Hela, Death’s Follower God

"I am Death."

Death smiled, sat in a chair with her legs crossed, and asked, "You still haven’t answered my question. Given your personality, shouldn’t you have killed all those people?"

"Odin and Master wouldn’t allow it."

Hela said irritably, "Besides, their crimes didn’t warrant death."

"Looks like I came to the right place. Hela, you’ve changed. The old you had no reason. You slaughtered everywhere out of hatred, like a madwoman."

Death nodded in satisfaction. "But now, you’ve awakened from your resentment."

Hela fell silent. Without realizing it, she had been changed by Odin, Master, and Little Hela.

Death asked again, "Do you still want revenge? Do you still want to become the Queen of Asgard?"

"Of course I do. I want to beat Odin up. I want to rule Asgard and make it feared throughout the universe."

Hela nodded without hesitation. "That blond idiot has no right to be Asgard’s king. He’ll only destroy Asgard."

Death smiled and asked once more, "As the Goddess of Death, what do you think death means?"

"Only with death can there be new life. Death is an indispensable part of the universe."

Hela answered. Little Hela had actually taught her that principle. In the past, she had treated death purely as a tool for revenge and venting hatred.

"The meaning of death is to maintain balance."

Death repeated the theory she had previously explained to Wang Bert, then said, "Hela, are you willing to take over Thanos’s position? I will appoint you as my Follower God and help you gain freedom."

"A Follower God? Freedom?"

Hela was somewhat stunned. Pie was actually falling from the sky? And it was an enormous one—Death’s Follower God was far more prestigious than Asgard’s Goddess of Death.

"That’s right, a Follower God. After becoming my Follower God, you will receive replenishment of divine power anywhere in the universe. In addition, you will gain part of the concept of death."

Death nodded—being a Follower God inherently came with part of the concept of death.

If it had been over a year ago, Hela would have agreed immediately. But now, she found herself hesitating.

Once she agreed, the peaceful life of the past year would be completely over. Worse still, she would become enemies with Odin, Asgard, and Master, just like Thanos before her.

"Lady Death."

After a moment, Hela said, "The Space Stone among the Infinity Stones has already been devoured by my Master. Even if we obtain the other Infinity Stones, we still won’t be able to snap our fingers."

"Snapping fingers isn’t the only way to maintain balance. It is merely the most merciful way. Regardless of status, half of everyone dies at random, without any pain."

Death shook her head. "Unfortunately, that merciful method was ruined by Blood God. Now, I can only use relatively cruel methods, such as bringing in the Arthrosians to slaughter the universe."

Hela asked in shock, "Bring in the Arthrosians and slaughter the universe?"

Death did not say more. She raised her hand, and a screen of light appeared in the void. The screen was filled densely with insects—the Arthrosians from Negative Space.

Hela looked at the screen in the air, gritted her teeth, and said, "Great Death, as long as you are willing to spare Asgard, I am willing to become your Follower God and maintain the balance of this universe with you."

The old Hela had no heart. The current Hela did, and that was precisely why Death had sought her out—the old Hela had not been qualified to become Death’s Follower God at all.

Thanos might have been a little slow-witted, but his original intention had always been to maintain the balance of the universe. At the very least, that was what he himself believed.

"What Asgard needs to worry about is not me, but Ragnarok."

Death shook her head. "Asgard does not have a large population. It does not need to be culled."

Hela breathed a sigh of relief. "That’s good. Without me and without Surtur, Ragnarok will never happen again."

Death smiled. "That may not be the case. You have an uncle named Great Serpent. He has always wanted to destroy Asgard."

Hela was dumbfounded. "An uncle? How did I not know I had an uncle?"

"Thor didn’t know he had a sister either."

Death said, "By the way, Great Serpent is also sealed on Earth."

"Can that old bastard Odin be any more of a scumbag?"

Hela cursed furiously. What kind of father dug traps everywhere for his own children?

"You can handle Ragnarok yourself. I believe you are capable of it."

Death stood up and lightly tapped Hela’s shoulder. The seal on Hela’s body instantly shattered. Immediately afterward, boundless Death Power poured into her body. Her aura surged explosively, and even her hair began to dance in the air.

"So this is true Death Power?"

Feeling the surging strength within her, Hela was overjoyed. The Death Power granted by Death was far stronger than Asgard’s Death Power. More importantly, this Death Power also contained part of the concept of death.

Hela had officially transformed from Asgard’s Goddess of Death into Death’s Follower God of the universe.

Sensing someone rushing over, Death smiled and said, "Once you have dealt with your personal matters, come see me in the Death God Realm."

With that, Death disappeared. In the next breath, there was a bang as Odin crashed through the door in a blaze of golden light.

Seeing Hela floating in the air and radiating deathly fluctuations all over, Odin asked in shock, "Hela, what have you done?"

"Of course, I reclaimed the power that belongs to me. Odin, I am now the Goddess of Death’s Follower God. You can no longer imprison me."

Hela laughed triumphantly. "Once I fully master this power, it will be the end of you and that idiot. I am the Queen of Asgard. I will make the Entire Universe know the name of Hela."

"Death’s Follower God? You sided with Death?"

Odin was greatly alarmed. Then his gaze dimmed as he said, "You still haven’t forgiven me."

"Forgive you? Odin, do you think staging some childish little game is enough to make me forgive you?"

Hela said with utter disdain, "Forgiveness isn’t that cheap. Odin, we’ll take our time playing this game. Oh, and tell Master that I will be the new Thanos."

"The new Thanos?"

Odin’s expression changed drastically. Gungnir appeared in his hand out of thin air as he shouted at Hela, "I will never let you leave Earth."

Odin did not want Hela to embark on the road to death—Thanos’s road was a dead end. Wang Bert would never spare a "Thanos."

"Just you?"

Hela smiled disdainfully. The next moment, Fenrir in the courtyard suddenly grew larger and slammed a paw viciously into Odin’s back. Odin flew out like a meteor, smashing through walls with a series of bangs.

Taking the opportunity, Hela transformed into a streak of black light and shot into the sky with Fenrir, escaping Earth.

Odin, lying on the ground, raised Gungnir and prepared to throw it at Hela. At that moment, Little Hela’s voice sounded in Odin’s mind. "Old man, let Hela leave."

Odin said, "If she leaves, she’ll die."

Little Hela said flatly, "She won’t. At worst, her whole body will be shattered and all four limbs paralyzed. How could she die that easily?"

"Isn’t that more terrifying than death?"

Even as Odin complained, he put Gungnir away. With Little Hela’s assurance, Hela probably would not die.

Little Hela was far more reliable than Hela.

As soon as Hela flew into space, she saw Little Hela floating there, waiting for her. She snorted. "I didn’t expect you to have learned Space Magic too."

"I’m a genius. What can I do?"

Little Hela shrugged and tossed a cluster of Nanoparticles to Hela. "This is a nano game console. It comes with the most advanced quantum network and uses divine power as energy. Remember to log in on time tonight. Without you, some dungeons can’t be cleared."

Hela caught the nano game console and complained, "Just how much does Master spoil you? He actually researched something like this for you?"

"It was just a side project."

Little Hela said seriously, "Hela, have you really decided? There’s no turning back on this road."

"I can’t really become a shut-in, can I? I am Hela, Hela the Goddess of Death."

Hela said, "I am destined for the battlefield. This is my fate. Besides, Death is right. The universe needs balance."

"The universe does need balance, but Thanos and Death are using the wrong methods."

Little Hela shook her head. "Forget it, let’s not talk about that. Be careful. Master won’t go easy on you. Also, this is for you, as a farewell gift."

As she spoke, Little Hela tossed a ball of Eternal Fire to Hela. Her Master had stolen—cough, cough—taken it from Odin.

Hela accepted the Eternal Fire and said, "Neither will I."

With that, Hela turned into light with Fenrir and vanished.

"At your age, and you’re still saying one thing while meaning another."

Little Hela sighed and used Space Magic to return to New York. She still had a meeting to attend that afternoon.

"Death!"

In the Chaotic Void, Wang Bert, who was maintaining the seal, could not help cursing. That woman had actually lured Hela away while he was unable to spare any attention.

"I really didn’t expect her backup candidate to be Hela. But then again, Hela is indeed very suitable to become the new Thanos. Sigh."

Wang Bert sighed but did nothing else. Hela had chosen to leave herself. No one could stop her.

While drawing in dimensional power, the projection asked Wang Bert, "Main body, why did Mutant Planet suddenly go berserk?"

"Because Wanda’s strength suddenly surged. Worse yet, her strength will continue to increase crazily, like riding a rocket."

Wang Bert shook his head. "It seems I’ll have to race her."

"Wanda’s strength will keep surging?"

The projection said, "That’s troublesome. Main body, I can’t handle this situation. You have to personally take charge. As for Earth, I’ll help protect it for you."

"You just want to go back to Earth and chase women, don’t you? Dream on. Focus on drawing dimensional energy and stop slacking off."

Wang Bert said disdainfully. The projection rolled his eyes and obediently continued working like an old ox, the unpaid kind.

Over an hour later, the seal finally stabilized. The projection breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Main body, we have to reinforce the seal. Otherwise, we may not be able to withstand the next wave."

"I know. Once Dragon Soul Clone returns, I’ll have him merge part of his power into the seal."

Wang Bert said, "Dragon Soul Clone will be busy next. He has to devour gods and travel between worlds in search of the Space Stone."

The projection sighed. "Dragon Soul Clone is as pitiful as I am."

Wang Bert said, "No, you’re more pitiful than him. He has a wife. You don’t."

The projection clutched his chest, feeling utterly devastated.

Wang Bert said, "Keep a close eye on this place. If anything unexpected happens, call me immediately. I’ll come over right away."

The projection waved a hand. "No problem. Go in peace."

"That joke has been used too many times. Use it again and people will start cursing."

Wang Bert gave him the middle finger and instantly disappeared.

Wang Bert did not return to Earth. He went to Symbiote Planet to investigate, and the result was exactly as he had expected—Knull had vanished.

"Death."

Wang Bert cursed and rushed toward Vormir at top speed—the location of the Soul Stone.

As expected, the Soul Stone had already been taken away. Even Red Skull had disappeared. Wang Bert snorted and turned to return to Earth.

His next opponent would be Death.

Wang Bert did not know that Death had done one more thing—she had gone to find Galactus.

Galactus, whose full name was Planet Devourer, was a towering giant. At this moment, as usual, he sat aboard his spaceship and waited for his heralds to find food for him—planets suitable for devouring.

Death flew before Galactus and smiled. "Looks like I’m lucky today. You aren’t very hungry."

"I just devoured a planet yesterday."

Galactus coldly asked Death, "Death, why have you come to me?"

"To ask you to devour a planet."

Death said, "Earth."

Galactus knew where Earth was. He said, "Too far. I don’t want to go."

"You can devour your way there."

Death said, "You’ll have a favor from me. I will repay it."

Galactus fell silent for a moment, then said, "Fine. I’ll go to Earth."

"Very good."

Death nodded in satisfaction and disappeared from Galactus’s side. Galactus snorted, and an unusual trace of tenderness flashed through his cold eyes.

Inside Asgard’s study, Thor held an official document and said excitedly, "Heimdall, a rebellion has broken out in Vanaheim. I will lead an expedition and crush the rebellion."

"It’s only been a few days, and he’s already back to his old self?"

Heimdall grumbled inwardly. He said, "Let Fandral handle such a trivial matter. Thor, you are the king, not a general. Unless Asgard is invaded, you do not need to go to the battlefield."

Thor irritably slammed the document onto the desk. "I really hope an enemy invades Asgard soon."

Heimdall’s mouth twitched. This is a foolish ruler, right? He’s definitely a foolish ruler, right? He actually hopes an enemy will invade his own country.

"Give up on that thought. No one would dare tug on Asgard’s tiger whiskers!"

Heimdall said arrogantly. The next moment, a thunderous boom came from outside, followed by a loud shout. "Thor Odinson, get out here and see me!"

"Someone really dares to invade Asgard? Huh, Hela!"

Heimdall was speechless. His golden eyes pierced through the obstacles toward the plaza outside. The moment he saw what was happening, his expression changed drastically, and he hurriedly turned to shout at Thor, "Thor…"

Heimdall did not continue, for a simple reason: Thor had already rushed out of the palace with Thor’s Hammer—like a husky desperate to get into a fight.

Heimdall had no choice but to chase after him. To be honest, he was deeply puzzled. Why had Hela come here? Wasn’t she supposed to be a shut-in at the Stinky Tofu Shop? Hela’s reason for coming was simple: reclaim the death army that belonged to her, and incidentally teach her worthless little brother Thor a lesson.