If Thor hadn't been determined to fight Malekith to the death… If Thor hadn't remembered to protect Hong Fei's hidden identity even at the brink of death… If Steve hadn't stood there, calm and unflinching in the face of annihilation…
Without those moments, Hong Fei might have stayed perched above the clouds, watching as a tsunami hundreds of meters high swept the city clean. Once the city fell and its people perished, he could have ordered Big Head to launch a nuke at Malekith.
Malekith, wielding the Aether Particle, would have neutralized the nuke before it detonated. Still, the threat alone would have forced Hong Fei to reveal himself. And even then, it wouldn't have been the end.
He could have fought Malekith from New York to Washington, and from Washington to Los Angeles. How else could he live up to the accusations that he deliberately escalated the war? You think you're so clever, so eloquent! Hong Fei was often self-absorbed, occasionally lenient, and always quick to hold a grudge.
What good did it do for the others to kneel on the ground? Without Thor, would they even remember the Dragon King existed? Of course not. To them, the Dragon King was just a convenient hero when needed, a term they could discard the moment he was no longer useful. In their eyes, most superheroes were no different.
The one who should be worrying about their survival wasn't Hong Fei—it was the President they'd elected. After all, Hong Fei had orchestrated everything unfolding before them. He'd already decided to shoulder all the benefits and consequences these events would bring.
So, he didn't need these people kneeling and begging. In fact, it disgusted him. The ones who should be kneeling weren't them. As Hong Fei surveyed the dense crowd, his gaze grew colder—though that coldness wasn't directed at those before him. Xu Wenwu, standing nearby, sensed something was off.
Before Xu Wenwu could speak, Hong Fei raised his hand and opened a Portal, leaving behind a single command: "Wait for me."
In Sokovia, Dr. Helen Cho nearly rushed to Hong Fei the moment he appeared. But his aura was darker than ever, and she stopped abruptly, her face etched with concern.
Hong Fei strode into the main hall, opened the display case, and activated the iron armor inside. Seeing this, Dr. Helen Cho asked softly, "Are you joining the battlefield?"
Hong Fei nodded, stowed his Nano Suit, and stepped into the new armor. As the back of the armor sealed shut, he turned around.
Dr. Helen Cho gazed at the armor he'd never truly worn before, her voice filled with delight.
"It really suits you!"
A band of light traveled up from his feet along the sides of his thighs, converging at his eyes and igniting instantly.
She stepped forward, reaching out to touch the fiber patterns around the armor's eye sockets. Her voice was a soft murmur.
"It's so beautiful. Brighter than the sun."
A long sigh came from within the armor. Hong Fei reached out and gently embraced her. A radiant smile returned to Dr. Helen Cho's face as she straightened up and said, "I'll wait for you."
Hong Fei nodded and turned to walk into the Portal. In the skies above New York, Xu Wenwu saw Hong Fei appear in the new armor and immediately remarked, "The armor looks much more impressive when worn than when it was just standing there."
"Of course," Hong Fei replied. "It was always meant to be vivid and full of life."
He took a deep breath.
"Are you ready?"
Xu Wenwu adjusted his White Armor and gave a curt nod.
"I'll lead the charge."
Below, Thor raised Mjolnir high, his voice booming across the battlefield. In an instant, the heavens darkened. Thunder rolled across the night sky, and a jagged bolt of lightning struck Mjolnir, followed by thousands more converging on the hammer.
The weapon crackled with energy, its surface coated in a thick layer of lightning plasma that cascaded downward. As the electricity passed through Thor's hand, it vanished like water soaking into parched earth. The strain showed on his face—every muscle taut, every vein bulging.
Behind Malekith, black particles coalesced into twisting rivers that surged skyward, threatening to engulf the world in darkness. A tsunami hundreds of meters high loomed on the horizon, its deep blue wall no longer a symbol of life but of impending doom.
Thor's efforts did nothing to deter Malekith. As the tsunami crashed toward the shore, Malekith roared and thrust his hands forward. The towering wave collapsed, its force driving the water inland with terrifying speed.
The first row of buildings along the shore offered no resistance, crumbling instantly into debris that was swept away by the flood. Steve Rogers tightened his grip on his shield and stood tall, his gaze fixed on the monstrous wall of water. A faint smile touched his lips.
"At least we didn't abandon them to save ourselves," he murmured.
Hulk plunged headfirst into the surging water with a thunderous crash. Tony Stark turned to James Rhodes and bumped fists with him.
"You could've left," Rhodes said.
Tony shrugged.
"Didn't want to. Why didn't you?"
"Out of power," Rhodes admitted. They both laughed, the sound swallowed by the chaos around them.
Clint Barton tapped out a quick message to his family, his fingers moving swiftly over his phone.
Matt Murdock and Luke Cage stood shoulder to shoulder, their hands gripping each other's arms. As the tsunami roared toward them, they closed their eyes, bracing for impact. But the expected collision never came.
Tony frowned, his mind racing.
"Is this what death feels like? Did those philosophers actually get it right?"
Then he heard gasps behind him. His ears twitched at the sound of a single word: "Dragon!"
Tony's eyes snapped open just as a deafening roar filled the air. Before them, a graceful White Dragon soared through the sky, its mane streaming behind it. With every undulation of its body, its tail left trails of shimmering light. Miraculously, the tsunami froze in place, suspended in mid-air. Inside the wall of water, marine life floated motionless, and Hulk flailed helplessly, gulping down seawater.
Rhodes tapped Tony's shoulder and pointed behind them. Tony turned to see a massive golden portal slowly closing. That must have been how the dragon arrived. If that was the case...
Tony spun back around, his neck cracking sharply, but he barely noticed. A colossal Gold Dragon descended from the heavens, its roar shaking the very earth. The sound dwarfed the White Dragon's cry, reverberating with primal power. Golden light erupted across the sky, tearing through the black clouds and leaving a massive hole in their wake.
The Gold Dragon leaped down, and the sunlight from outside projected inward, making every scale on its body shine even more brilliantly. In an instant, countless loud cheers erupted throughout the city. At this moment, Hong Fei only wished he couldn't hear their voices. In the blink of an eye, a golden rainbow came from the horizon to the sky above the city.
It slammed directly and peerlessly into Malekith. Facing the stream of black particles the opponent suddenly swung his hand to release, the Gold Dragon didn't pause for a moment, directly smashing into Malekith's body with unstoppable force. Boom!! Amidst the deafening explosion, more than half of the dark energy gathered around Malekith's body instantly dissipated.
His body uncontrollably traced a curve through the air before falling into the sea below. The golden divine dragon curled its body, and the brilliant light and shadow retracted inward. Before long, everyone saw the brand-new Dragon King. The iron armor was red in its entirety, with eyes as white as snow. The light within them seemed even more dazzling than the sunlight shining down from the sky.
A lifelike divine dragon was depicted in yellow on the iron armor, wrapping around most of the suit, with the dragon's head in a roaring pose on the chest. At this moment, a layer of pure gold Fire was lingering over the iron armor, and every inch of the dancing flames seemed almost solid.
The Dragon King held a Spear in his hand; the entire shaft shone with golden light, and the golden Fire on the spearhead was even brighter, looking like a miniature Sun. At this time, Thor was just a few meters away from the Dragon King. The Dragon King turned his head and immediately saw the shock on Thor's face, along with an irrepressible hint of pain. The Dragon King suddenly smiled.
"What, still want to die?"
Hearing this, Thor was instantly enlightened. He abruptly retracted Mjolnir, and the lightning gathered in the sky quickly dissipated. However, he likely forgot at that moment that he couldn't fly without it, so as soon as he retracted his hand, he fell into the sea with a splash. The seawater was really high right now!
With a wave of the Dragon King's hand, Dragon Power immediately lifted Thor out of the seawater. As soon as Thor broke the surface, he immediately shouted, "Jane! Quick, save Jane!"
The Dragon King lifted him up to his own height and then reassured him, "Don't worry, I already sent her to Sokovia just now." Only then did Thor heave a huge sigh of relief, and then he laughed loudly.
"I knew you would come!"
"Then what were you doing just now?"
"I was just scaring Malekith a bit."
The Dragon King shook his head and asked again, "You shouted something to me just now."
"That's right, you heard it all?"
"Yeah, I remember you asked me to take care of your Loki?"
"Eh? Don't talk nonsense! I didn't!"
"You did. Don't believe me? Should I repeat it for you?"
"Fine."
"You said just now, for me to take care of your Father, your Mother, and your Loki for you."
"Wait, that's clearly not what I said. What I said was, for you to take care of my Father, Mother, and Loki for me."
"Isn't it the same?"
"This..."
Thor blinked blankly, and finally just shook his wet hair and said, "Stop teasing me. Let's talk about you. Will there be trouble for you coming here now? Will those people still target you?"
"I don't know, but it doesn't matter." Thor said solemnly, "I will help you, with the power of all Asgard!"
The Dragon King nodded.
"Thank you."
Then, looking at the Dragon King's current state, Thor suddenly raised an eyebrow.
"Wait, your strength?" The Dragon King's body paused, and he smiled.
"This is a special state."
"Then it can't hold out much longer!" Thor shouted, waving his arms urgently.
"Go! I'll cheer you on!"
The Dragon King gave a curt nod and launched himself at Malekith. His form tore through the air, igniting a massive fireball that exploded outward. The Dragon Power's heat transformed into pure flame, causing the temperature to spike dramatically.
The air around them churned violently as the seawater below boiled away, sending thick clouds of steam spiraling upward. Mid-charge, Malekith burst from a crumbling building, his body wreathed in a sinister dark aura. His eyes, once merely tinged with crimson, now burned with a deep, unnatural red.
The Dragon King pivoted smoothly, his Spear arcing down from above. The strike unleashed a dazzling Bifrost Bridge, its multicolored light slicing through the void. The impact hammered Malekith into the seabed, the Bifrost's immense force pinning him to the submerged city streets.
Wherever it went, the seawater surged outward in all directions, pushed aside by the sheer power of the attack. Thor stared, momentarily stunned, before his excitement bubbled over. He nearly shouted aloud, his fists clenched in exhilaration as he watched the Dragon King's display of might.