“We've got everyone now!” Ita said, her call echoing through the fields of snow as Wu and Lera landed next to her.

“Then let’s get out of here.” Wu said as Ita nodded and let out a sharp whistle. That drew the attention of the rest of the girls as they quickly gathered around tightly around the chariots, ensuring that no soldiers that were still standing on their feet were able to break their formation before the individual chariots lifted off the ground one after another.

“What about Alina and Shadow?” Lera did a quick headcount as she grabbed onto Wu’s wrist. He cursed under his breath, but they knew that further reinforcements will be coming soon, meaning that they could not stay here for much longer.

“We need to go. Now.” Ita said, “The Leodora family can protect the Valkyries! But we must make it back there first.”

“Shadow and Alina can take care of themselves…” Wu said, glancing towards the group of Valkyries that seemed completely out of it, “They will be able to track back to the Valkyries, or we will ask the Valkyries to track them down if we need to.”

“I don't like leaving this up to chance...” Lera said, thinking back to the glimpses she had on when a handful of the Valkyries broke free from their houses and started attacking Alina, their body becoming fully covered with dark shells similar to Ver in her Perfect Synchrony mode. However, the presence in the Wave felt more like…

Fatera’s dominance of the demon.

"It will be okay." Wu reinforced as Lera tried to blink her doubts away.

"I hope so..."

Lera swallowed when Wu held her hand firmly, and she nodded as the chariots fully lifted off the ground, quickly rising up into the clouds as a sheath of projection Cast covered it on the outside, obscuring their existence from any remaining pursuers and curious onlookers down below.

“So…I guess we will finally be meeting your parents?” Wu asked, going ahead and standing behind Ita who’s piloting the chariot through the sky as the forest raced by underneath them.

“Yes, they will come to know the guy who made my time at Ville college quite a pain.” Ita rolled her eyes before she looked at Wu, who lowered his head in defeat. She stuck her tongue out unapologetically before focusing forward, “Don’t worry. The Leodora family is one driven by honor and duty to Talonia, and they will stand by what's right.”

“And that is?” Wu pressed, knowing that even the entire situation with the Valkyries was a high national and political matter, someone still had to be the first one to step forward and put a stamp on what's supposed to be done.

“To make sure that no girls will be exploited by anyone…anymore.” Ita spoke lightly as her thin fingers gripped tightly around the steering wheel.

The Leodora family’s stronghold is a castle situated in the middle of the snowy mountains to the east of Fang city, and it sat in the halfway point between the flatter terrains of the western and middle regions of Talonia and the Titan’s Spine along the eastern edge. Its castle is painted jade green and it stood out quite a bit from the white background.

It first appeared like a tiny green patch of plantation before slowly growing to a sprawling structure that towered over the lands as the girls landed their chariots one after another. The gates swung open, and a handful of servants rushed out with blankets in hand before they each picked up a Valkyrie, helping them inside.

“Ita…” A middle-aged woman that’s also extremely skinny in stature ran out before she pulled Ita in close and hugged her tightly.

“Everything’s okay, mom, like I said.” Ita assured as an elderly man with Ita’s light brown eyes and sharp nose nodded at her in acknowledgment before turning around as Ita’s mother let her go.

“Why don’t you show the guests where they could stay in the meantime? We can talk after.” Ita’s mother said, and Ita nodded before guiding Wu and Lera to their rooms.

“Oh, we will be fine sharing one.” Lera said, glancing towards Wu who obviously smirked back at her.

“Of course you will.” Ita giggled before squeezing Wu in the tummy with her fingers.

“I am glad to see you getting along with your parents better?” Wu mentioned, thinking back to the briefest instants that Ita had hinted about her family, which may have contributed to her desire for popularity during her early days at the Academy.

“Yeah.” Ita nodded, “Ever since the Academy…fell out from the sky, they realized that they almost lost their only daughter…so…”

“I am happy for you, really. I just hope I could have come visit during better circumstances...” Wu said, patting her on the head as she pouted a little. However, she appreciated the gesture and enjoyed it for a moment before going ahead.

“Get yourself acquainted, then come down to the main hall to eat!” Ita said, hopping away along the corridor after leaving Wu and Lera in their rooms. Her happy footsteps started to fade away and the ambiance left in the room was only the howling of wind outside the window.

“So…?” Lera asked, sliding the door shut as Wu sat back onto the bed. Somewhere during their adventures, they had left behind their spare luggage, keeping only the necessary tools and items that they can carry with them for surviving in Talonia, so they don’t exactly have anything to change into.

Fortunately, there were some simple garments in the wardrobe, a set for a male and one for a female. It’s almost like a hotel that they were staying in, and Wu started to wonder if there were slippers hiding under the bed. Sadly, there weren't.

Tossing their clothes to the side, Lera then went ahead to test the temperature of water before Wu snuck into the bathtub right after her.

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“Say…” Wu said, pointing to the setting sun outside before wrapping his arm around Lera's soft body, “It’s technically an evening shower.”

“Ok now…” Lera rolled her eyes before splashing Wu in the face who coughed and rubbed his eyes, “Oh! I am sorry!”

“You shall be punished for this hedious crime~” Wu let his finger tap through Lera's skin before finding the tips of her soft breasts. Then, he pinched in, applying a ring of pressure while he kissed the back of her neck.

“Let’s…maybe wait.” Lera said, grabbing onto Wu's hands and holding it in place, “I am sure we have many things to talk about at the dinner.”

“Urgh...fine.” Wu washed his face before playfully biting the back of Lera’s ears and she squealed a little before slapping him on the head.

After cleaning themselves up, Wu and Lera then marched down along the stairs as groups of servants trotted quickly from one room to the next while directing tiny structure Casts that carried dirty suits of Valkyrie clothes and armors to clean.

“How can you say that?!” Ita’s voice first cut through the doors before Wu and Lera shared a nervous glance with one another. However, sensing their approach through the Wave, Ita hopped to the door before sliding it all the way open. She had taken a shower also, and her twin tails were packed to one side cutely as Wu watched her and waved.

“Pack your stupid grin and come eat.” Ita said, spinning around as Wu and Lera joined her and her parents at the table.

“My name is Wu.” Wu introduced, waving his hand as Lera performed her best impression of a proper girl’s greeting that she picked up back at the beauty pageant, and Ita’s father chuckled earnestly before gesturing to his wife.

“This is Ina Leodora, Ita’s mother, and I am Tanner Leodora, the head of the Leodora house. The house of the Winter Lion.” Tanner said, his sharp eyes focusing curiously onto Wu.

“A house of cowards at this rate…” Ita mumbled something as she stuffed a sweet cinnamon roll looking desert into her mouth.

“Please, show some courtesy.” Tanner said, “No business at the table.”

“No. They were as involved in all of this as I am, and as we are supposed to be.” Ita stood her ground, clearly unsatisfied from the pre-mature conclusion of the previous discussion.

“Ita.” Ina said, raising her wrinkled hand and drawing attention of everyone in the room as the atmosphere started to feel heavier and heavier.

“How could you pretend that nothing had happened…” Ita said gripping her fist, “You knew all of the dirty secrets of the Valkyries program, and yet you did nothing about it through all this years…”

“You do not understand its necessity to our kingdom!”

“And you do not understand the toll it takes on our people!” Ita shouted.

“And you do?!” Ina growled back as Ita was slightly taken aback by her mother’s anger, even though all signs pointed towards her being the one in the right.

“I glorified the Valkyries…just like any other girls in the kingdom did…and when you took that dream away from me…I hated you for it…” Ita said, clenching her fist, “But that didn’t change anything about what you have done. Girls were sacrificed as part of that barbaric practice, all for the sake of what?”

“That's the nature of our compromise for security, Ita.” Tanner said, his voice far calmer, “The parents that offered their kids up…they knew the risks, and they also knew the rewards that came with it.”

Ita halted for a moment, and she quickly looked at Wu and Lera sitting awkwardly at the table before turning her attention towards her parents.

“How many from the Leodora family went in?”

“Ita, that’s not a…”

“How many?!” Ita raised her voice once again, and Tanner was once again the one to soften up first.

“Please, you must calm down.” Tanner said, putting down his knife and fork, “There are forces at play that you do not understand.”

“Then help me to!” Ita said, “You wanted me to become the next head of the Leodora family, don’t you? Why don't you start with the here and now?”

Tanner looked towards Ina, whose expressions had turned cold, and he cursed under his breathe before opening his mouth. However, before he could say a word, Ina put her hands up, instantly shutting down Tanner.

“Enough of your antics.” Ina said, raising up, “We allowed the Valkyries to stay here, even as the nation knew of the Valkyrie leader’s crimes. Your stunt have drawn more eyes onto our family, regardless of how well you thought you covered your tracks. You lied about the nature of your intervention, despite you knowing that the Tigris family will use any excuse possible!”

“And since when do we bow down to anyone else?!”

“Since the insurgence of the Valkyries.” Ina said coldly before she pointed her finger at Wu and Lera, “Since everything changed at the Academy. I have heard about you, Wu. You are a bit of a legend in the lower circles, as the surviving students spoke of a single man that somehow managed to rally together the students to pull off a desperate stunt that directly lead to the destruction of the Academy itself, alongside Nolan Khan’s reckless experiments. I didn’t think you were real, if not for what Ita had told me before.”

“Things certainly were unbelievable.” Wu shrugged, staying calm in all of this, “And I suppose you could only believe what was delivered to your table. PORA were the ones behind the destruction of the island, but no one in this world will really believe that.”

“Perhaps.” Ina observed Wu before turning her gaze towards Lera, “All that we can do now is to preserve our strength to the best of our ability. Until the storm is over, we must compromise. Even if it felt like the wrong thing to do, it’s the right thing to do for the entire family in the long run. This is not up for discussion.”

“Tsk.” Ita grunted angrily when Tanner accompanied Ina upstairs. However, before he left the dining hall, he pointed towards a fruit pudding that was untouched.

“Come on, you mom specifically made it for you. At least have some.”

“Don’t tell me what to do!” Ita shouted back as Tanner watched her briefly before leaving.

Then, Ita said sulking on her seat with a fork in hand, clearly desiring the pudding. However, if she was to give in, that will give her mother the satisfaction, and she will not have it, particularly if the Leodora family is just going to sit idle as the world change around them. After all of the big worlds thrown around before, this was certainly the most disappointing of outcomes.

As she entered a staring contest with the fruit pudding, Wu’s spoon cut in from the side, and he dug in at the pudding first.

“Now, she won’t know who ate the pudding.” Wu said, swallowing the cake and licking his spoon. Then, Lera did exactly the same too before Ita finally gave in, and she also started eating the pudding.

It’s genuinely good.

"Was I really bratty and annoying?" Ita asked as she bit into the spoon, "Did you just judge me inside?"

"You know I have seen you in worse condition..." We said, "So…what are you going to do now?”

“They won’t help me…”

“And you are just going to let that stop you?”

“…Hell no.” Ita said, looking back at him, “Tomorrow. We will go out there, and we will change Talonia for good.”