At the same time, just as Hela was about to activate her magic circle, the blade in her hand hesitated and slightly retracted when she heard the name _Emperor_.
Her eyes flickered with admiration and obsession.
Hela was wondering when Emperor would finally notice her efforts—after all, she had retrieved the Time Stone for the Ancient One.
If she wasn't mistaken, the last time Emperor visited Asgard, he had taken a human woman with him. That girl, Jane, was with Thor, wasn't she?
"You know where Emperor is? I'd like to thank him," Thor said, seeing that Hela had paused her attack. Maybe she wouldn't fight after all.
But why had his father never mentioned the change of Asgard's ruler?
Suddenly, Thor realized—Hela had been imprisoned after being judged guilty by Odin. How had she escaped?
And how had she become the ruler of Asgard? Emperor didn't seem interested in ruling Asgard.
Thor's expression darkened. Could things really be as he feared?
With that thought, he spoke in a cold, sharp tone, locking eyes with Hela.
"Hela, where is Father?"
Hela, enjoying the look on Thor's face, widened her eyes in mock surprise.
"That foolish, weak old man? Let me think..."
She relished seeing Odin's most beloved son in pain. No one could understand what she had endured during her imprisonment.
A sarcastic smirk curled on her lips as she slowly began circling Thor.
Thor kept Hela in his peripheral vision, ready for an attack at any moment.
How could he have almost forgotten? He had a far more ruthless and violent elder sister.
"I sent him somewhere even Heimdall can't find—a place where he can reflect on what _I_ went through when I was sealed away!"
Thor's voice rang with authority.
"So, you used force to take Asgard? Did you attack our people?"
He clenched Mjolnir tightly, sparks of electricity crackling around his grip—his fury was clear.
He _knew_ Hela couldn't have taken the throne through legitimate means.
Hela scoffed, rolling her eyes.
"You think you can defeat me? Foolish."
Thor let out an enraged roar, determined to beat Hela into submission and force her to reveal Odin's whereabouts.
He had to find Loki.
Right now, Thor had no interest in ruling Asgard. Jane was healthy again, and he didn't want to be separated from her.
Compared to Hela, Loki might actually make a better king.
After all, Odin had sentenced Hela to imprisonment _for a reason_—her cold-blooded, violent nature.
She loved battle, and she had tried to rule the Nine Realms through oppression and war.
And clearly, she still held the same beliefs.
"You think that pathetic hammer makes you a match for me? Odin must have been senile to even consider you fit for the throne."
Hela's mind flashed with an image of Emperor in his shining armor.
_Only he_ was worthy of ruling the Nine Realms.
Thor's eyes widened in disbelief.
He watched as Hela—effortlessly and with one hand—caught Mjolnir, the very hammer that Loki himself had failed to lift.
She wasn't struggling.
Not even slightly.
Did this mean she _was_ worthy of the throne?
Otherwise, how could she possibly withstand its power?
...
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