Hel, true to her name, holds considerable power among the Lords of Hell. Even with the undying advantage, she has ways to struggle, despite being completely outmatched in strength by the symbiote.
Hamill has blocked most of her Dark Magic, but some unique magic from the Netherworld that grants her abilities that cannot be obstructed or defended against while they are within this Hell.
This is why Su Ming chose to go himself; among everyone, only his self-healing ability is best suited to act as a meat shield, although it's not as extreme as his little cousin's, who can grow a head from a drop of blood...
But Su Ming has stronger defense and the help of the symbiote, making him the fastest at self-healing.
Just as Su Ming and Hel became like conjoined twins fixed together, the ground beneath them suddenly rose up, a massive Black Stone peak propelling them into the sky.
The roaring wind swept past their ears, piercing through layers of clouds, yet Hel's gaze unsettles as it returned to calmness.
She and Su Ming faced each other, with a unique scent faintly assaulting Su Ming.
It is the smell of the Death Spore Flower, a sweet poison.
The ground seemed ever smaller to them, with only endless void above, as the column-like mountain seemed always to grow, possibly sending them into endless darkness.
"Is it meaningful?" Su Ming asked lightly, despite Hel's hand manipulating the black spikes, continuously reshaping and damaging his internal organs.
But as swiftly as damage occurred, the next second, strangulation would repair it.
Aside from causing excruciating pain, this act would merely increase Deathstroke's thirst for death.
"Only the living care about whether something has meaning. To me, amidst the long death, nothing has meaning," Hel answered calmly, her hand perpetually driving the black spikes through Su Ming's back.
At this moment, she appeared not nearly as agitated as before.
Is it a facade?
"You've brought me to such a secluded place, intending a private conversation? Then you'd better hurry; my patience is quite limited," Su Ming said, grabbing Hel's hand and forcibly separating it from his chest.
Hel instantly aimed the black spikes at his eyes, Su Ming tilted his head, and the weapon sliced through the mask and his forehead, striking the X Metal Skull, shedding a stream of green sparks.
He commanded the symbiote to continue restraining Hel's movements and freed his hand to slap Hel, sending her careening backward, her helm, spike-like, flying off into the distance.
"You're enticing me to kill you, interesting... relying on Hell's undying laws, or hoping Odin might rescue you?"
Su Ming looked at Hel, whose mouth bled black blood, and flicked her face as the Magic Floating Cloak participated, binding Hel's hands behind her back.
Hel didn't respond; she merely glared at Deathstroke's black-and-yellow mask, and as her long hair whipped in the wind, she shattered her own arm, pulling the boneless limb free from the cloak's restraint to escape the confinement.
If she lacked self-healing ability, how could she stand amongst other Lords of Hell?
Self-healing, rapid regeneration, and undying attributes – at least one of these is essential. Otherwise, others can still jump around after disembowelment, while you suffer grave injuries from a heart-piercing sword – what then?
Hel's self-healing ability comes from her Energy Manipulation, injecting Netherworld energy into herself, altering body density, enabling rapid regeneration.
If Hamill hadn't blocked more of her casting ability, she could even use Astral Projection, Dimensional Travel, and such advanced magic, and with preparation, perform Time Travel.
She could open a temporal wormhole and toss others inside, sending them hundreds of thousands of years into the past or future, without accompanying them.
This is a very vexing ability, more troublesome than Kama Taiji's ancestral free-fall initiation.
However, the temporary spell block doesn't last long, which is why Su Ming declared his lack of patience, because the more time that passes, the more it would favor Hel.
She doesn't need bones; using Netherworld energy, she controls herself like a string puppet.
Su Ming sighed, realizing that to handle this crazy woman, he has to reveal some of his cards.
"Strangulation."
The thought passed through his mind, and the pitch-black symbiote immediately grasped his intent. It didn't need to know the host's specific purpose, but simply act upon it.
Its tendrils serpentined onto Hel's back, the cold, alien sensation making it hard for Hel to stay unfocused. Her secret is indeed at her back.
But why does Deathstroke know?
She countered to attack Strangulation, yet a soft-bodied creature cannot be severed; cutting off one tendril brings forth another, infinitely.
Magic proved equally ineffective, irrespective of the Netherworld spell cast, the cloak acted like a frisbee-catching dog, constantly positioned between Hel and the symbiote.
Meanwhile, Su Ming continued to buy time for action, his body erupting with dense silver spikes impaling Hel with holes, dyeing both in black and red blood.
He held Hel tightly in his embrace, both transformed into blood personifications.
Black was Hel's blood, red was Su Ming's own, a showdown of self-healing abilities.
As the Black Stone beneath them continued rapid expansion, strong winds whisked away the blood, perhaps somewhere on the ground would behold a blood rain, with black flowers blooming more vibrantly.
The battle didn't last long; Hel was still defeated in the siege. The strangling tentacles tore off her green cloak, and Hel collapsed onto the ground.
This is Hel's biggest weakness, an external object.
In an instant, the Hel who had wanted to fight to the end just now, immediately fell weakly to the ground. The black stone pillar supporting both of them below also began to crumble rapidly.
"You... how did you know?"
She could barely speak, let alone move. She lay on the ground, her white fingers grasping the edge of the rock, pulling her body closer to Su Ming.
But after getting what he wanted, Su Ming slipped away. He distanced himself from Hel, with the strangulation swinging the green cloak on the side, like a tree growing from Deathstroke's shoulder.
As for how Su Ming knew this secret of Hel, it's just like how he knew Hel's real name was Leia, something he'd seen before.
There are very few secrets in this world for Su Ming; he only needs to compare the reality with the information in his mind and judge if it's applicable.
Pulling off Hel's cloak was a move with little cost, so why not try it?
Su Ming reached out and touched the green cloak, as if it still carried Hel's scent. He didn't sniff it like a pervert, merely intending to judge the material of the cloak.
This cloak, like the Magic Floating Cloak, is very mysterious. Its material is unknown, its specific origin is unknown, only that when Leia arrived in the Netherworld, this cloak was already on her.
It's a part of her.
When wearing her cloak, Hel's body bursts with vitality and health. However, deprived of her cloak, Hel reverts to her true form.
The right side of her body is alive, while the left side is deathly and decaying.
She is a composite monster created by Loki of the future, composed of flesh, spells, secret techniques, and stories, with the cloak being the final component—a lie that conceals the truth.
Once the disguise is removed and the truth revealed, the riddle is no longer a riddle, and her essence is exposed.
A paradoxical creature, half-dead and half-alive, with life force and death force continuously clashing within her.
In such a state, her remaining strength isn't even enough to maintain any action; she cannot stand or sit up, nor can she project mysterious black bolts or command the forces of the Netherworld.
Unless she retrieves her cloak, hiding everything from the world's gaze once more.
"Is this Loki's cloak? The taste is very similar... and it's also the contingency he left on you."
Just like how programmers leave back doors in their programs, sometimes for future upgrades, sometimes to prevent clients from discarding them once use is complete. Leaving contingencies in their creations is normal.
Even in the legends, a cat wouldn't teach the tiger to climb trees. Loki leaving a trick when shaping Leia is as natural as eating and drinking for an evil god.
After all, Hel's concept is conferred by the future Loki, who knows well the terrifying power she possesses. If unchecked, the future Loki might find himself at Hel's mercy.
So he took off his cloak, completing this story and left a back door.
When Hel's truth is exposed, she loses all her powers. Leia isn't Hel; only Leia, with Loki's cloak, is the truly complete Netherworld Goddess.
As to where this special cloak originated from or whether it was made by Frigga for Loki, only he himself might know.
But now, with this program's back door known to Deathstroke... He could easily counter Hel just by sending Ciri, a flash teleport followed by a gentle tug would suffice.
A girl slightly stronger than neighborhood level could suppress a Celestial Father level Hel, doesn't that sound incredible? But that's the power of intelligence and strategy.
Of course, if this intelligence was shared with Batman, he could achieve it too, and even ordinary people like Iron Man or Star-Lord could do it.
However, if it were someone like Steve, a superhuman... well, only a 50% chance of success...
In comic history, any covert actions by Captain America are inevitably exposed, forced into direct confrontation due to being discovered by enemies for various reasons, resulting in an even battle.
Besides him, there's Wolverine, who turns all actions into assaults, the Hulk, who shakes the ground when moving, Daredevil living in his own darkness thinking others are blind too, Iron Fist who learns martial arts but forgets lightweight skill, and so on.
If these people are part of a covert operation, expect exposure. Sometimes superpower users are not as useful as ordinary people.
On the contrary, fewer villains in the camp have exhibitionist tendencies, with each one maxing out their stealth skills, especially the Hand Union, where each leader is like a mole.
Choosing the right person for the task is fundamental to strategy.
Originally, Su Ming didn't intend to use this intelligence on Hel yet, but the drawback of delay was greater. Exposing the knowledge he possessed was the only option.
Continually weighing decisions based on circumstances is fundamental to strategy.
He casually stuffed her cloak into his small silk bag, then grabbed Hel's neck and slung her over his shoulder like a sack, leaping down from the swiftly crumbling stone spire.
During their entanglement, they had ascended too high, now the entire Netherworld below just seemed like a small pitch-black spot.