"Tell me," Hela said coldly as she turned to face the now-revealed Loki,
"you're a sorcerer—why are you trying to play at close-quarters assassination?"
Her gaze locked onto him, making Loki feel like a rabbit being stared down by a tiger.
This was no longer the Hela from the films—the one who had just escaped the underworld and charged straight into Asgard.
This was Hela who, while weakened, had endured and honed herself for two full months on the hell planet.
The Hela from the films, whether in emotional intelligence or combat awareness, hardly resembled a former vanguard general who once conquered the Nine Realms.
She had relied almost entirely on immortality, brute force, and overwhelming barrages of sharp constructs.
But the Hela standing here now was completely different.
And this was Asgard.
Her power surged without restraint.
With a single raised hand, Loki was lifted helplessly into the air.
"Loki!"
Seeing his brother captured, Thor roared and charged forward, hammer swinging wildly.
But Hela merely raised her hand again, freezing Thor in midair with invisible force.
"Odin," Hela scoffed as she looked at the two men suspended in the air,
"are these the sons you raised? How… disappointing."
Odin, still seated on the steps, narrowed his lone eye and spoke calmly:
"Have you had enough?"
"What did you say?"
Hela's eyes narrowed dangerously.
"I said—have you had enough!"
Odin suddenly rose to his feet and slammed Gungnir into the ground.
Boom!
The sound echoed through the great hall as an invisible pressure spread outward.
Thor and Loki both froze, their struggles halting instinctively.
"Enough?"
Hela showed no fear at all.
She stared straight into Odin's eyes and shouted,
"You imprisoned me alone in Hel for more than two thousand years!"
"How long do Asgardians even live—how many lifetimes did you take from me?"
"How long did you leave me in that lightless hell, without a single living soul?!"
Odin let out a long sigh.
"I only wanted you to calm down."
That sentence finally shattered Hela's restraint.
She lost all prior elegance, pointing at Odin as she screamed,
"What kind of father locks his own child away for an entire lifetime?!"
"And now you tell me you just wanted me to 'calm down'?"
"Are you even a father?!"
Odin took a deep breath.
"I was not a good father," he admitted.
"But I had to be a good king."
"Your obsession was too deep—too dangerous."
Hela laughed bitterly.
"I know why you gave up at the crucial moment. But you could have told me!"
"You chose silence instead—did you ever see me as your daughter? As Asgard's vanguard commander?"
"No! And you still claim you wanted to be a good king?"
"You couldn't even manage that!"
Odin fell silent.
"What's wrong?"
Hela laughed loudly.
"Nothing to say now?"
Even Thor and Loki seemed to understand something at last, falling quiet.
"So," Odin finally asked, his voice low,
"what is it that you want?"
"I've come to take back what belongs to me," Hela replied coldly.
"Fine," Odin said unexpectedly.
"You want the throne? I'll give it to you."
Hela tilted her head, momentarily confused.
"I'll give you the throne," Odin continued,
"but you must promise not to harm your brothers or the people of Asgard."
"Oh, I see now,"
Hela suddenly laughed.
"You know that once I return to Asgard, I'm effectively immortal. You know you can't defeat me."
"So, to prevent Asgard from being destroyed, you choose to surrender—so I won't slaughter everyone."
"Well done, King of Asgard."
"But I agree—because all of this is about to belong to me anyway."
With a casual flick of her hand, Thor and Loki were thrown aside and slammed onto the floor.
"You're afraid," Hela said suddenly, staring at Odin.
"Ragnarök," Odin replied quietly.
"Oh, that meaningless prophecy?"
Hela lifted her chin proudly.
"So what if Surtur comes?"
"He's no match for me. And with Lucas at my side, Ragnarök will never happen!"
Odin glanced at Lucas and nodded slowly.
"If Ragnarök does not occur, then you will be Asgard's savior. You are worthy of the throne."
Hearing this, Hela felt something was… off.
Wasn't this supposed to be different?
Wasn't Odin meant to resist to the end, forcing her to crush everyone and seize the throne through absolute dominance?
Yet—
The result was the same.
She still ascended the throne.
"You got what you wanted," Lucas said calmly from the side.
"Hmph."
Hela snorted softly.
Odin's eye flickered with a complex light.
He raised his hand and threw Gungnir toward Hela.
"Take it," he said.
"Be a good king."
Then he turned and walked toward the inner palace.
"In three days, I will leave the palace with Frigga."
"And… about your mother—my apologies."
After a few steps, Odin's lonely figure disappeared into the depths of the hall.
Thor and Loki exchanged a glance and immediately turned to follow him.
"Stop."
Hela's voice rang out as she stepped up to the throne, Gungnir in hand.
The two brothers froze in place.
"So," Hela said as she sat upon the throne,
"what's your choice? Will you swear loyalty—or…?"
Loki, ever the opportunist, immediately dropped to one knee.
"If Father has no objection, then I submit," he said smoothly.
Hela's gaze shifted to Thor.
"I heard Odin originally intended to pass the throne to you," she said with interest.
"How about a duel?"
Her mood was excellent—triumphant and radiant.
"I can't defeat you," Thor said firmly,
"but I won't submit either."
"At least let me see whether Asgard will truly become better under your rule."
After everything that had happened, Thor no longer craved the throne as he once had.
Compared to Odin, he still felt far from worthy.
But when it came to Hela—
He simply couldn't accept her so easily.
Hela saw through him at once.
Instead of striking him down, she smiled faintly.
"Very well. Whenever you figure it out, I'll welcome you."
"My little brother."
She was no longer the Hela of the films—
warped by millennia of isolation and madness.
She was now—
The Queen of Asgard.
_____
T/N:
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