Chapter 117: Thor and Loki

As soon as he approached the hammer, Thor spotted Marcus standing nearby.

Marcus smiled at Thor, pointing at the hammer beside him. "Looks like you want this hammer pretty badly!"

Though he had no intention of stopping Thor, Marcus wanted to test how much fighting ability this Asgardian retained after losing his divine power and becoming mortal.

Raising his hand with a beckoning gesture, he smiled at Thor.

"Come show me what you've got!"

Hearing Marcus's challenge, Thor charged toward him without hesitation.

In his mind, all he needed to do was push past this man, reclaim his hammer, and transform back into the Asgardian god of thunder.

But imagination is beautiful, and reality is cruel. Thor, now a mortal, had only his strong physique—his fighting skills were no match for Marcus.

Especially with his mind fixated on the hammer, he wasn't focused on combat at all. The moment he rushed toward Marcus, he was kicked away effortlessly.

"Oh, I thought you were supposed to be powerful, but you're not very impressive."

Coulson, standing under the canopy to avoid the rain, nodded in agreement. This strongman was too reckless and didn't seem like someone who actually knew the hammer's origins.

Thor got up from the ground, covered in mud. He roared and rushed toward Marcus again, as if trying to fire himself up.

He understood that if he couldn't defeat the human before him, it would be impossible to reclaim Mjolnir.

Though his approach had always been somewhat reckless, Thor wasn't stupid. On the contrary, as Asgard's heir, he was actually quite intelligent.

After experiencing Marcus's strength firsthand, he planned to challenge the man before him and teach him a lesson.

Seeing Thor's punch coming, Marcus simply sidestepped to avoid the attack.

"I'd rather not get mud all over me!"

With those words, he kicked Thor again, sending him flying once more.

Thor rose slowly from the muddy puddle, gasping for breath from the pain. The man before him was far stronger than the soldiers he'd just fought, and he couldn't even land a hit.

Marcus had already figured out Thor's fighting style. As the Viking god from Norse mythology, Thor fought like the Vikings themselves—with powerful, direct attacks.

Against ordinary humans, Thor's straightforward style would give him an advantage.

But this didn't mean Thor could fight through crowds as he did in his godly days. After all, he was just a mortal now.

"Well... a strong ordinary person is actually less threatening than someone with a pistol. You really are weak."

Hearing Marcus's assessment, Thor let out a roar and charged again. Thunder suddenly boomed in the dark clouds overhead, as if Mjolnir was echoing its owner's thoughts.

Seeing Thor rushing at him again, Marcus, now bored with the fight, simply stepped aside, revealing the hammer behind him.

He'd lost interest in Thor's mortal form, but it would still be entertaining to watch him get rejected by his own hammer.

Seeing Marcus move out of the way, Thor calmed slightly. Since the other man wasn't trying to stop him anymore, he'd overlook the mockery for now.

As he approached Mjolnir, Thor's face lit up with joy. Soon he would regain his divine power and become the god of thunder once more, commanding wind and rain as before.

"Mjolnir, I've returned!"

As he spoke, he reached out to grasp the hammer's handle. The strong muscles in his arm bulged instantly as he exerted all his strength.

RUMBLE

The moment Thor gripped the handle, thunder and lightning flashed across the sky. Tony, who had just repaired the testing equipment, saw the monitor fill with interference the moment he powered it up.

"Sir...Sir, just...detected...massive...electromagnetic...disturbance..."

Jarvis's voice crackled through Tony's earpiece, the signal breaking up due to the powerful interference.

"A widespread electromagnetic surge?"

Watching Thor struggling to lift the hammer, Tony realized this electromagnetic disturbance was connected to the strongman.

"Is there some relationship between this guy and the hammer?"

However, Thor clearly disappointed everyone except Marcus. Although his touch triggered lightning and thunder, he, like everyone else who had tried, couldn't budge the hammer an inch.

"How is this possible! Father!!!"

Seeing that he'd failed to regain his divine power, Thor roared at the sky.

He couldn't believe his father Odin had truly exiled him, stripping him of his powers and leaving him mortal.

"Well, looks like you're not worthy of this hammer after all."

Looking at Thor kneeling on the ground, Marcus laughed. From joy to utter disappointment, Thor had experienced quite the emotional rollercoaster.

Facing Marcus's mockery, Thor didn't react at all. He knelt on the ground in shock, allowing Coulson's men to apprehend him without resistance.

As Thor was led away, the thunder overhead gradually subsided, and the dark clouds slowly dispersed.

"Coulson, I have some questions for him!"

Tony called out while fixing his equipment.

What they'd just witnessed confirmed that the hammer had some connection to Thor, but he'd only know the full story after questioning him.

Coulson didn't object to Tony's request. After all, Tony was in charge of researching the hammer, and he'd witnessed the entire scene.

"From emitting electromagnetic waves to attracting storms and lightning—what's the origin of this hammer and this man? Could he be some kind of alien?"

Coulson had seen an alien once before—an ugly creature that had disguised itself with green skin—and he remembered it vividly.

They took Thor to a separate temporary holding area. Now Coulson needed to report this development to the director.

Not long after Coulson led Thor away, Marcus noticed a slender man in a long robe appearing next to the hammer.

Based on how everyone around seemed oblivious to his presence, Marcus immediately recognized him as Thor's younger brother—the Nine Realms' greatest sorcerer and the trickster god, Loki.

The people nearby weren't ignoring him; they simply couldn't see him. As the Nine Realms' premier mage, Loki's magical abilities were impressive, and a perception shield was well within his capabilities.

Marcus looked at this ultimate troublemaker with great interest. Loki was destined to be the key figure in bringing the Avengers together.

The greatest sorcerer of the Nine Realms, who had been manipulated by Odin since childhood, had always dreamed of becoming king. But Odin's machinations had consistently disqualified him from the throne.

After all, Odin had declared that Asgard's king would be the one worthy of Mjolnir—then handed the hammer to Thor, Loki's elder brother.

Though Thor was Odin's biological son, Loki—unaware of his own true parentage—saw such different treatment as a fundamental rejection of his worth.

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