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"When there is no more room in hell, the dead will walk the Earth."
- Peter Washington, (Voyage of the Dead)
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<(Atem POV)>
"Now, do you remember what we discussed before I open the way to Midgard? You cannot kill anyone you meet unless you feel that they absolutely deserve it. Oh, and no attacking Asgard or Odin until I say so. I have made the foolish error of fighting him once without preparations, mistakenly thinking him a decrepit old man who is no longer capable of the feats he once was, but I won't make that same mistake again. I have realized how merciless he is to have been the Sky Father of the Norse pantheon for so long. To match my strength, that old man didn't even hesitate to absorb more than half of the life force of every Asgardian in the realm into himself. I am sure some of the weaker Norse gods even died because of that dick move of his. Battling him basically means fighting every Asgardian at the same time.
Also, now that I have fought him once, I am sure that the All-Father is mad enough that he would prefer to destroy the entire Asgard and kill all its residents than let one of us win and rule it. Initially, I thought I managed to land a critical blow on him with my last move, but I am not going to bet my chips on it. So, it's wiser for us to prepare in advance before we battle him than just go in blind and unprepared." I explained, trying to convince Hela not to let her desire for vengeance force her to do something stupid.
"... You do know that I was Odin's general once, right? My duty was not just to slaughter his enemies with my blades but also to command his armies and create strategies for wars. We did not take over the nine realms by just killing everything in front of us like a bunch of brutes. And yes, I do know about the capabilities of his Odinforce. Unlike me, Odin doesn't just draw power from the realm of Asgard but also from all of its residents since it is connected to every Asgardian's soul, living or dead. To him, everything in the realm of Asgard, including the dimension itself, is his property, and the old man can gladly sacrifice all of it if it means that he can get his way.
However, despite all that, the Odinforce has a weakness; it can't absorb the life force of his children. Even though we can be considered Asgardians, he has no control over us since we have his royal blood flowing through our veins." She responded with a look of slight disgust. "So, you don't have to worry, my dear husband. I have waited multiple millennia for my revenge; I can wait a few more days. As for his Odinforce, leave it to me. Even though I can't take over its power while he is still alive, I can at least weaken him and stop him from using it to its full potential when we fight. Even in the worst-case scenario, I can always tap into Hel's power to bolster mine, although I would prefer not to." She stated confidently.
I kept silently listening to her words. However, the moment I heard her calling me her husband again, I couldn't help but feel a slight chill all over my body. And no, it wasn't because she was my own blood sister, since marriage between relatives among gods was pretty common. Moreover, my sense of morality was too loose in my second life to be disgusted by things like this. No, I was feeling the chills because every time she called me her husband or her soulmate, I could notice an unsettling and creepy look in her eyes, much like how a drunkard would look at his last bottle of alcohol. It was as if she viewed me as a delicate prize that needed to be guarded and stored somewhere safe and secure.
"Zoya, open a Hush Tube to our Earth," I commanded the camouflaged Mother Box floating beside me as I shrugged off the creepy feeling before turning to Hela, "I wish I had a way to hide you from Odin's or Heimdall's eyes. Because of my... special circumstances, they can't seem to be able to find me with the help of their magic, but they might start plotting something once they notice that you are out of Helheim. I am confident that I can easily take on the entire Asgardian army on my own, but I would prefer not to since I don't have a direct enmity against them, just their foolish king." I said with a thoughtful look.
