POV: Third Person
Crimson Waters Well, Jotunheim
Eight Days After Thor's Battle Began
The Well of Crimson Waters, once a secluded and tranquil spot, had transformed into a chaotic battlefield ever since the current King of the Frost Giants ambushed the Prince of Asgard. The turmoil radiating from the well could be felt across the entire ice planet.
The thunder echoed with the force of a bomb, making every Frost Giant across the realm tremble. Red clouds stretched across the sky for miles, swirling like a cyclone. From these crimson clouds, lightning bolts struck indiscriminately across the land.
The most astonishing phenomenon, however, was not the red clouds but the rain. The God of Thunder had summoned a full-blown storm to aid him in battle. Yet, instead of water, fire rained down from the heavens. Fiery droplets continuously fell upon the landscape for days. Though the flames lacked the intensity to inflict significant harm on the Frost Giants, they were enough to weaken them, which sufficed for the God of Thunder.
"BY ODIN'S BEARd, BRING ME MORE!"
Thor roared, smashing a Frost Giant's head with a blow from Mjolnir. The Prince of Asgard was in an unrecognizable state. His armor and cape had been obliterated, leaving him clad only in trousers. His torso bore scars from cuts, bites, and punctures that had not yet fully healed. The once serene blood well, said to be filled with the blood of Asgardians who had perished on this planet, now overflowed with the blood of Frost Giants. Thousands of bodies of Frost Giants, Titans, and dragon-like monsters were strewn across the landscape. Most were struck by lightning; the rest fell to Mjolnir's might.
"AAAAAAH!"
Thor bellowed, pointing Mjolnir at a group of advancing Frost Giants. They were struck down by a powerful bolt of lightning. The Prince of Asgard was no longer in his right mind. The Warrior's Madness had taken over, a state where rational thought diminishes, but all physical abilities are heightened.
A massive wave of cold surged from behind him. Thor whirled around, striking it with Mjolnir, causing lightning to explode around him. The cold wave formed a small mountain of ice around him, which shattered moments later as Thor burst forth, flying towards the King of the Frost Giants, Aglodr. Before he could reach Aglodr, a massive Frost Titan attempted to grab him. A lightning bolt as wide as a building struck the Titan, obliterating it.
However, this gave King Aglodr enough time to retreat from Thor. From the outset of the battle, Aglodr had avoided direct combat with the Prince, opting to launch attacks using his artifact. Normally, this would be sufficient to contain Thor, but Aglodr lacked full control over the Casket of Ancient Winters. Had he possessed such control, the battle would have taken a different course.
"COWARD!"
Thor raged as he watched the King flee yet again. Spinning Mjolnir, the fiery rain swirling around them transformed into a fire tornado aimed at the King.
Aglodr once more opened the artifact, instantly freezing the tornado into a stunning ice sculpture.
Thor attempted another attack on the King but was intercepted by other Frost Giants attacking from all directions. Credit must be given to the Frost Giants: even after thousands had died, none fled or surrendered. This wasn't due to courage; they all understood that turning their backs on the enraged god before them meant certain death.
"Futile effort!" Aglodr taunted Thor.
In response, Thor hurled his hammer at him, but Aglodr, using the casket once more, narrowly escaped the attack.
"I've already told you, it's useless. No matter how hard you fight, the battle is over. The All-Father is trapped in his splendid city, while Malekith and your brother Loki are currently killing your younger brother. So stop fighting and embrace death!"
Even revealing these facts wasn't enough to snap Thor out of his state. This was an attempt by the Frost Giant King to unbalance the prince mentally, but even Thor's lack of logical reasoning turned into an advantage in his current situation.
Thus, the battle raged on with thunder, lightning, ice, and fire. As another day passed, Aglodr's fear of failing his mission and objectives began to surface.
Thor, on the other hand, was also in dire straits. His wounds were healing rapidly, but the continuous injuries left him no time to fully recover. For a powerful Asgardian like him, only the loss of a limb could significantly reduce his combat effectiveness. Yet, the accumulating injuries were slowly sapping his strength.
With another day passing, Aglodr finally decided to take drastic measures. A swarm of Frost Giants leaped onto Thor, attempting to overwhelm him. There were so many that the God of Thunder was buried, unable to move.
"RUMBLE"
The thunder above them heralded the lightning. It didn't take much intelligence to know where it would strike. But Aglodr was quicker than Thor.
He forced the coffin open completely this time. The explosion of the snowstorm froze everything. Even the rain of flames conjured by Thor turned into a hailstorm. The Ice Giants containing Thor became an eight-meter-high ice mountain.
Only after seeing this did Aglodr close the coffin. The King then surveyed the devastation around him. He wasn't strong enough to control the coffin, so this time, he couldn't focus the attack solely on Thor. All his Giants within a kilometer area were killed; he lost almost his entire army in just one second.
"BOOM!"
A small explosion snapped Aglodr out of his sorrow. The mountain of Giant bodies, where Thor was buried, trembled.
"What do I need to do to kill you!?" he shouted furiously.
He then rushed to the mountain as fast as he could. He was the only one left alive, but that didn't mean he wasn't injured. His legs were practically immobile. It took time, but he managed to face the mountain where he saw Thor's arm forcing its way out. Aglodr then summoned an ice sword into his hand, ready to sever Thor's arm and end this fight.
"BOOM!"
Another explosion, but this time not from the mountain, but from the sky. A pillar of multicolored light descended from the sky near the King.
"No!" the King exclaimed upon seeing the Bifrost.
When the column of lights disappeared, only an old man with a golden eyepatch and full armor stood looking at him.
"The All Father!"
Aglodr never thought this man could appear before him, not before his victory. He considered himself a thinker, unlike the other giants who mostly acted on instinct. But when the Father of All appeared before him, he obeyed his instinct, which said that if he didn't fight, he would die.
He ran towards the Father of All as fast as his wounds allowed. He couldn't use the artifact anymore, afraid he couldn't control it. So, he used his hand transformed into a sword to attack the Father of All.
Odin stood still, calmly waiting for the enemy to approach. Even before Aglodr made his first move, the Father of All's spear was swift as lightning and pierced the Giant's chest. The king then fell to his knees as the spear was removed from his body. This time, he felt the cold of death taking him.
But then he felt something else, the hand of the Father of All on his head. He held his skull tightly and pulled his head up. Something unimaginable happened then: The King of the Ice Giants had his head separated from his body, as if it were cut off, but he did not die.
"Tell me then, little King of the Jotuns."
The Father of All finally spoke as he lifted the live and severed head of the giant king to his face.
"How should I punish you for leaving my son in this state? Should I simply kill you? Or leave you like this for all eternity?" asked the King of Asgard.
The King of Asgard soon made his decision. He threw the still-living and shocked head of the Jotunheim King to the ground and walked toward his son still trapped in the ice mountain.
With a wave of his hand, the entire mountain exploded. The ice was thrown several kilometers ahead, leaving only Thor lying on the ground. It didn't take long for him to get up, but Thor was still under the effect of Madness; he attacked his father.
"Awake, boy!"
Odin's voice wasn't loud, but it contained a hint of his magic. Immediately, Thor's eyes, which were sparkling with electricity, calmed down and returned to their normal color.
"Father!? What are you doing here?"
Thor asked, returning to normalcy. He finally felt the pain of his injuries and then sat on one of the Ice Giant corpses while looking at his father.
"You've been fighting for days. The final battle against the forces of Malekith has already begun for hours," Odin said calmly.
"Great! Heimdall, send me to where Baldur is," Thor shouted, remembering what Aglodr said about his brother being trapped.
"It is not necessary, boy. All of this happened as your brother planned. He doesn't need help."
"And the battle? Is it over?" Thor knew he couldn't go to his brother, so he chose another battlefield.
"I personally led the Asgardian army to fight in Nidavellir. All the Fire Demons in that realm have been exterminated. Meanwhile, the honor of defeating the Dark Elves was given to your brother's army. He deserves it, as he conquered victory with his strategy."
"Is that it then? Is there no battle for me?"
"You can come with me; I will seal the Tenth Realm once again. This is the only way for them not to be consumed by their mother's fury."
POV: Third Person.
Command Room of Ratatosk, Above the Dwarven Camp, Nidavellir.
On the Day of the Final Battle, Several Hours Before the Start of the Final Battle.
The King surrendered to the enemy. A move like this would throw all command into chaos, but that's not what happened. Before leaving, Baldur left several orders for his generals. After so long in this War against the Dark Elf King, some men began to doubt their King's strategic ability. Freyja was not one of them; she had known her King for many generations, and of all his qualities, patience was the most frightening.
So when Freyja read the received orders, she was surprised by her King's plan; even the fact that he was captured was happening as planned. All she needed to do now was follow the movements he left for her.
"Any movement on land?" she asked one of her subordinates.
"Yes, ma'am. The Fire Demons have started moving again."
After the victory against the first enemy army in Nidavellir, things quieted down for a bit, but then they began to be attacked once again, albeit with much smaller numbers this time. The general deduced that these small numbers were merely meant to keep the dwarves occupied, preventing Genosha from aiding her King.
"Continue assisting the Dwarves as much as possible. Let's wait until reinforcements arrive," the General ordered.
It won't be long before the Bifrost is operational, so the matter of the Fire Demons will be left to the Asgardians. In the meantime, she personally dealt with the main force of the Dark Elf army and their Black Bifrost.
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