Malekith's infiltrator arrived at Asgard's Court of Sinners with a stone hidden inside his body that could trigger his transformation.
"Keep moving! Pick up the pace!"
The Asgard Guards urged the prisoners onward. The infiltrator blended into the line, observing his surroundings as he walked at an unhurried pace.
The rebels of the Nine Realms included plenty of strange-looking races. Wearing a mask, the infiltrator hardly stood out among this bizarre crowd.
A guard stood every few dozen meters on either side of the road leading to the Court of Sinners. Lights on the walls illuminated the surrounding darkness, and their neatly worn armor and weapons gleamed in the firelight.
The infiltrator glanced around and lightly touched his waist. The pain there reassured him.
"Get inside!"
The guards marched the prisoners up to a cell, which clearly already had occupants.
"Oh my, have more toys arrived?"
Bodies lay scattered across the cell floor, with no telling whether they were dead or alive. A foul, bloody stench assaulted their noses.
"What have you done this time?!"
The guards glared warily at the blond boy before them.
"Huh? Are you questioning me?"
The amusement in the boy's golden eyes vanished in an instant. He straightened up and narrowed his eyes. "You fools. Being allowed to stand here and speak to me is already a privilege."
"Don't overestimate yourselves and try my patience."
The guards' expressions changed sharply, as though they had been humiliated.
The prisoners waiting nearby could not help silently reassessing the boy's strength and the crimes he must have committed. Anyone who could make the Asgard Guards this wary had to be someone formidable.
The infiltrator's heart tightened at the sight. He began to worry that this boy might obstruct the mission Malekith had given him.
The blond boy snorted.