'Vroom—!'
The Destroyer steadied itself, lowered its mask, and shot an orange beam toward the building where Kagura Hitomi was hiding.
"What's that girl doing now?"
Tony Stark leapt up, activated his flying thrusters, and shot towards Kagura, following the path of the Destroyer's beam.
[Warning: Unknown high-energy beam detected. Probability of piercing the body: 100%]
The holographic UI in Kagura's vision flashed with a red alert, followed by the calculated damage range of the enemy's beam.
"I know what's going on without you telling me!"
Kagura quickly dropped the heavy electromagnetic cannon she was holding and jumped aside.
'Boom!'
The beam hit the building, causing a burst of dust and flames that vaporized the cannon worth millions of dollars and sent Kagura flying into the air.
"Ahh! You stupid robot! Have some mercy!"
Kagura flipped in mid-air, stabilized herself, and searched for a safe landing spot.
'Whoosh!'
At that moment, a golden-red figure zoomed across her field of vision, catching her mid-air, and gently landed on the ground while cradling her protectively.
'Eh, a princess carry!' Kagura's face flushed slightly. "Um... Mr. Stark?"
"What on Earth are you doing? I told you to go evacuate first!"
Then, she was greeted with a lecture from Tony Stark.
To be honest, despite Tony's gentle actions, his words were just as sharp as ever.
"Also, where did you get all these random weapons? I'm starting to wonder where you got this military training!"
"Uh… Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters?"
"I've never heard of that school."
"Of course not. I made it up." Kagura stuck out her tongue mischievously.
"Anyway, thanks for saving me, Mr. Stark."
"Don't mention it, Miss Kagura. You owe me one now."
'Vroom—!'
While they were talking, the Destroyer shot another beam without any consideration.
"Watch out!" Kagura reacted quickly, pushing Tony Stark away and stepping forward.
She spread her legs, lowered her body, and adopted a stance to resist the impact while raising her left hand to deploy her transparent shield.
'Clank!'
The shield automatically extended eight symmetrical metal supports around it, which began to charge with blue electrical energy.
'Zzz—!'
As the Destroyer's beam reached her, the shield finished charging.
A layer of blue light covered the shield's surface, forming a faint hexagonal honeycomb pattern.
Using 2010 technology to replicate the Mark 85 energy shield from 2023, this was the best Kagura could do for now.
In the next instant, the orange beam collided fiercely with Kagura's shield.
'Vroom—!'
The energy from the impact spread outwards. Despite being small, the shield successfully blocked the Destroyer's attack.
The searing light and intense heat pushed Kagura back, her silver hair and thin outfit fluttering in the wind.
Tony Stark saw this and used the Iron Man suit's strength to steady Kagura.
"Alright, spit it out, Hitomi. How many secrets do you have that I don't know? Where did you learn all these combat skills?"
"It's not nice to pry into a girl's secrets, Mr. Stark," Kagura replied with a smile.
"But it's fine, I guess I'll tell you. I'm affiliated with Griffin Security Agency."
"Never heard of it."
"Well, that's because I made it up." Kagura stuck out her tongue again.
"Anyway, thanks again for saving me, Mr. Stark."
"Don't mention it, Miss Kagura. You owe me twice now."
[Self-Heal: Activated]
Kagura winced from the pain in her left hand, but the sensation quickly faded. She drew her folding vibranium sword from her waist.
[Short-term Speed Boost: Activated]
[Directed High-Energy Electromagnetic Pulse: Charging]
The Destroyer's armor was nearly indestructible.
Neither Iron Man's palm cannon nor Rod Island Industries' electromagnetic cannon could cause it significant harm.
Was there any way to defeat it?
Kagura thought carefully about the situation.
Since the Destroyer was made by Asgard, its material was likely Uru alloy, a mysterious extraterrestrial metal commonly used by the Asgardians.
This metal was known for its immense durability and was also the material used for Thor's Mjolnir and Stormbreaker.
To break through the Destroyer's Uru alloy armor, the only weapon Kagura had that could potentially penetrate its defenses was her vibranium sword.
With all her abilities activated, charging toward the Destroyer for a decisive strike seemed to be the only reliable option.
"Hitomi, I still think this is too dangerous! At least I have my Iron Man suit for protection, but you have nothing!" Tony Stark stepped in front of Kagura.
"Leave this to me. This is not the time for you to play the hero. I can't let you get hurt in front of me."
"Thank you for your concern, Mr. Stark, but the only thing that could break through that guy right now is this vibranium sword."
"Even so, we need an attack plan!"
Tony Stark was still reluctant to let Kagura fight.
"I have a plan. Attack!" Kagura said, raising her sword to strike.
"Enough!" At that moment, Thor stepped forward.
"Enough, Loki!"
He walked toward the poised Destroyer.
"Loki, stop. The King of Asgard does not slay the innocent."
Upon hearing this, the Destroyer halted its assault and focused all its attention on Thor.
Thor, now just a mortal without any divine power, was no match for the Destroyer's beams, which could obliterate him in an instant.
Yet, the golden-haired god stood fearlessly in front of the Destroyer, like a wise and majestic king.
"Loki, no matter what I've done to make you this angry, no matter what I did to make you turn your weapons against me, all I want to say is… I'm sorry. I am truly sorry."
Thor lowered his noble head, but his stance grew even taller.
"Loki, these people are innocent. They should not bear your rage. Taking their lives serves no purpose for you. So if you want to, take mine."
The Destroyer and its operator were connected, and Thor's words clearly reached Loki's ears back in Asgard.
The Destroyer's mask slowly opened, revealing the orange light beam cannon.
"Yes, that's right."
Thor closed his eyes without fear.
"Let it all end now."
'Vroom—!'
The blinding light flashed...
...............
80 kilometers west of the town, SHIELD's temporary research base.
Thor's hammer, which had been completely still, suddenly started shaking violently.
The base rock began to crumble, and all SHIELD's monitoring equipment went haywire.
In an instant, dark clouds filled the sky, and lightning began to flash...
..........
[TL Note]
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