The Queen Welcomes Him Personally

Apocalypse and the others sped through the rainbow light. Beyond the Rainbow Bridge, countless stars glittered, only to be flung behind them in an instant.

No one knew how many universes and stretches of spacetime they had crossed.

Nor did they know how much time had passed. It seemed like an instant, yet also like an eternity.

Suddenly, the rainbow light withdrew, and the group of six appeared in the Rainbow Control Room.

At the center of the Rainbow Control Room stood a raised platform, upon which rested the Guardian Sword. It was still connected to the rainbow passage, its entire body crackling with white lightning.

Heimdall lay unconscious beside the Guardian Sword.

Loki had previously frozen him with the Casket of Ancient Winters, severely injuring him. After hearing the call, he had forcibly shattered the ice seal and expended the last of his strength.

Thor hurried over to inspect him. Finding that he was only unconscious, Thor sighed in relief.

He said to Fandral, "Take him to the medical room. The rest of you, come with me to the palace."

"Yes!"

Apocalypse hurriedly surveyed the control room. The entire chamber was magnificently gilded, built beneath a hemispherical dome.

The walls were covered in layered circular patterns, each one densely carved with ancient, mysterious runes.

Beyond the control room was the true body of the Rainbow Bridge.

The seven-colored divine light that usually carried Asgardians between different planets and universes was also called the Rainbow Bridge, but strictly speaking, it was merely an energy passage created by the Rainbow Bridge.

The Rainbow Bridge itself was dozens of meters wide and several kilometers long, spanning the Sea of Asgard. One end connected to the Rainbow Control Room, while the other led to the land of Asgard.

Its surface was a dark yellow, translucent crystal. No one knew what material it was made from, but it flashed continuously with seven-colored divine light day and night.

Looking down the bridge, they could already see fires burning in the distance, while battle cries and shouts of slaughter carried from miles away.

Thor grew anxious. "Loki has already made his move. I'll head to the palace first. Keep up!"

With a whooshing swing of his hammer, he vanished from their sight in the blink of an eye.

Damn it! Apocalypse cursed inwardly. At least take me with you.

He could jump very far, but he did not know the palace's exact location. If he started jumping around recklessly without anyone to guide him, he might be mistaken for an enemy.

Finding Sif, Fandral, Hogun, Volstagg, and the others too slow, Apocalypse directly swept Sif up.

"Show me the way."

With that, he shot into the sky.

Sif instinctively struggled at first, but then considered the bigger picture. She could not break free anyway. So she stopped resisting and pointed out the way in midair.

Fandral, Hogun, and Volstagg exchanged looks, their expressions instead relaxing.

With those two powerful fighters joining the battle, there was no longer any need for the three of them to worry about the palace. If even those two could not handle it, the three of them would not be much help.

They might as well clear out the Frost Giant soldiers causing destruction along the way.

Asgard Royal Palace.

The Allfather Odin lay peacefully inside the hibernation chamber in his bedchamber.

Queen Frigga guarded her husband at the entrance. Whenever a Frost Giant broke in, she would draw her sword and fight.

However, she specialized in sorcery and was a witch. Her frontal combat strength was not great. After cutting down one soldier, she was slapped aside by Frost Giant King Laufey, leaving her powerless to resist.

Laufey stepped forward. His icy blue hands passed through the golden energy shield and reached into the hibernation chamber, slowly prying open Odin's eyelids.

"I know you can still hear me and see everything around you! Remember this: the one who kills you is the Frost Giant King—Laufey!"

Laufey extended his hand, conjuring an ice blade that he raised high, ready to kill Odin.

Suddenly, a beam of divine light appeared behind him and struck him off the hibernation chamber with a bang.

Laufey was severely wounded. He struggled to lift his head, his face full of shock.

He simply could not believe that the one who had ambushed him was Loki, the God of Mischief who had conspired with him!

Loki raised his scepter again, his expression dark. "The one who kills you is Odin's son!"

With another crackling burst, a beam of divine light completely destroyed Laufey.

The leader of a race had died just like that, inexplicably, beside Odin's bed.

Until his death, Laufey could not understand why Loki had killed him.

What he had not expected even more was that Loki was his own biological blood!

In his mind, Loki had used him to kill his brother and father in order to seize the throne. That perfectly suited the cruel, cold nature of the God of Mischief.

Such was the way of a great tyrant!

To those in power, it was the most reasonable and logical explanation imaginable.

Never in his wildest dreams had he expected that Loki did not care about the throne or his reputation. He merely wanted to prove to Odin and Frigga that he was a more qualified, more outstanding son than Thor.

He had even cruelly killed his own biological father on the spot, and intended to exterminate the Frost Giants, completely severing himself from his former bloodline.

Every scheme and every drop of blood had merely been for Loki to stage this performance before the queen.

When Apocalypse had watched this plot unfold, he had practically coughed up three liters of blood!

No one whose mind had not twisted itself into knots could do something so childish, willful, and cruel.

Yet this was Loki—the God of Mischief!

And Frigga, who had been knocked aside, had truly been fooled. She said to Loki emotionally, "You saved your father!"

Then she gave Loki a loving embrace.

A trace of smug satisfaction hid at the corner of Loki's lips as he said, "Mother, I swore to you that they would eventually pay for what they had done. I did it."

Just as he finished speaking, Thor and Apocalypse arrived one after the other.

Thor shouted, "Loki!"

Apocalypse looked over and saw Loki clad in armor, a cape draped over his shoulders, a golden scepter in his right hand, and a helmet on his head.

The helmet was dark gold, with two horns rising high from the forehead and curving backward. It was strange, yet carried a measure of majesty.

Compared to the broad, muscular Thor, Loki was leaner and more slender, with handsome features. Combined with his smile, he possessed a sinister sort of beauty.

This counted as Apocalypse's formal first meeting with Loki.

The last time, beside Thor's Hammer, Loki had been invisible and Apocalypse had not revealed himself. Both had merely sensed the other's presence.

Frigga looked over, released Loki, and approached with a smile. "You've finally come."

Thor was overwhelmed, tears welling in his eyes as he strode forward. "Yes, Mother, I'm back."

To his surprise, Frigga walked straight past Thor and stopped before Apocalypse. "My husband Odin invited you only a few days ago. I thought we would not meet for who knew how many years, but just a few days later, here we are."

As she spoke, she warmly took Apocalypse's hand like an elder greeting a junior.

Thor froze awkwardly in place. A thought flashed through his mind. Did the Frost Giants knock Mother senseless? Can she really mistake her own son?

No, no. I can't think that about Mother.

He circled back in front of Frigga and said, "Ahem, Mother, I'm here. I'm Thor, the son you've been thinking about day and night. I'm back."

A faintly reproachful look appeared on Frigga's face. "I know. You're over a thousand years old, yet you're still so reckless. Can't you see that I'm receiving a guest?"

"Asgard is in the midst of a crisis, and the palace is already in chaos. That is rude enough. As a prince, you should treat guests with even greater courtesy."

Not only was Thor baffled by those words, but even Apocalypse could not understand them.

Even if he could lift Thor's Hammer, being treated as an ordinary guest would have been enough. There was no reason for the queen to cast aside her two sons and personally welcome him so formally.

"Him?" Thor burst out laughing. "Mother, he's a brother I met on Earth. We've drunk together and fought together. You don't need to be so polite to him. If we're talking rank, he's an Earthling under Asgard's rule. He should be the one bowing to you."

"What do you know?" Frigga reproached him. "He may be your brother, but that does not prevent him from being an honored guest of Asgard. Strictly speaking, he is an Earthling, yet not entirely one. He comes from a higher dimension—a more real dimension."