At Eitri's shout—
Rumble—!
Between the two colossal crucibles, a third, smaller humanoid-shaped crucible rose from below.
"Smaller" was relative—Eitri himself could easily lie down inside it.
Thud!!!
Odin struck Gungnir against the ground.
The Destroyer Armor strode forward obediently and laid itself within the third crucible, arms crossed over its chest as if entering solemn repose.
Then Odin gestured toward the Casket of Ancient Winters in Leon's hand.
The Casket lifted into the air.
Together with the Eternal Flame in Odin's grasp, both artifacts embedded themselves into two pedestal mounts fused to either side of the crucible.
A perfect fit.
Soon—
Under the extreme heat of the Stellar Forge, the Destroyer Armor began to glow red, entering a semi-molten state. Runes surfaced across its surface—
Only to be wiped away by Odin's hand.
A vast torrent of divine power surged from Odin's body, engraving countless new runes into the armor.
Dense.
Endless.
Leon felt his heartbeat spike.
Am I about to break the system?
When Odin finally ceased channeling power, he staggered slightly.
Leon rushed to steady him.
"Father—are you alright?"
"It is nothing."
Odin waved him off gently.
"For me now, divine power is a heavy burden. Releasing it is… a relief."
Leon nodded.
He understood that feeling perfectly well.
Pressure built up too long must eventually be released.
Within the crucible, most of Odin's divine energy fused into the Destroyer Armor, transforming into layers upon layers of glowing runes.
For a moment, it seemed as though the armor might rupture from the strain.
Leon tensed—
But the excess divine energy, instead of dissipating, lifted everything into the air.
The Destroyer Armor.
The Casket of Ancient Winters.
The Eternal Flame.
The molten lakes of Uru and Vibranium from the two massive crucibles.
Odin's divine power shaped itself into a void furnace, suspending them all.
Leon could only think:
Odin's stats are ridiculous.
Within the void furnace—
The Casket and Eternal Flame dissolved into pure energy forms:
Ice-blue.
Crimson.
From above and below, the opposing forces seeped into the Destroyer Armor.
At the same time, massive streams of molten Uru and Vibranium branched off from their respective crucibles and flowed toward the armor.
Using it as a core frame, they reshaped it entirely.
Despite the immense influx of metal, the armor did not grow larger.
If anything—it shrank slightly.
Refining itself toward proportions perfectly suited to Leon's height and build.
Gradually—
The molten metals diminished by more than half.
At the center of the chestplate, the ice-blue and crimson energies converged.
They merged—
Becoming a radiant crystal.
Predominantly sapphire in hue, yet shimmering with subtle rainbow refractions upon closer inspection.
Once the armor fully took shape—
The remaining molten Uru and Vibranium wrapped around it completely.
They formed a colossal, glowing red sphere—like a living metallic embryo.
Suspended gently by the final membrane of divine power.
Slowly descending.
"Leon."
Odin's voice was steady.
"It will be one of your most important companions."
"Only you are suited to it. Only you can draw out its true power."
"All preparations are complete."
"The final step… is yours."
"Correct!" Eitri called, stepping aside and activating a mechanism near the crucibles.
Leon rubbed his hands eagerly and flew to the central platform.
"So what do I do?"
"Pierce the remaining divine membrane," Eitri instructed. "Let the molten materials flow into the shield mold below."
"Got it."
Leon cracked his knuckles.
"Idiot! Not with your hand!" Eitri shouted.
"The temperature is catastrophic! You'll be vaporized!"
Too late.
Leon raised his left hand—two fingers extended like a blade—and thrust them straight into the metallic embryo.
Eitri's eyes widened.
Leon withdrew instantly.
Completely unharmed.
Only his sleeve had burned away, revealing a sculpted, powerful arm.
"What?!"
"You're fine?!"
Leon smirked.
"Obviously."
"Who do you think I am?"
Internally, he gave a silent thumbs-up to his newly acquired Flame Affinity.
Without it, he might've lost more than a sleeve.
With the membrane ruptured—
The molten metals did not cascade violently downward.
Instead, they flowed steadily through the opening Leon had created.
Below awaited a shield mold—
Roughly resembling his original shield, yet sleeker, sharper, more aggressive in design.
A fusion of molten textures and crystalline ice aesthetics.
Though the mold appeared ordinary in size, it continued absorbing the entire mass of molten metal without overflowing.
Odin's magic.
Unquestionably.
Soon—
All molten material—including the reforged armor core within—filled the mold precisely.
No excess.
No deficiency.
The precision was staggering.
Leon wasn't sure whether to credit Odin's sorcery or the dwarves' craftsmanship.
Probably both.
Hum—
The mold sealed itself.
Silence fell.
Only the faint hiss of cooling metal and the dwarves' restrained breaths remained.
Even Odin tightened his grip on Gungnir.
If something went wrong—
The combined might of the Casket and Eternal Flame could annihilate everything present.
Fortunately—
No catastrophe came.
The temperature dropped steadily.
When it reached stability—
Boom!
Eitri raised a massive forging hammer—resembling Mjolnir in silhouette—and struck the mold with titanic force.
It shattered.
A column of radiant rainbow light burst upward into the heavens.
And from within—
It emerged.
The War God's Shield — Aionsega.
A masterpiece.
Silver base.
Symmetrical ice-blue and crimson gradient patterns radiating outward.
Elegant.
Yet unmistakably aggressive.
It hovered in midair, blazing with prismatic brilliance.
As though proclaiming to the Nine Realms:
I am supreme.
I shall subdue all enemies.
…This flashy personality.
Leon had a feeling he knew exactly who it inherited that from.
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