Angel Monarch

While Sera and Bea worked on the city-states' defenses, the others ventured out into the harsh northern wilderness of Europe.

The strongest Transcended the Angelic Order had to offer moved through the Scandinavian Peninsula. They all searched for the primordial gods known as the Norse Pantheon.

Sixteen Transcended broke into four different groups, and they spread across the mountainous plains. Lucy and Will led a group each, since they were responsible for the Northern Outposts. Melinda and David led the others, since they had the most experience with leadership.

Each group also had at least one person capable of flight. Lucy's group had Yannick and Percy scouting ahead, while Will had both Leslie and Sarah. Melinda had Astrid, provide surveillance, and David had both Kathy and Cass.

Everyone else in the groups were there for safety reasons. They were all powerful, Transcended capable of fighting even Stellars, and Cass could move between each at a moment's notice.

They spent about two weeks there before they finally found some clues. Footsteps comparable in size to Astrid's and with marks of takeoff.

Before venturing out, they each read through the book made by Professor Collins. It described Astrid's race in great detail, the Valkyrie. They were all gigantic warrior women with golden feathered-wings and armor.

After discovering the tracks, they needed only to follow them. They headed to the northernmost part of Europe.

Even in early summer, these plains were covered with a few meters of permafrost. The sunlight shone down on the white icy ground and created a glistening field. Stong, cold air made the snow dance, creating ethereal figures from the white powder.

"Damn, how much further do we need to go?" asked Joan, while shivering under multiple layers of monster fur.

The tanned woman always hated cold temperatures. However, since her partner decided to lead a group, she, as a supportive girlfriend, followed her to this harsh environment.

Melinda also wore a heavy jacket, but she didn't really care about the freezing cold.

Her blue-green eyes moved across the snowfield until eventually she turned towards Joan with a small smile. Her nose and cheeks were flushed red from the cold, yet her demeanor stayed warm, especially towards her lover.

"Don't worry. I'm sure we're nearly there!"

Yvonne stood nearby too. Her powerful form towered over both women. She yawned and stretched her muscular arms...

The madwoman wore only a close-fitting black bodysuit. It was a special material that was supposed to keep the cold out, yet Joan still shivered after putting on five.

"I wish Leslie were here," said Joan with whimsical desire glinting in her eyes.

Melinda chuckled as she understood what Joan meant, while Yvonne glanced back with a wide grin.

"Shhh, Joan! Don't mention your hidden desires in front of your girlfriend! She'll get jealous!"

Joan raised a suspicious eyebrow, which nobody saw under the multiple layers of facemasks. However, Melinda's annoyed expression was clearly visible.

"Shut up, Yvonne! She mentioned Leslie only because his very presence would warm the air!... Also, I would never get jealous, especially not of Leslie!"

Yvonne nodded and crossed her arms, still making the same annoying expression.

"I guess so... But what if Joan talked with passion about someone hotter, for example, Cass! Wouldn't you get jealous then?"

Instead of answering, both women glanced away with heavy blushes, which only piqued Yvonne's curiosity.

"What's it? Why're you both acting like schoolgirls when someone asks about their crush?"

Her question was more on point than she knew, and after a few seconds, Melinda the courageous answered, saving her partner from the embarrassment.

"Well... While in the Eastern Outpost, we sometimes got drunk and... We've made a special list about our friends..."

Since she struggled to say the words, Joan abruptly cut in and helped her lover.

"We made a list of everyone we would consider having a threesome with! Happy now?"

Yvonne burst into laughter, which only caused the blush on both women's faces to deepen.

"Almost, but first tell me the top 3 on your list!"

Joan and Melinda glanced at each other with uncertainty. A few seconds later, Joan shrugged and said, "We already told her about the list. Might as well reveal some people."

Melinda rolled her eyes and sighed with annoyance. Eventually, she turned towards Yvonne, whose giant body trembled with anticipation.

"At first, we placed Cass because of all the myths about Succubuses. In second we placed Will, because he could grow tentacles. We put Kim in third place, because we're both curious about how it would feel to have sex with a snake-woman... Now let's change the subject, please!"

Yvonne didn't plan on letting her friends catch a break, but in that moment, heavy wingbeats echoed from above and a few seconds later, Astrid's armored form landed nearby.

She gracefully took off her winged helmet. Her golden eyes glanced between her friends as her long, braided hair floated in the strong winds.

"Have you found them?" asked Yvonne with excitement and a wide grin.

However, Astrid just sighed and shook her head.

"No, but we've another problem. A violent, unnatural snowstorm is approaching from the northeast. It'll be here in a few minutes, and... I've a bad feeling about it..."

"What do you mean?" asked Melinda while pressing buttons on her silver watch.

She brought the map up, which showed their exact position. Other than Melinda's own, three more dots glowed brightly on the map, marking the other groups' position.

The map couldn't give real-time data, so the snowstorm didn't show, but Astrid was able to give the exact coordinates. It looked like the storm would hit Lucy's group first.

'Melinda: Hey Lucy! Astrid saw a heavy snowstorm approaching! I need a report immediately!'

"Well..." said Astrid. "I'm uncertain how to describe it... The storm felt alive and dreadful. It felt wrong and unnatural, like death itself traveled inside the powerful storm. Also, when lightning struck the ground inside, I saw hundreds of ethereal riders in the air... they looked like corpses..."

Just as Astrid finished talking, Melinda's watch began beeping as message after message arrived in her inbox.

'Yannick: We're fighting. I've lost Lucy, Percy and Morren. We've got separated while fighting... Avoid the snowstorm!'

'Will: There's a massive storm approaching us fast. What should we do?'

Will's group was second closest to the storm, while David's was the farthest away. Each message between group leaders could be seen by everyone else, which made communications more streamlined.

'Melinda: Avoid the storm! Lucy's group is already fighting, whatever causes it! Run away and let's meet up!'

'Will: Too late. It moves much faster than we anticipated. Sarah created a circular wind flow, so the snow isn't an issue yet. However, we're hearing strange screeches, and seeing silhouettes moving within the storm. They might atta—'

He didn't finish the sentence, which meant whatever Lucy's group fought, now attacked Will's.

"Hey, Melinda!" shouted Joan, while pointing towards the northeastern horizon.

Above the frozen plains, a giant dark cloud approached fast. Lightning struck within its depths, illuminating the riding silhouettes, which Astrid mentioned.

The air felt much colder, and the winds became stronger as well. Joan continued shivering, and even Melinda began rubbing her hands together. The giantesses just stood straight and unbending, like immovable walls.

'David: You're about to get caught inside the storm. I feel like running isn't an option anymore, so instead stay exactly where you are until the storm passes!'

Melinda glanced at her map once more. Only two dots remained, which meant the storm was partially blocking the watch's signal.

"Okay, David says we should stay put, and I agree! Yvonne, summon a long-chained weapon, and let's tie our waists together! We won't end up scattered like Lucy's group!"

Yvonne didn't waste time. She could summon any kind of weapon, so she made a chained flail with a few dozen meter long chain. The weapon looked absolutely ridiculous, and it would be useless in a fight, but that wasn't an issue, since only its utility mattered.

While everyone began tying the chain around their waists, Melinda wrote back to David.

'Melinda: We'll stay here, but send Cass to Lucy's group. They became separated, so she'll need to herd them back together!'

Joan kneeled before Melinda and bound the chain around her waist.

'David: I sent Cass away. Good Luck!'

With that, Melinda stopped looking at her watch and instead stared at the snowstorm. It was maybe twenty seconds away, so their group began summoning weapons and armor.

An extremely light, intricate silver armor covered Melinda's near-perfect body. It was a parting gift from Sera and Agnes. Her best friend created the armor, while her more recent friend made it into an Item, which was Agnes's Transcended ability.

Melinda had no weapons, since she wasn't great at close-combat fighting. However, luckily, Yvonne was the exact opposite.

The tall woman summoned a much bulkier blood-red and black armor. Sera also created that one, but changed its colors to fit Yvonne's warrior personality. It was much stronger and heavier than Melinda's, which served the giantess perfectly.

Astrid and Joan simply summoned their usual weapons and armor. They didn't receive any gifts from Sera, since their current equipment gave them unique buffs, which couldn't be replicated.

With that, the snowstorm finally arrived, and the group of four took their positions. Yvonne stood on one side and Astrid on the other. Inbetween Melinda prepared to plague any enemy, while Joan prepared to strike them with electricity.

For an outsider, it would've seemed as if they practiced this setup thousands of times. However, in reality, they were just experienced fighters with knowledge of each other's strengths and weaknesses. They simply took on a formation that felt the most comfortable and made logical sense.

A loud screech echoed from the snowstorm, and not long after, the first enemy appeared.