"Thud!"
Heavy footsteps hit the ground. The others exchanged a glance, and in that moment, each of them saw the despair in the others' eyes.
"Thor, Asgard's future can only depend on you now…"
As Johnny advanced step by step, Sif stared at the flaming chain raised high, then brought crashing down. Thor's familiar back suddenly surged into her mind.
"Long live Asgard!"
Sif whispered the words, gritted her teeth, and closed her eyes. There was not the slightest trace of fear on her face.
Hellfire burned fiercely. Looking at the outsiders whose bodies shone with the glow of sin, Johnny's eyes held no mercy. His right hand came down without hesitation.
"Rumble—crack!"
The clouds scattered. A bolt of lightning exploded from a clear sky, making Johnny's arm jerk.
After a moment of stunned stillness, he flicked his wrist and was just about to continue bringing the chain down when a tremendous sound of something tearing through the air suddenly came from the distance at terrifying speed.
A streak of silver-white swept low across the ground like lightning, the air current it raised dragging great sheets of desert sand and gravel in its wake. It was so fast that even Johnny barely had time to react.
Seeing the sandstorm hurtling toward him and sensing the powerful energy fluctuations wrapped around it, Johnny's heart tightened. The chain he had been swinging down at full speed abruptly changed direction and smashed straight ahead.
"That sound…"
The sudden commotion immediately drew the attention of the other four.
Hearing that impossibly familiar thunderclap ring out, Sif, who had already been lying on the ground with pale, lifeless eyes and no thought left of resisting, suddenly found hope rekindling across her face.
"Thor?"
"Is it Thor?"
Sif forced herself to lift her head, her eyes full of expectation as she looked into the sky.
Volstagg and the other two broke into excited smiles at almost the same time.
"It's him. It has to be him!"
"But didn't the All-Father strip him of his power? He was banished here. How could he…"
"Thor is the God of Thunder, the true prince of Asgard. What could possibly be impossible for him?"
Even Fandral, whose elegance and poise had long been carved into his bones, could not help cheering aloud in delight.
"Thor, I knew it!"
"He's come to save us!"
Sure enough, before they had even finished speaking, a familiar little hammer had already entered everyone's sight.
At the sight of that familiar silver gleam, all of them widened their eyes at the same time, their mouths parting beyond their control.
"Boom!"
The next instant, an exquisite little hammer dropped from the sky and slammed into Johnny's chain with a thunderclap that shook the heart.
When mighty lightning met undying hellfire, thunder and flame intertwined in an instant, erupting into a powerful blast of air.
A terrifying shock wave spread in every direction in the blink of an eye. For a moment, the whole world seemed to fall silent. Broken stones and sand were hurled high into the air, then rolled outward in a neat hemispherical wave with a deafening rumble.
The aftershock of energy swept toward them. Sif and the other three, still collapsed on the ground, instinctively raised their arms to protect their heads. Just as they prepared to withstand the blast head-on, a light breeze brushed past them, and a tall, straight figure suddenly appeared in front of them.
He blocked every trace of the impact firmly before him. No matter how violently the surrounding lightning and fire raged, none of it harmed them in the slightest.
When the violent energy gradually settled, Sif saw the newcomer gently raise his hand. The next moment, the familiar hammer of the God of Thunder seemed to answer some unseen summons, abruptly pulling itself out from the center of the collision and landing lightly in his palm.
"Thor!"
The hopeless dead end they had thought would surely kill them had been forcefully broken by Thor, whom they had believed reduced to a mortal. Having survived another desperate crisis, all of them were overwhelmed for a moment.
Sif and the other three stared at that back and almost cried out in excitement at the same time.
Tall. Straight-backed. Heroic.
Thor was still exactly the same as before.
Just as powerful. Just as able to save them from disaster at the most critical moment.
The mighty God of Thunder. The unmatched son of Odin.
"Thank you, Thor…"
Even Volstagg, usually the steadiest of them, could not keep tears from gathering at the corners of his eyes.
"If not for you, we might really have…"
"Sorry. You mean Thor?"
The newcomer slowly turned around, looking at the exhausted figures lying on the ground with a half-smile.
That magnetic voice reached Sif's ears, but to her, it was like a bucket of cold water poured over her heart.
"You're not Thor?"
This man could use Mjolnir with such ease. The power he displayed was almost identical to Thor's, and even seemed several degrees stronger than Thor had been in the past. Yet he was not Thor?
Bright daylight spilled down, revealing a young face completely different from Thor's.
His gentle features carried no sense of aggression. It was as if the scent of sunlight clung to him, making it impossible for anyone to feel even the slightest instinctive hostility.
His short black hair was utterly different from the lionlike golden hair Thor took such pride in. Looking closer, even his build was not the same as Thor's exaggeratedly muscular frame. He did not look as rugged or massive, but instead possessed a more fluid, graceful beauty.
"My apologies for disappointing you."
Fenris casually tossed Mjolnir in his hand, taking in their disappointed gazes as he squeezed out a brilliant smile.
"The God of Thunder you're looking for isn't here."
"Who exactly are you?"
"How do you have Thor's hammer?"
"What did you do to him?"
Volstagg, who was in the best condition among them, helped the others slowly rise from the ground, watching the man before them with a face full of wariness.
Thor had only just been stripped of his divine power, and now his whereabouts were unknown. Yet Mjolnir had already found a new master.
By rights, they should have been angry, furious on Thor's behalf. But this man had saved their lives at the last possible moment.
More importantly, no matter what, they found it difficult to see someone recognized by Mjolnir as an enemy.
Thinking of Thor's reckless appearance when he had encountered him earlier, Fenris took in the conflict on their faces with perfect clarity.
"There's no need to be nervous. I'm his friend."
"Where is Thor now?"
Sif stepped forward, her expression full of hope.
"Is he all right?"
"You'll see him very soon."
Fenris smiled slightly and turned around.
That sudden collision had carved a crater dozens of meters wide out of the ground. Wild energy churned within it, while rising sand and dust completely obscured the scene inside.
In the silence, the clear sound of footsteps suddenly began to emerge from within.
"Whoosh!"
A scorching chain burning with towering flames shot out from the dust without warning. It extended at terrifying speed, stabbing straight toward Fenris and aiming for a vital point.
Fenris shifted slightly, dodging the fatal strike by the narrowest possible margin. Seeing the attack miss, just as the chain was about to withdraw, Fenris reached out swiftly. Without the slightest fear of its scorching heat, he seized it firmly.
"Johnny?"
(End of Chapter)
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