Standing on the precipe of our assigned quarter in the La Riverie Hotel, Bryn opens the double doors leading inside before holding my hand to guide me in. She does that out of concern for me as I am feeling quite drowsy.

The interior has been checked by my security details and everything has been furnished to suit me and Bryn's needs. It takes no time at all for Bryn to find the wardrobe and pull out a pair of bathrobes and two nightgowns for me and herself. As she starts helping me undress, I can feel her gaze lingers on me longer than usual with her fingers hesitating. It's as if she's having an internal debate.

 "*Yawn* Bryn, is everything alright?" I asked with my left hand rubbing my tired eyes, I need some shuteye. "We can skip the bath for tonight and just go to sleep first."

Bryn shakes her head and exhales a breath she's been holding in, it feels...warmth. "It's fine, it's just that today's talk has been running all over my mind."

"Oh." I let my arms relax so she can take off my shirt before continuing. "About that particular revelation I made, it's just a thing that has been going on my mind for quite a while now. Back before everything happened, to be exact. It all stems from the question of, why does war exist?"

That gets Bryn's attention fully, though her hands now work on untying my bra. Her dainty white fingers leave behind traces of heat on my now bare breasts. Unknowingly, my face flushed red with my heart beating fast in anticipation. Bryn apparently notices it, saved for me who's too tired to take note of my own bodily reaction.

Fortunately or unfortunately, neither of us acts on the impulse of the moment. Rather we choose to carry on with whatever we're doing and let our feelings buries deep inside, for now.

"Of all my time perusing records of this world and your world before Ragnarok, war has been a prevalent word that ensures the progress of civilization. Yet, progress is the result of a war, not the firestarter, and usually comes at a great cost. That cost is what you should know best... Anyway, my research into the motivations of war granted me answers that can be boiled down into one word: borders."

Bryn's about to bring over a chair for me to sit on so she can remove my footwear when she halts. Still, I move on to sit on the chair with my legs stretch out. "In a war, people fight for their nations, yet, what is a nation? A nation is a collective of resources, population, and idealogy,... Not all nation is of the same composition which results in differences, and people don't like differences. If you put two dissimilar collectives next to each other, conflicts are bound to happen and the endpoint will be war."

I look down to Bryn, who's by chance also looking up to me while she's taking off my shoes. For a moment, I thought I saw a raging ocean behind those sapphire blue eyes. While still lost in the Bryn-inducing trance, I keep speaking. "Now Belka is in the same quagmire as you were before Ragnarok, in your case it's Pantheons rather than nations though. But anyway, as Belka is but a single alien entity on this Earth that's filled to the brim with different collectives, suffice to say our future isn't so bright. This is why I started hypothesizing, making preparations, drafting plans, enlisting the help of talented people, and so on... All for the sake of our continual survival by building a strong nation that can fend off everything that got thrown at us. That was the V1 project."

Bryn, having successfully remove my shoes and shocks, slowly traces her hands upward my thighs and to my belt. She asks with a hushed whisper. "Was?"

I smile before slowly standing up. My hands cradle the back of Bryn's head, making her look up at me with a hot gaze. The signal is clear for all to see and yet I somehow still do not get it. Was it because of the champagne, the tiredness of my physical body, or my inner insecurities that made me fail to take the last few steps? The same can be said for Bryn too, we two aren't ready yet as the matter stands.

"Was. V1 was scrapped when reality hits me in the face that passively handling everything wasn't the brightest of ideas. A mountain will fall after nature buffered it with enough winds and rains. To truly last forever, I decided that this twisted world needs to be reset. That's what my ultimate plan is for. That's what V2 is for!" I said the last part with a bit more force than I would like, my emotional control is slipping, I think.

In a daze, Bryn removes the belt, and my pants, letting them fall onto the floor with a thud. The last bastion that guards my sculpted body is but a white panty but instead of removing it also, Bryn suddenly hugs my legs tight while she's still kneeling on the floor. Her head now rests on my belly with her warm breaths giving my lower body a teasing. Between her shallow breaths, Bryn asks. "Tell me, what is V2? Please."

I can feel her excitement, her anticipation, her nervousness... Bryn's everything that she struggled to hide in her words! And to be truthful with you all, it excited me! Oh, at that moment I was about to explain my grand vision in one fell swoop but I managed to stop myself in time. While I am not in my best mental state right now, so does Bryn, to be honest, I still know something is better left unsaid. Well, unless you have a few guarantees that are. "Then pledge your soul to me."

I barely managed to contain my grin, letting out only a small confident smile on my lips. " Pledge your soul, your everything, in the name of Yggdrasil our Mother Goddess to me! Say the words so I may say mine. My Valkyrie, my Bryn."

Bryn was about to pull out of our hug but I force her to stay put. "Don't move, I want to feel your body, your soul, you need only say the words that I want to hear."

Bryn looks up with her eyes shedding droplets of tears, yet behind the watery gaze tucked an ironclad determination and the sharpest will. I return her look with my own confident yet authoritative one, I don't need to say any more words to convince her, I trust she will make the right choice. 

As expected, Bryn lower her head back into my loving embrace. Her words come out steady yet unshakeable. "I, Brynhildr Valkyria, first of my name and my kind, under the witness of the Mother Goddess, swear on my existence that my body, my will, my loyalty, my heart, and my soul, forever belong to Yukia Rosetta de Venusia. Let her words guide my soul, let her actions guide my blade. For now, for the future, and for eternity. Death will not do us part."

Feeling that Bryn's struggling to control her emotion. I start slowly stroking her hair. "There, there. As your master from here on out, I accept your pledge, my dear."

To signify our pact is sealed, two streams of mana rush out from our bodies before intertwining with each other before returning to ourselves. With this, we are now forever bound to each other. I then slid myself down to the ground alongside Bryn, hugging her even tighter. She returns the hug as we soak into the warmth we emitted.

This goes on for a while, in pleasant silence, till I deem Bryn stable enough for me to say rest. "As a reward for your undying devotion to me, you can now listen to my explanation of the V2 project. Ain't that a good reward?" I jested before leaning up to her left ear with our cheeks touching each other. Fufufu, I can feel her heart beating fast in anticipation. And the way her heart skips a beat almost makes me jump in joy when I whisper her everything.

Truly, while it was impromptu and none of us were of the right mind at the time, leaving us to have red faces in the morning when we woke up hugging each other. It's the most important memory that we share, culminating in our relationship reaching a new state and one of the first unbreakable bonds that we've created. Maybe in the future, we will be holding each other on a veranda, reminiscing about this memorable event.

But for now, we have a war to prepare for.

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Under the cover of the night sky, a team of Night Witches is circling air space above a large Ustian camp. It's been a week since the negotiation at Arash and this is the first major sighting of the enemy force.

A query comes from the Witches' radio. "Sergeant, what do you see?"

"It's a very large encampment, ma'am, a field army-size camp ranging from 150000 to 200000 personnel. Tucked beneath a coverage of pine trees. Their composition consists of 90% infantries with few mechanized vehicles in the mix for an army of that size. They're keeping the place unlit in fear of night bombing but ultimately prove useless with our ability to see in the dark. Ma'am, how should we proceed from here?"

Bryn, who's the one on the radio right now, turns to Yuki who in turn says. "Have them spotted any important targets for our artillery batteries. Supplies trucks, tanks, field artillery... I want anything that's not infantries gone by sunrise."

"As you wish, General." Bryn relays Yuki's order to the Witches at the scene. Unknown to the enemy, they are already in the range of the venerable 150mm artillery pieces from both Arash and White Rock fortress. Thanks to the rocket-assisted munitions, fresh from the Belkan arms factories and have a range up to 18.2km. Such a munition will be field tested to prove its worth tonight. 

About five minutes of waiting later, the Witches request a communication line to all available batteries. "This is Hugin, fire mission request, 150mm RAP barrage on these coordinates..."

"Fire mission received..." Returned the artillery commander in charge of Arash and White Rock artillery pits. "Target AC7374 has been designated as a priority target. Firing data have been calculated and have been transmitted to all batteries. On my command, all batteries, Gr. 19, 3 three rounds... Fire!"

Thunderous roars lit up Arash and White Rock atmosphere as streaks of light zip through the cold air. Promising death and destruction to unfortunate conscripts that incur the wrath of Belkan's mightiest division. To avoid being hit by their own shells while in the air, the Witches fly away from the firing paths of their artillery.

"Rounds complete. Over." They receive confirmation of a successful launch. Moments later, The Witches watch on as the rocket motors on the shells die out, thus leaving the shells to glide silently till they drop with bells and whistles.

For the Ustian Reservists that are put on guard duty, the sudden whistling in the air is a weird phenomenon to them. Many of them are lacking in field experience to differentiate the midnight wind from the whistle of death. By the time they think that something is not right, the first salvo has already landed on the officers' tents. Dozens of explosions ring out in the middle of the night, sending the place and the important occupants sky high. The commotion shocks everyone at the scene wide awake. When they see that their encampment got set on fire, they scramble to put it out under the lead of the surviving officers. The night is not yet over, however, when two more salvos impact the scene. A large portion of the camp got lit up like it was early Christmas

"Direct hit on the enemy commanding structure. Batteries move on to the next set of targets. Fire for effect."

"Roger that, batteries 1, suppress AC7370 and 7371, batteries 2, suppress AC7375 and 7376. All batteries, continuos firing at my command...Fire!" Under the behest of their commander, the two batteries light up the night sky once more. This time, they perform a non-stop symphony of destruction for the audience to enjoy. 

For the Belkan soldiers, the sight is engraved in their memories forever. They know they are winning the upcoming fight without any casualties, all thanks to the skillful artillery men and Witches of the Night. As such, morale is boosted under the mighty roar of finest Belkan steel. Because of that, Yuki doesn't need any passionate speech when her artillery has already done the job for her. She's grateful for the momentous respite from the stage.

On the other hand, however, the Ustians aren't having a good time, not at all. Instead, shock and awe are presented on the face of the majority of conscripts. Many ignore the command of their officers, the ones lucky enough to escape death anyway, and choose to dig deeper down their foxholes and trenches. They would rather face desertion charges than poke their head out and head into the mess. With that, the camp mobilization grinds to a halt, making the evac of precious assets come to a standstill. When faced with these cowards, the brasses leading them are tempted to shoot them on sight. Yet they choose to move on, they need to either safeguard or get their supplies to safety. A few of them lead squads of veterans, braving the incoming fire to protect their lifeline. Others set out to stabilize the morale, either with a speech or a wake-up slap. With the entire operation at stake here, the line between officers and conscripts blurs out. They are all brothers under the fire now.

Sadly, while their sentiments are touching, it doesn't save them from the torrential rains of 45 kilograms shells. By the time the first ray of light grace the battered Ustian encampment. What's left of vitality after a long march has now left the faces of conscripts and officers alike. 

Luckily for them, the reactivated General that's now leading them survived, at least he is competent enough to reorganize the army. The recent headcount put forth a gloomy but workable statistic for General Alban. Out of the 170000 men, 22000 are unaccounted for and another 12000 casualties after one night of shelling. Most of their heavy equipment is gone, meaning their fighting power will boil down to the conscripts and their rifles. With luck, they may be able to salvage some artillery pieces by the time they move out. Though he's not putting much hope on their effectiveness when he witnessed the ludicrous range of Belkan artillery last night. Thankfully, food supplies are mostly intact, at least God won't leave them to starve.

Ultimately, it all comes down to the infantrymen. It's WW1 all over again. A time of overwhelming numbers being thrown against an unmoving defense line. This brings back memories, unpleasant ones, but at the end of the day, Alban has to follow the order. Even at the cost of a hundred thousand young men, some are barely able to keep their rifles straight.

So, General Alban does what every sane person would do. He lights up a cigar, smokes it, and a curse. "Fuck this nation and those who serve it."

By the time he finishes the costly cigar, the camp, what's left of it, is set to move. It will take them around four hours to reach Arash, meaning the big battle will start by midday if nothing goes wrong. No doubt they will be raided so the time to get there may also be extended. But what else can he do? He has no armored car left to give chase so all he can do is suck it up till they reach Arash. Stamping his foot on the cigar, Alban heads outside under heavy escort. He learned valuable lessons from previous combat reports so he made various preparation to keep himself safe from assassination attempts.

Under the unseen eyes in the sky, he and his army march forward to Arash with very little motorization. It's no surprise that they have to take an entire day to cover the distance of 18km, interruptions included, and way longer than what Alban would like. They incurred additional 4000 casualties due to barrages and raidings, reducing their effective combat strength to 80000 men. Leaving Alban little choice but to form a quick entrench position in the night, this time a very deep one. A choice that proves to be correct when the barraging resume in the night. While conscripts dread every single moment of it, Alban is thankful that casualties are kept at a minimum when daybreak. It's now time for them to kickstart the siege of Arash.

--------------------------------------------------

"And so it begins," I mutter while gazing down on the latest iteration of the holotable. "they will be launching an attack on the gates any moment now."

Present in the war room is me, Bryn, Alexa, Rosa, and her maid Mary, Francis, and Alia. Not counting the many operators and adjutants inside the room, of course. Rosa, Mary, and Ali are a bit awe by the holographic display while Francis has an understanding expression on his face. The Colonel, now Governor of Arash, sure knows his stuff.

Rosa looks at the layout of everything and then asks. " Are you sure you don't want to pose any men on the city wall?"

I shake my head and let Alexa explains. "The General did that for a reason, she wants to keep the walls as intact as possible for the upcoming Months of Demons. Hence, she left the city gates wide open and the wall defenseless. This will make the enemy General has no choice but to send forth his infantries through the gates as he lacks the firepower to break down the wall also. By funneling them through the gates, we can fire on them from almost every angle possible, causing them heavy casualties with minimal effort. Should they have more armors or artillery on their side, the situation would have been much different."

Alexa ends her words, yet she still left something unsaid. "However, if they bite their lips and continue their push, they can still overwhelm us with sheer numerical superiority." I added.

"...This is madness. If they persist, it's no different than paying a city's worth of population just to get one back."

Bryn nods at the conjecture. "It is madness, a madness fostered by war. Yet they nor we have a choice in this matter as this battle is necessary. Either we prevail here or they chase us back to the ocean."

Rosa curses beneath her breath, letting Mary pats her back in comfort. "Damn it, all of this just to change the world. Humanity is cursed."

I sigh as I remember the past "In a way, all races are cursed. But it's our choice to remove it or live with it, is what matters."

Francis and Bryn concur. "Very true."

The atmosphere turns solemn until the distant sounds of gunfire reignite the mood. Reports start coming in trove leaving Yuki having to deal with them with full attention. Minor decisions are left to Bryn and Alexa to deal with while the Ustian Reformist sits at the sideline. For Rosa, this is a learning experience for her as she pays rapt attention to how Yuki behaves.

Meanwhile, away from the underground command post, bloodbaths occur at the gates of Arash.