Thanos didn't want to be a villain.

The Vikings regarded the Asgardians as their gods, and they shared some of their customs, such as rarely fleeing during battle.

Of course, if the difference in combat strength between the two sides is too great, they will still run away. After all, they just enjoy the battle and are not stupid enough to throw their lives away.

However, this also indirectly confirms the Asgardians' fighting habits. During duels, they generally do not desert before a winner is decided. This protective shield was originally only to protect the magic of the duelists inside from accidentally injuring the surrounding spectators.

But it was only after Loki, the sixth brother, appeared that the shield was reinforced to its current state.

Loki, feeling utterly helpless, struggled to his feet and looked at the protective shield that had already formed, managing a wry smile.

“Now, let me test your mettle and see if you truly deserve the title of the number one mage in the Nine Realms.” Dio stepped forward, gathering a surge of energy in his hand.

In the void, several energy spheres the size of basketballs condensed, and to everyone's astonishment, the surface of these energy spheres even showed corona rings similar to those that only appear on the surface of the sun!

The surrounding temperature even began to visibly affect the surrounding space, and there was even a phenomenon of spatial distortion!

Loki's newly activated divine power was almost dissipated by the shock of what he saw.

Goodness gracious! These are corona rings that only appear on the surface of stars. The existence of such things indicates that the energy in these energy spheres is unimaginably vast, completely disproportionate to the energy they should have for their size!

"Wait, wait, I give up!"

Loki quickly wiped his sweat and raised his hands in surrender.

Are you kidding me? If this thing really hits him, wouldn't he be reduced to ashes on the spot?

Besides, it's just a duel, is it really necessary to go to such lengths?!

"That won't do. Come on, Loki, try defending with all your might." Dio waved his hand lightly, and these energy balls bombarded Loki.

boom!

boom!

boom!

The powerful energy blasted towards Loki, creating a massive explosion that blew up almost everything except where Dio was standing.

Everyone outside the arena was stunned, and then immediately erupted in an uproar. They hadn't expected Dio to actually explode, especially since this was Asgard and Loki was the third son of Odin, the king of the gods!

But just as the panicked crowd outside was about to open the protective shield, a black, obsidian-like blade flew over their heads, instantly attracting their attention.

Hela immediately retorted, "Are you all blind?! Can't you tell what's real and what's fake?!"

Hela's imposing manner intimidated everyone.

As for Thor, he didn't stay. He knew that Dio had fought Hela before, and he couldn't even beat Hela, so he had no hope of defeating Dio. Besides, he knew his younger brother's level.

It's obvious that they'll be completely crushed.

To avoid losing face, they went straight back to the Golden Palace after the protective shield was erected.

Inside the protective shield, once the smoke and dust had cleared, everyone could see the scene inside.

The ground was shattered and covered with black and red lava, and Dio was standing on the "lava"!

Unlike Dio, who looked relaxed, Loki looked completely bewildered.

"This is... an illusion?" Loki stared in disbelief at the scorching magma around him and the space distorted by the intense heat.

Because this lava is real!

When Dio's energy ball came crashing down, Loki knew he couldn't dodge it, so he formed a protective shield, thinking he would block it if he could and take it if he couldn't.

But after waiting for a while, the expected impact did not come; instead, there was a huge sound and thick smoke.

Then the ground began to glow, and by the time Loki noticed, the ground had turned into fluid lava!

When Loki first realized it was an illusion, he removed the protective shield, but he was stunned when the ground started to soften.

He didn't sense any energy being released, yet the ground transformed from an illusion into reality.

As for why Loki was so certain it was true, the reason was simple: the ground turned into scorching lava that burned Loki's clothes, causing his exposed skin to feel excruciating pain!

Loki has only ever seen this ability to turn the unreal into reality in the books. Even Frigga, the once famous Valkyrie and witch, couldn't do this kind of reality-distorting ability!

Loki composed himself; as a wizard, he had to remain calm at all times.

Even now, with his clothes on fire and his feet sinking into lava, Loki still used magic to defend himself.

He also attacked Dio.

“Magic has three major elements. You should have heard of the three standard points required to learn magic and manipulate energy within my empire.” Dio did not resist Loki’s attack and walked forward step by step.

The ground where he walked gradually returned to its original solid state, where it was a mixture of solid and liquid. Loki's magical attacks turned into birds and petals that scattered everywhere.

Loki was completely bewildered. Although he knew that reality distortion could be manipulated at will by the caster, the scene before him was far too bizarre.

Loki has an exceptional talent for magic and energy manipulation. Even when Odin tries to distort the magic Loki uses, Loki will be able to detect something amiss, and Loki may even experience a feeling of unease, as if he has a pent-up anger that he cannot release.

But Loki couldn't see any flaws in what he was seeing!

"The most important element is mental strength. Although the strength of mental strength is divided into several smaller branches, their main functions are the same. One of them is resistance to illusions."

Dio said that he would not go any further, but looked at Loki.

Loki stopped his attack after hearing Dio's words.

Indeed, mental strength is extremely important for magicians, not only in combating illusions, but also in the brain's memory, thinking speed, reasoning ability, ability to control distractions, and intellectual performance.

More advanced techniques, such as telekinesis, astral projection, mind intrusion, and the manifestation of mental power, are all closely related to the strength of one's mental power.

“Don’t say I’m bullying you. The illusion I’m using right now is a very standard one. It’s the kind of top-notch illusion a magician who just graduated from school can perform. It was the first magician in my legion to graduate from school and cast this spell. His grades were only average in the entire graduating class.” As Dio spoke, the surrounding environment began to change.

As the smoke and mist dissipated, the scorching lava and the soft, liquefied ground on the ground also slowly disappeared.

He was not trapped in the lava, but was kneeling on the ground unable to get up. His hands were not casting any magic, but were somehow behind his back, and his clothes, which had just been burned, had returned to normal.

If it weren't for the lingering pain on his skin, Loki would have truly believed that none of that had happened.

"This is still the result of an apprentice graduating from school. This illusion is so realistic that it can be mistaken for reality." Loki knelt on the ground, his eyes unfocused.

Although Dio dragged him into this duel, as the self-proclaimed greatest sorcerer of the Nine Realms, his magical skills were indeed quite high. Apart from Odin and Frigga, Loki felt that no one in Asgard could surpass him in magic.

This pride has been with him since he began learning magic.

As a result, Dio presented Loki with an apprentice's graduation project, which fooled him, not only his eyes but also Loki's body!

In other words, he had been kneeling on the ground, swaying his body, with his arms completely behind his back, and had not cast any magic.

“But to be honest, haven’t you ever trained in the virtual universe?” Dio lifted Loki up and looked him straight in the eye.

Loki snapped out of his shock, looking completely bewildered.

"A virtual universe? You actually created one?"

Dio: ?

In the distant golden palace, Odin broke out in a cold sweat.