Chapter 19

Three days. Heimdall thought to himself, that was how long Eir's group stayed in Midgard. The Oracle wasn't answering any of his telepathic messages, and this wasn't really a good sign. He had alerted the headmaster of Valhalla Institute, who was worried about the safety of his students.

They were supposed to return to Asgard two days ago, even if they had any reason to stay that long in Midgard, the Oracle would at least inform him. He decided to send her a message again… A whole minute had passed by and still no answer. He was about to cut the link, when the sound of the Oracle responding to his message halted him.

"Lord Heimdall?" The unmistakable voice of the young Oracle Aada echoed through his head. "Sorry for not responding to your messages for the past few days. We have some important people to deal with, and don't worry, everyone in the village is safe, even the Valkyries."

As much as it calmed his worries that nothing wrong had happened to any of them, he was made aware of the very robotic-like tone of her voice. "Who are these important people, Aada?"

" Some Christian Missionaries have arrived at our village and are staying for a few days, that's why I can't reply to your messages as I have to do all the talking with them. " Christians, the very reason why the Nordic factions are left with so few believers since they began their so-called mission of spreading the Word of God.

He had no real dislike for the peaceful ideals

they preached throughout the centuries, but

they should know not to poke their noses into

others' business. Who gave them the right to

enter Nordic lands, steal their believers, flaunt

how one should treat others, and love one's

enemies? What a bunch of hypocritical bullshit!

"How long are these missionaries staying in the village?" he asked the Oracle, to which she answered, "Another four days."

The animosity between the Nordic faction and the Biblical factions has not really decreased throughout the centuries, but neither side wants to start another conflict with each other. "Where are Miss Eir and the young Valkyries right now?"

"With the presence of the missionaries in our village, they have decided to keep a distance from us to avoid drawing attention. She said that she didn't want the missionaries to know about their presence."

There was an important rule among the factions in the supernatural world: never reveal the existence of the supernatural world to ordinary humans. This was followed by all the factions, and failure to comply would result in drastic punishment. This was a very strict rule because ordinary humans had no business in the supernatural world.

" I can assume that they are still dealing with the Undead problem. "

"Yes, Lord Heimdall.

"Ok, I will send you a message after three days, I believe those young Valkyries are very eager to return to Asgard."

"Ok."

With that, he cut the telepathic link with Aada. He would inform the headmaster about this development.

The conversation between him and the Oracle left a very doubtful feeling in him; as if something were wrong, but he did not know what it was.

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For the past three days, Rosseweisse had spent her time recovering from her injuries. Her mobility was limited, but Nikolai and his children kept her safe and well-fed, allowing her body to heal faster.

These people had done so much for her, and that too without expecting anything in return. She really wanted to repay them for everything they had done, and she knew exactly how to thank them.

Resting for three days had proved very beneficial, as most of her injuries were now healed and she could now stretch her stiff muscles.

Equipped with her Valkyrie armor, she went to Nikolai's training area, which was at the back of the cabin. She watched as Artom and Igor sparred in their monster forms, practicing hand-to-hand combat and delivering powerful blows. It was truly a sight to behold when they revealed their monstrous forms; it was surprising how these two sweet-looking boys could take on such an intimidating appearance.

Then her line of vision fell on their adopted father, who was doing push-ups with a large boulder tied to his back. 'I'm still flabbergasted that this is humanly possible.' She thought, shaking her head. ' Humans are a fragile species in the supernatural world, ' she continued. This isn't meant to put down humans, but it's simply a fact. Though many great humans in the past have done deeds and accomplished feats that were borderline superhuman, they all had one thing in common... Sacred gears.

She had assumed that the man named Nikolai Volkov possessed a Sacred Gear, a

Creation-type one to be more specific. 'That black mist that creates his weapons and armor must be his Sacred Gear.' She had seen how he battled the undead that came uninvited near the cabin, as the mist covered his entire body, solidifying into an armor similar to that of the undead. 'It also grants others the power of creating the same armor and weapons. This conclusion came when she saw that both Artom and Igor were able to summon the same items their father could summon.

"Oh, good morning Rosseweisse," Nikolai greeted her as he lifted his head to take a look at her approaching him. He stood up to his full height, dropping the heavy boulder to the ground. "Can I help you?" he said with a smile adorning his face.

" Well, since my injuries have healed and I'm no longer confined to my bed or the rocking chair, I can finally stretch my stiff muscles. " She said as she performed a few stretching movements.

" Well, I suggest some light exercise for now until you're ready for the heavy stuff. And also, may I have a sparring match with you? "

" Huh? "

"I know this might be a bit too early for you, but since you are a warrior, I would like to have a friendly spar. I don't really have anyone else to sharpen my skills with."

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{ Rossweisse POV}

I don't know why I even accepted his request, but he said he wanted to sharpen his skills by sparring with another warrior; so, as a warrior myself, I had to help another warrior. Plus, it could be a way for me to repay him. The spar would have to be with just swords and no strong offensive magic allowed.

"FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! " Artom and Igor we're excited to see a fight between their adoptive parents. " PAPA! MAMA! FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!"

I could hear Nikolai chuckle as he gazed upon his children, "It looks like the kids are excited. "

"It seemed so." I replied, " So, how do you want to start the spar?"

"Hmm... do you have any ideas?" he asked as I looked around and picked up a pebble from the ground. "I'll toss this, and when it hits the ground, we'll start."

"I'm fine with that."

With everything in place, I flicked the pebble high into the air as it reached its zenith. It began its downward fall. We both locked eyes, and I summoned my sword while standing in my battle stance. He also summoned his entire arsenal, which included his one-handed sword and a shield. "His Sacred Gear is impressive."

THUD!

The moment the pebble hit the ground, Nikolai went on the offensive and started dashing towards me with a shield in front of him. I fired an ice spear towards his shield, testing its durability. The frozen projectile easily destroyed his shield, which then dissipated into black mist.

He stopped for a moment, as he looked at me with a surprised expression. "I thought we weren't supposed to use strong offensive magic," he chuckled.

"Sorry, but that's one of the weaker offensive spells in my arsenal." I wasn't trying to gloat; compared to my other offensive spells, it was true.

The wide-eyed expression of his was very amusing to watch as he summoned his shield again, " And I wonder what would happen if you use them. This is going to be fun."

I am more of a mage than a warrior. Magic is my strongest point, but that doesn't mean I can handle a proper sword fight.

"This is the first time I'm fighting a magic user. He confessed," Please use your Offensive magic. This is going to be so much fun. "

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{3rd person POV}

Renewed in vigor, Nikolai charged again with the same tactic. As expected, Rosseweisse fired her frozen projectile. This time, however, he was prepared. Before the projectile could reach him, he rolled forward into a kneeling position, from which he used his strong legs to leap forward. He summoned his Dane axe and brought the axe head down towards his opponent.

Rosseweisse had already anticipated this type of move, so she used her flight magic to move to higher ground. The axe head struck the ground, embedding itself. She then swooped down and delivered a dropkick to his face, making him reel back. She didn't stop there; she fired a stream of water at his feet, immediately following it up with an ice spell, freezing him in place.

She knew Nikolai was a strong warrior, and she herself was primarily a mage; it was necessary for the mage to maintain a distance from him.

She warned him, "Prepare yourself!" As she

summoned several runic circles around her,

releasing a barrage of elemental attacks

straight towards him. "Blyat!" With his imminent

doom approaching, he immediately summoned

his giant tall shield and embedded it into the

ground, hoping that it would survive the attack.

Fire, water, wind, thunder, light, and ice all struck the thick black shield without mercy. Rosseweisse worried that she had gone too far; the shield was slowly dissolving into nothingness, leaving only a dented and hole-ridden remnant in its wake.

Sensing that something was wrong, she felt worried that she might have injured him. "Nikolai, are you all right?"

CHINK!

Her momentary distraction was enough for him to counter-attack by launching his chain at her waist. "Gotcha!" he yelled, pulling her towards him with such force that she was practically flying towards him.

However, the Silver-haired Valkyrie was not about to give up just yet; she still had her sword and was going to aim for his chain-holding hand. But Nikolai was already expecting this, so he immediately summoned his shield and blocked the sword.

Despawning his current weapons, he grabbed her hand and disarmed her from her sword. She tried to fire a close-range ice attack, but he dodged it on pure instinct. He proceeded to tackle her to the ground, grabbing both her wrists with one hand and placing them on top of her head. With his other hand, he summoned his knife and placed it against her neck. "I win," he said.

His victory consisted of a bit of foul play on his part, but it was still a victory. "Yes, you won." She accepted defeat and she had no reason to complain, remembering an important lesson from her Valkyrie training, "Never assume your enemy is defeated, make sure he is."

It took some time for her to realize where her current position was. On realizing it, her face turned red. They were in a very intimate and sensual position; her hand was pinned into place above her head by his vice-like grip, and he sat on her thighs, completely restricting her movement. Not to mention how close his face was to hers - she could feel the warm air of his labored breathing on her skin. Her heart began to beat rapidly, and she could feel a warm sensation in her stomach that led to places she didn't want to name.

Umm, are you alright, Roseseisse? Your face is getting red. Are you getting sick? Nikolai noticed her blushing face and decided to release her from his vice-like grip and placed her in a sitting position. Are you okay, Artom? Get your mama some water!

"Ok! "

"Hey, speak to me?" he urged her to speak, but how could she? This was the first time in her life any man was this close to her and that too in such a sensual position. Her female hormones were going haywire and she felt so ashamed of herself that she could not even look at him.

"I-I'm fine, it's just that you're too close to me."

On hearing that, he immediately apologized to her for such an indecent act he had forced upon her. She accepted his apology, for she knew that he had no indecent intentions in the first place; if anyone else had done something like that to her, she would have reported him for sexual harassment. However, deep within her mind, a voice kept repeating, "Touch him! Touch him! Come on, touch him!"

This was so shameful!

"Papa, I brought the water. "Just on time for Artom to diffuse the situation.

Sigrun will have a blast teasing her if she finds out about this, she's sure of it.

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AUTHOR'S NOTE: I Thank you all for reading this story so far and I really appreciate all the support you have given to this story through your comments and power stones, I really am grateful for all of that.

Also, I have an announcement. In a few days, my final semester exams is going to start and I won't be able to update another chapter till the 17th of June. So, wish me luck and see you all on the 17th.

Thank you all and see you in the next chapter.