—Deep in the cosmos, the divine realm of Asgard—
"Jump engines disengaged. All ships switching to standard cruising mode."
Above the star-spanning continent of Asgard, three dazzling bursts of starlight lit up the skies.
The Macross-class interstellar cruisers from Earth had exited hyperspace, piercing through the void to arrive in Asgardian space.
"Thor, Loki—we've arrived."
Refreshed from her short nap, Kagura stepped back onto the bridge.
Her golden eyes lit up with a determined gleam as she stared at the magnificent realm floating before them.
"The journey went smoothly. Now, it's time to end this—with big sister Hela."
She couldn't help but remember the last time she'd come to Asgard—completely overwhelmed and clueless, as if she were a country girl stumbling into a palace.
But this time? Everything was different.
This time, she was returning by her own power—piloting a fleet she had built, leading humanity's first true voyage beyond the stars, to reclaim Asgard from Hela's grasp.
Man… when you put it that way…
'I'm amazing!'
(…Kagura: currently undergoing inflation.)
"You're right, Kagura. It's time to finish this."
Thor's expression was grim as he gripped his Stormbreaker tightly, eyes locked on the golden realm ahead.
That glorious celestial land was once his home.
And now, it would be his to reclaim.
"In the name of King Odin, and by the fury of the storm—I will succeed. I must succeed! For the glory of Asgard!"
"All ships, activate Level One battle protocol. Non-combat personnel, retreat to secure zones."
There was no time to waste.
Everyone was ready.
The moment had come to begin the assault on the divine realm of Asgard.
"Combat protocols uploaded to all ships via the VEDA quantum computer. Beginning Phase One operations."
Sitting at the center of the bridge, Kagura—commander of the Earth fleet—began issuing orders.
"Thor, my guy. To make sure this mission goes smoothly, you don't mind if I break a few things in your divine homeland, do you?"
"…Huh?"
Thor turned to her with a confused look. "Break… what exactly?"
"Oh, just what it sounds like!" Kagura replied cheerfully, throwing in a little cutesy charm for effect. Then she opened the comms.
"This is the Hyperion. Throne of Kings, Moonlit Throne, sync your main cannon targeting data with this ship and prepare for coordinated fire."
She gave Thor a pat on the stomach (because from her sitting position, she couldn't quite reach his shoulder).
"I'm going to destroy the Bifrost control hub. That way, big sis Hela won't be able to escape from Asgard—or call in reinforcements."
"Uh… Good idea, I guess," Thor replied, still hesitant.
He was probably mourning the loss of that absurdly expensive trans-dimensional gateway. "But… do we have to destroy it?"
"Oh, come on! What's the big deal?" Kagura shrugged. "You guys are just gonna blow it up yourselves eventually anyway—I mean, look at that axe of yours. It comes with its own Bifrost. You won't need the hub anymore!"
"This is Throne of Kings. Main cannon charged and synced. Target locked."
"This is Moonlit Throne. Cannon systems green, data link stable. Ready to fire on your command."
With both ships reporting in, Kagura wasted no time.
"Perfect. Countdown from three. Main cannons—fire!"
From the colossal starships, the dark matter turrets slowly turned, their glowing barrels aligning with the Bifrost's shimmering control nexus.
'BOOOOM—!!!'
A split second later, blinding black energy erupted from the cannons.
This was the kind of firepower that could vaporize a continent in an instant—designed for space combat across distances of hundreds of thousands of kilometers.
It could punch through asteroids like paper.
Giant battleships! Planet-busting cannons! Pure cosmic romance!
'CRAAANG—!!!'
In the next instant, the three ships unleashed their dark matter beams simultaneously.
With barely any resistance, the Bifrost control hub was obliterated—completely vaporized.
A searing shockwave tore down the Rainbow Bridge.
At the edge of the divine continent, a mushroom cloud bloomed like a flower from hell.
Water burst into steam, molten rock splashed into the sky, and the majestic Rainbow Bridge cracked apart at its center.
A gaping hole was ripped into Asgard's surface, right at the entrance from the cosmic corridor.
The whole scene…
…looked strangely like someone had taken a giant, gold-plated, sparkly cosmic pancake—and a certain silver-haired girl had taken a huge bite out of it.
"Ahem, cough cough..."
Staring at the now-burning remains of Asgard's Rainbow Bridge, Kagura nervously brushed aside a lock of her silver hair and carefully avoided looking at Thor's face.
"S-So… uh… that went pretty well, right? I mean… the attack definitely worked… The Rainbow Bridge hub is definitely out of commission now, yeah?"
Thor's expression was less than pleased.
A vein popped on his forehead, forming a distinct "#" mark as he growled, "Kagura. Tell me. Just how many times have you fired the main cannon of a Macross-class warship?"
"That's easy! This was the first time, of course!" Kagura replied, completely unashamed.
"It's not like we could test it back on Earth! If something went wrong, we'd probably turn the entire Mediterranean Sea into a giant seafood hot pot!"
"You knew how powerful it was—and you still fired THREE shots?!"
Thor grabbed her head between his massive fists and twisted it left and right like wringing out a towel.
"Look at this! You blew a whole chunk off the Asgardian continent! This isn't a pancake we can just patch up! How am I supposed to explain this to Odin when I get to Valhalla?!"
"OW OW OW! That hurts!" Kagura cried out, looking completely innocent.
"How was I supposed to know Asgard was this fragile?! I thought something as important as the Rainbow Bridge would've had shields or something! Wouldn't it have been super embarrassing if one shot didn't break through?"
"Embarrassing my hammer!" Thor snapped. "Forget it—once we deal with Hela, I'm coming back to deal with you, you little gremlin!"
"Wahh! Why are you so mean?!" Kagura whined, clutching her head with an exaggerated pout.
"This was totally part of the Asgard liberation plan!"
'BEEP BEEP! BEEP BEEP!'
Before their bickering could continue, the ship's warning system flared to life.
"Captain, high-energy projectiles detected—rapid approach!"
Out the viewport, massive shadowy blades streaked toward them from the direction of Asgard.
No doubt about it—those were Hela's conjured magic blades, imbued with enough divine energy to tear through Asgardian warships like paper.
"All ships, activate full defensive firepower! Focus shield energy on the incoming vectors!"
Kagura didn't hesitate. With a swift kick, she shoved Thor out of the way and returned to command mode.
"Do not underestimate those blades! They contain devastating energy. Prioritize deflecting their trajectory—do not try to tank them head-on!"
In an instant, the starry void erupted in a storm of light and fire.
All three Macross-class battleships opened fire at full capacity, filling the battlefield with a dense web of lasers and explosive intercepts, trying desperately to knock Hela's deadly blades off course.
But these weren't ordinary weapons—they were incredibly tough.
Even sustained bombardment from high-energy particle cannons barely managed to break them apart.
A few blades made it through the firestorm, slashing across the warships' energy shields and sending terrifying bursts of sparks flying.
In response, the shield generators surged, funneling energy to the impacted areas, reinforcing them just in time.
This was the cost of mortals trying to go toe-to-toe with gods—an uphill battle, won only through massive energy expenditure and split-second precision.
Only by pouring everything into their defenses could they redirect Hela's attacks and send the blades spinning harmlessly into the void.
And then—
A piercing wolf's howl echoed through the stars.
On the far end of the shattered Rainbow Bridge, the massive figure of Fenrir, the legendary wolf, raised its head and howled toward the heavens.
Hela's vanguard had arrived.
With that earth-shaking howl, Fenrir declared war on behalf of Hela—and her entire army.
And from the golden plains of Asgard's interstellar continent, a thick black mist began to rise.
It was her undead army.
The stuff of nightmares from Hel's domain—warriors of death and destruction, who once marched beside Hela and Odin to bring down world after world, civilization after civilization.
War… had begun.