After seeing Loki and Thor off to complete their mission, Dante led the rest of the Star Team to conduct a meticulous search of Asgard.
The most important thing now was to find Odin.
Along the way, Dante couldn't help but marvel that although the Dark Elves were twisted and abnormal, their technology was truly enticing.
Especially their stealth tech. Even with his Lantern transformation, Dante had to be within a meter to sense their presence through the Emotional Spectrum.
To conceal themselves even from the Emotional Spectrum proved just how ancient and powerful this cosmic race was. Putting everything else aside, in terms of tech and combat prowess, the Kree Empire and the Skrulls simply couldn't compare.
After clearing out a large number of Dark Elves, Dante quickly led the others from Odin's residence to Frigga's bedchamber.
However, upon approaching, they found the entire chamber completely frozen.
Dante stepped forward and gently tapped the massive ice with his hand.
It was definitely not a natural formation, but a product of magic.
The question was, did any of Asgard's mages besides Loki specialize in ice magic?
The answer was no.
If it wasn't left by an ally, then it was the enemy's handiwork.
Could it be…
Dante frowned, an idea forming.
Then he turned and pointed at the tall, golden door behind the ice.
"Come on, Hulk. Clear the way."
Hulk nodded eagerly. The battle against the Dark Elves had completely ignited this Gamma Giant.
He plunged his hand into the magical ice. The solid wall crumbled like butter meeting a hot knife.
"Hulk! Dig!"
Excited, Hulk's fists hammered rapidly, quickly carving a tunnel big enough for everyone.
Fenris, following Dante and Hela, looked on with envy.
He wanted to dig too.
Dante patted Fenris's head to comfort him.
Then, everyone followed the passage into the Queen's bedchamber.
"If I still chose to overthrow Odin's rule, then this bedchamber should now belong to you."
"Don't even think about it." Dante looked at the magnificent golden door, his face twitching. "Asgard has no internet, no WiFi. Are you trying to bore me to death?"
Hela saw Dante's immediate refusal and knew he really didn't want to stay in Asgard.
In fact, wasn't she the same?
If not for old scores to settle, she had no interest in returning either.
More importantly, the authority inherited from her birth mother required her to return in order to gain full power.
But ever since she told Odin she wanted to become King of Midgard and Odin agreed, she felt that the authority representing the primordial Earth had begun to spread toward Midgard.
This was All Father authority.
Even though Hela's power with the Orange Lantern Ring should already surpass Odin, authority and divinity weren't the same as raw power. A mere promise imbued with Odin's divine recognition was enough for the Universe to acknowledge.
So, Hela was still Goddess of Death, but now she was also the New God King of Midgard.
"You're right. If there's no internet and no social media, I'd also find it boring."
Hela agreed, and a dozen Nightswords materialized around her, pinning themselves to the chamber door.
She manipulated them, tearing down the entire door and walls in one sweep.
The door crashed down.
And Dante immediately saw several blue-skinned giants staring back in shock.
Frost Giants.
Just as he guessed.
"Frost Giants from Jotunheim mixed in with Dark Elves? Are you planning to tear up the peace treaty with Asgard?"
He stepped forward, looking at the burly giants. "No, since you're already here, you've torn it up."
"Midgardian, do not meddle in the affairs of the Frost Giants!" one snapped after recovering. "Asgard's defeat is already decided! With Odin asleep, Asgard cannot resist the combined might of Frost Giants and Dark Elves!"
They were young, aggressive, and strong.
But fatally flawed…
They didn't recognize Hela, nor did they recognize Hela's man.
And based on their words, Dante could confirm Odin was likely here in Frigga's chamber.
So… move first.
"Buzz!"
A faint hum filled the air, and two crimson beams of heat vision shot out, piercing the skull of the Frost Giant who spoke.
The room filled instantly with the aroma of roasted brain matter.
"Thud!" The body hit the ground.
But the rest didn't retreat. They roared and charged at Dante, joined by a dozen Dark Elves materializing nearby.
"Go ahead, no need to leave anyone alive."
Dante and Hela blasted them away, sweeping through the opposition, heading deeper into the chamber.
The Star Team had been brought mostly to see the world, but Dante realized they were actually useful, clearing out cannon fodder and gaining experience.
Along the way, more Frost Giants and Dark Elves fell, either melted by heat vision or pinned by Nightswords.
For Dante and Hela at their current level, these soldiers were nothing.
They pushed open the innermost door.
Inside, Odin slept peacefully on the bed.
And towering over Frigga, who was struggling to hold her own, was a Frost Giant.
If there was no mistake… Laufey.
King of the Frost Giants, ruler of Jotunheim, Loki's biological father.
"Oh, you two, still fighting?" Dante walked in with a grin. "Dear Queen of Asgard, I am, after all, your future son-in-law. Guests arrive and you don't tell me? Are you treating me as an outsider?"
Frigga, her magic and stamina almost gone, breathed a sigh of relief at their arrival.
Frigga was no weakling.
That title "Nine Realms' Foremost Mage" that Loki flaunted? Frigga was more deserving.
But now she had been split between protecting Odin in his Sleep and fending off a constant wave of enemies.
Laufey's arrival shattered the balance.
His power was absolutely above hers. Not Odin's equal, but in Jotunheim he could even fight Odin to a standstill.
Yet Laufey wasn't looking at Dante. He was staring at Hela.
"Hela, Goddess of Death… hadn't you betrayed Asgard?"
"Betrayal? Perhaps. But even if I betrayed Odin, the bond of blood can't be erased." Hela's voice was calm. "Although I don't want to admit it, Odin is my father. He was once the man I most admired… How could he die at the hands of trash like you?"
Laufey's heart trembled.
Behind her calm eyes, killing intent churned like an ocean.
He was afraid.
When Odin conquered the Nine Realms, he defeated Jotunheim and seized the Casket of Ancient Winters.
And his commander then was the Death Goddess standing before him now.
Millennia later, she still stood here.
Anyone who had seen that war knew that on Asgardian soil… she was invincible.
So his fear wasn't unfounded. Away from Jotunheim, his strength was reduced. The gap between them was massive.
He had planned to strike Odin in his Sleep. But then Hela appeared.
"Hela, I don't intend to be your enemy. This is all Malekith's fault! Without his instigation, I wouldn't have broken the treaty… I can apologize! Compensate! I'll even tell you all his plans!"
"Alright, enough. We're all millennia-old foxes, don't play dumb." Dante pouted, helping Frigga back to Odin's side. "It's nothing more than him giving you Dark Elf assassins, breaking out Asgard's prisoners, and you going straight for Odin while he sleeps."
Laufey opened his mouth, silent.
Because it was true.
"You, Frost Giant King, are truly stupid. Used as cannon fodder without even realizing."
"I ask you, Malekith didn't come to Asgard, did he? He went to Midgard."
"He never thought you could kill Odin. He used you to keep Asgard busy while he searched Midgard for the Aether."
Although Malekith probably couldn't handle Midgard's own defenses anyway.
"There's no need to waste words with him."
Hela stepped forward. Countless Nightswords materialized, glowing with orange runes.
The power radiating from them was terrifying. Enough to crush Laufey's reduced strength.
And that wasn't even counting Hela's own divine power.
For the first time, Laufey, King of Frost Giants, knew despair.
…
"Hmm, by now that fool Laufey should have already clashed with Asgard, right?"
A Dark Elf removed his mask, revealing a pale face scarred black on one side.
Malekith.
The mark of betrayal from when he turned on his mentor still burned his skin.
Now he led the Dark Elf army through a forest on Earth.
Detection scans revealed two places on Midgard with the strongest Aether traces.
They were approaching the first.
Storybrooke Town.
"Leader, we've reached the outskirts. Four hundred and one humanoid lifeforms detected in this town." A Captain bowed. "Should we eliminate them all?"
"No rush. Explore first. Midgard may not have gods, but it's still one of the Nine Realms. Best to be cautious."
Malekith was shameless, backstabbing allies as easily as drinking water.
But he wasn't reckless. He would never act without a decisive advantage.
Unlike that idiot Laufey, who jumped at a little encouragement.
Once he had the Aether, the first place he'd invade would be Jotunheim.
He didn't believe Laufey would survive.
Even without Odin, Asgard wasn't something Laufey could conquer.
It was one of Malekith's long-standing doubts.
Why did Odin, a warmonger with overwhelming advantage, suddenly sign peace treaties?
He didn't buy Odin's "benevolent emperor" act.
He understood Odin. Or rather, he understood every All Father.
They were like him, willing to do anything to achieve their goals.
He was just more insidious.
And in his mind, insidious was praise.
The Dark Elves, invisible, crept toward Storybrooke Town.
The town had only recently been rebuilt. No outsiders had entered.
The fairy tale characters were still adapting.
Little Red Riding Hood skipped toward the forest.
Everyone in town had the day off, so she ran out alone.
They had all accepted the reality of this new Universe shockingly fast.
Because life here was just too good.
But suddenly, she stopped. Her small nose twitched.
She caught a faint, unfamiliar scent.
She backflipped instinctively, dodging a sudden blade.
A group of pale figures appeared, daggers drawn, slashing at her.
She threw back her hood. Wolf ears and eyes emerged.
The werewolf power, usually suppressed by the hood, surged forth.
She whip-kicked one Dark Elf, then let out a long wolf howl.
The agreed-upon signal to her companions.
Enemy attack.
(To be continued.)
***
For every 200 PS = 1 extra chapter. Support me on P/treon to read 30+ advanced chapters: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves
(Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)