Across the globe, whispers spread like wildfire.

In neon-lit cities, in cozy cafés, on school rooftops and military bases alike, many were wondering the same thing:

What are Valhalla's Sinners planning?

It had been a long time since their last upload, not counting the adult ones about Luna's education and the fun with others. However, those could only be viewed by adult women; most were locked out of the content.

For young girls, boys, and men, there have been no clips, no missions, no scandals. Just silence. Unsettling silence from the most unpredictable group on the planet.

This has been the longest upload absence since Valhalla's Sinners started, making the people wonder if they were planning to retire from combat after the whole debacle with the masked assailants and the simultaneous dungeon breaks.

Many people predicted they would use their large fanbase to become variety content creators fully, cutting out combat from their repertoire. The truth was that after the dungeon breaks, many awakened did that. Life has become more unpredictable for awakened combatants; what they thought they knew, what they were taught in their academies, and experienced on their dungeon excursions before seemed to have become pretty obsolete.

The rules had changed. Some cities still had random monsters roaming the streets. Thus, awakened could find themselves going to clear up a D-rank dungeon, but get jumped by a B-rank dungeon's boss monster that has been hiding away.

Life has thus become significantly more dangerous, which resulted in those who could pivot their careers toward safer routes, at least until the smoke cleared and they got a better understanding of how the world worked now that the supposed decade-long 'tutorial' has ended.

This led to most people assuming that Valhalla's Sinners were doing the same. After all, why wouldn't they? They were some of the best-positioned groups to retire from combat and still make insane cash from just fooling around on camera.

"Aren't they gonna post something soon?" a young boy asked with legs dangling from the kitchen counter.

His mother dusted flour off her fingertips as she shaped cinnamon cookies on a tray. "You're still thinking about them?"

"They always upload at least every few days!" he insisted. "What if something happened to them?"

She sighed, gently patting his head. "You should focus on school. That kind of content isn't meant for kids."

"But Moooom," he whined, cheeks puffed, "Kaiden is so cool! I want to be like him when I grow up!"

She rolled her eyes, but smiled anyway. "Sweetie, you're too young to dream about becoming an awakened combatant."

"Huh?" The boy looked confused. "No, Mom. What makes Kaiden the coolest isn't just his strength! There are many guys who are stronger than him."

"Hmm? What is it that makes you want to be like him then?"

"I also want a harem of beautiful girls!!" the boy decreed.

Her mother's hands froze. "What?"

"You heard me, Mom. I will have a beautiful harem like he does and fight alongside them!! We will become heroes together!"

"… Boys will be boys…" the Mother whispered with an amused sigh. Then, sensing an opportunity, a sly glint entered her eyes. "You will need to eat your veggies if you want to grow up to become tall and strong like Kaiden. Girls like boys with a healthy diet the most."

The boy instantly grimaced, hearing her words. He hated eating greens; fries were so much better! But if it was to become like Kaiden…

"Ok, Mom…"

It was a small price to pay.

…

From Tokyo to Berlin, from New York to Cairo, conversations mirrored theirs:

Office employees sipped coffee, scrolling through news feeds.

Teenagers spammed fan forums with theories and ship-art.

Fangirls debated outfits, new weapons, and who Kaiden would flirt with next.

Intelligence agencies in frost-covered bunkers and desert compounds analyzed old footage. Analysts frowned at empty monitors. Why the silence? What are they planning?

Governments waited. Fans waited. Haters waited.

And then…

A notification pinged.

[Valhalla's Sinners — LIVE]

For half a second, many people felt as if the world stopped.

Live?!

They never stream live anymore. It was too risky, too traceable. Hostiles could use it to find their location and ambush them. It had been months since they'd allowed anyone to see their actions in real-time.

"Mom! MOM!" the boy shouted. "They're live! They're LIVE!"

His mother slid the cookie tray into the oven and shook her head, amused. "You're going to explode from excitement. Calm down a bit."

He didn't hear her. He was already scrambling onto the sofa with a bag of chips that was hugged to his chest and a bottle of cola tucked under his arm.

That was until his opportunistic mother slid in and exchanged the chips for a large serving of grapes and the soda for water.

"M-Mom!"

"We discussed this already. Some pretty girls like chubby boys, but I haven't seen a chubby man with a harem of beautiful girls like Luna, Nyx, or Aria."

"Ugh!! O-okay…"

The woman just now realized how great an impact that group of young people her son seems to idolize can become. She just needed to weaponize their influence properly.

Seeing how she finally found the one way to get her son to accept a healthier lifestyle, the mother had the most excited grin on her face as she added, "In fact, I'm going to sign you up for the local basketball club tomorrow. Aren't I such a supportive Mom?"

"…"

With teary eyes, he accepted the horrible downgrade of snacks and that he'd have to start doing sports, took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and connected to his internal interface. The Awakened Media Platform unfolded in his mind's eye.

A loading bar flashed.

[Stream Connected.]

The feed stabilized.

His eyes widened.

It wasn't a battlefield. No flames. No collapsing skyscrapers. No monsters.

It was… a city street.

Quiet. Peaceful. Afternoon sun reflected off tall buildings while pedestrians passed by, unaware.

He blinked in confusion.

"A… fun stream?" he whispered to himself.

Not an epic one full of explosions and boss fights, but a variety one.

The boy leaned forward, crunching a grape between his teeth, only for it to fall from his mouth.

Something was wrong.

Kaiden wasn't laughing. Nyx wasn't giggling playfully. Aria wasn't humming a beautiful tune. Luna wasn't bickering with her plush friend.

They were all armed.

Weapons gleamed at their hips, shoulders set, eyes sharp.

This wasn't a fun stream.

This was war.

His pulse quickened as he flicked open the comment overlay in his mind. The chat was already going insane.

Over 10,000 viewers had tuned in within the first minute, growing rapidly. And hundreds of comments flashed past every second.

- PrincelessPrincess: What are they doing?? Why are they fully geared???

- LapdogOfTheEmpress: Is there a raid?! A dungeon outbreak? The Supreme Empress is dressed for a massacre!!

- Thirsty247: Nyx looks extra fine today ngl but why do I feel so uneasy?!

- Kaiden's Wife: HELLO?? Kai looks like he's about to murder someone!!

- LadyLeia: Something is really off. People in the background are recording them too.

- TouchGrass: They're in the middle of a public street! I thought they'd be careful with their location!

The boy's heart pounded faster.

He swiped down to refresh the feed. There were multiple points of view to choose from, and he selected Nyx's.

And the chat exploded again.

- Kaiden's Wife: Wait just a moment!! Who is that demon woman?? Excuse me?! A new girl so abruptly?!?!?!? Before me?! Kai, my heart can't take this!!!

Thirsty247: Wow, that demon is literally hot as hell.

TouchGrass: Bro, what DLC did he buy to unlock a demon queen???

The boy squinted at the screen, eyes widening even more.

Kaiden walked at the front, and his shoulders were taut as stone.

Behind him followed five women.

Four he recognized instantly, Nyx, Luna, Aria, and Bastet.

But the fifth…

Tall. Curved horns. Demon-red skin as smooth as polished jade. Black, infernal armor hugging her body. A long tail swayed lazily behind her, flicking now and then with excitement.

She didn't try to hide.

She didn't care about the dozens of humans staring, gasping, filming her.

She walked with the relaxed confidence of a lioness in a flock of sheep.

And unlike their usual streams, there was no joking between the girls. No mischief. No bickering.

Just silence.

A heavy silence that felt charged with tension.

Even the boy, young as he was, understood it the moment his gaze fixed on Kaiden's tense shoulders, on the way he moved with immense purpose in his strides.

They weren't just walking.

They were marching.

"To do something important…" the boy whispered.

Something big.

Something irreversible.

The world had no idea what.

But it was about to find out.

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