DOTM: Chapter 211/212

Chapter 211: Loki, God of Mischef
Loki looked back at the not-so-comfortable chair and, after hesitating for a moment, finally sat down.

"What do you want to talk about?"

"Why do you think Odin chose Thor as the heir to the throne of Asgard instead of you?"

Loki heard this question just after sitting down, and the hands gripping the armrests of the chair tightened. If he hadn't been very good at controlling his strength, he could have easily crushed the armrests into powder.

"You must think that it's because Thor is Odin's biological son, while you were only adopted... Of course, that reason can't be ignored. But there's also your father, or adoptive father, Odin doesn't recognize your ability. He believes you are incapable of governing Asgard properly, that you cannot become a qualified king of Asgard."

Ethan didn't wait for Loki to respond. Although this God of Mischef often behaves like an attention-seeking child who lacks love, when facing most people, he always puts on the air of a noble god. His pride runs deep.

It was impossible to expect him to answer such a question. Ethan directly stated the answer. With Loki's pride, he would never lower himself to deny such obvious facts.

"Isn't that so?"

Compared to Thor, Loki seems calmer when faced with problems. He tends to analyze various situations in his mind, trying to understand the other party's motives.

This approach isn't exactly wrong, but compared to Thor's straightforward and head-on temperament, sometimes people like Loki are actually easier to deal with. They overthink and are easier to manipulate into following someone else's rhythm.

On the other hand, Thor is the type who, no matter what you say, will just charge ahead like a madman. Trying to persuade someone like that requires sheer strength.

Loki, however, tends to overthink.

"Are you saying this to humiliate me?"

"No, I just want you to understand one thing." Ethan poured himself a glass of juice, then sent it over to Loki with Mage Hand, watching the second prince of Asgard accept it without refusal. Once the glass was taken, Ethan released the spell and continued, "Although some of the reasons you've considered are valid, they aren't the real key."

Loki took a sip of the juice and immediately realized that this was no ordinary drink. It contained rich energy. Even in Asgard, something like this was not easy to come by. It seemed this place was better than he had thought.

"Oh? Then what do you think is the real reason Odin is unwilling to let me inherit the throne?"

He was curious about what answer Ethan would give. Loki had already thought through many possibilities and believed that no matter what Ethan said, he could easily refute him. He was looking forward to seeing Ethan speechless after being blocked by his rebuttal. That would be quite amusing.

"Strength." Ethan had been observing Loki's expression closely. Loki's surprise when drinking the juice did not escape his notice. "The true reason you were passed over for the throne of Asgard is because you are too weak."

"Weak?" Loki nearly threw the cup in his hand at Ethan's face. He almost rushed forward to teach this ignorant, arrogant, and incomparably weak human mage a lesson and show him what real strength was. "You're calling me, the prince of Asgard, the rightful heir of Jotunheim, the son of Odin, the God of Mischef—weak?"

Ethan didn't care about Loki's emotional outburst. Seeing that Loki's water glass remained steady in his hand, Ethan understood that Loki wasn't as agitated as he pretended to be. In fact, he was still comfortably drinking the juice and even grabbed a snack, waiting until he'd finished speaking before Ethan continued.

"Yes, weak. Tell me, Loki, with your current strength, what could you possibly do against Thanos?"

"..."

Loki fell silent. He wasn't stupid. In fact, he was quite intelligent. He immediately understood what Ethan meant.

Asgard was powerful, standing as one of the top-tier civilizations in the universe. It was so powerful that almost no one dared to offend Asgard's territory. Even among the Nine Realms that Asgard ruled, none dared to openly oppose them. Even the war-crazed Kree Empire tried to avoid conflict with Asgard.

This situation gave Asgard's younger generation the illusion that their realm had no true rivals in the universe, and anyone who dared oppose them would be crushed by Asgard's superior might.

Loki used to believe this too. But after traveling through the universe, he realized the world was far larger and far more dangerous than he had imagined. Asgard stood at the top of the cosmic pyramid because their king, Odin, was powerful beyond measure. Even someone as fearsome as Thanos was unwilling to provoke Odin directly.

It was Odin's strength that protected Asgard, allowing it to stand tall for countless years. Because of this, the younger generation of Asgardians could grow up peacefully and happily.

"Destroyer..."

Loki wanted to argue that Thanos had never attacked Asgard, so why bring him up? But he quickly swallowed the words. Did someone like Thanos, a madman, need a reason to attack? The only reason Thanos hadn't touched Asgard was because of Odin.

That was it.

"Do you believe Thor's strength is greater than mine?" Loki asked, though he already knew the answer. There was no doubt that Thor was stronger than him. What truly bothered Loki was that no matter how strong Thor was, he was still far from Odin's level. If even Thor couldn't stand against Thanos, how could strength alone determine the right to the throne?

"Thor's current strength isn't much greater than yours. But his potential is." As a someone who knew the plot, Ethan's biggest advantage was his knowledge of future events.

He knew that Thor's power wasn't granted by his hammer. Mjolnir was just a tool that helped Thor gradually adapt to and control his own strength. It was similar in function to the Battle Cross that Ethan had given to Diana. When the time was right, Thor would understand that the power he had wielded all along was his own. Once he learned to control that power without relying on any tools, he would completely outshine Loki.

Ethan didn't need to explain all of this to Loki in detail. Loki was smart enough to understand the key points from just a few hints.

Talking to smart people was always easier. A few words were enough for them to grasp the core of the matter.

"So, even though Thor was completely unfit to be king at the beginning, Odin still tried his best to train him, helping him shed those flaws and guiding him step by step toward the throne of Asgard."

Ethan finished the juice in his glass, feeling that he had made his point.

"Because Thor has greater potential. Only when he fully unlocks that potential and achieves true strength will he be qualified to sit on Asgard's throne. Only under the protection of a powerful enough god-king can Asgard maintain its place in the universe, and only then can its people continue to live in peace and happiness... You, Loki, cannot provide that."

Ethan stood up, walked over to Loki, and looked down at him, seeing the second prince of Asgard sitting there with a dark expression.

"Because you are too weak. You're so weak that you can't even protect yourself in this dangerous universe, let alone defend your country and people when Asgard faces a true crisis. That is the fundamental reason why you cannot inherit the throne."

There were indeed other factors at play in this situation. For example, the fact that Loki was not Odin's biological son. Even if Loki reached Odin's peak strength, would Odin really pass the throne to an adopted child? But by the time Loki reached such a level of power, it wouldn't matter what Odin wanted. Whether or not Thor inherited the throne would no longer be Odin's decision.

Loki thought through all of this, and he understood. If he were truly strong enough, if he stood at the peak, then even if Odin opposed him, he wouldn't be able to stop Loki from taking the throne.

"So... is it really because I'm too weak?" Loki set down his glass, lost in thought.

"Yes. In a world this dangerous, being weak is a sin." Ethan felt that he had laid enough groundwork. It was time to get to the main point. He had said all of this to reach a consensus with Loki. "So, whatever you want to do in the future, the first thing you should focus on is becoming stronger."

Before Ethan could finish, Loki's figure before him dissolved into a stream of light and disappeared. The next moment, Loki reappeared behind Ethan, pressing a dagger against his lower back.

"Those were some very interesting remarks. I have to admit there's some truth in what you said. But coming from the mouth of a weak human mage like you, given the current situation, it's quite amusing. Tell me, who is the weak one here?"

Ethan remained calm, standing there without moving, allowing the dagger to rest against his back. He didn't even bother to turn around.

"Don't worry, I won't hurt you." Loki smiled as if to show goodwill, but his smile was laced with mockery. He didn't care whether Ethan could see the expression from behind. "As long as you send me back, we can consider your earlier words a reminder, and we might even become friends. I think that shouldn't be too much trouble for you."

"I'm sorry, but that really would be troublesome for me." Ethan turned his head and gave Loki a charming smile. The smile sent shivers down Loki's spine. Sensing that something was wrong, Loki immediately tried to retreat.

Unfortunately, he was still half a beat too slow. The hand holding the dagger was firmly grabbed before he could pull back. With a quick spin, Loki was thrown to the ground.

As Loki hit the floor, a ripple spread out beneath him. The entire captain's room seemed to be covered by a layer of glass, cracks even starting to form at the points of impact.

(To be continued.)

Chapter 212: Consensus and a Guess

After a wave of fluctuations, the captain's room returned to calm. Except for a few cracks that looked abrupt, as if the surface of the space had been shattered like glass, there was nothing unusual.

Diana, who had been standing by the desk in the captain's room, shook her head. Ripples flashed across her body as she walked, and with a glimmer of light, Diana transformed back into Ethan.

The Ethan who had controlled Loki was actually Diana in disguise.

"Fortunately, I arranged the Mirror Dimension in advance. Otherwise, I would have had to smash a big hole just now."

Even though Diana had controlled her power, Loki was a Frost Giant. Ordinary strength was definitely not enough to subdue him. No matter how much Diana restrained herself, this level of force could easily kill an ordinary person, but to Loki, it was barely a tickle.

Of course, the goal wasn't to hurt him, but to control the God of Mischef. Loki would have been decisive if his sneak attack failed and there was no possibility of escape.

"I take back what I said before. You are stronger than I thought."

Loki's comment was not directed at Diana. He had already expected that Diana's strength would easily overpower him. What surprised him was Ethan's strength. Without him noticing, Ethan had quietly thrown him, the best mage of Asgard's younger generation, into the Mirror Dimension. Loki hadn't even realized when it happened.

"Great illusion and space magic."

"Thank you for the compliment."

Ethan waved his hand lightly. The seemingly ordinary captain's room once again looked like it was covered with a layer of glass. Then the layer of glass shattered and disappeared, restoring the space to its original state.

Loki realized that he had now left the Mirror Dimension. He also noticed an inconspicuous ring on Ethan's right hand.

"A nice spellcasting tool. Does it store the energy of the Cosmic Cube?"

"Yes."

They were both mages, and Loki was one of the best mages in Asgard. In addition, Ethan had studied a lot about Asgard. Even though his spellcasting style was closer to that of the mages of Kamar Taj, the ring clearly emitted the aura of Asgard.

After observing more carefully, Loki discovered that Ethan wasn't just wearing a ring with Asgardian aura. The items on his right wrist and neck also bore traces of Asgardian craftsmanship.

"You know about them?"

Ethan did not hide the equipment on his body. All of his gear had been upgraded recently. The magic suit that used to hang as a pendant was now worn on his right wrist, matching the guild information strap on his left. The cross on his neck was his latest creation, the Holy Light Cross.

Currently, the most convenient piece was the new ring, which stored a large amount of Cosmic Cube energy, allowing Ethan to cast spells freely to a certain extent.

The ring had no other function aside from storing the energy of the Cosmic Cube. Its sole purpose was to use that energy to power spells. Thanks to this new item, Ethan could silently deploy Mirror Dimension and cast illusions capable of deceiving even Loki.

"A few years ago, I was just an ordinary person."

Diana had already released Loki. When Ethan deactivated Mirror Space, she understood that he had judged Loki would not attack again.

Ethan's judgment was correct. Though Loki had stood back up and was no longer restrained, he showed no intention of attacking. Instead, he simply stood there quietly, listening to Ethan.

"But now, I can stand here and discuss with the second prince of Asgard who the real weak one is."

Loki looked a bit displeased. He shifted his gaze to Diana beside him, clearly implying, "You're only this confident because of her."

Ethan wagged his finger. "That's not the point. The point is, can you imagine that just a few years ago, I was an ordinary person you wouldn't even have looked at, and now I'm standing here discussing this with you?"

Loki frowned. He already understood what Ethan was trying to say, but he found the idea a bit ridiculous.

"Are you saying you have a way to make me stronger?"

"You have a good example right in front of you."

"That alone doesn't prove anything."

Ethan waved his hand and pointed at Diana. "I'm talking about her."

"Her?" Loki showed a hint of doubt.

"Yes. You know how strong she is. That should be convincing enough."

Loki fell silent. If Ethan really had a method to make him as strong as Diana, it was indeed tempting.

Seeing that Loki was beginning to consider the possibility, Ethan added fuel to the fire.

"You should understand by now that I can travel across countless planes and universes. There are many beings in those worlds who are far more powerful and terrifying than Thanos. There are also powers capable of standing against such monsters, and many of these powers can be learned."

If Loki had still been hesitant before, thinking that Diana's strength might come purely from her bloodline and was not replicable, Ethan's words now truly caught his attention.

"How does this compare to the power of the Cosmic Cube?"

"The Cosmic Cube?"

Ethan glanced at the ring on his hand. Since leaving the Marvel Universe, although the Cosmic Cube still maintained a sufficient energy state, its energy could not be drawn upon indefinitely and needed time to recover.

As for its mastery over the laws of space, those abilities were almost completely useless outside the Marvel Universe. The free teleportation function no longer worked.

At present, the Cube's greatest use was as a source of magic energy. The spatial properties of its energy were helpful for Ethan to further understand the laws of space.

"It's not even comparable. The Cosmic Cube only grants you temporary authority over the laws of the universe," Ethan shook his head. "The worlds I know of could even give you true mastery over a certain rule."

He wasn't exaggerating. Such universes did exist. Both the DC and Marvel worlds contained power systems at that level. Whether or not he could reach those places remained uncertain.

Even if he couldn't access that kind of law-level power system, there were still plenty of abilities and methods in other worlds suitable for Loki to learn. As long as Loki was willing, traveling through multiple worlds with Ethan, even by simply accumulating energy, would make him unimaginably powerful before returning to Asgard.

This was the foundation of Ethan's confidence that he could reach a consensus with Loki.

"Sounds good."

Loki admitted that Ethan's offer was tempting. If weakness was his original sin, then the lure of power was irresistible.

"I think it's a good idea to stay on your ship for now."

Ethan pointed to the door behind Loki. "There are a few well-located rooms. You can pick one. Diana will tell you which ones belong to Logan and Laura. You'll have enough time to consider whether to stay on my ship as my companion, or whether I should just find some interesting world and throw you into it."

Loki frowned. Ethan's firm attitude made him uncomfortable. But he quickly realized Ethan was making his position clear: "I'm not asking you to join me. You're the passive one here."

Indeed, if Ethan were determined, it wouldn't be hard to find a world to dump Loki into if he found him troublesome.

If they cooperated, Loki could become stronger and return to Asgard in glory.

If Loki caused trouble, he would be completely exiled to an unknown world and left to fend for himself. Although Loki wasn't too worried about survival, he didn't want to spend his days wandering aimlessly in a strange universe.

Even if he wanted to stir up trouble, Loki preferred to do it on a bigger stage, one worthy of his audience. As the God of Mischef, Loki had his principles.

After watching Loki leave the captain's room, Ethan returned to his desk and waited for Diana to come back.

The space aboard the Goddess of Dawn was not too large, nor too small. It took only a few minutes for Loki to find a room. Diana soon returned, closing the door behind her.

At the same moment the door closed, Ethan cast an isolation spell, ensuring the room would not be subject to any monitoring or eavesdropping.

"I don't trust him. He's so different from Thor. I can't believe they were brothers who grew up together."

"Human character is complicated. Even though Asgardians call themselves gods, they aren't entirely beyond the level of 'human.'"

Ethan himself couldn't say what true gods were like. The personalities of the Olympian gods didn't seem any better. In fact, they might even be worse.

"So, what are you planning? You know I won't stay on this ship forever." Diana crossed her arms, giving him a look that clearly said, "Come on, beg me."

Unfortunately for her, Ethan didn't even look up. He pressed his fingers against his eye sockets, then stood up and walked around to the front of the desk, facing Diana.

"I never expected him to be completely honest. The safest approach is for me to grow stronger."

Ethan closed his eyes and checked how much space-time energy he had left.

"I need you to stay here for a while."

"What are you planning to do?"

"I want to confirm a guess."

Before Diana could ask for details, she saw Ethan activate the plane shuttle magic circle. As a burst of light filled the captain's room, Ethan disappeared from her sight.

Less than a second later, the light flashed again and Ethan reappeared, as if he had never left.

The strange plant in Ethan's hand was proof that he had indeed been somewhere else.

"What is that?"

Ethan frowned, clearly dissatisfied.

"Blood Orchid."

(To be continued.)