Most notably, Odin, bathed in divine radiance at this moment, was no longer in his one-eyed form. Both of his eyes sparkled with boundless divine light, filled with infinite mysteries and unfathomable power—this was the unparalleled might contained within Odin's strength.
"Kul, thousands of years ago, I could defeat you. Even now, when I'm old and reduced to my last strike of power, you are still no match for me! And you, Hela! This time, I will strip you of your rights as Asgard's heir! You will be permanently exiled from Asgard and sent back to where you truly belong!" From within the divine radiance, the image of the God-King Odin formed by divine power spoke coldly as he gazed at Kul and Hela.
The next moment, a portion of the divine light surged toward Hela. Her pupils contracted sharply, and she vanished from her spot, trying to evade the beam of divine light. Unfortunately, her speed was far inferior to that of the light.
With a buzzing sound, the divine light enveloped Hela's body in an instant. The terrifying power of Odin immediately stripped away a certain force within her, severing her connection to Asgard and reducing her power to the level she had when she first emerged from her imprisonment.
"Odin, by what right do you strip me of my claim as Asgard's heir?! This is my birthright, bestowed upon me by Asgard itself! Even you have no authority to take it away!" Realizing that her link to Asgard had been severed, Hela roared in rage.
Now, Hela no longer had any connection to Asgard. Even if she were to conquer Asgard and defeat everyone present, she could no longer claim the throne of the God-King of Asgard.
This was something Hela could not accept. Though she could still return to Helheim and reign as a queen of the underworld, such a title was not what she sought.
Hela was acutely aware of the countless powerful beings in the Hell Dimensions. With her current strength, she could barely make any waves there. Conquering the Nine Realms—or even the universe—was far easier than challenging the Hell Dimensions.
But faced with Hela's wrath, the God-King Odin remained unmoved. Or rather, he was already showing her mercy. Unlike Kul, Hela did not possess an unkillable prophecy. If Odin were to allocate even a fraction more of his power to deal with her, she might have already perished on the spot.
However, Odin refrained from doing so because the threat posed by Kul was far greater than that of Hela. Odin feared that if he diverted more of his power toward Hela, he might fail to critically wound Kul.
When Odin's divine power was fully expended, his death would be imminent. By then, only Thor and Frigga would remain to protect Asgard. Unless Kul's strength was significantly diminished, Odin, no matter how confident he was in Thor, did not believe Thor could defeat Kul.
The next moment, Odin struck decisively. The divine radiance, which had already locked onto Kul, erupted in full force. Odin's attack was unleashed without reservation. As he glanced briefly toward the skies above Asgard, he vaguely sensed that Robert was hidden there, observing their family drama with the glee of a spectator.
Yet Odin had no choice. Even in his current state, he knew he could not kill Robert. With only one strike left, he could not afford to waste his limited time on a prolonged battle. Instead, he chose to help Asgard and Thor by removing all obstacles in their way—such as Kul.
"No! Odin! You cannot kill me! I admit your power at this moment is overwhelming. But if I were still the God-King of Asgard, I could crush this version of myself. Yet you cannot achieve that!" Kul's body began to crack layer by layer under Odin's full-powered assault. However, the core of his fear power remained unbroken. Defiantly, he roared at Odin.
Though this one-sided battle was far from what Kul desired, he understood that Odin was already at the end of his strength. If Kul could endure this final strike, Asgard would be his.
Even though the power Odin unleashed against Kul far exceeded what he used against Hela, he could not strip Kul of his claim to Asgard's throne.
For even if Kul were dethroned, he still held a higher claim to Asgard's lineage than Odin. Just as Odin could not erase his father Bor from the annals of Asgardian God-Kings, a former God-King of Asgard could not have their identity stripped away. When Odin overthrew Kul, he himself had to navigate many obstacles to claim the throne of Asgard.
"Fine! Odin! Since you've taken away my claim to Asgard's throne, I will make sure you pay! And I'll ensure all of Asgard suffers for it!" As Odin's full-powered attack caused Kul's core of fear power to tremble, Hela's furious roar erupted from the side.
At this point, Hela had been completely provoked. If before she still saw Asgard as her territory—indifferent to its people but deeply attached to the realm itself—now her mindset had shifted entirely.
Hela had once valued Asgard because it could continuously enhance her power, allowing her to reach greater heights. The people of Asgard mattered little to her; their loyalty was preferable but unnecessary. If they refused to submit, she would simply kill them and turn them into her undead servants, whom she trusted more than living Asgardians.
But now, with her claim to Asgard revoked, her feelings toward it shifted from wanting to claim it to desiring its utter destruction.
If she couldn't have it, she would destroy it. This was Hela's new resolve. Most importantly, she also wanted to ensure Odin's plans failed. If Odin wanted to kill Kul, she would help Kul. If Odin wanted Thor to ascend as Asgard's God-King, she would ensure Thor never took the throne.
With a buzzing sound, Hela's deathly power began to gather once more. She formed the Sword of Death and slashed it fiercely toward Odin.
"Stop!" Thor, witnessing this, shouted furiously. Though Thor had little ambition for the throne of Asgard and his feelings for Odin had grown distant over time, he could not stand by and watch Hela attack his father. Odin's efforts were paving the way for Thor's future.
With a swish, Thor acted decisively, hurling his Mjolnir toward the Sword of Death. This marked the first clash between the God of Thunder and the Goddess of Death, as two of Asgard's would-be heirs faced off on equal footing.
With a clang, Mjolnir and the Sword of Death collided. Despite being a manifestation of Hela's power rather than a true divine artifact, the Sword of Death did not falter in the clash. Both weapons were knocked back, returning to their respective wielders.
"Fine! If you want to interfere, I'll deal with you first! That old fool Odin wants you to be the God-King? I'll make sure that never happens!" Hela's eyes burned with fury as she roared at Thor. Her figure blurred, turning into a shadowy streak that appeared behind Thor, aiming a deadly strike at his back.
Thor, however, was no longer the reckless warrior he once was. His combat skills had grown immensely. As Hela appeared behind him, Mjolnir disassembled and reformed, blocking the Sword of Death and forcing Hela to retreat.
"So, it has such capabilities?" Hela frowned at the hammer's transformation. She had previously mocked Thor for wielding what appeared to be a broken weapon.
Yet now, it seemed that the fractured state of Mjolnir had only enhanced its versatility. In some ways, it was even stronger than before.
"Even so, it doesn't matter. You cannot defeat me!" Hela quickly regained her composure as her deathly power surged, her aura expanding once more.
Though her strength had been diminished by the loss of Asgard's blessings, her full power still posed a considerable threat. Her unrestrained energy shook the grand halls of Asgard's palace. Unlike Odin, who had restrained his destructive force in his final strike against Kul, Hela unleashed her power with the intent to destroy the palace, Asgard, and everything she once sought to claim.
But just as Hela's aura peaked, she suddenly felt a sharp pain in her chest. Looking down in shock, she found a dagger buried deep in her chest—without her noticing.
The one who struck her was none other than Frigga, who had been silently observing from the sidelines. Frigga's methods bore an uncanny resemblance to Loki's, for much of Loki's skillset—except his frost giant abilities—had been taught by Frigga.
Frigga's dagger was no ordinary weapon. It was imbued with divine power and enchanted with witchcraft, sealing Hela's wound and preventing her from healing.
Despite her injuries, Hela's fury remained unyielding. With a twisted grin, she unleashed a barrage of Death Swords, piercing Frigga in return. Frigga collapsed, gravely injured, yet her enchanted dagger remained lodged in Hela's chest, sealing her fate…
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