Everything happened just like in the original story—Thor quietly rescued Loki. Then, taking his good brother along, he broke out of Asgard and took his girlfriend Jane with him.
But this time there was a difference: someone was secretly trailing them, observing in the shadows.
"These two are fast…and didn't I tell Odin to hold back a bit?" The person was none other than Tohka. She was lying in a patch of grass, watching the aerial chase. Even if she didn't know whether it would help, she felt a bit reassured.
Yesterday's discussion ended with Odin agreeing to hold back, letting Thor rescue Jane. Then, they would head to the Dark Elves' lair so their leader could extract the thing from Jane's body. At that moment, Tohka would step in and take care of the Dark Elf. As for why Odin trusted her—aside from Tohka's own power surpassing that guy's, she also had the Space Stone and the Kabbalah Tree of Life, so even the Aether wouldn't faze her. As for Miku, Tohka had left her in Asgard—there were too many enemies involved, and she really didn't want Miku taking unnecessary risks.
Of course, Tohka suspected that even if she hadn't said so, Thor would have done exactly the same. But looking at the big group tailing the two of them now, she couldn't help wondering whether Odin had really listened to her. From the look of it, he was obviously preparing for both outcomes.
"So that's the target… Seems like there's still a passage left here." Watching the two disappear, Tohka came to the entrance herself. The Space Stone was useful, but she didn't control it very well—it was likely she'd teleport too far.
"Mm, looks like Odin really did hold back." Just as Tohka approached the portal, a large number of soldiers suddenly emerged around her. Clearly, Odin had set an ambush here right after their discussion. If all these troops had attacked, Thor and Loki probably wouldn't have gotten away.
"Guardian." But what surprised Tohka was that as soon as these men saw her, they all saluted. Only then did she remember her other identity. But since they recognized her, things were easier. She simply flew inside.
"Ugh, this place really is awful. I don't know how those Dark Elves could stand living here." Once she entered the passage, immediately felt a huge gravitational force. Then she emerged into a desolate place. Here, she couldn't see any signs of life at all. If she were forced to stay here, never mind a few thousand years—she'd probably go mad in a few days.
Then Tohka carefully followed the signal of the others' location. After all, in this lifeless wilderness, a big group gathered in one spot was far too conspicuous.
"So, these are Dark Elves… They really are unpleasant to look at." Even though she was technically a "Spirit," she looked almost exactly like a human. But these Dark Elves, with their pale skin alone, made Tohka feel very uncomfortable.
Just then, the Dark Elf leader had already drawn the Aether from Jane's body. Tohka knew this was her cue to act. So, just as he was about to absorb that dark red liquid into his body, she moved. Before anyone present could react, she appeared directly in front of the Dark Elf leader. Then, she grabbed him and vanished on the spot.
"That was Tohka… So, she's been following us this whole time." On the other side, Thor lay on the ground watching the two disappear. He didn't need to guess—he already knew Tohka must have been behind them all along.
"Who are you?" On the other side, the two of them didn't appear on Earth as the Dark Elf leader had expected. Instead, they were floating amid a vast starry sky. Neither of them were ordinary beings—otherwise, they wouldn't have survived here.
"You don't need to worry about that. But rest assured, this is an unfamiliar region of space. Don't even think about going back to Earth. After all, I have something almost the same as your little gadget." Although she didn't know why in the original story, Thor had teleported all over the place, this time Tohka simply dragged him away from that star system. Now, she didn't have to worry about him escaping.
"Hmph." Seeing the power radiating from her whole body, the Dark Elf leader assumed she was some Asgardian powerhouse. He couldn't be bothered to waste words. He immediately drew on the power he'd just acquired, and a blood-red storm began to swirl around him.
Seeing this, Tohka charged straight in without dodging. She didn't sense any overwhelming threat, so she closed in on the swirling red energy. She knew that although he could wield it at a basic level, he absolutely couldn't fully control it.
Thud. Staring him down, Tohka raised her huge sword and smashed it down toward his head. The Dark Elf leader hastily lashed out with a tendril of power, whipping it toward her.
"Hmph." With a cold snort, Tohka unleashed her own strength, forming a barrier in front of her. But her greatsword still came crashing down. In that moment, Tohka finally experienced the true might of an Infinity Stone—her barrier couldn't withstand it at all and was shattered in an instant. A deep cut opened across her waist, but the Dark Elf leader hadn't expected her to be so reckless. His entire arm was severed by her sword. Almost immediately, the blood-red liquid reformed it.
"Hiss…" Feeling the wound on her waist, Tohka sucked in a breath of cold air. Then she charged at him again. As for the gash in her side—she ignored it for now. It would heal soon enough.
As she reengaged, the swirling red energy roared even more violently. But this time, Tohka was a lot more cautious—she realized if he'd used his full power before, she might have been sliced in half.
"This is going nowhere…" She soon realized she couldn't take him down in a short time.
She had no interest in wasting time with this guy. So now, she was ready to go all out—did he really think she couldn't deal with him?
"Space Quake."