At the center of the crater.
Loki grasped the handle of Mjolnir and gave it two forceful tugs.
"Tch."
"As expected… I can't lift it."
He released it, silently cursing.
At least this time, Odin hadn't played favorites. Neither he nor Thor could lift the hammer.
"Hmm?"
Loki suddenly frowned, glancing around.
The surrounding humans were dispersing, as if anticipating something incoming.
That made no sense—he had already cloaked himself in illusion magic. They shouldn't have been able to see him at all.
Then—
A primal sense of doom struck him.
Like a prehistoric dinosaur staring up at an incoming extinction-level meteor.
From above.
He looked up—
And his pupils shrank violently.
A meteor streaking in violet, blue, and gold was diving straight at his face.
"!!!!"
In an instant—
Mjolnir flew back into Leon's hand.
And then—
He brought it down.
Thunder roared.
Lightning split the sky.
It felt as though the heavens themselves had collapsed.
To avoid harming civilians, Leon compressed the destructive radius with his Bio-Field, funneling every ounce of force directly into Loki and the ground beneath him.
In the next second—
Where Mjolnir had once rested, there now yawned a bottomless abyss several meters wide, like a miniature black hole carved into the earth.
Leon was just about to dive down and finish the job—
When the hammer in his hand suddenly went out of control.
It yanked him sideways at terrifying speed—
And in a blink, he was standing in front of Thor, who was still clutching his head in despair.
Drawn by the Thorforce within him, Leon didn't even have time to let go.
Neither Leon nor Thor had anticipated this.
"Mjolnir?"
Thor looked up in confusion.
"What the hell are you doing?" Leon growled, gripping the hammer tightly.
But Mjolnir kept pulling toward Thor—
As if it had sobered up after its fling with Leon and now desperately wanted to return to its rightful owner.
Crackle—snap!
The Thorforce inside Leon began to surge wildly, spilling out uncontrollably toward Thor.
"Damn it!"
"Why now of all times?!"
"Arcee! Bast! Keep Loki pinned!"
"Yes!" ×2
Two crisp voices echoed from above.
The ceiling exploded.
Arcee, already in Combat Mode, and Bast in her towering panther form dropped beside Leon.
After giving him a respectful nod—
Bast, standing at nearly 2.5 meters tall on all fours, swiped Arcee with a powerful paw.
A literal physical boost.
Arcee rocketed forward like a missile.
Bast blurred into motion right behind her.
Seeing Mjolnir so eager to abandon him, Leon snapped.
From his System Storage Space, he pulled out his personal treasure—
The Indestructible Infinite Ammo Desert Eagle—
And smashed it down onto the hammer.
BOOM!!!!!
Crack—
A massive dent formed in Mjolnir's head. Spiderweb fractures spread across its surface as it finally calmed down.
To Leon's surprise—
The cracks only lasted a moment.
Bathed in the Thorforce leaking from his body, the hammer's damage rapidly repaired itself—flawless as if nothing had happened.
As long as the core structure remained intact, it seemed capable of self-restoration.
Which explained why Hela had needed to shatter it completely in Thor: Ragnarok.
"Impatient, huh?!"
"I'll show you impatient!"
After scolding the now obedient Mjolnir, Leon tossed it aside like garbage—
Back to Thor, who caught it in stunned disbelief.
"How did you even do that?!" Thor demanded.
"How else?" Leon shrugged. "My gun's harder than your hammer."
"…Right."
Thor twitched slightly. He understood.
"Thor—catch!"
Leon stopped restraining the Thorforce within him.
He released it completely.
Lightning poured out of his body and surged into Thor, whose mouth still hung open in shock.
Moments later—
Thor, God of Thunder, was fully restored.
Leon, now reduced to wearing only his Ultra-Elastic Fiber Undergarment, quickly swapped back into his Soldier Boy Suit.
He had just strapped his shield onto his arm—
When two beams shot toward him and Thor.
FWOOOSH!! ×2
Leon tilted his head, effortlessly dodging the thicker beam aimed at him.
The seemingly weaker beam—
Blasted Thor away mid-swing as he tried to counter with Mjolnir.
"Apologies, Leon—Master," Arcee and Bast returned to his side.
Neither appeared injured, though frost clung to them and their expressions were serious.
"That weapon… is troublesome."
Leon raised an eyebrow.
Following their gaze—
He saw Loki.
Fully armored in Asgardian leather battle gear, wearing his horned helm, Gungnir in hand. Around his neck hung a pendant containing a miniature Casket of Ancient Winters.
Behind him loomed the towering Destroyer Armor.
One of the horns on Loki's helm was visibly dented inward—
Right where Leon had struck earlier. He had been fully armed the entire time, simply disguised by illusion magic.
He stepped forward slowly.
"You dare show such insolence before a god?"
Loki slammed Gungnir against the ground.
"KNEEL!!!"
The command thundered across the crater.
Leon couldn't help himself.
He burst out laughing.
"Were you just… meowing?"
"You—"
"Loki, wait—listen—"
Thor spun Mjolnir and flew back to Leon's side.
But Loki had no interest in listening.
"I had already given up!"
"Thor—this is your doing!"
He roared at his brother, clearly attributing Leon's earlier hammer strike to Thor.
"Uh… what?"
Thor looked utterly baffled.
Events had spiraled so far beyond his understanding that his brain felt like it was overheating.
He genuinely didn't understand.
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