The sky finally cleared. lin and the others returned to the bridge. Tony looked grim — he had basically gone out for nothing, achieved almost no results, and was rescued several tis by Steve, lin, and Thor.
Steve's expression was a bit better, but only slightly. His results weren't much better than Tony's; though his effective damage was higher, his kill count was still zero, and he had nearly been smashed to death in a sneak attack.
Thor, on the other hand, was still chatting and laughing with lin. Aiolia and Milo stood behind lin as always, guarding him as if the previous battle hadn't happened at all. They ignored the fearful looks from the agents on the bridge, who stared at them as though they were monsters.
"lin, your strength hasn't diminished since the old days. I heard from my father that the final battle back then was brutal."
"Of course it was brutal. Being sealed for hundreds of thousands of years, my soul severely damaged, and my children bullied for just as long—if that's not brutal, what is? Ragnarök?"
"Hey! Can we not bring that up? Though it was a great loss, you can't deny the results, can you?"
"Please, I nearly got myself killed back then. If I hadn't produced results, wouldn't you be laughing at ?"
"Ah, it's a pity I couldn't fight beside you. That kind of battle is the true glory of a warrior!"
"Forget it. You all were too busy with your own sses. Oh, right, Thor, since you're on Earth this ti, you should visit Midisel if you have the chance. The faith there hasn't changed."
"Yes, Father specifically reminded to. I heard the current generation of God Warriors is impressive."
"Not bad. But still not as good as my kids."
Aside from the two of them chatting, the entire bridge was so quiet that even a pin drop could be heard. On one hand, no one dared to interrupt their conversation; on the other, what they were discussing was sothing none of them had ever heard of before. Even if it didn't involve top-secret information, it would still make for the best gossip over coffee later.
But it couldn't go on forever. Ti was running out — the Tesseract was still missing, and Loki had escaped. "Urgent" didn't even begin to describe the situation.
"Gentlen, forgive the interruption, but the situation is serious — we can't waste any more ti," Fury said boldly, cutting in on Thor and lin.
"Oh, right. Do you know where Loki is?" Thor asked, turning to Fury.
Fury's face darkened. You're asking ? I was going to ask you! You're his brother — you should know him best! If you don't know, how should I?
And yet… Fury couldn't shake a suspicion — what if Loki's escape was intentional, allowed by Thor and lin? Otherwise, how could Loki have fled unhard?
But he couldn't figure out why they'd do that. Thor himself had said that if Loki didn't want to be found, no one could find him. Loki's ability to hide was one of the best in the universe.
"If you don't know his whereabouts, then let's predict his next move. Instead of chasing him from behind, why not go ahead and wait for him?" lin suggested.
"Hmm? That's a good idea!" Fury's eyes lit up — but his excitent quickly faded. "The problem is, we don't know him well enough."
"No, who says we don't?" Tony suddenly spoke up, drawing everyone's attention.
"He likes to show off—"
"Tony, this isn't the ti for—" Steve started, thinking Tony was off-topic, but Tony quickly cut him off.
"No, no, no, it matters. To beat an enemy, you have to understand them. And that is Loki's nature. He wants to defeat us — and Sanctuary — but he also wants an audience to witness it. That's why he allied with the Buddhists. He wants the world to watch."
Everyone listened and began to nod in agreent. That matched what had happened in Stuttgart. The bridge fell silent again, waiting for Tony to continue.
"Loki's a textbook narcissist. He wants flowers, applause, a grand stage — he'll choose a landmark building to make his entrance, so his na stands above all others…"
At that mont, sothing clicked in Tony's mind. He froze, cursed — "That bastard!" — and stord off.
"What's wrong with Tony?" Fury and Steve were stunned, too surprised to even stop him.
"What's the tallest building currently under construction in New York?" lin prompted.
"The… Stark Tower!" Everyone realized why Tony had cursed — Loki had gone after his ho.
Fury imdiately ordered the ship to head toward New York. Steve and Natasha geared up for departure. Banner hesitated, but realizing the upcoming fight might involve extraterrestrial warfare, he decided to go as well. Even if the Hulk wasn't on par with a Saint, he was still stronger than any normal army.
"And what about you two? Staying as spectators, or joining in?" Fury asked lin at last.
lin smiled and replied in his own way.
"Aiolia, Milo."
"Here."
"Return to New York. Alert the others. Prepare for battle and evacuate civilians in advance."
"Yes!"
With a flash of golden light, the two vanished. Seeing this, Fury finally smiled for real. "I knew you wouldn't just sit this one out."
At that point, Fury didn't even care about capturing Loki anymore. With the Saints joining, even an interstellar fleet wouldn't be a problem.
But lin quickly poured cold water on him.
"Don't celebrate too soon, Fury. You don't think the Buddhists only have this few people, do you?"
"You an…"
"Evacuate the civilians fast. Once the battle begins, it'll be too late."
Realizing the danger, Fury broke into a cold sweat. Loki had chosen a city center for a reason — once the battle erupted, countless lives would be lost.
"Hill! Get a line to the council — now!"
Watching them rush around, lin thought to himself, Not completely hopeless. With a bit of refinent, they might just be worth sothing.
"You're not going to join the fight?" Thor asked.
"Not unless Shakyamuni himself steps in. For any lesser enemies, I won't act. This is their chance — a chance for everyone to realize they're not safe. It's also a test: to see who's lucky enough to survive, who can protect civilians amid chaos, who can fight while still caring about collateral damage."
"That's just like you," Thor sighed.
That had always been lin's way, even in the mythic age. There were tis when he and Athena could have ended wars instantly, avoiding all loss. But lin never did — he treated such battles as trials for his Saints and priests, and sotis even left them for unard humans to face.
"Humans must ultimately rely on themselves, Thor. The end of the mythic age ant other races either hid away or went extinct. The age of n has co. We can't always be their shield — and humanity doesn't want that either," said lin.
"But that'll cost countless lives."
"Hm? You never used to care about that," lin looked at Thor in surprise. The Thunder God had always been a battle maniac — when the mood struck, he'd fight anyone, anywhere, no hesitation. The number of innocents who'd died in his collateral damage must have been in the hundreds of thousands.
"After so many years asleep… things change, you know," Thor said, tapping his head.
lin fell silent. After all, this Thor was a fusion of the mythic Thunder God and the Asgardian alien version. Though much was the sa, his personality and behavior had clearly shifted.
"Death is inevitable," lin finally said after a long pause. "Any race that wants to stand on its own must go through sacrifice — innocent or not. That's the price of taking control of one's destiny. Humanity has been blessed with luck and protection along the way, but if they can't even accept a little sacrifice, they'll never stand on their own.
Don't talk about fairness. The world has never been fair. So are born into wealth, holding more than others can earn in a lifeti. Even in battle, luck is part of strength — all the more so for the progress of a species.
Think about it, Thor. Dragons, elves, giants — all the races that once stood atop the food chain — didn't they all endure endless suffering and countless sacrifices before reaching their peak?"
"…Fine. You're right."
Faced with lin's long lecture, Thor raised his hands in surrender. Even with two sets of mories, he was still a guy whose fists worked faster than his brain.
"But why should you decide this trial for humanity? Shouldn't humans decide that themselves? Just because you're gods?"
The question ca from Fury, who had just finished talking to the council — and been rejected outright. That made him furious. Those pigs, safe in their protected chambers, cared for nothing but their own power.
Already in a foul mood, Fury returned to the bridge just in ti to hear lin's speech. He agreed with much of it, but when lin ntioned "sacrifice," his anger reignited.
lin didn't take offense. Calmly, he replied, "Because you still need our protection. You still can't handle every crisis on your own."
"Hmph, that's not—"
"If you truly believe that, Fury, I can have the Saints withdraw from Sanctuary right now. Let humanity face the next crisis entirely on their own. The question is…" lin's lips curved into a faint, icy smile. "Do you dare?"
User Comments
0 comments from readers