After circling around Mjolnir for a moment, Loki paused beside the hammer. His gaze lingered on the weapon as hesitation flickered briefly across his face. For a few seconds he seemed to be considering something carefully, weighing possibilities in his mind.
Finally, he reached out and placed his hand on the handle of the hammer.
Just as he was about to apply force—
"Hurry up and show yourself!!"
A sharp voice suddenly rang out across the camp.
At the same instant, a streak of blue light shot through the air and slammed directly into Loki's chest.
The magic struck him squarely, and from the point of impact the invisibility spell cloaking his body began to unravel. The distortion spread outward across his torso, gradually stripping away the illusion until his true form was fully revealed.
Standing beside Mjolnir with one hand still on the hammer's handle, Loki looked momentarily startled.
Not far away, Ethan Blake lowered his wand slightly and smiled.
"You won't be able to lift it, Loki," Ethan said casually. "But if you don't believe me, go ahead and try."
Courage. Selflessness. Justice. Kindness.
The qualities required to lift Mjolnir were things Loki could never embody. If Loki could somehow lift the hammer, Ethan felt pretty confident that he would have succeeded earlier as well.
Loki turned toward the voice and spotted Ethan watching him with a teasing expression.
His brows immediately drew together.
Without another word, Loki released the hammer and withdrew his hand. He already knew perfectly well that he couldn't lift Mjolnir, and there was no reason to embarrass himself in front of a mere mortal.
"Mortal," Loki said coldly. "Since you know who I am and still dare to attack me, you should kneel down and repent for your offense. Beg for my forgiveness, and perhaps I may choose to spare you."
Ethan stared at him for a second before letting out a short laugh.
"Are you serious right now?"
His wand snapped upward in one swift motion.
"Reducto!"
A blinding white beam erupted from the tip of the wand and shot straight toward Loki.
Loki had not expected Ethan to attack again so suddenly. He hadn't even finished speaking when the spell slammed into his left shoulder.
The impact ripped apart the fabric of his armor and cloak instantly.
Yet surprisingly, Loki himself was not seriously injured. The spot where the spell hit had turned slightly red, but there was no real damage.
Ethan frowned slightly.
The spell he had just used was not cast at full strength. He had intentionally held back because killing Loki would undoubtedly provoke Odin, and Ethan had absolutely no interest in angering the All-Father.
Even so, the reduced power should still have been enough to shatter solid stone.
Yet Loki had taken the hit with nothing more than mild irritation.
It could only mean one thing.
The Frost Giants of Jotunheim really did have incredibly tough skin. After all, they were a race capable of fighting the Asgardians for dominance across the Nine Realms.
Now that Ethan had a clearer understanding of Loki's magical resistance, he stopped holding back.
"Reducto!"
"Diffindo!"
"Fracture!"
"Thunderblast!"
In the next moment, a barrage of spells exploded from Ethan's wand. Blinding flashes of magic streaked through the air one after another, all targeting Loki's position.
Loki reacted instantly, leaping backward and dodging the attacks in rapid succession.
For a brief moment, the proud prince of Asgard found himself forced into an extremely awkward defensive scramble.
Of course, Loki was far from helpless.
His mother, Frigga, was one of Asgard's most skilled magic users. Under her guidance for thousands of years, Loki had learned countless spells and magical techniques.
With a quick wave of his hand, a towering wall of ice suddenly rose from the ground, blocking Ethan's next wave of attacks.
Then something even more bizarre happened.
Dozens of Lokis suddenly appeared.
Illusions filled the entire space around the crater. Every direction Ethan looked, there was another Loki standing there—on the ground, in the air, even scattered among the surrounding equipment.
The scene instantly turned chaotic.
Watching from nearby, Nick Fury, Natasha Romanoff, and Captain America all raised their weapons in alarm.
"Well," Natasha muttered, scanning the field cautiously, "it looks like we're outnumbered."
"What exactly are we looking at here?" Fury asked sharply. "Are those real bodies or illusions?"
Despite the situation, Fury didn't criticize Ethan for attacking Loki first.
From Loki's earlier words alone, Fury had already sensed something unpleasant. The arrogance and contempt in Loki's tone made it clear that he regarded humans as nothing more than insects.
That attitude did not sit well with him at all.
Compared to Loki, the man currently fighting him seemed far more respectful toward humanity.
"Only one of them is real," Ethan replied calmly without turning his head. "Just protect yourselves. I'll deal with him."
Hearing that, Fury, Natasha, and Captain America instinctively moved back-to-back.
The battle unfolding in front of them was already far beyond normal human understanding. Whether they could help Ethan or not was uncertain, but they at least knew not to interfere and make things worse.
At that moment, dozens of Lokis spoke simultaneously.
"Mortal, you have completely angered me!" their voices echoed together. "In the name of Loki, King of Asgard, I sentence you to death!"
"King of Asgard?" Ethan raised an eyebrow and let out a mocking laugh. "Are you sure you're not the King of Jotunheim instead? A Frost Giant dreaming of ruling Asgard… that's a pretty bold joke."
Even if Thor somehow died unexpectedly, the throne of Asgard would still pass to Hela before it ever reached Loki.
And even if Odin completely lost his mind and gave the throne to Loki, the ancient ancestors of the royal line—Bor and the others resting within Asgard's sacred halls—would probably rise from their graves just to stop it.
"You… damn you!!"
Loki's face twisted with fury.
Ethan's words had struck directly at the truth Loki hated the most. His carefully controlled composure finally shattered, and the illusions around the field trembled as his anger surged.
In the next instant, countless ice spikes erupted into existence and shot toward Ethan like a deadly storm.
However, Ethan had already been prepared.
His psychokinetic barrier was constantly active, forming an invisible shield around his body. The ice spikes shattered harmlessly the moment they struck the barrier.
Even though dozens of Loki illusions filled the battlefield, only one of them possessed real life energy.
To Ethan's perception ability, the real Loki stood out like a blazing torch in the darkness.
"There are many obstacles!" Ethan shouted.
The spell shot toward one of the figures.
Even though Loki managed to dodge it, his eyes widened slightly. He couldn't believe that a human had just seen through his illusions.
How?
In all of Asgard, only Odin and Frigga could reliably see through that spell. Even Thor had been tricked by it countless times.
But Ethan didn't give him time to think.
Under Loki's watchful gaze, Ethan suddenly vanished from sight.
Before Loki could react—
"Petrificus Totalus!"
The voice came from directly behind him.
Loki felt his entire body stiffen instantly. His limbs locked into place, refusing to obey his commands.
At the same moment, Ethan's psychokinesis surged forward and seized Loki's legs.
"Finally caught you," Ethan said with a satisfied grin.
It wasn't that he hadn't tried using telekinesis earlier. Loki had simply been too slippery, slipping away the moment he sensed the invisible force approaching.
But now the situation had changed.
Although Loki's powerful magical resistance quickly began breaking the petrification spell, something was wrong.
His legs still wouldn't move.
"Mortal!" Loki shouted angrily. "What are you trying to do? Release me immediately! Otherwise, I will declare war on Midgard in the name of Asgard!"
"What do I want to do?" Ethan asked with a bright smile.
"You'll find out in a second."
....
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