Chapter Five: Under Disguise

Lyrica began watching the videos on the front entrance where enemies remained scattered. Cassandra successfully recovers the system of the Matrix Floor, while Valerie gets rid of the other humans who's covering from the distance.

The only problem is the battleship that was parked beside their island, yet she still couldn't believe how many soldiers were sent. Few were slaughtered in the Matrix Floor but the enemy soldier hadn't decreased. 

She breathed out and sat on a chair, her eyes watching every camera surveying the whole parameter of the island. The enemies thought their tactics well, it's unpredictable and well made but they've forgotten to conceal themselves.

Forgotten? Or intentionally? She's not sure, their patterns were difficult to follow. However, she's sure as well that this movement is sketchy whatever she thinks. 

"Cassandra here, major, we've recovered half of the damaged systems but there are others which had been destroyed."

She nodded. "Good work, you can regroup with Valerie now."

"Major, Seven had yet recovered. Her condition isn't worse, but her system is being manipulated. We need, Sir Caleb."

Another report was sent to her in shivers. She's trying to wake Seven up in order to recover the system fully, but she couldn't wake up due to mind manipulation. The only one who could fix her was Caleb, their owner. 

Caleb was not present, he went back to Armenia after being summoned by Ares. He told his Valkyrie that if something happened, they'll contact him through various means. 

One of them is through Espers to Aria. 

She breathed out and nodded. Her hands reached a small white marble that she ate. The white marble then was consumed—in shock, her body didn't show any signs of effect, since the white marble is a mermaid tear made to give enough energy in order to contact Aria.

"We have an emergency, Seven is down, we were being attacked and our protection barrier was cut off. We need you right now, master, please return at once!"

Once the message was sent, her entire body went paralyzed but how could she feel? She didn't, she only felt numb like it was nothing. Her body is made of metal, but it can also give pain, feel pain, give numbness, feel numbness but the owner of the body wouldn't be feeling that sensation as long as she's made of metal. 

However, in cases, the Valkyrie was given that sensation through the weirdest way possible. 

"Major, are you alright?" One of her crew team asked. 

"Yes, a small price to use this ability is better than doing nothing at all."

She nodded and proceeded with her own job. She looked at the screen and shifted her gaze. Even mechanical robots can feel pain, but they've gotten used to it that the pain they endured won't have any effects. 

It's like the pain of being stabbed in a human body, it bleeds and causes pain, so the owner of the body will feel more pain than it ever felt. In Lyrica's difference, this pain doesn't matter like being stabbed and acting like nothing happened.

She didn't care at all, because her priorities lead to the survival of her girl who was sent on the battlefield in the corpse of life between death. They'll encounter humans in advance of their capability and lose to it. 

However, unlike the other Valkyries, Lyrica and the other prototype are different. Two functions of Valkyrie were separated, one is a basic model who was made no different than a human, and there is the first creation, prototypes who can exceed that expectations. 

In the circle of the Valkyrie prototypes, they have rankings followed by up to down. Lyrica might be the major of all Valkyrie but in the prototype ranking, she is only second. 

The first one isn't a prototype, she's a promised distress, a walking ticking bomb. The prototype was made for her, so in the ranking, Lyrica is second and Cassandra comes third. 

Valerie is on the top of the 7th circle of prototypes. The other remains, including Seven in fifth ranking. There are only two prototypes left in the island, the others were sent across the globe to find something that Ares asked them, while Seven was left offline. 

Lyrica, and Cassandra is the only one who can defeat higher and powerful enemies—including Valerie. 

At the battleship, looking at them, it might not be an easy fight after all. "Zoom at that guy on the battleship," she said. 

In this world, humans do have their wonders but what about demons possessing a human body? It's a myth, for humans to think so but for Armenia, this myth is reality. Demons had ways to conquer Armenia, and one of those deeds is possession of a mortal body. 

Humans are fragile beings as well, they can be easily manipulated, and possessed. 

"That can't be right," she thought and looked at it once more. 

Demons are cunning influencers, they have the ability to tarnish your own capability of thinking and pull you to the dark path. They surround you like glue in a wood, unable to let go, they are evil and bad. 

It's been awhile since one has run lose, those demons are the reason why Valkyrie had to slaughter human beings, because once they get possessed, the only thing to free them was either you and your mind or a force of change, but there is a stage where a demon consumes everything inside of you and lose your own body—that is where a slaughter is necessary. 

"This is possession?" She asked herself, how could she tell? Valkyries were equipped with the ability to see demons inside or outside. A red mist contains a vague demon's presence, while white is pure and black is rotten. 

And that demon has a red and black presence feeling inside of a human's body. "It's possible," she once again thought.

"Everyone, a demon possession seems to have happened. Be careful of the enemies, they might have secret weapons left under their sleeves."

They need to be careful from now on. 

---⌜•••⌟---

She carefully looked at the fragile metal scattered around the entrance gate. The battle between the defense Valkyrie and the humans took longer than expected.

It was a complete mess, the vague sight of a battlefield that was once a beauty, and the scene which can't be forgotten. "Valerie, a demon has gotten loose, go get rid of it before humanity loses."

She exclaimed. "Roger," she replied and left the scene. 

The enemy had formed in a different group of categories. So Valerie and Cassandra will meet up once Cassandra takes care of all the enemies inside the Matrix Floor. 

Her priorities now are to get into the enemy's battleship and kill the enemy's boss who was thought to be possessed. Also, according to her scans, it seems that the demon was not just one but an absolute five of them in total. 

The Armenian gates to Human Realm can't be permanently closed unless all of those who have stayed in the Human Realm will go back to Armenia then the gates can be closed. That is the reason demons had run amok outside Armenia, now if Valerie and Caleb were to go back, then the Human Realm's gate will be closed permanently. 

She realizes that the existence of Armenians in this world will put humanity in-danger. The law of the universe cannot be reversed, as weakly as humans are to those who live inside Armenia—is completely different.

Humans are weak and mortals can wield magic which humans can't do. They lack stigma, and their body can't handle the pressure of Armenia, the wind is different to the Human Realm, and Armenia doesn't lack in anything as humans do. 

Just a small bow can take down a human, but Armenia's body can survive 5 arrows and 10 attacks. Humans will eventually lose their life with just one shot from a gun, that is the difference between a mortal's body and a human's body. 

They can be possessed as easily as a pie can be eaten by two hands. 

Once she reaches her destination, she hides against the wall while she's scanning the area's where the enemies had gathered. She silently lifted her gaze while trying to not get caught.

"Major," she whispers. "Can you send me the enemies location on the battleships surrounding, my censor couldn't pick anything at that distance."

Lyrica looked at the videos and nodded. "Copy that," she said and pulled the screen keyboard beside the monitor. She then clicked various keys before the map came alive, she then carefully wrote a code and everything in the map appeared. 

"Valerie, you'll be meeting humans like Angelica on your way so be careful, she's not the only one," said Lyrica and she sent the map to Valerie. 

She nodded. "I'll keep that in mind, major."

The map stated that the enemies are close to her hiding spot. If she wants no interference, they can be a little messy to handle. She opened her earpiece once again and snored. 

"Cassandra, are you done with your mission?"

"Briefly, we'll be there in a second, some of your team also will regroup with us before we fully attack."

She looks at the enemies who're standing just near her and then she changes direction to avoid anyone.

"Hurry, I am on stealth," she responded back and sat on the floor. 

She then rested her back on the wall and unequipped her weapons. This day will be longer, and it will be the toughest time for most humans, they will lose their soldiers in the process.

Valkyries can be repaired but human life cannot.