The vibranium battle axe struck Laufey squarely in the chest. Veins bulged across Fenris's forehead as he gripped the handle with both hands and forced it down with all his strength.
The razor-sharp blade cleaved through the white light released by the Casket of Ancient Winters and sank deep into Laufey's chest. Bones cracked loudly, and blood poured from the wound, sizzling and releasing black smoke beneath the intense heat of the axe.
Fenris descended from the sky like a mountain crashing down. Laufey lost his balance and plummeted to the ground, slamming into it with tremendous force.
Boom!
The deafening impact swept across the battlefield. The sudden turn of events and Laufey's fall instantly extinguished the Frost Giants' fervor. Their cheers died in their throats.
A glimmer of hope flashed across Loki's face.
"Could it be...?"
"Human! You deserve to die!"
At the bottom of a crater dozens of meters wide, Laufey knelt on one knee with his teeth clenched.
One hand clutched the Casket of Ancient Winters, refusing to let go, while the other gripped the blade of the vibranium battle axe. Its scorching heat had already burned the flesh of his palm beyond recognition.
"What a pity... Cough, cough... Even with your surprise attack, you still fell just short. You failed to kill me..."
The force coming from the other side was terrifying. Every muscle in Laufey's body strained as he desperately resisted the axe pressing down upon him.
There was no question that the slightest lapse would see him cleaved in two on the spot.
Even so, he tremblingly forced his head up. His crimson eyes stared directly into the emotionless vertical pupils beyond the axe.
"You won't get another chance..."
Laufey spat out a mouthful of blood as the Casket of Ancient Winters in his hand suddenly released a deep hum.
Not good!
The cold surged toward him again.
Fenris's eyes shifted. The moment he glimpsed that faint blue light from the corner of his eye, an overwhelming sense of danger flooded his heart.
The opportunity created by his surprise attack had lasted only an instant. If he could not defeat Laufey while the Frost Giant king was distracted and had yet to fully adapt to his dramatically increased power, then the chances of succeeding with another attack were practically nonexistent.
Fenris cast Laufey one last unwilling glance, wrenched the battle axe free, and immediately retreated.
The blade tore free in a spray of blood. Laufey grunted again from the agony, but his eyes grew even colder.
Bang!
Fenris had barely withdrawn when the Casket of Ancient Winters erupted with blinding white light. Vast amounts of freezing air gathered around it as countless razor-sharp spikes of ice burst forth and pursued him.
Laufey's counterattack was swift and decisive. Although Fenris had sensed the danger and begun retreating first, he was still one step too slow.
The ice spikes had only just formed when they shot toward him.
Their sharp tips effortlessly pierced Fenris's defenses, leaving several bloody holes in his back deep enough to expose bone.
Blood scattered through the air.
Fenris grunted, but he did not dare slow down. He suddenly accelerated and managed to stagger back to Thor's side.
"Ugh!"
A mouthful of blood burst from his lips.
The freezing energy had invaded his body, and thick frost began forming across his skin at a speed visible to the naked eye.
The Atomic Furnace within him was operating at full capacity, releasing an endless stream of thermal radiation from deep inside his body.
Yet before the cold of the Casket of Ancient Winters, the biological reactor capable of producing a world-destroying Atomic Breath was like a tiny flame flickering in a raging gale. Every trace of light and heat it desperately produced was effortlessly swallowed by the storm.
"Cough... cough..."
Fenris felt his reactions gradually slowing and his body rapidly stiffening. Watching as solid ice steadily consumed his skin, he gritted his teeth and forced himself back to his feet.
"One attack. It only took one attack to leave him like this..."
The hope that had just appeared in Loki's eyes faded once again.
As expected, if Laufey at the height of his power could be defeated so easily by a surprise attack, how could he possibly have held his own against Odin for so long?
"You can't defeat him. Run while you still have the strength..."
The ice covering Fenris grew thicker, spreading across nearly his entire body.
Heat continued pouring from him, but it was nowhere near enough to withstand the overwhelming cold.
Great clouds of steam rose from his body, leaving his skin flushed crimson beneath them. Loki watched and sighed bitterly before making one final plea.
"Go!"
"Loki, you're in no position to lecture me. Shut up!"
"I'll risk everything. Worst-case scenario, I'll just be reborn inside Mothra's egg!"
Fenris casually tossed aside the vibranium battle axe and released a low growl. He stared at Laufey and the Casket of Ancient Winters in his hands, the blood vessels in his eyes bulging until he looked utterly terrifying.
"I'm willing to gamble that the power of my Titan Bestiary surpasses yours!"
"ROAR!"
A thunderous roar erupted as Fenris's body began expanding once again.
In the blink of an eye, the towering Godzilla, more than forty meters tall, reappeared before the Asgardians.
Unlike before, however, Godzilla's life force field had weakened almost to its limit.
The freezing energy did not diminish in the slightest as his body expanded. Amid the clatter of falling ice fragments, the cold spread even faster than before. Within moments, a thin layer of frost had formed across Fenris's enormous body.
"It's glowing!"
Fenris silently sank his consciousness into the depths of his soul.
The Titan Bestiary, resembling a glorious celestial tome, had already opened.
The corner of its fourth page had begun to lift through the haze. As frost continued to spread, the page gradually emitted a lustrous white radiance.
The freezing energy that Godzilla had to exert every ounce of strength to resist had become the perfect nourishment for the fourth Titan. It was building a stairway to the heavens for the creature's emergence.
Ten percent...
Twenty percent...
The white light gradually grew brighter, and Fenris's heart rose into his throat.
"Faster! I need it to go faster!"
"No... It still isn't enough!"
Fenris abruptly pulled his consciousness back and fixed his gaze upon Laufey.
"I need an even stronger stimulus!"
"Laufey!"
Feeling his body growing increasingly rigid, Fenris took a massive step forward. Summoning the last of his strength, he charged toward Laufey once again.
Laufey remained enveloped in the light of the Casket of Ancient Winters. As freezing energy washed over him, the horrific wound that had nearly split his upper body in two slowly began to heal.
As he floated into the sky once more, the mighty aura surrounding him again became full and majestic.
Fenris's enormous body lunged toward him. Those claws, which had nearly crushed him to death earlier, descended with enough force to unleash a violent gale.
This time, however, not a trace of panic remained in Laufey's heart.
"You're courting death!" (lol, I left it like this because it made me laugh)
(End of Chapter)
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