"Let all of Asgard follow me into hell!"
"It's worth it! It was all worth it! Hahahaha!"
Knowing there was no longer any hope of survival, Laufey abandoned all restraint. Raising the Casket of Ancient Winters, he poured nearly all his remaining strength into smashing it against the ground.
Powerful waves of energy spilled wildly from the Casket, releasing terrifying bursts of unstable, extreme cold in every direction.
The Frost Giants of Jotunheim and the gods of Asgard were powerless to stop him. Some wept, while others laughed madly.
Thor, who still retained a fraction of his fighting strength, immediately sprang into action. However, speed had never been his specialty. He could only watch helplessly as the time bomb capable of easily destroying Asgard plummeted toward the ground.
Time seemed to freeze at that moment.
"Smack!"
A sharp sound rang out.
Dense streams of multicolored light descended from the sky like flowing water, gathering into the tall silhouette of a man.
A long, slender hand clamped around Laufey's right arm, forcibly stopping its descent.
"Fenris!"
Thor breathed a sigh of relief.
He had known Fenris would stop him.
Standing less than two meters tall, Fenris did not even reach Laufey's waist. Yet no matter how desperately Laufey pushed downward, pouring nearly all the strength he had accumulated throughout his life into the effort, he could not move Fenris in the slightest.
"Do you think... this is enough to stop me?"
Laufey's ruined body trembled violently. His bloodshot eyes bulged as their corners threatened to split apart.
"You..."
He opened his mouth, still intending to say something.
Instead, he heard a fierce gust of wind whistle past his ear.
From the corner of his eye, Laufey saw the immensely heavy-looking, red-handled battle-ax spin effortlessly in Fenris's right hand. Cold light flashed across its blade, and the freezing wind stirred by its edge instantly made Laufey's scalp go numb.
The enormous battle-ax expanded once again.
Fenris tightened his left hand and yanked Laufey's body off balance. His right hand rose and then came crashing down.
An irresistible force struck Laufey, instantly causing him to lose his balance and stumble sideways.
The blade of the battle-ax appeared directly in front of him with perfect precision.
At first glance, it almost looked as though Laufey had willingly offered his neck to the blade.
Cold light suddenly flooded his vision like flowing water. The bone-chilling aura made everyone shudder.
"No!"
Laufey's face turned deathly pale.
As his body fell uncontrollably, he struggled desperately to avoid the approaching blade. However, the overwhelming force acting upon him made resistance impossible.
"Whoosh!"
The battle-ax fell.
Nothing could stand before its edge. Everything in its path was severed in two.
The world in Laufey's eyes suddenly began to spin.
"What... happened?"
His thoughts abruptly became sluggish.
Something important seemed to have happened a moment ago, but no matter how hard he tried, he could not remember what it was.
Dizziness overtook him, and the world before his eyes grew increasingly blurred.
Through the haze, Laufey seemed to see an enormous body with only half of it still intact being casually thrown to the ground by a tall human figure.
"That looks so familiar..."
That final thought drifted through his mind.
In the next instant, Laufey's vision sank into boundless nothingness.
"Thud!"
Something heavy struck the ground and rolled several times with a series of dull impacts.
Laufey's body collapsed lifelessly onto the ice, sending a spray of frozen shards into the air. They quickly scattered and vanished.
There was no strange phenomenon, nor did his death create even the slightest ripple in this cold and silent universe.
This was the man who had once unleashed a tremendous storm at the summit of the Nine Realms.
The warrior who had once caused Odin endless trouble and inspired genuine fear within him.
The legendary king of Jotunheim and the most powerful ruler the Frost Giants had ever known.
Yet on this otherwise ordinary day, Laufey died no differently from any other enemy Fenris had encountered.
A hand rose.
A battle-ax fell.
A life faded away.
Beneath the dim light of the sky, those faintly gleaming shards of ice became the final echo of Laufey's life.
The sound had not been particularly loud, yet it easily overwhelmed the surrounding screams and cries of despair.
"Our king..."
"The ruler who governed Jotunheim for hundreds of thousands of years..."
"One of the strongest beings in the entire universe..."
"He's just... dead?"
A final trace of disbelief remained in Laufey's eyes, mingled with resentment and fear. When those around him met his clouded, lifeless gaze, all the noise vanished.
No one spoke.
The battered remnants of the Frost Giant army fell silent.
So did the surviving gods of Asgard.
Even Thor and Frigga stood frozen in place.
Everyone's expression stiffened.
"YES!"
Only Loki, hidden behind the crowd, fiercely pumped his fist.
He quickly glanced left and right. After confirming that no one had noticed him, he excitedly lowered his hand.
"Haah..."
Thor released a long sigh. He stared at Fenris's back but could not bring himself to say a word.
Such was fate. There had been nothing he could do to stop it.
"Farewell, Laufey."
The vibranium battle-ax, unstained by even a single drop of blood, rapidly shrank in Fenris's hand. It soon returned to its small, exquisite form, and he put it away.
Looking at Laufey's lifeless body, Fenris sighed softly and slowly stepped forward. He reached out and gently closed the king's wide, staring eyes.
Under the gaze of countless witnesses, everyone silently watched his movements.
Just as Laufey had said, there had been no deep hatred between them. Had they not stood on opposing sides, the similar origins of their powers might even have become a bond connecting them.
Things never would have reached the point where one of them had to die.
"What a shame..."
Fenris slowly crouched beside Laufey and studied him in silence.
To Asgard, this king had been hateful, ruthless, and cruel.
To Jotunheim, however, Laufey had been their only unshakable pillar, the final and strongest source of support for his people.
"You were a worthy opponent. Unfortunately, it will be difficult to find another like you."
Fenris remained silent for a moment before taking a deep breath. He quickly broke free from the nearly frozen atmosphere surrounding him.
His attention shifted to the Casket of Ancient Winters, which remained clutched tightly in Laufey's dead hand.
Without Laufey to guide it, the immense power gathered within the treasure instantly spiraled out of control. Unstable waves of energy erupted from it repeatedly as blue light flashed across its surface.
It was on the verge of exploding completely.
Fenris pulled the Casket of Ancient Winters from Laufey's grasp.
The instant his fingers closed around it, a torrent of energy rushed toward him. Sensing the frost power within his body grow more active in response, Fenris frowned slightly and tightened his grip.
"Hum..."
A gentle shock wave emerged from the Casket without warning.
It passed over him like a soft breeze, and the refreshing chill immediately cleared Fenris's mind.
The moment the Casket sensed the power of the Ancient Snow Demon, its violently surging energy began to subside. The immense cold that had been on the verge of erupting gradually withdrew, and the divine artifact slowly stabilized.
"It... stabilized?"
(End of Chapter)
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