Dividing the group up into different chariots, Wu and Lera moved together to enter Fang from the main gates while Shadow and Ita entered through the sides. Their identification worked without issue, and they reunited in the capital city towards the end of the day.

“So…Here’s a quick round-up of everything.” Shadow said, leading the group towards her own safe house which was located in the basement of a quiet residential block, “The Descendants of Winter is going to have their annual party around Eastern hall of Fang city. A big old orgy of old farts and other disturbing things, including that idiot Alina.”

“Rumor has it that they will be demonstrating the results of the partial demonic transformations to the crowds of believers.” Ita continued, “This will draw a lot of attention from within Talonia, and if what Shadow said about Caligo is true, he will also appear there with Alina in order to burn it all down. The Descendants of Winter, for whatever their plans may be, still comprised of people that felt they were wronged by the old Valkyrie’s program…We can’t just let them get murdered by Caligo and Alina like that.”

“So the plan is fairly simple.” Ita continued, “We will sneak in and around the general assembly and locate Alina and Caligo before creating a disruption that will allow the people to disperse. Assuming that Caligo and Alina will target the leaders of Descendants of Winter, that gives us a chance to take both of them down.”

“Step 1: kill Caligo and the Grand Priest.” Shadow threw her hands up with one finger enthusiastically.

“Once they are taken down, then we can use them as leverage to press the cabinet to disavow both systems through people’s pressure by revealing the truth to everybody,” Ita said, “My parents are cowards for working with Descendants of Winter, but if they see an opportunity to step in as the people’s champion, they will.”

“That's harsh of you to say~" Shadow covered her mouth.

“That’s how things are.” Ita tilted her head at Wu, “But none of the future stuff matters if we couldn’t take advantage of the three-way battle.”

“And we are only four people.” Lera sighed when Ita let out a smirk before she reached into her pocket and took out a communication Cast that’s steadily glowing brighter and brighter.

“Yes, miss.” A steady male voice came from the other side, “The sons and daughters of Leodora are ready to fight.”

“Remember, the moment we left the mansion, we were no longer a part of the Leodora family until we succeed.” Ita reminded, "Thank you all for...doing what's right."

“Yes ma’am.” One of the girls that accompanied Ita into Polar prison responded, “We are ready to move out when you are.”

“Stand by.” Ita said, turning around and looking at Wu before adding, “Our secondary objective is to find a way to undo the partial demonic transformations, and to do that...”

“I will go out and fish for a Valkyrie.” Shadow said, “Once we got her though, we won’t have much time before the rest realized that she’s gone according to the patrolling schedule. Whoever's working on that gotta be quick with them hands.”

“We will take care of that.” Wu and Lera said at the same time before they turned at one another and smiled, “We have had some experience tinkering with Casts in the past little while…”

"Then that settles it." Ita said, bringing her hands together as the groups became dismissed.

“When we left Varous…” Lera whispered in Wu’s ear, “I never thought things will turn out this way.”

“Guess life is full of surprises.” Wu shrugged, “Whatever it is, it will be better than turning hundreds of unknowing people into half-demons…”

“Both systems had to go.” Ita said, ljoining them before she looked towards Shadow who’s playing with her own dark blade through her Manifest.

“Yesssss…yes~” Shadow hissed, retracting the dark blade, “Don't forget our deal~once both big bads are taken down, then I shall have my wish.”

“I remember.” Wu said, “Just…nothing that will piss off Lera please…”

“Oh come on! You aren’t that cool.” Shadow rolled her eyes, “I have fucked men far more handsome than you during my training.”

The groups shared an awkward silence before Ita finally cleared her throat, “Putting his coolness aside…let’s get some prepping going. We are about to fight a battle while being outnumbered and underpowered.”

“I have plenty of materials I never bothered here. Take whatever, waste it if you have to.” Shadow tossed a roll of fabric against the wall before it bounced off and activated a light Cast that illuminated the rest of the safe house. There was a workbench with Cast making materials towards the back, and Wu and Lera rushed towards it at the same time.

“There’s plenty of work to do, just like always.”

"Ah…Fang city certainly has its charms.” Caligo said, emerging from within Alina’s body as she grunted in pain with the mists tearing open a small wound over her shoulders. Alina was able to go by the guards with her standard disguise and Valkyrie training, and Caligo simply dissolved his body as a thin mist besides her.

The blockades that had been set up around the capital city was nothing for the Valkyries, and if it had been, then Caligo would have deemed himself a failure for not covering that as part of his curriculum.

Alina, in the meanwhile, stayed deadly silent as a red glow covered her usually beautiful black eyes. Her body then straightened like a stone pillar as she moved stiffly from one step to another according to Caligo’s command.

“Where do you think we shall go?” Caligo asked, running his finger along Alina’s face before he applied a gentle pressure to tilt her head in the direction of the Palace, “Ah. Great idea.”

If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

Walking along the main street and blending effortlessly into the moving crowds, the two of them enjoyed the peace at the Fang city as the traders bargained and kids played snowball fights in the street corners.

A pair of stray snowballs flew towards Caligo and Alina. One splattered directly over Alina’s body without causing a single response from the Valkyrie general, and the other passed straight through Caligo’s body as the mists opened up and closed around the ball just as quickly.

The kids halted their steps before apologizing and running away as Caligo let out a gentle chuckle and continued on.

The castle within the castle, the grand palace of Talonia situated itself far above the city grounds, and Caligo once again dissolved himself into Alina’s body before she infiltrated through the secret passages back into the palace, bypassing the guards who had become recent converts of Descendant’s of Winter.

“Does it smell familiar, Alina? Does it remind you of what we've lost?” Caligo asked, his voice filling Alina’s head as she growled slightly.

However, beyond the voices crowding her head, she could still hear echos of the Valkyrie’s synchronized shouts as they performed their morning practices, or their idle chatter during break times, or the laughter of the handful of Valkyries that managed to keep some semblance of themselves through the training program while the other watched on.

Through the program that this man created. Even as he tried to squeeze every ounce of personality out of the Valkyries, some still remained.

Talonian girls are strong like that.

But why…why was she thinking about this…She needed to focus. There's a job to do. There's a job HE wants me to do.

Alina rubbed her temple before she continued forward, driven by an invisible hand from one step to the next. She knew that this is the time for the morning assembly for the cabinets, as she was often the one on guard back then.

And so she entered. Moving up and behind the guards before knocking them out with swift strikes while suppressing her Wave to prevent detection, Alina darted across the hallway until the voices of the grand priest and the cabinet members became clearer and clearer.

"The general assembly will become our last step..." The grand priest's voice came through the doorway as Alina's body paused briefly before her fingers twitched, and a surge of anger exploded within Alina. However, she remained still as Caligo swiftly moved out from her.

“Well done, my girl.” He said, pushing the door away with three fingers before moving straight past it. The guards behind the door looked on in shock before they drew their blades and activated their Wave abilities. However, Caligo twirled his fingers before the digits morphed into columns of mist and quickly filled up the airways of the soldiers. Then, those strands of clouds clutched against their lungs, lifting and suffocating all at the same time, “I hope you didn't miss me too much~”

“You!” The cabinets spun around before their eyes widened.

“Caligo.” The grand priest appeared to have aged ten years in a matter of seconds. He stood up from his seat as his eyes glowed with anger, “You are a fool to show up here.”

“No, I am here to take back what belonged to me, according to my schedule.” Caligo said casually as the soldiers continued to struggle and kick their legs helplessly in the air, “My old friend.”

“And what is that?” The grand priest said, “The Valkyrie program is no more! You have nothing but the sins of your past.”

“I am here to take back the kingdom.” Caligo said, dropping the soldiers onto the ground at last as they coughed and crawled back towards their weapons, “From this wicked religion, from the corrupt cabinet, from the aftermath of the Incident at Infinite Academy!”

“So a rebellion it is.” The cabinet’s head said, gesturing forward, “Kill him! Guards!”

“My believers of a greater destiny, condemn that man to death!” The grand priest emphasized, his vocal cords pulsing with power as his voice reached towards all corners of the Palace, triggering and activating the Casts within all of the Valkyries before they all swarmed towards the main hall, dashing through the corridors and flying overhead through the rooftops.

In an instant, groups of Valkyries burst through the walls and surrounded Caligo and Alina on all fronts with their weapons at the ready.

“Is that how you greet the man responsible for your little…invention?” Caligo chuckled coldly before releasing the fist held in front of him as a blue bottle fell and smashed on the ground in front of him, “You should be more grateful."

As the blue fluid started to rapidly evaporate, a sizzling sound filled the room. With his hands swimming through the clouds, Caligo stirred it around him, forming a blue cloud that rapidly expanded and bathed a major portion of the main hall.

"What did he mean?" The grand priest asked, trying to remain calm as he turned towards the lead researcher next to him, “What was he saying?”

“I…I don’t know! I simply found the method amid my search in the library!”

“In MY library.” Caligo spoke through the cloud, “My library before I was supposedly exiled from the Palace. The truth of the matter is…”

Caligo snapped his finger, and all of the Valkyries surrounding Alina growled simultaneously before they all turned and looked in the direction of the Grand Priest. Dozens of pairs of glowing eyes floated in the air with their haunting lights shining through the cloud like glow bugs.

"No...Why?! Why are you doing this?!” The grand priest cursed, trying to use his own ability and exert his control onto the Valkyries yet again. However, his connection to them had already been severed by the blue potion.

“You old fool.” Caligo marched through the smoke and pushed the cabinet members down until he stood face to face with the grand priest, “PORA is coming. This are no time for internal battles. To fight them, we need soldiers. Far more than what the Valkyrie program is capable of creating. Since I am personally tied up in the program, tI have to entrust someone else to run the alternative... I thank you for your cooperation, and your hardwork~”

"No..."

“And now…I am going to need something more.” Caligo said, poking into the chest of the grand priest, “I need you to continue what you were doing. You were planning a general assembly to demonstrate the new technique, aren’t you? I want you to do it, but with me there.”

“You murdered my sister!” The lead researcher said, conjuring up a fireball before firing it towards Caligo, “YOUR PROGRAM KILLED HER! And you expected me to help her?”

“Oh?” Caligo glanced at him coldly, “Are you sure it’s not that she’s simply not meant to be special?”

“SHUT UP!” The lead researcher screamed when Caligo chuckled and turned around.

However, in that instant, the entire room was suddenly bathed in a bitter chill before Icy walked through the door while the legs of all the Valkyries were frozen to the floor beside her.

“Icy!” The grand priest let out a sigh of relief, “You are here.”

“How could I miss out on this, old man?” Icy ran her blue fingers through her mohawk, “You are dead, Caligo.”