"Father once told me, the true ruler of Asgard should never start a war!" Thor shouted at Hela, desperation cracking through his voice. "What you are doing… this is the end of everything!"
The fire surged higher.
BOOM
A thunderous bellow shook Asgard as the giant's form completed.
The Flame Giant Surtur ancient destroyer, scourge of realms, rose again, towering over the sky.
ROAAAR!
His voice rumbled like collapsing mountains. "With the Eternal Flame… I rise!"
Molten metal dripped from his body as a colossal blade of fire coalesced in his hand. The instant he gripped it, he slammed it into the ground.
KRAKOOM!
The shockwave tore across the courtyard, ripping stone apart and siphoning the very energy of Asgard into Surtur's regenerating form.
He grew taller and impossibly massive, until Soren and the others could see only the giant's feet.
Hela stepped forward, her eyes gleaming with cold dominance.
"Enough, Surtur," She snapped. "Remember who brought you back."
Surtur lowered his head. Flames churned dangerously close to Hela, but he obeyed with visible reluctance.
She held the Eternal Flame, she held his leash.
"Hela, Ragnarök is not a weapon!" Thor's heart pounded.
"Don't forget the blood that runs through your veins. You're Asgardian too!"
But Hela didn't even look at him.
She raised a hand and pointed directly at Soren. "Kill him."
Surtur turned.
Fury and humiliation twisted in his molten features. Forced to fight like a chained beast, he welcomed a target to vent his rage.
He lifted his flame greatsword and brought it down like a burning mountain.
The wind alone howled with murderous force, ripping the earth apart as it fell.
CLANG!
The sword stopped dead.
An invisible barrier of energy shimmered in front of Soren, scattering flames in every direction. The recoil forced Surtur to stagger backward, shocked.
Thor and the others stared in disbelief. Even without fighting the giant, they could feel how devastating that blow had been.
Yet Soren hadn't moved a step.
Soren tilted his head slightly. "Hold off, Hela."
"I'll deal with the giant."
The others nodded.
Soren's aura surged.
With a crack of displaced air, he shot upward into the sky.
A long sword materialized in his hand, its blade forged of living flame, lava lines pulsing like hot veins.
Compared to Surtur's colossal weapon, it looked as small as a splinter.
But Soren's presence made the very sky tremble.
"Grrrgh." Surtur growled, flame rising from his body in spirals.
Soren pointed his blade at the giant's chest. "Come, let me free you from this humiliation."
"You dare challenge me, little spark?!"
Surtur roared, embers exploding from his molten jaw. His flames surged higher, igniting the sky itself.
With a single step, the Flame Giant swung his colossal sword in an arc of fire large enough to cleave mountains.
The air itself screamed as the weapon tore downward toward Soren.
In that instant, Soren's aura detonated.
He drew out every ounce of latent power, his body crackling with supernatural force, and shot upward to meet the blow head-on.
His lava-forged blade blazed like a newborn sun.
BOOOOM!
The explosion echoed across all of Asgard.
To Surtur's shock, the force that slammed back against him wasn't the puny resistance of a mortal…
His enormous frame staggered, feet plowing trenches through shattered towers as he fought to stay upright.
He had to retreat…
Surtur, destroyer of realms, forced backward by a single warrior.
Below him, Soren hovered, the lava artifact in his grip burning hotter, its molten lines pulsing violently, nearly rivaling the Flame Giant's own sword.
Thor exhaled slowly.
He had seen Soren's power before… but never unleashed like this.
Hela, however, did not hide her displeasure. A flicker of unease passed through her sharp green eyes.
Soren had pushed Surtur back.
That was not part of her plan.
"…So," Hela murmured, lips curling in an icy smile. "He really can stand against the fire demon."
"Well, if he has his dance partner… I suppose I'll choose mine. Let's add a little red to my crown."
With a lazy wave of her hand, Hela vanished from sight.
SHWIP—SHWIP—SHWIP!
The air filled with black steel.
Dozens… then hundreds of obsidian blades materialized around her, erupting outward in a rain of death aimed straight at Thor's group.
But they were ready.
Thor raised his hands, calling lightning from the heavens. A thunderous barrier formed around him, shredding the incoming projectiles with roaring white bolts.
"You won't touch them!" His voice boomed,
Valkyrie leapt into the fray blurring into a storm of motion. Every blade that passed her was struck aside with a ringing 'ting,' falling uselessly to the ground at her feet.
Freyja extended both hands, and a dome of shimmering natural magic blossomed around her.
Each projectile dissolved against its surface, rippling the barrier but never penetrating. With the Collector's enchanted necklace around her throat, her magic surged with newfound might.
Heimdall, ever the guardian, planted his massive holy sword into the earth.
It expanded like forming a solid wall. Hela's conjured weapons shattered harmlessly against its divine edge.
The group stood firm, the rain of obsidian falling around them like dark hail.
"So, the traitors have gotten stronger." Hela narrowed her eyes.
"Good. It will make killing you more entertaining."