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Hela stood up from the ground, looking at the escaping Ravager fleet. Her already ice-frosty face seemed to freeze over even more.
"Trying to escape?"
Two cold words spat from her mouth. Her legs bent slightly, leaving two cracked imprints on the ground, before her entire body shot into the sky like a sharp arrow.
She swung her arm forcefully, but just as she was about to summon a blade, her expression changed slightly.
A massive metal sword, over a hundred meters long, descended from the sky, falling straight toward her.
Hela only had time to summon a shield in front of herself.
"Boom!"
With a loud explosion, the shield Hela had hastily summoned was shattered, and her entire body plummeted from mid-air.
She flipped her body, landing in a deep, cracked crater on the ground. Watching the giant sword that followed close behind, she raised her hand and summoned layer after layer of shields above her head.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The layers of shields shattered one by one as the giant sword crashed down.
The scene fell quiet for a moment.
"Impressive!"
Erik couldn't help but praise her. The giant sword that had fallen began to "melt," enveloping Hela's shield.
Since you want to defend, I'll help you reinforce it.
He laughed inwardly as a massive amount of scrap metal left on the battlefield flew toward them.
Suddenly, a black, sharp arrow tore apart the metal prison just as it was about to complete, and an agile figure rushed out from within.
Erik raised an eyebrow. He clenched his hand, and the ocean of metal, under his control, formed several dancing, colossal steel dragons that roared toward Hela, carrying the sound of howling wind.
A trace of annoyance flashed in Hela's eyes.
She had only ever been the one to smash people with blades; being smashed by a blade... today was a first.
With a cold snort, she looked at the incoming dragons, and the robes on her body transformed into a tight-fitting battlesuit.
The black battlesuit enveloped her body, with green lines tracing her curves. After she ran both hands through her long black hair, it transformed into a helmet.
That helmet resembled a spider with its long legs unfurled, adding a strange and sinister charm to Hela's already cold and domineering presence.
However, if one looked closely, they would see that Hela's battlesuit had many areas revealing her snow-white skin, making it look somewhat tattered and incomplete.
This was because she had been sealed here by Odin, and her power was not yet at its peak. Her battlesuit was linked to her power; only when she set foot on Asgard and her power was restored would her battlesuit recover along with it.
But, her putting on the battlesuit meant one thing... she was getting serious.
The roaring dragons were easily over a hundred meters long. Several steel dragons rushed forward at once, appearing as if the entire sky was collapsing.
But Hela merely laughed in excitement. She then forcefully raised both hands. The earth shattered, and a mountain peak formed of sharp blades carried Hela charging toward the dragons. Hela waved her hand, and blade after blade flew out, shooting toward those dragons.
Bang! Bang!
Accompanied by shattering sounds, the blades penetrated the bodies of several dragons and were pulled downward from mid-air by Hela, who controlled them.
Erik smiled faintly. "You want them? They're all yours!"
As his words fell, Erik spread his hands. The dancing dragons instantly disintegrated, once again turning into scattered pieces of metal that filled the entire space.
In the next instant, Erik's eyes flashed. A piece of metal stretched, flattened, and became like a sharp blade, flying toward Hela, who was still rising on her 'mountain peak.' Hela made a grasping motion with her hand, and a pitch-black sword appeared in her grip. With a light swing, Hela slashed the incoming metal blade in two.
"Ding!"
A clear, crisp sound rang out.
It was as if a switch had been flipped.
One, two...
More and more metal blades flew toward Hela.
Another sword appeared in Hela's other hand. She wielded the dual swords, shattering every single incoming metal blade.
Ding! Ding! Ding!
The sound of collisions became a continuous roar, and the sparks that burst forth completely submerged Hela's figure.
Erik watched Hela, whose swords were moving so fast they left afterimages, and a look of astonishment flashed in his eyes. He immediately followed it with a faint smile.
Let's see how many you can block.
With a wave of his hand, even more blades, like a dense barrage, submerged Hela.
Just then, one of the swords in Hela's hand flew from her grasp. It parted the curtain of blades before it, shooting like a streak of black light straight toward Erik.
Bang!
The sharp sword was blocked by Erik's force field and shattered into fragments.
But Erik was inwardly shocked.
He could feel the power attached to that sword.
In the next instant, more blades flew over. Even more astonishingly, Hela actually stepped on those flying blades—both hers and the ones she had thrown—to rapidly close the distance to Erik.
Erik raised an eyebrow and retreated without the slightest hesitation.
He wasn't Clark; he had no interest in melee combat.
Seeing this, Hela's eyes turned cold. A long spear appeared in her hand, pulsing with dark green energy. It shot toward Erik like a meteor, colliding with his force field. After a loud "boom," Erik was knocked flying backward.
Erik stopped and looked back, his mouth twitching.
He saw a chain of long spears, one after another, flying toward him.
"Chasing me this hard? Have you fallen in love with me?"
Erik teased Hela while blocking her attacks. He watched Hela's incredibly agile posture in mid-air, his gaze unscrupulously fixed on her face. His eyes held an undisguised appreciation and amazement.
Hela froze for a second.
Fall in love with him?
What kind of joke is that!
But when she saw the look in Erik's eyes, an inexplicable, strange feeling surfaced in her heart.
No one had ever spoken to her like that, much less dared to look at her with that kind of gaze.
"Damned mortal!"
Hela shouted coldly, her attacks growing even more ferocious.
So ferocious, but also just as beautiful.
A Hela like this is like a blood-drinking rose, beautiful to the point that it makes one's heart tremble.
Erik praised her internally.
Looking at Hela like this, he actually felt... his heart skip a beat?
Realizing this, Erik was stunned.
This is truly absurd...
Seeing that the distance between them wasn't widening, he decided to stop. He manipulated a large amount of metal to bombard Hela, blocking the attacks flying toward him. Then, dozens of menacingly shaped weapons formed behind him.
Metal condensed into cannon shells, which were swallowed by these weapons.
Boom! Boom!
Propelled by magnetic force, the shells flew toward Hela, carrying terrifying power.
Hela dropped downward, but she was already locked on by Erik's magnetic force. The shells followed closely behind her.
Seeing this, Hela looked back and threw a series of sharp blades, which collided with the cannon shells.
"Boom! Boom!"
A series of explosions rang out in mid-air. Hela plummeted toward the ground. When she inadvertently caught the look Erik was giving her, she grew even more furious.
This mortal has such audacity!
Even if he has some decent abilities, that gaze is far too presumptuous!
Hela, who had never been looked at this way, was furious, but there was also a trace of fluster that she herself hadn't even noticed.
She landed on the ground and looked up at Erik flying in the air. She suddenly thought of a hammer she used to wield.
If she still had that thing in her hand, she would be able to fly up there.
But now was not the time to think about that. Right now, she just wanted to kill that detestable man!
"They've all withdrawn," Erik said lightly as he looked at Hela.
But to Hela's ears, this statement sounded as grating as if he were mocking her failure.
Before her anger could erupt into an attack, she heard Erik speak again, this time sincerely: "How about we talk? I really want to get to know you. To be precise, the first moment I saw you, I was... attracted to you."
Hela froze.
What is this?
This was the first time she had ever faced such a situation, the first time she had heard such words.
For a moment, she actually didn't know what kind of expression she should be making.
The trace of panic in her heart rapidly magnified. The moment she recognized the flustered expression appearing on her face, rage quickly consumed it. She said coldly to Erik, "In that case, you come over here, and we can have a good chat."
"No. Our relationship doesn't allow us to be that close just yet." Erik scratched his head. "I have to first confirm that you won't stab me to death with a sword."
A stiff smile appeared on Hela's face. "I won't do that."
Erik looked at Hela for three seconds, then suddenly nodded. "Alright!"
Seeing Erik agree so readily, Hela actually became the hesitant one.
But... no matter what this damned man is thinking, the moment he gets close, I'll pierce his heart with a single strike.
At such a close distance, I definitely will not miss.
Hela whispered inwardly. Although her killing intent was still roiling violently, it was no longer pure.
Erik descended from the sky, walking toward Hela step by step.
Hela watched Erik with a blank expression.
Three meters, two meters, one meter...
As the distance between the two grew closer and closer, Hela's eyes flickered.
"Aren't you afraid I'll kill you?"
Hela's voice was still ice-cold, but it carried a trace of curiosity and surprise that even she hadn't noticed.
Erik's footsteps paused. He nodded at Hela, who was now close enough to touch, and smiled. "Afraid. Of course I'm afraid."
A smile appeared on Hela's face. She was very satisfied with this answer.
She, Hela, the Goddess of Death, loved nothing more than the fear others had for her.
But the next words Erik said left her stunned.
"But I wanted to be closer to you, to get a good look at that charming face of yours."
In her long, long life, this was also the first time Hela had heard such words.
Bewilderment, panic, and even a trace of secret joy that she couldn't comprehend.
Before she was sealed here, she had spent her entire life fighting alongside Odin. No one had ever spoken to her like this. Others only had fear and dread for her. Even her own father was wary of her, and when he could no longer suppress her, he sealed her here.
In all her life, she had trained hard as a child, gone to war with Odin as an adult, and afterward, was sealed here all alone...
She had never encountered such a bold man.
It could even be said that in terms of personal feelings, she was like a blank sheet of paper.
No. This man must have an ulterior motive for saying these things. He's trying to confuse me.
Hela told herself this, and her slightly wavering eyes became firm once again.
Erik, who had been watching Hela intently, keenly noticed the emotions that had just flashed through her eyes. Analyzing them with the techniques he had learned from Charles back in college, a trace of delighted surprise flashed in his heart. He said, in a flustered yet emotional tone, "Besides, I know you can't bear to kill me. Because... other than me, you will absolutely never meet a second man like this, one who was attracted to you at first sight, who wants to know you, who likes you."
A trace of confusion flashed in Hela's eyes. She murmured, "Perhaps... you're right."
She slowly reached her hands toward Erik, gently wrapping them around his neck, and pulled slightly.
Shock flashed in Erik's eyes.
"Isn't this... moving a bit too fast?"
Erik asked nervously, but he allowed his face to be pulled closer by Hela's strength.
"I also want to get a good look... at what the face of a man who likes me looks like."
Hela murmured, her beautiful eyes filled with nothing but Erik's reflection.
The atmosphere instantly became ambiguous.
But in the next instant, a killing intent colder than frost bloomed in Hela's eyes. A dark dagger stabbed toward Erik's heart.
A hint of a smile flashed in Erik's eyes. Not only did he not dodge, but he actually accelerated, lowering his head and kissing Hela on the lips.
Soft, cold...
It gave Erik the feeling that he was eating ice cream.
Shock and rage flashed in Hela's eyes. She subconsciously bit down—hard.
Instantly, blood welled up from Erik's lips.
Erik raised his head, a deep laugh escaping his mouth. It was the sound of triumph.
As for the dagger stabbing at his heart, when it was still an inch away from his chest, Hela's entire body had already been bound by rapidly forming metal chains.
It turned out Erik had long since broken down a large amount of metal into invisible particles, spreading them all around Hela's body, and had temporarily restrained her the instant she struck.
Erik retreated backward. During his retreat, a large amount of metal continued to form, adding more restraints to Hela.
He knew just how terrifying Hela was. One moment of carelessness, and this rose with thorns would take his life.
But... that was precisely why she was so alluring.
Ting!
With a crisp sound, Erik's retreating footsteps stopped abruptly. He felt a pulling force on his body.
He looked down and saw a black chain wrapped around his waist. The other end was held firmly in Hela's hand.
This was Hela's backup plan, as she had guessed Erik would not deactivate the force field protecting him.
Erik glanced at Hela, couldn't help but laugh, and waved his hand. A metal chain extended from Hela's bindings, which he then took into his own hand.
Each of them held a rope, as if they were grasping the line of fate connecting them...
The scene fell quiet again.
"Let go!"
Hela said coldly through gritted teeth.
It was the first time she had met a man like this, but it was undeniable that because they were evenly matched, she was starting to admire him.
Erik shook his head, and instead, tightened his grip.
A strange feeling rose in Hela's heart. She gave an angry cry and pulled hard.
A smile flashed in Erik's eyes, and he allowed himself to be pulled, flying straight toward her.
Bang!
The two collided, and the black rope and the platinum-gold chain became tangled even more tightly.
In the next second, they were rolling on the ground.
Both of them froze, looking at the specs of blood on the other's lips. It was as if their attention was completely captivated, and their eyes could only see that drop of red.
Their heads slowly drew closer...
RUMBLE!
A pillar of light suddenly descended beside them, startling them both.
Thor emerged from the beam of light. Seeing the position the two were in, his jaw dropped, and he shrieked, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?"
(End of this chapter)