MTL NOVEL Chapter 15: Chapter 14: The Storm Breaks
Chapter 14: The Storm Breaks
Baldur's POV –
The storm hadn't passed.
If anything, it was gathering strength.
Baldur could feel it pressing against his skin, humming in the atmosphere, something ancient and inevitable waiting to crash down like a tidal wave.
And he knew exactly what it meant.
The Destroyer was coming.
He sat outside the lab, arms resting lazily on his knees, watching the clouds churn overhead. Thor was inside, still lost in his own thoughts, still processing everything that had happened.
Baldur understood.
But understanding didn't mean waiting around forever.
He tapped his fingers against his knee, his golden energy flickering at his fingertips.
Something was bothering him.
Not just the Destroyer. Not just Thor.
Something about Loki.
Why send the Destroyer now?
Loki had already gotten what he wanted—Thor was powerless, banished, broken. Why waste an Asgardian war machine on him when he wasn't even a threat anymore?
Unless…
This wasn't just about Thor.
Baldur exhaled, tilting his head up toward the sky.
"Yeah," he muttered to himself. "This is gonna be a long night."
The sound of tires skidding against asphalt pulled Baldur from his thoughts.
Jane's van rolled into view, kicking up dust, the headlights cutting through the dusk.
She jumped out first, her expression tense. "Something's wrong."
Baldur stood, stretching lazily. "Define 'wrong.'"
Jane's hands flew to her hair in frustration. "Some kind of… energy signature. Erik and I picked it up an hour ago—something huge came through."
Baldur's jaw clenched.
He already knew what.
Thor appeared behind him, frowning. "What kind of energy?"
"Not normal," Jane admitted. "It doesn't match the Bifrost, but it's powerful. It's moving toward town."
Baldur sighed. Here we go.
"Great," he muttered. "Guess that means we should probably go say hi."
They didn't have to wait long.
A gust of hot wind rolled through the streets. The sky churned, lightning flickering across the clouds in strange, unnatural patterns.
Then—
Boom.
A shockwave rippled through the air, followed by a heavy, echoing metallic thud.
Jane and Erik froze.
Darcy's eyes widened. "Uh, tell me that's not what I think it is."
Baldur sighed. "If what you think it is happens to be a giant metal murder machine designed to incinerate everything in its path, then—yeah. That's exactly what it is."
Then, as if on cue, it stepped into view.
The Destroyer.
A towering, faceless hulk of metal and divine fire. Its very presence bent the air around it, heat rippling off its plated body.
It stood in eerie silence, its molten core pulsating faintly beneath its armor.
Then, with the slow inevitability of a force of nature, its head turned toward them.
Thor stepped forward instinctively. "Loki."
The Destroyer's only response was a low, mechanical whine as its plates began to shift, opening—
And then, in an instant, fire roared from its core.
Everything exploded into chaos.
Baldur moved before anyone else, grabbing Jane and Erik and blinking them out of the way just before the ground where they had been standing was obliterated by a burning blast.
Thor barely dodged the attack, his body still mortal, still slow.
The Destroyer wasn't waiting.
It took another step forward, its body whirring with deadly precision, each movement mechanical but terrifyingly deliberate.
"Alright," Baldur muttered, cracking his neck. "Guess it's my turn."
Baldur launched forward.
He was faster than any human, faster than the Destroyer, a golden blur cutting through the battlefield.
Hard-light constructs formed around his arms, shaping into twin blades as he slid under another blast, moving like liquid light.
Then—he struck.
His blade sliced into the Destroyer's armor, sparks flying on impact.
It barely left a mark.
Baldur clicked his tongue. "Yeah, figured that'd be too easy."
The Destroyer whipped around, retaliating with a brutal backhand.
Baldur dodged, teleporting behind it in an instant. His foot slammed into its backplate, sending it skidding forward—but not stopping it.
Nothing stopped the Destroyer.
It only ever kept coming.
Thor watched the battle unfold.
Watched as Baldur dodged, moved, attacked—as if he could fight fate itself.
But the Destroyer didn't falter.
It turned, aiming another blast at the town. At the people.
And something inside Thor snapped.
He couldn't let this happen.
Even if he wasn't a god anymore.
Even if Mjolnir was beyond his reach.
He had to try.
Thor ran forward, placing himself between the Destroyer and the town.
Baldur froze.
"Thor—"
Thor turned his head, offering him a small, sad smile.
Then, he faced the Destroyer.
"I know you can hear me, Loki," Thor said, voice steady. "I will not fight you. But I will not let you harm them."
The Destroyer paused.
Baldur held his breath.
For a moment—just a moment—it seemed like the machine would stop.
Then its plated head tilted downward.
And in a single, final motion—
It struck.
The world went silent.
Thor's body hit the ground.
Baldur barely registered the sound of Jane screaming, the horrified gasps of Erik and Darcy.
The Destroyer stepped back, its task seemingly complete.
And Baldur—
Baldur felt something snap inside of him.
Golden light flared around him, uncontrolled, chaotic.
For the first time since coming to Midgard, he forgot about playing a role.
He forgot about letting things happen as they should.
Because for the first time, he wanted to break the script.
To shatter the timeline.
To rip the Destroyer apart piece by piece and burn Loki's throne to ash.
Then—
A rumble in the sky.
Baldur stopped.
The storm answered.
And suddenly, Mjolnir rose from the dirt.
Baldur let out a slow breath.
"Finally."
And in a flash of lightning, Thor was whole again.
Mjolnir rocketed into Thor's grasp.
The Destroyer whirled around just in time to see its doom.
Thunder roared.
Lightning crashed.
And Thor Odinson stood once more.
Baldur crossed his arms, grinning. "Took you long enough."
Thor smirked. "Apologies, brother. Shall we?"
Baldur spun his hard-light blades in his hands. "I thought you'd never ask."
And together, the Sons of Odin charged into battle.