Those time travelers that year

Surte's furious voice rang out, but even in his rage, he had to face the danger of falling from the sky. Even with his unparalleled divine power, he could sense the deadly threat.

Created at the cost of the complete liberation of the artifact, the Box of Ice, it represents coldness and death.

"I am the King of Flames, I am the God of Doom, I am the ruler of the desolate realm..." Surtr roared as he faced the approaching meteor. With his roar, the entire Muspelheim shattered, and endless flames surged forth from beneath Muspelheim, converging upon Surtr himself. Then, Surtr's figure grew larger and larger, becoming a towering giant, visible even from outer space. Finally, this giant swung the enormous Twilight Sword in his hand directly at the massive meteor.

269. 'Allies' are used to stab you in the back.

On a meteorite in outer space, Loki, having removed his Destroyer armor, stood atop the floating meteorite, gazing at the spectacular sight of falling stars and the fire giant who rose from the fiery world that resembled a star, wielding a massive sword and slashing at the falling meteorite.

Then, the fire giant wielded his greatsword, which was also engulfed in raging flames, and slashed into the falling, cold white star. The golden-red flames and the cold white ice collided, annihilated each other, and finally became entangled in a single, indistinguishable mass.

"What a magnificent sight!" Loki exclaimed, gazing at the distant scene. The meteorite he stood on remained entirely still, completely unaffected by the gravitational pull of the opposing forces. However, if one shifted their gaze, they would see a blue cube resting atop the meteorite. This blue cube emitted a deep blue light that spread out and enveloped the small meteorite, transporting it into an alternate dimension, completely unaffected by the gravitational pull from afar.

Just then, a flash of light appeared on the blue cube, followed by countless blue particles emerging in mid-air. Then, a figure in black emerged from the swarm of blue particles and crashed directly onto the rock.

"Don't you think so?" Loki didn't turn around, still keeping his gaze fixed on the distance, and said, "Such a magnificent sight is most suitable for burying a Heavenly Father!"

"First, I don't think we can defeat the Flame King just like that." Having escaped the influence of the Sultan's Handle, and with the power of the Infinity Stones, Ciel was finally able to dispel the incinerating force and repair his body. He dusted off his clothes. "Second, when did you bring the Tesseract over?"

“Before leaving Asgard,” Loki replied, “I have my illusionary clones on Earth, so I can have them on Asgard as well… Isn’t there a saying that goes, ‘The most dangerous place is often the safest place’?”

“In this situation, I think ‘blind spots’ is a better description!” Xia’er walked to the edge of the meteorite and gazed at the magnificent scene in the distance. “I have to say, he truly lives up to his name as the Heavenly Father! After fighting for so long, I was exhausted, and they didn’t even use their true power. In the end, they had to resort to tricks and schemes…” Xia’er shook her head as she spoke, “It’s just a pity that such a rare divine artifact was wasted!”

"...What's there to regret?" Loki said sarcastically. "Don't forget, you now have two Infinity Stones, plus this..." He pointed to the blue cube, the Tesseract, and continued, "...a total of three Infinity Stones. With these, you could dominate a vast region of the galaxy."

“Perhaps!” Charles shrugged. “But I have absolutely no interest in being a king or anything like that…” In fact, Charles didn’t think that artifacts with GM privileges like the Infinity Stones were more valuable than the Box of Ice. Or rather, it was precisely because these were GM privileges that they couldn’t be taken out of this world, unlike the Box of Ice, which at most had only close to, but not completely, GM privileges, making it more likely that they could be taken out of the Marvel multiverse.

Not to mention, the Infinity Stones were actually just foreshadowing some huge plot holes.

“…Oh, right!” Seeing the clash of ice and fire in the distance, Sharl seemed to grasp something, and then casually said, “…Loki! I have something I want to ask you?”

"what's up?"

"You, yes, the you standing right in front of me right now, isn't actually your true form, is that it?!" Ciel glanced at Loki, his tone certain. "...Although I've always felt something was off, it seems now... you've eliminated everyone, haven't you?"

"Oh! Why do you think that?" Loki neither denied nor confirmed, but instead asked the Shire, "You know, we're now 'allies' and 'comrades-in-arms'! Isn't it a bit inappropriate for you to have such blatant suspicion?"

“It seems that this you is indeed an illusionary clone.” Charles said with certainty. “I have to say, you’ve really mastered the art of illusion and clones… I didn’t even sense anything amiss when you were holding the Mind Scepter.”

"Of course, now that I think about it, I don't find it strange at all..."

“You’re not like Thor, so stubborn, valuing honor and dignity above all else. Taking risks like that is simply impossible for you! If it were anyone else, I wouldn’t even have such thoughts, but you’re different…”

"Don't say that!" Loki spread his hands to show his innocence. "'I' came with you to face a Heavenly Father, it's clearly written in the contract... What's more, I directly destroyed a precious artifact, just so you could seize all the power of a Heavenly Father?! Isn't that enough sincerity?"

“But that doesn’t mean you’ll put yourself in a dangerous situation where you’re constantly on the verge of death!” Ciel glared at Loki’s innocent face with disdain, suddenly feeling an urge to punch him in the face. “...Besides, contracts, as long as there are rules, will always have ‘loopholes.’ You are indeed facing God the Father with me...but, even as an illusion, you are still ‘you’!”

"I haven't broken the contract!" Loki said innocently. "You know, I'm much more trustworthy than Mephisto, that devil lord of Hell!"

"But you're just like a devil, you just love to exploit loopholes in contracts!" Charles sneered. "...I'm risking my life in the most dangerous place, and you're doing this! Sending an avatar whose combat power is not much different from your own, and you even generously brought the divine artifact with you."

"Isn't that what you call Loki—a truly despicable and shameless man?"

“I call that honesty and integrity,” Loki corrected. “After all, I haven’t lied or told a single lie from beginning to end, have I?”

“That’s right! You haven’t lied.” Charles sighed, turning his gaze back. Compared to Loki’s minor issue, Surtr’s problem was far more significant. The destruction of a high-level artifact could result in the death or severe injury of a Celestial God, a being virtually invincible under the influence of various cheat codes. Only in such a situation would Charles have the opportunity to tear apart a Celestial God’s soul and seize his power.

Now the opportunity has arrived. Even if Surtr manages to recover from his initial setback, he will inevitably suffer a severe blow. Furthermore, although he doesn't have the Soul Stone, with the Aether (Reality Stone) and the Mind Stone in hand, Ciel is confident that he can finish off Surtr with a single blow.

Moreover, with Muspelheim in its current state of destruction, the harvest of souls has been enormous—a truly windfall. Using this unexpected wealth to completely eliminate Surtr is entirely acceptable.

"Oh, right! Loki, there's one more thing!"

"What is it?"

A flash of dark red lightning disappeared in an instant.

thunderbolt!!!!!!!!!!!

Seeing the illusion of a smile frozen on his face shattered, Charles calmly said, "You can play tricks, and I can stab you in the back!"

"Because I also don't like talking about rules!"

270. Last-hitting (stealing kills) is very important!!

Watching Loki being torn apart by the dark red lightning of the "Finger of Death," Ciel sneered and spat. This treacherous bastard truly lived up to the principle of having three burrows; aside from the battle in New York and when Ciel dragged Loki out of prison in Asgard, he was probably just an illusion or clone.

Sure enough, among Marvel villains, Loki, while not the most powerful fighter, is definitely the kind of guy who's absolutely disgusting. In the comics, Thor has many enemies, but only a handful can truly defeat him, and Loki is one of them. Indeed! Partnering with this guy means you have to be prepared to be played.

Long before that, perhaps from beginning to end, Ciel hadn't realized that Loki had unknowingly replaced his original self with an illusionary clone. If he hadn't suddenly realized, in a flash of insight, 'Would Loki, given his personality, fight alongside someone completely unrelated?' he probably still believed in this guy's scheme.

This guy's true form is probably hiding somewhere in Asgard or on Earth... no, it's more likely he's hiding in Asgard, where the truth is often hidden. Even Odin, the Father, couldn't escape this, let alone Hel'dam.

After blasting Loki's illusionary clone out of the game, Ciel walked over, grabbed the blue cube-shaped Tesseract, and then pulled the Mind Stone from the void. He then placed the Mind Stone on the Tesseract. As soon as the Mind Stone touched the Tesseract, a blue energy storm surged forth from it.

Clearly, Loki had left a 'backdoor' in the Tesseract! And not just one. As for what it was used for, well, even in a short time, Ciel could conjure up two or three schemes and traps. However, Loki probably didn't anticipate that in terms of 'understanding' and 'control' of the Tesseract, he, who had learned a great deal of professional knowledge in Asgard, would be no match for Ciel, a guy who had only recently acquired the knowledge.

"Thanks, Bubble... Wait! Why am I saying that?" Shaking his head, Ciel banished the doubts from his mind. Now that he understood the backdoor program Loki left on the Tesseract, the Space Stone, one of the Infinity Stones, was truly under his control. However, two Infinity Stones were already the limit of his personal use; one more would be too much for him to handle.

Then, he manipulated the Tesseract to open a door to Asgard, and kicked the Destroyer armor inside. "Alright! Back to its rightful owner. Who knows if that bastard Loki tampered with it, but if it's returned to Odin, any tampering is useless."

"So this is what they mean by 'the world is going to the dogs'!" After seeing off the Destroyer Armor, Charles sighed, looking up at the sky. "Where has the most basic trust between people gone? Alas! I was too kind and too principled after all!"

——————————Divider Line——————————

Just as Ciel and Loki were constantly pushing their limits, in the now-destroyed Muspelheim... well, or rather, the name Muspelheim could now be swept into the dustbin of history.

Under the influence of two completely different and opposing forces of the Father God, the entire Muspelheim has been utterly destroyed. Chaotic energy permeates the region, distorting vast swathes of spatial structure. Some alternate dimensions located near Muspelheim were immediately swept in, becoming insignificant victims among countless others.

However, even in this deadly environment, Surt, the King of Fire, the God of Doom, and the ruler of Muspelheim, still survived. Moreover, he became incredibly enormous; immense energy filled his body, increasing his size and power simultaneously. Soon, a colossal being, over twenty million feet in size, appeared in this chaotic energy zone.

Surtur, now enormous, had a strikingly reddish-brown skin. Now, engulfed in flames, Surtur himself was equivalent to a blazing star. And now, this star was about to unleash its power.

The Twilight Sword, which had also become enormous, was held by Surtr with both hands, and then swung it out with a slash, unleashing a majestic aura and immense power like that of a giant god.

A golden-red crack tore the entire chaotic energy zone apart...

Then, Surtr relentlessly swung the Twilight Sword, tearing a path through the chaotic energy zone bit by bit before flying out. Finally, endless light shot out, like a newborn supernova announcing its existence to the entire universe.

Sirte is still alive.

Although his condition was somewhat dire, Surtr, now restored to his thousand-foot height, floated silently in space, hot blood continuously seeping from his crimson body. That chaotic energy zone was likely powerful enough to kill the Heavenly Father. Yet, terrifyingly, Surtr emerged alive, his body weary and consumed by boundless rage. The King of Flames cast his gaze upon the universe.

He wasn't Heimdall; he couldn't possess eyes and ears that could traverse the universe. But his anger needed an outlet, and those two vanished figures needed to pay the price for his actions—a price that would be Ragnarok, the twilight of the gods in the Nine Realms.

Of course, this will take some time, a rather long time. Surt needs enough time to recover his strength and rebuild Muspelheim. This is why, until then, he has been indifferent to the survival of Muspelheim and its inhabitants. Simply because, as the Father God, Surt possesses sufficient power to rebuild the desolate kingdom and resurrect those who were originally dead.

But before Surt could catch his breath, a golden flash streaked across the universe, piercing through space and blasting through Surt's body before he could even react.

"Ah~ Odin!!!!!" With his chest and heart pierced through, blood gushed out. Surtr roared and shouted, "You dare to attack me! Odin, you despicable and shameless scoundrel!"

'You were the one who first spread the flames to Asgard and the Nine Realms…' A telepathic message traveled across the vast distance, directly reaching Odin, the Father in Asgard. 'Don't forget, when the Nine Realms burn, it will be Ragnarok. We have already begun our war against Surtr…'

271. A Fate Heading Towards the End

Surtr unleashed flames that ignited Asgard, the land of humanity, and the World Tree, Yggdrasil. Yggdrasil, withered and yellowed after three Fimbulwinters, burst into flames the moment the fire giant's fire touched it. Thus, the entire universe was engulfed in fire, all nine worlds were destroyed, and the Aesir gods, heroic warriors, and giants still fighting in the Wigrit wilderness perished in the inferno…

"...Stars fell from the heavens, time ceased to exist, and the scorched earth trembled as it sank into the surging sea. As far as the eye could see, there were only towering waves; the universe was left with only a deathly silence and eternal darkness..."

Ragnarok

In the aforementioned doomsday prophecy concerning the Aesir, everything will end when the fire giant Surt ignites the nine worlds. This is the inevitable fate of the Asgardian gods, their destiny of constant resistance. After Surt unleashed his full power, the raging fire spread along the World Tree Yggdrasil, connecting the nine worlds. Whether it was the golden, glorious Asgard or the unpredictable Midgard (Earth), all nine worlds were engulfed in flames.

Regardless of who caused this conflict, at this point, Asgard's ruler, Odin the Father, had no choice but to act.

Although he has aged for various reasons and even needs to slumber, he remains the ruler of Asgard and the maintainer of the nine world orders. The spread of Surtr's power, and the engulfment of Asgard by Surtr's flames, heralded the start of war between Asgard and Surtr.

If Odin could have chosen to turn a blind eye and make concessions to maintain stability when the ice giants of Jotunheim infiltrated Asgard, Surt's actions in igniting the flames of destruction were tantamount to announcing Ragnarok to all of Asgard.

At this moment, all Odin could do was accept Surtr's 'declaration' and respond. As long as he remained the ruler of Asgard, he had to throw Gungnir at Surtr and retaliate against Surtr's 'provocation' with concrete actions.

So, while Surtr was struggling to escape the chaotic energy zone, Odin, far away in Asgard near the Mimir Well, also turned his attention to the location of Muspelheim. Not long ago, Odin, the Father who had erected a barrier to keep Surtr's flames outside Asgard, raised his divine spear and hurled it with all his might.

The divine spear, defying fate, transformed into golden lightning and plunged into the starry sea beyond Asgard, disappearing into the vast universe. This spear, destined to strike its target from the moment it was thrown, was already determined to pierce Surtr's chest the instant it left Odin's hand.

Then, the divine spear, transformed into golden lightning, pierced through Surtr, the terrifying King of Flames, across countless light-years, severely wounding him. This was unlike before; after withstanding the self-destructive power of Jotunheim's strongest artifact, Surtr, already severely weakened, had little energy left to maintain his defenses and extraordinary power.

Caught completely off guard, Gungnir achieved a feat that even Odin hadn't anticipated!

It also brought back Surt's unwilling and angry roar.

Odin, however, completely ignored Surtr's pointing finger, forcefully retorted with words, then withdrew the telepathic communication and contacted the Gatekeeper to begin strengthening Asgard's military.

"...Is what I'm doing really the right thing?" After giving the order, Odin, still imposing but unable to hide his age, asked Mimir by the Well of Wisdom, "Although Gungnir once brought victory to Asgard, Ragnarok was also the beginning of defeat."

“Old friend! There will be no more Ragnarok…” Mimir, equally aged, replied in a strange and melancholic tone, “Fate has changed. From the moment you banished Thor to Midgard, everything was over.”

“But can you be sure that little fellow, after seizing Surtr’s power and becoming a complete ‘new god,’ won’t repeat all of this?” Odin questioned, filled with confusion.

“No, because he doesn’t belong to this fate…” Mimir said. “Since he doesn’t belong here, he will eventually leave… My judgment has never been wrong, nor have I ever lied to you, so please believe me this time, my old friend.”

“It is because of you that I dare to risk the entire Asgard!” Odin sighed. “...Then, let fate decide everything!”

Fate, this word determines countless cycles in Asgard, and within these cycles, fate also compels Odin to fight against it.

Now, facing 'fate', Loki, with an evil smile on his face, is lurking in Asgard just as the Shire had guessed, and is blocking the way of the three goddesses in their palaces, who are dressed in black robes and have beautiful figures.

Although a minor mishap occurred in his plan, it didn't prevent the overall plan from proceeding. It was just a pity about the 'backup plan' he had left behind. He had originally intended to use these 'backup plans' to lure the Shire, who already openly possessed three Infinity Stones and was about to usurp the position of a Celestial Father, into a life-or-death battle with Thanos, ultimately resulting in their mutual destruction. However, since it had been exposed, he decided to let it go.

Since that guy didn't fall for it, at least he could help destroy the spinning threads of the three goddesses before him. After all, if Shar really usurped Surt's position and power, it would definitely disrupt the plans of those behind the scenes. Because they have been constantly driving the cycle of Ragnarok, using the death of these gods to prolong their eternity.

Surtr, the King of Flames, was the key to their plan, ensuring no mishaps occurred. But it seems an accident is about to happen... An outsider has devoured Surtr, usurped his position and all his power, and completely replaced him.

Without this god of doom, Ragnarok would be interrupted, which would also mean the end of those who were pulling the strings behind the scenes.

Those guys would absolutely not want to see this happen, but with the three Infinity Stones in hand, coupled with the usurped power of the Heavenly Father, Loki doesn't believe the Ciel would willingly cooperate with those who control the cycle of reincarnation, becoming their pawn...

Conversely, it's 100% certain that this guy, who's almost exactly the same type as Loki, will definitely choose to completely tear down all those behind-the-scenes manipulators from their pedestals and bring them down to earth.

272. The End of Soult

Gungnir, hurled by Odin, the Father, truly delivered a fatal blow to Surtr. While he could withstand the immense power displayed when the Ice Casket self-destructed at his peak, it didn't mean he could endure the full force of an attack from another God-father in his exhausted and wounded state. Even though this God-father was beginning to decline due to various problems, Odin was still a Father.

Of all the known civilizations in the universe, there are quite a few races with their own planetary gods, but only a handful have given birth to a God the Father. It can be said that as long as those lurking cosmic gods don't emerge, and as long as those with cheat-like abilities don't appear, then the God the Father truly stands at the pinnacle of the Marvel universe.

Gungnir's attack inflicted far more damage on Surtur than the self-destruction of the Ice Casket! His heart was pierced, and the divine power left behind by Odin spread from the hole in his chest, beginning to pulverize Surtur at the molecular level. And as time passed, the residual power of this divine force even began to shatter the atomic structure.

"Ah!~" Surtr roared in agony, pressing his hand to the wound from which blood and energy were constantly flowing. Severely wounded, Surtr frantically channeled his remaining energy to try and heal this potentially fatal wound. However, the divine power left behind by Odin was not so easily dispelled. "No one can kill me..." Frantically squeezing out his energy, even as this caused more blood and energy to drain from the wound, Surtr roared as he ignited his own flames and poured them directly into the wound in his heart. "I am the destined destroyer of worlds, I am the terminator of immortality, I am the final nightmare of the Nine Realms."

"I am immortal!!!!"