Odin suddenly looked up.
He saw countless snowflakes falling from the sky as the entire world turned into a vast expanse of white.
Amid the howling wind, an overwhelming chill spread from deep within his heart.
Odin couldn't help but shudder, shocked once again.
The power of winter...!
This Aesir not only possesses fire, thunder, and death... but now also controls winter!
Even from more than ten kilometers away, Odin could clearly see the expression on Loki's face.
The confidence and pride were gone.
Replaced by shock, disbelief… and fear.
The flames covering Surtur's giant form extinguished under the blizzard, and frost spread rapidly along the giant's feet and the tip of his sword.
The massive lava sword turned a dull brown as Surtur's once-blazing body solidified into gray, cracked stone.
His movements grew slower… until the last embers in his hollow eyes flickered and died.
The Flame Giant—the strongest tangible phantom Loki had ever created—had been completely frozen into a giant stone statue.
Without the true Eternal Flame, it could not resist.
Meanwhile, Loki's skin had turned completely blue, ancient frost patterns spreading across it.
He had fully shifted into his Jotunheim form, the only way he could endure the freezing cold seeping into his very soul.
But even then, he could feel his mind slowing.
Soon, he knew… he wouldn't even be able to think.
He'd become a true ice statue—in body and mind.
Absolutely not!
Panic-stricken, Loki slammed his scepter into the frozen rock beneath him, pouring green magical energy into it.
The Space Stone embedded at the top of the scepter lit up!
No more games. He had to escape.
But instead of the expected space vortex opening before him, black mist began to swirl around him.
Loki screamed in horror.
"This is impossible! Why is space sealed!?"
He had used this method countless times before—trapping enemies in the mirror dimension to delay or kill them, then using the Space Stone to escape safely.
It had never failed.
Until now.
"Never seen this before?"
A calm, eerie voice sounded behind him.
"This is Mephista Xisong's Shadow Seal. Pretty effective, don't you think?"
Loki's hair stood on end.
Black magic… the magic of the Demon God Mephista!? How could this man use it!?
Terrified, Loki burst forth with green energy, summoning countless sharp blades that materialized from thin air and stabbed backward wildly.
At the same time, six enormous six-fingered palms, etched with bizarre symbols, materialized around him, closing in with ripples of transparent energy that distorted space itself.
These were his most powerful conjured dimensional palms.
But the next second…
BOOM!!
A violent explosion erupted.
The six palms shattered into green light and dissipated.
Flames erupted, engulfing the space.
In the midst of the firestorm, Loki was grabbed by the neck.
His legs kicked wildly, struggling, but the grip around his throat didn't budge an inch.
Russell stood expressionless, his eyes burning like twin suns, magma-like lines glowing across his body.
In Loki's horrified eyes, Russell looked like the devil himself.
"Come on," Russell said calmly, "let me see what secrets you're hiding."
As soon as the words fell, the Phoenix Force ignited, pouring the power of pure cosmic fire into Loki's body.
Lava-like lines spread across Loki's skin, burning through the Jotunheim frost patterns and destroying his very biological structure.
At the same time, Russell's psychic powers invaded Loki's mind directly.
Thor had said Loki's disappearances were strange.
Now, Russell wasn't taking any chances.
But the moment he entered Loki's spiritual world, it instantly shattered.
"His will… disappeared?"
Russell's pupils narrowed. Without hesitation, he clenched his fingers.
Loki's body was instantly engulfed in flames, reduced to ashes, and vanished completely.
Dead?
Or escaped?
For the first time, Russell wasn't sure.
A few seconds later, the system's feedback sounded in his mind:
[Plunder complete.]
[Ability: Deception – Mid-High Level (Blue-Purple).]
You can deceive others through words alone, with a fairly high success rate.
[Magic Energy – Intermediate Level (Blue).]
Permanently increases your total magic power.
[Jotunheim Bloodline – Top Tier (Purple).]
Pure-blooded Frost Giant lineage. Greatly enhances physical defense and provides resistance and enhancement to ice-based spells.
Note: This bloodline is incompatible with Extremis powers. Using both will weaken their respective effects.
[System detected that host possesses Winter Authority. This bloodline can be integrated, enhancing Winter Authority instead of bloodline traits, and will no longer conflict with Extremis powers.]
[Integrate?]
Russell was briefly stunned.
He hadn't expected this surprise.
The Extremis entry was his primary growth path—his mastery over fire, especially after acquiring the God of Flame's power, had continued to strengthen. He'd never considered using the Jotunheim Bloodline entry before.
But now, not only would it not conflict with Extremis, it could directly enhance his Winter Authority!
Integrate.
As soon as the thought was transmitted, all Jotunheim entries—whether top-tier or the weaker ones previously ignored—vanished from his system.
Russell immediately sensed a clear boost in the cold power within his Winter Authority.
It was edging closer to absolute zero.
Now that he thought about it, after awakening Winter Authority, he could have integrated these Jotunheim entries earlier… but he hadn't even bothered checking.
He shook his head, sighed at his carelessness, and then focused on the final plundered ability—the one he cared about most.
[Illusion Magic – High Level (Gold).]
Master-level control of illusions. In addition to creating illusions, shadows, phantom teleportation, disguise techniques, and energy projections, your body can now become intangible, and your phantoms can be condensed into physical entities.
Russell's eyes gleamed with satisfaction.
Phantomization—Loki's trick of turning into smoke—was unimpressive to him. His light powers could already convert his body into photons, with much greater speed and immunity to physical attacks.
What truly interested him was phantom embodiment.
This ability had terrifying potential.
The stronger the user, the more terrifying the entities they could manifest.
Loki's magic was too weak. His manifested Flame Giant Surtur, for example, was more of an illusion than a true threat—Odin could deal with it easily.
But Russell, with divine power fueling this ability… the difference would be astronomical.
In his own studies, he'd estimated that it would take him at least hundreds of years to naturally master phantom magic to this degree.
And even then, high level wasn't the pinnacle.
The ultimate realm of illusion magic could create truly real constructs—perfect replicas of the beings or phenomena imagined, with no difference in their powers.
But that level required more than training. It needed enlightenment—a sudden flash of insight that couldn't be forced.
Russell wasn't greedy. For now, high-level phantom magic was enough.
His power rose yet again.
At that moment, Odin flew over and asked coldly,
"Is Loki… dead?"
He had seen Loki reduced to ashes in Russell's flames.
Russell hesitated slightly, then replied,
"I'm not sure."
Even though he had plundered Loki's abilities, the collapse of Loki's spiritual world and the disappearance of his will were… strange.
Russell was certain he had wiped out Loki's soul, yet Loki's will had vanished just before that.
So, he couldn't be certain whether Loki was truly dead.
Odin frowned deeply.
"If you're uncertain, then he's probably not dead."
"…What a pity."
Russell glanced at Odin, silently noting the ruthlessness in the old god's eyes.
This Odin… really did want Loki dead.
So different from the Odin in the Sacred Timeline.
But Russell wasn't interested in family matters.
He had come here for something else entirely.
He changed the subject and asked:
"Do you know about the ancient Father of God Snake?"
At those words, Odin's pupils shrank violently.
Russell noticed his reaction instantly.
He smiled faintly.
He had come to the right place.
Odin… knew.
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