Chapter 259 Victory!
Unlike the Fire Demon, who could be severely damaged by even a drop of water, Surtur, even after falling into the swimming pool, wasn't greatly affected. In fact, he evaporated half of the water in the pool within seconds.
Instantly, the already dim underground palace was filled with steam, a white mist.
"You damn... glug glug... bug... I... glug glug..."
Even the largest swimming pool on Earth wouldn't be big enough for Surtur, so when Fini created it, she didn't follow ordinary standards.
Even with Surtur's several-meter-tall size, he wouldn't be able to touch the bottom after falling in.
And Surtur, being a fire giant, at most occasionally bathed in lava; he had never learned to swim. He wanted to curse Fini in the pool, but he couldn't climb out for a long time, instead swallowing several mouthfuls of water.
Creating such a large swimming pool in an instant was quite taxing for Finney. After catching his breath, he ignored Surtur's curses and looked through the mist at Surtur thrashing about in the pool.
"Add water!"
"Cool down!"
"Sink!"
Finney continued to use the 'Golden Grand Evolution Technique' to issue commands, attempting to lower Surtur to the bottom and freeze him.
"Boom!"
However, even in his weakened state, Surtur was no pushover. Red flames suddenly erupted in the pool.
The intense heat instantly evaporated a large amount of water, and the rate at which he was adding water couldn't keep up with the replenishment.
At the same time, a strange energy fluctuation caused Finney to suddenly recall a very difficult problem from his previous life when he was younger:
It takes three hours to empty a pool, four hours to fill it, and several hours to fill it while simultaneously emptying and filling it!?
Why do something as pointless as filling and draining water at the same time?!
Influenced by the dissipating thoughts, the effect of the 'Golden Great Evolution Technique' was instantly greatly reduced, and even half of the pool disappeared.
Just as Finney was about to reconsider, a sudden sense of alertness arose in his mind, and his mind instantly cleared, realizing he had been tricked.
Although he had recovered quickly, Surtur had already escaped from the pool.
Looking at Surtur, whose eyes were blazing with rage, Finney's vigilance was at its highest. He had somewhat misjudged Surtur's strength.
Thor's easy victory in the original storyline led him to believe that Surtur's current strength was only average, but now it seemed that Ragnarok was indeed more complex than imagined.
For example, the mental influence just now was not shown in the original storyline at all.
Surtur, enraged to the extreme, didn't want to speak anymore. With a roar, he gripped the red-hot Twilight Sword with both hands and slashed down with tremendous force.
"Shield!"
Finney stopped dodging and summoned a vibranium shield in front of him using the 'Golden Grand Magic'.
Although it wasn't Captain America's shield, it barely blocked the attack, but the blow had already created many cracks in it, making it clearly unable to withstand a second hit.
However, this was a disposable item created by Finney. Dispersing the shield, Finney took advantage of Surtur's adjustment of his movements and issued another command:
"Hammer!"
During his time fighting Thor in Vanaheim, Finney had spent a lot of time studying Thor's hammer, Mjolnir, when he was bored. Although he couldn't undo Odin's magic or Nidavellir's technology, he had still managed to glean some insights from Mjolnir.
For example, how to make the hammer heavier!
A colossal Mjolnir, similar to Mjolnir but hundreds of times larger, suddenly appeared above Surtur's head.
Finney had originally intended to save this move for his battle with Thor, but unfortunately, the 'Golden Grand Magic' was restricted in Asgard and Vanaheim, so he hadn't had the chance.
According to research on Thor's hammer, it was actually much heavier than it should be. With
a
muffled thud, the hammer struck Surtur's head, knocking him to the ground.
Having created so many things in succession, Finney was exhausted. Seeing Surtur struggling to his feet, he quickly flew to his side.
"Explosion!"
Finney unleashed a 'Burst Magic'. Although the damage wasn't as high as usual, Surtur was first burned, then soaked in water, and finally struck heavily by the hammer.
Already not fully recovered, this blow finally broke his spirit, and he passed out.
Seeing Surtur finally fall, Finney didn't relax. Instead, he first checked the system experience gained before letting out a long sigh of relief.
As his thoughts calmed, Phineas dissipated all the items created by the 'Golden Grand Magic,' glanced at the still-collapsed surroundings, and then at Surtur on the ground.
After some deliberation, he still didn't choose to kill Surtur.
Killing Surtur might not be a good thing, and Odin might not want to see this outcome, unless he had a way to destroy the crown Surtur currently wearing.
Was Asgard truly unable to find Surtur?!
Putting aside the fact that he used chicken nuggets to lure the fire demon, considering that Thor was able to find this lair in the original story, Surtur wasn't actually hiding that well.
Odin simply didn't want to look, because even if he found the weakened Surtur, it wouldn't be of much use.
Without the ability to destroy the crown, any action could lead to an earlier Ragnarok, so he left Surtur unattended.
Phineas even felt that Odin was rather happy with the current situation, with the weakened Surtur hiding underground in Muspelheim.
If they continued to hide like this, they would never come into contact with the Eternal Flame, and Ragnarok would never come to Asgard.
After taking one last look at Surtur, Finney opened a portal and left the underground.
Surtur's regenerative abilities were strong; he regained consciousness almost immediately after Finney left. Thinking of his humiliating defeat and the destruction of his home, countless rages surged within him.
"Finney Hel..."
Surtur wanted to roar in anger, but before he could finish, the already collapsing underground palace finally gave way, completely silencing
his voice and his fury.
...
Unbeknownst to Finney, Surtur suffered further blows after he left. He was currently sitting in a cave, reflecting on the shortcomings of his previous battle.
Because the battle with Surtur had taken a heavy toll, he could only barely create a chair; he needed to recover before he could enjoy himself as before.
After carefully reviewing the battle and noting down the mistakes she made, Finney couldn't help but check the system's experience bar.
Sigh~ Tomorrow's going to be busy!
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(End of Chapter)