Though Kuur's strength in the past had been inferior to that of Odin, after countless years, it was uncertain who would now be stronger. While Odin's divine power might still surpass Kuur's, his aging body had likely weakened significantly. Hela speculated that Odin might now be less powerful than Kuur, whose divine power and body were still in harmony.
The critical distinction between Kuur and Hela lay in their seals. Odin had been able to completely suppress Hela, preventing her divine power from growing further with time. However, with Kuur being a true God-King-level entity, Odin had done well just to seal him. Stripping away Kuur's divine power entirely or fully sealing it was simply beyond Odin's capabilities.
This reality left Hela with little confidence in her ability to wrest the throne of Asgard from Kuur. If she were released from her seal, her only likely fate was death at Kuur's hands.
However, staying within the seal didn't seem to offer a better outcome. If she remained, she would likely meet her end at the hands of Robert, who stood before her with a calm yet unsettling smile.
Hela didn't know the details of what had transpired in Asgard, but she could vaguely guess that things hadn't been going well there. Otherwise, Odin would never have agreed to let both her and Kuur return to Asgard.
Still, while Asgard's prior situation might have been dire, Hela's current situation was no better. Robert appeared to present her with a choice, but in truth, she had no options at all.
Before long, Robert led Hela out of her seal. Realizing she had no alternatives, Hela begrudgingly followed him.
After all, dealing with Kuur would be a matter for Asgard, should they return. But for now, the insurmountable obstacle in her path was Robert, a foe she couldn't hope to contend with. Hela had no choice but to take things one step at a time, starting with leaving her seal.
"You know, this area really does seem to be your Asgardian place of origin. Both you and Kuur are sealed nearby," Robert remarked with a smile as he, guided by Heimdall, arrived over a vast expanse of ocean near Hela's previous location.
With a light thrust of Gungnir, the once-calm ocean suddenly revealed a small island. Robert and Hela stepped into this newly revealed space.
"Odin's aura?!" Within the island's hidden inner space, an emaciated and disheveled old man sat cross-legged atop a stone. He suddenly lifted his head, his piercing eyes glinting like those of a venomous serpent lurking in the shadows. His gaze locked onto the void.
A portal appeared in the void, through which Robert and Hela emerged. Kuur's eyes reflected a brief flicker of confusion as he observed the pair. He sensed the aura of an Asgardian deity from Hela, but Robert, who held Gungnir, emanated no divine aura whatsoever. To Kuur, Robert seemed no more than a particularly strong mortal.
"A mere mortal? How could he possess Gungnir? Odin isn't dead yet... so how did Gungnir end up in this mortal's hands?" Kuur muttered, his voice low as he fixed his gaze on Robert and Hela, making no move to rise from his stone.
"This is Kuur? His aura doesn't seem all that powerful..." Hela murmured quietly as she scrutinized Kuur.
Though Kuur's gaze was unsettling, Hela had long since become immune to such intimidation. Moreover, upon sensing Kuur's less-than-overwhelming aura, she felt a surge of hope.
When Robert had forced her out of her seal, Hela had been filled with despair. She didn't believe she could contend with Kuur, and naturally, someone as ruthless as Kuur would never tolerate her as a rival for the throne.
On the way here, Hela had been contemplating how to escape back to the Helheim underworld if she lost to Kuur, and how to use that realm to rebuild her strength and stage a comeback.
But now, sensing Kuur's underwhelming aura, Hela felt a thrill of excitement. She could already envision herself successfully ascending to the throne of Asgard.
After all, Odin was a frail old man with barely any fighting strength left, and Kuur seemed similarly unimpressive. Her only potential opponent would be Thor, with whom she'd had only a brief encounter and a relatively positive impression.
Even if Thor had the power to shatter Mjolnir, Hela didn't think he would be her match. They might be equals in terms of divine rank, but Hela had absolute confidence in her ability to defeat Thor. After all, Thor's domain as the God of Thunder was powerful, but when it came to killing and combat, Hela, the Goddess of Death, held the upper hand.
"Junior, I can sense you're having some unpleasant thoughts," Kuur said, slowly rising from his stone as Hela's imagination began to race.
When Hela had first entered the sealed space, Kuur could feel her fear. But that fear quickly dissipated, leaving him deeply annoyed.
What frustrated Kuur even more was Robert's complete lack of fear. This mortal, who somehow wielded Gungnir, dared to show no hint of terror upon seeing him.
Who was Kuur? He was the Great Serpent Kuur, the God of Fear of Asgard!
Every living being, mortal or divine, should feel fear upon encountering Kuur. Fear was the source of Kuur's power, just as conquest and slaughter empowered Hela.
From a certain perspective, Kuur's abilities were not dissimilar to fear-based entities like the Fear Energy Corps or other terror-focused beings. As for who among them held the higher "rank," only direct confrontation could determine that.
Kuur spread his arms slowly, absorbing the remnants of fear Hela had exuded upon entering the sealed space. This infusion of energy slightly restored his emaciated frame.
"Mortal, kneel! Kneel before your God-King! Kneel before the God of Fear! Kneel before the Great Serpent Kuur—ugh!" Before Kuur could finish his declaration, a sudden, sharp pain erupted in his abdomen. His body doubled over, the rest of his words dying in his throat.
"What...?" Kuur stared in disbelief at Robert, who now stood before him, his fist having pierced Kuur's abdomen completely. Kuur couldn't comprehend what had just happened. It wasn't merely the fact that Robert had punched through him—it was that Kuur hadn't even seen the blow coming.
"A mere mortal... how can you be so fast? I couldn't even see your movements!" Kuur's voice trembled with shock and indignation.
"Keep boasting! Don't stop now!" Hela thought gleefully as she watched Robert strike Kuur. Her mind raced with possibilities. "Kuur, you really don't understand how the world has changed. Keep provoking the Saiyan! Maybe he'll kill you right here."
Kuur's arrogance toward Robert was exactly as Hela had anticipated. Having been sealed for so long, Kuur remained ignorant of the current state of Earth. He likely still viewed it as a playground for the gods and saw Robert as nothing more than a mortal who had stumbled upon Gungnir in search of treasure.
Kuur's condescension extended even to Hela, an Asgardian deity. Naturally, Hela hoped Kuur would continue his arrogant tirade and cross the line with Robert, leading the Saiyan to eliminate him on the spot.
Though Kuur's current power didn't seem overwhelming, Hela had already deduced his capabilities from the way he absorbed fear energy earlier. If Kuur were to return to Asgard and terrorize its citizens, gaining strength from their fear, it would spell disaster for Hela's ambitions. Thus, she preferred for Robert to deal with Kuur now.
"How...? How did you do this? You're just a mortal..." Kuur muttered, still unable to process what had happened. Despite his prolonged weakness due to lack of fear energy, he was still a god and should have been beyond the reach of mortals.
Even now, Kuur refused to recognize Robert's true power. He clung to the belief that no mortal, no matter how strong, could defeat a god.
Shaking his head, Robert sighed at Kuur's stubbornness. While it might have been simpler to kill Kuur here, doing so would benefit both Asgard and Hela too much. Instead, Robert decided to leave Kuur to be dealt with by Asgard and Hela.
Of course, if Kuur somehow managed to seize the throne of Asgard, defeating Odin, Thor, and Hela in the process, Robert wouldn't mind stepping in to avenge the Asgardians. However, his intervention would come at the cost of Asgard's total annihilation—a price Odin and his kin might find preferable to letting Kuur rule.
With a loud bang, Robert kicked Kuur, sending his body flying into the invisible barrier of the seal. The impact caused the entire seal to tremble. With a flick of his mind, Robert pulled Kuur's body back to him.
"Are you some kind of dark sorcerer? Which god's power have you inherited? Could you be a newly born deity from the past millennia? Why don't I sense any divine power from you?" Though immobilized by Robert's telekinesis, Kuur continued his incessant questioning, desperate to uncover Robert's origins and intentions.
"Enough talk. Let's go," Robert said dismissively. He glanced at the disappointed Hela
and added, "No need to look so glum. I've already injured him, haven't I? Your odds of victory just went up a bit."
"I suppose," Hela replied reluctantly, following Robert as they exited Kuur's sealed domain.
As they left, Kuur suddenly sensed something, his gaze shifting toward Gotham City in the distance.
"Is this... the essence of fear? Two sources of fear condensed into objects? Which god of fear set this up? No matter—it's all mine now!" Kuur's thoughts raced as he observed the unfamiliar Earth. With a flick of his mind, he activated the two sources of fear energy, unleashing their power.
At the same time, Kuur began to influence the external world despite still being restrained by Robert's telekinesis. Eight beams of light appeared out of nowhere, shooting toward different directions on Earth.
But Robert's reaction was faster. With a simple wave of his hand, the eight beams froze midair, revealing their contents—eight hammers of varying designs, each radiating unique power. Judging by their craftsmanship and the energy they contained, each hammer was no less powerful than Thor's Mjolnir.
These eight hammers were indeed on par with Mjolnir. They were treasures forged by Kuur during his reign as God-King. Each hammer contained a fragment of Kuur's consciousness and a significant portion of his power. In Kuur's era, the mightiest force in Asgard wasn't Odinforce—it was Kuur's own power, channeled through these eight artifacts. Everything Odin had achieved with Mjolnir, Kuur had done with his hammers.
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