Valkyrie Smash

Though he wanted to have control over everything, Sam had no choice but to delegate most of the work that went into the award ceremony and press conference to other people. The Valkyries were fast learners and were able to take on most of the vacant roles in the forty sixth base, but one thing they couldn't do was manage events that involved humans.

Since said events were taking place around the First Settlement, It was General Rosita Walsh who took care of everything. The five-star hotel they used was one of her properties and thus she handled everything from the security to the food served in the restaurants and other services.

Of course that alone wasn't enough to make her the perpetrator. Though she wasn't happy about his sudden rise to power, Nino's needle revealed that the General would eventually drop any intent on antagonizing Sam and his Valkyries. In fact, the same went for five of the six Generals.

The only one who holds on to his animosity is the previous Head General, but Sam couldn't just throw him in jail when he has yet to commit any crimes.

"Alright, open it."

After receiving the news from Sitta, Sam had her teleport him to where the intruders were being kept. The location was a secluded corner on the first floor of the underground parking lot. Nana and Triska were already there, keeping watch on a large white van.

"Head General." Nana bowed her head. "Thank you for the superb work, and I apologize for disturbing your rest."

"At ease, Nana." Sam raised his hand to alleviate her worries. "Did anything happen?"

"It is difficult to say." The silver haired Valkyrie answered, turning her eyes to the van. "This vehicle isn't as mundane as it seems. Its walls are impenetrable by our eyes, and if not for Sitta's ability I doubt anyone would've noticed that something was off."

The Valkyries' eyes and ears were nothing short of being the most powerful sensors considering their size. Cloaking something from their sights wasn't an easy task, and anyone capable of achieving such a feat was far from average.

Just to be sure, Sam performed an additional scan using his drones.

"Quite daring, those five." Said the ginger Valkyrie. "They remain calm despite knowing we got them surrounded. I'm guessing it has something to do with those strange weapons they have."

"Strange weapons?"

"They aren't the guns humans usually use."

Sam couldn't help but frown. The data he had just gathered revealed that the interior of the vehicle was made out of several alloys that can only be found in shells of certain Calamities. Such materials have been the main components in creating some of the weapons and armor the Valkyries used back in the day; it wasn't something ordinary criminals could get their hands on.

'Are they trying to advertise it or something?'

Having such equipment narrowed down the list of suspects quite a bit. Even if their supplier didn't rely on the factories used to process the remains of Calamities and create the equipment for Valkyries, Sam was confident that he could put together something capable of sniffing out the source in a couple of days.

"Alright, open it up."

There was no need to delay the inevitable. As he stood facing the side door, Triska walked over and grabbed the handle. He expected the van to explode at any moment, but surprisingly that didn't happen. If the intruders were professionals who could accurately assess the situation, they would've ended their lives by now.

Then again anyone good enough to take that step wouldn't have involved themselves in something like this to begin with.

"You might want to take a step back, Doctor." Sitta stepped forward, summoning her halo. Though he couldn't see it, Sam noticed that she had renewed the barrier surrounding the Van. Apparently, she learned a trick that allowed her to maintain barriers without having to rely on the required Runes. The lengths she goes to minimize her work astound him sometimes.

Triska took a deep breath. Without any more delay, she ripped the door off with a single move freeing a wave of light as if it was trapped inside.

Lasers exploded from the van only to shatter against Sitta's invisible barrier. Sam instinctively squinted his eyes. The flashing lights did nothing more than annoy him so after a couple of seconds he ordered his Valkyries to put an end to it.

With minimal effort, Sitta created small barriers around the muzzles of each gun, causing them to explode one after the other. The light show ended briskly allowing Sam and his entourage to get a good look at the infiltrators.

Sam already knew what to expect, but seeing the high-tech suits they still wore came as a surprise. Though they were a far cry from the Second Armor the Valkyries wore when deploying their more destructive weapons, the specs surpassed anything humans could've dreamed of ten years ago.

Not everyone was content to leave humanity's fate to the Valkyries, and that was the case even before it was revealed that the humanoid weapons were sentient beings. While the biggest brain on Earth supposedly abandoned the idea of sending humans to battle, others worked tirelessly to give mundane humans the ability to fight against world-ending monsters.

Their efforts didn't take them far, but they still managed to create some magnificent tools that would've tipped the scales in the old world.

The broken laser rifles fell to the ground moments after the intruders recognized their uselessness, but something told Sam that they weren't about to raise the white flag.

"Sitta."

"Understood."

Before they could make any other moves, ropes of light materialized around them binding their wrists and ankles together. The intruders, dressed like a bunch of Iron-man knockoffs, were instantly subdued by something akin to the most generic magic spells, leaving them no choice but to squirm as they tried to free themselves.

'Well, at least they didn't fall…'

Sam was impressed by their ability to stay balanced. He silently observed the four intruders waiting to see what their next move would be, but after a couple of minutes they just stopped moving and turned to stare at him. Well, he couldn't really tell with their eyes hidden behind their helmets, but he could still feel their gaze on him.

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