— Asgard
While chaos erupted in the dungeons, Malekith led his army of Dark Elves in a full-scale assault on Asgard.
It was the last of the Dark Elves' warships, but even a single one was enough to bring devastation upon the realm.
That day, Asgard rembered the pain of its ancestors' bloody war with the Dark Elves and the terror of their advanced, long-range weaponry.
High above the grand Asgardian temple, the massive, cross-shaped warship hovered like a black on.
The golden, majestic city was now shrouded in smoke, cloaked in black mist, and lit ablaze.
The city's defenses crumbled.
The Asgardian skiffs and airships stood no chance against the Dark Elves' agile fighter ships, and were shot down one after another in flas.
These enemy ships were clad in nearly indestructible dark matter armor and ard with technology far surpassing Asgard's.
With the firepower of just one mothership, they had driven the proud Asgardian army into complete disarray.
Even the elite Asgardian guard were helpless before the Dark Elves' advanced dark-energy rifles and black hole grenades.
Those golden-armored warriors, swords and shields in hand like knights of legend, were slaughtered rcilessly, like dieval troops facing a modern army wielding automatic weapons.
It was a massacre.
'Hmph. This is the price of clinging to hand-to-hand combat and outdated honor.'
Yet just as Thor, Odin, and the others gathered at the throne room to make their final stand, prepared to fight the Dark Elves to the bitter end.
Malekith suddenly issued an unexpected order.
The Dark Elf mothership, this seemingly unstoppable force, began withdrawing all its forces... and retreated.
"Oh? Seems they were overwheld by your majesty and fled in fear," Loki quipped, temporarily freed from his cell thanks to the destruction in the dungeons.
He took the opportunity to mock Odin with a smirk. "Looks like just standing here is enough to keep Asgard invincible."
"No... this doesn't make sense," Thor muttered, brows tightly furrowed. "We couldn't stop them. Why would they retreat?"
He paused, deep in thought, and then his eyes widened in alarm. "The Aether! No, this is bad!"
"What's wrong, dear brother? Wet yourself already?" Loki teased, stepping closer with his usual smug grin. "So, should I get the next cell ready for myself?"
"You let roam free like this, and look at your dear father, the all-powerful Odin, is turning green with rage."
Thor shoved Loki aside and stord toward the palace exit. "Enough jokes! Kagura is in danger! Earth is in danger!"
"Kagura... Wait, Thor!" Loki called out, hesitating for a mont before speaking again.
"What now? If you want a comfier prison cell, go ask our father, he's right behind you, ready to personally hamr so sense into your arrogant skull."
"If Kagura is in danger... Brother, then let co with you."
Loki's smile faded. His head dipped slightly, and for a brief mont, there was genuine concern in his expression. "I an it. Kagura is my sister too."
"I think I can help. When it cos to Earth, let's just say... I have a bit more experience."
"If you betray ," Thor growled, "I'll kill you myself."
"Oh, don't worry," Loki replied with a sardonic smile. "By that point, I imagine there'll be a long line of people wanting a piece of ."
He turned toward Odin and bowed slightly. "All-Father, allow to redeem myself."
Odin glared at him, cold and unreadable.
Normally, the All-Father wouldn't entertain such a ludicrous proposal.
But this ti... he saw sothing different in Loki's eyes regret, maybe even desperation. Could it be real?
'Unbelievable...'
Odin was slightly taken aback. Just what kind of girl is Kagura, to make even soone like Loki change?
"...Very well. Go," Odin finally said, his voice stern. "But do not disappoint again!"
Loki bowed with a faint, bitter smile. "I'm not doing this for you."
———————————————————————
— New York, Central Park
"Whoosh!"
'Thud!'
Just as Kagura finished off the last of the cursed warriors and was preparing to leave, a streak of fire shot through the sky.
With a loud crash, the red-and-gold Mark 43 Iron Man armor landed in front of her, striking a perfect superhero pose.
"Huh?" Kagura tilted her head. "Oh? Isn't this Mr. Stark?"
"Hitomi! Are you alright?" Tony Stark stood up, his Arc Reactor pulsing with energy.
He deployed every sensor in his suit and entered full combat readiness.
"The Oracle cloud system detected alien lifeforms here, and from the looks of it, you were fighting them. I ca imdiately. Where's the enemy?"
"Hmm, thanks for the concern, Mr. Stark!" Kagura struck a confident pose with hands on her hips. "But you're late. I already took care of it!"
Tony followed her gesture and spotted the decapitated corpse nearby. "Is that... a minotaur? Doesn't look like Chitauri tech."
"Nope. That's a cursed warrior, created by the ancient race known as the Dark Elves. Think of it as their version of Captain Arica."
"Huh... Dark Elves? Sounds like sothing out of a fantasy novel."
Tony opened the armor's wrist panel and scanned the body with a holographic scanner.
"Yeah... its DNA structure is completely alien. Even its protein makeup seems to contain imnse energy."
After confirming the enemy was truly dead, Tony retracted the scanner. "Kagura, where did you encounter this guy? How did he get to Earth? Are there more of them coming?"
"Aha, well, that's a long story," Kagura said with a playful smile, sticking out her tongue in a cute gesture.
"Actually, there's sothing very important I need analyzed and studied. If Mr. Stark could lend a hand, that would be absolutely perfect."
She was, of course, referring to the Aether inside her.
With Tony Stark's help, severing the Aether's original ownership could accelerate research and developnt of the Reality Stone significantly.
"Oh? My adorable Hitomi is asking for my help? That's rare," Tony said with an amused shrug. "I'll do everything I can. In exchange..."
"E-Exchange?" Kagura jumped back a few steps, her eyes wide and wary. "Don't tell ! You want money? Or—or a night together?! No way! I'm not that kind of girl!"
Tony let out a loud pfft, shaking his head. "Jeez, what kind of drama have you been watching? Already thinking about baby nas, too?"
"I recently heard you were working on a new type of energy device based on 'dark energy.' I was hoping we could collaborate, maybe we'll discover sothing revolutionary."
"Oh, that's what this is about." Kagura let out a relieved sigh and relaxed. "No problem at all! What I need help researching is closely tied to both dark energy and dark matter."
"So what is this mysterious 'thing' you want to study?"
"Hmm, hmm~" Kagura leaned in slightly, eyes narrowing with mischief. "That's a secret."
Tony groaned, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "You're impossible... Fine. Where are we doing this research?"
"Rhodes Island Industries, New York Research Center," she replied. "They have all the equipnt we'll need for a full analysis."
"Of course it's at a place I've never heard of..." Tony muttered. "Alright, then. No ti to waste. I'll handle cleanup and alien remains here—damage control and PR stuff."
"Thanks! I'll see you there then."
"Hey, Kagura," Tony called out just as she turned to leave.
"Hmm? Sothing else, Mr. Stark?"
"You mind catching a ride?"
He opened his arms in a mock invitation. "Don't worry, I'm not going to try anything weird."
Kagura eyed him suspiciously. "You sure about that?"
"Co on. You don't trust ?" Tony asked, raising an eyebrow. "I've got the best flight systems on the planet. The Rhodes Island facility is on the outskirts, you'll waste a lot of ti driving."
"Hmm... alright, fine!" she said, flipping her silver hair over her shoulder. "Thanks for the lift! Ehehe~"
Tony gave a gentlemanly bow. "As you wish, my little princess."
Then, activating his full flight propulsion system, he scooped her up in his arms.
"Let's go!"
"WAAAH!! QAQ—! S-SLOW DOWN A LITTLE—!!"
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[New Concept Skill Acquired]
[High-Speed Flight Adaptation / Lv. 0]
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