The boy had black hair unkempt at the front, red eyes and a light build as he seemed way shorter than average as he wore a black jacket with a white undershit as well as a belt over black pants and black shoes.

Initially, silence was all that followed as the two girls could only keep quiet and just stare at what had just boarded the ship in front of them.

Now the fact that it was a male wasn't what kept them quiet because they obviously knew males did indeed work and have jobs.

What shocked the two was the fact that these types of mission were dangerous due to the risk of normal humans being contaminated with the deadly Honkai disease/virus should they come into contact with the beasts.

Only Valkyries such as Kiana and Mei were specifically trained to be highly strong against the Honkai infecting them so they could take on the beasts themselves without repercussions.

To know that this boy was simply just a merc and not a Valkyrie meant that either he was somehow strong against the Honkai Virus in a different way compared to them or he wasn't and was just pratically signing his death warrant.

After the initial silence, it was the merc who broke it first as he began to speak.

"Um, hold on." He said before fumbling around in his jacket's pocket before pulling out a paper. "Are you two, Kiana Kaslana and Mei Raiden? Valkyries of St. Freya High?"

Knowing Kiana would most likely tell him to leave, Mei took charge and initiated the conversation.

"Y-Yes we are. I'm Mei Raiden and the girl next to me is Kiana Kaslana. We're indeed Valkyries from St. Freya. May I ask who you are?" Asked Mei hoping to gain a positive introduction out of this.

"Oh sorry. Nice to meet you two Ms. Raiden and Ms. Kaslana." He said bowing a bit. "My name's Alex Mustang." Said the boy calmly revealing his name.

"Hey shrimpy! Why are you here!? You're interrupting my precious time with Mei Senpai!" Shouted Kiana.

"K-Kiana! Please don't be rude! Major Himeko said we needed to treat him nicely!" Said Mei in a panic.

Alex though was just confused at Kiana's claim as he awkwardly rubbed the back of his head.

"Was I, interrupting something? I apologize if I was but it's like your major said. I was brought in as a last minute addition so it was now or never for my arrival." Replied Alex, though Kiana simply ignored his response as Mei just sighed.

"S-So, uh, you say you're mercenary Alex? My apologies but, you seem quite young to be one." Stated Mei.

"Hm? Oh yeah you're right. He looks close to Bratnya's age." Said Kiana.

"If I look young it's cause I am. I'm thirteen." Casually said Alex which got a shocked reaction from the two.

"T-Thirteen? Isn't that, a bit too young to be working as a mercenary?" Said Mei.

"So you're saying that Aunt Himeko brought a kid along with us!?" Shouted Kiana.

"You say that yet the current strongest Valkyrie right now is only sixteen. Just three years older than me." Said Alex.

"Y-You do make a valid point. Anyways I hope we got along for this mission. Right Kiana?" Asked Mei as she turned to the white haired girl with an expression that made said girl tense up a bit.

"F-Fine. I hope we get along or whatever." Begrudgingly said Kiana but Alex merely shrugged their responses.

"Listen you two no need to get chummy. For me it's as simple as this. This is a one time gig for me. Once it's done, we're done." Said Alex clearly affirming that he himself had no interest in helping out afterwards.

The two decided it was best not to continue this conversation and continue on their mission.

Before the three could get a move on, it turned out that their conversation had allowed a large group of Honkai Beasts to approach them.

Mei and Kiana got their weapons ready to slug out a victory until Alex suddenly stepped in front of them.

"Don't worry, I got this." He said as he held a hand in front of him before drawing out his sword.

He aimed it at the incoming beasts before taking a deep breath.

"Fire!" He said as in a shocking act to the two girls, Alex launched a large fireball out from the tip of his sword as the large group of Honkai Beasts were immediately caught the massive blast of fire.

After a bit, the flames and smoke went away as nothing was left behind.

"W-What the hell was that!?" Shouted Kiana.

Mei was just simply in shock at what she saw as Alex looked at the two and gave a small chuckle as he sheathed his sword back and walked on ahead.

The three moved onward until they all saw a trap ahead of them.

"Three laser traps. If we get past those, we'll reach a higher level outside." Said Alex.

The two nodded and one by one, the three easily sneaked by the laser traps and reached an upper level.

Afterwards the three continued on the path before making a turn to enter the ship's interior as they reached another point of the ship.

"That's the aft of the ship, right?" Asked Mei.

"Seems like it. Why? Is it important to the job?" Asked Alex.

"Hmmm...Himeko told us to gather at the aft of the ship and secure a breach." Said Kiana.

Mei was quiet for a bit before she responded with unease.

"Something...doesn't feel right about this." She said as Kiana simply shrugged that off with optimism.

"Pfft. Mei, your always worrying about that stuff. You don't have to worry about those pesky enemies with me around!" Said Kiana with a smile as Mei gave a light hearted chuckle while Alex sighed.

'Either she's just really optimistic or she was completely oblivious to her friend's clear concern.' Thought Alex to himself.

Suddenly, the three were immediately surrounded by a group of beasts as this time Kiana and Mei easily took care of most of them as Alex, aside from a few, was able to take this fight pretty easy.

After the battle was over the three approached a terminal that stood at the aft.

"Alright, let's secure this breach." Said Kiana. Before she could begin though, Mei stooped her as Alex looked off to the side.

"Heads up we got incoming!" Said Alex as the three jumped away as they saw what had come from above and landed in front of them as the trio was greeted by an Emperor-Class Honkai Beast as it roared ar them.

"Seriously this guy again!? I could've sworn I sent him packing!" Said an annoyed Kiana.

"H-Huh!? You fought this before!?" Shouted a shocked Mei.

"Hey focus you two. We got a high level Honkai Beast to handle. An emperor class at that. This can only go so well." Said Alex as he withdrew his sword once again.

The fight was on as Alex and Mei both being the swordsmen fought the beast up close while Kiana would provide support from the back with her fire arms.

The battle went on for a bit but it didn't take long for the three to realize that they were way out of their league as this beast was easily over powering them.

The beast eventually managed to exhaust and knock down Alex and Kiana with Mei barely holding it back and standing her ground.

'Damn. This isn't going so well and Mei's on her last legs.' Thought Alex as Kiana groaned.

"Hnnggh...it's way stronger than I thought." Said Kiana in exhaustion as the two looked at Mei who was barely able to keep the beast's blade back with her own.

"I-I can't...fall here. I need, to protect you two." Mei said.

As this stalemate kept going, a P.A. system began to speak.

"3rd Herrscher activity detected. Restriction protocols activated." It said.

Unseen by Alex and Kiana, Mei eyes began to glow a bit as she looked at the beast with a smirk, seemingly having a change in attitude and tone.

"Go to hell, scum!" Shouted Mei as in an instant, she managed to completely slice the beast in pieces with a sudden burst of immense strength.

After the battle was over, Mei panted as she was extremely exhausted.

She turned back to see Kiana laid on the ground and Alex just sitting but also panting heavily.

"A-Are you alright Alex?" Asked Mei in between pants.

All Alex could manage was a simple nod as the two turned their attention to an even more exhausted Kiana as Mei rushed to her side and held her in her arms.

Right now the three desperately needed a rest and hoped that whoever appeared next was an ally and not a foe.

Suddenly, Alex noticed Mei look up and smile as she had a sigh or relief.

"...your here...thank goodness your alright." Said Mei in between pants again as Alex turned to face the direction Mei was as he saw what she was looking at.

That being another girl.

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Chapter 2: Complete