I'm a Close Combat Mage Today!

"What?" Tony was flying in a different direction from Fanny and was distracted as he looked for Loki, so he was very confused by Fanny's sudden question.

"Forget about it!"

Fanny thought that maybe it was just a coincidence. Loki might not even choose the Stark Building to open the space portal this time, although that building was rather conspicuous.

Unfortunately, as they systematically searched through the city, Tony finally saw Fanny and Thor heading to the same place as he was. He suddenly realized what Fanny had meant.

"Loki is in my building?"

"Well, unless you keep a Quinjet around for some reason!"

Fanny stopped in the air, looking at the Quinjet parked on the top-floor balcony of the towering building. A group of people was hastily installing some equipment not far from it, including Dr. Erik Selvig, one of the doctors captured by Loki.

Fanny didn't hesitate and shot an 'Explosion Magic' right at the equipment before he even finished speaking. Whatever they're doing, it can't be at Tony's request.

However, a bright white light beam came from the tower and blocked Fanny's 'Explosion Magic.'

Loki slowly walked out of the Quinjet with the Scepter in his hand and a full Asgard combat suit, including the long-horned helmet. He stood in front of his team.

"Loki!" Thor immediately rushed down after seeing Loki, giving Fanny no time to react. Fanny could only frown and land alongside the Thunder God.

Tony didn't join them in attacking Loki and entered his building from another entrance. His armor was damaged, but there should be enough time to switch to the new armor before teaching Loki just whose land he had trespassed.

"It seems that you have recovered well!" Loki smugly greeted; his confident indifference and elegance contrasted Thor's rage and humiliation. "And you, where is that dragon?!"

Loki looked around, but he found no sign of Blue-Eyes White Dragon. He continued, "You still have a chance to obey the will of your God. Join me, and rule the Earth by my side. I will fulfill your every wish!"

"All of them?" Fanny suddenly asked curiously, "What if I ask you to turn into a woman and marry Thor?!"

"???" Thor shot a confused glare at Fanny in protest. He subconsciously imagined Loki turning into a woman; the image sent a chill down his spine. He quickly thought about Jane Foster again to clean his mind.

Loki's expression changed. Rage filled his face after seeing Thor's reaction. He tightened his grip on the Scepter, his voice cold, "Mortal, I will not tolerate this blasphemy!"

"I offer you a divine blessing, and you made the biggest mistake of your life by refusing it. Now, taste the power of your friend, Hulk!"

A roar followed from within the building. Glass shattered, raining down along with a green giant rushing to Loki's side.

Hulk's eyes had a slight blue glow to them, and his rage was out of control.

"Is this how you expect you will win?!" Fanny looked at Hulk. There was no joy or happiness in Hulk's eyes—as if the green giant didn't recognize Fanny.

Fanny didn't have many people that he considered as friends, and Hulk was among those few. Therefore, despite already expecting to face Hulk, Fanny's anger still exploded within his heart.

"To be honest, it was really surprising that such a puny world had contained so many special people!" Loki looked at Hulk beside him. He had thought that the people of Earth had vastly exaggerated the information about the green giant, but after seeing for himself, he found that everything about Hulk was the truth.

"You will regret coming to Earth; I promise you that!" Fanny said expressionlessly. He clenched his fists; the time for banter was over.

"Loki, return the Cube, and let's go home!" Thor shouted when he noticed Fanny preparing to make a move. He still hoped to avoid fighting with Loki.

"You are still as naive as ever, brother!" Loki sneered. A complex mixture of feelings flashed in his eyes, but he said nothing else to Thor. Instead, he gave an order to Hulk, "Kill them!"

Roar!

Hulk roared as he rushed at Fanny and Thor, one booming step at a time. Several laser weapons were fired to accompany his charge.

Fanny took off and increased his altitude to avoid the attack. He then saw a group of Chitauri soldiers exits the building.

"Loki already opened the portal?!"

Fanny was shocked, but immediately dismissed that thought. Loki would've made his big move if the portal was already open. He probably reported that the Earth was stronger than he thought and requested some reinforcements.

The big portal was one thing, but Loki might be able to open smaller portals on his own.

These Chitauri soldiers were at the top of the top among the army, the rare few soldiers capable of independent action without direct control from their mothership.

But Fanny wasn't too worried; it's not like Loki had summoned Thanos himself. Rocket the Raccoon had once noted that the Chitauri were the worst army in the universe. Their invasions were horrible, of course, but so was their power level.

Even these elites were not much stronger than the ordinary rank and file, and their equipment was not much better. In the end, their greatest strength was in their numbers.

Loki also wasn't so conceited that he could get rid of Fanny just with this handful of soldiers. His hope was set on Hulk.

He had planned to trap Fanny in the previous base, but the sudden appearance of Blue-Eyes White Dragon had foiled it. Now he could only hope to stall Fanny until the portal in the sky could open.

Nobody should be able to close the great portal once it opens.

Seeing Fanny fly up into the air, Hulk turned to face Thor. Thor had not seen Hulk, nor had he been informed about the giant, so he made the wrong decision.

Even though Hulk's muscles and build were not to be trifled with, as Asgard's warrior, he never judged strength based on physique alone.

If Thor had been more cautious and used his hammer to fight against Hulk, the result might be different. Unfortunately, he threw his hammer in order to deal with the Chitauri soldiers.

Thor rushed to clash head-on with Hulk, but this was a fully enraged Hulk. The result was obviously predictable.

Just as Fanny finished thinking about how the Chitauri soldiers had appeared, he saw that Thor had been launched off the building by Hulk's punch.

Fortunately, with Thor's Mjolnir hammer, Fanny didn't have to worry about the Thunder God falling to death.

After dealing with Thor, Hulk roared and turned to Fanny again. Fanny was about to open the portal to send Hulk away when Tony reappeared with updated armor.

Tony wasn't wearing his sleek Mark Seven armor, but instead, he was wearing the bulky and powerful 'Hulk-Buster Armor.'

Fanny shook his head when he saw the immense proportion of the 'Hulk-Buster Armor.' It was obvious that the armor was designed according to Tony's tastes.

Tony obviously still held a grudge over that one time he was sent flying by Hulk's punch and wanted to give the green giant a taste of his own medicine.

However, Fanny felt that unless the entirety of the 'Hulk-Buster Armor' was made of Vibranium, and unless the technology was a step more advanced, the armor was woefully insufficient to deal with Hulk.

And forget about dealing with the enraged Hulk. Even solid Vibranium armor would be torn into pieces.

Tony and his Hulk-Buster Armor caught Hulk's attention the moment he appeared. As if sensing the malicious intent, Hulk ignored Fanny and rushed towards Tony.

Fortunately, the Stark Building had been renovated from top to bottom due to Ivan's attack. Otherwise, it might not be able to withstand the ensuing battle.

Despite the fierce battle around them, Erik Selvig and his crew continued installing their equipment without a care in the world. Loki jealously guarded the crew, watching the battle with rapt attention.

Fanny didn't want to delay any longer. He again prepared to open the portal to whisk Hulk away.

However, just as Fanny was about to open the portal, Loki also made a move. Loki poked the Tesseract with the Scepter, creating a flash of light blue energy.

Fanny frowned. The space around him had suddenly become chaotic and unstable. It was as if a kind and gentle girl had suddenly transformed into an old and evil witch.

Fanny did not dare to continue with the portal spell. He didn't want to send Hulk to a random point in outer space or an alien planet.

Thor returned moments later with the Mjolnir. Fanny immediately instructed the Thunder God, "Go and help Tony deal with Hulk. I'll take care of Loki."

Normally, Fanny would've let Thor handle Loki while he dealt with Hulk. But Loki was on the cusp of success. It would be trivial for the God of Mischief to confuse Thor and stall for enough time to open the portal.

Fanny didn't wait for Thor's response and immediately flew towards Loki while chanting the spell for 'Explosion Magic.'

"Darker than black, darker than darkness,"

"Combine with my True Red!"

"The time for awakening has arrived."

"Descend within these boundaries,"

"And appear as intangible distortion."

"!"

Red magic array filled the sky. The people of New York City around the building recognized the anomaly in the sky and began yelling, "Knight of Divine Punishment!"

This was the first time that Loki had seen this power. His expression wavered. Before his arrival on Earth, he would have no way to deal with such an attack other than to dodge it.

But right now, he wielded the power of the Infinity stones. Dealing with Fanny's attack would prove trivial to him.

Loki gripped the Scepter in his hand tightly. As if responding to the ferocious 'Explosion Magic', the Mind Stone in the Scepter shone brightly, enveloping the area with a pure white energy shield.

Boom!

The crimson flames collided with the white energy shield, and the shockwave sent Tony, Thor, Hulk, and the group of Chitauri soldiers flying off the building. The already messy top floor was absolutely ruined. Almost nothing survived from its original structure.

Fanny frowned; Loki had resisted the 'Explosion Magic.' The energy shield flickered, but it no doubt held on.

Fanny was slightly out of breath. He noticed that Loki's face was pale as well; it probably wouldn't be easy for the God of Mischief to withstand the next attack. But it won't be easy for Fanny to fire another full-strength 'Explosion Magic' either. Fanny descended from the sky, ignoring Tony and the others. He still believed that he could deal with Loki on his own.

Fanny wasted no time activating the seventh skill he just extracted today, 'Breathing Style.' A faint red light wrapped around the silvery-white 'Demon Armor Incursio.'

With the triple buffs of 'Demon Armor Incursio,' 'Breathing Style,' and 'Ars Magna,' his physical strength was at an unprecedented level.

Fanny gathered his power. With a single step, his figure disappeared as if he had teleported. He reappeared right in front of Loki less than a second later, right in time to see the God of Mischief's shocked face!

"I will be a close-combat mage today!"

His punch cleanly slammed Loki's fair and clean little face.