"You little..."
"Fandral!"
The first thing Fandral did after coming to his senses was charge at John, but Thor stopped him.
"Thor?"
"Yes. It's good to see you, my friend."
Seeing Thor, Fandral abandoned his rash impulse and embraced him.
John rubbed the back of his hand. "You lot really like hugging."
Walking inside with his wand in his left hand, John strolled over to Selvig's seat and sat down.
He placed his pocket watch on the table and opened it.
Its ticking filled the air.
Thor came over as well. He stood opposite John, his expression serious. "Who are you?"
"That's the third time I've heard that question today," John said. "You don't know?"
He raised the wand in his hand. "Isn't it obvious?"
"A wizard?" Thor thought of John's magic and asked, "Midgard has wizards now?"
"It always has. We just don't show ourselves very often." John rubbed his chin. "Your father probably banished you here because he thought your life wouldn't be in danger."
"How do you know all this?" Thor asked warily.
"Someone told me, so now I know." John chuckled. "Don't think Asgard is the only place with these abilities, Thor."
Thor's convictions wavered. He had always thought Midgard was weak.
Its people neither lived for a thousand years nor possessed great power. Among the Nine Realms, Midgard was unquestionably dead last.
But John's appearance changed his view of this place.
"Sorry, you're a wizard?" Jane stared blankly at John.
The astrophysicist had recently had her worldview shaken by far too many things.
First came Thor, falling out of the sky, followed by the Nine Realms and the World Tree. Now a wizard had appeared as well.
What was real, and what was fake?
"Then what do you want with me, wizard?" Thor, too, had taken in a great deal of information.
Especially the fact that his own younger brother had lied to him about their father's death.
It left him both angry and heartbroken.
"For now, I'm filling in for a certain bald man to keep the world safe. Naturally, visiting gods like you need to be monitored."
John glanced at the time on his pocket watch. "But you'll be leaving soon anyway."
"Of course. We're taking Thor back," Sif said. "We need to expose Loki's plot."
"Oh, taking a powerless god of thunder back?" John glanced at Sif and rubbed his chin. "You must really hate him. Otherwise, you'd never send him back to die."
Sif was left speechless.
They had all forgotten to consider one thing.
Thor had been banished and now had no power whatsoever.
If he went before Loki, he wouldn't even withstand a single slap.
"I can stop him. I swear it in the name of Asgard," Thor vowed.
That successfully rallied Sif and the Warriors Three.
John was speechless. "With that much confidence, you're relying on belief even more than magic does."
He looked at Thor with disdain. "Can you lift the hammer?"
"Without your divine power, are you hoping Loki will spare you out of brotherly love?"
"Or do you think your sleeping father will wake up, hold you in his arms and weep, then pass the throne to you?"
His barrage of mockery left Thor unable to respond.
"Don't forget, your father personally banished you." John picked up the pocket watch and tossed it over. "In theory, there's nothing wrong with your brother inheriting the throne. You have one minute left to make a decision."
With Odin asleep and Thor banished, Loki was, by all appearances, Asgard's rightful heir.
Thor caught the pocket watch, stunned. "What decision?"
"Whether to work with me or go back with your friends."
John smiled. "Equivalent exchange. A fair trade."
"You only need to pay a small price."
"Wizard, you don't understand how terrifying a god can be." Thor tossed the pocket watch back and refused. "I can't let you throw your life away."
"All right, if that's how you feel." John glanced at the pocket watch, whose hand was about to complete its circuit, and rose gracefully. "Then I hope you make it back."
He looked outside and said calmly, "Because the storm is already here."
Everyone turned to look.
A massive tornado carrying dust and smoke slowly descended.
Coulson was crouching in front of the Bifrost marking where the four Asgardians had arrived, studying it.
"Find someone who studies languages."
He thought the symbol was composed of some kind of special language.
The energy anomaly S.H.I.E.L.D. had detected originated here.
Suddenly, a storm arrived.
He looked up. The sky had already darkened.
A vortex was forming in the clouds, sweeping down toward the ground.
The powerful wind rocked the cars. Coulson realized something was wrong. This was no ordinary tornado.
"Everyone, get behind the cars!"
As he gave the order, the tornado touched down.
Coulson nearly got swept away even as he hid behind a car.
The raging tornado shook the cars, threatening to carry them away.
A short while later, the tornado subsided.
In its place stood a towering suit of armor.
The bald man sheltering beside Coulson asked, "Another one of Stark's creations?"
Coulson wasn't sure either. "That guy never tells me anything."
Taking out a megaphone, Coulson stepped out from behind the car.
The Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. drew their weapons, ready to attack at any moment, while he approached first to negotiate.
What he didn't know was that Tony Stark hadn't created this thing. It wasn't even technology from this planet.
It was the Destroyer, and it had come to destroy.
It was one of Asgard's powerful guardians.
The moment they faced it, the Destroyer's faceplate retracted. Flames churned within, turning into a powerful laser that destroyed the cars blocking its path.
The team S.H.I.E.L.D. took such pride in was routed once again.
They were utterly outmatched.
Coulson's bad luck continued that day. Clutching his head where he had struck it, he hurriedly contacted S.H.I.E.L.D.
Something they would have trouble handling had arrived.
The Destroyer never stopped walking, heading toward Old Bridge Town.
Everything in its path was reduced to scorched earth.
Thor, who had been planning to return with the Asgardian Warriors, saw it too.
He had never imagined his younger brother would be determined to kill him.
Sorrow filled his eyes, but evacuating the civilians was the immediate priority.
John watched everyone run outside and casually slipped his pocket watch into his pocket.
He walked leisurely out the door.
"Asgard's gods really are arrogant."
He watched idly as the Destroyer swaggered into Old Bridge Town, demolishing the buildings in its path.
Thor was assigning tasks to his friends, just as he had during their battles in Asgard.
At the same time, he understood all too well that he was now mortal. He couldn't fight such a powerful being and could only help with the evacuation.
"When you start caring about civilians, you start looking like Wong." John's gaze deepened.
He took another step, and something grabbed the back of his foot.
He looked down. A little golden fellow was clinging to his foot.
A flicker of delighted surprise crossed John's eyes. "Star Spirit?"
"Bikabi!"
He had never expected this little fellow to appear in New Mexico.
The Star Spirit climbed up John's leg to his shoulder and rubbed against his cheek, even more excited than John was.
This was a being unique to the magical world.
An Astral Spirit Guardian.
They existed because of the Wizard King.
Yes, John had created them.
After the Wizard King founded the Wizarding Kingdom, these little fellows became guardians wherever magic existed.
Their kind was rare, numbering only around fifty Astral Spirit Guardians in total, yet they were part of the magical world's hidden strength.
Scattered across the world, finding one was like looking for a needle in a haystack.
Yet, unexpectedly, there was an Astral Spirit Guardian in New Mexico.
It was a truly delightful surprise.
The Astral Spirit Guardian was thrilled to meet its creator.
It didn't spare even a glance for the rampaging Destroyer.
But after a while, the Star Spirit looked up in confusion.
Puzzlement filled its eyes. Something seemed wrong with its creator.
John, however, didn't notice the Star Spirit's feelings. He was watching the show.
Down the street, the warriors from Asgard had already begun fighting the Destroyer.
John remembered there being a Mecha like that.
But Thor would eventually lift Mjolnir again and end the fight anyway.
So he wasn't worried at all.
"I remember Asgard has a metal called Uru."
John narrowed his eyes and studied the Destroyer.
He remembered three powerful metals in Marvel.
Adamantium, vibranium, and Uru Metal.
Since this thing came from Asgard, it was probably made of uru, right?
Uru was a metal with exceptional magical properties, more effective than mithril or gold.
Such a large quantity of Uru Metal might let him upgrade his Limited Gauntlet.
Although the Limited Gauntlet was one of his masterpieces, its limited materials and lack of subsequent use had left it struggling to keep up with his needs.
If he could obtain Uru Metal, a metal superior to its current materials, John might not turn it into a divine artifact, but he could at least bring it close to the Infinity Gauntlet.
In John's eyes, the enormous Destroyer Armor before him had already become upgrade material.
The battle took a sharp turn for the worse.
The four Asgardian Warriors possessed formidable combat experience and skill, but they still couldn't defeat the legendary Destroyer that guarded the Vault.
Gripping his enormous axe, Volstagg was hurled toward the Destroyer by the other two warriors, only to be blasted away by a single shot.
Just as his life seemed about to end, Sif leaped from a building and drove her spear through the armor's neck.
If there had been someone inside, that might have ended the battle. But this was a suit of armor.
What greeted Sif was a devastating blast after the Destroyer reversed its body.
Though Sif dodged in time, the Destroyer's overwhelming power still left them utterly crushed.
Thor ran back after evacuating the civilians and saw John standing there, watching the show.
Seeing the Asgardian Warriors survive several direct hits from the Destroyer, John couldn't help marveling at the Asgardians' physical resilience.
"They could probably tear Stark's armor apart with their bare hands."
The differences in physical constitution were immense. Even the Iron Man Armor, a culmination of the United States' most advanced technology, probably couldn't defeat these gods.
"Gods indeed, even if they're a little different from what I imagined." John was even in the mood to applaud.
Seeing this, Thor roared, "Aren't you going to help?"
"Me?" John looked astonished. "Didn't you refuse to make a deal with me?"
"You're a Midgardian!" In Thor's experience, everyone fought for their own realm. He said urgently, "You're a wizard! Ordinary attacks can't hurt that thing!"
But he hadn't expected John to completely ignore the usual script.
"Let me clarify something first," John said seriously. "Even on this planet, we're divided into over a hundred countries."
"And unfortunately, I'm not from this country."
Hearing that, Thor grew furious.
"You're this place's guardian!"
"To be precise, it is."
John lifted the Star Spirit in his hand and shrugged. "Maybe if you talk it over with it, it'll help you."
The Star Spirit folded its arms across its chest, looking thoroughly pleased with itself.
Thor looked at the Star Spirit, then at John. "Are you kidding me?"
"If you don't believe me, fine. We can still make a deal." John gave him a friendly smile, certainly not taking advantage of his predicament. "The choice is yours."
Thor was torn. He didn't even know what the deal involved.
The Destroyer attacked again, demolishing several buildings this time.
The explosion sent Selvig and the others flying, leaving Thor frantic with worry.
"Fine, I agree!"
"Then we have a deal." Beaming, John patted Thor on the shoulder and said meaningfully, "Go get him."
"What?"
Thor was dumbfounded. I asked you to step in, and now you're telling me to go?
What does this deal even involve?
Before you continue