As the colossal sword continued to press downward, Surtur could only forcefully raise his exposed hands to block the strike.
But Hela's giant blade was never something that simple.
The instant Surtur's hands made contact with the sword, a surge of green deathly divine power erupted, violently colliding with the blazing flames covering his body.
"Hela—it's you!"
A deafening roar burst from Surtur's mouth as his flame-filled eyes lifted toward the sky.
"It is me, you fool!"
Hela looked down at him coldly and declared,
"I crushed you countless times in the past. Today will be no different!"
As her words fell, a brilliant green light flared from her eyes, mirrored by the radiance surging along the giant sword.
The sword's tip pressed against the top of Surtur's head, and the green deathly divine power began to corrode his flaming body at a frantic pace.
"Hela, I now possess the power of the Eternal Flame!"
Surtur roared defiantly.
"None of you can stand against me now! Asgard will be destroyed by my hand!"
As his voice echoed, the flames engulfing his body suddenly surged outward.
The deathly divine power spreading across him was forced back, and the raging fire instead traveled along the flow of energy, igniting the giant sword itself.
Hela's expression changed instantly. The green glow in her eyes began to waver.
"I am the Queen of Asgard!"
She shouted furiously.
"How dare you act so arrogantly before me?! Even if I burn my life away, I will never allow you to destroy Asgard!"
With those words, Hela's divine power erupted like ignited fuel, blazing violently across her body.
The giant sword—previously almost half consumed by Surtur's flames—suddenly flared with an overwhelming surge of divine radiance.
Deathly divine power clashed head-on with the flames, the two forces colliding like enraged bulls locked in a brutal struggle.
At that moment, Surtur endured the crushing force of the sword and began hauling his massive body out of the rift.
Once he fully emerged, the flames engulfing him surged even more violently, like a ferocious beast finally freed from its cage.
The delicate balance of power shattered instantly.
Relying on the unique nature of the Eternal Flame, Surtur's fire gradually suppressed Hela's divine power.
"This is impossible!"
Hela's expression darkened.
Thor could no longer hold back. Swinging Mjolnir, he charged forward as lightning crackled wildly around him.
A thunderbolt as thick as a waist slammed directly into Surtur's body.
But in the next instant, Surtur absorbed the lightning as if it were pure energy, suffering virtually no damage.
With a casual sweep of his arm, like swatting away an insect, Surtur sent Thor flying.
Thor crashed into the ground, carving out a deep trench before becoming stuck within it.
Seeing this, Frigga's heart clenched in fear.
"Don't worry," Odin said calmly beside her.
"That won't kill him."
"Why is Surtur so different now—both in size and strength?" Frigga asked, confused.
Odin shook his head.
"In the past, I forcibly stripped the Eternal Flame from him. That is why his body appeared so weak back then."
"The power provided by the Eternal Flame is simply too overwhelming," Odin added with a sigh.
"Then you must act now!" Frigga urged anxiously.
"I can't," Odin replied helplessly.
"Even setting aside the fact that my strength has declined greatly—if I intervene now, I would only disrupt the balance between Hela and Surtur."
"Not only would it fail to help, it might make things worse."
"Then what should we do?" Frigga asked, panic creeping into her voice.
"Is Ragnarök truly unavoidable?"
"You don't need to be afraid," Odin said quietly.
"I anticipated this outcome long ago and prepared another contingency."
As he spoke, his gaze shifted toward Lucas.
"Him?" Frigga frowned, studying Lucas with a critical eye.
Lucas noticed the attention from Odin and Queen Frigga, but he neither reacted nor stepped forward to assist Hela.
He understood Hela well enough to know that intervening without her consent would be a grave insult to her pride.
"Aah!"
Hela let out another fierce cry, drawing in even more surrounding energy and converting it into deathly divine power.
Though her energy in Asgard was effectively limitless in quantity, its quality remained unchanged.
With her renewed outburst, the giant sword pierced deeply into Surtur's body.
Yet Surtur merely caused his flames to condense and flare violently.
In the blink of an eye, the raging fire engulfed the entire blade.
"I will destroy Asgard—destroy all of you!"
Surtur threw his head back and laughed maniacally.
At this point, Hela's giant sword was completely consumed by flames, its deathly divine power fully suppressed.
As the blade began to melt under the inferno, Hela growled softly, trying to force out another surge of power for a counterattack.
But Surtur's flames condensed once more, forming a massive burning sword in his hand.
With a single swing, he struck down fiercely.
The flaming giant blade—like overheated metal—was cleaved cleanly in two.
As the flames continued to burn, Hela's sword was completely consumed.
Her face turned pale as she let out a long breath.
It was clear—she had lost this battle.
"His power is still growing," Hela said, her voice noticeably weaker.
"If we don't stop him now, none of us will be able to stand against him."
The dissolved giant sword had contained most of her divine power. Even with Asgard's support, it could not be restored immediately.
"My combat strength is now even lower than yours," Odin admitted.
"And Frigga is merely a mage. If either of us intervenes now, it would be futile."
Hela took a deep breath, her heart filled with frustration and resentment.
She had never imagined that she would still be unable to defeat Surtur.
At that moment, a large hand suddenly rested on her shoulder.
Then came a calm, unhurried voice—steady and brimming with confidence:
"Relax. Step aside and rest. I'll take care of this one."
"Lucas!"
Hela turned toward him.
"Are you sure? Shouldn't we fight together?"
Lucas stepped forward with a confident smile.
"If I've said it, then I can do it."
"Alright," Hela replied without hesitation.
"I'll leave everything to you."
For reasons she couldn't explain, the turmoil in her heart vanished completely, replaced by the calm she felt at the very beginning.
___
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