Valkyrie Smash

A flock of aircrafts traversed the sky above the ninth district of the First Settlement. Their ramps spread open and one cube after the other fell out. As the raging winds blew inside, three figures stepped toward the edge, their colorful hair tousled as they gazed at the cityscape below.

Even from such an altitude, it wasn't all too difficult to notice the eeriness that had spread all across. The evacuations were underway and so the streets were bustling with the people moving toward the designated shelters. That caused the silent areas to stand out, and in such a situation it couldn't mean anything good.

"Don't tell me you're getting cold feet."

Eleven looked up and glanced beside her. AK let a teasing smile play on her lips. The distinct uniform the idols usually wore was replaced by a Valkyrie's pilot suit.

"If that was the case I wouldn't have volunteered." The blue-haired Valkyrie smiled back. "You on the other hand, I still can't believe you chose to tag along."

"After all those complaints she still came." Twenty Two smiled wryly.

"You talk as if I had a choice." AK shrugged. "The three of us are stuck together. There is no way I could've stayed behind while you two are out here."

A short distance in the back, a certain Nephilim watched the interaction with a hand on her mouth, tears gathering in the corners of her eyes.

"What the hell is wrong with you?"

Right beside her, Tove looked down at her with disgust.

"I'm… I'm simply moved." Sygin said. "To think she had such strong bonds. I was worried for nothing."

"Guess my services aren't needed here."

A Third Nephilim stepped forth. This one had her hair cut short, wore the rare male version of the Nephilim uniform, and held a rose in her hand for some reason.

"No one asked for them." Sygin deadpanned. "Why are you here anyway?"

"To comfort a sorrowful princess." Astrid said with a smile, "Why else would I bother answering this call?"
Experience more on empire

"It's the dead of-" someone tried to join their conversation only for a yawn to interrupt her. "It's the dead of the night. Couldn't it wait till morning?"

"You say that as if you would be awake then."

Tove glanced at the sleepy Solveig who was leaning against the aircraft's wall, seemingly enjoying the weak vibration running through it.

"Why don't you take after Ingrid a little? Not only did she volunteer to guard Her Majesty, she also helped capture a criminal our allies have been looking for and is now out there looking for more."

"The only reason she volunteered was so she could sneak out and visit the human city."

"She still did her job." Tove glanced at the pink-haired Nephilim sitting in the back. "Unlike a certain someone who was too short for the task."

"My cuteness would've overshadowed Her Highness, I get it." Ulfhild waved the lollipop in her hand before putting it in her mouth. "Solveig is right, though. Why bring us? We aren't exactly specialists in urban combat."

"We use whoever we have. And the four of us just happened to be free."

The four, five including Ingrid, belonged to the same unit and worked the best together. Separating them would've been a waste so they have been on standby for some time, but when the mission to deal with the first Fallen their leader jumped at the opportunity.

"Alright, enough chitchat!" Tove's voice boomed even through the strong wind and the roaring of the aircraft engines. It drew the attention of all the Nephilim and Valkyries, including Eleven and her fellow idols. "Our target is a little tricky this time. It controls puppets from a distance, and those puppets are capable of short-range spatial attacks, at the very least. We will start by locating one of the headless puppets. From there, we will spread the Cleanser's Purge Field gradually until we find our prey. Keep your Force Fields raised at all times and don't let your guard down!"

A Cleanser's Purge Field disturbed the Madness filling the minds of Fallen abominations, rendering them incapable of taking action.

Even while enveloped in one, the headless corpses were still able to move and use their abilities. It showed that they were nothing more than drones and that the one controlling them could do so while remaining outside a cleanser's range, which wasn't short by any means.

The Puppeteer, as they came to call it, was too dangerous as far as Fallen went. Taking it down became the Resistance's first priority, which is why they chose to move the Auroras and the Super Squad, all of whom are reserved only for special situations.

"Ms. Idol, if you would."

"Understood."

Nodding, Eleven turned to face the open ramp once more. She took a deep breath, tapped the floor with her sounding staff, and summoned her halo. Seconds later, she floated out of the aircraft and gracefully descended toward the city below.

Twenty Two watched her with concerned eyes. AK placed a hand on her shoulder and gave her a reassuring smile, momentarily banishing the worries plaguing her mind. The two summoned their halos and followed their friend out.

Seconds later, several translucent domes spread over the ninth district of the First Settlement. The eeriness surrounding it seemed to disperse only to return right after. The subtle, barely perceivable change was enough to confirm that something was truly wrong with the area.

"That's strange," AK spoke in a low voice, as if afraid to be heard. "Why isn't it disappearing?"

"That just means it's not something tangible." Tove, who had just teleported out, gave her guess. "Or it might not be harmful to begin with."

The Nephilim was a bit perplexed. She was sure the source of the eeriness was their target, but the lack of a reaction to being enveloped in the Cleansers' abilities didn't bode well.

"Solveig, go down and check."

"Eeeeeeh!!!? Why me!!?"

"Move your lazy ass before I shove my boot in it!"

Solveig swallowed her complaints and did as she was told. Her figure glowed a faint purple as she slowly descended. Everyone felt the moment she entered the area enveloped in the eeriness, but as they waited with bated breaths, nothing seemed to happen. The Nephilim they watched suddenly disappeared, and before anyone could ask, she suddenly appeared beside them.

"What is it?" Tove asked right away.

"It's… it's silent…" Solveig answered, her voice tinged with confusion. "I… I couldn't hear anything. There is… there is no sound…"