It was the year 2014 A.D.
In the height of summer, the sound of insects was constant. St. Freya Academy, the highest institution for training 'Valkyries' on Earth, clearly had countless resources poured into it.
The light-colored European-style buildings looked magnificent under the streetlights. Gardens and fountains were everywhere. Following the wide marble path inward, one could see a huge plaza, and beyond the plaza stood a majestic castle.
This was the academy's main teaching building. Under the continuous streetlights, one could clearly see a gigantic emblem painted on the castle wall.
It was simple in design: merely a Fire Moth.
Summer nights were not teaching hours, but the plaza was crowded with girls wearing white tops and blue skirts. They gathered in groups of three to five, mostly fiddling with astronomical telescopes, all of which were aimed at a certain spot in the night sky.
Clustered by the stars, a bright full moon hung in the night sky. It had a beautiful purple stellar ring, making it look like a dazzling gem.
No matter how beautiful it was, the students had been seeing it since birth and were more or less tired of it. Taking the academy's summons as an excuse, they simply turned the night into a picnic. Immediately, the lawn was covered with blankets, and the long benches were filled with students either chatting or playing on their phones, the screens' light reflecting the stars in the sky.
"Ugh, this is so boring. The Principal said something big was happening tonight, but we just came to look at the ringed Moon again. How many times has it been this month? Every time I get bitten by mosquitoes."
In a corner of the lawn, a girl with white pigtails sat cross-legged, leaning on her hands as she yawned. The bright blue eyes reflected the ringed Moon, her impatience practically visible on her face.
Half a meter away, a purple-haired girl slightly raised her head. Her features were delicate, exuding an air of an aristocratic young lady.
"Kiana, please have some patience. The Principal had no choice; this must be a requirement from the Fire Moth-Chaser."
"Hmph. Mei, you're just too obedient. No wonder your grades are so good."
"Grades have nothing to do with obedience; they come from hard work. Forget it, I can't talk to a school slacker like you." Raiden Mei pursed her lips, showing a faint smile. "The Fire Moth-Chaser is the academy's superior. Just think of it as them providing free food and lodging and training us to be warriors. We should repay their kindness."
"That sounds a bit better. But studying is unnecessary. When I graduate, I can smash those Abyss Monsters with one punch." Kiana simply uncrossed her legs, gently shaking her ankles. Then, as if remembering something, she leaned closer.
"Mei, have you heard those unverified legends?"
"What legends?"
"The ones about the Fire Moth-Chaser. It's the organization that governs the world, yet no one knows who its leader is to this day. Seriously, how many years has it been? Why hasn't anyone questioned or wondered about this?"
Her curiosity made the girl excited. Just as she was about to delve deeper into the topic, Raiden Mei gave her a sharp look, causing Kiana to pout.
"It is weird, though! It's not like discussing it is forbidden. That's the organization that rules the world and leads humanity against the Abyss Monsters! Why is it so secretive? If I were the Commander-in-Chief, I'd plaster my photo all over the classrooms and make Teacher Himeko worship me every day."
"That's you." The purple-haired girl seemed to actually know something, and her gaze turned serious. "Everyone who has investigated these inner workings has failed, and it's the world's greatest mystery."
"They disappeared? Were assassinated?" Kiana lowered her voice, adopting a posture ready to fight evil.
"No, they all voluntarily stopped their investigation, and none of them died."
"Were they manipulated? Hypnotized?"
"How would I know?"
"Oh, come on! I know you know a lot. Don't be a tease!"
Kiana held Raiden Mei's arm and swung it back and forth, pestering her relentlessly. Mei was half-tempted to tell her some insider information, but she worried that Kiana, with her overflowing sense of justice, might mistakenly view the superiors as some evil organization.
How could the Fire Moth-Chaser be evil? It created the training methods for humans to master Abyss Energy, guided humanity to fight Abyss Monsters, and has prevented those suddenly appearing monsters from causing any significant damage since the beginning of recorded history. There were also none of the evil experiments common in sci-fi novels.
Aside from the extremely high aptitude requirements, becoming a warrior had no side effects. In fact, it extended life and preserved youth. Rumor had it that the longest-living Valkyrie, 'Fu Hua,' was nearly two thousand years old.
Thanks to this accumulation, humanity firmly held the advantage. Now, it was headline news if ten people died in an incident. If the Fire Moth-Chaser hadn't consistently opposed it, they would have long since launched an expedition to the ringed Moon to figure out what was going on.
So, the Fire Moth-Chaser was very mysterious. They knew the source of the monsters was the ringed Moon, yet they forbade anyone from touching it. This illogical stance sparked much debate, but it always faded into silence.
'Maybe there really is some huge secret hidden behind it? But if they're cultivating us, the death rate is lower than car accidents. If it weren't for the fear of those with aptitude being exploited by bad people, even St. Freya Academy could close down.'
'But highly capable Valkyries occasionally go missing. The Fire Moth-Chaser's public explanation is "expedition," but they never mention who they are launching an expedition against.'
Raiden Mei murmured inwardly. The Fire Moth-Chaser suppressed everything, yet they didn't seem ready to end the war. She couldn't help but glance at Kiana, who was still swinging her arm.
This idiot actually came from a prominent background. As the second daughter of the Kaslana family, her mother, Cecilia, was an S-rank Valkyrie, her father, Siegfried, was an S-rank Knight, and her sister, Bianca, was hailed as a once-in-a-generation genius.
Though that genius currently had to serve as a small-town police officer, relying on the occasional appearance of an Abyss Beast to boost her record...
Humanity's accumulated advantage was too great. She heard that after two more graduating classes, the Counter-Entropy forces wouldn't accept new members, sending everyone to the public security forces.
"Sigh, the chosen one has no stage to show off. I've been enrolled for two years and haven't participated in a single real battle." Thinking about this, Mei also felt a bit down.
"Too many monks and too little gruel, I guess. My sister complains every day. She finally waits for a wave of monsters to farm, but before she can be a hero, the mobile unit rushes in and solves it." Kiana looked dejected. She couldn't hope to achieve her dream of being a hero for another hundred years.
Raiden Mei wanted to laugh but then found herself unable to. War brought suffering, and it couldn't be a good thing. But possessing the 'qualification' and having superhuman strength, she felt unwilling to be a mere bystand. She remained stiff in her thoughts.
"This is a good thing. Most graduates now go into the public security forces because energy is equal. There will always be people who use it for bad deeds. Abyss Monsters are not the main threat."
A cold and rational voice sounded. Kiana turned her head and saw a spiral-haired girl sitting in another corner of the blanket, silently scrolling through her phone under the streetlight.
"Uh, Bronya, you're here?"
"Bronya has been here all along, just not participating in your discussion. And Kiana, pull your legs together. Bronya can see the cartoon pattern on your underwear." Bronya reminded her, causing Kiana to immediately stand up, blushing and clutching her skirt.
Raiden Mei quietly covered her mouth, managing to look serious again. "Perhaps the Fire Moth-Chaser deliberately leaves some monsters behind. Otherwise, what would so many warriors do without opponents? It would be like doctors without patients—chaos would surely erupt."
"Is that why they added culture classes and made us take college entrance exams? So annoying!"
Mei and Bronya looked at her simultaneously, seemingly questioning her intelligence. Given Kiana's cultural class scores, she would most likely end up in a vocational school.
"Uh, why are you looking at me? Anyway, Mei, you still haven't told me the secret."
Seeing Kiana hold her hand again, the purple-haired girl felt helpless. Why don't you ask your parents? They must know more, she thought.
Fortunately, Bronya put down her phone and came to her rescue. "Kiana, recite the knowledge from your textbook, and Bronya will tell you a secret rumored on the dark web—a secret that even Mei doesn't know."
This immediately captured Kiana's attention. She swiftly turned her head. "Really?"
"When has Bronya ever lied to you? But you must first explain the history of the Fire Moth-Chaser, just the textbook stuff, even though you only scored twenty points."
This little Duck is always hitting me where it hurts. How dare she look down on me!
Kiana took a deep breath, then adopted a thoughtful expression, then scratched her ears and cheeks, and finally looked utterly lost.
"Uh, two thousand years ago... what happened two thousand years ago?"
This Paramecium! Miss Bianca's grades were so good, yet she's nothing like her.Never mind, I'm very curious about this secret too.
Mei rolled her eyes, reluctantly speaking for her. "Before the year 2014, the Flame-Chasers appeared, and the chaotic history of humanity began to be recorded. They first unified Earth and developed a new technology, which is the warriors' training method."
"History was recorded on that day. The Abyss Monster catastrophe was suppressed before it could fully erupt. As time passed, the Flame-Chasers gradually faded from view. The 'Warriors' they left behind inherited their power and formed the Fire Moth-Chaser, leading this millennium-spanning war."
"The composition of the Fire Moth-Chaser is unknown, but they have not made a single mistake in a thousand years, transforming a natural disaster into an ordinary calamity. The number of casualties has continuously decreased. If not for the Abyss Monsters appearing randomly and continuously, the entire threat would have been forgotten."
"By our time, Abyss Monsters are merely background noise to the light of peace, posing no major threat."
Bronya nodded slightly. Although brief, she had covered the essential context.
The Fire Moth-Chaser was undoubtedly a heroic organization, but its supreme power and extreme secrecy naturally aroused human curiosity. It was a basic human instinct.
"So, what's the secret? You weren't lying to us, were you?"
A pair of bright blue eyes suddenly appeared close to her, causing Bronya to lean back slightly. "Kiana, you didn't answer anything, did you?"
"Mei and I are best friends. Her answer is the same as mine!" Kiana put her hands on her hips, looking as if it was the most natural thing in the world.
"Fine. Bronya has been struggling to keep this a secret since she found it out. Come closer."
Bronya crooked her finger. Watching her two friends crawl closer, she subtly licked her lips.
"The supreme leader of the Fire Moth-Chaser is the Commander-in-Chief. His name is Ryan. And..."
"He hasn't been replaced in two thousand years."