When Surtur heard that, he felt a sudden wave of irritation.
It was true that he liked this boy very much and considered him his closest friend on the island. But for the boy to come to him during his nap time just to bring that annoying girl so he could introduce her to him made Surtur feel deeply annoyed.
Surtur's expression changed. He raised his gigantic hand and said in a cold tone filled with unmistakable threat:
"If you do not leave now... I will burn you to death."
The moment he finished speaking, a terrifying mass of volcanic lava began to gather in the palm of his hand. It grew rapidly, becoming brighter and hotter until it looked as though an entire volcano had been compressed into his palm.
Elina gasped in fear and clutched Odin's son's clothes tightly with both hands. In a trembling voice, she pleaded:
"Enough! Enough! Let's leave right now! I've seen more than enough!"
The child looked at Elina and saw the obvious terror in her eyes. He laughed lightly and said, pointing at Surtur:
"Don't tell me you're afraid of this idiot."
The moment Elina heard those words, her eyes widened even more with fear.
It was true that she had been trapped in ice for many years—so many that even she did not know how long. It was true that she had endured suffering severe enough to break any ordinary person. But that experience had not made her immune to the fear of death.
On the contrary.
It had made her cling to life more strongly than ever before, and she no longer wanted to die so easily.
The child sensed what was going through her mind. He laughed again with confidence, then turned his gaze toward Surtur, who had completely lost his patience and had already attacked without hesitation.
The child raised his hand toward the sky and summoned the power of thunder.
In a matter of moments, before the devastating mass of lava could reach them, a massive bolt of lightning tore through the clouds and illuminated the entire forest.
The lightning struck the ball of lava directly, causing it to explode in midair into fragments of fire and molten rock, which dissipated before they could harm either the child or Elina.
Elina's eyes widened in astonishment.
She had never imagined that this child—who had only moments earlier been carrying her on his back as though it were a game—possessed such overwhelming and dangerous power.
He had stopped a terrifying attack from a giant monster with a single strike.
Surtur looked at the child, then smiled coldly and said with great excitement:
"Let's play for a while, little one."
The moment he spoke, he rose to his full height.
He was so enormous that merely standing upright cast his shadow over the entire area, like a mountain of living volcanic lava.
Even so, he was not using his massive body to attack directly, because he did not truly want to hurt the child.
All he wanted was to have a little fun with him.
Surtur raised his gigantic hand and slammed it into the ground with tremendous force.
At that very moment, the ground beneath the child and Elina turned crimson red and began to crack in a way that warned of an imminent eruption.
Before Elina could even scream, the child grabbed her by the back of her clothes at the neck and shot away at blinding speed.
His body was wrapped in thunder and lightning, and he flew away from the area in an instant.
It was exactly the right decision.
Only one second later, the ground where they had been standing exploded violently, and towering columns of fire and molten lava burst upward, filling the area with suffocating heat and a deafening roar.
Surtur smiled when he saw that the child had escaped his attack, and the excitement in his glowing eyes intensified.
Surtur raised his hand high and clenched his fist tightly, compressing a terrifying volcanic energy within it. The heat radiating from that power was enough to melt the surrounding rocks, while the lava gathered into a massive glowing sphere, like a miniature sun made of fire and fury.
Without the slightest hesitation, Surtur launched that overwhelming force directly at the child.
But Odin's son showed no fear.
At that same moment, he used all his strength to push Elina out of the attack's path. Then he surrounded his body with thunder and lightning until he looked like a mass of explosive blue light, and charged straight toward the incoming volcanic attack.
It was as if two forces of nature were about to collide.
Elina stood frozen in place, her eyes wide with terror and amazement, convinced that the impact was only moments away and that she was about to witness a battle beyond imagination.
But before the two attacks could meet, terrifying winds suddenly erupted.
A massive whirlwind appeared out of nowhere and swept through the area with overwhelming force. It engulfed both Surtur's attack and the child himself, then hurled them far through the forest as if they were two leaves caught in a storm.
Elina, however, remained exactly where she was, untouched by the raging winds.
She stood there completely stunned, unable to comprehend what had just happened.
Only moments earlier, she had expected to witness a devastating battle, but the storm had ended everything in an instant.
As she struggled to understand what had occurred, she heard a calm voice from behind her:
"Ah... those fools, honestly. All they ever think about is fighting. Why are most of the important people in Asgard like this? It is very difficult for me to trust them."
Elina spun around.
The moment she saw Odin, her eyes filled with tears. Without hesitation, she ran toward him, wrapped both arms around his leg, and clung to it tightly as she cried in a trembling voice:
"Help me! Help me! Those idiots were about to kill me!"
Odin smiled faintly.
He could clearly see that Elina had indeed been frightened by what had happened, but not to the extent she was trying to portray now. She was exaggerating a little, attempting to distance herself completely from the problem and place all the blame on his son and Surtur.
It was true that she had done nothing wrong, but Odin knew exactly what had happened, because he had been watching everything from the sky from the moment they left the village.
He sighed quietly and said:
"There is no need for this performance. I know that what you saw frightened you, but not to this extent. Do not worry—I know everything that happened, so there is no need to lie."
Elina froze in place.
Then she lifted her head and looked up at him, her eyes widening in visible embarrassment. She quickly let go of his leg and said in a hesitant voice:
"I... I wasn't lying. I really was scared."
Odin smiled and gently shook his head, but he did not expose her exaggeration directly.
Yes, she had been frightened, but she had embellished her reaction a little to protect herself from any possible blame.
Even so, Odin saw no reason to continue discussing the matter.
He looked at her calmly, then asked the question that had been on his mind for some time, without any preamble:
"Would you like to become my adopted daughter, little one?"
Time seemed to stop for Elina.
Her eyes widened in shock, and she pointed at herself in obvious disbelief.
"Me?"
Then, after a moment of stunned silence, she added:
"Weren't you joking when you said that before?"
Odin shook his head calmly.
Before he could answer, he noticed a powerful flash of lightning approaching rapidly in the distance, accompanied by the enormous body of blazing molten lava.
He immediately realized that his son and Surtur—whom the whirlwind had thrown away only moments earlier—had already returned.
And it appeared that their enthusiasm for fighting had finally cooled down.
(Author's Note):
Hello everyone! Thank you for your continuous support of this novel; your comments and interactions mean the world to me.
Stepping away from our story here for a moment, I wanted to share another project I've been working on with great passion. I have started publishing a webtoon (comic) on the Webtoon platform titled "Me and the Wolf."
It is a [Comedy / Fantasy] story about a miserable young man and a cunning wolf who is constantly getting him into trouble! If you enjoy my writing style and the way I build scenarios, I promise you're going to love this comic.
I would be so grateful if you could go check it out, subscribe to the series, and let me know what you think in the comments there!
🔍 Search on the Webtoon app for: [Me and the Wolf]