Doctor Strange kept tracing circles with the hand that wore his Sling Ring.
A golden spark flickered in the air, then rapidly expanded. Thor and Loki flew through the opening one after the other.
A sea of fire greeted their eyes.
All of Asgard was engulfed in raging flames. Doctor Strange stepped through the Portal behind them, froze for a moment, and looked at Thor, who stood silently at the front.
Dancing flames were reflected in Thor's eyes. His anxious expression slowly settled as he stared fixedly at the figure standing in the heart of the inferno.
At that figure's feet lay the goddess Sif, half her head hacked away.
Donald tilted his head toward the three men staring at him. He scratched his head with the hilt of his blade, then lifted one foot and planted it on the remaining half of Sif's head.
"How strange."
Donald seemed to be speaking to them, yet also to himself.
"Why were these people so afraid when I hacked them to death?"
"Shouldn't people be smiling, even when they die?"
Doctor Strange looked past Donald at the mountains of corpses, scattered limbs, and pools of blood. His scalp prickled. He pulled his hands apart, raising a Magic Shield in each. In all his years, he had never encountered an enemy so consumed by slaughter.
Thor turned back. He was clearly struggling to contain his rage, every muscle in his face twitching and contorting.
"Doctor, you don't need to intervene. This is...
"...Asgard's family business."
Thor, who had originally hoped to find a way to soothe Donald's resentment, was now so furious that he had almost lost his reason. But there was one thing he knew for certain.
Now, only one side could leave alive.
The hatred between them had become irreconcilable. Even