The instant Thor opened his mouth, Ryuuto felt like the universe itself was heckling him.
"Hehe, Jiang Li—did I hear you right?" Thor's grin stretched ear to ear, the kind of smile only a thunder god with too many ego issues could manage. "Did you just announce you're going to kill all of us?"
Malekith snorted like someone had just tripped over his dignity. "He's delusional. It's almost cute. Almost."
They laughed together, loud and ugly, like two middle-aged dads bonding over bullying the new kid at PTA.
Ryuuto rolled his eyes. "Wow. Comedy gods, both of you. Somebody get them a Netflix special before they hurt themselves."
But Thor only waved him off. "Are you seriously unaware of your situation? Or are you genuinely that confident?"
"No need to waste breath on a doomed boy," Malekith snapped. He flicked his wrist sharply, eager, venom in each motion. "Kill him."
The ground trembled.
Giant warships crawled out from behind the illusion-barrier overhead, their hulls glowing with lethal energy. Dark Elves and Asgardian elites swarmed in every direction, surrounding Ryuuto like starving wolves closing around a lone traveler.
Artillery turned toward him.
Dozens of cannons.
A hundred rifles.
Warships priming to fire.
A normal person would shake.
Ryuuto just clicked his tongue. "You two really spent money on this? Must be nice having a god's allowance."
Malekith sneered. "Since you understand, die obediently. FIRE!"
The sky detonated.
A storm of lasers, artillery shells, and kinetic rounds drowned the battlefield, swallowing Ryuuto in white-hot impact. The barrier shuddered violently. Smoke erupted upward like a volcanic eruption.
Outside, Susan, Gwen, Katie Dee and the others felt the heatwave slam their faces.
Gwen grabbed Susan's arm. "S-Susan, he's okay, right? That looked insane!"
Susan held Gwen back firmly. "Calm down. His Shadow Clone is still here. That means he's fine. He told us to stay put, remember?"
Katie Dee clenched her fists but nodded. "Right… right. Ryuuto wouldn't fall to something that cheap."
Tony and Banner fought harder, reinvigorated simply by believing the idiot wasn't dead.
Inside the barrier, the smoke finally began to clear.
A massive crater sat where Ryuuto had stood. No body anywhere.
Thor stiffened. "Where is he—?"
"Idiot," a voice echoed above them, bored and sharp. "I'm right here."
[Eight Inner Gates… Open]
First Gate. Open.
Second Gate. Open.
Third. Fourth. Fifth. Sixth. Seventh.
Ryuuto's aura erupted like a sun detonating at arm's length.
Wind pressure blasted outward. Stones lifted. The barrier trembled. Even the air felt heavier, almost screaming from the force radiating off his skin.
Floating in midair, Ryuuto stared down at Thor and Malekith with a glare sharp enough to cut steel.
So this was the famed god of thunder.
And the Dark Elf king.
So proud. So certain.
Ryuuto smirked. "Try not to die too fast. It'll be boring."
Even Thor felt his breath catch, like lightning itself had flinched.
"D-Don't panic!" Malekith snapped, throat dry. "The plan stands! Thor, restrain him—now!"
Thor roared and raised Mjolnir high. Lightning leapt from all directions, turning the barrier into a sea of blinding arcs.
Malekith, eyes burning with desperation, summoned a sphere of dark magic so dense the shadows warped around it.
Their combined firepower converged.
Ryuuto didn't dodge.
He tilted his head. "Finally. Something interesting."
He kicked off the air, the shockwave cracking the ground below, and barreled straight into Thor. His fist slammed into Mjolnir, the impact detonating a sonic boom large enough to scatter warships overhead.
Energy waves blasted outward.
Cracks spread across the barrier.
Thor's face twisted—pain, shock, the creeping realization that he was being pushed back.
He gritted his teeth. "Boy… I'll burn you to ash!"
A blinding blast of lightning swallowed Ryuuto whole.
Malekith struck too, slamming his condensed darkness straight into Ryuuto's back. The explosion shook the entire battlefield. Even S.H.I.E.L.D's distant satellites probably felt it.
Malekith laughed. "Finally! It's done! That brat can't possibly—"
"Are you two laughing at me?"
A hand emerged from the darkness.
A hand glowing green-blue, wrapped with raw Gate energy.
It clamped around Thor's throat.
Ryuuto stepped fully out of the smoke, eyes murderous, grin sharp and wolfish.
"You're laughing like it's a party," he said softly, voice trembling at the edges with power burning through his veins. "So let me join in."
Thor's face drained of color.
Malekith took one step back.
And the battlefield froze.