The training ground in the deepest part of the Golden Palace is the largest and oldest martial arts arena in Asgard.
Its history is as old as the Golden Palace itself, and the ground is paved with a single piece of Star-patterned Stone taken from the roots of Irminsul, capable of absorbing and dispersing the vast majority of energy impacts.
The dome is a hundred meters high and engraved with the primordial star map from when the Nine Realms were born; the arrangement of the stars slowly rotates in accordance with the changes in the real starry sky.
There are no walls, only twelve giant pillars carved with ancient protective runes, with a glow like liquid gold flowing down their shafts.
This was once the place where Odin and his brothers sparred, and it also witnessed the founding ceremony of the Valkyrie Legion.
But today, as the heavy Mithril gates slowly closed behind Hela, isolating the inside from the outside, only absolute silence remained within the training ground, along with... two gradually rising, starkly different Divine Powers.
Hela stood on the east side of the arena, mjolnir propped casually at her side, as the dark green Death Divine Power spread from her feet like a waking giant python, staining the Star-patterned Stone floor an ominous grayish-black wherever it passed.
She wore no armor, only a form-fitting black combat suit, her black hair tied into a neat Horsetail at the back of her head, her face devoid of any expression, save for those dark green eyes, which burned with nearly tangible flames of battle intent.
Mavuika stood on the west side; unlike her sister's sharp and exposed edge, she simply stood there quietly.
Her simple white-gold robe moved without wind, her golden-red hair draped loosely over her shoulders, with tiny sparks occasionally drifting from the tips of her hair.
She held the sun-blaze thousand suns in one hand, not striking any combat stance, her golden eyes looking calmly at Hela, like two bottomless lakes of molten gold.
With Mavuika as the center, the air within a ten-meter radius became warm and bright, the light seemingly gaining weight, gently filling every inch of space.
The ground that had been corroded by Hela's Death Divine Power quickly shed its grayish-black color upon touching this range, restoring the original luster of the Star-patterned Stone, which contained the essence of stars.
"Sister." Hela spoke, her voice echoing slightly in the vast training ground: "You said you wouldn't hold back."
Mavuika nodded slightly: "As you wish."
The moment the words fell—Hela moved.
She was like an arrow shot from a ballista, the ground beneath her feet exploding, her figure turning into a dark green afterimage that tore through the air, creating a sharp sonic boom.
mjolnir had already been swung during her charge, the hammer head expanding and twisting in the extreme speed, countless wailing undead faces appearing on its surface, with dark green Death Divine Power lightning wrapped around it, emitting a shrill screeching sound like thousands of vengeful spirits.
Thirty meters, covered in the blink of an eye.
mjolnir smashed toward the top of Mavuika's head with the force of collapsing mountains and splitting seas.
This strike had no frills; it was purely the pinnacle of power and speed, a condensation of the killing techniques Hela had honed through countless battles across the Nine Realms.
Where the hammer fell, subtle black cracks appeared in space, a sign that the Death Divine Power was concentrated enough to briefly tear reality apart.
Facing this attack, which could shatter a mountain in one blow, Mavuika simply raised her right hand.
Her movement did not look fast, even somewhat casual, as if she were brushing away a falling feather.
But her palm accurately met the very center of the mjolnir hammer head, the point where the power was most concentrated.
"Hum—" There was no earth-shattering collision sound, only a low hum that seemed to come from the depths of the World.
The moment the hammer and palm made contact, time seemed to freeze for a frame.
Then, an incredible scene occurred.
The violent Death Divine Power lightning on the mjolnir hammer head, the wailing undead phantoms, and the physical kinetic energy capable of shattering stars, all melted away silently in the instant they touched Mavuika's palm, like ice and snow under a scorching Sun.
The hammer head stopped three inches above Mavuika's palm, unable to descend even a fraction further.
Hela's forward momentum was abruptly halted, the massive reaction force causing her arm to shake violently, the web between her thumb and forefinger splitting, and her dark green Divine blood was Vaporized before it could even splatter.
A flash of astonishment crossed her eyes.
She certainly knew that her sister could not possibly fail to catch this blow, but she had not expected her to catch it so casually.
But Hela was Hela after all; the astonishment lasted only a thousandth of a second before being replaced by even more intense battle intent.
She used the momentum to spin, letting go of mjolnir, which flew out and traced an arc in the air, smashing toward Mavuika's back from another tricky angle.
At the same time, she grasped the air with her left hand, and dozens of ink-black swords of death condensed out of thin air, shooting toward Mavuika's vital points like a rainstorm.
The transition between offense and defense was smooth and fluid.
This was the combat instinct Hela had honed in countless life-and-death struggles.
Mavuika did not even turn around; she simply held the sun-blaze thousand suns horizontally in front of her, the Fire forming a barrier before her.
The incoming swords of death, the moment they entered the Fire barrier, seemed to fall into the stickiest amber, their speed dropping to near stillness, the death runes on the swords rapidly dimming and disintegrating, eventually dissipating into wisps of black smoke.
Then, Mavuika extended her other hand backward, and the mjolnir attacking from behind was gently grasped by a giant hand made entirely of Fire that suddenly extended from Mavuika's arm.
The Fire hand closed its five fingers, mjolnir trembling crazily in its palm, releasing more lightning in an attempt to break free, but all the lightning was assimilated and absorbed the moment it touched the Fire, turning into golden patterns flowing on the Fire hand.
Hela gritted her teeth and said nothing.
She slammed her hands together in front of her chest, and more Death Divine Power erupted like a volcano.
The ground of the training ground cracked open with a roar, and countless black sword blades of varying sizes and shapes surged from the fissures; they were not physical entities, but the manifestation of the concept of death.
Every sword locked onto Mavuika, carrying a terrifying chill that could sever souls and Frozen life, stabbing simultaneously from all directions—above, below, left, and right!
Facing this storm of blades that left almost no blind spots, Mavuika took a step forward.
Monstrous flames rose from the soles of her feet, enveloping Mavuika completely.
All the black sword blades, upon touching the Fire around Mavuika, began to Vaporize rapidly from the tip to the hilt, disappearing into nothingness bit by bit.
Hela's pupils shrank; she could feel that her connection to those swords of death had been forcibly severed, and the Death Divine Power she had released was like Water poured into the Sun, Vaporizing instantly.
For the first time, Hela realized that the gap between herself and her sister had grown to such an extent.
But she did not give up; in Hela Odinson's dictionary, there was never the word "give up".
"Ahhh—!!!" Hela roared and charged toward Mavuika again; this time, her attack was even more insane, completely disregarding her own defense, with every move carrying a stance of mutual destruction.