The Penal Zone.
Thanos, clad in golden armor, strode through the ruins. He stopped, raising his gaze towards Asgard.
"Lord Thanos, I apologize. We failed to stop Lothar."
Ebony Maw, who had earlier been dug out of the sand by Proxima Midnight, clutched his treated wounds and knelt, begging Thanos for forgiveness.
There was no excuse, no explanation. Ebony Maw's confession was straightforward. Any talk of Lothar being too strong or them being no match was utter nonsense. A failed mission was a failed mission, and no reason could justify it.
"How long has he been gone?"
"Forty-three minutes, Lord Thanos. Based on the ship's maximum speed, Lothar should have already arrived in Asgard."
"Forty-three minutes, then…"
Thanos said nothing more. If Lothar had reached Asgard, Odin would surely be ready for battle. Lothar intended to rescue Hela, and Odin would never allow that. A clash between them was inevitable. And he, Thanos, could not stand by and watch Lothar be defeated by Odin.
"Lothar's personality truly hasn't changed."
Sometimes, Thanos wondered if he were to adopt another child, he would have to learn from Lothar's upbringing. Strict discipline. Dismemberment for battle losses. Lothar's punishments for failure had been too lenient, which led to his current disposition.
"Prepare yourselves. It's time for us to depart."
Thanos withdrew his gaze from the cosmic expanse and slowly returned to his battleship. "I can't let Odin wait too long."
The Black Order exchanged glances, unsure what to say. Some words, even Ebony Maw dared not utter. After all, Thanos was the undisputed ruler of the entire Centauri galaxy.
...
Asgard, Bifrost area.
Frigga watched, stunned, as the Guardian of Asgard fell before her, so close she could almost touch him. Blood flowed freely.
As a warrior whose pure combat strength was second only to Odin himself in Asgard, no one could have imagined Heimdall would be defeated so swiftly. Especially with his sword still in hand. That was the key to unlocking the Bifrost, and an indestructible weapon.
Heimdall had used it to accompany Odin in conquering the Nine Realms, slaying countless enemies, yet now it was plunged into its master's own heart…
"The Other."
"Huh? Lo-Lothar, Your Highness, I'm here!"
Snapping out of his shock, The Other quickly rushed to Lothar, bowing deeply, his face a mix of indescribable excitement and exhilaration.
"Celebrate."
"What?" The Other looked up, confused.
"I told you to celebrate." Lothar's gaze fell upon The Other, his icy stare sending an involuntary shiver down his spine.
"Rejoice!"
"The great—"
"Louder. I want all of Asgard to hear it."
Lothar stepped past The Other, kicking the lifeless body of Heimdall, whose eyes stared blankly, to Frigga's feet.
"Yes, Your Highness Lothar!"
After dismantling small components from his armor to assemble a megaphone, The Other took a deep breath, and his passionate voice instantly echoed throughout Asgard!
"Rejoice!"
"The great Son of Titan! The revered Lord of Chitauri, His Highness Lothar!"
"At this very moment, his heroic stance shall be etched into history!"
"Heimdall, the Guardian of Asgard, the protector of the Bifrost, was no match for His Highness Lothar in a single blow!"
"Asgard shall fall to His Highness Lothar! The glory of His Highness Lothar shall illuminate all Nine Realms!!!"
Amidst The Other's fervent proclamation, the golden-haired, emerald-eyed Lothar slowly approached Frigga. "Do you wish to live? Or die?"
Frigga's expression changed abruptly, and she rapidly retreated.
"Everyone!"
"Attack!!!"
The surviving Asgardian warriors swarmed forward, their majestic steeds neighing beneath the gloomy sky!
"Live, or die?!"
Lothar neither dodged nor evaded. The energy unleashed by his swinging hands was like the descent of meteors, crushing countless bodies and demolishing Asgardian structures.
The cries of the people, the fall of the dead. Everything made Frigga's eyes burn with fury.
"No!"
"No! Lothar!!!"
"Please, don't do this!"
Frigga, who should have left, never imagined that Lothar would truly attempt to destroy all of Asgard.
"Hela's life is tied to Asgard! If you destroy Asgard, Hela will truly die!!!"
"I know."
"So I won't destroy Asgard, but that doesn't mean I won't kill these Asgardians."
"Think carefully, Frigga. When The Other's celebration echoes again, you will be the only one left in all of Asgard."
"Are you ready?"
Lothar grinned, his emerald eyes gleaming with cruel, bloodthirsty light.
"Ten."
"Five." Skipping directly from ten to five, Lothar's unconventional counting further pressured Frigga's fragile psychological defenses.
"Three."
"One."
Lothar shook his head in disappointment. "Time's up."
"Fragile Asgardians, it's time to—"
BOOM!!!
Under the gloomy sky, a multicolored beam of light descended from above, cutting across Lothar's path.
"Lothar, you've overstepped."
"Did Thanos not teach you not to meddle in other people's family affairs?"
Odin, clad in golden armor and wielding Gungnir, returned to Asgard from Midgard at the last moment.
"My father will be asking for my self-reflection report soon, so I just want to reclaim the one Hela owes me. Your family matters are none of my concern."
With the main force here, Lothar abandoned the idea of coercing Frigga. "Oh, by the way, there's something I think I should apologize for."
"This man, he was your most trusted dog, wasn't he?"
Lothar pointed at Heimdall's lifeless body to the side, a cruel smile spreading across his face. Intense power instantly solidified before Odin's very eyes.
"Give me Hela, or he will vanish completely from your sight."
"Or, defeat me." Lothar was itching for a fight. Facing Odin, the current strongest being in the Nine Realms, every cell in Lothar's body began to tremble with excitement.
"I'm curious, where do you get the confidence that Heimdall will vanish from my sight?"
Odin's face was cold. Gungnir appeared before Lothar the next second!
Whoosh!
Lothar instinctively dodged sideways, leaping up. The power condensed in his arms, without any warning, slammed into the Bifrost!
BOOM!!!!!
"Hela said that beneath the Bifrost lies an abyss even you don't know about."
Crack…
The magnificent surface of the Bifrost cracked repeatedly under Lothar's energy impact…
"So, is that true?"
Lothar stopped channeling energy, hovering above the fractured bridge surface, and beckoned to Odin with a finger, full of provocation.
His toes lightly tapped the bridge surface, like the last straw that breaks the camel's back. The magnificent Bifrost instantly shattered!
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