"For the glory of darkness!"
Malekith's voice tore through the battlefield like a blade, causing every dark elf who heard it to tremble violently. A decisive, almost fanatical light ignited in their eyes.
They began to recklessly absorb the black and red energy flooding around them, corrupted power of the Aether. Their bodies convulsed in extreme pain as the volatile energy forcefully reshaped them.
The Avengers, seasoned as they were, instantly sensed the abnormality.
One after another, they tactically withdrew from direct combat, wary of being contaminated by the power that now poisoned the air.
Soren narrowed his eyes.
He was no stranger to sinister energy. It was the energy of the Aether particles, one of the Infinity Stones of the universe.
Malekith, in his desperation and madness, was recklessly squandering it, forcing it into his warriors' bodies without control.
More and more black and red currents surged across the battlefield, pouring into the dark elves. Their forms expanded grotesquely, muscles tearing and reforming, their once-disciplined aura becoming unstable.
Savagery howled from their throats. Though their numbers were far fewer than before, the oppressive pressure they exuded was now even more terrifying than the vast army that had initially been.
By sacrificing the stability and lifespan of his own forces, he intended to unleash devastation.
In Soren's perception, he could tell.
The original dark elves, roughly at C-level combat strength, had been catapulted several levels upward through the raw infusion of Aether energy.
Now transformed into cursed warriors, many had surged to B-level strength, a massive qualitative leap.
Before, the Avengers could handle the dark elves with relative ease.
Now, if these cursed warriors launched a coordinated assault, casualties among both the Avengers and even the Ancient One's magician corps were almost inevitable.
Thinking rapidly, Soren made a decision, and without a word, vanished from the battlefield.
"…"
"Where's Soren?!"
Several Avengers, confused and anxious, scanned the field, only to find no trace of him.
"Woo~hoo!"
A deep, resonant roar rolled across the chaotic battleground.
All eyes turned sharply to the source of the sound, and there he was.
Beside him loomed a colossal figure that made even the cursed warriors falter for a brief second.
Zilant
Towering nearly fifty meters long, Zilant's serpentine body shimmered with overlapping waves of crackling frost and blinding arcs of thunder.
Its massive, coiled form exuded a crushing aura of power, as if a force of nature had descended onto the field.
Soren trump pet.
Zilant had been resting quietly on Macaluso Island, its strength growing after successfully integrating the powerful bloodlines Soren had given it.
Soren hadn't needed Zilant's strength earlier but with Malekith forcing the situation into a life-and-death, it was time to unleash the serpent.
Thor, recognizing the massive serpent, couldn't help but feel a complicated emotion rise in his chest.
He had sparred with Zilant once, long ago. Back then, it had been strong, but still manageable.
Now, just standing near Zilant made the hairs on the back of his neck rise.
If they fought again… Thor doubted he would win. Maybe not even survive.
Still, that was a good thing.
After Zilant successfully integrated multiple powerful genetic strains, Soren had allowed the Python to rest and grow stronger on the remote Macaluso Island.
Hidden from the world, it refined its power, evolving far beyond its previous self.
With a body that stretched nearly fifty meters, coiled with ancient thunder and ice, Zilant's sheer presence was enough to rival any monster on the field. The monstrous python exuded an aura that didn't lose to anyone present, not even Thor or the empowered cursed warriors.
Its size alone made it a mobile fortress.
Even if it couldn't wipe out all the cursed warriors immediately…
It could strangle them down.
That was exactly what they needed.
The Avengers, momentarily scared by the dark elves' transformation, found their morale instantly restored. They were not without power, not without hope.
They needed overwhelming force right now, and Zilant was just the weapon for it.
Eat
Before the cursed warriors could finish stabilizing their mutated bodies, Zilant surged into action at Soren's mental command.
Electricity burst from its massive body in radiant arcs, and a storm of frost and thunder rolled out with terrifying speed.
Zilant's body blurred into light, a massive serpentine form made of lightning, a Thunder Dragon charging into the sea.
PIPIPIPIPI~BOOM!
Countless jagged bolts rained down in a web of destruction. Several cursed warriors, still struggling to adapt to their unstable transformations, were caught off guard.
Two collapsed immediately, their bodies charred to the bone, smoldering husks that had barely managed a scream.
"ROAAARRRR!!"
Zilant let out a deep, satisfying bellow. After weeks of quiet meditation on Macaluso Island, its battle instincts had been starved.
Now, finally, it could fight and devour to its heart's content. Lightning rippled off its scales as it faced the next cursed warriors, its cold breath freezing the ground beneath it.
Malekith staggered slightly, his breath ragged, chest heaving.
The toll of what he had done was catching up to him.
He had released a vast portion of the Aether particles' energy, forcefully transforming his loyal dark elves into cursed warriors. But the process had been Incomplete.
Their bodies hadn't fully fused with the Aether, and so they had only reached B-level strength, impressive, but not enough.
Malekith knew that had the process been perfect, had they been like Kurse, the first true cursed warrior, even someone like Thor would have been torn apart.
Time was the enemy.
The Convergence was approaching, once-in-an-era moment when the Realms would align.
The veil between worlds had already begun to ripple in the skies above them. Once fully overlapped, the Aether's true potential could be unleashed… if Malekith could survive long enough to wield it.
Soren stood in his way.
A storm of hatred flashed in Malekith's hollow eyes.
That man was becoming intolerable.
But Malekith would not give up.
With another guttural scream, he raised both hands high. The Aether flared violently, surging around him, molten darkness.
This time, he held back nothing. He ripped the Aether from the realm itself, feeding it directly into the nearest cursed warriors.
The price was horrifying.
Malekith's flesh withered, his limbs shriveled like dried branches, his once-proud figure now gaunt and grotesque. It was as if the Aether itself was devouring him from the inside.
He didn't stop.
He couldn't afford to.
The power he poured into the cursed warriors now was several times stronger than before.
And it showed.
The warriors screamed as the energy fused with their blood. Their bodies twisted further, grotesque and armored with shadowy growths.
Their aura erupted, leaping from B-level to A-level in seconds.
Even Soren's eyes narrowed.
Malekith was turning these elves into walking Aether bombs, time-limited monsters who could rival the strongest of Earth's defenders.
꧁𓊈𒆜༺⚜༻𒆜𓊉꧂
New Story releases tomorrow.
PhantomDream