Reborn as Superman's Son, Ch 51

Chapter 51: Eden: Odin, Use Your Brain!

"I must be losing my mind."

Loki felt his entire understanding of reality crumble in that moment.

That was Mjolnir—blessed with the magic of the Allfather Odin himself.

In this world, there were only two ways to lift Thor's hammer.

The first was to be deemed worthy by the hammer itself, gaining the blessing of Mjolnir's power and the ability to freely wield divine energy.

The second was that the one lifting it possessed strength surpassing the Lord of Asgard—the great King of the Gods, Odin himself.

Whichever reason applied to Eden, Loki found it hard to accept.

"Perhaps Father's magic wore off? Or maybe Father lifted the enchantment."

Loki forced himself to imagine a third possibility for why Eden could lift Mjolnir.

"Thor, catch."

Without explaining anything, Eden walked over to Thor carrying the hammer, apparently intending to return Mjolnir to its "former" owner.

"Thank you. You're a good man."

Thor looked at the hammer now within arm's reach. He licked his lips instinctively, then gripped the handle firmly with both hands.

"I'm letting go now."

Seeing this, Eden immediately released his grip.

"Good!"

Thor brimmed with confidence.

After all, even this Midgardian had managed to lift Mjolnir. If he—the God of Thunder himself—couldn't catch his own hammer, wouldn't that be utterly humiliating?!

"BOOM!"

Unfortunately, the hammer hadn't fully accepted Thor yet.

So the moment Eden released it, Thor felt his whole body sink. The hammer sent him tumbling forward and he crashed heavily to the ground.

As for Mjolnir, no longer held by Eden, it naturally fell to the floor again, kicking up a cloud of dust.

After watching Thor faceplant, Loki couldn't help bursting into laughter. "Pfft... Hahahaha! Well, dear brother, looks like I was wrong to doubt. Clearly, Father's enchantment is still in full effect on that hammer."

Sure enough, as long as he got to watch Thor suffer, everything else seemed trivial and unimportant.

"I just don't get it. Does your brother really become useless without that hammer? Are you sure Thor is the God of Thunder and not the God of Hammers?"

Eden looked at Thor with exasperation, then glanced at Loki and asked.

"Pfft! You're absolutely right. My brother is the God of Hammers. When Thor was little, he was terrified of thunderstorms. Whenever it thundered, he'd cry and beg to sleep with Mother."

Loki doubled over laughing.

"Hey! Don't make things up about me, brother. I was never afraid of lightning."

Thor rebutted somewhat defensively.

"BOOM!!"

Just then, an incredibly powerful and terrifying energy descended from above, breaking through the thick clouds overhead and crashing down beside the S.H.I.E.L.D. base.

"What was that?!"

The agents on guard outside were immediately startled by the terrifying crash. They quickly geared up and advanced in orderly formation toward the source of the explosion.

"Hum!"

When the agents shone their giant floodlights toward where the explosion originated, they saw a massive humanoid mech—silver all over—slowly rise from the earth, breaking through the smoke and dust to reveal its full form before them.

"Damn it. What the hell is that thing?"

The agents were shocked by the massive mech that seemed beyond human engineering.

"Could this be Tony Stark's latest creation? We should contact Stark Industries and get their professional opinion on this giant humanoid mech."

Phil Coulson frowned, asking with some confusion.

Inside the S.H.I.E.L.D. base.

Thor and Loki exchanged glances. They both seemed to sense something was wrong outside. "What's happening out there? Why is there such a powerful magical energy?"

"Let's go see for ourselves!"

Eden, meanwhile, stood up from his seat with perfect composure and strode outside.

"Loki, we should follow."

"Brother, I agree."

After Loki and Thor exchanged glances, they instantly reached the same conclusion.

So when Eden brought Thor and Loki outside to the open ground beyond the S.H.I.E.L.D. base, they saw the mech standing in a patch of scorched earth, radiating waves of terrifying energy.

When Thor saw the armor he recognized so well, his expression immediately filled with disbelief. "That's the Destroyer armor? Why would such a terrifying thing be sent to Midgard?"

"Could it be Father?!"

Loki thought of something deeper. He looked at the armor and shook his head. "No. This can't be real, Father! Was your Odinsleep just a pretense? Have you been awake this whole time?"

"Enough. Children, the game ends now. My two sons—whatever punishments you received before, return to Asgard immediately."

Before Loki and Thor could think further, Odin's uncompromising voice emanated from within the Destroyer armor.

"Hey, Odin. Earth isn't your personal playground. Do you think this is one of your domains where you can summon whoever you want and dismiss them at will?"

Eden spoke through the Destroyer armor, communicating with Odin who controlled it.

"Insolent!"

In distant Asgard, Odin sat upon his throne in resplendent armor, gripping the golden Eternal Spear Gungnir. His right eye held a trace of menace.

"BOOM!!"

On Earth, when Eden heard Odin's words, not only did he show no anger—his lips curled into a slight smile.

Then Eden's form flashed like lightning directly at the Destroyer armor. With a single punch, he blew the Destroyer's head apart, shattering it into countless fragments of silver-white Uru metal.

"Sizzle sizzle sizzle!"

Then Eden's eyes suddenly burned with terrifying crimson light. Tremendous energy poured from his gaze, slicing the Destroyer armor clean down the middle.

Loki and Thor stared in shock at Eden in the distance, who'd smashed the Destroyer like a wooden post. Their eyes showed deep disbelief. "What?! The Destroyer armor was destroyed?"

"The Destroyer is one of Asgard's ultimate weapons! Especially when controlled by Father Odin himself, its power is beyond description! But such a powerful Destroyer was actually destroyed?"

Thor looked at Eden and couldn't help shaking his head. "Could this man's power truly exceed mine?!"

"Brother, please tell us something we don't already know. Honestly, compared to this Midgardian, we Asgardians seem more like the humans here."

Loki kept shaking his head.

"Stop! Midgardian! Do you even know what you're doing?"

Odin's incessant voice kept ringing in Eden's ears.

"Of course I know what I'm doing! I'm destroying an invader of Earth."

Eden answered truthfully while completely dismantling the Destroyer's limbs.

"Perhaps we should talk. I must admit—you've successfully earned my respect, and all of Asgard's respect. You're one of the most powerful Midgardians I've ever encountered."

Seeing that threats clearly had no effect on Eden, Odin switched to a softer approach, trying to persuade him.

Eden smiled, his eyes holding a trace of mockery. "What do you and I have to talk about? Odin, you're already overwhelmed. Your body grows weaker by the day. And your daughter Hela—the one you personally banished—is steadily honing her mind and power. Ragnarok approaches. When it comes, Asgard will inevitably become ruins. Odin, open your right eye and look carefully at your two sons. Your eldest, Thor—all brawn and no brains. Calls himself the God of Thunder, but can't do anything without his hammer. Your second son, Loki—has some intelligence but only schemes and plots, yet lacks sufficient power. In the end, it's all for nothing."

As Eden spoke, he'd already dismantled every component of the Destroyer and crushed them into a ball. Under his heat vision, he re-forged them into a single block of Uru metal.

"This is absurd! That's Uru metal! It's actually being forged?! If I remember correctly, there are only two ways to forge Uru metal in this world. The first is using the Dwarven King's furnace. The second is at a star's core."

Loki felt his eyes must be deceiving him.

"Whew."

After Eden completely re-forged the Destroyer armor into a large sphere, he finally let out a breath. He looked up at the sky—his eyes seemingly piercing through the barriers of space to fall directly upon Asgard.

"Incredible!"

In Asgard, Heimdall—who'd been monitoring the Nine Realms in Odin's stead—froze in place when he sensed Eden's gaze. He kept shaking his head.

"Odin, you need to use your brain! After Ragnarok comes, what will Asgard have left?"

Eden continued speaking to Odin through the Destroyer's remains.

"..."

Odin now sat dejectedly on his throne, no longer showing his initial vigor. He said weakly, "Child, Midgardian—I concede. You win. We'll do everything as you say. Just as you pointed out, if my two sons remain this 'weak,' Asgard will surely vanish without a trace after Ragnarok."

"Hum!"

The moment Odin finished speaking, the spatial distortion Eden had been observing disappeared completely.

Eden understood—Odin had ordered Heimdall to close the Bifrost.

Asgard.

Heimdall looked at Odin, who'd just given him the command, and asked in confusion, "My King Odin, why did you order me to close the Bifrost? Both Prince Thor and Loki are still in Midgard."

"Why close the Bifrost? Heimdall, do you want to see that lawless Midgardian come to Asgard seeking retribution? Then I wouldn't just lose my two sons—I'd lose all of Asgard. Do you want Ragnarok to arrive early? Or are you planning to challenge that Midgardian to single combat?"

Odin looked at Heimdall gravely.

"Ah."

Heimdall was stunned by Odin's words. But when he recalled how Eden had ignored Odin's divine power to lift Mjolnir, and how he could trace the Bifrost connection back to see into Asgard itself, he fell silent.

Heimdall thought: I definitely can't beat him in a fight.

"Heh."

Seeing Heimdall's silence, Odin couldn't help but chuckle.

"Sigh. Heimdall, listen. Perhaps we've all underestimated Midgard and the humans who live there. Besides, Ragnarok is destined to come—it's inevitable! And Asgard is destined to be destroyed in flames. That being the case, letting Thor and Loki settle in Midgard first might be the right choice."

"..."

After a moment of silence, Heimdall nodded gently.

Midgard—that is, Earth.

Mexico.

"Odin! Odin!!"

On the ground, Eden kept calling out to Odin.

But unfortunately, Odin seemed unwilling to respond anymore.

"Looks like Odin's abandoned both of you."

Seeing this, Eden walked over to Thor and Loki and stated plainly.

Before Thor could speak, Loki rushed into the clearing ahead and shouted at the sky, "That's impossible. This isn't real. Father! Heimdall! Open the Bifrost and let me return! Father!! Heimdall!!"

Unfortunately, Loki's cries received no response.

"Hahaha. Loki, looks like you've been banished too."

Seeing this, Thor laughed and walked over to Loki's side, teasing him.

"And whose fault do you think that is?"

Loki looked up at Thor standing beside him, oblivious to everything, and snapped.

"Oh. Sorry, brother."

Thor paused, then gently patted Loki's shoulder, expressing his most sincere apology.

"Alright. Starting today, you two are members of the 'Avengers.' Let me be clear—I don't want to see you two fighting each other, and I especially don't want to see you betray Earth. If either happens, just look at what became of the Destroyer and you'll understand what I'll do."

Eden walked over to Thor and Loki's side. He placed one hand on Loki's shoulder and one on Thor's, smiling with a gentle tone.

Thor said earnestly, "Don't worry, friend. Loki and I are brothers—we get along great. Betray Earth? I made an oath. I won't break it."

Loki, meanwhile, had already given up. "My divine life is over."