July 24th

2:34PM

Cranagan

Mayuzumi Residence

"Mom! I'm home!" Miyu called out as she entered through the front door of her house.

"Come join me in the Living Room!" Miyu's mother replied from the couch. Miyu briefly smiled at Ayase before the two headed into the room, where Miyu's mother was reading over a report. The woman smiled sweetly at the two as she put the papers down on the small table in front of her. "So. What news did you want to tell me about?" she asked.

"Alright. Mom. Ayase and I have discovered a pattern in the attacking strategy of that woman who attacked Dad. After she attacked Dad, she attacked me…" she paused for a moment. "But don't worry about that. Ayase came along and scared her off. Anyways… after that, she went after Ethan. That happened sometime last night. Now, he's missing. We're thinking that she took him along with her. That's where the pattern became obvious to us. She is attacking everyone that has some sort of close relationship to this family. We don't know why yet. But… from that evidence, we've came up with two conclusions. She will either attack you or Ayase next. We've already ruled out the chances of her attacking Ayase… since she's probably aiming to go after easy targets so she can get more energy for the thing she uses. It's a Lost Logia that can drain the Linker Cores of mages and store that energy inside of it so it can give a big power boost to its owner so… she's probably going to go after you next. We're warning you right now."

"Well… that's troublesome…" Tsugumi mumbled quietly, letting out a soft sigh and adjusting her glasses. "So what should I do about it?"

"You could either stay at the TSAB Main Office for a while or have someone come and be a bodyguard." Miyu replied with a nod.

"I really wouldn't mind either… but thanks for the warning." Tsugumi replied with a smile. "Are you two hungry? I can make some snacks."

"Actually, Ayase wanted to talk to you about something." Miyu stated.

"That so?" Tsugumi looked over at Ayase and smiled.

"Excuse me, Mrs. Kirisaki. My mother told me that you personally interrogated the Sylphian Archer that attacked us a couple days ago. My mother also told me to come to you if I have any questions." Ayase replied formally as she bowed respectfully.

"So I'm guessing you have some questions about it then?" Tsugumi asked.

"Yes, ma'am. I have a personal interest in what this Sylphian Archer told you." Ayase replied calmly.

"Well-" Tsugumi began, but she was cut off by Miyu.

"Um, while you two talk, I'm going to head to the bakery right quick. I want to see if I can get a box of those donut holes that I really like…" Miyu mumbled quietly.

"Alright. Go ahead." Tsugumi replied with a smile. Miyu gave her mother a small nod before jogging out of the front door. The bakery was located only a few buildings down from the grocery store. After the ten minute walk there, she headed inside and got in line. There were eleven people ahead of her. Miyu loved the smell of freshly baked bread and pastries. When she was little, her parents always got her a box of chocolate donut holes whenever she accomplished something big in her magic training. They became a sort of luxury to her. After about thirteen minutes, the people ahead of her had all gotten their baked goods and they stepped out of line after each purchase. Miyu stepped up to the register and smiled at man behind the register. He had a pudgy face but a hearty smile.

"Hello Mr. Riley."

"Hello there Miyu. How are you today?" Mr. Riley replied.

"Good. I'm here today to see if you have those chocolate doughnut holes that my parents always buy..?"

"Luckily for you, I just made a fresh batch." Mr. Riley grinned as he briefly walked into the back, bringing back a small box of them. "There are twenty four inside."

"Thank you." Miyu smiled widely and took some money out of her pockets. "Here. I kind of… memorized the cost from looking at the receipts so much." she outstretched her hand and handed the money to Mr. Riley.

"Have a nice day. Tell your parents I said hi." Mr. Riley waved goodbye to Miyu as she took the box of donut holes and turned towards the door.

"I will!" Miyu called as she ran out of the door. She immediately began walking towards a place to sit underneath a tree nearby, occasionally eating a donut hole once and awhile. Miyu settled down underneath the shade of the tree and sighed softly. After a few minutes of sitting, realization struck her. "While I'm out… I should see if Mom wants anything." Quickly calling her mother, Miyu smiled once the screen displaying her mother's face appeared in front of her. "Hey. Um… since I'm out, do you want me to bring anything for you?"

"Not at the moment, but thank you for asking."

"Alright…" Miyu was about to cut the connection, but her mother interrupted her.

"Ayase left a few minutes ago and someone else stopped by."

"Hm? Who else came by?"

"Ethan." Tsugumi replied.

"...Ethan? But… I thought he got kidnapped! Why was he there?" Miyu asked frantically, dropping a donut hole she was about to eat to the ground.

"He's still here. He's just sitting at the kitchen table. I had to run upstairs to put my papers away. I don't know why he's here exactly, but he doesn't look injured at all or troubled. He's just being quiet as normal." Tsugumi replied as she headed back downstairs.

"That's really strange… no one just comes back after being kidnapped…" Miyu mumbled to herself.

"You should hurry home soon! I'm sure he'd be glad to see y-" the screen in front of Miyu suddenly disappeared and the color drained from her face.

"If Ethan's at my house…" she suddenly cut herself off mid-sentence and went wide eyed. "This is bad! Panzerglaive, let's go!" Panzerglaive materialized itself onto her left arm and flashed.

"Yes sir."

Miyu activated Monsoon Drive and ran home as quickly as she could.

4:01PM

Mayuzumi Residence

"Ethan!" Miyu yelled as she burst through the front door of her house. Looking around frantically, she ran into the kitchen, where Ethan was crouching over her mother, who was out cold on the floor. Gritting her teeth, Miyu glared at her friend. Ethan noticed her come in and looked back over his shoulder at her, raising an eyebrow.

"Why are you here?! You got kidnapped by that woman last night didn't you? And what did you do to my mom?!" Miyu yelled.

"Her? I just knocked her out." Ethan replied with an unsettling calmness.

"Why?" Miyu asked, growling.

"If I told you the reason why, you'd try to stop me." Ethan replied as he rose to his feet.

"What…" Miyu noticed a small gear hovering in the air next to Ethan. "Are you working with that woman now? Don't you know how dangerous the Gear of Judgement is?!"

"I do, but why would I decline something that is offering me the power that I always wanted on a silver platter?" Ethan asked as the gear settled itself around his wrist. This caused Miyu to clench her fists. She was on the verge of losing control of her anger.

"You idiot! That thing… it hurts people just to fulfill someone's selfish lust! You're a knight aren't you? You're supposed to be valiant and chivalrous! What is this "bad guy" act? It doesn't suit you… it doesn't suit you at all!"

"Honestly… You're getting on my nerves now. The Witch told me that you wouldn't be home for awhile… but this certainly is unexpected. Now that you're here I know that you won't let me take your mother's energy without a fight. I wanted to avoid confronting you… but I guess it's inevitable now." Ethan replied with a soft sigh. Holding out his right hand, his Device materialized in his hand: a large, black Claymore sword with light blue edges. Cryohunter.

"Of course! This is my family that you're hurting! My mom… she did nothing to deserve what that… that /thing/ does to people. It nearly killed my dad and now you're planning to use it on her? That's… unforgivable!" Miyu's Barrier Jacket appeared on her body and she eyed Ethan with a look of pure anger.

"I wanted to make it as painless as possible so I knocked her out. I have my orders and I plan to carry them out… even if that means having to take you out of the picture for a while." Ethan's Barrier Jacket appeared in a flash of light blue light. It was fashioned like a winter coat with a furry-white trim and a similarly fashioned hood and arm holes. The coat was covering up a dark blue shirt. There were several belts wrapped around certain areas of the coat and his pants. His boots had a furry trim as well and they were laced up with dark blue strings. Ethan pointed his sword at Miyu and took a deep breath. "If we're going to fight… let's take it to a place where it won't inconvenience anyone except ourselves." Miyu just gave a small nod and she placed her box of donut holes on the counter. She refused to take her eyes off of him. A light blue Belkan magic circle appeared underneath the two of them and they were transported to the abandoned lot near Ethan's house. "Gear Fragment." The small gear around Ethan's wrist unattached itself from his arm and hovered in the air in front of him. "Dislocate this place from space. Create a spacious battlefield, an empty field."

Ethan's Gear Fragment rotated to where it was facing the sky and a large barrier swamped the entire empty lot. It created a small pocket dimension in the area. Anyone outside that happened to cross into the lot would find nothing there.

"Ethan… I'm going to beat some sense into you…" Miyu stated, her eyes fierce. She looked as if she was trying to burn her gaze into Ethan's soul. Ethan just shrugged off the feeling and flew into the air.

"Sorry, but I won't let you. I know that you are weak against Aerial Mages. I won't make this a fair fight. Maybe in another situation I would… but I have to put you out of commission quickly." he replied coldly as he pointed his sword at Miyu. A Belkan magic circle appeared in the air next to him and a bright, sky blue beam shot out of it at Miyu.

Miyu quickly dived out of the way and quickly got back up to her feet. "You coward!" she yelled up at Ethan. Ethan narrowed his eyes and raised his hand into the air.

"Hailstorm: Frozen Rain." Hundreds of light blue mana bullets appeared in the air above him and he sent them raining down upon Miyu, just like hail.

"Sentinel Defenser." Panzerglaive stated as Miyu's hexagonal forcefield spell appeared around her. Once the rain of bullets stopped, Miyu dispersed the barrier. As soon as Ethan saw the barrier go down, he formed a spear of ice next to him in the air and threw it down at Miyu. He followed up with another beam shot from a Belkan circle. Miyu quickly dived out of the way of the spear, but the beam came right for her. She quickly threw her arm up in time to form a quick Protection barrier, but the force of impact sent her sliding back on her feet for a few feet. A magic circle appeared in the air in front of Ethan and he swung his hand out at it.

"Cryo-Smasher." A large, spear-shaped magical beam shot out of the magic circle. It hit the ground in front of Miyu and sent her flying back and into the air. Tsking quietly, she changed Panzerglaive into its Discharge form and pointed it at Ethan.

"Joust Shift!" A red mana spear shot out of the crossbow-shaped Panzerglaive on the back of her hand, speeding right for Ethan. Ethan quickly spun out of the way and flew towards Miyu. Cryohunter began glowing a neon blue and he started swinging it rapidly, large shockwaves being emitted. Miyu quickly threw up a Sentinel Defenser as one of the shockwaves reached her. The others thudded into the surrounding earth, causing large incisions to be cut in the ground. The shockwave that connected with her forcefield began piercing through it and Miyu went wide eyed. Quickly undeploying it, she jumped into the air and the shockwave hit the ground in front of her. Once she landed again, she spotted Ethan swooping towards her. Swinging his hand to the side, two Belkan circles appeared next to him on his right and left.

"Icy Needles." he whispered. Needles of ice began shooting out of the circles and Miyu tried to protect herself against them. As soon as she summoned a Round Shield, the needles bounced off of the shield. Ethan did not change his flight path, however. He flew over Miyu's head and fired off the needles at her exposed back. She managed to throw up another shield in time, but not before one managed to embed itself in her arm. Miyu winced slightly as she saw ice beginning to form on her exposed skin. Quickly reaching over, she pulled the needle out of her arm and threw it to the ground.

"That hurt…" she mumbled as she rubbed her arm. Miyu spotted Ethan hovering about twenty meters above her, several different sized and shaped blades of mana appearing in the air around him. "That's his Blade Rain…" Miyu hissed. Once Ethan finished the formation, he swung his sword downward at Miyu, causing the blades to rain down upon her like rockets. Miyu threw up yet another Sentinel Defenser and growled. "He's really doing it… Ethan you coward…" she mumbled through gritted teeth.

"Sir." Panzerglaive attempted to get her attention.

"What?" Miyu asked. "I don't really have time to talk right now."

"A Barrier Jacket upgrade would be recommended for this situation." Panzerglaive suggested.

"An upgrade..?" Miyu asked quietly, her voice trailing off. "I'm listening."

"To upgrade your Barrier Jacket, think of what would be most helpful to you and I will try hard to manifest it." Panzerglaive stated.

"Right… The only way I can beat Ethan in this state is if I could fly…" Miyu closed her eyes and imagined a Barrier Jacket mode that allows her to fly.

"Barrier Jacket: Reactor Form!" Panzerglaive announced. Miyu's body became briefly cloaked in a red light and the small white and red jacket she was wearing disappeared. The sides of her shoes gained engine-like add-ons to both sides of her feet.

"Sweet…" Miyu grinned as she looked down at her shoes.

"The Reactor form has a seven minute time limit. After the time limit is up, the normal Barrier Jacket will be immediately equipped." Panzerglaive warned Miyu.

"Got it." Miyu replied with a nod.

"Come on Miyu. Come out of that forcefield so I can finish you off." Ethan urged.

"One moment…" Smirking as the engine-like add-ons lit up with a neon red light, Miyu dispelled her forcefield, immediately flying into the air at Ethan. Going wide eyed, Ethan quickly summoned a Tri-Shield. Miyu's fist connected with the shield and she laughed. "Hey! This flying stuff is pretty fun!" Ethan narrowed his eyes at her and he quickly slashed his sword at Miyu's torso. Miyu immediately reached her right hand over and blocked it with a small Protection barrier that appeared in front of her hand, then she flew up into the air. It took a few seconds, but she steadied herself into a standing position. "But it's pretty difficult since I've never done it before."

"Why are you flying?" Ethan asked coldly, keeping his gaze on her.

"Didn't you know about Barrier Jacket upgrades?" Miyu asked in a teasing manner.

"I see. That's what happened…" Ethan nodded. "Even so, you're still new at it so you won't be able to out maneuver me!" Ethan flew right at her with his sword raised high. Miyu charged right at him with her fist pulled back. At the last second, she dipped off to the side slightly and avoided a sword slice from him. Ethan immediately turned over and pointed his hand at her. "Einfrieren: The Path to the Temple of Ice!" he yelled as two flat spears of ice quickly shot out from underneath him and they homed in on Miyu.

"So now he's going for those powerful attacks…" Miyu mumbled as she flew in the opposite direction of him. She had absolutely no idea of what to do in a dog fight, so she had to improvise somehow. Miyu quickly dipped downwards and flew right for the ground, the spears still continuing to follow her. She quickly peeked behind her to see how close they were when an arch made of ice suddenly appeared in a few meters front of her. The arch began glowing and shot an arc-shaped blast of Miyu. Since she was distracted, it hit her head on, sending her flying backwards and right towards the spears. Miyu had to do some quick thinking to avoid getting caught by them. She immediately angled herself vertically and passed right through the spears, each only grazing her Barrier Jacket slightly. Miyu crashed into the ground hard on her shoulder, causing a small trench to be left in her wake.

"See? What did I tell you?" Ethan asked as he landed on the ground a few feet away from her. "The air is my territory Miyu. You can't beat me there."

"You've become so arrogant…" Miyu grumbled as she rolled over onto her back, sitting up slowly. She gently placed her hand on her shoulder and rotated it back and forward. "That actually hurt a little… but it wasn't much. Maybe you really are a C rank." she smirked. Ethan glared at her with hatred and a Belkan magic circle appeared underneath her.

"You are in no position to be making insults… You're at my mercy now…" Icy chains shot out of the ground and bound Miyu by her arms and her ankles, pulling her back down onto her back. "I'm going to become strong with the help of the Gear." Ethan mumbled as he summoned a large block of ice in the air above Miyu. "So you go ahead and just lay down now… alright?" A large frown appeared on Miyu's face, then she smiled, beginning to laugh slightly. "Hm? Are you going insane in the face of your defeat?" Ethan asked as a cocky smirk appeared on his lips.

"Hah… What are you talking about? 'I'm going to become strong with the help of the Gear.' That's nothing but nonsense. If you rely on some Lost Logia to make yourself stronger…" Miyu pulled against the restraints holding her down and the chains broke a few seconds later. Afterwards, she climbed to her feet. Alarmed, Ethan quickly dropped the block of ice on top of her. Miyu smiled again and pointed her left arm up at the ice block. A tree sized tornado came out of Panzerglaive and it carried the block of ice high into the air. Miyu immediately charged another attack for a second, which was Aero Torpedo, and she fired it at the ice block, causing it to explode. "Then you don't deserve the strength in the first place!"

A red chain shot out of a magic circle in front of Miyu and it wrapped itself around Ethan. Miyu tugged on the chain and pulled Ethan towards her, then she punched him hard in the face. Afterwards, she knocked him to the ground with her other arm as the chains disappeared. Immediately jumping into the air, she performed an elbow slam on Ethan's stomach, which caused him to cry out in pain. Miyu quickly seized him by the front of his Barrier Jacket and flung him over her head and to the ground, hard. Ethan slid across the ground and climbed onto his hands and knees after a few seconds. He coughed a few times before wiping his mouth.

"I refuse… to lose to you here… Not now… I can't fail… The Gear-" he began, but

Miyu walked up to him and grabbed him by his head, slamming the side of it into the ground before he could finish speaking...

"...Shut up. I'm tired of hearing you talk about that dumb Gear…"

"You don't understand what it's like… You don't understand… at… all…" Ethan muttered quietly as a magic circle appeared underneath him. Miyu went wide eyed and she quickly jumped backwards as an aura made of very large mana blades appeared around Ethan., which all shot off in different directions after a few seconds. Miyu quickly flew into the air to avoid getting hit. Ethan slowly rose to his feet and glared at Miyu with a look of pure malice. "You'll never understand…"

"Understand what? That you're just some jealous little boy that gets upset when someone's stronger than him? That's a trashy way of thinking. What kind of knight are you? 'The Knight of Uselessness'? That's exactly what you're making me think. Your strength comes from your own knowledge and training, not from some stupid item!" Miyu yelled down at him. Ethan glared at her and held Cryohunter out to the side, the blade glowing light blue.

"Sword of Frozen Conquest aura… Equip." A large mana sword blade surrounded Ethan's own and he flew into the air above Miyu. "Walpurgis: Evil Slayer..." he stated in a hushed whisper. Pointing the blade at Miyu, a large beam was fired from it at the tip. Miyu quickly surrounded herself with a Sentinel Defenser and the beam connected with it. Miyu could feel the immense amount of mana that Ethan put into the attack. After a few seconds, cracks began appearing in the forcefield.

"H-Hold on for just a little bit longer…" she hissed between clenched teeth. After a few seconds, the attack ended and she dispelled the barrier. The area around her was completely obliterated. Panting heavily, Miyu flexed her fingers and let out a heavy sigh. "That was a close call…" Quickly glancing in Ethan's direction, she noticed that he was only a few feet away from her.

Ethan swung his blade downwards at her with great force and Miyu only managed to barely throw up a Protection, but the force sent her crashing into the ground. Ethan followed up by summoning a lance of ice into his hands and he charged at Miyu with it. Barely having time to react, Miyu activated Velocity Blazer and zipped off to the side, causing the lance to get embedded in the ground. Narrowing his eyes, Ethan let go of it. and softly landed on the ground. Closing his eyes, he converted Cryohunter into its Frost Twin form. It had the appearance of two midnight-black, arrowhead shaped blades connected to his arms by chains. Miyu unsteadily rose to her feet and touched the side of her head. It was bleeding slightly.

"He's entered a bloodlust mode…" Miyu mumbled as she converted Panzerglaive back into its Panzer form. "If I don't stop him now, he'll really put me down… I don't have much in my arsenal, but close combat is my best skill. If I can get him in close… I'll take him out from there." Ethan looked over and spotted Miyu over to his left and he flew right at her. Swinging his arms forward, his chain blades shot right at her. Miyu reached out and grabbed the chains of the blades and pulled Ethan right towards her. Once he was within a few centimeters, she punched him right on the top of the head, causing him to dive face first into the ground. Miyu flew over him and landed on the ground behind him, looking down at Panzerglaive. "Alright… it's now or never. Panzerglaive, activate the A.C.S. system…" Miyu mumbled.

"Yes sir." Panzerglaive replied, two fins popping out of both sides of her iron glove. Miyu used Velocity Blazer to fly straight up into the air. Coming to a halt, she stopped forty meters above Ethan. Ethan was recovering from the blow. Shakily getting to his feet, he converted Cryohunter back into its Claymore form and unsteadily flew up into the air after Miyu. Grasping his sword with both hands, he sped up and flew right at her with the intent to pierce through her.

"A.C.S… Full Force!" Miyu yelled out as she jetted right towards Ethan with blinding speed. Ethan, caught off guard, stopped briefly to try to avoid, but Miyu slammed her fist right into his stomach. Without letting up, she began driving him right towards the ground. Once they got within two meters of the ground, she gave one more push and launched him right into the dirt with enough impact force to leave a crater. Miyu flipped over the crater in the air and landed unsteadily on the other side of it. Once the dust cleared, she saw that Ethan was lying there motionless. She'd knocked him out. Smiling slightly, she walked down into the crater to check on him. Suddenly, Ethan's Gear Fragment detached itself from his wrist and shot a small blast at Miyu, knocking her down for a moment. The Fragment quickly created a transport circle around Ethan and teleported him out of the area. With his sudden absence, the dislocation wore off and Miyu was back in the abandoned lot. The evidence of the battle they just had was there too. Miyu laughed quietly to herself and flew up into the air. "I… think I won! Woo! And I can fly now!" she cheered as she began flying in circles.

"The Reactor Form has timed out. Reverting back to normal functions…" Panzerglaive suddenly announced. Going wide eyed, Miyu let out a gasp as her Barrier Jacket went back to its normal form, causing her to fall towards the earth at an alarming speed. 'N-Not good!' she screamed in her mind.

"Kieru hikoukigumo bokutachi wa miokutta." a voice sang in a heavenly fashion. Suddenly, a bright Mint Green mana circle appeared below Miyu and broke her fall.

"E-Eh?" Miyu looked around frantically. "Who just…"

"Miyu. What just happened here?" Ayase asked seriously as she walked up to Miyu with Windstrider deployed.

"I-I just fought Ethan..." she replied, still a bit shocked.

"Looks like he has gone rogue on us." Ayase commented as a black haired girl with dark green eyes walked up behind her with a microphone in her right hand. Miyu noticed that she was wearing what she makes out to be an Idol outfit.

"Yeah..." Miyu nodded, noticing the other girl. "Hm? Who's this?"

"She is my friend, Angelica "Aria" Scarlet." Ayase explained as she motioned to Angelica. Angelica quickly responded by smiling and waving at Miyu.

"Hello." Miyu smiled, but then she winced.

"Are you alright, Miyu?" Ayase asked curiously as extended her hand to Miyu.

"I'm dizzy..." she replied, indicating to the bloody gash on the side of her head.

"Let me handle this, Ayase." Angelica replied calmly as she walked up next to Miyu. Angelica smiled at Miyu before raising the microphone in front of her lips.

"What are you doing?" Miyu asked.

"Holy Spirit of Life. Please hear the plea of the injured. Come forth and use your light to make the world whole once more." Angelica recited happily, which caused a radiant white mana circle to appear beneath Miyu's feet. The mana circle released a healing white light which healed all of Miyu's injuries.

"W-Woah..." Miyu went wide-eyed.

"How do you feel now, Miyu?" Angelica asked caringly as she helped Miyu up.

"Much better."

"In case you are wondering, I am the Angelica that Ayase talks about." Angelica replied cheerfully as her microphone glowed before turning into a silver bracelet around her left wrist.

"Oh! Nice to meet you." Miyu stated with a smile.

"Miyu. How is your mom doing?" Ayase asked seriously as she took out her PDA and activated its scanner.

"She was doing fine before we left." Miyu replied.

"Let's go check up on her." Ayase suggested calmly as she readied Windstrider and loaded a mana arrow.

"Right." Miyu nodded.

"I got your back." Angelica replied determinedly as she cautiously followed behind Ayase and Miyu.