Asgard.
Two golden sparks flashed one after another, and Loki and Lucas emerged from the portal, one after the other.
Seeing no one around, Lucas got straight to the point. "Loki, did you come up with some bad idea?"
Loki chuckled, then waved his hand and said, "How could I? I just want to find something for Thor and Hela to do."
Thor and Hela?
Lucas suddenly understood why Loki had voluntarily suggested Asgard should help.
Lucas asked with some curiosity, "Thor and Hela are still vying for the throne?"
Loki shrugged, speaking with a hint of helplessness, "They certainly are. They're giving speeches in the square all day, and my ears are practically calloused from listening."
"One says he's Odin's eldest son, the God of Thunder, who led Asgard to victory in the great war against the Four Realms."
"The other says she's Odin's eldest daughter, the rightful heir to Asgard, the commander who led Asgard to conquer the Nine Realms."
But Lucas could see emotions beyond helplessness in his expression—envy and jealousy.
Loki envied and was jealous that Thor and Hela could openly and legitimately compete for Asgard's throne. Perhaps that's why he hid on Earth and liked Lucas's tweet yesterday.
The two walked in silence for a while, and in the corridor leading to Asgard's Palace, Loki suddenly asked, "By the way, Lucas, what about Ragnarok?"
Lucas replied, "It's already resolved. We'll tell Thor and Hela about it when we see them."
Loki shook his head, smiling. "Is that so? Then Thor and Hela are probably going to have a conflict over the King of Asgard."
"What about you, Loki? You also want to be the King of Asgard, don't you?" A gentle female voice sounded.
From behind a thick pillar in the corridor, Frigga gracefully walked out.
Loki was startled and asked, "Mother, what are you doing here?"
Frigga shook her head, extended her finger, and tapped Loki's forehead, chiding him, "Have you forgotten? I am also a sorceress."
Frigga had sensed the spatial fluctuations caused by the teleportation magic and guessed that Loki had returned to Asgard, so she had deliberately come here to wait.
After chastising Loki, Frigga looked at Lucas, bowing slightly. "Sorcerer Lucas."
Lucas returned the bow. "Queen Frigga."
After exchanging polite greetings, Frigga spoke first. "You just said that the matter of Ragnarok has been resolved and that you will explain it to Thor and Hela when you see them. I wonder if I may listen in?"
Lucas smiled. "Of course."
Afterward, three people walked together in the corridor, and the person leading the way changed from Loki to Frigga.
Midway, Frigga called a guard and instructed him to inform Thor and Hela to go to the main hall of the Palace.
Passing through several gates, Frigga led Lucas and Loki to a balcony in front of the Palace's main hall.
Standing here, the myriad lights of Asgard were visible.
Soon after Lucas and the others arrived, two sets of footsteps sounded almost simultaneously.
"Before the All-Father left, this was his favorite place to stand. I once asked him why, and he said standing here reminded him of the weight of the crown. Looking at the people of Asgard below, what do you see?"
Hearing the footsteps, Frigga slowly turned around.
The newcomers were Hela and Thor.
And this was indeed where Odin used to look down upon Asgard and reminisce about the past.
"I see guardianship and responsibility."
Thor looked down at the people of Asgard, and he answered Frigga with a firm expression.
Hela, however, stood with her arms crossed, noncommittal. Clearly, she dismissed Thor's words.
Seeing this, Frigga sighed inwardly. "Sorcerer Lucas said that the matter of Ragnarok has been resolved."
Hela: !!!
In an instant, Hela's expression became serious, and her eyes grew murderous.
She looked at Thor and said in a cold voice, "My dear brother, it's time to settle things between us."
Thor's eyes narrowed, but he didn't respond to Hela immediately. Instead, he looked at Lucas and asked, "Is that true, Lucas?"
Lucas nodded.
Then, seeing the confusion of Thor and the others, he slowly began to explain, "The mastermind behind Ragnarok is the creator of the Elder Gods, a race from Earth-616 that existed billions of years ago."
"Many of the Elder Gods fell and became demons during the God-Eater War billions of years ago. The Creator's goal is to use the high-quality life energy generated during Ragnarok to heal these Elder Gods."
"I have a way to solve his predicament and have already reached an agreement with him. After this, he will relinquish control over the fate of the Asgardian Gods and Giants in the Multiverse and will no longer instigate Ragnarok."
After hearing Lucas's explanation, Frigga, Hela, Thor, and Loki remained silent for a long time.
A moment later, Thor fiercely punched the air. "How infuriating!"
Although Ragnarok had been resolved, Thor and the others were clearly not satisfied with the outcome.
From Thor's perspective, they had every reason to hate the Creator, that bastard who manipulated their destinies behind the scenes, cycle after cycle. But now, that bastard who manipulated their destinies actually got what he wanted in the end.
How could Thor and the others be satisfied with such a result?
If it weren't for their lack of strength, they would have wanted to immediately go and crush the Creator into dust.
Lucas could only express his inability to help with this.
Looking at Thor and Hela, Lucas said, "Oh, by the way, Thor, Hela, actually, Loki was the one who wanted to call you over this time. I just mentioned that the Ragnarok matter is over."
Thor: ?
Hela: ?
The next moment, Loki became the focus of their attention.
Loki collected his thoughts and slowly began, "I saw you two were constantly giving speeches, arguing over who was more suitable to be the King of Asgard, so I came up with a suggestion."
Loki paused, then relayed the problems currently facing Kamar-Taj on Earth to Thor and Hela.
Then he feigned an innocent expression and said, "How about we treat this mission as an assessment? You two each lead a small team, and compete to see who performs better in the mission. The one who performs better will succeed as King."
Thor pondered for a moment, then nodded thoughtfully. "Then who will be the judge and score us?"
Loki gave a cunning smile, revealing his true intentions. "I'll reluctantly take on the role of judge."
If he couldn't be the King of Asgard, then he would be the one to crown the King of Asgard. This was a prank Loki had thought of on the spur of the moment.
However, Loki's plan was beautiful, but things wouldn't unfold as he expected.
"Heh, I refuse." Hela flatly rejected Loki's suggestion.
"Why? Sister, don't worry. I swear on father's name that I will score you and Thor fairly and impartially." Loki asked.
"Why should I let someone else give me what I can take myself?"
Hela glared at Loki, then suddenly smiled and said, "My dear brother, you also want to be King, don't you? Put away your petty schemes. If you want something, go and take it with your own strength."
Hearing this, Loki's expression turned somewhat ugly. He dropped his playful demeanor and retorted coldly, "Is that so? Then, sister, don't blame your brothers for being impolite and ganging up on you."
As he spoke, Loki reached out and clenched his hand in the air.
Gungnir slowly appeared in his hand.
"Come on, brothers. I will show you what true power is." Facing Loki's threat, Hela responded slowly.
She let her arms hang, then flicked her wrists. Two magical blades appeared in her hands.
She had long been prepared to fight Thor and Loki simultaneously.
After all, the two brothers had grown up together, and Hela couldn't think of any reason why Loki wouldn't help Thor but would help her instead.
Seeing this, Thor also reached out as if to summon something. Mjolnir responded to his call and flew through the air at high speed.
Just as the atmosphere grew increasingly tense, a furious shout rang out.
"Enough!"
Frigga glared at Hela, Thor, and Loki.
Her angry gaze gradually calmed the three down.
Frigga was panting with anger, and she looked at Lucas with some apology. "I'm sorry, Sorcerer Lucas, for making you witness such a scene."
"It's fine. Queen Frigga, don't worry. Thor and I are good friends, so don't treat me as an outsider."
Lucas swallowed the watermelon in his mouth and waved his hand.
In that flash of lightning, he had opened a portal at an extremely fast speed and retrieved a box of pre-cut, seedless watermelon.
A black line flashed across Frigga's forehead.
She sighed bitterly and turned to leave. "You are now the most powerful Gods in Asgard. I cannot control you, nor can I stop you from competing for what you desire. But I hope you remember that you share the same surname."
Frigga's words as she left did calm Thor and Hela for a while. But this did not stop the two of them, nor was it Frigga's original intention to stop them.
Neither Thor nor Hela would withdraw from this battle for the throne.
However, after Frigga's reminder, there was a greater possibility that they would hold back once the victor was clear.
"If you want to fight, I can provide you with a suitable battleground." Lucas said, eating his watermelon,
"I guarantee you can unleash your full power and have a no-holds-barred battle."