He truly deserved to be called one of the mightiest opponents Odin had faced in his youth.
Although Laufey had been separated from the Casket of Ancient Winters for far too long, and a thousand years of suppression by Asgard had left him far weaker than he had been at his peak, his movements remained fierce and decisive when he finally fought again after a millennium. There was no hesitation or wasted motion in anything he did.
Fenris was extraordinarily fast, but the ice colossus was not much slower.
Looking down from above as Fenris charged toward him with earthshaking steps, Laufey showed none of his previous carelessness. His expression had become completely serious.
"Odin is absent. Let's see whether you truly possess the strength to become Asgard's savior."
Asgard had not been this vulnerable in a very long time.
This was an opportunity that might not appear again for another thousand years. Laufey would never allow anyone to ruin everything at such a critical moment.
Before his words had even faded, his body sank rapidly into the head of the ice colossus, merging completely with it.
At the same time, two razor-sharp swords of ice gradually formed in the colossus's hands. Each sword was even taller than the giant itself. One crashed against the ground before Laufey swung it upward and brought it down heavily upon the approaching Fenris.
Everything happened in the blink of an eye.
Fenris saw only a blur before Laufey's counterattack arrived first, carrying bone-chilling cold straight toward him.
The bitter killing intent sent a chill through Fenris's heart, yet he did not slow in the slightest. Instead, he accelerated and charged directly at Laufey, who stood nearly twice his height.
Boom—
The massive sword of ice came crashing down, only to be firmly caught between two enormous claws.
Their collision produced a deafening metallic clang. Violent winds carrying bitter cold erupted from Fenris's claws, ravaging everything around them. The shock wave released by the tremendous impact caused the surrounding buildings to collapse one after another.
Fenris felt an immense force surge into his body.
This was the first time in a very long while that anyone had managed to subject his body to such a powerful impact.
His arms became sore and numb, while sharp pain spread through his palms. As expected, even his formidable defenses had not allowed him to emerge entirely unharmed. The skin of his palms had already split open.
Fortunately, after only a moment of discomfort, the powerful regenerative abilities possessed by every cell in his body began repairing the damage.
Fenris clearly felt the wounds in his palms healing at astonishing speed. Laufey's all-out strike had certainly been powerful, but it had not even managed to draw blood.
Laufey was not faring much better.
Although he had already treated this unfamiliar monster with the utmost caution, Fenris's strength still surpassed his wildest expectations.
Crack!
After the collision, Laufey heard a crisp cracking sound coming from his own body.
A terrible premonition entered his mind, and he hurriedly began repairing the damage.
After their brief stalemate, Laufey took advantage of his greater height and forced the enormous sword downward. The ice colossus's legs instantly expanded to several times their previous thickness, and the strength in its arms surged.
Yet the next instant, the force coming through the blade made Laufey's expression abruptly change.
Fenris's long, razor-sharp claws had closed around the sword like iron pincers, locking it firmly in place.
He stared directly into the ice colossus's crimson eyes, and the corners of his mouth slowly curled upward.
So what if Laufey was taller?
Did he truly think a body made from nothing but ice could compete with Godzilla in strength and physical power?
Laufey clearly saw the mockery reflected in those vertical pupils.
His expression stiffened. Instinctively sensing danger, he tried to release the sword and withdraw.
Before he could react, conspicuous cracks suddenly appeared across the colossal blade.
The sword was dozens of meters long and several meters thick. On Earth, such ice could have remained frozen for ten thousand years, and its edge was incomparably sharp.
Yet the cracks spread at terrifying speed, covering the entire blade in the blink of an eye.
Laufey's gaze seemed to freeze at that instant.
A moment later, the weight vanished from his hands as the enormous sword exploded into fragments.
Countless shards of ice shot outward under the immense force, producing piercing whistles as they tore through the air. The surrounding buildings, already mostly destroyed, were riddled with holes as though they had been passed through a sieve.
The force Laufey had been exerting suddenly lost all resistance, causing his enormous body to tilt uncontrollably to one side.
He had no time to think. Just as he twisted his body and attempted to recover his balance, he saw another strange smile appear on the face of Fenris, who did not even reach his chest.
Laufey knew something terrible was about to happen, but he was powerless to prevent it.
Following the momentum of their struggle, Fenris slammed directly into Laufey's chest. The razor-sharp spines along his back scraped mercilessly across the ice colossus's body, filling the air with piercing friction and a storm of shattered ice.
Intense radiation surged alongside scorching waves of heat. Even with Laufey's power, he could not stop the ice colossus from melting.
By the time he finally recovered his balance, an enormous cavity had already been carved into the colossus's chest.
"What?"
One lost step led to another.
Fenris pressed his advantage without mercy. His claws locked around the ice colossus's wrists. Then he twisted his waist, swung his tail, and released his grip.
Boom!
Laufey had no time to react.
An immensely thick black tail whipped toward him like lightning, moving fast enough to produce an explosive sonic boom.
The tail struck the ice colossus across the waist.
The next instant, Laufey felt his entire body become weightless as he abruptly lost control of his lower half.
Wind roared in his ears, and his vision spun wildly. Through the disorienting blur, he saw two severed legs of ice enter his field of view.
"Are those… my legs?"
Laufey vaguely realized what had happened.
Bang!
The ice colossus's upper body had been torn away by brute force.
When Laufey realized he had crashed into the ground, his mind was still reeling. He shook his dizzy head, planted both arms against the ground, and forced himself upright.
Fortunately, his true body had not been injured. He had merely suffered some backlash, which remained within tolerable limits.
Laufey had barely recovered when cold energy poured from him and the ice colossus's lower body began regenerating.
Then his vision went dark once again.
That familiar face—one Laufey had originally considered hideous but had somehow become accustomed to—filled his sight once more.
"I'm fin—"
Laufey had lost count of how many times he had sensed impending disaster.
Against an opponent whose strength was comparable to his own, Fenris had finally seized the advantage. Naturally, he had no intention of giving Laufey even the slightest opportunity to recover.
Laufey's vision began spinning wildly again.
Fenris's claws swung in a frenzy, as if venting his fury—or mocking Laufey in retaliation for his earlier provocation.
For a time, the partially regenerated ice colossus became little more than a punching bag in Fenris's claws, subjected to a relentless storm of attacks.
Shards of ice flew everywhere. The colossus's arms were effortlessly severed and sent crashing into the ground, reducing several Asgardian buildings to rubble.
"Stop…"
Laufey nearly choked with frustration.
Their overall strength was clearly comparable, yet a single lost exchange had left him completely trapped on the defensive. He could not even fight back.
All he could do was desperately release an endless stream of cold to repair the ice colossus, searching for an opportunity to counterattack.
"Laufey, you'd better have hidden yourself well!"
For the first time, Fenris understood just how troublesome it was to fight an opponent with regenerative abilities comparable to his own.
He frowned, and his attacks became even more ferocious.
A moment later, he abruptly detected an unusual fluctuation of energy.
"Found you!"
Fenris's eyes lit up.
He raised his right claw high before driving it straight through the ice colossus's chest.
Boom—crack!
An explosion thundered through the air.
When Fenris withdrew his claw, the crimson light in the ice colossus's eyes went out completely.
A small blue figure trembled helplessly in his palm.
(End of Chapter)
[Get +30 Extra Chapters On — P@tr3on "Zaelum"]
[Every 300 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter Drop]
[Thanks for Reading!]