Asgard was an extraordinarily prosperous place.
Even in the wider universe, there were few realms as magnificent as Asgard. Powerful arcane technology was pushed to its absolute limit in the hands of Asgard's craftsmen. Asgard was a land where miracles were born.
But now, Asgard felt bleak and desolate.
The golden ships that once filled the streets were long gone. It was as if this city had already begun its descent into ruin.
In truth, that was exactly the case.
All of Asgard had been evacuated. Anything of value had been taken away—nothing was left behind, not even a dog. As for things that couldn't be carried off, like the winged-horse breeding grounds, they could only be stripped by destructive harvesting before being abandoned.
In short, Asgard had been reduced to a wasteland of silence.
Only the royal palace still held any trace of life.
Odin sat high upon the throne.
Below him stood Asgard's most elite force: five thousand royal guards.
Their golden armor was imposing and resplendent, shining with a sacred radiance as they stood spread throughout the hall. These were veterans who had slaughtered their way across the cosmos alongside Odin—without question, a first-rate army even by the universe's standards.
Odin looked down from above.
The royal guards did not move at all—like stone statues carved into the palace itself.
They were waiting.
They waited in a stunned, heavy silence for nearly half a day.
Then—
A low, droning hum rang out.
A black rift tore open without warning.
Dark green light flickered from within.
A figure stumbled out of the rift in a rush—hair hanging loose and disheveled, armor battered and broken in several places, looking thoroughly wretched.
The moment Odin saw her, lightning flashed in his single eye. Blue arcs crackled around the edge of his eyepatch as well. Bracing himself on Gungnir, he rose from the throne.
"Hela."
"So you've finally come."
Hela—who had emerged in such a sorry state—didn't answer immediately. Instead, she raised her gaze and swept the sky with hollow eyes, as if searching for something beyond the palace itself.
"I've returned to inherit my kingdom, Odin."
The corner of Hela's lips curled as she looked at him and spoke.
"This is not your kingdom," Odin said coldly.
"This is Asgard, and it does not welcome you. You bring only death!"
Odin slammed the ground with force.
The entire royal palace shook.
"You didn't say that back then, Odin," Hela replied with a frigid sneer.
"Did you forget? Half of Asgard's territory was won by my hand."
"And besides—whether Asgard welcomes me or not… isn't for you to decide."
"I will stop you again," Odin declared loudly.
"Stop me?" Hela's voice sharpened. "With what?"
"You're old and frail now—your power isn't even half of what it was at your peak."
"The Valkyrie army you once treated as your right hand has been butchered by me—nearly wiped out."
"Without those Valkyries to grind down my strength, what exactly makes you think you can stop me?"
"Or is it…" Her eyes flicked forward with contempt. "…these scraps in front of you?"
Hela suddenly raised her voice.
The deathly power that had looked sluggish and weakened on her a moment ago erupted again in a violent surge. In an instant, the momentum of the five thousand royal guards was suppressed.
That was how terrifying Hela truly was.
Odin did not hesitate.
"Royal Guard! Attack!"
He pointed forward.
Led by several warriors, the entire royal guard charged at once.
Odin remained before his throne, watching with icy calm, not moving an inch.
Seeing them rush her, Hela broke into an exaggerated grin.
"Odin, you're still the same—still that cowardly hypocrite."
"You don't even dare face me yourself. You send your loyal subordinates to die instead."
With a flick of her hand, two black longswords appeared in her grip.
Alone, she rushed straight into five thousand royal guards—without the slightest fear on her face.
In the blink of an eye, blood sprayed.
Wherever her blades cut, wounds festered with black miasma—Hela's death energy at work. This power of death was even more horrifying than poison: touch it, and you die.
Compared to Hela's lethal damage, the royal guards' attacks were little more than tickles.
Even though their weapons were divine armaments—and even though they could fire high-energy beams—when those strikes landed on Hela, it was like stones sinking into the sea. No effect. No meaning.
Hela, on the other hand—
She was an unstoppable slaughter.
She carved through the crowd again and again, charging in and out as if she owned the battlefield.
Before long, corpses carpeted the ground.
Yet Odin still did not move. His gaze was utterly cold.
In that moment, the bearing of the King of Gods was fully revealed.
And the royal guard truly lived up to being Asgard's elite.
They did not retreat even once.
Three thousand five hundred had already charged in.
A normal human army would likely rout after losing thirty percent, and even losing fifty percent without collapsing would already count as elite. In an age of cold steel, warfare was a contest of momentary bloodlust and courage.
But these royal guards watched their comrades fall like wheat before a scythe—and their faces did not change at all.
They pressed forward, one after another, sacrificing themselves to consume Hela's strength.
Minutes passed.
The five thousand royal guards fell to the ground.
Hela's body bore not even the slightest wound. If anything, she looked more invigorated than before.
"My dear father," Hela said, standing before Odin and looking up at him on the dais, her expression tangled and complex.
"Now, it's your turn."
Excitement burned in her eyes—alongside a fury like roaring thunder.
At last, Odin stood.
"Hela… you should never have returned."
"Today, I will end this mistake with my own hands!"
Gungnir was in Odin's grasp.
He suddenly raised the staff high with both hands.
And in that instant, even his life began to burn.
Lightning howled and leapt around him. The priceless metal floor beneath his feet shattered under the violent storm of power.
Odin—
He could no longer fully control the strength within his own body.
Even Hela's expression turned solemn.
"Old man, are you trying to throw your life away?!" she shouted.
"If you do this, your soul won't even remain!"
"Whatever sins await after death… let them come," Odin replied.
"Then let me carve out a new future for Asgard—one more time!"
Odin held Gungnir aloft.
Crack!!
A thunderous explosion sounded in the sky.
In only a few seconds, lightning slammed down.
Hela's expression twisted into shock.
She forced her power to surge. The ground erupted violently—countless black spikes burst up beneath her feet, instantly forming a dense shell around her.
Crack!!
The lightning struck again.
In an instant, half of Asgard became an ocean of thunder. Before that power, everything was erased—reduced to nothing.
Those magnificent golden structures melted outright.
Only after a long while did the blue lightning finally fade.
Odin's figure was gone.
All that remained was half of a melted staff—still stubbornly lodged in the ground.
As if it were the final requiem of the King of Gods.
(End of Chapter)
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