Hela was stunned for a moment, then suddenly laughed wildly.
"Hahahahaha! Odin, Odin, you really haven't changed at all. You're still so hypocritical! You old man just keeps improving, even your son is more promising than you!"
She turned to look at Thor and, for the first time, found him unexpectedly pleasing to the eye, even though his ideas were not exactly like hers.
She spoke slowly:
"I am Hela, the firstborn of Odin, ruler of the Asgardian legions, first heir to the throne, and the goddess of death. We were once the symbol of absolute power in this universe, and no one dared challenge our authority—but Odin stopped in the Nine Realms."
"Our destiny is to rule over all!"
The more she spoke, the more excited she became.
"We were invincible, creating the glory of Asgard with one hand, and the world bowed at our feet in turn. But then… because my ambition surpassed Odin's, he banished and imprisoned me, isolating me like a beast. Before that, the glory of Asgard's warriors came from laying the foundation for this throne with their heroism. But now, he only wants to be a benevolent emperor, while I am buried with the past."
Thor listened quietly. He could understand Hela's anger and frustration. Hela and Odin had both killed ruthlessly—Odin simply grew tired of it sooner. In the end, Hela's neurosis stemmed entirely from Odin.
Suddenly, Thor realized another very important reason why he had deliberately tried to appeal to Hela. If he could earn her favor, or at least a temporary reconciliation, the situation would be much more favorable when facing Thanos' invasion in the future.
In the original history, the main reason Asgard was vulnerable was that after Ragnarok, Asgard was at its most fragile. Hela had wiped out nearly the entire army. Thor, who had just been awakened, Loki, who could only summon minions, and Valkyrie and Heimdall—these were almost all the remaining combat forces of Asgard at that time.
At this moment, Thor suddenly trembled violently. Surging power burst from him instantly, and the bright lightning almost illuminated the dark space.
"Sister, you—" Thor did not expect that Hela would actually break his seal.
Hela spoke domineeringly:
"This is your reward."
"Hey, congratulations to the host for completing the task—Facing Death, and receiving the reward: Death Resistance. Under any circumstances, time will rewind after death, and the host will return to a previous point while retaining memory, for no more than 15 minutes. Enemies with high strength may notice."
Hela was truly a superb boss, and the rewards from her exclusive task were extremely powerful.
In a sense, Thor could now "negotiate conditions" even with Dormammu. The completion notification meant that Hela had given up on killing Thor, at least before leaving the seal.
"Sister, I'm leaving. The seal wasn't deliberately targeting me. I have a way to bypass it," Thor said, taking his leave.
He took out the Space Gem coupon and opened a spatial portal. Odin's seal was unique, triggered by Hela's death force. Even if he teleported through the space gate, the seal would instantly reform at his new location. Hela was inseparable, and it was impossible for Thor to let her out and fight Odin ahead of schedule.
Hela said nothing, but she did not stop him either.
Just before stepping into the portal, Thor called back:
"Don't worry. When I inherit the throne, I will lift your seal as soon as possible and announce your glory to all of Asgard."
Hela was left momentarily dazed but showed a cold smile:
"Heh… inherit the throne? If you have the ability to face the challenge, I don't mind!"
Perhaps because Thor was not as adept at using the Space Gem as Thanos, his teleportation destinations were completely random.
The world spun wildly for a moment, and the next thing Thor saw upon arriving was a group of heavily armed soldiers…
This is—a Kirita?
…