"What kind of monster did the person Princess Hela brought back… really is?"
Kortian, who had retreated with his army to a safe distance after the chaotic battle, was filled with horror. The massive portal that had spanned the heavens and earth was torn into two pieces of scrap metal by the Great Ape, its former magic gone.
Kortian could feel that the purple and black portal contained the power of Malekith, the Dark Elf King…
The phantom of the full moon disappeared, and the brown Great Ape reverted to its normal form as Beckett. The Other, descending from the sky holding a curtain, obscured Beckett's shrinking figure. Once the red curtain dispersed, Beckett, clad in silver armor, reappeared in everyone's sight.
"Your Highness Beckett, this person?" The Other, carefully rolling up the curtain to be used again, trotted over to Beckett, bowing respectfully and pointing to Elrod, who had been knocked unconscious and buried in the ground by Beckett's slap from the air earlier.
"Take him back and find out Malekith's location." Beckett glanced disdainfully at Elrod, whose face was already half-corroded by dark energy. The Other, showing keen awareness, summoned two Chitauri soldiers and ordered them to carry the unconscious captive back.
"Come to my room later. I need an explanation." Hela said with a cold face, retracting her still slightly trembling hand. As she passed Beckett, she lowered her voice and spoke.
The attack, proposed and initiated by Beckett, had yielded pleasing results, but Hela couldn't bring herself to be happy. The Asgardian soldiers who hadn't managed to evacuate to safety and had perished under the Star Destroyer Cannon filled Hela with heartache.
If they had died at the hands of the Dark Elves, Hela would only have been proud of them. But they had died under the indiscriminate fire of the Star Destroyer Cannon…
"Close the door."
At the Asgardian military outpost, in a large room, Hela, with an icy expression, watched Beckett enter.
Beckett locked the door behind him, casually pulled over a chair, and sat down comfortably. He glanced at the night sky outside and asked, "What did you want to tell me?"
"Are you playing dumb?" Hela slammed her hands onto the armrests of her chair and leaned forward. Her delicate face was just a step away from Beckett's nose, and Beckett could even feel Hela's breath hitting his face.
"The indiscriminate bombardment by the Star Destroyer Cannon was not part of the pre-arranged plan."
"Do you know that the Asgardian soldiers who died tonight did not die at the hands of the enemy, but at your hands?"
Her eyes fixed on Beckett's face, Hela's voice was calm.
"Naive," Beckett scoffed, his eyes filled with undisguised mockery.
"What?"
"We won," Beckett's mockery intensified at the corners of his eyes.
"We are the victors of this war. That's enough. Are the sacrifices of those people you mentioned truly important compared to this victory?"
"Not necessarily."
The words from Beckett's mouth caused Hela to straighten up and close her eyes, taking a deep breath.
"In war, only the outcome is ever truly important."
"I don't need you to teach me about war," Hela suppressed the surging emotions in her heart. Beckett's attitude of being unconcerned about the losses was truly infuriating.
As if the casualties weren't his own people.
This wasn't a matter of prioritizing the outcome; if Beckett had even given a heads-up before using the Star Destroyer Cannon, she could have saved those warriors who shouldn't have died.
Her father Odin's teachings were deeply ingrained in Hela's mind.
Every soldier who fought for Asgard was a hero, and a hero's life should not end so carelessly.
"You're angry because you feel it was a waste for Asgardian soldiers to die because of me, not because you believe they shouldn't have died. So, put away your ridiculous pity."
Beckett scoffed, then stood up and pushed Hela aside. His powerful force caused the unprepared Hela to stagger and fall onto the soft bed behind her.
"If your father Odin had made this decision today, would you still be this angry?"
"Don't compare yourself to my father. My father would never raise his butcher's knife against his own army like you do." Hela's ink-black hair spread across the bed, her expression as cold as ice.
…
"Name."
"Di Elrod."
"Age."
"Two thousand three hundred years."
"......"
On the border of Svartalfheim, at the Asgardian army outpost. In the interrogation room, The Other, holding the scepter with the Mind Stone, stood before the prisoner Beckett had brought back, attempting to control his mind.
The power of the Mind Stone was quite useful in this regard.
The ability to manipulate minds was utterly unreasonable.
"Tell me, where is Malekith?"
"I don't know."
Elrod's body being consumed by residual dark energy, a sinister smile appeared on his face. His exposed bone-white face looked particularly terrifying. "You can't control me."
The Other was startled, then felt that his reaction was somewhat undignified. He coughed twice, and the scepter embedded with the Mind Stone was once again pressed against Elrod's chest.
"It's useless, dog of Asgard. No one can match the King's power." Elrod grinned sinisterly, continuing his [Prophecy].
"As long as the King's power is fully restored, all the Nine Realms will be plunged into darkness. You, you cannot stop it."
Elrod, trapped in enemy territory, had no intention of confessing and showing leniency. His arrogance and confidence were evident, causing The Other to impulsively strike him on the head, interrupting his sinister laughter.
"The Other."
The Other, having just landed two blows, heard a voice from behind him. He turned around and saw Beckett, clad in silver armor, clearly visible.
"His Highness Beckett."
"How is it going?"
"Your Highness Beckett, for some reason, the Mind Stone isn't working on this prisoner." The Other, worried he might be labeled as "ineffective" by His Highness Beckett because of this, poked Elrod's chest again with the scepter. Elrod remained unmoved, showing no signs of being affected at all. Instead, he even had the energy to bare his teeth at Beckett.
"Woz," Beckett frowned.
"Your Highness Beckett, Elrod has an isotope of the Infinity Stones within him. Although weak, it's enough to allow him to resist the Mind Stone's control."
Dense analytical data appeared on the screen in Beckett's right eye. The Reality Stone particles, exhibiting the same properties as the Mind Stone, caused Beckett's mind to race.
Unless the isotope within Elrod was removed, Beckett had no way of obtaining the information he wanted from him, given Elrod's formidable willpower.
"Woz, can you remove the isotope from him?"
"That will require time and extensive experimentation, Your Highness Beckett."
"Time is not an issue." Beckett twisted the bracelet on his wrist, and a bright blue robotic tanuki instantly appeared in the interrogation room.
"I understand, Your Highness Beckett." Woz reached into the pocket on his abdomen and fumbled for a few seconds before pulling out two bottles.
"Then, let's begin the experiment."
Shaking the liquid in the bottles, Woz walked step by step in front of the immobilized Elrod, directly inserting the bottle's opening into Elrod's body...
Thanks to [Pineapple] for the tip~
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