บท 629: The Truth
Boom!
Loki caught the hammer with his two hands, dragging him backward. "You can now detect my clones."
"You're not the only one who has improved," Thor declared as a unique Battle Aura coursed through his veins, elevating his already terrifying battle prowess.
"I guess this will be fun." Loki created more clones, and Thor started to look for the real body. In the process, he ignored the actions of the illusions, a crucial mistake. One hit him on his face, and Thor flew to the ceiling before crashing down.
'His illusion can affect reality?' Thor stood up and started twirling his hammer, releasing a potent wind that blew all the clones away. Then, in one swoop motion, he turned his left hand to the right to release a lightning blast. Loki appeared with a cracked green shield.
He summoned a pair of daggers and started a close combat duel with Thor. Usually, he is easily overwhelmed by this way of fighting, but this time, they were evenly matched — at least physically. Loki was slightly better in skill, but it was evident that Thor had more experience in close combat.
A clone appeared behind Thor, but his body released a lightning bolt to destroy it, and he did not even have to turn around.
'His senses are sharper than I expected,' Loki thought, wondering how his brother could see through his illusions. Loki observed closely as they clashed but could not find an immediate answer, so he used Edward's lesson: basic divination.
Loki turned his life force into mana to cast the spell, and he had his answer: Thor could detect the electrical impulses of his clones and judge their nature.
'Oh, brother, how clever. This was definitely not your idea,' Loki mentally sneered. As their weapons clashed, another Loki suddenly appeared beside Thor and plunged his dagger into his ribs. The original Loki then kicked him more than 2 meters away.
Thor landed on his feet but on his knee. He grunted as he removed the dagger. His body released an electrical light that closed the injury. Loki once again created hundreds of illusion clones, but Thor could not find the original this time. He raised his hammer in the sky, summoning the wrath of heaven.
Lightning and thunder descended from the sky, and Thor perfectly controlled them to the point that not a single one of the shocked Avengers in the room was harmed. Sadly for him, Loki was also unharmed. He turned his illusion clones into an intangible state, including his original body.
Once the attack ended, the clones became real and started beating Thor. The Thunder God tried to fight back, but he could not tell which were real, tangible, and faking an attack. So, he was soon overwhelmed.
Thor decided to use a skill that he had recently learned: Thunder Teleportation. He accessed a dimension full of thunder energy and used its space to teleport. Although he currently can only teleport a short five-meter distance, it was an excellent mobility skill for battle.
Thor's approach should have been an excellent tactic. Unfortunately for him, Loki's original body can teleport by exchanging places with his illusion clones. Lastly, one of the first lessons he learned when dealing with mages is how to limit their mobility. So, he immediately used a Dimensional Blockage Spell to stop Thor, returning him to his original position.
Ultimately, Loki won the battle by impaling his brother in all four limbs to render him immobile. "Victory is mine," Loki declared as he looked at his brother on his knees, his arms extended like he was on a cross, two spears impaling them as their tips pointed upward.
"I admit you've won this battle," Thor declared. "However, I won the war." His body suddenly released a massive amount of thunder energy. Loki realized he was too cocky. Now that he was so close, it was too late for him to react. As the potent lightning rushed to him, he used the only spell that could help: Ice Coffin. He surrendered himself in a giant block of ice to block Thor's last struggle attack.
"That was very close," Loki said as the ice melted. "And thank you for the lesson." Thor looked tired and listless. His body even appeared a few percent smaller. "Brother, it's not too late to stop this." Loki was about to say something when he detected something. He turned around to see Steve and Tony preparing to fight him.
"After all of this, you still want to fight?"
"You're a threat to this planet, and we won't stop defending until our last breath," Steve declared while holding his shield. He rushed toward Loki while Tony started his weapons. The two fought Loki for over 30 minutes before Tony ran away out of energy, and Steve was tired.
Loki ended his illusion, revealing they were fighting each other the whole time. "Do you see how pointless your struggle is?" Tony's suit could not move, but Steve was a man of intense willpower. So, he stood up, ready for another round. Loki rolled his eyes, and with a finger snap, the shield rushed out of his hands, and green shackles captured Steve.
"Ultron was right. Such a unique metal and you people made a frisbee out of it," Loki shook his head. He threw the shield away before looking at these people. "Now, what to do with you? What to do with this planet now that their guardians are no more? Just enslaved them? No, this could be the start of my Empire — An Empire even more grandeur than Asgard."
"Having a little too much fun, aren't we?"
"Teacher," Loki said, a little embarrassed. "I had to sell it, just like you told me to."
Edward wanted to roll his eyes. This man was simply a drama queen. He looked at the shocked Avengers.
"Aren't you that sorcerer from Midgard?" Thor asked.
"Secretary?" Natasha asked.
"Come, we have much to talk about," Edward declared. He waved his hand to heal or free everyone before opening a portal to the Helicarrier. He used the Reparo Charm, returning to its pre-destroy state. He followed up with another portal inside, where an on-guard Fury awaited. He watched everything from a satellite, and his mind was on the highest alert.
Edward walked to the room where they kept all the dead agents, and everyone quietly followed him for some reason. "Wake up," he said, and those agents suddenly moved.
"What's going on?" Coulson asked.
"Don't ask any questions since I'll answer everything together. As for the rest of you, return to your station." Alas, the group returned to the main room.
"You can be at ease," Edward stated, offering them a seat, but no one took his offer.
"Can you explain what's going on?" Fury asked. He had a feeling he was about to peep at the truth of the world.
"Where to start?" Edward stated. "I guess from the beginning." He looked to his side, and another portal appeared, revealing his main body, which was dressed in his magical robe. Secretary Edward stood up to give his spot to Sorcerer Supreme Edward. Such an act made things even more complicated.
"For those unaware, Earth has a magical community based on Kamar Taj," Edward started. "These sorcerers have protected the planet from magical and dimensional threats for countless millennia. The leader of that community holds the title of [Sorcerer Supreme], which is my current position." Edward paused to give them time to process.
"Kamar-Taj usually does not interfere in the world's affairs unless we recruit people or some threats bypass our defenses, and we need to venture into the world to deal with it. However, something changed that forced us to intervene.
"My predecessors peered into the future and predicted a cataclysmic event on a cosmic scale, unlike anything in the universe's history. To ensure Earth and this universe's survival, she chose a radical person like me as her successor."
Edward summoned a pot of tea and sipped it.
"I've done many things to prepare for this event, including forming a deeper alliance with Asgard and sending a clone to intervene in the world's affairs. His job was to unite the Earth's government and pool their resources to prepare for the upcoming catastrophe.
"I sent my apprentice, Loki, to set up this invasion as the first lesson for you, the Avengers, and a wake-up call to the Earth's citizens. The world is about to change rapidly, and the people need to be prepared."
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