Chapter 252: MD-Chapter 251 Drained
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As Arthur vanished without a trace, Hela silently stood up.
She walked to the door, her gaze falling on the endless bloody rain outside. Her expression remained calm.
"The Tesseract, is it? If I really wanted it, what makes you think you could keep it from me?"
Her cold gaze swept over the downpour, growing increasingly icy. "This endless rain... Do you really think I will remain 'sealed' forever?"
The moment her words fell, an immense surge of energy erupted from her body. Ripples of power radiated outward, instantly stopping the torrential rain of blood.
Unknown to anyone, her powers had already been unsealed.
Apparently, even Odin couldn't keep them sealed forever.
The sky darkened again, but the blood rain quickly dissipated, seeping into the muddy ground.
The blackened earth became even more stained, and the writhing trees outside all reverted to a submissive posture, bowing their branches as if in awe.
Hela turned back to the desolate building she had been in. A cold snort escaped her lips as she raised her hand, preparing to destroy it. But just as her hand reached out, she froze.
Her gaze shifted to the two barrels of wine and the glasses beside them.
After a moment's hesitation, she walked over, poured herself a glass, and leaned against the wall.
Staring silently at the now silent doorway, she sipped her wine, seemingly lost in thought.
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With a flash of light, Arthur reappeared in his own room.
The crimson residue on his body visibly evaporated, disappearing into the air. He stared in bewilderment at the dissipating rain of blood.
"What the hell was that stuff?"
His entire body was dry, the strange rain having left no trace of moisture.
"Strange..."
Shaking his head, he looked at the Tesseract in his hand, sighed, and activated the energy within him. Using both his colorless energy and spatial energy, he carefully sealed it before placing it back into the ''Disassemble Space''.
"Back home, huh?"
He looked around his room, still slightly incredulous. After confirming that nothing had changed since he had left, he finally relaxed.
Then frustration set in.
"So Hela 'really' lied to me? The rain had nothing to do with spatial energy? Arthur, oh Arthur... You let such an obvious lie fool you for so long?"
Even though it had only been a matter of hours, the deception still left a bad taste in his mouth.
And for the life of him, he couldn't understand - why would someone like Hela bother to lie?
What had happened to the "big, bad demon queen"?
What happened to her fearsome reputation?
First she stumbled on flat ground. Then she lied to his face. How did she end up acting like an ordinary woman?
"From now on, no matter what she says, I won't believe a word of it!"
After saying that, Arthur frowned. "No, wait. From now on, we won't even 'meet' again!"
He looked up at the ceiling and fell into silence.
Odin wasn't evil, but his constant attempts to set up a match between Arthur and Hela were annoying.
Arthur had a decent relationship with Asgard, so it was inevitable that he'd have to visit in the future. But what would he do if Odin pushed him towards Hela again?
"I have to think of a way out of this."
Sitting on his bed, Arthur began to brainstorm. After a long time he did not come up with any good solutions.
In the end, he sighed.
"Worst-case scenario, I'll just leave without telling anyone next time I visit Asgard."
His eyes lit up as an idea struck him.
"Speaking of which, my teleportation array should now allow access to Asgard."
With that, Arthur activated the array. A shimmering teleportation circle appeared on the ground. Taking out the ''Thoth Pen'', he made a few adjustments to the formula, changing two structural components, before stepping into the circle.
The next second, amidst a strong vibration and a flash of light, he found himself standing in a room in Asgard's Golden Palace.
This room bore Arthur's personal markings, as it had been designated as his own.
As Arthur materialized, however, his complexion paled. A great deal of his internal star energy had been drained...
"As expected, interstellar teleportation is still too much for me."
Arthur muttered as he stared at the teleportation array on the ground.
"The array's power wasn't enough, so it drew power from my body instead."
He glanced at the door, forcing himself to stay upright. With sheer determination, he stepped back into the array. After another round of intense vibrations, he reappeared in his room.
"I really should have... used the Tesseract. Feels like... my body's completely drained!"
Mumbling to himself, Arthur collapsed onto his bed and immediately fell into a deep, unconscious sleep.
What he didn't notice was that the door creaked open just as his eyes closed. Lily stood in the doorway, wide-eyed and speechless as she looked at Arthur lying on the bed in his somewhat tattered battle gear.
After a moment of hesitation, she silently closed the door.
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Meanwhile, in the great hall of Asgard's golden palace...
Odin and Frigga watched shifting images in a crystal sphere.
As the images faded, Odin waved his hand, causing the crystal to disappear.
Frigga turned to Odin with a pensive expression.
"That girl is clever," she remarked.
"For Arthur, this is the best possible outcome," Odin replied. "Silence is a sign of wisdom."
Frigga nodded thoughtfully before asking, "And Hela?"
"She succeeded," Odin said with an exuberant smile. His snow-white beard quivered with glee. "Did you see? She didn't kill Arthur! She didn't even show any intention to kill!"
"You're really sure about that?" Frigga pressed. "Hela's power is enough to break your seal the moment Arthur brought her back. And yet you were willing to let them coexist? Aren't you afraid that Hela might suddenly decide to kill him?"
"The facts prove otherwise," Odin said, looking at Frigga. "Hela has always been too forceful, always so strong. It's rare for her to experience being cared for. Arthur will be something special for her. Whether they like it or not, they've already started down that path. It may take them a long time, but that doesn't matter... They both have the time to walk this path together.
Frigga studied Odin for a moment before she broke into a smile.
"If Arthur knew that from the moment he stepped into Helheim, everything had been part of your grand plan, how do you think he'd feel?"
"He'd probably call me an old schemer," Odin replied with a chuckle.
Frigga laughed too, but then her expression turned serious.
"Can you still see her future now?"
Odin shook his head. "No, I can't. Not anymore. My queen, the future no longer reveals itself to us. Everything has changed."
"Let's hope it's for the better."
"Hope is what makes a better future possible," Odin said, his eyes betraying a hint of weariness.
The long hours of observation and the actions he had orchestrated had taken their toll on him.
At that moment, Odin truly felt the weight of exhaustion settle over him.
'(End of Chapter)'