The outstretched hand looming before Hela felt like an entire mountain crashing down—its presence heavy, overwhelming, and terrifying.
Yet Hela did not retreat in fear.
Having followed Odin in the conquest of the Nine Realms, she had seen every battlefield imaginable and faced enemies beyond counting.
She had been wounded.
She had been defeated.
But in the end, Hela had always been the one standing last.
Green light flashed in her eyes.
In an instant, a long sword condensed before her, thrusting straight toward the onrushing Lucas.
The green radiance surrounding the blade repelled the very air around it, creating a vacuum along its path.
The way energy flowed through the sword was the crystallization of thousands of years of combat experience—maximized power, absolute efficiency.
For Hela, this was no longer technique.
It was instinct.
But Lucas did not care.
To him, no matter how complex or refined an enemy's technique might be, it was all the same.
All he needed to focus on was his own attack.
When the massive hand and the sword tip collided, the energies clashed first.
The sword's energy spiraled violently, carrying terrifying destructive force as it attempted to bore through the barrier ahead.
Lucas's fingers suddenly curled.
With a sharp grip, he seized the blade itself.
In the next moment, Hela realized—with disbelief—that her sword could not advance even a fraction further.
Lucas's fingers were like iron clamps, locking the weapon in place.
"Impossible!"
Shock spread across Hela's face.
That strike—one she had refined over countless battles—could not be stopped so easily, not even by Odin.
"It's too early to be surprised," Lucas said calmly.
His hand tightened.
He seized the sword fully.
The next second, Hela felt an overwhelming pulling force surge through the weapon.
As an Asgardian—and Odin's direct bloodline—her physical strength was monstrous. Lifting dozens of tons was effortless to her.
Yet before this force, she felt like a child facing an adult.
Before she could even be dragged forward—
Crack!
The sword fractured, splitting cleanly into two.
And before Hela could react, a massive fist filled her vision.
Boom!
A dull, brutal impact echoed.
Lucas's punch smashed squarely into Hela's face, the sheer force staggering her sideways.
Before she could recover, another punch followed immediately.
Watching from the side, Thor was utterly stunned.
That was Hela—the same Hela who had crushed him even after his awakening!
Yet Lucas had completely suppressed her from the very start.
Just how terrifying was his strength?
As Hela endured the barrage, she rapidly understood Lucas's combat nature.
He was a powerful, battle-mad warrior.
The most dangerous kind.
Such fighters grew rapidly in battle, absorbing experience in real time and immediately applying it.
When facing such opponents, the only solution was to kill them instantly—before they could adapt.
But now?
Forget counterattacking.
Under Lucas's storm-like assault, she was already struggling to keep up.
Lucas continued channeling his Ki into his fists, driving relentless blows into Hela's body.
Some punches struck green blades she hastily formed, shattering them and dispersing much of the force.
Others slammed into the green energy coating her body, partially absorbed.
When Lucas's fist struck her chest, the energy that had been evenly distributed across her body instantly condensed at the point of impact.
"Not bad, Hela," Lucas noted calmly.
"But can you still block this?"
His punches changed.
They grew faster.
Heavier.
More violent.
The energy within them surged dramatically.
Hela could no longer form swords fast enough.
The energy covering her body began to fail.
The balance tipped.
Boom!
At last, one punch broke through her defenses and struck her directly.
The immense force sent Hela flying.
A sharp sonic boom followed as her body slammed straight into a towering mountain.
Cracks spread instantly, ripping through the rock as the entire peak collapsed with a thunderous roar.
Moments later, Hela lay buried beneath the ruins.
Lucas floated forward slowly.
Seeing the scene, he laughed loudly.
"Since when did the Goddess of Death of Asgard become so easy to defeat?"
As his voice fell—
Boom!
The seven-to-eight-meter-high rubble exploded outward.
Stone fragments scattered in all directions as Hela rose from the debris.
Her body was now completely enveloped in dense green energy. Her glowing green eyes locked fiercely onto Lucas in midair.
She raised both hands.
The ground beneath her shattered and began to rise.
A black-green mountain erupted upward, quickly lifting her to the same height as Lucas.
They faced each other in the air.
"You've truly angered me, Midgardian," Hela said, her voice cold and heavy.
Her restrained fury felt like a volcano on the verge of eruption.
"The real battle begins now."
Originally, she had intended to conserve her power—defeat these two, then immediately begin breaking the seal of this realm.
But now, she had changed her mind.
She would annihilate this man first.
The seal could wait.
Lucas smiled faintly.
"Is that so? Then I'm looking forward to it."
"Die!"
Hela roared.
Under the surge of dense green energy, countless black-green swords materialized out of thin air, completely surrounding Lucas.
Yet Lucas showed not the slightest hint of concern.
With a single wave of Hela's hand, the swords shot forward in a frenzied barrage.
They were even faster and more vicious than her previous attacks.
The air itself was torn apart as the blades screamed forward with unstoppable momentum.
Then—
Lucas raised both arms.
He spread his palms outward.
And every black sword froze in midair—
As if time itself had been stopped.
_____
T/N:
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