As if the end of the world wasn't enough, Sam now had to deal with a murderer and a thief who could infiltrate the most secure section of the base and avoid all security equipment.
No matter how much they looked there wa no sign of the book and just like that another two days passed. That's when some news finally arrived, sadly they weren't of the good kind.
The scouts sent by the twelfth and thirteenth bases had finally returned. According to them the Resistance headquarters was in a really bad shape. There were more survivors than anticipated, however the number of casualties wasn't small either.
Apparently two Nephilim were responsible for the attack. They were far more powerful than the S class Calamities and the Valkyries were unable to do anything about them.
After wrecking havoc for a while the enemy decided to retreat for some reason leaving a sea of fire and scorched land behind.
"Things aren't looking very good for us, huh?" Shizuru heaved a long sigh.
"Yep." Sam said, taking a sip from his coffee cup. "How have you been doing?"
"Well, same as everyone else, I guess."
"How're the others taking it?"
"Not very well. We now have to keep the males and females separate. Since the world is about to end some are starting to get funny ideas."
"I… guess no one believes I can make something that would save us, huh?"
"Do you blame them? I mean, you took the time to see your girlfriend when you could've been working."
"What? Do you have any complaints?" Sam asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Of course not." Shizuru replied, and though she tried to smile, Sam could still see the exhaustion and worry she is feeling.
"I'll send five to keep an eye on you and the rest of the female soldiers."
The two remained silent for some time. The cafeteria which is usually quite noisy was dead silent that day. Most of the other soldiers spent their time in their rooms waiting for the next flight to the remaining settlements.
Though the headquarters was completely destroyed the three settlements near it were relatively unharmed. It seems the two Nephilim had no interest in murdering civilians, or it might be that they were just too focused on the Resistance and left the rest of humanity for another time.
"Say, Sam. What do you think those Nephilim are after?" Asked the Asian girl.
"Beats me." Sam replied. "I doubt that matters though."
"Hmm I guess you have a point. They would kill all of us whether we return it to them or not." She said. "Still, I can't help but wonder what could it be?"
"Well, me too." Sam said. "We hardly know anything about them so it's impossible to make a guess."
"Yeah. I mean, where in the world did they come from anyway? I doubt they were on earth all along and suddenly decided to take over the planet one day."
"What? Are you one of those who believe they're aliens?" Sam asked, giggling.
"Well, wouldn't that make sense?" Shizuru replied. "They're far more technologically advanced, or so it seems at least. No matter how you look at it there is no way those things are something that occurs in nature."
"You mean like humans?" Sam said.
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"What? Does our great scientist not believe in god?" Shizuru smirked and placed her cup down. The coffee must've been a bit too bitter for her as she added another pack of sugar, one of the remaining few, and used a plastic spoon to steer it.
"No I don't." Sam replied. "Darwin's evolution theory makes too much sense."
"Well, maybe for someone with your brains. For me it makes more sense that someone had made all of us."
"Never took you for the religious kind." Sam said, his eyes carefully observing his girlfriend wondering if this was her way of accepting that it was the end.
"Well, I never thought much about it. At least not until I started interacting with Three."
Shrugging once, she brought her cup to her mouth, gently blew on the surface then took a small sip.
"Three, huh…"
"I mean she is no different from any normal girl. If you never knew she's a Valkyrie you would probably think she's just a pretty young girl."
"Yeah…"
Sam knew that better than anyone. He still remembers the way she trembled in his arms after hearing that Nephilim's voice. She was just a scared little girl. No sign of the powerful weapon she's supposed to be.
"And what does that have to do with god?" Sam asked.
"Well, if someone is capable of creating the Valkyries, what evidence do we have that humans weren't created by someone else?"
"Quite a lot, actually." Sam replied.
"Well, you are the scientist." Shizuru replied, shrugging again.
Another moment of silence passed as the two slowly sipped their coffee. Shizuru sighed once more, and Sam did the same.
"Well, my point is..." She spoke, her eyes fixed on the dark liquid in her cup. "Those so called Nephilim seem to be someone's creation. I mean, they said it themselves."
"Ah, so that's where the religious talk came from…" Sam said.
"The supreme race that overcome the chains of its creator. Makes them sound like some sinful heretics, right?"
"Yeah…"
"Did you know? Apparently the Nephilim are the the sons of fallen angels." Said Shizuru. "Though they're supposed to be giants. And the ones we're facing are all female."
"The sons of fallen angels, huh." Sam said. "Fits with their description, right?"
"Yeah. And they resemble the Valkyries quite a but."
Sam looked up, taken aback by that statement.
"What? I'm sure you have thought about it as well." Said Shizuru. "A lot of people have. And only an idiot would think it's a coincidence."
"I see…"
Sam felt sick in his stomach. Whether it was a conscious effort or not he has been doing his best to ignore that topic. He didn't want to think about it, and he was sure the others didn't want as well.
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However now that he heard someone say it so bluntly it was easy to connect the dots.
"Well, I dont say I'm a great detective or something." As if trying to change the mood, Shizuru erased the depressed expression she had as she forced herself to show excitement. "After going though all the evidence I have come up with a theory!"
"Oooh!" Sam exclaimed, clapping a few times. "And? What do you think?"
"First of all, Odin is the thief those Nephilim are looking for." As she spoke, the Asian girl raised two fingers then lowered one of them. "Second, whatever it is that he stole, it's something essential in the creation of the Valkyries."
"... what?"
"Well, I have no evidence to support that, however I have a strong feeling that's the case."
Though he did see the resemblance between the Nephilim and the Valkyries and he acknowledged the likelihood of the two being somehow related, it never occured to Sam that that might be the actual reason for behind the invasion.
'Could it be… did Odin stole the Valkyrie blue prints from the Nephilim?' Sam thought.
Though that seemed to make sense at first, when he considered the difference of power between the Valkyries and Nephilim it sounded less believable. If he wanted a weapon that would allow him to fight the invaders why did he bother creating an inferior version?
'Or maybe he couldn't…'
It was difficult to believe that the Valkyries are just a knockoff version of the so called Nephilim, but if that's really the case, what makes them inferior?
Is it the materials used to create them? Or could it be that they lack some components that prevent them from reaching the same level as those things?
"So? What do you think?"
Shizuru's question shook Sam back to reality. He stared at her for a moment, his eyes growing wide.
"Actually, it makes more sense than it sounds at first." He said with a smile.
"I told you." Shizuru replied, returning the smile. "That said, what's bugging me the most is right now is where they came from."
"I guess you have the point."
Odin stole something from the Nephilim. When one hears that the question their mind goes to is what did he steal. However what they should be asking is how did he know what to steal in the first place?
Where did he find those beings? How did he get to them? What made him think stealing from them is a good idea?
"Actually, I have one more theory." Said Shizuru before making a dramatic pause.
"So? What us it?" Sam asked.
"What if we have been looking at it from the wrong angle this whole time?" She said.
"What do you mean?"
"Okay. The normal conclusion is that someone on our side somehow made contact with those Nephilim then stole something from them which is why they're trying to get revenge on all humans, right?" Leaning in, and with a serious expression, the Asian girl said something that changed Sam's whole understanding of what was going on. "But that's only if you are convinced that the perpetrator is a human."
"Are you saying…"
"Yes. For all we know, the perpetrator might be one of the Nephilim." Said Shizuru. "One of their kind betrayed them and escaped to our side."