Chapter 44: "Mjolnir Shatters."
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"This Thor... could you have picked a worse time to show up?"
Peter frowned, feeling the energy from that distant explosion fading away. That power… something about it had been calling to him.
His icy gaze turned back to Thor, who was still sprawled where Peter had thrown him.
"My hammer!"
Thor groaned, dragging himself out of the crater his body had created in the ground. Despite the pain, he looked up at Peter floating in the sky, eyes wide in disbelief.
"Mjolnir! Come to me!"
With background music seemingly rising around him (as always), Thor raised his right hand, palm open, and summoned his trusty hammer.
Bzzzz!
Mjolnir vibrated violently in Peter's grip, buzzing with energy as it responded to Thor's call.
"No. No way. This is impossible…"
It had already blown Thor's mind that Peter could lift Mjolnir.
But now? Even with Thor calling it back, the hammer wouldn't leave Peter's hand.
That was next-level insanity.
"Hmph."
Feeling the hammer struggle more and more in his grip, Peter let out a cold snort—and flew straight down toward Thor.
"Give it back! That's my Mjolnir!"
Thor shouted up at him, desperate.
"Give it back? Maybe… if you surrender right now, I might consider it."
Hovering above him, Peter's voice was ice-cold. He was giving Thor one last chance to make the smart move.
"No! Never! I'm a warrior of Asgard—we never bow to weak humans!"
Thor's pride exploded out of him. There was no way in hell he was going to give up, especially not to a human.
"Then that's too bad."
Peter had given him a chance. He didn't take it.
Peter, still furious, didn't hesitate anymore.
With one hand tightly gripping Mjolnir, he began to apply pressure—using a strength even he didn't know the limit of.
Bzzzzz…
As if sensing its own end, Mjolnir shook violently and let out a deep, mournful hum.
"No! What are you doing?!"
Thor's eyes widened in horror. He felt the hammer crying out—suffering—and screamed inside, trying even harder to summon it back.
But no matter how hard he tried, Mjolnir didn't budge from Peter's grip. It just trembled harder… as if bracing for the inevitable.
"No, you can't do this!"
"If I lose Mjolnir, I'll no longer be worthy of being the God of Thunder!"
At that moment, Thor finally realized what Peter was doing. For the first time, his proud expression shifted—panic and regret flickering in his eyes.
"Mister Superman…"
Nick Fury stepped forward, trying to stop Peter.
But as Peter turned to face him, eyes filled with a cold and unfriendly light, Fury froze. He didn't say another word.
[Aaaaah—AHH!]
The background music swelled to a new crescendo.
The mighty hammer in Peter's hand, Mjolnir, had finally reached its limit. A thin crack began at Peter's fingertips and slowly spread across the hammer's entire surface.
"Oh no—everyone get down!"
As silver light started pouring from the cracks, Nick Fury's face turned pale.
"NO!"
Thor couldn't just stand there and watch it happen. Despite his weakened state, he used every ounce of strength he had left to leap toward Peter, trying to snatch Mjolnir back from the air.
"Hmph."
Seeing Thor's sudden move, Peter didn't hesitate anymore. He clenched the hammer tighter—and then—
BOOM!
Mjolnir, already covered in cracks, exploded.
All of its immense power was unleashed in a single, devastating burst, sending out a terrifying shockwave.
The force blasted Thor out of the air and sent him flying.
The shockwave rippled outward in every direction.
The thick clouds that had covered the sky were instantly blown away by the blast.
Sunlight broke through again, shining down onto the ground… and onto the scattered fragments of silver metal.
Asgard. The grand palace gleamed with gold and splendor.
Countless Asgardians were gathered, waiting for the ceremony to begin.
Today was the day—the All-Father Odin would officially name the heir to the throne of Asgard.
Thor, son of Odin, was supposed to become the next King of Asgard.
From now on, it would be Thor's duty to lead and protect Asgard, guiding it toward a glorious future.
But as the moment of the ceremony drew near… Thor was nowhere to be seen.
The crowd began murmuring in confusion.
CLANG.
Odin, dressed in golden armor, lightly tapped his eternal spear, Gungnir, against the ground.
A deep, resounding thud echoed throughout the grand hall—no, throughout all of Asgard—instantly silencing the crowd.
The hall fell into complete silence.
"Frigga, where is Thor?"
Odin's voice was low, but carried an overwhelming authority.
Frigga's face darkened slightly. Still, she forced a smile and offered an excuse.
"Maybe he's too excited and lost track of time."
Then she turned to the figure beside her—the one wearing a helmet with horns like a stag.
"Loki, go find your brother."
"That fool… don't tell me he really went to Midgard?"
Loki's expression also grew tense. He suddenly remembered—Thor had mentioned, just over ten days ago, that he wanted to go to Midgard to challenge a human.
"Yes, Mother."
Though Loki wasn't exactly thrilled about Thor becoming king, he had no choice but to follow orders and go look for him.
But before he even made it to the palace doors…
Odin, who had been sitting calmly on his throne, suddenly stood up.
"Who did this?!"
His grip tightened on Gungnir, veins bulging on his hand. The frail old king vanished—in his place stood the ruler of the Nine Realms, radiating power.
He slowly raised his head, his one remaining eye glowing with the strength to pierce through all nine worlds.
"What… just happened?"
Every Asgardian present was stunned, overwhelmed by the sheer pressure Odin was emitting.
But in the next instant—that pressure vanished.
And along with it, so did Odin.
"Loki! Where exactly did your brother go?!"
Seeing Odin disappear, Frigga realized something terrible had happened. She turned to Loki, panic in her voice.
"He said… he was going to Earth to challenge a new god…"
Back on Earth.
With Mjolnir shattered, Thor collapsed to the ground like a man who had lost everything.
In that instant, the thing most important to him was gone.
Up in the sky, Peter didn't even glance at Thor's broken figure. Instead, he slowly raised his head, looking into the void—waiting for something.
Suddenly, a dazzling pillar of light shot down from the heavens.
Just like when Thor had descended to Earth—it crashed into the ground with divine force.
As the light slowly faded, an old man in golden armor appeared, holding a golden spear. His single eye scanned the scene.
First, he looked at Thor, slumped on the ground, broken and defeated.
Then, his gaze moved to the shattered remains of Mjolnir scattered across the earth.
Finally, his eyes rose… locking onto Peter, who floated calmly in the sky.
"Was it you… who destroyed Mjolnir?"
"....."