There's also this to consider - just as Corwin couldn't act against Akio as the Duke of Sheol without risking war, I doubt Surtur wants Muspelheim brought into a full-scale war with Asgard & co. either. This means, in all likelyhood, that Akio is on his own, and may even have BOTH sides gunning for him, albeit for different reasons.

Bottom line - his existience on any level is coming to a close, the only question is who's going to do the deed, and how messy is it going to get for everyone else before it's complete.

Offsides

[...] in order to be a realist you must believe in miracles.
-- David Ben Gurion
EPU RCW #π
#include <stdsig.h>