Loki's Everyday Betrayal

This force...

[Fate...?]

In the hall stained red with splattered blood, Mera gazed at the figure with his right fist raised to his chest, her eyes rippling with emotion.

White hair, white eyes.

White, a color that should be associated with tranquility, was imbued with a mysterious and dangerous aura in Beckett's persona.

"Your His Highness Beckett, the spaceship's destination has been set. Shall we proceed to Earth?"

Ignoring The Other, who was still inexplicably excited after finishing the hymn, Woz, who was much calmer, asked Beckett about their next move.

Having witnessed Beckett and Thanos's relationship over the past twenty years, it knows very well what it should do now.

Beckett needed to vent, to release the negative emotions that had been building up inside him.

On Earth, there exists an opponent from whom Beckett can finally vent his frustrations.

Darkseid.

The culprit who caused the current situation.

"No, return to the Dark Order."

Beckett rejected Woz's proposal and instead gave him an unexpected answer.

Return to the Dark Order?

Why?

"Yes, I understand."

Despite his doubts, Woz changed the spaceship's course without hesitation.

When Beckett set foot on the land of the Dark Order base, he found that only Pietro and Wanda, a brother and sister, were there to greet him.

The Black Order— Ebony Maw, Corvus Glaive, Proxima Midnight, and Cull Obsidian— are nowhere to be found.

Why are there only the two of you?

"Where are Ebony Maw and the others?"

Recalling Thanos's instructions regarding the Black Order, Beckett felt a surge of murderous intent.

"Your His Highness Beckett, the Black Order, along with their respective forces, encountered an accident while passing through Asgard."

"Asgard suddenly exploded for some unknown reason. Lord Ebony Maw and the others, none of them survived that explosion."

Having just returned from investigating and collecting evidence at the accident site, Pietro gritted his teeth and laid out all the facts he had verified.

He didn't know what had happened in Asgard; all he knew was that the departure of the Black Order and their followers was a tremendous loss to the Dark Order.

That's a high-ranking figure in the Dark Order!

"?!" Beckett almost lost control of his emotions the moment he heard about the explosion in Asgard.

Fortunately, Mera held his right hand tightly, and the cold water flowed instantly onto Beckett's wrist, bringing him back to his senses.

Was this also arranged by Father?

Beckett, regaining his senses, was filled with mixed emotions.

Although Pietro's description suggests that the annihilation of the Black Order was merely an accident, Beckett had experienced the ups and downs of life in a short period, still couldn't help but have some doubts.

Thanos is gone, Black Order went with him?

This is far too much of a coincidence.

"Woz, activate the melting platform."

Putting aside his jumbled thoughts, Beckett issued his first order upon returning to the Dark Order.

That was a place that only Thanos was once qualified to enter, and it was also the place that Thanos used to modify the Beckett armor.

Now, Beckett is ready to activate it himself, melting the Infinity Gauntlet he took from Thanos to create a new one that fits his hand.

Boom!

The intense firelight illuminated Beckett's face, Mind Stone, which he had previously crushed, had now been restored and set into the ever-changing shape of the Infinity Gauntlet amidst the raging flames, along with the other five stones.

In a sense, this can be considered a relic left behind by Thanos.

This universe...

Has something unexpected happened?

Earth, Wakanda.

Darkseid, standing atop the Vibranium altar steps, seemed to sense something and frowned, a rare occurrence for him.

The Apocalypse Army has completely seized the advantage on the battlefield, and the human alliance can only barely carve out a small piece of land to survive with a small force of powerful superhumans.

Darkseid, preoccupied with destroying the rules and restrictions with his altars, had never paid much attention to this.

After all, he is now an invincible being in this universe.

No one can rival him.

But now, Darkseid's extraordinary power allowed him to keenly perceive the subtle changes occurring within the rules of the universe.

This surprised him.

"Tony?"

"Tony?!"

"Hey Tony, wake up!"

On the row of silver crosses beside the altar, Stephen Strange's face was so pale he was almost like a corpse due to the continuous extraction of his blood genes.

If it weren't for magic, he would probably have already passed out like Hawkeye.

"I... I'm fine..."

"Fine..."

In his spirit form, Tony Stark frantically shook his head, trying to stay conscious.

As the only soul among the prisoners present, Tony Stark was whipped quite hard by Darkseid.

The soul fragments surging within the Vibranium altar that belong to this universe all originated from the contributions of Tony Stark alone.

It's a miracle that this former playboy has survived this long without fading away, given Darkseid's unrestrained exploitation.

Looking at Hawkeye as an ordinary person, it's almost as if he's about to meet Nick Fury.

Even the Hulk now looks like a sick cat, no longer possessing any fighting ability.

"Loki, now I'm giving you a chance to prove yourself."

Ignoring the cross filled with camaraderie, Darkseid stared at the flames burning inside the Vibranium altar for a full three minutes before finally turning his gaze to Loki, who was kneeling before him, barely daring to breathe but constantly making small movements.

"Throw him in."

Rough fingers pointed to Thor, who lay dying in the desolate landscape; his blood-stained body spoke volumes about the poor condition of the Asgard prince.

"?!" Loki was startled and looked up abruptly.

"What, you don't want to?" Darkseid looked at Loki with great interest, and the latter instantly broke out in a cold sweat.

"No! I do!"

"Loki is willing to obey any of your orders!"

Loki, hastily professing his loyalty, slowly stood up and went to Thor's side, who was extremely weak.

"Loki!"

Even with his left arm torn off, even with the wounds still open and covered in blood, he was still alive.

Thor, who still hadn't given up his fight against Darkseid, glared angrily at his brother.

"I'm sorry, Thor, I had no choice."

"Also, don't call me that tone. I'm used to it. It doesn't put any pressure on me; in fact, it makes me proud."

Loki shrugged and gently nudged Thor's broken arm with his toe.

"From childhood, your father loved you, your mother loved you, and everyone in Asgard loved you."

"You are always surrounded by countless acts of love and support."

"And what about me?"

"I have nothing."

In the very beginning, when Loki was just a child who hadn't yet fallen in love with pranks, he also longed for the same treatment and attention as Thor.

Unfortunately, no.

The warriors of Asgard looked down on him, and the people of Asgard also believed that the cunning Loki was not on the right path.

So he learned to cover himself with lies, he chose to protect himself with a dagger, and he began to look at the world with wary and hostile eyes, because the world had never been kind to him either.

Or rather, he did not feel the tenderness that could pull him out of the mire.

"However, that won't happen now."

"In the coming new world, I will be the new king of Asgard."

A dagger that had appeared in Loki's hand appeared out of nowhere, slashing Thor's cheek and leaving irregular, intertwined streaks of blood.

The chilling glint in Thor's eyes fueled his anger even more.

Silent, mysterious runes flickered in his empty eye sockets.

Do you know?

"I am the true king of Asgard!"

Buzz!

With a clear, soft sound, Loki's figure, which was still in front of Thor, slowly dissipated. Loki's true form appeared behind Darkseid, holding a dagger. Just one step away from stabbing his kidney, he was stopped by an inexplicable force.

Not an inch can be made!

"You've disappointed me again, Loki."

Darkseid's indifferent gaze made Loki chuckle.

"You destroyed Asgard, and I am the one who should be disappointed!"

Having read through Asgard's secrets, Loki naturally knew what Hela's death meant.

Even Asgard is gone, what's the point of him staying under Darkseid's command?

We might as well take a gamble.

Darkseid shook his head. "Your little tricks won't work on me."

"Yeah?"

"Please allow me to introduce myself."

"My name is Loki, the second prince of Asgard, the wizard who possesses the most secret arts in the Nine Realms." Loki raised his eyes, his smile exceptionally radiant.

"Crack".

With a sharp crack, Loki's neck was snapped by Darkseid, and the smile on his face froze.