Malekith was not dead, but he was crippled.
The sniper hurried to reload. That last shot had used up the Magic Crystal in the magazine.
Only this kind of power source allowed them to switch energy forms for different attacks.
A chill had run down Thor's spine a moment earlier. Fortunately, that shot had not been aimed at him.
Recovering, Thor gripped Mjolnir and lifted the last Conical Device, ready to pin Malekith down and kill him as though staking a vampire.
"Aaargh!"
He raised his weapon high and roared.
Just as he was about to bring it down, the sound of hoofbeats approached from the distance.
Thor's expression changed. He gritted his teeth and continued his swing.
Up in the sky.
Beyond the blood-dark Aether, a troop of Skeleton Horses swooped down from the dark clouds.
The Red Knight at their head wore a horrifying mask and drew his weapon as he descended from the sky.
"Expecto Patronum!"
A series of explosive cracks rang out across the rooftops.
Aurors in button-front trench coats appeared one after another.
Thirteen in all.
They waved their wands, and silvery-white Patronuses in various animal forms leaped skyward from beside six of them.
The scene resembled an inverted holy war between heaven and hell.
The people who witnessed it could not help stopping in their tracks, their eyes wide as they watched this miracle unfold.
The Patronuses collided with the wraiths of the Wild Hunt.
The Wild Hunt's Skeleton Horses whinnied in terror, while the riders swung their weapons at the Patronuses.
In contrast to those horrifying creatures, some of the Patronuses were rabbits, some were dogs, and others were stags and roe deer.
People trusted their senses first. Even if this had not been a crisis, the sight alone would have made them