Herta and Asta naturally had no objections.
In fact, you could say this had been one of their goals all along.
No matter how much things shifted, their core essence remained the same; achieving their objectives while pivoting away from an ending they disliked was hardly a challenge for them.
"Fine by me."
Herta nodded with an air of clinical indifference.
With a brief warning from Odin to "stay still," the three were enveloped by a swirling ring of glowing Runes before vanishing on the spot.
When they reappeared, they were standing once again before the grand doors Herta had recently exited.
While Asgardian sorcery couldn't hold a candle to Kamar-Taj when it came to spatial manipulation, Odin was right there—Herta wasn't about to go opening her own portals on a whim.
"Your Majesty?"
Frigga's voice drifted from behind them. The trio turned to see her, her face still etched with a lingering, frantic concern. As if confused by Odin's sudden presence, she asked, "How goes the battle?"
"There is no need to worry about the front," Odin replied, his voice steady and resonant, betraying none of the weariness one might expect from an old man fresh from the fray. "Our allies have brought formidable strength to our side. The Dark Elves' defeat is already written."
As he spoke, his gaze shifted toward Herta.
Only then did Frigga take notice of the two young women standing beside the King. She was already well-acquainted with Asta, but Herta was an unexpected face.
"You are... the lady from The Blue?"
Herta's beauty was often overshadowed by her peerless intellect and her miraculous inventions, but to someone unaware of her status or accolades, her appearance was undeniably striking. Frigga certainly remembered that face.
"Indeed. It seems my reputation is enough to save me the trouble of an introduction. I suppose that's one perk of being famous."
Herta didn't sound arrogant or self-satisfied as she said this; her expression was flat, merely stating a simple fact.
"And of course, I know you, Frigga. Wife of Odin, Princess of Vanaheim, Queen of Asgard—and a witch of notable talent." Herta offered a thin smile.
"I am honored to be remembered by the great Genius of the Galaxy, Madam Herta."
Though she wasn't sure why the uncrowned sovereign of The Blue had appeared so suddenly alongside Odin, Frigga could sense no malice from her.
Whether as a Queen or simply out of respect for Herta's legendary achievements, Frigga had every reason to return the gesture of goodwill.
"We are here for the Aether," Odin interrupted, cutting through the pleasantries. "The Aether is the heart of Malekith's ambitions. This reckless assault by the Dark Elves was nothing more than a distraction to give him an opening to seize it."
Frigga was well aware of that. It was the very reason she was there—to ensure the Aether remained safe, even at the cost of her life.
What she didn't understand was Odin's presence. In the threads of the future, this shouldn't have happened; otherwise, she wouldn't have been fated to fall while under his protection.
She turned a questioning look toward Odin, only to be met with a gaze that was heavy, complex, and filled with a new, ironclad resolve.
...I see.
Having spent thousands of years together, Frigga understood his choice without a single word being exchanged.
For so long, Odin had tried to fight fate, only to be worn down by repeated failures until he eventually stopped resisting the momentum of destiny.
Herta's arrival was the greatest divergence in the timeline they had ever seen. Was it because of her that Odin had chosen to defy fate once more?
Frigga didn't know for certain—Odin's eyes held too much to unpack—but it didn't matter. She often joked that she was the wisest person in all of Asgard, but in matters like this, she never doubted her husband's choices.
"We are of one mind, then."
Finally, Frigga simply gave him a knowing, intimate smile.
With their goals aligned, the group entered the vaulted sanctuary. When Jane saw Herta and Asta return with Odin and Frigga in tow, the crushing weight of her isolation finally lifted.
Even with her remarkable courage, she couldn't help but feel terrified in a crisis where she had absolutely no control.
Fortunately, that fear was now a thing of the past.
Odin clearly had his grievances with her, Asta wasn't exactly a combatant, and Herta's current attitude was a bit of a wild card, but Frigga had been nothing but kind. Besides, with Odin and Herta standing right there, who could possibly touch her?
"I assume there's no issue if I extract the Reality Stone now?" Since the All-Father himself was present, Herta didn't see the need for further restraint.
Doing this in his absence would have been an act of "act first, ask later" disrespect—hardly the best look for interstellar diplomacy. But with him standing there, as long as he gave the nod, there would be no problem at all. And Odin, of course, wasn't about to cause friction over such a triviality.
"Will I be in any danger?"
Jane's expression stiffened. She had just been thinking about how safe she was, and yet, before she could even give her own consent, Herta had already scheduled her for surgery.
She knew she wasn't exactly in a position to refuse, but still...
"Please, don't worry. Madam Herta would never let anything happen to you," Asta said, offering a comforting word.
Admittedly, Herta's bedside manner left something to be desired, but whenever she encountered something that piqued her curiosity, that side of her inevitably slipped out.
Herta, catching herself, gave a small laugh. "Quite the cautious one, aren't you? While this is a fair trade of interests, you can rest easy knowing I'm the one handling it. Even if something did go wrong, I could bring you back."
Jane had spent enough time chatting with Asta throughout the day to understand the sheer weight of Herta's genius. She found she could trust the woman's guarantee.
"So... how do we start? Right here?" Jane looked around the room, confused.
"Exactly. It'll be over in a flash." Herta had already studied three Infinity Stones; she was intimately familiar with their energy signatures.
With a quick pulse of her perception, she knew exactly how the Aether was dispersed within Jane, where it sat, how to draw it together, and how to peel it away from her biology.
Before Jane could spiral into further worry, Herta raised her right hand. As the energy began to pull, Jane felt an uncontrollable, restless heat surging through her limbs, eventually coalescing in her chest.
Then, tiny grains of pitch-black particles, shimmering with a faint red glow, began to drift out of her chest like dust.
They swirled toward Herta's palm, merging into a viscous, fluid substance. It hadn't fully taken shape yet, but the process wouldn't take long.
Except for Asta, the others were stunned by how quickly the matter was resolved. Jane patted herself down, finding she felt perfectly fine.
But before she could dwell on it, a deafening CRASH shattered the silence of the room.
As Malekith, King of the Dark Elves, stepped through the ruins of the door with a smug, triumphant grin, the eyes of everyone in the room settled squarely on him.
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.