Whoosh!
The freezing ray streaked across the sky and swept through the forge hall like a blade of pure winter. It carved across the stone floor without restraint, slaughtering every Asgardian in its path.
Anything touched by the icy beam was severed instantly.
Of course, there were beings in the universe capable of resisting such power. Captain Marvel was one of them. Compared to her mastery over cosmic energy, however, the Asgardians standing here were far from impressive.
Pfft!
Blood burst into the air.
The towering warriors, each over two meters tall and built like armored giants, were cut apart like stalks of wheat beneath a scythe. Bodies fell in pieces as the freezing ray swept through them.
It was like harvesting grass.
Wherever the icy beam passed, the battlefield was cleared.
Some Asgardians tried to hide behind the thick pillars lining the forge corridors, hoping the ancient stone columns would shield them from the sweeping attack.
Boom!
The pillars shattered.
The colonnades collapsed. Even part of the hall's massive dome tilted and cracked as the destructive beam tore through the structure. The warriors hiding behind those pillars died just as quickly as the others.
Ethan Drake was furious.
These so-called warriors had irritated him more than he expected.
Even after realizing they had no chance of victory, the Asgardians had refused to surrender. Instead, they attempted to destroy everything in sight—even ignoring the desperate protests of the dwarven craftsmen they were supposed to protect.
"Damn you!"
The dwarven masters shouted angrily, pointing at the corpses of the fallen Asgardians.
"We forged countless magical weapons for them!"
"And at the last moment they abandoned us and tried to destroy our forge!"
Their fury was understandable.
But their desperate sabotage had only provoked Ethan further.
His fists moved like thunder.
Each strike unleashed overwhelming force, crushing the few surviving warriors who still struggled to resist. None of them could withstand the brutal onslaught.
The battle ended quickly.
In less than three minutes, the fighting in Nidavellir was over.
Thousands of pieces of shattered armor and broken weapons lay scattered across the forge hall.
The dwarven craftsmen stood among the ruins, cursing bitterly.
"Damn those Asgardians!"
"We crafted their legendary weapons, and this is how they repay us?"
Their grief was mixed with helpless anger.
Unfortunately, the destruction the Asgardians had caused before their deaths had already created serious problems.
In the distant sky, the dying stellar core that had once burned like a blazing fireball had begun to dim.
The forge flame was fading.
The massive ring structures surrounding the star core had stopped rotating. Without their movement to channel the energy of the dying star, the forge itself could no longer function.
"Can it be repaired?"
A calm voice suddenly interrupted their discussion.
Gulp.
Someone swallowed nervously.
The dwarves fell silent almost instantly.
One by one, they turned toward the approaching figure.
Ethan walked slowly toward them across the ruined hall.
"You… you're going to kill us too?"
One of the dwarves forced himself to step forward and ask.
Despite their name, the craftsmen of Nidavellir were hardly small. In truth, each of them possessed a massive build closer to that of giants. Their title as "dwarves" came only from ancient tradition.
Compared to true giants, however, they possessed little martial skill. Their talents lay entirely in creation and craftsmanship.
"Kill you?"
Ethan laughed softly and shook his head.
"I already told you before," he said calmly. "If you submit to me, I might even protect you."
He gestured toward the ruined battlefield behind him.
"Right now the Kree Empire covets your world. Asgard has abandoned you. It seems you don't have many options left."
Silence filled the hall.
The dwarven race was small to begin with. The entire population of Nidavellir barely exceeded three hundred individuals. After the casualties of the recent battle, fewer than two hundred remained.
In such a desperate situation, opposing the Kryptonian standing before them was not even a realistic choice.
Finally, one of them spoke.
"What do you want in return?"
The question was straightforward.
Nothing in the adult world came without a price.
Ethan smiled slightly.
"Why do you think the Asgardians were so determined to destroy this place?"
He folded his arms as he spoke.
"I can guess the reason. The mold for a certain divine weapon is still here—the most powerful weapon ever intended for the Asgardian king."
His eyes gleamed faintly.
"I'm not wrong, am I?"
The dwarven craftsmen stared at him in shock.
How did he know?
The forging of that weapon had always been treated as a closely guarded secret.
But after a long moment, the towering figure of the Dwarf King stepped forward.
King Eitri.
"Asgard abandoned us," he said slowly. "So giving you that weapon is no longer a problem."
He gestured toward the dimming star in the distance.
"But their sabotage succeeded. The dying star core has stopped producing energy. Without it, we cannot forge anything."
"Succeeded?" Ethan replied with a faint grin. "Not necessarily."
He turned and looked toward the massive ring structures surrounding the dying star.
Moments later—
Hum.
The silent rings began to move again.
At first, the motion was slow.
Then faster.
It was like restarting a stalled engine. Sometimes a machine simply needed a push to start moving again.
And Ethan Drake was more than capable of providing that push.
His body soared upward into the void. With his hands pressed against the enormous star ring, he began to push.
The ring was unimaginably heavy. Normally, only the engines of massive warships could generate enough force to move it.
But Ethan's strength was comparable to those engines.
With a single push, the colossal ring began to rotate.
Within moments, the entire mechanism was operating again.
The dying star suddenly flared back to life.
Blazing stellar fire erupted outward once more, flooding the forge with intense heat and energy.
Whoosh!
The stellar flames poured into the massive forge channels.
"Quick!"
King Eitri raised his enormous hammer.
The dwarven king began pounding a glowing silver mold placed inside the forge.
Clang!
Clang!
Clang!
Each strike echoed through the hall like thunder.
The dwarven craftsmen worked furiously, pouring all their strength into the final stage of the process.
Finally—
With one final strike, Eitri smashed the mold apart.
Crack!
The silver casing shattered.
Inside it, the blade of a divine axe was revealed.
"Bring the handle!" Eitri roared. "The handle made from the World Tree!"
Moments later, the two pieces were joined together.
The blade and the long wooden handle fused perfectly.
The legendary weapon was complete.
Stormbreaker.
The divine axe radiated immense power as it rested in the king's hands.
Eitri lifted the weapon and turned toward Ethan.
"Great Kryptonian Superman," he said solemnly, "please accept this tribute from the people of Nidavellir."
....
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