DAY 27
THREE DAYS UNTIL THE FINAL EXHIBITION
Seiji parried an overhead strike of Endora’s halberd with an arm coated in Dragon Fury, countering with a palm thrust to her armored midsection.
Five more points left!
The Valkyrie flew back with the momentum, turning in the air and kicking off with golden wings to–
*ANNOUNCEMENT*
TO THE FOUR REMAINING TEAMS
ALL BOND EVENTS HAVE BEEN OPENED FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE VALKYRIE EXAM
ALL BOND EVENTS MAY ONLY BE CHALLENGED ONCE
Wham! Endora punted Seiji into the ceiling of the training hall with enough force to kill him instantly. Thankfully, they still had a few revival elixirs left, so Seiji was brought back to life within moments. He’d been woken up to find a visibly annoyed Endora standing over him followed by a confused Cora and Akio. Seiji understood why Endora was upset – these revival elixirs were expensive.
“Sorry,” Seiji began. “My System popped up out of nowhere with an announcement. It threw me off.”
“What’d it say?” Endora responded, her annoyance turning to curiosity.
“It said there are only four teams left. I guess those Final Evaluations were pretty brutal.” He gave a quick glance over to Cora. “It went on to say the Bond Events have been opened for the remainder of the Exam, and that they can only be challenged once.”
As he finished recalling the announcement, Seiji felt a smile tugging at his lips. For the past two days, he and Cora had been training their Dominion nonstop against Endora and Akio. Despite clearly going easy on Seiji and Cora, the Valkyrie and Servant were relentless opponents. A single misstep against them would result in immediate death. If either Seiji or Cora managed to find some sort of opening against the two, they’d accept the hit and consider it a ‘point’. When Seiji and Cora both accumulated ten points, they were allowed to fight all out against one another, just as they did after the Final Evaluation. So far, they only fought once.
“Ah! Bond Event Day!” Endora beamed.
“Oh yeah!” Akio smiled, clapping Endora on the shoulder. “Doesn’t that make this seven years since we challenged the Hell Pit Revival?”
“Hell Pit Revival?!” Seiji and Cora both shouted at the same time.
Seiji shot up from the floor of the training hall, wiping dust and debris from his Exam outfit. Normally, he’d complain about wearing it so much, but now he just wanted to match Cora. Besides, he had an endless supply of them.
The Hell Pit Revival, according to Endora, was a significantly harder version of the Hell Pit Bond Event. Unlike the original, only two people could enter. Additionally, every enemy within the Hell Pit was significantly stronger. Apparently, the mission was prohibitively difficult, meant to bond Cadets and Servants by having them fail together in an unwinnable mission. It was meant to encourage communication and understanding in the face of loss. Seiji gave Cora a wicked grin, who returned one with the maniacal smile that’d become all too common on her. They’d both already experienced failure together, and their communication and understanding of one another were as deep as they could possibly get right now. Besides, their Dominion wouldn’t let them accept a loss.
“Did you sign us up for it, Endora?” Cora asked.
“Not this time. She didn’t tell me when it was.” Endora smiled sheepishly. “Your mother wasn’t too happy with me for signing you up for the Hell Pit without your consent.”
Cora laughed. Seiji stiffened. He’d been scolded by Valkyrie Eir before, and her Dominion in that brief moment was still overwhelming to him. He wondered what it was like for Endora to experience the queen’s ire.
“It’s in the same place if you want to go,” Akio said. He smiled at them in a way that reminded him of Endora. “Honestly, I think you two can pass it. There isn’t a demon in the pit that fights as well as Endora and I.”
“I agree,” Endora said with a look of pure conviction. “As long as you have Dominion, you can tear through the tower in an hour or two.” She smiled softly, patting Akio on the shoulder. “Just don’t make the same mistake we did and drain yourselves. There are aura fruits and iron vegetables on the 8th floor and potent elixirs on the 15th. It’s important to replenish your energy while you’re on a mission.”
“Got it,” Cora nodded.
“Thank you,” Seiji bowed.
Cora linked her fingers with Seiji’s and gave him a confident nod. Seiji repeated the gesture, though it took effort not to smile. In truth, he was eager to tear through the Hell Pit. He’d been envious of the Alex Twins for doing it, then angry when he learned their reasoning for it. Now, not only did he get to tear through it but he got to kill everything. And he could try his new move with Cora on the Pit Demon. He just had to remind himself the Hell Pit was still a Valkyrie Mission. There were still hostages that took priority over his desires.
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As they approached the door to their training hall, Endora called after them.
“Oh yeah! Try to keep a level head if you pass!”
Seiji and Cora shared a confused look, but nonetheless waved their gratitude at Endora as they left.
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The walk to Training Hall 6 was a bit louder than Seiji would’ve liked. As they walked hand in hand through the streets of Haven, plenty of townspeople stopped the two either to commend them on their fights in the Exhibition, compliment their appearance, or to ask why they were holding hands in public, as if that was their business. Thankfully, Seiji had completed his Decorum Training. He managed to keep his head.
When they turned a corner down a familiar backstreet, they were surprised to find two familiar figures standing in front of the door of the simple shed that was Training Hall 6. Cora had begun to call out to them, raising her free hand in their direction, but Seiji stopped her. He observed the faces of the two figures. The horned woman was particularly dejected, though she looked like she was trying to hide it. The brown-skinned man was doing his best to comfort her, though he was clearly hiding his own frustration. For a moment, Seiji was surprised by their lack of communication. If it were him and Cora, they’d be letting all of those emotions out in their training hall. It wasn’t his place to judge, though. Instead, he hid Cora behind a house on their left and began to eavesdrop.
“Master said this was a good opportunity to learn, but I don’t know what we were supposed to come away with,” Selene said.
“I suppose she wants to prime us for the Favorite’s Rites. Remember, after our last time here she analyzed our footage and taught us how to fight more efficiently. Perhaps she’ll do the same here in preparation for the Favorite’s Rites?” Lirio posited.
Cora, who’d gone from holding his hands to hiding behind him, hissed as she squeezed his sides. Seiji stifled a laugh. Even if they had all gotten a bit closer in the Hell Pit, he supposed some things didn’t change.
Selene jerked her head in their direction and made a face as if she bit into a lemon. Lirio trailed behind her, his face darkening.
Before either of them could speak, though, Cora spoke up with excitement she’d hardly seen from her outside of their training hall.
“What was the Hell Pit Revival like? Did you face the Pit Demon? What Tier would you say the regular demons were? Did they follow any sort of pattern? What rules did they operate under?” As she spoke, her voice got faster as she walked closer and closer to Selene, who’d clearly been dazed by Cora’s sudden assault.
Seiji, unable to hold back his own curiosity, joined in. He stood beside Cora, leaving Lirio behind them both. “What was its reaction time like? Did they have any exploitable weaknesses? How deadly would you say–”
“I asked first!” Cora interrupted, her tail lashing furiously behind her.
“I asked better questions!” Seiji responded.
They’d begun asking Selene questions, talking over one another as the Tauran looked over to Lirio for some sort of assistance. The man decided to help her by grabbing them by the shoulder and pulling them away from Selene. He walked in between them and Selene as if to guard her from them.
“You two are acting like the Twins!” Selene said, shooting a finger at them both. “Stop it!”
“We just want to know what it’s–” Cora began.
“It’s fucking impossible!” Selene snapped. She took a deep breath. “Sorry. It’s frustratingly hard. The Pit Demon is awake from the moment you step in, and it chases you throughout the entire time you’re in the tower. Thankfully, the demons stay inside, but you’re stuck having to choose between fighting the impossibly tough Pit Demon or saving the hostages.” She looked up at Lirio, whose face softened as the two made eye contact. “We decided to save the hostages, but the Pit Demon destroyed the tower and killed us in the process. We only lasted half a day in there.”
Seiji and Cora nodded along.
“You two need to enter with a level head. If you’re going in there like… that,” Selene circled a finger in their direction. “You might as well do something else.”
“I understand,” Cora said. She walked a bit closer to Selene, though Lirio still stood between them. “A Valkyrie must keep her head. Thank you for reminding me.”
Though Seiji couldn’t understand why, Selene glared at him while she nodded to Cora’s words. So did Lirio for that matter. Seiji looked away, unsure what to say to them.
“As long as you understand,” Selene finally said, walking up to Cora. The Tauran pulled her into a hug. “Take care of yourself, Cora. Your heart is your most valuable asset.”
Selene still glared at him as Cora said, “I promise to do just that.”. Her face eased considerably when Cora patted her on the back, but she still stared daggers at him while she rubbed her cheek on Cora’s and snorted. Seiji imagined it’d take a while to understand all of the intricacies of the people here.
As they walked away, Cora returned to Seiji’s side and again linked her fingers in his.
“What was that all about?” Seiji asked as they approached the door to Training Hall 6. Much like Sir Lasko’s office, it was a simple wooden door with the symbol of the Lambros Family etched into the wood at the top center.
She placed a hand on the symbol. “Lower Haven is similar to The Ardor, but not as intense. We probably remind her of people she’s seen. I imagine it’s hard fighting against Dominion when you have no idea what it is, and she’s had to do that her whole life.”
Seiji recalled the look of absolute terror Selene gave Cora during their fight. Thankfully, the news programs had hidden Selene’s cowering figure from rebroadcasts of the Exhibition.
“When I become a Valkyrie, I will ensure Lower Haven is taken better care of. I refuse to allow crime and suffering to run rampant in my kingdom.”
Seiji felt the Dominion oozing from her, though he felt it inappropriate to join his own with it. So, he grabbed her hand from the door, pulled it to his lips, and kissed it.
“And I swear to help you cleanse it.”
She gave him a sheepish look.
“I don’t mean in a murderous way.”
“I know, Cora,” Seiji laughed. “I’m not that deranged.”
She snorted. “Well, we won’t be doing anything together if we don’t pass the Exam. Come on, let’s clear out the Hell Pit again.”