She turned her head slowly and stiffly.
What she saw was Minerva's face, inches away. That face, always calm and ripple-free, as perfect as a work of art, still held no expression, but the azure light in those optical sensors was dimming and scattering at an unprecedented speed.
What she saw was a pitch-black, menacingly shaped blade, its edges flowing with ominous dark red energy patterns, piercing through the very center of the combat suit on Minerva's chest—a suit imbued with "Starlight Protection" by Frigga and reinforced with Uru metal—without any resistance, the tip of the blade less than an inch from her own back.
What she saw was, behind Minerva, a tall, gaunt, pale-skinned man wearing menacing dark gold bone armor and holding a strangely shaped long blade, slowly stepping out from a spatial rift that had not yet fully closed. On his face was a cruel and joyful grin; it was none other than the leader of Thanos's Black Order—Corvus Glaive!
"No... no..." Artoria's lips trembled, emitting a broken, airy sound. Her mind went blank, her soul seemingly frozen and torn apart in an instant. Everything before her eyes became blurred and distorted; only the glaring black blade on Minerva's chest and the rapidly dimming blue light remained incomparably clear, incomparably blinding.
"Mission... failed..." Minerva's electronic voice sounded, unprecedentedly weak and intermittent, accompanied by static, "Core... damaged... protocol... offline..."
Her body lost all strength and slumped forward.
Artoria subconsciously reached out her trembling arms to catch her falling body. What she touched was the rapidly cooling bionic skin, the terrible wound on her chest that had pierced the energy core, and the rapidly extinguishing signs of life. She could "feel" the precise energy circulation inside Minerva collapsing, that unique consciousness fluctuation rapidly dissipating, and that warm and stable bond connected to her soul being devoured by cold death and nothingness.
"Minerva! Minerva!! No—!!!" Artoria let out a heart-wrenching, inhumanly shrill scream. Tears instantly blurred her vision, and immense grief and fear engulfed her like a tsunami. She frantically tried to mobilize the power of the Herrscher of Truth, attempting to "understand" and "repair" that terrible wound, but the annihilation force attached to Corvus Glaive's weapon, specifically targeting high-energy life forms and mechanical constructs, was like the most vicious plague, frantically destroying every structure of Minerva's core, preventing any possibility of repair.
"What a touching... master-servant bond." Corvus Glaive leisurely withdrew his long blade, bringing out a spray of pale golden energy fluid. He licked the tip of the blade, revealing a look of intoxication. "A nice soul flavor... pity, it's just a machine. However, being able to make you suffer so much is worth it."
He looked at Loki, who was stunned by the sudden change and then had a flash of ecstasy in his eyes, and said coldly: "Trash, having to have me clean up the mess myself. My Lord Thanos is very disappointed in you."
Just then— "Loki!!!" A roar full of thunderous fury exploded on the top floor like a bolt from the blue! Immediately after, a golden lightning bolt struck fiercely between Loki and Corvus Glaive, forcing them both back! Thor's figure landed heavily on the platform. He was covered in blood, his armor damaged, but his eyes burned with monstrous rage, and arcs of electricity surged from mjolnir in his hand. Behind him, Tony, Steve, Natasha, Barton, and several Schicksal Valkyries also followed closely.
They were all stunned by the scene before them. They saw Artoria kneeling on the ground, holding Minerva, whose chest had been pierced and who had already lost all signs of life, in her arms. They saw the tears on her face mixed with endless grief, despair, and madness, and they saw the terrifying Corvus Glaive and the grinning Loki.
"You... are too late..." Artoria raised her head, her green eyes bloodshot, tears rolling down mixed with the energy fluid splashed by Minerva, her voice hoarse like sandpaper rubbing, "Minerva... Minerva she..."
The rage in Thor's eyes grew even more intense, staring fixedly at Corvus Glaive and Loki: "What... have you done to her?!"
"Just cleared away an annoying toy." Corvus Glaive said indifferently, pointing his long blade at Thor, "Now, it's your turn. Just right, I'll offer you and the Tesseract to My Lord Thanos together."
The battle broke out again. Thor roared and lunged at Corvus Glaive, thunder colliding wildly with that blade of annihilation. Tony, Steve, and the others also roared and joined the fray, surrounding and attacking Loki and Corvus Glaive. The Schicksal Valkyries quickly dispersed, some assisting in the attack, while others vigilantly guarded around Artoria. At the same time, someone tried to check Minerva's condition, but after just one look at the terrifying wound and the completely silent energy reaction, they shook their heads heavily.
Artoria turned a deaf ear to the battle around her. She just held Minerva's cooling body tightly, pressing her face against her lusterless silver hair, tears pouring out like a broken dam, and suppressed sobs like an injured young beast coming from her throat. She could feel the body in her arms stiffening, and feel that unique bond breaking. The perspective of the Herrscher of Truth allowed her to "see" the miserable state of the core, which was completely shattered and contaminated by annihilation energy, which meant... true, irreversible "death".
No... it shouldn't be like this... we agreed... you were supposed to put your own safety first... why did you...
Immense self-reproach, regret, and pain cut at her heart like countless dull knives. If she hadn't charged in rashly... If she had been more vigilant... If she had been stronger...
I don't know how long it had been, perhaps only a few minutes, but it felt as long as a century. Under Thor's violent thunder and the combined efforts of everyone, Corvus Glaive saw the situation was unfavorable and used his spatial ability to force his way out, leaving only a harsh threat of "My Lord Thanos will come to take it himself" before disappearing without a trace. Loki was knocked down by a heavy hammer blow from Thor and tied up tightly with magic ropes. Tony took the opportunity to rush over and forcibly shut down the Tesseract's energy output. The azure light at the top of Stark Tower finally went out completely, and the spatial rift in the sky also disappeared completely.
The battle was over. The invasion was repelled, the portal closed, and the enemies were either fled or captured.
But the joy of victory did not reach Artoria's heart in the slightest.
She was still kneeling there, holding Minerva, as if isolated from the noisy, busy World filled with post-battle cleanup and reporting sounds. Thor tied up Loki and walked over, looking at Artoria and Minerva, who had lost her life in her arms. The eyes of this unyielding Thor were also filled with grief and guilt. Steve, Tony, and the others also gathered around, watching this scene, silent, their faces full of heaviness and self-reproach. It was they who came late; it was they who failed to prevent the tragedy from happening.
Durandal walked over. This strongest Valkyrie of Schicksal had also restrained the killing intent from the battlefield. She knelt on one knee in front of Artoria, her icy blue eyes fixed on the wound of Minerva in Artoria's arms, then looked at Artoria's out-of-focus, tear-filled green eyes, and after a moment of silence, said in her unique, cold, yet with a hint of imperceptible gentleness voice:
"My condolences, Commander. Your companion... she fulfilled her vow of protection until the very last moment. This is the highest honor for a warrior."
Artoria didn't react, as if she hadn't heard.
Durandal paused, took out a metal box glowing with a soft white light from her armor's storage space, and placed it gently beside Artoria.
"This is the 'Life Weave' repair stock solution and'Star Remains' basic materials that we at Schicksal have researched and stockpiled during our long-term confrontation with the Honkai and various types of damage. They contain pure life energy and highly compatible material templates, and have excellent effects for repairing physical trauma, stabilizing energy structures, and even reshaping damaged non-living tissue."
She looked at the terrifying wound on Minerva's chest: "Based on our technical assessment, although her bionic body is severely damaged, using these materials, combined with sufficiently precise engineering technology, there is a high possibility of repair. However..."
Durandal's tone carried a hint of regret: "Her energy core... its structure and drive logic are different from any system we know. Corvus Glaive's weapon specifically destroyed the most critical consciousness-bearing and logic protocol unit within it. These materials can only repair the 'body'; they cannot reshape that unique 'core'... the essence that made her 'her'. I'm sorry, we are powerless regarding this point."
Can only repair the body, but cannot awaken the consciousness?
Artoria's body trembled almost imperceptibly. She slowly raised her head, tears still sliding down silently, but there was finally a trace of focus in her eyes as she looked at the metal box and then at Durandal, her voice hoarse like an old bellows: "...Thank you... having hope... is better than... having nothing at all..."
Durandal nodded, stood up, bowed slightly to Thor and the others, and immediately gave an order through her communicator. Soon, several Schicksal logistics Valkyries brought a specially made life-support/transport pod emitting a weak, low-temperature force field.
"We will assist in temporarily placing your companion and escorting you away," Durandal said. "The battle here is over. According to the agreement, we will withdraw after completing basic cleanup and information erasure. Take care, Commander. If in the future... there is still a need, the agreement remains."
The Schicksal troops began to efficiently wrap up and withdraw. And Artoria, with the help of everyone, carefully placed Minerva's lifeless body into the life-support pod. Watching the pod lid close slowly, sealing that familiar face inside, her last bit of strength seemed to be drained away. Her vision went black, she slumped down, and was caught in time by Steve, who was by her side.
Before her consciousness fell into darkness, the last remaining perception was the cold touch of the life-support pod, the anxious calls of the crowd, and the huge void in the bottom of her heart that had been carved out, leaving only cold, sharp pain and boundless nothingness.
------------------------------
I hope you're enjoying the fanfiction so far! If the fanfiction has you hooked and you can't wait to see what happens next, you can unlock 30 or more chapters in advance over on my patreon: patreon.com/FTLGenBen
Also every bit of support means the world to me so if you're loving the ride, don't forget to drop a Power Stone, Thanks.