Chapter 867: Mjölnir needs a new owner, right?

Thor pulled Mjölnir with all the authority he possessed over the weapon. The hammer vibrated inside Vergil’s hand, releasing enough lightning to turn the surrounding stones incandescent, but the Demon King’s fingers did not open. Divine energy passed through his skin, traveled across the muscles of his arm, and disappeared inside his body as though swallowed by a far greater current. Vergil held the furious gaze of the Norse god.

"Come and take it."

Thor did not answer with words.

He vanished from where he had landed and appeared in front of Vergil in an explosion of electricity. His right fist came toward his face with enough force to rupture the walls behind him before the impact even happened. The pressure opened a line of destruction across the entire platform, throwing pieces of stone, metal, and broken runes toward the Valkyries.

Vergil tilted his head.

The fist passed beside his face.

Thor was moving too quickly to stop. The full weight of the strike carried his body forward, and Vergil used the instant the god’s chest became exposed. He turned his hips, planted his feet on the ruined ground, and punched Thor directly in the face.

The impact did not merely produce a crash.

The air compressed between them and exploded in every direction. The clouds above Asgard opened in a gigantic circle as Thor’s head was thrown backward with violence. The rest of his body followed immediately afterward. He passed through the outer wall, destroyed three observation towers, and disappeared beyond the horizon, leaving a line of destruction stretching for many kilometers.

The sound of the collapsing structures took several seconds to arrive.

The Valkyries remained motionless.

Some still held shields in front of their bodies. Others had their weapons raised, although none of them seemed to know what exactly they were supposed to protect themselves from. Vergil had sent Thor away with a single punch while continuing to hold Mjölnir in his other hand.

The hammer tried to escape again.

Vergil looked at it.

Mjölnir vibrated between his fingers, but the force no longer seemed as aggressive as before. Lightning traveled across the metal in short movements, gathering around the symbols engraved into the head of the weapon. Vergil turned the handle in his palm, testing the weight, balance, and response of the artifact.

It was lighter than it should have been.

Not because it weighed little, but because it adjusted itself to the movement of whoever it accepted as a wielder. Vergil felt no resistance connected to worthiness, bloodline, or divine authorization. There was a consciousness inside the weapon, but it did not reject him.

It seemed curious.

He swung Mjölnir to the side.

An arc of electricity naturally left the hammer and crossed the sky. The lightning struck a distant mountain, exploding its summit and spreading incandescent stones across the lower valleys.

Vergil raised one eyebrow slightly.

"Oh, this little girl likes me."

Thor’s voice crossed Asgard before his body reappeared.

"Do not call my friend a girl!"

Divine energy exploded on the horizon.

Thor advanced in a straight line, crossing the distance between them at nearly the speed of light. The ruins behind him were ripped away by the pressure, and his silhouette became a blue beam filled with fury. He was no longer trying to recover Mjölnir through authority or a summons. He was personally coming to tear it from Vergil’s hands.

The Demon King merely adjusted his stance.

He waited.

Thor entered his range.

Vergil swung Mjölnir upward.

The head of the hammer struck Thor beneath the chin with a dry sound, completely different from the previous explosions. The full force of his charge was returned through the impact, strengthened by the energy the weapon itself released when it struck its former wielder.

Thor was launched vertically.

His body broke through the layer of clouds, passed through a formation of floating islands, and continued rising until it became a point in Asgard’s golden sky. Lightning remained scattered along the path like blue scars that took time to disappear.

Vergil watched his trajectory.

Then he looked at Mjölnir.

"Was that satisfying?"

The hammer vibrated once.

Vergil waited.

Mjölnir tilted slightly in his hand, as though its internal weight had shifted by its own will.

A brief smile appeared on the Demon King’s face.

"I understand."

Freya stood several meters behind him, watching the interaction with an expression combining shock and disbelief. She knew Mjölnir. She had seen it in Thor’s hands during wars, celebrations, threats, and disputes between gods. The weapon was not an ordinary object. It possessed will, memory, and preferences, although Thor rarely spoke about it.

Vergil passed his thumb over one of the hammer’s runes.

"What a fool. He does not even know his divine weapon has a personality."

He raised his eyes toward the point where Thor had disappeared.

"It must be because you are a stupid barbarian."

Mjölnir vibrated again.

This time, more strongly.

Brynhildr finally managed to speak.

"She is responding to you."

Vergil glanced sideways.

"Yes."

"That should not happen."

"You say that often."

Sigrun approached several steps, although she maintained enough distance not to appear as though she intended to take the hammer.

"Mjölnir was forged for Thor."

"It was forged as a weapon," Vergil corrected. "Thor was merely the one who wielded it the longest."

Brynhildr watched the glowing runes.

"No other warrior managed to keep it in their hands after it chose Thor."

Vergil turned the hammer once more.

"Perhaps no one ever asked what it wanted."

Freya opened her mouth but found no immediate answer. It sounded absurd, yet also explained far too much. Thor had always treated Mjölnir as an extension of himself. He called it a friend on rare occasions, but never considered that the weapon might desire something different from what he wanted.

Vergil closed his fingers around the handle.

His demonic energy began spreading through the hammer.

Brynhildr reacted immediately.

"Vergil, wait."

He did not stop.

The black flow entered Mjölnir’s runes, found the divine energy accumulated inside the weapon’s core, and began pressing against it. Brynhildr expected violent rejection. Divine artifacts normally reacted to demonic energy the way a body reacted to poison. The runes should have burned, the internal consciousness should have expelled the invader, and the hammer should have tried to destroy the hand holding it.

None of that happened.

Mjölnir accepted it.

Demonic energy traveled through the metal without encountering resistance. The blue lightning gradually darkened, first taking on deep shades of violet before becoming completely black. Red lines appeared within the discharges, crossing the electricity like blood running through exposed veins.

The change did not resemble corruption.

The weapon was not being forced to abandon its divine nature. Vergil’s energy occupied the empty spaces and combined with the power already there, creating a hybrid manifestation none of the Valkyries recognized.

Mjölnir released a discharge toward the sky.

The black and red lightning passed through the clouds and opened a luminous crack overhead. For several seconds, the towers of Asgard were bathed in dark light while every defensive rune in the realm reacted as though a new divine authority had just been born within its walls.

Brynhildr could not hide her astonishment.

"He replaced Thor’s signature."

Sigrun slowly shook her head.

"He did not replace it."

She watched Mjölnir more carefully.

"The weapon allowed another energy to occupy its core."

Freya became even paler.

"That is worse."

Vergil looked at her.

"For Thor, probably."

A roar crossed the sky.

Thor began to fall.

He was surrounded by an entire storm. Without Mjölnir, all the divine energy he normally channeled through the hammer was accumulating inside his own body. His eyes had become completely blue, his hair and beard floated among the lightning, and the skin of his arms was covered in glowing inscriptions.

There was no surprise in his expression now.

Only rage.

Thor saw the black lightning surrounding Mjölnir, and his fury gained a new intensity. The storm around Asgard expanded in response, covering towers, walls, and bridges. The Einherjar advancing across the lower structures had to stop their march to avoid the uncontrolled discharges.

Vergil watched him approach.

Mjölnir vibrated in his hand.

"Calm down," Vergil murmured, running his thumb along the handle. "You will have fun again."

The vibration diminished.

Freya looked at Brynhildr.

"Is he calming the hammer?"

Brynhildr still appeared unable to accept what she was seeing.

"Apparently."

Thor was only seconds away from reaching them.

Vergil placed Mjölnir at his waist, securing the handle between his belt and coat as though carrying an ordinary weapon. The hammer adjusted its own weight to remain in place, and the black lightning almost completely disappeared around its metal head.

Then Vergil gripped Yamato.

"Do not be jealous," he said quietly.

Mjölnir released a small spark against his waist.

Yamato vibrated inside the sheath.

Freya closed her eyes for an instant.

"He is flirting with the weapons now."

Sigrun looked at her.

"Is that normal?"

"Unfortunately, I no longer know what is normal around him."

Vergil drew Yamato only enough to produce a vertical cut through space. A portal opened beside the Valkyries, revealing the Demon Realm. On the other side, enormous roots from Qliphoth crossed a black plain while Sparda’s demons began preparing a wide area to receive the warriors.

The portal was large, but not enough for all of them to cross at once.

Vergil widened the cut.

The opening grew until it occupied almost the entire length of the wall. The energy of the Demon Realm entered Asgard like a hot wind, mixing with the cold divine air. Several Valkyries instinctively retreated, but Brynhildr remained firm.

Vergil looked at them.

"All of you, leave."

Brynhildr frowned.

"And you?"

"I will hold back the big man."

Freya stepped forward.

"You did not come here to fight Thor."

"I did not come here to be arrested either."

"Our objective is Helheim."

"And it still is."

Freya pointed toward the sky.

"Thor will not let you leave after stealing the Bifröst and taking Mjölnir."

Vergil looked at the hammer secured at his waist.

"He can try to recover it when he is calmer."

Lightning struck a nearby tower, destroying half the structure.

Freya released an irritated sigh.

"He is not going to calm down."

"Then it will take longer."

Brynhildr tightened her grip on the spear.

"I will not abandon you to face a god alone inside his own realm."

Vergil turned toward her.

"You just accepted responsibility for every Valkyrie who decided to desert. I am not your priority."

"We swore loyalty before you."

"And my first order is to take them to Sparda."

Brynhildr remained silent.

The words struck with more weight than any argument. Vergil was not asking her to flee. He was ordering her to fulfill the role she had claimed by taking command of the separation. If she remained to fight, she would place all the others at risk because of pride or misunderstood loyalty.

Sigrun touched Brynhildr’s shoulder.

"He is right."

Brynhildr looked at her.

"Thor is not coming for the Valkyries now," Sigrun continued. "He is coming for the hammer. If we remain, we become targets inside a fight we cannot control."

Freya stared at Vergil.

"I am staying."

"No."

"Frey is my brother. You are only here because of me."

"Exactly. And if Thor closes the routes after the Valkyries leave, you need to be on the other side to make certain we can still reach Helheim."

"That does not make sense."

"It makes enough sense."

Freya clenched her teeth.

"You are using bad logic to send me away."

"I am using an order."

The succubus energy around her stirred in irritation, creating a reddish glow over her skin. For several seconds, Freya appeared ready to grab him, argue, or simply refuse to cross.

Vergil approached.

He placed one hand around her waist and pulled her close before she could react. Freya immediately lost part of her anger, surprised by the sudden proximity. The demonic energy around her body fluctuated in an entirely different way.

Vergil leaned his face toward hers.

"Go."

Freya tried to hold his gaze, but her breathing had already changed.

"You are doing this deliberately."

"Yes."

"That is unfair."

"That too."

He released her before her impulses escaped control and gently pushed her toward the portal.

Brynhildr caught Freya by the arm.

"Let us go."

Freya continued looking at Vergil.

"Do not let Thor destroy all of Asgard."

Vergil looked at the storm-covered sky.

"I cannot promise that."

The first Valkyries began crossing the portal in organized formations. The wounded and support units went first, followed by the warriors responsible for equipment and information. Sigrun remained beside the opening, counting every group while Goll checked the marks belonging to the distant units.

Heimdall was lifted by two Valkyries.

He partially awakened as they approached the portal. His eyes found the crater where the Bifröst had once stood, then Mjölnir secured at Vergil’s waist, and finally Thor descending from the sky.

"You cannot take it," he murmured.

Sigrun looked at him.

"We are taking you as a prisoner."

"I am not talking about myself."

He was staring at Mjölnir.

"The hammer belongs to Asgard."

Vergil answered without turning around.

"It appears to disagree."

Mjölnir released a black spark.

Heimdall closed his eyes as though the sight caused him physical pain.

The Valkyries carried him through the portal.

Thor finally struck the ground.

The fall produced an explosion that swallowed hundreds of meters of the former platform. Vergil remained at the center, protected by a layer of demonic energy while stones and lightning passed around him. The portal behind him remained open, but Qliphoth reinforced its edges to prevent the shockwave from closing it.

Thor rose inside the crater.

His gaze passed over the portal, the retreating Valkyries, and Vergil.

Then it stopped on Mjölnir.

"You will return my friend."

Vergil held Yamato in front of his body.

"He does not appear to want to return."

Thor took one step forward, making the ground tremble.

"You know nothing about him."

Vergil heard the hammer vibrate at his waist.

"It seems I know more than you do."

Thor’s face twisted with rage.

Behind Vergil, Brynhildr was one of the last to cross. Before entering the portal, she looked toward the Demon King.

"Do not die."

Vergil kept his eyes on Thor.

"I do not plan to."

Brynhildr crossed.

Sigrun and Goll followed immediately afterward. Freya remained on the other side of the opening, clearly reluctant, but finally allowed the other Valkyries to pull her away.

Vergil closed the portal.

The storm filled the silence they left behind.

He stood alone before Thor, surrounded by the ruins of the Bifröst, while the Einherjar began occupying the bridges around them.

Vergil pulled Mjölnir from his waist with his left hand and kept Yamato in his right. Black and red lightning returned to the hammer while the dimensional blade reflected the light of the storm.

Thor looked at the two weapons.

"You think this is amusing?"

Vergil turned Mjölnir once.

"A little."

Thor roared, and all of Asgard answered.

Vergil smiled.

Now he had time to discover how much the God of Thunder was truly worth without his own weapon.