I Can’t Go Back

Since they had no car, the three of them followed the road on foot, taking more than half an hour.

They finally climbed up the mountain and arrived in front of the grand villa.

A figure clad in red-and-gold armor was already waiting by the gate.

"Thor, welcome to Blue Star."

Tony smiled at Thor in greeting and held out his hand.

"Hello."

Thor was taken aback by Tony’s warmth, but he also extended his hand and shook it.

He had originally thought Tony Stark wanted to test his strength against him, but Tony merely shook his hand before letting go.

"Take your Mjolnir away already."

Without further nonsense, Tony raised his right hand. Mjolnir flew out through the window and landed directly in his hand.

Thor’s eyes widened at the sight. What had he just seen? Other than himself, someone else could wield Mjolnir?

Then Tony directly handed Mjolnir to Thor.

As Thor reached out to take it, Tony let go. The hammer’s terrifying weight instantly pitched Thor forward, and he quickly released the handle.

Only then did Thor barely avoid falling flat on the ground and embarrassing himself in front of Jane and Daisy.

The hammer dropped straight to the ground, smashing a small crater into it.

Jane and Daisy were both dumbfounded. How could this hammer’s weight be so completely at odds with its appearance?

"Could I have mistaken you for someone else? That shouldn’t be possible…"

Tony frowned at the sight and spoke.

Harvey had said that the requirement for lifting Mjolnir was simply possessing a righteous heart and gaining its recognition.

Moreover, this hammer was Thor’s personal weapon. If the man before him was the real Thor, shouldn’t he have been able to lift it easily? So what was going on now?

"Are you really Thor?"

Tony examined Thor carefully once more, suspicion in his voice.

"I am Thor, without a doubt."

"Don’t doubt it yet. Just wait, I can lift it."

Thor sensed Iron Man Tony Stark’s attitude toward him shift from friendly to suspicious. Though utterly shocked, he quickly tried to reassure Tony.

Then Thor walked over to Mjolnir, reached out with one hand, gripped its handle, and pulled upward. But Mjolnir did not budge.

Disbelief appeared on Thor’s face. He gripped the handle with both hands, veins and muscles bulging in his arms.

He exerted every ounce of strength he had, yet he still could not move the Mjolnir that had accompanied him through countless battles.

"…No, this isn’t real. This absolutely isn’t real."

Once Thor realized that he truly could not lift it, he dropped to his knees, regret written across his face.

"Thor, are you all right?"

Seeing Thor’s trembling body and hearing his regret-filled words, Jane asked worriedly.

But Thor could not hear the sounds around him at all. Being unable to lift Mjolnir meant that his father had not merely been speaking in anger this time. He had meant it.

His father had stripped him of his divine power and banished him to Blue Star.

Without divine power, he had gone from being a god to being a man. Even if this man’s body was somewhat stronger than ordinary, he was still no god.

"Ah—! Father, why did you have to go this far? Why?!"

The crushing blow plunged Thor into deep regret, and he threw back his head with an enraged roar.

But before Thor could roar for long, Tony forcibly clamped his mouth shut.

The terrifying strength made Thor’s eyes widen as he stared at Tony Stark in the Iron Man armor.

"Stop losing your mind here. Calm down."

"Thor, although I can lift Mjolnir, I have no intention of keeping it."

"But from the looks of it, something seems to have happened to you, and now you can’t lift your hammer."

"If you want to get Mjolnir back, tell me exactly what happened first."

Sensing Thor’s shock, Tony spoke directly.

Harvey seemed to have anticipated all of this long ago. He also knew Thor would not be able to reclaim Mjolnir immediately.

That was why he had said that Tony would understand once he talked to Thor himself.

Mjolnir was indeed powerful when used with Thor Power, but compared to wielding a hammer, Tony preferred the various weapons he had developed himself.

So no matter what, Mjolnir had to be returned to Thor. But clearly, returning it did not seem like such an easy task.

Therefore, Tony needed to understand the situation before he could figure out how to return this hot potato to Thor.

"Mmph, mmph…!"

After hearing Tony’s words, Thor tried to say something.

"Have you calmed down? If you have, nod."

Seeing Thor’s state, Tony did not release him immediately. Instead, he asked seriously.

Thor nodded repeatedly at that.

Only then did Tony let go.

"Tony Stark, who exactly are you?"

Once Tony released him and his mouth was free, Thor gulped down air before staring at Tony in shock and demanding an answer.

"Didn’t I already introduce myself?"

"I’m Iron Man Tony Stark."

Tony spread his hands as he spoke.

When he had forcibly held Thor’s mouth shut just now, he had also felt that Thor’s body was anything but ordinary.

If an ordinary person had been pressed down by his hands like that, their jaw would have shattered long ago. Yet Thor had not been injured at all. This man was undoubtedly the real Thor.

"Then why can you lift Mjolnir?"

Hearing Tony dodge the question, Thor asked.

"Since you ask me that, I’d rather ask you why you can’t lift your own Mjolnir."

Rather than answer, Tony countered with a question.

He was desperate to give Mjolnir away immediately, instead of having to wear the Iron Man armor even at home for fear of exposing himself.

"Yeah, Thor, why can’t you lift your own weapon?"

At this moment, Daisy was also full of curiosity. Although what had happened today was rather fantastical, that only made it more fun.

"Can you tell us?"

Jane looked at Thor worriedly and asked softly.

She could tell that Thor had been in an extremely bad mood after discovering that he could not lift Mjolnir.

"I committed a grave mistake and made my father very angry."

"Therefore, my father stripped me of my divine power, took back Mjolnir, and banished me to the mortal world."

"I had still held onto the hope that my father was merely speaking out of anger."

"But now I’ve realized that it seems I really can’t return to Asgard."

Hearing Tony’s question, sensing Daisy’s curiosity and Jane’s concern, Thor paused before speaking in a low voice.

Second update delivered.