"Hmm～ It looks like we arrived just in time."
Peter scanned the situation, his gaze lingering involuntarily on Ebony Maw.
He then shifted his attention to the Cursed Warrior.
This guy had already recovered from Thor's lightning strike, the charred skin on its chest healing at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Peter tilted his head.
"Thor, does this big guy belong to you or me?"
Thor was about to speak.
The Cursed Warrior had already roared and charged forward, its two fists wreathed in violent dark energy as it smashed them toward Peter, clearly enraged by Peter's dismissive attitude.
Thor instinctively wanted to stand in front of Peter, but Peter was faster.
He didn't use Susanoo, nor Wood Release, and he didn't even take out the god-beating whip.
Peter merely raised his right hand, clenched his fingers, and met the attack with a punch.
The Armament Haki wrapped around his fist erupted into a visible shockwave the moment it made contact.
Bang!
The Cursed Warrior's brute strength, which was enough to go toe-to-toe with Thor, was completely powerless before this punch.
The moment their fists collided, the Cursed Warrior was sent flying uncontrollably, and its entire right arm, along with half of its body, exploded from the shoulder down due to the internal destructive force.
I got up, one-shot it, what else is there to say?
If he had encountered this guy before fighting Cul, Peter probably wouldn't have been able to deal with this big guy so easily.
After all, in the movie, this guy could go toe-to-toe with Thor, and its performance was far more exaggerated than Malekith, who had obtained the Aether Particle.
Malekith was portrayed as a complete waste in the movie; he couldn't use the power of the Aether Particle at all. Later, he even had his arm cut off by Jane Foster and her companions using a space device, and was ultimately crushed to death by his own ship in a pathetic manner.
But after using the Human Emperor Banner to absorb Cul's All-Spirit Cavalry, Peter's soul and control over divine power had nearly doubled. Under these circumstances, dealing with this Cursed Warrior was naturally a piece of cake.
Thor watched the Cursed Warrior, whose half-body had been blasted away by Peter's punch, and silently lowered the hammer he had raised halfway.
Ever since he met Peter, he, the future God King, felt like he had been living in the other's shadow.
Frigga was also stunned by this scene.
But she was a person who had seen great events, so she quickly adjusted her mindset and gave Peter a slight nod of acknowledgment.
"Peter, thank you."
"You're welcome, Your Highness Frigga."
After responding to Frigga, Peter was just about to step forward to finish off the Cursed Warrior completely.
But just at this moment...
Hum.
A strange spatial fluctuation appeared beneath the Cursed Warrior without warning.
Before Peter could react, a deep blue spatial fissure cracked open on the ground, swallowing the dying Cursed Warrior whole.
The spatial fissure closed instantly after swallowing its target, disappearing without a trace.
Peter's footsteps halted.
Spatial teleportation?
His brows furrowed involuntarily, and his gaze instinctively swept toward Malekith.
At this moment, a dark red light was flowing over Malekith—it was the Aether Particle!
The moment Peter saw that light, a string in his mind suddenly tightened.
No, is this right?
How is this guy already using the Aether Particle when Jane Foster hasn't even come to Asgard yet?
According to the plot he knew, the Aether Particle should have been accidentally encountered by Jane Foster during the Convergence of the Nine Realms.
Then Thor would discover the anomaly and bring Jane back to Asgard, which would trigger a series of events like the Dark Elves' invasion.
But now, there was still a long time before the Convergence of the Nine Realms.
How did this Aether Particle end up on Malekith?
Could it be... Peter's gaze suddenly shifted toward the thin, withered figure standing behind Malekith, who had acted like an invisible person from the very beginning.
Ebony Maw.
"Did you bring this thing here?"
Ebony Maw did not deny it.
He didn't even bother to feign a disguise; meeting Peter's slightly grave gaze, he grinned and revealed a strange smile.
That smile was filled with the satisfaction of a cat playing with a mouse.
"Lord Thanos was indeed right."
Ebony Maw spoke slowly, his voice carrying a tone of near-religious devotion.
"You are indeed a sharp and troublesome fellow."
He tilted his head, and the smile on his face grew even more intense.
"People like you... cannot be allowed to live!"
Upon hearing these words, Thor's pupils constricted sharply.
A grave expression also appeared on Frigga's face, and she was ready at any moment to use magic to help Peter resolve any trouble that might arise.
Just when everyone thought Ebony Maw was preparing to use some incredible killing move against them.
In the next second, a sudden change occurred in the arena.
Puchi～!
The sound of a sharp blade piercing flesh rang out abruptly. Everyone looked around in confusion, only to realize the sound originated from... behind Malekith!
Malekith first looked down at his chest in disbelief, then turned his head to look back in unwillingness.
His gaze met a pair of emerald green eyes.
The owner of those eyes was none other than... Loki!
There was no warning.
Loki had suddenly launched a backstab against Malekith. Because everyone's attention was on Ebony Maw and Peter, no one had even noticed how he had snuck up behind Malekith!
"You?!"
Malekith let out a roar, his expression more ferocious than ever before.
"You wretched, treacherous bastard!"
Before he could finish his curse.
Ebony Maw suddenly moved.
He raised his withered, pale right hand, his fingertips tracing an extremely profound magic circle.
Deep blue runes swirled in the air.
With the appearance of these runes, the dark red light on Malekith's chest flared up and then began to tremble violently.
"What! This is impossible——!"
Malekith pressed his hands tightly against his chest, trying to calm the Aether Particle within him in this way.
But it was utterly useless.
Under his disbelieving gaze, the Aether Particle within him began to peel away from his body, thread by thread.
Those dark red particles, as if responding to some strange summons, gathered at Ebony Maw's fingertips, constantly condensing, compressing, and crystallizing.
Finally, under the astonished gaze of everyone, a gem the size of a pigeon's egg, radiating a scarlet light, hovered in Ebony Maw's palm.
Seeing this scene, the most shocked person on the scene was undoubtedly Malekith. Although his face was pale as paper due to the backstab and the loss of the Aether Particle, he couldn't help but roar:
"Damn it, so everything you said before about only wanting the divine artifacts and treasures in the Heavenly Palace vault was a lie! Your goal from the very beginning was the Aether Particle!"
"The Aether Particle?"
Hearing this term, Ebony Maw couldn't help but laugh:
"Compared to the Aether Particle, I prefer to call it... the Reality Stone!"
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