The reason Kang chose to exile the gods rather than simply erase them with the Cosmic Cube was not that he lacked the ability, but rather out of concern for the "God Realms" that lay further beyond. Whether it was Olympus or Asgard, they were essentially pocket dimensions independent of the physical universe. Consequently, these worlds were immune to the influence of the Cosmic Cube—unless Kang personally led an invasion into them.
However, Kang did not wish to confront such powerful magical civilizations prematurely. Strange and Doom had already proven that the ceiling of magic was incredibly high, capable of reshaping reality and resisting its restructuring. Thus, Kang's choice was to cast them out first; as long as the full military might of Asgard or Olympus did not descend en masse, they could not cross over.
That was, until Doom found another way and brought Thor back.
Mjolnir flew out in an instant, striking Kang. Thor did not immediately recall the hammer; instead, with a wave of his hand, he summoned a massive torrent of lightning to bombard Kang's body. Kang stood up unscathed amidst the lightning, only for Doom, his hands wreathed in magical energy, to leap up and bury a fist into his face.
Then another punch, and another, and another. Doom's fists struck Kang's face with a fierce wind. Kang quickly recovered and caught Doom's fist, but before he could exert any force, a lunging Thor struck him again. The two had formed a remarkably tight coordination, fighting Kang in a seamless succession of blows.
Yet even with Thor and Doom joined together, they only managed to hold out longer than the combination of Zemo and Doom.
"Enough!"
An eruption of energy from Kang blasted the two of them back simultaneously. This time, he was beyond furious. "Even if Odin himself came, it would be to no avail! I have mastered the power of the Cosmic Cube. I shall show you all just how terrifying this power truly is! I will erase Norse history and myth; I will make it so that you never existed..."
A familiar shield struck Kang's raised arm, causing him to freeze. He could not help but turn his head, only to witness a sight he had never anticipated. An aged Captain America, leading a host of superheroes including Wolverine, Daredevil, and others, appeared before Kang. Standing beside the Captain was Ghost Rider, the flames burning upon his body enveloping the other heroes.
The hellfire did not grant everyone a skeletal head; it merely caused each of their eyes to burn like those of the Ghost Rider. The aged Captain caught his shield and looked at Kang.
"Your tyranny ends now, Kang! Whatever your purpose for stripping people of their right to make their own choices, it stops this very moment."
"Captain America... you think that by bringing this pack of stray dogs and lighting some fires, you can oppose me?! You are dead wrong!"
Kang roared and swept his hand. The power of the Cosmic Cube surged through everyone present, yet not a single soul was killed. Kang blinked in shock. Suddenly, Ghost Rider's chains lashed around his arm, and then the flaming skull leaped directly in front of his face.
"Your soul is stained with the blood of the innocent. Face judgment."
In an instant, the Penance Stare locked eyes with Kang. Kang seemed to witness his entire life, but then the power of the Cosmic Cube isolated the two of them. Feeling a massive resistance, Kang panted heavily, looking warily at the Ghost Rider before him.
What had just happened?
"What a pity. If not for that thing protecting you, your soul would have been harvested by Hell long ago."
Ghost Rider sounded quite regretful. In that split second, Kang had instinctively driven the power of the Cosmic Cube to survive the Penance Stare. Unless the Cosmic Cube could be dealt with, Kang was effectively unkillable.
"Stop Kang!"
The Captain did not overthink it; with a wave of his hand, he signaled dozens of heroes to charge together. Seeing this, Kang gritted his teeth and instantly vanished from the spot. His disappearance left everyone bewildered, except for the Captain, who was the first to look up.
Directly above New York, the massive sword-shaped flagship had adjusted its posture, aiming its primary cannon at New York City. Tony's voice immediately rang in the Captain's earpiece: "Stop him! Cap! The energy in that thing is enough to wipe out most of the East Coast!"
It was already too late. The Time Stone rapidly accelerated the primary cannon's charging process. In a mere heartbeat, the charge was complete. A green beam descended from the heavens, poised to strike at any second.
At that moment.
Thor flew above the clouds, raised Mjolnir, concentrated all his strength, and let out a roar.
"FOR MIDGARD!"
The beam of light snapped in mid-air.
No, it did not snap; rather, a torrent of lightning carrying even greater power intercepted the bombardment. Subsequently, a sky-piercing bolt struck Kang's mothership in the heavens. Smoke and fire visibly erupted from the vessel. Watching this, Tony could not help but rub his hair in disbelief. "My god, has Thor been holding back this entire time on Earth?"
Mjolnir fell to the ground, and Thor crashed into the earth, creating a massive crater. He climbed out of the pit, covered in dust and grime, and walked to the side to lift his hammer. The Captain immediately met him and asked, "Are you alright, Thor?"
"Worry not for me, Rogers. I can still fight."
Thor looked toward the sky, preparing to swing his hammer and take flight, but the mothership in the heavens seemed to undergo a rapid, complete repair. Kang had used the power of the Time Stone to instantly reset the ship's state.
This meant he could repeat that kind of bombardment countless times at any moment.
A multitude of robots was launched from the ship toward the surface. These spheres, styled after ancient Egypt, instantly transformed into countless scarab-like robots and swarmed the heroes. Back aboard the mothership, Kang breathed a sigh of relief, intending to recalibrate before continuing his campaign. He decided to leave the heroes on the ground to the robots capable of infinite self-repair for the time being.
"Report! Sire! Something is wrong!"
The flagship's operator suddenly spoke up. Kang frowned and asked, "What is happening?"
"A space-time tunnel has been opened once again. Something is coming through!"
Something was coming?
"Temporal coordinates?"
"It is 2015!"
As the space-time tunnel reopened, another wave of Ultron sentries entered this new timeline. Kang could not understand why this was happening. Then, he saw a variant of himself who had been assimilated and modified by Ultron—the Scarlet Centurion, who was originally tasked with stopping Ultron.
With a Cosmic Cube energy receiver installed in his chest, he descended.