Chapter 158: It Seems You’ve Run into Trouble

"Didn't you lose your divine power?"

Looking at the dramatic change in the sky, and at Thor—who had used Asgardian magic to summon his armor—Loki's expression altered instantly.

"Instead of being glad that I've regained my power,"

"You look astonished. It seems I was right not to rush and share the good news of my recovered strength with you the moment it happened."

"State your plan, Loki."

Wielding Mjolnir, Thor's presence turned sharp and formidable as he spoke with an icy expression.

During his week and a half on Midgard, he hadn't just been playing around or trying to relax.

Instead, he had reviewed his past actions over and over again, determining which of his deeds were right and which were wrong.

Only by truly understanding these things could he return and allow his father to witness a genuinely matured version of himself.

Reflecting upon his past foolish exploits, he realized that his impulsive journey to Jotunheim...

Was directly tied to his arrogant and reckless nature, though he had indeed received a warning from the Allfather.

Initially, despite being furious, he had intended to heed his father's warning and refrain from causing trouble.

It was only when Loki deliberately provoked his emotions that he lost his head and insisted on marching into the forbidden realm of Jotunheim to completely eradicate the threat it represented.

At the time, Thor had assumed Loki merely shared his own perspective.

However, ever since he was banished to the mortal realm and stripped of the power of Thor...

Loki, his own brother, had not only failed to seek him out within the first three days of his exile to see if he could help him return to Asgard;

Instead, it had taken over a week for him to come down and see him.

Had he failed to comprehend his father's profound intentions and found no other way to seek the truth, he might truly have believed Loki and plunged into an abyss of crushing guilt.

Yet, thanks to the help of Tony, Jane, and Darcy, he had come to truly understand his father's benevolent wisdom and reclaimed the power of thunder.

Moreover, and most importantly, Loki had actually claimed that their mother agreed to this, and that the truce terms included his exile?

What an absolute joke. He knew very well how deeply his mother loved both him and Loki.

If their father had truly perished, unimpeded, even without mentioning their mother bringing him back...

She would have descended to the mortal realm herself at the very first opportunity to deliver the news to him.

"It seems I still cannot fool you, brother."

"Then I have no choice but to kill you."

Seeing Thor transform, Loki manifested a spear in his hand as battle armor materialized over his body.

Raising the spear high, he summoned a beam of light from the heavens before his form dissolved into a phantom and vanished.

Thor had intended to pursue him immediately, but sensing what Loki had summoned, his expression grew solemn.

With the appearance of the pillar of light, the previously clear sky became choked with dark clouds, whipping up a storm even more terrifying than the one Thor conjured with Mjolnir.

A towering giant, forged entirely of metal, materialized upon the beach.

As the tempest raged, it sent the people on the beach scattering in all directions.

"What is that?"

Looking at the humanoid giant constructed entirely of an unknown metal, Jane's face was painted with shock.

"Jane, Darcy, get out of here."

"Notify Tony Stark and tell him to come help."

Recognizing the Destroyer, Thor shouted at the top of his lungs.

"But—"

Hearing Thor's words, Jane hesitated.

"Go! I already have terribly low odds on my own."

"If I have to protect you two as well, my situation will become infinitely more troublesome."

Thor bellowed in response.

Hearing this, reality set in for Jane. Dragging Darcy with her, she sprinted away, rushing back to retrieve her phone so she could contact Tony Stark.

"To actually teleport the Destroyer here..."

"It seems Loki's words weren't entirely false."

"At the very least, he has temporarily claimed the throne."

After Jane and Darcy departed, Thor watched the Destroyer slowly awakening. Although the situation was thorny, a smile touched his lips.

The Destroyer was the guardian of the vault; without acquiring the authority of the King of Asgard, it was impossible to directly summon it down to the mortal realm.

His father likely wasn't dead yet, though judging by the worst-case scenario, Odin must have fallen into the Odinsleep.

Otherwise, no matter how cold-blooded his father might seem, he would never sit idly by and watch his sons slaughter one another.

Without further ado, Thor gripped Mjolnir and took the initiative to strike. He knew the Destroyer's might was terrifying.

Even for him, facing it required mustering one hundred and twenty percent of his focus, lest he risk injury.

Channeling a massive surge of thunder into Mjolnir, Thor propelled himself into the air at high speed, driving the hammer directly toward the Destroyer's head.

When Mjolnir collided with the Destroyer's armor, it produced a crisp, deafening clang!

The blow, delivered with Thor's full strength, merely dented the armor slightly, failing to damage or shatter it outright.

"As expected of armor crafted by my father; its durability is truly no joke."

Feeling the jarring rebound of force and realizing his strike had failed to inflict any effective damage upon the Destroyer, Thor remarked with a trace of admiration.

At the same time, provoked by Thor's attack, the Destroyer fully awakened. The metal bands wrapping around its head unspooled like bandages, revealing a blinding and dangerous golden radiance.

With a resounding hum!, the Destroyer instantly retaliated with a blast of concentrated energy.

Seeing this, Thor shot rapidly upward into the sky.

The golden beam of destructive energy chased closely behind him, piercing straight toward the heavens.

Just as it was about to connect, Thor executed a hair-breadth dodge, watching the golden ray slice into the sky a mere meter away from him.

He watched as the beam pierced straight through the cloud cover, obliterating the storm clouds and leaving the sky completely clear.

The sheer destructive power of that attack forced a bead of cold sweat to trickle down Thor's forehead; had he taken that hit head-on, he would either be dead or severely maimed.

"Thor, it looks like you've run into some trouble."

At that moment, a voice drifted over from the side.

"Jane notified you so quickly?"

Turning toward the sound, Thor spotted a figure clad in red and gold armor hovering a hundred meters away.

"Miss Jane didn't contact me, but I've been detecting extraterrestrial presences for a while now, so I came over."

Tony crossed his arms as he hovered in mid-air, a smile playing across his face.

Seconds after Tony's arrival, Thor caught the terrifying thunderclap of thrusters tearing through the air.

"It seems your power is considerably greater than I anticipated."

Startled by the ear-splitting sonic booms echoing across the sky, Thor spoke up.

"You haven't even witnessed my full strength yet, so it's a bit early to draw conclusions."

"Is this the alien invader threatening Midgard?"

Tony responded with characteristic confidence, gesturing toward the unearthly metal giant standing below.

"It's a long story. I'll explain everything once we've dealt with it."

A look of self-reproach crossed Thor's face as he replied.

"Very well, let's make it quick then."

Tony nodded in agreement.