A savage roar thundered up from the abyssal rift. The magma boiled.
From the incandescent lava, a colossal figure wreathed in blistering heat slowly rose to its feet.
The fire giant—Surtur.
Beside him stood the Executioner Skurge, already turned into an undead thrall. While Hela and Saitama were trading blows, Skurge had fused Surtur's crown with the Eternal Flame, resurrecting this terror whose power rivaled Odin's.
In Surtur's hands burned a sword like a waterfall of fire—the Twilight Sword.
"I am Asgard's nightmare! I will usher in Ragnarok! Did you free me? Hahaha—!"
Surtur's grin twisted. He swept the Twilight Sword in a blazing arc—magma cascaded through the air, scorching furrows wherever it passed. Even space itself seemed to shudder.
But to Surtur's surprise, more than half of Asgard already lay in ruins. Upon waking, his first thought had been revenge—to raze Asgard. Yet before him…
"Who destroyed Asgard?!"
With a roar, he hewed the sword down into a mountainside. The rock of Asgard's divine peaks, hard as legend, parted like tofu.
"It was him! That bald Saitama! I released you—remember my name—Hela!" The gravely wounded goddess shrieked from the ground, half-delirious.
If she couldn't have it, she'd see it all burn.
Surtur turned at the sound. Lava eyes narrowed into something almost human—and cruel. "Since you freed me, I should honor my promise from ages past: whoever frees me, dies! Hahahaha!"
The Twilight Sword came crashing down.
Hela screamed and hurled up storm after storm of obsidian blades.
Against Surtur's titanic bulk, her attacks were nothing. If Asgard still stood intact, Hela might have dragged Surtur into mutual destruction. Now, her might had been shaved to the bone.
The sword struck. A flood of molten fire engulfed Hela and her mount Fenris, hammering them into the depths. The ground heaved like a storm-tossed sea.
In Saitama's vision, the readout on Hela's status blurred, then vanished. She was almost certainly finished.
Maybe this was simply retribution.
Even if she'd been wronged in her own way, Hela had slaughtered too many innocents and common soldiers. Saitama felt no particular emotion at her end.
Lava surged and rolled. Surtur rampaged through Asgard in ecstasy. Saitama stood before him, expression flat as ever, dead-fish eyes unruffled while the searing gale snapped at his cape.
"Oh? Baldy? You can die with the rest."
Surtur's gaze glittered with killing intent. Next to his hundred-meter frame, Saitama was as small as an ant. Only Odin had ever given Surtur pause.
But there was no trace of Odin in Asgard now. Through the long ages, Surtur had outlasted him. With sheer longevity, he had survived.
"Damn it—why did that monster have to show up?!"
Space rippled beside Saitama.
Thor and Loki arrived, having settled matters in the Tenth Realm. They hadn't been at ease leaving Hela to Saitama alone.
"Asgard…" Loki murmured. He might mouth hatred for Odin, but he couldn't forget Asgard—the place where Odin and Frigga had raised him. Now it was a sea of fire.
"Ragnarok is here! I must stop it!"
Lightning raced over Thor's body. As Asgard's rightful prince, thunder surged in him until even his eyes flashed a clear electric blue.
Zzzt—
Thor became a bolt of lightning and howled toward Surtur.
The giant's gaze snapped to him, face twisting with hatred. "Thor!"
It was this man who had tricked and killed him not long ago, taking his crown to the royal vault.
"Thor!"
The name rumbled again, heavy with spite.
But this time was different. Now Surtur had both the Eternal Flame and the Twilight Sword. His strength had crested to its absolute peak—stronger than ever.
The massive sword swept across the sky. Thor slipped past, lightning coiling on his fist as he smashed it into Surtur's head.
Boom.
The blow snapped the fire giant's neck to the side; the colossal body reeled back.
"Got him!"
Thor whooped—then his confident grin froze. Surtur straightened; the struck face showed hardly a mark.
"Raaaah!"
The bellow at point-blank range blasted Thor with a pressure wave. His movements snagged for an instant—and a column of fire erupted from Surtur's maw.
Rumble—
Caught full on, Thor spat blood and tumbled like a cut kite, crashing hard. He tried several times to rise and couldn't.
"H-how is he this strong now?!"
Thor stared, stunned. Surtur's power vastly outstripped his own. For Asgard's current leader, the gap was crushing.
"If you don't want to die, retreat. Leave this to Lord Saitama. We only need to watch," Loki said calmly—and another Loki appeared at Thor's side.
Bunshin—Clone Technique. With the Reality Stone in hand, Loki could render his clones solid. The double dragged a battered Thor to safety.
"That all? Hahahaha! Weak little lightning boy!"
Surtur laughed wildly, exhilarated. Once, at his weakest, Thor had pressed him hard. Now he had his crown, the Eternal Flame—and with Asgard already ruined, the forces that had restrained him were all but gone. His power had surged to an unprecedented height.
"Saitama, is it?"
He wasn't a fool. Both Hela and Thor had mentioned the same name—Saitama. The blank-faced bald man before him?
"They say you're strong—pinning a lot of hope on you."
Surtur's voice rolled like thunder.
Saitama tilted his head back, studying the towering fire giant.
"Neat. You're on fire all over—doesn't that feel hot?"
Surtur: "…"
(End of Chapter)
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