Valkyrie Smash

Using force was always on the table. Considering what they were trying to achieve, no one would've blamed them for doing it. But Sam was already walking on the edge after taking away power from the Council. Nino was quick to warn him after that one meeting, saying she wouldn't give him her support if he continued on the path to authoritarianism.

"Let's just hope ending the war earned us enough credit for people to trust us." He said eventually. "Even if they decide to pass this time, convincing them won't be much difficult in the next one."

The problem was if the next one even existed. Obviously, they couldn't go the same route as maniacs like Zeus, going to different dimensions and massacring billions to fuel the Ritual.

'If only we didn't have to rely on Primordials...'

Unfortunately, the possibility simply didn't exist, according to the only expert they had on the matter, Atropos.

"By the way, did you find anything?"

Looking up at him for a second, Nino shook her head.

"The changes were minimal, but they seem to have improved the Path..." her eyebrow arched in a frown. "I don't understand how they keep altering the Tapestry. It makes all the work I did insignificant."

"You're able to prevent people from seeing Paths that include you." Elina said. "Isn't it natural that others could do the same?"

"That's a safeguard in the needle itself, to prevent people from using it against me specifically." The young Valkyrie sighed and leaned against Sam once more. "But I guess you have a point. Maybe people from higher realms have some way to avoid being detected by similar abilities..."

Checking the Tapestry of Fate immediately after the award ceremony led to no results. The mysterious woman in black was nowhere to be seen in any of the Paths ahead of them, nor were there any signs of her influence. That reminded Sam of the time Ramla was unable to see futures that included Nino.

If they were facing the same situation, it would mean the Paths they have been observing this whole time might have nothing to do with the actual future they were heading toward.

With the help of Wolf, Elina, Nino, and Atropos, they came up with several measures to counter cases where they failed to land their desired Path.

They never intended to rely on the Needle 100% when making their plans just so they wouldn't find themselves without anything to stand on, but the uncertainty that comes with knowing their predictions might be wrong wasn't something that could be waved away easily.

The burden was especially heavy on Nino who had to go through the mental strain of using her Artifact, in addition to studying everything she saw. Knowing that all of it might be for nothing was an endless source of depression. Just the thought that she might disappoint her beloved fiance was enough to throw her down a dark abyss.

Pulling her closer, Sam began stroking her beautiful long hair.

"Even if it doesn't work perfectly, your Needle is still our best chance to ensure things turn out the way we want." Smiling, he landed a direct hit that caused her to blush. "Please keep doing your best. I will be relying on you, okay?"

For a while the Japanese doll just stared at him silently, but then she suddenly caught herself and cleared her throat, her cheeks flushing redder.

"O-of course I will!" She said, sounding a bit flustered. "Just remember to reward me properly when we get back home. I want to go on a proper date this time."

"A date huh..." He mumbled. "That would be nice."

Elina stared at them from the opposite couch, her eyes half closed.

"You sure have it nice." She commented. "I wish I was a Valkyrie as well."

When looking at things objectively, the female scientist had seniority when it came to being Sam's lover. Because of that the Valkyries started coming to her for advice, which, in addition to the constant flirting she was forced to watch, left her quite envious.

The only win she had was being able to call him by his first name without it feeling awkward, and apparently that was enough for the Valkyries to consider her a dangerous rival.

"Were you able to gather the materials you need?" Sam asked, wondering if she made any progress toward her goal of undergoing the Asclepius treatment.

"Already done. The old man had plenty in his secret lab." She heaved a sigh and shook her head. "I can get to it as soon as we're done here. There is one problem, though..."

The old lab where Wolf created bodies for the Valkyries was left untouched for a couple of years now. Since the materials needed for the ASCs were practically the same he saw no problem with giving them to his apprentice, but once she had them in her hands Elina found herself facing a difficult dilemma.

"I can't even pick a body type so I'm not making any progress on the design front."

In Sam's case, his new body wasn't that different from the original. Elina on the other hand plans on going through a complete makeover, leaving none of her current features behind.

"What do you think, Sam?" She turned to Nine first "Should I go for the big-breasted older sister look?" her eyes then moved to Nino "Or would you prefer another loli?"

The last word was like a knife stab to both the Doctor and the Japanese doll.

"Who's a loli?" Nino asked, smiling as her left eyebrow twitched repeatedly. "We have almost the exact body type, you know?"

"Ah, sorry." Elina's smile lacked any hint of remorse. "It's just that you look like a middle schooler in that uniform. Not that there is any problem with it. I was just wondering if an underdeveloped body suits Sam's taste more."

Sensing the oncoming storm, Sam kept his silence and stealthily left the room with Nine and Ichigo.