272

Ice Blade

Muspelheim, the domain of the Fire Giants, was already sweltering hot, with fire dragons spewing flames everywhere ahead. Such an environment was decidedly unfriendly for the symbiote, which feared fire.

Forseti remained silent, stretching his hand to retrieve an ice-blue long knife from the Sanctuary space, its intense cold instantly spreading out.

This long knife was none other than the Icebane Blade he had seized from Byrest before.

"Attach to my left hand," Forseti instructed Venom, holding the Icebane Blade in his left hand.

With the potent cold power of the Icebane Blade, covering one arm was no issue.

Venom emerged from its confinement, wriggling briefly before merging into Forseti's left arm. The arm now appeared sinewy and golden, its muscles outlined dramatically, akin to a mythic limb.

With the Icebane Blade in one hand and the Sword of Rivendell in the other, Forseti poised himself, dual-wielding, flanked by Venom.

Brandishing his blades, he lunged forward once more, the holy light on his swords gleaming as he advanced towards Zogar, the Dragon Knight.

"Justice Sword!"

The Icebane Blade surpassed the Sword of Rivendell in quality, infused with both the icy power of the Ice Beast King and the light-casting capabilities of the symbiote.

Thus, the force behind Forseti's dual strike was several times greater than before.

"Boom!" A resounding boom echoed as the twin blasts of disciplinary brilliance burst forth simultaneously.

Clearly caught off guard by the sheer power of this strike, Zogar exclaimed as his two dragon flame swords were swiftly destroyed, shattering into fragments of fiery debris.

The impact sent him off balance, nearly toppling from the dragon's back.

"Roar—" The colossal dragon swiftly ascended, creating distance between itself and Forseti, who was poised to attack again, unleashing a sweeping blast of dragon flame.

At the sight of the dragon flame, Venom attached to Forseti's left arm trembled noticeably, causing Forseti's hand to shake violently, almost dislodging the Icebane Blade.

"Stay steady!" Forseti's expression hardened.

Thankfully, the horse-faced Thor intervened in time, his thunderous hammer striking upwards, electric arcs lancing out like a cyclone, dispersing the incoming dragon flames.

Thunder and fire clashed.

"Boom—"

A thick thunderous roar echoed forth, piercing through the dragon flames and striking the giant dragon's head relentlessly.

"Roar!" The giant dragon bellowed in agony, smoke billowing from the point of impact.

"I'll hold the dragon, you finish Zogar quickly!" horse-faced Thor instructed.

Forseti wasted no time; flames erupted from his feet as his cloak billowed magically behind him, rushing towards Zogar once more, blades dancing.

Zogar had just recovered from the stunned effect of the Justice Sword when he saw Forseti approaching.

Frantically, he beckoned, summoning a barrage of dragon flames. But in his haste, these flames were no match for the dual-wielding disciplinary knight.

"Boom!"

The dragon flame was swiftly extinguished as the Icebane Blade and the Sword of Rivendell bore down upon Zogar.

Unable to dodge, Zogar rolled to evade, narrowly skirting from one side of the dragon's back to the other.

Forseti's razor-sharp blades connected with the dragon, the holy light bursting forth in punishment.

"Boom—"

A grievous wound marred the dragon's back, the seared and scorched flesh large enough to accommodate a human. Given the dragon's immense size and formidable vitality, any other creature would have perished.

Despite being a giant dragon, it howled uncontrollably, its body contorting in agony.

Seizing the moment, horse-faced Thor struck the giant dragon repeatedly. With each thunderous blow, the giant dragon struggled to regain its composure.

Forseti persisted, pressing Zogar with both blades.

At this moment, the giant dragon was preoccupied with horse-faced Thor and unable to lend assistance. Zogar, armed only with a pair of ordinary short swords, attempted to fend off Forseti but was clearly outmatched.

"Charge—"

Forseti pressed forward, the swords in his hands clashing against the enemy's short swords, engaging in a fierce struggle.

Gritting his teeth, Zogar struggled to hold his ground.

In a decisive move, Forseti twisted his left hand, adjusting the angle of the Icebane Blade, which lightly brushed against Zogar's arm, releasing a burst of holy light.

"Ah!" Zogar cried out in sudden agony.

The divine power of the Holy Light and the potent cold of the Icebane Blade proved equally lethal to the Musbel people.

Unable to endure, Zogar faltered and plummeted from the dragon's back.

Forseti descended swiftly, blades poised to strike Zogar as he fell.

In midair, Zogar, seeing Forseti closing in, gnashed his teeth in frustration. Then, as if coming to a sudden resolution, he struck his chest.

"Whoosh—"

His heavy armor suddenly gleamed brightly, followed by a gust of flames as the thick armor transformed into raging fire in an instant.

Zogar's heavy armor, always worn, was actually forged from flames, though not those of dragons.

Despite its unassuming appearance, the power of these flames far surpassed dragon fire, emitting intense heat.

Upon its emergence, Venom recoiled in terror, immediately retracting.

Layer upon layer, the engulfing flames enveloped Forseti. Everywhere he looked, fire raged, its temperature rivaling that of the sun's interior.

In mere moments, even Forseti, a flame deity, felt his skin begin to sear.

"This is the fire bestowed upon me by Lord Surtur. To perish under the flames of the Fire Giants is an honor, Asgardian!" Zogar declared, the fire from his armor blazing fiercely.

No wonder, it was Surtur's fire—this was why it was so terrifying.

The flames surged forward, and Forseti had no time to contemplate. Before Zogar finished speaking, he hastily summoned the Holy Tome.

"Holy Shield!"

With the Holy Shield's activation, not even Surtur's flames could inflict harm upon Forseti.

In that instant, Forseti's mind flashed back to the moment he faced the flames of Hell.

The Divine Shield could isolate all negative effects but would not shield against positive ones.

During the battle at Vanaheim, when Zataros unleashed Hellfire upon him, the Holy Shield, while mitigating damage, inadvertently absorbed the Hellfire instead.

Realizing this, Forseti acted swiftly.

As Surtur's flames raged around him, Forseti integrated them with the flames already engulfing his body, absorbing a substantial portion.

"What!" Zogar was taken aback.

A fragment of the Divine Shield lasted only a second, and Forseti had no intention of squandering even half a second. Flames billowed beneath his feet as he lunged forward, the Icebane Blade aimed squarely at Zogar.

Momentarily distracted by Forseti's unexpected absorption of Surtur's fire, Zogar hesitated momentarily, allowing the Icebane Blade to strike true, beheading him.

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