Hearing Lucci's words, the golden flames around Jean retracted like an obedient pet, merging into his body.
"Yes."
She nodded without hesitation, instantly flashing to Lucci's side. The overwhelming, obedient Phoenix goddess from before was now completely different. Logan and the other mutants also ceased their attacks, giving the battlefield entirely to Lucci.
This dramatic scene left Hela—who was just enjoying her restored body and her opponent's despair—momentarily stunned. For the first time, her cruel and arrogant eyes landed on Lucci.
"You are… Lucci?"
"That's me,"
Lucci nodded indifferently.
Receiving his confirmation, Hela's suspicions deepened. She stared at Lucci with a frown.
"No! Why… why can't I sense any Asgardian authority in you? Are you really Asgard's crown prince?"
In Hela's understanding, all members of Asgard's royal family, especially the crown prince, had their blood and souls deeply tied to Asgard's origin—its "authority." This connection was the source of their power, the proof of their identity! She herself was one of the most powerful wielders of Asgard's authority, able to constantly draw power from Asgard and achieve immortality.
Yet, before her, Lucci seemed utterly unrelated to Asgard—aside from an unfathomable power she couldn't sense.
Hearing her question, Lucci smiled faintly.
"Asgardian authority?"
"Maybe… because such things would only limit my growth."
Boom—
His words were light and fluttering, but struck Hela's heart like a billion-volt lightning bolt! Limit? He actually called Asgard's authority… a shackles?
Hela's expression froze instantly! Her eyes widened in disbelief, quickly replaced by overwhelming… humiliation and rage!
She was the goddess of death, born and raised in Asgard! Her greatest pride was her unbreakable bond with Asgard! All her power and immortal glory came from this! It was the core of her identity as Odin's eldest daughter and a conqueror!
Now, this so-called "brother" spoke with disdain of everything she took pride in… calling it merely a "chain" that hindered growth?
This was no longer a provocation—it was the most fundamental insult to her entire existence!
"You… you dare say that…?"
Hela squeezed the words out from between her teeth, her aura of death billowing with rage.
"Hehe… hahaha…"
She laughed coldly, killing intent in her eyes.
"I don't know what tricks you used to make that cosmic-level girl so obedient!
But! I absolutely refuse to believe that Asgard could produce someone stronger than me!"
Lucci met her wrathful gaze, remaining calm.
"Is that so? Why not try and see?"
As soon as he finished, his figure appeared high in the sky, facing Hela from afar. Below, Jean, Jane, Diana, Hulk, and all the mutants held their breath, faces tense yet filled with anticipation—from the bottom of their hearts, they all looked forward to their prince resolving this impossible death goddess!
Seeing Lucci appear opposite her, Hela lost interest in pointless words. She wanted nothing more than to tear apart the man who dared insult Asgard's glory! To make him understand true divine power!
"Die! My dear brother!"
Hela roared angrily, launching her attack! She pressed her hands together, instantly mobilizing the vast and majestic divine power pouring endlessly from Asgard!
Hum—
In an instant, the space behind her filled with endless, dark green energy, frantically condensing and taking shape under her will—countless deadly, cold lights… Dark Spikes! Each enormous spike carried a potent force of death, capable of piercing the armor of interstellar warships!
"Go!"
At Hela's command, death shot through the sky, tearing it apart like a torrential storm, raining down on Lucci from all directions—leaving no escape, no cover! The scene looked like the end of the world!
Jean, Jane, Diana, and the others watched with pounding hearts!
Yet, even in the face of such an attack—enough to erase a city from the map—Lucci's face stayed calm and indifferent. He didn't even dodge. He quietly raised his right hand.
Buzz—
A faint golden thread, as if containing the mysteries of the origin of the universe, flickered on his fingertip—true origin fire!
"Burn."
He uttered softly.
In the next instant, the golden flame on his fingertip soared, transforming into a sea of golden fire stretching for thousands of meters! The death spikes in the sky, the moment they entered this golden sea, were like moths flying into the flame!
No earth-shaking explosions, no fierce energy surges. Just… a silent, conceptual… erasure!
The indestructible spikes, condensed from pure death energy, were instantly broken down by the "origin" power within the golden fire, reduced to the most primitive, attribute-less cosmic energy, and completely devoured—purified—by the flames!
In the blink of an eye, all the death spikes in the sky were incinerated—without a trace left!
"What… What kind of flame is this?!"
Hela's pupils shrank, her face filled with extreme shock! Her divine power of death was a core part of Asgard's origin, its level extremely high—yet, before the other party's terrifying golden flames, it was as fragile as paper?
After the shock, even greater rage surged!
"Death Beam!"
"Shadow Whip!"
"Silent Storm!"
Hela frantically unleashed a storm of powerful, varied energy attacks at Lucci! Yet Lucci only stood silently, letting the terrifying energies that could destroy a planet engulf him!
The Great Cosmic Devouring Art was always active. An invisible energy vortex centered on his body spun quietly! All energies that attacked him—death beams, extinction storms—were devoured the moment they touched his body, swallowed, assimilated, and became part of his own power, without even causing a ripple!
"What… How is this possible?!"
Hela was utterly shocked! All her attacks vanished like mud cows sinking into the sea—completely ineffective?
Close combat!
That thought flashed in Hela's mind. If energy attacks were useless, she'd use her proudest creation—Asgardian martial arts—to defeat him! She refused to believe his body could be as invincible as his energy defense!
Taking advantage of the chaos, Hela's figure turned into a streak of dark green lightning, charging at Lucci! In her hand, a sharp night-sky spike of death power condensed, aiming straight for Lucci's heart!
But at the moment of her success—a hand, emerging from the swirling energies, gently… tapped her!
The punch looked ordinary, without wind or energy fluctuations. Yet, its effect seemed to carry the weight of the entire universe!
Before that punch, Hela felt her proud speed slow to a snail's pace! The spike in her hand shattered instantly upon contact! Her divine power of death was pierced in one blow! Her body, strong as divine gold, was struck and—scattered!
Boom—
An indescribable force exploded inside Hela's body, annihilating her at the most microscopic level!
Below, everyone stared in shock! Jean, Jane, Diana, Hulk… all the mutants gazed at the sky, stunned by the man who defeated the goddess of death—turned her to ashes in a single move!
"Too… too strong…"
"Is this… Prince Lucci's power?"
"Even his physical might… is terrifying!"
But in the next instant—mad laughter rang out again from the sky! Hela's figure, under the convergence of death energy, reformed—fully restored!
"Hahaha… Excellent! Excellent! As expected of my dear brother!"
"Now I believe you're qualified to be Asgard's crown prince!"
"Your power truly surpasses imagination!
But… it's useless! Didn't I say? As long as Asgard stands, I cannot die! You cannot kill me!"
Watching her insane laughter, Lucci raised his eyes, giving her a meaningful look, and asked quietly:
"Really?"
These two simple words—and that profound gaze—suddenly halted Hela's laughter. An indescribable, intense anxiety surged in her heart—as if she were being targeted by an ancient god lurking in the abyss of the universe! Yet her pride would not allow her the slightest cowardice.
"Of course!"
She gritted her teeth and shouted,
"My dear brother! You can never kill me! And I'll exhaust your power, bit by bit…"
Before she could finish, Lucci's figure disappeared from her sight—without warning, like a force of the universe itself!
Hela's pupils shrank, an ominous sense of crisis surging on her face! In the next instant, a warm, jade-like, iron-strong hand silently gripped her neck!
"Let… go… of me!"
Hela choked out, her divine death power erupting like a volcano, desperately striking at Lucci! Simultaneously, her body exploded with terrifying force, trying to break free of his grasp!
Yet no matter how hard she struggled, it was useless. The hand gripping her neck seemed the most indestructible thing in existence! Her divine power of death dissipated upon contact with his skin, overwhelmed by a more original, vast force. Her body's strength was as futile as a centipede trying to shake a tree—her resistance appeared as weak and helpless as a baby in an adult's arms.
Fear! Unprecedented, soul-deep fear instantly engulfed Hela!
"Now, what is your so-called authority?"
Lucci's calm voice rang out at that moment. Hela suddenly noticed that Lucci's eyes had become incredibly deep—reflecting not shame, but the birth and death of billions of stars, the interweaving of cosmic laws and the long river of time itself!
Background comprehension, begin!
Through Lucci's vision, Hela's body became transparent. He saw clearly: countless mysterious runes, forming "root tendrils" emitting a faint golden light, extended from the depths of Hela's soul, piercing infinite cosmic dimensions to root firmly in Asgard's deepest core!
These "root tendrils" continuously supplied her with power, allowing her to endlessly regenerate after destruction.
In an instant, Lucci saw the essence of it all.
"So that's it!"
"It seems Father truly loved you.
He actually granted you authority at Asgard's core!
You became part of Asgard itself!
That's why even he could only seal you, not destroy you completely!"
"How… how do you know?!"
Hela's eyes were filled with utmost shock and terror! This was her greatest secret—the trump card that gave her the courage to defy Odin and scorn all others! Aside from Odin, no one else knew!
Yet now, this so-called "brother" saw through it!
Lucci ignored her shock, murmuring to himself.
"For Father, for any Asgardian… you are an unbreakable existence.
Because, as you said, as long as Asgard stands, you… are undying."
"But…"
Lucci changed tack, his deep eyes falling on Hela's terror-stricken face.
"That doesn't include me."
Hela's heart suddenly plunged! A coldness a million times more terrifying than death itself swept through her!
"You… what do you mean?"
She asked with a trembling voice.
Lucci smiled indifferently—a smile more terrifying to Hela than the worst curse!
Buzz—
A simple, heavy, long sword—containing the mysteries of the Path's origin and the evolution of all things—silently appeared in his other hand.
Path Flame Sword!
"It means this—"
Lucci raised the Path Flame Sword. Its blade neither shone nor radiated terrifying energy—just a faint light, as if it could cut fate, break through all laws… mysterious sword aura swirling in chaos.
"Your authority comes from Asgard.
And this sword… can sever it!"