In the bedchamber.
Thor sat beside Frigga as Lin Huai had instructed, vividly recounting embarrassing stories from his childhood.
"Mother, do you remember? When I was about five hundred years old, the first time I went to Vanaheim with Father, to show off my bravery, I snuck off alone to tackle a Giant Sea Dragon there. I ended up being swatted away by its tail and hung on a branch of the World Tree. It was you who found me crying."
"Of course I remember." Frigga's face was full of a loving smile as she gently stroked Thor's golden hair. "My child, you have been the bravest since you were little."
Her reply was flawless; every expression was just right.
Thor chuckled sheepishly and then threw out the next question, which was the core of Lin Huai's plan.
"Then what other embarrassing things are there that I don't even remember myself?" Thor scratched his head and asked with curiosity, "Tell me quickly, I want to hear."
The smile on Frigga's face stiffened for a moment.
Those trivial and unique memories buried in time, known only to a true Mother and son, were impossible to investigate or imitate.
Her gaze shifted slightly, but she quickly covered it with even deeper maternal love. She didn't answer the question but skillfully changed the subject. Her eyes became exceptionally soft as she reached out to touch Thor's face.
"My foolish son, no matter what you have done, you will always be..."
She was about to say some soothing words to gently turn the page.
But just as her fingertips were about to touch Thor's skin, a large fist, carrying the momentum of a thunderbolt, suddenly magnified before her eyes!
"Bang!!!"
A dull thud.
Thor's merciless punch landed squarely on Frigga's face. The immense force sent her flying, smashing through the ornate wooden table behind her, before she crashed miserably to the floor.
On that elegant and noble face, a piece of skin fell off like porcelain, revealing the completely different, paler skin underneath.
"You..."
She propped herself up from the floor. That beautiful face was half Frigga's elegance and half a stranger's expressionless void. She spoke slowly, her voice no longer the Queen of the Gods's gentle tone, but a crisp and cold female voice:
"When did you find out?"
Thor slowly withdrew his fist. His deep blue eyes held no more warmth, only fury.
"The Wise One told me," his voice was majestic as he repeated the words Lin Huai had taught him, "no matter how good your Acting is, you can never succeed in Acting as a Mother. Because a Demoness... does not understand what love is, let alone maternal love."
He took a step forward, looking down at the woman on the floor with a piercing gaze.
"Just now, when I threw myself into your arms, I already felt it." Thor's voice carried his rage. "Your embrace had no warmth at all."
"Speak! Where is my Mother?! If you don't come clean..."
Thor raised his fist again, terrifying divine power condensing on his knuckles.
"Don't blame me for being ruthless!"
"Heh..." The woman on the floor chuckled. She no longer maintained Frigga's disguise, and her entire form shifted rapidly, completely transforming into another appearance.
It was a woman so U.S. it took one's breath away.
Long, straight black hair cascaded down like a waterfall, accentuating her snow-white skin. Her features were as exquisite as a divine work of art, without a single flaw. She wore a tight-fitting long black dress that clearly outlined her explosive figure, exuding a decadent and lethal Charm from head to toe.
"Ruthless?" This Demoness of Afflictions slowly stood up and licked the corner of her mouth. Her watery eyes sized up the enraged Thor with great interest. "I'd like to see just how 'ruthless' you can be."
Before her voice finished, her long black hair suddenly surged, turning into countless live poisonous snakes that coiled toward Thor from all directions! Simultaneously, invisible spider silks appeared out of thin air, weaving into a large web in the atmosphere, intending to bind him.
"You're looking for death!"
Thor roared, his divine power erupting. A powerful shockwave directly shattered all the hair and spider silk!
But just as he was about to rush forward and crush her into meat paste, the Demoness's gaze suddenly became exceptionally tender, carrying a Charm that could melt anything.
She gave Thor a gentle wink.
Charm!
Thor's charging body suddenly jerked to a halt, and he momentarily lost focus.
The fire in his eyes was instantly replaced by an indescribable sentiment. He only felt that the woman before him was U.S. beyond belief, so U.S. it made his heart race, and he couldn't bear to harm a single hair on her head.
He actually stood there dazed on the spot.
Outside the bedchamber, within the Shadow of a statue.
Lin Huai saw everything.
When the Demoness revealed her true form, even though he was accustomed to World-class beauties like Black Widow, he was stunned by that inhuman beauty.
When he saw even the enraged Thor dazed by a single look from her, this mentor, who had always remained calm and composed, finally couldn't keep his cool.
He took a deep breath, trying to etch this terrifying image into his lungs.
Then, he adjusted his pants... The beautiful Demoness of Afflictions looked at the charmed, standing Thor, her red lips curling into a victorious smile. Her smile held a hint of playfulness and a disdain for how gods were nothing more than this.
She didn't have time to play emotional games with this muscle-bound prince.
"What a pity. For such a handsome man... but Big Sister has a mission and no time to keep playing with you. Sleep now."
She sighed softly, her tone lamenting a piece of art about to break. Before her voice faded, she pointed her slender, fair right hand forward, and a cloud of thick mist emitting an ominous dark green aura rapidly condensed at her fingertip.
Within that mist, countless tiny pathogens were screaming and reveling. This was the manifestation of her authority, one of the most vicious abilities of a Sequence 5 Demoness of Afflictions—Disease!
"Go."
She softly commanded, and the cloud of death mist became a living venomous snake, silently shooting toward Thor's chest.
Just as the mist was about to touch Thor's armor, a golden light suddenly flashed deep within his originally dazed blue eyes!
"...No matter what you have done, you will always be the son I am most proud of..."
A gentle and familiar voice transcended time and space, echoing directly in the depths of his soul. It was the voice of his true Mother, Queen of the Gods Frigga!
It was that irreplaceable, true maternal love originating from bloodline!
This pure emotion transformed into a holy light that purified everything, instantly crushing the Charm constructed by the Demoness of Afflictions out of false feelings and pretense!
"Roar—!!!!"
A roar that pierced through the entire Golden Palace erupted from Thor's throat! The daze in his eyes was instantly burned away, replaced by a sky-high fury!
Golden lightning divine power sprayed uncontrollably from his body, forming a violent shockwave. The dark green cloud of Disease mist that was about to touch him couldn't last a second against this pure divine power before being blasted into oblivion!
"What?!"
The smile on the Demoness of Afflictions' face froze. She couldn't understand how this person had broken free from her Sequence 5 Charm.
But Thor was no longer prepared to give her any time to think.
"How dare you... How dare you use my Mother's face to deceive me!"
Every word was spoken with a pause, carrying endless killing intent. He suddenly raised his right hand and beckoned toward the sky!
"Buzz—!!!"
The Mjolnir, Mjolnir, received the call, tearing through space and turning into a silver bolt of lightning, landing precisely in his hand!
"Boom!"
A Thor holding his war hammer is the true Thor!
Countless bolts of lightning fell from the sky, turning the entire bedchamber into an ocean of thunder. The floor, walls, and those ornate decorations all turned to powder before this violent divine power.
"Today! I will definitely have your life!!!"
Thor's figure vanished within the lightning, reappearing the next second in front of the Demoness of Afflictions. That war hammer, wrapped in billions of electric snakes, descended toward the top of her head with the momentum of a thunderbolt!
Facing an attack that could destroy a mountain, the Demoness of Afflictions didn't panic at all.
Her figure quickly drifted backward. Simultaneously, countless black spider silks coiled toward Thor from all directions, trying to bind him.
"It's useless!"
Thor roared, letting the spider silks wrap around him, but the lightning on his body instantly burned them to ash!
Seeing the attack about to land, the Demoness of Afflictions' body swayed, and an identical mirror image appeared out of thin air, blocking her front.
Mirror Substitute!
The mjolnir smashed the substitute without suspense, but the massive impact still made the Demoness's true body's blood and qi surge, and she let out a muffled groan.
Before she could steady herself, a red Fire appeared behind her without warning.
Lin Huai's figure stepped out from within, standing right between her and the enraged Thor. He brushed the dust off his sleeve, a hint of a helpless smile on his face.
"Alright, alright," his voice wasn't loud, yet it clearly overrode the sky-filling thunder, "You two, can you listen to me for a moment now?"