Chapter 42: Chapter 42: The Fake God of Thunder
The moment Magneto appeared, Coulson's head buzzed as if the entire world was conspiring against him.
"Why is Magneto here?!"
His mind was in chaos, like a thousand Xenomorphs flipping over themselves in panic.
Magneto was undoubtedly one of the most dangerous individuals on the planet—a ruthless extremist and mass murderer. Even his most ordinary outings were enough to put the world on high alert.
No one wanted to see this powerhouse—who could shrug off nuclear explosions, overturn mountains, or summon tsunamis—engage in combat over any trivial incident. That would be a catastrophe.
"Contact Professor X. No matter what happens, we need to prepare for the worst," Fury's voice came through the comms. "I have a feeling this is Duncan's doing again. Why is he so close to Magneto?"
Coulson thought for a moment. "There's no evidence proving that Duncan isn't a mutant. His ability to create and control Xenomorphs might be linked to the X-Gene."
"Whether he is or isn't, we have to assume he's not. Get in touch with the X-Men. I don't trust them, but we don't have another choice," Fury said grimly.
Ever since Duncan appeared, Fury had been feeling a lot more pressure than usual.
Suddenly, Coulson spoke up. "Magneto stopped. He's not attacking! But… that might not be a good thing."
"Why do you say that?"
"Because Duncan's expression just became very strange."
"That's definitely a big deal. What exactly is happening on-site?" Fury asked, realizing that the situation was becoming serious.
Coulson observed carefully. "There's heavy electromagnetic interference. The visuals are cutting in and out."
Even the Eternals found themselves troubled by this development.
Even the usually confident and battle-hardened Gilgamesh cast an uneasy glance in their direction while grappling with the Deviant leader.
The Eternals had been living among humans in secret, observing them for centuries. They knew exactly how dangerous Magneto was.
"Erik, we are not your enemies," Ajak tried reasoning with him, but under the circumstances, her words felt weak and futile.
Magneto remained expressionless. "You immortals killed my subordinates, and now you're telling me it was all a misunderstanding?"
Ajak opened her mouth but could only let out a sigh of deep resignation.
It was true. Back in Alaska, if they hadn't been so desperate to rescue Ikaris, they wouldn't have revealed themselves or fought, which ultimately led to Juggernaut being captured by the Deviants.
Magneto expression was cold as he scanned the battlefield. Excellent. All the people who needed to die had gathered in one place.
But what intrigued him the most at the moment was something else.
"A hammer?"
Instead of attacking immediately, Magneto turned his attention to Mjolnir, examining it with interest. His keen senses picked up on something unusual.
"So this is the legendary weapon of Thor, the God of Thunder. But judging from the scene here, it looks like even the mighty Thor can't lift his own weapon?"
Magneto hadn't personally witnessed the battle earlier, but with his intellect and experience, one glance at Thor's shocked and disheartened expression was enough to piece things together.
Thor had come to Midgard—there was no doubt about that. But the sight of this burly blond warrior, dressed in medieval-style attire, was an eyesore no matter how one looked at it.
Thor met Magneto's gaze without fear.
Yet another powerful figure? Duncan, the Eternals, and now a man who could manipulate the weather and radiated an overwhelming sense of dominance. This was nothing like the Midgard he had been told about. Wasn't this supposed to be a realm of mere mortals? Why did these powerful beings keep appearing one after another?
Under normal circumstances, Thor might have felt either excitement or shame. But right now, he felt neither.
"You want to lift my hammer too? Give it up. My father placed an enchantment on it—even I can't lift it right now, let alone a mere mortal." Thor lowered his head.
Duncan, ever the instigator, offered some thoughtful advice. "If it were anyone else, I'd agree. But if it's him… that's a different story. His ability is magnetism."
"Magnetism?"
Thor looked confused.
"Magnetism is under his control, which means all metals are under his control. And your hammer is made of metal," Duncan explained.
"This is no ordinary metal," Magneto remarked, raising his hand toward Mjolnir.
Boom!
A terrifying magnetic force erupted. Thunder and lightning crackled as the ground trembled violently, splitting apart in deep fractures that spread rapidly.
Countless grains of sand lifted into the air.
Under Thor's disbelieving gaze, Magneto… lifted Mjolnir!
Thick storm clouds gathered as if trying to consume the entire sky, brewing an ominous power.
Everyone was stunned.
Those who knew the properties of Mjolnir understood just how absurd this scene was.
Even across the Nine Realms, this was an earth-shattering event.
Magneto—one of the world's most extreme radicals and greatest threats—had just lifted the hammer of Thor?!
Even the Deviant leader froze in place, staring at Magneto in horror. Without hesitation, he turned to flee.
Too bad for him—escaping now meant facing an even greater price. Magneto had learned his lesson from Alaska. He had already set up a powerful electromagnetic barrier around the area—one capable of withstanding a direct nuclear blast.
"Just as I suspected. Your magnetism works on Uru metal," Duncan mused, his entire figure illuminated by flickering lightning. There was no shock on his face—only understanding.
Magneto lifting Mjolnir? In hindsight, it wasn't all that surprising.
"So this metal is called Uru?" Magneto mused, letting the hammer float before gripping it firmly.
"Uru is the core material used to forge divine weapons. It can channel and contain divine power. It's a highly sought-after commodity among the great cosmic pantheons," Duncan explained casually, as if chatting with an old friend.
"Gods?" Magneto scoffed.
His gaze shifted to the Deviant leader, who was still struggling to break free from the magnetic field. Without hesitation, Magneto hurled Mjolnir.
Boom!
The hammer struck the Deviant leader head-on, sending him flying.
But something was off. The attack lacked the devastating power one would expect. There was no grand thunderstorm or explosive divine energy.
"You haven't truly lifted my hammer," Thor muttered, his eyes lighting up slightly as a glimmer of hope returned. "You're just manipulating it through sheer force. You don't possess Mjolnir's divine power."
"You're right. But I don't care about Asgardian power. To me, it's just a very heavy chunk of metal," Magneto said, casually summoning a massive storm of lightning with his magnetic field—looking even more like the God of Thunder than Thor himself.
"Whether you're Eternals or Deviants, you're all going to die here," Magneto declared coldly.
"Don't kill them all. I need some of them alive," Duncan said.
With an overwhelming magnetic force, Magneto tightened the battlefield, compressing the space around the Eternals and Deviants, forcing them into a desperate fight for survival.
Ajak felt a deep sense of helplessness. She hadn't expected things to escalate this far. She turned to Duncan. "Is this what you wanted? Did you know it would turn out like this?"
"Don't get me wrong. I don't have the ability to foresee the future. I simply go with the flow," Duncan replied, his gaze sharp. "In your plan, humanity was doomed from the start. No matter what I do, I'm justified."
Ajak opened her mouth. What could she say? That she felt sympathy for humanity? That she hesitated to betray the Celestials?
"Just watch closely, Thor. The masters behind the Eternals—the Celestial Gods—once defeated your father," Duva whispered into Thor's ear.
Thor's face twisted in shock.
King Odin… defeated by these unknown gods?
"If that's the case, I understand now. No wonder my father refused to tell me the truth. No wonder he was filled with anger and disappointment in me..." Thor's face turned pale.
He considered the possibility that Duncan was lying to him, but after thinking it through—what reason would Duncan have to deceive him? His identity? He was nothing more than an ordinary mortal now. His power? He couldn't even lift Mjolnir.
Meanwhile, Magneto unleashed his abilities recklessly, ravaging the entire desert. Storms howled, earthquakes shattered the ground—it was a scene of utter devastation.
Ajak had no choice. She realized it had been a mistake to get involved in this battle. She had only wanted to resolve a misunderstanding, never expecting to attract Magneto and escalate the conflict to such chaos.
"If we keep fighting, even if we manage to kill Erik, there will be casualties—and that's not what I want," Ajak thought, pain evident in her expression. She had made a grave miscalculation.
But there was no time for regret. She stood alongside Gilgamesh and Makkari, doing everything she could to withstand Magneto's assault. Gilgamesh held his ground well, but Makkari was exceptional. With blinding speed, she split into countless afterimages, tearing through the magnetic field as she darted around. Seizing the moment just as Magneto launched an attack, she struck him with a devastating punch.
Elsewhere, the remaining mutants regrouped, desperately searching for an opening to break through enemy lines. They endured repeated blows from Thor's hammer, their leader the only one left unscathed, yet they refused to surrender.
"It's a magnificent battle," Duncan mused, his gaze shifting to the three Eternals.
Then, the Queen emerged.
She was an enormous alien adorned with a crown, towering at 4.5 meters—her stature rivaling that of an Abomination. Every line of her slender form seemed meticulously crafted, as if the very concept of beauty had been distilled into her design, achieving the ultimate smoothness and golden proportion.
Even from a human perspective, she was breathtaking.
And now, she unleashed her aura without restraint—like a Shura stepping out of a slaughterhouse.
Though this was her first appearance on the battlefield, her presence alone demanded absolute attention.
"Is that... the ruler of this tribe?" Thor whispered.
From a distance, Loki—locked in combat with Kaecilius—paused, his gaze snapping toward the Queen. Surprise flickered across his face. Without hesitation, he abandoned his opponent, conjuring magic to propel himself toward the battlefield.
He had sensed something lurking earlier, but he hadn't expected it to be this powerful.
"So this is their Queen," Loki muttered, his sharp gaze analyzing her. "She has an impressive ability to conceal her aura, but… her power doesn't seem far beyond that of the larger aliens."
Kaecilius, on the other hand, had a single objective—capture the Xenomoprh and offer it to Dormammu. And what could be more valuable than the Queen herself?
In an instant, what had been Magneto's one-on-many battle spiraled into chaos.
Loki and Kaecilius, though having worn each other down slightly, were still formidable foes. Either one of them alone would have been a threat Magneto had to take seriously.
And now, both of them were here—shattering his carefully constructed battlefield.
Using their magic, they blasted through Magneto's defensive field, tearing holes in his once-impenetrable energy barrier.
The formerly stable battleground became a maelstrom of destruction. Different forces clashed, sending shockwaves rippling outward. Rocks crumbled to dust, matter unraveled into raw energy. The very ground beneath them caved in, layers collapsing until magma spewed forth, searing the battlefield in chaotic streams of molten fire.
"Dammit!" Magneto roared in fury. He had just managed to hold off the Eternals and the mutants, and now these two interlopers were throwing everything into disarray!
A quick glance told him what he was up against—Kaecilius, the Dark sorcerer, and an Asgardian… an Asgardian whose eyes were fixed on the hammer Magneto was riding.
"A mere mortal dares lay his hands on a god's weapon?" Loki's expression twisted with fury. He felt insulted.
A Midgardian had lifted the hammer that neither he nor Thor could? The thought was absurd.
Such a being had no place in the Nine Realms.
"Loki?! My brother, why are you here?" Thor exclaimed, overcome with joy as he moved to rush toward him.
But Duncan caught his arm, holding him back.
"He's not here for you," Duncan said flatly. "He only wants to lift Mjolnir himself. Right now, he's enraged because something he believes should belong to him has been taken away."
Thor frowned.
"Besides," Duncan continued, "with your current strength, you wouldn't make it five steps before the energy in this battlefield ripped you apart."
"What nonsense are you spouting? He's my brother! He would protect me with his life!"
Duncan chuckled. "Are you sure he wants to protect you more than he wants to kill you? Look at him. He's ready to strike. You're too weak now, Thor. Even if he's doing it for your own good, you wouldn't survive."
Thor's expression darkened, but before he could respond, Duncan reached into his carefully secured travel bag and retrieved something—a strange, pulsating egg.
"Do you want power?" Duncan's voice dropped to a whisper, his words carrying the weight of temptation. "Let me remind you—my power does not conflict with your divine essence. If you ever regain your godhood, you will still be able to wield both. In fact, you'll be stronger than ever before."
He leaned in closer, voice smooth as silk.
"If you want to help your brother… if you want to fight alongside him instead of being a burden he has to protect…"
The egg in his hands slowly unfurled like a blooming flower.
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