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"I didn't expect us to meet again so soon, Father!"
At this moment, Loki's voice echoed from the shadows by the door. The second prince of Asgard, who had escaped from the dungeon at some unknown point, was looking triumphantly at the panting Odin by the sickbed, and mockingly said with a hint of schadenfreude:
"I didn't expect you could still unleash such power after drinking the virus personally concocted by Nurgle. It seems I truly underestimated you before…"
"But all struggles are destined to be futile… It's over, Odin, your end has come!"
"It was you… The plague and demons that suddenly appeared in the Heavenly Palace, it was all your doing?!"
Odin glared, weakly asking, "You… you minion of Loki, what exactly do you want to do?"
Even if he wished he could blast Loki to death on the spot, the successive waves of weakness surging within him prevented him from even gripping the Eternal Spear in his hand.
"No, no, no, this plague alone has nothing to do with me… But I have to say, this plague helped me a great deal. Otherwise, I might have had to lurk in the dungeon for much longer to find an opportunity to strike at you."
Loki grinned evilly, then maliciously asked, "Do you know what kind of gift the Chaos Gods like best?"
But before Odin could speak, he eagerly interjected, "A decaying corpse of a God-King!!"
"You… you incurable minion of Loki." Odin gasped, scolding him.
"Tsk tsk, look at your pathetic state now?"
After confirming that Odin was no longer able to fight, Loki finally stepped out from the shadows of the doorway and triumphantly spread his hands, "When you picked me up from Jotunheim back then, did you ever imagine that one day… your 'benevolent' act would backfire?!"
"Hmph, I really shouldn't have brought you back to Asgard back then. I… cough cough cough… I should have killed you, this heretic, the moment I found you!"
Without warning, Odin raised the Eternal Spear, and a pillar of light containing Universe secret energy and lightning shot towards Loki opposite him.
This was his last resort!
Crack—
Loki was hit head-on, caught off guard, but the next second, Loki's figure shattered like a mirror, countless crystal-clear fragments suspended in mid-air.
Swish swish swish—
Then these suspended fragments transformed into twelve figures of Loki, each holding a distinct weapon, rushing towards Odin from different directions.
Pfft—
Odin's movements instantly froze, and golden blood spurted from his severed right wrist. The Eternal Spear, along with his severed hand, fell to the ground with a clang, creating a spiderweb-like crack on the luxurious golden floor tiles.
The golden glowing spear shaft also gradually dimmed, having lost the supply of Odin Force.
"I advise you to stop wasting your strength there. Now that I have received the blessings of the Four Gods, my strength is no longer what it used to be…"
Loki retracted his clones, and a blue Flame of Change on his forehead gradually faded.
He gracefully stepped in front of Odin, leaned down and grabbed a handful of Odin's White hair, pulling him forcefully to his face, and said with venomous eyes:
"Actually, you should have expected this day… Because this is the consequence of you choosing that hammer-wielding idiot over me, the true King, and refusing to acknowledge me!!"
"That rune is…"
However, Odin's attention was already drawn to the gradually fading blue, pulsating Flame of Change on the other party's forehead.
He couldn't help but recall Queen Frigga's description a few months ago of the rune displayed by the God of Wisdom, who had possessed a Heavenly Palace guard—wasn't it a blue, constantly twisting Flame of Change?
And the other party happened to be a subordinate of that dimensional demon named Karl Merks…
Wait a minute?!!
Could it be that all of this was…
Suddenly, a flash of realization crossed Odin's increasingly muddled mind, helping him instantly understand certain things that had been bothering him before.
Wrong!
Thor was wrong!
Queen Frigga was wrong!!
He and everyone in the entire Nine Realms… they were all completely mistaken!!!
The Eye of Fear was not Loki's doing at all.
Those so-called Chaos Gods were not the true masterminds behind the invasion of the Nine Realms.
All of this… it was all the doing of that damned dimensional demon, Karl Merks!
It was a trap meticulously set by him!
But somehow, this guy managed to deceive everyone through dirty means, making them all see him as the hero who resolved the crisis!!
Hateful!
Abominable!
Terrifying…
Understanding everything in an instant, Odin's withered body trembled uncontrollably. His already pale face now turned ashen, like White paper, due to extreme fear and anger.
"Conspiracy, all of this is a conspiracy set by that damned dimensional demon… Loki, you are nothing but a pawn thrown out. You mustn't…"
However, before he could finish his sentence, Loki hysterically threw a punch, rudely interrupting, "Shut up, I am no one's pawn!!"
"Neither yours, nor the Chaos Gods'… I, Loki, was born to be King!!!"
"But since you're about to be killed by me, I'll tell you… I have never truly believed in those four Loki from beginning to end."
"I just wanted to use their power to reclaim my throne."
At this point, Loki suddenly turned from anger to joy, smiling at Odin, and continued:
"But I really have to thank you. Actually, before this, I never thought about how to curb the Eye of Fear's corruption of the Nine Realms after I got rid of you…"
"I didn't expect this problem to be unexpectedly solved by that idiot Thor. Those black stone obelisks he built in various kingdoms and Planet nodes really helped me a lot."
"Now, all I need to do is kill you, then disguise myself as you, and I can easily ascend to the throne of Asgard!!"
Good advice is wasted on the doomed…
Odin immediately swallowed the words he was about to speak.
Born to be King?!
That's hilarious. You're just a pathetic worm being used by that dimensional demon, completely unaware!
But this is also good…
If Asgard is destined to be ruined by this rebellious son, then let him remain in the dark?
Loki, one day, you will pay a heavy price for your arrogance!
"Goat meat doesn't belong on the banquet table…"
Odin looked coldly at the triumphant Loki in front of him, scoffing disdainfully, "Did you go through all that trouble just to sit on your coveted throne wearing my face in the end?"
But such mockery was clearly useless to Loki. He shrugged indifferently, "Father, have you forgotten? I am the God of Trickery, so provocation is… useless to me!!"
"As long as I can achieve my goal, the final form doesn't matter to me at all…"
Loki slowly opened his palm, and a finely crafted alien dagger appeared out of thin air. He had just used this sharp blade to easily cut through Odin's indestructible defense.
And this strangely shaped dagger was a gift from Nurgle. The reason Odin couldn't use the Odin Force was also due to the influence of Nurgle's power on his own vitality.
"Alright, it's time to end this… Bang!"
At this moment, the door to the bedchamber was suddenly crashed open, and Queen Frigga stumbled in. Her pupils sharply contracted upon seeing Odin's tragic state, and like a raging lioness, she roared at Loki:
"Stop, you cannot do this to your father!!"
"Father?"
Loki stopped his movements, turned to look at Queen Frigga, and sneeringly retorted, "Mother, have you forgotten that my true father is Laufey, the Frost Giant King?!"
"And you, my beloved mother, your appearance this time is really ill-timed…"
Loki again conjured two clones, rushing towards Queen Frigga from left and right.
At this point, in order to successfully ascend the throne, everyone who saw him act had to die… even if it was his beloved adoptive mother!!
At the same time, Loki himself raised his hand and brought down the blade, plunging the Blade of Despair, gifted by Nurgle, into Odin's heart.
"No!!!"
Queen Frigga let out a desperate cry, then, disregarding her own safety, cast magic. A dazzling light instantly connected her and Odin opposite her like a bridge…
Pfft—
Blood splattered, but when Loki saw who he had stabbed, he froze in place.
Because that person was not Odin, but Queen Frigga!
"My child… cough cough cough…"
Queen Frigga forced a loving smile onto her face, enduring the immense pain, and with the last ounce of her strength, reached out and gently caressed Loki's cold and merciless cheek.
"Prom… promise me, don't attack your father, he doesn't have much time left to live anyway…"
"And, once you truly take that step, there will be no turning back… Thor will never let you go either. I don't want to see the day when you brothers turn against each other."
"Child, stop… I can feel it, those Loki are corrupting your heart and soul!!"
Clearly, Frigga had just used a teleportation magic to forcibly swap her position with Odin, thereby blocking that fatal blow for him!
This kind and benevolent mother attempted to use her death to enlighten her misguided younger son.
"Mo… Mother…"
When Loki saw a tear fall from the corner of Queen Frigga's eye, scenes of his childhood, where he was carefully nurtured by her, flashed through his mind.
Thus, the last shred of his humanity was successfully awakened. After a moment of silence, he nodded slightly and said:
"I can promise you not to kill him… But I will banish him to Midgard, and then let him slowly watch from there how Asgard and the Nine Realms regain their glory under my rule!!"
"Thank you, child…"
A look of relief flashed in Queen Frigga's eyes. She wanted to say something more, but at this moment, she couldn't even utter the slightest syllable.
"No…!!!"
From behind, Odin let out a wail of utter despair. The elderly King crawled on all fours to Queen Frigga's side, struggling to snatch his wife from Loki's arms, and roared with bloodshot eyes:
"You beast, what have you done…"
"Shush—"
Loki put his index finger to his lips, warning with a twisted expression, "Don't make me regret the promise I just made… Although I promised her to spare your life, for safety's sake, I still need to seal your power."
Loki then activated the immense psychic energy Tzeentch had bestowed upon him, and a ghostly blue energy wove into a cage in the air before him.
Then Loki placed the Blade of Despair into it. The next second, the Blade of Despair transformed into a green rune, which, guided by Loki, was branded into the location of Odin's heart.
"Uh ah…"
Odin, whose heart was dead, let out a mournful scream, but it was not from pain, but from shock.
Because he suddenly felt an evil and powerful force that not only successfully sealed the Odin Force within him, but also deeply branded itself into his soul through that chaotic mark.
Clearly, the Tzeentch psychic magic Loki just unleashed was definitely not simply intended to seal Odin's power…
However, what Loki, as the caster, didn't know was that this Tzeentch Brand magic, capable of forcibly stripping the Odin Force, would not only forcibly bind Odin's soul to the Warp, but also bind the caster's soul.
In other words, when Loki cast this magic, his own soul was also branded by Tzeentch.
But the self-righteous Loki simply did not realize that he had been a target of manipulation from the very beginning.
"From now on, should you mention anything related to today, the Blade of Despair will instantly pierce your heart!!"
Without giving Odin another chance to speak, Loki again activated the Tzeentch psychic energy, creating a deep blue spatial vortex beneath Odin and Queen Frigga's feet, directly engulfing both of them.
"Goodbye… Mother!!"
The moment the spatial vortex on the ground disappeared, Loki had already picked up the Eternal Spear and sat upon his coveted throne!
Past experiences flashed before Loki's eyes like a revolving lantern—Odin's favoritism towards the foolish Thor, the concealment of his own origins, the disregard for all his previous efforts, and Odin's conspiracy to use him as a stepping stone to help Thor ascend the throne!!
Anger, sadness, hatred, resentment… all kinds of emotions surged within Loki's heart.
In Loki's eyes, Odin had clearly become a hypocritical, corrupt, and stubborn tyrant who would sacrifice him, the 'adopted son,' to help his biological son, Thor, rise to power.
That's why Loki did what he believed was 'right' at the time—he signed a contract with Tzeentch, promising to help the Four Gods expand their territory.
And the Four Gods would bestow upon him unparalleled power, helping him defeat the hypocritical Odin and become the next King of Asgard, Lord of the Nine Realms!!
At least for now, his choice at that time was correct.
He had indeed successfully overthrown Odin's rule by himself!
Now, even the only person in the Heavenly Palace who could see through his magic—Queen Frigga—had been successfully eliminated.
He could finally enjoy a life of imperial rule without worry!
Loki caressed the exquisite carvings on the armrest of the throne with a look of obsession, a surge of triumphant pleasure welling up in his heart.
From now on, he was the King of Asgard!!
Then Loki activated his most skilled 'shapeshifting magic,' completely transforming his appearance and figure into Odin's. He mimicked Odin's usual posture, raised the Eternal Spear high in his hand, and said to the empty palace:
"Make Asgard Great Again!!!"
"Giggle giggle…"
At this moment, whether it was an illusion or not, Loki felt a faint, lingering giggle echo through the great hall, but when he looked for the source, he found nothing.
Loki: Σ(⊙▽⊙"a???