After all that dawdling, they finally met the main figure behind this incident. Since the situation was rather complicated this time, Evenson did not rashly enter Hela's domain. He merely opened a passage to establish contact.
The room was now clearly divided into two worlds: one side was the sunlit mortal realm, while the other was the eternally powerless, endlessly dim Abyss of the Underworld.
Hela sat on the other side of that boundary, imposing atop a throne piled from black swords. Her helmeted head was slightly raised in lofty pride, while her broad dark-green cloak completely enveloped her body, lending her an inscrutable air of mystery.
The pride and mystery of a goddess, the supreme majesty of a monarch—all of it converged upon this woman at this moment... burp. Well... it would have been much more effective without that belch.
Evenson slightly turned his head away. Any reverence he might have felt for this capricious goddess under duress was now gone for good.
Everyone else looked around as well, seemingly studying what kind of wood the floorboards beneath their feet were made of and exactly how many wormholes they had.
"Um... long time no see..." After an awkward stretch of silence, Evenson scratched his head and broke the uncomfortable atmosphere.
"Mm, it has indeed been a long time..." Hela's expression stiffened as she struggled to maintain the bearing she had finally managed to put on. At the same time, she cleverly pulled out a bottle of mineral water and drained it in one gulp.
"Well..." Both of them had prepared a whole bellyful of things to say, but after that little episode, neither knew how to begin. So Evenson made conversation instead. "Were you satisfied with the toys I sent over last time?"
Evenson was referring to the Berserker