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*****
Asgard's translator didn't just decipher the speech of others; it could also translate Feny's words into a language other races could understand, so communication was not an issue.
However, the three giants did not lower their guard just because Feny had offered a greeting. On the contrary, ice spikes began to sprout from their palms as they demanded once more, "Who are you?"
"If I said I was just passing through, would you believe me?"
Watching the jagged ice forming in their hands, Feny tightened his grip on the "White Dragon's Breath." Frost Giants were not particularly skilled at close-quarters combat, but they were born with an innate talent for cryomancy. Having never fought a Frost Giant before, he remained in the dark about the full extent of their capabilities.
The three giants clearly didn't buy his explanation. The atmosphere turned heavy and suffocatingly tense, and Feny could feel the ambient temperature around them plummeting rapidly.
"So, we're doing this the hard way then?"
Feny took a deep breath, and the flames wreathed around him flared up, forcing the biting cold back a few inches. The sight of the fire only made the giants' gazes grow more loathing.
While the current situation technically contradicted what he had told Odin before leaving, there was no rule saying a tourist couldn't sightsee in a palace. At worst, he just hadn't expected to get caught.
"If you won't talk, then you'll never speak again!"
The tallest of the three giants spoke with a voice like cracking glaciers. Without warning, he flicked his wrist, sending a barrage of ice spikes whistling through the air. He clearly had no intention of taking Feny alive; he wanted to end the intruder right where he stood.
"Explosion!"
Facing the crystalline yet lethal projectiles, Feny immediately retaliated with his signature magic.
Under the high-temperature blast of the crimson flames, the ice spikes evaporated almost instantly. The force of the explosion sent the three giants staggering back several steps.
After so much practice and the significant mental power boost from the "White Dragon's Breath," the power of Feny's instant-cast spells was not to be underestimated. Of course, the elemental advantage played a major role; living in Jotunheim their entire lives, the giants found such intense heat physically repulsive and distressing.
"Together!"
The sole giantess among them realized Feny wasn't an easy target. She shouted to her companions and slammed her palms against the floor.
The stone ground froze instantly. Jagged brambles of ice erupted from the frost, racing across the floor to surround and impale Feny.
The other two didn't hesitate. One continued to rain down ice spikes from a distance, while the other conjured two wicked ice blades and charged straight at Feny.
Facing the pincer movement, Feny remained calm. He used Explosion to shatter the incoming projectiles, then used Sky Dance to hover into the air, easily clearing the ice thorns on the ground. Finally, he turned his attention to the giant lunging at him with blades raised.
"Get down there!"
In Flame Mode, Feny's physical strength was massively amplified. His flaming fist blurred, moving faster than the giant could react, and slammed directly into the incoming ice blade.
Crack!
Under the sheer force of the blow, the blade shattered like glass. The momentum carried Feny's fist forward, smashing the Frost Giant straight into the stone floor.
"Byleistr!"
The other two cried out in alarm. The giantess immediately abandoned her ice-thorn spell and rushed to her son's side to check his injuries.
The giant who had initiated the attack stood trembling with rage. He glared up at Feny and demanded again, "Who in the world are you!?"
"I'm just a passing mage," Feny replied nonchalantly, hovering in the air while gripping his staff.
Being discovered was an unplanned complication, but with his current strength, he wasn't particularly worried. One of his primary goals in coming to Jotunheim was to gain experience, after all. Still, he felt a bit awkward; beating up what was essentially a widowed mother and her children didn't exactly make for a heroic story.
"What is your purpose here?"
Helblindi asked in a low, gravelly voice. He was struggling to suppress his fury, trying to buy time. The commotion had already alerted the palace guards, who were currently converging on their location.
"It really was an accident," Feny sighed. He saw right through Helblindi's stalling tactic but didn't care. In fact, he hoped more giants would gather so he could test how his experience gains worked against a crowd.
Helblindi stared intently at the figure encased in the "Incursio" armor and dancing flames. Suddenly, a realization struck him.
"You're the 'White Butcher'! You're an Asgardian!"
"No, I am not!"
Feny's mood soured instantly. Every time he heard that nickname, his blood pressure spiked. He truly couldn't fathom how he, a mage who honorably used spells to eliminate his enemies, ended up with a moniker like "Butcher." It gave people the false impression that he went around hacking things up with a cleaver.
"You are! I have seen the intelligence reports on you!" Helblindi insisted, his eyes narrowing. "Does Asgard intend to tear up the peace treaty and restart the war?"
"I told you, I'm not the 'White anything,' and I'm not an Asgardian!" Feny snapped. "I'm from Earth. I came to Jotunheim for a vacation, took a wrong turn, and wanted to see what the palace looked like. I didn't expect you people to find me."
"Earth?" Helblindi paused, the name sounding vaguely familiar.
"You come from Midgard?"
The giantess, Farbauti, spoke up. Beside her, Byleistr—who had been punched into the floor—was already climbing back to his feet. The harsh environment of Jotunheim had forged the giants with incredible constitutions and recovery rates; though Feny's punch had been heavy, it hadn't caused any lasting damage.
"Yes," Feny nodded, looking at the woman who was likely Laufey's wife and Loki's biological mother.
"Impossible!" Helblindi countered, refusing to believe it. "You were seen slaughtering alongside the Son of Odin in Vanaheim!"
"Slaughtering, my foot!" Feny glared at him. "I was helping to suppress a rebellion. And listen—if you call me 'White' anything one more time, I'm going to punch you."
"Odin sent you, didn't he?" Helblindi ignored the threat, his eyes burning with hatred. "He murdered my father through treachery, and now he sends an assassin for the rest of us. He truly is a hypocritical monster!"
"..."
Feny stared at Helblindi, speechless. He didn't even know where to begin explaining.
The truth behind Laufey's death was known to only a handful of people, none of whom were likely to come forward and clarify things. In the eyes of the Frost Giants, the only one capable of killing Laufey was Odin.
In fact, they weren't even aware that they had a brother named Loki.
In their version of events, Odin had tricked Laufey into coming to Asgard to facilitate the destruction of Jotunheim. They believed Laufey had sacrificed himself to destroy the Bifrost, thereby saving his people from total annihilation.
It seemed Loki was quite similar to Peter Quill—neither could escape the reputation of being a "father-pitter," a disaster for their own parents.
(End of Chapter)