"Of course, it's about creating the most suitable environment for the dark elves!" Faced with Malekith's questioning, Kors' eyes darkened as he replied, his body radiating an aura of darkness that began to resonate with the blood mist surrounding the dark elves.
With a hum, the resonance between the dark aura and the dark elves' blood mist caused the surrounding environment to turn pitch black, becoming a completely lightless area.
As this dark zone formed, Malekith, who had been questioning Kors, became excited. Even Argorim, locked in battle with Robert, wore a smile on his monstrous face, and the observers, like T'ara, who were watching from the shadows without intervening, were also quietly pleased.
Moreover, in this darkness, their smiles were invisible, something the dark elves prided themselves on. Darkness was their ultimate domain, not only boosting their combat power but also allowing them to move unseen. This was guaranteed to enhance their performance in battle.
Just as the dark elves began to revel in their advantage, multiple pairs of eyes appeared in the darkness. Unlike the dark elves' gloomy eyes, these eyes shone either in eerie green or blood-red hues, making the dark elves shudder at the sight.
"Have you not figured out the situation? You think creating darkness here will suppress us? Don't you know we're Earth's most infamous dark creatures?" A night werewolf bared his fangs at Kors and grinned menacingly.
"Come on, didn't you just power up? I hope you can keep it up. Don't let me down…"
In a flash, a green light blinked through the darkness as the night werewolf and Kors collided once more. This time, Kors still had the upper hand. However, Kors didn't feel relieved, because his power had been greatly boosted by T'ara and the surrounding darkness, and he should have far outmatched the night werewolf by now.
Although Kors had gained a slight advantage in the exchange, it was nowhere near as large as before the darkness spread.
What Kors didn't know was that if there had been a full moon, it would have been hard to say whose strength would have increased more. Vampires and werewolves, both evolved from the dark dimension, might have their weaknesses, but among extraordinary species, their power was far from weak. Besides, how could the dark elves possibly know the weaknesses of vampires and werewolves?
In addition to the vampires and werewolves, Lorna and Susan Storm could use their telekinetic powers to sense their surroundings, unaffected by the darkness. Kara was another matter—her vision remained unaffected in the dark, and she could even emit light herself.
As for Robert, there was nothing more to say. Even though Argorim's strength was enhanced by the dark environment, it still wasn't enough to defeat him.
The only one truly affected by the darkness was Hulk. Though the darkness didn't oppress him, the once-unstoppable Hulk now struggled to find his targets, unable to see where the dark elves were hiding.
"Boss, it doesn't seem like anything has changed," General Kabo muttered cautiously from outside the dark zone, scratching his head as he noticed that even with the advantage of darkness, the dark elves still stood no chance.
"I can see that! Kors' strength is too weak. Their source power isn't bad, but why is their integration with the dark power so slow?" T'ara's eyes flashed with dissatisfaction, and she released another surge of energy.
With the added support from the surrounding darkness, T'ara wielded her dark powers even more smoothly and covertly.
Suddenly, with a loud bang, the night werewolf, who had just started to recover from his disadvantage, was once again knocked flying by Kors. This unexpected surge in power made the werewolf realize something was wrong.
The night werewolf had only recently joined the Avengers, but he had been through enough to notice something unusual. Having experienced many supernatural events before, he found Kors' repeated power boosts suspicious.
Kors' behavior hinted that there might be someone behind him pulling the strings. If the dark elves had known more about vampires and werewolves, the night werewolf might have even suspected the dark dimension was making a comeback.
Without warning, Kors vanished into the darkness after sending the werewolf flying.
A large hand reached out and caught the werewolf mid-flight, squeezing tightly enough to cause pain.
"It's me, Hulk! Can't you see my glowing eyes?" Shadow Hunter quickly called out, prompting Hulk, who had been squeezing him in confusion, to loosen his grip, embarrassed.
"Hulk didn't see… Hulk can only hear noises, so Hulk must stay on high alert."
"It's alright. The dark elf I was fighting seems to have disappeared!" The werewolf quickly healed from his injuries and, frowning, looked around warily.
"Hulk didn't notice anything…" Hulk glanced around, then sighed gloomily.
"Everyone, be careful. The dark elf I was fighting is missing. Watch out for sneak attacks!" The night werewolf warned the other Avengers, vampires, and werewolves.
Lorna, Susan Storm, and Kara were powerful enough not to worry much. Besides, apart from Kara, Lorna and Susan had no fixed opponents, roaming the battlefield as needed to adapt to their powers.
However, the vampires and werewolves were in a different situation. Their power was sufficient to suppress ordinary dark elves, but if Kors, who had boosted his power twice, targeted them, it could spell trouble.
What the night werewolf didn't expect was that Kors would actually target Lorna!
Indeed, Kors, his eyes gleaming with dark energy, appeared and launched a sudden attack on the most powerful person on the battlefield, Lorna.
Caught off guard, Lorna was struck by Kors' unexpected assault. However, her telekinetic powers responded even faster than she could, and just as before, when Pietro had rushed at her, a wave of telekinetic energy blasted out before she even had time to react.
In an instant, part of Kors' body was disintegrated, forcing him to retreat back into the darkness.
"What is this ability? Did Kors develop a new one? Why is there no record of it in our dark elven history?" Malekith was bewildered by Kors' unfamiliar tactics.
Malekith had been suspicious of Kors earlier when he used dark elf corpses for his rituals, but seeing him summon the surrounding darkness had restored his trust. However, the strange new abilities Kors displayed left Malekith perplexed, especially his sudden attack on Lorna.
With a hum, Kors reappeared moments later, his body now infused with a power Malekith recognized—the power used by the dark elves to summon and control the Reality Stone!
As this power surged forth, Lorna, who had been preparing to launch another attack, suddenly froze. A wave of liquid fragments, belonging to the Reality Stone, emerged from her body.
"What?" Lorna was momentarily confused before realizing the truth. "The Reality Stone was actually hidden inside me? And I didn't even notice! Is it messing with me again?"
Before Lorna could process it fully, the fragments, seemingly drawn by Kors' power, flew directly toward him.
As the Reality Stone came into Kors' hands, his body visibly trembled under its immense weight, yet his injuries rapidly healed, including the part of his body that had been disintegrated by Lorna's telekinesis.
"Aether particles…" Kors whispered fanatically, staring at the Reality Stone in his hand.
"Put it down!" Lorna's eyes flashed with cold light as her telekinetic powers surged toward Kors, attempting to reclaim the Reality Stone.
To her surprise, the moment her invisible telekinetic force reached Kors, it vanished, leaving him unharmed and unmoved.
Similarly, Susan Storm, unaware of Lorna's situation, instinctively used her powers to assist, only to find her telekinesis nullified as well.
Robert had encountered this before while fighting the Reality Stone. Though Lorna and Susan's powers had been strengthened by the stone, they were still subject to its overwhelming influence. Despite Kors not fully mastering its power, the Reality Stone rendered their abilities ineffective.
"Aether particles… such immense power. Aether particles, fulfill my wish completely!" Kors, oblivious to Lorna and Susan's attacks, muttered with fanatical devotion.
Under T'ara's control and the dark elves' long-standing beliefs, Kors made a wish to the Reality Stone—the dark elves' ultimate desire: for darkness to descend upon the entire universe.
With a hum, the Reality Stone's light expanded, merging with the surrounding darkness.
The darkness, enhanced by the Reality Stone, swelled to an unimaginable scale, enveloping the entire Earth in total blackness. The concept of light itself seemed to vanish from the planet.
Although this was not the full extent of the Reality Stone's power, it had reached the limits of Kors' abilities. His body, now shriveled, was unable to withstand the backlash from the Reality Stone.
"Leader, quickly! My wish isn't fully complete. Take it and finish our final wish!" Kors, sensing the end of his life, used his last strength to send the Reality Stone away.
In a flash, the Reality Stone disappeared from Kors' hand and reappeared in Malekith's.
"I misjudged you, Kors. I even doubted you before. But now I believe—you're the most loyal of the dark elves, always faithful to our beliefs. The next dark elf era will remember you!" As the darkness expanded, Malekith grew stronger, holding the Reality Stone while muttering to himself.
With a hum, Malekith began to envision a perfect dark universe, one that the Reality Stone would soon bring into existence.
But just then, a sudden energy slash severed Malekith's arm, separating him from the Reality Stone and shattering
his wish.
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