When Jason spotted Odin and Thor approaching across the carrier deck, he raised an eyebrow. This unexpected visit from Asgardian royalty couldn't mean anything good.
Sure enough, the moment Odin reached him, the All-Father cut straight to the point: "Do you possess the Aether particles?"
Hearing the urgent tone in Odin's voice, Jason immediately sensed trouble. "What's happened?"
The old God King sighed heavily, his single eye reflecting weariness. "I was careless. Loki has been captured by Malekith and his dark elves. They demand the Aether in exchange for his life!"
"What?" Jason hadn't anticipated this particular twist in events.
He frowned, glancing past Odin to Thor who stood tensely behind his father. "You're actually willing to risk the Nine Realms falling under dark elf control just to save him? And are we certain Loki was actually captured by Malekith, rather than forming some alliance with the dark elves?"
Before Odin could respond, Thor stepped forward, his face flushed with anger.
"I will not allow you to speak of my brother that way!" Thor thundered. "Loki was captured protecting Asgard! We will never abandon him to such a fate!"
Jason smirked. "Shouldn't you be relieved that Loki no longer competes with you for the throne?"
"Loki and I were raised together," Thor shot back. "He is my brother in all ways that matter. If he truly desires the throne, I would gladly surrender it to him!"
The moment these words left Thor's mouth, Odin swiftly cuffed him on the back of the head.
"I'm not dead yet, boy!" Odin growled. "You speak as if the throne is yours to give away! I've yet to decide if either of you deserves it!"
Thor winced, retreating behind his father with a chastened expression.
The All-Father turned his full attention to Jason, his ancient eye reflecting his desperation. "Help me save Loki. Name your price."
"Well, there's not much I really need..." Jason began.
Odin glanced back at Thor, who was trying to appear dignified while rubbing the back of his head. "Let us speak privately," Odin said firmly.
"By all means," Jason replied with a knowing smile, leading Odin toward his office.
After what seemed like an eternity, Odin emerged looking distinctly displeased.
Thor rushed to his father's side. "Father, we needn't rely on him! With my strength and courage, I can rescue Loki myself—"
"Silence!" Odin snapped, silencing Thor with a thunderous glare.
Inside the office, Jason looked immensely satisfied with himself. The negotiation had yielded remarkable treasures: the legendary Destroyer Armor, the Eternal Flame, and—perhaps most valuable of all—one hundred Nidavellir dwarves specifically requested by Jason.
These master craftsmen were unparalleled in the art of forging magical artifacts. Since establishing his God Domain, Jason effectively possessed divine power, but this power diminished significantly outside his realm. The dwarves' unique expertise in capturing and "encapsulating" divine energy into weapons would prove invaluable, allowing him to properly arm his forces.
Most importantly, they could craft something Jason had coveted since learning of its existence—the Infinity Gauntlet!
After finalizing terms with Odin, Jason traveled to Hell through his Second God Domain and summoned a thousand demon generals. These formidable warriors had grown increasingly powerful through continuous combat in Hell, each now standing over four meters tall with strength like tempered steel. They would make short work of Malekith's dark elf forces.
After completing preparations, Jason gathered Juggernaut, Cull Obsidian, and other key lieutenants, then accompanied Odin to Asgard to coordinate the rescue operation.
Their plan, after brief discussion, was elegantly simple: find a suitable battlefield, set a trap, release the energy signature of the Aether particles, then wait for Malekith and his dark elves to appear.
After careful consideration, Jason selected the Sahara Desert as their battleground—primarily for convenience and ease of cleanup afterward.
Once everything was ready, Jason, Odin, Thor, and their forces arrived at the chosen location. With casual confidence, Jason first revealed the Reality Stone, then materialized a beach umbrella, lounge chair, and frozen drinks, settling in to wait with theatrical nonchalance.
Soon, three massive cross-shaped warships appeared in the sky, growing larger as they descended toward the desert floor.
Jason immediately sensed these vessels weren't ordinary spacecraft. They radiated powerful space-penetration energy—using dimensional manipulation rather than conventional propulsion. Even standard spatial barriers would prove ineffective against such technology.
The ships' advanced sensors swept the surrounding area, clearly searching for potential ambushes.
Eventually, from the central vessel, Malekith emerged, flanked by cursed warriors and dark elf soldiers, dragging a hooded and bound Loki between them.
Seeing Jason lounging casually, Malekith merely frowned, apparently judging him unworthy of concern. Instead, the dark elf leader addressed Odin directly: "Where are the Aether particles?"
"Right here," Jason called out, extending his hand to reveal a small, gleaming gem resting in his palm. He had long since transformed the Aether from its fluid state into a more stable crystalline form.
Only now did Malekith turn his attention to Jason. "Who are you?"
Jason stood lazily, stretching his arms overhead. "Me? I'm the guardian of the Nine Realms, the hero who slew the World Serpent Jörmungandr, saved the World Tree, and—most relevantly—the one making decisions in today's negotiations."
Malekith shot Odin a puzzled look. The All-Father's silence was unexpected.
"Odin," Malekith questioned, "is what he claims true?"
Odin, resplendent in battle armor and gripping Gungnir, said nothing but offered a curt nod.
Malekith couldn't comprehend the change in his ancient adversary. After millennia of rule, had Odin truly become so weak that he allowed others to negotiate on Asgard's behalf? It contradicted everything he knew about the ruler's character.
"Give me the Aether," Malekith demanded coldly, "and I shall release Loki. Refuse, and you can collect what remains of his body!"
Jason shrugged indifferently. "No problem. Now that I've revealed the Aether, I fully intend to hand it over. But before completing our transaction, I need to inspect the merchandise."
"What?"
"I need to verify this Loki is genuine, not some illusion or impostor."
Malekith's pale features twisted with annoyance. "Can Odin himself not recognize his own son?"
"Odin's getting old," Jason replied dismissively. "What if his eye deceives him? Thor, you're his brother—confirm it's actually him."
Thor stepped forward but was immediately blocked by dark elf guards. Malekith snorted contemptuously. "If you wish to inspect the prisoner, I demand to inspect the Aether as well!"
"Heh!" Jason laughed. "You need to verify it? You already know it's genuine—otherwise, why would you have come?"
With a casual flick of his wrist, Jason made the Reality Stone vanish.
"If you're not serious about this exchange, then forget it. Odin begged me to trade the Aether for his worthless son. Personally, I couldn't care less whether Loki lives or dies."
He turned as if preparing to leave.
Malekith stood momentarily stunned. He clearly felt his connection to the Aether—his ability to sense its presence—vanish completely. Without the other party willingly revealing the Stone, locating it would prove nearly impossible.
Yet the dark elf leader maintained his composure, turning toward Odin. "Is this your idea of sincere negotiation?"
Odin sighed deeply before speaking. "Jason, we have discussed this already."
"Tsk tsk," Jason responded with exaggerated exasperation. "I shouldn't have agreed to help you, old God King. This is becoming tedious!"
He waved dismissively at Malekith. "Fine, you ugly freak. I'll let you examine the Stone. You're making this unnecessarily complicated!"
Malekith's face contorted with barely contained rage, but the desire for the Aether—and his ancient dream of plunging the Nine Realms into darkness—outweighed his pride.
Jason gestured for Thor to approach and begin inspecting Loki. Behind Malekith, one of the towering cursed warriors moved to intercept but was halted by a sharp command from the dark elf leader.
"I'll handle this myself," Malekith declared.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Support me at p@treon.com/goldengaruda and check out more chapter of this or more early access chapter of my other fanfic translation.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~