POV: Third Person
Bloodmuck Swamp, Svartalfheim
Two Hours After the Battle Began
In the skies of Svartalfheim, the aerial battle explosions were so frequent that any Earth observer might think it was a fireworks celebration. Over two hundred jets from both sides, along with numerous drones, were locked in a deadly dance above the ground. The wreckage of downed ships rained across the Bloodmuck Swamp, igniting fires upon impact and creating numerous blazes throughout the marshland.
Luckily, there seemed to be a non-verbal agreement among the aircraft to avoid the center of the swamp where the infantry battle raged. In that central area, the only aerial conflict involved the last two motherships of the Dark Elves, relentlessly firing everything they had at the damaged Ratatosk. Despite its previous ordeal, Ratatosk's superior technology proved decisive, managing to destroy another mothership. However, the strain left it heavily damaged, likely rendering it inoperative after this battle.
On the ground, the story was starkly different. While the skies were filled with smoke, explosions, and metal, the earth below was soaked in blood, flesh, and death. Once Genosha's infantry reached their target and General Freyja broke through the Dark Elves' defenses, a total assault ensued. The Elves failed to hold a defensive line and their position was overrun. Abandoning their defense, the Elves scattered across the battlefield. The Genoshans, too, discarded elaborate strategies and formations, plunging into a brutal melee.
After an hour, both armies were intermixed across the field in a chaotic and bloody struggle, where life could be snuffed out like a candle in the wind. The body count on both sides was staggering. But the fighting would only end when one side was utterly defeated or surrendered. Both sides knew this battle had to be decided today.
Even in the chaos, some figures stood out. For Genosha, it was clearly General Freyja. Her flaming sword was a harbinger of death, cutting down one or more enemies with each swing, leaving burning, dismembered bodies in her wake. Knowing she was the most potent combat force, Freyja focused on the Ogres—massive, near-mindless beasts bred for war. Scattered across the battlefield, they were killing and even eating her soldiers.
The General could kill the Ogres easily, but traversing the battlefield to reach them took too much time. It would have been easier if the tanks from the rear had been able to support them. However, midway through, the tanks were beset by a pack of hundreds of giant dogs from the swamps. The tanks had great firepower but limited mobility, leaving them stuck in their position. Freyja abandoned the hope of their support, as they were effectively keeping the beasts at bay.
Another significant issue for the Genoshan army was the castle at the battlefield's center. It housed a large number of Elven snipers on its walls and towers, who were inflicting severe casualties on her troops with their deadly accuracy. The castle gate was shut, and without tanks or air artillery to breach it, they had no option but to endure.
"{Ma'am, the package is ready!}"
As she drove her sword into an Ogre's heart, setting its body aflame, Freyja received the message. She wasn't foolish; their main objective was inside the castle. They needed to get there, but given their current situation, it would take too long. So, she had ordered her trump card to be prepared. It had taken two hours due to Ratatosk's engagement in battle. Ideally, she didn't want to use this trump card—something only her master could fully control. Even with partial control, she couldn't predict what would happen if it went rogue. But with no other choice, she spoke into her communicator.
"Deploy the Destroyer!"
From Ratatosk, a missile was launched—a rare sight, as all ships used pure energy for their attacks. The missile crossed the distance from the ship to the General's location. As it neared the battlefield, it altered its trajectory, plunging into the ground just meters from Freyja.
The missile, as wide as four men and over four meters tall, stood embedded in the ground like a metal tower. This sight drew the attention of all nearby. The tower opened, and a thick smoke billowed out, obscuring vision. But it didn't last long. A massive armored hand gripped the missile's edge, pulling itself out of the smoke. The armor stepped out, fully revealed.
It was unmistakably the Destroyer—an armor forged by the dwarves to protect the royal treasure. The same armor that Baldur had reclaimed with Thor's help after defeating it. But the Destroyer had undergone changes. It remained a massive armor nearly three meters tall, with an empty helm opening. Previously dark Uru, it now gleamed golden, with a spear design on its chest and runes etched across its surface. The King of Genosha had promised modifications, and he had delivered.
"Fulfill your function!" Freyja commanded the armor, pointing her sword towards the castle.
Controlling such a weapon was a task of great difficulty; it operated directly linked to Baldur's energy. Freyja could only issue simple orders, and the weapon would move in the best possible manner to fulfill the command, stopping only when destroyed or when the order was fulfilled.
So the Destroyer, understanding the command, began to walk calmly across the battlefield toward the castle gates. Of course, its enemies wouldn't stand idly by as it made its march. From the castle, the living armor was targeted by a barrage of arrows, their tips shattered upon impact. Even energy blasts seemed to have no effect on its body, failing to slow its pace. An ogre came close enough to strike its trunk-like arm against the armor, only to be dispatched with a simple backhanded blow.
Then the armor stood before the gates. During its stride, a large number of Black Elves and ogres surrounded it, attempting to halt its advance. The living armor simply ignored them and continued its walk.
Suddenly, the entire body of the Destroyer began to glow with a brilliant golden light. It lifted its foot and then brought it down. As its foot made contact with the ground again, a massive explosion of energy erupted, striking all nearby and hurling them into the air. The explosion was so powerful that even the castle gates were obliterated. It was a redirection attack, something akin to what Wakanda currently implemented in their suits—converting the energy from incoming strikes into a counterattack.
Now with the gates destroyed, the Destroyer continued its march toward the castle.
In contrast to the chaos outside, the interior of the castle was relatively calm. A few minutes before the arrival of the Destroyer on the battlefield, in the center of the castle, there was a vast, empty chamber, ten meters high.
The sole occupant of this barren room, devoid of furniture or decoration, was a portal over four meters in height and two in width. The portal was entirely constructed of black stone, adorned with several luminescent silver runes. At the center of the stone structure lay only darkness, like a serene and unmoving black hole. Unlike Asgard's Bifrost, the Black Elves' portal could move freely to any location, but it required several preparations before doing so. This was precisely why Freyja had prepared the Destroyer in advance. She didn't want to give the elves time to relocate the portal.
It was expected that the portal, something of great significance to the elves, would be heavily guarded. However, unlike the outside, where there was a vast army protecting it, within the hall stood only three elderly women, clutching their staves as they gazed at the door leading to where the battle was unfolding several meters away, as if they could see what was happening outside.
"The situation is not in our favor."
"How did we not see this approaching?"
"Our vision was obstructed by another sorcerer!"
The three war witches of the Black Elves spoke as one voice. They were short, with long nails and black eyes. Then, the three turned their attention to the Black Bifrost, studying it.
"We must retreat."
"We must inform the King."
"We must protect the Black Bifrost."
As Genosha's army began its advance, the three also began preparations to move the portal away. They were only minutes away from success. The three seemed relatively relaxed. That is until they felt the tide, once not favoring the elves, shift toward complete tragedy.
"The Destroyer Approaches!"
"We need to move faster."
"We only have a few minutes!"
Then the three raised their hands towards the Bifrost, trying in some way to hasten the process. However, a green light screen appeared in front of them, covering the entire portal, severing their connection with the Black Bifrost.
"Who dares to interrupt us?"
"Reveal yourself, sorcerer!"
"Or we will do it for you!"
The three sensed magic that was not their own in the room, so they turned their bodies, facing away from the Black Bifrost. Now, in front of them, stood another woman: short blonde hair framing her face, deep green eyes, and a flawless complexion. She wore a simple green cloak that covered her entire body, leaving only her head exposed.
"The traitor reveals herself."
"Goddess of Magic and Seduction."
"Amora Lorelei!"
The three witches now faced a powerful sorceress. There was no time for words; as soon as they finished speaking, they pointed their hands at Amora and unleashed six blasts of dark energy at the woman. However, a Goddess of Magic was vastly different from a mere sorceress. Before the energy blasts could hit Amora's body, they froze in mid-air just inches away from her. It wasn't just the energy blasts that stopped; the three witches seemed to be frozen in time as well.
Then Amora simply took a few steps to the side, walking out of the path of the attack. As she did so, the energy blasts resumed their movement and simply missed their target, leaving the three witches in shock.
"Not long ago, the mortals of Midgard committed the grotesque act of burning women at the stake. Their excuse was that they were witches," Amora spoke calmly for the first time.
The three witches made no attempt to respond and launched their next attack. The shadows of their bodies spread across the ground for several meters from where they stood, and the living shadows then rushed towards Amora.
"I found such acts despicable," Amora continued.
She calmly raised her hand, which began to glow faintly.
"But witches like you deserve such a fate."
The gentle glow from Amora's hand bursts forth like the birth of a star. Yet it was not just one star; from her hand, seven small spheres of red light emerge.
"I invoke the Seven Suns of Cinnibus!"
With her incantation, the stars explode into red light, bathing the three witches. The shadow beneath them is obliterated, and then their bodies ignite. It doesn't take long for nothing to remain on the ground but dust.
"BOOM!"
An explosion occurs a few meters from where she stood; Amora simply disappears, leaving only the black Bifrost and dust behind.
After Amora's disappearance, the Destroyer finally breaches the defenses. Upon entering the castle, all who stood in his path met the same fate: death. Those clever enough stayed far away, launching attacks against him. The armor paid no heed to these attacks from a distance, finally reaching the final doors where his mission awaited. The elves formed a last line of defense in front of the doors where the black Bifrost resided.
The Destroyer then used the energy gathered from previous shots and clapped his hands in front of his body. Unlike the previous time, the energy wasn't dispersed around his body but focused ahead. The energy explosion threw the defenses of the black elves far away. The force of the blow was so powerful that the gigantic doors and a large part of the castle were destroyed.
Then the armor continued its path, stepping on the rubble and scattered bodies until standing in front of the black portal. There was no hesitation in the armor's movements; its entire body began to emit a strong golden glow. The heat emanating from the armor turned the stone floor black. The golden glow began to be channeled throughout its body toward its helmet, which opened. The beam of golden energy was fired, hitting the center of the Black Bifrost.
At first, it seemed like the black Bifrost began to absorb all that insane amount of energy. But the Destroyer's shot was constant, and it seemed like the Armor had infinite energy. After a few seconds, cracks began to appear in the stone portal and in the magic runes around the vortex of darkness. As if understanding this as a sign of weakness, the Destroyer increased the amount of energy discharged even more. Then it naturally happened.
"BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMM!"
The explosion of the black Bifrost was as potent as a small nuclear bomb. The entire castle, as well as the wall, was completely destroyed, a mushroom-shaped cloud of black smoke covering the entire area. As the infantry battle was a bit distant from the castle, they were not greatly affected; the only collateral damage from the explosion was one of the Dark Elves' motherships, which was too close to the castle. And the only thing that wasn't destroyed was the living armor that stood amidst it all.
Not far from all that chaos, General Freyja smiled with happiness. Now that her mission was accomplished, all that remained was to deal with the remnants.
The victory was hers.
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