Being a Valkyrie is not easy [HI3rd FF/ selfinsert]

12. Into the snake pit

,,You are smart little Labrat. But I am telling the truth. From the shadows I have watched you desperately trying to become stronger, your fight against Kalpas and your training with Elysia. And yet it brings you nothing. Not even your friend helps you, and she herself is a Herrscher.'' the girl explained to me. I didn't know why, but the she was right somehow. Mei had not even offered me help since we had entered the Elysian Realm. But somehow I didn't trust the girl either, she was too well informed and just at the thought of Mei her expression seemed to get darker. ,,I don't know exactly what you want from me except to help me. If you have a problem with Mei then settle it with her and leave me out of it,'' I replied.

The girl giggled again. ,,You are really mean to those who want to help you, artificial Herrscher...'' she laughed. ,,Where did you hear....?" I asked, shocked. ,,I told you I was watching you from the shadows. You should really be more careful what information you give out," the girl replied, circling me. ,,If I join your game, will you leave me alone?" I asked uncomfortably, since she was eyeing me so intensely. ,,I promise. But only if you last until the end," she replied. After a short hesitation I nodded. ,,Deal.''

~Narrator POV~

Mei just came back to the lobby from another exploration of the realm. ,,Hi~'' greeted Elysia. Mei nodded at her and joined her. ,,How is Yuki-chan's training going?" she asked. ,,Good. She's a really fast learner. She always takes something positive from her failures. Nevertheless, I advised her to change the weapon," Elysia answered happily. ,,And what kind of weapon do you think she will use?'' ,,I advised Yuki to use a bow. I think it would suit her perfectly. As soon as she has practice with it, she will surely move as elegantly as a snowflake across the battlefield,'' Elysia replied, and her eyes seemed to sparkle at the very thought.

Mei had to smile at the thought that Yuki was making progress. Still, guilt arose in her. She should also help her, but she was too focused on finding answers in the Elysian Realm. ,,Mei, you should talk to Yuki. You two haven't talked in a long time and it shows on Yuki's face." Elysia began. ,,I know. Where is she? I wanted to warn her about Mobius anyway. Simply because she is different from me and I don't want anything to happen to her.'' replied Mei. ,,Aww how cute you care about her. But I haven't seen Yuki for a while either. She wasn't in her room when I checked earlier. I wanted to ask her what her bow should look like,'' Elysia thought.

,,Ah Mei-san, good to meet you," said Eden who joined the two girls. ,,My dear Eden, it's good to see you too," Elysia replied. ,,Is something wrong Eden?" asked Mei, who saw the singer's unusual serious look. ,,Does this belong to Yuki-san by any chance?" asked Eden, holding the blue bracelet in her hand, which was for Yuki's Battlesuit. ,,Yes..." replied Mei, confused, since Yuki never left her things lying around. ,,I heard what you just said and I have a bad guess where Yuki-san might be," Eden continued, holding the message from Mobius. Mei took the message from Eden's hand and began to read. Curious, Elysia looked over Mei's shoulder and read as well. ,,This... is really not good,'' Elysia said, holding her forehead with a sigh. ,,What do you mean?" asked Mei. ,,I'm afraid that because you defeated Mobius, she's taking out her anger on Yuki. I thought she would leave sweet Yuki alone," Elysia explained. ,,I'll have to go get her," Mei said and immediately wanted to run. ,,I'll come with you,'' Elysia called and followed Mei.

,,Don't worry, Mei, I saw how well Yuki did against Kalpas. She will hold out until we come." Elysia added and went through the gate first. When the news reached Mei's head, she looked after Elysia in shock.

~Yuki POV~

I was out of breath and my entire body was aching from using my Herrscher powers. This time I could not hope for help from anyone and certainly not from the Herrscher. She was still sleeping. ,,What's wrong, little Herrscher? Are you reaching your limit?" asked the girl, who seemed to enjoy my helpless situation. ,,Haven't you seen enough already? As you can see, I can't awaken my powers in this way," I replied. ,,You don't seem to have understood me correctly. I told you to last until the end," the girl explained. When I realized what she meant, her grin seemed to grow. ,,Do you understand now? Either your Herrscher powers help you out of here or you face your bitter end. You should really be careful with whom you make deals," she continued giggling.

When I again defeated the Honkai beasts with my void lances, which came dangerously close, my legs gave way and my ears were ringing. ,,Fufu~ Too bad, I really thought I could experience the awakening of an artificial Herrscher.'' laughed the girl. My body gave in to exhaustion and it became harder to keep my eyes open. ,,I'm sorry, Mei... Elysia..." I mumbled.

Before I lost consciousness again, I saw new Honkai beasts coming towards me. That and a pleasant warmth passed around my body...

When my consciousness came back I felt that I was leaning against something. And heard muffled voices. As my senses sharpened, I could hear Mei's and Elysia's voices. ,,Mei... Elysia... I...'' mumbled as I dizzily lifted my head. ,,Thank God we found you." Mei said and hugged me, which made Elysia giggle. ,,What happened?" I asked and looked around. I was no longer in the dark place from before but seemed to be under a tree with yellow golden leaves. ,,We found you unconscious here when we were on our way to Mobius to rescue you," Elysia explained with a relieved smile. ,,Mobius?" I asked. ,,The girl who took you," Mei answered. ,,Ah~ The snake.'' I replied.

,,But how did I get here?" I asked. ,,We don't know, but let's go back to the lobby first. Then we can talk more.'' Mei answered and supported me while standing up.