Chapter 307: First Blood

13th May 2013, Royal Palace Asgard

(Jasmine Sayre POV)

"Fear makes companions of us all. What you're going to do is very hard, and very scary. You're right to be afraid, but don't let it rule over you, remember why you're doing this, why you're prepared to risk everything for this, and you'll pull through."

Loki gave Thor and his mother a longing look, "Glorious purpose indeed."

I chuckled, but stayed silent to Loki, "Good luck, God of Mischief."

I waved my hand and opened a portal, and Loki stepped through it, "Morrigan!" he spoke up. I turned and looked at him, "If anything happens, if I don't make it. I just wanted to say thank you. You have helped me more than you realize, and for that, I will forever be grateful."

I nodded, "It was a pleasure, Loki."

"Yes, it was."

He turned around and left through the portal. It felt oddly final, but I guess he knew the risks of his gambit. As for me, I had an army to lead, and parasites to slay. I slowly walked towards my allies, and prepared myself for one of the most important conflicts in my life, hoping that everything would be alright.

Slowly, I turned and moved towards Odin. Asgard's army had assembled, and their coordination and discipline were impressive. They stayed unmoving on the Bifrost bridge, attentive to their King's orders. I could sense the excitement and bloodlust from every single soldier.

I never understood Asgardian culture really. They celebrated death during combat and craved conflict. It must have been a headache for Odin, who probably sent them on quests for Glory or something as asinine. It was how he handled this part of their culture which was cemented before Odin was born, and which is used by him when he rallied the troops to conquer the nine realms before his ritual.

Frigga, Thor, and Odin greeted me with grim smiles. Yes, they understood that many of their people would not return home after today, but they will be free in their next life. It did not make things better for the prospect, but it is what it is.

The platform we were standing on, started levitating and moving towards the Bifrost. Odin was probably going to give his speech. I honestly don't think the soldiers even know what's at stake here.

When we arrived, we were facing the entire army, consisting of hundreds of thousands of warriors, ready to defend their homes. Odin looked at them for a good minute before speaking, "It has been a very long time since I have summoned Asgard's full army for battle. Even during the Frost Giants' foolish invasion of Midgard, only a fraction of our might was needed. Our forces, our warriors, are simply so powerful that we did not need to use our full strength."

The King of Asgard paused for a minute before continuing, "Which is why some of you are concerned as to what is ahead of us. The truth is that Asgard is threatened, our entire lifestyle, our culture, and our hopes and dreams are threatened by beings that hide in the shadows trying to destroy our homes with their cowardly means. They thrive on betrayal and death, but they are powerful and cunning. I am not commanding this attack as your king, but as a simple Asgardian, that is fighting a very serious threat alongside his Asgardian brothers and sisters. However, you will not directly fight the enemy, but the forces they recruited. Leave the rest to myself, Thor, and the Morrigan, we'll deal with the parasites ourselves. The enemy has hired whatever remained of the Dark Elves into an army. We will bring war to this army and decimate our enemies. We do this not for glory, not for the joy of battle, but for Asgard and its people. FOR ASGARD!"

The crowd bellowed back, "FOR ASGARD!!!"

The Bifrost opened and slowly, the army marched towards the realms of Svartalfheim, ready for battle. The speech did work very well to motivate the troops. I will admit that using the threat that the Shadows pose to them and their families, will motivate them to fight harder, to not surrender to the attractiveness of death in battle and to live on in Valhalla.

Instead of taking the Bifrost like the rest of the army, Odin withdrew his massive sword and with a slash created a portal towards our destination. Odin moved in, gave Frigga a kiss and went through waiting for us to follow. Thor nodded to his mother and went through as well. The plan was to leave Frigga to remain in Asgard and rule in Odin's absence should the conflict last longer.

Having no prior significant relationship with the woman, I prepared to turn and follow them. Frigga stopped me, "Please take care of them."

I paused at the Queen's pleading face, "I will do my best, Frigga, but I cannot promise their safety considering what we face. Should the plan be perfectly executed, then they shouldn't be harmed. But you know what they say, no plan survives the first contact with the enemy."

She nodded, "I thank you all the same."

I nodded, feeling a bit awkward with the encounter and entered the portal to Svartalfheim. As the portal closed behind me, I was taken aback by the view surrounding me. I had never been to this realm before, and I have to say that the Dark Elves living here must have felt at home. The sun was barely shining, surrounded by what seemed like a giant black cloud around the star.

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The environment itself was hostile. There was no vegetation in sight, only jagged rocks and boulders littering the landscape. The air was thick with an acrid smell, and the wind howled through the caverns and canyons, making it hard to hear anything else. It was a place that seemed devoid of any life, and I couldn't help but feel a sense of foreboding as I looked around.

I ignored the signs of ruined civilian settlements, lost to time. No one had lived in this place for many centuries at the very least. It was finally then that I noticed the fortifications that seemed to have escaped the ruins of time. They were formidable and imposing, built from black stone, and adorned with intricate carvings.

I received a message from Loki and felt his confirmation of his part of the plan. I looked towards the All-Father, and spoke up, "The Nidhogg has been released"

Odin nodded at me, and I prepared the portal to the realm of the shadows where Malekith's forces existed. The only reason I was able to access the realm itself was because of the Convergence. I studied the connection using the King of the Shadows' gift to Loki, and I was surprised to see that the realm wasn't even part of the world tree. It was more of an outlier, connected through the energies of Ragnarök, but not an actual part of the cycle. It was how they stayed connected when the realms collapsed.

I was able to use this connection as an anchor and use my cosmic energy to generate a giant circular portal, with a diameter as large as a skyscraper, and anchor it indefinitely. However, the anchoring part would depend on how long it took for the portal to stabilize. This way, I could use it to physically enter the other side and keep it open, which would allow me to complete my part of the plan. The portal was far more precise than whatever Odin could do with the Space Stone since Infinity stones tend to be very unreliable in different universes.

On the other side of the portal, an army of Dark Elves was gathered, probably surprised by the portal's appearance. Odin started the conflict by sending a slash of his Odinforce using his sword, which massacred over a thousand of the Dark Elves by itself.

Immediately, the Asgardian army charged towards their enemies with a savage fervor. Honestly, the Dark Elves reacted very well under the surprise, and immediately, went into formation and started fighting back.

Unfortunately for them, by the time they got their shit together, barely half of their forces remained. Everything seemed to be going well, Thor had destroyed their small ships, and their army was on the back foot, trying to stop the Asgardian onslaught. Everything was going too well, a fact that was rectified by Malekith's arrival.

The leader of the Dark Elves presented an imposing figure, with glowing red eyes that showcased his channeling of the Aether, the Reality Stone.

I still don't understand why someone would choose to absorb an Infinity stone into their being instead of putting it in a weapon and using it. Even the Celestials used them that way, to avoid any physical backlash and to guarantee far more power and control when using the stones.

Then Malekith decided that he didn't like that way of doing things, and chose to absorb a fucking Infinity stone. The fact that he hadn't blown up was a miracle unto itself. And he must have some rudimentary control over the stone, as he generated a blast of red light that killed an entire row of Asgardian soldiers which gave his forces enough time to push back.

Odin immediately shielded the remaining forces from the attack with a large runic shield and was joined by Thor to fight against Malekith, a fight that shouldn't be that difficult all things considered.

I was personally protected by my own platoon of Asgardians which were told to guard me until the portal stabilizes and to join the battle later, something that seemed to irk them for some reason. They probably felt that this was a cowardly role for the battle, but I didn't care. They were idiots and that wasn't my problem.

Unfortunately, I couldn't help Thor or Odin in this fight. The portal needed my full concentration, and I couldn't cast anything else until it's properly anchored. After all, this was a portal based on the constantly shifting dimensions during the convergence, and it was a connection to a realm that was hidden and not really connected to the core universe. It was a very difficult thing to maintain constantly, and even more difficult to do so automatically when it's anchored. The constant attacks with the Space Stone and the Reality Stone did not help matters in any way.

However, Thor and Odin seem to have things in hand. Malekith's initial attack might have been a rallying cry for the Dark Elves, but the leader himself was struggling. Thor sent concentrated lightning one bolt after another and then used a thunder punch to attack him further. Odin then bound the Dark Elf, ready to kill him, which he barely escaped using a blast powered by the Reality Stone to destroy the runic restraints.

Thor then threw Mjolnir towards the downed Elf and made it circle him, creating a small tornado that he channeled through the hammer. Downgraded hammer it might be, it was still a very good weapon. This time, Malekith used a different technique that created a dark wave of energy that disintegrated everything around him. Odin shielded himself and Thor, but many Asgardians and Dark Elves were turned to dust after the attack.

Huh, it seems the guy knows more than a single attack. Odin must have understood the dangers that Malekith truly represented with the Reality Stone in hand and created a giant glowing runic array that immediately immobilized the leader of the Dark Elves.

Malekith's forces watched in a mixture of fascination and worry, and the Aether slowly started leaving his body as he screamed in pain. When it was halfway towards Odin, giant black swords filled with dark energy materialized and attacked the Asgardian army. In this attack, over half of the attacking force was decimated. Odin needed to stop his attack on Malekith to properly defend himself.

I knew this type of attack. I was very familiar with them when I fought their owner and Odin recognized them as well, as he looked worried for the first time since the fight began.

A portal filled with green and black materialized itself, and a woman stepped out of it. It was one that I recognized, one that Odin recognized. Hela was here, and with this, the plan almost went out of the window.

She looked at her father and gave him a grin, "Well, Odin. Long time no see."

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