arm landed here?
At that very moment, he suddenly heard mocking laughter from the front.
Odin had cast aside his usual stern expression and was smiling at him as he taunted,
"Go on, laugh. Keep laughing. Stay arrogant, why don't you?
Surely not. Don't tell me you really thought that child was weak?
Don't tell me you really thought that long list of titles he gave you earlier was all made-up nonsense?"
"You! Then that was all real?!"
Even now, Malekith still refused to believe that Harry had truly slain a god, truly destroyed a Hell Dimension, and even survived Mephisto's retaliation.
At that moment, Thor, who was dealing with the other Dark Elves nearby, also noticed what was happening on this side.
Since Malekith had just tried to kill Jane, Thor had long since had it with him. Now, seeing the man standing there like his brain had stopped working, Thor immediately kicked him while he was down.
"Heh. Harry didn't just destroy some fragment of a Hell Dimension. He destroyed three-tenths of Mephisto's own Hell Dimension!
And the god he killed wasn't some nobody either. It was Nightmare, the demon god whose name has long shaken the entire Multiverse!"
"WTF?! That's impossible!"
The instant he heard Thor's words, Malekith completely lost his composure.
He hurriedly turned in panic to look behind him.
And what he saw was a massacre!
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