Chapter 63 Border.

"What took you so long, Nine?" Zero Three asked, looking somewhat annoyed.

"Hm? I think I arrived just in time?" Nine turned to the clock on the wall just to realize that she's two minutes late.

"Two whole minutes!" Three growled angrily. "We should be outside already!"

"Sorry sorry. I was a little busy, that's all." Nine said, hanging her uniform inside her locker.

The reality is that she had to stop by the bathroom to take a quick shower and change. Doctor's little experiment had left her a little sullied and she had to make sure no one notices.

"You went to see the old man this morning, right?"

The moment Three asked that question Zero Five's eyes turned in the blond Valkyrie's direction.

"Yes." Nine answered. "Doctor is doing fine, if that's what you wanted to know."

"Of course he is." Zero Three waved a dismissive hand showing how little she cared about the topic. "He spent days in bed doing nothing. Wish I could be as lazy as him."

"Three, you know Doctor isn't doing that because he likes it." Five said.

"Yeah I get it already." The young Valkyrie shrugged. "I'm just surprised by how frail humans are. I mean, look it us. We suffer injuries that could kill them all the time yet we are already back in peak condition the next day."

"It's not right to compare us to humans, Three." Nine commented. "We are completely different beings, after all."

"You mean weapons." Five said, staring at the blond one with half closed eyes.

"Indeed." Nine nodded. "It would be troubling for our creators if we are as frail as them. That's why they allocate a lot of resources and energy to our repairs whenever we are damaged."

"I would like to avoid any big injuries if possible." Three said, checking the exposed parts of her body. "I really hate it when the restored spots dont have the same tan as the rest of my body."

"Three, how about you bring your second armor this time?" Five said after a short pause.

"Really!? Can I!?" The young Valkyrie turned around with sparkling eyes.

"We have been encountering a lot of D and C class Calamities recently." The ponytailed Valkyrie said. "I think it would be for the better if at least one if us has her second armor on, just in case."

"Hmm… I don't know about that…" Nine looked up as if she's thinking about something. "Even if Three's doesn't consume as much energy, using it when we aren't sure there is a need sounds like a waste."

"I will handle most of the fighting." Five said. "That way we could keep our energy consumption to a minimum."

"Eeeh!!? What's the point of me bringing my second set if I'm not going to use it!?" Three complained.

"It's a precaution in case we meet another A class." Five said.

The frequency of Calamity appearance had increased in the past couple weeks. It wasn't as high as in other, more active bases, however when one takes into account that they used to have less than two attacks per month it's only natural to want to be on guard.

[Seriously, this set is so much cooler than the normal stuff.]

The three Valkyries put on their equipment and went out preparing to take off. Zero Three wore her second armor which had a completely different look compared to what the other two wore.

For starters it covered her entire body. A thick silver mechanical suit that made the young Valkyrie seem a little taller than normal. With her hair tucked into the head gear she looked like a simple female mannequin, that alone was the second armor's simplest form.

Several metallic boxes floated behind her each containing an additional piece of equipment. One of them split in half then into several pieces that gathered around each of the young Valkyrie's arms fusing together to create large gauntlets. Another box did the same creating a pair of metallic boots around her legs.

[This much should be fine, right?] Said Zero Three, her voice resounding from a speaker.

"Well, you'll need to fly anyways." Said Nine with a wry smile.

"Remember, leave the fighting to me and keep the energy consumption to a minimum."

[Yea yea I get it already.]

Three opened her palms and pointed them at the ground below her. Particles of blue light began to gather underneath them forming two small rings, at the same time Zero Three's armored figure began to gradually float up. Another pair of rings appeared under her feet lifting her to a higher altitude.

[Alright.] Said the young Valkyrie. [See ya!]

The four rings suddenly contracted and thr silver figure disappeared followed with a sudden explosion.

"Did she just…"

Once the dust settled the other two looked around and saw that the young Valkyrie was already gone.

Zero Five couldn't help but sigh.

"Well, let her have some fun." Nine said, igniting her propellers. "We better get there before the runs into anything though."

"... yes."

Flying alone wouldn't be a problem, even if the speed of her departure was alarming. As long as she doesn't start a fight the energy she consumes would be kept at a minimum.

Soon enough the two Valkyries were in the air flying in the predetermined rout for today's outing. Though they made catching up to Three their priority, Zero Five was flying at a leisure pace as if trying to enjoy the trip.

"Say, Nine." Out of nowhere, the ponytailed Valkyrie struck a conversation. "You didn't just go see Doctor today, right?"

"Hm? Whatever do you mean?" Nine asked, her smile not faltering.

"Well, I just don't understand why you would be late if that's all you did."

Seeing Five being more talkative than usual caused Nine to get anxious herself. Doctor made sure to remind her to not tell anyone about their secret experiment, however she wanted to brag about how close she had gotten to him and that caused her thoughts to change.

"Hmm… well you know how Doctor is injured, right?" Nine said.

"Yes." Five nodded.

"Well, I took it upon myself to help him with a few things so he could be at ease."

"I… I see…" noticing how stressed she had gotten, Zero Five took a deep breath trying to calm herself. "You're kindhearted, Nine, helping Doctor even when he never asked."

"It's only natural that I would." Nine replied with a giggle. "After all that's what I was made for."

[I don't want to intrude on your little chat but...] Zero Three's voice cut in as if she had it timed beforehand. [You better get here and fast. We have a situation.]

Noticing the seriousness in the young Valkyrie's voice the two dropped the topic they were discussing and accelerated in her direction. What alarmed them the most was that they had yet to enter the red grounds, which is a really bad sign with how close to the base they are.

A couple of minutes later Zero Three's silver armor came into sight. Once they reached her their eyes immediately moved toward the thing she alerted them about. On the ground right at the border between the purified land and the red area were multiple diamond shaped object. Six in total with the first being a light blue and each one that followed having a darker shade of the same color.

As usual the shape of the Calamities made no sense at all, however that wasn't what bothered the three Valkyries at the moment.

"So that's how they do it…" Nine said, her sniper rifle already equipped.

[This is the first time we see it, right?] Three said.

"Yes. Usually it's just left in the aftermath of a Herald's invasion…"

The six diamond shaped objects hovered over the border between the the red ground and the purified land. As they moved a red track is left behind extending the crimson border a little bit at a time.

The first one sprayed a thin layer that seemed to be lacking quite a bit. Once the second one passes over it the color grows stronger leaving very small gaps that would soon get covered by the third layer. Once all of the diamond shaped Calamities pass a certain point it would have the same shade as the rest of the red grounds.

The process was rather slow so it was hard to believe that this is the way it's usually done, but that doesn't matter at all. The Calamities are trying to extend their territories and that was nothing if not a bad sign.

"Nine, survey our surroundings. Check for any other abnormalities." As she spoke her instructions, Zero Five took the long case off her back and transformed it into her large halberd.

[Wait! Are you going to fight them alone!?] Zero Three asked in a shocked tone.

"As I said, focus on conserving your energy. If it becomes clear that they're B class or higher feel free to interfere."

Igniting her propellers, Zero Five dived straight toward the enemy.