Chapter 41:
Thor was in complete shock when he heard this, as if he had been struck by lightning.
After Mark's explanation, so many things suddenly made sense.
Like why his father, the King, was so furious and stripped him of his powers after he trespassed into Jotunheim. It might not have been just because of the bad blood between the Frost Giants and Asgard, but also because Loki could have discovered his true identity there.
Thor couldn't imagine the emotional turmoil Loki must have gone through after learning the truth.
No wonder Loki had used the Destroyer to attack him.
"No, I have to go back and talk to him..."
Thor was worried and didn't wait for the Asgardian warriors. He looked up and shouted, "Heimdall! Take me back!"
But after waiting for a while, nothing happened.
"Heimdall?"
Sif also looked puzzled, frowning. "Why isn't he responding?"
"Let's wait a bit longer," Mark reassured them, knowing the reason for the delay. Loki had probably already started his plan to trick Laufey, the king of the Frost Giants, into invading Asgard. Loki would catch him off guard, kill him, and then destroy Jotunheim.
To pull this off, Loki would first need to deal with Heimdall, the gatekeeper.
Heimdall was likely frozen by the icy power of the ancient winter coffin. But Heimdall was strong, and it wouldn't be long before he broke free.
As they waited, a vehicle approached with the Asgardian warriors and Jane Foster.
Thor quickly explained the situation, being careful not to reveal Loki's true identity as a Frost Giant. He just said that Loki was planning to destroy Jotunheim, and he needed to go back and stop him.
Meanwhile, Heimdall heard Thor's call. He broke free from the ice and defeated the Frost Giant guarding him.
Injured, Heimdall walked into the teleportation chamber and activated the Bifrost Bridge by inserting his sword into the mechanism.
As the Bifrost activated, Thor saw the change in the clouds above and quickly said goodbye to Jane Foster. A colorful light descended from the sky, and Mark joined them as they all vanished from the spot.
In the teleportation chamber, Thor immediately noticed Heimdall sitting on the ground, clearly injured. He told his friends to take Heimdall for treatment and prepared to fly to the throne room.
But Heimdall spoke up, asking why Mark had come along.
Thor looked surprised, but with the situation being so urgent, he didn't have time to explain. He simply said, "Mark is my friend. I'm going with him to find Loki!"
Without hesitation, Thor flew towards the throne room, determined to confront his brother.
Mark remained silent and followed close behind.
Meanwhile, inside the palace of Asgard, the guards were already fighting Frost Giants.
King Laufey had reached Odin's chambers, ready to kill his enemy with pride. Suddenly, a laser beam shot towards him, causing serious injuries and sending him crashing to the ground.
Finally, Laufey understood Loki's betrayal.
Loki had never intended to cooperate with him. His earlier words were all lies to lure Laufey away from Jotunheim.
The Frost Giants, powerful as they were, were easily affected by their environment. In Jotunheim, with the ancient Winter Casket, they could unleash their full strength. But in the Asgardian palace, where it was always spring-like, Laufey could only use a fraction of his power. Helplessly, he watched as his own son, Loki, raised Gungnir and mercilessly blasted him to pieces.
"Loki!"
Queen Frigga, who was nearby and unaware of Loki's plan, struggled to get up and joyfully hugged her son. "You saved your father!"
"Mother, they will pay for this," Loki immediately replied.
Before Frigga could say anything else, footsteps approached the door. Loki instinctively looked up and saw Thor and Mark standing there, frozen in place.
"Thor!"
Frigga turned her head and was overjoyed. She rushed over and hugged Thor tightly. "I knew you would come back!"
"I missed you too, Mother," Thor smiled at Frigga, but then turned to Loki, his tone serious. "But now, I need to have a serious talk with my brother..."
Loki panicked.
But his mind was racing, trying to salvage his failing plan, and he didn't notice the concern and sincerity on Thor's face.
In the original story, Thor didn't know why Loki had turned evil. He only knew that Loki had sent the Destroyer to kill him, so he returned to Asgard filled with anger. He immediately confronted Loki, and the conflict escalated, leading to the destruction of the Bifrost.
But now, things were different. Thor's perspective had changed after learning the truth.
The problem was, Loki didn't know any of this.
He was truly panicking now. Freezing Heimdall and the others was meant to prevent them from returning, but now, not only had Thor regained his powers, but Mark was with him too.
Loki had seen Mark effortlessly defeat the Destroyer, which was made of Uru metal. It had shattered like a watermelon in Mark's hands. Loki doubted he could even match Uru's toughness.
"Loki, I..."
Thor took a step forward, seemingly about to speak to Loki.
But to everyone's surprise, Loki made the first move. He suddenly aimed Gungnir at Thor.
Caught off guard, Thor was blasted backward by the attack, crashing through the palace wall and falling down towards the world below.
"Loki! Thor!" Queen Frigga was also shocked and cried out.
"Mother, I'm sorry, but the Frost Giants must pay," Loki said to Frigga. He waved his hand, and the ancient Winter Casket appeared, instantly releasing freezing cold air towards Mark. Loki seemed to realize he couldn't match Mark's power and intended to freeze him to buy some time.
But to Loki's surprise, Mark's figure instantly turned into purple light and vanished. The cold air hit the chamber wall, covering it in a thick layer of ice.
"What?"
Loki was stunned. But in the next moment, he felt a cold blade pressed against his neck.
Startled, Loki raised his hands, and with a loud clank, both the ancient Winter Casket and Gungnir fell to the ground.
Seeing this, Mark couldn't help but want to make a sarcastic comment.
But before he could say anything, an electronic notification sounded in his mind.
[System Prompt: New module features detected.
Researching them will grant you download permissions.]