"Go, beat him up for me!"
Aron stretched out his hand and pointed his finger at Jormungandr.
Terrified by that finger, the giant World Serpent was so frightened it almost died on the spot.
Even the ancient gods behind it were terrified by the appearance of Eternity.
"Wait! Hold on!"
The ancient gods hidden in other dimensions appeared.
A dark starry sky.
Some simple figures made of lines appeared.
They had no bodies, only rough silhouettes drawn from white lines.
Crude and simple.
Like a painter's brushstroke, just a few sketches.
However, the appearance of the ancient gods didn't change anything.
Because Aron had already given the order.
What is your ancient god even worth, huh?
Eternity reasonably ignored those ancient gods and slowly…
One glance.
In the distance, Jormungandr's body began to disintegrate.
Although Eternity was a single-universe being, within his own "piece of land" in this universe, he was the absolute sovereign.
"!!!"
"!!!"
Thor and Hela widened their eyes, still in shock.
This is what you called… "a friend"!?
You call Eternity "friend"?
No!
Am I dreaming!?
Slap——!
Slap——!
Thor suddenly slapped himself twice, feeling the burning pain on his cheeks.
Even more stunned!
"Is this real?"
Thor was dazed.
Even all-seeing Hela felt her worldview collapse.
What is Eternity?
Our physical embodiment of the universe!
Why can you summon Him?
I don't understand!
And there was someone else far away who didn't understand, no, a serpent who didn't understand.
"Sssss~~ Sssss~~ Sssss~~"
The slowly disintegrating Jormungandr hissed and roared, its body writhing violently, constantly whipping the void.
Was I just guarding the gate for the ancient gods?
Basically, head of security!
That's not violating the cosmic order!
But the physical embodiment of a universe doing this to me?
"Sssss~~~~~~"
At the end of its life, Jormungandr let out a reluctant roar.
The serpent's head grimaced!
Its fangs vanished!
But all that resistance was in vain!
Soon, Jormungandr's body completely disintegrated!
As the giant serpent exhaled its last breath, in the void appeared a dark gate leading to an unknown world.
"You!"
Seeing their own gatekeeper die, the ancient gods made of simple lines felt a trace of anger.
But after glancing at Eternity beside them, all anger disappeared.
"You have earned our respect."
"From now on, we will no longer extend our hands into your world."
"With you, Ragnarok will forever become a thing of the past."
The lines forming the faces of the ancient gods sitting in the shadows shifted and changed, as if they were conferring.
Strangely enough… they didn't seem afraid of Eternity.
It was more like reverence.
"They're not here."
Eternity explained the reason to Aron.
Essentially, this meant those ancient gods weren't in any universe.
As the physical embodiment of the Earth-199999 universe, Eternity couldn't leave his own universe to go to the ancient gods' realm.
In human terms…
The other side is out of my jurisdiction!
And the ancient gods clearly knew this very well.
That's why they didn't want to exist in any universe.
Because that way, they could freely reach into the infinite multiverse, greedily absorbing the massive energy of Ragnarok in every universe.
"Thor, what do you say?"
Aron looked at Thor.
Now that Eternity had stepped forward,
the ancient gods no longer dared to reach out.
If Thor stopped here, the cycle of Ragnarok would actually be over.
Of course, Aron wasn't willing to end it this way, why stop before collecting the full debt?
Killing one gatekeeper, what kind of gatekeeper is that, really?
Better not to kill halfway!
If you're going to kill, kill them all!
Fortunately, Thor's thoughts aligned with Aron's, he didn't intend to go soft either.
"What else is there to say?"
"Since you cowards don't dare come over, then we'll come to you."
Thor glanced at the dark passage formed after Jormungandr's death.
It was the gate leading to where the ancient gods resided.
"Excellent! That's my friend!"
"Ever since I got this god-slaying sword, it seems there are still a few gods I haven't killed yet."
Aron gave Thor a thumbs-up, then flashed the All-Black the Necrosword.
"Don't try to intimidate us!"
"Eternity cannot touch the place where we dwell!"
"And away from Eternity… you and the others are nothing but ants!"
At Aron and Thor's attitude…
the lines forming the faces of the ancient gods in the shadows shifted, showing an expression of anger.
Seeing that, Aron finally opened his mouth.
"Why is your style different from ours?"
"Did the special effects team run out of budget?"
After venting, Aron finally felt much better.
Honestly…
He'd wanted to complain since they appeared.
"…"
After hearing Aron's complaints, the ancient gods exchanged looks for a while.
In the end, they chose silence.
"Haha, looks like you've stumped them."
"These insects born hiding in shadows — how could they possibly know what special effects are."
Thor burst out laughing.
Eternity silently watched from the side.
It was true that He couldn't travel to the world of the ancient gods, but that didn't mean He couldn't help.
"Brother Aron, wait for me."
Eternity vanished after saying that.
Aron didn't react, but Thor and Hela beside him looked stunned.
"D… Darling, what did Eternity just call you?"
Aron had shouted when Eternity appeared earlier, but Hela thought she'd misheard.
But just now…
Thor and Hela clearly heard it!
"…"
Thor fell silent.
At that moment, a strange light flashed in Aron's eyes.
As if his "growth in strength" had suddenly turned into "second-generation privilege."
And not just any second generation.
But the extreme kind, with connections "from earth to heaven."
Soon after.
Eternity returned.
Bringing an unexpected helper.
"As the embodiment of the universe's laws,"
"I, Death, Oblivion, Infinity, the four of us cannot leave this universe freely, but he can!"
Eternity turned and introduced the helper he had brought for Aron.
In truth, even without introduction, Aron knew clearly.
After all, the name of this cosmic god was known to all.
Because He was…
the invincible Devourer of Worlds!
"I heard you have a little trouble here."
"Don't worry."
"As long as I'm here, nothing will disrupt the order."
The body of Galactus, the Devourer of Worlds, descended with a rumble, appearing before Aron and the others.
"It's over!"
But a chill crept into Aron's heart.