Chapter 14: I Won’t Have Peace Today.

Juno slowly lowered her gaze and fixed her eyes on the two young Duals.

Suddenly, she felt a small jolt in her head, as if her reality had glitched.

“Are those two… enemies?”
“Is this part of my programming?”
“No… there’s definitely something wrong.”

Juno took a deep breath and tapped her head lightly, as if trying to straighten out her thoughts.

"You two… are you here to kill me?" she asked seriously.

There was no answer.
In truth, neither of them knew how to respond.

"I won’t let anyone take away my freedom…" Juno murmured, her cold tone sending chills down Valjfreya’s spine.

"What's wrong, blondie? Are you scared of her?" Luminelle asked, looking at her with childish curiosity and boldness.

"Don’t rush in… she took down that beast with a single strike," Freya replied, not taking her eyes off Juno.

"Maybe it was just weak to electricity…" Luminelle’s fists began to glow with a pink hue, ready for battle.

While the two girls argued about what to do, Juno grew more and more impatient.

"You leave me no choice."

Juno dove toward them at full speed, and Luminelle’s face lit up with excitement.

"Show me what you’ve got!" shouted the tiny magical girl, leaping like a pink shooting star.

"Starlight Love Punch!"

"Stop, you idiot! Don’t attack without a plan!" Freya yelled.

But it was already too late.

Luminelle’s fist clashed against Juno’s with brutal force. The two became locked in a clash of energies.

"Stellar energy… interesting," Juno murmured. "But my cosmic energy is stronger."

"Galaxy Fist!"

Juno’s fist became wrapped in a dark flare, like the void of space. Luminelle’s pink light was slowly devoured by that abyssal energy.

"What the he—…?"

With a single push, Juno hurled Luminelle to the ground with devastating force.

Valjfreya took advantage of the confusion and charged forward with her sword in hand.

"Aaaaaaahhh!"

With a downward slash, she thought she’d strike Juno. But the young girl simply stopped the blade with her bare hand.

Freya’s face showed pure shock.

“She stopped my attack… with just her hand?”
“What the hell is this thing?”

A drop of blood ran down Juno’s palm.

She watched it slide slowly, as if it were the first time she’d ever seen something like that.

"Is this… blood?"

In that moment, Juno felt threatened. Her expression hardened.
"Why do you want to kill me? Is it because I’m different?"

With a sudden movement, Juno crushed Valjfreya’s sword, shattering it into a thousand pieces.

"Wait, stop!" Valjfreya hurried to say.

"Galaxy…"

As she charged her power, Juno felt something inside herself… like a crystal breaking.

“Was that… a soul?”
“Did I just lose a soul…?”

Each thought pulled her attention further and further away.

Valjfreya dashed backward at full speed and materialized a new sword.

“Father of all, lend me your power once more…”

"Bifrost Ray!"

The sky split open, and a seven-colored beam descended with divine force straight toward Juno.

Surprised, Juno raised her hand.

"Dimensional Fissure!"

A tear in reality opened before her, absorbing the attack as if it were a black hole.

"No… no way…" Freya’s face twisted in pure disbelief. "That power has won me wars, and it was completely useless… What the hell is that thing?"

The fissure closed, vibrating as if it had digested the ray.

Juno grabbed her head again, trembling, as if something inside her was breaking once more.

"Why…?"
"Why do you want to kill me…?"
"Why do you want to deny my existence?"

"I don’t understand what you’re saying! I’m not your enemy!" shouted the Valkyrie sincerely.

But Juno was already sinking into her own thoughts. Electric sparks began bursting from her body like overflowing energy.

"SILENCE!"
"THEY’RE LIES!"
"EVERYONE WHO SPEAKS TO ME WANTS TO CONTROL ME OR HURT ME!"

The sparks gathered in her hand, forming a spear made of pure electricity and fury.

"THUNDER JAVELIN!"

"Come to me, Svalinn!" Freya materialized a shield on her free arm.

The impact was brutal.

The electric javelin was far stronger than she expected; it crossed the space between them in an instant and sent Freya flying, slamming her into the ground with devastating force.

Juno descended slowly with the grace of a deity.

Meanwhile, on the ground, Luminelle and Valjfreya could barely move.

A buzzing hum of electricity vibrated through the air, reminding them of the brutality of that strike.

Both were gasping, exhausted, unable to understand how a Dual could possess such overwhelming power.

The blue-haired girl stopped in front of them. With her hand wrapped in dark energy, she extended her fingers toward Luminelle.

"Maybe… I should take your souls…"

Tears began to roll down the tiny magical girl’s cheeks.

"I… I don’t want to disappear…" she murmured before bursting into tears.

"Waaaah…!"

"Enough! We surrender! Leave her alone!" the Valkyrie said seriously, though she herself was badly wounded.

For a moment, with her hand just inches away from extracting Luminelle’s soul, Juno’s mind suffered another glitch.

A sharp pain pierced her head.

“No… what am I doing?”
“If I take her soul… I’ll be doing exactly what THEY want.”

"I’M NOT LIKE YOU! I WON’T LET YOU CONTROL ME!"

Her scream echoed across Akihabara, shattering several unprotected windows.

Luminelle kept crying, and Valjfreya struggled to understand what was going on, unable to decipher her behavior.

Suddenly, Juno began to rise slowly. Her expression grew more serious as she heard the turbines of the mecha-soldiers approaching from all directions.

"You two… you’d better—…"

But when she turned around, she could no longer see them. They had vanished in a flash, leaving no trace, as if they had never been there at all.

Juno looked up for a moment, toward the infinite sky… but then turned her gaze toward the Liberty soldiers descending to surround her.

"I guess today… I won’t have peace," Juno murmured, preparing for the incoming attack.