Confidence Is an Evil God's Fine Quality

Confidence Is an Evil God's Fine Quality

"This was my hammer. I should have been able to lift it..."

"But not anymore. Odin has denied you the right to wield this weapon." Duva cut Thor off.

Thor's face went ashen. He said nothing, looking as though his soul had left him.

"My promise still stands. If you truly are willing to do anything to regain your power, come beg me."

Duva emphasized his words. "The power I give you won't be the same as the divine power you once wielded, but the two won't conflict. Perhaps one day, you'll be able to lift this hammer again and regain your divine power. Then, you'll possess both kinds of strength at once."

He sounded utterly serious. If Thor nodded, he really would pick out the finest Facehugger and give it to him.

Of course, after that, Thor would have to obey his orders.

At this point in time, Thor possessed none of humility. There was only endless irritability, rage, and worship of violence.

Duva turned to the Deviants Leader, who was being besieged and thrown into disarray. "See? If you'd waited a few more minutes and attacked when he no longer wanted to live, you might've had a better chance of succeeding. You were too impatient."

That casual, conversational tone completely enraged the Deviants Leader.

It went even madder. All kinds of fleshy tendrils sprouted across its body, while its claws tore wildly in every direction. One Xenomorph failed to dodge in time and was ripped open on the spot.

Swish! Several tendrils shot over and absorbed the Xenomorph alive.

But that was all it could manage. The Xenomorphs coordinated too closely, always overwhelming it and forcing it to choose one threat over another. Even when it insisted on killing a Xenomorph, the Abomination Xenomorph would always strike viciously at the crucial moment, violently interrupting its actions.

After fighting for so long, it had only taken down one Xenomorph.

"How does eating your own kind taste?" Duva asked.

Thud! The Deviants Leader widened its eyes, only for the Abomination Xenomorph to punch it in the head the next second, leaving it dizzy.

"Juggernaut really gave it some formidable abilities. Even attacks like that can't hurt it. In that case..." Duva's expression shifted slightly. By now, he had tested the leader's limits.

With a thought, the many surrounding Xenomorphs deliberately—or seemingly inadvertently—let several Deviants slip through.

"Duva, I'll organize agents to support you. We'll join forces and clear out these Deviants." Coulson's voice boomed through the loudspeakers.

"If you'd said that before these Deviants got near this dump of a camp, I might've believed you were sincere."

Duva gave Coulson no face at all, but Coulson did not need face. He calmly watched the numerous screens before him.

Some screens had gone black, destroyed in the fighting, but the remaining cameras were enough for Coulson to observe the situation.

He focused on the battles outside the camp. Once again, as he watched the Xenomorphs perform, he fell silent.

Though the scene was bloody, he still felt a powerful sense of awe.

Coulson even imagined S.H.I.E.L.D. controlling these creatures. With this power in hand, they could accomplish so very much.

"Clint, organize our agents. Use the camp buildings for cover and fire on the Deviants. If possible, capture a few alive." Coulson issued the order.

Duva could still be considered an ally. These Deviants, on the other hand, were nothing.

Coulson wanted to capture Deviants. Duva wanted them even more.

In that short span, four Deviants rushed into the camp. Amid the gunfire, agents died one after another at their hands.

Whoosh! Hawkeye drew his bow and fired rapidly, hitting one Deviant in all four limbs before immediately detonating the bomb on the arrowhead.

A string of explosions rang out. He thought he had taken down a Deviant, but when the smoke cleared, the sight before him quickly shocked him: he saw the Deviant trying to regenerate its severed limbs.

"Everyone, concentrate your fire! Do not give the enemy any chance to heal!" Hawkeye said through the comms.

No matter how hard they tried to stop them, two Deviants still broke into the camp and reached their leader's side.

"Does Duva really have no way to stop these Deviants?" Coulson looked puzzled. Based on what he knew of Duva, Duva would not have left such an opening—especially when the Xenomorphs outside the camp held a numerical advantage against the Deviants.

The Deviants Leader extended its tendrils and swiftly pierced the bodies of the two Deviants, transferring a massive amount of energy into them and strengthening its underlings.

The bodies of the two ordinary Deviants rapidly swelled at a visible rate, while their physical strength rose frantically.

"That's more like it." Duva nodded to himself.

As the leader, it possessed the ability to divide its power among its subordinates. But dividing its power also meant weakening itself.

Using an overwhelming offensive and the Abomination Xenomorph's precise strikes to force the Deviants Leader to expend power strengthening its underlings—this was the improvised tactic Duva had devised.

There was no other way. Otherwise, no matter what methods he used, he could not break through this thing's defenses, much less find an opportunity to send a Facehugger in to parasitize it.

The weaker the leader became, the better Duva's chances.

"Letting only two Deviants in still isn't quite safe enough. But if I let another two in..."

Duva calculated rapidly. Through every Xenomorph, he could observe the entire battlefield and make precise adjustments.

A strengthened Deviant with powerful defenses locked onto Duva and charged at him.

Its gaping mouth was about to bite through Duva's neck.

Duva glanced at Thor beside him. After confirming that the soul-lost man had no intention of dodging, his heart reduced to ashes, Duva acted personally. He tilted his head aside to evade the Deviant's attack, then raised two fingers and plunged them into its eye sockets, gouging out its eyes alive.

"People always think I'm weak. I'm not some summoner who fights through pets."

Duva shook the filth from his hand, tossed the travel bag he had kept on his back to the ground, and decided to fight himself.

Just as Duva entered the fight.

In an utterly unremarkable clearing.

Loki quietly watched the battle.

When he saw Thor in danger, he nearly could not stop himself from acting, but fortunately, he held back.

"This Midgardian is the one who defeated that Eternal? He's not entirely worthless, but that still doesn't explain why Father is so concerned with the Eternals."

Loki was deeply puzzled. He did not believe God-King Odin would concern himself with nothing. There had to be a reason he did not know.

As for Duva...

"Since he saved my idiot brother and can command this fighting race, I'll spare his life."

Loki warily watched the Deviants Leader, then glanced at the Abomination Xenomorph. A wicked smile curved across his lips once more.

The second greatest sorcerer of the Nine Realms was always full of confidence.