POV: Baldur
Streets of Genosha City, near the Royal Castle
Moments Before Malekith's Arrival
It took hours to return to Earth using the "paths." This was only the second time I had traveled this way—the first being when Loki rescued me from Jotunheim after my banishment, preventing me from accessing the Bifrost. After numerous jumps through all the known realms, I finally arrived in a small Russian town. Returning to Genosha alongside Thor wasn't difficult.
From the rooftop of a building, the first word that came to mind when I surveyed the current state of my city was chaos. Several buildings were ablaze, and others had collapsed. Debris from drones, enemy jets, and Genoshan aircraft littered the streets. However, the battle was far from over. Drones and jets continued their aerial combat against the remaining enemy air force. High above, the Níðhöggr, under Freyja's command, seemed inactive—its power too immense to be wasted on these minor skirmishes.
"Where's Jane?" Thor asked anxiously beside me.
"She's safe inside the royal castle," I assured him. "The castle is protected by a force field akin to Asgard's. It's the safest place in Genosha—don't worry."
"Well, that's a relief. Now we just need to clean up your city," Thor said, twirling Mjolnir in his hand, ready to join the battle.
"Not so fast," I replied coldly. "This is my city, and I'll dictate how things unfold."
"You're certainly taking lessons from the old man. You're even starting to act like him."
"When you're a king someday, you'll understand. I've spent a millennium building this city, and now it's burning because of a power-hungry madman!"
"Very well. How do we proceed, King Baldur?"
My brother seemed to grasp the situation, allowing me to devise the strategy. The aerial battle required minimal intervention; there were few enemies in the air, more concerned with evading our shots than causing damage to the city. Over time, my troops would handle them. The real challenge lay around the palace.
(That's where my assistance is crucial.)
I was about to explain the plan to Thor when Alice approached.
"Sir, the enemy leader just appeared in front of General Nordur and his men," she informed me.
"That changes things," I said, smiling.
(Malekith eluded me once; now let's see if he can do it again.)
"Thor, I want you to deal with the enemy ships," I instructed my brother.
"And Malekith?"
"I'll handle him."
"Your city, your rules."
"Thank you, brother. But wait for my signal before launching the attack."
"Why?" Thor asked, puzzled.
"Malekith is too cunning to continue a battle he knows he's losing. Before he realizes it, I want my spear at his throat."
"What will the signal be?"
"You'll know when you see it—my powers aren't subtle."
With that, I soared across the city toward the royal castle. To prevent Malekith from escaping, I needed to be swift—first dealing with the dark elves on other battlefronts, then confronting him directly. As always, I had a plan.
"Elves from Svartalfheim!" I projected my voice throughout the city in fury.
With a single thought, all the city's lights went out. I literally absorbed all the sunlight into myself, plunging the city into total darkness. This was the plan I had informed my men of. My voice was meant to capture everyone's attention, and "turning off the lights" was not just for show; the dark elves have excellent night vision, so extinguishing the lights was meant to halt their attack.
Then, I released the sunlight I had been absorbing, but this time it emanated from my body, and due to my powers, the sunlight turned golden like gold.
I became the sun of Genosha.
My men, already aware that this would happen, began to retreat and drag the wounded, creating a space between them and the enemies. The dark elves have good night vision, but my light seemed to blind them for a few seconds. Seconds that were enough for my men to move a few meters away.
(It's time to begin then.)
"I bring you death!"
With this proclamation, I began the attack. Four round lenses, each over ten meters in width and length, appeared above the four battlefronts. From them, columns of golden light descended right onto the dark elves. I didn't hear screams; even before the columns hit the elves' bodies, they were already dead from the heat. Some lucky ones who were outside the attack radius, I controlled the lenses, and they began to move, sweeping away my enemies. It was as if a giant was holding a magnifying glass above the earth.
A few seconds later, several kilometers of Genosha's streets were scorched by the rays that moved in a straight line, destroying everything.
"TRUUMMMM!"
The thunder echoed through Genosha, and I knew Thor understood my signal and must have joined the battle.
(Well. I can't keep my guest waiting.)
I firmly grasped Sigel in my hand and flew towards Malekith. From afar, I could see that the two sides had not yet begun their attack. Malekith was atop a large white tiger with bat wings, surrounded by several monsters resembling giant dogs, and I also saw some living elf soldiers behind him.
I really wanted to finish him here. I attacked head-on, aiming for his body, but Malekith was very skilled. His purple energy sword clashed against my blade, forcing me to change direction. I fell in front of Nordur and my soldiers.
"My king!" said Nordur.
"You did very well, Nordur, as did you soldiers," I said, looking back.
"My King!" "Your Majesty!" "Sir!"
All my soldiers spoke with pride in their voices.
"Now allow me to end this battle myself."
"Never take your eyes off your enemy Asgardian!"
Malekith attacked me alongside his white tiger, assuming I was distracted. His sword aimed at my head, but I parried the blow with Sigel's hilt and fired an energy blast from my eyes at Malekith's head. He simply turned his head, dodging the attack. His mount also lunged at me, trying to bite, but I stepped back to evade the strike.
"You've stained the grounds of Genosha with blood, so allow me to cleanse it all!"
Sigel's blade ignited with a golden flame. I spun the spear, releasing a wave of fire that surged down the street towards Malekith and his men. To ensure none of my soldiers were harmed and to prevent Malekith's escape, I created a golden dome hundreds of meters high, enclosing the entire area, leaving only Nordur and my soldiers outside. My wave of flames transformed into a small sea of golden fire that continued advancing until it collided with the dome's wall, then vanished as if it had never existed.
"Magnificent!"
I wasn't surprised to see Malekith still alive, riding his beast. All the dark elves behind him had turned to dust, leaving only him and two of his hounds, each surrounded by a dark energy.
(His magic is strong enough to protect him, but not strong enough to shield both him and his men, or perhaps he didn't care to protect them.)
"So much destructive power contained in a single being. Tell me, my beautiful Sun God, don't you have the urge to release it all? It would be magnificent to see all nine realms burning in your flames."
He spoke, smiling like a madman.
"I reserve destruction only for my enemies."
"How noble. But I sense that perhaps one day in the future, you will unleash all that power, and it will be magnificent. Too bad I'll have to kill you before that happens!"
The three beasts, along with their master, charged at me head-on, but they merely passed through my image—it was just an illusion created using light manipulation. Behind them, I spun Sigel and sliced one of the giant hounds in half, its blood spraying everywhere.
(Before dealing with the boss, I need to take out the underlings!)
As I was about to strike down the second hound, Malekith surprised me. He leapt from his mount, conjuring another magical purple sword, and attacked with both. I began to dodge, stepping backward; his swordsmanship was frightening, each strike precise and aimed at my vital points. I couldn't defend with my spear as he was too close. In my peripheral vision, I saw the tiger and the remaining hound closing in from the sides, then both leapt at once. To escape, I performed a backward flip, avoiding the coordinated attack, but when I landed, Malekith was already in front of me, driving one of his swords into my shoulder.
The second sword came swiftly towards my neck, but my fist was quicker, landing a punch to Malekith's face, making him stagger back and pulling his sword from my shoulder. Before I could catch my breath, the cursed tiger pounced, knocking me to the ground. I blocked its bite with my arm, which it happily sank its teeth into. I punched the beast repeatedly in the face until it let go. I managed to get up just in time to kick the hound trying to bite me.
A purple sword was hurled at me, which I shattered with Sigel. Malekith then pointed his free hand at me, firing black lightning from his fingers. I conjured a light shield in front of me, blocking the attack. I was about to launch a full assault on him when, once again, I was forced to dodge the attacks from his beasts.
(I won't be able to easily get close to him with these cursed animals, not with their level of agility.)
Then, I enhance my physical attributes using runic magic. With a burst of speed, I appear in front of Malekith and thrust my spear into his body. The blade pierces through him, but I sense something is amiss. Malekith is still smiling, and there's no blood from his wound; then, his entire body transforms into a swirling gray smoke that envelops me.
"So, you can augment your physical attributes with magic," his voice echoes from within the smoke.
The smoke then coalesces a few meters behind me in mid-air. I turn swiftly and block his sword strike with Sigel's shaft.
"TRUMM!"
The force of the blow is far greater than I anticipated, driving my feet several centimeters into the ground.
"I can use magic like that too!" he exclaims with a grin.
I push him back, creating some distance. Once again, that cursed hound leaps at me, but this time I grab its neck with one hand, suspending it in the air. Just as I am about to snap its neck, I realize Malekith is no longer beside me—he has vanished. Suddenly, a purple blade pierces through the hound's body, aiming for my heart. In a moment of panic, I drop Sigel and, with my now free hand, catch the blade, preventing it from reaching my heart.
"I sacrificed a fine beast for this strike, and it still failed. Such a pity," he says, standing behind the hound's body.
"Roar!"
The tiger roars and attacks me from behind, sinking its teeth into my shoulder. I release the hound's body, and Malekith withdraws his sword. Placing my hand on the tiger's face, I unleash an energy blast. The animal suddenly vanishes and reappears behind Malekith.
"This is the first time a sorcerer has made me this angry," I tell him.
"I'm honored."
"But this ends now. I'm done with these games."
My body begins to radiate a tremendous amount of energy and heat, causing the asphalt beneath me to start bubbling. If not for the barrier surrounding us, my men would have already collapsed, their lungs scorched from the intense heat.
"Finally, you're going to let loose a bit!" the elf said, visibly excited.
"Yes. This ends here."
I extended my hand, and Sigel returned to it. I pointed the blade at Malekith, ready to disintegrate him. I wanted to avoid unleashing such a powerful attack in Genosha, but this enemy won't be defeated without it.
"It's a shame I won't stay to witness this. I'm not equipped right now to hunt a magnificent creature like you."
Before I could fire, Malekith's image started to become transparent in front of me.
(Teleportation!)
"You think I'll just stand here and watch you escape?"
I abandoned the attack with Sigel and extended my hand towards Malekith's image. Everything around me began to glow in a golden light. A golden energy started to envelop everything until it reached Malekith. Unable to fully control the power of Balthakk, I couldn't engulf and pull everything into my dimension, but after so many years, my control had become more refined. The golden energy was like a massive maw devouring the nearly invisible image of Malekith. When the "mouth" closed, Malekith had disappeared, leaving behind only part of his severed arm.
POV: Third Person
Somewhere in Svartalfheim
Hours after Baldur's battle against Malekith
"You underestimated your enemy."
"Losing an arm is a small price to pay."
"For the lesson you learned."
The three witch elves spoke in unison behind their king.
"My first attack was merely to probe my enemy. The second should have been strong enough to defeat them, but you old crones are right."
Malekith had now recovered from his wounds. His severed arm had been replaced by a hand as black as a starless night, crafted with magic from both him and the witches.
"My dear god of light, how beautiful it will be to watch you die," the king said, smiling as he imagined the future.
"Now is not the time for dreaming, my king."
"The next move must be carefully considered."
"The balance is in favor of our enemies."
"I know, witches. Our enemies have many powerful allies."
Malekith stood up and looked at the stars of Svartalfheim.
"If they have their allies, then we must find ours!"
"I can help with that!"
An unfamiliar voice, unexpected in what they thought was solitude, made them turn around. Leaning against a tree was a man in green armor, with a helmet adorned with long horns. He was toying with a dagger, making it disappear and reappear in the other hand. The presence of an intruder here should have alarmed Malekith, but instead, he looked at the newcomer with a broad smile.
"Who do you have in mind, son of Laufey?"
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