Prologue

Frantic gunfire erupted on the grounds of Tokyo Tower - gunfire aimed at Irys, Kronii and Clover Gosling.

The small army of false Japanese soldiers shot their assault rifles at the three ladies, showering them with bullets of black grime. Irys ducked from the hail of grime and tackled the grime-formed soldier closest to her, stabbing it with her Nephilim's horn. In one smooth motion, she wrestled away that soldier's assault rifle and tried to shoot back at the others, but the gun melted away into black grime and slipped through her fingers.

"Damn it!" Irys cursed.

A pair of grime-formed soldiers with bayonets affixed to their rifles suddenly charged Irys from behind - while another pair rushed her from the front. Irys' heart skipped a beat. She struggled to choose which attack to defend against.

However, in the blink of an eye, Kronii Ouro cut down the attackers from the rear with her twin blades. Then, Clover Gosling gunned down the ones up front with her own grime-formed rifle. That gave Irys a window to rejoin her allies. On her way there, she picked up the sleeping Mumei Nanashi. Together, the collaborators scrambled to find cover - any cover - they could find.

In the midst of the frantic fighting, Sparrowhawk leisurely sat down on a bench and watched the action with an amused smile on her lips. She brought out her wooden humidor and proceeded to light herself a new cigar, taking her sweet time while she went through the motions.

When Sparrowhawk clipped the tip of the cigar with her guillotine, the towering presence of the Titan of Light stirred and wielded its blue, cross-shaped sword.

Then, when Sparrowhawk struck a match, Apocalypse Bird spread its wings and flew from its roost on Tokyo Tower - turning its eleven eyes towards the three ladies that had just kidnapped its master.

Sparrowhawk smoked her cigar without a care in the world while the Titan of Light and Apocalypse Bird assaulted Irys' position. Golden beams of light shot from Apocalypse Bird's eyes, soaring up to the sky before descending suddenly in the shape of a bird's talons. The Titan of Light then wound back, coursed its captive Yatagarasu's magic through the cross-shaped sword and raised it up high.

Before the beams or the cross-shaped sword could strike the earth, Kronii cried out at the top of her lungs.

"CAESURA!"

A faint, blue magical hue enveloped the world and everything came to a halt. Every menacing, shimmering beam of Apocalypse Bird's barrage, every wisp of sickly golden magic forced out of Yatagarasu through the Titan's sword and every grime-shaped bullet of Sparrowhawk's army of false soldiers moved in slow motion at a thousandth of the pace - if not less.

Through that time-frozen world, Irys, Kronii and Clover burst out of their cover with Mumei in tow. Irys carried the sleeping owl-girl and sang her Nephilim's song like she had done so many times before, crystallizing the false soldiers into brittle blue gems. Clover, meanwhile, cocked her grime-formed M16 and shot those crystallized soldiers to pieces in full-automatic.

Irys, Clover and Mumei all had bangles of chains that shimmered with Kronii's blue magic. Kronii smiled at her handiwork and turned her attention skywards. She watched the eleven golden beams of Apocalypse Bird descend, tracking their trajectory like did in her Air Force days.

Even though her Caesura, Kronii could see the beams changing course like heat-seeking missiles.

So, Kronii leapt up and struck the beams one by one with her twin blades, detonating them. Each beam swelled like a firework seconds before they burst and Kronii moved away to safety with her team.

Kronii's eyes then turned to the Titan of Light's sword. She prepared herself to parry that tremendous blade too, but she paused. The sheer strength of magic imbued in the blade frightened her. She could imagine the shockwave that would happen if she even thought about parrying it.

"We're dodging that one!" Kronii declared, pointing to the Titan's blade with one sword, "Take Mumei somewhere safe, Irys."

"You got it!" Irys nodded.

"And you." Kronii pointed to Clover with her sword and then to Sparrowhawk, "Let's take out this sonovabitch once and for all."

Clover grinned. She drew some more black grime and grafted a bayonet onto her grime-rifle.

"All you had to do was ask~!" Clover cheered.

With that, Kronii and Clover brandished their weapons and made a beeline for the leisurely seated Sparrowhawk. Kronii slashed her twin blades through the air and Clover trained her gun at her former boss. However, it was at this time that the two of them noticed something off.

The cigar in Sparrowhawk's mouth continued to fume. Ashes fell down to Sparrowhawk's lap and smoke blew from her lips at regular speed, unhindered by Kronii's Caesura in the slightest.


Hundred and Seventh Scene - Gone Up In Smoke

"Did you really think that a Caesura would work on me?" Sparrowhawk scoffed. She crushed her cigar into the bench and smirked, "My, my, my, Warden Ouro. You still have a lot to learn."

"Shit…" Clover hissed.

"Your powers are inherited from Lady Janus, Warden. Though, technically, you only wield half of it now." Sparrowhawk stood up from the bench and dusted off her lap from the ashes, "I was the one who honed Janus' skill - preparing her to serve her true purpose without her knowing. Using her divided powers against me? Frankly I'm insulted." She extended her hand forward and smirked, "I already told you before, didn't I? Derivative works don't interest me in the slightest - not when I know the real deal like the back of my hand!"

All of a sudden, a peculiar naginata manifested mid-air. Sparrowhawk caught it and whirled it with familiar grace. Then, she threw it at Kronii in the blink of an eye.

Unlike other projectiles, the naginata flew through the air despite the Caesura. Kronii spun out of the way, but not before its sharp blade cut her cheek and gave her an uncomfortably close look at it.

"That's Lady Janus' naginata…!" Kronii lamented, tending to her fresh new wound.

Sparrowhawk snorted smugly.

The naginata fizzled away and reappeared at Sparrowhawk's side. Four more weapons appeared out of thin air: Lady Minerva's scepter of Nature, Lady Mamie's rapier of Chaos, Lady Cosmos' greatsword of Space and Lady Knowledge's revolver of Civilization.

Sparrowhawk took the naginata once more and pointed it at Kronii. Then, Kronii's Caesura spell reached its limit and fizzled away, returning the world to its regular flow of time.

Left and right, the crystallized false soldiers shattered into a million pieces. Then, the deflected beams of Apocalypse Bird slammed into the crystallized buildings of Tokyo City and the cross-shaped sword of the Titan of Light slammed into the earth and scarred it.

The spot where Irys, Kronii, Mumei and Clover were taking cover just moments earlier was now nothing more than a crater of rubble.

Both Apocalypse Bird and the Titan of Light leered at the three collaborators, eager to finish what they started but Sparrowhawk stopped them. She raised up her naginata and urged them to hold their fire. The two mighty beasts obliged without protest, leaving Sparrowhawk to face down her foes undisturbed.

The clock-like headdress behind Kronii's head glowed white hot. Heat that emanated from it threatened to scorch Kronii's skin and set her hair on fire, but she caught her breath and stabilized her overclocked magic.

"Two minutes is the best you could do, after all." Sparrowhawk teased, twirling the naginata like the hands of a clock, "Compared to Lady Janus, you are nothing more than a fanciful daydream. Allow me to show you just how much of a difference exists between you!"

Without further warning, Sparrowhawk charged at Kronii with the naginata and thrust it viciously at her. Kronii stepped back and found herself defending against Sparrowhawk's relentless whirlwind.

Clover tried to shoot at Sparrowhawk, but the other four weapons flew on their own and swarmed her. The revolver shot powerful blasts of magical beams, Sparrowhawk's white magic, at Clover and forced her to take cover. Before she could, the heavy scepter chased her and slammed into the back of her legs, forcing her down to her knees. Next came the rapier that struck at Clover's grime-rifle and disarmed her while she fell.

Finally, the greatsword rose up to the air and tore Clover Gosling in half, cutting her diagonally from her shoulder down.

"Fuck!" Clover cursed.

Her eviscerated body sprawled out on the streets of Tokyo, bleeding black, eldritch grime. Despite the damage that would have killed a person, Clover persisted as always and the two halves of her body rushed to reunite themselves.

However, the process was much slower and more painful than Clover remembered. The black grime that she once mastered didn't cooperate with her as much as it used to anymore. She couldn't even muster up enough strength to keep her grime-rifle from disintegrating into goop.

"You've made your choice, Clover Gosling." Sparrowhawk threatened coldly, giving Clover a sidelong glare, "Now live with it. I will deal with you later."

After that, Sparrowhawk resumed her assault against Kronii. The Warden of Time was on the backfoot, defending herself with her twin blades, but she put up a better fight than what Sparrowhawk anticipated.

"Stubborn." Sparrowhawk scoffed, "But for how long will you last, hmm?"

Sparrowhawk waved her free hand and commanded the revolver to fly towards Kronii. The revolver pressed itself against Kronii's head and pulled back its own hammer.

"This is how she did it, you know." Sparrowhawk smirked, "This is how Lady Knowledge killed Lady Janus at my behest. Rejoice and share in her destiny!"

Kronii's face went pale, but that spurred her to action. She whirled around and struck the revolver with her shorter sword, deflecting its shot of white magic skywards.

Unfortunately for Kronii, this left her back exposed. Sparrowhawk promptly thrust her naginata into Kronii's back. Kronii looked down and saw an imitation of her mentor's blade jutting through her chest. Her eyesight blurred and turned red and she dropped down to the ground, flopping like a fish out of water.

Kronii's magic, too, did its best to mend her gravely wounded body, but the hole in her chest bled faster than her waning magic could restore it.

"Clover! Kronii!" Irys cried.

The Nephilim watched helplessly while her two allies get cut down mercilessly before her eyes. She considered summoning her crystal scythe, but the sleeping Mumei Nanashi occupied her hands. Moreover, the scepter, rapier, greatsword and revolver found their way to Irys and surrounded her.

Sparrowhawk soon followed, whisking Kronii's blood off of her naginata dismissively. She let the naginata go and the weapon floated in midair, joining the other summoned weapons around Irys. Then, Sparrowhawk picked up the revolver and twirled it playfully.

"Now, Irys. Do you understand?" Sparrowhawk asked patronizingly, "You never had a chance to win. One catastrophe wasn't enough to convince you, so another one should burn it into your memory - that I am inevitable, and you will fall in line. Just like all of the Nephilims who came before you."

Irys' eyes widened.

"You… you're the one who worked the Nephilims of this world into extinction!" Irys accused.

"On both sides of the Iron Curtain too." Sparrowhawk laughed heartily, "The Soviets thought the Americans did it. The Americans thought the Soviets did it. Then the wheels on the bus go round and round~!" She spun the cylinder of her revolver with a devious chuckle, "And not just the Nephilims, but all of the Mythicals of this world too. Atlantis? The Underworld? Phoenixes? I crushed them before they could pose a threat to my designs."

"No…" Irys gasped.

Her two-colored eyes trembled. Her breaths grew short and her heart beat hard against her chest, but she stood tall against Sparrowhawk. Even in that situation, Irys protected the sleeping Mumei.

"I'm not gonna surrender to you again, Sparrowhawk." Irys declared firmly, holding Mumei close, "I'm going to keep the fires of Hope alive - even if it kills me!"

"When your duties as Priestess are complete, I'll be happy to oblige." Sparrowhawk growled. She pointed the revolver at Irys' blue eye and declared, "For now, I will settle for this. I will take back this eye that this dying world granted you."

"My eye…!?" Irys gasped.

"This world gave you those eyes - that new perspective." Sparrowhawk shrugged, "Perhaps it was the collective dying gasp of those Mythicals who placed their hopes on you - the newcomer. One of their own."

Irys shuddered. Lightheadedness gripped her and threatened to knock her out. Millions upon millions of faces appeared in the eye of her mind, calling out to her and lamenting the injustices done to them by The Manipulator. The weight of their sorrow and their longing made it hard for her to breathe.

"Either way, your adventure in this world has sharpened my research and given me insight into humanity and their weaknesses." Sparrowhawk clapped her hands and smiled with sickly sweetness, "But that has run its course. I'll be taking it back now - this window to your soul, and all of the Hope you carry within you!"


Hundred and Eighth Scene - Down But Not Out

Irys took a deep breath and forced herself to stay conscious. In the corners of her eyes, she saw the struggling Kronii and Clover sprawled out on the floor. Even in their sorry states, they struggled on against Sparrowhawk.

Her empathetic blue eye showed her the slew of emotions that kept spurring them on. In Clover she saw a longing for a chance of redemption. In Kronii, she carried on thinking about the owl-girl that Irys carried in her arms.

Kronii's eyes met with Irys, urging her - daring her not to even think about giving up.

"Kronii…" Irys muttered beneath her breath.

Then, in that split second, Irys noticed something else about her two allies. There were thin veils of green magical light shrouding them, healing their wounds.

It was at that time that she saw Kronii and Clover clinging on to peculiar vines that had slithered towards them like snakes, just out of Sparrowhawk's view.

Moments later, a sonic boom reached the grounds of Tokyo Tower. Apocalypse Bird screamed like a banshee and the Titan of Light's eye-shaped cockpits shimmered. Sparrowhawk noticed the commotion of her two monsters and turned her eyes towards the sky.

There, she found the Guardian Spirit Boros shooting through the air at breakneck speed together with the Phoenix Kiara Takanashi. The cry of the mighty phoenix echoed throughout the desolate metropolis.

"KIKIRIKI!"

Apocalypse Bird's eleven yellow eyes turned to Boros and shot at the intruders, but the great white serpent and the great Phoenix alongside it bobbed and weaved through the assault unscathed. Boros promptly picked up speed and tackled Apocalypse Bird. Then, Kiara swooped in and slashed one of the beast's yellow eyes.

Next, the furious trotting of hooves grabbed Sparrowhawk's attention. The Guardian Spirit Nemu, now donning petrified wooden armor from her head to her hooves like a cataphract, charged towards Tokyo Tower with Fauna and Bae in tow.

"SPARROWHAWK!" Bae cried at the top of her lungs, "DON'T YOU FUCKING TOUCH HER!"

"Ah~ and so the rat is once again my guest." Sparrowhawk mused, unfazed by Bae's roars. She showed Bae her gun and boasted, "Good. You'll get to see destiny be made with your own two eyes."

Bae hissed and then patted Fauna's shoulder, urging, "Fauna, hurry!"

"Hold on!" Fauna cried, spurring Nemu on.

"Fools!" Sparrowhawk barked.

She sent the naginata, rapier, greatsword and sceptre towards Nemu. Fauna clicked her tongue and summoned her oval shield and battlestaff of petrified wood. Bae, meanwhile, brought out Mr. Squeaks from her coat pocket and turned him into his warhammmer form.

Together, Fauna and Bae fended off Sparrowhawks' four weapons and kept Nemu rushing forward at full gallop. Once Bae was close enough, she stood up from her saddle and launched herself at Sparrowhawk with her warhammer.

Sparrowhawk turned her revolver towards Bae and shot at her. A beam of white magic burst from the gun and flew towards Bae, but the rat-girl just tilted her head. The charged shot whizzed past her.

Then, Bae returned the favor and slammed her warhammer into Sparrowhawk's face. The squelch of grime and flesh and the audible crunch of bones reached Bae's ears.

"This is the real one." Bae snickered, watching Sparrowhawk's now horribly disfigured face, "I've been WAITING to do that!"

"Bae…!" Irys gasped with relief.

"I've come for you, Irys. Just like I promised." Bae smiled warmly, but she kept her grip on her warhammer firm, "But we'll have plenty of time to catch up later after we get through this."

As Bae expected, the disfigured Sparrowhawk only stumbled back but didn't fall. Bae promptly protected Irys and Mumei from the visibly furious Sparrowhawk. The four weapons that she sent to chase after Fauna returned to her side and formed a phalanx that kept Bae at arm's length.

The Titan of Light meanwhile held back and stayed behind Sparrowhawk a good distance away. It simply drove its cross-shaped sword into the ground and held position there. All the while, Boros and Kiara tangled with Apocalypse Bird in a fairly even battle.

"I see how it is." Sparrowhawk grumbled, forcibly adjusting her own jaw with her own hands, "All of these people - spurred to madness to fight the inevitable. Is this the Hope that you've shared with them, perhaps?" She shook her head and adjusted her grime-stained uniform's necktie, "Your cries have brought them here to save you - is that it?"

When Sparrowhawk said this, a thawed army jeep stopped just outside of the fray. Colonel Omega Alpha emerged from that jeep accompanied by the towering J-chad, the lithe Calliope Mori and the small but scrappy Gawr Gura.

"Indeed it has." Omega answered Sparrowhawk, "Her struggles and exploits have reached all the way to my home world. The Cover Corporation's answer to her cries is loud and clear." The Colonel showed off a brand new mechanical arm and clenched it into a fist, "We're going to stop you right here, right now, Manipulator."

Calli and J-chad summoned their great reaper's scythes while Gura wielded her brilliant aquamarine trident and her trusty Single Action Army revolver. Fauna and Nemu promptly joined their ranks while the still wounded Kronii and Clover - now finally on their feet again - hobbled over as quickly as their broken bodies could.

Irys handed the sleeping Mumei over to Fauna and turned to Omega.

"Eagle-11." Irys gave Omega a salute, recalling her callsign.

"Diva." Omega returned the gesture, doing the same for Irys, "Everyone accounted for?"

"Ma'am, yes ma'am." Irys smiled.

"And there you have it." Omega pulled on a crank on her new mechanical arm and transformed it into a small hand-cannon. She pointed the cannon at Sparrowhawk and declared, "For once we've got you outnumbered."

"It's good to see you again, Butters." Sparrowhawk spoke, facing her old subordinate with a sliver of genuine respect, "You've always had a penchant for turning impossible situations around."

"I wish I could say the same, madam General." Omega answered, "I am here now and I will make you pay for those years that you've made a fool of me and everyone else!"

"I think you'll have a difficult time doing that, dear Butters." Sparrowhawk scoffed defiantly, "I always have contingencies - even for someone as slippery as you."

"Contingencies…!?" Omega demanded, "What contingencies!?"

Instead of answering, Sparrowhawk folded her arms and looked behind her to the Titan of Light. Trapped within the confines of the crystalline beast, Yatagarasu writhed in pain. Nobody there could hear its voice, but that sent chills up the spines of Irys, Omega and their new coalition.

"What are you doing to Yatagarasu!" Irys cried, summoning her own crystal scythe now.

"Taking him for what he's worth." Sparrowhawk answered without hesitation, "His powers of Space are truly immense. As expected of a spacefaring creature that can travel to the Infinite Library and back by himself. When I'm done with him, the powers of the 'Wise Old One' will fuel the creation of destiny."

Wisps of golden magic flowed from Yatagarasu through the cross-shaped sword and coursed through the entirety of the structure of Tokyo Tower.

Omega clicked her tongue and turned to her companions.

"J-chad. Take care of that Titan and free Yatagarasu." Omega barked, "On the double!"

"You got it, chief." J-chad nodded, "Fauna, Gura - with me!"

J-chad promptly took her Fauna and Gura, along with Nemu, with her to face down the Titan of Light. That left Omega with the others squaring off against Sparrowhawk herself.

"I have to thank you, Omega Alpha." Sparrowhawk spoke once more, "If it weren't for the equipment that you couldn't dismantle in Da Nang, I would have been forced to play the long game."

"What do you mean by that?" Omega demanded.

Sparrowhawk chuckled. She started counting with her fingers, playing coy.

"Oh, where do I begin? Time has always been on my side, you see. This world would have fallen first - with or without my influence. I'd build my strength here and campaign against KW08. Rinse and repeat." Sparrowhawk shrugged calmly, " Then, with the armies I raise from the new jewels of my realm, I would have besieged the world of Cover Corp and then brought them to their knees."

"What does my equipment have to do with anything!?" Omega growled, training her arm-cannon at Sparrowhawk's head.

"Your equipment will be the catalyst of destiny - the signal booster that would carry the Nephilim's song of Despair from this world to all of the Known Worlds simultaneously!" Sparrowhawk revealed with great pride, "I know that the world of Cover Corporation is interlinked by advanced communication systems. Unleashing the Nephilim's song there would crystallize just about the entire planet!"

Sparrowhawk then turned to Irys and chuckled.

"As for KW08 - everyone affiliated with the Cover Corporation would be equipped with communications devices." She laughed heartily, "When they're gone, the people of that world would be none the wiser. They won't even have their vaunted Myths to protect them when I come knocking!"

"You warmonger!" Omega accused.

"Hah! That's rich coming from you." Sparrowhawk challenged, "But that's not the only gift that you've given me, Omega Alpha."

"What…!?' Omega raised her brow.

"I anticipated that you would come to Irys' and Mumei's rescue." Sparrowhawk joined her hands together and smiled wryly, "What does that leave me with? Three Priestesses of the Ancient Ones, exactly where I want them. Thanks to you, the last three of the Known Worlds will fall in one go!"

Not long after Sparrowhawk said this, Omega's mechanical arm whirred with activity. Its directional microphone sent distress signals coming from the other Known Worlds to Omega's ears.

Sparrowhawk wasn't bluffing. Not in the slightest.

Her war to end the last of the Known Worlds had already begun.


Inderlude - Interdimensional Distortion

Far away, in the post-Victorian Era homeworld of Irys and the Myths, telegraph machines were going haywire throughout the world. Otherworldly signals grafted themselves to the telegraph network and sent strange, unintelligible messages throughout the system. One such telegraph machine at the bottom of the sea, in the office of the Ambassador of the United Kingdom to Atlantis, printed harrowing warnings about the destruction of their world.

Ambassador Ophelia Lowry, this one still being a young lass in her mid-twenties, took the ticker tape from her telegraph machine and read through the message.

The way that the messages printed on the ticker made the periods look like eyes.

Ophelia recognized that symbol. She crumpled that paper and went down into the dungeons of Atlantis' Aquamarine Palace. Atlantean guards accompanied the young Ambassador through the watery halls while her magical aquamarine veil fluttered behind her like a cape.

At the far end of the Atlantean dungeon, Ophelia saw the magically-reinforced aquamarine cell of the biggest criminal of her Known World: her father Steven Lowry.

The former head of the eldritch cult of the Esoteric Order of True Sight.

Ophelia saw that her father was humming a strange tune to himself. Ophelia showed her father the crumpled telegram and demanded to know what was going on.

"Oh sweet child - if only you could hear what I can hear. You wouldn't feel fear but joy and anticipation for what is about to come!" Mr. Lowry ranted like a madman, "Lady Knowledge was a formidable agent of the Ancient Ones, but she only wielded a fraction of the power of The Manipulator. True enlightenment - true sight - will soon be upon us all!"

Ophelia watched her father ramble on and on passionately about the end of the world. She shook her head and lamented her father's sorry state.

It was at this time that another Atlantean guard rushed into the dungeon.

"Ambassador Lowry, the Empress is summoning you to her War Room." The guard reported, fumbling his salute in his haste, "Reports from the surface say that Eldritch Horrors have started appearing en masse. There's even reports of an… orca made up of Horrors floating in space above Europe!"

"They're coming!" Mr. Lowry screamed passionately, "They're coming for me - to take me to where I truly belong! Wash away the pain! Wash away the suffering! Gone, gone, gone on the road to real bliss! Paved with souls! Oh, so many souls!"

Ophelia closed her eyes and snorted. She turned to the Atlantean guard and gave him marching orders.

"Contact the Cover Corporation by interdimensional line. We're gonna need to coordinate our efforts."

In short order, Ophelia Lowry made her way to the War Room of the Atlantean Empress, Flavia Iustitia Synetos or Iustitia IV. The young Empress welcomed Ophelia but quickly got back to work with her many ministers. Together, everyone in the War Room gathered around a piece of Cover Corp equipment set at the center of the room.

The device turned on and a hologram of A-chan projected into the room. Many of the ministers were awed by the sorcery of the high-tech device, but Empress Iustitia and Ophelia Lowry faced A-chan firmly and told her the situation on the ground in KW08.

" KW08 is under attack too, huh? " A-chan spoke, rubbing her chin thoughtfully, " The Manipulator truly is holding nothing back. " She adjusted her glasses and spoke frankly, " The Manipulator is also attacking Cover Corp's homeworld as we speak, so we cannot spare any more reinforcements. Please make do with what you have there. "

Ophelia clenched her fist and slammed it on the conference table, rattling the projector device.

"So you're asking us to roll over and die!?" Ophelia demanded, "My cousin Ame's out there sticking her neck out for you guys and you can't even spare reinforcements for us!?"

One of the Empress' ministers raised his voice at Ophelia for her outburst, but Empress Iustitia silenced her. She raised up her hand and calmly seconded Ophelia's question.

"Atlantis' strongest warrior is in KW11 along with all of your Myth unit meant to protect us. The rest of the surface world is in peril too. Armies of the world, even with brave Atlantean warriors supporting them, will not last long against these terrors." Empress Iustitia added sternly, "Therefore, I too wish to know what you intend for us to do, Miss A-chan."

A-chan's projection paused, but it soon smiled at everyone in the room with unfailing confidence.

"I'm asking you for patience, your excellency, Ambassador Lowry. Please hold onto your hope." A-chan revealed without hesitation, "Everyone here in our world is on edge right now, but we have absolute faith in the person in charge of Operation Eleven. Our greatest manager, Omega Alpha, will see this through in KW11. I promise."


Epilogue

Back in KW11's Tokyo, Omega Alpha listened to the vote of confidence that A-chan gave her. Hearing that declaration brought a small smile to the Colonel's lips - a smile that confounded Sparrowhawk.

"You know Butters, at some point, you'll have to know when to give up." Sparrowhawk urged, "You're setting yourself up for disappointment. Why do you continue to defy me?"

"Why?" Omega started.

The senior Cover Corp manager laid her hand over her heart and started to recite her professional creed.

"I, Omega Alpha, am a manager of the Cover Corporation. It is my sworn duty to support, manage, guide and defend the talents of the Cover Corporation. Through hardships, through suffering, through pain, through controversy, through hell and high water, I will fulfill my duties. I shall carry them on my shoulders and help them reach new heights, shine more brightly and become the best that I can be to bring joy to the world - though the heavens may fall."

Sparrowhawk watched her former subordinate curiously.

"And how in the world do you plan to keep doing that?" Sparrowhawk asked.

Omega's smile grew wider. Then she declared, "With overwhelming firepower."

Suddenly, Omega brought her mechanical arm close to her and shouted into it.

"All green, Watson. All green!"

On Omega's mark, flashes of gold and purple magical light lit up in the distance, coalescing around nearby Tokyo Bay. Then, when the lights subsided, two large American warships appeared out of thin air and sent waves crashing into the coast. They were the carrier USS Enterprise with the entirety of its vast Carrier Air Wing of Vought F-8 Crusader air superiority fighter jets on deck and the battleship USS New Jersey armed with its three triple-mount 16-inch Mark 7 heavy naval guns already trained at the Titan of Light.

On the flight deck of the USS Enterprise, Amelia Watson, Ina'nis Ninomae and Sana Tsukumo jumped up and waved to their friends on the shore. Irys and the others saw them and were filled with great joy.

"Butters, you bitch!" Sparrowhawk cursed.

"I put a lot of effort into organizing that military parade in Vladivostok, Madam General. I'm gonna get my time and money's worth." Omega challenged sternly. She folded her arms and made her declaration, "You have underestimated us for far too long, Manipulator. We're not gonna go down without a fight. Now, we will show you the resolve of humanity - and the resolve of the Cover Corporation!"


Eleven

BERSERKER


To Be Continued