It was the district commander Valkyrie’s own evolved gift. Her gaze cut the Aether fog like a knife, a cold line through a white veil, picking out figures like ink on silk within a few dozen meters.

It had budded from Brynhildr’s Eye that Sees the Real, the way a brook springs from a mountain. But she was nowhere near Brynhildr’s peak, and she lacked that absurd, hammer-blow power to shatter delusion.

Even so, as the Valkyries’ commander, and with the Aether Eye on her side, this eye was enough. She switched it with the Aether Eye like lighthouse and torch, sweeping the mist and covering most of the field.

Few enemies dared step into Aether fog. The Valkyries had raised it like a storm wall, and it carried Aether bearing Brynhildr’s taste, sharp as sea-salt wind. Outsiders needed countermeasures before they even thought to wade in.

“Let me see. Squad One, Squad Two… the eastern squad just went on alert. That open-channel ping was probably from Flora, so that’s her flank. The other two flanks pulled back outside the ward, but they’re covering. Good…”

She was satisfied. The squads moved like beads on an abacus and stones on a board. Valkyries were one body; no link in the chain gets tossed away.

The third squad on the east… that should be Haiyin and—Haiyin and Lori, right? That side might actually be in trouble. Still, Haiyin hits like thunder on the field. Lori’s a bit soft around the edges, but—

She opened Aether comms on her armor. A short cough, then her voice rang clear in every Valkyrie’s ear, steady as a bell.

“All Valkyries, attention. Cover our sisters. We don’t leave anyone behind. If needed, fire support will blanket the fog’s forward edge. Be ready.”

If Third Squad was delayed, then that little terror Haiyin must’ve found something worth bleeding for. Their group-mind ran strong—less a human collective than a hive’s shared current. Under Brynhildr, the queen, they held tight cohesion and hit like a stormfront.

But this time, the “brain” wasn’t on comms. Command fell to the commander Valkyrie, a warrior cut from iron. Next to Brynhildr’s “brain,” she was the alpha wolf, all fang and stride.

It wasn’t that she couldn’t plan. Compared to Brynhildr, she was simply a purer general. She killed on the front line, and her strength gave her a hawk’s view over the field. For any commander, that vantage was gold.

Because of that, a single silhouette stayed a heavenly chasm in her heart: Brynhildr. There’s an old saying—scorn the enemy in strategy, respect them in tactics. A commander needs that iron aura, that absolute confidence, to seize the whole army and the whole field.

She could grasp the field. Yet Brynhildr’s shadow stood always before her, a peak to surpass, a godline to cross. That inhuman power made even a strong Valkyrie’s pulse hitch.

“This should be close to Lady Brynhildr now… right?”

The one-eyed Valkyrie murmured, a small smile breaking like sunlight. Joy warmed her face at drawing nearer to that distant back. An azure cross tightened in her right eye, locking onto the lone figure that had not returned.

Figures. It was Haiyin, that stubborn kid…

Not only the one-eyed Valkyrie saw it. As the fog’s static eased, Flora’s Aether sense—the kind that stretched like a net over a lake—finally caught Haiyin too. She could even “see” what Haiyin was doing. One glimpse of Haiyin’s motion, and that huge, uncanny elite beast, and Flora let out a long, heavy sigh.

“Let’s go, Medusa. Support duty for Haiyin and Lori is yours.”

Flora sighed, rubbed her brow, then smiled at the sister beside her. As the assault Valkyries’ leader, she had front-line authority to reshuffle the deck. And Valkyries didn’t fear a sister’s sudden betrayal; in some deep way, they were the same seed, the same blade from the same forge.

There was also that intimate, wordless filament threading their minds. Call it a link, and it still wasn’t a line you could talk down. They still needed Aether comms. But the link existed. As they grew, the older Valkyries felt it more—like wind on the skin—enough to sense each other’s moods. Rebellion wasn’t a real worry.

Besides, even if someone tried, only a few sat above the many—today’s leaders—and those few were Brynhildr’s most devout. To betray, you’d have to turn the entire swarm.

“Been waiting for you to say that~”

Medusa let out the breath she’d been holding. A smile flashed. Her spear, clearly modified, unfurled with a flick. Segments slid like silver scales, becoming a long, flexible blade chained from a hundred fine edges. Not quite a whip, not quite a sword—more a river of steel.

She snapped it. Air cracked like splitting bamboo. The flurry shredded the Aether fog around her. Before the mist could pool again, Medusa was already a silver-white streak in the haze, racing into the wind opposite Lori’s retreat.

At that sharp crack, Lori skidded to a halt. The figure ghosted past her, and she blinked, then knew that speed on instinct. Her boots turned to follow—until a voice in her armor’s comms pulled her up short.

“Come back, Lori. Trust Medusa. She’ll bring your partner home, safe and whole.”

Flora’s voice flowed through the Aether, soft as water and firm as iron. The authority allowed no argument. Lori turned back.

“But… Sister Flora, Haiyin, she—”

“You already handed Haiyin your defensive scroll, didn’t you? And Medusa’s there. Trust them. Trust your partner. Lady Brynhildr paired you for a reason. You bring delicacy. Haiyin brings resolve. Trust her, this time.”

Flora’s smile held a helpless warmth. If it weren’t Lori, she wouldn’t have explained this much. Lori looked timid, but her heart was a finely tuned blade. When a question stood in her path, she’d follow it to the end until the answer gleamed.

So now, better to lean on the bond between sisters than on more words.

“I… understand, Lady Flora. I’m returning. Please cover me.”

Lori’s voice caught, then cut off. Soon, as the Aether fog thinned like breath on glass, her small figure appeared before Brynhildr. Her eyes carried helplessness and guilt, two dark lakes.

Flora stepped up and hugged her. Then she signaled the nearby squad to lead Lori back inside the Aether ward. Lori didn’t resist. She lowered her head and followed, quiet as snow.

“Alright then, Haiyin—what have you found this time? Show me the gift your fierce intuition brings. All assault Valkyries, hear me. Except for the eastern squad, fall back inside the Aether ward and anchor the defense with your teams.”

Flora’s voice rolled out on the public channel. The one-eyed Valkyrie received it, of course. In her sight she watched Medusa sprint away, Lori carried back, and Flora still standing firm. The sisters’ tacit rhythm showed in every step.

“Support Valkyries, mark a three-hundred-meter forward line. Swap to Firewall rounds and Isolation rounds. First volley: three Firewall rounds, rapid. Hold Isolation until the sisters are back!”

The order went straight to the support Valkyries’ armor. In a breath, their hands moved faster than rain. The chambered rounds popped free. Three fire-red crystal shells slid in, bright as coal embers. One black-and-white oversized round was braced between middle and ring fingers. They aimed where the one-eyed Valkyrie pointed, steady as bows on a ridge.