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As the ultimate manifestation of the power of holy light, the fire of Hell was naturally helpless before it.
Logically, what should have happened next was nothing more than Rowe taking advantage of his divine protection to annihilate the fire of Hell. But unexpectedly, the situation took a strange turn.
The infernal flames came crashing down, clinging to the surface of the rune-engraved holy light shield, unable to penetrate even slightly. However, a significant portion of Rowe's divine flame extended beyond the protective radius of the rune's holy light, and it inadvertently made contact with the fire of Hell.
"What the hell!" Rowe was startled and hastily tried to retract his divine flame.
Unexpectedly, the divine flame drew the fire of Hell inward, and both flames were absorbed into Rowe's body simultaneously!
At that moment, an unusual phenomenon occurred. As the flames were withdrawn, the rune-enchanted holy light shield acted like a sieve, filtering the fire of Hell into two separate entities.
Of the bifurcated hellfire, one component—the flame essence—passed smoothly through the rune's light and merged into Rowe's body. The second component was a mass of murky black energy exuding a strong, corrupting presence, which was blocked by the rune light barrier.
Rowe didn't pause to think. He quickly moved aside, narrowly evading the ominous black energy.
Just then, the Divine Shield expired.
"Boom!"
The black mass struck the ground and exploded, leaving a large crater in its wake.
Rowe was caught by the blast and hurled into the air. Dazed, he saw golden stars twinkle before his eyes.
"Cough, cough…"
Shaking his head, Rowe forced himself up and quickly checked his body for injuries.
Moments later, he frowned.
He had absorbed the fire of Hell… but he didn't feel any adverse effects.
He thought carefully. It seemed that the dangerous components of the hellfire had been filtered out by the rune light—most likely the same black energy that had just exploded.
Igniting a flame in his palm, Rowe observed it with a serious expression.
The divine flame's power had marginally increased, but the enhancement was subtle—clearly because the amount absorbed had been too small.
He sighed in disappointment. He had hoped for an immediate breakthrough into second-order divine power…
After surviving two consecutive encounters with Zatanos's hellfire, Rowe decided to remain cautious. No longer seeking to attract attention, he feigned serious injury and engaged an ordinary frost giant in battle for a prolonged period. While doing so, he kept a close watch on Zatanos, wary that the demon lord might strike again.
This continued until the final clash of the battle.
"Boom!"
A thunderous bolt descended from the sky as Odin destroyed the last of the enemy's stone towers. He murmured, "Uller?"
"The spatial channel isn't here," came Uller's voice.
"How is that possible?!" Odin's tone grew irate. "We've searched every one of their camps, and yet we still haven't found their space channel?"
Uller was silent for a beat. "It appears they've taken special measures to conceal it."
"Damn it. Where could they have hidden the space channel?" Odin growled.
Without delay, he hurled Gungnir into the sky, unleashing a triple thunderclap:
"Boom—Boom—Boom!"
The divine thunder signaled the end of the battle. The Asgardian troops swiftly regrouped, withdrew in an orderly fashion, and began their retreat.
Surprisingly, the frost giants and demons refrained from giving chase.
Zatanos stood beside Grimir, both looking grim.
"How long do you think the spatial channel can remain hidden?" Zatanos asked.
"Not long," Grimir replied. "But I think we've achieved our primary objective."
Zatanos snorted. "I don't see it. That fool Ulic is always half-baked with his plans. Half the chaos in the cosmos comes from his incompetence."
Grimir's expression darkened. "What about what you did? Charging in to kill a single Asgardian while leaving Odin to me? And you didn't even kill that boy."
"You don't understand," Zatanos growled. "That boy possesses a power I've never encountered. For us demons, it's… Wait. You said he's still alive?"
The flames dancing atop his skull flared violently.
Grimir scoffed. "Do I look like a liar? I saw it with my own eyes. He survived—though he appeared to be seriously wounded."
Zatanos was stunned. "Impossible…"
His skeletal frame crackled with unstable flames, showing his inner agitation.
Grimir said with a tinge of amusement, "Seems like that boy may become quite a thorn in your side."
Zatanos clenched his flaming fists but said nothing.
During the march back to the Asgardian camp, Rowe frequently summoned holy flame into his palms, quietly examining the subtle shifts caused by the absorbed hellfire.
Despite multiple checks, the only discernible change was a slightly increased temperature threshold of his divine flame. No other significant transformation had occurred.
Even so, Rowe mused that this might be a potential—if limited—method of augmenting divine power.
He shelved the thought for now.
"How are you feeling?"
Hela approached, her voice calm.
"I'm alright, really," Rowe smiled.
"You must have a powerful destiny. Zatanos struck you, and yet you survived."
"Are you disappointed that I didn't suffer more?"
Rowe teased her impulsively, but immediately regretted his boldness, feeling uneasy.
Hela's expression briefly twitched, then returned to calm.
"You'll be fine," she said simply and walked away.
Rowe stood there, inwardly tangled, trying to interpret the fleeting shift in her expression. His thoughts only left him more confused.
"You're smitten, you big oaf," Heimdall suddenly said, jabbing Rowe with an elbow.
Rowe looked up, speechless. "…"
Zatanos.
The name echoed in his mind.
He searched his memory and recalled faint details. That name was definitely tied to the Ghost Rider mythos.
Zatanos and Ghost Rider were certainly connected—both shared skeletal visages, infernal flames, chains. If Zatanos had donned a leather jacket and sat astride a motorcycle, he would have been the spitting image of the Ghost Rider.
Back at Odin's camp, Rowe returned to his quarters.
"Buzz!"
Little Stone Root waved enthusiastically.
Though Shilut possessed decent power and could likely handle a regular Asgardian soldier, Rowe still hadn't brought him into the field. He felt it safer for the little rock elemental to remain in the camp.
Rowe patted Shilut's stony head, then sat down, opening his holy deed to tally the rewards earned.
Every demon slain represented the fall of a great evil. Killing them brought just compensation. Rowe had slain over twenty demons, advancing his "Hundred Vengeances" quest significantly.
Let's see what we've got.
Rubbing his hands with anticipation, Rowe began to assess the loot one by one.
He obtained:
[Blind Light (Shard)]
[Light Shield (Shard)]
[Standard Space Grid]
[Hammer of Justice (Shard)]
The vengeance rewards seemed to lean heavily toward spell fragments. Initially, this left Rowe a little disappointed, but upon acquiring two fragments of the Divine Shield spell in quick succession, his mood lifted considerably.
Then came something more unique.
He obtained:
[Alchemy Recipe: Demon Statue]
Finally, something different—and potentially powerful—had appeared.
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