Hela watched Damian being surrounded by a group of mothers, receiving their care and affection, a complex emotion flashing in her eyes.
She couldn't help but recall her own training days as a child.
Back then, where was such warm care?
She applied her own medicine to her wounds, enduring the pain alone; she found people to repair her weapons, bustling about for the next battle.
No one cared if she was tired or how severely she was injured; they only cared about how many people she had killed, whether she was strong enough, constantly preparing for the next brutal battle, as if her life only consisted of weapons and combat.
"Hela, Hela, Hela!"
A loud shout came from beside her ear.
Hela snapped back to reality, looking at the worried face in front of her, and instinctively threw a punch.
Pain—
"What are you doing? Spacing out one moment, hitting people the next?"
Qinuo looked speechlessly at Hela, who had her hand hidden behind her back.
"I should be asking you that. Why did you suddenly get so close?!"
Hela only felt her hand throbbing. How was this face harder than iron? No, even iron wasn't as hard as his face.
Qinuo frowned, rubbing his punched cheek, "I saw you spacing out here for a long time. You didn't react when I called you a few times, so I wanted to get closer to see what was wrong."
Hela snorted coldly, "Who told you to get close without a word? Can you blame me for that?"
I got hit, and it's my fault?
Qinuo looked at her hand, still hidden behind her back.
"Alright, it's my fault then. But what exactly were you thinking about just now that made you so engrossed?"
"Nothing, just some annoying memories."
Hela didn't want to say more and turned her head away.
Qinuo didn't ask either. He reached out and pulled her hidden hand from behind her back.
"What are you doing!"
Hela struggled, trying to pull her hand back.
"Don't move around. Let me see your hand."
Qinuo looked at her hand, swollen like a steamed bun.
"You used all ten-tenths of your strength to hit me."
"Mind your own business. Besides, this small injury will heal in half a day."
Hela said stubbornly.
"I've healed it. Seriously, treating an injury is like I'm trying to rape you."
Qinuo reluctantly let go of her hand.
"Hmph, busybody."
"Mm-hmm, it's all my fault."
"...Why did you make me train that little one? With your status, giving her any power would be stronger than her training herself."
After a moment of silence, Hela asked.
"Damian is still too young. Even if she's precocious, gaining powerful abilities too early isn't good for her.
Besides, I haven't chosen the supernatural power for her yet, or, she can choose it herself when she grows up, or you, her teacher, can give her some advice."
Qinuo fell into thought. Lantern rings, Shazam, demon contracts, Mutant abilities, magic, ability items... Sometimes having too many choices isn't necessarily a good thing.
Hela looked at the thoughtful Qinuo in front of her and twitched her lips. What did he mean, 'haven't chosen yet'? Any power favored by the Demon King would definitely not be bad.
Then she thought of Odin.
"Annoying! What does it matter to me if you haven't chosen?"
Hela shouted irritably and turned to walk towards the bathroom.
"If you don't choose, you don't choose. Why shout so loudly?"
Qinuo looked bewildered.
Venom walked over and hugged one of Qinuo's arms.
"Qinuo, this is the first time you've been defeated by a woman."
"She can only be considered a girl right now, and I'm not a dollar, so how could everyone like me?"
Qinuo said, spreading his hands.
"Qinuo, I'm injured too. Help me heal."
Black Phoenix also intentionally swelled her hand and held it out to Qinuo.
"Don't intentionally hurt yourself. I'll get angry."
"Oh..."
Qinuo looked at her pitiful expression and, in the end, softened his heart and healed her injury.
— — — —
Hela in the bathroom looked at her hand, which had already recovered.
"Busybody..."
She quickly washed her face and sat down at the dining table.
Pamela also came downstairs with the three little ones. Seeing Hela, they immediately gathered around her and sat down.
"Hela, let me tell you, I dreamed yesterday that I was building a snowman, and then I hugged it. It was so cold and comfortable." Little Yu.
"Oh..."
"Damian, let's go shark riding in the sea later. I sensed a group of sharks in the nearby waters this morning." Nina.
"Okay..."
"But I heard Daddy say that sharks eat people. Will they bite us?" Penny.
"It's fine. I'll control them so they don't bite people. Besides, Damian and Hela are so powerful. If they bite, we'll just turn them into grilled fish." Nina.
"Hela and Damian are so amazing." Penny.
Damian and Hela exchanged glances and sighed helplessly.
The joyful holiday was finally coming to an end.
The few little ones returned to school for classes, disheartened. Even Nina was enrolled.
He originally wanted to enroll Hela too, but seeing her murderous expression, she indicated that if he dared to enroll her, she would dare to kill.
So, Hela had to be placed in the Magic Weapon Squad. On the very first day, she beat up everyone except Frank.
And then, she actually became the instructor of the Magic Weapon Squad.
Hela was also very interested in their weapons. Those strange magic weapons made her feel novel and powerful, useful for attacking Asgard in the future.
Gwen returned to her home and solemnly told her parents that she was moving to the manor.
Although George had known this day would come, he still felt a surge of depression and even impulsively wanted to take a gun and shoot Qinuo.
Maria, however, happily helped pack things, muttering, "This is a good thing, our daughter is grown up."
The interesting thing was that George was promoted the next day, which lightened his mood slightly. He thought, perhaps that kid Qinuo wasn't so bad after all.
Jean and Black Phoenix went to Professor X's place to help. Of course, only Jean was helping; Black Phoenix was purely there for revenge. She hadn't forgotten some past grievances.
Xi also returned to Hell. Recently, Hell had also become busy, with various affairs keeping her overwhelmed.
Pamela continued cultivating various plants, never tiring of it.
The busiest person during this period was Tom.
The main World's company had nothing going on for the time being, so he was assigned to open branch companies in other Worlds.
Qinuo hadn't adjusted the time flow in those Worlds, otherwise, Tom might genuinely be too busy in the main World.
Qinuo even felt a little sorry, only giving him a Rejuvenation Potion.
Even with this, Tom still said, "I will not fail the leader's trust!"
This made Qinuo's few remaining bits of conscience feel a little guilty.
Qinuo once again lamented how useful the demon contract was. Otherwise, how could Tom work so diligently and loyally?
Although Tom was not present, the company couldn't be left unattended, so Qinuo had no choice but to take charge personally and experience the joy of being a boss.
During this period, he also encountered Lorna a few times and greeted her.
Lorna also nodded, responding coldly.
This made Qinuo feel like Tony was lying to him. Was this what liking someone looked like?
However, every time Lorna appeared before him, she had different clothing styles and wore perfume.
Oh, right.
Lorna also met Jenna and Nina during this time. The three of them knew each other's identities and got along well.
Nina even sweetly called Lorna "older sister."
Only Eric was still in the dark.
And Captain America, in order to earn contribution points, actually went to Dr. Banner to be a test subject for research on enhancement potions.
Of course, Banner wasn't too excessive; at most, he extracted some bone marrow and partial tissue, and in return, he gave him a very generous reward.
During this period, Qinuo also found Killian. He didn't kill him but made him sign a demon contract.
Such a brilliant mind would be a waste if he didn't work for him.
Thus, within a month, Banner, Connors, Hank, and Killian collaborated to complete versions 2.0 and 3.0 of the enhancement potion.