Boom!
Ares had no strength left to dodge.
Nor could he defend himself.
The previous transformation had nearly exhausted all the energy remaining in his body.
As Stormbreaker descended toward him amid blazing golden lightning, despair filled his heart.
At that moment, his hatred for Mephisto reached an unprecedented level.
The devil had promised him power.
What he received instead was a trap.
Unfortunately, Ares would never have the chance to seek revenge.
Mephisto had already been dealt with by Karl long ago.
And now Ares himself was about to die beneath Thor's axe.
Perhaps one day, somewhere beyond death, they would meet again.
...
Ares slowly closed his eyes.
Boom!
Stormbreaker cleaved downward.
The body of the God of War was instantly split apart.
Yet strangely, there was no blood.
No corpse.
No remains.
The overwhelming lightning and divine power contained within Stormbreaker completely annihilated everything.
Ares vanished from existence.
Nothing remained.
...
At the exact moment Ares died—
Zeus moved.
The King of Olympus had been waiting for an opportunity all along.
While everyone focused on the battle, he secretly activated a contingency plan.
Using his own soul as a medium, Zeus temporarily opened a hidden dimensional pathway.
Through that passage, he attempted to send away one of his youngest sons.
A final spark for Olympus.
A final survivor.
As for who the child's mother was—
Even Zeus himself might not remember.
Over countless centuries, the ruler of Olympus had fathered an absurd number of demigods and divine descendants throughout the mortal world.
...
For a brief moment, Zeus believed he had succeeded.
Then Vastness' voice sounded within Karl's mind.
Karl immediately understood everything.
He had expected Zeus to make preparations.
But even he hadn't anticipated such a desperate attempt.
...
Unfortunately for Zeus, the plan had failed before it even began.
The son never truly left Asgard.
What Zeus saw was merely a simulated illusion created by Vastness.
A false escape route.
A fabricated outside world.
Because Zeus feared Karl would discover his actions, he hadn't carefully verified the destination.
As a result, his son had unknowingly entered a sealed dimensional prison.
At that moment, the unfortunate child was already locked inside one of Vastness' isolated containment spaces.
...
Meanwhile, Thor strode back toward Karl's group.
Stormbreaker rested on his shoulder.
Mjolnir floated beside him.
His expression resembled that of a victorious general returning from war.
Tony rolled his eyes.
Karl did exactly the same.
Only Frigga immediately stepped forward.
Ignoring Thor's triumphant expression, she grabbed him and began checking for injuries.
Thor instantly looked helpless.
Yet he obediently allowed it.
...
Karl watched the scene with a faint smile before turning toward the remaining participants.
His gaze swept across Ganata, Yan, the Black Phoenix, and Hela.
"The final match."
"Who wants it?"
His voice was calm.
This battle would be different.
A true Single-Universe-level confrontation.
Only they were qualified to participate.
Karl himself had no intention of entering.
At least not yet.
There was something else occupying his thoughts.
...
Before anyone else could speak, Hela stepped forward.
"I'll do it."
Everyone looked toward her.
Hela glanced briefly at Asgard.
Then she spoke softly.
"This is my home."
The simple statement immediately silenced everyone.
No one could refute it.
Regardless of everything that had happened—
Asgard remained Hela's birthplace.
...
Frigga looked surprised.
Thor looked surprised.
Even Loki blinked several times.
For many years, Hela had maintained distance from Asgard.
She had never shown much attachment toward the realm.
Yet now she was choosing to fight for it.
...
Karl smiled.
"Alright."
He pulled Hela onto his lap.
"If you can win, then win."
"If you can't, I'm here."
Hela nodded.
For perhaps the first time in a very long while, a trace of embarrassment appeared on her face.
Frigga was still present.
No matter how many thousands of years Hela had lived, being held by Karl in front of her mother remained somewhat awkward.
...
Click.
A small magical formation appeared above Karl's palm.
The next second, reality itself began to distort.
Space folded.
Dimensions shifted.
The surrounding environment inverted.
Soon, everyone found themselves inside the Mirror Dimension.
Karl had no intention of allowing two Single-Universe-level beings to fight inside the real Asgard.
Even if Asgard was extraordinarily durable, it would not survive such a battle intact.
The Mirror Dimension was a far safer battlefield.
...
Zeus' expression became even more serious.
He had not sensed Karl activating any power.
The transition occurred so naturally that it felt effortless.
That realization alone was alarming.
...
Karl's attention briefly shifted toward the Olympian camp.
However, he wasn't looking at Zeus.
Instead, his gaze swept across Hera and the remaining Olympian gods.
A thoughtful expression appeared in his eyes.
...
Hela rose from Karl's embrace.
She stepped forward.
Each step carried her dozens of meters through space.
Soon, she stood alone upon the battlefield.
...
Across from her, Zeus sighed.
The moment had finally arrived.
The battle he had been dreading.
...
The King of Olympus vanished from his throne.
A flash of golden light crossed the battlefield.
When he reappeared, he stood opposite Hela.
The King of the Dead.
The King of Olympus.
Two Single-Universe-level beings faced each other.
...
Neither wasted words.
Both attacked simultaneously.
Boom!
The collision shattered entire sections of the Mirror Dimension.
Space fractured like glass.
Yet Karl's magic instantly restored the damaged regions.
The battlefield stabilized once more.
...
Golden lightning.
Black death energy.
The two powers exploded across the dimension.
Soon, Zeus and Hela became two streaks of light.
One gold.
One black.
They collided repeatedly.
To everyone below the Single-Universe level, the battle was almost impossible to follow.
Only flashes of light could be seen.
Only Karl, Yan, Ganata, the Black Phoenix, and a few others could clearly observe every exchange.
...
At present, Hela appeared to hold the advantage.
Her attacks continuously pressured Zeus.
Yet none of the truly powerful observers underestimated him.
Because Zeus had not revealed his full strength.
Not yet.
...
A massive divine shield appeared in his hand.
The Aegis-like artifact blocked every wave of death energy Hela unleashed.
Meanwhile, Zeus carefully observed her.
Analyzing.
Calculating.
Searching for weakness.
If he could capture Hela—
Even briefly—
Then perhaps he could use her against Karl.
The probability was low.
Extremely low.
But Zeus had no other options.
...
Hela quickly realized the problem.
Her current attacks weren't inflicting meaningful damage.
Her expression became more serious.
Then she stopped attacking.
...
Whoosh!
Hela floated high above the battlefield.
She brought her hands together before her chest.
Slowly—
She pulled them apart.
Darkness emerged between her palms.
A sword.
A jet-black sword.
...
The blade appeared inch by inch.
The instant it manifested, an overwhelming aura of death swept across the battlefield.
Countless wailing spirits seemed to swirl around it.
Even the surrounding space dimmed.
...
This was Hela's true weapon.
A sword she had nurtured with death energy for countless years.
Long ago, she had intended to use it against Odin himself.
To pierce the All-Father's heart.
Unfortunately for her, Odin had died before that day ever came.
The sword never fulfilled its original purpose.
...
After joining Karl, the weapon continued evolving.
It absorbed greater quantities of death energy.
Its connection to Hela deepened.
When Hela advanced to the Single-Universe level, the sword advanced alongside her.
Now, with the blade in her hand, her combat power rose dramatically.
...
For the first time, Zeus' expression changed.
As the ruler of Olympus, his eyesight was naturally exceptional.
He immediately recognized the danger.
This was no ordinary divine weapon.
It was a top-tier artifact capable of threatening even him.
...
Without hesitation, Zeus adjusted his stance.
The divine shield moved into his left hand.
Golden lightning exploded around his body.
Then another artifact appeared.
A divine thunderbolt manifested within his right hand.
The supreme weapon of the King of Olympus.
The Thunderbolt.
...
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