Thor approached Loki and carefully removed the hood covering his brother's face. The moment he saw those familiar features, relief flooded through him.
Loki's eyes lit up with equal excitement at the sight of his brother, though the magical bindings sealing his mouth prevented him from speaking. His muffled sounds conveyed volumes of unspoken emotion.
Without hesitation, Thor pulled Loki into a crushing embrace. "Brother, forgive me! I failed to protect you," he declared, his voice thick with emotion. "Don't try playing the hero next time. Leave such dangerous matters to me—you were never built for direct combat!"
"You..." Loki's initial joy instantly curdled into familiar resentment. Even during his rescue, Thor couldn't resist diminishing him.
Meanwhile, Malekith approached Jason, extending his hand to claim the Reality Stone. Jason pulled back slightly, fixing the dark elf with a contemptuous look.
"Do you even understand what 'inspection' means? Don't touch—just look."
Malekith glared at him with undisguised hatred, then turned his attention to the gem. In truth, he hardly needed to examine it—his innate connection to the Aether made identification effortless. No being in all the Nine Realms could convincingly counterfeit its unique energy signature.
After a cursory glance, Malekith straightened. "The inspection is complete. Shall we proceed with the exchange?"
Jason shrugged with calculated indifference. "Why not?"
As the words left his mouth, he casually flipped his hand, allowing the Reality Stone to drop in apparent carelessness.
Malekith, caught off guard by this disrespectful delivery, instinctively lunged forward and caught the falling gem. The moment his fingers closed around it, a sense of wrongness shot through him—the enemy had acquiesced too easily, and this method of transfer was suspiciously casual.
Immediately, he attempted to transform the gem back into the fluid Aether form to harness its power, but before he could even initiate the process, Jason seized his wrist in an iron grip. A flash of steel gleamed in the desert sun as Jason's blade swept downward.
Malekith's hand—still clutching the Reality Stone—was severed cleanly at the wrist. Before the appendage even hit the ground, a miniature spatial portal materialized beneath it, instantly swallowing both the severed hand and the precious gem.
The entire sequence occurred with such blinding speed that Malekith had no time to process what was happening, let alone counter it.
Simultaneously, on the other side of the impromptu battlefield, Thor maintained his theatrical display of brotherly affection, deliberately prolonging his embrace of Loki to create a convincing spectacle of familial reunion.
The moment Jason declared his agreement to the exchange, however, Thor's demeanor shifted instantly. He tightened his grip on Loki and executed a powerful sideways roll, narrowly avoiding a barrage of energy blasts from the dark elf warriors who had immediately opened fire.
Seeing their leader mutilated, one of the massive cursed warriors roared with primal fury and charged forward like an enraged bull. Odin raised Gungnir, unleashing a searing bolt of lightning that sheared off one of the creature's horns. Despite this punishing blow, the warrior's berserker rage propelled it forward, still intent on reaching Malekith's side.
As the enormous figure soared through the air toward them, Jason neither evaded nor counter-attacked. Instead, two equally massive forms surged forward from behind him.
In perfect coordination, Juggernaut and Cull Obsidian intercepted the cursed warrior mid-leap, each seizing one massive shoulder before driving it brutally into the desert floor with an impact that sent plumes of sand billowing upward.
Malekith stumbled backward, clutching his cauterized wrist. "Kill him!" he screamed, his composure completely shattered. "Slaughter them all!"
Jason smiled with predatory satisfaction. "Perfect! With that command, I assume you've committed your forces to this battle. Those ships won't be departing anytime soon, correct?"
In Jason's assessment, Malekith's dark elf forces weren't particularly formidable in direct combat. However, to prevent future complications, total annihilation was the only viable strategy—and this presented certain challenges.
The dark elf vessels possessed extraordinary spatial-jumping capabilities, making them as difficult to capture as slippery eels. Unless, of course, they could be goaded into standing their ground for a direct confrontation.
By now, Thor and Loki had successfully escaped the dark elves' assault under Odin's protective cover. The cursed warrior found itself completely overwhelmed by the combined might of Juggernaut and Cull Obsidian, its formidable strength rendered ineffective against such coordinated opposition.
Jason moved with preternatural speed, easily overtaking the retreating Malekith. With a casual tap on the dark elf's shoulder, he encased him within multiple layers of spatial barriers.
Trapped and glowing with energy, Malekith now served as a beacon in the gathering darkness, drawing his loyal soldiers toward their doomed rescue attempt.
As anticipated, waves of dark elf warriors streamed from the three warships, charging toward their captured leader. Malekith, recognizing Jason's strategy, pounded desperately against his transparent prison, trying to warn his troops away.
His efforts proved futile—no sound penetrated the spatial barriers. His soldiers could see only his frantic gestures and panicked expression, which only accelerated their headlong rush into catastrophe.
Watching the dark elves swarming forward like insects, Jason activated the next phase of his plan. With a mere thought, multiple black portals materialized in the sky around the battlefield.
From these dimensional gateways poured his demon generals from Hell—towering behemoths that made the dark elves appear as children by comparison. Each demon possessed physical power comparable to the Hulk's baseline strength, their massive frames rippling with otherworldly muscle.
The first devastating charge alone annihilated more than half of Malekith's already limited forces.
Witnessing the slaughter, Jason projected his voice directly into Malekith's ears through the spatial barrier: "Surrender now, and I might spare what remains of your people. Consider the offer carefully."
"Never!" Malekith snarled, his face contorted with hatred. "You contemptible wretch! I will see you dead before this ends! The noble dark elves will never yield—we fight to our last breath!"
Jason raised an eyebrow, genuinely surprised. Was this simple stubborn pride, outright stupidity, or some fundamental characteristic of their species? Considering the grotesque transformation process that created the cursed warriors, perhaps this self-destructive intransigence shouldn't be surprising.
With a resigned shrug, Jason abandoned any pretense of mercy. He harbored no particular affection for these hideous creatures anyway.
"FINISH THEM!" he bellowed, his command carrying across the battlefield.
His demon generals responded with bloodthirsty roars, abandoning all restraint as they unleashed their full destructive potential upon the remaining dark elves.
Meanwhile, Jason teleported directly to one of the cross-shaped battleships. Extending his hands, he channeled spatial energy to completely envelop the massive vessel. After establishing full dimensional control, he simply willed the entire warship to vanish, transferring it instantly to his pocket dimension.
He repeated this process with the second vessel, claiming another prize with minimal effort.
Unfortunately, as he approached the third and final ship, it erupted in a massive explosion before he could establish control—clearly scuttled by its remaining crew to prevent capture.
By now, the dark elves on the ground had been virtually exterminated. Even the mighty cursed warriors lay subdued, while Malekith watched helplessly as his forces and ambitions were systematically destroyed.
After the demon generals, Juggernaut, Cull Obsidian, and other finished clearing the battlefield, Jason transported them back to his First and Second God Dimensions for well-earned rest.
Finally, he approached Odin, Thor, and Loki, noting their complex expressions—a mixture of relief, gratitude, and unmistakable apprehension.
Jason's overwhelming display of power had clearly shaken them to their core. Though the dark elves had previously engaged Asgard in a devastating conflict that inflicted heavy casualties on both sides, Odin had never imagined anyone could obliterate them with such casual efficiency.
A chilling thought occurred to the All-Father: what if this frighteningly powerful being ever developed an interest in conquering Asgard? The prospect made him tremble inwardly.
Jason, perceiving their nervous expressions, raised his hands reassuringly. "Don't worry! I'm a superhero, not a supervillain. I have certain moral boundaries I won't cross."
Odin nodded stiffly, but his face remained tense.
Jason shook his head with exaggerated resignation. "Whatever. Just send the items we agreed upon as soon as possible—I have pressing need of them."
"I shall deliver everything within three days," Odin promised solemnly.
With that commitment secured, he summoned the Bifrost to transport himself, Thor, and Loki back to Asgard in a column of prismatic light.
Before departing, Loki cast a final glance toward the imprisoned Malekith, his eyes glittering with vindictive satisfaction. "What fate awaits him?" he inquired.
Jason spread his hands in a casual gesture. "What fate? He stays right here. He's not going anywhere."
Loki's expression shifted as he glanced at the merciless desert sun beating down on the trapped dark elf. A chill ran down his spine despite the blistering heat.
After the Asgardians vanished, Jason simply teleported away, leaving Malekith alone in the vast emptiness of the Sahara—trapped within impenetrable barriers, beneath the scorching sun, with nothing but sand and silence for company.
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