The day after receiving my deployment orders from headquarters.
Arishia came to find me early that morning, while I was still packing my things.
She wore the expression of someone who'd just heard something unbelievable.
"Leila! Is it true? You're really being deployed?!"
Word had spread faster than I expected, it seemed.
I was her only companion, after all — the one friend for that hopeless girl who had no one else.
The news that I was suddenly leaving headquarters must have hit her like a thunderbolt out of a clear sky.
I'd planned to see her face just before departure, without any rush.
Arishia, you're fidgeting like a puppy that needs to go outside.
My mood brightened pleasantly at the sight, and I answered her question.
"Yes. It seems the local Commander was killed in action during an operation. The situation there must be quite chaotic in all sorts of ways. Headquarters decided to send me to help."
"But isn't it a frontier city? Are you going to be okay…?"
"Hehe, do I need to think about whether I'll be okay? Orders are absolute for a Valkyrie, aren't they?"
"That's true, but…."
I knew exactly why Arishia was anxious.
Frontier cities were the front lines — pressed right up against the Outland, the domain of the Erosion Species.
Even at this very moment, Valkyries were dying there. It was that kind of place.
So naturally, she was worried I might die out there.
Hehehe, how silly. That's the whole point, darling.
Still, I couldn't let my true feelings show here.
I finished packing everything into my bag and walked over to Arishia.
Then I gently ruffled her hair and smiled.
"I'm glad you're worried about me. But I'll be fine. Lately I've been training hard with you, and I can feel myself getting stronger. If I do well on this deployment, I might even make A-rank? You might need to watch your back, Arishia."
"…Your confidence is something else. You've lost twenty-seven times in a row."
"I lasted five whole minutes the last time, didn't I?"
"I was going easy on you."
"Surely not. You hate losing, Arishia."
"No, I really was going easy on you…."
Arishia pouted and grumbled.
Lately she'd been showing this kind of adorable side of herself. Truly touching, I must say.
I playfully reached out and gave both her cheeks a light pinch.
She furrowed her brow slightly, as if to say, what do you think you're doing.
But she didn't pull away or push my hands off.
Sweet Arishia. You really shouldn't do that.
If you let your guard down around someone like me, it just makes me want to torment you….
Without thinking, I let my hands drift downward and traced along her neck.
That place connecting head to body — so precious, so vital to a person.
I found myself wanting to press down on that small, slender neck and snap the bone clean through.
*Not that it would work.*
Of course, it was a pointless thought.
Arishia's body was far too sturdy for that.
She'd shake my hands off long before I could break anything.
What a trivial little fantasy to be having.
Perhaps even I was reluctant to say goodbye to her.
I pushed down the sticky feeling and took a step back.
Then I looked at her with the smile that had become second nature to me by now.
"Once things stabilize enough that they don't need me anymore, I'll probably be able to come back. It's not a permanent farewell, you know?"
"…."
"Wait for me until I return. I promise — no matter what happens, I'll come back safe."
"Okay…."
A promise.
Arishia and I linked our little fingers together.
Only then did the anxiety seem to leave her. She finally smiled.
All of it, of course, was a pitch-black lie.
After exchanging that final farewell with Arishia.
I completed my deployment paperwork and was done with it.
Perhaps they considered the situation in the frontier city urgent enough.
They skipped all the usual complicated procedures and let me board the train immediately.
*Hardly any passengers….*
My destination was the frontier city of Lumia.
Drawing on my memories from my previous life, this place was a danger zone where a bombardment could fall at any moment without warning.
So unless you had a specific reason to go there, there was no reason to head in that direction.
That was probably why most of the faces I could see were Valkyries.
Sensing their energy, most of them felt retired rather than active duty.
Were they heading to another city in search of work?
Well, other people's circumstances were none of my concern.
I claimed a suitable window seat, and the train departed shortly after.
I gazed at the scenery rushing past in reverse and let my thoughts wander.
*So it begins. The train derailment.*
The prologue of Ashen Valkyrie.
It opens with the player waking up on a train.
A train bound for Lumia that suddenly derails and topples onto its side.
The player tries to escape the train and comes face to face with Erosion Species.
Just when death seems certain, a Valkyrie saves their life.
*The Valkyrie who saves them there is Leila… that's me.*
In other words, this train would be derailed by Erosion Species before long.
And I would have my fateful encounter with the Commander.
I was looking forward to it. What kind of person would the Commander of this world be?
He was the toy I'd have to play with all the way to the very end, after all.
I could only hope he'd be worth the effort.
I closed my eyes lightly and waited for that moment to arrive.
Just then, the train gradually slowed and came to a stop.
But no matter how I looked out the window, there was no station in sight.
Why had it stopped in the middle of nowhere like this?
I was puzzling over it when an announcement came over the intercom.
["We will be making a brief stop to maintain spacing between trains. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience to our passengers."]
If that's all it is, we'll be moving again soon.
But the train showed no intention of moving even after a considerable amount of time had passed.
"When is this train going to leave already?"
"I'm going to die of boredom waiting…."
"I need to get there quickly!"
…Something was off.
A sense of unease crept over me, and I stood up from my seat.
I went to find the conductor and asked what was going on.
As it happened, the conductor was a retired Valkyrie.
"Excuse me, why haven't we departed yet?"
"Ah, well… the train that entered the section ahead hasn't cleared it. I've been trying to reach them, but there's no response… It's possible something happened…."
"…Something happened?"
"I've already contacted the company. It'll probably take a little time to resolve…."
Wait. A communications blackout at this exact timing.
The more I thought it through, the more an unsettling conclusion took shape, and cold sweat began to prickle at my skin.
*There's no actual basis for assuming we'd be on the same train.*
Only then did I realize my own foolishness.
Thinking that if I just sat still, everything would unfold according to the original story on its own.
I wasn't some naive child who believed the world revolved around me.
I cursed myself inwardly and made a polite request to the conductor.
"Conductor. Would it be possible to move the train closer to where that other train lost contact?"
"What? No, that would be difficult… there could be a collision… I've already contacted the company. It would be better to wait…."
"I am Leila, a B-rank Valkyrie from headquarters. There is a possibility that the incident ahead is related to Erosion Species. I would be grateful for your cooperation."
"Uh…."
When I identified myself, the conductor's rounded eyebrows trembled slightly.
Even B-rank was considered an exceptional level among Valkyries.
And headquarters personnel were treated as elite. It would be difficult for her to ignore my request.
But right now, even a minute of back-and-forth felt like a waste.
I had no time to go through every proper procedure.
I took her hands in mine and pleaded earnestly.
"Please. This could turn into a major disaster."
"W-well, that's…."
"If anything goes wrong, I will take full responsibility."
"Ugh, ugh…. Understood…."
The conductor, who had been averting her gaze as if troubled, finally gave a nod.
A heartfelt plea really does move people.
I apologized to the other passengers and returned to my seat to open my suitcase.
Tucked into the corner of the bag was a Nail Gun, folded neatly in half.
I was already wearing my Combat Suit uniform, so that was everything I needed.
The other passengers were flustered to see me pull out a weapon so suddenly.
But I had no room to spare for their reactions.
*Commander… don't you dare die on me…!*
I couldn't forgive him for dying before me.
The savior of this world, destined to be loved by countless Valkyries.
The Commander absolutely had to become my audience.
The train ran on for several minutes.
Then it slowed sharply, and screams erupted from all around.
"Th-that's…!"
"Erosion Species?!"
"S-stop the train!"
The reason was plain enough.
In the far distance, barely visible — a toppled train.
And swarming around it, a writhing mass of grotesque monsters.
The monsters were Erosion Species, humanity's enemy.
The moment I confirmed it, I yanked the emergency handle and forced the door open.
The train hadn't fully stopped yet. A tremendous wind rushed in.
I climbed along the side and hauled myself up onto the roof of the train.
A wind like this was nothing to a Valkyrie.
I shouldered the Nail Gun and took aim at the Erosion Species.
Thwunk! Thwunk!
The heads of the distant Erosion Species exploded like crushed tomatoes.
*As expected. Not particularly strong. Just tutorial fodder. One shot from the Nail Gun and their heads are blown apart.*
With a grinding roar, the train braked hard and lurched violently.
I adjusted my stance with practiced ease to keep from being thrown off.
All the while, I kept firing the Nail Gun in rapid succession without pause.
Six on the left side of the train, five on the right.
Twelve with a forty-round magazine.
I swapped the magazine and leapt down from the roof of the halted train.
"Kreeee!"
"Grrrr!"
Erosion Species still swarmed around the derailed train.
Every one of them a massive, menacing creature radiating a vicious aura.
If I charged in head-on, I'd take considerable damage myself.
But I didn't slow my pace by a single step.
"Get out of my way… and disappear!"
Crackle!
For one instant, electricity surged through my entire body.
And as though the process had been cut away, leaving only the result —
The heads of more than ten Erosion Species burst apart almost simultaneously.
Under more leisurely circumstances I might have applauded my own results.
But my gaze was fixed solely on the punctured side of the derailed train.
*They've already gotten inside…!*
Throb. Throb.
I pressed a hand to my splitting head and stepped through the opening.
Inside, I could see someone in the midst of being lunged at by an Erosion Species.
Before I could even think, I fired the Nail Gun.
The Erosion Species, struck without warning, crumpled sideways to the floor.
A moment later and it would have been catastrophic.
I caught my breath and looked at the man who had nearly died.
"Ha… hah… are you… all right…?"
Thump.
He was sitting on the floor.
But no matter how I looked at it, something was strange.
Just a moment ago, he had been on the verge of losing his life to an Erosion Species.
Yet in the man's eyes, there was not a trace of fear.
Thump. Thump.
What lived in them instead was nothing but a quiet, unyielding resolve.
A will that seemed to believe there was something more important here than dying.
Looking more closely, there was a bleeding girl behind him.
I didn't know the circumstances, but it seemed he had stepped forward to protect her.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
You were about to die yourself — and you could still have eyes like that?
I couldn't understand it. Surely no one else could either.
And so, all the more.
*Ah… I want to see this person's face when he's in agony….*
That was my first meeting with my Commander.