Chapter 173

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With a loud thud, Thor crashed into the cell.

Standing outside, Loki smirked with satisfaction. "This trick never fails with you."

Thor, seething with rage, raised his hammer and began smashing it against the glass walls of the cell. However, despite his efforts, the glass only cracked slightly, causing the entire cell to shake but not shatter.

At first, Loki seemed concerned, fearing that Thor might actually break free and beat him up, but upon seeing the minimal damage, he let out a relieved laugh.

Amused, Loki commented, "The humans think we are immortal gods. Shall we test that theory?"

He walked over to the control panel that operated the glass cell, ready to drop it from the nearly 10,000-meter-high altitude.

At that moment, a groan echoed through the room as one of the agents controlled by Loki collapsed to the floor.

All three in the room, including Syd, who was observing from the shadows, turned to see Agent Phil Coulson entering with a high-energy laser weapon.

The weapon Coulson carried looked like it could cause some serious damage if used.

"Please step away from the controls," Coulson said, his voice steady despite the tension. "Like it? After you sent the Destroyer, we started working on this. I don't really know what it does yet—wanna find out?"

Coulson gestured with the weapon, signaling Loki to move away from the control panel.

Syd shook his head, thinking Coulson was underestimating Loki. Even though Loki's reputation as the "Master of Magic" was somewhat inflated, he still knew a few useful tricks, especially when it came to illusions.

Sure enough, a swift sound cut through the air as Loki appeared behind Coulson, holding the scepter he had somehow obtained. With a swift motion, he stabbed Coulson through the back with the scepter's sharp point.

Coulson cried out in pain, collapsing to the floor.

"No!" Thor shouted in fury.

With Coulson dealt with, Loki, smiling at the enraged Thor, calmly walked back to the control panel.

He pressed a button, opening a hatch beneath the cell, allowing the fierce winds from the high altitude to rush inside.

Clearly, below the cell was nothing but open sky.

Finally, Loki pressed the critical button, sending Thor and the entire glass cell plummeting from the helicarrier.

Syd barely paid attention to this. With Thor's Asgardian physiology, even a fall from nearly 10,000 meters would be no more harmful than it was for the Hulk earlier.

If the Hulk could survive such a fall unscathed, so could Thor.

Syd even suspected that with his own level-four godly body, he could jump from the same height without any protection and come out completely unharmed.

As Thor plunged into the sky, the soon-to-be-dying Coulson weakly muttered, "You're going to lose."

"Me? Lose?" Loki was baffled.

"It's in your nature… You won't win," Coulson whispered.

Loki found this amusing. "Your heroes are scattered, your fortress is about to fall from the sky—what exactly do I have to worry about?"

"You lack conviction," Coulson replied.

Loki sneered. "I don't think so."

But as soon as he finished speaking, a thick yellow beam of high-energy laser fired, catching Loki off guard and sending him flying through the air, smashing through a wall in the process.

Syd couldn't help but find the situation amusing. Coulson had just been tricked, and now it was Loki's turn to be caught off guard.

It seemed Coulson, not playing fair, had gotten the drop on Loki, who hadn't dodged in time and took the full brunt of the laser.

"So that's what it does," Coulson murmured as he witnessed the weapon's power.

However, it wasn't long before Syd saw Loki, lying on the floor, slowly getting back up. Clearly, human weapons were still far from being able to deal any serious damage to his body.

Without further concern for Coulson, who was on the brink of death, Syd watched as Loki left the area.

Soon after, Nick Fury, the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., arrived to check the cell, finding Coulson near death.

"I'm sorry, boss… I let that pest get away," Coulson weakly said.

Looking at Coulson with sadness, Fury urged, "Stay awake. You'll be fine. Just focus on me."

"No… I think I need to rest," Coulson replied with a faint smile.

Fury, however, was adamant. "You can't rest!"

"I'll be fine, boss. They just needed a little push to come together," Coulson said, clearly referring to the Avengers.

As soon as he finished speaking, Coulson began to slip into unconsciousness.

Watching from the shadows, Syd barely gave them a second glance, unconcerned about Coulson's fate.

Although Coulson's injuries were severe, and survival seemed unlikely, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s advanced technology was beyond ordinary.

Soon enough, Nick Fury would transport Coulson's body to a secret facility, where the most advanced medical team would work to save him.

During the process, they would inject Coulson with a special substance known as GH-325, which would trigger a cellular regeneration effect.

In the end, as shown in the "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." series, S.H.I.E.L.D. would successfully bring Coulson back to life.

So, Syd didn't dwell on it much. After one last glance at them, he silently floated to the open hatch and let himself drop.

This scene, however, was noticed by Coulson just before he lost consciousness. As for Nick Fury and the others, their attention was focused on Coulson, and their backs were turned, so they didn't notice anything.

Just one look, and Coulson knew who it was.

The figure in black clothing resembled the mysterious person described by Tony Stark and others.

What was he doing here?

Had he been hiding in the shadows, watching everything unfold?

What was his purpose?

Could Loki be connected to him?

Was he the mastermind behind all of this?

In an instant, a flood of conspiracy theories filled Coulson's hazy mind.

With his last bit of willpower, Coulson tried to warn Fury about what he had seen.

"Boss… that… man…"

His gaze was fixed on the open hatch, trying to alert Fury.

"What man?" Fury asked, confused, just as Coulson's voice faded, and he slipped into unconsciousness.

Fury, setting aside his sadness for a moment, turned to look behind him, but saw nothing.

In the end, he couldn't figure out what had shocked Coulson so much in his final moments.

(End of Chapter)