The two of them stepped out into the rooftop garden.
From that height, the entire battlefield of Manhattan unfolded before them like a living map.
War had already erupted across the city. Smoke curled upward between skyscrapers, explosions echoed through the streets, and alien soldiers rained down endlessly from the portal in the sky.
The Chitauri army poured into New York like a storm.
Yet despite their numbers, their progress was far from smooth.
The superheroes had successfully confined the battlefield within a fifteen-block radius surrounding Typhoon Tower. That containment zone had become the center of the entire war.
Of course, the heroes alone were not enough to hold the line.
S.H.I.E.L.D. had deployed more than one hundred secondary enhanced soldiers. Ethan had also arranged for over a hundred enhanced operatives of his own to participate in the defense.
In addition to them, dozens of specially trained enhanced officers from the New York Police Department had joined the battle.
Together, nearly four hundred enhanced humans were fighting on the ground.
Their role was simple.
They handled the endless waves of ordinary Chitauri soldiers, clearing the battlefield and preventing the alien army from spreading through the city.
The more dangerous enemies were left for the superheroes.
Loki watched the chaotic battlefield with calm indifference.
"Do you really think they can stop my army?" he said with a faint sneer.
"The Chitauri army is endless."
Ethan didn't respond immediately. Instead, he gestured toward the distant sky.
"Look over there," he said casually.
In the distance, two enormous Leviathans were slowly swimming through the air like massive alien whales.
Ethan smiled faintly.
"The real show," he said, "is only beginning."
Almost the moment he finished speaking, something strange happened.
Bright yellow flames suddenly erupted across the bodies of both Leviathans.
The fire spread instantly.
Within seconds, the entire surface of the two massive creatures was engulfed in burning energy.
Loki's eyes widened slightly.
"What…?"
Then the transformation began.
The enormous alien beasts began to change shape.
Their bodies stretched and elongated, becoming longer and more streamlined. Their forms grew thinner and more serpentine, their movements suddenly faster and more agile.
Sharp fanged maws burst open along their heads.
Their appearance became far more ferocious.
Far more violent.
And strangely…
Far cooler.
The two transformed Leviathans now moved like giant serpents slicing through the sky.
Their speed increased dramatically.
Within seconds, they had closed the distance to two other Leviathans still flying through the battlefield.
Then they attacked.
Their massive jaws snapped open.
With a single violent bite, one Leviathan was torn completely in half.
The second suffered the same fate moments later.
Loki stared at the scene in disbelief.
He swallowed hard.
"What… what is that?"
Ethan watched the battle leisurely.
"How do you like it?" he asked. "Hell-style upgrades. Pretty sexy, right?"
Loki remained stunned for several seconds.
Then he sneered.
"Two Leviathans won't change the overall situation," he said coldly.
"The Chitauri army's strength has always been numbers. Individual monsters don't matter."
Ethan seemed amused by his stubbornness.
He lifted his chin slightly.
"Then look down," he said.
Loki frowned slightly before glancing toward the plaza below Typhoon Tower.
What he saw made his expression freeze.
A massive portal had opened directly in the square below the building.
The portal glowed with strange energy.
Chitauri soldiers poured down from the sky like streams of falling insects.
Then something bizarre happened.
The alien soldiers landed in the plaza…
…and immediately ran straight into the portal.
They jumped in without hesitation.
One after another.
None of them ever came back out.
Typhoon Tower sat in the center of the battlefield, and the highest concentration of Chitauri soldiers had landed nearby.
Nearly half of the invading forces that descended into that area were now diving headfirst into the portal in the plaza.
Loki felt like he was losing his mind.
These creatures might be bio-engineered soldiers with limited intelligence, but surely they weren't completely blind.
What exactly did they think that portal was?
Some kind of wonderful destination?
Why were they throwing themselves inside like that?
Loki's thoughts spiraled wildly.
Thanos, with soldiers like these, it's no wonder you didn't bother coming personally.
Loki suddenly felt dizzy.
His body swayed unsteadily.
He quickly grabbed the nearby railing to steady himself, narrowly avoiding collapsing to the ground.
At first he assumed it was simply anger and frustration.
But when he glanced toward Ethan, he saw the strange smile on his face.
That was when Loki realized something was wrong.
Seeing the shock in Loki's eyes, Ethan grinned.
"Feeling dizzy?" he asked casually. "Don't worry. That's normal."
Loki's finger trembled as he pointed at him.
"What… what did you do?"
Ethan chuckled.
"You don't seriously think my wine cabinet is half empty because I can't afford more wine, do you?"
"You bastard!" Loki shouted. "You poisoned me!"
"That's impossible!" Loki continued angrily. "How could Midgard's poison affect a god of Asgard?"
Ethan winked.
"You left too quickly the last time we were in Asgard," he said.
He shrugged lightly.
"After you left, your father Odin and I actually reached a cooperation agreement. Mostly in the field of medicine."
Ethan smiled faintly.
"Even if I poisoned you, removed your kidneys, or replaced your lungs, I could still bring you back to life afterward."
"Despicable! Shameless! Vulgar!" Loki shouted weakly.
His body was losing strength rapidly.
His limbs felt numb, and an unfamiliar energy seemed to be rushing wildly through his body.
The strange sensation eventually settled in a deeply uncomfortable place within him.
Loki's face flushed red.
His breathing became uneven.
He stared at Ethan in disbelief.
Ethan shrugged casually.
"Can you feel the medicine working?" he asked.
"Does your whole body feel hot?"
He leaned slightly closer.
"And does it feel like some mysterious force is rising from your lower abdomen?"
Loki's face turned bright red.
His eyes filled with tears.
For the first time in his life, genuine fear appeared on his face.
His voice trembled.
"What… what did you do to me?"
He shook violently.
"You… demon…"
"What?" Ethan said, widening his eyes in mock surprise.
"You want demons?"
He slapped his thigh dramatically.
"What a coincidence," he said. "I actually have one."
"And your status definitely deserves someone special."
With that, Ethan opened a portal to his divine kingdom.
A moment later, he released a prisoner he had been keeping there.
The Witchheart Demon.
Ethan had never actually killed the creature after capturing it. Instead, he had sealed its powers and imprisoned it inside the divine realm.
He had simply never found a good use for it.
Until now.
The demon appeared on the rooftop with a confused expression, glancing around at the unfamiliar environment.
Its gaze slowly drifted toward Loki.
It stared for a long moment at Loki, who was now standing stiffly with his legs tightly pressed together.
Ethan pointed toward the demon proudly.
"Look," he said to Loki. "A purebred demon straight from Hell."
He smiled cheerfully.
"His father is the famous Lord of Hell."
"Mephisto."
Ethan looked back and forth between them.
"You're the son of a god," he said to Loki. "And he's the son of a demon king."
He spread his hands.
"A perfect match."
Loki trembled with rage.
"I… I'm a man!"
"Don't worry," Ethan said calmly.
He waved dismissively.
"Hell has gender-changing magic. And I happen to know how it works."
He patted the demon on the shoulder.
"So," Ethan continued cheerfully, "what do you think?"
"This handsome young demon from Hell. Don't you like him?"
Loki's face burned with fury.
"I like his horse!" he shouted through clenched teeth.
"Oh," Ethan said thoughtfully.
"You like his horse?"
He rubbed his chin seriously.
"Actually, the Witchheart Demon doesn't really have a mother."
Ethan shrugged.
"His father and mother are technically the same person."
"Both Mephisto."
Ethan blinked in surprise.
"Oh wow."
"You like demons?"
He stamped his foot dramatically.
"That's not impossible."
After all, he had dealt with Mephisto before.
"The person I send him might not become his official wife," Ethan said thoughtfully. "But maybe a concubine."
He grinned widely.
"When the time comes, whether it's you or the demon who ends up pregnant…"
"That would make a wonderful story."
"You two could have two babies in one year," Ethan continued enthusiastically.
"I'm sure Odin would be thrilled."
Loki was completely speechless.
Even the Witchheart Demon stood frozen beside them.
Its mind seemed to short-circuit entirely.
Somewhere far away, Odin in Asgard suddenly sneezed.
At the same moment, Mephisto in Hell sneezed as well.
Ethan tilted his head.
"Loki, why aren't you saying anything?" he asked.
"Are you naturally this quiet?"
Loki collapsed to his knees.
"I'll kill you," he growled hoarsely.
"I will tear you apart, cook you, and eat you."
Ethan clicked his tongue.
"No wonder you like demons," he said thoughtfully.
"Listen to that. You sound exactly like them."
Loki slammed his head against the ground repeatedly.
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
Each impact left cracks in the rooftop floor, but Loki's skull remained unharmed.
Finally, he lifted his head.
His eyes burned with fury as he stared directly at Ethan.
Ethan leaned down close to his ear and whispered quietly.
"Or maybe you'd prefer something even more exciting."
He smiled.
"You, the demon… and Mephisto."
"Three people."
Loki's body twitched violently.
Then he collapsed completely.
.....
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