Angel Monarch

The five women's images broke into small shards of glass, which got blown away by the heavy winds, leaving nothing behind.

A few dozen kilometers away, further north, the same five women appeared standing atop a small hill. Just past the horizon, they saw glimpses of the passing storm. It was headed south, away from the group.

"Well, that fucking sucked!" declared Joan, while beginning to untie the chain from her and Melinda's waist.

Yvonne still hugged Astrid tightly, her entire body trembling, which made Cass giggle.

"You know, my love... We're already on solid ground... You can release me..."

The tall woman just made a few sniffing noises as her metallic gray eyes met Astrid's golden ones. A wide grin spread across her face as she pulled the giantess closer.

Her body continued trembling, but Astrid quickly realized it had nothing to do with fear anymore. Yvonne's face was washed red as she pressed her lips onto Astrid's own. Her tongue soon entered the giantess's mouth, and after a few seconds of exploring, she pulled a few millimeters away.

"This is payback for the flight. When we're done with this freezing hellhole, we'll continue!"

She then gave another peck on Astrid's lips, then leaned and whispered into her ear, so nobody else could hear her last words... "I'll fuck your brains out!"

Afterward, Yvonne turned away and left with a skip in her step. The giantess just stood there, her face red from a heavy blush and her body shaking with anticipation.

Cass came to stand beside Astrid with a gleeful smile. They both watched as Yvonne's voluptuous form made her way towards Melinda and Joan.

"You know I can suggest a few methods, which will make Yvonne lose her mind!"

Astrid glanced down curiously, causing Cass to giggle and float up to the giantess's ear. She whispered words into her ear, which only worsened Astrid's embarrassment.

She unconsciously rubbed her thighs together as Cass floated away with a happy cackle. It took her a few long seconds to regain her composure and walk after the group of four.

They walked for a kilometer, where the other groups already waited. Most of them looked quite haggard, except Lucy, Kim, Leslie and Sarah. It seemed the fighting wasn't hard for these four.

Lucy and Kim told the story of how they moved through the storm and hunted those corpse riders. After the first minute, they outright stayed away from the two battle maniacs.

Leslie and Sarah didn't fight nearly as much. Sarah used her power to control the surrounding storm, while Leslie burned away the freezing temperatures and the icy ground.

The corpse riders also stayed away from them, which meant most came to bother either Melinda's group or Percy and Morren, who separated from Lucy's group.

The usually joyous, sarcastic duo, who loved mocking and joking around, now sat on the snowy ground with an arm wrapped around each other. They stared ahead with tired expressions and dirty, bloodied faces.

"They aren't wounded," said David as Melinda kneeled before the pair. "They got quite battered in the fight, but Cass saved them, and time healed their wounds."

Melinda nodded and then, without warning, gave a small peck on each of their lips. This surprised everybody, including the pair. The only person who didn't even bat an eye was, ironically, Melinda's girlfriend, Joan.

The tan woman just stabbed her electric-blue sword into the snow and leaned on it with a tired sigh.

"Don't mind the kiss. She just transferred a few diseases, which should rejuvenate your body. It works quite well if you plan on fighting for longer... It also works if you want multiple rounds in the bedroom!

Joan, Cass and Yvonne all chuckled, while most people just rolled their eyes. However, she wasn't lying about the effectiveness of those afflictions.

A few seconds after receiving the kisses, both Percy and Morren felt revitalized. Their faces regained their color, and they soon stood up to stretch their exhausted bodies.

After a minute of recovery, both Percy and Morren walked before Melinda.

"Thanks for the help, but if you dare to kiss my boyfriend without my permission, I'll rearrange your guts with my fist!"

Joan stepped in front of Melinda with an angry expression.

"If you want to fight Melinda, you'll have to go through me first!"

"Who said anything about fighting?" asked Percy with a ridiculous smirk. His eyes moved over Joan's body as he said, "She can go through you first, if that's something you desire!"

Morren slapped her boyfriend's head with an annoyed growl. She then pulled him into a long kiss and walked away from Joan and Melinda, while winking at them seductively.

"Those two are the craziest pair I've ever witnessed. How did they even get together?" asked Yvonne while watching Percy and Morren snicker between each other.

"They met when I got to know my Conrad. It was during the New Constantinople campaign, when we crossed the Dardanelles... Damn, that was close to three years ago. Time truly flies!"

The dark-skinned beauty walked arm-in-arm with the tanned bald man. They caught up with Percy and Morren. The two pairs laughed and chatted while walking northward.

The others followed close as they continued searching for the Norse Pantheon.

They were still about two hundred kilometers from the northern shoreline of the Scandinavian Peninsula. This gave them enormous ground to cover, but that was mostly Cass's job.

The Succubus summoned hundreds of illusions, which flew through the air. They spread for dozens of kilometers all around the group and gave Cass visual and auditory information about the surrounding frozen plains.

Sadly, when the storm hit, she was recuperating her essence, so it caught everyone off-guard. However, since they were quite close to the shore, they didn't plan on stopping for quite a while.

They spent a few hours walking through the mountainous, frozen terrain before Cass stopped everyone. Her eyes turned glassy as she focused on one of her illusions.

"What's it?" asked David while glancing around.

"I see a raven." answered Cass in a serious tone, which was unlike her.

All fifteen Transcended's faces became serious as their eyes turned towards the sky. The word 'raven' was enough to put everyone on high alert. It might've been just a regular bird, or...

"I don't think it's Victor's. It feels different from those birds... Also, it didn't spot my illusions, which Victor definitely wouldn't have missed."

Cass's words didn't calm down the group's heightened senses. However, Astrid's expression turned thoughtful as she recalled a description from the Professor's book.

"Wasn't that Odin guy depicted with a pair of ravens? It could be one of his."

Everyone glanced in her direction and began remembering the book. Only Melinda was smart enough to actually pull up the archives on her watch and check the information.

"You're right. Odin is often depicted with two ravens... However, that doesn't mean that specific raven is his."

Nobody argued with Melinda's statement, and after a few seconds, Cass's turned back to normal.

"Either way, the raven is coming towards us. Should we evade its path or let it see us?"

"Well, if it's Odin's, then it'll lead us straight to the Norse Pantheon. Also, we didn't see any signs of Victor since Antarctica. It's fair to assume he wouldn't send a random raven here...

"But I say, let's vote! Who's in favor of trying our luck and letting the raven see us?"

Upon hearing David's words, they all glanced at each other in curiosity, waiting to see who would agree. A few seconds passed and suddenly everybody except Melinda, Joan, David, Kathy and Conrad raised their hands.

"Then it's decided. However... Melinda wrote to Vicky for emergency teleportation. Just in case..." said David, but Melinda was already typing on her watch.

After they sent the message, everyone looked towards the northwestern horizon where the raven was supposed to come from. A few minutes later, a dark spot appeared there.

A black raven a bit larger than normal ravens. It gracefully glided down to the scout group, and it landed on Astrid's wide shoulder.

Astrid fought the urge to shoo the bird away, which was the right choice since a moment later the raven spoke in a croaking voice.

"Good evening! My name is Muninn! My master, the Allfather, summoned you for a conversation about the Last Angel!"

The raven sounded strangely excited. It also sounded somehow masculine and commanding.

"Very well... Muninn. Lead the way!" said Cass with a charming smile, which made the raven glance away bashfully.

"Can't do, ma'am! Although it would be a great honor to lead someone so captivating to my master, I sadly have to explore further south... But don't worry, ma'am. Someone else should soon arrive as your guide!"

With that, Muninn, the sweet-talking raven, flew into the sky, leaving everyone baffled. A few seconds after they recovered, Lucy stepped up beside David and said, "Be careful. That raven might steal your girl!"

Everyone burst into laughter, including Cass, while David just sighed and shook his head.

The tension evaporated with each passing second, since they now knew for certain the raven didn't belong to Victor. However, they also grew curious about why Odin sought them out and what he wanted to converse about.

They continued joking about the raven's strange personality while waiting for this supposed guide. It took a few minutes for the person to reach Cass's illusions, but unlike the raven, the newcomer actually glanced and smiled at each.

The group stopped joking and laughing as a strange chariot-like sled appeared before them, pulled by two giant silver cats.

A beautiful, seductive woman with long, braided golden hair stepped off it. She wore a golden breastplate and a flowing, whitish-gold dress. A golden, intricate necklace with gemstones glinted above her chest, and a strange, feather cloak shimmered on her back and shoulders.

From the archive of the Professor's book, everyone recognized this person before she even introduced herself.

"Hello, my name is Freyja. I'll be your guide!"