Taking a look around, she seemed to have realized that Mira and Selestina were having a special training session.
“Selestina. Did you come to consult with Master on that matter we spoke about the other day?”
What’s more, from what she could see going on, she’d even guessed what exactly they were doing. She then turned to Selestina and gave her a look as if she was half impressed and half jealous…or rather, ten percent impressed and ninety percent jealous. Meanwhile, underneath her withering gaze, Selestina looked away and answered, “Yes,” with a nod.
“I do apologize for my sister bothering you like this. And I thank you for giving her your time,” Alfina said, kneeling formally.
Having watched over her sister’s efforts from the sidelines, she appeared to be pleased from the bottom of her heart that Mira had helped her rekindle her hopes. But, of course, that wasn’t all.
“Master, if you’re doing special training, then please allow me to join as well!” Alfina said with a bow. The hand she held the sacred sword in was shaking.
While she felt that it was a bit too forward to ask Mira to join her in training, Selestina had set a precedent. And so, figuring she might ask as well, Alfina had boldly stepped forward.
Hearing what Alfina had said, Mira looked toward Selestina to see what they should do.
Selestina was in a panic as she considered what’d happen if the training drill sergeant known as Alfina were to join. Thinking as much, it was no surprise that she was so flustered. However, judging from the vibe Alfina was giving off now, rejecting her offer would quite obviously mean bigger trouble later.
“I don’t mind, but this is special technique training. And seeing as you’re already quite competent in that area, I don’t think you’d get much out of it,” Mira said, gently implying that even if Alfina did join she didn’t really need the training since she’d already perfected such techniques.
And a brighter and brighter expression shone on Alfina’s face when she heard this.
“That’s perfect! I was actually just thinking about whether I could come up with any new techniques using this sacred sword you bestowed on me!” Alfina said enthusiastically, suggesting that the timing couldn’t have been better.
Apparently, even though she’d only just received the sword, she’d already gotten the hang of using it. And now, she’d begun doing a deep dive into what kinds of special techniques she could use.
“I-I see… Well, in that case, sure. You two can train together. But on one condition…”
When it came to preserving Selestina’s mental health, it would be better for the two of them to train separately. But Alfina had a legitimate reason, and she was so fired up that it wouldn’t be possible to cool her down. And so, Mira gave her permission to train with them on one condition.
That condition was that Mira would be in charge. Selestina seemed to nonverbally communicate to Mira that with Alfina in charge, it would no doubt transform into a hellish training session, and so Mira added this stipulation. Meanwhile, far from being disappointed, Alfina’s mood seemed to only brighten further. Apparently this was because she now felt as if she’d be getting taught by her master.
How do I put it…? This all feels a bit nostalgic.
She, Soul Howl, Meilin, Lastrada, and Wallenstein had all worked on developing special techniques together once upon a time. Thinking back on that day, she said, “All right, then how about we get started?” before turning eagerly to face the pair.
Things were proceeding smoothly with developing Selestina’s special technique. Contrary to what Mira had expected, things actually took a turn for the better once Alfina joined them. It seemed as if Mira’s decision to have Alfina take the holy knights’ place was bearing fruit. Because Alfina was more skilled at blocking Selestina’s blows, it became very clear which attacks would work and which wouldn’t.
Another explanation could be that she was taking more of an interest in Selestina’s weapon skills. During normal mock battles, Selestina would be hit with a devastating counterattack if she left herself open. But this time, Alfina could only point out what Selestina had done wrong with her words. This was per Mira’s instructions, of course.
Likely thanks to years of hard work and dedication, the fiercely determined Selestina’s blade shone brilliantly during this session.
Now, while this was going on, Alfina’s special training was happening as well. While not much time had passed since she’d entrusted the sacred sword to her, Alfina could already draw out Sanctia’s power without the slightest flaw.
While she dodged Selestina’s vicious attacks, the sword spun in her hand toward the ashen knights which Mira had positioned.
A sound as clear as a bell then rang out, and there was a flash of light, from which a rainbow-colored streak followed. What’s more, thanks to one of Sanctia’s special effects, this streak then exploded. While the sacred sword itself was quite sharp, this special effect substantially increased Alfina’s attack power.
It was, in fact, a master-level technique. From a seemingly impossible position, she’d leveled a mighty slash that went flying toward the ashen knights.
And yet, being ashen knights, they withstood the attack quite impressively. These armor spirits, which were capable of learning and were also being deployed by the military, had now learned from fighting against Alfina and her sword. Furthermore, the ashen knights, which were a mix of holy knights and dark knights, had inherited the techniques used by holy knights. On top of that, they could make use of Sanctia as well.
Even if she went up against the improved ashen knights, they wouldn’t prove to be much of a challenge one-on-one. But now, she also had to deal with a weapons master like Selestina, who was going at her full-bore and not worrying about defense whatsoever. Sure enough, fighting them while having to dodge all of Selestina’s attacks wasn’t easy, not even for her.
On top of that, she wasn’t only fighting one ashen knight. Mira had summoned three of them and put them in a defensive position such that they would work together to help each other, making it even more of a challenge.
Hrmm… I guess they’ve been pretty evenly matched. But come to think of it, they really are quite powerful. They’ve sure grown a lot since the old days.
Perhaps finding the training to be a bit nostalgic, Mira thought back on the first time she came to Valhalla. She remembered how the seven Valkyrie sisters, who were now the foremost Valkyries in all of First Valhalla, were just ordinary, not particularly powerful Valkyries back then.
She’d first come to Valhalla as Danblf in order to make an evocation contract with the Valkyries. Then, having easily cleared the trial required to do so, she’d had her prowess noted by multiple sets of sisters.
However, there was a limit to how many Valkyries one could make a contract with. Even someone as skilled as Danblf could only make a contract with two or three sets of Valkyries.
Of all the skilled sets of sisters arrayed before him, Danblf had chosen only the seven Valkyrie sisters, those being Alfina and her sisters, whose skills still had yet to truly blossom.
And yet, there were several sets of sisters who were already endowed with skills that made them ready for battle. However, it was what Alfina and her sisters said that truly resonated with Danblf. Unlike the other sets of sisters, who had merely detailed what they each were capable of, Alfina and her sisters had simply said that they wanted to get stronger together. This just so happened to be precisely what Danblf had been looking for.
And so, after making a contract together, Danblf and Alfina and her sisters fought in all kinds of battles and faced off against all kinds of foes. Thanks to the defensive abilities afforded by using evocation, the sisters had even been able to throw themselves into some nearly impossible battles, which just might have been even more grueling than Alfina’s training.
However, the seven sisters, whose prowess in battle hadn’t been particularly notable, had swiftly developed their skills, thanks to this. By now, they’d grown enough that they could take their place at the very top of First Valhalla.
Now that I think about it, these two have always fought on the front lines since back then, huh?
Alfina and Selestina had sharpened their skills even further from when Mira had been Danblf. Though they were only training, the tension in the air was palpable every time their swords crossed. And at every moment, one could clearly see just how much skill and experience they’d built up over the years.
“Listen, Selestina. This is something my weapons master taught me. No matter how skillful an opponent is, they’ll leave themselves open the moment they attack. And the technique that you’re trying to learn follows this same principle.”
“Got it!”
Feeling a tad sentimental while she mused that they had indeed gotten stronger together, Mira occasionally offered the two advice as she observed their training session.