A violent tremor traveled through the battlefield, however it was unlike anything caused by the Titans’ shockwaves. A window in the corner of his field of vision showed the footage captured by one of the drones he left outside. It showed the last moments of the last Titan as it crumbled down, destroyed by what looks like a gigantic humanoid robot made by combining multiple smaller ones. It was like a scene from a Power Rangers show, although with much better visual effects.

Switching the feed, Sam checked the state of the Primordial, his eyes narrowing the next moment. The living horror was mostly gone, shrunken to less than half of its original size with only two of its eyes left. Most of its tentacles were gone and what remained of its body was quickly turning into particles of light as it got absorbed into the Aether orb.

Above the palace, the small white orb from before has swelled in size. Seven different rings of Runes surrounded it, created by seven Olympians who didn’t seem to be having a particularly good time as shown by their pained expressions.

With the threat of the Titans now gone, only thirty seconds were left before the Primordial was fully absorbed. Once that happens, the battle would enter its final phase.

Sam returned his attention to the problem in front of him. Thor appeared out of nowhere and now stood in their way, defending Perseus and his comrade and preventing him and the Valkyries from reaching the portal room.

There was nothing in the Paths Nino had observed that indicated the Nephilim queen’s intervention on his side of the battle and that meant one of two things; the first is that they were on a Path to failure. The second is that they were on a newly created Path, one that didn’t exist before.

Sam could only sigh at how disappointing future sight turned out to be. Since it allows the user to see all potential outcomes of their actions, one would think it’s guaranteed to lead them to victory, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.

In the end the future didn’t depend on the actions of one person. No matter how much the user tries, the actions of other people would still influence the Path they end up on.

In a battle that could mean the end of one side or the other, the outcome is decided by the actions of both. Seeing the futures where you win means very little when losing prevents you from seeing anything at all.

‘Now, how am I going to handle this…?’

There was no need for him to do anything, really. Five would take on the Nephilim queen while Trenta deals with the two Olympians. With Sitta there as well, Three now has the freedom to move without having to worry about his safety.

Thor would be a great asset if they could free her from the mind control, but that was easier said than done, and time was running out.

After giving the situation some thought, he heaved a sigh and stepped forward. “Sitta, put an anti-teleportation barrier around the entire hallway.” He said as he passed the ginger haired Valkyrie.

“Doctor!?” Zero Three called for him, confused by how he was walking to the front of the formation.

“Keep calm. Everything will be fine.”

Those words were directed more at him than they were at the young Valkyrie. He didn’t know if what he was about to do would have any positive effects, but something told him he should try it at the very least.

Five glanced beside her, surprised to see the man in a lab coat standing there. Her lips parted as she was about to say something to him, but the hand he held up told her to remain silent.

Sam looked ahead at the woman dressed in red. The upper half of her face was covered with what looked like a black party mask, which prevented him from seeing her eyes.

“Despite the current circumstances, I want to say I am happy to finally have the chance to meet you, Lady Thor.” There was no response from the crimson haired queen, but Sam continued nonetheless. “I have been counting down the days until we could sit at the same table and talk, but unfortunately it seems some uninvited guests have come between us.”

Understanding what he was trying to achieve, Perseus’ smile turned to a scowl.

“Thor! Annihilate them!!!”

Without a change in her expression, the Nephilim queen lunged forward, her form fading for an instant before she appeared in front of Sam preparing to thrust her lance at him.

Five parried the attack without delay and the fighting resumed.

Despite being the target of her first attack, Sam’s trust in his subordinates allowed him to stand his ground without flinching. His emotions were no longer restrained, and the insurmountable fear and stress threatened to turn his thoughts into a mess, however he remained calm and kept his eyes on the Nephilim queen, trying to reach her with his words.

“Lady Thor! It pains me greatly to see you standing on the enemy’s side!”

Red lightning exploded and a translucent wall appeared in front of him. The storm raged for only a few seconds, but in that short time the hallway became a cavern filled with sharp icy crystals. Sam raised his hand ordering Zero Three to take down the barrier she erected in front of him, but the moment she did a yellow beam passed by his face.

On the other side Perseus clicked his tongue. He intended to blow the Doctor’s head but his attack missed.

“Doctor, this is too dangerous!” Three warned. “Please retreat behind me!”

Her words fell on deaf ears as the man kept his eyes on the two fighting in front of him. They were evenly matched, but Thor was fighting to kill while Five was trying to block her movements.

Looking at the numbers alone, with Five Valkyries against one Nephilim, it might seem like their chances of winning were quite high. But this was the Nephilim queen they were fighting. She was the pinnacle of her kind, the oldest and most powerful among Freyja’s Children with Runes inaccessible to anyone beside her.

For a moment Sam couldn’t stop himself from wondering how it was possible for lightning to produce ice but he quickly shook the thought out of his head. He would have all the time in the world to study it later on but now he needed to focus on the task in front of him.

“I saw a future for us together, lady Thor.” He went on. “I believed that we would work side by side to reach our goal, that our bond would grow stronger with time, but here you are siding with the enemy, answering to the whims of another man!”

The Obsidian lance got deflected by a strike from Zero Five, but the counter that should’ve followed didn’t come fast enough. For a moment there the queen’s movements had halted. Five didn’t hesitate to take advantage of the opening but a streak of red lightning came in her way leaving behind a long spike of red ice that blocked her purple blade.

“Just kill them al-”

Perseus shouted angrily but the words got caught in his mouth. Trenta had appeared right in front of him at some point, her blade slowly sliding back into its sheath. With a click, her I Am The Storm activated and countless white lines formed around the Olympian. A moment later the barrier protecting him shattered and the Valkyrie moved to to this head.

“Lady Thor, if you hear my voice then please answer!” Sam’s voice grew more desperate as he watched the crimson queen turn her back to him, ignoring her opponent to go save the Olympian. “Do you not wish to be my ally!!?”

Seeing the crimson queen rushing to his aid, Perseus allowed a smirk to form on his mouth. A simple barrier wasn’t going to save him from the blade targeting his neck, but it would buy him the fraction of a second he needed for his puppet to arrive.

Trenta’s blade bounced off the invisible wall but that did little to slow her down. Unfortunately, Thor was already behind her, the black lance in her hand raised high in the air.

“Lady Thor!!!”

Sam’s voice resounded through the ruined hallway, followed by the sound of shattering glass.

To make sure they don’t revolt against him like the Nephilim, Odin made sure to put mental restraints on the Valkyries. Those restraints ensured that the girls wouldn’t go against the words of their superiors, but they also allowed them to fight efficiently without experiencing the motions that would normally come from standing in the face of death. Unfortunately, those restraints weren’t perfect. All it took was one strong emotion to win them back their freedom. Because of that, the old man had to ensure none of them experienced that strong emotion, that’s why he went to incredible lengths to prevent any man from influencing them.

Perseus was silent, his eyes torn apart from the shock. He looked down at himself and saw a large spike protruding from his stomach. His gaze moved up and fell on the face of his assailant. Her previously expressionless face was now twisted with anger and the black mask covering its upper half had multiple cracks running through it.

He didn’t understand what was happening or why it happened. The device should’ve kept her bound to his will, it made no sense for her to be attacking him when his orders were for her to kill his enemies and keep him safe.

‘Impossible…’ he thought, feeling the cold embrace of death on his skin. ‘With just… a few words…’

Unfortunately for Perseus, the Nephilim he chose to protect him was tormented by a devious illness. That illness had caused her tremendous stress just a few days ago. Her concern was a single man and the impression he had of her, and the thought of being hated by him caused her nothing but pain.

The illness influenced her thoughts, and before she knew it her only desire became winning the approval of that man.

That same man traveled dimensions and came all the way to see her, but instead of welcoming him she took her weapon and attacked him and his allies.

“Un… unforgivable…” the word escaped her lips and her mask crumbled, half of it falling to reveal the wrathful eyes hidden behind. “How… dare you…”

With the dam blocking them breaking, the emotions she held in flooded outside and manifested in a single bolt. Light filled the hallway rising toward the sky in the form of a red pillar. Perseus screamed as his flesh was eaten by a fire so cold it burned.

His remaining ally took his orb and tried to protect himself, but the barrier he conjured broke instantly leaving him to be swallowed by the light as well.

Sam held up his arm to shield his eyes from the light. It was nothing but a reflex, a remnant of his human instincts. He waited until the light dimmed before looking ahead.

A large pillar of crimson ice shot from the floor all the way to the ceiling, piercing a hole through it and extending beyond its limits. At its base, crystal formations spread out like the roots of a tree, following a pattern drawn by the overflowing energy summoned by the woman holding it by her gaze. Remaining silent for a few seconds, she heaved a sigh and turned to face the crowd watching her from a distance. The mask that covered her face was now gone and her scarlet eyes moved around, eventually stopping on a single man dressed in a white lab coat.

Though she felt an indescribable sensation in her chest, she fought to keep her expression from changing, meeting the man’s gaze and inhaling deeply before she spoke.

“Your voice has reached me, Doctor Sam Sanderson.” She said in a steady voice. “I, too, wish to be your ally.”