While Sam was having his meeting with the commander, the three Valkyries departed for their usual patrol. Today they were aiming to go beyond the city they found the day before, expanding their range further to make sure no Calamities were lurking in the vicinity.
"Hey, how about we stop by the city for a bit?" Zero Three asked, her eyes sparkling with excitement.
[You know we can't do that, Three.] Nine's voice came from the communication device, sounding somewhat tired.
[We should focus on our mission.] Zero Five added. [Also, there isn't much to do in the city since it's painted red. We can't take anything back with us.]
Today the young Valkyrie was the one responsible for scouting and recon. Nine was a sniper so she always stayed at the back, which meant Zero Five and Zero Three had to take turns leading the advance.
"I mean, we don't really have to bring anything back." Three said, her cheeks puffed. "We can just check things then leave them there."
[Well, there is no problem with that, but…] Nine was hesitant to give her approval.
The Valkyries have an invisible force field that prevents most outside components from sticking to their bodies, which means they don't have to worry about carrying the virus back to the base with them.
The same can't be said for anything else, though. Unless a Valkyrie with the power to purify comes and cleanses everything, it would be really dangerous to bring anything from the red areas back.
"This is no fun." The young Valkyrie began to sulk. "We can't go to the city now and we can't after the humans come to live in it. Why do they get to have the fun stuff when we are the ones doing all the work?"
[Now now. You know it's not up to us to decide such things.] Nine said.
[Maybe we should search the city once more.] Zero five followed after a few seconds.
[Five!?]
[We only did a quick check last time. I believe a more thorough investigation is in order. To avoid any surprises.]
"As expected from Five!" Three exclaimed, having regained her excitement in no time. "We will be passing by it every day so it would be for the better to make sure nothing is hiding there!"
[Well, if you say so…] Seeing the logic in their arguments, Nine decided to give in. She is the one staying at the very back, after all. If they miss something and it sneaks on them from behind she would be the one forced to deal with it.
The three weapons hastened their pace so that they would have enough time to investigate the city properly.
[Three. Stay put till we get there.] Zero Five instructed.
Once they reached the destination the young Valkyrie landed near the center. According to the old maps, the city was called Pretoria, one of the three capitals of the nation that was once called South Africa.
Overtaken by curiosity, Zero Three did some research of her own when they returned to the base the day before and learned a lot of things, like how it was known for being an academic city housing multiple universities and research centers. It also hosted a certain important sports event at some point before the Calamities appeared.
"To think two million people used to live here…"
The place was empty. Abandoned. It was the exact definition of a ghost city. Seeing something like this made it difficult to believe so many humans used to live there.
"I wonder how they managed to evacuate all of them in time." Nine said as she landed a small distance behind.
"It is indeed strange…" Zero Five said, her feet touching the paved road. "Such a mass exodus should've left more… chaos…"
It's been nearly a decade since the Calamities wreaked havoc on the planet, even so, the streets of Pretoria were strangely clean and organized. There are signs of neglect and lack of maintenance, but for a place that was abandoned in a panic, it looked strangely in order.
"Rather than being evacuated." Five said, her eyes scanning the surroundings. "It feels like everyone just disappeared into thin air…"
"Now now, if that were the case then we would've known already." Nine said, leisurely walking ahead. "Don't tell me you're starting to believe in those occult stuff humans keep inventing despite scientific advancements?"
"We are fighting unknown enemies with powers beyond our imagination. We can't say for sure whether such Calamities exist or not."
"Their size and shape might differ but at most they all use the same beam attack." Nine waved her hand dismissively. "Besides, what would a calamity gain from keeping a city intact while massacring humans?"
The ponytailed Valkyrie offered no response. Nine only smiled at her and added.
"If a Calamity really did something here then we should be able to find some signs soon."
"... right…"
Suddenly the two turned their heads to the left having heard a strange noise. Turns out it was just the young Valkyrie opening the shutters of a store on the roadside.
"Three! What are you doing!?" Nine called.
"Investigating!" Zero Three replied in a cheerful voice.
"You aren't supposed to touch anything!"
"C'mon! What's the worst that can happen?"
Ignoring Nine's protest, the young Valkyrie broke the glass door and went inside. The weapons had no way of knowing whether the owners of the store were alive or not, but since this was inside Calamity territory no one would complain if a few things were touched or destroyed.
"Ooooaah!!!" A cry came from the store prompting the other two to follow the young Valkyrie. When they reached her they noticed that she was holding what looked like a shirt staring at it with sparkling eyes.
"This is so cool!!!" Three exclaimed, holding the piece of clothes up for the other two to see.
It had a strange design of a man holding a microphone, the words "never gonna give you up" were written around him.
"I wonder if this was some kind of celebrity." Nine asked, having forgotten all about how startled she had been a moment ago.
"Hey! What do you say we try some of these on?"
"No." The other two answered in unison, spilling cold water on the young Valkyrie's enthusiasm.
"We would be here the entire day if this goes on any further." Five said.
"Besides…" looking down on her own chest, Nine added with a wry smile. "I doubt there is anything that would fit me."
Zero Three looked at the blond Valkyrie's giant melons then down at her own flat like a cutting board chest. Suddenly all the excitement she had leaked out and her mood took a turn for the worse.
"Yeah… let's get out of here…"
As the other two wondered what caused the sudden mood swing, Zero Three tossed the shirt and stepped out of the store. She held both hands to the small bumps on her chest and tried to feel their softness for herself only to sigh a moment later.
"Well, this makes swimming easier but…"
When seeing the exaggerated sizes of her fellow weapons, the young Valkyrie couldn't help but wonder about the reason behind such a difference in their designs. She could only question the reason she was given such a form, and as she did, something moved in the corner of her eye prompting her to turn in its direction.
"... it can't be…"
It was only for a fraction of a second, but she was sure her eyes had detected something. The weirdest part of it all, however, was the way it appeared to her. Whatever it was, that thing had a human silhouette.