After tearing through the dense defensive lines of the Dark Elf warriors, Kagura and Loki pushed forward, heading toward the top-level bridge of the Dark Elves' warship where their king, Malekith, awaited.
Despite being the flagship of the Dark Elf fleet, the interior structure of the massive ship was surprisingly straightforward.
Perhaps due to its relatively modest size, it just a few hundred meters in length and the layout of the compartments was simple and efficient.
After locating the central lift, Kagura and Loki ascended toward the command center of the vessel.
After a quick scan revealed that the ship's command sector spanned two levels.
The upper level housed the primary bridge where Malekith likely resided.
Below it sat a circular chamber clearly meant for equipment maintenance and internal security operations.
This lower chamber was packed with defensive gear and cleverly designed cover points, clearly built as a last-stand bunker for security personnel in case of an enemy breach, serving as the final line of defense for the ship's control center.
Ever since their assault began, storming in from the escort ship and cutting their way up through the decks, Kagura had been keeping a close eye on the ship's interior design.
Though Rhodes Island Industries had dabbled in similar designs back on Earth, neither in this life nor in her past had she or humanity at large, even in the MCU accumulated much experience in building spacefaring warships.
This solo assault gave her a rare opportunity to study firsthand how a true interstellar civilization structured its warcraft and maybe even borrow a few brilliant ideas.
Take this circular chamber, for instance.
Positioned right between the bridge and the rest of the ship, it acted as a strategic choke point.
As long as this room held out, the entire ship's command functions remained protected.
So, to reach the warped, vengeance-obsessed king of the Dark Elves, Malekith, Kagura would have to break through this last bastion.
Of course, their chaotic intrusion had not gone unnoticed. There was no way Malekith would sit idly by while enemies stormed his flagship.
With the last of his Cursed Warriors slain and his common troops unable to halt the intruders, Malekith made his move.
After some consideration, he deployed his final Dark Elf general outfitted with their most advanced gear.
And now, standing in Kagura and Loki's path, was a towering figure over two meters tall, clad in pitch-black armor, wielding a plasma blade and a dark-energy rifle.
A Dark Elf mech warrior.
Whoa. Kagura blinked, impressed. A Dark Elf version of Iron Man? Seriously?!
It was hard not to marvel at how different species in this universe when faced with escalating threats, they tended to arrive at similar technological solutions.
"Mr. Stark, can you hear me?" Kagura teased through the comms. "You're not going to believe this, but I just ran into what looks like a Dark Elf knockoff of Iron Man!"
"A little taller, a little bulkier but otherwise, it's like someone copied your homework!"
"Hitomi! You're alive, thank god!" came Tony Stark's voice, thick with relief.
"Once your comms cut out after boarding the mothership, we lost contact. And with the air battle over New York heating up, I haven't been able to break away to help—"
"Oh, no worries! I'm all good!"
"Hang tight—I'll try to get to you," Tony continued. "And also, please, for the love of all things god, don't call that thing Iron Man."
"That... bootleg mess is not me. Call it, I dunno, 'Dark Elf War Machine' or something. That's less insulting."
Rhodey silently gave that one a thumbs-down.
"Mr. Stark, if you can just keep New York skies under control, that's more than enough support for me. As for this situation—I'll handle it."
With the comms shut, Kagura turned her gaze forward.
Tension crackled in the air.
The mech raised its rifle at them, plasma blade drawn, taking an aggressive stance that screamed: Come at me—I'm ready for both range and melee.
"Alright, girl," Loki muttered.
"Any ideas? This thing was once said to be tough even for the ancient Asgardian army to handle."
"The Dark Elves barely made a handful of them back then, since they were crazy expensive. Think you can take it?"
"Mmm... gonna be a tough one," Kagura admitted, gripping her vibranium blade as her holographic interface flickered with data.
She frowned.
[Reinforced Dark Matter Armor: Vibranium blade penetration probability – 1.9%]
[Quantum-Shift Energy Constraining Field: No detectable weak frequency—beam weapons ineffective]
[Dark Elf Elite Mech Suit – Threat Level: Extreme]
[No effective breach strategy identified]
It wasn't about how much danger the mech posed to her, it was that its armor was stronger than the hull plating of the warship itself.
Combined with an energy field that nullified most conventional energy weapons, even their usual anti-ship tactics were useless.
And even her trusty vibranium blade barely stood a chance of getting through that armor.
She had to admit it: even with miracle materials like vibranium, neither she nor Earth's scientists could match a civilization with tens of thousands of years of experience in material science.
Still, that didn't mean she was out of options.
"Loki, my guy, here's the thing: weapons have limits," she said calmly, stepping forward while opening her Infinite Concept System's skill synthesis panel.
"From bullets and blades to high-energy particles... the more you push the material limits, the weaker it becomes, every weapon have it limits."
"Unless... you go beyond the concept of weapons themselves."
"What the hell are you talking about now?" Loki asked, visibly baffled.
"Ahaha, nothing serious just dropping a cool line," Kagura said with a smirk, gripping her blade with both hands. "Let me ask you this can water cut through steel?"
[Deep Memory Scan Complete – Memory Fragment Located]
[Existing Skill System Link Confirmed]
[Concept Skill Fusion Successful]
[New Offensive Skill Data Acquired]