The desolate land lay buried beneath a thick sheet of ice, an endless expanse of white with not a single soul in sight.
"Well, well. Look who I found."
Laufey hovered in the air, his crimson eyes fixed mockingly on the figures below.
An ice spear rapidly took shape in his palm. With a twist of his wrist, he hurled it forward, sending it streaking toward a seemingly empty patch of ground.
"Loki, watch out!"
A panicked woman's voice suddenly rang out.
Green light flashed, and the illusion shattered on its own. Loki, Odin, and Frigga appeared out of thin air before Laufey's eyes.
Sensing the deadly chill bearing down on them from behind, Frigga reacted instantly and shoved Loki with all her strength.
The next moment, the gleaming spear narrowly brushed past Odin on Loki's back.
Even though Laufey had thrown it casually, the ice spear pierced straight through the frozen surface and sank deep into the ground. Only a short length remained exposed, trembling violently from the lingering force.
"Bang!"
Leaning on Gungnir, Loki barely managed to steady himself.
He glanced back. After witnessing the terrifying power behind Laufey's casual attack, cold sweat instantly covered his forehead.
"We've been exposed..."
"Laufey!"
With Odin still on his back, Loki stumbled several steps backward and frantically scanned his surroundings.
They had already traveled a great distance and left the royal palace far behind. The surrounding land was utterly barren, and Laufey alone hovered above them, looking down as if they were nothing more than ants.
In the distance, Frost Giants were already beginning to arrive one after another.
An inescapable net was slowly closing around them. The moment their illusion broke, every route of escape had vanished.
"The King of Asgard. Oh, that's right, you aren't. You're merely an insignificant God of Mischief..."
Laufey watched the divine light flickering through Loki's eyes as he rapidly surveyed his surroundings, still unwilling to give up on finding a way out.
Laufey's presence, however, had already crushed every last hope. When Loki's gaze rapidly dimmed and a nearly imperceptible trace of despair crept into his eyes, Laufey grinned.
"Loki, I must admit that you are a genuinely intelligent man. You understand when to yield to circumstances. That makes you far superior to your brother, who knew he was no match for me and still insisted on fighting me to the death."
Laufey slowly descended from the sky. When he saw Loki subtly shifting Odin farther behind himself, a flash of delight appeared in his eyes.
"Unfortunately, while I may admire you, people like you are precisely the ones I hate most."
Before the words had even left his mouth, Laufey's expression changed. His face visibly darkened.
"Odin, my old friend..."
Step.
Step.
Amid the sound of heavy footsteps, Laufey approached Loki one step at a time. The overwhelming pressure radiating from him nearly left Loki unable to breathe.
Loki could only stand there stiffly, his entire body trembling beyond his control as he watched Laufey slowly extend a hand toward the sleeping Odin on his back.
"To think that this would be the scene of our reunion."
The enormous hand slowly descended and closed around Odin's head.
Frigga stood concealed behind Loki. Loki gripped Gungnir tightly, but he could only watch Laufey's movements, not daring to make the slightest move.
Laufey's lips curled upward.
With the slightest squeeze, he could crush the ancient enemy who had suppressed Jotunheim and the Frost Giants for countless years.
"Buzz..."
"What?"
The instant Laufey's hand descended, a sudden stab of pain shot through his palm.
Right before his eyes, Loki and Odin dissolved into motes of light. In their place was a slender yet razor-sharp sword.
Frigga's blade had already left its sheath. She thrust it upward, driving it into Laufey's palm.
The pain made Laufey instinctively retreat half a step and withdraw his arm.
"Loki, take your father and run!"
Frigga's gaze was cold as she stood with sword in hand, facing an enemy nearly as powerful as her husband had been in his youth.
All her usual warmth had vanished. In its place was a calm and unwavering resolve.
"Mother!"
Loki had somehow appeared several hundred meters away. Tears filled his eyes as he stared at his mother's distant, hazy figure.
His lips trembled, but at that moment, he could not utter even a single complete sentence.
"Stop talking and go!"
Frigga's cold voice reached him.
Loki clenched his teeth, abruptly turned his head away, and fled into the distance as fast as he could.
"Your Majesty."
Laufey examined his palm. The shallow wound was already slowly healing.
Drip.
A single drop of blood seeped from the cut and fell beside his foot.
"All that effort, and you only managed to draw one drop of blood."
Laufey casually shook his hand, then lowered his gaze toward the vigilant Frigga. He appeared completely unconcerned about Loki disappearing farther into the distance.
"Your Majesty, there is no need for you to do this. You are merely someone from Vanaheim."
"Put down your sword, and I can let you..."
"Enough!"
Frigga interrupted Laufey with a furious shout.
"Asgard has no queen who flees. There is only Frigga, who will die in battle."
"Laufey, come at me!"
Before her words had even faded, Frigga thrust her sword forward, not a trace of fear visible on her face.
"Then I will grant your wish!"
Laufey's gaze turned frigid. He shaped his hand like a blade and slashed viciously at Frigga.
"Whoosh!"
A violent gust swept across the ice, but Laufey's supposedly certain strike passed through empty air once again.
The next instant, a sharp pain came from behind his waist, making him grit his teeth in irritation.
"Annoying witch!"
He turned and drove his elbow backward.
His movements were lightning-fast, precise, and completely without hesitation. Frigga raised her head after successfully ambushing him, but she had no time to react. She could only watch helplessly as the elbow descended.
"Clang!"
Frigga cried out in pain. Her sword slipped from her hand and fell to the ground with a clear metallic ring.
She was smashed heavily into the ice. Agonizing pain forced her body to curl inward. The frozen surface beneath her suddenly cracked under the tremendous impact, countless fractures spreading outward with a sharp crunch.
"Why don't you use your illusions again?"
Laufey grimaced as he touched the wound on his lower back. The warm, slick blood coating his fingertips sent another wave of brutality surging through him.
Looking down at Frigga as she struggled in agony, he kicked her with tremendous force.
Frigga suffered another brutal impact. A mouthful of blood sprayed from her lips, staining both the ice and her light armor crimson.
Frigga's identity was unique. Laufey had not wanted to drag the Vanir into this conflict. Now that he had already attacked her, however, he might as well finish what he had started and eliminate every future threat.
At worst, once he had finished cleansing Asgard, he would simply pay Vanaheim a visit as well.
With that thought in mind, Laufey extended his hand and formed another ice spear before raising it high overhead.
"Farewell, Your Majesty."
(End of Chapter)
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