If she were to recount where things went wrong, Magnolia would have to say it truly began a few minutes before Ash rejoined her.
Even if they were mere candidates, Magnolia and Anemone were on the precipice of being Wings. Not just any ordinary Valkyrie trainee, but the ones picked to lead Asgard into the future. The meaning of this couldn’t have been made any more clear than at this moment. ‘Superhuman’ could not even begin to describe their movements. They were going so fast that they looked like a colored blur. Sweeping through the sky with such skill that to an outside observer it must’ve looked like they were born there. Anemone in particular was an unstoppable force, her sonic barrages ripping apart the arena. Each and every impact sent out a deep rumble that shook the ground below. No human could have survived this environment; the decadent Asgardian might as well have been a god on Earth.
But her opponent was just the same. Magnolia was the Invincible Warrior, an immovable object. With a lone spear, she fought back the barrage of missile and laser blasts thrown her way. Very rarely did she ever dodge. The strength of Achilles caused Magnolia to burn bright, an undying flame who resolutely powered through every blow without even a flicker. And despite this chaotic frenzy, her mind was still as sharp as ever. Never letting her attention slip for even a moment. Constant split seconds decisions, her mind searching for any moment of weakness that Anemone presented.
That, of course, was where the problem laid.
On the surface, the gap between their Einherjar was laughably absurd. This was proven by the fact that Magnolia’s shields, despite the harsh conditions, had only just dropped below the 90% threshold. When one compared the attacks that she needed to make to how much Anemone had thrown at her to just even reach that point, victory seemed assured. However, this was a fact that the red team leader was naturally aware of, and as such Anemone made it a policy to keep as much distance between her and Magnolia as possible. Even if the duty-bound girl were to get close, Anemone would pull out one of the many weapons she had copied and upgraded from Shizuka and overwhelm her for just enough time that she could rush back out of Magnolia’s strike zone.
Thus, they were at a stalemate. While they were living up to Anemone’s bold declaration, the fight itself boiled down to her stalling Magnolia out for as long as possible. Even if the blue team member tried to abandon the fight and aim for the undefended nodes, her opponent would just block her, or worse: pull the same trick she had before and eliminate Ash from the fight while she was doing that. Magnolia had some measure of faith in the white haired trainee’s abilities, but she wasn’t foolish enough to delude herself into thinking that was a match up the Vintrkind could win. If that were to happen, then this domination battle would well and truly be lost.
Yet, Magnolia wasn’t a Wing candidate for no reason; it didn’t take her long to figure out how to counter this strategy. If she were to simply switch into Podarke mode, then the Wings of Arke would giver the agility needed to finish Anemone off. At the same time, however, such an action would expose her ‘heel’. The downside of having such a famous Einherjar was that the hedonistic girl who could somehow be called Magnolia’s rival was just as aware of her weaknesses as Magnolia herself. Magnolia didn’t have any doubt in her mind that the moment she took that risk, the gambler would proceed to bet all her chips on red. It was most likely what Anemone was aiming to do with this stalemate, burning away all of Magnolia’s patience until eventually she snapped.
“So I either continue to put up with this infuriating ploy…” Magnolia thought, gritting her teeth. “Or I make a fool of myself and let myself get shot down in front of everyone!”
Either way, Anemone won. And the thought of that just sparked a flame of fury into the blue team ‘Leader’s heart.
“Just keep holding on for now,” Liesa attempted to sooth the Asgardian’s fury as she continued her operational work. “If it helps, my observations on Pythagoras’s capabilites are almost complete. Given the relatively obscure and limited origin of the Einherjar, what Anemone has shown so far is all that she can do, in the most likely scenario.”
That wasn’t a hard conclusion to draw. Among the glorified annals of history, Pythagoras had only been noted as a peculiar man back in the days of ancient Greece for his founding of an idiotic cult dedicated to triangles of all things. He could not even begin to compare to the grand heroes of Troy. And in modern times, most of his work as a mathematician had long since proven to be mostly inaccurate rubbish. It was only thanks to that one theorem of his that the man had not drowned in the ocean of history. And just as that was the case, so too was it the thing that allowed Anemone to dominate the battlefield.
“Though, given your testimonies on her psychological behavioral patterns, there’s always the possibility that it’s what’s not part of her Einherjar that she’s-” Magnolia suppressed a wince as Liesa’s thoughts were cut off by a startled exclamation that echoes directly inside the blonde’s skull. “Please pardon me for a moment! There’s an emergency on Mister Ash’s end!”
“He better be alright.” Magnolia sighed. If he were to lose, not even to the enemy leader but to her lackey of all people? She’d kill him herself and then say it was a mercy kill. Death was preferable than being under Anemone’s thumb. Magnolia knew that all too well. Especially since she was basically in that exact same situation right now. Except she had a bigger problem: actually having to deal with Anemone.
Her irritation rose a notch as the girl in question opened up a private comms channel between the two. “Seems like the battle between our wolves is reaching its climax. Care to make a bet on who will win?”
“I’d rather rot in Helheim, Montague.” Magnolia bit the inner part of her mouth to prevent herself from shouting that outloud. “Is this ‘duel’ of ours not already enough of a game for you!?”
“It has its value as entertainment, yes, but it’s the unknown that provides the thrill I’m looking for.” The Red Leader flippantly responded. “I can make a guess, but I prefer it when the outcomes are unclear. Though, ultimately whether Mimosa wins or not is of minor consequence in the grand scheme of things. Not that I can say the same for you.Tell me Magnolia, how confident are you in that Vintrkind? Be honest now.”
“...I’ve trained him as best as I can.” No, that wasn’t even close. Ash wanted to be a Wing, and he had only just started earning his feathers. There was still so much more she would have drilled into him, should have drilled into him, if only they had the time. But at the very least. given what she had last seen of the Vintrkind’s skill level… The grip on her spear tightened. “He’ll pull through.”
“Hm. Good enough answer.” Anemone paused for a moment before chuckling and giving the blonde a wink as Magnolia tried to use the lull in the combat to close the distance between the two. Anemone responded with a flicker of wireframe light, which solidified with a flash into a giant hammer, one fused with what appeared to be jet engine. Fiery heat flared to life as with the roar of an explosion, the other Asgardian smashed the hammer into Magnolia’s side. “Well, it’s not like I have the leisure to simply watch the match from afar. After all, there’s a certain wrathful Valkyrie chasing after me!”
The Invincible Warrior was sent flying back through the air, but quickly recovered. Gritting her teeth, she went in for a swooping dive with her spear. Except instead of coming to match her like a proper Valkyrie, Anemone instead opted to use the jets of her hammer to blast herself back into the distance. Magnolia suppressed a curse under her breath. “You know that you can’t keep this up, Montague!”
“And what makes you say that? Have you forgotten what kind of match this is? The game is in my favor right now!” the other girl replied. “I’d almost envy the situation you’re in, if I didn’t engineer it myself. Face it Magnolia, you can’t do anything right now. It’s all in the hands of lady luck.”
“I have no need for luck!” The words came out of her throat with fiery passion. She didn’t even know if Anemone could hear her from here, but Magnolia didn’t care either.
“Those who have no need for luck find it in abundance. Meanwhile those who are starved for it kill for even just a scrap.” Anemone waved. “And in my eyes, you’ve always been quite the unfortunate girl. Really, what a tragedy your life has been. I might even shed a tear.”
“You…” How dare she! Anemone Montague was the last person in Yggdrasil who could say those words. Their shared history was already one that she could never forget, that she never allowed herself to forget. Magnolia refused to put the blame for her life on such a nebulous excuse as luck. Everything, the good and the bad, were the results of her own choices. To say otherwise would be to show weakness, to run away from her own responsibilities once more, and the mere thought of that made her insides boil! “Enough with your nonsense! I care not for luck! If you truly believe that I am currently helpless, then I shall overthrow that assumption with my own hands! Right here and now!”
Whatever Anemone was going to say next, Magnolia didn’t even bother to listen. As if responding to her rage, the sparks of energy from her valkyrie gear grew all the brighter. Luck, chance, none of that mattered! “Podrake Mode! Wings of Arke, fly!”
It was a risky maneuver, but Magnolia blazed with self confidence. With a roar of displaced air, the blonde Asgardian blasted forward, spearpoint first. Anemone had half an instant to look smug before realizing said spear was worryingly close to her face and going on the defensive.
Rockets, bullets, energy blasts and more filled the air, and did absolutely nothing at all to stop Magnolia’s assault. The Invincible Warrior juked and darted through the air at blinding speeds, not out of need to defend, attacks sliding off her like water on a duck’s back, but rather to make it more difficult for her quarry to continue to evade. Even when Anemone tried to make the 1 in 100 gamble and strike her heels, Magnolia always had a ready counter or maneuver to shake off the blow.
Magnolia was inches away when red helmet slammed into place around Anemone’s head, and her entire body flickered. Rather than bury itself squarely between her opponent’s breasts, the spearhead passed through her body like a mirage, Magnolia following shortly thereafter as her target burst into sparkling dust behind her.
The twin doppelgangers now flanking the fake Anemone pivoted to take shots at the now-exposed glowing weak points on Magnolia’s boots, only for the blonde girl to twist and spin about almost instantly, slamming to a halt as she drew back her spear. With a roar, she hurled it like a javelin at one Anemone, before charging the other. The leftmost Pythagorean dodged the spear with a startled curse, while the right never saw the knee strike that shattered its skull in a spray of triangular pixels.
The Spear of Achilles had been thrown at speeds that outstripped any arrow, but compared to Magnolia its flight was almost leisurely as she plucked it from the air and swept it through the cloud of doubles Anemone attempted to hide behind like a scythe through wheat. One became three became nine became twenty-seven, an endless army of Anemones constantly multiplying, only for the invincible warrior to strike them down as fast as they were made.
The more clones there were, the greater their individual durability, the specters of light growing more solid with numbers. To an unstoppable object, however, the difference between a window and a wall was largely academic, as the untouchable whirlwind of violence known as Magnolia Hale was all too happy to demonstrate.
And in the middle of this cannarge of violence, a HUD alert flashed between her eyes. In the center of the field… The node turned blue.
“Everything is all good on Mister Ash’s side!” Liesa reported in. “Shielding has taken a large hit but- Oh wow! Your synchronization rate with Achilies is reaching peak levels!”
“Save it, Stark!” Magnolia snapped curtly in her mind as she rammed the butt of her spear straight through the skull of another clone.
“Looks like Mimosa couldn’t make it after all,” Anemone mused. “Pity. Or did she simply give up? I’ll have to go over the footage later.”
“Mister Ash will be initiating rendezvous at your location shortly,” the blue team’s operator said. “Although I advise remaining cautious. Miss Mimosa only displayed it recently, but Hood Mode isn’t just limited to creating clones, but also-”
“Sensory attacks. I am aware.” It was only a minor inconvenience at the edge of her senses for now, one that Magnolia could simply push through with willpower alone. And she had a lot of that to burn, especially once she noticed that some of Anemone’s clones were beginning to spread out over the area. The blonde clicked her tongue and flourished her spear. “Hmph. What a cowardly trick. Now that she no longer just has me to deal with she’s spreading her clones over the rest of the battlefield.”
“I do not believe that qualifies as cowderice. Rather, that seems like a suitable tactic for the situation-”
“Hah?” Despite not being anywhere near the operating room, Magnolia’s tone alone sent a premonition of fiery death through the line. Liesa let out a sudden ‘Eep!’ before her usually rapid fire mouth welded itself shut.
A few moments later, the voice of her only remaining teammate connected to her Valkyrie Gear, speaking chidingly. “Take it easy on the poor dear.”
“You should be more worried about yourself, first!” Magnolia snapped as she glanced behind her. “We’ve reached the point where any amount of carelessness or hesitation will cost us everything!”
“I appreciate the concern, but I still have a third of my shield left,” Ash replied smoothly. “Anemone is just Shizuka and Mimosa combined, and I defeated both of those girls on my own. Take someone out on the same date three times in a row and they’re bound to get bored.”
Magnolia rolled her eyes at her charge’s usual flirtatious comment before lifting up her spear, aiming it at the mass of clones where Ash was approaching from. “Regardless, I’ll be opening up a path for you. Dodge.”
“Dod-”
Magnolia threw the spear. Her weapon turned into a blue bur, a comet that plowed through the mass of Anemones. The blonde couldn’t deny there was some cathartic glee to the whole affair as she shot after her weapon, catching it out of the air before continuing her massacre. She smashed and stabbed her way through the air until the sky was completely devoid of any trace of red. Soon enough, a familiar shade of white approached her with an awkward laugh. “While I enjoy our time getting up close and personal, I cannot even begin to express how glad I am to not be your punching bag this time.”
“I never treated you like a punching bag!” said the person who had spent the past week pummeling Ash day and night. Though if you were to ask her, that was simply how training tended to work against opponents of higher skill. “Whatever, we don’t have time for this inanity! Help me find the real Anemone so we can end this duel once and for all.”
Ash sighed before shaking her head with a shrug of her shoulders. “And here I thought I was done with this clone stuff.”
“Oh there’s no need for that. I’m right over here.” There was a sudden packet of information that uploaded itself into the blue team’s gears before a marker denoting a single Anemone appeared. She gave them a wave. “While Mimosa enjoys such plays, my clones are merely for the extra manpower. Though apparently they don’t count for claiming nodes, I checked. Speaking of, it’s good to see you, Vargr! I hope my girls treated you well!”
“Hm? What was that?” The Vintrkind’s gaze held a cold look, one completely devoid of emotion as she tilted her head to the side. “Sorry, I don’t speak pig. Maybe if you squeal a bit more you’ll start to sound more like a human.”
“...Hahaha! So that’s how it is huh?!” The enemy leader let out a laugh while clapping her hands. “Good good! At least one of you can be honest! That passion is different from when we met back at Thousand Nights, but I love it all the same!”
Even from this distance, Magnolia could spot the weapon Anemone pulled out next. It was the same one that she used to finish Kyouko off, a Hyper-Velocity Gauss Cannon. A large shoulder mounted barrel pointing straight towards them as it began to vibrate with a green glow. “Really, I can’t thank you two enough. Today has been so worth it. Do make sure to keep it up until the end!”
“The only way this is going to end is in our victory!” Magnolia replied, the soles of her feet glowing brighter as she cut through the sky. “Ash, we’re settling this!”
“...Now that’s just overcompensating.” Her charge glanced at her pistol, before flying in after the Asgardian. She was slower, obviously not fast enough to keep up with swift footed Achilles. But Ash quickly compensated by pulling out the ranged fire power that Magnolia couldn’t. A barrage of frosty hail and ice flew through the air as the storms of winter came out of the Vintrkind’s comparatively tiny weapon. Of course all of the ice was instantly shattered as Anemone fired her canon, the shockwave rumbling through the arena with a thunderous boom. Whatever projectile she had launched, it was going so fast that it looked like a burning laser of plasma melting the remaining shards away. And it was heading- Right towards Ash.
Magnolia reacted in an instant. Instead of flying away from the incoming blow however, she braced her spear before flying right into the plasma’s projectorry. A shockwave rumbled through the air, but the Invincible Warrior powered through it as she took the brunt of the blow. It was a move that allowed Ash to merely stumble over in her flight rather than take her out entirely. Even at a reduction of 99% of its strength, the power of the cannon was enough to take out 5% of Magnolia’s shields. A miniscule amount to anyone else, but a deadly premonition to the Asgardian.
“If my memories serve me well, the Hyper-Velocity Gauss Cannon can’t fire multiple shots in a row.” Various schematics and statistics poured into Magnolia’s mind from Liesa’s side of the connection. In the heat of battle, the Wing Candidate skimmed them over before ultimately dismissing them all. “Even as Valkyrie equipment, it still requires a cooldown to deal with the intense heat that it produces. If you can deal enough damage now, you might be able to destroy it!”
Could her spear… No, too risky. She might lose the weapon, or there might not be enough power in the impact. That only left the other ranged option, or so Magnolia thought until Ash flashed her a confident grin. “It’s a Valkyrie weapon.”
The implications of that sentence only became clear once the white haired trainee dismissed her own weapon. There was a large glow on her shoulders as Ash’s Einherjar got to work, and soon the key to their problems manifested itself. Magnolia would’ve loved to see the look on Anemone’s face as her charge proceeded to pull out her own version of the large, shoulder mounted cannon that Ash struggled to stablize as she pointed the barrel directly towards their leader. “This is a bit hard to control but if I just infuse it with Winter then I can…. FIRE!”
What came out of the barrel was not the plasma trail of a railgun shot. No, it was a beam of pure frost that carved it’s way through the skies. Standing right next to the very source, Magnolia could feel the deep winter sinking into her bones, only the effects of her Valkyrie Gear keeping her temperature stable. Faced with this unexpected situation, Anemone’s reaction was quite cruder than her usual methods. The mass of clones that she had created all rapidly dove in front of the laser in order to cushion it, but to no avail. Instead, it simply removed all of the remaining obstacles before crashing headlong into the Gauss Cannon, the metal breaking down before the spot was consumed in light.
Once the light and dust had cleared, there was a gigantic glacier the size of a building where the Red Team leader had once stood. Ash however, looked winded as she wiped a bead of sweat from her forehead. “That was exhausting… Ugh, I feel kind of sick.”
“Keep your guard up.” Magnolia warned him, glancing around what remained of the arena they had pretty thoroughly demolished. There hadn’t been any announcement of their victory, so that could only mean… “That wasn’t enough to take her out.”
Soon enough, her suspicions were confirmed as Anemone spoke through their connection. “...So that’s the power of the Vintrkind’s Einherjar huh?”
Even if it was just thoughts, Anemone’s voice was more… subdued then Magnolia could ever recall. For this entire match the decadence faction’s daughter had acted like everything, even chance itself, was in the palm of her hand. But at this moment, that had finally cracked wide open. So that herculean effort to hide what Loptr could do was useful after all… Good. Magnolia’s eyes narrowed as she spotted Anemone, her usual messy blonde hair in disarray that was no longer a deliberate affectation. “There you are! It’s over now!”
Ash quickly pulled herself together, brandishing her claws of ice as she followed after Magnolia. The blue team members pushed the agility of their Einherjars to their absolute limit as they closed in the remaining distance between them. For the first time in the entire match, Anemone gritted her teeth. Pulling out a pair of tonfa, she was forced to defend from the rapid fire blows of both Valkyries. Her caution and anger at the situation naked for all to see. Magnolia honed in on this as she continued. “What’s the matter Montague?! You spoke so much about luck and chance, but when the chips are finally down you don’t seem to be enjoying the game when you’re on the back foot!”
“You actually bought that?” Ash chimed in as her claws continued to grow in size with every passing moment. “She’s a card counter, Magnolia. It’s just self-gratifying pleasure. What she wants isn’t ‘risk’ but ‘victory in a situation where it seems she might lose’. Doing everything in her power to win while still keeping that small flavor of chance so that she doesn’t get bored with the result. Of course she doesn’t like being on the downswing, because if she were to actually lose then that wouldn’t be fun for her now would it?!”
“Ah yes, because it all comes down to her own pleasure in the end. Typical decadence faction nonsense.” Magnolia scoffed back as Anemone demonstrated a surprising amount of personal flexibility. “As Asgardians, we have the duty we were entrusted to fulfil! To lead Yggdrasil into the future! It’s your ilk, who chase after their own desires even at the expense of others, that have led to the infestation of rot that exists today!”
Anemone for once remained silent before letting out a sigh. “...You two act like you’ve got me all figured out. Well done. But you’re not the one who's allowed to get on a high horse Hale. You speak of rot, but remember whose family it was that caused the greatest tragedy in Yggdrasil.”
Magnolia’s eyes sharpened as a sinking feeling began to fall into her gut. “Don’t you dare bring that up now!”
Unfortunately for her, Ash blinked in confusion. “Greatest tragedy in Yggdrasil?”
“...No way.” Anemone’s eyes went wide as she suddenly performed a spinning kick towards Magnolia’s head, gazing at the girl with a maniac look. “You mean the Vintrkind doesn’t know?! You didn’t tell him?!”
Dammit! Dammit! “Shut up!”
“Hahahaha! Oh this is great!” Anemone whipped her head towards Ash with a smile. “Since you’re so ignorant, allow me to educate you where Magnolia here has failed! 15 years ago, it was the Hales who were in charge of the realm that we now call Jotunheim!”
“Don’t you dare say another word!” Magnolia screamed, her throat raw as panicked flames of anxiety began to burn through her veins. “Ash doesn’t need to know!”
“I don’t need to know what?!” The Vintrkind in question shouted. “What the hell are you two talking about?!”
“...Oh no.” Liesa’s voice was so quiet that Magnolia could barely hear her even in her thoughts. “I-I didn’t think it was going to come out like this!”
“They were so overzealous! Unlike the rest of us Asgardians in charge of the lower realms, nothing could satisfy them! They kept making ‘changes’ to the state of their realm in the name of ‘improving’ it!” That damnable girl continued, even as Magnolia’s thrusts increased in intensity. “But in the end, all their constant fussing about cause was a weakness for the Jotun to invade Yggdrasil through! That’s right! The Hales were the ones who were responsible for the fall of Jotunheim fifteen years ago!”
Magnolia’s thoughts were going a mile a minute, but it was all just one word. No. Nonononononononononononononononono-
“They… What?” Ash turned to gaze at her but Magnolia couldn’t meet his eyes. Don’t look… Don’t look at her! “Are you serious?”
“I can see why she chose to hide it from you. After all, one look at your hair and anyone could tell that you’re a Vintrkind, a child born from that tragedy.” The messy blonde let out a laugh. “You grew up on the streets of Midgard right? Everything from the destruction of your home, the death of your family, all the hardships you ever went through in your life, well…”
With a single finger, Anemone pointed at her. It felt like damnation. “If you were to trace the root of all your misfortune, then Magnolia is the one you would find!”
And like that, it was all over.
Magnolia didn’t want to look. She couldn’t look at the reality before her. Her muscles felt like they had turned to stone, and though she desperately wanted to flee from this moment all her body did was chain her down. Of course, she could feel Ash’s gaze casting judgment upon her. Magnolia didn’t say anything, she couldn’t deny the truth.
And in her moment of weakness, the one who acted was none other than Anemone herself. Normally Magnolia could’ve put up some form of defense, but as rattled as she was she couldn’t stop the red team leader. All it took was one solid blow to the soles of her feet, a collision that slammed into Magnolia like an executioner’s axe. As if her sturdiness was all an illusion, the shield of the Invincible Warrior shattered like glass. The digit in the corner of Magnolia’s vision dropped closer and closer to zero before finally stopping once it had fallen below the double digits. Crimson red like blood.
“...Huh. Even after all that Magnolia still has some shield left.” Perhaps that could be taken as praise for her Einherjar, but its user wasn’t in the mood to do anything but stare listlessly. “Oh well. I can take care of that no-”
Anemone’s thoughts were cut off by a sudden chill. With a wave of her gauntlet, Ash unleashed a wall of ice separating the two Asgardian Wing candidates. The Vintrkind charged. Not at Anemone, but to instead quickly gather Magnolia up in her arms and dart off into what remained of the forest. She exuded as much mist as she could, obscuring the trail behind her. Though that didn’t stop the enemy leader from speaking into their heads. “I’ll be waiting for you if you can still find the courage to try for victory. Though in your condition… Perhaps it’s for the best if we call it here now hm?”
The following moments passed by in a blur. Magnolia was only vaguely cognizant of her surroundings, her mind in disarray. Unwilling to look at anything, she instinctively buried her face into the chest of the one carrying her. If Ash was thinking any of her usual thoughts while transformed, for once she didn’t say them outloud as she put them as she flew as far away from Anemone as she could. Eventually, at the roots of a particularly large tree in the forest, Ash gently placed Magnolia down before speaking up. “Hey, are you still here?”
“...Mmh.” Magnolia let out, attempting to turn away only for the Vintrkind to grab her shoulders and turn her head back towards her. “What? Go ahead and say it.”
“Say what?” Ash asked in bewilderment. “I’m just confused about everything at the moment. Magnolia just- Explain to me what the hell you two were talking about. All of it. You said your history with her was nothing major, but that’s clearly a fucking lie. ”
So Ash didn’t… For Odin’s sake did he still not understand?
The memories hurt to think about but-
“...Alright,” Magnolia said, her words only audible through their Valkyrie Gears as she began. “I’ll tell you. My history with Anemone, the failure of my family, and why…”
She paused before finishing that thought.
“Why you should hate me.”
Patreon
Killjoejeff1· Sep 13, 2021
