Su Ming carved through the enemy lines, a whirlwind of blood and gore, the lesser demons no match for him.
Until a colossal flaming sword blocked his path.
A massive arm erupted from a magic circle in the ground, wielding a mountain-like weapon that swung down at Su Ming's head with ferocious force.
He saw it coming, planting his foot to pivot sharply. Dust and stones exploded as his cloak whipped him into a sharp turn.
BOOM!
The impact shook the earth like a comet strike, nearly knocking him off balance. The thunderous crash echoed across the heavens.
A tidal wave of flames surged, and though Su Ming dodged swiftly, the crimson fire licked his boots.
Stranglehold shuddered. The disguise melted, the golden armor dissolving like foam to reveal the black-and-yellow metal war boots beneath.
The giant sword was yanked from the ground, leaving a burning canyon in its wake. A swath of demons surrounding Su Ming was crushed into the earth, reduced to ash in the firestorm.
"Laevateinn."
Su Ming recognized the weapon. The massive, wavy-bladed sword was Surtur's, fabled to have destroyed all of Asgard with a single swing.
But the situation was clear: the fire giant was still trapped in his volcano. Even with a teleportation circle, he could only extend an arm.
Yet that arm seemed to have eyes, tracking Su Ming's position. A second attack came swiftly.
BOOM!
Like a volcanic eruption, the sword crashed down, sending flaming debris skyward. Su Ming, prepared this time, dodged cleanly, sparing Stranglehold further harm.
He put distance between them, taking a deep breath. The air reeked of sulfur, his ears ringing. He watched the red-skinned arm, gripping the giant sword, retreat into the magic circle, which then vanished.
"Crimson circle, no fire power. Cyttorak, huh? I'll remember you."
The thought crossed his mind as he darted aside. A crimson circle appeared instantly beneath his feet, and a massive hand shot out, lunging like it was swatting a grasshopper.
The grasping attack missed, but the hand swept across the ground like a broom.
It caught dozens of demons, crushing them into paste with a single squeeze. Sparks from their caged heads and mangled limbs sprayed from the fire giant's fingers.
A firework of destruction bloomed atop the towering arm, standing like a beacon.
This display of power didn't faze Su Ming. It added another piece to his intel: "Left arm… right arm. Surtur can only extend one at a time."
When negotiation was an option, Su Ming preferred it, leveraging information asymmetry for easy gains.
But now called for a warrior's solution—take off one of Surtur's arms to make him behave.
Time for a trap.
Su Ming dove into the densest part of the demon horde.
Roughly a hundred thousand demons swarmed, and even as some tried to flee, Su Ming stuck to them like glue.
The crimson circle flickered in and out, dogging his steps. Sword or hand, it attacked relentlessly.
WHOOSH! BOOM!
CRASH!
Each deafening strike left the ground a ruin, flames and severed limbs flying.
The victims were Surtur's own minions. Su Ming remained unscathed, though his skin felt tight—Stranglehold seemed to have shrunk from the heat.
A hell-lord like Surtur wouldn't care about his army's losses. Fire creatures were endless in his dimension.
Su Ming's goal was to buy time for Gin and Monarch to escape. He could hold Surtur here, but lingering too long worried him—Zemo might be too much for them.
While dodging, Su Ming figured out how Surtur's arm "saw" him. No eyes on the elbow—it sensed temperature differences through its skin.
The lesser demons' heads bore fireballs, burning at least 100 degrees Celsius, their life and energy source.
Su Ming's body temperature, around 36 degrees, was even lower with Stranglehold's insulation.
Even a normal person could sense a piece of ice near their hand without touching or seeing it. Surtur, a fire demon, was hypersensitive to temperature.
Knowing the enemy's method and limitations, Surtur was just a brute with raw strength. The best counter would be summoning an ice demon or dousing him with liquid nitrogen.
Too bad even Batman didn't carry thousands of tons of coolant in his belt.
But Su Ming had another insight to exploit.
Surtur, an elemental demon, had a humanoid structure—his elbow only bent inward.
A tentacle-like creature could attack 360 degrees around a circle, limited only by its reach.
Surtur's elbow couldn't bend outward, making his attacks a fan-shaped projection on the ground, leaving blind spots.
Big size, blind spots, no energy projection—game over.
"Godslayer, chainsaw mode!"
After Hera's enchantment, the Godslayer gained lightning and earth elements—one for attack, one for defense.
Electricity, a familiar energy, had been studied extensively by Su Ming.
Beyond physical training and learning multiversal combat techniques, as a weapons master, he'd focused on his arsenal's capabilities.
He'd found the enchanted electricity could power the weapon itself, turning the Godslayer into simple electric tools.
Drills, meat grinders, screwdrivers.
When he'd scared Wade last time, the Godslayer's pipe cleaner was hand-cranked, slow even for Su Ming. Next time Deadpool ran his mouth, an electric version would shut him up faster.