The Comprehensive Evolution of American Comics

Chapter 756: The Source of Fear - Fear Resurrects

On the turbulent Pacific Ocean, a beam of green light descended from the sky, piercing the sea like a sword.

The entity of this green light was Loki. With the help of the Celestial Hammer, she could travel from Asgard to Earth even without using the Rainbow Bridge. Now, guided by a calling, she was searching for something in the depths of the Pacific.

Despite the raging waves on the surface, the seabed was far from safe. Humanity's understanding of the ocean was too limited. Having not yet seen all the species of fish, they naturally hadn't encountered the ferocious beasts lurking in the deep sea.

Several sea monsters of varying appearances sensed the intrusion of an outsider. They swung their long bodies towards Loki, the one who dared to stir trouble in the deep ocean.

Catching sight of these ignorant creatures, Loki's Celestial Hammer radiated a dazzling green light, instantly shattering the sea monsters into pieces, turning the seabed almost blood red.

However, this didn't affect Loki, who was on her way. The Celestial Hammer erected a protective shield around her, preventing her from being affected by the water pressure and keeping the blood from staining her.

Loki was moving very fast; even the seawater couldn't stop her. Soon, she arrived at her destination.

It was a massive reef covered with various things. Only the outline vaguely suggested it was the shape of a beast's head, but it was impossible to distinguish what kind of beast it was.

Loki could feel that this was what was calling to her. Although it was her first time seeing this thing, she knew exactly what to do.

Raising the Celestial Hammer, a surge of powerful energy accumulated on it. When the time was right, Loki swung the hammer with force, like a fling, and the energy poured out onto the beast-headed reef.

"Boom!"

Even in the deep sea, a muffled sound erupted. A large amount of dust obscured the vision. Just as Loki was about to use magic to dissipate the dust, a snake's head suddenly emerged from it.

Loki was startled. Upon closer inspection, she realized it was a stone sculpture of a snake's head. Its open, bloodthirsty mouth was terrifying. An ordinary person might be scared out of their wits upon seeing it suddenly.

Just as Loki cleared saw the snake-head sculpture, a purple vortex appeared in the snake's mouth. Before Loki could resist, she was instantly swept up by the current and sucked in.

When Loki regained her senses, she was no longer underwater but in an interior space, exactly like the illusion she had seen in Odin's vault.

"Thump!"

The sudden sound triggered Loki's conditioned reflex. She raised the Celestial Hammer and looked towards the direction of the sound, only to see an old man with a cane, wearing bulky armor, standing there.

"You've finally come, Skadi."

"Fath...er?" The moment Loki saw the old man, she knew his identity.

"Last time, some young punk lifted my hammer with brute force," the Serpent Kurse staggered towards Loki. "I thought it would take a long time to be freed, but I didn't expect the surprise to come so quickly."

Loki held the hammer in one hand and supported the weak Serpent with the other, listening quietly to his words.

"Perhaps it's all fate. If that kid hadn't brought the hammer back to Asgard, who knows how many days and nights we would have had to wait until today."

Supported by Loki, the Serpent arrived at the spot where Loki had just landed. He tremblingly reached out his right hand and waved it, instantly tearing the space, and a purple rift appeared in front of the two.

"Let's go, child," the Serpent coughed. "We still have a lot of work to do."

...

Back in the Pacific Ocean, a purple rift suddenly appeared, and the Serpent and Loki slowly walked out of it.

Due to his physical weakness, the Serpent walked very slowly, and Loki deliberately slowed down to match his pace.

"The long-lost fear," the Serpent stood on the turbulent sea, absorbing power as if breathing air.

The Serpent Kurse was the source of fear, the God of Fear. He could draw fear from all creatures in the Nine Realms. He could absorb these intangible things into his body and eventually turn them into his own power.

The seal that Odin placed on the Serpent was not just to restrict his freedom; it was to isolate the Serpent from the connection with the Nine Realms, equivalent to opening up a new space so that the Serpent could not absorb the fear of the Nine Realms.

Without the support of the power of fear, the Serpent could only age day by day. If it weren't for the appearance of that prophecy, the Serpent might have died of old age long ago.

"Odin already knows," the Serpent walked forward step by step with his cane. "He knew the moment you broke the seal."

"Then what should we do next?" Loki obediently followed the Serpent. Although her mind was completely loyal to the Serpent, she could still see the gap in strength.

The current God-King Odin was still too powerful. There were only a handful of people in the Nine Realms who could confront him head-on.

"Odin is not a problem," the Serpent scoffed at Loki's worries. "He is just a traitor who brought me down with a sneak attack. The only real threat to me is that child in the prophecy."

"Thor..." Loki softly spoke a name. When she spoke this name, a trace of emotion appeared on her face, but it was quickly erased.

All of this could not escape the Serpent's eyes, but he did not bring it up and continued to speak to himself.

"Although Asgard has many people, we are not fighting alone. Someone will help me buy time, and you, my child, need to help me find more manpower."

"Who should I find?" Loki asked.

...

"What happened?"

Zheng Xian walked into the command room while tidying his sleeves. He was still sleeping just now, but he got up immediately after receiving an emergency notice.

"Director," the agent on duty made way and pointed to the display screen behind him. "Our satellites have detected seven unidentified objects rushing towards Earth at extremely high speeds in the universe."

Zheng Xian patted the Baihui acupoint on the top of his head, forcibly waking himself up, and asked, "Can you capture what they are?"

"No way," the agent shook his head. "Our satellites can keep up with the speed of those things, but they are all wrapped in a strange energy. None of our detection equipment can do this."

"Can you determine the landing point?" Zheng Xian asked immediately.

"It can be judged," the agent nodded. "One of these seven unidentified objects is landing in our country."

"Intercept it," Zheng Xian ordered. "By the way, call all the special teams on duty and tell them to stand by."