Loki lifted his head, his eyes turning stern. It was as though he saw once more the dominance and majesty of Odin, King of the Gods.
Odin showed not the slightest dejection at having been defeated. Holding Gungnir, he sat broadly upon Asgard's throne, gazing down upon the Nine Realms with composed, majestic dominance as he looked at Loki.
Loki snapped out of his daze.
"Loki, my child," Odin said.
"Why?!" Loki was unwilling to accept it. He had been humiliated by He-El time and again, and because of He-El, conflict had risen anew in Asgard. His father Odin had been defeated by He-El, leaving him deeply resentful.
Even the King of the Gods, the mightiest being in the Nine Realms, had failed to defeat He-El. Who else could deal with him?
Loki had always believed that He-El would destroy Asgard and drag every god from their pedestal.
That man would never hold any reverence for the gods.
"Why didn't you swear upon Gungnir and pierce him through?!" Loki gritted his teeth in hatred. He hated his own powerlessness, and he also hated that even at a time like this, Odin had not given everything he had to kill He-El.
Now that He-El had gained a foothold in the Nine Realms, Asgard would forever be beneath that man's heel.
"It is not as simple as you imagine," Odin sighed, shaking his head.
If He-El's problem could have been solved so simply, Odin would long since have spared no cost to perish alongside him.
But once the curse on He-El spread, not only Asgard, but the Nine Realms and even the entire universe would swiftly be contaminated. The number of living beings who would die would exceed tens of billions.
Just as He-El had not intended to kill Odin, Odin had