Children often know when they’ve done something wrong.
Sometimes they even want to apologize.
The strange part is that admitting fault to friends is easy.
Confessing it to strangers is possible.
But standing before the people they’ve hurt most...
Their parents...
Those words become impossibly difficult to say.
Thor had reached exactly that point.
He could admit his mistakes to Evenson.
He could confess them to his companions.
But standing before Mjolnir, bearing Odin’s enchantment and carrying the Allfather’s will...
He simply couldn’t bring himself to say, Father, I was wrong.
Instead, he’d tried flattery.
Praising Odin.
Glorifying Asgard.
Hoping his father would understand what he really meant.
Unfortunately, Odin’s enchantment wasn’t capable of reading between the lines.
It wasn’t Odin himself.
It was a spell.
And spells followed rules.
"Sacrifice."
"Ignite."
"Burn."
A textbook Destruction Warlock sequence.
After the Hellfire crumbled, neither the remaining soldiers nor Thor’s companions could slow the Destroyer for long.
Now that it had reached the outskirts of the S.H.I.E.L.D. compound, the situation had become even worse.
Heavy artillery was no longer an option.
The 155-millimeter guns couldn’t fire without obliterating friendly forces.
Even the surviving tanks hesitated to use their main cannons.
Only machine guns, grenade launchers, and shoulder-fired rockets remained.
Against the Destroyer...
They accomplished almost nothing.
Evenson finally stepped onto the battlefield himself.
Green fel flames erupted across the Destroyer’s armor.
The construct had spent the last several minutes burning beneath emerald fire.
Evenson wasn’t foolish enough to rely on ordinary flames.
Against armor blessed with divine power, conventional fire magic would accomplish nothing.
Fel, however...
Fel consumed everything.
"Terror Bite."
"Hand of Gul’dan."
As the Destroyer’s enchanted armor was steadily weakened by fel corruption, Evenson summoned a pack of Felhunters and a swarm of Wild Imps.
None of them charged the enemy.
There was no point.
Against the Destroyer, their claws would barely leave scratches.
Even empowering them with demonic enhancements wouldn’t change the outcome.
They were worth far more another way.
"Sacrifice."
Life.
Soul.
Flesh.
Everything became fuel.
The demons had only just crossed over from the Twisting Nether.
Before they could even taste mortal blood...
They dissolved into pure magical energy.
Every fragment flowed back into their master.
"Demonbolt."
Evenson thrust both hands forward.
The energy harvested from the sacrificed demons condensed into a twisting projectile woven from shadow, fire, and fel.
The tri-colored bolt screamed across the battlefield.
It struck the Destroyer squarely in the chest.
The impact forced the construct backward nearly ten feet.
Where the spell landed, a swirling vortex of black, crimson, and emerald energy clung stubbornly to its armor.
Even divine enchantments couldn’t immediately purge Warlock magic.
The Burning Legion had never been created to conquer mortals.
Sargeras had built it to wage war against gods.
And it showed.
A heartbeat later...
The Doom effect embedded within Hand of Gul’dan detonated.
Shadow energy erupted from inside the Destroyer’s body.
The construct staggered violently.
Then one knee struck the ground.
Everyone except Melinda stared at Evenson with open disbelief.
Until now, many of them had unconsciously viewed him as little more than a politically connected liaison with impressive connections.
That illusion had just been obliterated.
The Destroyer’s faceplate opened.
Its crimson beam fired directly at Evenson.
"Fortunately..."
Evenson planted his staff firmly against the ground.
"...you’re not operating at full power."
A shimmering barrier of Void energy unfolded before him.
Rather than attempting to absorb the beam, Evenson angled the shield, redirecting the attack away from himself.
It was the smarter choice.
Even if Warlock magic had been created to challenge gods...
Evenson himself wasn’t one.
Not yet.
He still had every reason to respect divine power.
The redirected beam carved across the battlefield instead.
Several military positions disappeared beneath the blast.
Explosions echoed across the base.
The screams that followed were agonizing.
Had Evenson not bled away part of the beam’s energy while redirecting it...
There wouldn’t have been anyone left alive to scream.
Inside the compound...
Thor heard everything.
The explosions.
The cries.
The dying.
As a veteran warrior, he didn’t need to see the battlefield to understand what was happening outside.
Every passing second weighed upon him.
"...Father."
This time, he didn’t kneel.
He simply sat beside Mjolnir.
His eyes were moist.
The practiced reverence was gone.
Only honesty remained.
"I know I was wrong."
His voice trembled.
"I know my arrogance and foolishness wounded you."
"And now..."
"Innocent people are dying because of me."
"My friends."
"My companions."
"...The woman I love."
"They’re risking everything because of my mistakes."
He lowered his head.
"So please..."
"Give me the strength to end this."
"I swear..."
"I’ll use that strength wisely."
"I’ll remember that patience is as important as courage."
His words came from the heart.
Mjolnir remained still.
Thor closed his eyes.
"I don’t blame you if you can’t forgive me."
He stood.
"But this has to end."
"They shouldn’t have to keep dying for my sake."
If he couldn’t reclaim his power...
Then he’d give his life instead.
He turned and walked away.
Two steps later...
Mjolnir trembled.
The hammer shot from the ground like a bolt of lightning.
It flew into Thor’s outstretched right hand.
The heavens exploded.
Lightning descended from the sky, swallowing Thor completely.
"Finally."
Evenson deflected another Destroyer beam before looking toward the pillar of lightning rising from the center of the base.
Within it...
A familiar figure emerged.
Silver armor.
Flowing crimson cape.
The God of Thunder had returned.
Thor wasted no time.
He launched himself into battle.
The Destroyer, which had been nearly invincible against Earth’s military, suddenly found itself hopelessly outmatched.
Mjolnir smashed into its face again and again.
Thor summoned a raging black storm that carried both combatants high into the air.
The Destroyer’s signature energy beam was effortlessly deflected by the enchanted hammer.
It couldn’t land a meaningful blow.
Watching the battle, Evenson couldn’t help shaking his head.
"I swear..."
He sighed.
"The Destroyer’s entire purpose was to make Thor look good."
Poor thing.
After venting all of his frustration, Thor finally drew back Mjolnir.
Lightning gathered around the hammer with overwhelming intensity.
The finishing blow.
Evenson’s eyes narrowed.
Now.
He thrust one hand toward the airborne Destroyer.
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