Valkyrie Smash

Wind whistled through the broken window. The last rays of light flickered as the sun disappeared behind the horizon. The room was messy, to say the least. Cracked walls, fallen debris, holes in the floor. The furniture was nothing but charred remains.

It was a room just like any other, though the dust covering everything and the cobweb decorating the corners showed how many years had passed since anyone stepped inside.

In the corner of such a room, behind the remains of a broken desk, a little girl no older than ten sat hugging her knees. She wanted nothing more than to cry but her tears had long since dried. Now all she could do was sit and wait, and the longer she did, the more painful it got.

[There you are!]

Though she heard the voice, the little girl didn't move.

[Everyone has been worried about you, you know. You're too good at this game.]

The man waited by the entrance, but no reply came. After a few seconds he heaved a sigh and dismissed his helmet.

"You know you aren't supposed to come here." The man said.

"..."

"This place is dangerous. What would you do if something fell on you? No one will be around to help you."

"..."

With no replies coming, the man couldn't help but frown.

"Aa-aah! I'm starting to get angry! My Super Rex isn't meant for bad girls. Maybe I should pick someone else to teach how to ride it!"

A weak bang followed, and a moment later the little girl peeked her head.

"But you promised…" She said, tears welling up in her eyes.

"And you promised not to come here." The man crossed his arms, pretending to frown even more. "What did we say about sneaking to the old city?"

"I…" The little girl opened her mouth to say something but then lowered her head. "I Just… I wanted to come home…"

The man stared at her for a while then heaved a sigh.

"Come, everyone is waiting."

Not saying anything, the girl slowly walked over. She stood in front of the man for a few seconds then, with her head still lowered, she raised her arms up toward him as if asking for something. Understanding what the gesture meant, the man leaned down and picked her up.

"I'm sorry." The girl said after they left the crumbling house.

"It's okay." The man replied, walking with her head resting on his shoulder. "We will rebuild everything soon, and you can come whenever you want after that."

He tried to be careful with each step, navigating his way through the rubble-ridden street, avoiding the broken fragments of what was once a lively neighborhood.

"... I wish Papa and mama were here…"

"... Me too…" The man replied, feeling the little girl tighten her grip around his neck. "Me too."

~[ ]~

"AAAAAH!!!"

A loud cry snapped Ingrid out of her daze. Turning to its source, she saw her Valkyrie friend rummaging through the surroundings with a panicked look.

"Hm? What's wrong?" Sara asked.

"IT'S GONE!!!" Juni replied, her face pale. "THE PHONE IS GONE!!!"

The Nephilim could only blink repeatedly, failing to comprehend what was happening. They were still at the reporter's house watching the press conference. Though she only spaced out, Juni dozed off completely, the slow pace and the seriousness of the show being too much for her. Waking up, the Valkyrie tried to check for time but couldn't find her phone, and that led to her panicking.

'Ah, this might be a pain…'

Noticing Sara's gaze on her, Ingrid sighed and began checking her pockets. She had borrowed the device many times to take photos and to pay for things so it would've made sense for it to be in her possession, but she still remembers handing it back before they reached the old city.

"Ah…" Her eyes widened a little. She remembered the two boys who had run past them earlier and realized what happened. "I think… I think it got stolen."

Juni didn't seem to understand at first, but then her face went several shades paler than before.

"No… It can't be…" She cradled her head and rolled into a ball. "Nana is going to kill me!!!"

Ingrid could only sigh. She was already in trouble, having sneaked out without permission, and now she was facing another problem. Tove wasn't going to let her go easily.

"Those kids." She turned to the reporter with a question. "Do you know who they are?"

Sara remained silent for a while then shook her head.

"I have seen them around before, but…"

"Nana is going to kill me…" Juni murmured. "Nana is going to kill me…"

Heaving another sigh, the Nephilim tried thinking things through once more.

"A blond boy, around fourteen. The other one had shaved hair and wore a hood over it. I'm guessing they're orphans."

The last comment caused the reporter to raise an eyebrow.

"What made you think that?"

There was silence for a few seconds, only Juni's ravings could be heard. Ingrid then tilted her head seemingly confused.

"I… don't know? It's just a hunch, I guess…"

She didn't know why but for some reason it felt like the situation was familiar.

'No, it's not that…'

The two boys, it felt like she had a grasp on their intentions. Two strangers wandered into the poor side of the city, their clothes making it clear they had it good. Being in the company of a prominent figure from the neighborhood discouraged the thugs from doing anything, but the kids feared nothing, not wanting to let go of such an opportunity.

The phone they stole had high grade military security so it was useless in the hands of kids, which is why they would either try to sell it to some old electronics shop or have someone hack it with half the credits in its digital wallet as the payment.

The Nephilim was leaning toward the second option. Seeing how good they were, she guessed the two boys had been doing this for quite some time, meaning they knew where to take the phone to get its locks broken.

As she was deep in thought, runes began to form above Ingrid's head. Juni suddenly stood up, but before she could say anything her friend teleported and gave her a good smack on the head. Sara watched the sequence with her mouth agape.

"Calm down, idiot. We will get it back soon enough." Turning her sights to the reporter, she spoke in a slightly annoyed tone. "Call your boyfriend, he should know how to find them."

Sara was stunned for a moment, but then furrowed her brows as she grabbed her phone.

"Ex." She said, sounding quite annoyed. "He is my ex!"