Multiple colors of lights flashed through the cracks of the karaoke door, the muffled sounds of music intermingling with singing and cheers blaring behind the door. The reception of the Karaoke Bar scrolled on her phone, a cigarette hanging out of her mouth as she began reviewing the recent news.
She pushed up her sunglasses with a soft hum, resting her feet upon her desk and looked behind her as she heard Moon-li singing then chuckled softly. "Even with the world starting to fall against itself, Valkyrias can still enjoy themselves with friends."
The bells of the building chimed as customers began to roll in for Karaoke Night as well, the woman sitting up straight and lifting her sunglasses upon the top of her head. She began checking their IDs, making sure they were of legal age to enter. After verifying, she gave the group of friends a keycard and a specific room.
"Jjeoreo! Moon-li really hit that note!" Eun-Song cheered, clapping her hands together with the music.
"I did not take her for being a singer," So-Yi said, taking a sip of her juice as she watched Moon-li sing.
Mi-sung hummed softly as she listened to Moon-li's singing, closing her eyes and taking a sip of her drink and chuckling lightly. "She does listen to a lot of music from Ashley Ayami and Penelope Bell, she loves metal more than K-Pop."
Moon-li finished her song and exhaled deeply, looking at her friends and crossed her arms. "Heh! How was that, ladies?"
"It was aight," Jiahn shrugged, still salty that she had to pay for this girls night out, resting her cheek against her palm as she leaned against the couch's arm.
"Oooo~ Sound's like someone is still a little salty about the bet, but cheer up! It's only six of us since your buddy went home empty handed," Moon-li chuckled, setting the microphone down and skipped back over to the couch to sit down.
Jiahn turned her head, covering her mouth with her palm to hide her smirk from Moon-li's comment about Kim Eun. "She's still learning to humble herself...chill..."
Hyeon Bae smiled at Jiahn's comment then turned to look at Eun-Song. "Wait, how did you all meet Woo-Chi? When did she get so strong?"
Eun-Song hummed softly as she thought about her answer, only having knowing Woo-Chi for a few days. "We met at a Training Facility at St. Goken Academy. She was doing Speed Training on the treadmills and I joined her since Speed is my thing."
"As for how she got so strong, I have no way of answering that without getting super biblical. She has to be one of the few people I know that truly knows God's Grace and His Mercy. Her wings spread like eagles, her eyes like Pika Pika," Eun-Song said with a soft giggle, looking at Hyeon Bae with a proud smile.
"It's very interesting truly. She had to have trained directly with Nox...while I only got to simply talk to him. Wait, So-Yi, Hyeon, you both met Nox as well right?" Jiahn asked, looking over at her two friends with curiosity.
"I met him physically, yeah. He's the reason why I keep going to Aetherpoint now to find Rauch Hakodesh! I still want to find it!" Hyeon Bae said with a determined gaze, her eyes twinkling with a righteous drive for the Holy Spirit.
"And I never saw Nox physically, he speaks to me on a regular through my Silver Swallowtail and his own Sovereign Butterfly. He's also the one that awakened me my Stigmata," So-Yi answered, looking over at Jiahn.
"So you three DID meet Nox...it would explain your abilities honestly. Us three have never actually gotten a Stigmata, not that we really need it. It's just interesting how many variants of Yuvah's power is out there," Eun-Song said with an interested hum, taking in the information she had just learned.
Suddenly, a knock sounded on the door, the door opening and stepping inside was the front desk receptionist. She looked at the six girls with a light smirk as she walked inside. "You girls are still here?"
"Yeah, it's the weekend. Plus, we had a tiring battle earlier. Are you on break?" Moon-li asked, looking at her friend with a smile, sliding over on the couch so she could sit down.
"Yep, and it's about time I got some free time...Place is about to close soon anyway for the night. I was thinking about going on a little night ride, are you all down?" The red haired woman asked, looking between the six with a curious gaze.
"Sure, why not? It sounds like it could be interesting to say the least. You're not gonna head straight home though? I'm sure your boyfriend would be worried," Eun-Song said, looking at the woman with a raised brow.
The woman swiped her hand, leaning forward and grabbing a cup then grabbed the wine bottle, pouring herself a drink. She picked up her cup, sighing softly as she sat back in her seat. "Mmm, I'd beg to differ. He's always so caught up with his work that I barely see him at home to begin with."
"Besides, I'm planning on dumping him anyway. We aren't much of a match anymore like I hoped we'd be," She continued, taking a sip of her drink and exhaled softly.
"Who is your boyfriend anyway? You never told us," Mi-sung said, leaning forward on the couch to look at the woman.
"As if Chimin would name him now," Moon-li said with a light laugh, crossing her arms and shaking her head.
"His name is Matsuda, I met him on a site of course and moved him from the Cancer Kingdom of St. Goken to here. If I would've known he was obsessed with work, I would've left him where he was," Chimin scoffed, taking another sip of her drink. "What about you all? Any men on your minds?"
"Nope," Jiahn said, crossing one leg over the other as she looked down at her phone. "Not many people my type in my class."
"I don't really have anyone in mind at all," So-Yi said honestly, her love life nonexistent due to her slightly cold, army heart.
"I don't have anyone in mind, but I do see a couple next door to my mom's apartment regularly. They are kinda strange though...The man had stitches all over his body. He didn't look real..." Hyeon Bae said, scratching the side of her head with her eyes closed.
"And the woman?" Chimin asked curiously, leaning forward to look at Hyeon Bae.
"She's just as strange... She didn't seem real either, like a ghost. Every time I see them and noticed their flaws, it's like they disappear from my eyes and I get an uneasy feeling," Hyeon Bae answered, trying to wrap her head around the bizarreness of the couple, not knowing if the couple was real or her Delirium was acting up.
"Whoa...now that's some freaky shit," Chimin said with an amused laugh, adjusting her sunglasses upon her head. "I kinda wanna go check it out now, I love freaky stuff like that."
"Of course you do, you've been a fake Ghostbuster since we were in high school. I'll never forgive you for dragging me into a Fae Trap that one time," Moon-li said, playfully swinging her leg to gently kick Chimin's thigh.
"Fae Trap? Those exist?" Mi-sung asked, looking at Moon-li and Chimin with high curiosity.
Chimin nodded and pointed at her chest then exposed the tribal tattoos upon her arm. "I'm a Destiny Child, so I've been gifted with seeing all forms of spiritual stuff on Earth. I'm part of the Nalanie Tribe, a tribe a bit lower than the Mojisola, but we can still become Destiny Children."
"We have a Mojisolan classmate as well! Maybe, you can help her on some of her techniques?" Hyeon Bae gasped with excitement at the revelation.
Chimin shook her head and chuckled softly, shrugging her shoulders. "As much as I would like to, I don't know any Mojisolan Techniques or Traditions. However, I can teach you all some things about being a True Valkyria. You're looking at the Burning Precipice Valkyria, S Rank!"
Jiahn glanced at Chimin at the sound of her rank, clearly impressed by the name of her Battlesuit and her rank. "S Rank..? Damn, now I'm curious about how you got there."
Chimin hummed, setting her cup down and standing up to look at her watch. "It's only 8:30 PM right now, so I can definitely show you some stuff. I'm gonna close down shop real quick then take y'all to my humble abode."
"Sounds good," Eun-Song said with a smile, watching Chimin exit the room.
The six began to gather their things and collect their trash, throwing it away and cleaning the karaoke room the way Chimin had it before. Once they gathered their belongings, they began making their way to the parking lot to wait for Chimin.
--------------------------
Chimin raced down the streets of Grushia City on her motorcycle with Moon-li sitting behind her, her arms wrapped around her waist to stay seated. Eun-Song ran alongside them, matching their pace with her incredulous speed, each stride leaving behind blue lightning.
Mi-sung, Jiahn, and So-Yi rode upon Nexus Gear, angelic hoverboards provided by Ji-MAN's improved shop to include Ascean Equipment, a gift from Yuvah. Hyeon Bae held onto a leash as she rode upon a giant Hoon on the sidewalk, her large dog being careful to not trample over and ram into citizens.
"This is so awesome! I haven't felt so free in forever!" Moon-li cheered, moving strands of her hair from her face and watched as Jiahn sped past them.
Eun-Song moved aside as Jiahn rode by her then noticed So-Yi speeding by and chuckled. "Looks like they are racing~ I guess the Grushia High School girls can get down!"
Chimin revved her engine, not wanting to be left behind on the competition. "No way I'm losing to high school girls!~ Hang on, Moon!~"
Chimin sped forward, cutting through lanes and cars to catch up to Jiahn and So-Yi, Moon-li gripping onto Chimin's jacket as her heart races with excitement. Jiahn swerved around multiple cars and drifted to the right while So-Yi drifted left, both of them taking diverging paths to the same goal.
"Heh! Our first competition, Sang So-Yi!~ I hope you can keep up!" Jiahn said to So-Yi, sending the message to her Silver Swallowtail via Ji-MAN.
So-Yi slightly leaned forward, the energy exhausts upon her hoverboard releasing a blast of light, boosting her forward down the street. "You're asking me if I can keep up, Jiahn Wa? Maybe you should look at your GPS."
Jiahn glanced down at her watch, noticing So-Yi's icon speeding ahead then grunted softly. She sped up on her hoverboard then turned into scaffolding, using it as a ramp to catch air time. She pulled off a 540 Tornado Spin, landing upon the side rail of the street to grind past So-Yi.
Chimin hummed with impress as she watched Jiahn land her trick then sped forward, her motorcycle roaring as it rushed past So-Yi and Jiahn at the same time. "I'll see you all back at the house, slowpokes!~"
"Slowpoke? Who are you calling slow?" Eun-Song said, running backwards beside Chimin with her hands in her pockets.
Moon-li looked at Eun-Song then glanced down at her feet, noticing how fast she was moving and quickly looked back up at Eun-Song. "Whoa, I seriously did not expect you to be so fast.."
Chimin smirked at Eun-Song, swerving her bike into her, but Eun-Song quickly leaped over her attack and warped away, her body becoming a blue silhouette. Chimin looked around for Eun-Song, glancing upward to see her riding on the roof of the truck, Eun-Song waving goodbye toward Chimin.
"Of course they have to get into competition with each other, but we wouldn't be true Valks if we didn't push each other!" Mi-sung said with a giggle, glancing over where Hyeon Bae was last seen to see her missing.
She heard an excited squeal in the air, glancing up at the sky to see Hyeon Bae being carried through the air by Oriel's hands. Noticing she was in last place, she decided to speed up down the road to catch up with her friends. She continued to watch as Chimin and Eun-Song battled on the clear roads, the streets now becoming their battlefield.
Chimin clashed with Eun-Song's boost aura, the collision pushing the two back then Chimin unholstered her fiery pistol and took her real magazine out to replace it with blanks. She aimed at Eun-Song, firing multiple flaming round at her, but Eun-Song avoided and phased through each bullet.
Ahead, traffic began to appear once again, both women weaving through the traffic to avoid the cars while the girls with hoverboards took the offroads. Eun-Song continued to dodge Chimin's fiery blanks, warping onto the sides of 18-wheelers with rapid succession then propelled herself forward past Chimin.
"Well, well! It seems that you've learned some new tricks since the last time I've heard about you!" Chimin called out, speeding forward down the road away from traffic then drifted into an Akira Slide onto offroads.
Eun-Song followed Chimin onto the offroads, running after her as they began reaching the path leading to Chimin's home. Looking ahead, she noticed Chimin rushing toward her at high speeds then phased through her attack then clashed fists with Moon-li to stop her attack.
Eun-Song ducked under Moon-li's kick, causing her attack to send for Chimin, but Chimin blocked the attack on time. Eun-Song went for a sweep kick against Chimin, but she leaped over her kick then fired a blast of fire at her from her hand. Eun-Song warped away, the fireball crashing against the ground.
"A two against one? This should be pretty fun!" Eun-Song said, warping toward Moon-li and striking her with a side kick down the field.
Chimin swiped under her nose with a grin, charging forward and launched a series of punches toward Eun-Song but she phased through each strike then countered. Chimin parried her strike and baited her in closer, catching her with a right hook against her jaw. Eun-Song grunted as she staggered backwards, taken off guard that Chimin landed a strike.
"Got you!" Jiahn called out, kicking her hoverboard toward Chimin from behind.
Chimin dodged Jiahn's hoverboard and pivoted around into a block then began parrying each one of her punches and kicks. Chimin caught Jiahn's leg on her next kick, sensing So-Yi behind her then pulled Jiahn forward, causing her to strike So-Yi. So-Yi groaned softly as she was sent rolling backwards onto her back.
Chimin let Jiahn go then parried her next strike, causing Jiahn's hand to recoil backwards into smacking Mi-sung. Chimin chuckled softly, shuffling on her feet and glanced around herself, realizing one member was missing from the group.
The ground began to rumble softly, cracks forming beneath Chimin then Gimatet-Hey emerged from the ground with an upper slash of his crystal bladed sword. Chimin leaped backwards before the blade could reach her, rolling backwards and kicking fireballs at the Earth Angel from her feet.
"Go, Gimatet-Hey! Let's defeat Miss Chimin!" Hyeon Bae said from above, letting out a battle cry as she came down with an axe kick.
"You're gonna have to come harder than that!" Chimin chuckled, blocking Hyeon Bae's kick then dodged Gimatet-Hey's slash before leaping backwards.
Moon-li charged forward, vaulting over Chimin's motorcycle and went for an attack against Gimatet-Hey to intercept, but he warped behind Chimin, launching another slash downward. Chimin caused a heated stone spike to quickly protrude from the ground with a stomp of her foot, stopping Gimatet-Hey's slash.
He grunted with a mix of awe and respect for Chimin's battlefield awareness, knowing she had favor with Yuvah. He flew backwards then returned back to Hyeon Bae's side, keeping his sword ready in defense while Oriel casted four shields around her.
"It's essentially five against two!~ This is fair taken my rank! Girls, prepare yourself for your first lesson!" Chimin said, getting into her Moji Stance with a mind of clarity.
Eun-Song hopped up and down in her boxing stance, shifting her feet and dashed toward Chimin with a superman punch, but Chimin calmly stepped aside and kicked the back of Eun-Song's knee. Eun-Song grunted as she was brought to one knee, looking behind her and ducked under Chimin's roundhouse then went for a leg sweep.
Chimin leaped over her sweep once again, but Eun-Song used a burst of speed to appear in front of Chimin with a spinning kick to her stomach. Chimin rebounded off one hand, spinning around and launching a large fireball at Eun-Song.
So-Yi dashed forward with her Blessed Woldo, slicing through the fireball then rapidly thrusted her spear at Chimin. Chimin evaded each thrust of So-Yi's weapon perfectly, palming the flat side of her blade to disarm So-Yi and thrusted her hand forward to release a blast of fire.
"Not so fast!" So-Yi said, catching her hand with their fingers interlocked. She began performing hand signs using Chimin's hand then leaped in the air, kicking off her chest. "Pyro Arts: Heated Roar!"
So-Yi took in a deep breath then let out a battle roar, heating up her insides and her Holy Fire shifting onto her tongue as she began breathing fire toward Chimin. Moon-li dashed forward and exerted her body, forming a dome of fire around her body to block So-Yi's Heated Roar.
Chimin looked at her hand with impress, her gaze shifting up to Sang So-Yi with a smirk. "Stopped my attack and used my own hand to set up hers...This Valkyria is rather interesting."
Hyeon Bae dashed toward the battle, leaping over So-Yi to strike Moon-li with a kick to her face then So-Yi warped forward with a roundhouse. Moon-li, her hands covering her face, leaned back to dodge So-Yi's attack on instinct then phased through her next attack before warping backwards.
Hyeon Bae sent Oriel to charge into battle, her main guardian angel swiping her sword at Moon-li for added pressure as she dodged. Jiahn dashed toward Moon-li as well, baseball sliding along the ground and sweeping Moon-li off her feet then double kicked her into the air.
"I've got you here!" So-Yi called out, warping to Moon-li in the air with a 720 tornado kick.
So-Yi's foot struck a fiery afterimage, catching her off guard and leaving her unaware of Moon-li above her. Moon-li gripped So-Yi's face and crashed down to the ground, slamming her down but So-Yi's body dispersed into a kaleidoscope of Silver Swallowtails. Moon-li grunted softly, standing up and searching around for So-Yi.
'She's gone..? I can't even sense her...she concealed her energy?' Moon-li asked, searching around the open area before grunting heavily as So-Yi came from behind with a Boost Ram, her body cloaked in light blue energy.
Chimin charged forward and caught Moon-li's hand, spinning her around and throwing her back into battle before swapping her element to Ice. She released a wave of frost energy to freeze the ground, making it hard for Eun-Song and the others to stand and utilize their speed.
Eun-Song, Jiahn, So-Yi, and Hyeon Bae could barely maintain their balance on the slippery terrain, yet Mi-sung gracefully skated forward then leaped forward with front flip axe kick. Chimin blocked her attack then covered her arm in an ice blade with a blunt edge, slicing upward at Mi-sung. Mi-sung twirled herself around Chimin's body, grappling her to the ground for an ankle lock.
"Nngh, a submission..!?" Chimin grunted softly, forcing her body around and swapped back to Fire, releasing a blast of fire from her foot.
Mi-sung groaned as she was blown backwards, but smirked beneath the pain as she watched the frosted ground melt due to the blast of fire. She landed on the ground, moving her hair from her eyes. "I've been closely watching in the back...and I think I've figured you out!"
Chimin stood up on her feet with a chuckle, rolling her arms and closing her eyes. "You all are grasping this lesson faster than I expected...so how about we turn up the heat?!"
Chimin began to bellow, generating fiery energy around her entire body, the fires glowing brightly and burning hot enough to purify itself into the Light Element. Sparks of light shimmered in and out of view, a radiant light forming around her body then she looked over at the five girls and hummed.
"Lightspeed Mode, let's see if your Warping can keep up with this form?~ Not many people can last even 30 seconds against me in this form, and that's not arrogance talking," Chimin said, slipping her hands into her jacket pockets coolly.
Jiahn smirked at the challenge, her natural instincts to awaken her Holy Form and warp toward Chimin with a heavy blow, but Chimin dodged her attack at light speeds, Jiahn's eyes widening slightly. She sensed Chimin to her right, barely dodging her strike and leaped in the air for an enzuigiri, but Chimin countered at light speeds, her palm strike sending Jiahn backwards.
Eun-Song rolled her shoulders then held her arms out, signalling for the others to stay back. "Lightspeed Mode, a Selum Technique from the Twin Queens Cecilia and her sister, Eirine. This technique can only be challenged by someone who can match her speed."
"Selum? Isn't that a Kingdom from Uthea? Ms. Winters had a lesson on that kingdom a few days ago," Hyeon Bae said, looking over at So-Yi.
Sang So-Yi hummed softly, awakening her Beshin-Keh and studied Chimin's aura then grunted softly. She couldn't see Chimin's aura due to how far more powerful she was, yet she could feel her power in the air. She grabbed Hyeon Bae's hand, stepping back as Eun-Song said.
Eun-Song stared at Chimin and began pacing around as she studied her in her Lightspeed Mode, playing back Jiahn's attempt to strike her. 'Jiahn's warping is rather slow, yet comparing that to Chimin's new speed, my warping should stand a chance. However...'
Chimin paced around as well, stretching her arms over her head and chuckled softly. "Whatcha thinking about over there, Eun-Song?~"
Eun-Song stopped pacing and smirked with her eyes closed, getting into her stance and nodding her head. 'I've got this...'
Eun-Song warped forward into a NY Flare, catching Chimin off guard then shifted her body to kick Chimin backwards. Chimin rolled backwards along the ground then recovered onto one knee, looking up at Eun-Song then smirked. She stood up as well, dusting herself off and exhaled softly.
Chimin charged forward at light speeds, launching two kicks high and low, but Eun-Song phased through both kicks to return with a spinning back fist which Chimin blocked. Chimin grabbed her wrist and pulled Eun-Song forward, but she warped through her body and kicked her forward. Chimin stumbled forward, chuckling as she was struck twice now.
'This is very interesting. She's actually landing strikes upon me while I'm in Lightspeed Mode with the Moji Stance? She's definitely using pure prediction to outspeed me, smart woman, but,' Chimin thought to herself then unpredictability flipped backwards into a copoeira kick.
Eun-Song grunted as she barely dodged her kick then blocked her back fist and elbow strike. She launched a series of strikes back, each strike being evaded by Chimin with clear accuracy. Chimin launched a series of spinning kicks, each dodge causing Eun-Song to lose her balance and get hit with a powerful side kick.
Eun-Song grunted as she was knocked onto her back, groaning softly as she sat up on the ground and looked at Chimin. Eun-Song stood up on her feet, getting back into her stance and glanced down at Chimin's feet to read more of her body.
Chimin noticed her gaze shifting down, her lips curling into a smirk as she charged forward. "Eyes on my shoulders!"
Eun-Song glanced up and guarded herself from Chimin's punch, but Chimin feinted and launched a front kick. Eun-Song saw the kick coming, catching her leg and punching her thigh before delivering two clean strikes upon her stomach. Chimin stood firm, parrying her next attack then landed a leg kick to knock Eun-Song off balance before sending her stumbling backwards with a knee to her stomach.
Eun-Song clutched her stomach with an eye closed, looking back up to see Chimin missing and gasped softly, searching around for her. A streak of light sped past her, striking her upon her right cheek then her left, Chimin appearing in front of her at light speeds and kicking her backwards once again. Eun-Song grunted as she fell on her behind once again, panting softly.
"What the heck...I thought she had that in the bag," So-Yi said, crossing her arms and glancing at Chimin, growing more curious about how she trained to grow so strong.
"She was close! She actually landed a few attacks! And they barely used their power, it was like watching a black belt go against a blacker belt!" Hyeon Bae said with gleaming eyes, amazed by the performance of Eun-Song and Chimin.
Eun-Song looked up and noticed Chimin's hand extended out toward her. She grabbed it and stood up with her support, a defeated smile forming on her face. "Reading your body language barely helped any, you were way too fast for me."
"Being unpredictable in battle is key! Plus, I could read you faster than you could me. But, after this performance...I think I can make this work out. Alright, everyone follow me to my house!~" Chimin said, holding her hand up as she walked down the path to her home.
Moon-li chuckled softly at Chimin, shaking her head and exhaling softly. "Some things never change..~"
-------------------------
Ha-Rin smoothed out her skirt as she sat down at a fancy restaurant her uncle owns in Seolhart, Nu So-Hee, Woo-Yi, and Li-Na taking their seats around the table. Ha-Rin hummed softly as she picked up her menu and began scanning through the options, a waitress standing next to her with patience.
Woo-Yi slightly covered her face with the menu, her eyes unable to believe the prices of some of the meals. "Seriously..? 130,145 won..?! In Yesha's name, this is outrageous..!"
"Is there an issue, Woo-Yi?" Nu So-Hee asked, glancing across the table at Woo-Yi with a slight sneer.
Woo-Yi glanced up at Nu So-Hee, seeing her arrogant smirk and groaned softly under her breath before glancing back down at her menu. "Aniyo...Igeo juseyo!"
The waitress glanced over at Woo-Yi's menu, seeing she was pointing at the cheapest thing on the menu which coverted to 10 zodiac, the burger and fries combo. 'Me too, my Valkyrian sistren... everything in here has the avarice touch, expensive as hell...'
"Understood," The waitress said, writing down Woo-Yi's order and taking her menu.
"What are you getting, Li-Na?" Nu So-Hee asked, glancing at Li-Na with an intrigued hum.
'Something that won't instantaneously kill my pockets as fast as Sang So-Yi can warp. Aishh, we should've just went to Hot and Ready Diner. These prices are beyond insane..!' Li-Na thought to herself, keeping her composure externally.
"Uh...igeo juseyo..." Li-Na said, embarrassingly pointing at a dish in the chicken section.
Nu So-Hee and the waitress glanced over at her menu, seeing she was ordering a meal costing 20 zodiac, a chicken sandwich and mac 'n cheese combo. Nu So-Hee snickered softly and sat back straight in her seat while the waitress wrote down her order with an understanding expression.
"Geez, girls, it's not like we said bring your own money too~ We're all friends right? If you're down on money, we've got you covered~" Nu So-Hee said, closing her menu since she already knew what she wanted.
Ha-Rin pointed at what she wanted, the waitress nodding her head and writing down the order and collecting their menus. Ha-Rin waved at her personal waitress then turned back to her friends. "Alright, down to business...who has their Biblos on them? A Wits Blimp will appear here soon.."
"I have mine, but today's Wits Blimp is not on The Biblos. It's about the Dark Lords, you'd need The Chronicles for them. Yesha and His disciples don't really get into them in the book, though some writings might exist," Li-Na said, taking out her Chronicles and set it on the table.
"Hm, it'll do," Ha-Rin said, twirling a strand of her hair around her fingers.
The waitress set the girls' order on the counter for the cooks and sat down in her seat near the counter and sighed. "These shifts sometimes sucks! I'd much rather be out there, spreading my wings but instead...I'm babysitting the Young Madam and her clique."
The head chef chuckled softly as he began starting on Ha-Rin's order then glanced down at the woman. "Well, you do get paid to look after Master Cho Jin-Hyan's niece, Ms. Chihye. I just wonder when Overseer Sun will come back to St. Goken. Things have been pretty... interesting."
Chihye stretched her arms and peeked over the counter to see what the chef was chopping, hearing his knife striking against the cutting board. "What do you mean?"
"Seolhart Manaport was burned down earlier today, and neither the royals nor Overseer Sun would say who did it. We might have a terrorist on our hands, but...then again, it could be another attack from Sa Nu Rim," The chef said, striking his knife into the cutting board and glanced back at the sound of his granddaughter's obnoxious humming.
"Valky, Valky, Kyun Kyun, Hachi Hachi Pom Pom!" The chef's granddaughter hummed, bouncing up and down as she waited for Woo-Yi's burger to finish on the grill.
"KAIRIIII!" The chef roared, his voice echoing throughout the entire restaurant and causing everyone to freeze for a moment.
'Yesha! He does this every time we come here..!' Woo-Yi said mentally, her hand upon her rapidly beating heart.
Chihye cleared her throat and sat straight in her seat, her face becoming vigilant as if she were the chef's granddaughter. Kairi quickly turned around to her name being roared, her bubbly blue eyes looking directly at her grandfather.
"Ojiisan! You nearly scared me to death!" Kairi said and puffed her cheeks, her heart still racing as if she had nearly died.
The chef groaned softly and rubbed the back of his head. "How many times are you going to sing that song from Class 12-A? I've heard it a million times already...are you finished with what you need to do?"
"Mhm! I've plated Li-Na's order and I'm working on Woo-Yi's order now! Oh, Ojiisan! Can I—" Kairi began, but paused as her grill beeped and opened up. "Hold that thought!"
"Anyways, since we don't know the cause of HQ burning down we can not act. Also, because we have no HQ, we will have to relocate to the nearest HQ in Grushia City," The chef said, going back to preparing Ha-Rin's order.
Chihye exhaled softly at the idea of relocating back to Grushia City as her sister, Chimin lived there. She closed her eyes and crossed her arms with a light groan, shaking her head. "I can't go there yet. My sister is very Anti-Manaport, she follows Sa Nu Rim's teachings to a tee. 'Valkyrias should be without limitations, and only through Ascea can that be achieved'? It's just fairytales..."
"I agree, it is just false tales. Ascea hasn't been on Earth since August and the delusions Ryoma Miyazaki spat. Ha! How can anyone believe what The Chronicles or The Biblos says? I feel bad for those Class 12-A girls," The chef said, keeping his voice low so his granddaughter could here, slightly still respecting her beliefs.
Li-Na overheard their conversation and glanced down at her book, rubbing the cover with her thumb. 'Just because you never encountered Him doesn't mean Ascea isn't real, old man. He is real...'
As the time passed, Ha-Rin and her friends got their food and began to plan out their strategy for the Wits Battle Zone happening within the city. Unlike a Battle Wits Battle Zone, which surrounds an entire city, a Knowledge Wits Battle Zone happens within one building.
Suddenly, the lights began to flicker, everyone within the restaurant stopping what they were doing. The sound of deep whirring played over the building, red energy walls forming outside the window. The restaurant itself had become the location for the Wits Blimp.
"What the...here? We just finished eating!" Woo-Yi said in shock, looking over at Ha-Rin.
The sounds of footsteps began to echo through the building, a figure cloaked in white stepping inside the building with Sovereign Butterflies fluttering around him. The Echo had entered the Battle Zone, his gaze shifting around the building.
"Who is that..?" Nu So-Hee asked, keeping a close eye upon The Echo, watching as he stepped forward and pulled out a seat then sat down.
A two more people stepped inside the building, Woo-Chi and her older brother, Tohyon, stepping inside and causing the world to stop for a moment. Ha-Rin's eyes widened in shock as she noticed Woo-Chi, her breath hitched in her throat for a second.
"Remember, this is not the place to fight. Even I respect the rules of my opponent's home. Your opponent...is to your right," The Echo said, opening the menu to look at the outrageously expensive options.
"He's right, Woo-Chi... remember what you were training for. Self-control is true power," Tohyon said, gently holding his sister's shoulder.
Woo-Chi glanced over at Ha-Rin's table and locked eyes with Ha-Rin, her eyes burning with disdain yet she held her tongue. She walked over to the table where The Echo sat, taking her seat but never opened the menu, her eyes remaining on Ha-Rin.
"Everything in here...has the avarice touch, expensive...as eternal damnation," The Echo said, closing his menu and set it down.
Chihye paused for a moment, her mind going back to when she first came up with the exact thought, but shook her head in attempt to recollect herself. 'Only I have ever said avarice touch...who is this guy..?'
"To all Valkyrias, answer this question... What are the main components of a Battlesuit?" The Echo asked, sliding his menu aside and looking around the restaurant.
"Survivability and offensive power," Li-Na answered, noticing the lights flashing green and hot goosebumps all over her arm.
"While you are correct, there is one more component of a Battlesuit, Faith. Where your Faith lies, is how powerful your spiritual armor will be. Battlesuits are Spiritual Armor, and because of that...there has to be one that speaks about it," The Echo said, turning his gaze toward Chihye.
"This Battlesuit has been mentioned in The Chronicles, what is the name?" He asked, his questioning tone causing Chihye to feel a sense of pressure.
Woo-Chi noticed hesitation in the answers and heard pages flipping at Ha-Rin's table. She scoffed lightly and turned her gaze away from them. "It's called Super Logos."
The lights flashed green once more then one candle went out on Ha-Rin's table, the faint sight of Virtue Angels appearing at his table and Ha-Rin's. Everyone began to feel a holy presence in the room, those who weren't sitting near me feeling a sense of pressure and fear hit them.
"This Wits Battle is called Valky Quiz. How much do you know about The Chronicles and The Biblos? There are Virtue Angels at our table and they track right and wrong answers. By Ascea's command, this Battle Zone currently belongs to Him," The Echo said, standing up from his seat then stood between the tables.
"The match will be between... Ha-Rin and Woo-Chi. You each have five candles, if all five candles go out...You lose. Stipulations: Woo-Chi loses, she never returns to Grushia. Ha-Rin, if you lose...you will no longer be the only A Rank in Class 12-A. Someone random will be elevated and challenge your authority," The Echo said, snapping his fingers and sealed the exits away to prevent escape.
Kairi peeked through the window of the door, gasping in awe at The Echo with a soft giggle. "Whoa...look at the butterflies..~"
Nu So-Hee looked over at Ha-Rin, seeing her blank smile with her lips slightly curled then looked over at The Echo. "I don't know who this guy is, but he gives me the chills..."
"Question One, Who was the First Dark Lord?" The Echo asked, looking down at his watch to count down the time.
"Too easy, Luca the Tyrant," Ha-Rin said, crossing her arms then noticed the lights flash red and one of her candles blew out. "What?!"
"The answer is Irea the Dividing Flash. In the Doctrine of Luca, it talks about how he and his brother Henosis fought together to bring down Irea's unwarranted wrath against humanity. This Doctrine takes place before Luca became The Tyrant," Woo-Chi answered, noticing the lights flashing green and one of her flames becoming light blue.
"What? Where is that in The Chronicles?" Ha-Rin asked, flipping through her table of contents quickly in disbelief.
"She's right..." Li-Na said in slight disbelief, flipping to the first chapter of the Doctrine of Luca. "His book starts before the Book of Exzodia...where Luca did become The Tyrant and ruled over Eyica and Exzodia with an iron fist due to being corrupted but the Dark Lord, Lilith...when Terminus whispered in their ears..."
"Read it," The Echo said, looking at Ha-Rin directly, his amber gaze glowing behind the shadows of his hood.
Ha-Rin gulped lightly and looked down at her Chronicles, hesitating slightly to read the words on the page. "Luca 12:34 - And so Henosis the Unifier and Luca the Conqueror stretched their paths to Yesha...where they found him praying to the Father. Luca 12:36 - Yesha knew they were there for his guidance for Irea's whereabouts to prevent the corruption of the gentile, yet he was not on the Earth for anyone other than his people at the time."
"Too easy? It was easy...if you read the contents. I'll give you another chance and an easier question. In The Biblos, what did Yesha call his people to be? I'll give a hint: it's in the Gospels of John," The Echo asked, glancing down at his watch once again.
Woo-Chi watched as Ha-Rin flipped through her Biblos to find the answer, exhaling softly through her nose. "He called us to be the light and the salt of the earth, something that barely existed in Class 12-A."
The lights flashed green once again, Woo-Chi's second candle flame becoming light blue as well. Ha-Rin glanced up at Woo-Chi, seeing her silent gaze of pain and anger then locked eyes with her. Woo-Yi glanced over at Woo-Chi, preparing to say something, but stopped as Woo-Chi held her hand up.
"This battle is between me and your master, lapdog. Unless you're willing to bite, put a muzzle around your lips and stay quiet," Woo-Chi said in a challenging tone, her gaze shifting over to Woo-Yi.
"Damn..." Chihye said under her breath, holding her hand over her mouth and closed her eyes.
Ha-Rin closed her Biblos and stayed quiet, her gaze now becoming analytical as her smile began to falter slightly. "Hmm... This is rather... interesting."
Nu So-Hee chewed on her gum and hummed softly at The Echo, leaning forward upon the table and smirked. "Hey, mystery guy. I got a question for you and if you get it wrong, you give us back our flame."
"And if I get it right, I'll take away three... leaving you with one candle left. Choose wisely. Right now, you're about to Tempt the Lord. You know your Creator...do not meet your Destroyer," The Echo said, slightly holding up his hand to calm the Virtue Angels.
"Seriously..?" Nu So-Hee scoffed, raising an eyebrow and sucked her teeth. "Gwichana..."
The Echo closed his eyes then warped toward the table, placing his hands upon Nu So-Hee and Ha-Rin's chairs. "I have a question for you. I already see Woo-Chi winning this, so for this one...if you get it correct, I'll literally hand you the victory. If you don't...Hyeon Bae will become A Rank and anyone who dares to question her authority Rauch Hakodesh will be at her side."
Ha-Rin grunted softly, her calm demeanor slipping with a face of disgust. She quickly turned her head toward The Echo with a glare. "Who do you think you are?! Do you know who my uncle is? He owns these Battle Blimps!"
The Echo chuckled lightly at Ha-Rin then stepped backwards, his cloak glowing brightly and shifting into a white long coat. Everyone's eyes widened as they noticed me standing before them, my hands calmly in my pockets as I stared at them.
"I am Woo-Chi's teacher, I am Ascea," I said, my gaze shifting toward The Chef. "And I am the one who burned down that sinful HQ, your neighbors were shown extensive mercy by my Father with letting them escape and letting Overseer Sun off with a prophetic word."
The Chef grunted softly at my bold accountability, his hand tightly gripping the cleaver in his hand. 'This guy is Ascea..? That has to be blasphemous!'
"Now, onto my question because there is no denying who Ascea is and by extension no denying who my Lord, Yesha, is and what He came down to do for His people and the Gentile. This next question will be very simple and you will need The Chronicles for this," I said, pacing around the table and gently pat Li-Na's shoulder.
Li-Na glanced up at me and pushed up her glasses, noticing me subtly pointing toward Woo-Chi's table. One of my butterflies landed upon her hair, a physical act of mercy toward her. Next, I made my way toward Woo-Yi and pat her shoulder as well, one of my butterflies landing on her hair as well.
"I have the memories of all the Heroes of Origin, I am their final descendant coming from the line of...August. He had many children with his fellow Zodiac Champions, a running bloodline that never stopped. They are called Eyicans," I continued, stopping between Ha-Rin and Nu So-Hee again.
"How many Families did August Eyica have? To answer this, you would need to know...and truly know how many Zodiacs there truly are," I asked, leaned against the back of their chairs.
"How many families..? There are only three recorded children...what?" Nu So-Hee questioned, looking through her Chronicles for the answer.
"So-Hee is right, August only had two families and had three children: Milta, his firstborn daughter. Roku, his second born son. And finally, the Hero of Origin after his death, his daughter, Masaki Eyica," Ha-Rin said with confidence, crossing her arms and looking up at me.
"Are you sure..? Zodiac Energy still exists when it was said to have died with August, it is written. The Book of Shiro talks about it, the Book of Hisumi speaks about it. After all, August was commanded to preserve Genesis's Zodiacs...so think. How many families did he have?" I asked, my gaze shifting between them.
"I am actively skimming through all THREE of August's Books! He only has TWO recorded Families!" Nu So-Hee argued, shoving the Chronicles in my face.
"Final answer?" I asked, pushing her book down and looked at her with a golden gaze.
"Yes! Two!" Nu So-Hee said with deep frustration.
The sound of someone blowing played beside Nu So-Hee, the four wicks going out and a red light shone in the room. I grabbed her Chronicles and set it upon the table, flipping to the Doctrine of Miyazaki and pointed at Chapter 1 Verses 1 and 2 called Zodiac Roots.
"Read it," I said, leaving my finger upon the word.
Nu So-Hee gulped lightly and looked down at the page, her eyes slightly widening. "August had 13 Families which symbolizes Genesis's 13 Zodiacs, and the Miyazaki Family represents the one they wish to silence. The thirteenth zodiac, Ophiuchus..."
"My Father is a very intelligent Creator isn't He? He knew people would skim over both books, so He decided to hide secrets and only those who truly Seek shall find. You've already eaten from the tree, but you wish to not desire all of the nutrients that come from it?" I asked, holding the Chronicles up and scoffed at the both of them.
"Woe unto Class 12-A, elitists and devouring wolves dwelling amongst sheep, for the meek shall rise and trample over the oppressive! For what my Father has given to you, He shall give back tenfold to His Chosen!" I declare, tilting my head to dodge a butcher knife being launched at me.
The girls screamed as the knife flew through the air, my instincts getting both girls to safety behind me. Li-Na and Woo-Yi made a quick escape to Woo-Chi's table, her and her brother protecting them.
"Blasphemer! How dare you mock Yesha's sacred tone and then call yourself Ascea! I can not hold my tongue anymore! You are not Ascea!" Kairi's grandfather exploded, slamming his hand upon the counter.
"Ojiisan, stop it!" Kairi gasped, hurrying over to her grandfather and grabbed his arm. "What are you doing?!"
"He's a blasphemer, I don't care if he's correct! Anyone with enough studying can answer that, I just can't believe he would dare compare himself to Ascea!" The chef said with a deep growl.
"Do you truly not believe I am who I say I am? Yet, you believe Ascea has never been here since August correct? Ascea has been here since the beginning as Ascea is just the Exzodian word for Holy Spirit," I said, crossing my arms and keeping my eyes upon the Chef.
"You have another stone prepared in your hand, but if you are without sin...cast the stone. Make my night..." I said, my eyes glowing with a challenge as I stared at The Chef. "I am not Yesha and Yesha is not me. Yesha showed you Yuvah's undying love, grace, and mercy...but I will show you my Father's justice and fairness. My life is not yours to take..."
The Valkyrias in the room watched the silent standoff between me and the Chef, his eyes darkening with anger as he clutched his cleaver tightly. He dared not to move due to common sense, releasing his knife and exhaled slowly.
I looked down at Ha-Rin and Nu So-Hee, picking them up off the ground. "Since you lost...Hyeon Bae will be an A Rank, starting tomorrow. Let's see how long Go-Goken lasts...before Aisuru, Yuvah's Eyican Helper, comes back to all."
Ha-Rin watched as I warped away with Woo-Chi and her brother, falling back against the table and running her hand through her hair. Facing such a humiliating defeat, she didn't know how to process other than taking a deep breath and walking away. Nu So-Hee watched as her best friend walked away, her hands balling into fists with anger and embarrassment.