Chapter 169: Old Grudges
Thor wasn't the same clueless brute who first arrived on Earth anymore.
Asgard might not be a purely tech-based civilization, but because it often interacted with advanced civilizations in the universe, many of its high-tech tools were far more advanced than what Earth had.
The reason Thor had acted like a backwater hick when he first arrived was simply due to unfamiliarity. After spending time on Earth, he had quickly caught up and now understood most things.
So yes—he knew exactly what a private detective was. He'd seen them on TV.
Finding people was part of their job… but finding someone who's not even on Earth? That was a stretch.
Thor gave Tony a doubtful look—the kind of look that said "I may not have read a lot of books, but I'm not stupid." He didn't say it out loud, but the disbelief was obvious as he shook his head.
"You don't need to comfort me. I'm not that emotionally fragile."
Tony blinked, then realized Thor didn't believe him. He rolled his eyes.
"I'm not joking, alright? Hold on, I'll call him."
Then he added, "JARVIS, clean up the balcony, would you?"
"Yes, sir," JARVIS replied.
Five minutes later, in the living room—
Tony poured Thor a drink, trying to offer a bit of comfort.
"Try not to worry. Things will work out."
Thor accepted the glass but didn't take a sip. He looked uncertain.
"Are you really sure your friend can help? If not, I might need to return to Asgard and see if my father has a solution…"
Before Tony could answer, something startled him—the bottle nearly slipped from his hands.
Right in front of them, a cloud of red mist suddenly appeared.
Two figures emerged from it, stepping straight into the living room.
"Raymond?" Tony relaxed when he recognized one of them.
But Thor was far from calm.
The other figure—pale skin, horns, and a devilish grin—looked exactly like a creature from Hel.
"You're… Red Devil?!"
Without hesitation, Thor's eyes widened, and he hurled his hammer at them!
"TF?!" Red Devil yelped as he teleported in a blink to the other side of the room.
BZZZZZT!!!
A loud impact echoed—only for Thor to see, stunned, that his hammer had been caught midair—barehanded.
Held firmly in place by the other figure: Raymond.
Thor was shocked.
Someone caught his hammer… with their bare hands?
Impossible.
Even in Asgard, there were few who could take Mjölnir head-on. This was no ordinary weapon—it had been enchanted by Odin himself.
"What the hell, are you trying to demolish my house?!" Tony snapped, clearly pissed now.
He had called Raymond here to help—and Thor just went full berserk at first sight? Embarrassing.
How was he supposed to keep any credibility like this?
Realizing he had overreacted, Thor raised his hand and summoned the hammer back.
Raymond, now back in his original form after switching from the Tao Pai Pai sub-personality, looked utterly annoyed.
"Tony, is this how you treat someone you asked for help?" he said with a dark expression.
If he hadn't reacted quickly, that hammer would've flattened him.
Even if it didn't kill him—it'd hurt like hell.
Thor now realized that the situation wasn't what he thought. He looked at Tony and asked, "Your friend?"
"Obviously!" Tony snapped. "What's wrong with you? I bring someone here to help you, and you try to hammer him?!" (TL/N: Ayo?!)
"I…" Thor knew he was in the wrong and couldn't find the words to explain.
"Forget it." Raymond waved it off casually.
Truth be told, the moment he saw Thor's iconic outfit and hammer, Raymond already recognized him—and the system had rewarded him with 300 Exploration Points on sight.
For 300 points, a little hammer incident was easy to forgive.
Besides, it was clear Thor hadn't been targeting him specifically. The attack had only happened after Thor yelled out Red Devil's name—so it was pretty obvious the hammer was meant for Red Devil.
Raymond glanced across the room and raised an eyebrow.
"You sure ran fast. Didn't think to bring me along?"
Red Devil scratched his head awkwardly.
"Reflexes… Sorry…"
"You two know each other?" Raymond asked, gesturing to Thor.
"I should be asking you that," Red Devil shot back. "You're the one who told me to teleport you here!"
Raymond looked to Tony.
"Alright. I'm gonna need some context…"
Tony turned toward Thor, clearly waiting for him to explain.
Thor's eyes locked onto Red Devil with a deadly glare.
"You really don't remember me?"
"…Who the hell are you?" Red Devil blinked innocently.
If it had been a moment earlier, Thor definitely would've thrown another hammer at him.
But since Red Devil came with Tony's friend, Thor restrained himself and began explaining.
Turns out—over a thousand years ago, when Thor had visited Earth, he had a chance encounter with Red Devil. Things started off friendly, and Thor hadn't hidden his identity.
But once Red Devil found out Thor was from Asgard—the stuff of legend—he got ideas.
One night, while Thor was taking a bath, Red Devil robbed him.
If he'd been able to lift Mjolnir, he probably would've taken that too.
Even so, the theft was humiliating enough. Thor never forgot it.
That explained why the mere sight of Red Devil brought back a wave of rage.
Raymond raised an eyebrow.
"Seriously?" he asked, giving Red Devil a look.
"It was over a thousand years ago! How would I remember something like that?" Red Devil claimed.
But from his tone, Raymond heard just enough guilt to know the story was true.
This bastard really had robbed Thor.
No wonder Thor looked ready to kill him on sight.
If it were Raymond, he'd be furious too.
Still, since Red Devil had come along to help with the teleportation, Raymond couldn't just let him get beaten to a pulp. He stepped in to defuse the tension:
"Let bygones be bygones. Tony, didn't you call me for something? Let's get to the main issue."
Tony quickly followed up.
"Yes, back to business…"
Thor took a deep breath. He knew this wasn't the time to remember old grudges. Right now, finding Jane was all that mattered.
After hearing the full situation, Raymond nodded in understanding.
So… is this the part where Malekith makes his entrance?
Based on Tony's explanation, Raymond suddenly remembered a familiar plotline—one he had seen years ago in the Thor: The Dark World movie.
Of course, while the situation sounded similar, he knew there would be plenty of differences.
For example—in the MCU, Jane Foster hadn't outright vanished. And Malekith, the Dark Elf leader, had been laughably weak and died far too easily.
A so-called god-tier villain defeated that conveniently?
Yeah… in this world, Raymond had no doubt—
It wouldn't be that simple.
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