Valkyria Saga

{Date: 10/13 - Thursday}

{Time: 2:05 PM}

The Templar began to approach us, his heavy steps slightly shaking the ground as if he were a giant. Berry mustered all the strength she could to pull me up, wrapping my arm around her shoulder and dragging me away from the Templar.

"Sis, we have to get out of here and find Headmistress and the others!" Berry called out to Cherry, hurrying away from the S Rank Threat approaching us.

Cherry nodded, getting off the ground then hurried behind Berry, watching as she dragged my weakened body along. She glanced back, noticing the Templar was now on the chase, her heart dropping down to her stomach and her skin turning pale.

"He's after us! Give Hisumi to me! Save your energy to run faster!" Cherry yelled, running alongside Berry.

Berry nodded, allowing Cherry to grab me and pick me up in a bridal carry. She began to run ahead, leaping in the air and began to skate away using her icy energy.

"Cherry..." I began, tiredly looking up at her. "Just put me down, you're only going to slow yourself down."

Cherry kept running ahead, ignoring my protest and her grip upon my body became tighter. "I'm not going to leave you."

"Why? After everything—"

"I still hate you for what you've done...but during our fight, I was finally able to see the pain you bottle up inside. It was like when we were kids...silenced, forced to hold your emotions in. Plus, you saved me. I should return the favor!" Cherry bellowed, her flames returning to its pink color.

"Because...that's what Valkyrias do, Honorary," Cherry said, holding me tightly and manifested beautiful fiery wings then propelled forward, leaving behind a blazing trail.

I held on to Cherry as tightly as I could, putting my trust in her while I spent my time recovering in her arms. "Genesis, protect Cherry."

"Understood!" Genesis said, hovering on the other side of Cherry on standby.

The Templar let out a roar as he began charging through the buildings to reach us. Dashing forward, he thrusted his spear forward, but Genesis was quick on the defense, deploying a lightning shield to protect Cherry.

The shield immediately cracked, the strength of the Templar being similar to an energy blast destroying an entire Star itself. Genesis summoned her harp, strumming multiple chords and firing bolts of lightning at the Templar.

The Templar used his shield to block each bolt, the visor of his helmet shining red to show he was charged up. The blade of his spear began to glow red then he slashed with his spear, aiming to strike Cherry directly.

Genesis flew directly toward the blade, taking the strike for Cherry and groaning as she was sent crashing to the ground. Genesis bounced off the ground and flew backwards beside Cherry. "Ouch! Alright, can confirm that Templar is definitely a Balanced Type."

"Balanced Type..? Great, not only is the Templar the strongest Fell Beast Judgement has, it's in this desolate city?" Cherry asked, continuing to fly forward.

"Cherry, shoot a fireball at the sky..." I said softly, pointing at the sky where there was a tiny gap in the clouds.

Cherry looked up, noticing the gap in the clouds as well. She didn't know what I was planning, but she was willing to give my idea a try. She came to a halt, using the grippers of her tail to fire a speeding fireball at the clouds.

The fireball pierced the clouds, the flames causing an Elemental Reaction within the rainclouds, causing them to darken into thunderclouds. I held my hand out toward the Templar, my fingers twitching as I felt a surge of lightning.

"Jupiter's Arrow," I chanted softly, swiping my hand down then a massive bolt of lightning crashed down upon the Templar, causing another massive explosion.

Cherry looked surprised, realizing my plan then immediately began to fly away to a safe area. I fell even more weakened, my body becoming lighter for Cherry to carry. I closed my eyes, glad to have bought us a few more seconds to retreat from the Templar.

{Bond with Cherry slightly increased...}

{Time: 2:10 PM}

Orika nervously sat in a seat inside a large office, often checking the time on her phone and let out a soft, shaky sigh. She glanced over at Yusa, noticing her standing near the window, watching the multiple elemental explosions happening all around the city.

"Headmistress, do you think Hisumi will be okay?" Orika asked, slightly fidgeting with the hem of her skirt.

Yusa hummed softly, glancing back at Orika with a soft smile. She turned around, walking toward her and sat down beside her. "Are you worried about her?"

"Yeah, I am. I mean...after what happened earlier today, what Cherry said...her past as the Black Cerebral, I know she's carrying a lot of burden and guilt. Cherry doesn't like Hisumi at all and I fear that no one will be able to stop her from losing control," Orika said, her tone full of worry and concern for me.

"Did you know about her during her past?" Orika asked, her gaze searching for Yusa's.

Yusa let out a soft exhale, her gaze falling to the floor as she thought about all the news reports and documentaries about me as the Black Cerebral. She let out a soft chuckle and closed her eyes, holding her arms feeling goosebumps all over her skin.

"I know more than you realize. That's why I sympathize with Hisumi. I will never place the blame on her...so whenever I hear or see anyone treating her like a monster, it shatters a part of me," Yusa answered, her voice becoming more quiet and breaking slightly. "And it hurts even more when she calls herself a monster..."

Orika could feel the pain and regret Yusa expressed in her tone. "Yusa.."

"If only I fought a little harder for Hisumi...she would never have had such a Stigma to her name. My child would never have been seen as a monster. I've failed as a mother," Yusa sighed, her distant gaze stuck at the ground as she thought of the what ifs.

"You haven't failed, Headmistress..! Hisumi is with us now, with you. If anyone can change Hisumi, it's you," Orika retorted, placing a gentle hand on Yusa's arm.

Yusa smiled at Orika's words, glancing over at her and reached out toward her, gently rubbing her hair. "Thank you, Orika...but I think you also have that potential. The potential to tame the beast within Hisumi. I see the way she smiles at you...~"

Orika's cheeks began to heat up, a rosy color forming on her face, instinctively leaning against Yusa as she ran her fingers through her hair. She averted her gaze, letting out a soft whimper. "I dunno...We just get along very well. I don't think I have the potential to...'tame' her."

"I don't know, you two get a long at lot more than you realize. Let me ask you this...do you like, no. Do you love Hisumi?" Yusa asked, curious about where Orika stood with me.

Orika's blush only deepened, her heart racing due to the question being very personal. However, Orika felt comfortable enough to disclose anything she needed with Yusa, so she began to calm down slightly.

"I uh...I-I uhm...ahh...I...do," Orika stammered, her nerves now at its peak.

Yusa giggled softly, gently wrapping her arm around Orika, gazing down at her. "If that's the case, you can also help and heal Hisumi as well. You're one of the few only people who don't believe that she's a monster. If you love her, you'll also help her become the person she wants to be."

Orika looked up at Yusa, meeting her maternal expression and smiled sweetly at her. "Right... I'll try my best to help heal her..~"

Orika and Yusa continued to sit in the office together, planning their steps on how they will plan to help me heal emotionally and spiritually. They knew the risks of failure, but they also knew the rewards that would bloom if they succeed.

{Time: 2:45 PM}

Cherry found an abandoned apartment complex to hide in, kicking one of the doors open and rushing inside with me still in her arms. She closed the door behind us and let out a soft exhale, walking over to the living room and setting me down upon the couch.

She walked over to one of the other chairs within the room, sitting down and taking a much needed breather for a moment. "Are you doing alright...?"

"I should be asking you that. You've been carrying me for nearly an hour without a break...you honestly could've left me there," I said, turning my head to look over at Cherry.

Cherry huffed softly, rolling her eyes slightly at me. She looked at me, meeting my gaze and puffed one of her cheeks. "Leave you and have Liao Ru on my ass? Besides I told you before, you saved me so I saved you."

"Even after everything you said to me and about me? Even after the fight...you still risk your life for me..?" I asked, skeptical about her true reasoning.

"Tch...don't take that as a sign of I like you or anything like that. It's not like I wanted to help you, it's just that a life of a Valkyria is more important than my personal grudges," Cherry denied, the flicking of her tail betraying her true feelings for me.

"Mhm...or it could be that you know that I'm right. Put yourself in my shoes for once. It's just us two, so you can be real with yourself," I said, turning my gaze to the ruined ceiling above.

Cherry stared at me, noticing how different I was when I wasn't in battle. She noticed the "human" behind the image of the monster society knew me as. As much as she hated to admit, she knew I was right about everything I said.

"I was only used to spite my mother. My father didn't love me at all, I was only just a shield to him. The Commander was worse...if I didn't do what she said, exactly as she wanted, punishment would ensue," I lamented, my gaze never leaving the ceiling.

"You never saw it until you began climbing the ranks with Berry. You saw it...you just didn't want to believe it. All you saw was my...'Accomplishments'. Do you honestly think, as a 13 year old kid, that I wanted to kill anyone? I barely knew my mother's name, Judgement is literally all I know," I continued, closing my eyes and let out a soft exhale.

Cherry narrowed her gaze, listening to every word I spoke, her image of me slowly shattering as she began to remember our time in Judgement. "You were always the main one getting experimented on also. What did they do to you?"

That question began to spark the same emotional breakdown I had with Yusa, my heart beating quickly as the memories began rushing in at once, their voices all yelling and condemning me of my failures, the experiments they operated on me, the voices of my father and stepmother degrading me...they were haunting.

"...I don't want to talk about it," I said hesitantly, hugging myself tightly and turning on my side on the couch.

Cherry noticed how much I shrank down from that one question, visibly seeing the trauma I carried first hand. Witnessing me grow so submissive and hesitant shattered any imagery of a monster and replaced by the image of a shattered spirit.

"Hisumi..." Cherry said softly, her gaze softening as she looked at me curled up on there couch, hugging myself tightly.

She noticed my shirt rising slightly, noticing the slight scars on my back. She remained quiet, each scar awakening a different memory from when she witnessed one of my punishments for failure or disobedience.

The room fell silent for a moment, allowing the two of us some time to think about what we just talked a out. There was still tension between us, but after a real heart to heart, the tension was lighter. There was no sudden feeling of needing to be at each other's necks.

As we took a moment to relax, we heard a low noise that sounded like an explosion from the distance. I stirred in my rest, letting out a soft grunt due to the sound. Cherry looked up from her phone, pausing in the middle of her text to Berry.

The noise sounded again, but this time a bit louder. The closer the sound got, the harder the ground shook, alerting both me and Cherry. I shifted on the couch, laying on my back and began to listen closely to the surroundings.

'No way the Templar could've found us this quickly...' I thought, continuing to listen closely.

Cherry completely held her breath, listening alongside with me as the stomps finally stopped. After a few minutes of silence, the stomped began again, but were slowly becoming more distant. Once the stomping sounded far enough away, Cherry and I got up from our spots.

"Are you feeling okay enough to move around?" Cherry asked, glancing at me with a bit of concern.

"Just as long as I don't use my Vow of Death, I should be fine. I'm rested enough to hold my own, but we should focus on finding Berry first. Where is she?" I asked, slowly rolling my shoulder.

Cherry checked her phone, searching at Berry's location then her icon appeared on her screen. "She's in Etawa, west of here and near the east entrance to Kourai HQ."

"Alright, tell her to just head to HQ. There's no need to bring any danger to her in case the Templar decides to chase after us. If possible, we should contact Liao Ru, Misao, and Yusa about the Templar's presence," I said, watching her text Berry.

Cherry finished sending the message to her sister then lowered her phone with a soft exhale, calming her nerves before planning to head back outside. "Alright, we are only one district away from our destination. The moment we step outside that beast will sense us."

"I know, but that's what we want. This Templar is dangerous, too dangerous to be left alive. We need to let Liao Ru and the higher ranked handle it. Just follow my lead, we will make it to Kourai HQ," I said, walking toward the door.

Cherry watched as I walked toward the door, seeing me as the Top Agent instead of the Black Cerebral. She decided to put her trust in me for now, following me to the door for the final stretch of our mock mission.

"Genesis, contact Liao Ru, Misao, and my mom. Tell them we need help," I said, summoning my katana then my battlesuit quickly manifested upon my body.

Genesis nodded, immediately contacting Liao Ru and the others and sending them a distress signal. "Alright, done! Now let's go!"

I nodded, dashing forward with Cherry following behind, the both of us dashing toward Kourai HQ with haste. The moment we stepped outside, the Templar sensed us, turning around from his search and looked directly at us. With a roar, he began giving us chase.

{New Objective: Survive the Templar.}

"Hisumi, let go! You better not slow me down!" Cherry bellowed, her pink flames flaring powerfully around her body.

I glanced at Cherry, meeting her gaze then smirked at her, looking ahead. Lightning began to crackle around my body, my Spirit Energy flowing around my body. "Hmph...You took my line right out of my mouth!"

The two of us bellowed, entering our Burst Modes and dashing ahead at top speed. The environment around us sped past us, the wind blowing wildly do to our speed. The Templar didn't give up the chase, his own impressive speed enough to catch up to us.

Cherry and I sensed his attack, splitting apart to avoid his forward thrust. Cherry dashed toward the Templar, spinning around in the air and swinging her greatsword with her tail. The Templar blocked the slash with his shield, knocking the sword back then slashed down with his spear.

"Genesis!" I bellowed, giving her the command to protect Cherry.

Genesis didn't hesitate for a second, flying toward Cherry and deploying her shield, blocking the Templar's strike. The force of the Templar's strike immediately shattered Genesis's shield, but she managed to evade his slash.

I rushed forward at near invisible speeds, slicing at the Templar's leg but dealt no damage to it. The Templar looked down at me, going for a powerful stomp, but I swiftly evaded him at lightning speeds. Cherry ran along then wall, lunging toward the Templar with a battle cry.

"Hisumi, together! We've got to slow him down!" Cherry called out, readying her greatsword in her hand.

"On it!" I replied, sliding forward then vanished at invisible speeds.

The two of us began to rush the Templar with a combination of my Quick Attacks and her Evasion Strikes, trying to overwhelm the Templar's senses with our raw speed. We began leaving behind trails of lightning and fire, the two of us propelling ourselves above the Templar.

Cherry wrapped her tail around my leg, spinning me around and launching me toward the Templar at high speeds. I bellowed, readying my katana and changed my Type to Attack Type last second before delivering a precise slash upon the Templar.

"Yukota Technique: Seven Decrees..." I said, sheathing my katana slowly.

Once my katana was sheathed, a barrage of five delayed slashes struck the Templar, slightly lowering his defenses. The Templar grunted lightly, a low growl rumbling deep in his throat. He let out a monstrous roar, the sheer pressure of wind from his roar blasting me away.

"Hisumi!" Cherry called out, flying toward me at high speeds then caught me.

I grunted heavily, shaking my head lightly and opening my eyes, regaining my senses. I looked up at Cherry, noticing she helped me recover from my knock back. "Thanks..."

Cherry nodded, helping me onto my feet then looked back. "So what's the plan..? We still have ways to go before we've reached our destination..."

"Listening to my mind, it's telling me to run...but my heart is telling me that we have to keep stalling it. Has Berry made it to the HQ?" I asked, looking over at Cherry for confirmation.

Cherry checked her phone, looking at Berry's location then shook her head. "Not yet, and Liao Ru and Misao are waiting for Berry to reach there. So what? Are you going to listen to your mind or your heart?"

I stared at Cherry for a moment, noticing her meeting my gaze. I turned my attention to the Templar in front of us then took a step forward. "I'm listening to my heart this time! I'm listening to the part of me that wants to become a Valkyria! Come on Cherry, let's stall him for just a bit more...at least until Berry has made it safely."

Cherry looked at me, noticing my energy wasn't volatile anymore. She felt her heart skip a beat, a sense of purity escaping throughout the cracks of my darkness. She shook her head, focusing on the Templar ahead. "Right! Let's do this!"

I gripped my wrist, Spirit Energy flowing around my hand and shifting into lightning. I grit my teeth, charging my attack and grunted softly, using every ounce of strength I had into this one attack. I bellowed, launching myself forward, my lightning shifting from yellow to light green into light blue.

'Cast away all your fears...'

'Cast away all of your doubts...'

'Cast away all of your worries...'

'You are no longer a member of the darkness...'

I bellowed as I kept dashing toward the Templar, allowing myself to become free from everything that held me down in this moment. For the first time, I felt like I had no doubts, no worries, no pain. The clouds began to clear, the sun's light illuminating the street like a center stage.

'You are a Valkyria now!'

'So fly! Spread your wings and fly!'

'Take action, Honorary One!'

"Raikiri!" I bellowed, my lightning shifting into White Lightning as I thrusted my hand forward.

The Templar deployed his shield, causing me to collide with his defenses. I grunted as I tried to overpowering his defenses even if it was just a small scratch upon his shield. I let out a roar, putting more power into my attack.

Cherry bellowed as she flew toward at blazing speeds, ramming into the Templar's shield with her fiery aura cloaked around her. The two of us worked together to stall the Templar for as long as possible, but the Templar began pushing back, showing that he could repel us if he really wanted to.

"I won't...let you hurt anyone!" I yelled, my Spirit Energy bursting around my body, wings forming from my lightning manifesting on my back. "Cherry, one last drive!"

Cherry looked over at me in awe, noticing my aura sparkling around my body then looked forward, concentrating all her energy into our attack. "Let's go!"

We let out a bellow, our energy merging together then a bright light began to shine brightly, causing a massive explosion that pushed us away. We recovered quickly in the sky, flying toward Kourai HQ at high speeds. As we soared in the air, my phone began beeping and Genesis answered the call for me.

A holographic screen appeared in front of me and Cherry, Yusa's face appearing on the screen with her sweet smile. "Hello, Mama's sweet Valkyrie..~ You can leave it all to me now. Lead that beast straight to me..."

"Mom..." I said softly, giving her a smile then nodded. "Alright, you can count on me!"

Cherry and I nodded at each other, speeding throat the skies like a bullet toward the HQ. The Templar rampaged behind us, bulldozing through building and began launching multiple strikes at us with his spear. The two of us swiftly evaded each thrust of his spear, focusing on retreating than countering.

"There she is!" I called out, pointing down at Yusa who was waving at us.

The two of us dove to the ground then flew past her toward the HQ at high speeds, leaving Yusa to deal with the Templar alone. Yusa stepped forward, white butterflies and white rose petals flowing and fluttering around her.

"The sweet essence of Death will know your name. Come to me...Aurora and Nox," Yusa said, holding her hands out and summoning two lances, one black and one white. "And come to me, Shining Duality..."

Yusa's battlesuit formed around her body, a beautiful and stellar black and white dress with sparkles shimmering around her like a symphony of life and death. Her two Stigmas shone on her chest and back, the Blessing of Death and the Vow of Life.

The Templar stopped his rampage as he sensed Yusa's aura, the dual nature of her Spirit Energy causing him to focus only on her. He let out a roar, thrusting his spear toward Yusa, but her Death Energy immediately decayed his entire arm, absorbing it and renewing it into her Life Force.

I watched in complete awe at the level of mastery my mother had with her energy and how easily she was dealing with the Templar. Even Cherry couldn't help but to watch in awe, watching her idol deal with a threat she could only dream of handling.

"It's time for you to say your final goodbyes..~ Yukota Technique: Eternal Moonlight.." Yusa said, pointing Nox at the sky and shifting her into a katana then vanished at blinding speeds, appearing behind the Templar.

Before we could even realize, the Templar had dispersed into Fallen Energy and retreated, the delayed slashes showing up only after he was defeated. Cherry and I were absolutely appalled at Yusa's strength, and for the first time I truly understood why they called Yusa, The Strongest Valkyria.

Yusa turned around to face us, a warm smile playing on her face. "You two must be extremely tired..~ You've done well for yourselves, and you've earned a nice rest. Come with me inside.."

We watched as Yusa walked forward, the two of us following behind her toward the HQ. After a long, grueling mock mission, we had finally completed our task and earned ourselves a well deserved rest.