Meanwhile-
In the control room of the Bifrost-
Heimdall sensed something amiss and immediately rushed outside. Running swiftly across the Rainbow Bridge, he leaped high into the air, drawing two daggers from his back, and stabbed into the seemingly empty space in front of him.
The daggers, forged by dwarven craftsmen, instantly pierced through the cloaking shield of a Dark Elf ship, tearing through its armor.
Seeing that his suspicions were correct, Heimdall continued to damage the ship. After using his daggers to ignite the enemy's power core, he successfully caused the ship to explode.
Watching the wreckage fall onto the Rainbow Bridge, Heimdall breathed a sigh of relief.
But before he could fully catch his breath, he turned around to see a massive mothership, hundreds of times larger than the previous ship.
From it, numerous smaller ships were released, heading straight for the royal palace of Asgard.
Heimdall rushed back to the control room as Asgard's defense systems activated, raising energy cannons to intercept the swarm of enemy ships.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Many Dark Elf ships were quickly destroyed, but some still managed to break through the defenses.
Heimdall, returning to the control room, used the Sword to activate the palace's protective shield.
The shield rapidly rose, causing one of the enemy ships to crash into it and explode on impact.
"Boom!"
Watching the shield go up, Heimdall exhaled in relief. As long as the palace remained intact, the Allfather could lead Asgard's army to defeat these invaders.
However, the shield, not fully formed, suddenly shattered and dispersed. The Cursed Warrior, Algrim, had reached the control center and destroyed the core, causing the defense system to collapse.
With the palace shield down, Malekith seized the opportunity and piloted a small ship directly into the grand hall of the palace, crashing through numerous columns before the dagger-shaped vessel finally came to a stop.
…
Inside Frigga's chambers-
Charles handed her a Hiraishin kunai.
"If the enemy has made it this far, we must prepare for the worst. Take this kunai. If anything happens, I can teleport you to safety in an instant."
Frigga accepted the kunai without hesitation, holding it in her hand, "Thank you. I hope my suspicion is wrong and we won't need it."
Charles nodded, "Let's hope so."
Charles then used his magic to become invisible, while Frigga cast an illusion to create a duplicate of Jane, hiding the real Jane with a spell.
Soon, Malekith entered Frigga's chamber, quickly approaching Frigga and the illusion of Jane.
Frigga thought to herself, 'It seems my prediction was right.'
"Monster, step back," Frigga commanded.
"I might still spare your life."
Malekith, continuing to move toward them, replied, "I have quite a long life, woman."
"Who are you?" Frigga demanded.
"I am Malekith. I've come to reclaim what's mine."
As Malekith drew closer, Frigga glanced at Jane's illusion and suddenly attacked, slashing at Malekith's face with her short sword, infused with divine power.
Malekith pulled out his weapon and engaged in close combat with Frigga but quickly lost his weapon.
Watching this unfold, Charles, who knew the tragic outcome, could hardly believe how swiftly Frigga had the upper hand.
Frigga soon overpowered Malekith and held her short sword to his throat.
But just as she was about to finish him, the Cursed Warrior, Algrim, appeared from the side. In a single move, he disarmed Frigga and reached for her.
In that critical moment, Charles activated the Hiraishin technique, teleporting Frigga away from the Cursed Warrior's grasp.
After releasing Frigga's arm, Charles asked with concern, "Are you alright, my queen?"
Frigga showed a grateful expression and said, "Thank you for your help."
As Malekith saw Frigga escape his grasp, he roared in fury, "Kill him!"
The Cursed Warrior charged toward Charles and Frigga, while Malekith ran toward where Jane was hidden.
Seeing the incoming Cursed Warrior, Charles didn't bother using explosive tags or throwing kunai to test his strength. Instead, he clapped his hands together, extending his arms and shouting:
"Wood Style: Tree Binding Eternal Burial!"
Countless tree trunks erupted from Charles's hands, rushing toward the Cursed Warrior.
Unfazed, Algrim punched directly at the oncoming trunks.
"Boom!"
The tree trunks shattered instantly.
Seeing this, Charles clenched his hand, causing the broken trunks to swell and transform into a massive tree hammer, which slammed into the Cursed Warrior.
"Thud!"
The impact forced the Cursed Warrior to take a few steps back.
Charles was quite shocked—this being, who could withstand and counter Thor's hammer, truly lived up to his reputation.
Although Charles hadn't used his full strength, this kind of attack would have killed weaker hell lords, yet it barely scratched Algrim.
Meanwhile, Malekith had reached Jane and grabbed for her, only for his hand to pass through her as the illusion of Jane dissolved into nothingness.
Malekith, enraged, shouted, "Witch!"
He turned his gaze toward Frigga, who stood beside Charles, and demanded, "Where is the Aether?"
Frigga responded with disdain, "Do you think I would tell you?"
At that moment, Charles clapped his hands again and shouted, "Lightning Style: Thunder Strike!"
"Boom!"
A bolt of lightning descended from the sky, striking Malekith directly on the head.
As this happened, Thor rushed into the room with Mjölnir in hand. Seeing enemies in his mother's chamber, he immediately hurled his hammer at the Cursed Warrior.
Algrim, seeing the incoming Mjölnir, struck it with his fist, sending the hammer flying.
"Clang!"
Mjölnir flew off to the side even faster than it had come, smashing into a stone pillar.
After deflecting Mjölnir, Algrim quickly helped Malekith to his feet, and the two began retreating out of the palace.
Thor paused for a moment, stunned that his hammer had been so easily knocked aside.
Not even the Hulk had ever done that.
As he saw his enemies fleeing, Thor prepared to summon Mjölnir and land another blow.
Charles, however, made no move to stop them—he still needed Malekith to extract the Aether from Jane's body.
Thor, on the other hand, had no such plans to let them escape. He called Mjölnir back to him and prepared to attack again.
But Algrim, moving with incredible speed, jumped out of the palace and boarded a waiting ship. Despite Thor's best efforts, he was a step too slow, and his attack missed the ship.
Malekith and his forces quickly activated their cloaking device, vanishing from Asgard's sight.