Thor lay in the deep crater of the plaza. His ears were ringing with the panicked screams of fleeing civilians. Children were crying. Guards were shouting. Beneath the shattered paving stones, wisps of black-green energy slithered out. Wherever they touched the golden stone, it blackened and cracked, as if hollowed out by the rot of time.
Thor's chest was still burning in agony. Kaido's spiked club had nearly driven his armor straight into his ribs. But more than the pain, he was focused on his father's expression. Odin was no longer looking at Kaido. The King of Asgard, Guardian of the Nine Realms, and All-Father stood before the fissure, gripping Gungnir. Thor had never seen his father look like this. It wasn't anger. It was a suffocating heaviness that had been repressed for far too long.
Gritting his teeth, Thor forced himself up and shouted toward the palace steps, "Father, what is that?"
Odin didn't turn around. He just stared into the rift, his voice low and solemn. "Hela."
Thor froze. He had never heard that name. Not in Asgard's history classes. Not in the banquet songs. Not carved onto the monoliths of Valhalla. Yet, the moment the name left Odin's lips, Heimdall's face changed completely. In the rear corridor, Frigga's magical light flickered unsteadily at her fingertips. The hardened veterans of Asgard, who had lived for over a thousand years, began to subtly back away. Thor's heart sank. There were very few things in this universe that could make the veterans of Asgard feel fear.
The fissure widened. Black-green light surged from the depths. The silhouette of a woman walked out from the abyss. She stepped onto the rotting tiles barefoot. Her black hair hung loose, and a dark green battle armor materialized over her body from the aura of death itself. She tilted her head back, surveying the ruins of the royal city. The plaza was caved in. The Bifrost was severed. Statues lay in pieces. Thor was in a crater, Kaido was kneeling in a deeper pit, and Odin stood at the forefront. The woman smiled. It wasn't loud, but it made Thor's chest tighten uncomfortably.
"What a lively welcome."
She looked at Thor, her gaze lingering on Mjolnir for a moment. "My little brother has grown this much?"
Thor's face paled. "Brother?"
Hela raised a hand, examining her nails as if inspecting a cheap trinket. "A little prince playing with a hammer. Father, you locked me in the dark, scrubbed history clean, all just to raise a child like this?"
Thor looked at Odin. He wanted to ask. But Odin didn't give him the chance.
"Heimdall," Odin commanded. "Evacuate the civilians."
Heimdall tightened his grip on Hofund. He knew exactly what that order meant. If it were just Kaido, Odin could still afford to hold back. But the woman standing before them was Odin's firstborn, sealed by his own hand. Hela. The Goddess of Death of Asgard. She had no bounty because the newspapers of the pirate world had never earned the right to print her name. She had once marched alongside Odin to conquer the Nine Realms; she was the sharpest blade in Asgard's era of expansion. But she refused to stop when he did. So Odin sealed her away, and scrubbed her from history.
Heimdall turned and roared, "Everyone, evacuate the plaza immediately!"
The guards began to quickly shuffle the civilians out. Hela watched them, a mocking look in her eyes as if watching a gaggle of naive children. "The soldiers of Asgard. Still so eager to throw their lives away."
One young guard couldn't hold back. Raising his spear, still marred with the dents from resisting Kaido, he charged her. Thor tried to shout for him to stop. It was too late. Hela raised her hand. Dozens of pitch-black blades erupted from the ground. The guard's spear was sliced in half, his shield knocked away, and his body impaled mid-air by a thick black spike. Hela casually walked over and grabbed his chest plate. Black-green death energy surged from her fingertips. The golden armor instantly lost its luster, and the boy's skin turned a sickly, ashen gray. Before he could even finish his scream, she tossed him to the ground like garbage.
Rage ignited in Thor's eyes. "Stop!" He tried to stand, but the searing pain in his sternum forced him back down.
Hela didn't even glance at him. "Pathetically weak." It wasn't an insult. It was merely a statement of fact.
Down in the pit, Kaido was still on his knees in the rubble. The divine energy from Gungnir was still wreaking havoc inside him. His shoulder was pierced, and his chest still bled freely. Kaido of the Beasts. One of the Four Emperors. Governor-General of the Beasts Pirates, with a 4.611 billion Berry bounty. Security Guard No. 007 of the Partys Bar. He had been beaten down many times in his life. Captured by the Marines. Ambushed by the Emperors. Hung out to dry by Blake outside the tavern. On Namek, he had been beaten so badly by Frieza he could barely stand. But the thing he hated most in the world was not losing. It was kneeling.
Kaido raised his head, watching Hela mock Odin, and spat a mouthful of bloody phlegm onto the ground. "Wororororo..." His laugh was hoarse and grating. Hearing it, an indescribable sense of revulsion washed over Thor. This lunatic is practically dead, and he's still laughing.
Kaido glared at Odin. "Looks like you've got your own messy family drama to deal with, old man."
Odin ignored him. But Hela looked down into the pit at Kaido. A glint of curiosity sparked in her eyes. "A dragon? No. You have something else inside you."
Propping himself up on the rubble, Kaido slowly pushed half his body upward. His bones groaned. His wounds tore open again. Blood trailed down his chin, dripping onto the stones. "Woman. Stop looking at me like I'm some damn pet."
Hela smiled. "It's been a very long time since someone dared to speak to me like that."
Kaido smiled back. "That just means you haven't met enough people."
Watching the exchange, Thor felt a bizarre realization wash over him. This foreign monster wasn't completely useless after all. He was insane. Obnoxiously insane. But right now, this lunatic was buying them time. Even if it was just a few seconds. Hela flicked her wrist. A black blade shot from her palm. It moved so fast Thor only saw a blurry green-black streak.
Squelch! The black blade pierced cleanly through Kaido's shoulder blade, violently pinning him back to the ground just as he was trying to stand.
Kaido's chest convulsed. Blood sprayed from his back. A few Asgardian guards nearby froze in their tracks, their faces draining of color. They had just watched this monster endure Mjolnir and Odin's spear. Yet Hela's attack skewered him like a piece of meat. Kaido glanced down at the black blade in his shoulder. Reaching over, he grabbed it. The blade sliced his palm open. But he ruthlessly yanked it free anyway.
Blood splashed onto the rocks. Kaido tossed the blade aside and bared his bloodstained teeth. "Not bad. Hurts a hell of a lot more than that lightning brat!"
Thor's face darkened. If the situation wasn't so dire, he really would have thrown his hammer at him again. Hela's smile faded slightly. "You enjoy pain?"
Resting a hand on his knee, Kaido stood up halfway. He couldn't stand straight. But he refused to kneel again. "I enjoy fighting the strong. And you look a lot stronger than the kid with the hammer."
Thor roared in frustration. "I can hear you!"
Kaido didn't even look back. "Then get up!"
The words choked Thor. He wanted to shout back, but he hadn't managed to stand. It stung worse than a physical blow.
That was when Odin moved. The moment Hela's attention shifted to Kaido, Gungnir thrust forward. The golden spear tore across the plaza, aimed straight for Hela's heart. Hela raised a hand and caught the tip. The divine light exploded in her palm. The flesh of her hand split open, only to be instantly mended by the aura of death. She was forced back half a step. Just half a step. But Odin didn't let up. A second thrust followed immediately, forcing her to raise her other hand to block.
"Thor, leave this place," Odin ordered, his voice grave.
Thor gritted his teeth. "I'm not leaving!"
Odin's voice boomed. "That is an order!"
Thor felt a lump form in his throat. He had spent his whole life trying to prove he was worthy to stand beside his father. Now, his father was telling him to run. Not out of lack of trust. Because he simply wasn't strong enough. That realization hurt Thor far worse than his shattered ribs. Hela looked at Odin, her smile completely vanishing.
"Father. You've grown old."
Odin's grip on his spear was steady as a mountain. "I am not dead yet."
Hela took a step forward. With every step, the ground beneath her feet decayed in an expanding ring. "But you will die. You always knew that. That is why you locked me away."
Odin did not deny it. "You wish to turn Asgard into a graveyard."
Anger finally seeped into Hela's voice. "I conquered the Nine Realms for you! I slaughtered everyone who stood in your way! The glory of Asgard was built on the mountains of corpses I left behind! And then you decided you had enough." She glared at the palace. "You built your golden palaces, sang your songs of peace, and locked me in the dark. You even made sure everyone forgot I ever existed."
Listening to her words, a chill ran down Thor's spine. He had always believed Asgard's glory came from defending the innocent. The history Hela was spitting out contradicted everything he knew. He looked at Odin. Odin stood tall and unyielding.
"Glory should not be built upon endless slaughter."
Hela scoffed. "Now you want to lecture me on morality?" She raised her hands. The shattered ground of the plaza began to tremble violently. Black longswords began to rise from the earth. Ten. A hundred. Thousands. Every single blade was dripping with the stench of death. They hovered behind Hela, their tips aimed at the palace, at Odin, and at everyone who hadn't managed to escape.
Thor finally managed to force himself halfway up. Mjolnir flew back into his hand. His arm was shaking, but he refused to let go. Heimdall was desperately pushing the civilians to safety. Frigga maintained her magical barrier, shielding a section of the corridor. Kaido looked up at the floating black swords, and his laughter echoed across the plaza once again.
"Wororororo! Now we're talking!"
Hela shot him an icy glare. "You want to die a second time?"
Clutching a piece of rubble for support, Kaido swayed but finally stood tall. The bloody hole in his chest was still open. His shoulder was still bleeding profusely. But his gaze never wavered. "I haven't died once yet. If you think you've got what it takes, come and try."
Odin glanced at Kaido. This mad dragon was a problem. But right now, he was also a wild card. Odin hated leaving the fate of Asgard to an outsider. But Hela breaking her seal couldn't have happened at a worse time. By shattering the seal, Kaido had thrown everything into chaos.
Hela pointed a single finger toward the deepest depths of the palace. "Now. Give me back my throne."
Thousands of black swords vibrated in unison. Odin leveled his spear to block the onslaught. Thor dragged his battered body to stand at his father's flank. Kaido hoisted the remaining half of his club, spitting out a mouthful of blood. The sky over Asgard plunged into darkness.
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