Those time travelers that year

With 266 and 267 combined, let's see who dares to say I'm bad now!

"Cough cough~" Shal coughed, spitting out the blood that had accumulated in his mouth. "Damn it, even with GM privileges, Surt is still too hard to beat!" Muttering to himself, Shal pressed his right hand on his left shoulder, struggling to stand up from the ground again, and turned his gaze back to Surt, who stood in front of him like a mountain.

God the Father is, after all, God the Father; he's not a monster that can be easily defeated through petty tricks. Or rather, without the protagonist's halo, even with two Infinity Stones in hand, he only managed a draw against Surtr. Of course, there's a lot of exaggeration involved in that.

Even now, Surtur's energy shows no signs of weakening, and the entire Muspelheim is on the verge of collapse under the immense power emanating from him. A large number of Muspelheim's native creatures have suffered heavy casualties, the vast majority dying from Surtur's indiscriminate attacks. These unfortunate creatures have provided Sharl with a large number of souls, for which they owe a great deal to Surtur's assistance.

That's why, although he looks rather pathetic now, with his left hand broken, Ciel still rallies his spirits and continues fighting Surtr. As for his broken left hand, with the power of the Third Law, it can be fully repaired simply by expending energy. And now, with more and more lives dying in Muspelheim, Ciel can be said to have an inexhaustible supply of soul energy for the time being.

“I must say, wizard…” Surtr’s thunderous voice rang out. This ruler of Muspelheim, the mighty Father God, looked down at Shire, who had repaired his arm and stood up again. “The last one who put me in such a difficult position was my destined nemesis, Odin of Asgard. And now, you are the second!”

"Then shouldn't I feel honored!?" Charles raised his head, meeting Surt's gaze without flinching. "To wage a glorious war against Surt, the God of Doomsday, the terminator of the Nine Kingdoms?"

“Glory! No, wizard!” Surt replied, “My glory only comes when I am at war with Asgard, only in Ragnarok. You are merely a formidable opponent, but you cannot bring me glory…”

"Don't you find it strange, Surtr?" Sharl asked. "The mighty Father God, who should be at the pinnacle of the universe, shouldn't have any beings capable of threatening you, except for the cosmic gods and ancient gods. So why is Ragnarok, the story of the gods, still circulating in Midgard?"

“This is not a question for me to consider…” Surt said. “My duty is to end the world, to bring about the end, to burn the World Tree and turn Asgard into a sea of ​​fire.”

"Everything has its end, and I am the end of the Nine Realms! I don't care about anything else."

"Okay! I understand!" Ciel muttered to himself. "I think I know what's going on. So that's how it is!" As Loki had said before, in the Marvel universe, Ragnarok, belonging to the Norse gods, wasn't the first time it had happened. However, each time, everything would restart at the last moment, time would reverse, and everything would return to the very beginning before anything happened.

This is neither scientific nor magical. However, in the Marvel universe, it's all very scientific and magical. But from the beginning, Ciel had some doubts about why Loki's Ragnarok had happened so many times, and why each time it was basically Loki himself who started it, and Surtr who ended it by burning the World Tree.

Upon sensing Surt's attitude towards Ragnarok, Sharl immediately understood. Surt, the Heavenly Father, wasn't indifferent to Ragnarok; rather, he himself was a part of it. Unlike the Aesir, whose race almost entirely perished in the final battle, Surt, after burning the World Tree in the predetermined apocalypse, simply vanished. If Ragnarok were a program, then Surt was its deletion function. And Nidhogg, the black dragon gnawing at the World Tree and devouring the corpses of the fallen, was essentially the recycling bin.

One last key restore, and everything starts anew.

This explains why the Heavenly Father before us is completely indifferent to the fate of Ragnarok, the twilight of the gods. Because he himself is the 'delete' button. What else can the 'delete' option do besides deleting files and sending them to the recycle bin? Other programs (the gods) can constantly update and evolve, but the 'delete' button only ever deletes.

However! Now this program has malfunctioned. The Infinity Stones are like an external hacking program, directly interfering with and even usurping control of the program. In Midgard (Earth), a part of this program, the advancements in mutants, superpowered individuals, and technology have caused those behind the program to lose most of their control. But as long as Surtr is alive, it means that those who control and edit these programs still have the possibility of starting over, at least to restart programs like those in Asgard that are still under their control and haven't been infected like Midgard.

……

However, the above considerations do not bring any advantage to Charles.

Even when facing Surtr, he was still at a disadvantage. Of course, with Ciel wielding two Infinity Stones, Surtr had no way to deal with him.

The Twilight Sword struck the ground, cleaving Muspelheim in two. A massive canyon split Muspelheim apart, stretching to the edge of the world. This attack missed Ciel. In the nick of time, Ciel soared into the sky, soaring high above, golden polygonal fields swirling around him, dividing space and blocking Surt's raging flames.

However, Surtr's blade followed closely. As the battle progressed, the power and aura of this Heavenly Father God grew increasingly immense. If at the beginning Surtr felt like a sun to Ciel, then now Surtr was a supernova, brilliant and magnificent.

Unfortunately, even with his power increased to the point where he could easily destroy the Earth, Surtur was still unable to end the battle against Ciel, who possessed two Infinity Stones.

But Surtur didn't care. He had plenty of time. To him, Sharl, who possessed the cosmic essence, was already a serious enemy, but for him, the battle had only just begun. Sharl, on the other hand, was in a sorry state. Given enough time, Surtur was confident he could kill Sharl outright, and then go and kill the Odin's son, who had vanished somewhere. Just like how he had spent a great deal of time, fighting until he was severely injured, to kill Frey!

'Damn, at this rate I can't even last five minutes!'

'No, spells aren't working, level suppression is such a pain...'

'The weapons they created were basically useless. The gap between the Heavenly Father and the Planetary Gods widened way too quickly! How did Thor manage to fight this guy later on?'

'Wait? A god?!'

Charles quickly dodged the sword blade that followed closely behind him, then moved swiftly, shooting upwards like an arrow. He then turned around and looked down for the first time at the towering fire giant king below.

"Projection to begin!"

Once again, with the power of the Infinity Stones, another weapon was brought to life from the illusory memories. Facing the slash of the Twilight Sword once more, Ciel gripped the weapon, which had just emerged from the illusion, and head-on met the Twilight Sword head-on as he swooped down towards Surtr.

This is a giant, spiraling spear, designed to pierce the sternum. It has two forks at one end, which thrust towards the heart when it begins its attack. While also blood-red, it exudes a power entirely different from the Gaeberg created by the previous projection of Sharl.

If the latter's crimson color represents the ominous sign of slaughter...

So, the spear that Charles holds in his hand now is both a curse and a blessing, inscribed with the slaying of a god's child.

This is,

The slaying of the divine child—the Spear of Longinus.

"Ahhhhhh!" A deafening roar erupted. For the first time in thousands of years, Surtr, the ruler of Muspelheim and the Heavenly Father, let out a painful roar. His blood-red, giant spiral spear, bypassing the Twilight Sword's interception, descended from the sky and pierced through Surtr's shoulder with overwhelming force. This was the most serious injury Surtr had suffered in the early stages of the battle.

The wounds that Sharl had inflicted on Surtur earlier healed quickly thanks to Surtur's own power. But this time, no matter how much Surtur channeled his seemingly inexhaustible divine power, he couldn't heal the wound on his shoulder. A dense curse—a curse against the gods—wounded the piercing wound. To heal this wound, Surtur first needed to dispel the power of that curse. But strangely, the curse was exceptionally stubborn. No matter how much Surtur, as the Father God, tried to remove the curse, it stubbornly spread, even beginning to erode Surtur's own divine power.

"What is this?" Blood continued to flow from the wound on his shoulder. Surt glared furiously at Sharl, the wizard who was only able to fight him because of the cosmic source matter.

"The Spear of Longinus!" Having been caught in the blast of the Twilight Sword, with most of his body burned by flames, and now, thanks to the Reality Stone extinguishing the flames, he was rebuilding and healing. Facing Surtr's question, he calmly replied, "It's a spear from a certain Midgardian religion that killed the son of God. I recreated it using Aether particles; its purpose is to counter the curse of the gods..."

"..." Surt remained silent for a moment, the first time he hadn't uttered a word since the start of the battle. After a while, Surt said in a low voice, "It will take at least three days and nights to dispel the curse against the gods!"

“Yes! The last guy who was stabbed died instantly and only revived three days later…” He repaired his body and, using the power of the gem, created a new set of clothes for himself. Charles looked at Surt and said, “But you, as the Father God, only suffer from a wound that is difficult to heal…”

“Wizard, I must admit, I, Surt, underestimated you.” Surging flames coiled around the wound on Surt's shoulder, forcibly stopping the bleeding, but it couldn't heal as quickly as before. The giant, hundreds of meters tall, spoke solemnly to Sharl, “You, wielding the Aether, are far stronger than those worthless Dark Elves… I acknowledge you as a powerful enemy, an enemy worthy of my respect, just like Odin!”

"And now, I will show no mercy, until I utterly destroy you, soul and all." The Twilight Sword blazed once more with intense heat, and Surtr raised the greatsword high. "Now, witness the power of the Twilight Sword!"

"The end of the world, the end of everything!"

Flames, endless flames, accompanied by Surt's declaration, instantly filled every inch of space and every inch of land in Muspelheim. In an instant, the entire Muspelheim was transformed into a sea of ​​fire, a burning world. From outer space, Muspelheim, already covered in volcanoes and lava, appeared as a blazing inferno, illuminating the surrounding darkness of the universe.

Endless light shone outwards from Muspelheim, as if at that moment, the entire Muspelheim had transformed into a star radiating light and heat.

The world was burning, space itself was burning. Anything within Muspelheim was instantly engulfed in the raging flames. The remaining native creatures of Muspelheim were utterly annihilated. Beside Muspelheim, vast swathes of space and dimensions began to distort, and surging flames began to travel through spatial tunnels to other realms and worlds.

In Asgard, flames traveled directly through the spatial tunnels of the Nine Realms. The ocean where the Rainbow Bridge is located was instantly evaporated and boiled by the endless flames. Only when Odin intervened and erected a towering golden barrier at the Rainbow Bridge was the spread of the flames barely halted.

Vanaheim, where flames fall from the sky and begin to erode the dwelling place of the Vanir gods.

Alfheim, the land of elves, where the primeval forest, unchanged for countless years, burns in flames.

Jotunheim, having lost its artifacts and its king Laufey, suffered another devastating blow. Flames and lava erupted from the earth, shattering the thick ice layers that had formed over countless years. The temperature of the entire planet began to rise, and massive blocks of ice melted under the intense heat.

Wat Alheim, the land of the dwarves, is home to a colossal volcano that rose from the earth, spewing forth lava that destroyed and tore apart the underground world.

Helheim, the underworld, a land of eternal night and the dead shrouded in darkness and cold mist year-round, where a blazing fire appears in the sky above the black curtain, transforming into the sun and showering endless light and heat.

In Niflheim, the intense heat and flames dispelled the year-round fog, revealing the earth below littered with corpses.

Midgard, Earth. Above London, within the spatial tunnel, flames erupted, plunging the entire city into a rain of fire. Thor, rushing to the scene, wielded his hammer, Mjolnir, unleashing a tempestuous storm that shook the very fabric of the sky, extinguishing the spreading flames. However, even more flames were surging forth from the spatial tunnel.

——————————Divider Line——————————

Surt, the Father God, finally became serious. With his declaration, starting from Muspelheim and following the World Tree, nine worlds that had been severed from their connection began to burn in flames. The flames swept outwards, engulfing the entire Muspelheim, and then began to spread to other worlds.

The world is burning, just like the twilight of the gods in prophecy.

But outside Muspelheim, as the entire world transformed into endless light and heat, a cold, white star grew larger and larger, blocking the flames and light emanating from Muspelheim. Then, this cold, white star, like a satellite of Muspelheim, flickered and began to move towards Muspelheim.

On Muspelheim.

Bathed in the endless flames, Surtr's figure exuded a suffocating aura. Meanwhile, some distance away, Charles was struggling to erect a barrier to defend against this sudden turn of events.

Matter was burning, magic was burning, and even the invisible mental energy was being burned away bit by bit in the flames. The body forged by the Third Law began to crumble little by little. Even with the power of the Aether and the Mind Scepter, Ciel could only barely hold back his steps toward annihilation.

Everything was burning, tangible and intangible, and no matter how much Ciel activated the power of the Reality Stone, he could not extinguish it. This flame, burning away at the very essence of his being, was no ordinary flame.

“Authority…” Ciel’s voice became hoarse amidst the flames. Relying on the GM privileges granted by the Infinity Stones, he stubbornly survived, but he was unable to unleash a single spell. Any energy, once used, would be instantly burned; all power except for the two Infinity Stones had lost its effectiveness at this moment.

Spatial movement was impossible, magic manipulation was unusable, and even his trump card, the Nightmare Gaze, which was also a power, was firmly trapped, unable to mobilize even a fraction of its power. Even though he had absorbed a vast amount of soul energy, at this moment, even if Ciel began to wield the power of his authority, before the power of the authority could manifest, it was incinerated in the darkness.

"【Doomsday】!" Surt's enormous figure appeared before Sharl, looking down at the tiny humans in his eyes, and said in a thunderous voice, "It is my right—the right of Father Surt—to burn the world and destroy everything. Whether tangible or intangible, whether existing matter or consumed energy, it is all meaningless in my eyes."

“It’s not just you, little wizard. This world, and several other kingdoms, are beginning to be engulfed in flames, until my death or all nine kingdoms are reduced to a sea of ​​fire.”

"So the game is over! Even with your cosmic essence, you cannot escape your fate of annihilation before me." With the Twilight Sword raised high, Surtr uttered his final vow: "The burning of the nine worlds began because of you. Be proud! Ragnarok will begin after your death..."

“Now, tell me your name?” Surte said, “Before you meet your end…”

“…Cough cough cough, Ciel!” Half-kneeling on the ground, Ciel looked up at Surtr, who was holding the Twilight Sword high and pointing it at him, and forced a smile on his face.

“Charles? I will remember your name, wizard!” Surt said. “Now, prepare to meet your death!”

"Is that so? That's not necessarily true..." Looking at the Twilight Sword looming overhead, Ciel burst into laughter. "Hahahaha, Loki! Your turn!"

Okay! I feel like I've already filled in too much space. Oh well, the Surtur dungeon is finally done! All that's left is the wrap-up... Oh right, if I still have inspiration on Saturday, I should be able to post five chapters... I guess!

Even if you don't have any, come and bury me in votes! !( ￣O￣)ノノ

PS: The above paragraph is not included in the word count. Why do some newbies not understand that the author has 500 words of free rant to vent?

268. A boss who set so many flags should have been doomed.

A massive, cold, white star hurtled towards Muspelheim, a living, icy planet formed from the power of the Ice Box. Now, this cold, white star streaked across space, heading directly towards Muspelheim, which was radiating endless light and heat—and crashing down.

The Casket of Ice is a divine artifact forged by the Ice Giant Kingdom of Jotunheim at its zenith, representing the most glorious era of their civilization. Forged using advanced magical techniques to simulate the cold desolation of the universe, it was a powerful artifact capable of threatening even the Heavenly Father. A thousand years ago, the Casket of Ice struck Midgar, imparting a negligible force that triggered a mini ice age on Earth, causing devastation throughout the entire planet.

Later, under the leadership of Odin, the Father of Asgard, the Asgardian army engaged in a long battle with the ice giants of Jotunheim. Ultimately, in Jotunheim, Odin defeated Laufey and brought the Casket of Ice back to Asgard, where it remained until Loki discovered and unsealed it. Before leaving, to prevent Jotunheim from forging the same artifact again, Odin destroyed all of Jotunheim's civilization and magical technology.

It can be said that this artifact, created to simulate the desolation of the universe, is the last one in the entire universe, representing the pinnacle of the Jotunheim civilization.

Now, this last artifact of Jotunheim is being unleashed with all its power by its final user, a release that will come at the cost of destroying the artifact itself. However, its user is unconcerned. Amidst the falling, cold white stars, Loki, protected by the Destroyer's armor, watches the Casket of Ice, about to be fully opened, with a bewildered expression.

This artifact indeed possesses immense divine power, granting Loki tremendous strength, even surpassing that of Thor wielding Mjolnir. During the Battle of New York, facing the cold, white stars created through the power of the Casket of Ice, Thor was nearly utterly defeated.

Now, this star appearing above Muspelheim is even larger and more terrifying than the one during the Battle of New York. If the star that fell during the Battle of New York merely turned the entire city into a frozen tomb and incidentally affected the climate of the entire Earth, this icy star will directly turn the entire Earth into an ice cave, a world like Jotunheim, or even more terrifying.

Because this icy star is now at absolute zero. Or rather, temperature changes are meaningless; this star represents only one 'concept': atoms and molecules. Any tangible object that comes into contact with this star will be forcibly stopped. Even time and space are affected by this star.

'It's time to end this!' Controlling the Destroyer armor, Loki slowly and completely opened the final section of the Ice Box. Previously, he had been almost unaffected by external factors while inside the Destroyer armor, but now his body was covered in frost. Even he, the wielder, was beginning to feel the strain of the fully opened Ice Box. 'My past, and everything I've experienced, let it all end now!'

The Destroyer's steel arm completely ripped open the final shell of the Ice Box, then released it, turned around, and accelerated, transforming into a golden streak of light as it burst forth from the cold, white star. Then, clad in frost-covered armor, the Destroyer stood alone atop a space meteorite in outer space, staring blankly at the increasingly large, icy star as it approached Muspelheim.

Only after watching the star finally fall into Muspelheim, a world now engulfed in flames, did Loki send a message to the Ciel via telepathy: 'Star fallen, game over!'

[Forbidden Spell - Starfall · Ice Crystal Blast]

——————————Divider Line——————————

Even Muspelheim, filled with flames and light, could not stop the colossal star that pierced the heavens and fell. The cold, white star, radiating a beautiful, ethereal glow, was reflected in the sky, growing larger and closer. Even the destructive fires so intense they incinerated all tangible things, even the mighty power of Surtr, the Father who spanned the universe and reached the nine realms, could not halt the descent of this meteor.

As this cold, white star approached, the entire Muspelheim, which was originally incredibly hot, was immediately affected. First, the surface of Muspelheim, which was already suffering under the influence of Surt's power, began to crack open, creating bottomless abysses. The whole world was groaning, and gravity and magnetic fields were directly distorted.

Even more terrifying is that the divine power of Surt, which now permeates the entire Muspelheim, is now directly clashing and conflicting with the divine power of the Ice Box that created the cold white stars.

This was something that Surtur, the king of the fire giants on Muspelheim, understood best. In fact, the Heavenly Father God discovered the falling star the very moment it began to fall. However, it was too late to stop it. Had he discovered the star even a fraction earlier, he could have used his power to destroy it before it even officially connected with Muspelheim, or even trapped Muspelheim in another dimension to escape.

“You…” Surt’s voice rang out in shock and fury. This Heavenly Father, who had previously gained an absolute advantage and directly swung the Twilight Sword, was both terrified by the falling star and glared angrily at the recovering Charles. “Is this your little trick? A futile struggle! Do you think this can take my life—Surt’s life? Foolish!” The massive Twilight Sword slashed down, intending to crush Charles, his defeated opponent, completely. “You will all die!”

“Only you…” Charles’s lips curled into a smile, and then a blue light surrounded him. The next moment, just as the Twilight Sword was about to touch him, it turned into blue particles and disappeared from the spot.

Boom!

The Twilight Sword struck the ground, cleaving once more a vast abyss spanning the entirety of Muspelheim. But it was all in vain. Before that, Shar had vanished from his spot. Even Surt, the Father God, couldn't sense how Shar had teleported away from this world. This was illogical, because when Surt used his authority, he had already placed Muspelheim under spatial control. Yet, the reality was that Shar had instantly left Muspelheim through some unknown means.

"No!"