The wind tried to steal their breath and failed not because the five of them were superhuman (well, they were), but because they were alive in the middle of a blizzard. Steam rose from their bodie. Esmodra hugged the fur collar of her coat and glared at them.
"Seriously, why are you all portable saunas?
Naelle sniffed, amused, and poked Esmodra's cheek.
"Because we're elite assassins, darling. Heat is part of the aesthetic."
Syraleh rolled her eyes and adjusted the straps on her thigh harness. "Also because if we froze solid we wouldn't be able to kill anyone."
Enheduanna answered in the same low, even tone she always used. "We are adapted to the field. You will acclimate. For now, stop worrying about personal comfort and listen."
Rielinne spread a hand drawn map she made during their reconnaissance on the snow held by a rock in the middle.
"Okay, ladies. This is simple, ruthless efficiency. The village... it's a town actually, is massive. It's an entertainment district with three thousand souls, many corrupted by Flux Corrosion. The target is the Blood Odachi. Our count is five hundred bodies per person. That's your quota. Try not to complain."
Esmodra blinked. "Five… hundred? That's a lot of—"
Rielinne cut in with a grin that didn't reach her eyes.
"Not five hundred exactly. You can kill more of you want. You'll find creative ways to fulfill your quota. Master wants the Odachi intact and then sealed. No touching unless ordered."
Naelle clapped her hands.
"Ooh! Rules!" Do not touch the cursed sword. Check. No hugging the sword. Check. No making the sword jealous by petting other weapons. Double check."
Syraleh snorted. "Naelle, the sword doesn't have feelings. You do though, and that's the problem."
Iserra, leaning against a boulder with an amusedly murderous smirk, flicked a snowflake into Naelle's hair.
"You say that now. Last time you exposed us when you grabbed a lantern and we had to kill a lot of people in the process."
Naelle made a wounded face. "Do not act like it was my fault "
Esmodra, still trying to reconcile a kill-count with her still-beating heart, watched Enheduanna carefully. The veiled woman's fingers danced in a small, invisible pattern. It was not a Flux anyone would understand.
"So… what do you do, Enheduanna?" Esmodra asked softly.
Enheduanna's voice was a flat reassurance.
"I make space for the rest of you to be spectacular. I will draw the main attention and create openings. Naelle will help me. Syraleh, Iserra, and Esmodra will puncture the crowd lines. Rielinne will make sure the Odachi remains untouched until we extract it."
Rielinne's eyes glittered like the snow.
"Exactly. Everyone dies, the Odachi wakes, we feed it what it needs and leave."
"We feed the sword. That's an oddly domestic phrasing for murder."
Syraleh deadpanned, "Please don't anthropomorphize cursed weapons, Naelle."
A gust of wind pushed at them. The Japanese entertainment district below was a glittering maze of paper lanterns, narrow streets, and neon. It was a cluster of life that looked obscene in the white silence. A thousand tiny movements could be threats, or corpses, or simply trapped people. Esmodra's breath clouded as she spoke her mind.
"I can't believe we're actually doing this."
"We do what we must. And in the meantime," Rielinne gestured to the group, " we should go now. It's been a while "
Esmodra blinked. She had been dealing with the moral edges of assassination for weeks now, but the girls' casual chatter made the whole thing feel unnervingly domestic.
"How do you stay so normal despite how many people you've killed?"
Rielinne answered without looking up from the horizon.
"Because we were raised this way. Also, we get money and freedom unlike most Noble Fluxers. Enough talk now. Let's go."
The leap off the cliff was ridiculous and lovely. Rielinne somersaulted, summoning Occultare around her as she fell. Syraleh twisted into a blur. Naelle, predictably, landed with a flip and shouted, "Ta-da!" as she immediately began vanished using Occultare. Esmodra was held by Iserra as they fell.
Enheduanna dropped last. She hit the ground and the snow paved from the wind pressure.
Their third mission as the Null Handmaidens had begun.