"My king?"
One of the nearest Frost Giants could not help crawling toward Laufey.
"No... Don't..."
Laufey could still move.
There was not a single part of his body that did not hurt. Meaningless groans escaped his throat as he dragged along the left half of his body, which had gone completely limp and numb. Even so, he forced himself back to his feet once more.
"Why?"
Laufey gasped heavily. The agony coursing through his body had stripped away all control over his expression, leaving his face hideously twisted.
After standing there for a moment with his body leaning crookedly to one side, he pushed away the subordinate approaching him and raised his head.
"I can sense it. Your power is extremely similar to that of the Casket of Ancient Winters. In fact, your power may have awakened because of it..."
"We should be on the same side! Why? Why are you standing with them?!"
Fenris gently flapped his two pairs of beautiful wings as he slowly descended from the sky. Multicolored light dispelled the surrounding darkness, casting Laufey's expression in shifting light and shadow.
"Why did the Casket of Ancient Winters increase your strength so drastically? It made you powerful enough to contend with Odin."
Fenris did not answer Laufey's question. He merely looked down at the dying Frost Giant.
"Is it simply because you're a Frost Giant?"
Fenris's gaze shifted to the divine artifact Laufey clutched so tightly that he refused to release it.
"Let me... return home, and I'll tell you."
Laufey's crimson eyes remained fixed on Fenris as he spoke in broken gasps.
"You know that's impossible."
Fenris raised one hand. In the distance, the vibranium battle-ax embedded deep within the ice began to tremble. It tore itself free, flew through the air, and slammed firmly into his palm.
"In exchange, I can give you a quick death."
"Cough... Cough! Hah..."
Laufey slowly closed his eyes, then suddenly let out a miserable laugh.
"Haha! Cough... Hahaha!"
He laughed weakly for a while, paying no attention to the complicated gazes around him. Then he suddenly looked toward Frigga, who lay motionless nearby.
"When did you switch that woman out?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Frigga's body lit up with streaks of green light. A moment later, it dissolved into countless motes and vanished completely.
"No wonder. No wonder..."
"That damned sorcerer..."
The encirclement nearby slowly parted, creating an opening. Frigga walked through behind Thor, supporting the pale-faced Loki as they approached.
"Do you know who taught the greatest sorcerer in the Nine Realms?"
Breathing heavily, Loki looked at Laufey with open mockery.
"The true greatest sorcerer in the Nine Realms, of course."
"Laufey, you should never have chosen the Queen of Asgard as your hostage. You would have been better off choosing that idiot Thor."
"Loki!"
Thor's expression darkened.
Frigga smiled faintly. She looked at Laufey and raised her head proudly.
"Laufey, king of Jotunheim, you have lost."
"I lost..."
Expressionless, Laufey looked around at the scattered remnants of his defeated army.
Then he glanced at the battered and soot-covered gods of Asgard surrounding him.
"Did I lose?"
As Laufey's gaze swept across them, the gods involuntarily looked away first.
The defeated king had already reached his limit. His grievously wounded body seemed as though a single gust of wind could knock him over. Yet no one he looked upon dared meet his eyes.
"Did I lose?!"
A furious roar shattered the silence.
Laufey's voice rose sharply as he looked at Loki.
"Did I lose to you?"
He turned toward Thor.
"Or did I lose to you?"
"Perhaps I lost to you?"
Laufey pointed his remaining right hand at Frigga.
"The greatest sorcerer in the Nine Realms? Where were you while your warriors fought and bled? You were hiding inside that old fool Odin's temple!"
"The greatest sorcerer in the Nine Realms, yet all you can do is protect yourself and play around with illusions? Is that it?"
"Silence, Laufey! You lost, and that is all there is to it. You have no right to judge the Queen of Asgard!"
Frigga had remained at Odin's side to protect him. Naturally, she could not casually appear on the front lines.
"You are the one who should be silent! I, Laufey, have not lost!"
Laufey's cold gaze swept across everyone around him.
"I won. At the very least, I defeated your Asgard. I lost only to fate."
"Enough, Laufey."
Fenris's calm voice drowned out the last of Laufey's hysterical outburst.
"Oh, so you're Asgard's chosen one."
Laufey suddenly laughed.
He raised his head and looked at Fenris.
"Fenris?"
"If we had not stood on opposing sides, I don't believe we would have needed to fight each other like this."
"I admire the strong, especially someone as powerful as you. You're nothing like Odin. That old fool endlessly prattles about honor and virtue, but beneath it all, he's a complete hypocrite. I lost to him, but I never accepted him as my superior."
"Losing to you somehow feels far better than losing to him."
Fenris raised an eyebrow.
"Thank you. Is there anything else you would like to say?"
As a Titan Beast, Fenris was naturally extremely sensitive to the energy signatures of living beings. At this moment, Laufey, a man who had always been treacherous, cunning, and relentlessly ambitious, was surprisingly telling the truth.
"Didn't you want to know why the Casket of Ancient Winters becomes so powerful in my hands?"
The Asgardians continued hurling curses at him, but Laufey turned a deaf ear to them.
Perhaps because of the pain, his back sagged slightly. He immediately forced it straight again and stared directly at Fenris.
"It is not because I am a Frost Giant. It is because I am Laufey!"
Without waiting for Fenris to respond, Laufey raised his head proudly.
"Gungnir is the same weapon no matter who wields it. In the hands of that old fool Odin, it inspires fear throughout the Nine Realms. But..."
Laufey pointed at Loki.
"In the hands of this little princess, it is nothing more than a useless walking stick. That is the difference."
"I am Laufey!"
"I spent my entire life at war. I swept across Jotunheim and made the Nine Realms fear my name. I have never relied on anyone but myself."
"I can accept defeat, and I have no regrets!"
Yet as he spoke, Laufey's voice gradually weakened.
"Fenris, your power awakened through the Casket of Ancient Winters, and you are now its new master. I hope..."
"What do you hope?"
Fenris calmly watched Laufey's performance, his expression completely unmoved. Many of those below, however, strained their ears, hoping to hear the legendary king's final words.
"I hope..."
Laufey suddenly raised the Casket of Ancient Winters high above his head.
Before anyone could react, he hurled it violently toward the ground.
"I hope you never get to use this divine artifact!"
"Hahahaha!"
"All of you can die with me!"
Violent waves of energy poured uncontrollably from the Casket of Ancient Winters. Blue light flickered across its surface, making it resemble a time bomb on the verge of detonation.
"No! He's going to detonate the artifact!"
In the hands of a warrior as powerful as Laufey, the suicidal detonation of the Casket of Ancient Winters would possess enough power to annihilate all of Asgard with ease.
"That madman!"
The surrounding crowd erupted into chaos as screams rang out without end.
Some desperately tried to flee, while others collapsed to the ground in despair.
If Asgard itself was blown apart, where could any of them possibly escape?
(End of Chapter)
[Get +30 Extra Chapters On — P@tr3on "Zaelum"]
[Every 300 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter Drop]
[Thanks for Reading!]