"Phew..."
Thor let out a long breath, the lightning around him gradually fading.
He walked over to the shattered remains and nudged the charred fragments with his foot. Once he was certain Surtur had vanished completely, he broke into a relieved smile.
"Your magic has improved again! You weren't this strong the last time we met!"
Thor's voice was filled with heartfelt admiration.
Hermione looked at the skull, her brow furrowing slightly.
Something was wrong.
Very, very wrong.
She hadn't felt the Spellbook harvest any soul energy.
That meant Surtur wasn't truly dead.
Hermione's thoughts raced.
The Eternal Flame...
She understood the key to it in an instant.
The Eternal Flame in the Asgard Vault probably wasn't merely the source of Surtur's power. It was more like his... Horcrux.
The Surtur before them had likely been nothing more than an avatar.
As long as the Eternal Flame remained alight, he would never truly die.
To destroy him completely, the only way was probably to let him merge with the Eternal Flame first, restoring his strongest, complete form and making him destroy that "Horcrux" himself. Only then could he be killed for good.
"Fantastic!"
Oblivious to Hermione's thoughts, Thor excitedly waved the skull crown in his hand.
"We did it! Ragnarok won't happen! Asgard is safe! Hermione, thank you so much for this!"
Looking at Thor's face, brimming with pure joy, Hermione sighed inwardly.
What an idiot.
Still, he'd made some progress. At least he'd learned to lean on someone stronger this time.
The two returned to Asgard.
"Don't worry, Hermione," Thor assured her, patting his chest in high spirits. "Leave the spaceship to me! I'll make sure they prepare one of Asgard's most advanced ships for you! You can stay in Asgard for a few days while they finish all