045 Experiment!

The sudden voice made Loki's body stiffen!

He slowly turned his gaze and saw, through the mirror, a strange man he had never seen before sitting casually on the sofa—an inexplicable smile on his face.

“Who are you?!”

Loki spun around, and two daggers instantly appeared in his hands.

Russell smiled and said,
“You forgot me already~?”

He raised his left hand and waved it casually.

Loki instinctively covered the right side of his face. His expression darkened, and he shouted angrily:

“You’re the one who slapped me before!”

“And you dare to come back?!”

Russell shrugged. “Don’t get so worked up. I’ve been thinking it over… and I actually feel a little sorry for you.”

Seeing his casual attitude, Loki regained some confidence.

He raised his chin with a sneer. “Trying to apologize now?”

“Hmph. Too late!”

With that, he charged forward, daggers in hand—determined to stab Russell full of holes.

Russell didn’t even move. He simply sighed at the incoming attack:

“Can’t any version of Loki change their tactics?”

“Why must a magician act like an assassin?”

He lifted his hand and delivered a clean slap across Loki’s left cheek—just as Loki practically flung himself into the blow.

Smack!

Loki spun midair like a ragdoll, performing several unintended 720-degree flips before slamming flat onto the metal floor.

Russell looked pleased, clapping his hands lightly.
“There. One for the right, one for the left. Now it’s balanced.”

Loki slowly lifted his head—both sides of his face now evenly swollen.

He raised a trembling finger, pointed at Russell with grief and indignation, and croaked:

“You didn’t come to apologize at all!”

“Huh?” Russell raised an eyebrow. “When did I say I came here to apologize?”

“I just thought it was unfair for your face to be lopsided.”

“So tell me… do you still have any complaints about your left cheek now?”

Loki almost fainted.

He took several deep breaths, forced himself up from the floor, and roared:

“I’m going to fight you!!”

Once again, he charged.

Russell sighed. “Tsk tsk… Still no creativity.”

He ignored Loki’s attack entirely and flicked his wrist toward the hatch.

A purple magic web shot out and struck something invisible—revealing a startled Loki as the illusion spell dissolved in a shimmer of green light.

He had tried to escape using phantom magic, but he was seen through instantly.

That terrified him.

Just then, Russell’s calm voice echoed through the room:

“Your illusion magic is far too sloppy.”

He flicked his fingers again, sending several purple webs flying. They sealed Loki’s mouth and suspended him in midair.

Then Russell waited.

Ten minutes passed. Nothing happened.

He checked the Time Pad.

Still no time branch.

After thinking for a moment, he casually dissolved the web covering Loki’s mouth and walked over with a smile.

Loki’s face turned pale. Without hesitation, he begged:

“Brother, my face is perfectly symmetrical now. Please let me go!”

“I’ll do anything you ask!”

Russell patted his cheek gently and smiled.
“Relax, Loki. I told you—I’m here to save you.”

You call that saving me? Loki thought. Even Hulk didn’t hit me this hard...

He forced a strained smile.
“Yes, you’re absolutely right…”

He dared not talk back—afraid of yet another slap.

Seeing Loki’s miserable state, Russell stopped teasing and spoke seriously:

“What if I told you—you’re going to die soon? Would you believe me?”

Loki was startled by his tone and instinctively argued:

“Hela’s dead. I have no enemies.”

Russell raised a brow. “You sure about that?”

“I seem to recall someone messing with Sanctuary II…”

Loki’s face paled. “You mean... Thanos?!”

Russell glanced again at the unchanging Time Pad and continued:

“Odin’s gone. The Sorcerer Supreme on Earth is dead. No one’s left to stop him from collecting the Infinity Stones.”

“Sanctuary II will intercept this ship in just a few hours. Then he’ll slaughter everyone on board. You’ll be strangled to death—and die with your eyes wide open.”

The casual tone only made the warning more chilling.

Loki trembled. The scenario felt all too real.

He was genuinely scared now.

Seeing that Loki believed him, Russell checked the Time Pad again.

Still no branch.

He decided to push it further.

He put on the Sling Ring, opened a portal, and—without warning—kicked Loki into it.

The portal led to the rooftop of Stark Tower.

Loki stumbled through in disbelief, and before he could react, the portal slammed shut.

Still, the Time Pad remained unchanged.

Russell frowned and muttered:

“Even this doesn’t trigger it?”

“Does the branch only appear at the precise moment of his death… when the timeline realizes Loki didn’t die as he was supposed to?”

The room fell silent.

Hours Later

The hatch opened.

Loki stepped out wearing his signature green cloak.

In the control room, Thor heard the sound behind him, turned, and smiled:

“There you are, brother. Does your face still hurt?”

Loki snorted.
“He only escaped because he was quick. If he’d stayed just a second longer, I would’ve shown him the power of the greatest magician in the Nine Realms.”

Stubborn as ever, Thor thought, amused, but didn’t say anything.

After a moment, he chuckled:

“Honestly, I thought you’d left.”

“But since you’re still here… maybe it’s time we talked about the throne of Asgard—”

Before he could finish, Loki raised a hand and pointed behind him, his expression serious.

“I don’t think now is the right time for that.”

Thor turned quickly.

A massive shadow loomed overhead, blotting out the light of the star.

Darkness fell.
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