Chapter 177: Dark Elves (Part 4)

"Now!" Just as Malekith gave the order and turned to leave, and the Kursed warrior stepped forward to kill Jane before moving on to Loki, Loki suddenly shouted.

Before Loki finished speaking, a hammer flew directly over, hitting and sending the Kursed warrior flying—it was Thor's Mjolnir.

As Mjolnir struck the Kursed warrior, Thor appeared and immediately rushed towards Jane on the ground. To Thor, Jane was more important than the Aether at that moment.

Malekith, still holding the Aether and not far away, noticed the commotion behind him. He turned to see Thor appear again and frowned. He then waved his hand, signaling two Dark Elves to stay behind while he continued forward.

Malekith didn't care about the lives of his subordinates. As long as he completed his plan, even if all his men died, it would be a victory for the Dark Elves.

"Room, slaughterhouse." As Malekith continued moving forward, he suddenly felt something wrong in his hand. Looking down, he discovered that the Aether had turned into a fist-sized stone.

Malekith scanned his surroundings and immediately spotted Daniel Davis holding a small glass container with the Aether inside.

Although the Reality Stone was immensely powerful, before it was activated, Daniel could swap it using the powers of the Operation Fruit. The glass container was given to him by Queen Frigga to store the Aether, preventing it from attaching to someone else's body again.

"Don't look at me like that. I'm just following orders." Seeing Malekith's fierce expression as he charged toward him, Daniel rolled his eyes and ran.

Daniel didn't know Malekith's true strength. Although he could have tried to fight him, he had to be cautious since he was carrying the Aether. If it got stolen again during the fight, things would get really bad.

Daniel ran towards Thor and the Kursed warrior, firing fireballs at the pursuing Malekith. As the leader of the Dark Elves, Malekith was unfazed by the fireballs. Even when hit, he only paused slightly without taking any real damage.

"The Aether is secured. I'll leave the rest to you guys." Reaching Thor, Daniel saw him angrily hammering away at the Kursed warrior.

Loki lay on the ground nearby, a short sword embedded in his chest, looking gravely injured.

Not far from Loki's body were several dead Dark Elves.

Loki's death had triggered Thor's rage. Normally, Thor couldn't defeat the Kursed warrior. Although Thor was powerful, he was still young and couldn't fully utilize his divine power. Without Mjolnir, he wouldn't even be the God of Thunder.

Thor regarded Mjolnir as a symbol of his identity, not realizing that his own divine power was the key. As Odin once said, he was the God of Thunder, not the God of Hammers.

But for now, Thor was indeed a God of Hammers.

"This guy is faking his death again." Seeing Loki's body, Daniel's first reaction was that Loki was pretending. Except for the one time with Thanos, Loki's deaths were always fake. Even falling from the Bifrost didn't kill him.

"Troublesome." Seeing Malekith approaching, Daniel quickly drew a golden portal with his right hand and threw Jane and the glass container with the Aether into it. The other side of the portal led to Asgard's palace.

Seeing the Aether disappear, Malekith screamed in rage and charged at Daniel. The timing for using the Aether was crucial. Missing this window meant he couldn't use the Aether, even if he got it back, until the next alignment of the Nine Realms.

With his existence now exposed, Malekith didn't believe he could wait for the next alignment. Thus, he harbored a deep hatred for Daniel, who had ruined his plan.

Facing the charging Malekith, Daniel met him head-on.

"Hmm, he's strong but weaker than the Kursed warrior. Is this guy really the leader of the Dark Elves?" Watching Malekith, whom he had just kicked away, Daniel pondered. The powers of the Operation Fruit didn't work on Malekith, making it impossible to simply cut him.

Daniel didn't know that Malekith's weakened state was due to severe injuries sustained in the past. Years of hiding hadn't allowed him to recover. Additionally, the Dark Elves' power was fully unleashed only in darkness, making him easier to handle now.

Boom.

While Daniel and Malekith were evenly matched, Thor was kicked over by the Kursed warrior. Thor had been suppressing the Kursed warrior with a burst of strength, but he couldn't maintain that state and was quickly overpowered.

"Damn, Thor." Seeing Malekith join forces with the Kursed warrior, Daniel noticed a grenade-like object on the warrior's belt.

"Hold them off for a moment. I need to think of a way to defeat them." Daniel stepped back, pushing Thor to the front.

"Hurry up." Thor, wielding Mjolnir, charged at the fierce Kursed warrior and Malekith.

"Perfect opportunity." As Thor fought the Kursed warrior, Daniel found his chance and quietly opened a small portal, snatching the grenade from the warrior's belt.

Kamar-Taj's portal magic, the Secret Door, could vary in size. Just like Doctor Strange grabbing books from the library, Daniel could perform similar feats.

"Goodbye." Holding the grenade, Daniel sprinted away using Soru. Once at a safe distance, he activated the Operation Fruit and swapped the grenade with Thor.

Seeing the grenade appear before them, Malekith and the Kursed warrior were momentarily stunned before being sucked into the black hole created by the grenade.

The black hole grenade left a deep impression on Daniel, similar to a certain idiot's gravity grenade. Gravity grenades were common in the universe, but black hole grenades seemed unique to the Dark Elves.

If the Kursed warrior weren't so tough and Odin's support hadn't arrived, Daniel would have kept the grenade as a trump card.

Especially since he could use the Operation Fruit's abilities to maximize its potential.

But he had to use it now. Malekith's hatred for Daniel was evident. Compared to Asgard, Malekith hated Daniel more.

"It's over." With the enemies defeated, Thor, visibly saddened, rushed to Loki's body and held him.

Seeing Thor's sorrowful expression, Daniel silently opened a portal to Asgard.

What followed was simple: Malekith and the remaining Dark Elves were exterminated, finally eradicating their race. Asgard immediately used the Bifrost to secure Svartalfheim and check for any surviving Dark Elves.

Asgard's actions frustrated Daniel. He had planned to claim Malekith's spaceship, but Asgard took everything, leaving him empty-handed.

Due to Loki's heroic fight and sacrifice, Odin pardoned him and granted him a grand burial. Thor, feeling guilty for endangering the universe and causing Loki's death, requested self-exile, deeming himself unworthy of Asgard's throne.

Daniel interpreted Thor's plea as a desire to live a peaceful life on Earth with Jane now that the crisis was resolved.

Odin, after a long silence, agreed to Thor's request.

But before that, Thor had to deliver the Aether to the Collector in the Void.

Daniel found this decision odd. In the original story, the Aether was sent away because Asgard already had the Space Stone, and keeping two Infinity Stones close was unwise. Now, Asgard didn't have the Space Stone.

Regardless of his confusion, Daniel couldn't argue with Odin's decision. It was a good opportunity for Daniel to visit the Void.

Stark, eager for an off-world adventure, joined the group, which included Jane and Sif. The five of them boarded a spaceship bound for the Void.

The Bifrost was powerful but limited to the Nine Realms, and the Void lay beyond that.

Through this journey, Daniel and Stark were exposed to cosmic knowledge. To navigate the universe, a spaceship and star maps were essential. Without them, one could easily get lost in the vast cosmos.

This wasn't an issue for Daniel. Once he visited a place, he could freely travel there using dimensional magic.

Daniel's interest in the Void stemmed not from the Collector but from the fact that it was once the severed head of an ancient celestial being.

A head the size of a planet implied an enormous body. Even Ego hadn't reached this level, though he might with continued growth.

The Marvel universe was vast and complex. Thanos, currently prominent, was just the tip of the iceberg. Fortunately, those ancient beings rarely appeared and had no interest in the Infinity Stones.

The Void was the domain of the Collector, Tivan, whose wealth came from the resources provided by this former celestial head.

As a celestial being's head, the Void contained rare resources like celestial cells, tissues, and organic matter, all highly sought after on the black market.

Only a few cosmic overlords, like Thanos, dared to confront Tivan, which might be why Odin chose to store the Aether there.

More importantly, the Aether could fetch a huge sum of money. The Collector would undoubtedly be interested in one of the six Infinity Stones.

"This is an alien planet." Upon landing in the Void, Stark seemed disappointed. It didn't match his expectations of an alien world.

"This is a chaotic place. Don't wander off." Daniel, knowing Stark's character, kept a close watch on him to prevent trouble. As for his own tasks, they could wait for another visit.

"The Aether." The Collector, Tivan, rubbed his hands eagerly. He had heard of the Infinity Stones but had never seen one until now.

"The Collector is not a good person. Luckily, this isn't the Power Stone,

 or there'd be chaos." Tivan was harsh with his slaves, leading to a rebellion when the Power Stone appeared. Though Tivan wasn't harmed, he suffered significant losses.

The universe operated under a brutal law of the jungle. Compared to that, Earth was peaceful and fortunate.

For civilizations that hadn't ventured into space, the first encounter was often one of plunder. Slave trade thrived in the universe, even in the Nova Empire.

Stark, upon learning the harsh realities of the universe, fell silent, seemingly making a decision. He uncharacteristically refrained from wandering around.

By selling the Aether, Asgard gained immense wealth. Daniel and Stark also benefited. Despite the chaos, the Void had its rules.

Moreover, Asgard's reputation deterred troublemakers. Odin's past exploits had earned him a fearsome reputation, comparable to Thanos in some ways.

"He dared to deceive me." Reading the information in his hands, Stark was furious. Excited by alien technology, Stark had pooled their money to buy tech from a merchant.

But most of it was useless, some even inferior to Earth's technology. Despite his anger, Stark could do nothing as the merchant had disappeared, leaving him truly deceived.

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