This was one of Lucas's methods of manipulating Ki.
If someone possessed eyes capable of perceiving Ki, they would see that every single black sword was bound by strands of Lucas's energy.
"Don't look down on me!"
Hela snarled. The green energy around her body instantly boiled like scalding water.
The black swords that had been restrained suddenly surged with power, breaking free from Lucas's bindings as if injected with a powerful stimulant.
"If that's what you think," Lucas said, a meaningful smile appearing on his face,
"then I'll stop playing around."
In the next instant, one black sword after another pierced into Lucas's body.
Soon, they formed a spherical cage around him.
As more black swords joined, the sphere grew larger and denser.
Seeing this, Hela's face twisted into a mix of excitement and madness.
But then—
Her smile froze.
The black-sword sphere, which had been shrinking as the blades pierced inward, suddenly stopped contracting.
Then it began to expand—rapidly.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Like a tightly drawn bowstring snapping loose, the black swords shot outward in every direction.
Each blade flew like an arrow released from the string, exploding away from the center.
They slammed into the surrounding ground and mountains, detonating with violent energy.
Each meter-long black sword struck like a missile, triggering massive shockwaves.
Seven or eight of them hit Hela at once, the explosive force shaking her violently.
Even so, supported by her immense energy, she forcibly stabilized herself.
"I'll kill you!"
Hela had completely lost her composure.
In that instant, she gathered all of her power behind her, forming a colossal sword more than ten meters long.
With a furious roar, she thrust the gigantic blade straight toward Lucas.
"This can end now," Lucas said calmly.
His body transformed into a streak of energy light as he flew straight at the massive black sword.
He made no attempt to dodge.
Accelerating faster and faster, Lucas slammed his head directly into the sword's tip.
In Hela's mind, she could already see the Midgardian reduced to dust—obliterated by her attack.
But reality was cruel.
The moment the black sword struck Lucas's head, it shattered under the immense collision force.
Like a brittle biscuit, the giant blade exploded into countless fragments.
"Impossible!"
This time, Hela was truly stunned.
Her all-out attack had been crushed as easily as dry crackers.
Before she could process it—
Lucas vanished from his original position and reappeared directly in front of her.
A fist filled her vision.
Not even the energy protecting her body could withstand it.
Like a bullet piercing a vest that was never meant to stop it, her reinforced defenses collapsed instantly.
Boom!
Lucas's punch smashed Hela into the ground, blasting out a massive crater.
Without pausing, Lucas turned into a streak of light and dove into the pit, smashing down with another punch.
The earth shook violently.
The already-deep crater collapsed further, becoming an even larger abyss.
Bang!
Hela's body was launched out of the pit, shooting straight into the sky.
Lucas arrived an instant later.
With his leg raised high, he brought down a brutal axe kick onto Hela's waist.
With a piercing whistle, her body slammed back into the crater.
The ground trembled violently once more.
Lucas twisted his body midair, his aura erupting as he transformed into a blazing meteor and smashed straight into the pit again.
BOOM!
Hundreds of tons of soil erupted skyward.
The sheer force shattered the surrounding terrain, massive cracks spreading outward as the ground struggled to bear the impact.
The land itself seemed to churn violently, like an ocean battered by a raging storm.
Deep within the pit—more than a hundred meters underground—Hela spat out blood.
In thousands of years of existence, she had never been beaten to this extent.
Even when Odin had suppressed her, she had never been crushed so completely.
Her rage burned away her remaining rationality.
But the moment she tried to retaliate, Lucas punched her even deeper into the earth.
"You know," Lucas laughed loudly, his voice wild and carefree,
"I'm actually really good at helping people vent their anger and release their emotions."
He grabbed Hela by the collar and yanked her out of the pit.
"Didn't you want to kill me? Come on!"
A punch slammed into Hela's abdomen, forcing her body to fold forward.
Lucas dropped his shoulder and followed with a brutal uppercut that smashed into her jaw, sending her arching backward into the air.
Then he crouched and sprang upward, delivering a powerful high kick that launched Hela straight into the sky.
"Hah!"
Lucas shouted sharply, his palms snapping together before his chest as a point of energy rapidly condensed.
Supporting the glowing point with one hand, he aimed at Hela in the sky and hurled it upward.
The grape-sized light grew rapidly during flight, expanding into a massive energy sphere over two meters in diameter.
It swallowed Hela completely.
In the gloomy sky of Hel, it was as if a miniature sun had ignited, radiating blinding light in all directions.
Moments later—
A charred, smoke-wreathed figure fell from the sky like a severed kite.
Thud.
Hela slammed into the ground, kicking up clouds of black dust and ash.
She was not dead.
Her body still retained vitality and was even slowly regenerating.
At that moment, Thor rushed over, having realized the battle was over. He stared at the scorched Hela with a complicated expression.
"Don't worry," Lucas said calmly. "She's not dead."
"Then… should Heimdall bring us back?" Thor asked, glancing at Hela.
"Mm."
As he spoke, Lucas bent down and lifted Hela into his arms.
"You—?" Thor froze, then blurted out anxiously,
"Didn't Father say that if she returns to Asgard, she'll gain an immortal body?"
"It's fine. Take her with us," Lucas replied evenly.
"If I can defeat her once, I can defeat her a second time."
"So-called immortality—when your strength is inferior to mine—is nothing more than being an unkillable punching bag."
_____
T/N:
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