One Man Against an Army

A roaring blast of air erupted beside Hela's ears as Beckett, bare-chested, charged once more at Milner, the Frost Giant leading from the front, under Hela's astonished gaze.

"What kind of monster is Thanos's son...?"

Hela, who had nearly lost the ability to fight, stared blankly at that figure still battling through bloodshed.

Growing up, she had never encountered the Titan race. Everything she knew about the Titans came from her parents' descriptions and the books Odin had collected.

Odin's library recorded that Thanos of the Titan race had taken Beckett away from his dying homeworld—Titan.

Were all Eternals like this?

The more he fought, the fiercer he became. Even grievously wounded, he still chose to face possible death with his fists. That savage, flesh-on-flesh fighting style stirred Hela's blood and made her eager to try it herself.

That was why she had chosen the path of a melee mage. She loved the thrill of close combat, the satisfaction of every blow landing solidly. Once Hela had experienced that feeling, she could never let it go.

"You bastard, are you ever going to stop!!!!"

After blocking Beckett's attack with his axe, Milner looked at the bare-chested man before him, and for some reason, fear rose in his heart.

He could no longer tell whether this man was even human. He believed that even Laufey, if grievously wounded, could not possibly fight an entire army alone.

Yet the man before him had done it.

His scar-covered body had not become a burden. Instead, it drove him to become even stronger.

"Heh. I'm still far from done."

Leaping backward to evade the Frost Giant's magic attack, Beckett wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with his right thumb. He grinned brightly.

It had been a long time since anyone had pushed him into such desperate straits—so long that he had nearly forgotten the intoxicating thrill of fighting to the death.

Before this, whether he had hunted down the traitors of Centauri Prime, killed the Chitauri King, or dealt with the others in the decapitation plan, none of them had posed much of an obstacle to Beckett.

His battered body should have been the prelude to his collapse, but at this moment, it had become the reason his strength was soaring.

Born for battle, stronger with every fight.

Extreme excitement and an unnatural calm intertwined within Beckett, forming a fountain of energy that intoxicated him. Before his old strength had faded, new strength had already emerged.

An endless stream of power flooded every cell in Beckett's body. Veins bulged across his sharply defined muscles, and silent currents of air swirled around him.

This was the feeling. This was it!

Excited, Beckett drove both fists straight through the chests of two Frost Giants!

Invisible energy gathered at Beckett's fingertips into thin threads. An overwhelming sense of danger made Milner roar as he raised the Frost Giant Axe in his hand. The "divine weapon" King Laufey had given him to win glory was shattered by Beckett's punch!

"I'll tear you apart!!!"

With his weapon destroyed, Milner roared and charged at Beckett, no longer caring about Hela at his side.

Beckett's display had filled him with profound unease.

An enemy like this was better off dead.

Dense blue figures swallowed the lone Beckett whole. Hela, no longer receiving special attention, made her final struggle with Mjolnir in hand. When she looked back, Beckett had already vanished from sight.

"What a pity, Son of Thanos."

Holding Mjolnir, Hela shook her head. The strength Beckett had displayed had made her see him in a new light. But this was as far as he would go.

Beckett was not Thanos in the end, just as she was not Odin.

There were many geniuses in the universe, but very few could truly grow into supreme powerhouses. Most geniuses were like Beckett, already buried beneath the Frost Giants—regrettable.

Of course, she herself seemed to be on the verge of falling as well.

"What the hell is Heimdall doing?"

After smashing several giants before her into pieces with Mjolnir, Hela could not help looking up at the sky. Suddenly, an invisible blast of air caught her off guard and sent her flying to the ground.

"???"

Lying on the ground, Hela was utterly bewildered as she turned toward the source of the disturbance.

"AHHHHHHH!!!"

A furious roar pierced the heavens, stirring the winds and clouds for miles around.

Savage gusts swept up countless Frost Giant bodies, and Beckett's figure was reflected clearly in Hela's eyes.

"He's... still alive...?"

Hela stared at Beckett, who had sent countless Frost Giants flying, her eyes full of disbelief.

"That's impossible!!!!"

Milner, who had witnessed Beckett's transformation in strength firsthand, completely lost it.

In all his years leading troops, he had never seen a race with such tenacious vitality. Worse still, Beckett, who had looked moments away from being hacked to death, was actually growing stronger the more he fought???

What kind of logic was that?

"Your axe should have gone for my head, not my body." Standing atop a blue corpse, Beckett fixed his gaze on the panicked Milner in the distance. The intense killing intent in his icy eyes made Milner tremble with fear.

Breaking through and rising again, Beckett had once more surpassed his limits, and his strength had increased dramatically again.

The pale golden light that had once appeared around him when he was seven surged from within him once more. For a brief moment, Beckett felt an unprecedented power fill every cell in his body.

Unfortunately, it lasted only an instant. When the anger of being knocked down was replaced by excitement, the faint golden tint that had touched his hair vanished alongside the golden radiance.

Still, even without stabilizing that golden glow capable of fundamentally transforming him, the increase in strength after breaking through his limits was enough for him to deal easily with the people before him—or rather, this army.

"What kind of monster are you?!"

"Me?"

"Just a passerby. That's all."

Before his words had even faded, he had already appeared before Milner. He moved so fast that Milner had no time to react before Beckett knocked him down. Only after Milner was pinned beneath his foot did Beckett's afterimage, left behind by his extreme speed, gradually fade away.

"Laufey won't let you go, I swear. You'll die a horrible death!"

Pinned under Beckett's foot, Milner struggled desperately and roared. Agonizing pain devoured every nerve in his body.

"Disappear."

That freezing voice was the last sound Milner heard before his death. Unable to resist with his massive body, his chest was crushed beneath Beckett's foot!

"Now, it's your turn."

After cleanly disposing of Milner, Beckett raised his cold gaze, shook his hand, and charged toward the leaderless Frost Giant army.

Wails and blood formed the most tragic symphony above the bloody plains. Holding Mjolnir, Hela witnessed the slaughter firsthand.

One man destroyed an army.

There's still only one chapter today. A problem came up with the project, and I had to go to the construction site with the lead designer. I wrote this chapter without sleeping at noon and scheduled it for seven tonight.

I've temporarily devolved into a one-chapter-a-day beast. If the problem gets solved tomorrow, there can be two chapters.

After all, if the problem isn't resolved, I might lose my livelihood.