Chapter 281: C272
In just a short battle, Surtur's power had deeply shaken the hearts of the gods.
From beginning to end, despite the powerful assistance from Wanda and the siege led by Thor and the other gods, Surtur remained unscathed—his defense unbreakable. Only Pietro, with everyone working together and using the resonance ability, had managed to land a significant blow.
Unfortunately, it still wasn't enough.
Though they were unwilling to admit it, Thor and the gods knew the truth: if Odin did not intervene personally, the war would end disastrously for Asgard. Thor had even resigned himself to the thought of dying in battle.
However, the arrival of powerful reinforcements brought them a glimmer of hope. The gods took pride in dying honorably and ascending to Valhalla, but in the end, no one truly wished for death.
BOOM!
The ground trembled violently, shockwaves rippling outward. Unlike the battered Thor and the other gods, Wanda had immediately cast mirror magic upon sensing the incoming attack, pulling their group into the mirror dimension. Suspended in the air, they calmly observed the devastation from a safe distance.
As time passed, the tremors and roaring winds gradually subsided.
Before them lay a massive crater, tens of kilometers in diameter, its depths unfathomable. The pit's surface was eerily smooth, as if carved by an immense force. Faintly visible at the bottom, a strange crimson glow pulsed, and the acrid stench of sulfur filled the air.
But none of that mattered.
All eyes were drawn to the space above the crater, where golden particles coalesced, flowing together and slowly forming a humanoid shape.
He had short blonde hair, a white shirt beneath a brown jacket, tight leather pants, and white sneakers. A triangular necklace with a blue gemstone hung around his neck. His sharp, refined features, combined with deep, commanding eyes, exuded an aura so powerful that it seemed to shake the heavens themselves.
The gods stared in awe.
Then, as one, they spoke his name.
"Leon~~"
"Heh, the boss finally showed up."
Inside the mirror world, Pietro instinctively waved in greeting, only to remember that Leon shouldn't be able to see them from outside. But to his shock, Leon tilted his head slightly and met his gaze.
Pietro blinked in disbelief. "Wanda, didn't you say people in the real world can't see into the mirror world?"
"That's Leon~"
Wanda didn't even look at him, her bright eyes locked onto Leon. A wave of satisfaction surged within her—she had personally chosen his coat, shirt, pants, and shoes.
And now, he was wearing them.
Her heart pounded. He looked so good in them.
A soft flush crept up Wanda's delicate features, and her legs rubbed together unconsciously. Beside her, Natasha, ever the observer, noticed the subtle shift in Wanda's expression and body language.
The spy's red lips curled into a knowing smirk.
Oh, she was definitely teasing Wanda about this later.
In the real world, Srud, the goddess of strength, climbed to her feet, casually pulling her sword from the ground. A flicker of curiosity passed through her dark eyes as she studied the newcomer.
"So, that's Leon? He's a bit different from what I imagined."
Thor, standing beside her, gave a knowing nod. "Trust me—he's terrifying when he's angry." He had seen firsthand how Leon had annihilated the Frost Giants on Earth.
Srud arched an eyebrow. "Do you think he's angry now?"
"What do you think?" Thor countered.
"I think…" Srud glanced at the enormous crater before them. "He has great taste."
Tyr, standing nearby, snorted. "I support that."
Thor merely shrugged.
Suddenly, a deafening roar erupted from the depths of the crater. The red glow intensified, and the air grew oppressively hot. The ground quaked violently once more.
Thor's eyes widened. "We need to get out of here—fast! The backlash from a battle at their level will kill us!"
The gods didn't need to be told twice.
As the oppressive aura from the crater became unbearable, they quickly retreated.
A few seconds later, the air itself ignited. A tidal wave of molten lava exploded from the abyss, surging toward the heavens. From within the roiling inferno, a massive figure wielding the Twilight Sword emerged.
Leon hovered above the crater, gazing down at the churning lava and the glowing, wrathful eyes of Surtur. He smirked.
He never fought unprepared battles.
This time, Surtur was going to lose.
Leon raised his hand, palm facing downward.
"Keisha~"
"Maximize remote energy output."
"Activate frost energy."
BOOM!!
A wave of frost burst forth—far stronger than any Wanda had ever unleashed. The skies darkened, clouds twisting into a howling vortex.
A bone-chilling wind swept across the battlefield.
In an instant, the realm of fire became a frozen wasteland.
The lava, once surging like a living thing, solidified mid-flow. Surtur, bathed in molten fury just moments ago, was now encased in solid ice.
The world transformed into a bizarre fusion of fire and frost. Jagged glaciers stretched for miles, reflecting eerie crimson glows from the remnants of trapped magma.
At the crater's center, a colossal icicle over a thousand meters long stood, encasing Surtur within its frozen prison.
Across the battlefield, the demon legions—once locked in combat with Asgard's warriors—were flash-frozen, transformed into lifeless ice sculptures.
The sudden shift stunned the Asgardians. Warriors who had been mid-charge now found themselves trembling from the sheer cold.
Even the gods, resilient as they were, felt the freezing air gnawing at them. Though their divine bodies prevented them from succumbing, their armor, helmets, weapons—everything—were coated in thick frost, locking them in place.
Thor exhaled, his breath misting in the frigid air.
Leon hovered in the sky, gazing down at his work.
Surtur was finished.