"Thor... you... you've regained your powers?" Skurge felt his tongue tying itself in knots.
Without his powers, Thor wasn't much stronger than an ordinary human. But now, Thor could kill him with a single finger. The mighty reputation of Thor, God of Thunder, hadn't been built on his status as the Son of Odin. He'd earned it through countless brutal battles across the Nine Realms.
"Skurge, you've had quite a lot against me lately," Thor said with a cold laugh.
"N-no, I wouldn't dare, Son of Odin." Skurge dropped to one knee before Thor without hesitation.
"Are you unhappy with how I handled things?" Thor continued.
"No, I just... I just don't think we can let this go. After all, he's only a mortal." Skurge struggled to choose his words.
"Heh. And yet you were completely helpless against that mortal," Thor mocked.
Skurge's face flushed red, but he didn't dare show Thor the slightest disrespect. He could only explain, "I'm just an executioner, but you're the noble Son of Odin, Thor, whose might is renowned throughout the Nine Realms. If we let this go, Asgard's reputation will suffer too."
Thor looked at Skurge. In the past, words like those might have stoked his anger, but now he clearly sensed the provocation behind them. And while he used to raise Mjolnir and strike without hesitation whenever he caught someone deceiving him, he no longer let his emotions show so easily.
"Luo Xia did me a great favor. We're friends. And this talk of Asgard's reputation suffering—does that mean you plan to tell everyone about your own misfortune?" Thor asked Skurge.
"No, I didn't mean that. I just... I just..." Skurge couldn't think of a suitable excuse. He hadn't expected Thor's eloquence to improve along with his powers.
He'd thought that a