Mavuika and Hela turned into two streaks of light, one gold-red and one dark green, shooting towards the Golden Palace at maximum speed.
Along the way, Dark Elves' Aircraft tried to intercept them. Mavuika didn't even slow down; she just waved her hand, and the Eternal Flame surged out like a tide, vaporizing the Aircraft along with the pilots inside.
Hela was even more direct. Wherever she passed, Death Divine Power swept out like a scythe. All enemies within a hundred meters, whether in the air or on the ground, instantly withered and died.
When they burst through the Golden Palace gates, the battle outside had already fully erupted.
Odin's Eternal Spear released thunder that pierced heaven and earth, destroying three Warships in a single strike.
Asgard's fleet rose from the harbor, engaging the Dark Elves' fleet in a brutal low-altitude boarding battle.
The Valkyrie Legion, led by Brynhildr, formed a battle array, piercing into the enemy crowd like a golden dagger.
The warriors of the Death Guard scattered into small squads, specifically hunting down small Aircraft and Dark Elf soldiers that had landed.
But there were too many Dark Elves.
And they were clearly prepared, with clear tactics: using the fleet to pin down Asgard's main force, using airborne troops to destroy key facilities, and using elite squads to carry out decapitation missions.
One of these elite squads was ascending through layers of defense, rushing towards the depths of the Golden Palace, towards Frigga's chambers.
Their Captain was a tall figure shrouded in heavy black armor.
Scarlet patterns flowed across the surface of the armor, and every step left a corrosive footprint on the ground.
Cursed Warrior.
A killing machine created by the Dark Elves using ancient taboos, at the cost of Burning life to trade for power comparable to the gods for a short time.
Their goal was clear: Frigga, or any figure of sufficient importance within the Golden Palace.
When Mavuika and Hela rushed into the chambers, they saw Frigga holding Thor in one arm and Loki in the other, standing within a Protection Array in the center of the room.
The array emitted a soft milky-white light, isolating all the explosions and shouts from outside. Frigga's face showed no panic, only calmness and resolve.
"Mother!" Mavuika called out urgently.
"I knew you would come." Frigga smiled, but the smile quickly faded. "How is the situation outside?"
"A full-scale raid by the Dark Elves. Their numbers far exceed estimates," Hela said succinctly.
"Father is holding the front, but a squad has ascended through the lines and is heading here. Mother, you and my brothers must move to a safer place."
Frigga shook her head. "This is one of the most heavily protected areas of the Golden Palace. There is no better place to hide."
Just then, a dull thud came from outside the chambers.
It wasn't an explosion, but the sound of something heavy slamming against the Protection Barrier.
Once, twice, thrice... The light of the barrier began to flicker.
"They're here." Hela gripped mjolnir, and the dark green Death Divine Power rose again.
"Sister, you protect Mother and my brothers. I'll go—"
"No." Mavuika interrupted her, a flash of determination in her golden eyes. "We go together."
She walked to Frigga's side and placed both hands on the edge of the Protection Array.
The Eternal Flame was gently infused into the array. The milky-white runes began to take on a gold-red hue, and the barrier's strength instantly increased several times over.
At the same time, she said to Hela, "We can't just defend passively. If the Dark Elves dare to raid, they must have something to rely on."
Hela nodded. "Then we strike first. Before they completely destroy the barrier."
The sisters exchanged a look, reaching a silent understanding in an instant.
Mavuika maintained the reinforcement of the barrier while beginning to mobilize the warm golden light that had just awakened within her—the rules of the Resurrection Poem.
Although she couldn't fully invoke it yet, she had to start trying to use it.
If she could activate the rules of the Resurrection Poem, this war would become much easier.
Hela had already reached the chamber door. She pushed open the heavy gilded doors with one hand. Outside, at the end of the corridor, the black-armored Cursed Warrior was tearing the body of a third Asgardian Guard in half.
Blood splattered onto the murals on the wall—murals depicting the glory of Asgard's conquest of the Nine Realms.
The Cursed Warrior looked up.
There was no face under the helmet, only two clusters of Burning scarlet flames.
It looked at Hela, then at the chambers behind her, and silently charged at her.
Hela smiled. That smile was as cold and sharp as an unsheathed blade.
She stepped out of the chambers, mjolnir spinning in her hand as the dark green divine power began to condense.
Behind her, Mavuika's voice came through the Fire transmission: "Hela, be careful."
Hela didn't answer.
Because she had already charged forward.
mjolnir collided with the Cursed Warrior's swinging fist. Death and cursed energy exploded, sending spiderweb-like cracks across the walls of the entire corridor.
The war had begun in the deepest part of the Golden Palace.
The Impact exploded outward from the point of collision. The murals depicting Asgard's conquest epics on both walls instantly cracked, and colored fragments fell like rain.
The thousand-year-old stone slabs on the floor shattered inch by inch, caving in to form a shallow pit five meters in diameter.
Hela slid back three steps, each step leaving a deep furrow in the ground.
Her arm holding the hammer trembled slightly, and a tearing pain came from her palm—the recoil of pure strength.
The Cursed Warrior remained motionless.
The "eyes" Burning with scarlet flames turned to Hela. There was no emotion, only pure, savage violence intent on tearing all life apart.
"Interesting." Hela licked the corner of her mouth, her dark green eyes lighting up.
It wasn't fear, but excitement—the almost morbid excitement of encountering a truly powerful foe.
The next thirty seconds were a brutal exchange of pure strength and skill.
The Cursed Warrior's attack pattern was simple to the point of being crude: charging, punching, smashing.
No flash, no technique, only absolute strength and a madness that completely ignored defense.
Every punch could leave a pit half a meter deep in the Adamantine walls, and every step could crush a three-meter-square area of the floor.
In terms of pure strength, he was even superior to Hela.
Even more terrifying was his defense. The black sword Hela condensed could only leave faint white marks on him.
mjolnir's heavy strikes on his chest could force him back but could not shatter that strange armor.
"So tough..." Hela remarked, squinting her eyes as she pulled back after an exchange.
She saw clearly now: those Scarlet Runes weren't decorations, but living things, throbbing like blood vessels.
Whenever the black sword or mjolnir hit the armor, the runes would light up, absorbing, converting, and dispersing the Death Divine Power contained in her attack throughout the armor.