Chapter 308: The Divine Realm Army Descends Upon Earth
"Is Earth doomed?"
People from all nations around the world, watching the broadcast, saw those powerful armies and advanced weapons being effortlessly crushed like mere chickens and dogs by the Hydra troops under the command of the eight Heavenly Hammer Venerables.
Fear gradually rose in their hearts. Even the American military couldn't withstand those monsters—how could their own countries possibly resist?
Would their cities soon become like Washington, turned into living hells?
This fear that welled up in people's hearts was absorbed by Kuur, making him even stronger.
"George, we need your help. Whatever your conditions are—we'll agree to them!"
At the S.H.I.E.L.D. base in New York, Coulson had naturally witnessed the tragedy in Washington in its entirety. He knew that with only conventional forces and S.H.I.E.L.D., they stood no chance against the so-called God of Fear leading Hydra.
Their only hope lay in George and the superpowered individuals from his school.
Now that most of the country's top officials were dead, Coulson, as Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., was one of the few high-ranking officials left. As long as George was willing to act, Coulson truly had the authority to fulfill most promises.
"Coulson, don't worry. That God of Fear came from Asgard. I've already contacted Thor, and he has returned to Asgard. He should be arriving soon with Asgard's army."
At that moment, George was watching the broadcast alongside Professor X and the other teachers at the school. Naturally, they had also seen what happened in Washington.
Before answering the call, he had just been sighing over Sokovia's unending misfortunes.
In this world, Ultron had not lifted Sokovia to crash it into the Earth, but Kuur had done it instead. The number of deaths was likely even greater than in the Ultron incident.
Just as he finished speaking, a colorful beam of light descended from the sky on television.
Thor, clad in the armor of the God of Thunder and wielding Mjölnir, appeared with the three warriors of Asgard, the goddess Sif, and a dense host of divine warriors clad in golden armor.
"See? Here they come. Don't worry—Earth isn't so easily destroyed."
"Earth might not be, but our capital is about to be!"
After hanging up, Coulson couldn't help but rub his temples before refocusing on the video.
He only hoped that things would go as George said—that Thor and the divine soldiers of Asgard could defeat those foes and save Washington.
"All of you, get ready. If Thor can't handle it, we'll go help."
George gave instructions to the teachers, then Apparated and vanished from sight.
He felt that Kuur's entire plan was deliberate—there had to be something suspicious about it. He intended to seek out the Ancient One to learn more detailed information.
According to Kuur's speech on video, he seemed intent on destroying city after city to force the entire Earth to kneel before him. He didn't mention returning to the Divine Realm.
If that were the case, George couldn't just sit back and watch.
The whole world being thrown into chaos wouldn't do him any good.
"Kuur is the God of Fear. The more fear humans feel toward him, the stronger he becomes. He won't attack cities one by one; he's merely using this method to gather fear as a source of power.
Once he's regained his strength, he'll leave Earth—so there's no need to worry."
At the New York Sanctum, the Ancient One explained after understanding George's concerns.
George was suddenly enlightened and his eyes lit up.
"Does he have any weaknesses?"
Odin hadn't come to Earth, and George didn't think Thor had a high chance of victory. He might have to take action himself.
Defeating Kuur would mean saving the world—not only would Odin owe him a favor, but all of humanity would too. This would also be beneficial for the future development of the Superpower Academy.
But he would only appear at the last moment, when everyone had lost hope. That way, Kuur would surely be stronger than ever due to accumulated fear.
Therefore, if he could learn about some of Kuur's weaknesses, his odds of winning would be better when the time came.
"A weakness? There is indeed one."
The Ancient One smiled as she explained:
"Since he gains power from fear, naturally, he can also lose power because of fear.
If people stop fearing him, and if he himself begins to feel fear in his heart, his strength will be significantly weakened.
It's said that Odin once defeated and sealed Kuur precisely because he had no fear of him, which made it difficult for Kuur to fully unleash his power."
"I see... so it's not impossible."
Upon hearing this, George began formulating a plan.
"Thank you, Master Ancient One."
Having obtained the intel he sought, George Apparated back to the school.
But as soon as he returned, his body froze slightly, and he muttered to himself in his heart:
"Why do I feel like I've been tricked?"
He didn't mean that the information the Ancient One gave him was false—she wasn't the type to stoop that low. Rather, it was her claim that she wouldn't interfere in Odin's family matters or stop Kuur.
If she really didn't plan to get involved, why did she know so much about Kuur, even down to his weaknesses?
He had the strong feeling that the Ancient One had said all of that deliberately for him to hear.
As for her purpose, it was simple—she wanted to use him as a tool to resolve this crisis on Earth.
That way, she could stay out of the trouble herself.
"Whatever. As long as it benefits me, it doesn't matter."
In the end, George figured it wasn't important.
Whether he was being used or not, whether he was just a tool, didn't matter as long as he got something out of it.
No matter how powerful you are, you can still be used by someone stronger. He wasn't someone who cared about face.
He wouldn't act out of pride just because he'd been used.
"As expected, not a match."
At that moment, on the television, Thor hadn't even touched Kuur before two of the Heavenly Hammer Venerables beat him down miserably in a joint assault.
Even the combined efforts of the three warriors of Asgard and the goddess Sif could only hold back one Heavenly Hammer Venerable. The remaining five, along with Hydra, were pushing back the divine army step by step.
"Professor, guard the school. Everyone else, into the box—we're going to help!"
George took out the box and placed Logan, Steve, Dr. Banner, the newly joined superpowered teachers, and Daisy of the Inhumans inside. Then he Apparated into the skies above New York.
But he didn't act right away. Instead, he first turned invisible in midair.
"Thor Odinson... looks like your father—my despicable brother—doesn't dare to leave the Divine Realm to fight me.
Very well, then. When the time comes, I'll return to the Divine Realm myself and personally take his head to hang on the branches of Yggdrasil."
Standing atop the tallest point of Sokovia, Kuur looked down at Thor being brutally beaten by two Heavenly Hammer Venerables. His face was filled with venomous hatred toward Odin.
(End of Chapter)