"Misunderstanding?"
A mocking laugh came from within the Destroyer.
"Misunderstanding what? Misunderstanding whether they committed treason?"
"My foolish brother, you shouldn't be asking me this—you should be asking them. Don't they know whether they committed treason themselves?"
"Impossible..." Thor subconsciously denied it after hearing those words.
Did he not know the personalities of Volstagg and the others? They valued honor as their very lives and would rather die in battle than betray Asgard and bear the name of a traitor.
But...
The next moment, just as Thor was about to defend Volstagg and the others, his open mouth froze in mid-air.
After a long silence, Thor's expression became heavy as he spoke, "Is it because of me?"
Thor might be reckless, but he wasn't stupid. As the crown prince of Asgard and the future king, how could he not be aware of Asgard's laws?
Because of his impulsiveness, what Volstagg and the others did in Jotunheim directly sparked the war between Asgard and Jotunheim.
And he, too, was exiled by the All-Father himself, becoming a fugitive on Earth.
Before receiving forgiveness from the All-Father, he had no right to return to Asgard.
But when Volstagg and the others secretly descended to Midgard while the All-Father was in a coma and Loki took the throne, they sought out this "criminal" and attempted to bring him back to Asgard to overthrow Loki's rule.
This act not only violated the All-Father Odin's decree but was also considered a betrayal of Loki, the current king of Asgard.
And all of this was because of him.
Realizing this, Thor, unwilling to let his friends bear the crime of treason, immediately defended them to Loki:
"Loki, they did not betray Asgard, nor did they betray you. They are my friends—they just came to check on me."
"Hmm, just like you did before..."
"Enough!"
An impatient voice echoed from within the Destroyer, "I'm not here to listen to your defense... I'm here to execute these traitors."
As he spoke, the Destroyer's body once again glowed with a crimson aura, waves of terrifying destructive energy gathering continuously.
Seeing this, Thor's expression changed, but he still firmly stood between the Destroyer and Fandral, as if declaring to Loki that if he wanted to kill them, he would have to step over his corpse first.
"Thor, don't worry about me—leave! Don't give Loki an excuse to kill you..."
Before Loki could respond, behind Thor, Fandral—who had lost an arm from the Destroyer's beam—gritted his teeth to endure the pain and pushed Thor away.
Then, raising his shield, Fandral charged toward the Destroyer.
"For Asgard..."
Seeing Fandral shout "For Asgard" while charging at him, Loki felt a surge of anger mixed with intense mockery.
Right now, Loki was the king of Asgard.
For an Asgardian warrior to shout "For Asgard" while attacking their king—how ironic was that?
"Courting death!"
Consumed by fury, Loki instantly controlled the Destroyer, firing a destructive beam at Fandral.
Zzzzz!
The beam, filled with an aura of utter annihilation, instantly pierced through the special magical alloy shield in Fandral's hand and mercilessly penetrated his chest.
"Damn... it..."
Witnessing the beam piercing his chest, Fandral's eyes flashed with unwillingness, but before he could say anything, his strong and well-trained body cracked and disintegrated under the scorching beam, scattering into fragments.
"Overestimating yourself!"
Having killed Fandral directly, Loki's eyes flashed with disdain and a hint of barely concealed pleasure.
Although he could only partially control the Destroyer at the moment, even in this state, the Destroyer was not something a mere Asgardian elite warrior like Fandral—who hadn't even gathered divine power—could withstand.
································
"Fandral, no..."
If Loki felt a twisted satisfaction mixed with disdain for Fandral's death, then the other two members of the Warriors Three—Volstagg and Hogun—were overcome with grief.
Big, bearded Volstagg's eyes turned red, and a ferocious, savage aura surged from his body.
"Die!"
At that moment, a crimson hue appeared on Volstagg's body, his speed and strength skyrocketing. With an agility that belied his massive frame, he crossed dozens of meters in an instant, swinging his heavy battle axe with mountain-crushing force straight at the Destroyer's head.
That terrifying speed, moving as swiftly as a cunning rabbit over dozens of meters, was nothing like the injured warrior who had been slapped away and crashed into the vehicle earlier, unable to stand.
However, as Volstagg's companion, how could Thor and Hogun not recognize his current state?
Berserker's Rage.
As a descendant of berserkers, Volstagg's strongest and final desperate move.
Triggering Berserker's Rage with a wounded body would result in only one outcome—victory or death!
If he could not defeat the Destroyer within the duration of Berserker's Rage and quell his fury with honor, death awaited him.
But how could Volstagg possibly defeat the mighty Destroyer?
Clang!
Accompanied by a dazzling spark, Volstagg's battle axe struck the Destroyer's head, sending out showers of sparks.
The violent force even seemed to slightly dent the Destroyer's head, and the impact made its massive body sway slightly.
"Hmph, courting death..."
Feeling the feedback from the Destroyer, Loki's eyes flashed with a cold glint.
The next second, the Destroyer's metallic palm gleamed with a cold light and thrust toward Volstagg's heart.
But before the Destroyer's claw could extend, Volstagg's bulky frame suddenly blurred, vanishing from in front of the Destroyer.
Before Loki could react, Volstagg reappeared behind the Destroyer, battle axe in hand, launching a flurry of brutal attacks on its back.
In an instant, countless axe strikes rained down on the Destroyer like a storm.
In just a few seconds, the Destroyer endured dozens of fierce blows, while Volstagg managed to narrowly evade the Destroyer's counterattacks each time.
For a moment...
The incomparably powerful Destroyer appeared to be completely suppressed by the berserk Volstagg.
But whether it was Thor, Hogun, or Sif, their faces all looked incredibly grim.
Though Volstagg's onslaught seemed to grow increasingly ferocious, with the crimson aura around his body becoming even stronger, a closer observation would reveal something disturbing.
Volstagg, shrouded in raging blood flames, was visibly slimming down at a rate detectable by the naked eye.
In just a few seconds, he had already lost a considerable amount of weight.
If this continued at the same rate...
Volstagg would soon die from exhaustion.
Yet, as for the Destroyer facing him, apart from a few dents caused by Volstagg's strikes, there were no visible injuries.
Even those dents were rapidly being repaired by the Destroyer's inscribed repair magic.
·····················
"Very well, you've angered me, Volstagg."
Seeing the Destroyer he controlled being suppressed by Volstagg left Loki, far away in Asgard, feeling utterly humiliated. His expression darkened.
He heavily slammed the Gungnir spear onto the ground.
"Annihilation Mode, activate!"
At Loki's command.
The energy core within the Destroyer instantly radiated scorching light.
Countless tiny beams of destruction shot out from every part of the Destroyer's body, blasting toward all directions.
In the distance, seeing this scene, Thor immediately shouted at Volstagg:
"Volstagg, get out of there..."
Because of Fandral's death, Volstagg, consumed by Berserker's Rage, briefly regained some clarity upon hearing Thor's call.
But after glancing at Thor, Sif, and the others in the distance,
That brief moment of clarity allowed Volstagg to make the most rational decision.
"Forgive me, Thor. This time, I fear I cannot follow your command. For the honor of my ancestors, Berserker Technique—Storm Axe!"
With a furious roar from Volstagg, the searing blood flames erupting from his body transformed into a terrifying crimson giant axe. As Volstagg swung it, hundreds of axe shadows were unleashed in an instant.
And with each axe shadow Volstagg swung, his body became even thinner...
·································
In that split second.
From the moment the Destroyer activated Annihilation Mode to Volstagg using his life to unleash the Berserker Technique "Storm Axe," only a fleeting moment had passed.
Yet, the clash in that brief instant erupted with a terrifying intensity that left everyone stunned.
The next second.
Countless beams of destructive light collided with hundreds of blood-red axe shadows.
Boom!
With a deafening explosion, a terrifying shockwave swept through the area like a raging storm, instantly spreading in all directions.
Within that dreadful shockwave, the crude crossroads of Puens Town began to crack and shatter inch by inch.
The vehicles surrounding the battlefield were directly blown away.
"Watch out..."
Just as the shockwave was about to sweep over Thor, Sif—who had been blasted away by the Destroyer earlier—threw herself over Thor, shielding him beneath her own body.
As her body took the brunt of the shockwave, a yellowish-brown barrier rapidly extended from her hands, covering Thor.
"Ugh!"
Already heavily injured, Sif spat out a mouthful of divine blood under the immense force of the shockwave.
In contrast, Thor, shielded by Sif's divine barrier, remained relatively unharmed.
Before Sif could rise to her feet,
Hogun's anguished cry reached her ears.
"Volstagg..."
Hearing the pain-filled voice, Sif and Thor quickly rose to their feet.
When they did,
They saw the Destroyer's body, radiating intense heat and distorting the very air around it, holding a massive head in its hand.
Below that head was a charred, emaciated corpse, riddled with countless holes.
At that moment, the entire battlefield...
Aside from the fan-shaped area where Thor and the others stood, most of the town had been reduced to ruins by the countless beams of destruction fired by the Destroyer.
The only reason their area remained untouched was due to Volstagg's final desperate strike, which successfully shielded them from the barrage of deadly beams.
···········································
"Crack!"
Under the watchful eyes of Thor and the others, the Destroyer—radiating a terrifying aura—mercilessly crushed the head it held, then discarded Volstagg's corpse like a piece of trash.
But apparently, Loki still wasn't satisfied. The very next moment, he fired a destruction beam at the mangled corpse, turning it into ashes that scattered across the sky.
"Volstagg!"
Seeing this, Thor's eyes blazed with overwhelming fury and bottomless guilt.
The extreme rage and guilt caused a sliver of the divine power Odin had sealed within him to break through the All-Father's restraint.
In Thor's eyes, a faint yet perceptible trace of lightning flashed.
Sensing that familiar divine power, Thor instinctively stretched out his hand, attempting to summon Mjolnir.
But at the temporary base of S.H.I.E.L.D., Mjolnir only trembled slightly upon sensing the faint, fleeting power of thunder before it fell silent once again.
······························
Most of Puens Town had been reduced to ruins by the Destroyer's attack, and some of the civilians who hadn't evacuated in time had perished under the relentless beams of destruction.
Even several S.H.I.E.L.D. agents who were helping Hawkeye evacuate civilians were reduced to ashes by the terrifying light of destruction.
If not for Hawkeye's quick reaction, throwing himself behind cover just in time, he would have met the same fate as those agents.
And all of this made Hawkeye's gaze toward the Destroyer in the distance overflow with uncontrollable killing intent.
(End of Chapter)
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