At that moment, Odin suddenly said:
"The end is near. I can feel your mother calling me."
Thor, who had been grinning foolishly, froze.
He finally sensed that something wasn't right.
Why did Father look like he was about to die?
He quickly said:
"Loki has killed the Fire Giant! Ragnarök won't happen! He can't take over the throne of Asgard!"
But Odin shook his head.
"It's not it… it's her."
"I've been fighting your sister all my life. And now… she's returning."
Then he told them about the Goddess of Death—Hela.
Thor was shocked to learn he had a sister. Even more worrying, she'd probably kill him the moment she returned.
Was he really not adopted?
He didn't know how long Odin could hold on… Maybe Loki could reinforce the seal?
But before he could say more, he watched in stunned silence as Odin's body shimmered—then scattered into golden dust and vanished.
It happened so fast.
Russell patted Thor's shoulder comfortingly.
"It's okay. Think about it—though you lost a father, you gained a sister."
"Not a total loss."
Thor couldn't even force a laugh. His grief was mixed with anger.
"Don't mention her! If it weren't for the constant need to suppress her, my father would have lived longer!"
"I'll personally send her to the underworld and make sure she stays there forever!"
Russell shrugged and pointed behind him.
"Then maybe you should tell her that… in person."
The sky had darkened without them noticing.
Thor turned—and saw a dark green smudge appear in the once-clear air.
The space itself seemed to corrode, and a rift tore open, spreading rapidly.
From it, a woman emerged—her hair disheveled, her pale face emotionless, her battle armor torn and tattered.
"So… he's gone?"
Hela glanced around casually. She seemed to sense something and looked at the two of them with a tinge of regret.
"What a shame. I wanted to watch him die with my own eyes."
"That powerless look on his face… must've been delightful."
Thor's eyes burned with rage. He stepped forward and declared:
"Are you Hela?"
"I am Thor, son of Odin!"
Hela blinked in surprise.
"You? A bald, eyebrow-less eyesore?"
"What did Odin marry—a troll?"
"I'd say the one next to you has purer royal blood."
Thor scowled.
He hadn't seen her in over a thousand years, but she clearly couldn't recognize a Jotun if it slapped her.
"Hmph. What terrible taste. Looks like a thousand years sealed away rotted your brain."
Before he could continue, a cold voice cut him off.
"Kneel."
Hela raised a hand, and a blade of death energy formed in her palm.
Thor was about to roar in anger—but realized she wasn't talking to him.
She was talking to Loki.
She really thought Loki had the purer bloodline.
Thor was confused. And… somehow a little hurt.
He was Odin's son! He even had Mjolnir in his hand!
Shouldn't that count for something?
He began to wonder if maybe their father had overestimated Hela. Maybe her power had weakened during her long imprisonment.
Then Loki's voice rang out casually in his ear:
"Hela, Goddess of Death…"
"By the way, do you know what happened to the last person who said that to me?"
Russell smiled as he spoke.
Hela smirked.
"Well, since Odin just died, I'll allow you to keep talking."
Russell spread his hands.
"Not much to say. He's still rotting in an Asgard prison cell."
Thor blinked.
Wait, what? Who? When did that happen?
Hela raised an eyebrow.
"You think you can throw me in there?"
Russell smiled, baring his perfect teeth.
"No. I mean your fate will be worse."
Hela chuckled.
"You're confident. Just like I used to be."
"So I'll give you one last chance—kneel and swear your loyalty to me now, and I'll let you… and your useless brother live."
"Odin would be grateful, I'm sure."
Thor finally exploded.
"I don't think so!"
"Foolish woman—open your eyes and witness the TRUE GOD!"
BOOM!
Thunder roared in the sky, and Thor hurled Mjolnir with a roar.
The air howled as the hammer flew like a cannonball.
But Hela sneered—and simply raised her hand.
In the next instant, she caught Mjolnir with one hand.
Thor's eyes widened in disbelief.
"This… this is impossible…"
He muttered, stunned. He had never seen anyone catch Mjolnir.
Worse—he couldn't even summon it back!
Hela's eyes gleamed with cruel satisfaction.
"Aw, don't look so shocked, cutie. You really have no idea how far I've come."
Then she clenched her hand—ready to shatter the weapon that had once belonged to her.
But before she could—
"Sorry, can't let you break that."
Russell's voice rang out—and dozens of flaming blades rained down like a meteor shower!
BOOM BOOM BOOM!!
The earth shook violently as Hela's position was engulfed in flames and shockwaves.
A meteor shot out from the blast.
Thor, now gripping Mjolnir tightly, beamed and nodded to Loki.
"Well done, Loki… no, that was AMAZING!"
He genuinely felt that if it weren't for Loki, Mjolnir would've been destroyed.
Russell replied with a casual smile:
"Don't thank me. It's still useful… for now."
Thor laughed heartily and raised Mjolnir.
"Alright! Now it's my turn!"
In an instant, the sky darkened, and a thunderbolt as thick as a pillar crashed down, striking Hela's position!
A few seconds later, the dust settled.
The grassy terrain, once lush like a carpet, had been reduced to a scorched wasteland, with craters scattered everywhere.
The smile on Thor's face vanished.
He saw the Goddess of Death, Hela, still standing.
Not only was she completely unharmed, but her disheveled hair had transformed into a majestic antler-shaped black helmet. Even her tattered armor was now restored.
Thor's expression turned cautious. "Be careful, Loki! Her strength is returning!"
Russell (disguised as Loki) raised an eyebrow in surprise.
It seemed that even before reaching Asgard, Hela had already begun regaining her full power now that the seal was broken.
They didn't have much time.
He turned to Thor. "Attack. I'll support you."
"That's what I've been waiting for!"
Thor nodded firmly and leapt into the air. A blinding bolt of lightning erupted from his body and shot toward Hela!
Hela smirked in disdain. "So you're used to picking on the weak? How sloppy."
She took a single step to the side and effortlessly dodged Mjolnir's strike. At the same time, she spun her palm, conjuring a dagger forged from death energy, and thrust it straight at Thor's head!
Thor's pupils contracted. The momentum from the hammer left him unable to dodge.
He'd relied on Mjolnir too much—its borrowed strength was now a weakness.
At that moment, a golden sigil materialized in midair, transforming into a shield.
The death blade failed to pierce it!
"Well done, Loki!" Thor grinned, and swung Mjolnir upward to launch another attack!
But Hela remained unfazed.
To her, his attacks were weak—slow and predictable.
"Is that all you've got?" she said mockingly as she dodged again and struck at an impossible angle.
Clang!
The blade was blocked again.
And again.
Thor had never experienced battle like this—he didn't have to defend, only attack! But he failed to notice the growing mockery in Hela's eyes.
Another miss.
Thor didn't care. He twisted his body and prepared to swing Mjolnir again—completely ignoring the deadly blade aimed directly at his eye.
He assumed the shield would protect him.
Clang!
The shield did block the blade—but Thor couldn't celebrate.
Hela had grabbed his wrist—the one holding Mjolnir—and with a twist, redirected the hammer to shatter the shield herself. Simultaneously, her death blade pierced his left eye!
Thor screamed in agony as lightning burst from Mjolnir in every direction.
Hela stepped back to avoid the outburst.
As soon as the thunder subsided, she lunged forward and kicked Mjolnir out of Thor's hand.
Then she clenched her fist toward Russell, causing four obsidian spikes to erupt from the ground, surrounding and trapping him.
All four of Russell's defensive sigils flared to life, stopping the spikes—but he was locked in place.
Hela sneered and turned her attention back to Thor.
Thor was utterly defeated. He couldn't even touch her.
Wounds covered his body, and Hela made no effort to finish him off—she was toying with him like a cat with a mouse.
"Pathetic," she sneered. "How did Odin raise a son like you?"
"No power. No skill. No battle sense."
"Thor? More like God of Hammers."
"Without Mjolnir, you can't even summon thunder."
Blood covering his face, Thor screamed in rage. Sparks flickered across his fists.
But before he could strike, Hela kicked him into the side of an obsidian spike that held Russell.
Crash!
Thor coughed blood and collapsed in rubble.
Looking at Russell, he gasped, "Don't summon the Bifrost. Loki—run. Don't worry about me."
"Run? Run where?"
Hela hurled a death blade, pinning Thor to the ground. Then she looked at Russell with disdain.
"You've completely wasted this body's potential."
"Odin was an idiot to let you become a sorcerer."
Russell, holding up his Seraphim Shields, growled, "Then his words mean nothing to you?"
Hela scoffed. "They only make me pity him more."
She formed another blade and spoke coldly, "One last chance. Summon the Bifrost, and I might let you live."
"You know I'll return to Asgard either way—it'll just be messier."
Russell didn't answer. He only warned, "Look down on me, and you'll regret it."
Hela snarled, "Do you think I fear you? I love killing sorcerers. Your spells are flashy but useless. And when your magic runs out, you're weaker than foot soldiers."
Russell grinned. "Really?"
"Then look behind you."
Hela spun around—and saw Mjolnir flying toward her, crackling with lightning!
She instinctively reached to catch it—but it vanished into green light.
"An illusion?"
She narrowed her eyes. "Impressive. That was almost real."
She turned back—and saw Russell was gone.
But she didn't panic. Instead, she smiled.
"Still worthless. I've found you."
She thrust her hand to the side, and green light lit the air—Russell reappeared, seemingly shocked and unable to dodge.
Hela grinned triumphantly and prepared to kill him.
But when her hand struck—she touched nothing.
Another illusion.
She frowned.
She could swear the airflow had been disturbed—this shouldn't have been fake!
She didn't realize Russell had used psychokinesis to fake the disturbance.
Suddenly, the sky lit up.
A flaming holy sword, dozens of meters long, materialized in the sky—and came crashing down!
Hela didn't dodge. She wanted to show him what real power meant.
Black obsidian spikes burst from the earth, striking upward.
The two forces collided, shattering into burning fragments.
Hela grinned, spun around, and shouted, "Found you!"
Hundreds of death blades erupted from her hand, raining toward empty space!
Russell appeared—just in time to raise a shield.
Hela leapt behind him and mocked, "Sorcerer—gotcha."
But then, a voice replied from in front of her:
"No... you're the one who got caught."
She saw green light shimmer on Russell's chest—and realized he could control the shield without using his hands.
Then he punched her.
Hela punched back—confident that one strike would destroy him.
She believed no magician could survive a direct hit.
But what she didn't expect... was that the punch crushed her arm like dead wood.
Then Russell's fist smashed into her chest.
Boom!
A sonic boom exploded from the impact. Hela spat blood and flew backward over a hundred meters.
Thor stood frozen in disbelief, unable to process what he just saw.
His brain simply couldn't handle it.
Russell didn't follow up.
He just watched Hela struggle to rise, smiling calmly.
"I warned you—you underestimate me, you suffer."
"Even with your divine body, most of your bones are broken now."
Ordinarily, he wouldn't have been able to injure Hela so badly.
But because she was overconfident and didn't defend with her full divine power—this was the result.
Torturing Thor made her cocky.
Now she was coughing blood—just like Thor had earlier.
She glared at Russell, gritting her teeth.
"I haven't lost!"
"I'm the Goddess of Death! You're just a powerless Asgardian!"
"You can't kill me!"
Russell raised an eyebrow.
"Really? You sure about that?"
He opened his palm and pointed in a specific direction.
Thor, still dazed, finally came to his senses.
This man wasn't Loki.
He was far more powerful.
Just as Thor opened his mouth to speak, his eyes widened.
Because the direction Russell was pointing at...
...was where Mjolnir had been thrown.
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