"Hahaha!"
Thor let out a dry laugh, "Stop joking, Father."
"It's still too early for me to become the King of Asgard."
He reached toward Odin, "Father, let's go back together."
"Mother must be worried."
"We saved Mother today and drove off the Conqueror. That's a complete victory."
"Let's hold a huge banquet tonight. I'm going to drink with you until morning."
"Oh right, and Jane. You'll like her."
As he spoke, Thor grabbed Odin's hand.
But his hand passed right through Odin's body.
Thor froze.
The wind blew past, lifting the man's golden hair.
Behind him, Loki narrowed his eyes slightly and lowered his gaze to the ground.
The corner of his green robe swayed in the wind. At that moment, Loki looked incredibly lonely.
"How…"
"How is this possible?"
Thor's mouth slowly opened.
"Father, what happened to you!"
He roared and lunged toward Odin.
"Heimdall!"
"Take them away!"
Odin shouted as he smiled at the charging Thor.
"Remember, your sister's power comes from Asgard."
"So no matter what, don't let her return to the realm."
"Thor."
"Asgard and Frigga are in your hands now."
Blood vessels appeared in Thor's eyes, "No, Father, I—"
Before he could finish, a rainbow beam descended from the sky.
It landed on Thor, who was rushing forward, and Loki, who stood with his head lowered.
The brilliant light swallowed them.
When the beam disappeared, a circular mark remained on the ground, while Thor and Loki were gone.
At that moment, Odin's figure became fainter and fainter.
Laufey walked over and said in a deep voice, "Is this why you chose to fight in Jotunheim?"
"Odin!"
The giant king roared, "You did this on purpose!"
"You already knew you would die in this battle."
"You chose to die in Jotunheim so your precious daughter could descend into this realm!"
Odin turned around.
Then smiled, "Yes, Laufey."
"I knew that no matter whether I could destroy the Conqueror or not…"
"I would disappear."
"Thor is still young."
"Even though I have confidence in him, I worried that after my death, no one would be left to restrain you."
"The King of Jotunheim, leader of the Frost Giants, Laufey."
"I had to do one last thing for my children and for Asgard."
"And that was to let Hela descend here."
"She probably won't like your kind."
After saying that, Odin's figure completely faded away. Then it turned into specks of starlight and vanished into the wind.
"No!"
"You're too despicable, Odin!", Laufey roared.
Unfortunately, the Father of the Gods could no longer hear the giant king's protest.
As the last speck of light disappeared into the air, Jotunheim seemed to return to its usual cold silence.
But soon, the Frost Giants realized something felt wrong.
The freezing wind that blew through Jotunheim all year round had stopped.
In an atmosphere heavier than silence itself, the Frost Giants instinctively moved closer to Laufey.
Laufey quickly noticed that a green flame appeared on the ground where Odin vanished.
The flame slowly floated upward.
After rising about a meter into the air, it gradually grew larger, turning into a black-green fire with a constantly spinning core.
Deep inside the black-green flame was a dense aura of death.
Laufey narrowed his eyes slightly and vaguely saw a graceful figure slowly approaching.
That figure seemed to come from ancient times. With every step, the green fire grew larger.
By the time Laufey could clearly see it was a woman, the green fire had already expanded to around two meters wide and tall.
Inside the green flames, it looked like a passage connected to the ancient past.
Laufey roared and raised an arm, then slammed it forward.
Frost gathered instantly into a huge spear that shot into the green flames, trying to stop the figure inside from coming out.
At that moment, a pale, slender hand stretched out from the green fire and grabbed the tip of the ice spear.
With a slight squeeze, the entire spear shattered.
Then the figure finally stepped out.
It was a woman.
Her black hair hung loose in disorder, and the area around her eyes was dark black. A wicked smile rested on her face.
The green armor she wore was torn apart, as if she had just gone through a fierce battle.
"Oh, look who this is."
"Isn't this the mighty King of the Frost Giants, Lord Laufey?"
"Am I dreaming?"
"Looks like I'm not."
She clapped her hands and watched the ice fragments in her palm fall to the ground.
Then she looked around, and the smile on her lips slowly widened.
"This is Jotunheim."
"There's no mistake."
"This cold and gloomy feeling really is Jotunheim."
"So the old man is dead?"
"Hahaha! The great guardian of the Nine Realms, the all-powerful ruler of Asgard, still couldn't escape death."
"Hahaha!"
As she laughed loudly, the cold wind howled and sent her black hair flying wildly.
Laufey gritted his teeth, "That's right, Hela."
"Odin is dead."
"Look, how about we work together?"
"I want revenge against Asgard."
"You also want to return to Asgard."
"So let's join forces!"
"Yes, that's right."
"Let's work together. If we unite, taking Asgard will be easy."
"When that time comes, you'll be the ruler of Asgard."
The woman who stepped out of the green fire passage was Hela, the Goddess of Death exiled by Odin.
Hearing this, Hela, with her messy black hair and dark eye sockets, turned around.
Her smile was alluring, "That really is a good idea, Laufey."
"But I think there's one thing that needs correcting."
Laufey narrowed his eyes slightly, "What thing?"
Hela lifted her chin, "About the phrase 'work together.'"
"I think you used the wrong word."
"It shouldn't be 'work together.'"
"It should be 'obey.'"
"You obey me. Starting today, the Frost Giants are my slaves."
"And you, Laufey, I permit you to kiss my toes."
"You should be grateful for my mercy."
Laufey's chest rose and fell as he roared, "You want us to obey you and become your slaves?"
"In your dreams!"
"Hela, even if the Frost Giants die in battle, we will never become your slaves!"
Hela looked regretful, "Really?"
"Then go die."
She raised both hands, and magic swords instantly shot out like lightning, piercing the bodies of one Frost Giant after another.
This scene appeared within Heimdall's golden eyes.
———
[Asgard, Rainbow Bridge]
Standing at the Rainbow Bridge control platform, Heimdall said softly, "Things are getting very bad."
At that moment, Thor and Loki appeared at the Rainbow Bridge exit.
Heimdall immediately shut down the Rainbow Bridge.
Then he walked in front of Thor and glanced at the Gungnir in Thor's hand.
Heimdall knelt on one knee and respectfully said, "King Thor of Asgard."
"I, Heimdall, will forever follow your path."
Only then did Thor come back to himself. He looked at the spear in his hand, suddenly threw it aside, then lunged at Loki.
He grabbed Loki by the collar and lifted him up, "You already knew!"
"You already knew Father was going to die in Jotunheim, didn't you?"
Loki shrugged and returned to his usual carefree grin, "What are you talking about, my dear brother?"
"How could I possibly guess what the great Odin planned to do?"
"You're lying!"
Spit flew onto Loki's face from Thor's shouting, "Don't treat me like an idiot."
"Loki!"
"You realized it, so why didn't you tell me!"
"Why didn't you stop him!"
Loki dropped his smile and looked seriously at Thor, "Because Odin didn't want you to stop him."
"Understand?"
"The moment he appeared in Vanaheim, he already had no plans to return to Asgard."
"You bastard!", Thor roared and slammed a fist into Loki's face.
Heimdall stood up and said in a deep voice, "There's no time to argue now!"
"King Thor, your sister, Hela, the Goddess of Death, has been released."
"She has returned."
"She is currently in Jotunheim."
"She is slaughtering the Frost Giants right now, so she probably won't return to Asgard immediately."
"But nobody knows when she'll come back, so we should prepare in advance instead of arguing."
Thor's chest heaved violently. In the end, he let go and stepped back.
He shook his head, "There's no way I can defeat Hela right now, if she's really as powerful as Father said."
"And right now, Father's death cannot be made public."
"Otherwise everyone will panic."
Loki straightened his collar, "So what's your plan?"
"I'm going to increase my strength."
"At the same time, we need to steady everyone's hearts."
Thor picked up the Gungnir and walked over to Loki.
Then stuffed the Gungnir into Loki's hands.
Loki could not help glancing at him.
"Wait, you're not planning to make me pretend to be Odin, are you?"
Thor raised his head and looked at him, "Transform into Father and remain in Asgard to keep people calm."
"I'm going to other worlds to find a way to become stronger."
"Before Hela steps into Asgard, I need to become stronger than I am now."
"Strong enough to protect Asgard."
"I…"
"Don't want to lose anyone else."
———
On the Rainbow Bridge, Frigga, Jane Foster, Volstagg, Fandral, Sif, and many Asgardian warriors looked ahead nervously.
A moment later, they saw a white-haired old man walk out with the Gungnir in hand and a smile on his face.
Behind that old man was Thor, whose expression was heavy.
Instantly, cheers erupted across the Rainbow Bridge.
Jane Foster ran up, hugged Thor, and boldly kissed him.
Then she looked around, "Where's Loki?"
Thor shrugged, "He ran off."
"Really?"
At this time, the others also walked over.
Including Frigga, everyone knelt on one knee toward the white-haired old man.
"Everyone, rise."
"We achieved a complete victory."
"Tonight, we celebrate!"
The old man laughed loudly.
Then he reached out and helped Frigga up.
Frigga raised her head and looked at the old man.
Suddenly, her smile stiffened.
Then a tear rolled down her cheek.
———
[You have returned from the multiverse. Fees are now being settled.]
[You remained in the Marvel Universe for 8 days. 8 "Dim Proficiency Essences" have been deducted.]
[The multiverse event "Thor 2: The Dark World" has ended!]
[Event evaluation and settlement will now begin.]
Looking at the messages on his retina, Alex felt slightly dazed.
He had already returned to The Boys universe. He was still inside the pyramid.
Dr. Nick and his team were still busy collecting information. Not far away, the mercenaries were chatting about dirty jokes.
The female soldier Karma glanced at him, smiled, then turned away.
No one noticed that Alex had just finished a trip through the multiverse.
At that moment, more information appeared on his retina.
[Evaluation complete. Details are as follows.]
[1. You killed Malekith, King of the Dark Elves, and obtained two Warrior-Class Kurse and one General-Class Kurse.]
[2. You changed the fate of the Dark Elf race and obtained "Proficiency Essence" ×40]
[3. You changed the fate of Odin, Father of the Gods, and obtained "Odin's Eyepatch" ×1 and "Proficiency Essence" ×50]
[4. You changed the fate of the Frost Giant race and obtained "Rune Stone: Heart of Winter"]
[5. You completed your fifth multiverse event and obtained Multiverse Crystals ×9]
[Event settlement complete!]
[New items have been added to your shop.]
After reading the information, Alex smiled. The rewards were pretty good.
Kurse Warriors, Proficiency Essence, Rune Stones, and items.
He had also used the Traveler's Ring to enter a multiverse this time.
But the gains were much better than during the "Suicide Squad" event.
Not to mention the hidden reward of the Reality Stone.
Thinking about that put Alex in a good mood.
At that moment, Karma walked over and quietly said, "Something making you happy?"
Alex smiled, "We discovered a pyramid. Isn't that worth being happy about?"
Karma took the initiative and said, "You seem pretty happy. After we get back, how about buying me a drink?"
Alex looked at the female soldier, "How would one drink be enough?"
"Let's drink all night."
Karma laughed, "Trying to get me drunk?"
Alex shrugged, "That depends on whether you'll give me the chance."
Karma did not answer directly. She just smiled and walked away.
———
Just like that, two weeks passed.
On the weekend two weeks later, they finally returned to the Federation.
After saying goodbye to the doctor and Amy, Alex did not forget his agreement with Karma.
So that night, they met at a bar.
After several drinks, things naturally developed.
The two of them went from drinking in the bar to drinking in a hotel.
From the lobby to the bed.
After a night of intense play, the next morning, Karma lay in bed smoking, leaning against Alex.
"Couldn't tell before. You're really strong."
"I've never met a man as strong as you."
She handed Alex the half-smoked cigarette.
Alex shook his head.
He did not like smoking.
And he especially disliked smoking a cigarette someone else had already smoked halfway.
Karma shrugged, climbed up, and kissed Alex on the face, "Thank you for giving me a good memory."
Then she jumped out of bed, smoking while wearing only underwear.
Alex looked at the woman's back.
Her back was not smooth.
There were gunshot wounds and knife scars on it.
As if she knew he was looking at her scars, Karma said, "Ugly, right?"
Alex shook his head, "Not pretty, but not ugly either."
"It's normal for men to look like that."
"For a woman, I can only say it's unusual."
Karma looked very pleased. She climbed back onto the bed and sat on top of Alex, giving him a long kiss, "You're the first man to say that."
Alex smiled at her, "You're not planning to retire?"
"I mean from being a mercenary?"
Karma smiled, "If I stop being a mercenary, I don't know what else I could do."
"Thinking back on it, besides killing people, I don't really know how to do anything else."
"And I'm already used to it."
She stood up and quickly got dressed.
"You're leaving too, right?", she asked.
Alex nodded, "There's nothing else for me here for now. I'm going back to New York."
Karma pulled up her jeans, zipped them, then turned around and asked, "After you go back, will you miss me?"
Alex smiled, "Sometimes. I'll probably think of you once in a while."
"But I'll probably forget you soon enough."
Karma burst out laughing and was not angry at all, "You're very honest."
"I'm the same."
"Time keeps moving forward so fast. There are too many people and too many things to deal with every day. Who has time to reminisce?"
"But among all the men I've slept with, you're the most special one."
"So I think I'll remember you for a while."
"Longer than the others."
Alex laughed, "So I'm your prey?"
"What else would you be, Mr. John?"
Karma raised her fingers and made a gun shape.
"Pew!"
She made a shooting sound with her mouth, then blew at her finger.
"Hunt complete. I'm leaving!"
She put on her coat and waved before leaving.
Alex rested both hands behind his head and smiled, "What an interesting woman."
"If there were more women like her in the world, things would definitely be more interesting."
At that moment, his phone rang.
Ashley was calling.
Alex thought about how he had disappeared for almost a month.
His assistant was probably going crazy.
So he answered the call.
["Homelander?"]
On the other side of the phone, Ashley sounded uncertain.
Alex nodded, "It's me."
Ashley immediately shouted, ["Where did you go?"]
["Hurry back."]
["There's a pile of things waiting for you to handle."]
["The reserve members for The Seven have already been decided."]
["The Department of Defense has been looking for you for days."]
["There are still many matters in The Seven waiting for your decision."]
["When can you come back?"]
Alex smiled, "Today."
"We'll meet later."
After hanging up, Alex finally got dressed, checked out of the room, and returned to New York.
———
Inside Vought's secret town, Defense Secretary Wilson got off a helicopter and once again came to Becca's home with Dr. Vogelbaum.
After entering the house, Butcher's wife and Ryan's mother, Becca's expression remained calm.
She placed two cups of coffee in front of the two men.
Secretary Wilson did not touch the coffee. He looked eagerly at the woman.
"Have you made your decision, ma'am?"
Becca raised her head, her eyes clear, "I thought about it for a long time."
"I'm sorry, Mr. Secretary."
"I still can't agree. I still hope Ryan can live as an ordinary person."