If the initial accusation had been a right hook, Lucy's newest line was akin to being pounded in the gut with a stray dumbbell.

"Sorry, Lucy, think my ears screwed up. You said the reason for my fuckup is you? As in, the person who brawled with the Flame Witch and did most of the work?" Adam said. He stared at Lucy, who fidgeted with her clasped hands. Gone was the righteous indignation of a goddess's human weapon. She looked up, meeting him, and he noticed the sparkles in her irises had dimmed into tiny pinpricks.

"You said it yourself, Chosen. You were afraid that I was about to lose. A War Maiden should impose safety and security upon their protectees, which did not happen. Disregard my earlier statement about tying you to the post. I should use that effort to better myself instead."

"Hold the phone. Are you saying that this whole mess is actually your fault?"

"I cannot control your actions, Chosen, but if I had been more convincing…" Lucy said. "Then perhaps we would be in a more advantageous position."

Adam punched himself on the side of the head, eliciting a frightened yelp from Lucy. Nothing changed. He turned to the nearby camera. "Miriam, help me. Lucy's gone nuts!"

"Sorry to say, Adam, but that's how some of these ladies are. Not that it makes her statement right." Miriam said. She directed her gaze to Lucy. She fixed her jacket, and leaned across her table. "Oi, Klavdia, don't beat yourself up on this. The fight with the Flame Witch was as far removed from a standard operation as Zayini is from Alkirai, and we're not here to play a useless blame game."

"No. You're wrong, Operator Pereia. Responsibility must be taken, even more so, considering the circumstances. We cannot saddle the Chosen of Astraea with an incompetent War Maiden!" Lucy stood up and bowed to him, harder than he had ever seen her. "Chosen, I apologise for my incompetence. I But, fear not, I can remedy this. During my bedstay, I did not remain idle. There's a powerful technique—nova—that I worked on."

"Excuse me? You did what?" Miriam shouted.

"Only the spiritual component!" Lucy corrected hastily.

"Klavdia, you're…" Miriam gripped the sides of her head, as if tempted to crush her skull like a rotten pumpkin. "I swear to the stars, what is wrong with you? Bedrest is meant for rest. R-E-S-T! It's in the name!"

"It was important, Operator Pereia, that I did not waste time!" Lucy exclaimed, almost-shouted. She took a breath and continued. "I read the requirements and found it within my status. Chosen, the nova is a magnificent, powerful technique, designed by the first collective of Apostles themselves. Upon completion, I shall surpass my physical and mystical limits, and my strength shall not be called into question. I will wield it to overpower any foe that dares harm you, Chosen, leaving you with no doubt at all!"

Lucy had advanced, dragging her body closer until he could almost smell the dust and traces of soap from her blonde fringe. Her muscles wrought taut, her chin locked in place, and her neck tilted up towards him. His [Physio-Sixth Sense] switched on, leering at the mystic presence looming from the War Maiden. There was a hostility here, not of the usual aggressive, murderous kind, but born from a desperate madness, deeper and more intense than any drug-crazed addict he'd encountered.

"You're serious." Adam said. He snorted. Clutched his chest, almost laughed. "You mean every single word of that. Christ Lucy, did you recite all of that in bed?"

Lucy nodded. Adam's palm went straight for his face. When he lifted it, a snarl was tattooed there.

"Oh, shut the hell up." He said.

"Chosen?" Lucy said, confused.

"You know what, Lucy? Screw this. Screw your bullshit! Acting as if this was your fault the whole time? That's some real audacity, miss War Maiden!"

Lucy gasped at that, as if he slapped her in the face. Yeah, like he could do actual damage to her, he thought with a derisive sneer. How the hell had they even reached this position? From scolding him to proselyting at his feet… the sheer inanity in which she switched gears shocked him so much it wrapped back around to anger.

"Do you think I'm a pathetic little greenhorn who busted his single braincell at the bottom of the bottle? The fact that you're trying to own my shit… Christ, I don't even know how to put this. Look, my plan was stupid. Reckless, moronic, braindead, whatever! I admit it! In fact, I was this close to pissing my pants while driving through the burning plains." Adam said with a growl. He held up his thumb and index finger, leaving a gap the size of a bottle cap between them. "But you know what? I'm owning that shit. All of that was me!"

He raised his palm, counting off his fingers. "Shooting down the candleheads, figuring out the Witch's weak point, giving you a near heart attack and blowing up the truck… not you, not Miriam or the Goddess or any of the hicks, but me! My wins, my losses, and I'm not letting you take that away from me. That's what responsibility is, get it?"

Lucy did not respond. She was stunned silent, her mouth open in a small 'O'. This was the first time he ever ranted towards her, Adam realised. Him breaking down in front of Lucy after she woke him up didn't count. A sick, poisonous satisfaction wormed its way inside of him, its thorns stabbing into the sides of his tongue.

The mere act of looking at Lucy pissed him off. She didn't even have the decency to retaliate. She sat there, head lowered, as if she was the inferior one! Back in Steeldale, this was the part where he threw beer or a brick at his victim's head, except none of that would affect a single percent of Lucy's vitality!

"Besides, it doesn't change the fact we won. You helped, damn it. You did so much and it's fucking annoying that you think otherwise. What, you want us to hold back next time? Let Saria remain a Witch?"

"No!" Lucy cried. "Never, Chosen! Don't put words in my mouth, please! I'd rather shoot myself than undo any of that!"

"Then what the hell is your problem here? Who asked you to do this?"

"I'm your War Maiden! It's my duty to improve!"

Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

"Then take that duty and shove it up your—"

"Enough!" Miriam roared. Adam and Lucy both flinched, sitting up straight. "Both of you, shut your mouths this instant. We've gone off track here. Don't make me invoke the ADO code."

She turned back and forth between them, then sighed. "Let's start at the beginning, shall we? Adam!"

"Y-yeah?"

"I'm glad you realised your mistake, so let's go into detail. Your plan indeed won us Alcott, correct, but it does not negate the dozens of brushes you had with death. We very much want to keep you alive, so refrain from charging in blindly in the future."

"Oh, I'm supposed to sit back and suck my thumb like a good little boy?"

"Adam, please let me finish next time. My main criticism of you is the lack of communication between you and the rest of us."

Adam scrunched up his brow. "Say what? I asked you to fetch that intel on Saria, didn't I?"

"Not that. The distraction strategy. You went straight for the truck, without giving either of us the heads-up. You didn't even bother to inform me about the whole plan. It was something you thought up on the fly, wasn't it? Again, yes, it worked, but that sort of mentality is unacceptable in the ADO. Thank Her Compassion you are a civilian, Adam, because you'd be court-martialled to the pits and back if you were one of us."

"Hey, there was no time. Ain't like you could see the fight, anyway." Adam said.

"Rejected on both accounts. Klavdia had juice to fend off Witch for at least a couple more minutes. That's plenty of time to communicate a basic plan. For the second point, I believed you understood the purpose of a Communications Operator—coordination and guidance on the battlefield—but apparently not! Lacking a camera view isn't nearly enough to slow us down. If you planned alongside my advice, we may have come up with a better plan—one that could have dealt with the Flame Witch without burning out Klavdia, or letting that Penny girl escape!" Miriam continued. "Do you understand, Adam?"

"That's a low blow, bringing her up." He muttered.

"Was any of what I said incorrect?"

Adam didn't answer.

"I'm waiting, Adam."

"… nah." Adam strained the answer out, hands in his pockets, looking away from the camera. "You got me."

"Thank you. Now, Klavdia, it's your turn."

"Yes, Operator Pereia?"

"Make no mistake, Adam shares responsibility for the fight, both accomplishments and mistakes. Stating that the burden falls solely upon you is an affront to his critical thinking skills."

"I did not intend to insult him." Lucy said, a hand on her chest. "Only wished to let him understand I could've done better."

"In that case, your phrasing needs work. Remember, Adam defeated your corrupted form with little assistance. He succeeded where others couldn't. The boy has a brain inside his head, so have more faith in him. Secondly, it's no good to dwell on what's done. The fight with the Flame Witch is over. Learn from it. Nothing will come from indulging yourself in self-depreciation."

Lucy fell silent, then nodded. "I understand."

"So, to summarize: Adam, talk your plans out first, and Klavdia, don't coddle the boy and don't wallow in yourself. Done. Now apologise to each other."

"Wait, what?"

"You're a grown man, Adam. Act like one." Miriam said. "Having a point does not mean you get to insult Lucy."

"But—"

"War Maidens are tough, but abuse is abuse. They get enough from the press. Now apologise or I'll make you."

His first instinct was to gnash his teeth, stamp his feet, scoff and tell Miriam to swallow glass. However, she had a point, and he'd ranted to Lucy about taking responsibility minutes ago.

"Sorry, Lucy." Adam said. "It's my fault. You pulled most of the weight in the fight so far, and what I said about Saria was plain nasty… so yeah. Again, my bad."

"I'm sorry too, Chosen. You were right. Your actions are your own and it was disrespectful for me to claim as such. I shouldn't have accused you the way I did." Lucy said, her tone composed and polite once more. "Come to think of it, we've only been together for less than a month. Why did I assume you were familiar with War Maidens, I wonder…"

"It's whatever." Adam said. "I did a bad thing too, so we're even. And it pissed me off to hear you talk down to yourself. You're like the strongest person I know."

Lucy's hands flew to her mouth, and she blushed. "Goodness, you might not have met a Veteran."

"Nah. Strength is strength. It was like I got second-hand disrespect when you went on your tangent, so don't do it in front of me anymore."

"I'll keep that in mind, Chosen. I also apologise for my inappropriate language back then."

The gears in his brain clanked. "Your what."

"I insulted you during the fight." Lucy said.

It took him a few seconds for the reminder to click. "You called me a… what was it, an 'absolute man'?"

Lucy winced at the memory. "It's a derogatory term, and even if said in the heat of the moment..."

"Sheesh Lucy, I've been called worse things. You're like a spring flower compared the other guys. Don't worry about it."

"You two good? I have to admit, sometimes I forget you're both only young adults." Miriam said. "Alright, now kiss and makeup or whatever."

Adam stuck his tongue out. Lucy's cheeks turned red instead, and she whirled around to face the camera.

"Operator Pereia! What in the stars you saying? I just mentioned inappropriate language!"

"It was a joke. Calm down, Klavdia."

"A War Maiden should not fraternize with a Chosen! It's completely out of the question!"

"Wow, this discussion knocked you off balance a lot, huh? At least I don't have to worry about 'that', if you're acting like this. Seriously, two girls and one boy, all at the cusp of adulthood."

"Cease your words at once!"

Adam couldn't help but laugh as Lucy shook her fists and Miriam clicked her tongue. This time, he wasn't laughing at either of them. It was just a little funny.

Huh, he got worked up during the conversation, but now? He felt kinda good.

[War Maidens' Bond: Lucy Klavdia] has increased from Level 2 to Level 3! Activate again to witness the additional effect(s).

----------------------------------------

There was much to prepare before their next trip. Lucy returned to her physical rehabilitation, while Adam and Saria cleaned the equipment and packed the bags with the usual—ammunition, medkits, cooking supplies and more. Adam picked up the sack of metal chips from Glenn's Rest, scowled, and threw it in at the very bottom.

Night fell. Saria cooked up a feast with the pork and deer, sprinkling in a vegetable and making a soup to top it all off. They had their first taste of dessert—fruit mixed in with jam and bread to create a sort of pudding.

"Eat up, guys. We're not going to be eating this fresh food for a while."

"How lucky you are… meanwhile I'm stuck with rations here." Miriam grumbled.

Then, it came time for bed. For Saria and Lucy, that is. Even though they were in the safety of the MOB, the group still upheld their watch schedule. Lucy allowed Adam to take the first watch—as the weakest in the group, the extended sleep time would be better for his health. He did so without complaint, sitting on the perch setup by his group, resisting the urge to blink and doze off. It was easier tonight, as training hadn't exhausted him.

Nights in this world were unsettling. Devoid of any streetlights, vehicle sounds or muffled cries for help, they carried an absence of ambience that echoed small sounds far further than on average. He almost fractured his nerves tensing up at every little chirp or whisper before learning [Physio-Sixth Sense].

Another difference was the red wisps across the horizon. Too faint to be used for navigation, yet prominent enough to draw attention, they lay far in the distance beyond the reaches of the valley. Each one traced serpentine patterns towards the sky-orb. He wondered what sort of natural formation caused them.

Saria came to relieve him with a pat on the back and a drink. He took it, thanked her, and hopped off his seat, heading in the direction of the dorms.

The moment he left Saria's sight, he diverged and headed towards the medbay. He slipped through the double doors, crept past the reception and the familiar bullet holes, and entered a room on his left.

A crack in the ceiling. Stains covering the sigil on the wall. Coldness permeating the room, accentuated by the night.

Hello, old friend.

Adam placed his hand atop his cryogenic pod and activated [Hacking].