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Chapter 177: The Dwarves Learn Magic, Odin Collapses
🕑 Added 2025-03-23 13:26:59 +0000 UTC"What did that old bastard do? He actually gave away all of our hard won belongings... That’s not his style."
Hela cursed under her breath.
She had been certain that coming to Aaron this time would be a done deal.
If he wanted a name, she could give him a name.
If he wanted profit, she could give him profit.
Whatever Aaron desired, she was willing to offer.
Out of respect for him, she had been incredibly patient—far more than she would be with anyone else.
If it were someone else, she wouldn’t have even entertained the conversation.
After all, she had been imprisoned for thousands of years. Finally being free again, no matter how patient she had once been, it was wearing thin.
If violence could solve things, she wouldn’t waste a single word.
But Aaron...
Wait!
If Odin had already given Aaron the Eternal Fire...
Then what about her army?
What about her dear Fenrir?
Hela had planned to use the Eternal Fire to resurrect her undead army—the warriors who had once fought alongside her.
And Fenrir... her faithful companion, the mighty wolf who had traveled the world with her.
Yet, according to Loki, there was no trace of her in Asgard. Not even her army or her pet remained.
There was only one possible explanation.
Odin hadn’t just sealed her away like some caged beast.
He had slaughtered all her soldiers—everyone who had once followed her.
Even Fenrir hadn't been spared.
"Odin, you are truly cold-blooded! How dare you treat the heroes of Asgard this way?"
Hela clenched her fists, gritting her teeth in hatred.
She swore that if Asgard’s army refused to submit to her, she would treat Odin’s loyal followers the same way he had treated hers.
Watching Hela succumb to her rage, Aaron remained indifferent.
He understood her anger.
Odin had indeed wronged her—not only sealing her away but also eliminating countless heroes.
But what did that have to do with him?
Odin would never treat him the same way.
A New Bargain
"God of Magic!"
Hela finally snapped out of her thoughts and turned to Aaron with a serious expression.
"I need the Eternal Fire to resurrect my army."
"Although I no longer possess the complete Eternal Fire—it has already been fully absorbed by me—if you can offer me something valuable in return..."
"I can give you a flame with the same properties."
Aaron casually snapped his fingers, and a ball of flame appeared at the tip of his index finger.
It wasn’t the Eternal Fire.
Rather, it was a flame created through his materialization magic—an imitation that carried similar properties.
It could also resurrect the dead.
It would fulfill Hela’s wish.
"A reward... If you can give me the Eternal Fire, I can teach you special energy manipulation techniques. That’s my—"
"You mean this?"
Before Hela could finish, Aaron summoned countless black swords—identical in style to Hela’s own.
Hela stared at him in shock. Then, her expression darkened.
"The old man gave you that too?!"
"Emm... in a way, yes."
Aaron nodded.
"In that case, I’ll teach you my most cherished magic..."
"Wait, is it Hand of Glory?"
Aaron interrupted her again, clenching his right fist as power gathered in his hand.
"This was Odin’s reward for my valor in battle... and I’ve improved it a hundred million times over."
To the untrained eye, it might not have looked like much, but Hela could immediately recognize it.
This magic...
It was the Hand of Glory—a technique she was all too familiar with.
"Damn it, you old bastard! You’d better not fall into my hands! If you do, I swear I’ll make sure you never even have the chance to enter Valhalla! I’ll see you rot in the endless abyss!"
Hela was fuming.
She didn’t even register Aaron’s comment about upgrading her magic.
If thoughts alone could kill, Odin would have died a million times over by now.
That miserable old fool had handed out her belongings like party favors.
Just as he had gifted Mjolnir to Thor...
All to win people over.
Damn him!
Odin’s Frustration
Norway.
In a dimly lit chamber, the light of the Bifrost suddenly illuminated the space.
The next moment, Thor—who had been in freefall—was finally saved.
Boom!
He crashed onto the ground, even bouncing up slightly before landing again.
Disheveled, he got up and ran a hand through his tousled blonde hair.
"Heimdall! Next time, can you move a little faster?! I was falling for ages!"
"It was exactly an hour. I timed it perfectly," Heimdall responded with his usual calm indifference.
He sympathized with Thor, but he wasn’t about to show it.
"An hour?! And you just watched?!" Thor rolled his eyes. "I thought we were friends, Heimdall!"
That hour-long freefall had been miserable.
Without Mjolnir, he couldn’t fly. He had been completely helpless.
It was disgusting!
"I was ordered not to intervene. Do you have a problem with that?"
At that moment, an enraged voice echoed through the chamber.
Thor stiffened and slowly turned around.
There, standing with a fierce glare, was Odin.
"Well, well... I see you’re quite pleased with yourself. You defeated my eldest daughter—are you happy now?"
"After all, she was the one I spent so much effort to suppress."
Thor gave a nervous chuckle. "Yeah... she was strong, no doubt. Oh, and by the way, she crushed my hammer!"
"Well done."
To Thor’s surprise, Odin actually praised him.
"At least you’re no longer just 'The Hammer God,' are you?"
Thor grimaced at the nickname.
"But have you even considered this? The Hela you defeated had been sealed away for thousands of years. Her strength was still at the level it had been before her imprisonment."
"Not to mention, I had already drained a considerable amount of her divine power. And she was fighting in Midgard."
"But once she returns to Asgard... how will you defeat her?"
Odin’s words struck deep.
And before Thor could respond, Odin continued.
"You defeated a weakened Hela. I’m not impressed. In fact, you took too long to do it! It doesn’t match the immense power within you at all!"
"But the most shameful thing of all?"
"You were subdued by Loki. With magic!"
"Do you understand what that means?"
"I..."
Thor opened his mouth, but Odin silenced him with a glare.
"It means the heir to Asgard’s throne is only capable of defeating a sister who has been weak for thousands of years!"
"And now? You can’t even beat Loki!"
"You have disappointed me, Thor!"
"Now, tell me—do you know what you must do next?"
Thor clenched his fists.
"I understand."
Ashamed, but resolute, he declared, "I will learn magic!"
"When I master that golden portal spell, I’ll bring Loki and Hela back!"
"...By the way, Father, what’s that magic called again?"
"GET OUT!"
Odin, red with rage, slammed Gungnir into the ground.
A surge of divine energy erupted, sending Thor flying back to Midgard.
The Dwarves Discover Magic
Meanwhile, in Nidavellir...
The dwarves were studying the Magic Net.
Although they had spent some time learning about it, they hadn’t found an efficient way to grow stronger quickly.
Impatient, most of them had already given up.
"Why waste time with this? We could be forging weapons or drinking ale instead!"
Eitri had thought the same.
But when Heimdall relayed Thor’s request, an idea struck him.
As the dwarves activated the forges, drawing on the energy of a neutron star to melt Uru metal, Eitri suddenly fell silent.
"Wait a minute..."
"Isn’t this a ready-made energy source?"
"If Asgard wasn’t lying, we can use the Magic Net to absorb massive amounts of energy... and convert it into our own magic power!"
"The power of a neutron star... that should work!"
Excited, he gathered a dozen dwarves and led them closer to the forge.
The intense heat should have incinerated them—but it didn’t.
Instead, their faces lit up with excitement.
"King! Our magic power is increasing so fast!"
"The Asgardians weren’t lying—we can actually learn magic!"
