Chapter Seventy-Two: The Invasion of the Dark Elves

London, Earth

Here, Thor found the missing Jane Foster and discovered that an immense and peculiar energy within her was steadily sapping her strength. With no other option, Thor decided to bring Jane back to Asgard for treatment.

Inside the Hall of Healing, Jane Foster lay upon the Soul Refining Furnace as Asgardian physicians checked her condition.

“What happened? What’s going on?” Arthur entered the sanctum, addressing Thor, who stood nearby, watching with concern.

“She’s ill. There’s a special energy inside her body, incredibly powerful,” Thor replied.

“Let me take a look,” Arthur said, approaching Jane Foster and placing his hand gently on her brow.

“It’s you! Aren’t you Aquaman, Arthur? You’ve come to Asgard too?” Jane exclaimed with delight, recognizing him.

“Yes, it’s me, Arthur. I’m glad to see you again,” Arthur responded warmly.

“You’re really popular now—my colleagues at the institute all love watching your videos!” Jane told Arthur with a smile.

“What videos?” Thor, standing by, couldn’t follow their conversation.

“After you left, more things happened on Earth. In the name of the Avengers, I set up a video platform where the team posts clips… You’ve just reminded me—I should film a documentary about Asgard later!” said Arthur.

“All right, let’s set that aside for now. Can you tell what’s wrong with her?” Thor asked.

Arthur extended his mental senses into Jane’s body and immediately sensed a familiar energy—similar to the Mind Stone’s, yet subtly different.

“This is the Aether I mentioned before—it’s inside her!” Arthur declared.

At that moment, Odin entered, his tone stern as he addressed Thor: “Do my words fall on deaf ears?”

“She’s ill, the Aether is inside her!” Thor explained hurriedly.

“What? That’s impossible!” Odin strode forward, placing his hand on Jane Foster’s arm. Where he touched, crimson energy flared beneath her skin.

“...Follow me,” Odin commanded, leading Thor, Jane, and Arthur to Asgard’s great library. From a shelf, he retrieved a tome chronicling the war between the Dark Elves and Asgard, and recounted for the three the Dark Elf King’s ambition and the origin of the Aether.

“If the Aether has reappeared, the Dark Elves will come for it soon,” Arthur warned.

“The Dark Elves were wiped out!” Odin insisted, unwilling to believe any had survived.

Arthur said nothing more. In a couple of days, you’ll see for yourself.

“Does the book mention how to extract it from my body?” Jane asked.

“Sorry, it does not,” Odin replied, turning and leaving.

Thor gazed deeply into Jane’s eyes, and Arthur regarded her as if she were a precious treasure. Arthur was determined to acquire the Aether within her—but when he tried to draw it out, it would not obey him. The Aether had recognized Malekith, the Dark Elf King, as its master for over a thousand years; it could only be extracted by Malekith’s hand.

…

Thor and Jane strolled through Asgard together, while Arthur trailed behind, filming with a compact camera. Ever since founding his video site, Arthur carried his camera everywhere, ready to capture anything interesting.

Arthur’s new armor even had a storage function, with space the size of a backpack—ample for his needs. He kept all his essentials inside.

“Hey, everyone! See this? This is the legendary realm of the gods—Asgard! Of course, it’s no legend, it’s real!” Arthur narrated, panning the camera around for a selfie.

“Up ahead are Thor and his girlfriend Jane Foster. Thor, say hello to our viewers.” Arthur turned the camera toward Thor and Jane.

“Uh… Hello, everyone, I’m Thor. Welcome to Asgard. This is my girlfriend, Jane.” “Hello, I’m Jane.” Both seemed a bit awkward, unused to this style of filming.

“All right, Thor, can you introduce your homeland to everyone?” Arthur asked.

“Sure… This is the Royal Palace of Asgard, and behind me are the dwellings of our people. See the bridge over the water in the distance? That’s the Bifrost, the Rainbow Bridge of Asgard!” Thor proudly described the sights.

Arthur aimed the camera where Thor pointed, switched to a wide-angle lens, and captured the breathtaking scenery.

“Thank you, Thor, for the introduction. Next up, I’ll take you to see the daily lives of Asgard’s people. This is Aquaman Arthur’s channel—if you enjoy my videos, remember to like, comment, and subscribe!” Arthur continued filming as he walked.

Meanwhile, Thor and Jane, finally alone together, grew closer as their conversation deepened, culminating in a kiss.

…

Fandral and Volstagg had gone to Vanaheim to suppress a rebellion, returning with a batch of dangerous criminals whom they imprisoned in Asgard’s dungeons. Little did they know that among these prisoners was Algrim, a servant sent by the Dark Elf King—one of the Dark Elves’ mightiest warriors.

The Dark Elf King had hidden a Cursed Stone inside Algrim’s body, allowing him to infiltrate Asgard and transform into a Cursed Warrior from within, coordinating the Dark Elves’ invasion. The Cursed Stone, crafted from trace amounts of Aether, would grant the Dark Elves unmatched strength and resilience.

In the dungeon, Algrim dug the Cursed Stone from his flesh and crushed it in his fist. The Aether-infused energy surged into his body. Instantly, he was engulfed in crimson flames, radiating a red glow. The other prisoners, terrified, battered the energy shields in vain attempts to escape.

Boom!

A burst of red energy exploded outward, vaporizing four nearby prisoners into black dust. Algrim’s body swelled, growing larger and taller, and when the searing energy faded, he stood transformed—a Cursed Warrior, more than three meters tall.

With a single punch, the Cursed Warrior shattered the energy barrier. Two dungeon guards witnessed this and charged, their weapons striking but unable to pierce his defenses.

The Cursed Warrior seized both guards by the throat, lifting them into the air. With two sickening cracks, he snapped their necks.

He then moved from cell to cell, smashing through the energy shields and releasing all the prisoners. Chaos erupted in the dungeon, alarms blared, and Asgardian guards, alerted to the riot, grabbed their weapons and rushed to the scene.

The Cursed Warrior stopped before Loki’s cell, observing the elegantly dressed man. He chose not to free him, and turned to leave.

“Take the left staircase,” Loki advised calmly.

The Cursed Warrior took the left staircase—it led straight to Odin’s palace.

Guards poured into the dungeons, wielding the latest Nidavellir-forged energy weapons. Golden blasts cut down escaping prisoners one after another.

…

Thor, Jane, and Thor’s mother, Frigga, heard the alarms and immediately suspected Loki was attempting another escape. Thor flew toward the prison.

Arthur, meanwhile, went to Jane and Queen Frigga’s side. “There’s an enemy invasion. I’ll stay with you and protect you,” he said.

The three hurried back to the palace, where Odin had already stationed soldiers to guard the royal treasury and dispatched reinforcements to the dungeons.

“It’s nothing but a minor disturbance. No need to worry,” Odin reassured Frigga.

“Take her to her room. I’ll come find you when it’s safe. Arthur, you should go too,” Odin instructed.

“Be careful,” Frigga said, leading Arthur and Jane away.

Just then, a massive warship and countless smaller vessels, cloaked in invisibility, arrived at Asgard. They were detected by Heimdall as they approached the Rainbow Bridge; with great effort, Heimdall managed to destroy one of the smaller ships.

The remaining ships sped toward the palace. Asgard’s defensive cannons opened fire, blasting at the nimble, blade-shaped vessels. These ships, shaped like knives, had no offensive weapons but were swift, heavily armored, and numerous, all converging on the palace.

Asgard’s skyships were deployed to intercept, attacking the oncoming vessels, but the sheer numbers overwhelmed them, and several enemy ships broke through, closing in on the palace.

Heimdall thrust the divine sword into the portal array, activating the palace’s energy shield. But before the shield could fully envelop the palace, it abruptly vanished.

The Cursed Warrior had infiltrated the palace’s energy core control room and destroyed the shield’s device. Without its core, the palace’s defenses failed.

Through a hail of cannon fire, one blade-shaped ship skillfully dodged every attack and crashed directly into the grand hall. The impact shook the palace to its foundations, shattering columns and crushing countless guards beneath its hull. After destroying a swath of golden pillars, the ship finally lost its momentum and came to a halt in the midst of the shattered hall.

…