Chapter 89

The Frost Treasure Box, a secret treasure passed down by the Frost Giants for generations, contains nearly limitless frost magic. Once activated, it has the power to freeze an entire planet. Originally stored in Asgard's vault, it had now fallen into Loki's hands, becoming his most formidable weapon!

From within the blue-and-white ice chest, a shadow swirled rapidly, controlled by Loki. Frost energy shot toward Abel and the giant serpent. In an instant, the magic turned into a snowstorm of freezing temperatures, engulfing everything in its path.

Under the force of this magical storm, everything froze. The giant serpent was no exception, turning into an ice sculpture, perishing in the hands of the very one who summoned it to this world. 

The wilderness of New Mexico, once filled with desert, was now covered by an icy land infused with frost magic, and it would take years for the land to return to its original state.

Loki, pausing his use of the Ice Treasure Box, surveyed the frozen wasteland with a victorious smile. But just then, near the corpse of the frozen serpent, a flicker of light caught his eye. Narrowing his eyes, Loki hesitated before aiming the Ice Treasure Box once more, unleashing another blizzard at the fire.

The frost magic struck again, but this time, it did not extinguish the flames. Instead, the fire grew brighter, and Loki could make out Abel encased in the ice!

With a loud explosion, black and red flames shot up like ocean waves, spreading in all directions. They surged forward, undeterred by the blizzard or the icy magic, melting the frozen wasteland and advancing toward Loki.

"Hellfire?! How can you control the fire of hell? Are you connected to Mephisto?" Loki demanded.

Abel gave no response. Using the hellfire, he broke free from the ice's grip and, with a flick of his wand, turned the flames into fiery serpents, which rushed toward Loki.

Seeing the approaching fire snakes, Loki quickly adjusted the Ice Treasure Box, spewing frost energy to counter them. The two opposing forces—hellfire and frost magic—collided but produced no sound, canceling each other out and vanishing into nothingness.

Loki's realization dawned as he watched Abel standing amidst the hellfire, completely unaffected, commanding the flames as if they were an extension of himself. Only one possibility could explain Abel's control over hellfire to this extent.

"You... you possess authority over the fire of hell!" Loki exclaimed.

In the universe, authority is a mysterious force. Even gods like Loki and Thor do not possess true authority. In Asgard, only Odin, Frigga, and Heimdall wield some form of it. Frigga's authority is a small measure of magic, and Heimdall's insight is limited in its impact on combat. As for Odin's power, Loki never fully understood it.

Now, holding the Ice Treasure Box, Loki believed himself unmatched. But in his first battle on Earth, he encountered Abel—a human mage with partial authority over hellfire. This realization filled Loki with jealousy and fear, and he began to contemplate retreat.

Narrowing his frost giant eyes, Loki poured more power into the Ice Treasure Box, unleashing an even larger amount of frost magic to weaken the hellfire. He then prepared to flee, hoping to return to Asgard with the Ice Treasure Box.

However, in an instant, Abel appeared before him, using space manipulation. He grabbed the handle of the Ice Treasure Box, neutralizing its frost energy with hellfire, and raised his wand to unleash another wave of hellfire toward Loki.

Loki faced a dilemma: either relinquish the Ice Treasure Box or be consumed by hellfire!

At this critical moment, Loki made a bold decision. He abandoned the precious Ice Treasure Box, retreating quickly. His body collapsed like a bubble, vanishing from Abel's sight.

Abel searched for Loki but, as expected, knew that if Loki was determined to escape, few could stop him. Loki's mastery of illusions and misdirection made him nearly impossible to catch, especially without him taunting as he had done before.

But Abel had more pressing concerns—he needed to find a way to deal with the Ice Treasure Box, which resisted his control.

Placing the Ice Treasure Box on the ground, Abel observed how it spread a layer of ice around it as soon as it made contact. With a flick of his wand, Abel surrounded the chest with a circle of hellfire, containing the cold and preventing it from spreading.

After some thought, Abel devised a method to temporarily store the Ice Treasure Box. He retrieved a large amount of material from his storage bag, melted them with hellfire, and added additional elements to create a magical alloy.

While the alloy was still in a liquid state, Abel shaped it into a rectangular safe, placed the Ice Treasure Box inside, and quickly inscribed magical symbols and ancient runes onto the surface. The chest was now sealed.

Next, Abel withdrew the hellfire surrounding the chest and, with a tap of his wand, the safe was transported into his storage bag, where it was safely stored in a corner of the space within.

Finally, with a sigh of relief, Abel watched as the sky began to brighten, then turned and disappeared into a swirling vortex.

As for the land, scarred by the battle between Abel and Loki with a mixture of heat and cold, it would later become a tourist attraction in New Mexico. But that is another story.