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Chapter 111 - 111 The Phantom Becomes Concrete!

The smile on Loki's face froze instantly.

When!?

He didn't even dare to look back. The magic power inside him surged as his body suddenly transformed into green smoke, trying to escape!

But just then, a calm chuckle echoed behind him:

"Haha… did you really think only you could use illusion magic?"

In an instant, a strong green light burst out, illuminating a shallow outline within the smoke!

Loki's smoke-like form abruptly solidified again—his escape spell failed!

A look of pure horror appeared in his eyes!

Without hesitation, he whipped his scepter backward, stabbing behind him blindly. At the same time, the blue light of the Mind Stone lit up, slicing through space as it swept past!

"It's too slow this time."

A casual comment sounded.

Before Loki could react, Russell appeared in front of him in an instant!

A palm rapidly enlarged in Loki's vision!

Loki instinctively tried to phase into smoke again—but found, to his shock, that he couldn't cast the spell!

Russell's own illusion magic was interfering with his!

There was no time to dodge!

Snap!

A heavy slap landed on the left side of Loki's face. He let out a sharp cry as his body spun through the air like a rag doll.

Before he even hit the ground, Russell flashed in front of him again and delivered a backhanded slap to the right side of Loki's face!

Bang!

This time, Loki spun like a frisbee midair, drawing a perfect arc before slamming into the ground.

Russell lowered his hand and flexed his fingers, looking satisfied.

Comfortable.

As expected, only Loki had this kind of feeling.

Not like the loose, sagging skin of that old vampire—this was full of elasticity, rich with collagen.

"Puh!"

Loki spat out a mouthful of dirt as he struggled to stand.

Gone was the smug, playful attitude. His expression was dark now as he glared at Russell, gritting his teeth:

"You're dead."

"Do you really think I'm just like those other Lokis!?"

Russell was genuinely surprised this time.

That sentence… proved this Loki knew about timelines and variants.

A unique Loki.

One who hadn't been caught by the TVA.

At that moment, the space around them suddenly surged. The terrain beneath Loki's feet twisted and trembled violently.

Giant, demonic arms erupted from underground, enormous palms lifting him upward!

In the blink of an eye, a hideous giant—seemingly crawled straight from the depths of Hel—stood hundreds of meters tall, towering over the landscape.

Loki stood atop its massive palm like a god, laughing down from above.

"Listen to my command—"

"KILL THIS HERETIC!!"

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The earth split open again, and more than a dozen identical giants crawled out of the fissures.

They raised their palms high—then smashed them down, aiming to crush Russell beneath their enormous fists!

Russell didn't fight back. He flexibly maneuvered through the gaps between the giant's fingers and easily flew into the sky.

"You can't escape!"

Loki laughed and swung his scepter.

Suddenly, enormous portals—hundreds of meters wide—opened across the sky. Strange patterned pages unfurled from them, resembling monstrous appendages. At a glance, the sky itself seemed to morph into a hideous, writhing creature. Countless tentacles lashed wildly, filling the air!

For a moment, giants and tentacles sealed off every escape route—both above and below—squeezing the entire space with suffocating pressure as they attacked Russell from all directions!

Odin, who had already retreated far into the distance, clenched his fists as he watched this.

He hadn't expected Loki to possess such power. It shocked him more than the last time Loki had bewitched Thor.

But when he instinctively reached for his spear, he paused and realized: his Eternal Spear… had been taken.

Odin snorted coldly, crossed his arms, and chose not to intervene.

However, at that moment, a cold sneer echoed across the sky.

"Loki… I was just humoring you. But now? You're actually taking yourself seriously?"

In an instant, a blinding white light erupted!

All the monstrous giants and Mephistopheles-like tentacles instantly dissolved into wisps of green light—completely dissipating!

Even the image of Loki standing atop the giant's palm vanished.

The real Loki was suddenly revealed, frozen in place behind Russell, his scepter mid-stab—locked motionless in the air.

Odin's expression shifted to shock.

Illusion magic!?

Even he hadn't sensed anything wrong!

Russell turned around and glanced at Loki with an admiring smile.

"Not bad. You're the second Loki I've met who can use illusion magic this convincingly."

At that, Loki's expression soured.

"F! I'm the first. No one surpasses me in illusions!"

Seemingly provoked, Loki became desperate to prove himself.

A violent green light erupted behind Russell. It crackled and swirled, growing rapidly into a monstrous figure. The sky itself turned fiery red!

Surtur—the Flame Giant—materialized, eternal flames burning across its colossal form. Gripping a sword of molten lava, it slashed down toward Russell!

Simultaneously, the giants and tentacles that had previously vanished reappeared, once again sealing the entire space.

Odin frowned. He didn't understand Loki's intention.

Illusions were still illusions, no matter how real they appeared. Tricks like this wouldn't work on that strange Asgardian.

Yet, as Russell looked at Loki, his eyes gradually filled with surprise.

As the roar of the descending sword grew closer, Russell actually nodded and said calmly:

"You are indeed the first. I was wrong earlier."

And with that, ignoring Loki entirely, his body surged with fire and lightning as he transformed into a blazing meteor, hurtling toward Surtur's sword!

BOOM!

Like the toll of a giant bell, a thunderous explosion shook the skies.

In Odin's stunned gaze, all the tentacles and giants once again faded into mere illusions—but Surtur remained.

The Flame Giant staggered backward under the impact, its colossal feet gouging trenches into the ground as it fought for balance.

Its massive lava sword carved deep furrows into the earth.

And Russell… was slammed into the ground by the sheer force of the blow!

"Is this… real!?"

Odin murmured to himself, unable to believe his eyes.

High above, Loki hovered above Surtur's head in a swirl of blue light, sneering as he looked down at the crater.

"You actually figured it out."

"But even so, it's useless!"

"This physical illusion will never tire. Let's see how long you can last!!"

With a thought, Loki prepared to command Surtur—the strongest tangible illusion he'd ever created—to attack again.

But at that moment… a chilling, unrestrained laugh suddenly echoed across the battlefield.

"Loki… Loki... Loki!!"

"You truly are impressive!"

"In the realm of illusion magic, I'll admit—you're the strongest I've seen!!"

Loki's face lit up with pride at the praise, clearly pleased.

But the next moment, Russell's voice changed—deepening, as if echoing from some abyss, radiating a bone-chilling cold.

"But… there's something you still need to understand."

"Surtur… is just a Flame Giant."

"A bug."

"One I can crush… anytime I want."

"And now…"

"Your magic… belongs to me."

Suddenly, the sky darkened.

The bright heavens turned a dull, oppressive gray.

Odin felt a shiver crawl down his spine. Instinctively, he raised his palm.

A cold northern wind blew past.

A single snowflake drifted down into Odin's hand.

And… it didn't melt.

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