Once everything settled down...
Odin stood upon the blackened scorched earth.
Crack—Crack—The sound shattered the brief silence. Odin looked down to see his chest armor breaking apart, piece by piece, revealing a charred wound beneath it.
Blood dripped slowly from the wound, falling drop by drop onto the searing, molten ground below.
He gently placed a hand over the injury, his expression unreadable.
"How long has it been since I last got hurt? What kind of weapon was that?"
"…A nuclear bomb. I used up all my contribution points just to trade for one."
Not far away, a corpse blackened like charcoal lay sprawled on the burning land. The body was covered in signs of carbonization, as if it had undergone a horrific incineration.
And yet, despite such severe damage, Hela's body was still stubbornly repairing itself, bit by bit. Her grotesque wounds slowly closed up, revealing a tenacity and vitality far beyond normal comprehension.
The first thing to recover were Hela's eyes. Calmly, she gazed at the sky.
Battle. Wounds. Battle. Wounds.Day after day. Year after year.Thousands of years had passed in endless war, fire, and suffering.
However, whenever her thoughts drifted back to the time she had spent on Earth, a strange sense of ease would quietly rise from deep within her.
She wondered how those four little ones were doing.
If the Demon King found out they disappeared, he'd definitely come looking.
"Odin, why did you suddenly change your mind back then?"
Hela asked.
During her time on Earth, she had read many books—mostly history.
In Earth's history, there were many kings like Odin. They were typically stubborn and rarely changed their minds. Even if they did, it was only after achieving their goals. But Odin had quit halfway, and she couldn't understand the reason.
Odin remained silent.
"Because he got beaten up during his conquest of the universe. Then he forged the Destroyer Armor to fight back, only to get beaten again. That's why he gave up on conquering the universe—he realized it would only lead Asgard to ruin."
Another voice chimed in.
Qino slowly descended from the sky and landed on the scarred wasteland.
"Demon King."
Odin looked at him quietly.
"Hahahaha, Odin, is that really true? You gave up just because you got beat up twice? Then you sealed me away with some ridiculous excuse?"
Hela couldn't help but burst out laughing. Her laughter was full of mockery and sarcasm. The years of hatred she held from being sealed away finally found a release.
"You don't understand how strong they are,"
Odin sighed softly, indirectly admitting the truth.
"Of course I don't understand! You never tell me anything!"
By now, Hela's body had almost fully recovered.
And she had a hunch why he stayed silent—
To protect his pathetic pride.
"Also, this time, for acting without permission, releasing prisoners, and luring away my goddaughter, I'm increasing your sentence to ten thousand years."
Qino said casually.
"WTF! Are you insane?! I won't even live ten thousand more years! And your goddaughter has nothing to do with me! She ran off on her own!"
Hela, still in the mood to mock Odin, now exploded in fury.
"Relax. Even if you die, it won't stop you from working for me."
Qino replied, then turned to Odin.
"Now then, your turn. Why did you bring me here?"
Hela immediately quieted down.
Bring the Demon King here? Wasn't it a coincidence?
"I don't know what you're talking about."
Odin spoke slowly.
"If it were just your idiotic son showing up in front of me, I might believe it was an accident. But you shouldn't have let Damian lift Mjölnir."
Qino chuckled.
If Damian had grown up under Bruce, maybe he could've lifted the hammer.
But he was raised by Ra's al Ghul and Talia as an assassin—and spent time with Qino, the Demon King. With such an upbringing, there was no way he could meet the moral purity required to wield Mjölnir.
Especially at his age, with little enlightenment.The only explanation was that Odin interfered behind the scenes.
"I wanted to meet you."
"Why not just come in person? Why use such childish tricks?"
"…"
Odin's mouth twitched.
He couldn't exactly say he had been warned.
"Demon King, one more deal. Give me the power to kill Odin. This time, I'll offer everything—my soul, my body… Even after Odin dies, I'll be the next in line for the throne. I'll give Asgard to you!"
Hela suddenly rushed forward, staring intensely at Qino. Her eyes burned with hatred built over millennia—far too deeply rooted to fade.
Odin sighed.
"Don't you realize? Odin only has about five years left to live."
Qino said calmly.
Hela was stunned. She looked at Odin's wound again.
Asgardians had remarkable healing powers. By now, he should've recovered.
Yet Odin's wound had only stopped bleeding. The healing was incredibly slow.
But…
"That's perfect. Let me help you die sooner!"
She lunged at Odin with her Night Sky Sword.
Bang!
With a dull thud, Odin sent Hela flying with a single blow, like a kite with a broken string.
Qino caught her one-handed.
"Didn't you say he's about to die?"
"I said he's about to die. I didn't say he got weaker."
"Five years… You made me sign that contract earlier. You knew?"
"…I have no idea what you're talking about."
Hela gritted her teeth, furious at the cunning Demon King.
Qino let go and dropped her to the ground.
"Alright, tell me. Why did you bring me here?"
"I want you to become the King of Asgard."
Odin finally said, with firm and sincere resolve.
"…You must be mistaken. I'm not even Asgardian."
Qino looked baffled.
He was already:
The Demon King of Hell
The new King of Mutants
Soon to be the Uncrowned King of America
Now Odin wanted him to be the King of Asgard too?
Was he… born to rule?
"Odin, you're senile. Only members of the royal Asgardian bloodline can inherit the throne!"
Hela mocked.
"Then marry him. Have a child. That child will be part of the Asgardian royal line."
Odin replied.
"I'll kill you! You think I'm just some breeding tool?!"
Hela's divine power surged.
Countless stone pillars rose behind her, ready to unleash another bombardment.
Boom!
This time, Qino moved—he punched Hela directly in the head.
"Calm down."
Then he turned to Odin.
"I refuse."
"Why? Is my daughter not good enough?"
Odin looked puzzled. In his eyes, being King of Asgard was a dream for many. The only logical reason to refuse must be that Qino didn't think Hela was good enough.
He stared at Hela suspiciously. In terms of looks and power, she was exceptional. Why would anyone say no?
"What's that supposed to mean?!"
Hela fumed under his gaze.
"There's no place to live in my home. If that's all, I'm leaving."
Qino casually threw out an excuse and turned to go.
He was tired.
Power, after all, was meaningless—unless it brought peace and happiness to oneself and those they cared about.
Besides, Asgard… was just a pile of trouble.
Quote of the Chapter:"A king is not born by blood, but proven by burden—and sometimes, refusing the crown is the most royal act of all."
plz support me if you can
patreon.com/AZFANFICTION
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/AZofficial
This fanfiction is 90-chapter ahead and also this fanfic is 90 chapters ahead there