Chapter 105: Returning to the Marvel Universe, Encountering Thor and Loki's Visit
Marcus rubbed Delta's head.
After finishing dinner, Marcus cleaned up the dishes. He wiped his hands, walked over to the living room, and said to Delta and Eve, who were sitting on the sofa: "Tomorrow I'm going to take a trip to Kumoko's world. Are you two coming along?"
Eve nodded, and Delta nodded without hesitation, her tail flicking gently behind her.
"Good. Then let's rest early today." Marcus finished speaking, then looked at Delta, his tone softening a bit, "You should rest more today."
"Got it, Boss." Delta obediently replied.
Then Marcus led Eve upstairs. Milong had also floated up originally, wanting to follow the two upstairs. Kumokoreached out her front leg, gently tugged on her arm, and shook her head: "Next time you can sleep with Master."
Milong stopped mid-air, her eyes filled with confusion: "But didn't you let me transform into human form and sleep with Master yesterday?"
Kumoko's eyes curved into crescents simultaneously, a hint of mysterious cunning in her tone: "Wait until Eve and Delta aren't sleeping with Master, then you can transform into human form and go."
Milong tilted her head and thought for a moment. Although she still didn't quite understand the difference, she obediently nodded: "Alright."
They each returned to their respective rooms. The lights in the villa went out one by one, and a quiet night enveloped the entire residence.
At noon the next day, Marcus stood in the center of the living room. With a slight movement of his mind, he activated Dimensional Travel. A pitch-black spatial passage silently unfolded in the living room. He looked back at Eve and Delta behind him, and both nodded simultaneously.
Marcus stepped into the passage first, followed closely by Kumoko, Eve, Milong, and Delta.
Just as they stepped out of the passage and their feet hadn't yet steadied in the living room of the villa in the Marvel Universe, a familiar tingling sensation burst from the back of both Marcus and Eve's necks at the same time. Their Spider-Sense was triggered at the exact same instant, and they both looked toward the kitchen.
"It's Gwen," Marcus said.
As soon as his voice fell, the kitchen door was pushed open. Gwen was wearing a loose home T-shirt and holding a spatula in her hand. Seeing Marcus standing in the living room, a surprised smile bloomed on her face: "Marcus, you're back!"
Eve's gaze landed on Gwen, scanning her from head to toe. She reached out and pinched Marcus's waist, her fingertips pinching a small piece of flesh and gently twisting it half a turn. Marcus didn't feel any pain, but the corner of his mouth still twitched slightly.
Gwen's gaze fell on Eve, then looked at the girl standing on the other side of Marcus with cat ears and a tail gently flicking behind her, and finally looked back at Marcus. The smile on her face didn't change, but the temperature in her voice dropped slightly: "Who are they?"
Eve released her hand pinching Marcus's waist, stepped forward, and wore a polite and proper smile on her face: "My name is Eve, and I'm Marcus's girlfriend."
Delta also hurriedly stepped forward, her tail flicking frantically behind her, her voice loud and crisp: "I'm Delta! I'm also the Boss's girlfriend!"
Gwen froze, her blue eyes scanning back and forth between Eve and Delta. Her lips moved, and it took her a long time to repeat that word: "Girl... girlfriend? Two of them?"
Marcus raised his hand, balled his fist against his mouth, and coughed heavily twice: "You guys chat. I'll step out for a moment." Before his voice finished, his figure had already disappeared from the living room, moving so fast as if something was chasing him from behind.
He flew to the backyard of the villa, took Cosmic Orb out of the space bracelet, and lightly opened his fingertips, blinding purple light gushing out from the gap.
He reached out and grasped the constantly pulsing purple gemstone, feeling the flow of energy inside. The light was much dimmer than before, but it was recovering at an extremely fast speed. He estimated for a moment, and it shouldn't take more than a few hours to fully charge.
Suddenly, a pillar of colorful light roared down from the depths of the sky, crashing onto the lawn in the backyard, the residual energy wave rustling the flowers and plants.
The light dissipated, and Thor stood in the center of the lawn, his bright red cloak snapping in the wind behind him. He strode forward, hugged Marcus in a bear hug, patted his back hard, and laughed heartily: "Long time no see, brother!"
Marcus patted his shoulder, his gaze passing over Thor's shoulder and landing on the slender figure behind him. Loki was standing at the spot where the Bifrost Bridgelanded, his hands crossed in front of him, a signature meaningful smile hanging on the corner of his mouth.
"What brings you here?" Marcus withdrew his gaze, released Thor, and asked.
Thor turned his head to look at Loki, sighed, his voice carrying a bit of helplessness and annoyance: "Loki this guy brought Odin to Earth. So I brought him to find Odin."
Marcus glanced at Loki, then looked back at Thor: "This guy has the ability to bring Odin here?"
Just as Thor was about to open his mouth to explain, the back door of the villa was pushed open, and Eve, Delta, Gwen, Kumoko, and Milong trooped out. Eve walked at the very front, her gaze falling on mjolnir in Thor's hand, and she asked: "What happened?"
"Nothing, this is my friend, Thor the God of Thunder." Marcus turned sideways, raised his hand toward Thor, and then turned to Eve and the others, introducing each person's name to Thor in turn.
Thor nodded and greeted them one by one, his gaze lingering for a moment when it swept over Kumoko and Milong, and then returning to Marcus's face: "I don't know what method he used either."
At this time, Loki stepped forward with an elegant pace, spreading his hands, his voice full of smugness: "I am the master of magic of the Nine Realms after all. Tricking an old man is still a piece of cake."
"Shut up, Loki," Thor said in a low voice. Loki placed his finger on his lips, made an OK gesture, and then exaggeratedly pulled it horizontally across, indicating that he had zipped his mouth shut.
Thor glanced in Loki's direction, turned to Marcus and said: "Pay him no mind."
Marcus nodded and asked: "Then do you know where your father is?"
Just as Thor was about to answer, a circle of golden light suddenly lit up under the feet of Loki standing behind him. Before the smile on Loki's face could even fade, his entire body fell straight into the circle of light, without even having time to let out a gasp of surprise. The circle of light closed silently the moment he disappeared.
"Loki!" Thor strode to the spot where Loki had disappeared and looked down. A business card had appeared on the ground at some unknown time. He bent down to pick it up, his gaze sweeping over the text on it, his brow furrowing slightly, and then he looked up at Marcus, speaking a bit faster than before: "I'll be going first. I'll treat you to a big meal next time, goodbye."
Marcus nodded: "Goodbye."
Thor swung mjolnir, his figure dragging a silver-gray trail as he soared into the sky, instantly disappearing above the clouds.
Chapter 106: Strengthening the Shrinking Flashlight, DeltaShrinks and Makes a Surprising Remark
Eve withdrew her gaze and looked at Marcus, a hint of suspicion in her tone: "Is this guy really the legendary Thor?"
Kumoko also nodded beside them, blinking her several eyes as she chimed in: "Exactly, why do I feel like he is a bit foolish?"
"Without a doubt. He is Thor, the God of Thunder of this world." Marcus answered with a certain tone.
Kumoko tilted her head to think for a moment, but still couldn't help muttering: "I feel like this Thor lacks the majesty of the gods in games."
"Stop talking about this." Marcus took out the shrinking flashlight from the space bracelet and spun it half a circle in his palm, "Let's solve your size issue first."
Then he stimulated the Aether Particle within his body, and dark red liquid energy surged out from his chest, wrapping around the shell of the flashlight like mercury.
Next, he channeled the energy of the Power Stone out of his palm, and the purple light flowed trace by trace along the veins of the Aether Particle into the interior of the flashlight. Dark red and deep purple intertwined, and the entire flashlight trembled slightly.
At this moment, Delta curiously leaned forward, her tail swinging gently behind her, looking at the purple-red intertwined light in Marcus's hands: "Boss, what are you doing?"
While guiding the energy of the Power Stone to slowly inject into the interior of the flashlight, Marcus explained: "Kumoko's size is too big. This flashlight can make her a bit smaller."
Delta's eyes lit up, full of novelty, and her tone carried a hint of eagerness: "Is it that magical, Boss? Let me try it later too."
Marcus nodded: "Alright."
Before long, the enhancement was over. Marcus put away the Aether Particle and the Power Stone, shook the uniquely shaped flashlight in his hand, and said to Kumoko: "Alright."
"Great! I can finally stay on Master's body again!" Kumokobounced up from the ground with excitement.
Marcus decisively pressed the switch, and a soft white beam enveloped Kumoko. Her body slowly shrank in the white light, all the way from half a person's height down to only the size of a palm.
Marcus turned off the flashlight. Kumoko lowered her head to look at her body, which had shrunk by an unknown magnitude, and several of her eyes lit up simultaneously. Pushing off with her hind legs, she pounced directly onto Marcus, climbed up his collar all the way to the top of his head, hugged his head tightly with her front legs, and said with a voice full of irrepressible joy: "The feeling of being on Master's head has been a long time coming!"
Delta also stepped forward full of excitement, her tail flicking fast behind her, and her eyes shining like two stars: "Boss, it's my turn, it's my turn!"
Marcus raised the flashlight and pressed the switch. A soft white beam fell on Delta, and her body rapidly shrank in the white light, going from her originally tall figure down to the size of a three or four-year-old child. The black and white cat ears on top of her head trembled slightly, and that tail appeared even fluffier due to her smaller body.
Delta lowered her head to look at her shrunk palms, then touched her ears and tail, spinning around in place excitedly for several circles: "So magical! It's just like going back to my childhood. But the figure hasn't changed."
She darted back and forth across the courtyard, occasionally jumping onto the edge of the flower bed to walk unsteadily with open arms like walking on a balance beam, and other times darting under the tree to look up at the bird's nest in the tree, her tail swinging behind her like a small propeller.
"Have you played enough? Can you change back now?" Marcus looked at her running around everywhere, a hint of helplessness in his tone.
Delta ran in front of Marcus, shook her small body, and grabbed the hem of his trousers: "Boss, how about I keep this petite look to accompany you tonight?"
Gwen's gaze instantly shifted to Marcus. She didn't say anything, just quietly looked at him. There were no emotions in those blue eyes, yet they made Marcus's back feel inexplicably chilly.
Marcus coughed, raised his hand to tap Delta gently on the head. Then he raised the flashlight to change her back to her original size: "Stop letting your imagination run wild. Go tidy up the room quickly."
Delta held her head, her soft ears drooping down listlessly, and let out a muffled "Oh" from her mouth before turning to walk toward the villa. Her tail swayed gently behind her, and after taking a few steps, she turned back to look at Marcus again, her eyes clearly spelling out, "I was just making a suggestion."
Marcus turned his head to look at the others standing in the courtyard and said: "Let's go help out too."
Milong nodded, a flash of light passed, and she transformed from a small Blue Dragon into a human form. Eve was quick-eyed and fast-handed, waving her hands as pink atomic energy instantly condensed into a purple tight suit on Milong's body surface, wrapping her tightly from neck to ankles. She stepped forward with a helpless tone: "Didn't I tell you not to transform into a human form in front of others?"
Milong tilted her head, her clear eyes blinking, and her voice carried a matter-of-fact tone: "Aren't these all our own people?"
Eve's movements paused for a moment, her mouth opening as she found herself unable to find any reason to refute. She simply stopped dwelling on this issue, reached out to take Milong's hand, and pulled her toward the villa: "Let's go inside and help first."
"Alright." Milong obediently acknowledged, following Eveinto the villa. Kumoko also strode on her several legs, following behind them inside.
Gwen stood in place, watching Milong's figure disappear at the villa entrance. A moment later, she turned her head back, her blue eyes staring straight at Marcus with a hint of guesswork in her tone: "Could it be?"
Marcus hurriedly shook his head, his speaking speed a bit faster than usual: "There's nothing at all."
Gwen withdrew her gaze, her voice returning to calmness—a calmness so complete that one couldn't tell what she was actually thinking: "Even if there is something, it has nothing to do with me. I'm going home first."
Finished speaking, she turned around and walked out of the courtyard.
Marcus reached out and took her hand. Gwen's footsteps paused. He held her hand without exerting force, just gently enclosing her fingers, his tone carrying a sense of retention: "The meal you cooked hasn't been eaten yet."
"I'm full." Gwen gently withdrew her hand. Marcus didn't force her anymore and released his fingers. Gwen pulled her hand back, turned to push open the courtyard gate, and walked along the gravel path toward her home. Marcusstood in the courtyard, watching her back gradually shrink away without saying anything.
At this moment, slight footsteps came from the villa entrance. Eve poked half her body out from behind the door frame. She also looked at the direction where Gwendisappeared, then turned to Marcus with a comforting tone: "Don't be sad. Since she is also a Spider-Man bitten by Kumoko, she won't accept anyone else besides you."
Marcus withdrew his gaze, turned around and walked toward the villa, saying: "I am certainly not sad."
Eve leaned against the door frame with her arms crossed over her chest, watching Marcus walk over with a casual expression. The corners of her mouth ticked up slightly, her smile carrying a hint of teasing: "Don't I know you? Big pervert."
Marcus walked up to her, threw his arm around her waist, pulled her whole body into his arms, and lowered his head to give her a fierce kiss. Eve's breathing hitched from his sudden action, her hands instinctively pressing against his chest.
Marcus released her lips, looking at her slightly widened blue eyes, with a dangerous smile in his tone: "It seems you want to taste my prowess again tonight."
Eve's expression changed, and that teasing look from earlier vanished instantly without a trace as she hurriedly admitted her mistake: "I was wrong."
Marcus took her hand, pushed open the door and walked into the villa: "It's good that you know you were wrong."
Closing the main gate, sunlight once again blanketed the entire villa.
Chapter 107 Night Sky Web Anomaly, Dual Spiders High Altitude Fight Vulture
In the evening, Marcus was suspended in mid-air, looking down as Gwen knocked several bank robbers to the ground with punches and kicks.
Her movements were clean and decisive; before the last robber could even draw his gun, she flipped him over with a sweep of her leg, sending him rolling across the ground several times.
Gwen raised her hand to shoot a strand of web that stuck to the billboard on the opposite rooftop, swinging her figure in an arc between the buildings and landing on the rooftop of a tall building.
Marcus flew up behind her, took a steaming roasted leg of lamb out of his space bracelet, and said, "Gwen, take a rest. You have been fighting criminals all afternoon, eat something."
Gwen pulled off her mask, her blonde hair gently lifted by the night wind.
She did not take the leg of lamb, but simply turned around to look at Marcus. There was a hint of coldness in her blue eyes, and she said indifferently, "Why aren't you sleeping at home with your two girlfriends instead of coming here to care about me."
Just as Marcus was about to open his mouth, his Spider-Sense exploded without warning at the back of his neck, and he abruptly raised his head to look up at the night sky.
Seeing Marcus suddenly look up, Gwen followed his gaze to glance at the empty sky, frowned, and asked, "What's wrong?"
"I sensed another web fluctuation." Marcus's gaze remained locked in that direction.
Gwen looked at the pitch-black night sky, her brow slightly furrowed: "I didn't feel anything." She paused and added, "However, what you sensed might be Peter Parker."
Marcus turned to look at her: "Peter Parker? Did he become a Spider-Man too?"
Gwen nodded, the night wind blowing her blonde hair gently across her cheeks: "Yes. Just a year ago." Her gaze turned to the sky again, a trace of worry in her voice, "Is he in trouble?"
"That's right," Marcus answered briefly.
Gwen hurried to his side, reached out to hug his waist, looked up at him, and said in a firm tone: "Take me up. I'm going to help him."
Marcus put the roasted leg of lamb in his hand back into his space bracelet, wrapped one arm around Gwen's waist, and held her securely in his arms: "Alright."
As his voice fell, he exerted force with his feet, and the two of them soared into the air, flying toward the source of the web fluctuation.
High in the air, a modified transport plane was flying at full speed.
On the back of the plane, a man wearing huge mechanical wings was suspended in the night sky, those metal wings gleaming with a gloomy, cold light under the moonlight.
He was none other than the Vulture, his falcon-like eyes staring intently at the red and blue figure below.
Peter Parker was lying flat on the back of the plane. Having just gone through several rounds of combat, his red and blue battle suit was stained with quite a bit of dust.
The Vulture's twin wings vibrated violently, transforming him into a diving falcon as he lunged straight forward. The sharp wing blades tore through the air, carrying a piercing scream as they slashed toward Peter.
Peter rolled on the spot, the wing blade brushing against his back as it struck the plane's hull, splashing a string of dazzling sparks.
While rolling, he raised both hands, and two strands of web from his wrist shooters precisely adhered to the Vulture's back.
Peter Parker gave the web a fierce pull and then released his hand, sending the Vulture flying backward and tumbling through the air several times.
The turbine engines of the mechanical twin wings on the Vulture's back burst into a harsh roar, and after flying not far, he forcibly stabilized his figure.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Peter Parker turned around, intending to slip into the cabin, but the Vulture had already caught up. The mecha grappling claws at his feet popped out sharp steel blades, directly clawing toward Peter Parker.
Peter Parker had no choice but to kick off the cabin door, propelling himself outward.
While flipping in the air, he raised his hand to shoot two strands of web, sticking them to the bottom of the plane, swinging his body in an arc beneath the fuselage.
The Vulture's steel claws grabbed fiercely onto the cabin door, and with a strong tug, he forcefully tore the entire door off.
Seeing this, Peter swung his arms hard, swaying his entire body from the side of the fuselage up onto the back of the plane.
Before he even had time to land, the Vulture had risen into the air again, smashing that cabin door in his hand fiercely over.
Peter Parker in the air had no time to dodge and could only cross his arms to block in front of him. Then he was smashed away by the cabin door, his whole body plummeting out of control toward the night sky.
He flailed his limbs wildly in the air, letting out a series of out-of-tune screams from his mouth.
At this moment, two strands of web descended from the sky, precisely adhering to Peter's shoulders.
Peter hurriedly reached out to grab the web, looking up. Under the moonlight, Gwen was held in Marcus's arms, her hands holding the other end of the web.
"Thanks, Spider-Woman, Cosmic Superman." Peter Parker's voice still retained the lingering fright of the fall just now.
"You're welcome," Gwen replied, then waved her arms hard, throwing Peter fiercely in the direction of the plane.
Seeing Marcus's figure, a trace of dread flashed through the Vulture's falcon-like eyes, and he hurriedly turned his direction, wanting to escape.
Peter, who had been thrown into mid-air by Gwen, and Gwen, who was in Marcus's arms, raised their hands at the same time, two strands of web accurately sticking to the Vulture's back.
The Vulture had no choice but to abruptly brake his figure, turn around, and wave his wing blade to cut the web.
Gwen turned her head and said hurriedly to Marcus, "Throw me over."
Marcus nodded, with a gentle lift and push, Gwen's entire body flew toward the Vulture like a cannonball out of a barrel.
She adjusted her posture in the air, her right fist carrying the sound of breaking wind as it smashed fiercely onto the Vulture's helmet, the helmet's visor shattering with a crash.
Leveraging the remaining force of her punch, Gwen landed on the back of the plane.
Struck by this punch, the Vulture spun a full circle in the air before barely stabilizing himself.
Peter, who had also landed on the plane, didn't give him a chance to breathe. He shot webs from both hands to stick to the Vulture's mechanical wings, and with a hard downward pull, the Vulture was dragged down and smashed fiercely onto the plane's deck.
The Vulture stood up from the deck, his gaze sweeping over Marcus, who was hovering in the night sky in the distance without coming closer, and then turned his head to look at Peter Parker, his voice tinged with the irritability of being driven to a dead end: "I didn't want to hurt anyone, but now you have forced me."
He reached out and pulled a grenade from his waist, about to throw it toward Peter Parker.
Behind him, Gwen had already raised her hand to shoot a web, which accurately stuck to the Vulture's wrist. With a hard pull from her, the grenade slipped from the Vulture's hand and flew into the night sky outside the plane.
Peter Parker hurriedly raised one hand, shot a web to stick to the falling grenade, pulled it back, gripped it in his palm to check the safety pin, and said with a bit of lingering fear in his tone: "It wouldn't be good if it fell to the ground and exploded."
At this moment, the turbine engines on the Vulture's back burst into a harsh roar again, and his entire body rushed upward fiercely.
Gwen and Peter reacted at the same time, gripping tightly onto the web stuck to him.
Held back by the two forces, the Vulture hovered in mid-air, the engine's thrust and the web's pull falling into a brief stalemate.
Chapter 108: Vulture Captured, Gwen's Soft Heart, Nidavellir Forges Stormbreaker
At this moment, Vulture used his unglued hand to pull another grenade from his waist and threw it toward the deck.
Peter had no choice but to release the spider silk in his hand, raising his hand to shoot another stream of spider silk to pull the grenade back.
Without Peter's pulling counterbalance, Gwen was instantly lifted into the air by the huge force of Vulture ascending.
High in the air, Vulture frantically circled and flipped, while Gwen tightly clutched the spider silk without letting go. The spider silk rubbed back and forth against the sharp fuselage edge until it snapped with a pop, sending her entire body flying out.
Marcus's figure instantly appeared beside Gwen, reaching out to steadily hold her in his arms.
Without pausing, two purple beams shot from his eyes, precisely hitting the mechanical wings on Vulture's back.
The fire of the engine explosion lit up the night sky, and Vulture dragged thick smoke as he plummeted downward.
Marcus held Gwen and landed on the back of the aircraft, and said, "Stop the Life Qi."
Peter let out an admiring "Wow" nearby.
Gwen's cheeks flushed slightly, and she turned her head away without looking at him, saying in a low voice, "Put me down first."
Marcus gently placed her on the back of the aircraft, took out a hamburger from the space bracelet, and handed it in front of her: "Eat."
Gwen took the hamburger, lowered her head to take a bite, chewed a few times, and then raised her head, her voice still retaining a bit of uncompletely melted stubbornness: "I haven't forgiven you yet."
Marcus smiled and nodded.
Peter walked forward at this time, scratched the back of his head, and his tone carried a bit of cautiousness: "Um, I didn't mean to disturb you guys, but where is Vulture?"
Gwen's expression changed slightly, she turned to look at Marcus, and said in a hurried tone: "Go save him quickly."
Marcus smiled and said, "Rest assured, I won't let him die."
Before his voice fell, his figure had disappeared from the back of the aircraft.
A moment later, he appeared in front of the two again, carrying the unconscious Vulture in his hand.
Peter widened his eyes, his voice full of disbelief: "Wow, so fast."
Marcus didn't answer, just threw the unconscious Vulture to Peter: "I'll leave this guy to you."
Peter hurriedly reached out to catch him, nodded, his tone carrying a bit of solemnity: "You can rest assured and leave it to me."
Marcus nodded, walked to Gwen's side, gently picked her up, exerted force with his feet, and the two flew toward the direction of Queens.
Peter stood on the back of the aircraft, watching that gradually receding figure, whispering softly in his mouth: "It's really nice. I wonder when I can be with MJ."
In Gwen's room, Marcus gently placed her by the bed, and took out several kinds of food from the space bracelet to place on the table.
Steaming fried rice, a portion of roasted lamb chops, and a few desserts brought from Chicago.
He straightened up, looked at her, and his tone carried a bit of exhortation: "Eat well. Don't exhaust yourself."
After speaking, he turned and walked toward the window.
Gwen looked at his back, her lips moved, and when that figure was about to fly out of the window, she finally spoke, her voice very soft: "How long are you staying this time?"
Marcus stopped on the window frame, turned his head sideways, and the moonlight sprinkled on his side face: "About a month."
After speaking, he tapped his feet lightly, and his figure disappeared into the night.
One month later.
On the streets of Queens, the sunlight was just right, and Marcus walked in the middle of the sidewalk, with the palm-sized Kumoko crawling on top of his head.
Milong transformed into a human form and walked on his left side, the cyan cheongsam swaying gently in the breeze.
Delta followed on his right side, her tail swinging leisurely behind her.
Eve and Gwen walked side by side at the very front, whispering about a new trench coat in the roadside storefront window.
A young couple walked past by the roadside.
The girl followed her boyfriend's straight gaze and happened to see Marcus surrounded by four beauties of different styles in the middle.
Her face sank, and she asked coldly, "Is it good-looking?"
The boy stared fixedly, his mouth slightly open, and subconsciously spat out two words: "Good, good-looking."
The girl snorted and turned away to leave, her heels heavily tapping on the sidewalk.
The boy snapped back to his senses abruptly, scrambled to chase after her, shouting a series of "I was wrong" in his mouth.
Marcus pushed open the glass door of a clothing store, following behind Gwen and Eve as they walked in.
Gwen picked up a dress from the shelf, compared it against the mirror, and then picked up another top, unfolding it in front of her to examine.
Marcus stood behind her, watched her pick out the clothes one by one, and finally asked, "Clearly you could let me conjure the clothes you like for you, why do you still come to buy them?"
Gwen didn't even look back, draped a pair of jeans and a light blue shirt over her arm, picked up a set of underwear and walked into the fitting room. Her voice came from behind the curtain, unhurried, yet made Marcus instantly shut his mouth: "You bullied me so much last night, and I didn't say anything. Are you unwilling even to accompany me to buy some clothes?"
Marcus stood outside the fitting room and hurriedly said, "Buy, buy. Buy whatever you want."
On the other side, Nidavellir.
Bruce Banner stood beside the forge, watching the Dwarf King Eitri place pieces of rare metals and magical Materialsonto the workbench. The huge mechanical arm moved slowly above the melting furnace, and the entire forging hall was reflected into a dark red by the firelight of the stellar furnace.
"Can the weapon you forge really help Thor defeat his sister?" Bruce asked, his voice still carrying a bit of hoarseness.
Eitri raised his head from the pile of Materials, his hands not stopping their movement, his tone full of taken-for-grantedness: "mjolnir, that is mjolnir, you know it, right?"
Bruce nodded.
Eitri threw a piece of metal glowing with golden light into the furnace, splashing a string of dazzling sparks: "I made that. This time the Materials I used are better, and the weapon made is even more powerful, which will definitely allow Thor to defeat Hela."
Valkyrie folded her arms and leaned against the wall, her gaze falling on that mass of metal slowly forming in the furnace.
Her voice was calm yet carried a bit of heaviness: "I have witnessed Hela's power with my own eyes. I hope the weapon you make is actually useful."
At this time, Thor ran over in big strides, holding a branch still carrying dew in his hand, his blonde hair covered with broken leaves and bark, shouting loudly: "The World Treehas been brought!"
"Good, start forging!" Eitri shouted loudly, activating the stellar forging furnace.
The dazzling light instantly filled the entire forging hall, and the huge energy fluctuation made the ground tremble slightly.
The metal in the furnace quickly melted, underwent Fusion, and formed under the stellar-level high temperature. In just a short while, the battleaxe in the mold already had a rudimentary shape.
Eitri immediately turned to Thor, his voice urgent and solemn: "Input your Divine Power into Stormbreaker!"
Thor stepped forward, gripped the axe handle with both hands, and poured all the thunder Divine Power in his body into it without reservation.
In an instant, thunder light flashed, and countless thick lightning bolts burst out from the battleaxe, shrouding the entire Nidavellir in thunder light.
Bruce and Valkyrie both instinctively raised their hands to block their eyes.
When the thunder light dissipated, Thor's back appeared in front of everyone, holding Stormbreaker high with both hands, the axe blade still retaining leaping electric arcs, and the air of the entire forging hall trembled slightly due to the birth of this Divine Artifact.
Valkyrie looked at that back, her body that had originally leaned against the wall subconsciously straightening up, a hint of hope appearing in her voice for the first time: "There really is hope."
Bruce clenched his fists and pulled a smile at the corner of his mouth: "Let's hurry up and deal with that Hela. I miss the food on Earth."
Thor felt the surging power in Stormbreaker, that power resonating perfectly with the thunder Divine Power in his body, even more violent than mjolnir.
He turned around, weighed the battleaxe in his hand, and suddenly grinned: "Before taking action, I'll go call an external helper."
As the words fell, he raised Stormbreaker, and the colorful beam of the Bifrost Bridge instantly engulfed him.
Chapter 109: The Bifrost Bridge descends upon Asgard, the undead siege begins, and everyone goes to war.
Earth.
Marcus and his group had just returned to the villa and hadn't even had time to push open the door when a colorful beam of light crashed down from the depths of the sky, slamming into the backyard lawn.
Everyone turned back to look, and Thor strode out from the light, carrying a battleaxe faintly crackling with lightning.
Marcus looked at the weapon in his hand and raised an eyebrow slightly: "You changed your weapon."
Thor waved the stormbreaker, and the residual lightning on the blade traced a short arc in the air: "That's right, I just made it to deal with my sister."
Looking at the rare solemnity on his face, Marcus said in a calm tone: "It doesn't look like you're here to reminisce with me."
"My sister, Hela, the Goddess of Death. She is slaughtering the people of Asgard." Thor gripped the axe handle tightly, his voice low and solemn, "I'm not sure if I can stop her. That's why I came to find you, the guardian of Asgard. I don't know if you are willing to fight with me and protect the people of Asgard."
As soon as his voice fell, two slight tugs came from Marcus's sides at the same time.
Gwen and Eve each tugged on one of his sleeves.
Marcus reached back and took both of their hands without looking back, his tone still calm: "Helping is fine. But after this is over, you have to let me use the Bifrost Bridge to take Gwen traveling to various planets."
Thor strode over to Marcus's side, laughed out loud, and raised his hand to heavily pat his shoulder: "You are the guardian of Asgard! You can use the Bifrost Bridgehowever you like!"
Marcus nodded: "Then let's set off."
Just as Thor raised the stormbreaker, Gwen stepped forward, determination in her voice: "We want to go help too."
Eve also stepped forward, Delta's tail straightened behind her, Milong stood quietly behind them, and Kumoko raised her front legs atop Marcus's head and waved.
Thor's gaze swept across their faces and finally landed on Marcus.
Marcus nodded, so Thor activated the stormbreaker, and a colorful beam of light crashed down, swallowing everyone whole.
The next instant, everyone's feet stepped onto the solid metal ground of Nidavellir.
Valkyrie leaned against the wall with her arms crossed, her gaze passing over Thor and landing on the young man surrounded by four women behind him.
She looked Marcus up and down a few times, making no effort to hide the suspicion in her tone: "Are you sure this playboy is the reinforcement you found?"
"Although Marcus is a playboy, his strength is very strong." Thor replied without looking back.
Valkyrie didn't say anything else, but her eyes were still full of distrust.
Seeing that Valkyrie didn't say anything more, Thor raised the stormbreaker: "Come on, we should go."
Valkyrie and Bruce walked over to Thor's side.
Thor activated the Bifrost Bridge once more, and the light swallowed everyone together.
The next instant, everyone had stepped onto the Bifrost Bridge observatory of Asgard.
At this moment, earth-shaking battle cries and terrified screams of civilians came from a distance.
Everyone turned their heads to look at the same time. At the other end of the Bifrost Bridge, a giant wolf as tall as two stories was leading a pitch-black undead legion, trapping a group of unarmed civilians on the bridge deck.
The undead soldiers raised rusted swords and blades, closing in step by step. Cries of children and desperate pleas of mothers came from among the civilians.
Seeing this, Thor roared angrily, swung the stormbreaker, and flew out first.
His figure cleaved into the undead crowd like lightning. The moment the axe blade slammed down, violent lightning burst out in all directions, turning dozens of undead into dust in the thunder, clearing a charred open space on the bridge deck.
At the same time, Milong raised her head and let out a clear dragon roar, her body soaring into the sky and suddenly transforming into a thousand-meter-long Dragon in mid-air.
Cyan scales gleamed with dazzling luster under Asgard's sunlight. She swooped down, a giant claw precisely grabbing the giant wolf that was about to tear into the civilians.
The giant wolf struggled frantically in her claws, its four wolf paws scratching the air in vain, letting out angry roars.
Milong tossed the giant wolf into the air, then opened her mouth to spew a pillar of crimson fire, the scorching flames swallowing the entire giant wolf into a sea of fire.
The giant wolf, wrapped in flames, crashed onto the Bifrost Bridge, smashing out a huge crater.
Milong continued to spew raging flames downward. The giant wolf's fur was constantly scorched, but its wounds were healing at a speed visible to the naked eye, with new fur constantly growing out of the charred flesh.
Eve watched as Thor and Milong had both joined the battle. A flash of pink light beneath her feet, and her entire person soared into the air.
She waved her hands to the sides, and atomic energy surged like a tide, condensing hundreds of firearms out of thin air around her body—rifles, machine guns, sniper rifles—densely filling the entire sky.
She waved her ten fingers forward, and all the firearms opened fire simultaneously. The dense energy barrage poured into the undead crowd like a torrential rain, tearing patches of undead soldiers to pieces.
Meanwhile, she gently pressed her other hand downward, and a layer of pink translucent protective shield condensed out of thin air, protecting all the terrified civilians inside like an inverted bowl.
Delta directly leaped down from the observatory, her black-and-white figure slamming into the densest area of the undead legion like a cannonball.
She had no weapons, just shattering the undead's breastplate with a punch, smashing through an undead's shield with her elbow, and sweeping her tail to send three or four undead flying simultaneously.
She rampaged through the undead crowd, bone fragments and broken swords flying everywhere wherever she passed.
Gwen watched as her companions each displayed their Divine Might, while she herself did not have large-scale attack methods.
But she didn't hesitate at all, jumping directly to the edge of the protective shield and guarding in front of the civilians.
Whenever an undead leaked through the gaps in Eve's barrage, she would raise her hand and shoot spider silk, firmly sticking them to the bridge deck or kicking them to pieces.
Thor swung his axe to cleave apart another wave of undead, looked up towards the direction of the palace, and shouted to everyone: "I'm going to find Hela! Leave these undead to you!"
As his voice fell, he swung the stormbreaker, his figure dragging a streak of thunder as he charged straight toward the palace.
As soon as Thor flew away, heavy footsteps came from behind the undead legion.
Several giant undead standing five to six meters tall walked out from the darkness. Their bodies were condensed from dark blue frost, leaving a layer of spreading white frost on the bridge deck with every step they took, and the icy chill lowered the temperature of the surrounding air by a few degrees.
Valkyrie swung her sword to chop apart an undead in front of her, looked up and saw those giant figures, a trace of solemnity flashing in her eyes: "Those are Frost Giant undead. I'll go deal with them!"
She leaped up from the bridge deck, the Dragonfang sword in her hand tracing an arc of cold light in the air, slashing down head-on toward the leading Frost Giant undead.
Bruce stood on the observatory, watching his companions charge into the battlefield one by one.
His breathing grew more and more rapid, the muscles on his face began to twitch, he raised his head and let out a few angry roars, then raised his hand and slapped himself hard across the face, then slapped himself again, roaring: "Come out! Come out quickly, Hulk!"
Marcus stood next to him, watching Bruce slap himself slap after slap until his cheeks were red and swollen, yet Hulk showed no signs of appearing.
He turned his head and asked: "Do you need my help?"
Chapter 110: Divine Power of Death Sweeps Asgard, Instantaneous Breakthrough, The Goddess of Death is Immortal and Indestructible
Bruce Banner turned to look at Marcus, rubbing his slapped-red cheek while panting heavily and asking, "How are you going to help me?"
Marcus raised a hand, and Aether Particle surged from his palm, the dark red liquid energy rapidly condensing into several realistic illusions around Bruce.
In the first illusion, Natasha was arm-in-arm with a strange man, walking further and further away without even turning her head back.
In the second illusion, Betty Ross stood beside another man wearing a wedding dress, a happy smile on her face that he had never seen before.
As soon as the illusion formed, Bruce's eyes instantly turned emerald green.
"Hulk!" A heaven-shaking roar burst from deep within Bruce's throat, his body expanding rapidly like it was being inflated, green muscles bursting through his shirt as he transformed into that green giant in moments.
Hulk threw a punch straight down at Marcus's head, the wind of the fist tearing through the air, carrying a chest full of rage.
Marcus sidestepped to avoid that giant green fist, the muscles in his right arm suddenly tensing, and the purple energy within his body poured entirely into his knuckles.
With force generated from his waist and abdomen, he landed a solid heavy punch on Hulk's abdomen, blasting the green behemoth flying away like a cannonball.
Hulk's massive body smashed into the densest area of the Undead army, creating a deep pit tens of meters in diameter on the bridge deck, sending a large swath of surrounding undead soldiers flying from the shockwave.
Hulk climbed out of the pit, the fury in those emerald-green eyes still unabated, but the enemies in front of him had already changed to a new batch.
He roared and grabbed the ankle of a Frost Giant undead, swinging it around to smash into another one, ice shards and bones splashing everywhere.
He smashed an undead's head with one punch and crushed another undead's torso with one stomp, emitting indistinct roars from his mouth as he poured all the anger born from the illusions onto these undead.
Marcus stood on the lookout tower, watching Hulkrampage through the crowd of undead.
He nodded, and Kumoko on top of his head suddenly tapped his forehead gently with her front legs, her voice full of eagerness, "Master, hurry up and make me bigger! I want to go help too!"
"You don't need to go this time." Marcus replied in a calm tone.
Kumoko's front legs froze in mid-air, several eyes widening simultaneously, her voice full of disbelief, "Eh? Why?!"
"Your size is too big. That bridge cannot hold you. I'll let you go next time." Marcus raised a finger to point at the Bifrost Bridge in the distance, which was already packed full of undead and giant wolves.
Kumoko's front legs slowly lowered, lying flat on top of Marcus's head, her voice full of disappointment, "Fine."
At that moment, a heaven-shaking roar came from the direction of the Asgardian palace.
A giant sword as massive as a mountain thrust out from the palace, and the entire palace trembled violently under this blow.
Marcus's gaze was instantly drawn over. Through the churning smoke and dust, he saw Thor being pushed toward the sky by that giant sword.
Thor let out a fierce shout, lightning surging wildly on the stormbreaker, and the axe blade fiercely chopped down toward the giant sword beneath his feet.
Lightning exploded across the sword body, and instantly the entire giant sword was torn apart in a series of explosions, fragments smashing toward various corners of Asgard like meteors.
Hela's figure emerged from behind the shattered giant sword.
Her entire body was wreathed in a dark green death aura, holding a pitch-black Nightsky Sword in her hand, the blade entwined with continuously churning black fog.
She slashed a sword toward Thor, so fast that it left only a dark green afterimage in the air.
Thor hurriedly raised the stormbreaker to block, while his empty left hand pushed sharply forward, a thick bolt of lightning shooting out from his palm to hit Hela squarely in the chest, blasting her flying out of the palace.
Hela's body traced a dark green arc in the air, smashing heavily into the center of a square in Asgard, the ground exploding with spiderweb-like cracks centered around her.
Thor did not hesitate in the slightest, lightning flashing under his feet as his figure chased after her like lightning.
He raised the stormbreaker high with both hands, Divine Power of thunder condensing on the axe blade, and chopped down fiercely toward Hela's head.
Hela, who had just gotten up from the rubble, saw Thor's axe chopping down like thunder, and a flash of Battle Intent crossed her dark green eyes.
Unwilling to show weakness, the Divine Power of death within her gushed out like a volcano, and she slashed her sword toward the oncoming battle axe.
The moment the sword and axe collided, blue thunder and dark green Divine Power of death erupted roarously with the two of them at the center.
The shockwave, carrying thunder and the aura of death, swept across the entire Asgard.
Where it passed, the metal surfaces of buildings rapidly rusted and decayed, and wooden structures withered and shattered in an instant.
In the distance, Eve saw that dark green death shockwave rushing over this way like a tsunami, and her expression changed drastically.
She dismissed the firearms filling the sky, all atomic energy surging out from within her body, and shouted at the top of her lungs, "Everyone come over!"
The pink barrier suddenly thickened under her full maintenance, tightly protecting the civilians and Gwenwithin it.
Valkyrie had just slain a Frost Giant undead, Dragonfang still dripping with dark blue blood.
She looked up and saw that dark green shockwave rapidly approaching, and without hesitation charged toward Eve's direction with all her might, rolling into the barrier.
The aura of death swept through the entire Bifrost Bridgearea like a gale.
The bridge deck emitted a harsh corrosive sound as the energy swept across, and the undead soldiers actually became even more violent after being submerged by the death aura.
Eve clenched her teeth, her arms trembling slightly, the barrier fluctuating violently under the impact of the death aura, and every erosion added a bit more cold sweat to her forehead.
Amidst the death aura, Hulk's massive body was continuously corroded by the dark green energy.
Scorched cracks emerged on his emerald-green skin, and the pain caused his anger to surge exponentially.
His body regenerated rapidly due to anger, muscles bulging piece by piece, and in just a few breaths his size grew another circle, scooping up two Frost Giant undead from the ground and slamming them fiercely together.
In the air, Milong's kilometer-long dragon body wriggled in pain amidst the death aura.
The cyan scales made a sizzling sound under the erosion of the dark green energy, but the self-healing ability she gained after Fusion with all the dragon souls caused her wounds to heal as soon as they appeared.
Others couldn't even see any traces of decay on her body; only she herself knew how agonizing the excruciating pain of being repeatedly eroded and repeatedly healed by the power of death was.
Aether Particle surged around Marcus, the dark red energy firmly protecting him and Kumoko.
His gaze swept over Eve, who was struggling to support the barrier, and over Milong, who was wriggling in pain in the air.
He no longer watched from the sidelines.
The next instant, his figure disappeared from the lookout tower, appearing out of thin air right in the center of Hela and Thor's battlefield.
Hela had just parried Thor's battle axe when she felt a terrifying pressure strike from the side.
Marcus's right fist, wrapped in purple energy, smashed fiercely onto Hela's head.
Hela's head burst apart roarously under this punch, dark green blood spraying in the air, and her body, losing support, collapsed straight to the ground.
The aura of death suddenly dissipated, and the dark green shockwave enveloping the entire Asgard turned into nothingness at the exact same instant.
Eve panted heavily while supporting the barrier, Hulkcontinued to smash the already shredded undead beneath him in the pit, and Milong slowly descended from the air, her dragon tail gently sweeping across the Bifrost Bridge.
Thor held the stormbreaker, staring blankly at the headless corpse on the ground, his lips moving as if he wanted to say something.
However, the next second, a large amount of dark green energy surged from the broken neck of Hela, and her bones, blood vessels, muscles, and skin regrew at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Within moments, a complete head reappeared on her shoulders.
She propped up her body, her dark green eyes staring fixedly at Marcus, letting out a hoarse and furious roar from her throat, "Who?!"
Thor was so startled by her sudden resurrection that he jumped back a step and shrieked, "What?!"
Hela ignored Thor.
She looked at the expressionless young man in front of her, the corners of her mouth slowly pulling open into a cold arc, her voice full of mockery, "No matter who you are. You cannot kill me."
Chapter 111 Repeatedly Crushing the Goddess of Death, Universe Ending
Marcus hovered above the plaza, looking down as Hela raised the pitch-black Sword of the Night Sky, dark green death aura surging from her body once again, transforming her into a black blur that fiercely charged at Marcus.
Marcus did not speak.
He raised his right leg and delivered a precise mid-air volley kick straight to Hela's head.
Hela's head exploded once more, her body flying backward like a kite with a broken string, crashing heavily into the stone-paved ground of the plaza and leaving a long drag mark.
Dark green energy surged at the fracture of her neck, and new bones and flesh began to grow again.
"I am the Goddess of Death, no one can—" Before Hela's head had even finished regenerating halfway and before she could finish her words, Marcus raised his hand and fired a purple energy bolt from his fingertips, blowing her head into pieces once more.
Hela's body fell on the stone slabs, the energy at her neck began to condense again, and just as the new skull was formed, another energy bolt roared over, blasting it to smithereens.
After repeating this several times, while maintaining suppressing fire on Hela, Marcus turned his head to look at Thor, who was still standing in place holding stormbreaker, and asked in a steady tone, "Do you know of any way to kill your sister?"
Looking at the constantly regenerating body on the ground, Thor said with a solemn voice, "Hela's power is connected to the entire Asgard.
To kill Hela, perhaps we have to destroy Asgard."
"Is that so?"
Marcus replied indifferently.
He spread his five fingers aimed at Hela's upper body, and a thick pillar of purple energy gushed out from his palm.
The power this time far exceeded the previous potshots; Hela's entire upper body turned to dust in the torrent of energy, leaving only her two legs remaining on the stone slabs.
Before Hela's torso could regenerate, Marcus's figure instantly appeared beside her, bending down to grab her ankle and lifting Hela upside down by her foot.
Seeing this scene, Thor widened his eyes, "What are you trying to do?!"
"Since she can infinitely resurrect in Asgard, wouldn't it work just to take her out of Asgard?"
As his voice fell, Marcus exerted force under his feet and flew straight into the Universe, carrying Hela's leg.
Hela's lower body was still frantically surging with dark green energy at the fracture, and her new spine and internal organs were regenerating at an astonishing speed.
Sensing Marcus's purpose, a furious roar came from her throat which had just regenerated halfway, "In your dreams!"
As soon as her arms condensed and formed from her torso, a pitch-black Sword of the Night Sky materialized in her hand out of thin air, and all her dark green Divine Powerwas poured into the blade.
She exerted force from her waist and abdomen, throwing herself toward Marcus, and slashed fiercely at Marcus's chest with both hands gripping the sword.
The blade slashed against the dark red battle suit on Marcus's chest, producing a sharp and piercing metallic clang.
She gritted her teeth, her arms turning into afterimages as tens of thousands of sword strikes poured down onto the exact same spot like a rainstorm, the piercing sounds continuous, exploding silently in the vacuum.
Marcus ignored her attacks.
The battle suit condensed by Aether Particle remained motionless under the blade's edge.
He flew at full speed, the golden light of Asgard rapidly shrinking behind him until that planet turned into a dim light spot, and finally completely disappeared into the dark depths of the Universe.
Marcus stopped his movement, flicked his arm, and tossed Hela into the Universe.
Hela tumbled a few times in the vacuum and steadied her body.
Anger and unwillingness burned in her slit pupils, and dark green Divine Power surged crazily from within her body, condensing into countless pitch-black weapons around her, their tips pointing squarely at Marcus.
"I am the Goddess of Death!"
Her voice exploded in the Universe through the vibration of Divine Power, and thousands of weapons shot toward Marcus like a rainstorm.
Looking at the overwhelming dark green sword rain coming towards him, Marcus unleashed the energy within his body without reservation, illuminating the surrounding dark space of the Universe as bright as day.
A thick torrent of purple energy erupted from between his palms, meeting the dark green sword rain head-on.
The blade edges were silently annihilated in the purple light, and the dark green Divine Power was stripped away and shattered layer by layer until the entire sword rain was completely swallowed up.
The purple torrent pierced through, and Hela's body turned into a wisp of black smoke in the light, completely dissipating into the endless Universe.
Marcus hovered in place, spreading his perception and waiting quietly for a few seconds.
Hela's life aura had completely disappeared.
He withdrew his gaze, turned around, and flew toward the direction of Asgard.
Asgard.
On the bridge, the Undead Army suddenly froze in place, their skeletons emitting a faint cracking sound as they began to disintegrate from the joints.
The skeleton soldiers' swords slipped from their hands, and the tall bodies of the Frost Giant undead collapsed with a crash, shattering into a pile of dark blue ice cubes on the ground.
Milong had just pinned the giant wolf's body with his giant claws, and Thor had already swung stormbreaker down fiercely, the giant wolf's head falling off in response.
He was about to call out to Milong to continue suppressing the wolf's body from regenerating, only to find that the severed head did not grow a new one, and the massive wolf body turned into a pile of withered bones on the bridge deck.
Thor froze for half a second, then raised his head to look in the direction of the Universe, laughing heartily, "Hahaha, Marcus has won!"
Delta smashed the last disintegrating undead in front of her with one punch, her tail wagging rapidly behind her, her face full of justified pride, "Of course! When Boss makes a move, anything can be solved!"
Marcus's figure slowly descended from high altitude onto the bridge deck of Asgard.
The dark red battle suit on him transformed back into dark gray casual clothes.
Looking at Delta rushing over, he said with a hint of helplessness in his tone, "I'm not as amazing as you make me out to be."
"Boss!"
Delta shouted, throwing herself forward like a cannonball, wrapping her legs around his waist and hugging his neck tightly.
Thor strode forward holding stormbreaker. Looking at Marcus with Delta hanging on him, a brilliant smile appeared on his face as he said in a solemn and resounding voice, "Thank you once again for saving Asgard, Marcus."
Just as Marcus was about to say something, a spaceship suddenly appeared in the sky above Asgard.
Loki stood on the spaceship deck with his arms wide open, his cape fluttering loudly behind him, a smug smile plastered across his face as he proclaimed in a booming voice, "People of Asgard! Your savior has arrived!"
The bridge was silent.
There were no cheers, no applause, only countless pairs of eyes staring straight at him in unison.
Loki opened his eyes, only to see his brother Thor covering his face with both hands and the blank expressions of the Asgardian civilians.
Kumoko, who had been resting on top of Marcus's head all along, pointed her front leg at Loki on the spaceship, blinked several times, and evaluated in a crisp voice, "Master, this Loki feels even sillier than that Thunder God."
Thor was also not Life Qi, his tone full of helplessness, "Pay him no mind."
He turned to face the Asgardian people gathered on the bridge, raised stormbreaker to point toward the direction of the city, and announced in a booming voice, "Let's go, we're heading back."
Chapter 112: Gifts of Potions in Asgard, Full Awakening! Returning via Transmigration Straight to Iconic Scenes
One week later, Marcus accompanied Gwen back to Asgard from a planet blooming with a sea of purple flowers. As soon as the two stepped onto the floor, Thor strode up to meet them with a radiant smile on his face, saying in a booming voice, "You've returned just in time! The banquet is about to begin, let's go!"
"Alright." Marcus acknowledged, taking Gwen's hand and following Thor toward the banquet hall.
The banquet hall was resplendent and magnificent, with long tables piled high with delicacies from the Nine Realms. Eve, Delta, Kumoko, and Milong were gathered around a long table laden with food, Delta holding a mountain-like plate in her hands.
Seeing Marcus and Gwen walk in, Kumoko sprang directly from the tabletop, landing steadily on Marcus's shoulder. Holding a half-eaten steak with her front legs, she extended it toward Marcus's mouth, her multiple eyes curving into crescents: "Master, you've returned just in time! There's so much delicious food here, eat up!"
Delta squeezed over from the other side, holding a golden-roasted lamb leg high up. Milong also handed his portion of food in front of Marcus, several pairs of sparkling eyes gazing at him.
Marcus lowered his head and took a bite of the food each of them offered. Seeing this scene, Thor laughed heartily, waved his hand, and said, "Take your time eating, I won't disturb you." Marcus nodded, and Thor turned and walked in the direction of Jane.
Marcus withdrew his gaze, looked at Gwen and Eve, and asked, "You two are starting school soon as well, right?"
Eve nodded, her expression still quite relaxed. Gwen, however, fell silent; thinking about how Marcus was about to leave this world, her mood plummeted instantly. The light in those eyes dimmed a bit.
Looking at Gwen's dejected expression, Marcus reached out to gently take her hand, leading the five of them through the side door of the banquet hall and into a quiet, empty room.
He raised his left hand, took out the precise alloy potion case from the space bracelet, and opened the lid. Vials of glowing potions were neatly embedded in the card slots. He took out five of them and handed them to each person in turn.
Finally, he stood in front of Gwen, gently placing a potion into her palm, his tone slowing down a bit: "Don't be sad. If you drink this potion, not only will you awaken new abilities, but your lifespan will also be increased to several thousand years."
Gwen lowered her head, looking at the cold-glowing potion in her palm. A moment later, her fingers slowly tightened, grasping that potion.
Watching her take the potion, the corners of Marcus's mouth rose slightly. His voice wasn't loud, but every word fell straight into her heart: "From now on, for thousands of years—" He raised his head, shifting his gaze away from Gwen's face to sweep across Eve, Milong, Kumoko, and Delta, a gentle tone in his voice, "None of you are allowed to leave me."
Gwen was the first to tilt her head back and drink the potion in one gulp. Eve followed closely behind, and Milong and Kumoko also opened their bottle caps without hesitation. Delta looked at the glowing potion in her hand and, imitating the others, chugged it down in one gulp.
The effects of the potion came quickly. A pale golden light lit up on Gwen's body first, followed by the pink energy around Eve surging unconsciously. Milong's scales flickered under the light, Kumoko's multiple eyes lit up simultaneously, and Delta's tail stiffened straight. After a moment, all the light gradually subsided, and the room grew quiet once more.
Looking at them, Marcus asked, "How is it? What abilities have you awakened?"
"Boss, I can fly!" As soon as Delta finished speaking, her entire body floated up from the floor. She looked down at her feet off the ground, excitedly doing a somersault in the air, her tail whipping around like a propeller.
Eve spread her hands, the pink energy in her palms even denser and more solid than before: "I didn't awaken any new abilities. However, my body and mind have been strengthened, and both the range and precision of atomic manipulation have improved."
Milong raised his arm, and a ball of soft cyan light emerged from his palm. That light was gentle and introverted, carrying the aura of life: "Master, my ability is healing."
Gwen lowered her head, a layer of pale golden light surging out from within her body and flowing slowly around her. She raised her hand, spreading her five fingers, and a fist-sized, churning golden sphere of light emerged in her palm. The light of the sphere reflected on her face, and looking at the pulsating energy ball in her palm, she softly said, "My ability is energy manipulation."
Kumoko spoke last. Its multiple eyes widened simultaneously, and the tables, chairs, vases, and candlesticks in the room were lifted up together by an invisible force, slowly rotating in mid-air. Its voice was full of smugness: "Master, my ability is spatial distortion!"
Marcus watched them experiment with their newly acquired abilities for a while, and after a moment, he said, "Stop for now. After the banquet ends, I'll help you properly get used to them."
Everyone put away their abilities one after another and followed Marcus back into the banquet hall. Thor was standing at the end of the long table waving at them, holding a golden goblet in his hand.
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Three days later, in the villa. Marcus stood in the center of the living room, and Gwen stood opposite him.
"I'm leaving." Marcus said softly. Gwen stepped forward, reached out to give him a hug, whispered "See you next time" in his ear, and then let go and stepped back a step.
Marcus nodded, his mind shifting slightly, and a pitch-black spatial passage silently unfolded in the living room. Without looking back, he stepped into it, closely followed by Eve, Delta, Milong, and Kumoko. The passage closed, and the living room returned to silence.
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In the Invincible Universe, a pitch-black spatial passage silently tore open in the villa's living room. Marcus stepped out first, followed closely by Eve, Delta, Milong, and Kumoko. Before they even had time to steady themselves, an earth-shattering loud noise came from afar, and the entire villa trembled slightly in the shockwave.
Eve's expression changed. Her feet left the ground, and her figure shot through the ceiling like a pink meteor, hovering in the sky above the city. Marcus stood in place and tilted his head slightly, his hearing capturing all the commotion from afar: the muffled sound of fists slamming into flesh, the crisp sound of bones shattering, the calm breathing of a man, and the weak breathing of a young man. He withdrew his gaze, tapped lightly with his feet, and flew to Eve's side.
High up in the distant sky, Omni-Man Nolan hovered above a piece of ruins, his red and white battle suit immaculate, with not the slightest expression on his face. Opposite him, Invincible Mark was struggling to crawl out from a pile of shattered concrete, his battle suit torn in several places, blood trickling from his temple, staining half his face red.
Looking at the bruised and battered Mark who was swaying as he stood up in the distance, and then looking at the expressionless Nolan hovering above the ruins, Eve's voice was filled with bewilderment and shock: "What on earth happened?"
With his hands in his pockets, Marcus calmly looked at the father and son standing in confrontation in the distance, saying in a flat tone, "Just a father and son having a fight."