In the chaotic, dark world, a green flame burned brightly. Hela floated quietly in this void, the green light from her hand illuminating the darkness. Her expression was one of complete shock.
In the previous clash, those warriors had seemingly burned their very lives and exceeded their limits, unleashing a power that made her feel a genuine threat to her existence. Her body had been shattered in that instant, and she had no idea how long it had taken her to regenerate.
Her power came from Asgard. As long as Asgard was eternal, she was eternal. This gave her an extremely terrifying advantage, but it didn't mean she was completely immortal. A force that exceeded her limits could destroy both her body and soul and sever her connection to Asgard. However, very few beings could accomplish this, aside from Odin himself. Odin was the All-Father and king of Asgard, so he had a fundamental power over her. He had sealed her out of a desire to punish, not kill.
Hela had always known this, but she never expected that today, a group of mere mortals would come so close to doing the same.
What kind of power was that? So ancient, so powerful, so sacred. How could a place like Midgard give birth to such gods? Hela was perplexed.
Omm…
As Hela was lost in her thoughts, a strange energy suddenly spread. She looked up, her eyes flashing. She saw that time was flowing backward. The planet that had been shattered and annihilated was now reappearing, its fragments stitching themselves back together in a beautiful, mesmerizing process. Soon, a bright, newly formed planet appeared before her.
Hela pursed her lips, a frown on her face. Her expression was now solemn and complicated. After a moment of thought, she extinguished the green flame in her palm. The green light exploded, and she turned into a beam of light, rushing toward the newly reshaped planet.
With incredible speed, she descended over the lake in the Kingdom of Flowers, where she saw a man also floating above the lake, sitting on a flower throne and toying with a gem. Hela flew to within a few meters of him, then looked up at the sky. A brilliant sun hung in the blue sky, but she knew it wasn't a real star. It was a projection, connected to a distant sun through an extremely powerful force. This was a complex feat, one that no ordinary person could achieve. In fact, she admitted to herself, she couldn't do it either.
Creating a parallel world, creating a vibrant Kingdom of Flowers, and the existence of those warriors who had shattered her body—all of these things allowed her to piece together the identity of this man in her mind, slowly unraveling his mystery.
"Are you really going to imprison me for a thousand years?" Hela couldn't hold back her temper and spoke first. She now understood that this person was too powerful to resist. She even had the feeling that if anyone in the world could truly kill her, the Serpent was one, Odin was another, and this man might be a third.
Was Hela afraid of death? Of course not. There was no fear of death in the bloodline of the Odinson family. But she was not willing to accept it. She was still young and had ambitions she yearned to fulfill. So, although her words held a hint of submission, she would never admit it.
Leon saw right through her. He looked at the Goddess of Death with interest. "I told you, that is your punishment."
"I don't accept this punishment! I would rather die in battle!" Hela gritted her teeth, her eyes filled with undisguised anger. She was tired of being confined. She had been cast out and sealed in Hel, the kingdom of death. While she had gained power and a new form of authority there, it felt like nothing more than a handout from Odin—a form of mercy. She hated the feeling of being bound and imprisoned.
"Death?" Leon's lips curled into a smirk, and his eyes glowed with a brilliant blue light. As Hela looked into his eyes, her pupils widened and then froze.
Boom!
Hela felt the world turn upside down, twisting and warping. She felt like she had been exiled, falling from one space to the next, descending endlessly, as if plummeting to the far reaches of the universe. She struggled and resisted, but to her horror, she found that her body was no longer her own. She couldn't use her abilities, her divine power, or anything else.
She was a helpless puppet, falling into hell. She landed on a shore of magma, and from the depths of the fiery sea, the souls of the dead she had beheaded with her own hands began to crawl out. These vengeful souls clawed their way toward her, and Hela cursed them like insects, wanting to fight back, but she couldn't. She could only watch as the very souls she had slaughtered tore her body apart, piece by piece. But as soon as she was torn apart, she was resurrected, only to be torn apart again.
This torment was endless, a cycle of agony that filled her nerves, moving from excruciating pain to numb despair, and then to a complete stupor. Her soul, at that moment, seemed to have died.
At the very last second, just as her will and consciousness were "killed," everything before her froze completely, shattering into pieces and vanishing. The horrific scene she had just experienced was replaced by the beautiful, peaceful, and harmonious Kingdom of Flowers.
The stark contrast made Hela unable to recover for a moment. Her soul had been severely damaged, leaving her weak and sluggish. When she finally came to her senses, an even more terrifying thing happened. She realized that at some point, she had moved from floating over the lake to a beautiful white jade pavilion on the shore. She was bent over, holding a teapot, pouring tea for the man who was sitting in front of her.
As if realizing what she was doing, she let go of the teapot in terror. It hit the table with a loud bang, and she stumbled back a few steps, staring at her hands with a pale face. The ambitious and tyrannical Goddess of Death was now like a bullied girl, fragile and pitiful.
"You... you can attack my soul? And you can control my body? This is... this is impossible! You can't do this!" Hela was in a state of shock, fully understanding what had happened. She was filled with disbelief.
She was a celestial being. Gods of her level were practically omnipotent, their life force far beyond that of mortals. It was impossible for one god to control another's mind and consciousness, to attack them on a soul level. Even Odin and the Serpent couldn't do it. But this man had.
What did this mean? It meant that he could completely imprison her soul, control her mind and will, and make her his slave. The humiliation was unbearable. Hela hated Asgard, but she was proud of the glory of her Odinson bloodline. How could there be such a vast gap between them, both being celestial beings? It was simply impossible.
Leon took a sip of the tea she had poured for him, then stood up and walked toward Hela with an elegant grace, completely devoid of an intimidating aura. His handsome face and eyes would normally make people feel at ease, but Hela backed away as if she had seen a demon. She missed a step on the stairs and fell to the ground in a pathetic heap, still trying to scramble away from this terrifying man.
But behind her was a flower bed, blocking her escape. Leon squatted down in front of Hela, who was wide-eyed with terror. He reached out, took her chin in his hand, and tilted her head up, staring directly into her panicked eyes.
"Do you feel it? Death is a luxury for you. It is a mercy I can grant you."
"As long as I wish it, you will become a stain on the Odinson family and tarnish the glory of Odin. You will forget how to breathe. You will forget your pride, your arrogance, and your glory, becoming nothing more than a loyal stray dog, crawling at my feet."
"You... you can't do that!" Hela's voice trembled, filled with despair and fear—a feeling she had never experienced, not even when she was cast out and sealed by Odin.
"You are an enemy. To an enemy, I am only doing what you have done countless times before."
Hela's lips moved, her eyes flickering, as if an idea had just occurred to her. But Leon seemed to see right through her.
"Do you want to self-destruct? You can't do it."
The thought of igniting her own power and destroying herself was immediately extinguished. Just as the man in front of her had said, she tried, but the idea was mercilessly snuffed out, replaced by a cold, steel-like mark in her mind. Hela closed her eyes and fell into a state of silent resignation.
She was filled with regret and a sense of injustice. Why had she agreed to work with that old Serpent? She knew he would set a trap for her, but her arrogance and overconfidence had led her into this situation. She swore that if she ever had a future, she would personally crush the Serpent's bones.
Seeing Hela like this, Leon smiled. His complete display of villainy had been a calculated move to break Hela's psychological defenses and shatter her arrogance and pride. As a god who once carried the glory of the Odinson bloodline and as Odin's eldest daughter, her strength and knowledge were valuable to him. Leon was not a wasteful person. If he wanted her to serve him, he had to humiliate her and break her spirit first, because Hela's personality was exactly like this. No amount of gentleness, kindness, or affection could ever convince her.
And, just as he expected, Hela opened her eyes.
"I can submit to you."
"I was once Odin's vanguard and executioner. I can be your sharpest blade and kill any enemy who stands against you."
Leon smiled, releasing her chin and standing up. Hela also rose from the ground. She looked at the man who had shattered all her pride, but she was no longer angry or humiliated.
The weak submit to the strong. This was the fundamental logic ingrained in her mind, and it could not be shaken. Leon had crushed her in every possible way, leaving her no choice but to submit unconditionally. She knew that one day, when she was stronger than Leon, she would return what he had done to her tenfold, or a hundredfold.
Leon also knew that she was a wolf who could never be fully tamed. But as long as he remained stronger than her, Hela would be his most loyal wolf. He wasn't concerned with the possibility of her rebellion.
"Go to Asgard. There is a good show waiting for you there."
Leon walked forward. The moment he took his first step, a beautiful golden vortex appeared before him. Hela's eyes flashed, and she followed him without hesitation.
In Asgard, the war cries tore through the sky as the tragic battle continued. The Asgardian warriors fought on, one after another, fearlessly battling for their lives. In the sky, a green figure plummeted to the ground, slamming into a magnificent building. The next second, he burst out of the dust and smoke, holding the Eternal Spear, Gungnir. It was Loki.
Loki was now in an extremely disheveled state. His horned helmet was broken in half, and he removed it, tossing it aside. Parts of his green robe and armor, along with his cloak, were damaged from the battle. He had completely lost the demeanor of the elegant prince he once was, but at this moment, he didn't care about his appearance.
Taking a deep breath, he shakily raised the Eternal Spear, about to launch another attack, but then he froze. A familiar sound of thunder echoed in his ears. He turned his head and looked at the distant sky. Endless lightning exploded in the clouds, and a familiar figure soared through the sky, rushing toward the Serpent who was battling the gods of Asgard.
Wrapped in a storm of lightning, Thor raised Mjolnir high and slammed it down on the Serpent's head.
Boom!
The terrifying force shook the Serpent's massive body, and the creature roared in anger. "Damn you, Thor! You actually broke free from my fear!"
As soon as he finished speaking, he flapped his wings, and a terrifying gust of wind and poisonous mist spread out, blowing away the gods who were striking him. Facing Thor, he shook his head and flung him away. At the same time, his huge tails swept over, striking Thor with immense force.
Bang!
Thor crashed to the ground, kicking up dust and rubble. Lightning flashed around him as he roared, "I am Thor Odinson! Fear and evil will never defeat my will! For Asgard!"
(End of Chapter)
────────────────────────────────────
"If you're interested, please support me in my other novel [One Piece: General Blue]."
"If you're interested, please support me in my other novel [Naruto: Starting with Tsunade-san]."
"If you're interested, please support me in my other novel [Battle Through the Heavens: Heavenly comprehension]."
"If you're interested, please support me in my other novel [Soul Land 2: Golden Dragon King]."
"If you're interested, please support me in my other novel [Marvel: The Fantasy Crystal]."
"If you want early access to nearly 60+ chapters, join my patreon:- patreon.com/BaDwYGaMeR"