Chapter 289: Thor — Turns Out He Was the Clown All Along
The whole group had gotten so absorbed in the Marketplace that they'd completely forgotten about Thor, who'd triggered the Bounty in the first place.
Ethan let out a rueful laugh — even he'd half-forgotten, on some level, that Thor was still getting his teeth kicked in by Tsukasa and the others.
Not that it had actually been that long — barely two minutes, all told.
Come Be My Family: "As for the Bounty tab — I'll be posting tasks on it periodically. You can also use your own standing with people to post bounties of your own."
In truth, Ethan had no idea what tasks the System might generate on its own — but he figured he'd just claim credit for them as his own postings going forward.
Little Punk: "So can this old man start claiming tasks now? How do I even sign up for one?"
Don't Kill My Dog: "I'm actually pretty interested in this one myself. Not that I'm dying to move a muscle, but I could use the points — there's some special dog food in the Marketplace I've got my eye on."
Wing Chun: "I'd like to earn some Friend Points too, for the little one's sake."
Broke, Except for the Money: "This measly amount of points? Not worth my time. You all can fight over it."
The group descended into squabbling over the Bounty points.
That's when Pietro suddenly noticed something about Thor's situation.
His chest tightened, and he immediately jumped in to warn everyone. "Hey, hey, quit arguing for a second! I think you all need to move — like, now. Looks like the other side's about to pull out something big. I think they're going for the finish!"
Pietro's words landed like a bucket of ice water, instantly killing the argument dead.
Everyone stopped bickering at once and turned their attention back to the video feed. On screen, Tsukasa and Kaito had both transformed, each swiping a card, clearly winding up for a finishing move.
"FINAL ATTACKRIDE!" Two mechanical voices rang out in unison, accompanied by a violent surge of energy — something genuinely terrifying beginning to gather.
Watching the scene unfold, Ethan felt his chest tighten.
He knew exactly how dangerous these two were. If Thor couldn't withstand a finishing move like that, the consequences didn't bear thinking about.
Without a second's hesitation, he accepted the Bounty and opened a portal, arriving directly in front of Thor.
The instant he arrived, though, Tsukasa's Rider Kick was already bearing down on him.
Ethan didn't hesitate. He shoved both hands forward, catching the full force of the attack head-on.
BOOM! A thunderous crash rang out as Ethan held firm, absorbing Tsukasa and Kaito's combined Rider Kick without so much as flinching. Both of them immediately fell back a few steps, surprise flickering across their faces.
Seeing Ethan arrive, Tsukasa spoke up, genuinely impressed. "Didn't expect you to actually show up. And your strength is a lot more than I gave you credit for, Ethan."
Tsukasa hadn't expected Ethan to block his Rider Kick entirely un-transformed, using nothing but his bare body. Sure, Tsukasa hadn't put everything into that kick — but stopping it cold, with zero damage, using nothing but flesh and bone? Tsukasa had to admit he'd underestimated this junior.
"Didn't think we'd cross paths again this soon, Mr. Ethan," Kaito said, resting his gun casually against his shoulder.
Neither of them seemed the least bit annoyed that Ethan had just interrupted their fight — if anything, both were far more interested in him than they'd ever been in Thor.
As for Thor, the sight of Ethan arriving hit him like the release of a crushing weight — the tension and pressure that had been crushing his chest suddenly easing, letting him breathe again for the first time in a while.
He could feel, with total clarity, that his body had reached its absolute limit — his strength nearly spent, the pain from his wounds so severe he could barely remain standing.
If Ethan had arrived even a moment later, he genuinely might not have made it. The helplessness of that near-miss still lingered, chilling him.
Even Thor himself hadn't quite realized it until now — but Ethan's arrival had handed him, in the middle of total despair, a genuine glimmer of hope.
"If you'd come any later, I might never have seen you again," Thor managed, his voice weak but tinged with relief. His eyes carried real gratitude toward Ethan, alongside the lingering fear of just how close things had come.
"Be careful. Those two are genuinely strong," Thor warned, not wanting Ethan to walk into greater danger on his account. He'd already paid the price for his own carelessness — after this fight, he swore he'd never again underestimate anyone.
He'd never have guessed that two people who looked this unassuming could be hiding this much raw power.
"Don't need you to tell me that. I know exactly what those two are capable of — better than you do," Ethan said, his expression serious. "They might be strong by your standards. To me, they're not even close to enough."
Nobody understood these two men's true strength better than Ethan did — and he genuinely didn't see them as any real threat.
"Looks like you're hoping for another round with us, Mr. Ethan?" Tsukasa said, a taunting edge in his voice. There was real anticipation there — their last fight had ended in a draw, after all, with neither side going full-out.
Ethan didn't bother answering him. Instead, he turned to Thor. "So how'd you even end up here in the first place? What'd you do to set these two off?"
Thor mumbled, clearly embarrassed. "I... I came here to rescue Loki."
Hearing that, Ethan felt a wave of secondhand exhaustion wash over him.
He pointed behind Thor. "You absolute idiot. Loki's already gone. Who exactly were you rescuing?"
Thor spun around — and sure enough, the transparent cell that had once held Loki now sat completely empty. No sign of him anywhere.
Thor's face fell instantly, a wave of betrayal and fury crashing over him.
Only then did it click for him — Loki had used him again.
Loki had slipped away at some point without anyone noticing at all.
Thor turned to look at Tsukasa and Kaito, both of whom had already dropped their transformations by now. Neither one seemed remotely surprised that Loki had escaped — which meant they'd known the whole time.
Thor couldn't understand it. If they'd known Loki was already gone, why keep beating him?
Kaito answered, entirely unbothered. "Loki bailing was pretty much a given. I just genuinely didn't like the look of you, that's all."
Tsukasa added, with obvious amusement, "You already got what you came for — Loki's free. Beating you on top of that just seemed only fair."
Thor found himself completely speechless. In the end, he'd been the clown this whole time — the poor sucker who'd taken the fall for Loki's escape.
Not far from Earth, aboard the Chitauri warship —
"General Corvus Glaive. The passage is ready. We can launch the assault whenever you give the word." Loki flashed a wicked grin.
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