At some point, the Dark Elves who had followed Malekith into Asgard had all ended up sprawled across the ground in pools of blood.
Some of their bodies were covered in charred burns from electrical strikes. Others had been pierced clean through their vital points by unknown attacks. Some had not even managed to leave behind complete corpses.
And the close friend in whom Malekith had placed such high hopes, Algrim, who had accepted the ancient curse and become Kurse, was not doing much better.
At this moment, he was being rapidly carved apart by that unremarkable-looking young man with a blade. Yes, carved apart was absolutely the right phrase for what was happening.
The young man held a longsword radiating a strange, ghostly green glow, and it kept falling again and again on Algrim's body.
Every time he swung the sword, it sliced off another small chunk of flesh. If Algrim had not been dodging with everything he had, his head would already have been cut off by that eerie green blade.
What the hell was going on? Was he dreaming?
Algrim had already become the strongest soldier among the Dark Elves: Kurse.
His combat strength was so overwhelming that he could crush most of the Aesir, and could even contend with Odin the All-Father for a while.
If he were facing anyone other than Odin, Algrim could probably have taken on all of Asgard by himself. And yet a warrior that powerful was now being toyed with like a slab of meat on a chopping block by the brat Malekith had looked down on.
"This can't go on!"
Aether surged wildly around Malekith as he clenched both fists, his nails digging deep into his palms.
If even Algrim fell here, it would not only mean that the Dark Elves had lost their sharpest weapon, it would also mean that his carefully laid revenge plan would collapse completely.
He had to find a way to save Algrim.
Algrim's enormous body crashed to its knees, his severed right arm lying nearby like a snapped branch.
His once nearly indestructible skin was now covered in cracks like a spiderweb. Dark red blood seeped out through the fissures, staining the ground in a horrifying pattern.
His chest had caved in, his ribs were shattered, and his internal organs were smoking under the erosion of magic. His left leg was twisted at a grotesque angle, and the kneecap had already been reduced to powder.
If not for the powerful life force granted by the curse, this ruined body would have long since become a corpse.
Even so, he could not hold on much longer.
Scarlet fury exploded in Malekith's eyes as Aether around him churned like boiling magma.
He completely abandoned Odin and roared as he turned into a dark crimson blur and charged straight at Harry.
His furious shout made the space around him warp.
"Let him go!"
Seeing that, Odin did not move to stop him. He merely smiled as though it did not matter.
Because he knew Harry did not need his help.
And sure enough, the instant Malekith was about to break through, Harry caught the movement and suddenly sped up.
The ghostly green beam of disintegration lashed out like a striking serpent, tearing through the air with the force to destroy everything as it slashed across Algrim's neck.
Wherever the beam passed, space itself twisted and trembled, letting out a shrill scream.
Algrim's huge head slowly separated from his neck under the cut of the beam.
The crimson light in the eyes of the strongest Kurse of the Dark Elves rapidly faded, and his massive body slammed to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.
Just like that, Malekith's greatest general had died.
From beginning to end, because of the soundproofing runes Harry had casually inscribed, Malekith had not even heard the screams of Algrim and the other Dark Elf soldiers.
"No!"
Seeing his closest friend butchered so cruelly right in front of him, Malekith could no longer suppress the rage in his heart and let out a furious roar.
As Malekith frantically drove the power of the Aether, a black sphere of light condensed in his palm like a black hole devouring all light, its surface wrapped in currents of energy like violet lightning.
Every burst of electricity scorched the surrounding air into black whirlpools.
With a howl, he hurled the sphere. The world-ending mass of energy tore forward, and wherever it passed, space shattered layer after layer like broken mirrors as it swept toward Harry.
"You will pay for Algrim with your life!"
Now that he wielded the Aether, Malekith's strength was on a completely different level from before. He had already reached the level of a Skyfather.
Although he had not fully mastered the Aether, and could only use it for relatively simple attacks and basic alterations of reality, it was still power of the highest order.
This attack was not merely an ordinary blast of energy. Malekith fully intended to turn Harry directly into a mass of flesh and blood.
Even though Harry was stronger than him, Malekith did not believe Harry could withstand this strike.
An attack this powerful could only be stopped by someone on Odin's level.
So this irritating insect was still going to die in the end.
But what happened next was completely beyond Malekith's expectations.
A terrifying wave of magic suddenly erupted from Harry's body. It was mostly crimson, but mixed with five shifting colors.
That alone would have been shocking enough, but what stunned Malekith even more was that when the Aether came into contact with this unusual magic, it could not overcome it at all. Instead, it was forced back.
Malekith's breathing stopped.
He understood all too well what it meant for the power of the Aether to be pressed back like this.
The quality of the magic within the boy in front of him had actually surpassed the power of an Infinity Stone.
How was that possible?
Magic of a higher order than an Infinity Stone...
How could such a terrifying force exist in this world?
For the first time in his life, Malekith, who had always crushed others with the Aether, finally understood what it felt like to be crushed instead.
"Godslayer... destroyer of a Hell Dimension..." he muttered to himself, the madness in his eyes gradually giving way to fear.
Those boasts he had dismissed as wild arrogance now felt horrifyingly real beneath the pressure of that five-colored magic.
This boy might truly have killed a demon god. He might truly have destroyed some unfortunate Hell Dimension.
Damn it. Why had something this absurd landed right on his head? Was the Dark Elf race doomed after all?
Malekith knew that, just like Asgard, if he died, then the Dark Elves would lose all hope.
And so, for the sake of his race's survival, and driven by his own desire to live, Malekith abruptly halted his attack.
A smile uglier than a grimace twisted across his cold face, stiff and unnatural like a wax figure.
Suppressing the metallic taste rising in his throat, he spoke in a tone so ingratiating that even he despised it.
"My lord..." Malekith forced out the honorific with difficulty, raising both hands in a gesture of peace. "I was rude just now. I beg your forgiveness. Please show mercy and spare our lives."
Harry looked at him in confusion.
At a moment like this, was he joking?
Harry shook his head and said seriously,
"Sorry, sir. We might have been able to sit down and have a nice talk. But in the end, you did something I can never forgive, so we have to keep fighting."
Keep fighting?
How could that be allowed?
Panic filled Malekith's crimson eyes. Not even bothering to wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth, he spoke again in a trembling, utterly humble voice.
"My lord, what exactly did I do to anger you? I am willing to apologize with the utmost sincerity."
The five-colored magic flowing around Harry bore down on him like something tangible, completely unmoved by his pleading.
Malekith's back was already drenched in cold sweat as he desperately searched for the other side's bottom line.
He staggered forward half a step and nearly begged,
"It was my arrogance. My words offended you. I am willing to cut off one of my own arms in atonement. I only ask that you show mercy and spare me and my people."
But Harry still gave no reaction at all. Chaos magic drew even closer to Malekith.
With death looming right in front of him, Malekith grew even more frantic and hurriedly added,
"The Dark Elves can give up the Aether and offer it to you. Just please spare our race!"
Harry looked at him with an even stranger expression.
What kind of joke was that? Once Malekith died, the Aether would be his anyway.
Perhaps realizing that his last offer had been idiotic, Malekith thought for a moment, then gritted his teeth and said,
"Please tell us what exactly we did that is beyond forgiveness. We are willing for the Dark Elves to sign a slave contract with Kamar-Taj in exchange for your pardon."
Hearing that, Harry paused, then finally answered,
"Fine. I accept. But you still have to die."
Then Harry calmly declared,
"There is no Malekith here."
In the next instant, the overwhelming chaos magic completely broke through the barrier of the Aether and fell upon Malekith, erasing his body bit by bit.
Before he died, Malekith was not especially resentful, because he knew the Dark Elves would still be able to continue existing in this universe.
But he was still curious, and just before his consciousness faded, he asked,
"So then... please tell me. What exactly did we do wrong?"
Harry thought for a second, scratched his head, and said a little awkwardly,
"When you came in, you stepped in with your right foot first. I prefer stepping in with my left, so you had to die."
After hearing Harry's explanation, Malekith was completely dumbfounded.
We're cooked.
The Dark Elves were finished.
Following a master this unpredictable, their whole race would probably be wiped out sooner or later.
Damn it, why did it have to end like this?
But no matter how unwilling he was, in the next moment his consciousness completely vanished, leaving behind nothing but a little ash that scattered away with the airflow.
Thus, Malekith, leader of the Dark Elves and wielder of the Aether, fell once more.
And where he had stood a moment ago, nothing remained except the eternal Aether itself.
Harry let out a slight breath, steadied the magic inside himself with Odin's help, and slowly walked toward the Aether...
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