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[Starting as a Class 5 Mutant] Chapter 366/367
🕑 Added 2025-01-06 16:00:09 +0000 UTCIf Odin were to die, unexpected changes might occur. If possible, Syd hoped that Odin could continue living.
It was obvious, however, that Odin's body was failing.
Syd wasn't sure if Odin's death would be due to the strain of his ever-growing divine power or simply because his lifespan had reached its limit.
Speaking of which, Odin's Sleep seemed to delay death to some extent.
Pondering this, Syd wondered, "What if I transfer my divine power to him? Would he still die?"
He was well aware of the unique nature of his divine light power, which might fundamentally differ from the powers Thor and the others possessed.
If he were to transfer his light-based divine power to Odin, it might prolong Odin's life or even trigger some mysterious transformation.
After all, the Baldur he was imitating might be the Baldur of traditional mythology—or perhaps a combination of traditional mythology and the Asgardian myths here.
The most noticeable difference was that Thor claimed the Asgardians had lifespans of several thousand years. However, in traditional mythology, their lives were significantly longer, and their divine bodies and powers were much more extraordinary.
Of course, Syd was unsure whether he himself would age.
In traditional Norse mythology, the gods' physical bodies aged, albeit very slowly, and they relied on golden apples to maintain eternal youth.
As for their divine souls, Syd had tested this before and confirmed that they were immortal. Unless destroyed by external forces, they would never perish.
While Syd was lost in thought, Thor led him to an unfamiliar place.
"What do you two princes need from me?"
Clad in golden armor and wielding a golden sword, Heimdall fixed his golden eyes on the two princes who entered.
Syd snapped out of his thoughts and turned to Heimdall, then shifted his gaze to Thor.
He had no idea why Thor had brought him here.
Thor wasted no time, chuckling, "Heimdall, how's Hela doing? Can you show us her current state?"
Syd's eyes lit up with curiosity.
He was quite interested in Hela's current situation. How was she faring after being reduced to mortality?
At Thor's request, Heimdall's golden eyes flickered with a series of visions as if glimpsing countless scenes.
He smiled and said, "As you wish, my princes."
In the next instant, Syd noticed Thor's eyes turning golden, as though he could see and hear everything Heimdall could.
As for himself...
Syd felt a strange force attempting to establish a connection with him.
Heimdall turned, a look of surprise flashing across his face as he regarded the unfamiliar prince. The shock in his golden eyes quickly faded.
He, too, sensed the resistance of his power being blocked by this prince.
Before he could speak, the resistance vanished, and the connection was successfully established.
Syd could now see everything Heimdall saw and heard.
A scene unfolded before his eyes.
...
Midgard—Earth.
It was nighttime.
On the ground, engraved with mysterious patterns, Hela lay unconscious.
After a long time, the disheveled Hela stirred, abruptly opening her eyes.
Where is this?
Dazed for a moment, Hela's expression darkened as realization struck.
"That old fool... Don't you understand? The entire universe awaits someone to rule it, yet you're content with the Nine Realms!" she growled through gritted teeth.
Thinking of this, Hela felt a surge of resentment.
Odin had raised her to conquer, but now he had decided to stop and even hinder her. How laughable.
Without war, Hela felt as if she were nothing.
After a moment of bitterness, she clenched her teeth again, sensing her weakened body.
Then, the innate bond with her crown told her it was nearby.
"As long as I wear the crown, I can regain my power!"
A smile spread across Hela's face.
She got to her feet and moved toward the direction of the crown's pull.
Meanwhile, Syd's vision shifted again. His gaze fell upon a large crater, and his expression turned to surprise.
In the middle of the crater sat Hela's black crown, neatly placed.
That wasn't surprising, but what caught Syd's attention was the group of people who had discovered it.
A middle-aged man with yellow skin and ten rings wrapped around his arms stepped forward, gazing at the black crown in the crater before looking up at the sky.
Beside him, a man in black respectfully said, "Lord Wenwu, this is the object."
Xu Wenwu nodded, focusing on the black crown again with a thoughtful look in his eyes.
Like the ten rings on his arms that granted him immense power, Wenwu understood that Earth's greatest powers often originated from beyond the planet.
Relying on the power of the ten rings, he had remained invincible for centuries, creating the Ten Rings organization to operate from the shadows.
Xu Wenwu pondered.
The object on the ground had fallen from the heavens, and he realized it was likely not of earthly origin.
Just as he marveled at the celestial artifact, the sound of approaching footsteps broke the silence.
The twenty-odd people present instinctively turned their heads and saw a woman dressed in black and green, with long black hair and smoky eye makeup, walking toward them.
"Who are you? Stop!" a man in black, seemingly in his thirties, shouted.
Hela ignored him, commanding, "Bring me my crown!"
Her gaze landed on the black crown not far away.
Xu Wenwu replied calmly, "The only one giving orders here is me."
With a leap, he landed in front of Hela.
Hela's attention was drawn to the ten pale-gold rings glowing with a faint blue light on his arms.
Looking at the rings, she chuckled. "I admire a man who dares to accessorize boldly."
Xu Wenwu frowned. "Most people fear me. You don't?"
Hela smiled. "I'm the same, darling. But I'm not most people."
In a low voice, she declared, "I am the Goddess of Death!"
With that, Hela raised her hands to her head, a smug, arrogant grin spreading across her face.
But after holding the pose for a long moment, she noticed no shock or fear in her opponent's expression. Instead...
"Hm?" Xu Wenwu looked puzzled at her gesture.
Hela's face froze. "Usually, people react."
She instinctively touched her head again, only to find nothing there.
"Uh..."
(End of Chapter)
Feeling her empty head, Hela suddenly remembered that her crown was no longer with her.
Nearby, Xu Wenwu watched half of the scene unfold before growing impatient. He ordered, "Capture her."
At his command, more than twenty blak-clad men rushed toward her.
Watching this unfold, Hela was indifferent. "So, we're getting physical now?"
As the group charged at her, she smiled confidently, spreading her arms as if to summon her weapons and slaughter these ignorant Midgardians.
But no weapons appeared.
"What?"
Before she could react, a fist landed squarely on her, sending her flying backward.
She hit the ground hard, feeling the sharp pain on her cheek. Touching her lips, she saw a smear of red. Stunned, she muttered, "Mortal blood?"
After a brief moment of disbelief, Hela looked at the group of approaching black-clad men. Her expression shifted dramatically as she raised her hands in a gesture of surrender, feigning weakness.
"No, please, I beg you. Spare me. I'm just a poor, helpless woman..."
Her pitiful act made the men hesitate, their movements pausing as they exchanged bewildered looks.
Before they could recover, Hela lashed out with a sudden punch, knocking one of them to the ground.
Realizing it was all a facade, the black-clad men rushed at her. Drawing on years of combat experience, Hela managed to hold her ground for the moment.
...
Asgard, Realm of the Gods
Watching the fight unfold between Hela and the Earthlings, Thor felt a pang of embarrassment, his face reddening.
"This is Hela reduced to mortality, and yet she's still this formidable?"
Heimdall, on the other hand, seemed unsurprised.
Syd, however, wasn't paying much attention to Hela. His focus was on the man named Xu Wenwu and the ten rings on his arms.
Ten Rings?
The sounds of the skirmish between Hela and the black-clad men echoed through the air.
From a distance, Xu Wenwu observed the scene with mild surprise.
She was holding her own against so many of his subordinates? And with such well-honed combat experience?
When he saw her grab a dagger from one of his men's belts, clearly ready to use it, Xu Wenwu decided to step in.
Extending his left arm, two of the five golden rings on his left wrist emitted a blue glow and shot forward with a metallic whistle.
The rings collided with the dagger in Hela's hand, knocking it away.
With a flick of his wrist, the two rings returned to Xu Wenwu, neatly sliding back onto his arm.
Hela turned, startled, to see Xu Wenwu stretching out both arms. The rings on his wrists flew out, encircling her like a rope.
The ten rings glowed with blue energy, linking together and binding Hela tightly.
"What is this?"
Hela's face was filled with shock as she struggled against the restraints.
No matter how much she struggled, she couldn't break free of these strange bindings.
Quickly, she realized something. Furrowing her brows, she muttered, "This power doesn't belong to this world!"
Xu Wenwu responded coolly, "Neither do you."
Clearly, he had figured something out.
In the next instant, he clenched his right fist, and the ten rings tightened. Hela fell to her knees, unable to withstand the pressure.
The humiliation of being subdued ignited a burning fury within her. Glaring at the approaching man, she growled, "If my crown were with me, you'd be the one kneeling before me!"
To her surprise, Xu Wenwu smiled. "Then let me see for myself."
"What?" Hela was caught off guard.
The rings that bound her flew back to Xu Wenwu's arms.
Regaining her freedom, Hela stared intently at him, her cold smile returning as she realized he was serious.
As she walked toward her crown, she sneered, "I must admit, letting me retrieve the tool of your doom... I can't tell if you're brave or just foolish."
Xu Wenwu remained unbothered.
His confidence in the ten rings left him unimpressed by the idea that this woman could become a threat after reclaiming her crown.
"Go ahead. Put it on," he said.
Hela chuckled coldly, bent down, and reached out to grab the crown.
She tugged, but the crown didn't budge.
"Hmm, that's stuck tight."
Her smile faltered, and her laughter grew uneasy as panic crept into her expression. She tugged again, but still, the crown wouldn't move.
"Get up!"
"Come on!"
Forcing a smile, Hela muttered, "What's wrong with the gravity here?"
"Never mind," she said, attempting a few more pulls, only to meet the same result.
At that moment, it dawned on her—this was Odin's doing.
Looking up at the sky, she finally cracked, shouting, "Father, please, don't do this to me!"
"Ahhh!"
With a furious roar, Hela gripped the crown tightly, straining to lift it. Her expression twisted with desperation and despair until, finally, she gave up, panting heavily.
Xu Wenwu approached, watching her closely. "Who are you, really?"
By now, he had pieced together some clues. His instincts and observations told him that the otherworldly object likely did belong to this woman, though her current state left him puzzled.
"I told you," Hela snarled angrily, "I am Hela, Goddess of Death!"
Xu Wenwu raised an eyebrow, his curiosity deepening. "Oh? Then why are you in this state?"
Under the scrutiny of over twenty pairs of eyes, Hela fell silent for a moment before speaking bitterly.
"The old fool... my father... He waged wars and used battles to fuel his ambitions. When my ambitions surpassed his, he called me a monster and sealed me away."
"When I broke free and sought revenge, I almost defeated him. But then my monstrous brother appeared."
"He... he defeated me."
Hearing this, Xu Wenwu and his subordinates grew even more intrigued.
Regardless of whether her claim to divinity was true, her story was undeniably fascinating.
They were also curious about the brother she spoke of. What kind of person was he, and how powerful?
Xu Wenwu voiced the question on everyone's mind. "This brother of yours... is he very strong?"
The moment he asked, he saw a rare look of fear flash across Hela's face.
Hela muttered, "He's a monster. I've never seen anyone like him."
(End of Chapter)
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