"That's it."
A faint voice echoed through the air.
The volume wasn't loud, but it rang clearly in everyone's ears.
Not only Hela, who was charging toward Superman, but even Heimdall, standing a long distance away near the palace, heard Superman's words.
"It ends here?"
"You're unilaterally declaring my defeat?"
"What right do you have to judge me?"
Hela grew increasingly furious.
Her hand, gripping the divine sword, bulged with blue veins as unparalleled divine power surged into the blade. Brilliant, earth-shaking colors burst forth, dazzling like fireworks, yet carrying a destructive force that made one's scalp tingle.
Still, Superman didn't move.
Even as Hela closed the distance, his expression remained calm and unshaken.
Behind him, the smile at the corner of Wonder Woman's lips deepened slightly.
Boom!
The next moment, Hela finally reached Superman.
Under countless gazes, she swung the Excalibur with full force, aiming to sever Superman's head.
Whoosh!
The sonic boom resounded through the air.
The swing of her sword exploded like a thunderclap.
Everyone on the battlefield held their breath.
Silence fell — so still that one could hear a pin drop.
Under Heimdall's horrified gaze, he watched as Hela's overwhelming, unstoppable strike — one that could cleave Asgard itself — was stopped.
Clang!
Superman caught the divine sword — with just one hand.
The impact between his palm and the blade rang out like the clash of gold and iron.
"This..."
Hela's eyes widened, her pupils constricted, and her heart thudded wildly in her chest.
She immediately sensed something was wrong and tried to pull away — but she couldn't.
The sword in her hand was clamped firmly by Superman's fingers.
The divine blade, sharp enough to slice through anything in the world, couldn't even scratch his palm — not even a single hair was harmed. It left nothing more than a faint white mark.
Realizing she couldn't win the struggle, Hela decisively let go of the Excalibur.
But Superman gave her no room to retreat.
As Hela abandoned her weapon and stepped back, Superman took a single step forward.
One step — covering several meters — and he was right in front of her.
The two figures seemed frozen in the air, moving faster than the eye could follow, their clash stirring a fierce sonic boom.
"You—"
Hela managed to utter just one word before she was interrupted.
Boom!
Superman's iron fist smashed straight into Hela's face.
Whoosh!
Struck hard, Hela turned into a ragdoll, flying helplessly through the air like a cannonball.
She crashed into the mountain behind the palace.
Rumble!!
The mountain shook violently.
Rocks shattered and cascaded down like an avalanche.
Hela slammed deep into the mountain's core, carving a massive hole into the rock that had stood beside the palace for countless years.
After a moment, everything fell still — as if she had been completely crushed by Superman's blow.
"Gulp."
Watching from afar, Heimdall swallowed hard, his eyes filled with unprecedented shock.
It suddenly occurred to him:
The last time Superman had made a move in Asgard, he had faced one of their most powerful enemies — the Dark Elves.
During the era when Odin conquered the Nine Realms, the Dark Elves had been driven back by Odin's father, King Bor, and vanished from history.
Thousands of years later, after the previous generation faded into legend, the Dark Elves became little more than names in old books. Few among Asgard truly understood how powerful they had once been.
Even when the Dark Elves reappeared to invade Asgard, although the crisis was dire, they had ultimately been defeated — not by Asgard alone, but by Superman's overwhelming power.
The surviving Dark Elves were captured and imprisoned by the Asgardians.
Asgard had won.
But few truly comprehended the might of the Dark Elves back then.
Only Heimdall — the eyes and ears of Asgard — knew from Odin's words and his own observations how terrifying the Dark Elves had been.
Especially their leader, Malekith.
And yet… even Malekith had not been a match for Superman.
Plus, now, after Superman had so effortlessly defeated Hela...
Heimdall truly realized that mankind was bound to rise — and if Asgard did not progress, in a hundred years or so, they might not even see the shadows of humans anymore.
"Twilight of the gods..."
A heavy premonition welled up in Heimdall's heart:
"Perhaps the rise of mankind and the fall of the gods... this is the true twilight of the gods."
Even though Hela was defeated today, in the eyes of the people on Earth, there might no longer be such a thing as "gods."
Earth already had its own gods now.
Gods of the new world.
As Superman clenched his fist, it wasn't just Hela who was defeated — it was Asgard itself that had been shaken from its ancient pedestal.
Heimdall's expression was complicated as he watched Superman floating in the air.
The sheer magnitude of his presence, that towering momentum — it was reminiscent of Odin in his prime... perhaps even surpassing the Allfather himself.
The emotions in Heimdall's heart were indescribable.
At that moment, the palace guards sprang into action.
They swiftly gathered all the inhabitants of Asgard, bringing them to the mountainside of a high peak outside the city.
Many stood on the wide platform, looking down at the distant city, the palace, and the battle unfolding beyond.
Their expressions were filled with a mixture of panic and awe.
They saw Superman rise into the sky, repelling a terrifying enemy.
Especially the palace guards — they had witnessed firsthand the desperate battle between Thor and Hela, and the brutal way Hela had slaughtered their comrades as she marched toward the palace.
The sheer power of Hela was undeniable.
Just the divine aura she radiated was enough to suffocate an ordinary person.
And yet, such an overwhelmingly powerful being had been defeated by Superman, sent crashing into the mountainside — and still, no movement came from within.
It was clear: the crisis threatening Asgard had been averted.
And it was thanks to Superman.
Meanwhile, Thor — who had been sent flying by Hela and knocked out of sight — finally ran back toward the palace with all his strength.
When he arrived, he saw the destruction outside the palace: collapsed steps, cracked stones, debris everywhere.
For a moment, Thor stood there in stunned silence — then he spotted Heimdall approaching quickly.
"Heimdall! What's the situation?"
Thor's face was grim, his voice laced with urgency.
At this moment, his armor was battered and dented from Hela's assault, his face smeared with dirt, his golden hair wild and disheveled.
He was in a thoroughly sorry state.
But Heimdall didn't mind his appearance.
He simply smiled and said, "It's been resolved."
"Resolved?"
Thor blinked in surprise, and then, following Heimdall's gaze toward the sky, he saw Superman — hovering high above.
Thor fell silent.
But Superman spoke at that moment, his voice carrying clearly down to Thor and Heimdall:
"No. It's not over yet."
The words snapped Thor and Heimdall back to attention.
At that moment, the mountain into which Hela had crashed began to tremble violently.
Even the ground beneath Thor and Heimdall's feet quaked as if heralding a small earthquake.
Pebbles and dust bounced into the air.
Boom!
A loud explosion erupted from the mountainside.
A massive cloud of dust billowed into the sky.
From within that swirling dust, Hela flew out of the mountain — battered, but still alive.
Her face was badly swollen, blood trickled from the corners of her mouth, her eyes were bloodshot, and her body was covered in bruises.
The once fearsome horned helmet she wore was now broken, with only one jagged "tooth" left.
Superman's iron fist had not only wounded her body — it had crushed her pride as well.
Yet Hela had no intention of surrendering.
She never surrendered.
And today would be no exception.
"Fight to the death!"
Gritting her teeth, blood pouring from her wounds, Hela once again summoned her terrifying divine power.
Fierce light burst from her bloodshot eyes, and countless sharp swords materialized around her.
Thor and Heimdall looked at each other.
The former actually understood Hela quite well.
As a prince, Thor had rarely experienced true failure — mostly because he had never been so thoroughly bloodied before.
This kind of humiliation was enough to be seared into memory for a lifetime.
Only a battle to the death could wash it away.
But now, though Hela still looked imposing, she was actually strong on the outside but hollow within.
She no longer had the power to change the situation.
Even at her peak, it would have been difficult for Hela to withstand Superman's iron fist — and now, after suffering such a devastating blow, she was clearly running on fumes.
The reason she had managed to fly out of the mountain at all was nothing more than the stubborn pride still burning in her heart.
"Now you... can you really still fight?"
Superman's voice was calm and indifferent as he looked at the goddess of death floating in the air opposite him.
"I was wrong."
He spoke plainly, showing no intention of wasting any more time with Hela.
His eyes flashed with crimson light — and in the next instant, he unleashed his heat vision.
Whoosh!
The thermal rays pierced straight through Hela's chest.
Chiii-chiii-chiii!
There wasn't even a drop of blood — her body had been so thoroughly scorched that it was instantly cauterized by the intense energy.
The sharp swords summoned by Hela's divine power vanished into nothingness.
Her body, limp and broken, fell from the sky.
Disheveled and powerless, she crashed to the ground without a sound.
"I was wrong... it's over. I thought she could still hold on a little longer."
Superman turned his gaze toward Thor and Heimdall and gave them a small nod.
Without lingering for nostalgic farewells, he activated his teleportation bracelet.
A burst of purple energy enveloped him, and in the blink of an eye, Superman vanished from Asgard.
The Superman clone consumed a significant amount of fan value.
Even though Superman had accumulated enough fan value to maintain his presence for ten months without trouble, Anton (his true self) would never allow Superman to appear casually.
Superman was a trump card — a force reserved for dire emergencies.
The world, after all, was still too peaceful and mundane.
If Superman could appear whenever he wished, it would only make the world seem even more boring.
Superman was indeed a savior.
But not everyone deserved to be saved.
Thus, Superman had to remain hidden — never showing himself lightly, nor giving the world unnecessary hope.
"Wait!"
Thor and Heimdall both instinctively called out as they saw Superman disappearing.
But they were too late.
"He doesn't have time to chat with you."
A voice rang out.
Wonder Woman smiled as she approached.
"In fact, he just returned from another crisis in the Nine Realms. Right now, Earth needs him far more than Asgard.
If not for Odin's special request and gift, we might not have had the extra time or strength to visit Asgard at all."
"Diana."
Thor and Heimdall greeted Wonder Woman warmly.
"Thank you for your help," Thor said sincerely.
He thought about everything that had happened — his shattered hammer, the downfall of his sister Hela, the goddess of death, now lying unconscious and broken.
It was almost too much to take in within a single day.
Even now, his heart was heavy with the absence of his brother, Loki.
Since the Dark Elf incident, Loki had vanished from Asgard.
Thor had searched for him on Earth afterward, but no trace of the mischievous god had been found...
"Diana, regarding the upcoming attack on Earth — Asgard will stand with you."
Heimdall spoke solemnly, bringing Thor back to reality.
Thor didn't mind that Heimdall had made the promise first — he had intended to say the same thing anyway.
"Good," Thor added firmly.
"I'll join the battle personally, and I'll bring Asgard's strongest legion to fight alongside Earth against Thanos!"
Asgard had some knowledge of the wider universe — but their understanding wasn't especially deep.
Especially after Odin's conquest of the Nine Realms, Asgard had grown somewhat secluded, treating themselves as kings of their corner of the galaxy.
Thus, Thor knew little of Thanos.
And even if he had known, he wouldn't have cared.
In Thor's eyes, when it came to fighting for Earth — there was no need for hesitation.
"I thank Asgard for standing with Earth and the Justice League,"
Wonder Woman said with a grateful nod.
After exchanging final farewells, she too departed.
Whoosh!
The teleportation bracelet activated. A flash of energy lit up the air, and Wonder Woman disappeared before Thor and Heimdall.
"Let the soldiers bring everyone back. The crisis is over,"
Thor sighed.
After a brief pause, he added,
"Heimdall, come with me. Let's go see Hela."
"...You know," Thor said after a moment of silence, "I never even heard my father mention I had a sister. I only learned the truth today — from my mother..."
His words were scattered, reflecting the turmoil in his heart.
It was clear: Thor didn't know how to face Hela.
Especially now — when the sister he met for the first time today lay before him as little more than a broken body.
"I didn't want to kill her... I didn't even want Superman to kill her.
I didn't want anyone to kill her."
Thor's voice was low and rough.
"But I know... this was what Father intended."
"Is this the price of sitting on the throne?"
After a long, heavy silence.
Thor finally stood before Hela.
He looked down at her for a long time, unmoving.
At last, he lifted his hand and gave the order:
"Come here.
I want her buried next to Father."
Earth.
New York, Manhattan — DC Corporation.
Anton sat back, beaming after watching the drama unfold in Asgard.
As soon as Hela's death was confirmed, a prompt flashed across his system panel —
the system rewarded him with 10 million justice points for preventing the Twilight of the Gods.
In other words, Anton's justice point balance now reached an astonishing 80 million.
The remaining 20 million might seem like a lot, but in reality, it was just one major event away.
A few more incidents with high stakes, and one of the conditions for redeeming the Ultimate Battle Armor would likely be fulfilled.
However, the upcoming war with Thanos loomed large.
With the current lineup Anton could muster, Thanos didn't seem like such a terrifying opponent anymore.
Unleashing the Ultimate Armor right now would almost feel like bullying.
Moreover, with time running short, Anton had no obvious events left where he could easily gather more justice points.
On the contrary — the Thanos Legion's imminent invasion of Earth was the biggest crisis ahead.
"Am I supposed to collect the remaining 100 million justice points after this battle?"
Anton thought about it for a moment.
And quickly realized: it probably wasn't going to be that simple.
…
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