Nearly a year! Holy hell, that's unexpected.
Sorry for not updating this story. Can't believe that I have withheld this story for that long.
I have nothing else to say, so you guys enjoy the new chapter!
Some days later. Gallia's Militia Training Ground
"Um... do we HAVE to do the training here?" Alicia asks uncertainly. She looks around to see many Militia soldiers watching them preparing to have a deal between Valkyrias.
After daily training schedules with other soldiers, Kuro has told both her and Riela to have their first CQC fight... with Valkyria weapons. Of course, the girls have expected it to happen, they just didn't think that it would happen in their very first lesson. And in front of literally everyone, for the worse of it.
"Can't train you properly if we don't know how the power of Valkyria helps you in a fight." Uni explains. "I have seen Selvaria's fight against Kuro through his memories, but we're not certain if the skill is her own or it's helped by the Valkyria's power."
"I think she's asking if training in the TANK TRAINING AREA is a good idea." Riela is having the same concern as Squad 7's sub-commander, as she emphasizes their current location. "And with everyone knowing that we're here..."
"Do you think explosions in foot soldier training area are a better idea?" Kuro asks jokingly, but then turns serious. "And I do mean it. If an unstable Valkyria could wipe out an entire building, there's no such things as controlled safety when it comes into this kind of training."
Shuddering after hearing that, Alicia could see his point. "...That makes sense..." She then looks down at the Valkyria Lance and Shield in her hands, which they borrowed from Her Highness. "I feel a little grateful, yet ashamed that we asked Princess Cordelia for such..."
"If to protect her nation, she would do anything to achieve it." Kuro assures the girl. "If I was in her position, I would also allow to give you the weapons if you are compatible with them." He then goes back into the main objective of the event: "Alicia, start activating your weapons. We will see how the weapons resonate with you."
After hearing the instruction, the girl nods and tightens her grip on them. Immediately, she feels the same surge of energy emitting from her inner core, just like the time in Marberry Shore. The blue flame starts covering her entire body, flaring brightly and releasing a strong aura. At the same time, the weapons start to make small but smooth sounds, signaling the synchronization between the user and the weapons.
"Hm..." Observing the changes, Kuro takes some notes of the activation in his mind.
After the feeling slightly calms down, Alicia looks at her arms and her body to see the blue flame around her. "Woah... this feels... strange..."
"Even though you have used it few times already?" Riela can't help but giggle at Alicia's curious expression.
"Hey now. This is the first time I actively used it, right?"
"Back to the matter, you girls." Uni chuckles once before directing them back to the right course. "Riela, it's your turn."
"Right." And with that, the blue flame starts bursting out of the member of Nameless squad... but the girl now wears a slight pain expression.
"...Yeah, that might be the reason." Kuro immediately speaks up after Riela's power release.
"What? You found something?" Uni asks, curious of what her partner just said.
"Mixed blood. While it's not a very great issue in human, it's opposite actually, if we talk about the heritaged power... that's a problem. Some of them require VERY PURE genetic system to work properly... this Valkyria's power might be weakened after each generation." He speaks out his thinking. "OR, no offense Riela, but one side of your parents might have... let's just say they're not compatible with Valkyria power." He plans to discuss further, but remembers that they're not a Biology class.
"Hm...I think it's the second case." Riela knows what he's implying. "The one who showed me the power inside me said that it's an incomplete awakening..." She remembers her conversation with the mysterious Imperial researcher.
"Anyway, let's stable that first." Kuro then puts his right hand on Riela's right shoulder, as he transmits some of his magic into the girl to neutralize the pain.
The girl feels a different type of power causing through her. This new power starts spreading through her body, and the feeling of her body being strained starts to subdue.
"Thank you..."
"Don't thank me just yet." Retracting his hand back, Kuro continues. "This is just a temporary solution. Once the training ends and I have to retract my power back... Be aware of the amplified pain."
"..." This time Riela's expression turns blank, however everyone knows that she's a little scared.
"We will think of a plan for that later. Now..." The man then turns back and makes a few steps away, before he calls out a black spear with green tip and places it over his shoulder. "Let's see how Valkyria's power helps you against me."
Later on. Bathhouse
"Is your muscle relaxed yet Riela?" Alicia asks her fellow Valkyria in worry.
"Well, my body still feels a little stiff, but it's definitely better than when we're training." Riela moves her right hand up and down for a few times to test the muscle. "This... medical herb sure does some good healing effects."
After the training (read: brutal beatdown), Alicia and Riela's Valkyria power gave out, and they had to use the lances as the supporters so they wouldn't face-plant to the ground. Thankfully, Kuro and Uni quickly gave them a lift to the medical bay so they can rest for a while. Then, Kuro commented about how they fought, which was mostly neutral (good observation, but lack of reaction timing; aware of the threat in the right direction, but only one of many). After that, Kuro said that he would let them 'heal' with a good bath, which most of the people didn't understand 'how could one bath heal such kind of training?' before they got in.
"Yeah, sometimes we have to go to one after a few days of nonstop working." Uni dips her body further into the water, leaving only her head be above the surface. "It's a luxury, but we wouldn't use this too often."
"Why not?" Isara asks curiously. "These herbs are cheap, right? Then..."
"These aren't cheap, and fresh and healthy herbs are treated as treasures in our place. Also, if you use it too often, the odor would cling on you for too long. And they must go through many checking conditions before they're qualified to be used."
"Then... it must be very expensive, right?"
"Of course, Marina. There would be occasional discount, but it's still very hard to go regularly. Chemical replacements are possible, but it wouldn't have the same effects as the herbs."
The conversation dies down a bit so the girls could enjoy the feeling of the sauna...
"Do you miss your sister?" Alicia suddenly asks Uni. "I mean, you are now fighting a war for a nation you are not familiar with, and you haven't returned for a while."
Taking a few seconds of silence, the CPU Candidate replies: "I do. Of course, I have chatted with her a few times in a week..." Slightly sitting up so her shoulders reach out of the surface, she continues. "I'm more worried about not being able to help you girls."
Rosie smirks after hearing that. "Well, you two are doing that too well. Especially that 'special' friend of yours." Then her tone changes into curiosity. "If he's that powerful, then why wouldn't he help us by himself?"
"...I know the reason, but I can't tell you, sorry."
"...You guys still have enough secrets that you can't tell?" Rosie's tone returns to normal. "My gosh, it's going to be a pain to pry anything from you two."
"Changing the subject a bit..." Riela derails the conversation to another path. "What happened after Gallia pushed back the Empire? Would you return back to your... place?"
"Maybe after we helped squad E."
"Ah, right. Squad E and the Federation are fighting back the Empire as well." Alicia remembers. "But, why squad E in particular and not... well, the Federation Army?"
"That's... also part of the secret. However, there is one thing to note: There is going to be another Valkyria waiting for them."
"...Just how many Valkyrias exist at the moment?" Imca is not liking that at all.
"Adult, or children? Because if it's the latter, then there would be a lot. Like Kuro said, mixed blood."
With that, everyone turns silence and decides to just enjoy the bath before duty calls.
Nighttime
"That's refreshing. Better that a normal hot bath." Stretching his arms, Faldio then puts his pen on the table after dealing with some of the remaining reports of the day. "Let's return back to the camp and..." Suddenly a knock on the door interrupts his own thought. "Come in."
The door opens, and it turns out to be his subordinate, Ramal Valt. The boy salutes the leader of Squad 1 before closing the door. He then speaks as he reaches the table: "Lieutenant, my apology for disturbing you this late. But I need to keep this conversation in the dark before I could ask anyone else."
"...What is it?" Seeing the serious expression on his comrade's face, Faldio knows there's something wrong. "And there's no need for formality now."
"...In Marberry Shore, Alicia and Isara got shot." Following Faldio's order, Ramal relaxes in his way of talking, just a bit.
"Ah, that incident? It's in the past already, Ramal." Faldio thinks it would be something else more serious. "They're both healed..."
"Kuro knew that Isara was going to get shot, but he didn't intervene."
"...What makes you say so?" That catches the leader's attention. "Based on what everyone else said, Kuro was also surprised at the shots..."
"He fully expected her to get shot, but not Alicia." Pulling out a piece of paper from his chest pocket, Ramal gives it to Faldio. "I managed to sneak this paper out of his plans. You need to see it for yourself. I haven't read everything, but the top ones are enough..."
Slightly alarmed, Faldio receives the paper and reads...
What he reads next shocks him to the core.
...
Marberry Shore events
Primary Objective:
Eliminate Empire troops and retake the location back for Gallia: Completed.
Make peace between Isara and Rosie: Completed.
Optional Objective:
Do NOT intervene the shot targeting Isara. Completed.
Unexpected events:
Alicia got shot by T.O. Her power revealed sooner than expected.
Riela revealed her name.
Upcoming plans:
Train Alicia and Riela to harness Valkyria power.
Let the Valkyrias fight their own in Naggair Campaign.
Events prevented:
Faldio's attempt to trigger Alicia's power.
Squad 1's elimination.
Squad 422's desertion because of being betrayed.
The next day. Eleanor's office
"...This is troublesome." Captain Varrot says in worry as she reads the paper Faldio received last night. "Thankfully, whatever is going to your squad is not going to happen. However, who shot Alicia? Clearly Kuro knew this person, but..."
"Did you tell him to come here?" Faldio asks, feeling anxious about the whole deal...
"Miss Varrot, are you inside?" To answer his question, the person knocks on the door of the office while calling out for the owner of the room.
"The door's opened." The Captain replies back, keeping her voice as normal as possible.
Upon entering the room and closing the door, Kuro then asks out loud without checking who's in the room: "Good morning. What do you..." Though, when he notices that there's Welkin and Faldio in the same room as well, with their faces not very happy, he greets them: "Ah, Welkin, Faldio. So, new orders for all of us?"
"We have questions for you." Varrot speaks up, gaining Kuro's attention. "About this." She then uses her right hand and raises the paper up.
"...No wonder." Seeing that he's busted, Kuro sighs and scratches his head while dropping his humour tone. "Alright... go ahead. Put your anger on me. Just don't put Uni in this, she knows nothing."
"...We just need answers from you." Before Welkin could say or do anything, Faldio speaks up. "And this time, we want you to answer them straight, no going around."
"...I will try. But there are something that you won't be able to obtain from me or Uni, even if you try to kill us." Kuro replies.
"...Why did you let Isara get shot?" Welkin asks first, trying to contain his anger.
"...Ever heard of multiverse theory?" Kuro asks first, and he earns headshakes. "Think of it like this: What if Uni and I never arrived? What if your escape back in Bruhl ended up in failure? What would happen if Princess Cordelia wasn't saved in time? Every possibility creates a new universe, and they all run parallel to each other."
"...And you already knew what would happen next." Eleanor concludes, earning a nod from Kuro. "That's why you knew what happened to the Valkyria General of the Empire, and Alicia and Riela's status."
Another nod. And Kuro then says: "For your question, Welkin: Think of it like an unchangeable event. And I have to remind you: her death IS inevitable if it was in another universe where there are no people like us to save her. If I try to change it, the future would lead further away from the original timeline and I can't ensure the number of casualties."
"...And my squad's elimination. How did you prevent it?" Faldio asks next.
"Simple: Removing Damon out of his position. And because of that, many more things are being done better. You will be able to see that clearly."
"That's...true." Eleanor can't deny it. Thanks to him removing the 'fail' general, their operations have worked more correctly and they have minimized a lot of deads. "But, why is that an optional objective?"
"Because my human side doesn't want to put anyone in harm." Kuro reasons. "But if it's something that needs to be done, then I have to."
"...Who shot Alicia?" Welkin continues with another question. "You wrote in here 'T.O', but that's hardly a person's name."
"Then you are wrong. T.O IS how we all call him. Though... technically, he is me."
"WHAT?" That makes both commanders shout in surprise. The member of squad 7 then asks: "How is that possible? You were standing next to us, and..."
"It's a matter I can't disclose. However, that was not in my plan or Uni's. None of us expected him to be on the scene back then. We were planning to ask you..." He turns to Faldio, then to Welkin. "And you if we should tell Alicia about her power AFTER the operation to reclaim Bruhl."
"...Why? Alicia would be fine without... another fixed event?"
"Yes, miss Varrot."
"Then..." Welkin now feels a little bad about thinking that Kuro's being heartless. But, he still has some questions. "About you training Alicia and Riela... is it in your original plan?"
"Only if Alicia accepts it. Otherwise we will deal with the Valkyrias while you all deal with the rest."
"...Is there anything we need to be cautious of in the next operation?" Varrot decides that there's nothing else they could tell about...
"How would I attempt to awaken Alicia's power?" Faldio interrupts.
"...You might have guessed it."
"...He wouldn't do it... I mean, the two are close friends, right?" Welkin is doubting the possibility.
"...First, how dense are you Welkin?" The serious atmosphere suddenly breaks by Kuro asking the question with a chuckle. But it immediately returns when he continues: "That can, thankfully, be explained. In the original, Squad 1 was wiped out by Selvaria thanks to our dumb 'general'. Only one survived... and after seeing the damage, well... you would wish for anything that could counter that. And, unfortunately, to trigger the power..."
"The person has to suffer mortal wounds before the awakening." Faldio continues that, perking others' attentions. "...If that's the case..."
"Yes." Kuro simply ends that.
The whole room falls into silence, as the Gallians try to digest what they just heard...
"...Welkin, you know the reason now. Do you have anything to say to me?"
"...Next time, if something like in Marberry Shore is going to happen... please, at least give us a hint." Welkin decides to not put blame on Kuro any further, but he still needs to ensure his squad's safety.
"...I will try. I can't make it too obvious." Kuro says solemnly, knowing the possibility of consequences they could face if not being careful.
"...Do you have anymore questions to him, Welkin, Faldio?"
"...No, madam." Both commanders reply.
"Then you are dismissed. Return to your regular schedule."
With that, the male-trio salute and leave the room, after Kuro asks Eleanor to return him the paper.
...
After exiting the room, Welkin goes one way, Kuro and Faldio goes the other...
"Shocking, isn't it?"
"Of course... Having knowledge like that, you must have to be responsible for them..."
"...Change of subject. Can you be a wingman for Welkin?"
The sudden change causes Faldio to blink once, before chuckling. "Seriously? I think they're already close enough."
"Hey, he's STILL thinking you two are 'that'. Of course, things will be OK on its own, but we're going to need some ways to directly push them towards each other."
"...I can't still get used to how you change the mood so quickly."
"*Laugh* You won't be able to."
Meanwhile. Empire's side
"We lost Fouzen and Marberry Shore...and Gregor as well. It's possible that the mercenaries have killed him." Selvaria reports to Prince Maximilian.
"What's next, Maximilian? Things don't look very good for the Empire." Jaeger asks the Prince, as he's thinking about whom he could side now.
"...The Empire has claimed most of Gallia in their earliest victory. However, the enemies are regaining their land back by attacking the detachments in separate locations." Maximilian points out the problem.
"...So you want to re-concentrate our force?"
"Yes. Gather our force on Naggair plains." The Prince orders. "Selvaria, I want you to hold nothing back. Also, focus on killing those mercenaries. They're the greatest barricade in our way to victory. And... if necessary..."
"I will not disappoint you, Your Grace!" Selvaria replies immediately, remembering the humility she got from Barious. "They will not stand a chance once I use all of my power!"
The Princess nods as the female general leaves the war room. He then turns to the last general and says: "You know the deal. Don't hold back, or the reinstatement of your homeland won't happen. We all know about your conversations with those mercenaries..."
"Ah, then you don't need to worry." Jaeger sends out a smile, not afraid of the threat Maximilian is showing. "I will fight for you and try the best to gain your victory. My deal with those mercenaries only happen if you fail."
"And you expect me to lose?"
"Before those mercenaries showed up, obviously not. But, you know me enough, I won't beg to obtain anything. I will fight for it, and I won't break promise."
"Hm... at least you are a man of honor. Very well, I have nothing else to say to you. You are dismissed."
...
"Well, that complicates things." Returning to his office, Jaeger sits on his chair and leans on it while thinking back of the conversation in the war room. "Hm... if that girl decides to blow herself up..." Reaching to his phone, he starts dialing a number he's told to reach a certain someone...
"It's a little risky to call me like this."
"The Prince knew already. Besides, I would be dead already if I told you any plans from our side."
"Fair enough. So, what do you want to talk about?"
"Just a little warning. Selvaria is going all out."
"...All out?"
"Yes, all out."
"...Damn. Okay, got it. Anything else?"
"Give us your best shot."
"...Now that's a challenge I would take. Take care of yourself."
"To you." Jaeger ends the call, then leans back on his chair again. "Let's see how you will deal with that, mister Mercenary."
Some time later. Squad 7's room
"Final Flame... that's not good." Kuro taps his fingers on the table impatiently. "That move could only be stopped by two solutions... and only one way to prevent it from happening..."
"You look troubled, honey." A cup of coffee is placed next to his hand, and Kuro looks up to see Jann's face. "Have some drink, it might calm you down."
"...Thank you Jann." Thanking the feminine-ish soldier, Kuro takes a sip from the cup. He then explains: "Our next meeting with Selvaria is not going to end well. My plans are slightly off the road now. I need to find away to direct it back to the right course."
"Why do you think that?" The Gallia soldier then takes a seat at Kuro's right side. "Why do you think that saving Selvaria is the right thing to do?"
"It's because..."
"You are not her, honey." Jann interrupts immediately. "As a man, you can't understand a woman's heart fully, especially when you two are strangers."
"...I have met her types before..." And married one, and had a daughter who would do everything to be near him.
"Every girl is different, dear. You can't use the same way to impress a girl on the other."
"I would beg to differ. Nevertheless, letting her use a mass-destruction move to eliminate both sides is a no-go. Her grudge against me is also hindering my options. Uni is not going to be helpful in this case either."
"You are just thinking for an immediate plan. Why don't you think of a longer one?"
"...What's your suggestion?" Putting down the coffee cup, Kuro fully turns his head to Jann and asks the person.
"Leave her to us. You just need to make sure that she's not able to kill us, and we will deal with the rest. After all, your focus is to end the war with minimum casualties, and not to deal everything yourself, correct?"
"...You sure you would be able to deal with her?"
"Better than you, for sure dear."
Jann then makes a 'girlish' smile that makes Kuro feel disturbed inside. But, he does have a point. Kuro doesn't have to try to convert Selvaria to neutral, if not to Gallia's side. Just disabling her power and letting the others 'negotiate' her is definitely a better choice. Also, he removed Damon out of the picture just to make sure that dumba$$ couldn't trigger 'that' event.
"...Then I will leave that to you all. Thanks for sparing your thought with me... and the coffee is good."
"Of course honey! Anything to make you feel good!"
'...I think that, being around Anonydeath for too long would make you be numb to all of this... Nah, asking him won't do... He DOES manage to trick... not gonna work... Guess I will leave her to Squad 7 then.'
Chapter 16 end!
Okay, my plan for the next chapter is to skip Bruhl Rescuing Operation since I see nothing I could exploit from that. So it will be the fight in Naggair, and... well, it's not going to end with Selvaria simply being defeated.
I think that's enough. See you all in the future!