My Innocence

I sat in an interrogation room alone and waited for someone to come in and interrogate me. I looked at the shackles around my hand and sighed softly. I began to think about my life and thought about how I should've just went for a normal life.

Someone walked into the room and it was the commander. I watched her sit down and she stared at me then glared. She set down a cup of coffee and a donuts.

"Alright, let's get to it. Who are you?" The woman asked.

"I'm Dante Knight." I answered. I read her badge on her person. "You must be Yuri Diamond."

Yuri looked at her badge then looked back at me. "I am, but my name isn't important. What's important is why did you break into Komine's house and why did you kidnap a child."

"Okay let's get something straight. I didn't willingly break into her house nor did I kidnap Atalia." I said.

"Alright let's say both of those are true, what was your reasoning for being in her house? Why do you have that child? Why do you assume you have freewill here?" Yuri asked.

"You're not gonna believe me, but I literally fell from the sky! I couldn't control where I land! I was going too fast for me to change direction. You think I wanted to break into someone's house or kidnap a child? I took Atalia in because she didn't have anyone to take care of her." I explained.

"Do you think I was born yesterday?!" Yuri asked and slammed her hands on the table.

"No, but you clearly aren't listening." I said.

Yuri looked at me with a slightly annoyed look. "It seems we have a smartass in our hands. Alright, smart guy, answer me this. What do you know about Organization X?" Yuri asked.

"Literally nothing! There were no questions asked when I showed up! That fox lady literally attacked me without questions!" I said.

Yuri scoffed and crossed her arms. "I can do this all day until you break. You men think you're so smart and tough. There's a reason why you hold no power here. Now I will ask you one more time, what do you know about Organization X?"

I sighed and looked down at the table. "I don't know how you want me to answer because I'm telling you the truth. All I wanted to do was live my life now all of a sudden I'm here in this freak show of a world. Where's the common courtesy of innocent until proven guilty?"

Yuri stared at me and frowned. "That doesn't exist anymore. All men are guilty until proven innocent."

"Seriously?" I asked and looked at Yuri. "That's extremely sexist and unfair."

"Yeah well if you men hadn't abused us for YEARS, maybe us Valkyries would've given you all the benefit of the doubt but no longer will we sit idly by and allow abuse to continue." Yuri said.

"I agree, you shouldn't sit by and allow abuse but to group all men into one category? That's bullshit and you know it—"

Yuri slapped me and glared at me. "You don't understand what we've been through. Everything us women had to endure since the beginning of time! You have no right to speak to me in such a manner!"

"Since you have nothing to offer, I will have Grace end your life quickly." Yuri said and stood up. "Enjoy your final moments of life, Dante."

I grunted and looked at her. I knew if I didn't convince her that I was innocent it was all over. I needed to say something to her to keep her here.

"Who or what is Organization X?" I asked.

Yuri looked at me. "Why should I tell you?"

"Because you're accusing me of having some part with them, which I don't. You've been barking questions at me the entire time, I deserve to know something." I said.

Yuri stared at me then sighed and sat back down. "They are an organization who's entire goal is to take down us Valkyries. They want us dead for our power. We've been at war with them for the longest time."

"What are they like exactly? I might be able to assist you in some kind of way." I said.

"Assist us? Yeah you can lick the fucking dirt from our shoes if you want to be of help to us." Yuri said sarcastically.

"Come on! I feel like I deserve the benefit of the doubt! I didn't fight back and I was jumped! It was a two against one! Is there anything I can ACTUALLY do to assist you all? To prove my innocence?" I asked.

Yuri looked at me and crossed her arms. She sighed and closed her eyes. "There is one thing."

"What?" I asked.

"You will become a Valkyrie to prove your innocence and allow me to tell you the process is gruesome. The process of becoming a Valkyrie would require you to have top notch endurance, durability, and willpower! You will be the first male Valkyrie and you will help us fight against Organization X. I will make sure you can never escape this lifestyle. No matter what..." Yuri said.

"Alright. Will I be able to be with my daughter afterwards?" I asked.

Yuri rose an eyebrow and looked at me. "So she is yours actually?"

"Yes. I know she looks nothing like me, but I promise you that I can prove it." I said then realized I left my only proof on my old kitchen counter then grunted.

"Well?" Yuri asked.

"My hands are still in shackles, but I can prove it to you if I was released." I said.

Yuri looked at me and sighed. "If you try anything funny, I'll kill you right here."

I nodded and watched her unlock my shackles. I reached in my pocket once my hands were free and felt a piece of paper then took it out. I noticed it was the letter she had when she showed up at my doorstep. I placed it on the table and slid it toward her.

She grabbed the letter and opened it then read it. She looked at me then set the letter down. "I guess this answers why you had her in your arms, but that isn't enough to prove your innocence...however I will drop you from your charges and you will undergo multiple trials."

She stood up and walked toward the door. "Now follow me."

I nodded and stood up then followed her.

——————

I sat inside a nurse's office and waited for someone to come in. I sat in a chair and sighed softly. I could only imagine how scared Atalia was and wondered if she was okay.

I heard the door open and noticed a woman walking in and noticed her smile at me. I gave a courteous smile back and watched her walk to her desk.

"My name is Cornelia Bahl, the leading nurse and medic of the Valkyries. I will be in charge of awakening your energy so just get comfortable as the process won't be very long." Cornelia said.

Cornelia was a nice woman with a very sexually attractive build. She had long red and white hair, fair and very clear skin, and red eyes. She wore a white thigh slit dress with seven belts on her dress, a white collar, a white veil on her head, and white stockings and heels.

She took off her glasses and watched me get comfortable in my chair then walked over to me. She walked behind me and began to rub my chest. She felt my body tense up and smirked a bit. "Relax, I'm not gonna hurt you.."

Her hand began to feel every fiber of my body and I watched her hand. Her touch was very sensual and I could feel her breathing against my ear.

"You smell foreign...You don't smell like you're from this world at all. When I first saw you...I knew you were innocent since men don't have the balls to do anything like what you did. To outrun Komine and talk your way out of an execution to become a Valkyrie...you are certainly a one of a kind, Dante.." Cornelia said softly in my ear.

I blushed then grunted as I felt her inject me with a liquid from her syringe then felt my vision grow blurry. She whispered something in my ear before I passed out.

Everything was dark...I felt the soft breeze of the wind and heard the sounds of nature. I woke up slowly and sat up. I noticed I was in a forest with a few weapons in front of me. There was a broad sword, a battle axe, a spear, a shield, and a bow with a quiver of arrows.

"I'm glad you're finally awake, Dante. Your trial starts now. If you want to prove your innocence and see your daughter again, you'll need to make it back to HQ within a week. I've decided to make things easy for you and give you a System that'll help you called the Astra Valkyrie System or an AVS for short." Yuri said into my earpiece.

"This system will allow you to summon your different weapons, keep track of your stats such as your strength, defense, speed, etcetera. It will also give you the ability to contact any Valkyrie at any point, only after you finish the trial. I'll go into full detail of what the AVS can do if you make it back to HQ." Yuri said.

I stood up and noticed an interface show up in front of me.

{Mission: Reach the Astra Valkyrie HQ!}

I decided to spend some time trying to figure out how the system worked. I began to fool around with the options and finally found where my stats were.

{Dante's Stats}

[Rank: F]

[Strength: B]

[Defense: D]

[Stamina: A+]

[Intelligence: S+]

[Speed: C]

[Perks: None]

[Valkyrie Ability: None]

It was a bit creepy to see this system know everything about me in and out. I was pleased to see they got my IQ correct since to be a great CEO you'd need some form of high intelligence. I didn't know how much my intelligence would help me in this case however. I knew nothing of this world, but all I knew was I had to find a way back to HQ and if I could avoid any fight I would.

I walked forward and used a minimap to try and find my way around.

——————

"Let me go and let me see my daddy!" Atalia whined and flailed around.

Grace grunted as she guarded herself from Atalia temper tantrum. "This brat is getting annoying!"

"Well we did separate her from Dante, and she has already grown a bit attached to him since he did take her in, however we can not make this easy for him. If he wants to prove his innocence, we will need to properly test him. For now let's just keep watch." Yuri said as she sat in the control center of HQ and watched me while eating a donut.

Komine tried to give Atalia a toy to play with to keep her occupied, but Atalia threw the toy back at Komine and cried out. Komine grunted and blocked the toy being thrown at her then sighed.

"There's no calming her down, so let's just allow her to tire herself out." Komine sighed and began to ignore Atalia.

Yuri nodded and continued to watch me. She zoomed in on me and sat back in her chair and smirked. "At night time is when the Shadows appear. I wonder how well he will do against these fiends."

——————

I walked around a forest and noticed humanoid shadow creatures rise from the ground. They were ink blank in color with glowing yellow eyes. They surrounded me and I looked around, seeing how outnumbered I was.

I grunted then ran off. They began to give me a chase and rushed after me. I noticed a few swinging from tree to tree to get after me.

"Goddamn, these things are desperate for a kill..!" I said then dodged an attack. I had no choice but to fight them off. I chose my weapon of choice and summoned my sword and shield.

They ran toward me and the first Shadow went for an attack, but I used my shield to block the attack then pushed it back then swung my sword at the Shadow, but it blocked the attack and countered with a powerful slash with its claws. I groaned and stumbled backwards.

Another Shadow appeared behind me and kicked me forward then a third tackled me to the ground. They began to pile on top of me and suffocate me. I tried to break free, but the sheer number of them didn't allow me to.

I heard magic bolts behind fired and soon the number of Shadows was reduced to zero. I gasped for air and panted then coughed.

"Hey are you alright?" A woman asked as she walked toward me. She stopped when she noticed me. "A man..?"

I slowly stood up and looked at the woman who saved me.

She had clear skin, pointed elven ears, purple eyes, and long silver hair tied into a low ponytail. Her body was behind covered with an ornate white cloak. She had the Astra Valkyrie symbol on her cloak so it was easy to make the connections.

"Thank you." I said, expressing my gratitude toward her.

She stared at me and smiled. "It's strange for a man to be out and about adventuring like this. Let me take you to my cabin for the night."

"Are you sure?" I asked.

"Yes. Now come on before more Shadows attack." The woman said then walked away.

I had no choice but to follow her as there was no alternatives. "So who are you?"

"My name is Fhaertala Raloris, but you can just call me Fhae for short." Fhae said and looked back at me. "And you are?"

"I'm Dante. Dante Knight." I answered.

"Dante. I've heard your name before. You're lucky you ran into me since I am on a mission. I am planning to head back tomorrow morning, so it works out for the both of us. Don't worry, I'm not gonna bite your head off." Fhae said and smiled.

I nodded and continued to follow her. With Cornelia and Fhae, it was like a breath of fresh air from the usual passive aggressiveness I've been dealing with since I got here, but I was still cautious as I didn't know what Yuri truly had planned within this trial. I had to stay on my toes just in case anything happened.