Chapter 174: The Eerie City

"Stop teasing me," Hela said, wrinkling her sharp nose. The three of them entered the room and closed the door behind them. The usually regal Hela nonchalantly plopped down in a chair, grabbed a fruit from the table, and took a bite as she spoke, "How are you two settling in? Let me know if you need anything. You're both great benefactors of Asgard now."

Han Yu rolled his eyes. "What do you mean by 'you two'? That phrasing is a bit misleading."

Hela returned his eye roll and said, "I'm not in the mood for your word games. I'm here to ask when you're planning to leave."

"Today," Han Yu replied casually.

"So soon?"

"Well, the matter's resolved, so of course, I'm heading out. By the way, I haven't seen Odin. Where is he?" Han Yu asked.

He had been curious about this during the earlier battles, but the timing hadn't been right to bring it up.

Thor answered, "My father left Asgard with my mother before everything happened. They're living on Earth now, in a place called Norway. He said he wanted to experience a normal life. The days of Asgard are no longer for him."

Han Yu nodded in understanding. He recalled that after Asgard's destruction, the surviving Asgardians had indeed relocated to Earth, settling near a coastal area in Norway.

If Odin was safe and sound, that was enough for Han Yu. He had only asked out of passing curiosity.

"What about you, Thor? What's your plan now that you've mentioned traveling for self-improvement?" Han Yu asked.

Thor exchanged a glance with Loki before replying, "Loki and I have decided to govern the realms of Fire and Frost separately. We plan to bring some order to those places. It doesn't need to be perfect, but it should at least be better than the eternal darkness they've been in."

Loki nodded in agreement and added with a smile, "This fulfills one of my long-held wishes. I've always dreamed of being a king, and now that dream is coming true. Besides, I'm originally from there, so it makes sense for me to take charge."

Loki's words caught both Hela and Thor by surprise. They knew Loki had Frost Giant blood but assumed Han Yu was unaware of it. Furthermore, they had thought Loki wouldn't openly admit to his heritage. Hearing him refer to himself as a native of the Frost Realm left them both astonished.

Han Yu, however, showed no surprise at their decisions. He simply smiled and nodded in approval. His calm reaction both startled and reassured Thor and the others.

The surprise stemmed from Han Yu's lack of reaction to Loki's revelation about his Frost Giant origins. Yet, considering Han Yu's status, it wasn't implausible that he already knew.

"What about the Vanir gods? And the Sea God?" Han Yu asked.

At this, Hela's expression turned slightly strange. She replied, "We sent people to investigate the Vanir realm. It was... a massacre. Yes, you heard that right—a complete massacre."

Han Yu raised an eyebrow and motioned for her to continue.

"When our warriors arrived at the Vanir realm, the entire city was shrouded in a blood mist. Corpses were scattered everywhere, and every single one of them had the same cause of death," Hela explained.

Han Yu leaned in, silently urging her to elaborate.

Hela continued, "Their souls were gone. Every corpse was dried up, with sunken eyes and skeletal remains. They all looked utterly horrifying."

"We interrogated the captured Vanir survivors, but they were completely clueless. They were as shocked as we were to find the city deserted. It doesn't seem like a trap. Clearly, they don't know what happened either. And there's something even stranger."

As she spoke, Hela waved her hand, conjuring a floating screen that displayed footage captured by Asgardian warriors in the Vanir realm. The scenes were chilling.

Some corpses were drenched in blood, decapitated or torn apart, suggesting a fierce battle had taken place.

But it was the others that truly sent shivers down the spine. Most of the dead were kneeling, facing a specific direction. Their emaciated faces bore expressions of prayer, with hands clasped together before them—as if they had been... praying to the heavens.

It was precisely the lifeless state of these individuals—what Hela referred to as the loss of their souls—that made their deaths so eerie and horrifying. If they had merely fallen randomly to their deaths, it might not have seemed so unusual. But to die in this manner? It was both chilling and surreal.

Han Yu rubbed his chin, frowning in deep thought.

Even if the Sea God had personally led the charge, taking most of Vanaheim's elite forces, it was improbable that the realm would be invaded by another race so swiftly.

Vanaheim's technological advancements were nearly on par with Asgard's, making it nearly impossible for other races to seize such an opportunity.

"Could someone else have interfered?" Han Yu muttered.

"Someone else? Do you have any idea who it might be?" Hela asked, her tone serious.

A figure surfaced in Han Yu's mind—the one he remembered from the Marvel universe, the "population control manager" who snapped his fingers and erased half of all life in the cosmos: Thanos.

Thanos, not a god but a warlord who towered above most others in power, seemed like the only plausible candidate.

Han Yu found the entire situation puzzling. In his memory, the Vanir gods had always been a hidden force, never directly involved in major conflicts. Why would they suddenly launch a large-scale assault on Asgard?

There had to be someone orchestrating this from behind the scenes. The Sea God wouldn't initiate such an attack without external motivation—perhaps someone had given him something, something that convinced him he could successfully conquer Asgard.

"Thor, during your battle with the Sea God, did you notice anything unusual about him?" Han Yu inquired.

At the unexpected question, Thor fell into deep thought. After a moment, he clapped his hands and said, "Now that you mention it, there was something strange. Before you arrived, I unleashed my most powerful attack. He managed to deflect it, and I noticed a faint blue glow dissipating from his body. But that color didn't match his energy—it was much lighter."

A faint blue energy, unrelated to the Sea God's own power...

Could it be the Space Stone, one of the Infinity Stones?

The thought crossed Han Yu's mind, but he quickly shook his head and dismissed the idea. The Space Stone wasn't a defensive artifact, and it had been stored in Asgard's vault, beneath the main palace.

The Sea God hadn't even breached that area, so how could he have obtained the Space Stone?

If the Sea God had the Space Stone, he wouldn't need to wage a direct assault on Asgard. He could simply open massive portals and let his warships rain firepower into the city. Asgard would fall sooner or later under such an onslaught.

"A faint blue glow... and it's definitely connected to Thanos. Could it be…"

Han Yu's expression turned grave as a name escaped his lips:

"The Heart of the Universe!"

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