Hel's comic origin is quite complex; she is neither Odin's daughter nor Loki's daughter.
She is a girl formed by Loki's thoughts, which is why she's not part of the prophecy of Ragnarok, because she essentially doesn't exist.
In the future from this time point, Loki will be reborn as a child due to his death, and his heart will become kind.
Once, he was severely injured, and in his mind, he fantasized about a nonexistent sister taking care of him. Essentially, it was a manifestation of split personality.
This girl was called Leah, who took care of Loki as if she were a real sister, healing his wounds, chatting, and playing with him.
However, after dealing with the Great Serpent, Thor perished, and a new Thunder God emerged.
Loki made agreements with a bunch of Demon Gods and eerie beings, using a series of magic that involved time, space, modifying destiny, deceiving reality, creating life, etc.
The process was tough, but in the end, everything was prepared because Loki had perceived Hel's true identity.
Loki traded with Hel to have her bring Thor back.
Hel agreed, and she sent Leah back to the distant past, to the then empty Netherworld.
Loki used magic to deceive the world, setting Leah's identity as the half-dead God of the Netherworld, Odin's daughter, and Thor's sister.
Leah did not understand Loki's actions; she cursed Loki and was thrown into the time passage.
Hel told Loki, "She will understand you in the future."
Upon arriving in the Netherworld, Leah initially called herself Leah of the Netherworld, but as time went by, she took the name Hel from the Netherworld itself.
She returned to the Golden Palace; because at the time of her creation, she had the imagined attribute of 'Odin's daughter', Odin naturally recognized her due to the world's consciousness. She was his daughter.
Hel had no mother, and her left side was dead while her right side was alive, but this was ignored by everyone.
She became the eldest princess of Asgard...
If Loki had not sent Leah back to the past, Hel would have ceased to exist. Without Hel, souls would have nowhere to go.
It all formed a perfect time logical closed loop.
And when Ragnarok arrived, after Thor died, souls would appear in the Netherworld, and Loki would at least have the hope of finding his foolish brother there.
This was a plan spanning millions of years, with Loki's future methods being incredibly powerful.
And the only ones aware of this were Hel and future Loki.
Therefore, when Su Ming mentioned Hel's real name, her mind was completely blank, utterly unable to react to the outside world's reality.
She fell into questions about time, wondering endlessly why Odin would know about this.
Why? Did Odin know all along? Or had she been reckoned with early on? What did future Loki do?
The black spikes on her head seemed to twist into a pile of question marks.
The answer is... because of that, Su Ming had time to escape!
He was a fake, with Gin and so many souls along. What if during the retreat, Hel attacked from behind?
Su Ming himself was probably fine, but Gin and Flying Horse didn't have self-healing abilities.
Therefore, he threw out a puzzle, uncertain whether Hel's origin matched the comics, but he voiced it without cost...
The result was very effective.
Hel was even unable to notice everyone leaving; she simply stood atop the spikes, looking up at the cloud-filled sky, silently for a long time.
"Queen? Was that Odin just now?"
Tyr couldn't be sure; although it felt somewhat unlikely, every detail pointed to Odin undoubtedly.
At that moment, he was pinned beneath the unconscious Great Wolf, unable to free himself.
Hel was called back to reality by his call; she jumped down from the spikes, grabbed one of Fenrir's legs, pulling it off Tyr and dragging it toward the palace.
Fenrir's beautiful fur was used to wipe the street like a rag, quickly turning black.
"I'm not sure if... Forget it, anyway, he just took the Valkyrie away, which doesn't affect us. You check the recent souls from Midgard to see if anyone knows anything about the Great Serpent or Hammer of Winter."
Tyr rotated his mechanical hand, silently taking the order. Despite the fact that fewer mortals have faith in the gods of Asgard, it was worth a try.
..................
At this time, Su Ming had flown far away, and upon confirming Hel would not pursue them, he was relieved.
Gin was held in front of him, while behind him, the Magic Floating Cloak held a dozen Ghosts.
He looked at these translucent figures, and their bewildered expressions made him pursed his lips.
Although the souls had been saved, figuring out how to resurrect them was another problem.
The simplest method would be to send them to the Heroic Spirit Hall, where they could obtain new bodies and regain consciousness.
But that would bind them to the Heroic Spirit Hall, unable to leave unless Odin released them to fight enemies during Ragnarok.
Su Ming had promised that Gin would reunite with them.
So much effort was spent, shedding several liters of blood; sending them to the Heroic Spirit Hall would just be free labor for Odin?
Therefore, to resurrect them might require other methods.
Such as reaching an agreement with a Lord of Hell, or finding other roundabout ways.
For now, they could be temporarily housed in Asgard; if Brynhild's house was still available, Gin should also have her own home.
Hel's problem had been resolved; Su Ming saw with his own eyes that the army had already gone dormant, indicating she initially did not have further plans for engaging her forces.
She was informed about the appearance of the Great Serpent, and no matter what, she is determined to deal with it.
Whether facing it alone or temporarily allying with Asgard, it's all a great help to Su Ming.
Now, most things that needed doing are done, what's left is to wait for Zemo and the Great Serpent, those two moles, to emerge.
The Eight-legged Celestial Horse galloped through the air, the stars seemed to surround the two of them, Su Ming noticed Gin slightly leaning back, looking much more relaxed.
"Thank you, boss."
"No need to thank me, you've helped me plenty too."
Gin continued gripping the horse's mane. She glanced at Su Ming, then at the souls.
"It's different; being able to see them again is nearly my dream."
"Then you can prepare a new dream now, your boss will make your dreams come true."
Su Ming smiled and shook his head. After Gin reverted to her original form, she seemed much more courteous.
"What do we do next?"
Gin turned her head, looking ahead, the wind in flight slightly ruffling the hair on her forehead.
Because the initial planned goals have all been achieved, and the issues with Hydra and the Great Serpent are actually unrelated to them.
Su Ming couldn't really explain Hydra, Zemo is too smart, and his preparation is thorough. The fact that Heimdall can't see him yet clarifies the issue.
But no matter which Zemo, neither father nor son is too crazy, which is good news, limiting the danger.
However, if Odin remains in a deep sleep and nobody deals with the Great Serpent, the danger increases.
"Next, we'll head back to the Immortal Palace and wait for Hydra's movements."
Zemo is a very patient man, but his current 'allies' are not. Even if what appears in Asgard is a giant, it's equally disruptive to both parties' agreement.
Just considering Odin's revenge, Laufey can't avoid getting involved, even if he would prefer not to.
The Frost Giants are likely trying to recover the Ice Treasure Box, and conveniently kill the Asgardians.
But Zemo's motives remain unknown until now.
Thinking along these lines, Su Ming chatted casually with Gin, and the Celestial Horse's speed was swift, soon showing the outline of Asgard.
"Don't land yet, Xiaoba, take us for a lap, check the situation."
Su Ming casually gave the Eight-legged Celestial Horse a nickname.
The Celestial Horse is actually confused, unable to distinguish whether this Odin is genuine, but it accepted the nickname Xiaoba and took Su Ming for a spin.
Mephisto's troops have retreated, indicating Celestial Venerable Gao's move was correct.
As for whether Thor needs to be a gladiator again, Su Ming thinks he likely won't escape it.
Moreover, the beasts and weapons Surtur loaned to Gullveig are no longer on the battlefield, suggesting they've been dealt with.
Now, people on the battlefield are treating the injured, cleaning up, with blood flooding many places, but they appear quite cheerful.
The topics discussed revolve around how glorious today's comrade's death was, and how many powerful enemies' heads they've beheaded, basking in glory.
This country has been brainwashed by glory. Perhaps only at night, during funerals, do they become a bit solemn.
The city has suffered partial destruction, mostly residential areas, the Golden Palace unscathed, still shines in the sunset. The towering golden castle now emits a subtle red glow, illuminating all of Asgard.
But Su Ming's eyes noticed something off about the World Tree.
The originally charred black World Tree now has a changed color.
Its surface is covered with a faint white.
Su Ming doubts his fire could burn this thing into white ash, so...
"Gin, take your teammates to your own place, don't let them be seen." Su Ming directed the Flying Horse to land, once more assuming Odin's form, placing the ghosts and Gin on the ground: "I'll go check on the World Tree."
"It seems to be frosting over."
Her eyesight was not as good as Su Ming's, but she still tried to look.
"Looks like our Hydra friend has acted, while everyone's attention was on the battlefield, he found a loophole."
Such a tactic of exploiting gaps should be Little Zemo, that slippery fellow.
"What are they trying to do to the World Tree?"
Gin was still deeply concerned, as the World Tree is too precious to suffer any loss.
"I'm heading there to check. You settle them in first, keep an eye on things; one of them is trying to leave."
It turns out a ghost has recovered some past memories and seems to be attempting to go home, stumbling in a certain direction.
Gin quickly rushed over to catch her.
This ability to physically grab souls is unique to Valkyries; without the cloak, Su Ming could only pass through spiritual bodies.
Watching Gin having to settle them first, Su Ming rode towards the World Tree's vicinity.
There were already many people here, and upon seeing 'Odin', they saluted promptly.
He waved his hand, indicating no need for saluting, then flew around the World Tree on horseback.
It turned out that someone had used the power of frost to construct a massive spiraling staircase around the World Tree, leading down into the endless cloud layers below, destination unknown.