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As the palace guards charged, Jiro shook his head.
He calmly raised his right hand. A bio-energy field unfolded instantly, forming an invisible shield.
"Thor, you deal with your brother. I'll handle these grunts."
Before he even finished the sentence, Jiro vanished. A heartbeat later, he was already deep in the middle of the guards.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
He moved too fast. The guards didn't even have time to react before being launched into the air by sheer force.
Jiro wasn't trying to kill them—he used his bio-energy field to control the impact, knocking them out cold.
Every punch, every kick, landed with perfect precision. The guards' weapons looked like toys in his hands—snapped in two or flung away with ease.
Thor, meanwhile, roared and charged straight toward Loki on the throne, Mjolnir swinging."Brother! It's time to pay for your lies!"
Loki sneered. With a swipe of Gungnir, a golden energy wave slashed across the room."You think getting your powers back is enough to beat me?"
Thor spun his hammer, unleashing a blast of thunder that clashed head-on with the wave.
The collision of energy shook the entire palace.
"You betrayed our father! You betrayed Asgard!" Thor bellowed, charging again.
But Loki's form suddenly turned blurry—splitting into dozens of illusions that surrounded Thor.
"Betrayal?" Loki mocked. "I'm protecting the Nine Realms! You're the one who brings war!"
Thor couldn't tell which one was real and kept glancing around, staying on high alert.
Meanwhile, Jiro had already taken down all the palace guards. Floating midair, he looked toward Loki's illusions, golden light glowing in his eyes.
"Thor," he said clearly, "three meters behind you, to your left."
Without hesitation, Thor spun around and smashed his hammer into the ground!
BOOM!
Lightning exploded outward. The illusions shattered—and Loki's real body stumbled out, forced into the open.
"You!" Loki glared at Jiron, furious."A mortal dares interfere with the affairs of gods?!"
Jiro slowly descended and stood beside Thor."Who said I'm mortal?"
Loki's eyes flashed with malice. Suddenly, he raised Gungnir and aimed it at the palace ceiling.
"Fine! If you want to die so badly—let's all go together!"
VMMM!
A blinding golden beam shot from the spear, piercing the skies!
"He's activating the Bifrost's destruction protocol!" Thor's face went pale."He's going to overload it—he'll destroy Jotunheim! Maybe even Earth!"
Jiro shrugged."Then what are you waiting for? Stop him!"
Gritting his teeth, Thor charged again.
But Loki was ready this time. With a swing of Gungnir, an energy barrier snapped into place. Thor's hammer slammed into it—and bounced right off!
"It's useless, brother," Loki sneered."The Bifrost's power is already building. You can't stop it!"
Jiro didn't reply.
His eyes suddenly lit up with searing red heat.
Zzzzzt!
Twin heat beams blasted from his eyes—slamming into Loki's energy shield!
CRACK!
The barrier fractured.
Loki's face twisted in disbelief."No—this can't be happening!"
Thor seized the moment, swinging his hammer again with thunder roaring at full power—smashing it down hard onto the barrier!
BOOM!
The shield shattered completely, and Loki was blasted backward by the massive impact, slamming into the throne.
"It's over, Loki!" Thor shouted, striding forward and reaching out to grab him.
But suddenly, Loki gave a twisted little smile. "No, brother. This is just the beginning."
He threw up his hand, and a surge of green magical energy exploded outward. The whole palace started to shake violently!
"He's messing with the Rainbow Bridge's stability!" Thor roared.
"At this rate, the entire Asgard is gonna get sucked into a spatial storm!"
Jiro gave a small nod, then looked up toward the Rainbow Bridge. A terrifying amount of energy was gathering there, looking like it could go out of control at any moment.
"Thor, go shut down the Rainbow Bridge," Jiro said seriously. "Leave Loki to me."
Thor nodded without hesitation and turned to dash toward the bridge.
Loki tried to stop him, but Jiro stepped right in his way.
"You think you can stop me?" Loki sneered, forming a magical dagger in his hand.
Jiro didn't respond. He simply raised his hand slowly, holding back most of his strength.
The next second, he vanished—and reappeared with a punch slamming right into Loki's gut!
WHAM!
Loki doubled over, eyes wide, spitting out a mouthful of blood. He stared at Jiro in disbelief. "You... how is that possible...?"
Jiro didn't give him a chance to recover. He grabbed Loki by the throat and lifted him off the ground. "Your magic doesn't work on me, Loki."
Loki struggled, and for the first time, fear flickered in his eyes.
Meanwhile, Thor reached the Rainbow Bridge's control platform. With a furious roar, he raised Mjolnir and smashed it into the control device!
CRASH!
The core of the Rainbow Bridge started to collapse, wild energy surging everywhere!
"Jiro! Get out of there!" Thor shouted over his shoulder.
Jiro glanced at the weakened Loki in his hand, snorted coldly, and flung him toward Thor. "Take him with you!"
Thor caught Loki, and in the next instant, all three of them were swallowed by the bridge's energy.
BUZZ!
When the light faded, they had been transported to the other side of the Rainbow Bridge.
Loki collapsed weakly to the ground, pale and trembling. "You... ruined everything…"
Thor was silent for a moment, then let out a long sigh. "No, brother. I just stopped you from making an even bigger mistake."
Jiro stood nearby, looking up at the sky. The energy from the Rainbow Bridge was slowly fading. The danger had passed.
"What now?" he asked, turning to Thor.
Thor took a deep breath. "Take Loki back to Asgard. He has to stand trial."
Loki sneered. "Trial? Father is already—"
"Father is alive," Thor cut him off, a flash of sadness in his eyes.
"He's been asleep this whole time, not dead. Your ambition blinded you, brother."
Loki froze, the expression on his face stiffening.
Jiro shook his head. "You guys deal with your family drama."
He turned to look at the far end of the Rainbow Bridge, watching the last of the chaotic energy slowly vanish, deep in thought.
"Thor," he said suddenly.
Thor blinked. "Yeah?"
Jiro turned back around, eyes gleaming with curiosity. "Asgard's one of the most advanced civilizations in the Nine Realms, right? I'm really interested in your tech—how you combine science and magic."
Loki, still slumped on the ground, let out a bitter laugh. "A mortal? You think you can grasp the secrets of the gods?"
Jiro glanced at him. "Your illusions don't work on me. Your magic can't hurt me. Your tricks don't fool me. What makes you think I'm just a mortal?"
Loki choked on his words, his face darkening.
Thor burst out laughing and clapped Jiro on the shoulder. "Good! If you wanna stick around, Asgard welcomes you! Once Father wakes up, he'll definitely want to meet you."
Jiro nodded. "Take me to your library. Or your tech workshop. I wanna see how advanced your knowledge really is."
Thor grinned. "No problem! But first…"
He hoisted Loki up by the collar. "I gotta throw this troublemaker in the dungeon."
Loki struggled and growled through gritted teeth, "You'll regret this."
Thor ignored the threat and turned toJiro. "Come on. I'll take you to see my mother first."
"....."