After the fifteenth casting, Rowan could feel it. Even in his dragon form, the strain was catching up to him. Each spell had burned through an enormous amount of vitality, far more than his body could regenerate on its own.
Fortunately, he had prepared for this.
With a flick of magic, a small box opened above his draconic head. Towering trees, each thick enough to require several people to wrap their arms around, tumbled out one after another. Rowan swallowed them whole, activating the wood-dragon's ability to absorb life force. The trees vanished like snacks, and the vitality he had spent surged back into him almost instantly.
He was ready to press the advantage.
Then he noticed something wrong.
Kull was gone.
"I'll devour you!"
A thunderous roar exploded behind him. Rowan twisted around just in time to see Kull above him, jaws wide enough to swallow his entire dragon body. The pull from that gaping maw was terrifying, a devouring force that dragged everything toward it.
Rowan beat his wings, but the suction held him fast. He tried to teleport and failed. The space around Kull's mouth had been locked down, crushed by pure divine force.
"So this is the move," Rowan muttered. "Good thing you're already weakened."
Staring into the abyss of Kull's throat, Rowan began gathering power.
"Cursed fire. Dark fire. Dragonfire. Wood to fuel it. Lightning to accelerate it."
His jaws opened wide as energy spiraled inward.
"You like to eat?" he growled. "Then choke on this."
"Electromagnetic Overdrive: Grand Inferno Sphere!"
A colossal fireball formed, kilometers wide, swirling with black, red, and blue flames wrapped in violent arcs of lightning. It launched forward at impossible speed, ripping straight into Kull's mouth, blasting down his throat and detonating inside his body.
The explosion shook the sky.
Fire burst outward from within the serpent, engulfing him from the inside out. Kull screamed, a sound so vast it seemed to tear through the clouds. Divine power flared desperately, but the flames refused to die, clinging to him like a curse.
Rowan wasn't finished.
He seized the serpent at its vital point with his claws, ripped open scorched flesh, and unleashed another torrent of fire directly into the wound. He didn't rush it. This wasn't a single killing blow. It was a slow, merciless burn.
Kull tried to retaliate, but his strength was gone. When his head swung around, Rowan smashed it into the ground with a single wingbeat.
Nearby, Thor and the others had already defeated the Hammer-Bearers. They had rushed over to help, only to stop short in stunned silence.
No one felt fear anymore.
If anything, they felt… pity.
The God of Fear was being roasted alive.
With no terror left to feed on, Kull's power collapsed completely. At last, realizing there was no path to victory, he shrank back into humanoid form. Rowan followed suit, returning to human shape as well.
"You can't kill me," Kull rasped, his body charred and broken. "As long as Asgard exists, I endure. Even Odin couldn't truly destroy me."
"Not today," Rowan replied calmly. "But that doesn't mean never."
He stepped forward and produced a small, intricately carved nesting doll, its surface layered with dense sealing runes.
"Seal."
Ancient magic snapped shut. Kull's body was dragged into the doll, layer after layer closing until the God of Fear was completely imprisoned.
Kull, Odin, and Hela were all beings bound to Asgard itself. As long as that realm endured, none of them could truly be killed. Odin had sealed Kull and Hela on Earth for that very reason.
Rowan understood the limits of his current strength. He had won because Kull was far from Asgard, cut off from its full power. Killing him outright wasn't possible yet.
But someday, it would be.
"Should we take him back to Asgard?" Thor asked hesitantly.
Rowan offered him the sealed doll.
Thor shook his head. "Father said no. If Kull returns, he'll draw strength from Asgard and recover too quickly. He must remain sealed on Earth."
"In that case," Rowan said, pocketing the doll, "I'll keep it."
Thor studied him for a moment, then nodded. "That's for the best. If anyone can make sure he stays sealed, it's you."
He straightened, expression solemn. "Asgard owes you a great debt. I'll report everything to my father."
Rowan smiled faintly as the battle finally came to an end.