The giant rose to his feet once more. His face now held only two blood-filled holes where his eyes used to be, and a ? rune burned across his forehead. Foam dripped from his mouth, saliva from his jaw—Surtr had lost all ability to think.

  His fist ignited in flames, and he hurled a punch at Tania. She blocked it—but with effort.

  After a brief struggle, she was thrown back by the force, and the giant charged at her again with feral aggression.

  “His divine power rose more than I expected…” Tania thought as she kept dodging and defending against the berserk commander.

  Surtr swung again—she avoided him and tried to kick him, but her kick had no effect.

  The giant grabbed her by the leg and smashed her into the ground. As he attempted to strike her again, Tania rolled away, twisting across the dirt.

  She extended her claws and dove for his stomach, shouting:

  “Tsemp Dalaq (Fire claws)!”

  A storm of claw strikes shredded Surtr’s abdomen—hundreds of slashes tearing through flesh and armor. But he no longer felt pain. With both palms, he caught her and tried to crush her like an insect.

  Straining with all her strength, Tania forced his hands apart and back-flipped to safety. That’s when she noticed something crucial—Surtr’s wounds were not healing.

  “This idiot only boosted his divine power. His manná and his ichor are still low.”

  She raised both arms upward, palms together. A massive sphere of fire formed between her fists.

  “Galad esh maat (Fire Sphere number 100)!!”

  She swung her arms down, launching the colossal fireball.

  A devastating explosion followed. When the smoke cleared, a massive chasm split the earth—parts of Surtr’s chest and abdomen were simply gone.

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  Yet the giant remained standing.

  He cloaked himself in flames and hurled his body at her, ramming her with full force. Tania landed on her knees—only for Surtr to fall on her like a meteor. She caught him with both hands, but the impact continued drilling a crater deep into the ground.

  Screaming, she pushed sideways, redirecting the massive jotun—sending him crashing off to the side in another fiery explosion.

  “My tendons… that bastard snapped the tendons in my arms!” Tania shouted through clenched teeth.

  The goddess of fire then surged her divine power, vaporizing the entire crater around her. Stones rose like molten debris, the surrounding earth dissolving into heat. Her ichor repaired her torn tendons, and the burns on her palms healed instantly.

  Just then, she saw Surtr had recovered his sword—and was laughing maniacally, lost in madness.

  “I need to finish him quickly… or I won’t reach Rodrigo and Epona in time.”

  Surtr lifted his sword to the sky. It shone with a crimson light as red bubbles rippled along the blade as if boiling. Tania remembered that attack—the fire beam he used earlier. Now it would be dozens of times stronger.

  She raised her hands to the heavens and shouted:

  “Yareh Edom (Red Moon)!”

  A crimson crescent moon appeared above her like a gleaming horn.

  “A Sun god will fall today… struck down by a Moon.”

  Surtr fired his massive fire beam.

  At the same time, Tania seized the crimson moon and hurled it like a disc.

  The moon split Surtr’s attack in two, parting it like twin tidal waves—then buried itself in the giant’s chest.

  Instinctively, Surtr clawed at it, trying to rip it out—but the moon began to glow with overwhelming intensity.

  “This is your end, bastard,” Tania said.

  The moon burned his hands, forcing him to let go—then unleashed a blinding flash.

  A monstrous explosion followed, so powerful it erased hundreds of mountains, like a divine nuclear blast.

  Tania braced herself with one arm over her face as the shockwave consumed the world around her.

  When the smoke finally cleared, only a colossal crater remained—along with Surtr’s legs, still standing upright. The only remnants of him.

  The alternate dimension shattered and collapsed, returning everything to normal.

  “Well… the souls of those who died yesterday can finally rest in peace. Now, time to find Rodrigo,” Tania said.