Don't Drag Me Down!

"Loki!?"

Seeing the lifeless face beneath him, Thor quickly moved aside and scooped Loki up from the ground.

The emotion and affection written all over his face made the four royal guards shudder. Then, in unison, they scattered to fight Algrim.

"My dear brother, I never thought you'd actually use your body to catch me!"

"You're too foolish, really. With my physique, you never needed to do that!"

Thor had originally thought that Loki had grown distant from him as he got older, that their bond had faded.

He never expected that Loki was merely bad at expressing himself. Deep down, he truly loved his older brother.

Otherwise, he would not have rushed forward so recklessly to serve as a human cushion, terrified that Thor might get hurt!

Come to think of it, Loki's prankish illusion magic in Asgard, his cheap shots below the belt, and his personal attacks...

They had all just been attempts to get Thor's attention!

He wanted his older brother to pay more attention to the neglected younger brother!

Yet Thor had gotten angry over those methods Loki used to seek attention. Not only had he beaten Loki half to death, he had even gone to complain to their father!

The more Thor thought about it, the more he felt like he was truly a piece of shit. Damn it, he deserved to die!

Overwhelmed with guilt, a tear slid from the corner of his eye.

Then he straightened Loki by the shoulders, his face filled with sincerity and love.

"Loki, I'm sorry. I'll never hit you again. I'll protect you properly and never let anyone bully you!"

Thor's baffling behavior and words made Loki feel as though his intelligence was being ground mercilessly against the floor.

He was the God of Mischief, not the God of Idiots!

And before saying that, could Thor please stop gripping so hard? This brute was about to crush his shoulders!

Though he complained inwardly, Loki opened his mouth, ready to sweet-talk Thor along with his nonsense.

The four royal guards battling Algrim in the distance had exchanged only a move or two before they were all sent flying.

Then Algrim locked onto Thor again, raised his fist, and charged over like a gale.

"Thor, watch your back!"

Hearing the guards' warning, Thor's muscles reacted faster than his brain. He immediately rolled aside without hesitation.

Then a green figure with aggrieved eyes shot backward into the distance at tremendous speed.

"Loki!!!"

Seeing his brother—whom he had just promised to protect—sent flying, Thor's fury instantly reached its peak.

With a gesture, his hammer flew back into his hand.

Terrifying lightning gathered and spread across the hammer. In the blink of an eye, it connected with the thunderclouds in the sky, forming an enormous burst of electric light.

"You son of a bitch Dark Elf, die!"

Thor kicked off the ground and leaped high into the air, smashing the lightning-wreathed hammer down at Algrim below.

Rumble!

The hammer collided with the fist, erupting in blinding light. The shockwave from the collision became a ring of air that swept across the entire area.

The floor beneath them cracked outward in a web, then collapsed into a massive pit!

This magical attack was clearly far more effective than the previous ones.

Algrim, struck head-on, was finally injured.

One of his arms hung twisted unnaturally across his chest. His chest itself had caved in, exposing the black-and-red flesh within.

Even the mask on his face had been blasted away by the lightning, revealing an ugly, shriveled black face like charcoal.

"Haha, ugly bastard, now you know how powerful your grandpa Thor is, huh!"

Having washed away his humiliation, Thor wore a wild grin.

That had been his full-force strike, body and hammer as one. It had definitely severely injured his opponent!

Honestly, if that hammer had landed on Loki, Asgard would be hosting a funeral feast tomorrow!

No, why was he thinking about hammering Loki?

That was his beloved family, his brother in blood and spirit!

Thor shook his head, dispelling that inexplicable thought. Then he raised Thor's Hammer high again, ready to follow up with another blow.

However, before the lightning could descend from the sky this time,

Algrim, whom Thor had assumed was severely injured, suddenly reached out, seized him by the throat, and lifted him up, interrupting his spell.

"Arrogant Asgardian, what gave you the idea that you could defeat me?"

"That hammer that can generate electricity?"

As he spoke, the wounds Algrim had suffered from the hammer and lightning had already healed by more than half!

That was the terror of a Cursed Warrior. As long as their cells had not completely exhausted their life force, they could regenerate at high speed!

"Thor!" x4

Seeing the situation take a sharp turn for the worse, the four royal guards disregarded their injuries and rushed forward to rescue him.

But they had not been Algrim's match even when uninjured. Now that they were hurt, they could not even withstand one move before all being sent flying unconscious.

As Algrim's fingers tightened, Thor's face swelled red from lack of oxygen, and his limbs thrashed desperately as he tried to break free.

Just when Thor thought he was truly going to die here,

A red shield suddenly appeared and slammed heavily into the arm choking him, allowing him to escape.

It was Alexei, after settling Yelena somewhere safe!

"Thunder god kid from outer space, we're even now."

Alexei used his shield to block Algrim's descending heavy punch and grinned broadly.

"I'm Thor of Asgard, and I'm already over fifteen hundred years old!"

Thor quickly steadied himself, then curled his fingers and recalled Thor's Hammer before charging forward again, ready to join forces against their enemy.

"Over fifteen hundred years old!?"

Alexei was so shocked that he nearly failed to block Algrim's heavy punch with his shield.

"Fine, then, whatever-gard's alien thunder god grandpa. I'll take the left, you take the right. Don't drag me down!"

"Drag you down?"

Thor sneered as his hammer summoned a sky full of lightning once more.

Rumble!

Violent lightning crashed down. It did little damage to Algrim, but Alexei beside him started dancing like he was being hit by lasers.

Amid blue-white flashes bright enough to reveal his bones, he stood there with an exploded beard, spewing black smoke from his mouth.

"You're the one who shouldn't drag me down!"

Thor had barely formed a mocking smile when, the next second, Algrim—no longer restrained by Alexei—slapped him straight into the ground.

London Sanctum.

A portal opened within the Sanctum.

Natasha and Clea hurried out of it.

"After copying so many rules, I can finally sneak out and have fun again! Yay!"

Taking in the Sanctum's surroundings, Natasha instantly shook off her listlessness and cheered.

"Please, you only copied five hundred times. I copied the other fifteen hundred, okay!"

Clea looked just as drained.

To get Natasha to help, she had paid a heavy price.

After working without sleep for an entire day and night, she had not only copied five hundred of the thousand punishments Natasha had received.

She had even copied in advance the thousand times Natasha was punished for breaking the rules and sneaking out this time.

"Aww, my dear sister, you've worked so hard~" Natasha grabbed Clea's hand and kept rubbing it.

"But don't worry, I promise I'll help you handle this beautifully!"

As the two spoke, the mage stationed at the London Sanctum interrupted them.

"You two should hurry and complete the master's test. The situation over there is already extremely critical."

"If you delay any longer, those S.H.I.E.L.D. agents outside might tear this Sanctum apart."