<h4>Chapter 261 Barely.</h4>


    The Nephilim ship took off, starting the countdown to the battle at the Red Tower. It would take eight hours to reach the destination, but there was no way to know when the fighting would start. ording to Nino, there were several Divergences where the Olympians decided to attack them during the trip. Since they all depended on their enemy''s movements, there was no way to tell when it would happen so everyone was on edge. Well, almost everyone, at least.


    Mj?lnir stood in front of the closed metallic door leading to the meeting room. She was quite nervous, twiddling her fingers as she debated whether she should go in or not. After a while, she ced a hand on her chest and took a deep breath. Having gathered the courage she needed, she nodded to herself and reached for the panel, tapping its screen and opening the lock.


    The door slid open and three heads turned her way, causing her to flinch. She had expected as much, but when the eyes fell on her she felt the nervousness return and a desire to run away was born.


    "Ah, Ms. Mj?lnir." Sam said, smiling. "Did something happen?"


    Obviously, he was aware that the silver haired Nephilim didn''te over for any particr reason. But he wasn''t going to embarrass her by showing that he knew she was there only to hang out.


    "I came to check on you and…" She said, her cheeks reddening a little. "And to see if you needed something."


    "Is that so?" Sam said. "Well, we don''t really need anything right now, but why don''t you hang out with us a little? It has been some time since west seen each other so how about we catch up?"


    "That''s… I don''t really want to bother you…"


    "What are you saying? We are friends, aren''t we? A little talk won''t hurt anyone."


    "I-I see…"


    Mj?lnir''s expression softened as she breathed in relief. With the door closing behind her, she looked around the room and greeted the Valkyries on guard duty. The one with orange hair returned the smile and waved, but the green haired one seemed to be forcing herself.


    When she returned her sight to the Doctor, her eyes immediately went to the green halo over his head. The Runes were visible as it wasn''t moving too fast so she was able to know what it does.


    "So you''re able to use Runes now?" She said as she approached him.


    "Barely." Sam replied, smiling wryly. "It takes a lot of effort to do anything."


    "Because you haven''t heard the Whispers?"


    "Yeah. I''m afraid it''ll be a very long time before I''m able to do the bare minimum."


    Though he''s able to generate a Force Field thanks to the Valkyrie heart he equipped for himself, creating and manipting Runes was still a daunting task. Without the knowledge provided by the Primordials he was incapable of replicating what the others did, whether it''s the Valkyries, the Nephilim or even the Awakened human children.


    "It''s a bit strange. I don''t remember ev-" Mj?lnir''s words were interrupted as her head hit an invisible wall. Realizing what was happening she immediately turned her eyes to the two Valkyries demanding to know why they were blocking her way.


    "My apologies, but I can''t allow you to get too close." Sitta said with a smile. "That''s our leader over there. We might be in a truce, but that doesn''t change the fact that you''re from a different force."


    The Valkyrie was speaking the truth and Mj?lnir knew she had no right to object. Instead of getting irritated though she only seemed to be sad for a few moments.


    "Now now, there is no need to be so strict, Sitta." Sam said. "Mj?lnir is my friend. Can you let her pass?"


    "... Fine."


    With a long sigh, Sitta took off the barrier. Venti was about to say a word ofint but one look from Sam was enough to silence her.


    "So… what are you doing right now?" She said, ncing at his halo once again. "Trying to learn how to create a weapon of your own?"


    "Well… not exactly…" Sam replied. "I still have very little control over the Nameless Element. It''ll be quite a while before I''m able to make anything stable enough to be used."


    "I wish I could help you, but… unfortunately I don''t know how it works myself." She said, lifting her hand and looking at it. "It justes to us naturally."


    "Yeah, Queen H has already told me."


    As Sam understood it, the Valkyries and Nephilim had heard the Primordial''s Whispers in their past lives leading to them learning how to use the Runes. The problem is what Nino told them about reincarnation. ording to her, death is supposed to wipe one''s soul clean, leaving only the essence that would be reborn into a new life. Freyja''s Children –the name he chose for those born from the original Alice– are clearly special in that regard. Considering everything they''re capable of, they seem to have retained the most crucial memories somehow, allowing them to use them even after they die.


    "My only choice is to keep practicing and hope I will one day be good enough." Sam said with a sigh. "Unless I find a safe way for me to hear the Whispers without losing my mind."


    "Do you really need to learn them, though?" Said Mj?lnir. "I mean, you have us by your side…"


    It took Sam a moment to understand and when he did he turned to the silver haired Nephilim, one eyebrow raised. Mj?lnir didn''t seem to understand his confusion, but after a second her face took on a brilliant red color.


    "I-I-I didn''t… I mean… we are allies now and…"


    Her hands moved around frantically as she tried to exin herself, but when she saw the smile he wore as he watched her the embarrassment she felt stole her words and she fell silent, hanging her head as steam slowly rose from it.


    "Thank you, Mj?lnir." Sam said. "It''s good to know I have strong allies by my side."


    As she watched their interactions from the back, Venti looked quite annoyed, unlike her orange haired friend who was quite amused.


    "I can''t believe it." She said in a low voice. "He''s even going after the Nephilim now…"


    Sitta, who was sitting at the table resting her head in her hands, only nced at her green haired friend once before going back to watch the show.


    "Jealous?" She asked in a teasing tone.


    "J-jealous!? Me!? Why would I-"


    "I mean, you''ve been waiting for him to do something this whole time, right?" Sitta said. "I guess you couldn''t wait till we got home~"


    Venti was confused for a moment, but then her eyes slowly widened, her cheeks slowly reddening as she realized her friend knew everything.


    "You… you saw…"


    "Despite everything you said, in the end you still want his attention just like the others."


    "Th-that''s not…"


    "Don''t worry. There is nothing to be ashamed of." Sitta sighed and returned her gaze to the man in ab coat. "I''m also looking forward to my turn. I hear it''s the best reward we can get for our effort."


    Venti fell silent and went back to watching the Doctor. She convinced herself that she was just doing her duty as his guard, but the more time she spent staring at him the more vivid her memories of what happened yesterday became.


    "Somehow, it feels a bit cold in here…" Mj?lnir said.


    The two Valkyries noticed it as well. The temperature inside the meeting room was slowly dropping which led to them heightening their guard. But as seconds passed nothing seemed to happen.


    "Maybe the air-conditioning malfunctioned..." Mj?lnir said, slowly rubbing her arms as her breath turned white. "The ship isn''t really in its best shape…"


    "Do you feel cold?" Sam said, stepping up toward her. "How about I help you stay warm?"


    "Eh?"


    Before she could say anything, the silver haired Nephilim found herself wrapped in the man''s arm. She hadn''t noticed when he got so close and by the time she realized it Sam already had her in his embrace.


    Being hugged from behind sent Mj?lnir''s mind into a frenzy and in a couple of seconds she was already burning up to the point that Sam felt her heating up.


    "How is it?" He asked. "All better?"


    "I… I…"


    A small distance away, Venti was stunned, her facepletely red as she watched the scene y in front of her. Sitta''s interest peaked, and to make sure her entertainment wasn''t interrupted, she ced a sound blocking barrier around her green haired friend.


    Mj?lnir felt her whole body hearing up. His arms were wrapped around her waist and she could feel her back pressing against him. He wasn''t applying too much strength, but for some reason she felt like she couldn''t escape his hold. As a few passed, she felt herself gradually calming down, a strange sense offort enveloping her. She rxed and surrendered herself to his embrace, happiness slowly filling her chest.


    As a small smile began to form on her lips, curiosity took over her and she turned to look at the man behind her. Their eyes met and she felt the shyness return to her, but before she could say anything his mouth moved first, and the words he said sounded like amand she couldn''t refuse.


    "Close your eyes."


    As the sweet whisper reached her ear, the silver haired Nephilim did as she was told. Her long eyshes went down and everything went dark for a second, but somehow she was able to tell what was happening. His face was already close to hers but she could tell he was getting even closer. She instinctively puckered her lips and waited, then, not a secondter, she felt his touching hers, a strong warmth suddenly flooding her chest.