He watched Odin's back as he walked away, leaning on his staff.
Aron was still a bit confused.
That old man... is he serious?
Is he really giving him permission to take Hela and convert her to his side?
The more he thought about it, the more absurd it seemed.
Does he really not know his own daughter?
Did he really defeat her?
But when he thought of Hela and the dark, threatening aura that surrounded her... he had to admit he felt an almost instinctive urge to kneel before her.
Still, Odin's message was clear, Hela had spent her entire life obsessed with one thing: conquest.
It was her obsession, something etched deep into her DNA.
If he offers her new goals, new wars, it's possible that her resentment toward Asgard could be redirected elsewhere.
In other words: external wars solve internal conflicts.
Aron asked, "Where will I find enough enemies for Hela?"
But Odin was no ordinary old man. He was a fox.
"I spoke with the Ancient One," he said, referring to the Ancient One. "As far as I know, you're not exactly someone who offends just a few enemies."
"Instead of waiting for them to come one by one to Earth to find you, take Hela and conquer them before they conquer you."
Aron had to admit, it made sense.
Dimensional barriers were getting weaker.
Enemies were coming to Earth more frequently.
If the passage is already open, why wait?
It's better to move forward, take the initiative, and destroy threats before they evolve.
And maybe, while leading wars... he might become the lord of dimensions himself?
"But the only problem is..."
"How do I get Hela to join me?"
He shook his head and walked back toward the house.
When he entered, he saw Wanda standing in the living room, her face tense, with a confused expression.
She didn't have to say anything. Aron already knew.
"Is it because of Tony Stark?" he asked.
"Hmm."
Wanda's eyes were slightly red. She clenched her teeth.
"His rockets... blew up my family. Killed them."
Aron went silent.
He knew Tony wasn't personally responsible. Most likely, Obadiah Stane had secretly sold weapons to opposing sides.
But he didn't plan to explain that.
After all, Wanda had nothing against him personally.
"Sir… you and Stark…?"
She didn't finish the sentence.
She was afraid her savior was connected to her greatest enemy.
"Don't worry, it's fine."
"But if you decide to get revenge, please tell me first, so I can sell Stark's shares in time."
Aron said in a light, half-joking tone.
Wanda looked at him and for the first time smiled slightly. As if a burden had been lifted from her shoulders.
"Thank you, Mr. Aron."
"Forget it. Stop calling me 'sir'."
He didn't even try to correct her, but it was obvious, Wanda carried deep insecurity within herself. An inferiority complex that made her always act submissively.
Without a word, Aron walked toward the kitchen. It looked like he planned to take on the role of cook and prepare dinner.
However, Felicia didn't miss that.
When she saw Wanda trying to do something in the kitchen, she quickly reacted like a cat whose territory was being threatened.
She rushed in and pulled Wanda back.
"Sister, from now on leave these things to me."
"Don't touch me…"
she murmured, secretly watching Aron's reaction.
---
Seeing that the other side wasn't paying attention to them at all, Felicia felt relieved.
"Sister, why are you so afraid of Aron?"
"He helped you break the curse. He's obviously a good man."
Wanda asked and looked at Felicia, her face slightly red.
The figure on the other side... incredible. Even she blushed when she looked at him.
"Sis, you just arrived and still don't understand the situation…"
"Ahem!"
Black Cat didn't manage to finish the sentence.
A soft cough was heard from outside, causing Felicia to flinch and immediately fall silent.
---
While Felicia was preparing dinner, Aron decided to take a walk around the neighborhood.
There were a lot of dead today...
Time to send a message.
The incident at the base in Sokovia wasn't an isolated case.
With the help of teleportation magic, Aron visited all known Hydra bases in one day.
He killed them... not thousands, but certainly hundreds.
Unfortunately, the same operation wasn't successful anywhere else.
Only Baron Strucker... allowed Aron to once again plunder the power of the shadow demon.
"I don't know exactly what my power level is now."
Marvel's power scale is more of a framework:
From weak to strong – surface level, cosmic level, divine level, universal, multiversal, up to omnipotent.
But if we exclude the highest ones, the basic division is:
Surface level – weak: Captain America, Black Panther, Black Widow, Hawkeye; stronger: regular Hulk, early Thor...
Cosmic level – Captain Marvel, later Thor, Thanos without the Infinity Gauntlet...
Cosmic characters can easily level a city.
Divine level – so-called Heavenly Father: Ancient One, Odin...
At that level, their mere presence deters enemies. They rarely use full power because they could accidentally destroy an entire planet.
"If I look at that scale…"
"I've probably surpassed surface level and entered cosmic."
Aron thought briefly.
Thanks to the energy taken from Baron Strucker, his shadow power had doubled.
If he unleashed the shadows without restraint...
His Dark Empire could swallow an entire city.
He could form an entire army of shadows!
"But... I don't feel powerful."
He shook his head.
Seems it's a matter of perspective.
When you spend every day around the Ancient One, Odin, Lords of Hell, and Dimensional Lords...
Cosmic level doesn't seem that special anymore.
Just as he was thinking of finding a few small-time characters to warm up with...
Suddenly a familiar voice was heard ahead.
"Don't come any closer! I'm warning you!"
Aron followed the sound and recognized the figure blocked by two punks in the entrance of an alley.
"Gwen?"
Aron was surprised.
Saving a girl in trouble?
So cliché… and yet, it happened.