“There are also no traces of the valkyrjas so they couldn’t have died here. It’s not like the monsters can eat the corpses or anything, and the black blood wouldn’t be able to melt things clean. They must have made it out alive,” Silvia pointed out.

  “What about the trail of the injured woman’s blood?” Selene asked.

  “It clearly ends in this chamber, up that wall,” Miria replied, pointing at the disappearing smudge. “It’s just… gone. They could have rested here? Fully stopped the bleeding before continuing? Perhaps they were ambushed during the treatment and that’s how the satchel came off?”

  “Thank you, everyone, for trying to reassure me, but all the tracks end here.” Bryn shook her head and showed a kind smile. “Without the compass, even with Umbra’s help, it is nigh impossible to locate the squad. These tunnels certainly run deep and wide. They could have stopped anywhere. We have the leader's bag and that should be more than enough evidence for the Supervisors.”

  ”I wouldn’t give up this early. We can at least look around for a bit longer, getting some more experience fighting against these monsters in the meanwhile. What do you think, my Lord?” Selene turned to Asterios but didn’t find him next to them. “My Lord?”

  They all glanced ahead and found him brushing his hand over the wall’s uneven surface. His brows were furrowed and his crimson, draconic eyes glimmered gently, making it more than obvious that Asterios had borrowed more of his enhanced sight.

  “Is something the matter, Master?” Miria asked.

  “These rocks… This wall… It looks slightly different from everything else…”

  Just as the girls focused on the rough and irregular stone surface, noticing that it truly seemed weirdly glued together, the chamber shook lightly and something massive clicked in the distance. A vertical crack formed in the middle of the wall and the two sides began opening outwards.

  Asterios jumped back barely in time to avoid getting stabbed in the heart by something pointy coming out of the created gap. When it widened enough, five figures instantly stepped forward. Two of them kept trying to stab him with spears that had definitely seen better times while the other three rushed to his companions.

  Bryn gasped after noticing that every single one of them was a valkyrja and Asterios hastily ordered everyone through their bond not to strike back. The winged women had bleak complexions and their skin was barely covered by ancient, rusted pieces of armor. The small chestplates and pleated skirts were padded with what seemed to be feathers of their own kin. Their wings were in a quite poor shape too. They looked bad in general and clearly malnourished.

  Yet, none of the five valkyrjas lacked energy and motivation as the first two kept forcing Asterios to step back, hissing at him and poking his way with their old weapons, while the other three hastily grabbed the girls one by one, dragging them towards the breach in the wall. They urged Bryn to come with them the most.

  “Master!” Miria shouted, fighting against the grip of one of the women.

  Not wanting to make any sudden movements with his raised hands, he nodded at her, gesturing at the gap with his eyes. The others met his gaze too and let the valkyrjas push them inside as the women formed a protective formation with their backs to the escaping girls, staring Asterios down with mean faces and spears aimed right ahead.

  After Miria passed the fake wall as the last person, the pair that kept Asterios away retreated without turning around and regrouped with the other trio. They hissed at him while disappearing into the massive, slowly closing doors, poking the tips of their spears past the entrance until the very last moment. With a mighty thud, the rocky surface became one again and everything went silent.

  He chuckled to himself and shook his head. ~Everyone alright?~

  ~Are you, Master?~ Miria asked back with a worried tone as all his mates and Bryn confirmed that they were fine. ~We should jump back to you. It’s dangerous to be alone.~

  ~Don’t. Be mindful of those women. You might scare them by suddenly disappearing into a weird portal,~ he replied. ~Those aren’t the five we are looking for, are they?~

  ~No.~ He could feel Bryn shaking her head. ~I have no idea who these valkyrjas are, but they seem… somewhat savage. They are escorting us through a man-made tunnel illuminated by sporadic cyan gems etched into the walls.~

  ~There’s a high chance that our lost squad experienced the same treatment,~ Asterios noted.

  ~The blood! It continues through this passage!~ Miria exclaimed excitedly.

  ~You should let them guide you and see what they intend to do. They might lead you to the survivors. And I don’t think that regards only the five individuals we’ve been searching for,~ he suggested.

  ~What about you?~ Tina asked with a faint trace of worry in her thoughts.

  ~I’ll be fine. Umbra won’t let anything bad happen to me. Those valkyrjas clearly mistook me for one of the Scourge monsters so it will be better for you to handle this on your own from now on. I’ll be ready to jump to you and help at any time,~ he instructed them. ~Just, be careful.~

  ~I won’t let anything happen to them, Master. No matter who the assailant is. I swear it on my wings,~ Bryn declared.

  He thanked her mentally and focused on carefully watching his surroundings.

  ※ ※ ※

  “So, where are you taking us?” Miria asked the five pale-skinned valkyrjas that escorted them through a narrow tunnel while keeping everyone inside their formation.

  None of the women paid her question any mind and they continued walking ahead without turning their faces away from the front.

  “Did you guys save five more people a few days ago?” she asked once more, directing her question at a different person.

  Unfortunately, their escorts were intent on ignoring her and Miria sighed heavily. There was just no point in continuing or else they could get mad.

  She glanced at Selene, who walked next to her. “Do you think they can’t do anything more than make those hissing noises?”

  “We are not some uncivilized beasts,” one of the women responded without moving her face even an inch away from the path ahead.

  “It sure looked like that to me…” Miria muttered quietly under her nose.

  They traversed the tight passage in silence from that point. After about ten minutes, the winged women brought them out of the narrow tunnel and into a spacious chamber with many more routes connected to it in a horizontal formation. The rooms of various sizes were clearly man-made, and so was all the furniture and everything else. All they could see was roughly carved out of rock. A small city of pure stone greeted them, shocking the girls unspeakably. Especially Bryn.

  Their escorts didn’t slow down and guided them through the clearly poor and struggling colony. Many valkyrjas of various ages turned away from whatever they had been doing to take a look at the unexpected guests. Those women rarely wore anything, often appearing almost completely naked, covering their nether regions with loincloths made of tattered rags or their feathers sewed together. They looked as ill as the first five, if not more.

  Bryn noticed that they were led through a section that resembled a farm. But, rather than cultivating the crops she was familiar with, these valkyrjas tended to a plethora of mushrooms and fungi. There were multiple patches and rows of them. She was sure that it was all the food they had, and seeing a few people nibble on some colorful caps confirmed that guess.

  In terms of illumination inside the entire complex, the walls were filled with the same glowing crystals as the stone corridor they had traversed to get here. It bathed every chamber in dim, cyan light. Seeing the state of more people, Bryn quickly understood why the five warriors that had saved them had been so hostile towards the light orbs that had followed them into the breach before she canceled the spell.

  Soon, they reached another narrow passage that led into a circular hall with a high ceiling. Decorative columns had been carved in the walls, imitating creative, supporting pillars. It was clear that this place was important for some reason. And that reason became obvious when the girls spotted a chiseled throne in the very middle, with an older valkyrja atop it, wearing a long dress made of feathers from an obvious source.

  “Queen,” one of the escorts greeted her as they all bowed. “We bring in front of you the people we rescued from being taken hostage by an unusual monster of the Scourge as they were passing by the western gate.”

  “What? Master is not one of those monsters!” Miria frowned visibly.

  “Silence!” another valkyrja escorting them shouted at her. “You are in the presence of the Queen! Speak only when asked!”

  Miria shot her an angry glare but didn’t say anything back. She didn’t want to make the situation worse. Asterios trusted them to take care of this without escalating the tension that was already present between their sides. She wasn’t going to disappoint him.

  “I’ve never seen a wingless valkyrja before,” the older woman mused, running her gaze over Ast’s mates. “Who are you?”

  “That’s because they aren’t valkyrjas,” Bryn replied calmly. “Only I am. And I’m Bryn, the Councilor of Tyr. A healer and warrior.”

  “Hmmm… Where did you all come from and how did you end up a prisoner of that monster?” The Queen rubbed her chin.

  “The person your subordinates saw us with, Your Majesty, is not a monster of the Scourge, even if his figure resembles them to some extent. He is not from our realm, just like my companions here. That’s just how Valkyrs look in a different world,” Bryn tried her best to explain it properly. “As for where we came from, the Supervisors from Odin sent us here to bring the lost scouts back to the city.”

  “Liar!” a different valkyrja snarled, sitting somewhere on the side, next to one of the columns. “There are no cities! The outside is dead! The Scourge destroyed everything!”

  “The ground is, yes, but there are ARKs.” Bryn turned to her.

  “ARKs?” the Queen raised a curious brow.

  “Twelve flying fortresses hovering in the sky that were launched into the air during the Cataclysm. Our people have lived in them for centuries now, free of any dangers related to those monsters. It isn’t a perfect life but there’s not that much lacking.”

  “Lies!” a valkyrja from the left shouted this time. “Another bunch of liars! They are in cahoots with the Scourge!”

  “Another? Do you mean a group of five looking like Bryn?” Selene asked.

  One of their escorts was clearly going to rebuke her with a bit more force this time but the Queen raised her hand and stopped the woman from getting physical.

  “That’s right. The five people we found three days ago told us something similar,” she answered.

  “Are they still alive? And why didn’t you believe them?” Bryn furrowed her brows with concern.

  “Getting Scourge blood in your body often causes heavy hallucinations and can even make people lose their mind permanently,” the Queen replied. “They are all alive, resting in our medicinal chamber.”

  “As you can see, we aren’t hurt in the slightest.” Silvia spread her arms wide to show her entire self to the woman. “We really come from flying cities that exist in the outside world. But, we don’t intend to force you to believe us. All we want is to make sure that our friends are safe and sound, and take them back home. If we are bothering you and your people, we can leave as soon as we meet them.”

  The two valkyrjas who had raised their voices earlier began arguing how it was a very bad idea. Their Queen quickly silenced them with a wave of a hand again.

  “I’ll decide later if your words are true. For now, you can freely move through our city without bothering the people, but you can’t leave. It will put everyone here at a huge risk. Our guards have already gambled enough to save you and your friends,” the leader of the underground colony announced. “Your escorts will show you the way to the others.”

  Taking the lack of any further instructions as their cue to leave, Bryn made a polite bow and the girls followed suit. They turned around and walked out of the throne hall, accompanied by the five sentries. The valkyrjas didn’t wait for them before heading off to somewhere, most likely the medicinal chamber, so they hurried after them.

  “This is tough,” Miria whispered amongst them. “They are really doubtful.”

  “Who wouldn’t be after most likely living their entire life in a cavern inside some mountain while being sure that they are the last of their kin,” Tina replied quietly.

  “Thankfully, we have our own way out even if they won’t open the gates for us. Umbra can transport the injured too.” Silvia sighed softly. “But, we might not be able to do anything about this tribe.”

  Bryn noticed her gaze and showed a weak smile. “I’m aware. This much is already a shock for them. It might be impossible to convince the people here to leave the caverns. But, first, we need to save the scouts. That’s our mission. These valkyrjas are relatively safe here and their lives aren’t in immediate danger.”

  “Let’s hurry up, then. They definitely won’t let Master in and I don’t like him being alone in those dark tunnels,” Miria said and the girls nodded in agreement.

  Chapter 29

  The Miracle of Passion

  The five guards leading the girls stopped for a brief moment and discussed something amongst themselves. After coming to some agreement, three women split from the group and walked off in a different direction, leaving just two escorts with them. It was quite possible that the trio had decided to return to their stations now that Bryn and the others were more or less welcome inside their settlement. It didn’t look like they would be left completely unsupervised, though.

  Finishing their short break, the remaining two resumed the walk in complete silence. They led the girls through various open segments of the underground colony, passing many valkyrjas on their way. Their quite unusual looks, or even the mere presence of someone the residents didn’t know, attracted lots of attention and curiosity. And fear too.

  Some of the more frightful women escaped from the sight if they could. That mostly happened when the girls were moving through a section of what resembled primitive houses carved out of stone, mostly in the walls, just like pretty much everything in this dark place. They couldn’t spot a trace of wood anywhere, which wasn’t that shocking considering the fact that this place was located deep inside a huge mountain.

  Soon, their two escorts guided them through another narrow passage and they walked into a flat, wide chamber with many slabs of stone which clearly were meant to imitate beds. To cushion the hard surface, they were covered with a layer of feathers. Those seemed to be one of the most common materials used in literally everything in the colony.

  One of the valkyrjas leading them pointed with her old spear at a corner. Following it with their gazes, the girls quickly spotted a slightly different group of winged women sitting between two rock beds. They exchanged glances and hastily jogged up to the five individuals.

  “Oh. You aren’t from here,” one of the ladies lying on the beds pointed out after noticing their approach.

  Bryn stopped in front of the missing party with the others behind her. “No, we aren’t. And so aren’t you, correct?”

  She ran her gaze over the five women. Two of them lay on the makeshift beds while the other three sat in between the slabs of stone, turned to either of their companions. They all wore slightly dirtied and damaged outfits of white and gold. The pieces of their armor and gear rested on the ground past the nonexistent headboards. As for their weapons, they were nowhere in sight.

  “What gave it away?” The same woman chuckled quietly.

  “A few things.” A warm smile showed up on Bryn’s lips. “I’m glad to see you all alive. I almost lost all hope after finding lots of blood and your communicator. We’ve been sent by Odin to find and bring your back.”

  “Oh, thank gods! It was us who lost all hope!” Another valkyrja laughed openly and stood up. “My name is Vaja. I’m the captain of this squad. We thought it was the end of us when I dropped my satchel as those guards yanked us inside amidst an entire swarm. They didn’t let us pick it up even though it was right in front of the gate.”

  “Fortunately, our friend was able to find it.” Miria beamed at her with a toothy grin. “And Master noticed the gate. We would have most likely gone past it if he hadn’t. It didn’t look like they were intending to open it again even with the cave being empty.”

  “I can’t believe our luck.” Vaja shook her head with a wry smile. “Well, as for being alive… We might have gotten out of it somehow… But…”

  She glanced down at the other woman on the bed who hadn’t spoken yet and Bryn’s face fell. While the rest of the party looked more or less fine, that one valkyrja had a much worse complexion. With her eyes closed and her forehead strained, she kept breathing quickly with plenty of sweat covering her skin. And what was the worst, her left leg was gone, clearly amputated right above the knee.

  “The big puddle of blood you stumbled on must be where we decided to cut it off,” Vaja continued with a sad tone. “The wound ran deep and the poison was spreading quickly. It was our only chance. She is our healer so there was not much we could have done at that time as this high fever and shivers started very fast, sapping her energy quickly. She only managed to gradually stop the bleeding with whatever strength she had left.”

  “I got grazed too but the herbalists from here fed me lots of mushrooms and applied a weird paste to my wound so I’m hanging pretty alright there,” the woman on the other bed added. “They saved her with their medicine too, but according to them, it’s only prolonging the inevitable. We hoped that she would at least recover enough to use her magic but…”

  “She’s in no state to focus on any spells…” Tina finished for her meekly and the four ladies hung their heads low.

  “And now we are all stuck here.” Vaja sighed deeply. “It’s great that you found our communicator, or brought yours, but even if we contact the ARK now, it will be too late before bigger reinforcements come. These valkyrjas won’t let anyone out so the only way would be to break in. Trust me. We’ve tried convincing them countless times.”