Flying Close to the Ground

Han Yu asked, "Where is he?"

"In the dungeon. We imprisoned him in Asgard's dungeon for leading the Chitauri invasion of Earth. He's the only one who can help us get to the Dark Elves."

Thor clenched and unclenched his fists. If the situation hadn't been so urgent, he would never have asked his younger brother, who was always plotting against him, for help.

"Then let's set out," Han Yu said. "The sooner we leave, the better."

Only Malekith's band of Dark Elves knew how to extract the Reality Stone. That was why Han Yu had been hanging around all this time. As soon as the Reality Stone left Jane's body, he could make his move and seize it.

The dungeon.

The cells damaged in the earlier unrest had been restored to their original condition through the urgent repairs of Asgard's guards. Some of the alien prisoners who had been captured alive had been locked up inside again.

The dungeon cell to the left at the bottom of the stairs was different from the others. It had a sofa, a coffee table, a small chandelier, and even a small bookshelf. Its occupant was clearly treated differently.

When he saw Thor approaching, a man inside the cell walked slowly over to face him, his sharp eyes fixed on Thor. "What are you doing here? Have you come to mock me? And who's this unfamiliar face?"

The man wore a long robe of predominantly green, with gold accents across the torso and arms. His hands were clasped behind his back, his chin was raised slightly, and his expression was exceedingly arrogant.

This was Thor's younger brother, Loki.

He was the one who had led the Chitauri invasion of Earth, bringing Iron Man, Thor, Hulk, and the other superheroes together to form the Avengers.

This was Han Yu's first time seeing Loki face-to-face. In person, he was more handsome than he looked on the screen, and every gesture carried an even greater air of wickedness.

"Mother was stabbed by one of Malekith's men just now. She's dying."

Thor spoke calmly, but a closer look would have revealed flickers of lightning deep in his eyes, and several arcs of electricity were already dancing between his fingers.

The Dark Elves must have been able to break through to Asgard's main hall because someone had tipped them off or revealed the location of the shield, preventing it from activating properly.

They had broken through from the dungeon, so it wasn't hard to figure out who had told them where it was.

At those words, Loki's expression was like a duck cut off in mid-quack. His mouth hung slightly open, but he couldn't get a single word out. He staggered back several steps, and only after a moment did he ask in a trembling voice, "Is Frigga... dead?"

Loki's reaction made Thor sigh softly. Though Loki usually claimed he didn't acknowledge Frigga as his mother, judging by his reaction now, he still cared a great deal about her. Otherwise, he wouldn't have looked like that.

At least, Thor had never seen him look like this before. The lightning in Thor's eyes and the arcs around his hand faded away. He shook his head slightly and said, "No. If this friend beside me hadn't stepped in to help, she would have died."

Only then did Thor move aside to reveal Han Yu and briefly introduce him.

Only after learning that his adoptive mother was alive did Loki let out a great sigh of relief. He turned his gaze to Han Yu, looked deeply at him, and asked, "A general store owner? What do you sell?"

Han Yu smiled faintly. "Everything under the heavens and across the myriad worlds."

"Bullshit."

Loki dismissed the claim. He hadn't seen Han Yu act firsthand, so it was only natural that he didn't believe him. "So what do you want now? Have you come to execute me?"

Han Yu had heard such words often enough by now. There was plenty of time ahead, and he had no desire to argue with Loki. He would get to see it eventually.

This was already the second time Loki had let enemies into Asgard and nearly caused irreversible harm. Long ago, he had once let the Frost Giants in. Although he had done so to prove himself when he was certain of victory, he had still let them in of his own accord.

After a second time, he probably wouldn't have an easy time of it either.

Thor said calmly, "I'm going to the Dark World to settle the score with Malekith, but Father has ordered Asgard sealed off. I know you have a way out. I'm giving you a chance to atone."

Loki said mockingly, "That doesn't sound like you, brother. You're actually coming to me for help? Aren't I usually just your little sidekick?"

Facing the brother who had nearly gotten both their mother and himself killed, and who had attacked him repeatedly, Thor remained unmoved by his words.

Perhaps Thor still had a trace of trust in Loki, but after Loki had betrayed him again and again, it was truly hard for Thor to hold fast to that trust. He had come to Loki because he really had no other choice.

Han Yu, who was keeping watch for them, urged, "Enough with the wisecracks. Let's go."

Thor wasted no more words. He opened the cell's shield and let Loki change into a different set of clothes, and the three of them left the cell.

The three came to a room where Jane was already waiting. When she saw Loki among them, she hurried over. "It's you?"

"Hello, I'm Loki. Perhaps you've heard—"

Jane slapped Loki across the face before he could finish. "That was for New York!"

It was the first time Loki had ever been slapped, and by an Earth woman at that. But there was little anger on his face. Instead, he smiled at Thor and said, "I like her!"

"All right, everyone's here. Tell me where it is in Asgard," Han Yu said.

"Don't we need to take a spaceship or something? It's quite a long way from here," Loki said, stunned.

"Just tell him."

Thor urged him on. He knew Han Yu could use a kind of green energy to fly, and that was how they intended to reach the exit.

After telling them where the exit was, Loki saw green light flicker on the fingers of Han Yu's right hand. Immediately afterward, a green ring lit up beneath each person's feet. The rings gradually rose and shrank.

By the time they reached the tops of their heads, the rings had become shields that enclosed them. Loki exclaimed in wonder and touched his shield in surprise. Even Asgard had no such technology.

Jane was a mortal, and she reacted just like Loki when she saw this.

Han Yu looked at Thor, who nodded to him. Han Yu then said, "Get ready. We're setting off!"

As soon as he finished speaking, four balls of green energy shot into the sky, becoming streaks of light that flew toward a certain place.

"Han, are you sure we're going the right way?"

As they flew, their direction seemed increasingly wrong. They were heading straight for a mountain, and Thor cried out in alarm.

"That's right. Are you ready?"

Loki glanced in the direction they were heading and couldn't help laughing. This way of traveling was wild, just to his taste. His gaze settled on Han Yu's face, and Han Yu was just as excited. It seemed the two of them got along quite well.

Two lunatics!

Although Jane couldn't feel the wind rushing past, the thrill of flying so close to the ground was an intense visual rush, and she couldn't help cursing the two of them in her heart.

It wasn't that Asgard's airships hadn't come after them to intercept them. After flying for a while, the pursuers discovered... they simply couldn't catch up!

The others were terrifyingly fast. In the blink of an eye, the gap between them had grown to at least a kilometer!