Act 1: Fire Valkyrie's New Beginning Part 3

**Act 1: Fire Valkyrie's New Beginning Part 3** is the third chapter of *The Rise of Luna Nova Valkyries*, the first story of *Little Witch Academia: Witches of Midgard*.

## Summary

*Guided by Diana, Akko summons her Valkyrie Armor in a bid to assist the heiress in combating their new enemy, but will that be enough?*

## Full Recap

"I'm sorry for troubling you by carrying me to that Spire and back, Professor Nelson."

"Don't sweat it, Professor Callistis. It's important to look out for each other in times of need, especially during these difficult times."

Ursula and Nelson, who have improved Northern and Southeast Sentinel Spires respectively, made haste for the academy's main building shortly after being informed about Diana and Mr. Castellanos' situation. The French professor's trip would've been easier if she still had the ability to fly with her broom. But thanks to Wagandea's pollen, Nelson had to lend her a ride for such occasion.

The two arrived in time to see Akko and Diana confronting Turid with Lotte and Sucy watching from one of the cafeteria's destroyed windows. Ursula and Nelson shared a nod before rushing for their students' side only to be stopped by the High Valkyrie who suddenly appeared in front of them in a puff of smoke.

"Wait!"

A closer look at what the brunette and the heiress were up to was more than enough to explain why. Curiously, Turid stopped her advance for the same reason.

"How do I do that, then?", Akko asked urgently.

"First, repeat this as you swipe your hand over that Bracelet: *Venta Herkleda*", Diana instructed.

"*Venta Herkleda*", Akko exclaimed while abrasively running her palm against her red Valkyrie Bracelet simultaneously.

A blade of emerald sparks extended from the Bracelet, much to the brunette's surprise.

"Now, quickly! Draw a circle above your head with that blade", Diana continued.

"Like this?", Akko asked before did as she told to, creating a nearly perfect halo of similar sparks above her head and dissipating her Bracelet's energy blade in the process.

The halo of sparks momentarily fizzled in the air before solidifying into a shape resembling Luna Nova insignia; a large circle with three barbs arranged in triangular formation. Almost without warning, a beam of light shone upon the Japanese witch-in-training from it.

Threads of bright green light followed soon after, wrapping themselves about Akko as they both assimilated her tattered uniform and formed a new apparel in its place. Simultaneously, a helmet landed on top of her head, its visor fell over her eyes. Metal plates assembled about the still materializing garment afterwards with a series of rapid clanks. Finally, a pair of trailing ribbons each ended with a barbed ring resembling Luna Nova's insignia materialized as the completed suit of armor's neon emerald meridians shone intensely.

=ᚢᛁᛐᛍᚼᛂᛌ ᚮᚠ ᛘᛁᛑᚵᛆᚱᛑ=

The horned Farbjodr stopped in its tracks and raised its head, noticing the bright light from Akko's transformation. It was as if a switch had been flipped inside the monster's head that it no longer interested in fighting Luna Nova's minotaur custodian; rather it completely ignored him and rushed toward the source of light in question.

"Hey, where the hell you think you going?!", Mr. Castellanos exclaimed before giving chase, visibly panicked knowing his opponent headed straight to the main building of Luna Nova.

=ᚢᛁᛐᛍᚼᛂᛌ ᚮᚠ ᛘᛁᛑᚵᛆᚱᛑ=

Once the process was done, Akko was allowed to take a look on the suit of armor which newly equipped on her. It greatly resembled Diana's albeit less ornate and sported red, gold, and white color scheme. Its pauldrons pointed upward, each of its tassets consisted of a single piece which reached past the bottom of her tunic, and its sabatons and greaves had more simplistic look. On each end of its back ribbons was a large barbed ring shaped after Luna Nova insignia which sharp protrusions glow in emerald color — the same color of the armor's meridian lines. Judging from their appearance, the rings apparently could be used as improvised weapons instead of mere decorations.

Ursula, Nelson, Alvilda, Diana, Lotte, and Sucy looked on in awe. Surprisingly, so did Turid.

"For a moment, I presumed you are just another non-factor like the idiot with pompadour hair earlier. And then, I saw you standing there beside your girlfriend, I realized you are really her, the former wielder of Claiomh Solais everyone talked about."

Despite the intense moment, both girls' cheeks turned bright red upon such remark. "G-g-girlfriend?!", Akko stammered.

"Wait, are you two girlfriends or something?", Turid blinked, mildly puzzled by Akko and Diana's reaction from her teasing before decided to let that slide. "Regardless, I shall take those Bracelets of yours along with the rest by force and ensure you won't become a future problem to our cause!"

Faster than either Akko or Diana could follow, Turid hurled a salvo of conjured icicles at the two with a wave of her Talisman of Three Elements. The Japanese witch-in-training responded by casting the only spell she could think of at the moment.

"*Metamorphie Fociesse!*"

In mere seconds before they could reach both the heiress and the armored brunette, the projectiles turned into a murder of cartoonish-looking, glowing blue crows that flew up to the night sky in flashes of bright green light, leaving everyone, even Alvilda and Turid, stunned.

"You must be joking", Nelson bummed.

"Maybe you should have picked a better spell than that, Akko", Diana snarked.

"Wait for it... ", Akko smirked.

The crows flew back toward the confused female acolyte. As they did, their cartoonish form suddenly turned skeletal and engulfed in fiery emerald aura before gaining speed. Startled, and realizing they were about to dive toward her in a suicidal charge, Turid wasted no time swinging her Talisman of Three Elements 360 degrees, generating a dome of thick solid ice around herself for protection. The skeletal birds detonated upon impact, engulfing the dome in a multitude of magic shrapnel explosions.

A chunk of the ice dome flew toward Alvilda and Ursula who casually side-stepped out of the way, unlike Nelson who frantically scrambled for cover.

"What the —? I thought she wanted to make that tentacled freak laugh or something", Nelson exclaimed incredulously.

"Definitely not. Akko casted Metamorphosis Magic as a form of surprise counterattack", Ursula explained.

"I get it. Their initially cartoonish look was deliberate to lower her guard", Sucy nodded thoughtfully.

"Do you think she overdid that? I don't think anyone can survive it", Lotte asked, unsettled by the damage their roommate inflicted upon Turid's icy defense.

"I call that one Nasty Fowl", Akko stated proudly. "To think I got the idea from my favorite video games. Were they... *Wizards of Aldrheim 2* and *Unsaid*?"

"Either way, such display of Metamorphosis Magic was as remarkable as being unexpected, Akko", Diana praised. "Although, that kind of tactic won't likely work against her for a second time."

A faint green glow seeped through the gray cloud of smoke and ashes where the female acolyte stood at, which soon followed by a blast of wind dispelling it from within, revealing Turid who mostly unharmed apart from her slightly tattered tunic and long stockings as well as minor bruises and a scratch on her right cheek.

"Heheh, you got me there, Fire Valkyrie", Turid smiled. "You seemed to be not as skilled as the Cavendish, but you *do* know how to go all-out with such simple spell." She then whipped out a triangular object from her duster's pouch that caught Sucy's attention.

"I-Is that...?", the Manbavaran gasped.

The female acolyte slammed the triangular object against the back of her left hand, embedding it. From it, icy blue magic coursed through her in the manner that the power seemingly burned her from inside out. At the same time, a cloud of gleaming black dust issued from the object before enveloping her whole body in a suit of armor of her own, all while integrating her clothes into it.

It was a peculiar-looking suit of armor, one which nothing like those crafted by any known civilization in Midgard. Sporting black, grey, and dark blue color scheme, plates that made up the armor were crudely fashioned out of some sort of volcanic glass instead of metal. The crested, full-face helmet was shaped after squid mantle and its face was featureless save for a jagged visor to see through. Worn over a black full bodysuit was a short-sleeved tunic outfitted with a five-piece breastplate, a pair of multi-pieced pauldrons, and a belt to hold diamond shaped tassets secured by a two-piece rectangular plate as sort of buckler. Encasing her arms and hands were a pair of bracers and gloves with clawed fingers along with the triangular object from which the entire set manifested. On her legs were a pair of greaves with pointy flat protrusion to protect the knee and a pair of sabatons with split-toes. Thin, jagged blade could be seen adoring each sabaton and bracer that seemingly just for show.

Lastly, much like Akko's Valkyrie Armor, the armor set sported similarly prominent meridian glows where in this case, icy blue and magenta; the latter was attributed to a diamond-shaped object embedded into the breastplate as both shone in the same color.

"What the hell is that?!", Akko gasped in disbelief.

"Be careful, you two! I bet she is encased in Blackstone Armor", Sucy warned grimly.

"You know that armor, Sucy?", Diana raised an eyebrow, bewildered by the Manbavaran's familiarity with Turid's summoned Armor.

"Yes. I've always wanted to see one of those. I mean... you know... somewhere", Sucy nodded, stammering in her last few words before calling the female acolyte out, "Have you lost your mind?! The price of that armor will extract from its wearer is dire. From the moment you wear it, its power will —"

"Consume you that you lived on borrowed time as the result?", Turid guessed with a soft, amused chuckle before casually prying off the triangular trinket from her hand, dispelling her entire armor set which then absorbed by it in glass dust-like form. "Unfortunately for you, that only applied to obsolete models which also turn you into some hideous-looking berserker. Mine on the other hand, is the *real* answer for your friend's new dress over there."

Re-materializing her Blackstone Armor by slamming the trinket back to her hand, Turid stated firmly to the armored brunette and the heiress while ignoring the speechless Sucy, "Now then, let's get this over with."

Splaying her hand, the armored female acolyte mentally called her forgotten ice twinblade into her grasp and charged to continue their duel, prompting Akko and Diana to do the same. The heiress split her twinblade into a pair of shortswords in both hands whereas the brunette conjured a slightly curved, katana-esque blade of solid magic about the collapsible length of her wand.

That was when Akko noticed something off.

Although clad in some kind of metal armor, she curiously felt as light as a feather. Her steps didn't appear to have any kind of weight to them and more importantly, she managed to reach their opponent before Diana did and parry every single one of Turid's lightning-fast tentacle assaults all in the blink of an eye. Both combatants momentarily caught off-guard by this, though Turid recovered fast enough to deflect the heiress' incoming blows before retreating few steps away from her foes.

"W-what?", Akko looked at herself, barely felt the movements she just made.

Time seemingly slowed down for Akko when the armored female acolyte thrusted one of her bladed tentacles at her direction. Barely registering what she was doing, the armored brunette caught the incoming tentacle with her gloved free hand and yanked it with such force their opponent flew over their heads and to the ground with a loud thud, surprising her because the latter's weight was somehow next to none to her muscles.

"This is... ", finally realizing her superhuman feats were thanks to her Armor's magic, if Ursula's explanation about it earlier was any indication, Akko exclaimed with a wide happy grin, "SO AWESOME!"

"Akko, stay focus!", Diana exclaimed, reminding the armored brunette of their situation at hand just as the recovered Turid retracted her helmet's face plate to reveal black liquid dripping from her mouth.

Akko leaped out of the way when the armored female acolyte spewed forth a jet of ink aimed at the space where she'd been... and found herself crashing into the wall of Luna Nova's main building nearby despite their few meters of separation. Her wand's energy blade dissipated as soon as it fell off her hand.

"Ooh, that's gotta hurt!", Lotte grimaced.

"Do it again! I wasn't looking!", Sucy exclaimed, much to Lotte's annoyance.

Stumbling back, Akko looked up on a barely humanoid-shaped print on the wall she just created when Diana asked worriedly beside her, "Akko, are you okay?"

"Argh, if only this is Hereweald Potter series, I wouldn't make this embarrassing mistake!", Akko groaned indignantly, much to the heiress' confusion.

Though hilarious (Turid was visibly struggling to keep down the urge to smirk), her display of clumsiness reminded Akko that she has yet to fully accustomed with her Valkyrie Armor's magical enhancements. But the humor vanished in the next instant as the horned Farbjodr charged into the scene while bellowing like a raging bull.

Fortunately for both girls, something halted its advance to the point of nearly tumbled own, giving Akko the chance to retrieve her fallen wand. Turning around, the insectoid beast glared at Mr. Castellanos who held onto its centipede-like lower half and started to pull the rest of the creature toward him with all his might.

"Pick. Someone. On. Your size!", the Luna Nova's minotaur custodian emphasized with each pull.

With a defiant snarl at Mr. Castellanos, the horned Farbjodr pulled itself forward with all its might, severing its *entire* lower half which then trashed uncontrollably like a newly severed lizard tail in the clutches of the cursing Luna Nova's minotaur custodian.

"Ahhh! Geez!"

Futile it might be, Mr. Castellanos' attempt to restrain the insectoid beast nevertheless distracted it long enough for Ursula to join the fray with her wand brandished and deliver a spell-enhanced straight kick with her emerald magic-energized leg.

"*Vega Walras!*"

The attack landed square in the horned Farbjodr's face yet the beast wasn't budging — instead of sending it flying, the blow resulted searing yellow cracks to form at the spot where it was struck travelling all the way to its hardened, lava-encrusted front legs which glow in blinding intensity. Slamming them both to the ground with a mighty howl, the creature unleashed a shockwave of vermilion energy that knocked everyone around it off their feet save for Turid and Mr. Castellanos; the former hastily retreated with her bladed tentacles while the latter merely staggered due to barely within the blast radius.

Tossing the still-trashing centipede half of the horned Farbjodr aside, Mr. Castellanos warned everyone as Ursula, Akko, and Diana unsteadily returned to their feet, "Be careful, everyone! That thing's head can absorb the energy from your attacks and turn it back at you!"

"Let's see if it can absorb this", Nelson stated before entering the fight and reciting with her wand aimed at the insectoid beast, "*Aros Craig Gashtana!*"

Spikes made of solid rock erupted around the horned Farbjodr, impaling it and trapping it at the same time. Not taking any chances, Diana followed the suit by reciting her own spell, "*Fineltina la Serana!*"

A dozen of bladed weapons consisting of swords, axes, halberds, spears, and lances made of searing golden sparks materialized above the heiress at once. With a swing of her twinblade, they all slammed into the trapped horned Farbjodr, severely wounding it and damaging its back apparatus.

For a moment, the insectoid beast went limp from the heiress and broom flight instructor's combined attacks. And then, still intact cylindrical protrusions of its back apparatus retracted, resuscitating the horned Farbjodr. Smashing earthen spikes that skewered its battered body, the insectoid beast resumed its advance toward Akko, ignoring grievous wounds and multiple rock shrapnel which impaired it.

"Well, I'm out of ideas", Mr. Castellanos paled, horror-struck by the horned Farbjodr's seemingly unkillable nature.

"That thing is crazy!", the armored brunette groaned exasperatedly.

As the mutilated yet determined horned Farbjodr limped forward, defeating it for Akko and co. seemed hopeless when suddenly, Sucy slid in its path with neutral expression staring up at its fuming, hideous face.

"Excuse me, Mr. Ugly Cow", Sucy greeted casually, prompting it to lean forward so that its snout was only inches from her face. "Open wide."

The horned Farbjodr howled in Sucy's face, which she used as an opportunity to reach into her vest and pull out a vial of venomous-green liquid. "Drink up", all the Manbavaran instructed while dumping its whole contents into the insectoid beast's mouth.

The horned Farbjodr snapped its mouth shut and its compound eyes bulged wider than they already were. It then dropped to the ground, howling and convulsing in agony; its insides began to ripple and bubble like a pot of boiling water before melting completely; its back apparatus violently short circuited, releasing bursts of bluish electrical energy. With nothing to put its brutish form together, the horned Farbjodr fell apart into a heap of shockingly clean exoskeleton and malfunctioning cybernetics (?)

Naturally, everyone except Sucy was taken aback by the gruesome scene before them. Even Mr. Castellanos looked very sick; his face literally turned green in overwhelming nausea.

"Hehehe... I guess it was a little too strong", Sucy cackled with a toothy grin.

"That was... certainly the most gruesome way to vanquish the enemy I ever witnessed", Alvilda stammered.

"Mr. Castellanos, are you okay?", Diana asked worriedly to the Luna Nova's minotaur custodian.

"Nope!", all Mr. Castellanos could squeak before rushing toward nearest bushes and vomiting up his recent meal, much to the others' disgust.

"*Flesh of fire, bone of ice, shroud of lightning, come forth, Elemental Wyrm! Come and serve your mistress!*"

A massive snout burst out of the heaving earth behind the armored female acolyte who raised her Talisman of Three Elements aloft, startling everyone present and reminding them of one last threat to tend to. Akko and co.'s eyes widened in horror as the rest of Turid's summon followed, circling around her defensively as it waited for her command.

Though a mere elemental construct akin to golem under her control instead of a living being, the appearance of Turid's serpentine summon made quite an impression on its summoner's enemies. Assuming the shape of wyrm (a type of limbless, snake-like cousins of the dragons), its body was made of pieces of cooled lava with still-glowing cracks whereas its horned head, teeth, and spines being solid ice. Electrical energy coursed through both the neck and steam cloud around it as sort of defensive mechanism to discourage anyone from getting too close without receiving electrical shock. Akko would have considered it a very awesome spell... if it wasn't used against her and Diana!✓
Uncertain what to do to counter such immensely powerful spell at first, Diana remembered the spare knife-like wand accessory she carried in case of this exact scenario. Procuring it from her belt pouch, she wasted no time to toss it to the armored brunette, "Akko, here!"

Clumsily catching the knife-like wand accessory, Akko wondered, "Diana, what is this?"

"Attach that accessory to your wand. It will grant you access to unique magic you already familiar with", the heiress instructed.

Inserting her wand into the knife-like wand accessory, the armored brunette extended the blade within, resulting both its edge and seven rings to glow in the same color as her Valkyrie Armor's meridian lines. She thought the combined equipment's futuristic appearance already impressive until the manner the rings arranged and warmth emanating from it left her speechless. Both of them brought up memories of something she had lost a short time ago...

"Is this... ", she gasped.

"That's what I meant, Akko. It has same powers as Shiny Rod!", Diana stated firmly.

It was all the explanation she needed to hear. Part of her remained skeptical because she found such idea too good to be true but, it mattered little so long she had something to turn the tide of their battle. Taking a deep breath, she recited the first spell that came into her head:

"***Noctu Orfei Aude Fraetor!***"

The top most ring flashed gold, and both her wand and the extended accessory broke down into tiny pieces which then rearranged into a familiar gilded bow with string of emerald light — a configuration greatly resembled Shiny Rod's Shiny Bow albeit retaining its black, grey, and white color scheme as well as rings in place of orbs. Alarmed by this, the armored female acolyte swayed her Talisman of Three Elements forward, sending the roaring elemental wyrm to slither its way upon her enemies.

And still, Akko did not flinch or back away despite the imminent danger. Pulling the string, she materialized an arrow of lime-green energy and furrowed her brow while aiming at the summoned beast. Simultaneously, a shroud of electrical energy manifested around the elemental wyrm's head as sort of barrier to repel anything that would hinder its advance, though she knew better such defense won't do any good against the power within the arrow she set loose, yelling her best hope to the heavens;

"***Shiny ARC!***"

The green arrow and the conjured beast clashed as a shockwave tore through Luna Nova grounds. In the ensuing struggle, Akko's spell eventually pierced through both the latter's lightning barrier and horned head but, it didn't stop right there; the arrow also dragged the elemental wyrm with it while soaring toward Turid who, in her panic, swung her Talisman of Three Elements once again. A massive wall of ice erupted in front of her, intercepting them both and causing the arrow to violently burst into a shower of colorful fireworks.

Looking at the fireworks in the child-like wonderment not unlike during the time she watched Shiny Chariot's show in Japan all those years ago and later, hers and Diana's final cast of Shiny Arc via. Grand Triskellion-empowered Shiny Rod against Noir Rod, Akko never thought she'd ever casted any of Seven Words of Arcturus again. The display was not as brilliant however, but still something to behold.

"Whoa... W-was that Shiny Arc? I thought you need Shiny Rod to perform the Seven Words", Lotte wondered as she and Sucy finally approached their roommate.

"How does that wand accessory have the same power as Shiny Rod?", Sucy added.

"That's because Valkyrie Blade's construction being derived from extensive studies conducted on Shiny Rod's magic by best witch-blacksmiths of Thapoli a long time ago", Diana explained on Akko's behalf. "They were among very few who truly succeeded in replicating its wondrous powers, but even the Blade's version pales in comparison." She then glanced at the armored brunette, "I presumed you noticed it when you utilized the power of Shiny Arc through that Blade. Is that correct, Akko?"

"Yeah. Even the way it transformed looked different", Akko responded as the gilded bow reverted to its previous composite equipment form, her slight disappointment did little to quell the awe she felt. "But who cares if it's a knock-off? I can use Shiny Chariot's magic through this just like with Shiny Rod. Yay~!"

"Actually, it is Shiny Rod's proper man-made counterpart", Ursula corrected.

Just then, jets of steam poured out of Akko's Valkyrie Armor, and its wearer knew it wasn't a good sign. "Oh no. I'm about to reach my time limit, am I?"

"Calm down, Akko. You just have to hit the symbol on your Bracelet to take it off", Ursula urgently instructed.

"Hit the symbol?", Akko repeated frantically, but nonetheless calmly pulled her left sleeve and did as she told to with the bottom of her wand.

A loud clank and a flash of emerald light later, Akko's Valkyrie Armor disengaged; its parts were sucked into the rift from where they came above its wearer, leaving the brunette back in her tattered uniform. "Whew, that was close."

"Everyone, on your guard! The fight isn't over yet."

True to Alvilda's warning, the dust settled to reveal battered yet still standing Turid whose magenta tentacles reduced into stumps of varying length and summoned Armor damaged in some parts... along with something else which floating in front of her; a tall figure clad in gleaming black, grey, and blue armor whose Talisman of Three Elements raised to maintain a fractured barrier made of yellow magic together.

The interloper's suit of armor was certainly the same type as the female acolyte's own, though it had baggy trousers in place of long stockings. Its breastplate, diamond-shaped pauldrons, greaves, and split-toed sabatons were bulkier than three-piece tassets, crotch plate, and *sode*-like plating below pauldron that normal-sized. The Blackstone Armor's more distinct features however, were a crested helmet with a pair of stag-like horns and featureless face save for a glowing visor; and a cloak which hood fused into the helmet and secured by each pauldron's diamond-shaped emblem.

"It can't be", Diana gasped, not believing what she saw before her eyes.

"There's only one Naglfar acolyte who clad in such distinct Blackstone Armor: Erik the Ageless, otherwise known as The Seax", Alvilda muttered grimly.

"Erik the Ageless?", Akko repeated curiously.

"My predecessor Diane Cavendish's arch-nemesis and one of two founders of Naglfar", Diana explained. "Whereas Hvedrung assumed leadership over the cult until his eventual assassination, Erik dedicated himself on developing many of its assets from Farbjodar to magitek equipment reverse-engineered from those of dark elves of Svartálfheim. Honorable yet ruthless and driven in his pursuit to revive Naglfar after its dissolution by the end of Thapoli-Naglfar War, nobody expected him to be a highly capable leader and formidable magic-user despite his former position as the cult's head researcher, let alone the fact that he discovered the way to make himself immortal."

The Blackstone Armor-clad interloper stared intently at Luna Nova witches and their allies, Akko in particular, then nodded with a deep, throbbing voice, "I see... So, the rumors about her are true, after all." He then helped Turid standing up while reprimanding her, "You weren't cautious enough, The Twinblade. Those who mastered Claiomh Solais are more than capable of harnessing the power of Valkyrie Blade at its fullest."

"I know that much without you telling me", Turid responded before recalling on Colborn's duel against Asger. "What about Priest Colborn? Is he still in one piece?"

"Yes. You can thank the twins for that", The Seax nodded. "Our business here has been concluded. It's time to fall back now."

"Except those Bracelets that I resorted to Plan B so we still have something for our accomplice", the armored female acolyte pointed out indignantly.

Glancing at the trees, The Seax suddenly called out, "It's pointless to try to ambush us, the killing Pomokai Holoholona! I can feel your bloodlust from a mile away."

The hidden Pomokai Holoholona remained silent, but nonetheless stepped out of the hiding and revealed himself to be Asger. He looked battered from the fight against Colborn earlier, for much of his scars had been reopened and his right arm had been reduced into still-regenerating stump. Yet neither hindered him as he approached the two armored acolytes with sword drawn and sneered, "And I thought you are cowering in your lab like you usually do."

Regenerating her magenta tentacles, Turid raised them along with her ice twinblade to confront Asger, but The Seax gestured her to stand down and told the squirrel-like Pomokai Holoholona, "Save your strength for your future battles. You won't stand a chance against us while in that shape."

Turning to Luna Nova witches and their allies, The Seax stated to them, "I must admit that Luna Nova has such remarkable defenses as expected from being one of Nine Hags' greatest legacies." His calculating gaze fixed at Akko as he continued, "Even though you only have elements of surprise in your disposal to overcome my protégé here, I sensed that you will fare better than your late predecessor. A formidable warrior bests among my fellow acolytes had a hard time fighting against."

"You want to get to her, you must go through me!", Ursula warned threateningly, throwing an arm protectively over Akko.

"And me, The Seax!", Harr barked, entering the scene and levitating beside Luna Nova witches and their allies with a pair of seaxes on his talons held in reverse grip. The hawk-like Pomokai Holoholona then stated exasperatedly to his allies, "My apologies for being late. Professor Finnelan and I had an unexpected bug problem in the sewers while inspecting the area's security."

"A Farbjodar pack?", Diana guessed.

"I'm afraid so. Judging from their small numbers, those bugs must be scouts deployed to fully map Luna Nova's sewers while everyone is distracted", Harr explained grimly. "Thankfully, we managed to eradicate every last one of them before they could finish their work."

The two armored Naglfar acolytes' reaction upon hearing the hawk-like Pomokai Holoholona's report to his comrades was the most surprising. Turid turned to The Seax just as he muttered in disbelief, "A Farbjodar pack beside ours?"

A series of explosions suddenly went off at the south of the academy's main building, startling Luna Nova witches and their allies — a cue for The Seax and Turid to make their leave. The two levitated off the ground, their armored forms enveloped by conjured shrouds of static electricity and cold mist respectively.

"Heed this, Luna Nova! Tonight's attack marked the beginning of our second attempt to end the legacy of Nine Olde Witches. We, Acolytes of Naglfar, have left our mark for you all to see as means to prove our point", The Seax declared. "And to those who wished not to fight us — "

The older acolyte was interrupted by Asger who recklessly leaped toward him and his protégé, alarming Harr who could only hollered, "Asger, no!"

It was too late. The disgusted Turid intercepted him mid-air by impaling the squirrel-like Pomokai Holoholona with her bladed tentacles before continued The Seax's declaration, "Stay out of our way."

With those final threatening words, The Seax and Turid flew off into the night, but not before the latter hurled the crippled Asger aside. Ursula and Akko wasted no time to save the squirrel-like Pomokai Holoholona with their respective spell:

"*Pleis Capama!*"

"***Llyonne!***"

A large orb of magic encapsulated Asger and slowed his fall, followed by tendrils of golden light from the rings of Akko's Valkyrie Blade phasing through the sphere and healing his wounds. The tendrils hastened the regeneration of the squirrel-like Pomokai Holoholona's stump also.

Ursula dispelled the orb to release the newly restored Asger with Harr approaching him just as Akko used the remaining power of the Blade's Sixth Word on Diana. "Nope! No talking! You're still injured, remember?", the Japanese witch-in-training stated matter-of-factly to the heiress before she could say anything.

Diana saw no point of arguing with Akko. Her wounds might be not as awful as the latter attested, but they still need immediate treatment regardless. If warmth and receding pain on her ribs and collarbone were any indication, they must be broken from crashing into the cafeteria earlier.

"I'll go check on the fire. Hopefully it's not too bad", Nelson stated before non-verbally taking off with her magic broom to see the situation.

"The mark he talked about, that must be The Mark of Mistletoe, isn't it?", Sucy wondered, earning her a glance from older witches.

"We studied a bit about everything you told us earlier at the library, Professor Ursula", Akko explained on Sucy's behalf.

Harr reprimanded his comrade as the latter straightened himself up, "That was what you get from recklessly attacking those two head on, Thane Asger! You should be lucky she healed you with such high-tier spell."

"She humiliated me when she did it", Asger spat forcefully before narrowing his eyes on both Akko and Diana. "I already told you the Bracelet on that brat's hand had chosen a wrong person as much as the other two, yet you dragged her into our fight against Naglfar and even lend her one of your Valkyrie Blades. What do you have to say for yourself, Cavendish?"

"It wasn't her fault! I had to help her because she was severely outmatched", Akko barked vehemently, throwing herself between the heiress and the furious squirrel-like Pomokai Holoholona.

"It's true! Had it not for Akko, Diana would've been a goner already", Lotte added.

"These young women spoke the truth. I saw the whole thing myself", Alvilda stated matter-of-factly. "When the chaos broke out at Luna Nova's cafeteria, I wasted no time in assisting the staff in evacuating everyone there. That was when I witnessed Miss Kagari's display of bravery where she saved Ice Valkyrie from her opponent's final blow. I could've stepped in on her behalf but, I decided not to upon realizing it to be the chance for the new Fire Valkyrie to prove herself."

"I was never intended to resort to let Akko assisting me but, she won't stand by and watch as I fought a losing battle against that Naglfar acolyte regardless", Diana confessed.

"Akko might be stupid but, her courage and determination are no joke", Sucy added bluntly, much to the brunette's annoyance for the 'stupid' part. "Professor Ursula told us that Valkyrie Bracelets in our hands are meant for worthy users so, we certainly possess certain qualities to fulfill such criteria more than we realized. And I think I know what are they."

"What are you talking about?", Asger demanded.

"Things you won't likely able to understand. Not with whatever issues you had clouding your judgement", Sucy replied, frowning at the squirrel-like Pomokai Holoholona.

"Everyone, come fast! You need to see this!"

Fortunately for the group, the tension receded by Nelson's urgent arrival, the feeling of uneasiness etched on her face. Not liking what she was sensing, Alvilda reached for the pouch attached to her belt, and pulled out a custom-made magic broom much bigger than the actual pocket, surprising Akko, Lotte, and Sucy. It had a black shaft, white band securing the straw end, and golden and white ornate arrowhead-shaped front end along with matching chassis that partially shaped in spiral-like pattern around the straw end.

"Ice Valkyrie, stay with those kids. Chariot, I wanted you to come with me. I have a bad feeling about this", Alvilda instructed before mounting her broom and ensuring there was enough space for the bespectacled professor to fit on behind her.

"Y-yes!", Diana affirmed.

The Cavendish and the three friends looked on as the two older witches took off to follow the broom flight instructor. Asger and Harr made haste to follow her also, though the former briefly stopped to give witch students one last glare that left the Japanese witch-in-training anxious. Sensing her uneasiness, Sucy comforted her with a pat on the shoulder as soon as Asger was no longer on sight, "Just ignore him, Akko. Something is not right about that Pomokai Holoholona to begin with."

"You don't say... ", Lotte wondered, apparently knowing what the Manbavaran about to state next.

"Well, he reminded me too much to Grimm from Hereweald Potter series. Too biased and bitter to see the best in people, especially those they resented most", Sucy explained.

Remembering the female acolyte's suggestive remark about her and Diana earlier, Akko asked the heiress, "Um, Diana, about what that tentacled freak said —"

"Don't... overthink about it. She was trying to distract us", Diana abruptly cut her off, a shade of red emerged from her cheeks.

"You think?", Akko responded, still uncertain with her answer.

Catching up with Nelson, Ursula and Alvilda looked over the fire and greeted by a harrowing sight. Though the inferno fortunately didn't spread much to warrant catastrophic damage, it blazed in purple color and formed a familiar pattern that answered the High Valkyrie's worry: The Mark of Mistletoe has been placed over Luna Nova grounds...

=ᚢᛁᛐᛍᚼᛂᛌ ᚮᚠ ᛘᛁᛑᚵᛆᚱᛑ=

**Author's Note: So yeah, Asger's disapproval over the idea of Akko, Lotte, and Sucy becoming new Valkyries was definitely out of bias instead of concern about their well-being — the same bias which explained his unfavorable opinions about Akko despite the latter's role in the restoration of Yggdrasil along with magic in Midgard. Even Sucy could see it...**

**Akko transformed into a henshin hero/magical girl warrior not unlike Ryūko Matoi and Yuki Yuna is one thing. But receiving a magical artefact called Valkyrie Blade that shares same power as Shiny Rod albeit in inferior scale is another thing altogether. Though our lovable brunette can manage without Shiny Rod given to how much she had grown throughout her quest for Seven Words of Arcturus and Grand Triskellion, it's going to be a matter of time before she realizes she'll need more than a mere believing heart to face darker times ahead. The encounter with Naglfar was just the beginning.**

**By the way, I specifically added the scene where Sucy melted the horned Farbjodr (which definitely part-minotaur through its description in the previous chapter) as a neat LWA Mythology Gag. The reason why I substituted her victim with some resilient part-minotaur beast was because this AU's Luna Nova employed a 'good' minotaur as one of its custodians much like in anime TV Series canon and for your information, Mr. Castellanos IS the counterpart of minotaur in question. The horned Farbjodr's ability to absorb and redirect kinetic energy through its horned skull, on the other hand, was admittedly inspired by that of Raijin from *Pacific Rim: Uprising*, the (presumably) stand-alone sequel to *Pacific Rim* film.**

**All comments and feedbacks are greatly appreciated!**