Hela raised both arms high. The entire Asgardian palace shook violently. Countless pitch-black, lethal swords erupted frantically from the walls, the ground, the statues, and the ruins of the throne. They all pointed dead at Odin, who was already at the end of his rope.
Odin's single eye darkened. "Hela!"
Hela's movements didn't pause for a second. "Father. It is time you paid your blood debt."
Thor struggled up from the ground, desperately reaching out to summon Mjolnir. The hammer was only halfway there. Hela's icy gaze abruptly fell upon the hammer.
She suddenly changed her target. She understood Thor perfectly now. This cowardly brother had yet to break free from the hammer's chains. Then she would completely destroy it first.
Hela reached out and grasped the air. A massive crown-like black blade plummeted from the sky, carrying an aura of absolute ruin as it cleaved straight toward the flying Mjolnir.
Thor's face went deathly pale. "No!"
Odin's pupil shrank violently. In that moment, he made the most agonizing choice. Gungnir jerked out of the ground. The golden divine power instantly vanished from above the rift.
Freed from suppression, thousands of undead howled as they scrambled out of the Underworld rift. The iron hooves of the Berserkers mercilessly trampled the plaza once again. Frigga's magical barrier shook violently under the impact, on the verge of collapse.
Odin raised his spear, fighting desperately to intercept Hela. But the distance was simply too great. Thor was also too far away to help. Mjolnir let out a piercing crack in mid-air.
Thor froze as if struck by lightning. His mind went completely blank. If the hammer shattered... was he still the invincible God of Thunder?
In the split second before the apocalyptic black blade struck, a dragon claw wrapped in dark red Haki and thick blood thrust out boldly from an angle. Relying purely on brute strength, Kaido grabbed the hammer's handle in a death grip.
The unimaginably sharp black blade slashed brutally into his dragon claw. Hard scales shattered inch by inch. The finger bones let out a sickening crack. Kaido's mouth was filled with the metallic taste of blood, but without hesitation, he hurled Mjolnir forcefully toward the stunned Thor.
"Stop spacing out, Thunder brat! Grip this broken hammer of yours tight, then get your ass over here and keep fighting!"
Mjolnir flew toward Thor. Thor reached out his hand. He wanted to catch the hammer that had accompanied him on his conquests across the Nine Realms.
But Hela's crown-like black blade was faster. The black blade cleaved down.
Clang!
The sound wasn't loud. But it made the entire Asgardian plaza pause a beat. Cracks exploded across Mjolnir's surface, and silver-gray fragments burst outward from the hammer's body.
Thor's pupils shrank, his fingers still locked in a grasping posture. He caught nothing but a handful of flying iron shards. The shards cut his palm, falling to the ground mixed with his blood.
"No..." Thor's voice was very soft. So soft he could barely hear it himself.
Mjolnir was shattered. This divine hammer, blessed by Odin, the weapon that carried all his glory, simply splintered into pieces right before his eyes.
Thor's mind was empty for a long time. He didn't want to admit it. He didn't dare to admit it. Without the hammer, could he still fly? Without the hammer, could he still summon thunder? Without the hammer, was he still Thor, the God of Thunder?
Hela walked forward, stepping over the broken hammer. Her sole crushed a fragment of the hammer, producing a harsh grating sound.
"Do you see now, my dear brother?" Hela mocked.
Hela, Asgardian Goddess of Death, Odin's firstborn, the executioner who had conquered the Nine Realms for Asgard. She had no bounty. Because in this universe, there were too few people capable of judging her.
She raised her hand, and a slender black blade grew from her palm. "Without your toy, what do you have left?"
Thor looked up at her. His lips moved, but no words came out.
Hela smiled. That laugh made Frigga's face turn pale.
In the next second, the black blade swept horizontally. Thor raised his arms to block. But his movements were slow, and his strength was in disarray. The black blade whipped across his chest, shattering his armor and sending him flying backward to crash heavily in front of the evacuation tunnel.
Rubble flew everywhere. Several Asgardian children burst into terrified tears.
Frigga maintained the magical barrier. Her fingers trembled, but she didn't withdraw it. There were civilians behind her. She couldn't step back.
Odin wanted to rush over. But he had already released his hold on the Underworld rift once. The Berserker undead were pouring out, their iron armor scraping the ground, their spears thrusting at the living. If he left, Asgard would be swallowed whole by these dead soldiers of the past.
Odin, the All-Father, ruler of the Nine Realms. In his youth, he had conquered countless nations, but now he was shackled by his own history. For the first time, he felt the title of All-Father was so heavy it suffocated him.
"Thor!" Frigga cried out.
Thor lay in the rubble, his ears ringing. He saw his mother. He saw the crying civilians behind her. He also saw the fragments of Mjolnir scattered on the ground. He wanted to stand up. But his legs felt like lead.
A voice in his heart asked him: The hammer is gone, what's the use of standing up?
Boom!
A massive figure crashed down from the sky. Kaido landed. He reverted from his Demon Dragon Form back to his Hybrid Form, his height still resembling a solid wall. His dragon scales were shattered, and several black blade fragments were embedded in his chest and shoulders. That dragon tail dragged along the ground, leaving a trail of blood.
Kaido of the Beasts, Governor-General of the Beasts Pirates, former Yonko, bounty 4,611,100,000 Beri. Now a security guard at the Foosha Village tavern, Employee No. 007.
He looked down at Thor paralyzed on the ground, his face full of disgust. "Hey."
Thor didn't respond. Kaido raised his foot and kicked him hard in the chest.
Thud!
Thor rolled half a circle on the ground and spat out a mouthful of blood.
Frigga's expression changed. "Stop it!"
Kaido didn't even look at her. He delivered another kick, sending Thor back into the rubble. "Done crying yet?"
Thor was furious. Propping himself up on his arms, blood at the corner of his mouth, his eyes filled with turmoil. "What do you know?! Do you know what I've lost?!"
Kaido grabbed his red cape, hauling him up from the ground by brute force. Thor's feet dangled off the ground like a suspended prey. Kaido leaned in, breathing the stench of blood right into his face.
"I don't know sh*t!" Kaido roared. "All I know is, the hammer is broken, but your hands are still there! Your teeth are still there! Your bones aren't completely broken! That means you can still fight!"
Thor punched Kaido in the face. Kaido's head jerked to the side, and a nosebleed trailed down. Instead of getting angry, he grinned.
"Not bad. You've got some kick. Too bad your fist is softer than Luffy's when he was a kid."
Roaring, Thor swung again. Kaido backhanded him across the face.
Smack!
Thor crashed to the ground, half his face numb. Kaido shouldered his broken kanabo and looked down at him.
"You think you're the only one in the world who's lost something? I've had my horns broken! My bones broken! Beaten like trash by that white lizard Frieza, ribs ripped out of me alive! So what?!"
Kaido pointed a finger at Hela. "I'm still standing right here! What about you? Lost a broken hammer, so you just lie there waiting for your mommy and daddy to save you?"
Thor rested his hands on the ground, his jaw clenched tight. He wanted to argue back. But the words wouldn't come out. Because Kaido had hit on exactly what he feared most. He was terrified he wasn't worthy of being Thor. Terrified that all his past glory was only because Mjolnir had chosen him.
Hela watched the scene, the mockery on her face deepening. "Fascinating. A beast is teaching Odin's son how to be a god."
She waved her hand. More black blades drilled out of the ground, stabbing toward the evacuation tunnel. Frigga hurriedly reinforced the barrier. But the Berserker undead had bypassed the front, lunging at the crowd from the sides. Heimdall slashed down an undead, but a dozen more were right behind it. Thor's royal guards formed a perimeter around the children and retreated, their formation starting to break.
A little girl tripped and fell to the ground. She looked up and saw an undead spear thrusting down, so terrified her crying choked off.
Frigga wanted to save her. But the distance was too great. Odin wanted to move. But another wave of Berserkers poured out of the rift, pinning his spear down.
Thor saw it. He also saw that the child was wearing the blue cloak of a common Asgardian. Small. Ordinary. Not a warrior. Not a noble. Just a child who believed the God of Thunder would protect her.
The undead's spear plunged downward.
Thor's body moved before his brain did. He had no hammer. No flight trajectory. He just ran in the most primitive way possible. Sharp stones cut the soles of his feet. His chest hurt so much he wanted to vomit.
But he made it in time.
Thor raised both hands and grabbed the descending black blade barehanded.
Squelch!
His palms were sliced open. Black death energy drilled into his arms through the wounds. A low, beastly growl tore from Thor's throat.
The undead knight pressed the blade down, intending to cleave him and the child in half together. Thor's arms began to tremble. He saw the little girl looking up at him.
Crying, she called out, "Lord Thor..."
Something struck Thor hard in the heart. Not for glory. Not for the throne. Not even for Odin's approval. But because of this voice. Someone was terrified. Someone was waiting for him to stand up.
Thor raised his head, the lightning in his eyes detonating with a resounding boom.
----
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