The Dark Elf warriors have fierce firepower but their bodies were surprisingly fragile.
When the first wave of Dark Elf soldiers arrived and saw that their opponent was just a seemingly weak human from Earth, they made a fatal mistake.
Following Malekith's orders, they abandoned their advantage in firepower to try and capture Kagura Hitomi alive.
They realized how wrong they were just a second later.
With the incredible mobility granted by the "Charged Omni-Directional Maneuver" skill and the enhancements of her "White Moon" combat suit.
Kagura tore through the enemy ranks like a whirlwind.
It had been a while since she'd felt this kind of exhilarating dominance on the battlefield.
Her vibranium blades gleamed silver as they effortlessly sliced through Dark Elf bodies, spraying black blood and sparks into the air.
Only then did the Dark Elves realize they weren't just dealing with an ordinary human.
And to make things worse for them, Loki was right there too moving like a phantom, using illusions and daggers to take out any Dark Elves trying to flank or surround Kagura.
The first wave didn't last long.
Once they were eliminated, Kagura and Loki pressed on toward the upper deck of the warship where Malekith awaited.
Unlike the warriors of Asgard, Dark Elves lacked godlike physical prowess.
In actual combat, they were evenly matched with elite human soldiers at best.
Against someone like Captain America, they might even be the ones at a disadvantage.
It wasn't hard to imagine someone like him or Kagura running wild through their ranks.
Maybe that's why the Dark Elves leaned so heavily into advanced technology and long-range weaponry, rather than traditional melee combat.
From what Kagura had seen so far, even their so-called "Cursed Warriors" gave off the vibe of long-range DPS characters who still hadn't let go of their melee dreams.
She also noticed something else: the Dark Elves' reliance on weapons and tech due to their physical vulnerability... reminded her a lot of Earth's own civilization.
This was one of the reasons she was so interested in acquiring their technology.
If Asgardian tech only worked in certain specialized ways and required heavy adaptation to be usable by Earth's forces, the Dark Elves' weapons like guns, grenades, and the like could be deployed almost immediately.
Just imagine: when Thanos's Black Order invades Earth with their army, humanity stands united in resistance.
As the horde charges in, Earth's forces respond with an overwhelming barrage of dark-energy rifles, black hole grenades raining down like a deadly storm, and dark matter warships hovering above, unleashing fire from the skies.
At that point... even the big purple guy might have to rethink invading Earth.
A sudden roar of gunfire snapped Kagura out of her thoughts.
"Hey! You crazy girl! You better have a backup plan, or we're toast!" Loki shouted from behind cover. "What's with these guys?! They're coming at us like they've overdosed on adrenaline!"
After the first wave was repelled, the enemy changed tactics switching to a dense barrage of long-range firepower that pinned Kagura and Loki down behind some makeshift cover.
Dark-energy rifles packed a serious punch.
Even with her energy shield, Kagura could only take two or three hits before the arc reactor capacitor was completely drained.
Ugh.
The more she fought, the more she wanted their tech for herself.
"I thought you said you'd run if things looked bad," she teased. "You talked a big game, but here you are, still standing by my side."
"I'm keeping my promise, okay?!" Loki shot back. "I said I'd be the one to kill you. If you die by anyone else's hand, I won't accept it!"
"Ahaha, classic tsundere behavior straight out of a textbook," Kagura grinned. "Don't worry. I do have a plan. All we need to do... is wait."
"Wait?" Loki blinked. "You do realize the longer we stay here, the higher our chances of dying horribly, right?"
"Let's just relax a bit and believe me," Kagura said with a calm smile. "Once they bring out their next weapon... that's our cue to strike back."
"What weapon?"
"You'll see. The moment they realize firepower alone can't finish us off, they'll throw it in."
Peeking through a gap in the cover, Kagura watched the front lines carefully, tracking even the subtlest shifts in the battle.
The Dark Elves had enough firepower to keep her and Loki pinned but they couldn't get close enough to capture them.
Even if they gave up on capturing and just tried to kill them, their flimsy bodies made it nearly impossible to overpower the duo, especially now that the last Cursed Warrior had already been taken down.
The two of them had their backs to the only exit from the chamber.
The Dark Elves couldn't fully surround them, and rifles alone weren't enough.
At this point, there was only one option left for the Dark Elves.
The weapon Kagura had been waiting for: the black hole grenade.
This devastating device could create a temporary micro-black hole at the center of its explosion, sucking in and annihilating everything nearby.
Because it literally tore through space itself, no energy shield or physical armor could block it.
Not even the nearly indestructible Cursed Warriors could survive a direct hit.
Naturally, using such a weapon inside a warship came with strict limitations.
That's probably why the Dark Elves had held off on deploying it... until now.
"There it is!" Kagura's eyes lit up as she spotted a small cylindrical object flying toward them.
"Crap! A grenade!" Loki dove to the ground. "I knew it! Following you is going to get me killed one of these days!"
But sometimes, a desperate moment is the perfect opportunity to break a deadlock.
In a blur of motion, Kagura sprang from cover, leaping forward.
Two direct hits from energy pulses slammed into her shield, one aimed at her waist but the shield held just long enough, buying her a split-second opening.
Then, with a twist and a jump, Kagura spun around mid-air and delivered a flying kick.
[Charged Omni-Directional Maneuver: Activated]
[Energy Conversion: Activated]
While her skill propelled her forward with high-speed agility, she also activated "Energy Conversion" doubling the kinetic force of her kick and transferring it into the grenade.
Double the momentum.
Double the fun.
The Dark Elves had set the grenade's timer perfectly, expecting it to explode the moment it reached Kagura and Loki.
But what they didn't expect... was that she was waiting for this moment.
Just before detonation, her kick sent the grenade spinning 180 degrees midair and back toward the Dark Elf front lines, faster than it came.
"!!!"
'BOOM—!'
Space imploded. The enemy line crumbled.
"Heh! Nailed it!" Kagura landed lightly and dusted off her hands. "Alright, let's go! The bridge should be just ahead!"