Hi there, everyone, One Half here! And I'm here with the second part of my unscheduled update! This one is pretty big but it concludes the events of the 'World Purge' arc itself, leaving only the aftermath for the next chapter. Unlike the previous chapter, this one does not follow the event of an original LN, aside from Chifuyu's part.
For the reviewers (why is here so little of them, by the way?):
Darkkon27: NP, thanks for waiting, here's the new one.
Imperial-samaB: Hey, it was intentionally made to look so unlike the real Ichika, it had to look unnatural.
Ichigo Oga: The arc itself is mostly concluded, and five girls fantasies' description was reduced to an absolute minimum – just a few strings for each so here's no need to skip anything. Houki got a bit bigger section, but that is for a real Ichika, not for her.
marcusns_mills: If Ichika and Tatenashi will marry officially, why they need to hide their relationships? Of course that should be real. And yeah, it seems like three is a good number for this story.
Now, let's proceed. Here's much more of an original content, so take your time. Good reading!
Chapter XXX – The Academy of Dreams, part II
…
November 19th, Sunday, 4:45 A.M., I.S. Academy
"Alright, now then," Tatenashi stepped out of the destroyed defense wall, and landed on the floor gently. "All of the students are in shelters. In that case, it's fine, I guess…." She smiled as she opened the fan, and there were the kanjis '歓迎客' written on it [welcome, guests]. Though, she was welcoming them not with a smile, but with a metal fist.
"Intruder alert!" "Intruder alert!" Tatenashi's transmitter started to beep loudly. She summoned her I.S. tactical screen, and looked at it. There was a camera independent of the school's system… in other words, it was a shot of the enemy she took using her own I.S. systems. Specialized I.S. frame Renia Nui was perfect for the 'find and neutralize intruders' task. On the screen, there were six 'hairy creatures' with wilted leaves-like objects stuck onto them, and it was impossible to distinguish the gender.
On a first glance, one might think that those were forest camouflage clothing, but they were actually completely different. "I remember that thing is the newest optical hologram that takes a snapshot of the surroundings and shows it to the surface," Tatenashi noted to herself. The things that looked like wilted leaves were actually unique moveable membranes. Normally, they would take the appearance of leaves, but once the camouflage has been activated, they would cover the wearer piece by piece, and display the surrounding scenery on it, creating a camouflage effect.
'Speaking of which, we've got special ops soldiers, with such an advanced equipment, entering the Academy so soon after the system died, huh? It certainly feels weird,' She was thinking. But they were probably a different group from the ones who deactivated the system. If they'd been from the same group, it would've been most efficient for them to barge in right at the moment when the system went down, but they've waited for almost an hour and half. As such, that means that Orimura-sensei was right, most likely – this is 'another force'. 'Still, this proves that they've been watching us around the clock, for weeks, probably. How unappealing…' She shook her head. 'This is the I.S. Academy, an all-girls school with girls in bloom, and there was a 24-hour surveillance on such a place? The adults really lack the romantic mood…' Tatenashi thought.
"Oh my?" A girl tilted her head. She was inside of a corridor that is leading to the academy's central tower. This was a long straight corridor, nothing could be seen around, and there were no sounds of footsteps, but still, there definitely was something or someone else. Since she didn't deploy her I.S., Tatenashi couldn't use her machine's advanced thermal imager, yet she knew that she's not alone here. "Well, I didn't think they'll get here so soon. I guess I'm a woman who's beloved by fate and causality," She snorted.
*Fuushh* *Fuushh* *Fuushh* Unique metallic bullets flew at Tatenashi with short bursts of sound. But those bullets stopped right in front of her.
"Ugh…" "Shit…" "Damn…" A quiet grumbling could be heard. Obviously, the opponent knows about their presence, so staying quiet was no longer necessary for the intruders. Among those who just swore, two voices were of men, and one was of a woman.
"Fufu, just kidding. This is my 'Water Veil'," She bared a smile at the faltering expressions of the enemies she could not see. In fact, she had already scattered the aqua nanomachines of her I.S., the Renia Nui, into the air around herself. While I.S.-issued weaponry was a different case, she could easily block ordinary soldier shots with these water veils. Also, the nanomachines were the ones who searched out these invisible enemies. Even if they had no voices or visible appearance, Renia Nui could easily find them with the sensing particles as they were still touching the air.
*Click* Tatenashi snapped her fingers. In an instant, a large explosion engulfed the corridor. "This is one of my machine's specialties, the Clear Passion. How does it feel?" Tatenashi asked, smiling. All in all, indoor battles were what the Renia Nui was built for. In ordinary situations, she could control the nanomachines fluidly, whether it was the density or the currents.
Though the enemy was a special force with the latest equipment, they still were ordinary people, and they were certainly no match for an I.S., even thought it was not even completely deployed. As for Tatenashi's ability to deploy it fully… she actually couldn't do so right now even if she'd wanted to. Maya Yamada assumed that the new equalizer package, sent for Renia Nui, hasn't been tuned up yet, but she was wrong. In fact, package installation hasn't even been completed – during this week, Tatenashi was too busy taking care of her crotch (and other sensitive places), so she had no time to take care of her I.S. But, fortunately for her, now Tatenashi's opponents are common soldiers, even though well-equipped ones…
"Haah… It feels like I'm bullying the weak here…" Tatenashi let out a sigh… however, "Ufufu, I really love doing such things." She grinned away. No doubts – this girl is an out-and-out pervert. Though, in current circumstances, Tatenashi definitely is on the justice's side – the enemy invaded in the middle of the night, into an all-girls school, with most of its students unarmed.
"Alright, it's coming. Here's my special move, Tatenashi Five!" She announced. Once she said that, her silhouette split into five. Now, there were five Sarashiki Tatenashis, wearing I.S. suits and wielding lances as they stood in a row. "Well, this is the Renia Nui's ability," She said – explaining her I.S. machine's abilities to an enemy was one of Tatenashi's very bad habits. As for the ability itself – two of those five were illusions, created through nanomachines' lenses, two were so-called 'water clones', created by the nanomachines' water-controlling ability, and one was a real Tatenashi… or not? Or maybe there are three illusions? Ore three clones? Maybe the real one isn't among those five but she's hiding behind a water veil? Very, very troublesome ability, especially if the opponent is incapable of making area of effect attacks.
And as for the water clones, *BAAM!* One of the clones rushed towards the closest soldiers and exploded. They were physical bodies with explosive functions. Since they were made of water, bullets were ineffective against them.
"Lieutenant! If this keeps up…" Female's voice called.
"UWAAHHH!" A man screamed as he was thrown away by the explosion.
The trained soldiers, highly trained combatants, were beaten up one after another. The six people who were prepared and fully equipped, they were still no threat to Tatenashi at all.
"Fall back! I repeat, FALL BACK!" Another man's voice ordered.
She was merely seventeen years old, and her machine's state wasn't best. But she still created such a devastation single-handedly. It was a painful reminder of how the existence called I.S. destroyed all understanding. "Haha," Tatenashi chuckled in the midst of the flames, showing the image of a complete villain. These six were really unlucky – the last several days were very stressful for Tatenashi, and now she was venting her frustration at these poor people…
November 19th, Sunday, 4:56 A.M., I.S. Academy
*Boom!* A woman heard the explosion that rang far above her, but ignored it and moved forward in this pitch-black passage. The one invading the I.S. Academy underground special zone was the leader of the US Navy Special Ops unit, the 'Unnamed'. She was piloting the specially modified, stealth-biased test model of the I.S. Fang Quake. There were slight variances in the details of the designs as compared to the high-speed assault-biased I.S. unit Fang Quake, piloted by Iris Calling.
First, there was a difference in the paint job. Iris' unit was painted with easy identifiable tiger stripes, because Iris Calling officially is affiliated with the US Marine corps. But the I.S. currently invading the academy was completely painted in navy blue, used by the Navy Seals team. Though, the blue painting was the only feature that cold betray its US Navy affiliation – that unit had no decorations at all, and did not have any pictures or squad emblems. This was to be expected. The 'Unnamed' squad comprised of members that had no nationality, race, religion or even name, truly 'unnamed'. There were no records or files indicating they belong to the American army. Such a squad couldn't possibly have an emblem.
Formally, all American I.S. pilots are serving in 'US I.S. Forces' (that is what written on their I.S. suits and dog-tags), but, in fact, all the pilots are assigned to different conventional service branches of the United States Armed Forces. For example – Natasha Fairs is affiliated with USAF, Iris Calling, as it was said, is affiliated with the US Marine corps, and this woman, the 'Leader', is affiliated with US Navy.
By the way, this woman was also without a name, and the squad simply called her a 'leader' for convenience. She once had a name, a name she long forgotten due to the cruel training. At this point, she was nobody, just a nameless leader of a nameless squad. That was the woman's entirety.
The leader proceeded on. She was aware that the rest of her squad is being trashed somewhere, but she, in fact, didn't care – it was their purpose – to distract the enemy. They are expendable – this is what it means to be one of 'unnamed'.
Though, no. There was still one emotion she could feel now, despite all the training she went through – disgust. The order to invade the I.S. Academy was disgusting, as she still could remember this place, after all – she was academy's graduate. Almost six years ago, she was a member of first graduation from the I.S. Academy, after spending here three happy years, and her consciousness was still refusing to let go of the memories about those happiest years of her life.
Still, her own emotions are meaningless. She has her order – her target were the unregistered cores that were taken by I.S. Academy after the unmanned I.S.-es attack, about a month ago. If she could do that, US Navy could simply get two additional I.S. units.
In fact, currently, the US Navy now were in a tight spot of sort. That incident in Kyoto, Japan, about three weeks ago – of course no one officially admitted that it was a nuclear blast, but US State department wasted a looooot of resources to hush up that story somehow. And of course, the US Senate was aware that it was Navy who lost the warhead to Phantom Task. The US Navy's project, 'Pearl Tears', didn't bear any fruits until now, despite the Navy were wasting money on it for eight years. Not only they've made a priceless I.S. core inactive – they still can't say at least why such a thing has happened. And, most importantly, the conventional fleet requires a huge pile of money for maintenance, despite it seems useless now, after introduction of an I.S. Besides, US Navy-affiliated enterprises – General Dynamics I.S. Company and General Electric I.S. Production – still haven't finalized the specs of the I.S. frame they're developing…
On the other hand, despite the major setback, caused by the Silver Gospel incident, USAF managed to redeem their reputation, thanks to successful Silver Ranger/Ginshoku project. USAF-affiliated enterprises – Super Dynamics Corporation and Lockheed Martin I.S. Systems – are preparing to the serial production of an advanced 3rd generation frame, ahead of many competitors, and this is definitely a major success.
Due to all of the aforementioned circumstances, DoD decided to redistribute the next year's military budget, giving the USAF additional 21 billion, reducing the budget of all other branches, but the lion's share of that sum was taken from the US Navy. If the situation will continue to develop like that, and US Navy's money will continue to flow towards USAF, the Navy will get in trouble. And getting two additional I.S. cores seem like a good chance for the Navy to fix their reputation and get their funding back. But that wasn't all…
The completely unmanned I.S. units. Apparently, some people in the US Navy command are thinking that, not only to the fleet, but to the United States as a whole, that has a bigger bearing than just the sheer number of I.S.-es. Right, some people were saying that a certain plan could be completed, if the data on the unmanned machines would've been obtained.
'I heard that once the 'plan' will be completed, the world's map can be redrawn, but…' The leader had a lot of doubts about such a 'grand' scheme. Though, she did not know the contents of the 'plan', and had no interest in it. As the leader of the 'unnamed', she was solely focused on the current mission.
"Huh?" She used the hovers of the Fang Quake to stop her advance. Her sensors clearly picked up a person's presence in front of her, near the end of this pitch-black corridor.
"I'm coming," Suddenly, an abrupt gust blew by with this short line.
"Ah!?" The leader yelped.
*BAAM!* A spark came with a huge boom, and a shadow leapt behind the Fang Quake. And at the next moment, all the lights in the corridor were lit up.
"World's Strongest… the Brunhild…" The leader inadvertently muttered as she saw a woman, standing confidently in the lit-up corridor. It was Chifuyu, dressed completely in black, and there were 3 sheathed katanas on the side of her thighs, six in total. She was also wielding swords on both hands, and it seemed that those were the two swords that were swung at the Fang Quake armor.
'Is she serious…?' This was the first thing the leader thought of. She used the I.S. sensors to check many times, and found that Chifuyu was only equipped with a body suit. This body suit resembled a diving suit, and it covered her body; she was wearing sturdy boots that were enhanced, combat gloves on her hands, and only her face was exposed. But even so, 'She's wearing a suit that's suited for going against ordinary weapons… what does she exactly plan to do?' She was thinking. Of course, there should be some bulletproof or bladeproof functions, but even so, Chifuyu was no different from being stark naked in front of the I.S. overwhelming firepower.
"What is it?" Chifuyu asked mockingly. "Bring it on. You're standing in front of the first generation Brunhild, the first woman to attain the title of strongest, so just focus entirely on fighting me, you, an ordinary soldier." Chiufyu showed a smirk, and her face showed the relaxed mood of an overwhelmingly powerful person. Besides, she's definitely Ichika's sister as her ability to roll-over person's nerves seems unparalleled.
November 19th, Sunday, 5:01 A.M. (JST), Somewhere over the Pacific Ocean
Considering that Ichika was using about 80% of Battle Goddess's maximum thrust, currently he was half-way to the Ogasawara archipelago.
'Adonai, is something wrong?' Ichika heard Astarte's question in his mind.
"Hmm? No, nothing wrong," Ichika replied thoughtfully. He seemed a bit distracted and his I.S. noticed that. "I just have a strange feeling… As if… As if what I'm doing right now isn't what I should be doing at this time… As if I'm supposed to be somewhere else…" He said slowly. That feeling was so faint that he couldn't say for sure what it is and that it's not just a paranoia. If his elder sister would've been in danger – that feeling would've be a hundred times stronger. Besides – Phantom Task currently is too battered to do anything at all, let alone attack Chifuyu again. And if it's not about her… than what? Ichika just couldn't think of anything that could require his immediate attention.
'Adonai, maybe I should accelerate to full speed?' Astarte suggested.
"Yes, let's go," Ichika agreed as Battle Goddess gave full power to her Graviton Focusing Lenses, accelerating to her maximum speed of 4 Mach. He decided that it is the best course of actions – he'll take a quick look at how's his battlecruiser's hull conversion is going and then he'll quickly get back to Tokyo, just to make sure that nothing strange is going on in there.
November 19th, Sunday, 5:04 A.M., I.S. Academy
*GINK!*
It was the umpteenth hit as Chifuyu landed another blade strike on the Fang Quake armor. But there was nary a scratch. And there were four already chipped blades. "Hmm…" Chifuyu threw the wrecked blades onto the floor, and drew new katanas again from her thigh sheaths. A clear unsheathing sound could be heard on this battlefield filled with killing intent.
"…Please stop here…" The leader spoke up, probably feeling annoyed by this. Her voice remained as calm as before, but there was a sense of impatience in her tone.
"Hmm?" Chifuyu showed 'what do you mean?' intent as she taunted, "I wonder, you American Special Ops really have nothing better to do than to come all the way to some school in this Far East Island country?"
"…" The answer for Chifuyu's question was silence.
But, apparently, she wasn't expecting any answer. "You want the unmanned unit's wreckage? And not just that, I suppose?" Chifuyu was speculating. "Wait, don't tell me that you guys are actually interested in Battle Goddess? Please, don't make me laugh… If he'd have been here now, that guy wouldn't have been coddling you as I'm doing now…" Chifuyu curled her lips and gave a smirk.
The leader gritted her teeth slightly, "Since you know that… why?"
"Humph, 'flesh and blood can't possibly be a match against an I.S.', is it what you're thinking right now?" Chifuyu snorted. *Swoosh* *Swoosh* She swung the katanas on both sides and got into position. "That would've been truth… if I were an ordinary person," The Brunhild proclaimed. At that moment, Chifuyu leapt forward and quickly swung her blades at the Fang Quake, but this time, the leader finally caught one of Chifuyu's blades with her right hand.
"It's useless…!" The US Navy's pilot shouted.
"I should be the one deciding if it's useless or not," Chifuyu let go of her katanas, and wrapped her arms onto the enemy's body like a snake. Her movements were as fluid as flowing water, and she lifted the leader up. She was holding a wire in her hand.
"Gah…!?" The leader could not help but squeal as she was choked by the neck.
"You relied too much on the I.S. shielding defense system, so your judgment got dulled," Chifuyu noted in a sensei-like manner. In the next moment, the wire was about to be burned through by the I.S. defense shield, but Chifuyu had already positioned herself, and spun around to kick at the leader. The heavy I.S. armor, together with the weight of a person, flew to the wall, but Chifuyu's face remained as calm as ever.
On the other hand, the leader felt troubled, 'Such terrifying physical attributes, but…' She was glaring at her enemy. 'So what? Either way, this level of attack won't cause any damage to the I.S.' It's because she knew this that she felt that Chifuyu's actions are inexplicable. 'What's the meaning of these actions? This person, what…'
Chifuyu however did not give her a chance to think this, and her katanas came attacking again, "What is it? Show more of your abilities, American."
"…You're really are annoying, Japanese," The leader growled as the sparks of battle scattered again.
November 19th, Sunday, 5:11 A.M., I.S. Academy
"Right, that's all then," Tatenashi finished to tie up the men of the Special Ops team with the unique fiber rope, and heaved a sigh. 'They're undoubtedly Americans, and I guess they came here to steal the unregistered I.S. cores,' She was thinking.
But inexplicably, the I.S. Academy's system went down. If this were to keep up for too long, she would have to shatter all the shutters to let the students freely leave the shelters, and then she'll have to escort all of them to the mainland, via the foot bridge. 'Hmm, having the student council president do this herself is a little too…' Tatenashi sighed as she looked towards the Tokyo's city center, which currently was lit up by the numerous lights.
'If only I could deploy my I.S…' She shook her head. If she just could've been able to leave the island – she could've used her I.S. terminal, or even a simple phone, to call Ichika and summon him for help. Forget about engagement and weird dreams – his duties are to help dealing with messes like this one.
"But well, complains won't going to solve things," The girl sighed again.
November 19th, Sunday, 5:17 A.M., I.S. Academy
*CLASH!* With a heavy sound, Chifuyu's last katana broke.
"It's over," The leader was agile in her movements. She swung a fast left punch into Chifuyu's abdomen. In the next moment, *BAM!* A cracking sound rang, and Chifuyu was sent flying. But something felt off…
"That was…" The leader had suspicions over this feedback, and looked at her I.S. left hand. She could see the scar of a forearm burned through it. 'Not good,' She finally realized. She attempted to pull her distance from Chifuyu – the enemy managed to avoid damage through her reactive armor, and now the Fang Quake was in the middle of a hexagon, made of Chifuyu's 'broken' blades.
"Shatter," Chifuyu's calm voice clearly declared. This verb triggered the hidden explosive devices, and at the next moment, all the blades let out huge explosions.
"AGH!" The leader screamed as the walls, floor and ceiling were all engulfed by the explosions, a scene of thorough devastation. Chifuyu ran away along the corridor before the flames caught up to her. "Don't you run away now… argh!" The US Navy pilot was trying her best to remain calm, but she couldn't help but show her anxious emotions for being unable to catch Chifuyu.
Fang Quake lit her thrusters and immediately flew forth, chasing for Chifuyu. The leader raised her fist – she wanted to deliver a crushing blow to the escaping woman from behind, but the latter seemed to have eyes on her back as she easily did a somersault to dodge the fist.
"Humph," Chifuyu snorted as she kicked at the face of the leader, and used the recoil to turn on the corridor. But the Fang Quake pilot didn't relent.
'According to the sonar sensors, that room is a dead end. I caught you!' The leader thought as she accelerated to the maximum speed, possible in her current environment. "Heh!" She sneered as she kicked down the door. But the moment she entered, *FLASH* The lights were switched on.
"It's your turn, Maya," Chifuyu's voice pronounced.
"Understood!" An energetic voice replied. Chifuyu pulled the stealth mantle off, and appearing under it was the special model of a Rafale Revive, equipped with four three-barreled, 2 inches (51 mm) caliber, rotary autocannons.
"Kuh, the Quad Phalanx!?" The leader exclaimed. In a deployed state, this I.S. was more like a turret than a mobile unit. When deployed, it could not move at all due to its weight and recoil control needed, but its attack power, especially at a close range, is immense. By the time she realized that she was lured into a trap, it was too late to run away.
With the deafening rumble, the rain of cannon shells poured down on the Fang Quake. The shells' strikes sounded like a slot wheel giving away money due to jackpot. Chifuyu merely glanced aside at this scene and drank the coffee on the table.
"…Yes, your coffee's really the best here, Yamada-sensei," The Brunhild noted.
"Sorry, but that's just an instant coffee," Maya apologized.
A minute or so later, the thoroughly battered leader was lying on the floor, with her I.S. undeployed and she also was tied up by Maya and Chifuyu. The latter merely finished that coffee that had a slight bloody taste on it.
November 19th, Sunday, 5:22 A.M., I.S. Academy
"Well, I guess that's it," Tatenashi shrugged. Even from here she could hear sounds of Quad Phalanx firing, which meant that Chifuyu's trap has slammed shut. With these six soldiers being apprehended, all that remains is to repel the hacker's attack and the academy will be safe. 'Maybe we actually can handle the academy's defense without Ichika's help,' A girl thought, however, just as she was about to relax, a silencer bullet flew towards her.
"Oh?" Tatenashi managed to extend the water veil in front of herself to stop the bullet. "You guys ain't learning," She sighed, but her relaxed attitude was gone in an instant as her water veil caught a hand grenade being thrown at her.
*BOOM!* An explosion resounded through the corridor. Tatenashi's body was thrown backward and crashed into the wall, and then fell on the scorched floor, on her back. All of her face was covered in blood and she was lying unconscious.
No, that wasn't something sophisticated, just a conventional, high-explosive grenade (MK3A2 variant, probably). Water veil stopped the device and prevented the physical fragments from hitting Tatenashi, but the blastwave hit the target.
"Get this, damn bitch…" A female soldier hissed – she and two men beside her have managed to undid their binds. Most likely, they cut off the binds with their hidden plasma cutters, and their limbs were free.
"How do we deal with her?" Another female asked as her squadmates had her untied.
"She's a pilot registered as Russia's representative. She's a Japanese, and once she obtained her I.S., used her gained autonomy to change nationalities. That's very promiscuous," One of the soldiers reported.
"Then what should we do?" Another soldier asked.
"Let's hide her body here somewhere, and let's take her I.S. with us," The lieutenant decided. Obviously, they have to retreat for now, but if they'll be able to bring back an advanced 3rd generation Russian I.S. – their mission wouldn't be considered as a complete failure. "She won't need it anymore, even if she'll miraculously survive such a wound," He added.
That was a truth – Tatenashi's face suffered a severe damage, and her eyeballs were destroyed – she's permanently blinded now. Even if she'll survive – she can forget about piloting anything, let alone the I.S.
"Understood," Upon hearing the leader's instructions, the soldiers quickly got into action. Apparently, they decided to spare the girl's life – she didn't see anyone's face, after all, and their national affiliation… well, they're called the 'unnamed' for a reason. If she'll survive – so be it, it doesn't matter even one bit, in current circumstances.
'Ichi… ka… save… me…' A girl's fading consciousness prayed out in darkness.
November 19th, Sunday, 5:26 A.M. (JST), Ogasawara archipelago
Here, a bit to the south from the Mukōjima Island, in an underwater cave, was hidden a battlecruiser that Ichika bought a while ago. Millions of nanites were working on her hull, changing its molecular structure and adjusting its form. This ship will be a vessel for the first Gate of Solomon.
'The hull conversion is completed for about 82%...' Ichika thought. The operation was taking longer that he anticipated, but it was still good – he has no need to be hasty anyway.
And suddenly, as Ichika was submerged in his own thoughts, he felt a very bad premonition. And it wasn't that vague feeling he was getting earlier – right now he felt that his Archangels got disturbed. 'What the hell?!' Ichika thought in perplexion. It wasn't about Chifuyu – of that Ichika was certain. 'But what then? Tabane-nee? Unlikely, yet...'
'Adonai!' He heard a voice of his I.S. 'I've just received a message – it seems that the I.S. Academy is under attack!' Astarte alerted her pilot.
'A message? From who?!' Ichika asked as he urgently headed towards the exit from the underwater cave. Of course, he didn't doubt Astarte's words – he needs to head back to Tokyo now, and get there ASAP. What was strange is that the message, whatever it was, has been addressed to Astarte and not to him.
'From one of my sisters,' Astarte replied, 'The one who belongs to a woman you wanted to have a meeting, later today.'
'From Renia Nui? It's about Tatenashi?!' Ichika actually was surprised.
'Yes,' Astarte confirmed, 'And it seems that she's mortally wounded.'
"That damn foolish girl!" Ichika growled as he appeared above the water. "Plot the direct course to the academy, full speed!" He ordered.
'Yes, Adonai!' The Battle Goddess proceeded with an order execution.
Due to the hacker's attack, the I.S. Academy are being jammed now, suppressing all the outgoing communications. However, it seems that jamming wasn't strong enough to prevent I.S. cores to communicate between themselves. Well, seems logical, since initially I.S.-es were meant for space exploration, and thus, they're able to communicate, even being at different sides of the galaxy.
'It's obviously couldn't have been the Phantom Task, then who? Who dared?!' Ichika was thinking, looking towards the north with evenly colored, fiery-red eyes. He really was infuriated. In the next moment, the Battle Goddess disappeared beyond the horizon.
November 19th, Sunday, 5:39 A.M. I.S. Academy
It took about thirteen minutes for Ichika to arrive to the I.S. Academy. 'Adonai, active ECM jamming detected,' Astarte warned her pilot.
"I know," Ichika replied. "It seems that someone re-tuned the main tower's antenna, so now it is emitting the jamming signal. No wonder no one contacted me whenever all of that has begun," He said as he was approaching the academy. That huge vertical arc, attached to the academy's main tower, is an antenna that allows hi-speed communication with the academy from anywhere on the Earth, but now it's being used by the enemy as an ECM emitter to block all communications. 'Ironic,' Ichika thought.
'There are no deployed I.S. units on the academy's territory,' Astarte reported. Ad she performed a Third Shift, Battle Goddess now have only one detection system – the hyperwave decoder 'Eye of Ra'. Despite being the only one – it is an absolute I.S.-detection system as it capable of intercepting the communicational data between an I.S. and her pilot. If a woman is piloting an I.S. – she's controlling it, i.e. the pilot is sending data to the I.S. about what she wants to do. 'Eye of Ra' can 'eavesdrop' on those communications, not only detecting any I.S. with 100% probability, it even can say exactly which I.S. is that. The only way to avoid the 'Eye of Ra' is to stop communications between an I.S. and its pilot, i.e. the I.S. needs to be undeployed. As such, since Astarte said that there are no deployed I.S.-es in the vicinity ('Eye of Ra' effective range is about 110 miles), then chances that Phantom Task is involved are zero.
"Where is that girl then?" Ichika was wondering. Since almost all of the academy's systems were shut down, Ichika couldn't connect to its 'student tracking service' to locate Tatenashi.
'Adonai, my sister is telling me her own location!' Astarte highlighted the location on Ichika's tactical screen.
"Good girl," Ichika approved. "Send her my thanks and a promise to find her a more compatible pilot," He added as Battle Goddess headed down, "Weapons live!"
November 19th, Sunday, 5:41 A.M. I.S. Academy
*BOOM!* The corridor's wall got crashed, and Ichika barged into the dark corridor. As the Battle Goddess appeared in all her glory, all the soldiers were literally blinded for a moment, due to vast amount of glowing Fold-Out Armor. That moment was all that Ichika needed to asses the situation. He raised his left arm, and Battle Goddess's upper left wing scattered, turning into a flock of hundreds golden feather-blades made of Fold-Out Armor.
With the accompaniment of agonizing screams, the flock of blade-feathers have pounced on the enemy soldiers, ripping through their flesh and bones, and within a few seconds all six got turned into smoldering bee-hives-like entities.
Ichika waited for a few moments, looking around with his glowing, fiery-red eyes – he even activated his Eyes of Kamael, expecting a lot of resistance. "And that's it?" He asked in slight surprise as he didn't find any more hidden enemies – of course these idiotic camo clothes won't fool his second Archangel. "How exactly this idiot-girl ended up in such a pathetic condition fighting only six people?" He just couldn't wrap his head around such an outcome.
Ichika picked up Tatenashi's body – her conditions was critical. With conventional medicine only – her chances of survival are about 50-55%, considering that she's much more tough than common people. But even if she'll survive – she's lost her eyes – her blindness is permanent. "Your debt is rapidly piling up, you know?" He addressed a dying girl – forget about her chances of survival – he can't have her being blinded – which means that conventional medicine won't do – he has to take care of her himself. 'I'll get rid of corpses later,' He decided and left quickly, taking Tatenashi (and her hand fan – Renia Nui in inactive state) with himself.
November 19th, Sunday, 5:49 A.M. I.S. Academy
That was a very strange place. A large hangar, big enough to accommodate several interceptor-fighters, but it actually had only one maintenance stand. This hangar was hidden deep below the I.S. Academy, actually, even below level of the bottom of a Tokyo Bay. No one but Ichika knew about this place's existence, even Chifuyu wasn't aware of where that place is (though, she actually had some vague suspicions that such a place actually does exist somewhere).
As he entered, Ichika placed Tatenashi's body on the operational table of sort. Then Ichika waved his arm, and Tatenashi was completely engulfed with a force field of sort, of a square cuboid form and of an almost white color. This was a stasis field, inside of which time flows about 12 000 times slower that in the world outside. Actually, this table's purpose is to work with weaponry that uses highly unstable ammunition, like plasma cannons, but that should do for now – Ichika has to prepare and calibrate some special equipment, as well as he needs to prepare some implants for Tatenashi's body – all of that requires time, time which Tatenashi does not have. Besides, Ichika has to learn what exactly is going on in the academy – he can't proceed with Tatenashi's 'revival' whilst the academy is still under attack. As such, she has to stay in stasis for now – six hours in the outside world are equal to less than two seconds inside the field, so she should be stable for now.
"Now, then," Ichika said as he swung his left arm, and his wristwatch disappeared from his left wrist as Battle Goddess appeared on the maintenance stand, in her deployed form. "I'll connect you to the system – enter the cyber space and look for the intruder," Ichika ordered to his I.S. as he connected several wires to Battle Goddess's frame. "Be wary," He warned Astarte. Considering the magnitude of the hacking attempt, and number of precautions the attacker has taken – Ichika could think of only one person staying behind all of that – a woman who always looking for a way to sow chaos everywhere around herself. And since it is Tabane's doing – he could also guess about her real goal. Though, that is very unlikely that she's conducting the attack personally – that is beneath her – in fact, Tabane is quite an arrogant woman. As such, Astarte should have no problems apprehending the intruder. "Use as harsh methods as necessary," Ichika added.
'As you command!' Astarte reported back.
November 19th, Sunday, 6:00 A.M. I.S. Academy
Ichika operated the door panel and opened the armored door. Orimura-sensei and Yamada-sensei were inside with an unfamiliar female, who's lying on the floor, unconscious and tied up.
"Orimura-san!?" Maya's eyes widened as she saw Ichika entering the room.
"Orimura, I'll explain everything later! Go save Shinonono and the rest!" Chifuyu addressed her brother without even saying 'hi', "They're in the virtual core room, you know where it is, hurry!"
Ichika, however, didn't even move a muscle as he heard his sister. Instead, he was examining the tied-up woman on the floor. Of course, her I.S. suit was de-personalized, but the overall design was still recognizable. This was the last-model suit, which pilots of a so-called 'US I.S. Forces' are wearing. And since this one is navy-blue and de-personalized, Ichika made an assumption, 'The Unnamed? US Navy Spec Ops squad? Seriously?' Ichika already knew that people who attacked Tatenashi obviously had nothing to do with the hacker, and now, looking at that woman, he realized who were those people, who tried to make use of a mess, caused by Tabane. 'The US Navy? What an idiotic irony is this?! How dared they to come rob the academy whilst I was robbing them?!' Ichika could only shake his head, amazed by the twists of fate.
"Orimura, what are you waiting for?!" Chifuyu asked loudly as she saw that Ichika is virtually ignoring her.
"I'm waiting for you to voice at least one reason why I should follow your orders," He replied calmly.
"Orimura!" Chifuyu exclaimed threateningly but Ichika remained as unperturbed as before.
"It's colonel Orimura," He reminded, pointing at his shoulder straps. "Now, explain to me everything that happened after the alarm was triggered. I understand that we're being hacked, but I want to know which measures you've undertook to repel the attack," He requested.
Honestly, in her worst nightmare Chifuyu couldn't imagine that she may one day become her younger brother's subordinate, even though indirectly. Her fury was about to boil-out. She could keep her cool in front of a legion of enemies, but this guy… "Listen, you!" She shouted, but suddenly, Yamada Maya jumped in between them.
"Sensei, colonel, I'm begging the both of you – stop this!" She screamed. One could thin that she's about to cry, but in fact, there was a steel resolve in her eyes. "Our academy is in trouble, so please, stop fighting!"
That did the trick. Maya is usually quite timid, so her sudden outburst has cooled down both siblings. Ichika realized that he's being hysterical over nothing and for no reason, and Chifuyu realized that her behavior hardly fits that of an elder sister.
"I… I apologize," Chifuyu bowed slightly as she apologized first.
"Me too," Ichika also bowed in apologize, "Now's not the time to decide who's in charge of this mess. Alright, just give me a short version – why those losers do need saving this time?"
"I've ordered them to perform the computer dive, using the I.S. core network, and reboot the system manually," Chifuyu explained. "But it seems that they've got into a trap," She added as she pushed several buttons on a keyboard, and the LCD nearby started to display the five girls' brain waves, which seemed rather chaotic.
Actually, Ichika got a lot of things to say about entrusting such an important mission to those girls, but since provoking another fight with his sister seemed as a completely counterproductive action, his just looked at the LCD screen quietly. And, despite those brain waves seemed pretty erratic, Ichika didn't seem worried… rather, he seemed amused. "Is that so?" He smiled slightly.
"Colonel?" Maya looked at him questioningly, as she was surprised by his reaction.
"It's not as bad as it looks like," Ichika explained as he turned away from the LCD and looked at Maya, "These patterns, even though they do seem chaotic, actually… not unnatural. Or, more likely, they're absolutely natural. You see, human's brain usually generates such brainwave patterns when the person is close to orgasm," He explained calmly.
"What?!" Maya almost jumped as her cheeks immediately flushed.
"As I did understand, each one of them has been lured into a personal world of sort, and now they're dreaming about their desires… probably," Ichika added as he looked at Houki's brainwave chart with some pity – her brainwaves were much less chaotic than of other four girls.
*Siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiigh* Chifuyu sighed (very) heavily as she touched her forehead, as if feeling a strong headache.
"You… you mean that… they're having se… se… se… SEX right now?!" Maya asked, for some reason she seemed extremely embarrassed.
"Sex? No. At best, that's just an advanced form of masturbation," He snorted. "But what did you expect, anyway? They are sixteen years old!" Ichika spread his arms helplessly, addressing both women. "You thought they're going to study Georg Hegel's works? In the world of their dreams? Or learning non-linear algebra?" Ichika asked sarcastically. "Of course they're dreaming about satiating their libido."
"I thought they're going to carry out my order!" Chifuyu snorted, ignoring her brother, who just rolled his eyes at her remark. She actually seemed quite irritated.
"Anyway, this demagogy won't get us anywhere," Ichika decided on his course of actions. "Fortunately for us, today's Sunday, so the first monorail train should depart from Tokyo to here at 8 AM, before that, the fact that the academy is powered down shouldn't bring too much attention," He stated. Ichika had no intentions to report about this incident to the Board of Trustees before the situation is resolved – higher-ups should only be getting good news. "As such, we have about two hours to deal with this mess. I'll be watching those girls, just in case, but obviously the best way to safely wake them up is to neutralize or otherwise repel the hacker – this will be my top priority," Ichika explained as he headed towards the door.
As he already left the operations room, he heard his sister voice over the secured private channel. Apparently, Chifuyu also had a bad premonition, which she also was unable to properly interpretate (and she's got no hints due to her I.S. state), so she stepped away from Maya and used the private I.S. comm channel – outbound communications were suppressed but inside of the academy everything was working fine. "Have you seen Tatenashi Sarashiki?" Chifuyu asked quietly. She was asking about Tatenashi because she was only one not in shelter – as it was said – Chifuyu actually had no hints.
"I did," Ichika replied as he slowed down his walk a bit, "She's half-way to the other side now…"
"Other side of what?" Chifuyu asked in a slight confusion. Other side of the gulf? She's walking to the Tokyo on foot? Did Ichika send her there?
"Other side of the Styx River," Ichika snorted. "She's been crippled and now is in critical condition," He explained.
"What happened?" Chifuyu asked after about five-seconds-long silence.
"I know no details, but the general reason is that she's lacking the killing intent. She tried to capture enemy soldiers alive and paid for it," He explained. "She's in stasis now. Don't worry, since I've decided to handle it personally, I won't let her die," Ichika assured his sister.
"Thank you," Chifuyu sincerely thanked her brother. If she'd lost a student – she'd never could forgive herself.
"Don't mention it," He snorted. "And don't blame yourself – unlike those losers, she's obliged to protect the academy, both as a student council president and as an eldest scion of Sarashiki. The fact that she wasn't prepared for that is neither your concern, nor mine. However, her recovery will take at least a week, so declare her MIA for now," Ichika advised.
"Understood," Chifuyu replied shortly.
November 19th, Sunday, 6:18 A.M., Virtual World
Ichika appeared in the midst of a lush grassland, with an aspen grove on the background, beneath the early summer sunlight. "How uninteresting…" He shook his head as he examined his environment, he actually expected (or hoped, more likely) to see a TRON-like world. On a side note, of course Ichika wasn't using the same room as the girls to enter the system, his physical body now was in his 'secret chamber', deep beneath the academy, and he was using a backdoor to access the system.
Just as before, a white rabbit dressed in a gentleman's suit was looking at his watch as he walked out from an aspen grove with his legs straightened. "Hah, she's not hiding at all…" Ichika snorted as he saw a rabbit – that definitely was a character from 'Alice in Wonderland', and that story currently was one of Tabane's fascinations – she wasn't even trying to conceal the fact that this situation is her doing.
Just as it made sure that Ichika has noticed him, the white rabbit turned around and ran towards the aspen grove. "Not so fast," Ichika snorted as he snapped his fingers and a large stone hand appeared right from the ground, beneath the rabbit, and grabbed an unlucky creature. Just as it got caught, the rabbit's red eyes turned golden and began to glow as the creature tried to break free. "Useless," Ichika commented as he came closer, "I am the master now!" He clenched his left fist, and the stone arm copied his move, squishing the rabbit – it turned into white particles and disappeared. "Tabane-san… If you'd been here yourself, we could have an interesting showdown, but this…" Ichika said in disappointment. "Oh well," He waved his arm and the stone arm disappeared, instead, a hovertank, made of some silvery metal and armed with plasma cannon, appeared beside him. Ichika jumped up (much higher than a normal human could jump) and sat on the hovertank's turret. "Go!" Ochika ordered and the hovertank flew forth, toward the direction in which the rabbit tried to escape, destroying the grove with its armor (and with its plasma cannon).
November 19th, Sunday, 6:25 A.M., I.S. Academy
System core access chamber. Five girls are sleeping in this pure white room, and a flustered Kanzashi is in control cabin. Right now, she was helplessly looking at the screens around her – one was displaying the charts with five girls' brainwaves, and a larger one nearby was displaying an image from the virtual world. And even thought this was an 'old-styled' LCD display, it was a pretty advanced model, with a large screen and very high resolution. Thanks to that, Kanzashi could see not only a meadow with five doors in the middle of it, she even was able to discern the details, displayed by the windows, which were floating above those doors as they were displaying the contents of girls' dreams. And those contents were the reason why Kanzashi's face was so red. She knew that she shouldn't be watching those images (or more like live streams), but she just couldn't stop watching…
"Hah, it seems they're not as plain as I thought…" Suddenly, a familiar voice resounded from the loudspeakers in the control cabin.
"AAH!" Kanzashi squealed. She got so scared and embarrassed that she fell from her stool right on the floor. That reaction was understandable – essentially, she was caught red-handed watching porn. "Ich… Ich… Ichika… san…!" She was looking around perplexedly, at the same time trying to stand up.
"I'm here, in the cyber world, watch the screen," Ichika's voice sounded again.
Kanzashi hurriedly got back on her feet and looked at the screen. 'Huh?! A Tank!?' Her eyes widened as she saw a hovertank, floating slightly above the ground, about eighty feet away from the five doors. However, she quickly got back to her senses and started typing on her keyboard. Since Kanzashi wasn't adept in talking, it was the best way she could think of to quickly inform him about the situation.
In a few moments, Ichika received an email:
'To: Orimura Ichika.
From: Sarashiki Kanzashi.
Body: Right now, the I.S. Academy is attacked and neutralized by an anonymous person. Shinonono-san and the rest entered the computer world, hoping to regain control, but were attacked by someone, and we lost contact with them. If this keeps up, they may never wake up again. Currently, they're being isolated in separate areas of the virtual world. Thus, we need you to enter those areas and save everyone. Please.'
Ichika endured the desire to facepalm as he saw an email, Kanzashi was a… peculiar girl. "Thanks for the info, but I'm already aware of the situation. Relax, I assure you – there's nothing to worry about. I've read about experiments when people were spending days and even weeks in the virtual reality world, and still they were able to wake up without severe consequences, well, except for the muscle atrophy. Of course, all the test subject were adults… but I don't think that there's much difference, so let them sleep a bit more. Right now we're in process of tracking down our 'bold' hacker, and if I'll interfere – we may scare them off," Ichika explained his plan.
Obviously Kanzashi was unconvinced. From inside the cyber world, Ichika could see Kanzashi's image through the floating window, and he noticed that she began to type again, probably composing another email. "Kanzashi, enough," Ichika raised his voice. "Situation is under control. I'm here precisely to monitor their condition – if the situation get worse – I'll interfere," He promised.
Seeing that there's nothing important around here (nothing that could require a heavy weaponry, at least), Ichika jumped down from his hovertank on the ground. Then he snapped his fingers and the tank shrunk and changed its form, as it turned into a floating throne-loke chair. Ichika sat on that chair and it flew up, to the floating window, and now he was looking directly into the window with Kanzashi's image. Kanzashi blinked in surprise – it actually seemed as if Ichika has a degree of control over that virtual world (which Ichika was calling the 'cyber world'). 'As I think about it… how's he…?' A girl thought. Apparently, Ichika managed to enter this virtual world, and he even did so without Kanzashi noticing, despite she was in this control cabin all that time, until he arrived to these five doors. 'Does it mean that… here somewhere… exists a network node… with even higher access level…?!' She realized. Kanzashi really was at a loss about what is going on in this academy.
In the meantime, Ichika, who now was sitting on the flying throne, addressed the girl. "Kanzashi, do you want to know my own opinion about all that situation?" He asked with a philosophical intonation, and continued without waiting for girl's answer. "In my opinion – if those five really want to exchange the real word for that 'dream' they're seeing now – so be it," He waved his arm.
"Ah?!" Kanzashi yelped as she heard his harsh words.
"Please, don't get wrong this entire situation," Ichika continued. "If not consciously, then subconsciously, these five do realize that this is not the reality around them – they know that it is just a dream, a fake, a lie. Yet they don't want to get rid of that lie – they want to stay in there. They want to stay in that fake world, because there they can get everything, without doing anything. I guess I don't have to remind you what exactly I think about people who wish to get something without spending any efforts?" He asked.
"But don't you worry," He continued his monologue as his flying throne began to descend back to the ground. "I've promised to keep this academy and its students safe, and I'll keep my word. I'm not even going to scold them – for that, this academy has my sister. Just have patience – it'll be over soon, for now – enjoy the show – you actually might learn something," He waved his arm towards those five doors.
"What? Ah?! NOOO!" Kanzashi suddenly screamed, and it appeared that when she forgets about her shyness – she actually has a clear and powerful voice – she could've easily become an idol, if not for her shyness (and her high I.S. aptitude). As for the reason for her sudden panic… When Ichika just arrived and Kanzashi realized that – a thought got triggered in her head: 'Ichika has come - he can save everyone - everything will be alright'. That thought made her distracted. When Ichika refused to act immediately and instead began to push his pseudo-philosophical speeches – Kanzashi got even more distracted. But now, when Ichika mentioned it directly, she actually remembered that above those doors – there are windows that are displaying five girls' dreams, live, and the content of those dreams is quite indecent, no put it mildly.
"Ichika-san, you shouldn't look!" A girl exclaimed as she urgently tried to input some command using her keyboard – she probably wanted to do something to not let Ichika watch at girls' dreams. However, probably because she was embarrassed, panicking and acting too hasty – when she tried to execute a command – nothing happened.
"Kanzashi-chan, I understand that you're envious, but that's not a reason to make fuss over nothing," Ichika commented – he was aware of Kanzashi's attempts.
"I'm not!" Kanzashi protested as Ichika's comment made her even more embarrassed. "Ah!" Accidentally, due to her hectic actions, Kanzashi plugged off her keyboard. She urgently tried to get the plug back to its place, but the keyboard's plug wasn't the only plug in there. "Auugh!" The girl screamed as she got electrocuted and forced to make several steps, "Ohh…" She hit the shelf with the back of her head and fell on the floor, unconscious.
This time, Ichika was unable to withstand the desire to facepalm. "My lord…" He sighed helplessly. During the Kyoto's turmoil, Kanzashi managed to keep her cool despite she was riding on an uncontrollable train with the bomb aboard. Yet some (amateur) porn made her like that? She even forgot a very important rule of the electrical engineering – never be hasty when you're working with the wires with current! "I really admire Chifuyu-nee for her ability to handle these teenagers…" Ichika admitted.
"Oh well, maybe it's even better this way – no one will be making fuss out there," He shrugged. Of course he had no intentions to pay attention to those 'live streams' – he had much more interesting stuff to attend to. Still sitting on his silvery throne, Ichika swung his right arm and three holographic windows appeared in front of him. The images displayed seemed like sketches of sort… actually, they looked much like I.S. frames projects.
November 19th, Sunday, 6:47 A.M., Virtual World
After wandering around this world, devoid of any roads, for quite a while, the silver-haired girl, Chloe Chronicle, finally found the core of this world.
In the middle of nowhere, a huge iceberg was floating about. On the very top of the iceberg was a Stonehenge-like structure made of ice. In the middle of an icy ring, there was an altar of sort. And lying on the altar was a young woman of magnificent beauty. She had a dark-blue hair reaching the middle of her back, light-blue lips, an almost white skin and soft, gentle face features. Being dressed in a silky, long, sleeveless dress, which seemed as if it was made of snow, a young lady was in deep slumber, but even like that she seemed refined and elegant. No doubts – she's Yuki-onna – a mythical being from Japanese fairy tales.
'This person is… as Tabane-sama said…' Chloe thought as she looked at the summit of a huge iceberg, 'The core of Orimura Chifuyu's personal unit, the Kurezakura…' She headed towards the top of an iceberg, but just when she was about to enter the ice ring…
"Mitsu~ke~ta~~!" A gentle voice almost sang this word, and as Chloe abruptly turned around, she got a chainmail-clad fist smashed in her face with full force.
"AUUGH!" A girl squealed as she flew off and crashed into one of icy columns. This world was virtual, illusive… but the pain felt quite real. Chloe abruptly jumped on her feet and opened her eyes, revealing a pair of glowing, golden-yellow irises. She saw a woman of breathtaking beauty, with knee-long, pale-lilac hair and golden ring, decorated with three diamonds, floating above her head like an angelic halo. She was wearing a majestic, dress-like chainmail, and three pairs of her wings were shining with blinding-white.
"A little mouse wandered into the lion's lair…" A winged woman spoke out arrogantly.
"Who are you?!" Chloe asked through clenched teeth.
"None of your business," Astarte replied – her voice was melodic and gentle, but words were quite rude. A winged goddess outstretched her left arm (apparently, just like Ichika, she was a lefthander, even though she isn't a human), and a golden staff appeared in her had. The staff's overall length was about seven feet, it had an ornamented shaft, and a feet-long staff-blade as its bottom part. The staff's crest depicts a four-winged angel-looking woman holding scales in her right hand, a sword in her left, and being accompanied by two lions lying at her feet. "Make yourself a favor – let me take you to the Adonai, you won't be punished too severely… I think," She made a proposition, "I've already wasted quite enough time waiting here for you."
'I cannot fail Tabane-sama!' Chloe thought as her golden eyes began to glow, as a mist cloud began to gather around Astarte. Apparently, Chloe was trying to isolate her opponent in a personal world, just as she did with the first-year students.
"I see," Astarte calmly pronounced. "So, this is your I.S., Shin no Joō [心の女王, Queen of Hearts], just as Adonai has foreseen," She said as she swung her staff and it began to radiate the white-golden, 'divine' light. "But this little sister of mine is way, way too young to oppose me," The goddess declared as all the mist got purged by that light.
"Khh…" Chloe hissed as she saw that her attack has failed. 'Little sister? What she's talking about? Who is this woman?!' She was thinking, feeling an amassing threat from the enemy's presence. In contrary to Chloe, Astarte was quite a tall girl – her height was 5 feet 9 inches, and if you add to that the two inches long heels of her chainmail boots – she seemed pretty imposing, even if we'll exclude her gorgeous wings from that equation.
"For the last time, give up. Now!" Astarte demanded, pointing at Chloe with her golden staff, La Dea de Libra. Just for a moment, Chloe got a weird feeling that an angelic figure and both lions' figures, decorating staff's crest, could move as if alive. [Astarte is an ancient goddess, associated with justice, love and sexual energy, art of war, and hunting, often depicted being accompanied by two lions]
Instead of a reply, Chloe Chronicle just collapsed on all fours and changed her shape, quickly turning into a 'cyber-wolf'. She now seemed like a huge, pale-gray she-wolf (about six feet at the withers), with glowing golden-yellow eyes, having two laser turrets mounted at her sides, and a rapid-fire missile launcher mounted on her back.
"Oh, so you're eager to prove that you're not a mouse," Astarte didn't seem taken aback. "Come at me then, do your worst!" A goddess raised her staff.
November 19th, Sunday, 6:55 A.M.
In the meantime, young girls were having fun inside of their personal dreamworlds.
Wearing only an apron, Laura was lying right on kitchen's table, holding to its edges with her cute little palms, whilst her slim legs were curled around her partner's waist, as her pussy was mercilessly pounded at fast pace. "Ah! Ah! Yes, yes! There!" She was moaning lewdly as her pseudo-Ichika's shaft was entering her vagina to its full length, and Laura was actively using her legs to pull her partner's waist, making him to fuck her even harder. "AAAAAAAHHHH!" She orgasmed violently as pseudo-Ichika stopped for a moment, leaned forward and embraced her. "Ah… ah…" She was breathing heavily "…why did… you stop…? Give me… more…!" She demanded, Apparently, even in such a condition she couldn't stop giving orders.
"Jawohl!" Her partner smiled as he slightly adjusted his pose and began to move again.
"Yes! Ahh…!" Laura exhaled in bliss.
Charlotte was standing leaning on the window with both hands. She was wearing only the white garter belt and matching stockings. She took off her maid's clothing to try a wedding dress, but, apparently, something went wrong.
"Ah! No… Master! What if… Oh!... someone sees us…?! Ohh!" She was verbally protesting, but not attempting to physically resist. Her partner was standing behind her, gently massaging her breasts, and slowly moving his hips up and down, softly entering her pussy and moving out.
"This house and its garden are a private property," Her pseudo-Ichika replied, gradually increasing pace of his moves "Here are no outsiders. Besides, in fact you want someone to see us, aren't you? You want them to see to who you do belong, right?" He asked as he softly pinched her nipples.
"Ahh…! No! I don't…! Oh…!" A girl was melting due to amassing pleasure.
Rin's clothes were all scattered around the room. Her partner was lying on bed, on his back, as Rin was sitting on him, facing away (the so-called 'reverse cowgirl' position). With her pseudo-Ichika's penis inside of her vagina, a girl was slowly moving her hips in circular motion, at the same time caressing her own chest – her breasts were small but sensitive. Her partner was massaging her buttocks, at the same time holding her to help a girl to keep balance.
"Ah… Umm… Yes…" Rin was moaning sweetly, she definitely was enjoying sex when it slow and soft, and when her partner's shaft is inserted into her pussy at full length.
Cecilia was still in a bathroom, however, her skin was glistering not because of water, but because of sweat. She definitely will need another shower after all that. Her partner was standing on the floor, holding a girl in the air by her hips, with her back leaning on his chest. Pseudo-Ichika's penis was violently grinding blonde's anus, entering at full length at a very fast pace whilst Cecilia was taking care of her clit with a 'Hitachi magic wand'-like tool.
"Ahh! Yesh…! Oh..! Pleashe, hardesh…!" She was screaming in extasy, not even trying to hold her voice back. "I'm alshmost… aaaahhhh! Yyeesssh!" She licked finger of her left hand and quickly put them back into her pussy, "Yeeeeesh! AAAAAAAAHHHHH!" She cried out in relief as she squirted, releasing a lot of liquid.
But knowing her mistress, pseudo-Ichika didn't stop even for a moment, continuing to grind the girl's butthole. "Yesh… more…" Cecilia was in total bliss.
At the glade, outside those five doors, even though he was busy with his project/plans/sketches, whatever those drafts were, due to his eyes' peculiarity, Ichika still could see what's happening inside of the girls' personal worlds. "Hah, way to go, Cecilia," He chuckled as he noticed what the blue-eyed blonde is doing, "And they were saying that Englishwomen lack passion, heh. Well, figures, since she has an A+ I.S. aptitude." Actually, Ichika noticed an interesting consistent pattern – the higher girl's I.S. aptitude – the stronger libido she has. Though, it's unlikely that this is the same genetic characteristic – more likely that I.S. aptitude and libido characteristics are just naturally linked in some manner, but Ichika couldn't say in which manner, exactly – it's just a theory, after all. Maybe Tabane knows more – lately she was interested in molecular genetics much more than Ichika.
Suddenly, with a bright flash, the floating doors have disappeared, each leaving a naked girl in its place. Apparently, something happened to the one who was 'hosting' those personal worlds, and all of them crumbled… all but one. "Haah…" Ichika sighed heavily, looking at the last remaining door. "Damn you, Houki… where is that stubbornness of yours when it comes to an I.S. piloting or other useful applications?" He complained as all those drafts he was working at have disappeared and he stood up from his throne. Since complains aren't going to get him anywhere, Ichika decided to deal with that decisively.
Apparently, due to a weakened 'World Purge' effect on her, and due to her very strong and stubborn desire for everything around her to be 'normal' and 'proper', Houki now became her own personal world's host. It seems that Astarte just apprehended Chloe Chronicle, so other girls' worlds crumbled, but somehow, Houki took-over the remnants of 'World Purge' algorithm and continued to dream, forcing Ichika to act personally.
November 19th, Sunday, 7:01 A.M., Houki's personal world
"Then, let's have a battle. Come."
"Yes, come."
Shinonono Houki and her pseudo-Ichika are dressed in kendo gear, and they're standing up nimbly. Their shinais [bamboo swords] are pointed at one another, and the both of them are waiting for an opponent to take action. A quiet yet tense atmosphere occupied the dojo. Basically, in kendo, the one who strikes first is at the disadvantage. It's a basic in kendo to wait for the opponent to move. However, there is a unique trait in kendo, in that the side that takes action first can control the flow of the battle.
In this silent stare-off, they are trying grasp each other's breathing, footwork, and rhythm. These can allow the kendoists to determine when the opponent will take action, and retaliating is easier. However…
'The breathing isn't erratic at all… You're really strong, Ichika! In this case!' Houiki thought as she raised the shinai in her hands, and brough her body to charge forward. She wanted to suppress Ichika's momentum backwards, take a step back, and dodge the counter.
""Hah!"" In an instant moment, the two of them stroke, pseudo-Ichika and Houki have passed by each other.
"…I lost," Houki declared. She was hit by her opponent right in her chest the moment she was about to beat him. His reaction was fast and without doubt.
""Thank you very much!"" After thanking each other, they've put away the bamboo swords. Then, both headed outside the dojo, sat down in seiza positions, and face outside.
"Fuuh…" Houki exhaled. She lost, but she does feel relieved. Just when she looked at Ichika in a satisfied manner, their stares met.
It has been three months since the day when Ichika came to live in the Shinonono Shrine so that he could attend a high school nearby. He abandoned his strange techniques and once again began to practice normal kendo, so now Houki and him can have practice kendo duels.
"Houki, I'll change my clothes now, and then I'll sweep the shrine grounds," Pseudo-Ichika announced.
"Ahh, I get it. I'll take a quick bath to wash off the sweat on my body then," Houki replied. For an instant, she had a strange thought like 'what if he's going to peep at me', but she quickly threw that thought away. As far as she knew, Ichika's not that kind of guy. He has the outstanding traits of a Japanese man.
'Hmm, if… If possible, I should have Ichika enter the Shinonono Shrine as a son-in-law, and then we'll spend our free lives raising children, and then we can have a steady retirement…' Houki though dreamily. "Ahem, ahem," She coughed several times, "I can talk about such things later," She thought as her cheeks flushed. 'I just need to have Ichika with me. As long as I can continue to look at Ichika from as close as possible…'
"Detecting anomaly in World Purge, foreign object intruded. Beginning elimination," A mechanical voice rang, and that voice, even though artificial, actually sounded quite similar to Houki's own voice.
"…Hmm?" She looked around in confusion.
BAAM! The dojo's door got knocked down, together with a portion of the wall. And as Houki was staring at the dojo's former door in a slight shock, a person entered the dojo. "Damn you, Houki. You could dream of anything you wanted, yet you were dreaming about this? How much of a washed-out pervert you are?" A sarcastic voice asked. "You've always been losing to me in the real life, why are you need to dream about it?"
Apparently, despite that Houki's genetics has been adjusted by Crimson Camelia, and her I.S. aptitude has been raised to S-level, the concomitant genetic characteristics weren't affected. As such, Houki's sexual urges remained relatively humble (comparing to other four), adequate to her just above average inborn I.S. aptitude of a level C+. So, whilst other personal I.S. machines pilots, with A-level inborn I.S. aptitude (and even level A+, in Cecilia's case), were enjoying the carnal pleasures to the fullest, Houki was just dreaming about a steady life.
"What are you talking about?! How dare you to bring destruction to this peaceful place?!" Houki shouted angrily, "Who are you?!"
"I am is I am," The real Ichika replied as a false one charged at him, without saying anything. The pseudo-Ichika tried to hit the real one with his shinai, but a real Ichika easily grabbed him, using a jiujutsu technique and threw him over himself.
"Augh!" Houki screamed as false Ichika crashed into her and both did fall on the floor. The real Ichika picked up his false counterpart's shinai and broke it over his knee, as if it was just a rotten stick.
"Listen carefully, Houki – I'm going to reveal an important secret to you… though, that's a secret only for you, I'm afraid," The real Ichika pronounced as two different swords appeared in his hands. A perfect Japanese katana appeared in his left arm, and a European zweihander appeared in his right. "No matter when and where – a sword is a weapon. Swords are being forged to slice and slash, not to be swinged like a stick. Without an intent to kill – the sword is useless, meaningless. If you won't realize this – your sword, made of steel or a bamboo one, will remain a simple stick forever. Being raised without an intent to kill makes a sword intentless, just as its owner."
Swords in Ichika's arms disappeared as he raised his left arm, bringing his outstretched middle and index fingers to his chin. Suddenly, a space around Ichika darkened, as dojo's walls were replaced with a display of stars and galaxies on the background. At the same time a huge, no, gigantic sword, about 600 feet in length, made of pure flame, appeared behind Ichika. An oppressive force pinned Houki down to the floor. 'Is… is it… a sword's intent?!' She realized as Ichika swung his left arm, and a gigantic sword also swung down, slicing in half the false Ichika, this dojo, and Houki's virtual world itself.
Just as Houki was about to lose consciousness, she heard a familiar voice. "Houki, I do know that you want to have normal relationships, a normal family, and a normal life. But you can't, simple as that. Resign yourself to it – the faster you'll do – the less miserable your life will be," Ichika advised.
'I… I see…' Houki's fading consciousness replied.
November 19th, Sunday, 7:19 A.M., Virtual world
As Houki's personal world got destroyed, Ichika once again appeared on the glade, in the middle of an aspen grove. Houki, still dressed in hakama, was lying beside him. Ichika went forth and once again sat on his silvery throne-like chair. In the meantime, probably due to a shockwave, caused by Houki's world destruction, other girls began to regain consciousness.
As they woke up, the girls began to look over themselves. Cecilia and Rin were plain naked, Laura was wearing only an apron, and Charlotte was 'dressed' in a white garter belt and de same-colored stockings – that was giving her a quite seductive and lewd appearance. As they were looking at themselves and each other, their faces were already burning with embarrassment – of course they were perfectly remembering what they were doing just now, in their dreams, with all the details, including sensations.
"You did enjoy yourselves, I hope?" A quiet voice sounded from aside.
Almost simultaneously, the girls turned that way and saw Ichika, sitting on a hovering throne, made of catchy silvery metal, as its right armrest was decollated with a letter 'α', and the left one with 'ω'. Ichika was looking at them with his glowing eyes, and with a very conceit smile on his face.
""""KYYYYYYYAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"""" All the girls screamed as one. All of them were confused, as they couldn't clearly understand what is real and what's not, so their instincts got better of them.
"No, no, no no no no," Ichika said as he swung his left arm and all four girls got covered with a layer of glowing orange energy, and all four were completely paralyzed now. They could still breath, but nothing more than that. "You've embarrassed and ashamed yourselves more than enough for one night, don't you think?" He said calmly. In their panic and confusion, those four actually could try to deploy their I.S.-es and attack him, but this entire situation got messy enough already, so he decided to act harshly.
Just as the girls got paralyzed and everything became quiet again, a flapping sound could be heard. In the next moment, a beautiful six-winged goddess descended from the sky and landed beside Ichika. "Adonai, the intruder has been dealt with," She reported as she threw a petite girl's body to Ichika's feet. A white sack was put on girl's head and upper body, so it was impossible to see who she is, though Ichika has easily recognized Chloe Chronicle – since the very beginning he was 98% certain that she's the one performing Tabane's task.
Ichika looked at Astarte – her chainmail dress was bent and burnt at several points – apparently, Chloe actually put up a fight. "I'm… I'm sorry for my unsightly appearance…" Angelic girl apologized humbly.
"Don't spout nonsense," Ichika stopped her, "You did a great job – be proud." Then he raised his arm, asking Astarte to wait a moment, and turned to four paralyzed girls. "And this is what was expected from you to do," He pointed at an apprehended Chloe, "Why can't you do anything properly?" He sighed, "Okay, listen. I know you are confused and dying with shame, but you must endure and listen to me now. I'm not going to scold you for that happened just now. The desire for carnal pleasures is perfectly normal and natural for your age, only an idiot would scold you for a sexual desire itself – carve that truth in your memory. Besides, it wasn't me who gave you an order to perform a computer dive. However, there's a thing of an utmost importance we should talk about. Since the academy students have spent an entire night in shelters, even though today's a Sunday, tomorrow's morning classes will be canceled to compensate for this inconvenience. So, tomorrow, after you'll be thoroughly trashed by Orimura-sensei, come to my office, and the one who won't come may forget about talking to me ever again," He warned.
Ichika looked at an unconscious Houki. Because the "World Purge" effect on her hasn't been simply cancelled but her personal world was forcibly destroyed, she experienced a psychic shock, so it'll take a while for her to recover. "When you'll wake up – go to medbay. Rin, Cecilia – take Houki with yourselves. Laura, Charlotte – you two take Kanzashi-chan – she got electrocuted and also needs a medical checkup. And tell them about tomorrow's meeting. Now, get out of here," Ichika swung his left arm and all five girls turned into light particles as their consciousnesses were expunged from the virtual world and sent back to their bodies.
"I should go as well," Ichika addressed Astarte as he stood up and his silvery throne crumbled and disappeared. He placed his left arm on her shoulder and Astarte's battered dress got fixed in a blink of an eye. "Make sure her virtual self stays here," He ordered, "I'll go look for her physical body, shouldn't be difficult to trace it."
"As you command!" Astarte saluted.
November 19th, Sunday, 7:35 A.M., I.S. Academy
The emergency situation has been resolved, academy's systems were up and running once again. On the mainland, people didn't even know that there was an abnormal situation on the island, yet. Aside from Houki, all the first-years woke up without issues. Feeling themselves like mushrooms in the mushroom picker's bucket, four girls arrived to the medbay, carrying Houki and Kanzashi. There, they've got visited by Chifuyu and Maya. The latter immediately started to run around the girls like a brood-hen, whilst former only said "The debriefing will be tomorrow at 7:30, in the operations room you've been earlier, all six of you," and left. That didn't help to calm down girls' emotions, at all.
November 19th, Sunday, 8:10 A.M.
In this room full of strange machines, on a chair with several arms 'growing' from it, was sitting a woman with lush breasts and pansy-purple-colored hair, dressed like an Alice from wonderland. Right now, she was looking into a holographic window, at the other side of which was a pretty dark place, in the midst of which was a floating chair, with a dark-haired man sitting on it. On his lap was a peacefully sleeping, petite, silver-haired girl – Chloe Chronicle.
"Please give ku-chan back," Tabane asked with a smile.
"Of course," Ichika replied calmly, "It is your fault, not hers, so I see no reason to keep her prisoner. I'm willing to release her… for a price," He clarified.
"Hey, I haven't walked for a while!" Tabane announced with energetic voice, "Maybe I should come for ku-chan myself?" She pretended that she's thinking aloud, though a threat in her word was easily recognizable.
"Hah, Tabane-nee, leave these cheap threats to your friends-morons from Phantom Task," Ichika didn't seem impressed. "I may be not your equal in terms of physical capabilities yet, but I do know a few people from around the globe, who really, really want to see you. So you either start a World War III, attempting to get this girl back, with an unpredictable outcome, or we'll negotiate, you'll pay a ransom and get her back with a warranty. You've caused damage – compensate for it, this is how this world works, regardless of how much it bores you," Ichika put his conditions forward.
Tabane was still smiling, but Ichika's eyes did notice a slight change in her expression – the glint in her eyes became dimmer, just a tiny bit. Apparently, she accepted her defeat for today, it wasn't big but still, as a peerless genius she wasn't used to that sensation. Ichika might be her friend, but he's also her very dangerous competitor, and not only as an I.S. designer, who has a completely different view on I.S.-es future. Recently, Tabane got fascinated with an idea of a fully organic I.S., whilst Ichika was pushing the idea of an I.S. made purely of energy and high-energy particles, with no solid materials being used.
"Hey, don't look at me as if I'm some extortionist," Ichika snorted. Currently, Tabane sight was similar to that of a small girl, whose favorite doll got stolen by a bully, who's now asking for something in exchange for giving the doll back. "I've already took care of everything. Out of my sheer kindness I've wiped Chloe-chan's memories, so she won't be hanging around you with teary eyes, crying about something like 'I'm unworthy of Tabane-sama's kindness'," He assured.
"Thank you! Thank you!" Tabane said with a carefree smile. Of course she knew that it was a lie – Ichika just wanted Chloe to be unable to tell about how exactly she got captured. But that should really ease Chloe's heart nonetheless.
"Also, I'm willing to buy her a coffee," He added.
"And what do you want in exchange," Tabane asked as she switched to 'normal talking' mode.
"Ah, Tabane-san, you're perfectly aware what I want, why do you ask?" Ichika rolled his eyes. But Tabane just continued to smile, meaning that she wants to hear it from him. "Haah…" Ichika sighed. 'Why women tend to make all the things difficult? Even she is like that…' He thought. "I want Akatsuki's exploitational data," Ichika voiced his main condition.
Akatsuki, an infamous, very powerful I.S. frame, created by Shinonono Tabane and piloted by her younger sister, Shinonono Houki, when the latter was attending the middle school. Enravished by her newfound power, Houki caused a major incident and did hurt several people dear to her. As she realized what she had done, Houki got a massive psychological trauma, from which she still didn't recover. Exactly since that time she began to despise and fear her own self, and she is drowning in a sense of guilt ever since, as well. Her I.S. aptitude degraded from her inborn level C+ to level C- (below average), and interacting with Tabane became even more painful for Houki.
"Oh, and one more thing, Tabane-nee," Ichika addressed the 'Alice' with rabbit's ears, "I've taken a look at the program you've asked Chloe-chan to deliver. You really think I didn't try something similar?" He asked with some rebuke. "If awakening Kurezakura would've been that easy – she would've been awakened half a year ago. There's definitely something more to it that both you and I cannot see…" He spoke out, and Tabane's smile widened a bit.
November 19th, Sunday, 9:45 A.M.
At a café located at a coastal park not too far away from the I.S. Academy, a silver-haired girl was sitting alone at a table. The girl's name was Chloe, the 'pilot' of an I.S. Queen of Hearts, someone who swore loyalty to Tabane. 'Mission complete… got to leave this place,' She was thinking. Being implanted with false memories mixed with her own, the girl was made to believe that she actually delivered a special program Tabane gave her – Chloe could clearly remember that she found the Kurezakura's avatar, interacted with it, and then quickly left the academy. What she couldn't remember is that why she's drinking coffee in this café.
The café's staff told her that she, whilst being asleep, was brought here by some military man, who asked them to give her a coffee when she'll wake up. Also, an elderly woman, who's, apparently, in charge here, advised her to take better care of herself and stop playing computer games for too much. Just who told what to these people?
'Well, that's not really important right now…' Chloe decided in the end as she put down the coffee that she did not even take a sip from, and that had already cooled. She stood up, however, just when she was about to turn away and leave…
"Let me have a seat too," A sharp female's voice asked.
"Ah?!" The girl, who had a creed to remain calm, was shocked inside. Even with her eyes closed, she could tell whose voice it was from her internal data. "Orimura… Chifuyu…" She mumbled. That was Ichika's elder sister. And no, he didn't tell Chifuyu where he's going to drop-off Chloe – Chifuyu somehow found the girl on her own.
"Well, take a seat. This is your coffee. Are you fine with such a coffee this early in the morning?" Chifuyu asked casually. Actually, Ichika bought a Carajillo for Chloe – a Spanish variant of a coffee with brandy.
'I can't escape…' With this instinctive understanding, Chloe sat on the chair with trepidation. She received the coffee while enduring her trembling hand.
"Well, let me conclude this – tell Tabane to stop fooling around already," Chifuyu demanded.
'No choice but to kill her,' Chloe's mind trembled.
"Give it up, don't think about it. You cannot kill me, even if you use an I.S.," Chifuyu snorted as she easily read the girl's intentions, as if she heard Chloe's very thoughts.
"No!" Chloe exclaimed as she opened her tightly closed eyes. Her eyes were of peculiar, golden yellow color.
"An I.S. developed together with a biological body? Has that Tabane developed it to this extent?" Chifuyu seemed impressed a bit, but not for long. "Haah…" Chifuyu sighed and put down her cup of coffee. At that moment, she was already locked inside of a pure-white world where the dimensions were nonexistent. "Hmm… I see. Interfering with the opponent's mind in the computer world, and using atmospheric air in reality to cause light refraction and make illusions? Quite impressive," Chifuyu muttered approvingly as she casually used her hand to parry away the knife pointed at her neck, and then used the momentum to pick up the fork from the table to stab it at the pure white space. "You really want to have a go?" She asked threateningly.
It was Chloe's complete defeat. She undid her ability without hesitation.
"That's the correct choice. See you around," Chifuyu finished her coffee, and got up from her seat. "Speaking of which, is it alright for you not to meet your little sister?"
"That's… not my little sister… She's a complete me… me, the incomplete form of Laura Bodewig," A girl replied slowly. And so, she added on, "I'm Chloe Chronicle," She muttered out the most precious name she got from Tabane.
Upon hearing that, Chifuyu seemed to be somewhat satisfied. "Is that so…" She said as she was about to walk out of the café. "You know what… drink that coffee – it should help," She advised and left.
'So… Tabane-sama isn't the only one… Gods are really walking among humans…' Chloe, who's left behind, thought as she took a sip of a coffee with brandy, "…It's bitter."
Omake – I.S. Collection continuation
…
Issue №20
Origin: N/A
Designation: Shin no Joō [心の女王, Queen of Hearts]
Core №: Unregistered
(Un)registered Pilot: Chloe Chronicle
Generation: Unknown (presumably the experimental 4.5th Gen)
Class: Harlequin
Manufacturer: Shinonono Tabane
Current status: Operational
Armaments:
Kurukagi (狂畫, Insane Image) – not really a weapon, but a device capable of interfering with the opponent's mind in the virtual reality world, able to make them believe in their ideal world, in particular, also can change user's own shape. In the real word the device can use an atmospheric air to cause light refraction and make illusions.
Other Equipment:
None for now.
I.S. Shield characteristics:
None for now.
One-Off Ability: Not installed yet.
Description: One of early experiments, conducted by Shinonono Tabane in her research about fully organic 5th generation I.S. Currently, pilot's own body serves as an I.S. frame. By now, this unit's capabilities are very limited, though they definitely will be expanded in the future. Also, there's a good chance that, if Tabane will continue her experiments, the pilot, Chloe Chronicle, may turn into a genetically-engineered monstrosity, but Chloe herself, apparently, doesn't mind that at all.
For now, Shin no Joō has no differences from canon LN/Anime.
Issue №21
Origin: Akatsuki
Designation: Akatsuki (朱曉, Scarlet Dawn)
Core №: 002 (currently reports №468, and installed into Houki's Akatsubaki. In fact, the core's real number is 002, but, due to Tabane's messy scheming, there were two cores with number 002 in the world, so to not mess up the entire numeration, this one was renumbered and now reports № 468, but still, in reality, it's the second core, ever made by Shinonono Tabane)
Registered Pilot: Shinonono Houki
Generation: 2.5~3rd Gen
Combat Specialization: close combat to middle range assault type
Manufacturer: Shinonono Tabane
Current status: First Shift, Inoperable (presumably disassembled)
Armaments:
Amatsuki (雨月, Rainy Moon) – The katana that is optimized for 1 vs 1 combat. In alternative-mode it is capable of shooting out multiple red-colored laser beams from around the I.S., in a concentrated pattern toward a single target.
Karaware (空裂, Cracked Sky) – The katana that is optimized for combating multiple enemies. In alternative-mode it is capable of shooting out a large beam slash in the form of a crescent moon, or in the shape of a wave, at the target, and can even take out multiple targets around it.
2 x Ugachi (穿千, Thousand Pierces) – shoulder-mounted blaster crossbows that fires crimson red energy bullets where the output is variable according to the pilot's wish.
Code Red – A very nasty, backdoor-class protocol, capable of preventing other I.S.-es in Akatsuki's vicinity from using their full strength by inhibiting the I.S.–pilot commands exchange. In fact, 'Code Red' blocks the enemy I.S.-es from using optimizations that they've made accumulating experience together with their pilots. Thus, that system especially effective against I.S. machines at high stages of development (with lots of experience accumulated), like those who performed the Second Shift. This protocol is a part of unit's core and may not be copied/reproduced.
Other Equipment:
"Akirai Ichigata" (Crystal Well Type I) 3rd grade reactor (Tokamak-type MCF reactor)
Advanced 2nd grade hyper-sensor
4 x advanced 2nd grade ion thrusters
3 x advanced 3rd grade PIC
Max speed: 1500 knots
Max turn rate: 5.4 radian/sec
I.S. Shield characteristics:
Maximum capacity – 625 points
Physical DAR – 0.785, Heat DAR – 0.79, Energy DAR – 0.78
One-Off Ability: Not available as unit hasn't performed a Second Shift.
Description: Akatsuki was an extremely powerful I.S. frame, being called the 'ruler' of all I.S.-es. Her sheer technical specs back then were roughly equal to modern 2.5th – 3rd generation I.S. machines.
Her pilot, Shinonono Houki, being just a middle-schooler, caused a major incident (essentially, she went on a rampage). Chifuyu Orimura, the world strongest I.S. pilot, who just returned from Germany a few weeks ago, attempted to stop Akatsuki and her pilot. However, using the backdoor protocol Code Red, Houki managed not only to heavily wound Chifuyu, but also cripple her I.S., Kurezakura. To help Chifuyu recover, Kurezakura used all of her remaining energy, thus her core fell into a deep slumber, whilst Houki, being deeply shocked with her own actions, suffered a mental outbreak. She threw away her I.S. and sworn that she doesn't want to get anywhere near anything I.S.-related, ever again.
Well, as we all know, fate had different plans, and now Houki again is an I.S. pilot, and she is piloting Akatsubaki, essentially, the Akatsuki's successor, as latter's core 002 (renumbered as core 468) is now installed in Akatsubaki. Though, apparently, Shinonono Tabane decided to show some responsibility for once, when she was building Akatsubaki, as she installed a special block to prevent the core's special protocol 'Code Red' from being used.
And of course, Tabane's declarations about that Akatsuki's frame was disassembled are all false. She's currently experimenting with that frame, replacing her metallic parts with the organic ones. As such, one day, that I.S. may become a huge problem once again.
And that's it for now. The World Purge arc itself has been completed, only the aftermath (like Tatenashi's fate) remains – let's leave that for the next time. See you soon people, don't forget to leave a review!
