Aelfric glided along the night sky in a wing suit above Lyrsium. He pressured Reina to direct him using GPS. Though panicked and terrified as she experienced the descent through his eyes, she managed to guide him to a nondescript building rooftop. He deployed a parachute uncomfortably close to the destination.

  “You’re definitely going too fast, right? Right?” Reina panicked. “Oh my god!” She closed her eyes in a sense until a loud thud, followed by the sound of the parachute falling over Aelfric.

  “All is well,” Aelfric said. Reina returned to seeing through his eyes. He’d already started moving out from under the parachute.

  “How the hell’re you okay? The fu—? My heart’s beating out of my chest. How is yours is that low?”

  “Shock absorption.” Aelfric looked down and patted his cybernetic leg. “And I’ve long since tempered such fears.”

  “I need a second.” Just as Reina slid off her headgear, Celeste rushed into her room.

  “Reina-hun, are you okay? I stopped in for a second and heard you yell. What’s happening? What’s wrong?”

  “Ma…ma?”

  Reina had difficulty speaking. Her heart raced while she weathered a bout of nausea and realized she’d been sweating no small amount. Celeste rushed to her side and comforted her without badgering further. Celeste recognized Reina’s state quickly, then retrieved a trash can. Reina resisted vomiting.

  Wow, that passed surprisingly quick, Reina thought. Could’ve it been that flying game Dante made me play? To think ALTR helped in such an unexpected way.

  “Reina, hun? Feeling better?” Celeste asked.

  Reina breathed out, then rushed back into her position on her bed to Celeste’s surprise. “Sorry Mama, no time. Jack in and I’ll pass audio/video to you. Best I can do. Please, don’t press further! You’ll understand!”

  Several seconds later, Reina returned to seeing through Aelfric’s eyes. He fiddled with gear from a backpack, having set aside the parachute.

  “I’m back, sorry.”

  “Fortunate. Which side of the building is your father on?” Aelfric asked.

  “Uhm, sec.” While Reina checked Leon’s location, she also passed the video and audio to Celeste. “Northwest, more west than north.” Then she saw the feed of Leon’s room go black, which she had monitored until then. “Aelfric! Papa’s feed just cut out! If it was the strange doctor I saw before, they would’ve had to do it from a security room.” Celeste couldn’t help making remarks out of sheer shock, but Reina couldn’t hear her.

  “We still have time, then.” Aelfric sprinted to the edge of the northwest roof.

  “How’re you so prepared? No, nevermind. Not the time.”

  “I’ll need your help to know his room location from outside.”

  “On it. I’ve also remotely closed Papa’s door, but there’s an emergency open in the hall, so it won’t buy much time.”

  A short time later, in Leon’s hospital room, a peculiar sight played out. The female doctor Reina had seen prior stood over Leon. Several Excalium scalpels banded together hung mere inches from Leon’s throat. However, they trembled aloft, stuck where they were. Though Leon appeared still unconscious, his great hand had swallowed up the assassin’s weapon-wielding hand. She couldn’t press further. She failed to wrest her hand from Leon repeatedly. Then she tried to retrieve the makeshift blade. But that too failed, as Leon’s grip firmly cemented the handles in her fist. Several thuds emanated from the room window grabbed her attention. Outside, Aelfric had rappelled down to the window and cut an ‘X’ with a transarm sword to weaken it. He jumped backward before crashing through the window.

  Aelfric quickly shifted into a defensive stance after he landed inside. Once spotting the assassin’s location, he threw his wakizashi at her chest. The initial shock of his entrance had worn off, however, and the woman shielded her chest with the back of her free hand. The wakizashi pierced through her hand up to its hilt; the blade stopping well before her. Aelfric couldn’t help being taken aback by the sight. At least, until she pulled her free-arm back. He quickly realized her intentions, to which his other transarm morphed into his usual claymore as he reached it out over Leon’s head. It reached just in time as the woman attempted to bring down the wakizashi in her hand onto Leon’s neck.

  Aelfric pulled back the claymore while the woman recoiled. He moved to the opposite side of the bed to her. She then leapt over Leon with a flying kick toward Aelfric. As he blocked, she attempted to twist and drive the wakizashi once more into Leon. Aelfric narrowly deflected it again, which sent both of them off-balance. She recovered quicker as she now awkwardly lay on the bed atop Leon. She delivered a flurry of kicks with the obvious intent of ensuring a greater window to strike her quarry. However, Aelfric had at last noticed her trapped hand whilst he was off balance. He blocked several kicks until feigning himself falling backward. The woman took her chance once again, twisting into a killing blow. He lunged forward, placing his claymore in the path of her arm. Her own momentum caused her arm to slice clean off and hit the wall. The pierced hand fell uncomfortably close to Leon, but didn’t hit him. While she reeled in pain with blood coating the area, Aelfric pinned her down. He moved to stab her throat with a smaller transarm sword. He looked into her determined, yet anguish-filled eyes. The blade tip hung at her throat.

  “Wait!” Celeste yelled via comms. “Question that snake! I’m on my way!”

  Did I…hesitate? Aelfric thought as he withdrew the blade. The woman struggled in vain for a moment, unable to move even a little with one arm still beholden to Leon’s grip while Aelfric’s weight kept her pinned.

  “What’re you doing? Kill me!”

  Aelfric looked into her eyes again. He felt a pang in his chest, and his stomach stirred as images of Artemis and Belle flashed in his mind. “Who…sent you?”

  “Others will succeed where I’ve failed.” The woman opened her mouth wide and chomped down. She glared at Aelfric with a determined resolve even as she started to seize and foam at the mouth.

  Meanwhile, at Odin headquarters, Tyr fought Loki. Even though Tyr looked quite weary, he swung his Zweihander with ease. Loki, however, had constant elusive movement, repeatedly orchestrating a hit-and-run tactic with twin daggers. He would already move to his next vector of attack after Tyr’s mighty swings, which were delayed from having to defend. Loki attempted to trip up Tyr on the environment, whether it be throwing chairs or pushing tables. Eventually, Tyr sliced through a table in clear agitation. At the same time, Yuna dashed at full speed toward him.

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  “Behind you, dumbass!” Yuna shouted.

  Tyr noticed Yuna’s approach at her voice’s behest, then turned until a sharp pain surged in his lower back. Two Lyrsigoths stood behind him. One had plunged a dagger into him while the other was in mid-swing toward his neck. Tyr caught the glint of the dagger in his peripheral just before it disappeared entirely. In its place, Yuna sailed past, delivering a drop kick into the assailant that sent both Lyrsioths crashing and sliding into the nearest wall. She fell with a thud.

  “Now we’re even,” Yuna said from the ground. Suddenly, Tyr deflected a dagger thrown at Yuna’s head. “Hey! That doesn’t count.” Tyr withdrew his Zweihander to reveal Yuna had an axe ready to deflect. Tyr said nothing as he glared at Loki.

  “Don’t look at me like that. I’m only fighting as the All-Father raised us to. Not my fault you thought any different. Question is, was that dagger poisoned? How deep did it cut? Let’s find out.” Loki dashed away, to which Tyr pursued.

  “So, was it worth it?” Dante asked via comms as Yuna stood.

  “Depends. Did it look cool?” Yuna asked.

  “I suppose. They really flew.”

  “Hmm. Nah, too many openings. I coulda got the one at my head, but if Tyr hadn’t been in front of the rest of me, woulda got skewered by that fucker. My ass would definitely hurt if I wasn’t suited up, too. Oh, well.”

  Several Lyrsigoths approached Yuna with the obvious intent to surround her. For the next several minutes, Tyr repeatedly chased and clashed with Loki whilst Yuna fought outnumbered. The groupings grew further and further apart by the minute. The Lyrsigoths Yuna were engaged with started attacking, similar to Loki with hit-and-run tactics.

  “Stay still, you fucking cockroaches!” Without even realizing it, Yuna chased them out of the hall into an entrance with half a dozen more waiting. They grouped up to face her with the closed entrance at their back. “Finally!”

  Yuna dashed forward with dual axes, cleaving into the closest. She then fended off three simultaneous attackers. After cutting down two more, the others showed understandable reluctance to engage her further. They all went on the defensive, noticeably glancing behind her. Four more of them appeared from the corridors alongside the main hall, flanking her. They had been the ones fighting Tyr’s subordinates. Back in the hall, said subordinates had lost a few more but overall triumphed. However, those remaining were too exhausted to pursue.

  Yuna feigned an attack at those she faced, only to double back and mercilessly cut down one of the flankers, catching all off-guard. She exchanged blows with the group for a short time until they grew increasingly unified in attacking her at the same time. She shifted into dual swords for better defensive capabilities, narrowly receiving glancing blows. Then, one Lyrsigoth made a reckless charge at her back while she deflected several frontal attacks. As soon as their knife pierced her back, she spun violently, disarming the attacker and sending them off-balance. She turned to them in full, crossed her swords and decapitated them in one savage motion. The others backed away immediately.

  Fuck! Pathetic! Yuna thought. I thought I was fighting with more awareness after the cultist experience. God damnit. No, you don’t even deserve that much credit, getting surrounded in the first place.

  Yuna let out a primal roar, then lunged at the closest Lyrsigoth. They barely defended in time. The force sent them flying backward. She issued several more powerful blows, speaking at each interval.

  “Why. Don’t. You. Fuckers. Have. Someone. Worthy!” The combination of their hesitation and her ferocity caused a significant breakdown in their encirclement.

  Suddenly, the doorway opened. A tall figure stood at the center. Yuna lunged at them with a ferocious double axe strike. To her great surprise, her axes were blocked by several long, thin, bloodied Excalium knives as part of clawed gauntlets. She instinctively leapt backward as a swipe soon followed. She couldn’t help but pause to observe her target.

  What? Yuna thought.

  ‘Out of place’ would be an understatement for the man that stood in front of her. He had flamboyant, stylish clothes and hair, with part of his chest even bare. Flashy, expensive jewelry adorned him. An image of a VIP at a night club popped into Yuna’s mind, surely from one of her shows. The man wore no armored suit, only crimson-stained clawed gauntlets on both hands. Stranger still, he had an utterly stoic expression which created a peculiar sight contrasted with his flamboyant attire. As she met his gaze, the Lyrsigoths had fled or were in the process of slipping out.

  Never thought I’d see claws in real life. Hell yeah! Yuna thought.

  Yuna lunged at the man. He held firm again with his claws woven into a shield. She pressed further and further, clearly issuing a clash of strength. He, however, held in place as he looked at her until his eyes widened a tiny bit.

  “You’re Abyss, aren’t you?” the man asked in a monotone, emotionless voice.

  “Duh?”

  “I am Fenrir.”

  “Congrats.” Yuna still pressed harder.

  “We’re allies.” Fenrir pushed the claws, sliding Yuna some. She pressed even harder until Fenrir sidestepped entirely, making her fall a step forward. He walked past. “Tyr’s told me of the battle-obsessed one from Abyss who slew Freya. I’ve no interest in such contests.”

  “Wait! C’mon, I’ve never seen claws used in real life. Just a little?”

  “Pass.” Fenrir continued on to the main hall.

  “Yeah, yeah, I know.” Yuna lingered for a moment. Wait a minute, Reina didn’t say anything. Was that just my imagination? She attempted to hail Dante and Reina. Ah, shit. How long has the place been jammed again? I’m definitely gonna get yelled at…

  Meanwhile, in the main hall, Loki had continued his hit-and-run tactics against Tyr. He also kept looking behind Tyr at an adjoining hallway. A short time earlier, after Yuna had interrupted, and he had made Tyr give chase once again, he issued orders stealthily. He told them to lead ‘Hel’ away to eventually surround and kill her before returning to flank Tyr, as well as to reinstate the jamming area. Then, around the time the remaining Lyrsigoths had splintered off to attack Yuna, Tyr’s remaining subordinates had all but collapsed in exhaustion. Loki seized the opportunity by throwing a knife and severely injuring one. This forced Tyr to defend them.

  “Oh! So close,” Loki said. “Little slower and that one woulda been a goner. But, I’ve got plenty more.” Loki tossed out several knives to which a weary Tyr barely defended against. “This place was just so easy to take over. I didn’t even have to lift a finger until now. Things have really fallen since Odin kicked the bucket, huh?”

  “You’ve no chance against me, Loki,” Tyr said. “And your men have no chance against Hel.”

  Loki whipped several knives at one of Tyr’s subordinates lying on the ground. Though Tyr blocked most, one penetrated his thigh and another his shoulder. “Gotcha! Think I didn’t realize you were talking for once to rest a bit? C’mon, brother. You’ve really gotten old. Now, did one of my little friends carry a gift? Can you feel it?”

  Tyr coughed up some blood, yet stood resolute. “You’re still the manipulative liar and coward I remember.” He ripped out and tossed aside the knives.

  “Better an alive coward than a dead fool. I know close quarters are far too risky against you, even as dulled as you’ve become. This has become much more tedious than I thought and is taking far too long. I’ll give you one last chance to surrender, brother. You see, it’s true, I am still a liar. For example, I lied about your brothers. They’re just one call away.”

  “If true, I’ll flay you alive before you do.” Tyr breathed heavily as he shifted into a stance. “Did you think I wouldn’t realize you’d jammed the area again?”

  Loki shrugged. “Guess I’ll get some exercise.”

  Loki sprinted full speed to the adjoining hall. Tyr lunged, but his wounded leg went limp and caused him to fall. He caught himself at the knees by using his Zweihander. He then threw the Zweihander with all the might he could muster. It only managed to clip Loki’s lower leg as it thrust into the floor. Loki slowed as he turned into the hall, then froze in place. The stoic Fenrir towered over him a short distance away. Loki started to open his mouth. Yet, before a single word could escape, Fenrir lifted him off the ground to eye-line. The claws of Fenrir’s gauntlet pierced through his back.

  Fenrir, still expressionless, spoke. “I told you I’d skewer you one day if you kept calling me that name.”

  Fenrir tossed Loki to the ground before walking off. He passed a bewildered Yuna, who had witnessed the scene a short distance away. She continued on toward Loki, who bled profusely as he choked on blood. Once she got close enough, she saw the hobbled Tyr dragging his leg as fast as he could toward Loki. He grabbed hold of the wall, glancing at Yuna before looking down at Loki.

  “The fuck was that?” Yuna asked.

  “A grudge.” Tyr held out his hand. “Weapon, please.”

  Yuna observed Tyr’s pained expression. “I could?”

  “No.” Tyr gestured.

  Yuna placed one of her transarms in Tyr’s palm. He kneeled down beside Loki, whose mouth moved, but no words escaped the blood. He plunged the sword through Loki’s heart.