Loki was still too young.
Over a thousand years old, yet completely inexperienced when it came to dealing with someone like Ethan Voss.
Seeing him collapse to the floor, Ethan waved his hand dismissively.
"Pick him up," he said lazily.
He looked at the stunned demon beside him.
"Carry him to the sofa and wake him up."
The Witchheart Demon clutched his head with both hands, his expression filled with pure panic.
"H-How… how am I supposed to do that?"
Ethan glared at him impatiently.
"What exactly are you planning to do?"
He pointed toward the liquor cabinet nearby.
"There's a drawer under the cabinet. The antidote is inside. Give it to him."
The demon nodded nervously.
"O-Okay… okay."
He hurried over and began fumbling through the drawer.
Only then did Ethan finally have time to observe the battle unfolding across New York.
At some point during the chaos, the number of Chitauri troops entering through the sky portal had noticeably decreased.
It seemed the forces on the other side had begun to suspect that something was wrong.
Near Typhoon Tower, two massive Leviathans drifted lazily through the sky.
Johnny Storm and Peggy Carter were standing on their backs, riding them like flaming war beasts as they patrolled their assigned territory.
Both of them carried the portal seeds Ethan had given them.
With a single thought, those seeds could expand into massive gateways.
The ability functioned very similarly to the legendary "Pocket Universe" technique used in ancient mystical traditions.
The Leviathans themselves were not particularly agile creatures to begin with.
Within this short amount of time, Johnny and Carter had already captured more than a dozen Leviathans and sent them straight into Ethan's divine kingdom.
As for the countless small alien flying vehicles, there were too many to even count.
The ground battle was also progressing smoothly.
Professor Charles Xavier and the Master of Illusions had joined forces and were stationed directly in the plaza in front of Typhoon Tower.
The portal in that square had already swallowed several thousand Chitauri soldiers.
Elsewhere across the battlefield, Ethan had also assigned patrol duties.
Blade, Lady Deathstrike, Jessica Jones, and several others moved continuously through their sectors, using portal seeds to control the battlefield and capture enemies.
Ethan folded his arms and looked down at the war with satisfaction.
"You filthy alien pests," he muttered.
"Don't even think about polluting my beautiful New York."
He activated his communication headset and joined the team channel.
"Stark," Ethan said. "Have you figured out how to close the portal yet?"
There was a brief pause before Tony Stark's exhausted voice finally came through the line.
"I've got good news and bad news."
Ethan raised an eyebrow.
"Start with the good news."
"The good news," Stark said, "is that I've identified the basic operating principle of this machine."
Tony paused for a moment.
"It's related to the Einstein–Rosen bridge theory."
That theory described the concept of wormholes connecting two points in spacetime.
"And since Dr. Erik Selvig is the one who designed this device," Stark continued, "and he happens to be an expert in this exact field…"
Tony sighed.
"That confirms my guess."
Ethan nodded slowly.
"That sounds promising," he said.
"So what's the bad news?"
Tony's voice grew more tired.
"The bad news is… I'm not an expert in this field."
He sighed again.
"I only started studying this theory today."
"Right now my understanding is probably at the level of a graduate student."
Tony rubbed his forehead inside the helmet.
"But I'm pretty certain that fully cracking this device would require someone at least at senior PhD level. Maybe even a professor who supervises doctoral research."
There was a brief silence.
"At my current learning speed," Tony added, "I'll probably need to work until at least two-thirty in the morning."
Ethan already had a plan in mind, but his voice remained perfectly calm.
"Then keep working hard, Stark."
Steve Rogers' voice joined the channel next.
"Mr. Voss," Steve said, "this machine was built by Dr. Selvig. Do you know where he is?"
"We didn't see him when we arrived."
Ethan immediately sighed in a sorrowful tone.
"Unfortunately," he said, "I haven't been able to locate the doctor either."
He shook his head sadly.
"The poor man must have fallen victim to Loki's crimes."
Steve frowned.
"Dr. Selvig can't be the only wormhole expert on Earth," he said. "Can you find someone else to help?"
"Of course," Ethan replied quickly.
"Finding them isn't the problem."
He paused.
"The real difficulty is convincing them to come here."
Ethan shrugged casually.
"But don't worry. I'll have S.H.I.E.L.D. locate them immediately."
He spoke calmly.
"If necessary, we'll bring them here even if we have to kidnap them."
"For the sake of humanity, they can endure a little inconvenience."
Steve's voice immediately rose in anger.
"No!"
"Why would you kidnap someone? Why use methods like that?"
Ethan blinked.
"Uh… that's usually how S.H.I.E.L.D. handles things."
A new voice suddenly cut into the conversation.
"Sir, that is slander!"
Agent Phil Coulson had been listening the entire time.
"We at S.H.I.E.L.D. are a righteous organization dedicated to protecting the entire world and all of humanity."
His voice grew more serious.
"We would never do something like that."
Ethan chuckled.
"Oh really?"
"Then how do you explain when S.H.I.E.L.D. confiscated Jane Foster's research equipment and data?"
Coulson hesitated.
"That was… a special situation."
Ethan laughed.
"Isn't today also a special situation?"
He spread his hands.
"What could possibly be more special than today?"
The channel fell silent.
Agent Maria Hill finally spoke up.
"Sir," she said calmly, "I think you may have some prejudice against S.H.I.E.L.D."
Ethan snorted.
"How would I dare?"
He laughed lightly.
"I'm more worried that someone from S.H.I.E.L.D. might knock on my door in the middle of the night."
Fortunately, Nick Fury was still locked up.
Otherwise he would probably be shouting curses through the communication channel already.
Meanwhile, on the rooftop battlefield, Steve Rogers frowned thoughtfully.
"I'm still unfamiliar with how things work in this world," Steve said quietly to Tony. "Is S.H.I.E.L.D. really that… domineering?"
"It sounds like quite a few people have strong opinions about them."
Tony rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"I've never paid much attention to their internal operations," he admitted.
"But they're the world's leading intelligence agency."
Tony shrugged.
"A more aggressive operating style probably comes with the territory."
Steve sighed quietly.
"That doesn't make it right."
Tony rolled his eyes.
"You should take that up with Nick Fury," he said. "He's the one in charge."
"I will," Steve replied firmly.
After ending the call, Ethan returned to the living room of the penthouse.
Loki lay stretched across the sofa like a lifeless fish.
The moment he saw Ethan enter, his eyes burned with fury.
He stared like a starving wolf.
Ethan calmly sat down across from him.
"The Chitauri army has noticeably reduced their troop deployment," Ethan said casually.
"It seems your partner is starting to suspect something."
He leaned forward slightly.
"Can't you communicate with them through your mind?"
"Go ahead and talk to them."
Ethan smiled.
"Ask them to send more soldiers."
Loki gritted his teeth.
"Impossible!"
"I will never cooperate with you!"
Ethan pointed casually toward the wine bottle sitting on the table.
"There's still more than half a bottle left," he said calmly.
"Did you not fully appreciate the flavor earlier?"
"Maybe you'd like another glass."
Loki froze.
Three full seconds passed.
Then he spoke slowly, one word at a time.
"Stop."
His face turned pale.
"I'll scream."
Ethan laughed quietly.
He casually handed the Mind Scepter back to Loki.
"Go ahead," he said.
"Call them."
Loki immediately began communicating through the scepter.
Within minutes, the portal above New York changed again.
The number of Chitauri soldiers pouring through the sky portal suddenly surged.
More troops arrived than ever before.
The invasion reached its peak.
More than a dozen Leviathans burst out of the portal, followed by countless flying vehicles descending like a metallic rainstorm.
Unfortunately for them, the moment those Leviathans emerged—
Johnny Storm and Peggy Carter were already waiting.
They captured most of the monsters immediately.
The Chitauri soldiers stored inside the Leviathans' bodies never even had the chance to deploy.
The few remaining Leviathans that escaped were quickly surrounded by Thor and the two Ghost Riders.
Their destruction was only a matter of time.
Ethan clapped excitedly.
"Beautiful!"
He looked toward Loki.
"Nice work!"
"Let's do it again."
Loki stared at him in disbelief.
"Are you insane?"
He clenched his fists.
"Do you think Thanos is an idiot?"
"If you push things too far, aren't you worried he'll come here himself?"
Ethan blinked in surprise.
"If he comes," Ethan said thoughtfully, "your father Odin wouldn't just abandon us, right?"
Loki exploded with rage.
"You bastard!"
"You're beating up his son while expecting him to rescue you?"
"Shameless!"
Ethan couldn't help shivering slightly when he saw the murderous expression in Loki's eyes.
But he couldn't let such a perfect opportunity slip away.
"Don't worry about that," Ethan said quickly.
"Just keep calling for reinforcements."
Faced with the threat of the poisoned wine, Loki had no choice but to cooperate again.
Soon another massive wave of Chitauri soldiers poured through the portal.
Just then, a sudden warning erupted through Ethan's headset.
"Attention! Attention!"
"A huge object just came out of the portal!"
Ethan froze.
For a moment he looked stunned.
"Wait… what?"
"The family planning officer actually showed up?"
That was impossible.
.....
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