Observing behind me, I saw a tall man wearing green and gold robes, with elongated horns emerging from his helmet, reminding me of a deer or something similar. In his hand, he held a beautiful golden staff. His face was quite handsome, as if representing something beyond the mortal realm, and his aura radiated beauty, nobility, and elegance. However, I could also detect traces of something sinister, as if it were deceitful and full of lies.
As I observed him, I felt a strong source of magical energy surrounding his body. It was different from mine since the energy didn't seem directly connected to his body; rather, it felt like his strong and powerful soul synchronized with the ambient energy, transforming it into magic within him. It reminded me of how magic was described in DC Comics, *Ben 10*, and *Dragon Ball*.
Beyond that, I sensed a superior and powerful energy contained within him, though it seemed inferior to the energy I felt from Thor, both in quality and destructive power. Of course, the feeling was different as well. Thor's energy was like a destructive and immensely powerful storm, while his had a mystical tone, seeming to function more like illusions and deceit.
Naturally, from the moment he arrived, I recognized him as Thor's brother, the god of lies—Loki.
Immediately, I tensed as I saw him looking at me softly, with interest and intrigue, while I felt a power probing my body. However, I managed to block it using my ghost lineage's power and my mental strength.
"An interesting mortal. You don't seem exactly human. Somehow, you contain a type of energy within your body that doesn't feel divine. A clearly strong soul, and by the probing you performed, which I chose to ignore even though it offended me, it seems you have strong mental power and know how to use it. I also sense unusual energies within you... probably some kind of power... I've encountered a Midgardian with something similar... particularly, I sense a wind-natured energy," he said, analyzing my movements and actions. He also seemed to be observing my previous battle.
"Regardless, person of Midgard. Leave here quickly and don't interfere with my plans."
I looked at him calmly. I knew very well that I couldn't defeat him—not with my current strength and capabilities—but I could still delay him until help arrived. At worst, I could escape.
"What are you planning to do?"
"I, well... I don't owe you any explanations, but I intend to place Asgard at the top of the Nine Realms and will use the Bifrost to eliminate every world that stands against me, possibly including your Earth."
Hearing this, I frowned. From what Thor had told me, and clearly from the enemies I had faced, Asgard seemed to be in active combat with the frost giants. Even for them, with a plan like this, he intended to commit genocide on an entire people, which was simply brutal. Even if it seemed plausible from his perspective, it would still wipe out innocent lives, not just his direct enemies.
"Considering I live in one of those realms and have many important people there, I'm afraid I can't let you do that."
"A mere mortal wanting to challenge a god? Even if you're different, it's still useless compared to me," he said, and I felt an overwhelming pressure envelop my entire body—the pressure of a deity.
I nearly collapsed under it, but I quickly activated my defenses. Within my mental sea, a silver crown gleamed, and as its glow intensified, the black tortoise within my mental sea opened its eyes and softly moved its paw toward the crown, sending part of its mental power and its own divine aura to the crown. When this happened, an aura of dominion and power covered my body and a few meters around me, allowing me to withstand his pressure with less difficulty, though I believed this wasn't the full extent of what he could do.
"An aura of dominion... of a sovereign... interesting. Let's see what else you can do," he said with a mischievous and curious smile on his face.
He waved his staff, and numerous ice spikes appeared in the air, flying toward me.
Seeing this, my lightsaber appeared in my right hand, and in my left, the wooden sword from Gin appeared. I infused it with a bit of lunar internal energy, giving it a subtle glow. My eyes lit up with power, and my mental Haki spread throughout the area, allowing me to observe every movement.
As the ice spikes flew toward me, I moved my lightsaber and sword, starting to destroy them all. My body moved like a gentle cloud, swift, while my weapons obliterated everything. Over time, the ice spikes increased in quantity and power, and I could see the ambient energy gathering around him and his staff, making the ice attacks more lethal and potent.
Sensing the pressure, I had to act, using teleportation. I vanished from my spot and appeared behind him, my saber in a thrusting motion, attempting to pierce his body directly, but the blade clashed against a psychic energy shield.
"Some sort of spatial magic? Intriguing..." I felt a mental energy, similar to telekinesis, pushing me away, but I managed to resist the force using my strong mental defenses.
With an acrobatic move, I landed softly, my wooden sword disappearing from my hand, replaced by Aladdin's wooden staff. With a simple motion, several shots made of pure energy surged toward him.
Loki reacted indifferently, as magical and icy energy shields—strangely reminiscent of the frost giants' energy—blocked the magoi shots. I became intrigued and finally noticed that, besides his divine energy, there was a low amount of pure natural energy from the frost giants within him.
Of course, I didn't dwell too much on that and continued shooting at him.
He observed me for a while, then seemed to grow bored. He moved his staff again, and I immediately felt a strong sense of danger. The Borg enveloped my body.
Plant thorns, formed from nature's magic and energy, suddenly appeared around me, attempting to invade my shield. I didn't pay much attention at first, but I had to change my focus when I saw the plants starting to crack my shield. Frowning, I teleported a few meters away.
The moment I reappeared, more vines and plant thorns flew toward me. The shield was still protecting my body, and the wind power enhanced my speed, allowing me to fly through the air. I used my lightsaber to cut down all the plants attacking me, and I moved my staff to utilize my wind power to destroy the attacks while Loki's voice entered my ears.
"Surprised? Druidic magic has its uses. Though I still think Asgardian magic is superior."
I didn't pay much attention to his words for now. As for learning magic in this world, I hadn't planned on it. While interesting, it wasn't easy to master, and I already had too many things to deal with, including systems and probably more in the future.
I continued defending myself against his attacks. In addition, the ice spikes reappeared, attacking me once more.
As the battle intensified, I put away my lightsaber and took out a few small smoke bombs I had purchased. They were Naruto-inspired balls imbued with a strange substance and even some jutsu energy from *Naruto*. The smoke rose into the air, surprising Loki for a second—which was exactly what I aimed for. I used the Kai Kai technique and teleported a bit further away.
Directly after appearing, I waved my staff in the air and created three spears, several meters wide, made of dense light energy.
I launched the attacks at him, the powerful light energy spears moving at an incomprehensible speed. The god Loki seemed to realize the danger too late and only managed to create his defenses after a moment. Two plants grabbed the spears behind him and literally consumed the strong offensive energy with no apparent difficulty. As for the last spear, his psychic power stopped its advance and shattered it directly, leaving me speechless for a second. However, I still had a gentle smile on my face.
Because those attacks were merely a feint.
A spear, made of light, had been teleported behind him, thanks to my spatial energy, and it pierced his body directly.
I smiled and took a deep breath. Most of my internal energy had already been spent during this battle, not to mention that the teleportation I just performed was something that consumed a lot of my energy since my teleportation magic doesn't normally have that function. I had to take a pill to replenish my Qi as I silently observed him.
Soon, I heard a laugh of shock, astonishment, and anger escape his lips.
"Hahahahahaha. Truly, a bold and irritating mortal."
As I observed him, I saw a different green energy, distinct from the druidic magic he used earlier, envelop his body. At that moment, my eyes glowed with a powerful and intense blue color, tinged with traces of green, allowing me to see what I hadn't noticed before.
I saw his body begin to dissolve into the air as if his very existence was being erased.