?


    Ichigo looked him in the eyes, the uneasiness she felt fading away. She ced a hand on her enormous bosom, made more prominent through her tightly fittedbat suit, and took a deep breath, nodding before making changes to her halo.


    As he waited for her to be done, Sam raised his left hand and looked at the small orb he held in it.


    It was the size of his palm with a closed metallic surface covered in a white color with green lines drawingplex patterns on it. Several thin cords extended from it and connected to a crude bracer wrapped around his forearm, something that seemed much less polished than any piece of tech ready to be taken to a real battlefield. He tapped on its surface and a small translucent green panel appeared in front of him, visible only through the sses he was wearing.


    As lines of text appeared on it faster than what a normal human could keep up, Sam Selected a few things by tapping the bracer and checked a few variables. He moved his gaze back to the orb in his hand then turned to the Ant Queen a dozen meters away. Not dying it anymore, he tapped the crude bracer once more and green runes began to shimmer into existence around the fist sized orb.


    "Juni." He said. "On my mark."


    [Understood!]


    Receiving a better reply than thest one, a small smile made its way to his face just as the green runes formed a single ring around the orb. The ring began spinning clockwise and a sphere of lime green light began to form around the orb.


    The Ant Queen had its focus entirely on Nino, but then its antennas began to move and the next second it turned its head toward Sam as if noticing the danger he posed. It reacted a bit toote, however, as a wave of light exploded from where the Doctor stood, creating a green dome that continued to spread as it swallowed the giant ants.


    The Ant Queen seemed to tense up as the light approached it, and understandably so. When the wave collided with the invisible dome protecting it, the barrier shattered without much resistance, falling to the ground like shattered ss.


    The green dome slowly faded as it continued to spread. Just as that was about to happen, Sam looked up and shouted with everything he got.


    "GO!"


    Having already formed a couple of propellers and ignited them, Juni grasped her broad sword in both hands andunched herself. Her body became a blur as she broke the sound barrier, refusing to slow down even with the ground fast approaching.


    The Ant Queen was still stunned from having its barrier shattered, and by the time it noticed the threat heading its way, it didn''t even have the time to will its crown like halo to move.


    Juni crashed into the monster like a missile, causing a devastating explosion that shook the ground. Several of the Soldier Ants were sent flying by the impact along with a shower of rocks and pebbles. Sam raised his hand to cover his face, but the shockwave didn''t reach him. When he looked ahead to check he saw that it was stopped by an invisible wall. Despite not receiving an order Venti had created a barrier just in time.


    The dust soon settled and the impact point came into view. Juni slowly rose from the crater her attack created, but the Ant Queen was nowhere to be seen. Sam felt his heart almost stop as he looked around for the giant monstrosity, but as he did he found severalrge chunks of some unknown material. A momentter he realized they were what was left of the ant queen after its body was torn apart by Juni''s attack.


    "I know I''m the one who told her, but…"


    Even if it was a monster, Sam was still surprised by the brutality with which she had done it. He made a note to check on how Juni was doing mentally then went in to give the next set of instructions.


    "Nino, Juni, get out of there!" He said. "Venti, the moment they''re out crush those things!"


    Venti was confused, not understanding how he expected her to do what he said, but then she looked at the ants and realized their halos had stopped spinning and the white glow on their arms and mandibles was gone.


    Leaving the obvious question forter, she beganpressing her barrier leaving only one opening in the ceiling for Nino and Juni to exit from. Once they were out, she closed the opening and pushed even further, pressing the giant ants against each other until they began cracking and snapping before turning into ck smoke one after the other.


    By the end of it, Venti''s barrier shrunk down to a box only one meter across from each side. Inside, the ck smoke waspressed into a solid cube. Sam didn''t know what material it was made of so he believed it would be for the best to keep it sealed for now.


    "What was that just now?" Nino asked the moment she teleported beside the Doctor, but instead of an answer she received a karate chop on the head. "Ouch!"


    "Never leave your post." Sam said, ring down at her with ice cold eyes.


    "Y-you''re the one to talk! If your safety is such a concern then why did youe all the way here!!?"


    Another chopnded on her head, this one stronger than thest.


    "I''m yourmander, your general." Sam replied, bringing his hand once more. "I decide where we go and when we do it. You follow orders."


    "Okay okay! I understand so please stop!"


    He doubted that those hits were causing her any real pain, but it was nice to see her acting like a normal girl. He doubted he would ever get tired of seeing this side of the Valkyries.