“In the end we didn’t learn why they reacted to you the way they did.”

With Antia refusing to answer their questions Sam had no choice but to put it off for another time. As he walked down the prison hallways he spoke to the Valkyries following behind him.

“Maybe we should’ve done more to make her speak,” Nino said. “A bit of torture might’ve helped.”

“Where do you even get those ideas?” Sam said, smiling warily.

“B-but Doctor was amazing back there!” Said Ichigo with a bright smile. “Even the enemy was surprised you knew so much about them!”

“Well, I would say her reactions thought us everything.”

The man leading the intruders having the name Perseus gave Sam the hunt that they might be basing their organization on Greek mythology. He guessed that Antia was an abbreviation of Antianeira, a queen of the Amazonian warriors, and Cyclops were the one-eyed giants who made the lightning bolts Zeus used.

Still, it was impossible to tell for sure whether they’re just using the names like what happened with the Nephilim or if they have a real connection to the mythology. Sam tried to find out by mentioning Zeus’s hatred for humanity, and from Antia’s reaction it seems he did something to the humans of his world, either wiping them out or creating a new, more powerful race to replace them.

“The Greek gods are quite annoying,” Sam said. “Especially Zeus. There is no end to the horrible things he did.”

𝒱xt.𝑐

Zeus was also known for his uncontrollable lust. Being the leader of an army made up of gorgeous women, Sam felt that he had a very tough battle ahead of him.

“Maybe I should read more about this,” Nino said. “Do you have any recommendations?”

“I would recommend watching a documentary or the like. It’s much more efficient.”

Sadly there is no YouTube in this post-apocalyptic world, but there is a chance some educational videos have been saved in the Resistance’s archives.

Just as Sam was wondering whether he should check them out to refresh his memory, the three arrived at the lowest cell in the prison quarters.

“Guh… not you again…”

Hela’s expression twisted in disgust the moment Sam came in. She made it clear multiple times that she couldn’t stand seeing his face, but what choice did she have, being a prisoner with no hope of escape?

“Hey now, aren’t happy to see me?” Sam replied.

By now he didn’t care much about the girl. Even though she still has the super strength of a Nephilim, without a heart she couldn’t teleport or use any of her powers so keeping her tied up was meaningless. The treatment she receives has improved as well; she got a nice bed, good food, comfortable clothes, plus a TV and some video games for entertainment. Apparently she was a really big fan of Wii sports before massacring the humans of her world.

“If I have to spend eternity without ever seeing your face then I would be thrilled.” Putting down the Wiimote she walked over to the glass wall and sat down on the chair in front of it. “So? I take it that you have an update for me. Did you make contact with the others?”

Though it might’ve been unnecessary, Sam made sure to inform Hela of the attack and the likelihood that her world has been attacked. She knew something was up when the ground started shaking from Nine’s rampage, but to her surprise it wasn’t because the peace conference took a bad turn.

“Sadly we are still making the new portal. I came to ask you about something else.”

“I see. So not only did you waste time instead of going after that traitor Loki right away, you’re wasting even more now just because some idiots picked a fight with you.”

“I thought you were worried about your people?”

“Why would I? Thor can take care of everything on her own. If she needed help she would’ve sent for it long ago.”

The young queen seemed to greatly trust her sister’s abilities, even with everything they knew pointing to how much trouble the Nephilim were in on the other world.

“… today I came to ask you about something that’s been bothering me for a while now.” Letting out a sigh, Sam took a seat as well. “You’re the first Nephilim, and according to the old man you’re also the first to use the runes. What I want to know is, how did you come up with them?”

“… Is that it?” Hela said. “Why didn’t you just ask one of your Valkyries? They can use Arts now, right?”

“Well…”

Telling her about how most had their memories wiped out before receiving their bodies sounded like a pain so he decided to not do it. Thankfully she didn’t pray any further and just told him what he wanted to know.

“The short answer is I don’t know. You don’t really think of why your fingers move the way they do or how you can see or hear things, right? It’s just another one of our basic functions, that’s all.”

“So you just accepted the fact that you’re able to manipulate reality?”

“It sounds strange to you, but we have been able to do it from the start. Well, I would be lying if I said we never wondered about the meaning of what you call runes, but we didn’t obsess over them.”

Hela’s answers only served to confuse Sam even more, even though he already knew most of what she told him.

One look is enough to tell that the runes are a part of some language. Just like the Nephilim, every Valkyrie is capable of creating certain sequences that result in specific phenomena. Some of the sequences manifest in different ways depending on the Valkyrie. For example, Nino and Five use the same sequence when making their weapons, however the former creates a spear while the latter creates a katana.

It made sense to refer to them as Arts, since the manifested phenomenon could be considered an expression of the Valkyries’ imagination.

The Valkyries are able to use the Arts instinctively from the moment of their birth. Having their memories erased didn’t affect that ability, which meant it was engraved into their very being. That explains Sam’s struggles to master any of the sequences they know of. Wolf was the same at first, and according to him it takes years to be as proficient as the average Valkyrie.

‘Damn it…’

It took time and effort to stop thinking of the girls as nothing but lifeless machines. To Sam who started seeing them as humans, anything that challenged this belief was quite painful.

Sadly he couldn’t just ignore the questions that have been on his mind ever since he heard the truth from Loki.

The Nephilim, and the Valkyries. What are they? Where did they come from? And what is Freyja’s, the original Alice’s connection to all of it?

The appearance of the new invaders was another reminder of how little they know about what’s really going on. In terms of knowledge, there isn’t a more appropriate way to describe their status than ‘lower realm residents’.