Chương 110: Chapter 110: Malekith's Final, Desperate Gamble 

That evening, Luke lay comfortably in his massive bed, staring at the ceiling, deeply troubled by Malekith's inexplicable disappearance. 

He had deployed every single Nightbat Ninja in his arsenal to conduct a comprehensive, high-altitude sweep of Asgard's entire outer perimeter, but they had found absolutely nothing. Currently, the Nightbats were covertly repositioned within the city limits, maintaining continuous surveillance over the bustling streets and alleyways. 

Earlier in the day, after thoroughly searching the outer perimeters and finding no trace of the Dark Elves, Odin had cautiously allowed the Asgardian citizens—who had been hurriedly evacuated into the heavily fortified palace shelters during the orbital strike—to return to their homes so the realm could resume its normal functions. 

After all, they couldn't simply keep the entire population locked in bunkers indefinitely based on the possibility that Malekith might still be lurking around. What if he had just fired that single shot out of spite and immediately fled the system? 

However, acknowledging the looming, unseen threat, Odin had convened a brief, highly focused summit with the Lords of the Nine Realms that afternoon. He politely but firmly instructed them to return to their respective realms immediately, postponing the remainder of the grand banquet indefinitely until the security situation was resolved. 

By nightfall, the various alien delegations and the six Earth teams (along with the Ancient One) had safely departed Asgard via the Bifrost or their own vessels. Luke, however, remained behind. Given that he was officially a Prince of Asgard, it was his duty to stay and assist with the crisis. 

Tony Stark had also stayed behind. Odin had personally requested his unparalleled engineering expertise to help analyze and further upgrade Asgard's planetary defense grid and internal security systems. 

Pepper Potts and F.R.I.D.A.Y. had returned safely to Earth. Tony wasn't particularly worried about her safety; long ago, Luke had permanently assigned a squad of ten elite Shadow Ninjas to act as her invisible, 24/7 personal bodyguard detail. 

Lying in bed, Luke frowned. Did Malekith actually just take one look at a perfectly healthy, incredibly powerful Odin and immediately wet his pants and run away? 

While highly improbable given the Dark Elf's historically fanatical nature, the universe was infinitely vast and unpredictable. Sometimes, reality was far stranger than fiction. 

Luke shook his head, deciding to get some sleep. 

Suddenly, the entire Royal Palace shuddered violently! 

"What the hell? Does Asgard actually experience earthquakes?!" Luke bolted upright, watching the water in the glass on his bedside table shaking violently. He immediately swung his legs out of bed, preparing to investigate. 

Half an hour earlier, deep within the lowest levels of the Asgardian Dungeons... 

Malekith and his elite strike team slowly emerged from the dense shadows of an abandoned corridor. 

During the chaotic daylight hours, while the massive flagship had successfully drawn the absolute attention of Asgard's entire military and the Gatekeeper, Malekith and his small, highly specialized infiltration team had covertly bypassed the outer planetary shields using a stealth skiff. They had seamlessly blended into the panicked crowds of Asgardian civilians being evacuated into the palace shelters, eventually slipping away and navigating the labyrinthine servant corridors down to the Dungeons. 

The Dungeons were utilized to securely house the most dangerous criminals captured across the Nine Realms, making it ironically one of the most heavily fortified and secure locations within Asgard. Malekith's team had silently assassinated the dungeon guards and remained perfectly concealed in the lower levels ever since. 

Even Odin and Luke had completely overlooked the possibility that Malekith would willingly walk directly into Asgard's most secure prison facility, focusing their entire search effort on the outer city and the forests. 

Now that night had fallen, Asgard's external security was at maximum alert, scanning the stars for returning armadas. However, the internal palace security was relatively relaxed, providing Malekith with the perfect opportunity to strike. 

His team stealthily moved through the lower foundations of the palace, strategically placing several highly potent Black Hole Grenades directly against the massive, primary load-bearing pillars that supported the colossal structure above. 

Malekith didn't hesitate. He remotely detonated all the charges simultaneously. 

Although they didn't have enough explosives to bring down the entire palace, the synchronized detonations completely annihilated several critical support pillars, causing massive structural damage and instantly plunging the upper levels of the palace into absolute, frantic chaos. 

"The distraction is set. Now, we locate the new Prince's quarters and reclaim the Aether!" Malekith commanded his strike team. 

The Sovereign diplomat he had interrogated had possessed absolutely no concept of Luke's true, terrifying power; he had simply stated that the new Prince possessed 'some level of magical ability.' However, regardless of the Prince's strength, Malekith was completely committed. He had absolutely no reason to turn back now. 

Millennia ago, his grand strategy had simply been to exploit the incredibly long lifespan of the Dark Elves to outlive King Bor, intending to effortlessly reclaim the Aether from his significantly weaker descendants. But now, learning of Odin's terrifying, cosmic-scale power, he realized that strategy was fatally flawed. Odin was vastly more powerful than Bor ever was! 

Wait another few millennia to outlive Odin and try my luck with his son?! 

Even if Dark Elves lived for a very long time, they couldn't possibly outlive three consecutive generations of Asgardian royalty! And what if Thor eventually grew to be even more powerful than Odin?! 

As for simply abandoning his grand crusade and finding some remote, desolate planet to live out the rest of his life in peace? Absolutely not! He had already sacrificed far too much and waited far too long. To walk away now would be a profound, unacceptable humiliation! 

Therefore, Malekith had resolved to stake absolutely everything on this final, desperate gamble. Success meant eternal, cosmic supremacy. Failure meant absolute annihilation. 

He had meticulously formulated a desperate infiltration plan, and so far, it was proceeding flawlessly. 

Now came the absolute most critical phase: locating Luke and securing the Reality Stone! 

"The absolute success of this operation now rests entirely upon your shoulders," Malekith said, turning to his most loyal, fanatical lieutenant, Algrim. He handed him a glowing, dark-red stone. 

"For the eternal glory of the Dark Elves!" Algrim declared with absolute, chilling devotion. 

He stepped back and violently crushed the Kurse Stone in his grip. 

Instantly, terrifying, dark-red magical energy violently erupted from the shattered stone, completely engulfing Algrim's body! 

"ARRRRGHHHHH!!!" 

Algrim let out a horrifying, agonizing roar as his physical form began to undergo a violent, grotesque mutation. His body mass rapidly expanded, his armor fused with his flesh, and terrifying, bone-like protrusions pierced through his skin. 

He had successfully transformed into a Kursed. 

The Kurse Stone was a terrifying Dark Elf artifact that violently consumed the user's life force and soul, granting them a temporary, absolutely apocalyptic surge in physical strength and durability. 

Furthermore, a Kursed possessed the terrifying ability to violently absorb the life force of other beings to continuously sustain and empower their own rapidly deteriorating existence! 

Malekith watched the grotesque transformation with absolute satisfaction. The Kursed were his ultimate masterpiece! Millennia ago, it was the deployment of an entire battalion of Kursed that had allowed his forces to nearly overwhelm the Asgardian armies and breach the palace gates! 

"Go. Consume their life force. Fuel your power," Malekith ordered, pointing toward the packed prison cells housing Asgard's most dangerous criminals. 

A newly transformed Kursed was relatively vulnerable during its initial minutes. However, if it absorbed the massive, potent life force of the powerful entities imprisoned here, its power would skyrocket to apocalyptic levels. 

The Kursed nodded silently. Radiating an aura of terrifying power, it strode over to the nearest reinforced cell, effortlessly shattered the magical energy barrier with a single, casual punch, and violently began absorbing the life force of the screaming inmates. 

As the Kursed rapidly absorbed energy and grew significantly stronger, the chaotic destruction of the cells finally triggered the internal security alarms. Hearing the klaxons blaring and feeling the panicked response of the guards above, Malekith nodded in satisfaction. 

"We move now! While the guards are distracted by the chaos down here, we secure the Aether!" Malekith commanded his remaining elite soldiers, quickly leaving the Dungeons. He cast one final glance back at the hulking, terrifying form of the Kursed. 

It all depends on you now. 

Feeling the severe, localized tremors shaking his room, Luke quickly got out of bed and headed for the door. Just as his hand reached the handle, the door was violently kicked open, and several small, mechanical devices were tossed into the room! 

Recognizing the highly distinctive, spherical design of the Black Hole Grenades, Luke didn't hesitate for a microsecond. He instantly merged with the shadows, completely vanishing into the Dark Dimension just as the grenades detonated. 

VWOOMP! 

Several localized, hyper-intense gravitational singularities instantly materialized within the room, violently sucking in and crushing every single piece of furniture, the bed, and the reinforced walls into a condensed singularity before violently imploding. 

The moment the gravitational distortions subsided, a massive, heavily armored figure aggressively stormed into the completely devastated room. 

Malekith stared at the ruined, empty chamber. There was absolutely nothing left intact, but more importantly, there was absolutely no sign of Luke's body or the Aether. 

"WHERE IS HE?!" Malekith roared furiously, frantically scanning the destroyed room. 

"He must be here! Search everywhere! Find the hidden passageway!" Malekith commanded his soldiers, absolute panic beginning to bleed into his voice. He hadn't expected his flawless infiltration plan to fail at the very last step. 

"Who exactly are you looking for?" a casual voice suddenly echoed from the hallway behind them. 

Malekith whipped around to see Luke leaning casually against the destroyed doorframe, looking at him with mild curiosity. He also noticed several Dark Elf soldiers lying dead in the hallway behind Luke, clearly having been silently dispatched while Malekith was focused on the room. 

Completely ignoring his dead soldiers, Malekith's eyes locked onto Luke. "Where is the Aether?!" 

"The Aether?" Luke casually dug a finger into his ear. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the solid, glowing red Reality Stone. "You mean this little thing? How exactly did you figure out I had it?" 

Malekith stared at the Reality Stone with absolute, fanatical hunger. He completely ignored Luke's question and immediately extended his hand, attempting to forcefully recall the Aether to himself using their ancient, intrinsic connection. 

However, the Reality Stone remained perfectly motionless in Luke's hand, completely unresponsive to Malekith's desperate summons. 

"GIVE IT TO ME NOW! OR I SHALL SLAUGHTER YOU!" Malekith roared, momentarily abandoning his confusion over the Aether's unresponsiveness. He waved his hand, and his remaining elite soldiers instantly raised their particle rifles, aiming directly at Luke's head. 

"You know, I can clearly tell you want this very badly. But I really must inform you... I absolutely despise having guns pointed at me." 

Luke smiled pleasantly. The exact microsecond the words left his mouth, numerous shadowy figures violently materialized directly behind Malekith's elite squad! 

SHING! 

A synchronized flash of razor-sharp blades illuminated the hallway, instantly, silently decapitating every single Dark Elf soldier before they could even pull their triggers. 

A standard Shadow Ninja silently materialized directly behind Malekith, raising its katana to execute a clean, non-lethal strike to the back of his head. 

Suddenly, the massive Kursed violently lunged forward, throwing a devastating punch that instantly shattered the Shadow Ninja into shadowy mist! 

Dozens of Standard Ninjas and Razorclaws immediately swarmed the Kursed, their blades flashing relentlessly. However, their incredibly sharp weapons couldn't even leave a scratch on the creature's terrifying, bone-plated armor! 

Wow, he's actually incredibly tough. 

Remembering that a Kursed had managed to effortlessly tank a direct, full-power strike from Mjolnir in the original timeline, and had physically swatted the hammer away like a toy before brutally beating Thor within an inch of his life, Luke was genuinely impressed. In the movie, Thor and Loki only managed to defeat the Kursed by tricking it into activating one of its own Black Hole Grenades. 

Clearly, this monster wasn't just all bark; it possessed terrifying, overwhelming physical power. 

"Take the Stone from him!" Malekith ordered the Kursed, breathing a sigh of relief upon seeing his ultimate weapon effortlessly dispatch the shadowy assassins. 

The Kursed let out a terrifying roar and violently charged directly at Luke, throwing a punch that carried the force of a speeding locomotive! 

Feeling the massive displacement of air generated by the incoming punch, Luke didn't even attempt to dodge. He simply smiled. 

A massive Crab Ninja violently burst from the shadows beside Luke, aggressively charging forward and slamming its incredibly dense, heavily armored body directly into the Kursed! 

The collision forced the Kursed slightly off balance, but the monster instantly recovered. With a furious roar, the Kursed swung a devastating backhand, smashing its fist directly into the Crab Ninja's chest plate! 

CRACK! 

The Crab Ninja, an entity possessing defense so absolute it could casually halt the synchronized charge of three Troll Ninjas, was violently launched backward! Several massive, jagged cracks appeared across its previously impenetrable exoskeleton! 

Luke's smile vanished instantly. He frowned deeply. I severely underestimated this thing. Its physical strength is absolutely absurd. A single Crab Ninja can't handle it. 

Realizing the narrow, confined hallway couldn't accommodate a massive, chaotic brawl between giant monsters, Luke decided not to summon any more heavy units. Instead, he mentally commanded the damaged Crab Ninja to focus entirely on Malekith, ensuring the Dark Elf King didn't escape. 

The Kursed completely ignored the Crab Ninja it had just swatted away, locking its terrifying, hateful gaze back onto Luke. 

Luke casually slipped the Reality Stone back into his pocket and watched the hulking monstrosity slowly approach him. 

The Kursed roared and lunged, throwing a devastating, haymaker punch that sounded like a jet engine roaring through the corridor! 

Luke didn't move. Instantly, a massive dimensional rift tore open directly behind him! 

A localized, hyper-concentrated torrent of over a million raw Dark Energy Points violently erupted from the rift! The devastating energy beam completely engulfed the Kursed, launching the massive creature backward with apocalyptic force! The Kursed violently crashed through several reinforced palace walls, eventually smashing heavily into the incredibly dense, magically reinforced golden courtyard outside! The sheer, concussive impact cratered the solid ground, burying the Kursed deep within the rubble. 

Standing nearby, Malekith was absolutely stunned. He hadn't expected this mortal Prince to possess such terrifying, overwhelming magical power! 

Realizing Luke's attention was currently focused on the Kursed outside, Malekith quickly lunged toward a fallen Dark Elf soldier, desperately intending to grab a Black Hole Grenade to use against Luke. 

However, the Crab Ninja—which Malekith had assumed was incapacitated—suddenly appeared directly in front of him! It delivered a devastating front kick that violently launched Malekith across the hallway! 

Before Malekith could recover, the Crab Ninja closed the distance and casually clamped its massive, hydraulic right pincer securely around his neck, effortlessly lifting him off the ground. 

Malekith choked and gagged, frantically tearing at the massive pincer with both hands, but his efforts were completely futile against the Crab Ninja's terrifying strength. 

Luke casually walked out to the ruined courtyard, looking down at the massive crater. To his genuine surprise, the Kursed wasn't dead. Despite its body being horrifyingly corroded and burned by the highly concentrated dark energy blast, the creature let out a furious, agonizing roar, forcing itself out of the rubble and charging at Luke once again! 

Luke nodded appreciatively. No wonder Asgard nearly lost the ancient war against the Dark Elves. If Malekith had deployed hundreds of these Kursed monsters simultaneously while wielding the Aether... standard Asgardian soldiers would have been slaughtered like sheep. Only Odin's father and heavy siege weaponry could possibly bring these things down. 

Watching the heavily damaged, yet still terrifyingly powerful Kursed charging toward him, Luke lazily raised his hand. 

A highly complex, glowing magical array instantly materialized in the air directly in front of the Kursed, acting as an impenetrable shield that completely halted its charge! Simultaneously, a second, identical array instantly materialized directly behind the Kursed, violently slamming forward and trapping the monster between the two magical constructs! 

"Goodbye," Luke said softly. 

A third, incredibly intricate, multi-layered magical array rapidly formed between his hands. 

A massive, devastating bolt of pitch-black, highly concentrated magical lightning violently erupted from the array, directly impacting the trapped Kursed! The terrifying spell effortlessly completely obliterated the creature's head and upper torso, reducing it to fine ash! 

Luke watched the complex magical arrays slowly dissipate. 

This specific spell was the exact same devastating incantation Doctor Strange had utilized against Thanos on Titan—a spell so incredibly powerful that even Thanos, while actively wielding four Infinity Stones, had desperately dodged rather than attempt to block it. 

Its only real flaw was its relatively slow casting time and lack of tracking, making it difficult to land on a highly agile opponent. However, against a target immobilized by spatial arrays, it was an absolute, guaranteed one-hit kill. 

Currently, this spell possessed enough raw destructive power to annihilate practically any entity in the known universe. Furthermore, its complexity was astronomical; likely only the Ancient One and Luke (thanks to his System) were capable of successfully casting it. 

However, the true cost of the spell was horrifying. Utilizing it completely drained nearly a million Energy Points per cast! An ordinary Kamar-Taj sorcerer would likely have to mortgage their soul to multiple dimensional demons just to gather enough raw magical energy to cast it once! Dimensional demons were notoriously stingy; they wouldn't offer that much energy without a massive return on investment. 

Luke looked down at the decapitated, rapidly disintegrating corpse of the Kursed, then slowly turned his head to look at the terrified Malekith, who was still dangling helplessly from the Crab Ninja's pincer. 

"So... do you have any other desperate, highly dramatic final gambits you'd like to try?" 

Malekith stared at Luke, his arms dropping limply to his sides, completely abandoning his futile struggle against the Crab Ninja's grip. He offered a pale, incredibly pathetic, utterly defeated smile. 

"If I were to ask... if I could simply find a quiet, desolate planet to peacefully live out the rest of my days... would you allow it?" 

Luke slowly shook his head. He activated a telepathic link to Odin. 

"I just captured Malekith trying to blow up the palace. Do you want to come down and deal with him?" 

"I am currently utilizing my full cosmic power to manually support the structural integrity of the entire Royal Palace so it doesn't collapse and crush thousands of people!" Odin's strained voice echoed back. "If you're finished playing with him, GET UP HERE AND HELP ME HOLD THE CEILING UP!"