Valkyrie Smash

Chapter 287 Surrender yourself.

Atropos charged forward, the diamond shaped wings on her back extending as her speed accelerated. She raised her Scissors to attack, but Nino remained still, reacting almost a moment too late.

Blocking the attack with the Yari sent her flying. She tried to fight back when Atropos followed after her, but her will to fight was wavering, leaving her barely able to keep up with the flurry of attacks.

Despite her attempts, the gaps in her memories took over her mind. What she remembers from her time as Lachesis was very limited, and with that came the overwhelming fear that she was missing many important things.

She remembered being a scientist, but none of the knowledge she acquired made it to this life. She remembered having a high social standing, but she couldn’t recall what her position was or what it meant to the people around her.

She remembered deciding to escape with Clotho so they could oppose Zeus. From what she could gather they managed to get away, which somehow led to her death.

She escaped with Clotho, while Atropos stayed behind, having decided to serve Zeus. The memory of when the three of them made their decision. When it came up in her mind, Nino felt nothing but anger at her sister for not sticking with them.

Nino –Lachesis– never stopped to consider if Atropos felt the same.

‘Is that how it is?’ she thought. ‘Is that how she felt?’

Though most of the details were still missing, Nino understood that Clotho and Lachesis’ leaving must’ve had some grave consequences. She recognized Artemis and Apollo and knew that Lachesis was their equal in every regard, but it took Atropos mentioning it for her to realize that she and her sisters must’ve had people under their leadership as well.

The eldest sister was left on her own, and most likely was made to bear the responsibilities for her sisters’ betrayal. She didn’t remember anything about the Fallen Worlds, but the anger she felt at the idea of someone she knew being sent there told her of how cruel a punishment it must have been.

“What’s wrong?” Asked Atropos. “Don’t tell me you’ve given up already!?”

Sparks scattered as the two crimson weapons clashed. Nino has been on the defensive for some time, only blocking and parrying the attacks thrown at her. Even though the Olympian had been going easy on her, she was barely keeping up, something that became more strenuous with the attacks kept getting more intense by the second, making it clear that she wouldn’t be able to hold on for long.

Nevertheless, the Valkyrie couldn’t gather her strength. The realization of what she had done took away her determination and the thought of having to betray her sister once again filled her chest with pain.

She said it herself; Lachesis and Nino were two different people. The two lives had two separate threads drawing a distinct line between them. Lachesis was gone and Nino had no reason to carry her sins, but no matter how she tried, the guilt kept growing, making the weapon in her hand unbearably heavy.

‘Doctor…’ thinking back to her beloved, Nino wished for a way to resolve everything. ‘What should I do?’

A faint cracking sound caught the attention of the two sisters, drawing their fight to a stop. They turned their eyes to one of the blue walls separating them from the outside and were startled to see a crack running through its surface.

It was a single white line at first, only a couple of meters in length, but then it spread to double its previous size, and after a few seconds it grew once more splitting the entire wall in half.

Before either of them could ask what was happening, four peculiar objects penetrated the blue wall, all of them aligning along the white line. Another four jutted in through the crack, and at that moment it suddenly became clear what they were.

“Impossible…” Atropos said, her face pale with horror.

Limited Rift was an ability that cut a section of space from the rest of the world. The blue barriers that represented the borders of the selected space were indestructible; they weren’t something that could be penetrated by any means. Atropos was sure of that fact, but now, right in front of her eyes, something was trying to pry the blue box open defying the logic that created it in the first place.

The strange objects were light purple in color, and looking at their shape and the way they were distributed one could guess they were some gigantic fingers. Gigantic fingers meant gigantic hands, and gigantic hands meant only one thing.

The crack in the blue box continued to spread across the other walls. Each side was being pulled in an opposite direction from the other and the outside world soon came to site, although something was blocking the view and soon enough the sisters realized it was the face of a mechanical giant.

At first, Nino was Juni’s Super Robo, however a closer look showed that it was a much larger creation, with a design that inspired nothing but terror in the hearts of those gazing up at it.

“Tche!”

Frustrated by the sight, Atropos deactivated her ability. Instead of disappearing, the blue box shattered like an object made entirely out of thin glass, turning into thousands of pieces that kept crumbling until they became dust.

Taking a closer look at the mechanical giant, Nino’s eyes shot open as she realized where she had seen it before.

“Nine!!?”

It wasn’t the first thing she noticed because of the giant covering most of her field of vision. Behind it, a pillar of light reached toward the sky, produced by the inter-dimensional portal gate. Nino realized that Sam and the others must’ve succeeded in their mission, and as if to confirm that, several cohorts of Valkyries were appearing from the palace, taking off to the sky to join the battle against the Olympians.

[Ah! Nino!] Confirming her guess, a familiar voice resounded from the giant. [What’s taking you so long!? Doctor has been worried, you know!]

Hearing the blond Valkyrie’s bubbly voice shattered the horrifying image the mechanical giant painted. At first Nino thought that it was the same one she used back when almost destroyed the forty sixth base in her attempt to erase the invaders, but upon further inspection she realized it was different. First, instead of blue it was now purple with several parts including the eyes and mouth being lime green, but the color was the least of what changed. The mechanical giant was massive to say the least. It was so large it made the palace look like a toy house. It surpassed the Titans created by the Primordial, but unlike the stone creations, it seemed to be capable of moving unhindered, as if unaffected by the planet’s gravity.

“How?” Atropos asked, shaking with rage. “How do you do it!?”

[Hm? Are you talking about the barrier?] Nine spoke. [Doctor told me to break it and so-]

“It can’t be broken!” The Olympian shot back. “It’s impossible!!!”

[Well…] going silent for a moment, Nine then continued, her voice taking on a blood chilling effect despite her tone remaining the same. [There is a first time for everything.]

Atropos was stunned, unable to find a reply. Her ability did not make her invulnerable, but at the very least she was confident in the absolute defense it provided.

[Don’t worry, I only came to secure this.] The giant moved its hand, reaching toward the glowing white orb. [Doctor’s orders were to secure it.]

The mechanical giant placed its palm under. The next second, light particles began to form, turning into small shapes and rectangles that joined to form parts of a complex machination sealing the orb.

“Who said you’re allowed to take it!!!” Four white discs shot out from behind the raven haired Olympian, about to fly in the purple giant’s direction, but before they could a massive bolt of red lightning came down from the sky swallowing them and their master.

[Ah, it seems your opponent has arrived.]

The lightning gradually dissipated revealing that Atropos had taken refuge inside a smaller box created by her ability. Atropos raised her head, her expression twisted into a deep frown.

A beautiful figure clad in a frilly red dress slowly descended from the sky. With her lance resting at her side, Thor gazed at the leader of the invader, her eyes containing restrained anger. Seeing that she was free from the mind control, Atropos couldn’t help clicking her tongue, at the same time willing one of the white discs to form a panel to her left just in time to block another attack.

Five’s purple odachi slid across the blue separation without leaving a mark. Though the attack was ineffective, just seeing the Obsidian Armor she was wearing instilled a hint of fear in Atropos, making her reconsider her situation.

In another part of the battlefield, Apollo gritted his teeth as he strained his arms and legs, trying to break the chains binding them. Miku pointed her rifle at him his head, as did several other Valkyries. Mj?lnir was on the ground behind them looking quite surprised. A smile spread on her face the next second and she allowed herself to be carried by the drones that arrived soon after.

Seeing the approaching reinforcements did little to discourage the Olympian warriors. They appeared to have the upper hand so far, but when the Valkyries arrived, led by none other than Nana, the tides quickly turned and the battle accelerated toward its end.

“Surrender yourself, Olympian.” Said Thor in a commanding tone. “Nothing could sate my anger more than seeing your death, but our ally wishes to keep you alive.”