I do not own the Ah! Megami sama / Oh! My Goddess series
"Status report!" shouted Hild as soon as she passed the bridge's heavy double doors, with the two goddesses not far behind her. Of course, with her being the Daimakaicho for nearly as long as she did, Hild found it hard to act like a mere passenger, especially when they were under attack. "Oh… I mean… what's going on?"
"There's no need to apologize," came SA-α's reply, as the synthetic turned to the console in front of it, and pressed a few buttons to activate the display. Technically speaking, it was unnecessary for a synthetic to use such an interface, when direct digital transfer is far more efficient. But with Hild and the two goddesses now inside the bridge, SA-α needed to use that in order to allow them to see what was going on. "We're surrounded by what we initially thought to be fish… but apparently those are some sort of guided depth charge. This is the first time we've seen anything like this, so, they totally caught us off guard."
"How bad is it?" asked Hild, while she stepped closer to take a look at the ship's schematics that appeared on the holo-display in front of SA-α.
"Pretty bad, I'd say. Here, see for yourself. The yellow areas indicate structural damage, and the red ones represent hull breaches. I sent every hand available to help the automated systems stop the water from flooding in, but… there's so much we can do. The pressure at this depth isn't doing us any favors, since it forces water in at a much higher rate than we can bail out with what we have right now."
"Hold on a moment," interrupted Lind, as she just couldn't understand this method of attack. "Unless I got it wrong, we've got bombs… swimming around us? Why didn't they all explode at the same time? And where did they come from?"
"I'm afraid I don't have any answers to either question," said SA-α before the synthetic changed the display to focus on the swarming bombs around them. "For some reason, most of the bombs are still acting like schools of fish. Then once in a while, one would break off their tight formation and collide with our hull, resulting in a powerful explosion. And I must admit that I have no idea why they're doing this. Based on our simulations, if they all attacked us simultaneously, we should take in enough water to sink, regardless of where they hit us. So, it's safe to assume that they're not looking for structural weaknesses."
"That's all good and everything," said Hild, once SA-α finished its analysis of the situation. "However, why don't you just activate the shields and let them take the brunt of this assault?"
"Unfortunately, I don't have that option," said SA-α with a shake of its head. "Due to lack of components to properly repair the shields' capacitors, they're only about 20% of their original strength. And at such a depth, the pressure alone can stress them to the point of collapse, especially since they were never designed for underwater operation to begin with. In the end the only thing I'll accomplish is to waste our power reserves, and possibly overheat their capacitors if I keep rebooting them."
There was a moment of awkward silence when the immortals present realized just how precarious their position was. First to react was Hild, who scratched the back of her head in frustration, before she turned to Lind. This naturally caught the Valkyrie's attention, since it seemed strange that a powerful demoness like her, even needed the help of a goddess; but desperate times called for desperate measures.
"Since we are here, we might as well do something about this, too," said Hild, earning a raised eyebrow from the curious Valkyrie. This of course prompted her to carry on with her idea, and to better explain, Hild moved closer to SA-α's terminal. Then she pointed at the numerous 'fish' around the sub's outer hull, that almost resembled moths flocking around a torch. "With all of them swimming so close to us, if we freeze the water around the ship, then they should be neutralized. And as added bonus, we'll stop the water from coming inside too."
"Won't that sink us, though?" asked Peorth, looking between Lind and Hild, until SA-α decided to answer her question.
"Unlikely. Ice is less dense than water, so, we should start to surface once we get covered by it," said the synthetic, much to the rose goddess' chagrin.
"I know that. What I wanted to say, is whether this will make them blow up or not," corrected Peorth, before the others thought that she was an idiot.
"That's unfortunately unknown," said SA-α. "This is the first time we're encountering something these lifeforms, so, we've got no information about their behavior. However, it's certain that we can't let this continue, and this might be the best plan we have for the time being."
"Do you mind giving me a hand?" urgently asked Hild, and in a rather pointed manner as well. "I may be good, but even I can't sing such a complex aria in this amount of time. At least, take care of a few verses, will you?"
"I'm on it," replied Peorth, without any further argument, even if that meant taking orders from a demoness. Of course, this was not the time nor place for considering such matters, and the sound of the underwater explosions all around them only added to the goddess' sense of urgency.
"What about me?" asked Lind, who felt a bit left out; much to her frustration. Normally in a situation like this, a Valkyrie's contribution would've been a deciding factor. However, deep sea fights -and under such conditions- was nothing to mess around with, since the slightest error could result in a total loss of this vessel.
"Actually, you're the one who's going to cast the ice spell. My mandala is only meant to redirect and amplify it, which is also why I need Peorth's help. Manipulation of celestial magic is much easier for you, than for a demoness like me. Now, let's get the show on the road, shall we?"
XXX
Asgard
Scouting ahead of a small contingent of Valkyries, a trio of celestials surveyed their surroundings for any sight of the fugitive faux demoness… even if two of them had no idea what exactly they were dealing with. Just an hour ago, they had been summoned to join a search party in order to capture what was described as a public threat. And while that by itself was strange enough, the identity of said threat, complicated matters even more.
"Now, hold on a moment! Why do I still have a feeling that something's missing here?" asked Loki, as he gave Ansuz -the de facto leader of this expedition- a critical look. "First we're told that this is some dangerous demoness, who apparently found her way into Asgard, and then… that she's like Hild. How does that even make sense? Are we looking for an Ironwood Dryad? But then, why not spell it outright? It's not like we don't know about them..."
While she couldn't exactly blame the trickster god for his skepticism, Ansuz felt that telling the whole truth could potentially undermine this operation. Of course, there was a part of her that didn't even agree with such reasoning, since holding back vital information from the rest of the team was a bad practice. Then again, nothing was nearly as straightforward when the Infernal Dragon was concerned, leaving Ansuz at a loss as to what to do. However, when she cast a glance in Thor's direction -who was the third and final member of their scout team- it became apparent from his expression that on this occasion he sided with his adoptive brother. "Look, we don't want to get word of this to reach the public, since adding mass hysteria to this whole mess is hardly going to make things any better."
"And a demoness like Hild will get such a reaction… because?" asked Loki in a slow, deliberate manner while giving his sister-in-law a pointedly calm stare. "Even if this copy… or whatever else this demoness like Hild is, she's also one demoness in the middle of a Celestial realm! So, forgive if I don't lose it just because we're about to face someone of Hild's caliber, when we've got such an advantage over her."
When Ansuz didn't immediately reply, Thor decided to voice his opinion as well. "Is there something else about this demoness that worries you? Because as it is, I'll have to agree with Loki on this one. And not to mention the whole like part, that I find a bit sketchy. Come on, Ansuz… What's going on here?"
"Okay, but I must warn you: this is pretty crazy, so, bear with me," said Ansuz, letting out a tired sigh as she took a moment to put her thoughts together. "Remember how we thought that Hild came into contact with Yggdrasil? Well… as it turns out we only got half of it right. She did get into contact with something… yet not Yggdrasil."
"Whoa! You don't mean…" said Loki, and then trailed off towards the end, as he didn't even want to consider the possibility, no matter how strongly it was implied.
"Nidhogg," finished Ansuz in a solemn, no-nonsense tone. "It sounds impossible, but somehow the Dragon decided to strike a deal with Hild. And when she turned Nidhogg's offer down, the thing decided to cut its losses and use what it offered her for, to further its own agenda. That's how we ended up with another Hild, although thankfully, she's not a normal avatar for the Infernal Dragon. Apparently she's as powerful as the real Hild is supposed to be, and though that's bad enough, it's still better than having to face a genuine avatar of Nidhogg's."
It took a couple of seconds for the two gods to absorb all that, and more importantly assess the situation, since it was so out there that it almost sounded like a bad joke. Of course, it was extremely unlikely that Ansuz brought them along with a few Valkyries to a middle of a forest for the sake of a practical joke, leaving them with no other option but to accept this… bizarre reality. "Well, that's… something new," said Thor with some uncertainty, and then glanced over at his adoptive brother, who remained silent for the time being. "Right, Loki?"
"Hm? Oh, sure… new. Right," said the trickster god, shaking his head to dismiss his troublesome thoughts. After all, going against one of the two most powerful entities in existence was no joke, and unless extreme safety precautions were taken, it could easily turn into a fatal encounter; or worse. "On the other hand, who says that this… Hild is a true copy of the original? What if we go after her, thinking that it's all a walk in the park, only to fall into a trap?. And let's not forget that even the real Hild would've done that in a situation like this."
"And what do you suggest? To let her do as she pleases, just because she's part of Nidhogg? That's not a good enough reason to just give up and go hide behind a rock! Besides, I did try to fight her, and she didn't outright obliterate me. So, we'll be fine," spat Ansuz, without even trying to hide the contempt in her voice. And while it may have been a somewhat blunt move on her part, this did wonders to dismiss any doubt from her in-laws. After all, no worthy Asgardian would even allow themselves to turn tail and run away in fear. Sure… tactical retreats weren't unacceptable, providing that they're justified, but as things currently stood, that wasn't enough reason to call for such a measure.
"I know I'll come to regret this… but where the heck is that thing?" asked Loki with a pout. He just couldn't shake the feeling that they were underestimating the Infernal Dragon a bit too much, especially when it came to its wits.
"Let's see…" Pulling out her communicator, that at this point only acted as a terminal for Yggdrasil, Ansuz studied the tactical map of their surroundings, and sure enough she found what they wanted. "So, that's why we couldn't see her anywhere. She's actually underneath us! Hm… this means that she somehow found her way around the nearby cavern."
"Damn dragons and their caverns…" groaned Thor, while he summoned Mjolnir to blast their way through. "Why can't they just camp out in the open for once? Anyway, stand back and…"
"And you're going to make us look for needle in a haystack. Which is the opposite of what we need right now," said Loki, in a shocking moment of pragmatic reasoning. "So, how about we do it the right way?"
"Fine!... Since you insist, we'll have it your way," said Thor in resignation. Still, that didn't stop him from turning Mjolnir into his hammer form, and kept the dreadful weapon in hand. "I trust that you know the way in?"
"I do," replied Ansuz, interrupting the two gods. She was actually surprised to see Loki of all celestials act reasonably for once, although in all fairness, no one joked around when Nidhogg was involved. Even if she personally saw that thing as nothing more than a bad copy of Hild, the fact remained: the Infernal Dragon was behind this whole thing, and it behaved in a manner never seen before. "There's a natural fissure further down the forest we can use to enter these caves. So, the plan is to go through there, and leave the Valkyries here to make her think that we're still looking for her. Any objections?"
The two gods shared a look that ended in a reluctant shrug, and then turned back at Ansuz, with Loki being the first to offer a reply. "I suppose that's as good of a plan as any other. Sure, I still don't think it's a great idea to go and poke the Dragon with a stick, but… who listens to me?"
"No one, and for a good reason," quipped Thor, giving his adoptive brother a slap on the shoulder, before he started to walk towards their destination. After all, Ansuz was already issuing her orders to the assorted Valkyries, and if they lingered for too long, their ruse would be exposed. There just was no way to totally conceal the presence of several powerful celestials, and that didn't even take into account the possibility that Nidhogg's perception could be much better than anyone else's. "Now let's get moving, before that clone runs away. For all we know, she might be already aware that we're here."
"That's what worries me," muttered Loki under his breath, but didn't argue even further, since it was pretty clear to him that the others would simply go on with their plan regardless of his opinion. Still, he quickly texted his daughter, just in case things went south, and he needed someone to save their hides. And with that done, Loki followed Thor in what was by far the worst idea they ever had.
XXX
Helheim
Being the last realm to be inhabited -and quite recently as well- it was expected for any visitors of Helheim to have little expectations about the infrastructure of what was now referred to as the land of the dead. Granted, it was a most inaccurate term since this place was more akin to a gigantic data center for mortal souls, rather than a land where the deceased literally trotted about. That being said, the realm's dreary aesthetics with the dull gray colors, and the gigantic but mostly bare corridors, left the two newcomers with an understandable sense of dread. It wasn't exactly fear they were experiencing, but an uneasiness that was hard to describe in a rational manner.
"This entire city was built in an instant? That's almost unfair, dammit it!" Breaking her silence for the first time since their arrival, Mara couldn't help but feel frustrated from how much time and effort they spent to develop their realms… only for this one to catch up to the rest in a single day.
"Well… they did say that Yggdrasil was involved, so I'm not exactly shocked," said Urd, even though it was hard to hide the awe that was evident in her voice. As much as there was little to write home about this realm's architecture that was cold and minimalistic beyond what words could describe, the fact that everything was designed with such a sense of purpose and function was magnificent in its own right. Not a single tile, wall, or support column was there for purely aesthetic purposes. No power conduit could be rerouted without an efficiency loss. And above all, not a single plant was in sight, yet the Tree's presence could be felt as a low pulse that emanated through the cold, lifeless metal that surrounded them.
"Are you sure about that? You sure sound impressed to me," teasingly said Mara, as she moved closer to give her girlfriend a nudge. "Besides, from the looks of it, the one in charge of this place isn't too different from you."
"Meaning?" shot Urd back with a raised eyebrow.
"Well, you don't need a lot of effort to tidy this realm up," said the smirking demoness, much to her girlfriend's annoyance.
"Excuse me?... Are you trying to call me a slob? Because you're not much better than me, miss I used to live in a run-down arcade," said Urd with a healthy dose of sarcasm, even though she tried not to sound too confrontational. After all, she only wanted to get her point across, not to insult her girlfriend.
However, before Mara could carry on with their banter, a third voice joined in. "My… you look like an old couple, even though you're not married yet. Perhaps we should do something about that."
The duo felt so surprised by the interjection, that they nearly let out a startled scream as they pulled each other into a tight hug. It was such an embarrassing reaction that they remained motionless for a couple of seconds, muttering curses under their breaths from the frustration of being caught off guard like that. Still, it didn't take long for their expressions to change from mild annoyance to bewilderment, as not only was Hel standing a few feet from them, but a dichromatic angel was floating behind her. One that was so familiar, that caused Urd's own angel to emerge from her back and stare at the virtually identical counterpart of hers in awe.
The odd looks she was getting only made Hel's World of Elegance smirk and strike a pose for the bewildered trio, that included her alter ego. Then again, that was exactly what made this whole setup priceless, and to make matters even better, she batted her eyelashes and blew a kiss in the air… in the direction of her counterpart. 'Hey there, beautiful. Fancy seeing a pretty face in this dreary place.'
"Is this… narcissism?" tactfully asked Mara, giving her girlfriend's angel a meaningful glance, before she looked at Urd, who understandably fixed the other World of Elegance a long stare.
"No, it's plain old trolling," said Urd, while narrowing her eyes at the other angel. And hilariously enough, her own angel did the exact same thing, along with a tense flutter of her wings, which in the angelic body language was a clear sign for the other to back off.
"Ah, my apologies. I just wanted World of Elegance to have a little fun," said Hel in an attempt to avoid any unnecessary drama. She even sent a mental message to her angel to back off, which the elder World of Elegance complied to without any hesitation. Like she assumed, the other angel merely wanted to greet her old mistress in a somewhat comical fashion, since she didn't know to handle this reunion in a more serious manner. 'Are you happy with this? Just because I'm my father's daughter, doesn't mean you need to copy my antics,' asked Hel to her new angel.
'It's alright,' replied the elder World of Elegance to Hel, even though she kept her conversation private from their visitors. 'The last time I saw Urd… the situation looked rather bleak; certainly not something to joke about. This time… I just want things to be different.'
Although none of the bystanders could hear the exchange between Hel and her angel, Urd's World of Elegance could easily read her counterpart's body language far better than any other person in the world. And while both of them were capable of keeping their thoughts to themselves, by being far less expressive than other angels, it was still possible for her to note those little hints than most others would've never paid any attention to. As such, she floated towards her counterpart, who initially seemed busy conversing with her new mistress, only to look up when she felt the other angel's approach, and for a moment they both stared at each other.
To the casual observer, it was like a pair of twins standing in front of each other, although given the way Lind's angels worked, it was unlikely for them to count as such. In fact, they were even closer than twins, given that they were essentially the same individual but from different timelines.
'This is awkward, but… hey there, gorgeous,' said Urd's angel in the same teasing tone that her counterpart used before. And for the most part, this did bring a slight smile on the other World of Elegance, who leaned forward as if her elbows were resting on an invisible table.
'You know… for a moment you were so serious, that you got me scared, girl,' said the elder angel with a playful wink, before she glanced down at Urd. 'To be honest, I'm not sure how I'm even supposed to address you, and I want you to know that I mean no disrespect. But, it's been a while… Urd. Is that alright with you?'
The Norn blinked in surprise, as the sudden shift in the angel's mood was a bit too obvious to simply ignore. Sure, she did sound pretty jovial and relaxed a moment ago, but the way she was looking at her conveyed a sadness that only she could understand. There had been several times in her life when Urd faced situations that saddened her, yet on every occasion, the half goddess would simply put on a brave face, and simply push forward. And right now, she was getting the same vibes from this World of Elegance, who undoubtedly had gone through a lot from whatever happened in that timeline. "It's perfectly fine. Listening both of you call me mistress in stereo can be quite trippy, you know. Besides, from the way I heard it, Hel did take you in. And with her being a half goddess… I mean, half demoness, she's the best candidate for a new host for you. At least this way, you'll stay the same as you used to be."
"To be fair, it's not that I did it out of the kindness of my heart," said Hel, as she felt that she had to intervene before they got the wrong idea about her. "We're alike, you and I. Part light, part darkness, and in my case… part machine. And though I have no issues with any of my components, I do wish to be accepted as a real immortal; at least as the majority defines the term. So, having an angel that might show up some of my mechanical nature, is far from desirable. Hence, I took yours in, given that as long as I provided her with both celestial and demonic energy, she would be fine."
'Hm… look at you try to sound like a proper demoness. I'm pretty sure your mom would be proud,' said the elder World of Elegance, as she pat her mistress' head, not unlike she would've done for a kid. It was a bit over the top, and mostly done to get a reaction from Hel, which given her parentage, didn't take all that long.
"See what I'm dealing with?" asked Hel to the amused Norn and her angel, who watched this interaction with a sense of relief. After all, it was fairly obvious that Urd -like any other celestial in her place- wanted her angel to find someone who'd take good care of her, especially since the Norn herself wasn't capable of hosting two versions of World of Elegance at the same time. Except Lind, who's a special case, it's extremely demanding for any goddess to host more than one angel on a permanent basis, even if it's possible for short periods of time; like what Belldandy did during the Angel Eater incident. "I even got her a cable TV connection in her mindscape, and she's still giving me this attitude."
"Attitude? What attitude?" asked Urd with a grin slowly forming on her lips, which her angel also copied. "That's personality at its finest. Over time, you'll come to appreciate having such a unique angel. At least over a bland, typical angel that's more vanilla than what's found in ice-cream."
"If I were you, I'd watch my mouth. Especially when it comes to vanilla ice-cream. We have another guest, who might take that comment a bit too… seriously," said Hel with a cryptic grin, that only confused her visitors. And to make matters even more mysterious, she gestured for the trio to follow her, all while her angel deployed her legs and set her feet on the cold floor, in order to walk alongside them. "Come, I've got someone I'd like you to meet."
The trio shared a confused look, as they were certain that by this she couldn't possibly mean Skuld, who after all was back on Earth with Keiichi and the others. But with Hel and her World of Elegance already walking away, they felt that the best they could do is follow them, and see what this was all about.
XXX
Asgard, in an alternative timeline
Patching up a submersible that was rapidly taking in water, was a totally new experience for Surt. After all, he did hail from an arid world, where water was in such short supply, that they didn't even have seafaring vessels. And though they did learn how to deal with depressurization in voidships, most of those techniques were essentially useless in the current situation. To begin with, trying to weld metal patches against the ship's damaged hull was a challenge thanks to the complexity of the alloys involved in the ship's construction. Simply put, one had to apply just the right amount of heat, and in a very controlled manner, or the whole process had to be restarted because the two surfaces wouldn't bind at all. And if that wasn't enough, trying to do that underwater was a whole new ball game.
"Come on ya torch boi! Don't tell me that all ya got!" shouted SA-δ over the sound of the rushing water, while the lumbering synthetic used its synthetic muscles, along with his linear actuators to keep the metal patch against the hole they were attempting to close. "Give it another go! In case ya didn't notice, we don't have all day!"
"Well, excuse me, but you need a mechanic, not a soldier!" snapped the utterly fed up Surt at the synthetic. It certainly didn't help that for the last couple of minutes he's been submerged into frigid salt water, which then turned into piping hot steam as he tried to weld that blasted patch onto the wall. And after a couple of failed attempts, along with the prolonged exposure to the alternating waves of cold and hot water, Surt had had it for good. "Alright, enough with this! What else can we use to plug that bloody thing?"
"How 'bout ya lousy mug? I'm no mechanic either, but I sure know ya ain't fix this bloody mess by shoving ya junk in there. And stop ogling at me, ya punk! I was talkin literally. I don't even get that male-stuff jargon, so, don't bother explaining."
"That's not why I'm staring," said Surt as he aimed Laevatein at the upper right corner of the hole they've been struggling to close; just in time for a tentacle to come through. "Hold still, I'm gonna cut that sucker down to pieces."
"Hold it! I ain't seen a squid like that before. And I've got all sorts of ugly sons of guns down 'here." As to make its point across, the synthetic started to edge away from the wriggling tentacle, that was lashing around in search of anything alive inside. At least, that allowed SA-δ to put enough distance, now that the hole was effectively plugged, even if it was obviously not a permanent fix. "Son of bootleged microwave oven! The bugger's a mutant calamari!"
"Oh, excuse me from not being able to tell the difference!" snapped Surt, while dodging a thrashing tentacle, whose feelers were equipped with sharp, claw-like metal teeth. "In case you didn't notice, I'm from an arid world!" The demon brought his sword up for another slice, and this time he managed to make it connect, cutting through the creature's rubbery skin like a hot knife through butter. "There we go!"
The dismembered tentacle landed not too far from SA-δ, who might as well make a grimace if it could. However, as the synthetic's optical sensors registered something odd when they checked the discarded member, it was enough for SA-δ to warrant another look; and as soon as that happened, the towering robot reached for Surt's back.
"What the?!"
"We gotta move! Now!"
The synthetic barely managed to put enough distance between them and the dismembered tentacle, when the latter puffed up, and then exploded in a surprisingly energetic fashion. It was almost as if the creature's innards were made by some sort of high explosive, and to make matters even worse, the rest of wounded calamari's body also started to react to the explosion. Just like its tentacle, the creature contorted and lashed out rather violently, with its innards boiling up, forming blisters, until the entire thing blew up. This time though, given the significantly larger amount of mass that contributed to the blast, was enough to nearly launch the duo across the corridor, even if Surt had already erected a shield to protect them. And while that blast wasn't enough to overwhelm the demon's barrier, it did prove catastrophic for the sub's already damaged hull.
It was so bad, with the water rushing in from the substantially widened opening with such force, that Surt and SA-δ just fell back into the next watertight compartment, and locked the door behind them, without a single argument. No matter how stubborn one might be, there was no point fighting the inevitable, which on this occasion was the flooding of one of the sub's compartments.
"Well… that sucked," spat Surt, as the slammed his fist against the locked door in frustration. "So much for that idea. Now what?"
"I hope Davy Jones doesn't mind some company," said SA-δ. And promptly enough, a low, metallic groan reverberated throughout the hull, causing both SA-δ and Surt to look around.
"You just had to open your mouth!" cursed the dark haired demon, only for the situation to deteriorate even further when the ship listed, and almost immediately it began to surface, sturn first.
"I've got no mouth, you git!" snapped the synthetic, while trying to keep itself upright. "Although, you do get a point there. Lemme tap onto the tac-net and see what's going on here."
"Actually… I think I already know," said Surt, after spending a moment to attune his senses to his surroundings. And sure enough, the overwhelming signature of celestial magic was too hard to ignore… even if there was a distinctive trace of demonic energy in the whole mix. "Hild and the others froze the water outside the sub. So, now we're a glorified ice cube."
"Yeap. At least, I'm gonna call that an improvement!"
"I call that a shitty situation, but that's just me," said Surt, before he threw a thumb over his shoulder. "Now, enough lollygagging. Let's go back to the bridge and get a proper sitrep."
XXX
Asgard
"Well, that was… anticlimactic."
Unsure what else to say about this type of situation, Thor merely remained in the middle of the cavern, making sure that no one was sneaking up to them. The only potential threat in the immediate area however, was apparently Ansuz, who clearly seemed she was about to blow a gasket; or in this case, bring down the whole place on top of them. Then again, he couldn't quite blame the poor goddess for feeling frustrated, when their attempt to ambush that fake Hild turned into nothing but a wild goose chase.
Not too far from the god of thunder, his adopted brother was studying the-five inch statuette left on top of a rock, out in the open, that bore a striking resemblance of the demoness they were looking after. Sure, that definitely wasn't their intended target, but after an extensive scan of the cavern, it became apparent that this figurine was the actual source of the reading that led them here in the first place. Worse yet, similar readings could be picked up from all across the forest, as the Valkyries that accompanied them, confirmed that there were multiple statuettes like the one they already found.
"It seems that this clone of Hild's… does have her sense of humor," noted Loki, as he turned to the others. Unsurprisingly, Ansuz was still fuming, and the news about the discovery of even more statuettes did little to improve her mood. "Regardless, this decoy is so good, that I can hardly tell the difference."
"A sense of humor, you say? Give me a break! This is the definition of a bad joke!" snapped Ansuz at Loki, causing him to back off a bit, before she physically vented her frustration on him. "I want that thing out of here, as soon as possible! And now, we need to go through… who knows how many decoys. Great! Just great!"
"Isn't there a way to tell these decoys without having to check each and every single of them?" asked Thor. While he didn't seem as annoyed as his sister-in-law, he definitely found this whole nonsense to rapidly devolve in a wild goose chase. And if past experiences were to be taken into account, bad things were about to happen, if they let something like Nidhogg to linger around Asgard for far too long.
"For once, I don't disagree with either of you. However… like I said before, I can't tell the difference between the real deal, and this decoy." Loki offered them a shrug, just to make his point across, since they either didn't get it, or rather… didn't want to accept reality. Not that he actually blamed them, since it was kind of impossible for anyone to create the perfect decoy. They were dealing with Nidhogg here though, so, the same rules probably didn't apply. "Look, if it makes you feel better, I can take this to my workshop and see if I can find out anything I've missed."
"Alright, you do that," said Ansuz, once it became apparent that they couldn't do anything else about it. "In the meantime, the rest of us will keep searching the area, just in case she's still hiding somewhere nearby."
Neither god offered any objections to Ansuz's orders, with Loki already preparing to teleport to his shop, while Thor called Tyr to let him know about the situation. Meanwhile, the teal haired goddess was also busy checking with the Valkyries to make sure there weren't any more surprises she wasn't aware of. And with that done, she led the god of thunder to the surface, given that there nothing more to do here. One thing was certain though: this was going to be a long day.
XXX
Asgard, in another timeline
Bringing the sub to the surface turned out to be an agonizingly slow process, even without taking into account the added weight of the water that they couldn't get out at the moment. On the plus side, it did help that their attackers all but disappeared once that ice spell turned most of them into icicles, but determining who won here was a totally different matter. The sub was in dire need of repairs, as entire sections were left flooded, and even getting the water out wouldn't immediately solve the problem. Most of the equipment stored in those flooded sections was subjected to such forces, thanks to the extreme water pressure, that it was literally crushed as a result. The damage was actually so bad, that entire sub suffered extensive structural damage, perhaps to the point where nothing short of a complete overhaul might be even enough to put it back in action.
The only good news -if there was such a thing at the time being- was that there wasn't anyone actively after them. Or at the very least, they weren't in sensor range, giving them some time to assess the situation, and come up with a solution. Something easier said than done here, given the sheer lack of resources needed to continue the war.
"Dare I ask for what our next step will be?" The mere fact that there was a clear hint of worry in Hild's voice, was enough of a testament of how grim their reality currently was. As much as she'd love to advise those robots to hunker down and let them handle this, given that they were vastly outnumbered. Even this attack revealed how little their enemy cared about the well-being of those under their command, since all those aquatic organisms were nothing more than living weapons that were never meant to outlive this attack. This unfortunately took the fear factor out of the equation, since those creatures didn't seem to possess any self-preservation instincts, that she could leverage to her advantage. Simply put, they could just keep coming, despite the horrific losses they suffer; and at some point, no matter how strong she and the others were, she was bound to run out of power.
The leader of the synthetics nodded its head in Hild's direction to acknowledge her, even though it didn't offer an actual reply. SA-α was still consulting their ship's main computer for a thorough analysis of the situation, although this particular problem was far too complex to emulate in mathematical models. On the other hand, SA-α did get a better view of the whole picture, even if it wasn't a pretty one. "I'm afraid we can't exactly do much until we have our ship repaired. But that's far from an easy task, since there's no drydock left for us to use. Besides, even if there was such a thing, we also lack the raw materials to fix everything. I've tasked SA-β to coordinate a scavenging operation onboard the ship, and list anything that we can recycle, but…"
"There's not much," concluded Hild for the synthetic, who only nodded at her. "I thought that was the case," she added with a frustrated sigh. In all honesty, she hoped that these robots would've been of some help, but right now their lack of resources was quickly turning them into a big liability. "Isn't there any plan B? Surely, you must've faced similar situations before."
"Actually, we were never attacked at such depth before. According to SA-γ's analysis of the samples we've got from those creatures, it was your energy that attracted them to our ship. Apparently they live at much greater depth than we normally submerge, and that's why we never run into them. However, as we travelled across the ocean, they must've picked up your 'scent' and immediately went after us. That would also explain why there wasn't any follow up to that attack, or any sense of coordination during it. Those things were living seek-and-destroy torpedoes, so to speak."
"I see. Still, is there anything we can do about it?" At this point, Hild's impatience was starting to get the better of her, since she was never happy to play the waiting game; especially not under such unfavorable conditions. While there were times in life were patience was a virtue, sitting idle in a world where even the wildlife had turned into some sort of weapon, could easily put herself and the others in a perilous situation. What she didn't wish to say though, was whether it was still worth fighting alongside these robots, or leaving them behind. Even if they had a common goal -and thus cooperation was the best option- at the time being, things weren't looking up for them, and allowing herself to get dragged into a lost cause was out of question. The biggest problem however, was that even if she convinced Surt to follow her orders, Lind and Peorth would be another matter altogether. Being goddesses, they'd be more inclined to stick to these robots' plea, and thus put themselves into grave danger over something that's essentially not their problem. Granted, she was far from a coward, and under any other circumstances she'd rather hold her ground rather than flee, but in this occasion her biggest priority was to get home.
"Right now, our top priority is to get you home," said SA-α, catching Hild off guard, since it almost sounded as if the synthetic read her mind. "As much as I don't wish to make decisions based on unconfirmed information, I'll have to accept your story that Belldandy-sama's son ended up in your world by coming into contact with Yggdrasil. If that's the case, then we must get you the Tree's chamber as soon as possible. Personally, I'd rather do that after we properly scouted the area, but that may no longer be possible. As it is, this may turn out to be quite the endeavor."
"What about you?" Despite her own thoughts about the situation, Hild couldn't help but feel bad after listening to the synthetic's words. The sheer frankness in SA-α's voice, together with the lack of any attempts to guilt trip her into helping their group, left the demoness with a sinking feeling.
"We'll manage, like we always did. And if this is the end of the road for us… then we might as well meet our fate with dignity," calmly replied SA-α, without the slightest hint of fear or hesitation. "But that's hardly anything new for us, since we've been through such hardships for a long time already."
"So, how long do we have to prepare?"
"A couple of hours at the very least. We first need to land our ship, if we want the slightest chance to repair it, and thankfully there's a large enough island not far from our position," said SA-α, and then brought up a map on one of the holoscreens for Hild to see. "Here, this is the one I'm talking about. Given our current cruise speed, I estimate it'll take us five to six hours. And if I assume that it'll take us at least two to three hours to securely land the ship on that island, we might start the operation in eight hours from now. Please take the time to rest and replenish your strength before we start this operation."
"Thanks, that I'll do," said Hild, before she turned and headed to find the others. Actually, didn't even need to look for most of them, since Lind and Peorth were tending to the recently… awoken Excalibur, although the ensuing chaos drove Surt to the ship's 'deck' where he could find some peace and quiet. And while she wanted to go and check Excalibur's new 'mode' as well as how the two goddesses coped with this new situation, Hild decided to first pay a visit to her fellow demon, and then deal with that madness.
It didn't even take her more than five minutes to locate Surt on the now deployed flight deck, since most of the rest of the ship was either covered in barnacles or damaged from the recent attack. Curiously enough, he was apparently gazing at the sky, which wasn't exactly the most typical thing of him to do. Granted, it could be the stress that started to get to him, as even the toughest person had a breaking point, and taking some time off to vent and clear one's thoughts was extremely important even in the direst of situations. "Will wonders ever cease? I never thought you to be the skygazing type."
The mixture of surprise and disbelief on the demon's face as he turned to look at his once mentor almost caused Hild to laugh, but that only frustrated him further. "We're neck deep into this shit, and you're cracking up jokes? Will wonders ever cease?" Despite his barb, Hild remained quiet, and instead turned her eyes skywards. This prompted Surt to drop the subject, as he realized that this was most likely her way of cheering him up, rather than making light of their situation. Not that he blamed her, given that he would've done the same, but then again, she got the wrong impression to begin with. "Sorry, that was uncalled for."
"There's no need to apologize, Surt. Just learn how to take a compliment. It's not that difficult," said the demoness with a hint of a smirk, and then turned her gaze at him. "By the way, we've got eight hours before we try to infiltrate the Tree's chamber. So, get some rest in the meantime. I need you to be in shape when the action starts."
"That's what I'm doing already. Besides, it's not like I have anything better to do right now," offered Surt with a shrug. "Speaking of that… What about the others? Are they done playing house?"
"Dunno, I didn't check on them," said Hild with a hearty chuckle. "You know I have a soft spot for kids, so, I didn't wish to end up fighting them over poor Excalibur."
"Poor Excalibur, my foot!" snorted Surt, and shook his head in disdain. "We're in the middle of a crisis, and he's playing games with us."
"I'm not so sure that's the case here. If what we've been told, he must be having a hard time adjusting to being less… mechanical, I suppose?" said Hild, and then took a moment to recall what SA-γ told them about Excalibur's predicament. Still, she wasn't all that experienced with how synthetic life forms worked, let alone someone who was partly synthetic as well, so in the end, Hild relented and shrugged. "Either way, I sincerely doubt that he's pretending to be unable to help, just to sit this one out. At the very least, he's going to put himself into greater danger if he can't quite protect himself, so, there are no benefits from faking it."
"Hm… good point. Although, if that's the case, we're in a worse situation that I thought. Having one civilian with us was bad enough to begin with, but another non-combatant? This isn't getting any easier," grunted Surt in frustration. And for the most part, Hild shared his sentiment, offering him a sympathetic nod.
"It's a setback for sure, but one that we'll have to deal with." The sound of the robots working in the distance, made Hild realize that aside from them, everyone else was pretty much busy. Still, since she couldn't quite help them, she decided that the least she could do is to stay out of the way. "Anyway, do you mind some company? I don't feel like going to sleep right now, and I have nothing else to do either. Might as well spend some time with you, instead. It's been ages since the last time we did this."
"Yeah…" What Hild failed to mention was the last time they spend time together, was to console each other after a funeral; most specifically, Sinmara and Sindr's. Then again, he knew that there was no way that she actually forgot about it, but probably thought to be a bad idea to bring this subject up. As such, he took a seat next to Hild, who used a partially broken armor plate as a bench. It was certainly not the most comfortable thing to sit upon, but for the time being, it would have to do.
"You know, I just noticed it, but… aren't there a lot of shooting stars all of a sudden?" asked Hild after looking up in the sky for a while.
"That's what I was looking at! You know, from back when you showed up? I happened to see a couple of them streak across the sky, and-" said Surt, before he abruptly stopped and pointed skywards. "There's another one!"
Sure enough, Hild watched a shooting star zoom across the sky, just like the other one she saw moments earlier. And while it could've been a mere meteor shower, the current circumstances made it highly suspicious. "That's weird. Maybe it's the remnants of the celestials' comm satellites burning up in the atmosphere, but… it could be something else. Just to be on the safe side, let's go ask SA-γ. That's more up his alley."
"Sure. I also want to know what this is all about."
XXX
The overall confusion from the simple act of waking up pushed Excalibur to such extremes as to find a method -any method- to make sense of his surroundings. Without any of his subroutines accessible to him, the utterly confused Earth Spirit tried to instinctively change his form into something that was better suited for these conditions… and the result was quite surprising even to him. Then again, perhaps the biggest surprise was the fact that Peorth was actually looking forward to… babysit him.
"Peorth, for the last time, I don't think it's necessary to feed him. And I won't even ask where you got that baby formula," said Lind, who despite the calmness of her voice, was quite unsure how to handle this sort of situation. After all, the sight of Peorth in a red apron -that she obviously wore over her combat uniform- and a bottle at hand was bizarre enough to even baffle Excalibur himself.
"Isn't it obvious that he needs some sort of energy?" countered the rose goddess, and raised the bottle to let her take a better look. "That's why I've made this special, plant-based formula to energize him. It's just like soy milk, only fortified with magic, too."
"Hm…" Lind took a moment to study the so called milk, and decided that the only way to ensure its safety for consumption was by giving it a try. As such, she extended her hand and looked at Peorth. "Can you drip a couple of droplets here? I want to see what this is all about."
"Huh? Sure, there you go," answered the perplexed Peorth, and shook the baby bottle above the Valkyrie's palm, so that a few drops landed on her glove.
Hesitatingly at first, Lind brought her hand closer to her nose, and sure enough, the milky white liquid gave off a faint scent of roses. This didn't quite surprise her though, as she was almost expecting this to be the case, but the biggest question was how it tasted. 'Well, here goes nothing, I guess.' With a deep breath, Lind dipped tapped the droplets with the tip of her tongue, and almost immediately her face contorted into a hilarious expression of disgust. "Ugh... It's sweet! Way too sweet!"
"Hm… perhaps I went a bit overboard with its energizing effect. But, don't worry! I'll just tone its flavor down, just so that it doesn't pack such a punch," replied Peorth, with a reassuring smile plastered on her face. Of course, the main reason for that was to convince Excalibur to give her concoction a try, but she knew how obstinate he could be, even in his current state. So, earning Lind's approval first, was most likely the only way to actually accomplish her goal. "See? It's not poisonous."
Despite Peorth's reassurance, Excalibur stared at the bottle with extreme skepticism evident on his face. While he barely managed to establish a pretty basic understanding of his environment by re-learning how to utilize his senses, Excalibur's mental capabilities remained mostly intact. As such, it didn't come as a surprise that he was nowhere as gullible as an actual infant, and refused to accept Peorth's offer - for more than one reasons. "Meh."
This dismissive response, coupled by the faux infant's attempt to shove the baby bottle out of his face was more than enough to irk Peorth to no end. The proud goddess wasn't fond of ungrateful people, and given that she wasn't dealing with a real baby, there were no excuses for this sort of behavior. "Now, listen here, mister! I made this formula for you, and the least you can do is try it! After all, we can't have you like this forever! Or have you forgotten that we're in Odal's world?"
"Hold on a moment, Peorth," said Lind, as she approached them. "Excalibur, do you actually know what's going on here?"
The Earth Spirit offered a nod in reply, and even made a clumsy attempt to say something, but it was still too difficult to properly speak. And while that was more than infuriating enough, given that he couldn't exactly explain how it was so hard to speak all of a sudden. His only hypothesis was that his translating routines must've been routed through his body articulation firmware, so that he could talk in all known languages; both oral and sign. However, with most of his programming logic gone, he now had to re-learn how to do all that on his own, which unfortunately required a lot of trial and error. Worse yet, his initial attempts to speak ended up in an incoherent babble, that ironically enough… seemed fitting for his current appearance.
"Well, at least that's something," mused Lind, before she glanced over at the bottle that, Peorth was still holding on. And though she had to commend her friend's resourcefulness, she couldn't exactly blame Excalibur for not wanting to drink that. Still, if providing him with energy could help speed up his recovery, Lind was willing to try something she found earlier on. "Actually, I was wondering if this could do the trick as well." With the others' curiosity piqued by her statement, Lind reached into her battle uniform to retrieve a small brownish package, that definitely looked like it's been around for far too long. There was even some discoloration of the label, and the container's material had also lost all its flexibility, turning into a hard shell that was even stuck in a rather awkward angular shape.
"By Yggdrasil!... Is that an MRE? Where did you even find it?" asked Peorth as she wrinkled up her nose in disgust, and Excalibur's reaction even more dramatic. Without much of a second though, he more or less wrangled the bottle from Peorth's hand and proceeded to feed from it, just to eliminate the possibility of having to try eating that thing.
Instead of being offended by Excalibur's reaction, Lind merely stashed the MRE into her uniform, and smiled ever so slightly at the sight of the curious Earth Spirit, who clearly noticed her. As a matter of fact, Peorth too realized that the Valkyrie wasn't upset, or even disappointed by how her idea was turned down, but Lind didn't wish to offer any elaborate explanations. After all, she doubted that her MRE was even edible, so for the most part, the whole thing was a ruse to convince Excalibur to try Peorth's concoction. And with that done, Lind needed to focus on something more productive. "I merely searched our quarters for anything useful, and it was just left in an old supply crate. However, that's hardly important right now. From what I've been told, we're planning to infiltrate the city's ruins, so, we need to come up with a plan to keep Excalibur safe."
"Sure thing, Lind," said Peorth, yet her voice lacked the certainty she would've preferred. There was little doubt that going back to the capital city was a seriously dangerous undertaking, especially given the sheer lack of survivors from… whatever did them in. "Say… do you think it's a good idea, though? Can't we find a way to go home without dealing with that insanity back in the city?"
Although she felt that Peorth may had a point, Lind remembered some details from the post extraction debriefing, when they first got onboard this ship. "As things stand right now, I seriously doubt it. This realm is completely isolated as far as anyone can tell. And though it's not exactly impossible for anyone to enforce such a blockade, I don't know if we can break through something the Infernal Dragon may have created. Actually, if anyone else was involved, then I would've recommended giving that a try first, and then go for a more direct alternative."
"Well, you do have a point," admitted Peorth with a sigh, and then took a moment to glance at Excalibur, who curiously returned her gaze. The rose goddess remained silent though, and ruffled the Earth Spirit's hair, causing him to mutter something incoherent, but in a clearly disgruntled manner. "Hey, don't look at me like that. It's for your own good."
The bioroid's reaction brought a smile on Lind's face, as it verified that deep down, this was pretty much the same person. "Peorth's right, Excalibur. We'll have to work out a solution to ensure your safety. And while we're on the subject, we might as well do the same for Peorth, too."
"Wait, me too?" asked the surprised goddess, to which her Valkyrie friend nodded.
"Of course. I normally wouldn't accept dragging a civilian in a situation like this, but we don't have any other options as it. Leaving you behind is definitely out of question, since in the event we find a way home, you might end up marooned here. Any objections?"
"No, not really. Just try to go easy on me," nervously replied Peorth, that further amused Lind.
"Duly noted, but no promises. Now, let's start with our friend first."
XXX
Helheim
With all the strange and unexpected things that happened as of late, Urd felt that nothing would surprise her at this point; only to end up staring agape at a bodysuit-clad angel. And that didn't even count for the fact that the aforementioned ethereal being sported a rather familiar face, despite her grown up body. "Noble Scarlet?! Is that really you?" she asked after what felt like an eternity of awkward silence, with World of Elegance still staring at her little sister.
"Of course I am! Who else did you expect, anyway?" replied the blonde angel, and quite audibly, too. This was actually so unexpected, that even Mara was taken aback when Noble Scarlet's voice came out, since every other angel -and devil alike- used telepathy as their primary means of communication. Still, that would've been nothing more than an oddity, given that angels were capable of making audible sounds, and with some effort they could speak in the same manner as anyone else. Sure, it was far from the most efficient way of doing things, and thus this was rarely -if ever- seen as a viable means of communication, but the biggest issue here was Noble Scarlet's host: a robot. And given the way everyone -save Hel- was staring at her, it didn't take long for her to figure out what the problem was. "Oh, don't mind my hostess. Her name's Gunnar, and by the way… that's also mom's axe she's holding. Let's say that she got hold of it, due to reasons."
The mention of that axe piqued Urd's curiosity, and it even made her realize that Noble Scarlet's bodysuit was in fact heavily based on Ansuz's battle uniform, only without the skirt, and a red trim instead of the teal that was present in the original. Additionally, the robot… herself had some interesting features that definitely caught the Norn's attention, which included a red version of Skuld's emblem sported on a couple of locations, as well as black hair that came out of the back of her head. Realistically speaking, that must've been some sort of plant fiber, given the fact that the original synthetic was merged with an Ironwood Dryad, yet that was just an oddity. What really interested Urd was that this Gunnar emitted the same type of energy one would've expected from a Celestial. And if that was the case, then Hel's 'robots' were far from nearly as harmless as some made them sound like, back home. Whether that was out of ignorance or due to a deliberate attempt to conceal what was taking place in this realm was up to anyone's guess, although from what she had seen so far, this realm already possess an effective military force. "Well, pleased to meet you, I guess."
"The pleasure is all mine. I trust that you came here to ask about my and Hel's angels?" replied Gunnar, in a somewhat feminine yet synthesized voice. She was still finding it hard to adapt to the idea that she now had a gender, and more importantly that she shared memories with an organic, whose mind works very differently from what counts as the norm for synthetics. In other words, it's an almost incoherent mess of information that organics seem to consider as organized, even though Gunnar found it hard to take it as such. On the other hand though, it did help her considerably to understand how her Dryad components worked, as well as acquire a tremendous wealth of information and empirical knowledge that Skuld possessed back in Odal's original timeline. So, overall the change was actually welcomed, even if the process of integrating all those additions was a long and arduous one.
"Actually… we didn't even know about Noble Scarlet before we met you," admitted Urd, and looked over at Mara who remained eerily silent throughout the whole echange, only to find that she's been checking her communicator. And judging by how pale her face looked like -even more so than normal- Urd didn't need more than that to figure out that there was a problem. Still, she wished to sound a bit more optimistic by avoiding to jump into conclusions, and instead ask her girlfriend what was going on. "Everything's alright, Mara?"
There was a slight delay as the demoness in question went through her message once more, just to make sure that she didn't misread it in the first place. "No, not at all! As if we don't have enough problems already, my… well… mother wants to talk to me."
"Your… mother?" The wonder in Urd's voice was as great as her disbelief, since for the longest time she couldn't recall anything about Mara's mother. Sure, it had never been a secret that her girlfriend was from a single parent family, yet any details about her mother's identity eluded Urd, and neither did Mara bring the subject up. Then again, given the fact that they were in a relationship, perhaps she worried that any mentions of her mother could scare Urd off. After all, whenever parents were brought up at this stage in a relationship, it normally only meant one thing: someone wants to push things forward. And with Odal's rather unexpected marriage, the last thing Urd wanted was to get tricked into a similar situation. 'It's not that I hate the idea, but… I sure don't want it to happen all of a sudden. How does Odal deal with his own surprise marriage to Hagall is beyond me. Heck, at least in my case I wouldn't have to marry a stranger.'
Taking her girlfriend's sudden silence as a sign of worry, Mara tried to reassure her that this didn't have to do with her. Which in reality wouldn't be a lie, given that it was highly unlikely for her mother to send such a serious message whenever she plotted something silly. "Uh… I suppose it's been a while since the last time I talked to my mom. You know… between being sealed, and all that happened on Earth the last couple of years, I've been too busy for that."
'Yeah, right. As if I'd even buy that. Still, why do I have the feeling that I knew her mother in the past? Was she working for my mother, or something like that? I don't remember...' Despite her best efforts, Urd couldn't quite recall all the details of a past that she repressed for so long that it became almost forgotten by now. "At any rate… are we supposed to head there right now? I mean, is it an emergency or something? We just got here after the longest time, and the last thing I need is to go through the same screening to get back here."
"Actually, that's not necessary," said Hel with an amused smirk as she pointed at herself for extra emphasis. "Unless you've forgotten, I happen to be in charge of this particular realm. So, as long as you don't return to Asgard, it's up to me whether I'll grant you entrance to my domain; which I will, in case you're wondering. After all, being my cousin has its perks when favors come into play."
"Right… I guess it should be fine then. In that case, we'll talk again later. For the time being, we're needed elsewhere," said Urd with some skepticism, as she wasn't entirely sure about the whole 'cousins' thing, but at least she didn't have to worry about returning here. Turning to Mara, the Norn gestured her to follow as she made her way to the Gate's room. However, she didn't manage to take more than a couple of steps when Hel called for her. "Huh? Is there anything you forgot?"
"Actually, I was wondering if you wanted to take Noble Scarlet with you. As much as I enjoy her company, I think it's better for her to spread her wings, and see the outside world once again," said Hel, and then turned to the angel in question who initially shot her a perplexed glance, before she went ahead and decided to roll with it and see what was going to happen.
"Sure, that sounds fine by me. World of Elegance would love to hang around Little Red, anyway," came the Norn's reply without much hesitation, as this allowed her to spend more time with this older Noble Scarlet. And if she got her in the mood of sharing some of her tales, then Urd could learn more about the events that took place in Odal's original timeline. At the very least that might give her a better perspective of what she should keep an eye out, just in case history was about to repeat itself.
Noble Scarlet bristled at the sound of that nickname, and yet at the same time it was refreshing to have this kind of banter with Urd. Of course, it would've been so much better if it was her mistress who got the chance to do that, but beggars can't be choosers. Besides, she knew that this was what Skuld would've liked, and for Noble Scarlet that was more than enough. Over time, she might even get to talk to this timeline's Skuld, at least once she knew how to handle such a reunion. Even if this wasn't her Skuld, the bond between an angel and her goddess is more than powerful enough to make her wish to get closer to her. "Who do you think you're calling little? Just because you're used to this world's version of me, that doesn't mean you can say the same to me! Hey, are you even listening?"
Meanwhile, Mara shook her head at the sight of the seemingly bickering duo, although in reality it was just like the 'arguments' her girlfriend had with her little sister. And for the most part she didn't feel like interrupting them, since it was apparent that they were having a good time. What she wasn't certain about though, was the situation back at the Daimakaicho's mansion. After all, her mother wouldn't go out of her way to contact her if she didn't have any other alternatives, which given her otherwise vast resources, was a troublesome prospective.
'I swear… it's constantly one thing after the other. And now it seems that mom's worried about Hild-sama? That's something new. Seriously, what's going on? I sure hope that it's nothing bad, but I guess I'll have to wait and see what this all about once we get there.'
AN: I would like to thank everyone here and the Goddess Relief site for offering their continuing support.
Now, as far as the chapter is concerned, it's getting closer to the point where Hild's going to meet whoever is the main antagonist in the timeline she's currently in. Additionally, Excalibur's current form isn't something permanent, and won't likely last for too long. You can expect some changes even from the next chapter.
Speaking of changes, aside from the older World of Elegance and Noble Scarlet coming into contact with Urd, there's also the eventual introduction of Mara's mother in the next chapter. Although she does exist in some of my other works, this will be her first appearance in this story, and I hope that you're looking forward to that.
In other news, with this chapter the story's now over 700000 words long. And while it's a bit of an arbitrary number for me to mention it, I just realized that I'm slowly getting to the million word mark. I wish to thank everyone who's been reading, commenting, and following this story for all those years. Your continued support is truly vital for keeping me motivated to go on. And I really have big plans for this story.