Story continues from THE MIGHTY THOR #18
In Hell, Mephisto gets word that Loki is about to be betrayed by someone he does not suspect….
In Asgardia, Thor and Loki watch as the World Tree Yggdrasil burns, while in Vanaheim, an emissary of Surtur persuades the ruler Gullveig (sister of Freyja, the All-Mother) to rebel against Asgard. When the Aesir get word that the Vanir have torched the Temple of Union, site of the wedding of Odin and Freyja and symbol of peace between the two peoples, Thor leads a party of warriors into battle against the Vanir. But Gullveig has an unexpected ally: the flaming war machines of the Manchester Gods. As the Temple falls, Gullveig and her forces retreat. Arriving in Asgardia, Loki confesses all that he has been up to since the War against the Serpent (a/k/a FEAR ITSELF): the deals he has made with Mephisto, Hela, and Surtur, forging a weapon made of raw fear, supporting the Manchester Gods, freeing the Disir—and he is quite shattered by the realization that all the disaster coming is his fault. Thor comforts him and goes with Loki to visit Master Wilson, leader of the Manchester Gods, and learn that the otherwise nice Wilson was duped into making a deal with Surtur and the English deity withdraws his aid to avoid the wrath of Thor.
Returning to Asgardia, Thor and Loki find the realm in an uproar, led by Volstagg. He has been given a tablet computer full of videos of Loki’s apparent treachery and Freyja’s complicity in it. The mob is demanding that the All-Mother be deposed and imprisoned along with Loki. Thor tells Loki to run as he engages the Warriors Three in battle….
Story continues in THE MIGHTY THOR #19