CHAPTER 70: VALKYRIE SERIES

After Mason confirmed his willingness to continue on with the mission, discussions on how to defend the mirror commenced. Hermes was left disinterested by this, however. Lucien had already told him that his role will not involve being a part of Mason's team. He would be a part of the group infiltrating Librarium Celestium. Although Lucien was hesitant to include him in such a risky position, Hermes refused to take on any other job in the operation.

He had already accepted that Elizabeth's death equaled his own death. It didn't matter what the risks were. If he didn't save her, they would both be done for. And so, he opted to take on a more active role in the operation, regardless of how dangerous it was for him.

Hermes pulled out a pocket watch and began to read the time while everyone was discussing. '11:30... Only 15 minutes until the mission begins...'

Lucien's plan involved a group of elite Celestials entering Librarium Celestium at 11:45, which was when the Inquisition Knights guarding the holy relic changed shifts. Their role was meant to serve as a distraction. That way, when Hermes arrived with Mason and his crew, he would enter after the first squad's infiltration.

It seemed like a solid plan, but Hermes knew there were a lot of things that needed to align for it to work properly. For one, they had to trust the shift rotation schedule that their spies provided for them. If the intel turned out to be false, they risked getting exposed before being even given the chance to start.

Another thing he considered was whether the enemy knew of the Halcyon-tier artifact at the Valencourt and Lysange families' disposal. If knowledge of how this Stellar Artifact worked was already in their hands, they could immediately connect the dots and forward an elite squad to its location, effectively trapping everyone inside Librarium Celestium.

Hermes grit his teeth and took a deep breath. There was no reason to continue doubting what was essentially inevitable. He will have to face off against the church, regardless of these risks. In fact, the odds of another opportunity presenting itself were basically zero. Even if he didn't trust this mission entirely, he had no choice but to continue forward.

After Mason and his crew finished their talks, they stood up from the lobby and began to prepare their gear. While Hermes was waiting for them, he heard Lance shouting his name.

"Yo, Hermes! Come here!"

Noticing his frivolous expression, Hermes smiled and walked over to him. "Yes?"

"I have been thinking, you are severely lacking in gear. Come here, Ill show you to our arsenal."

Hermes was shocked, but quickly recomposed himself. "Are you sure?... I'll make sure to pay you back... Well, if I make it back alive, of course."

He smiled and smacked his shoulder, "Idiot! You survived a Xulu ritual! Have more confidence in yourself."

Hermes shook his head, "I suppose you are right."

Lance lead him over to where the Hover Tank was being repaired. Behind it was a large safe-door made from exotic metals that Hermes was unfamiliar with. It was obvious to him how much Mason had spent on the fortifications. After Lance entered the passcode, the sound of a latch snapping out of place resounded in their ears. The metallic vault slowly shifted open, revealing a large expanse filled with shelves; each armed to the brim with weapons. From Stellar Artifacts to Quantum Gearworks, everything was stored securely in their place. Each shelf was organized based on a weapon tier.

Hermes' eyes widened, "Holy shit..."

Lance laughed at his reaction. "Crazy, isn't it? That old man loves to hoard..." He walked through the aisles with Hermes sheepishly following from behind, eyes plastered on the marvelous instruments of war surrounding his vision.

Lance broke him out of his reverie. "Mason told me you can pick one thing here, no matter what it is. The only exception being, the weapon needs to be Brilliant-tier or below." Hermes quickly remembered that brilliant-tier was equivalent to a stage 3 Celestial. He quickly nodded his head and made his way around the vault.

Unlike the previous occasion, he was far more certain of his weapon selection this time. He knew exactly what he needed to balance his fighting style. Although his gunblade gave him the ability to create highly explosive attacks, they needed to be perfectly executed each time. Not only that, but he needed to make sure that his enemy was in the right position to take on a hit from Magnum Carnage, or else not only would he be wasting a precious gunblade shell, he would also be slowly damaging his body in the process.

In regards to Magnum Carnage, his experiences so far have all pointed at a clear weakness. Without the correct setup, it would be almost impossible to land correctly, and so, he needed something to accompany it; a weapon that could allow him to weave in attacks in between gunblade rounds.

Lance turned around to face Hermes and smiled. "Alright. Ill be waiting for you outside, I still have to prepare my own gear. Let me know when you are done so that I can close the vault."

Hermes nodded, "Alright, Ill see you in a bit then." Hermes navigated toward the aisle marked "Brilliant-tier," where an array of weaponry and artifacts awaited him. Swords, axes, spears, and hammers lined one side, while bows, wands, staves, and broomsticks adorned the other.

Among the rows of conventional weapons, an eclectic assortment of Stellar Artifacts caught Hermes's eye. A golden compass, a genie's lamp, and a glass orb stood out amidst the array, each emanating an aura of enigmatic power. Despite their unconventional appearance as weapons, the undeniable cosmic force emanating from these artifacts told his instincts not to underestimate them.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

The curiosity of wanting to find out what mystical properties they hold almost took a hold of him, but he had to remember the rule Lance had given him: take only one weapon. And if he wanted his chances of surviving to increase, he had to be smart about his decision.

Magical tools like the ones he had just observed had to be ruled out. The reason being was fairly simple. As a stage 1 Celestial, Hermes had no established experience with using mystic arts. Not that it would matter anyway, since his 1.0 dimensionality meant that he could not utilize any mystical capabilities of a Stellar Artifact above his rank.

It was because of this that Dawnbreaker, his one and only gunblade, could only be utilized with normal ammunition rounds. He had no way to unlock its Ecliptic-tier abilities until he could reach 5.0 dimensionality.

Hermes already knew that what he needed most was a weapon he could utilize with one hand, while holding his gunblade in the other. One of his choices was either to get a sword or dagger, however, both of these did not appeal to him at all. His gunblade already worked as a melee weapon; obtaining another one would do him no favors.

He considered getting a shield, but that would only help him in trying to defend himself until he positioned himself correctly to use Magnum Carnage. It would not solve his ammo problem or his bodily limitations at utilizing such a deadly move repeatedly throughout the ongoing operation.

And so, the only logical choice left was to obtain a ranged weapon. Bows were out of the question, since they required two arms to operate correctly. That left him with picking between a crossbow or a normal firearm.

As he was eyeing all the ranged weapon options, his eyes set across a silver barreled hand cannon, laid out on the shelf. Sigils marked across its frame, ones that he was very familiar with.

'This weapon... Is it from the Valkyrie series?' Back in Sanctuary City, Hermes had gotten extremely used to the secondary weapon they had provided him. The Valkyrie MH 350 was a sophisticated revolver capable of shooting down mutants. Although Hermes never got around to testing it against one, he still remembered the amount of power and recoil each shot had. Back then, he didn't for a second doubt its capabilities.

'Its just like Elizabeth had said... The Valkyrie series has been around since the Marcia Empire... Fascinating...'

Unlike the one he had used back then, the one before him resembled a shotgun more than it did a revolver. Its barrel looked to be more than 12 inches long, far greater than anything he had held before. Even still, the issues regarding its weight did not affect him at all. Unlike before, his body has already been trained hard enough for him to hold a full sized gunblade, let alone a firearm half the size of a pump-action shotgun.

Having thoroughly assessed its potential, Hermes confidently seized the artifact of his choice before swiftly retracing his steps to the vault's entrance. Emerging into the hall, he encountered Lance, engrossed in polishing his chest piece.

"Yo, Lance, I made my choice," he propped the weapon down on the table. Lance squinted and looked back up at Hermes. "Valkyrie HC 460, Special Edition... Interesting choice..."

Hermes smiled, "I assume HC stands for Hand Cannon? It does fit such a description."

He nodded, "Correct, but I am somewhat shocked by this. I expected you to choose a Stellar Artifact at the Brilliant-tier... This Hand Cannon is only Common-tier..."

Hermes chuckled, "I'm a stage 1 Celestial, am I not? I have no reason to go for the higher tiers. Besides, my gunblade is already powerful enough. I only need this weapon for support."

Hearing his logic, Lance nodded his head. "Fair enough. Alright, come with me. Ill get you fitted with a holster and ammunition for it. Also, I noticed that you're not wearing any armor either, so I asked Mason if it would be fine to provide you with some, and he said yes."

Hermes patted his shoulder. "Thanks for looking out for me, man. Appreciate it."

"Don't be. A friend of the Ironclad Mercenaries is, of course, a friend to me as well. Now stop wasting time and come over with me to the fitting area."

After what felt like an eternity, he finally found something that fit him perfectly. On top of his shirt, he wore an obsidian-textured chest piece paired with greaves of the same material. Lance then suggested that he wear a trench coat to hide his firearm inside an armpit holster as well as to provide a latch to his back so that he can sheathe his gunblade without having to carry it around all the time.

The one that was given to him was grungy in texture and looked to be very old, but it suited its purpose well. He happily donned it over his new armor after strapping himself with his armpit holster. He then safely attached the belt-fed ammunition around his hip. Looking at himself in the mirror, he was pretty satisfied with his new fit, but something was still missing....

And then it came to him! He quickly looked over to where Lance was standing, and with gleaming eyes, he shouted his request. "Lance, do you have any fedoras lying around?"

His head flinched back slightly. "Fedora? Why?"

'Should I mention it's so that I can resemble one of my favorite video game characters?'

He shook his head and smiled. "I don't know. I just think it would look good on me."

Lance was taken aback. "Since when did you care about your looks? You were wandering around the city with us last night while your clothes were soaked in mutant blood."

'Was it really that bad? I guess Eleanor's comments were somewhat deserved...' He pushed his glasses up his nose bridge. "I had no choice back there..."

Lance sighed and pointed in the other direction of the fitting room. "There should be some lying around in there."

Hermes thanked him and went to find the perfect one. After deciding on a top hat of the same texture as his coat, he swiftly made his way back to the lobby and waited for everyone else to finish up. Hermes checked his clock again, which read 11:50.

'I assume the operation has already begun... Lucien's first platoon must have already infiltrated Librarium Celestium by now. The second platoon should be guarding the mirror until our arrival...'

A minute later, the group assembled in the lobby, Mason trailing behind. Suddenly, Hermes' gaze shifted to one of the couches. There, the man he had noticed earlier was still sound asleep. It completely baffled him how a man could sleep through arguably one of the most important missions that may or may not impact the future of the entire empire. He decided to ask Mason about him.

"By the way, who is the guy sleeping on the couch there? Why did no one wake him up? Is he not going to participate?"

Mason frowned. "Guy sleeping on the couch? Where?"

Hermes' eyebrows squashed together. "Hm? What do you mean where... He is right there?..." He pointed at the couch in question.

Mason's gaze followed Hermes' finger, and as the scene before him sharpened into focus, a sudden realization washed over him, draining color from his face. "No way," he muttered under his breath.

Just then, the slumbering figure stirred, stretching lazily as he sat up, fixing Mason with a gaze that sent shivers down his spine. A sly grin crept across the man's face as he addressed the assembled group.

"Goodness gracious... I didn't think anyone would notice my presence..."

End of Chapter