The sun extinguished once more, and Hel, watching Loki and Deadpool wrestle under the World Tree, suddenly paused because she had just received news of a declaration of war, delivered through a special channel in Hell.
Helheim Netherworld has a unique attribute, a concept that is half Hell, half Underworld, and she herself is in a half-dead, half-alive state, both a Lord of Hell and a Death God.
But now the problem is, she knows the Hell that declared war, but the Lord of Hell who declared war on her is a complete stranger.
Who is Secret Guest?
Even though she thought through all the demon lineages, she still had no clue; this person seemed to have appeared out of nowhere.
But looking again at Loki, teetering on the edge of madness, she refrained from asking the question, since war had already been declared, facing it head-on was the only option.
Even if half of the Netherworld's undead have now turned into plush toys, the kind with life, she still possesses hundreds of billions of undead beneath the black earth.
As she was about to speak, a sudden loud boom came, and on the distant horizon, a mushroom cloud slowly rose, the dense black smoke mixed with yellow flames, resembling a large smiling face.
At this moment, Loki had been turned into a fish by Deadpool, floundering on the ground, likely unable to provide any valuable advice.
"I'll go take a look; you'd better quickly deal with that Joker over there."
Hel tossed down those words and transformed into black smoke, disappearing.
Loki glanced in the direction Hel left. He clearly knew it was a trap; after all, he was only aiming at Deadpool, but the opponent's Deathstroke continued to act normally.
He knew full well the chaos that the man could cause.
But he also knew that Hel was in no mortal danger, because even he himself continued to receive Odin's care.
Still, it's for the best; the future has changed, though whether it's for better or worse is unknown...
Loki's goal had been achieved, although the process wasn't quite as he imagined. Nonetheless, as a dying man, fighting Deadpool was quite interesting, a final entertainment of sorts.
Thus, he gritted, no, more accurately, his fish lips, and turned Deadpool into a red and black snail far away.
.............
When black smoke danced in the air, forming a pale figure upon landing, Su Ming naturally noticed.
At the moment, they were silently preparing amidst the ruins.
Hel didn't come alone; she brought along an army of undead, having brought out all of Netherworld's resources to face the invasion of other Lords of Hell.
Sure enough, on the ruins of the royal palace, Hel saw an unfamiliar woman.
Her hands rested on a great sword as she gazed into the distance, countless tentacled monsters surrounding her and uttering shrill, cacophonous cries. The sound was so piercing that anyone hearing it would lose consciousness, falling into a maddening dream.
The black ruins stood silently, shrouded in purple mist obscuring most of the view, as if in every corner of the ruins, unnamed monsters were slowly creeping up.
Blond woman clad in half black armor and a black-haired woman dressed in an ink-green dress, both waiting for the battle to commence.
Hel recognized these creatures, special demons at the Hell Borders, akin to how Mephisto's Hell Demons were always horned monsters, easily recognized given Mephisto resembles a goat.
Tentacles and alien forms represent the Hell Borders.
Hel tugged at her long skirt; she saw no other humans, only the silent woman before her, back turned.
A wind from nowhere lifted Secret Guest's hair, revealing one side of her young face, leaving Hel surprised at her youth.
Demon Lords also place value on accumulation, often finding the longer-standing ones stronger. So, what has emboldened a new lord to challenge the Netherworld?
"Are you Secret Guest?"
Hel's voice echoed through the ruins, where once a grand palace only remnants remained, sturdy Black Stone structures seemingly twisted by a powerful force, haphazardly thrown upon the ground.
Yet the woman standing atop the ruins did not answer; she seemingly remained entranced by the Netherworld sunrise.
Due to Deadpool and Loki's struggle, the sun had risen and set countless times, like flipping a light switch on and off in a room.
Hel almost never communicated with the outside world, staying locked within Nine Realms' small circle, waiting for Loki to awaken.
Thus, being completely ignored by Secret Guest made Hel restless; her slender fingers clutched tightly within her palm, eyes shrouded in black mist squinting into slits.
Slowly raising her hands from either side of her body, dense black smoke flowed like liquid from her palms, she began amplifying her army.
Restore decayed flesh, heal cracked bones, the dark power would strengthen them, securing her victory.
Meanwhile, the opponent's army made no preparations, chaotic tentacle monsters attacked Hel by rolling or writhing.
The armies tangled entirely, the cracking of shattered bones and piercing screams drowned out everything around.
Yet Secret Guest stood silently on the ruins, not even glancing at Hel.
Such an arrogant attitude thoroughly angered Hel; from beneath her feet surged mountain-like black spikes, and in her hand she wielded a sharp black thorn as a weapon, riding the rock formation towards Secret Guest.
Her weapon was the Netherworld, these black energy polymers merged with plentiful negative energy, capable of wounding any Lord of Hell and deity.
Unexpectedly, once more a surprising outcome occurred as Secret Guest remained motionless, directly being stabbed through the back by Hel.
Not only Hel's weapon but also her hand holding the black thorn became trapped inside the opponent's back.
No, precisely speaking, the opponent's back suddenly expanded, enclosing her hand within.
"Got you."
Secret Guest spoke, a raspy male voice.
Black and yellow armor began spreading over Secret Guest's body; previously thought of as the back, was actually the front.
Hence, when aiming Secret Guest's left rear chest, Hel merely pierced Su Ming's right lung, these wounds insignificant to Deathstroke.
Though indeed painful, such cold weapon wounds were a minor issue to him, though the death energy was slightly corrosive, magic would soon remedy it.
During Hel's attack, Strangulation already captured her; compared to the symbiote with a strong host's strength, Hel was no match.
Hamill's hand emerged from the rubble below, a series of pre-prepared spells suppressed Hel's magical efforts entirely.
"You're Deathstroke."
"Certainly, surprise? By the way, you and your pet dog fell into the same trap, sometimes what you see really isn't the truth."
Through Strangulation's disguise as Secret Guest, there were ample flaws, including a height discrepancy of nearly twenty centimeters and mismatched sword color.
But these were intelligence Hel wasn't privy to, nor detailed in Loki's lore, so merely pretending to be even prouder than the arrogant Hel, she would lose patience exploring and strike first.
Future Loki likely approached her with neither affection nor tenderness, but immediately assigned her tasks, her inner dissatisfaction flaring with Loki and Deadpool's ongoing tussle.
Due to the increasing revelations by Loki, Hel would discover increasingly unfamiliar matters.
They have been apart too long, not days or months but vast spans of millennia, stranger and suspicion remain fundamentally inherent.
During separation, what unknown things might each have done? The more pondered, the more wrong it seems, introducing psychological pressure.
Especially considering it's Loki, she wasn't even sure if this Loki is the same one she once played with, so many Lokis, yet he can't prove himself.
Thus, with Su Ming slightly pushing a few buttons, Hel's anxiety exploded; carrying doubts, her actions inevitably turn rash.
Blowing up Royal City and declaring war from Hell, like boring a tiny hole in the dam of sanity, which, when the need arises, will become the cause of destruction.