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{Chapter: 380 Pretending To Be As Powerful As The Wind}
"Hey, isn't this Malekith? Why are you so angry?" William's figure suddenly flashed into view, stopping right in front of Malekith and Algrim with his usual arrogant grin and hands lazily tucked into his coat pockets.
Malekith's eyes narrowed, momentarily confused. He tilted his head slightly. "William? Are you… really William?" He remembered a very different figure in Asgard—tall, green and gold, with a metallic gleam and terrifying power.
William chuckled. "You don't recognize your daddy after he changes outfits? That's disappointing. I've raised you poorly, bastard son."
Algrim growled low, his hulking form tensing beside his master. Malekith's expression twisted in rage. "I don't care what you look like. If you are William, then hand over the Aether. Do it now, and perhaps I'll grant you a quick death."
William made a show of fanning his ear with one hand. "Why are you shouting, boy? Your father's ears still work just fine. And this allowance you keep begging for—the Aether? Sorry, but your daddy's cutting you off."
"Damn you!" Malekith snarled. "How dare you mock me?! You cheated me in Asgard, and now you think you can escape again?!"
Algrim's voice rumbled like thunder, "Let me kill him. The Aether is with him. Once his corpse is cold, we'll tear it out from his bones."
William raised a brow. "Oh? You think you're strong enough for that? Adorable."
Malekith raised a hand and shouted, "Kill him, Algrim! Tear him to pieces!"
"With pleasure," Algrim said coldly. His feet cracked the earth beneath him as he lunged forward. His iron-like black fist shot out like a missile, slamming directly into William's face.
Bang!
William's eyes bulged comically as he let out a theatrical scream, "I'm gonna die! Aaaaaah!"
The impact sent William flying backward like a ragdoll, crashing through several thick trees with explosive force before smashing into a massive boulder. The rock cracked open, dust and debris rising as his body embedded deep into its surface, leaving a perfect human-shaped impression.
In the air, Alice and the White Queen both sighed simultaneously.
"He's showing off again," White Queen muttered, unimpressed. "Honestly, he'd die if he didn't get to act."
Ada nodded. "One day he's going to overdo it."
Jane and Pepper, still on the ground and blocked by the thick woods, hadn't seen what happened. They looked around in confusion.
Malekith sneered at the cratered rock. "So that's it? You talk like a god, but fall like a fool. I overestimated you. No one can stand against the Cursed Warrior, not even someone like you, William."
He turned to his companion. "Algrim, bring that worm here. I want him to feel true despair."
"Yes." Algrim stomped toward the rock, his massive frame cutting through the smoke and dust.
Bang!
He punched directly into the stone, granite shattering under his strength. He grabbed William by the head and yanked him out in one brutal motion, sending chunks of rock flying in all directions. William dangled in Algrim's grip like a limp puppet.
Algrim tossed him forward, and William crashed to the ground in front of Malekith, groaning dramatically.
Malekith stood over him, gloating. "Look at you… broken, humiliated. To think I was once tricked by such scum. Hand over the Aether, and maybe I'll let you die with some dignity."
William's eyes fluttered open. His face was bruised, a thin trickle of blood running from his lip. He looked up weakly. "I… If…"
Malekith leaned down. "Speak."
William coughed, then smirked faintly. "What if I don't tell you?"
"You arrogant—" Malekith raised his boot, ready to stomp.
"I mean…" William coughed again, playing up his pain. "Maybe you should say 'pretty please.' It's polite."
"You dare—!"
"Don't tell me?" Malekith let out a low, bitter laugh, his eyes blazing with cruel madness. "Fine. Then I'll show you what true pain means in the Nine Realms. I'll sever your head, peel your mind layer by layer like an onion until your soul begs for death—and then I'll dig the Aether from your corpse."
William blinked at him slowly, then feigned a tremble, clutching his chest. "Oh no… I'm so scared. Really. My heart is trembling," he said in an overly dramatic tone, then cracked a smirk. "You might just give me a stroke from laughter."
"Enough of this nonsense!" Malekith snapped. "I'll give you one last chance—where is the Aether?!"
William slowly rose to his feet, brushing some imaginary dust from his shoulder. He glanced over at Algrim and tilted his head. "You. The big one. That punch earlier? Not bad. You almost made my nose bleed. Genuinely impressive. My compliments—it actually stung a little."
Algrim's crimson eyes widened slightly.
Malekith stumbled back half a step. "What…? That's not possible. You looked like you were dying a second ago—what trick is this?!"
William cracked his knuckles with a leisurely sigh. "Acting. It's an art form. You wouldn't understand it."
With a guttural roar, Algrim shot forward, his massive blackened fists hurtling toward William like twin hammers.
"I'll smash you into dust!" he bellowed.
William casually raised his right arm. Boom! Algrim's punch collided, but William remained rooted to the spot. Not even a hair out of place.
"Mmm." William flexed his fingers slightly. "That one made my arm tingle a little."
"Impossible!" Algrim snarled, his other fist already swinging toward William's chest.
But this time, William responded in kind. His left fist met Algrim's with a resounding shockwave. The resulting force ripped outward from their clashing knuckles, a swirling shockwave that cracked nearby boulders and flattened trees for dozens of meters in every direction. The grass blew backward like it was caught in a hurricane.
"AHHHH!" Algrim howled as he was blown back, his boots carving two deep trenches in the dirt as he skidded across the battlefield, finally grinding to a halt ten meters away. He stumbled, steam rising from his body.
William examined his hand, flexing his fingers again. "Honestly? Not bad. That power of yours… pretty fun to toy with."
In the sky, the women hovered in formation, observing the chaos.
White Queen dramatically slapped her palm over her eyes. "I can't do this anymore. He's reached new levels of over-the-top. He's like a walking action movie line—cool breeze included."
Ada sighed. "It's unbearable… yet somehow entertaining."
Alice, with her usual calm tone, added, "This is just William being William. If he's not posturing like he's in a space opera, is it really even him?"
White Queen smirked. "You know that battery brand from China? Nanfu?"
"Yeah?" Alice said.
"I nominate him as the spokesperson. Their slogan is: 'With the power ring, lasts longer.' That's him. Powered by drama."
Ada snorted. "I'm not even surprised anymore."
—
Back on the battlefield, Algrim growled, his body starting to glow with seething, dark red energy. Cracks formed across his armor as the Cursed power within him surged beyond control. His roar echoed like thunder across the shattered island.
Malekith's voice cut through the storm, "Algrim! Burn everything in your path! Clear the way! Kill him!"
But William simply yawned.
"Sorry," he said, adjusting his collar with a grin, "I really don't think he can."
"RRRAAAGHH!!" Algrim exploded forward again, his body like a meteor streaking with red light, energy crackling in all directions.
This time, he didn't hold back. He spun, punched, kicked, slammed into William with a flurry of cursed-enhanced strikes, each blow stronger than the last.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The ground beneath them cratered and cracked. Shockwaves ruptured the trees in the distance. The earth itself trembled from the clash.
But William—smiling, glowing faintly with golden light—parried each blow with precision. His fingers caught fists. His feet shifted, dodging kicks with impossible grace.
"Come on," William said, his eyes gleaming with power. "I thought you were supposed to be scary."
"DIE!" Algrim threw one final, all-out punch, laced with every ounce of dark energy left in his cursed form.
William's palm opened. Light flared from it like a star being born.
CRACK!!!
Their attacks collided—then time seemed to freeze for a heartbeat.
Algrim's punch shattered with a sound like breaking crystal, and the force of William's counterstrike sent the dark warrior flying through the air like a ragdoll, smashing through a cliffside, his body embedded halfway into the stone.
Smoke billowed.
Silence.
And then—Malekith took an instinctive step backward, genuine fear now written across his face.
"Roar..." Algrim roared as he got up, emitting a dark red light all over his body burning more of his life force, and blasted towards William like a cannonball. ..
William rolled his neck slowly. "I gave him a chance. He should've just walked away."