Together the ten students of Class VII rushed out of the academy as quickly as they could, only pausing long enough to give instructions to Patrick, Ferris, and the few other shell-shocked students they came across. If the situation hadn't fully sunk in at that time, seeing the members of the Student Council assist the residents of Trista in evacuating to the auditorium made it clear that this was no mere nightmare. Unfortunately they reached the front gate just as Towa and George sealed it shut.
Realizing their intentions, the president begged them to reconsider, but not even her heartfelt pleas could deter Class VII from their chosen course of action. Reluctantly, she conceded to their demands, but only after extracting a promise from them that no matter what happens, they would survive. George did provide some helpful last minute advice as he suggested that the joints of the giant robots might be a potential weak point and that that is where they should focus their attacks.
The evacuation must have been thorough indeed, as Trista was a veritable ghost town when they passed through the place they had spent so long at. Despite that, the sounds of battle near the west exit of town made it abundantly clear where they needed to go. Together they made their way that direction, passing the Class VII dormitory in the process.
The sight they came across was as terrifying as it should have been expected. They all knew that their instructors were strong, but seeing them gathered up holding a casual conversation while a pair of wrecked armored cars burned away in front of them made that stunningly apparent. There was something especially crazy about seeing the kind old school nurse wielding a high-powered sniper rifle and the unassuming Thomas with an orbal staff.
Opposite them stood the remains of the Noble forces that had attacked the town, all looking rather horrified of the monsters they had just encountered. Justifiably so given the circumstances. Perhaps Class VII had been hasty in their decision to assist the instructors as it clearly wasn't needed?
Or at least that was the case until the enemy officer called for reinforcements and several of those massive armored robots marched in.
Seeing them up close made it painfully clear just how dangerous they really were. Standing at a height of seven arge they were nearly as tall as the shadowed fiend they encountered in the Old Schoolhouse. And as they had witnessed before, those massive weapons their wielded were more than capable of cutting through a heavy tank. They even overheard Instructor Makarov mention that their thick armor had built in arts resistance too!
And despite all that their instructors didn't hesitate to engage, with Sara and Neithardt leading the charge. They knew just how strong their homeroom teacher was and the Major had also proven his strength to them at Garrelia Fortress. The others were clearly no slouches either. On the surface it appeared that the faculty were holding their own against the invaders, and yet...
They were committing everything they had into the battle, while the Noble Faction still had machines yet to engage. As good as Instructor Sara and the others were, they wouldn't be able to last forever and had no ability to fallback if things got dire. This was what Class VII had come for and they prepared themselves to enter the fray and provide that backup for them...
Or they would have if they weren't stopped at the last second. This time courtesy of Sharon. They had all known that their maid was more than she appeared, but seeing her leap over the class and race towards the battle at an extreme speed wasn't something they even remotely expected.
And neither were they expecting her to use wires to restrain one of the giant mechs, albeit only temporarily. The conversation they overheard her having with their instructor only added to the mystery. To find out that their dorm maid is somehow connected to the mysterious Ouroboros that they have been hearing about was surprising, especially to Alisa who has spent the past few years with Sharon, never knowing about her past.
But now was not the time for that. They had come out to town in order to assist their instructors, not to stand around chatting. Somehow, however, their curiosity worked out to their benefit, as holding back meant that they were in position to spot the trap the Noble Faction was springing on them.
Fie and Gaius noticed it first, with the others picking up on it a few seconds later. Mechanical rumbling, but from the eastern exit on the road to Celdic. A classic pincer maneuver. Thanks to her combat shell, Millium was able to get a bird's eye view and confirmed that two of those robots were rapidly approaching the town, with one being the standard green and the other a more advanced blue model. With their instructors busy fighting the group at the west exit it meant that the only ones capable of intercepting the new enemies was Class VII and so they rushed out to do just that.
They managed to reach their destination just before their opponents did, and watched in nervous anticipation as the two machines rolled up their position before coming to a stop, with the green machine just ahead of the blue one. It was utterly pointless at this point, but Rean decided to give his usual speech, to calm his nerves if nothing else. "Commencing operation. Our objective is to defend Trista's east exit. Aim for the one in front, and give it everything you've got!"
And yet it was reassuring to hear the affirmations from all of his friends as all of Class VII stood united against this common foe. It was a naive thought, but as long as they worked together he truly believed that everything would turn out alright. The ten of them braced themselves for the battle to come...
"Heehee. How cute." Came a very familiar female voice from the machine in the back. "You seriously think you can beat a Soldats unit, do you? It just wouldn't be sporting of us to attack at the same time, so why don't you soften them up a little first?"
"Roger that. With pleasure." The first Soldat took a combat position. "You've interfered with our cause for far too long. It's time you got what's coming to you. Let's see how long you last against this Drakkhen!" With that proclamation the so-called Drakkhen waded towards Class VII and the battle began.
The most obvious thing for the student was to make sure they avoid the massive sweeping swings of the sword, as something that could carve through a battle tank wasn't something that they could even attempt to block and none of them wanted to gamble their lives with a barrier either. Because of this the ten students were forced to scatter under the threat of it's initial charge.
Another problem that soon presented itself was the fact that the armor on this war machine was far greater than anything they had fought prior, as Rean's tachi barely put a scratch into it despite him hitting it with a fairly powerful strike. Arts were only marginally more effective as the arts-resistant shielding that Instructor Makarov had mentioned proved a reality. Millium and Laura appeared to have the most luck as their powerful strikes were at least capable of denting the thick plating, but it was soon readily apparent that if they wanted to inflict real damage on the machine that they would need to change up their strategy.
Despite all that, however, these were the same students that had conquered the trial in the Old Schoolhouse, and they were not so easily cowed by the Drakkhen. While they weren't ever going to underestimate such a dangerous opponent, they couldn't help but compare it to the shadowy fiend they fought the week prior. And to be honest? The Soldat came up lacking in most areas.
It's sword was undoubtedly a powerful weapon, but it appeared to be the only thing their opponent had in its arsenal. In comparison the shadow creature had attacked them with a wide variety of attacks with its claws, balls of light, and even its breath was deadly. It nearly wiped them all out with a massive area attack, and Rean later found out that the missing few seconds in his memory were because the creature had actually consumed him.
Not to mention the trial enemy had also been able to summon more and more of its minions as the battle went on, forcing Class VII to divide their efforts to counter that threat. This time, they were facing a single opponent as a unified class and were able to support each other as much as possible. The only thing missing was Crow, but the other ten members of the class were more than up to the challenge and had all but mastered rapidly linking with each other after half a year of school.
That just left the problem of its thick armor, but they had the advice of one whose experience they trusted, especially in a matter like this. "Aim for the joints!" Rean reminded them after backing away from another sweeping swing the machine unleashed in order to put a little distance between it and the human wave that threatened to swarm it. Most of the exposed joints were too high up for the close-ranged members of the class, but there were two obvious targets... "Behind the knees!"
His command was heeded without hesitation as he and his comrades redoubled their assault on the war machine. To his credit the terrorist controlling it seemed to understand what they were attempting and did his best to keep them all away, but there was just one of him and ten of them. It didn't help his cause that his efforts to keep Rean, Laura, Fie, Gaius, and Millium away from his exposed joints freed the others to prepare their highest level arts. The armor might have been built to withstand orbal energy, but it could only endure so much. This fact was proven painfully true as Machias managed to summon a massive pillar of rock above the head of the machine which slammed down onto it, causing it to stagger dangerously, even if little real damage was done. It was further hindered by a combination of water and fire arts from Elliot and Alisa created a scalding mist that was able to blind the pilot.
It was an opening that the rest would have been fools to not exploit, and nobody would accuse the class of that. The melee fighters easily avoided the desperate flailing swings of the unbalanced machine as they closed the distance and sought out their primary targets. They split up, with Rean and Gaius going after one joint while Laura and Millium linked up to handle the other. Fie meanwhile elected to hang back, albeit briefly.
Despite being the most accessible of targets, the exposed joint still stood about two arge off the ground so it wasn't the easiest target for Rean to reach. Instead he allowed Gaius to go first to hopefully create an opening for him to exploit, which the Nord happily complied with. One powerful thrust from his trusty cross-spear was enough to pierce through the thin plating, exposing the internal structure beneath. Something which Rean was more than willing to exploit. The Eight Leaves One Blade style of swordsmanship didn't really feature too many techniques that involved leaping from the ground, but the Arseid school did. He didn't think Laura would mind him borrowing one of her moves as he put his full force into his tachi, descending upon the exposed joint, cutting deeply into it.
Of course his bastardized version of Laura's attack paled in comparison to the original and the Arseid girl with her greatsword did as much damage by herself as both males did in tandem. This meant that when Millium followed up her attack with a powerful Lammy smash, the damage inflicted upon the badly damaged joint was critical. Although the machine didn't topple, it was forced down onto one knee.
Which was just the opening that Fie had been waiting for. With a leap the agile girl vaulted onto the legs of the enemy and climbed the rest of the distance to her true target – The exposed shoulder joint of it's sword arm. He originally thought the former jaeger was planning on using the explosives she always kept on hand, but instead she merely drove her gunblades deep into the shoulder before firing off a volley of bullets directly into the internal structure.
The damage was significant indeed. With one leg completely inoperable, the other badly damaged, and it's sword arm severely hindered, it was obvious to everyone present that the fight was over. "Damn it... How?" The terrorist was shocked at his decisive defeat. "How could I have lost to a bunch of kids!? They're only students...!"
"We did it!" Honestly Rean felt more surprised at the ease of the victory than he was at the victory itself. The trials they had endured at Thors were paying dividends indeed. It helped that while the Soldat was clearly a formidable foe, it was one more suited for fighting against tanks and not a group of skilled students on foot.
Gaius nodded in agreement."Looks like George was right about aiming for the joints!" It helped that they had some good advice to fall back upon.
And yet, despite the victory their other opponent did not seem all that bothered. "Heehee. I should've expected that C's classmates wouldn't go down easy." Came the same familiar voice as the blue machine marched forward, clearly preparing to engage them.
"Bah..." Although they were still fit for combat, Jusis could tell that this second fight was going to be a lot harder.
"I recognize that grating voice..."
Fie wasn't the only one too, either. Laura stepped forward. "...Scarlet? You're in there, aren't you?"
"Aww. Did you miss me? I'm sorry we didn't get a chance to play at the mine. But I hope you haven't forgotten that I owe you for getting in my way at Garrelia Fortress." She pointed her blade towards the assembled students. "You managed to beat one Soldat, but once is just luck. Let's see how you fare against a Spiegel."
Although visually not that different from the Drakkhen they fought before, it was clear that the Spiegel was a wholly different machine. "That one's not like the others. It must be a command unit!"
"So it has weapons the regular suits don't?" Questioned the heiress of the Reinford Group.
Which Scarlet seemed quite happy to answer. "Oh, believe me, you'll find out. Sadly, I doubt you'll survive the demonstration, but at least try to put up some token resistance!" And with that, Scarlet and her Spiegel entered the fight.
Since they had no idea what was different between this Spiegel and the Drakkhen they had just defeated, the unspoken decision was made to just go with what worked before and hope it worked out again. This meant starting off with a powerful barrage of arts before taking advantage of the confusion and going after the knees. With full confidence the students of Class VII began their attack.
Knowing that low level arts would accomplish nothing, the casters of the team all began channeling their most powerful attacks while the melee fighters prepared to buy them the time they needed. This was unnecessary, however, as Scarlet didn't even attempt to interrupt them as she just stood there in her machine, unmoving. Perhaps she was bracing herself to endure the attack, or perhaps she just had confidence that nothing they were doing mattered.
Unfortunately, the latter proved to be true and it became painfully obvious that Class VII had fallen into her trap the second the first art was unleashed. Unlike the Drakkhen, which had arts-resistant armor, this Spiegel seemed to be using armor that was arts-reflective. All those powerful attacks they just sent at it were soon sent flying back at them. Thankfully the power was dispersed enough that the damage they took in return wasn't lethal, but it was enough to scatter and even down a few of the students.
Desperately the melee fighters rushed in in a vain hope of accomplishing something even with the failure of the covering attack, but that too ended in failure. Scarlet proved to be a much more formidable pilot than the terrorist they fought earlier, and being completely unhindered by the arts barrage meant that she was able to keep the vital joints away from the probing blades and combat shell that sought them out. Even Laura's most powerful attack was barely able to dent the sturdy armor.
And most dangerously, this left half the class in optimal range for the Spiegel's sword. Understanding the peril they were in they did their best to retreat just as Scarlet let forth her attack. Fortunately they were all able to avoid the sword attack directly, as any contact would have spelled their imminent deaths. Unfortunately, it was only by the slimmest of margins and the mere force from such a powerful attack was still enough to knock them all away.
In just a few short seconds of combat all of Class VII had been badly battered and bruised and with only a few scuffs of paint to show for their efforts. It was painfully apparent that they weren't winning this fight in their current conditions, especially as they lacked any sort of viable plan of attack.
At least Scarlet seemed more interested in gloating than she did in actually finishing them off. "And this, children, is what we call Reactive Armor. Think of it as a protective field that the pilot can activate at will. They originally designed it to defend against tank assaults, but as you can see, that's not its only use."
In Rean's mind there was only one solution that could save them. Forcing himself to his feet he began to transform, relying on that dark power to give them the chance they needed.
Which the others understood. "Don't do it, Rean!" Laura protested. "I know you've gotten used to using it, but even so!"
"...It won't be enough." Fie added with certainty. "You're strong, but not that strong."
"I know it won't, but if I can just hold her off long enough for you all to..." He really wanted to finish with 'retreat', but by this point he knew that none of them would even consider such an option, and he would earn himself the scolding of a lifetime for even suggesting it. "...come up with a new plan!"
At the very least they had the time to discuss this as Scarlet seemed curious enough about the transformation to halt her attack. "Heh. So this must be that power of yours that C mentioned. I wonder if it'll really give you the strength to take down this Spiegel." The tone of her voice made it quite clear that she certainly didn't believe that it did.
It didn't matter. None of it did. So long as he had the power to protect the others he wouldn't hesitate. Even if it meant drawing out so much of his power that it consumed him. To save those who meant so much to him he would gladly put everything on the line, including his own life. He was just about to allow the transformation to consume him when-
"DOST THOU DESIRE THE POWER?" The voice he last heard in the Old Schoolhouse once again reverberated in his mind like a bucket of cold water.
The surprise was enough to cause him to put a halt on his transformation. "Wha...?
Time stopped moving. The world stopped mattering. All that remained was him and that mysterious voice in a world of darkness. "IF THEE AND I ARE OF ONE ACCORD, A COVENANT CAN BE MADE. THOU HAST BUT TO CALL OUT MY NAME. ONE IN WHOM DWELLS THE FLAME... AWAKENER."
None of it made any sense to the young swordsman, and yet there was a lingering sense of familiarity. "Th-This voice..."
"It looks like all the conditions have finally been met." This statement came neither from him nor the mysterious voice, but from another.
He turned and discovered another in that world between worlds. And who it was might have been the biggest surprise of all. "C-Celine...? You can TALK?!" Yet another absurd thing to add onto the list of absurd things that was going on, but at least his mind could latch onto this one.
And while he was no expert on reading feline expressions, he could tell that his question exasperated the mysterious cat. "Yes, yes, quite eloquently, too. But that's not important right now. Right now, you need to stay focused. You should know 'his' name already. You saw it deep within the realm of the Great Shadow."
She was right. He did remember seeing a name after the conclusion of that trial. It had only been for an instant, but one word was etched into his mind and he could recall it as clear as day. "Heed my call..." The words sprang forth from his mouth before he even realized what he was saying. "Valimar, the Ashen Knight!"
The others could only stare in confusion as Rean appeared to be in some form of a trance with a strange light surrounding him. "What's happening to him?" The son of House Albarea finally asked.
"He just... stopped moving." Elliot observed.
"Celine! What's going on?!"
"Shhh! Let him concentrate!" Emma asking her cat questions was weird, but the cat actually answering them was far far weirder.
They could only watch in confusion and curiosity as Rean continued to stand there unflinching. Eventually Scarlet got bored of waiting. "Playtime's over, brats! Unless you have a death wish, I suggest you get the hell out of -"
Her warning was put on hold as they all heard the sound of a loud noise in the distance. "What was that?" The terrorist questioned in confusion. "Is the provincial army bombarding the town?" It was an educated guess, but she soon realized that it was well off the mark. "Wait... No..." She sounded somewhat terrified as understanding dawned on her. "Shit. Is this what C was talking about?"
"Here it comes." Rean muttered as the trance he was in finally seemed to end. The answer as to what 'it' was was revealed before the others could even think about asking. 'It' was the giant robot they discovered in the Old Schoolhouse, somehow flying to their location under its own power. Scarlet was forced to back off lest she get clipped by the machine as it landed near their position.
Getting the answer didn't make it any less shocking for the rest of Class VII. "Rean, how did you...?" Gaius was the one to ask the question on all their minds.
While it wasn't exactly the time or place, Jusis couldn't help but think back to the field study in Nord as there was a resemblance between this knight and the statue they discovered there. "Is this one of the Great Knights from the ancient legends?"
"So the tales are true..."
As ever, it was Emma who provided the answer for Jusis and Laura. "You see before you one of the Divine Knights, incarnations of the Great Power... the Ashen Knight, Valimar."
Rean didn't hear any of that, or did he hear Scarlet cursing as their plan suddenly came into jeopardy. Instead his body was moving on autopilot as he approached the great machine. He barely noticed Celine padding along at his side. Once he got close enough he felt a tug on his soul, and instinctively knew to allow it to continue. To the others it simply appeared that Rean and Celine had vanished into Valimar.
Appearing inside what was obviously the cockpit of the great knight, Rean hurriedly got to work activating it. He was aware enough to know he shouldn't know any of what he was doing, but that didn't stop his fingers from darting across the console, pushing the correct buttons like a trained master. "H-How am I even doing this...? It's like my body just...knows..."
Thankfully, there was someone there with him who could actually answer all these questions. "The moment you accepted the Awakener's covenant, all the fundamental knowledge was granted to you." Celine answered in a haughty voice. Or at least Rean assumed it was haughty, as he didn't have much experience with talking cats. "But you've got a more pressing issue to deal with right now! And this Divine Knight doesn't have a weapon yet, either!"
Said pressing issue was Scarlet finally recovering from her shock and attempting to take advantage of his distraction and unarmed state to take him out. Fortunately, while his body was no longer moving on autopilot thanks to mysterious knowledge imparted into him, it was still moving on autopilot. This time, however, it was moving thanks to years of experience with the Eight Leaves One Blade style of swordsmanship. Or in this case, the Eighth form in particular.
Instinctively he did his best to flow around Scarlet's sword slash, and the machine he was piloting copied his every move to perfection. It was a strange sensation, but the end result was a successful evasion and a counterattack that forced the Spiegel back.
"It evaded that attack like a trained duelist..." Gaius commented aloud.
Two of the students in particular recognized the move that was just made. "Line Rean would...!" Of course Fie recalled their early spars against the unarmed transformed Rean in the Old Schoolhouse a month prior.
From their position on the ground they could see Valimar flexing it's hands. "All right," Rean's words carried through a speaker of some sort on the robot. "I think I figured out the basics."
"Is he inside that thing making it move?!" Sometimes just seeing something wasn't enough to truly believe it and Machias for one was struggling with this new unexpected reality he found himself in.
"Haha... That's awesome!" Elliot however was easily willing to accept it. Either that or he was simply feeling relief that they all weren't about to become victims of Scarlet.
With that brief moment of reflection over, Rean turned back to his opponent and adopted a combat stance. "I recognize that stance... The Eight Leaves One Blade style's unarmed form..." Like Fie, Laura was easily able to identify the familiar stance.
Inside the cockpit Celine appeared somewhat impressed. "Huh. Looks like you might be able to handle this after all."
"The Eight Leaves One Blade school has a form we use if we're disarmed or have to fight without a weapon..." He felt compelled to explain to the mysterious cat. "... and believe me, Master Ka-fai drilled it into me so thoroughly, I could do it in my sleep." It took many long days of his master proving he didn't need a weapon to beat him senseless for it to sink in, but he suddenly found himself grateful for it. The recent practice he got in using the form was also greatly appreciated in that moment.
"Sounds like you owe him a thank you the next time you see him." Was the cat... amused? Her expression hardened a moment later. "Watch out. Here she comes!"
"Let's see what we can do!" The entire situation was insane, but he felt a surge of confidence. He could do this!
As the battle began his mind drifted back to the fight against Angelica a month ago. Despite being in a seven arge tall robot fighting another seven arge tall robot the basic principals remained the same. This time of course he was the unarmed fighter engaging the sword user.
The most important thing was to keep an eye on her movements, especially those of her sword arm. Although he had no idea what his Divine Knight was capable of, his instincts were telling him that he still didn't want to test the strength of his armored limb against her sword, so evasion was the name of the game. Fortunately, whether it was because piloting a soldat made her moves more basic or the fact that she was using a normal sword and not the strange whip-sword she used at Garrelia, her movements were quite easy to read and he had little difficulty in evading her initial strikes.
The next thing he had to look for was an opening. It was clear that Scarlet understood this as she did her best to keep up a relentless assault, that while futile in scoring a hit, ensured he would have troubles in closing the distance.
Although there were no obvious openings in her assault, a part of Rean instinctively knew that Valimar had the speed to make one. The next time she went for a wide slash he put his faith in this alien knowledge and darted forward with as much speed as he could manage. In one single movement he was inside of her guard and with his left hand he managed to slap away her slash.
That left his right free to unleash a flurry of punches on the opposing machine. The power of Valimar became readily apparent when each blow dented the Spiegel's armor in ways that they never could have dreamed of while fighting it on foot. Realizing her predicament, Scarlet used the force of his final blow and the wheels on the feet of her machine to create separation between the two.
From a distance the rest of Class VII watched the titanic struggle with awe. It was frustrating not being able to do anything to assist, but at the same time they all had faith in their leader and his ability to win. And even the least combat focused member of the class could tell that Rean held the advantage.
Pulling back after yet another exchange of blows went against her, Scarlet shifted her stance and positioned her blade beside her. As a swordsman himself, Rean was able to identify it as a quick draw stance. Whatever she was preparing was obviously bad news and his instincts screamed at him to pull back and play it safe.
Still, he suspected that that was what she wanted him to do, to reset the fight if nothing else. But even though the battle had only been going on for a minute or so Rean felt like he had a greater grasp of Valimar and his capabilities. A crazy idea came to mind and he instead decided to take the risk.
Instead of pulling back like Scarlet and the observing Class VII expected, he charged in recklessly. As his opponent had not been expecting such a move, she was just a fraction of a second slow on her counter swing, which was all the time he needed. From his peripheral vision he noticed he sword was covered in flames, but by that point it was too late.
By putting all of her concentration onto her sword slash, Scarlet had neglected her defenses, especially of the most vital location: The cockpit. That was where Rean and Valimar's fist connected. The blow was powerful and knocked the Spiegel's head back painfully. Scarlet's own swing struck home, but with her so disoriented from his attack it lost much of its momentum and the flames died out before it connected. The end result was nothing more than what felt like a painful scratch on Rean's arm.
But he wasn't finished yet. With Scarlet in disarray he followed up his attack with the most powerful unarmed move he knew. Gathering as much strength as he could in Valimar's arm, he lanced forth with an open-palm strike, connecting square on the Spiegel's sword shoulder. This was his Destructive Impact.
His strike wrenched back Scarlet's arm in a way it was not designed to move, and her grip on her sword failed in response. Said blade flew many arge through the air before sticking its landing in the ground, signaling the end of the battle. The accumulated damage must have been too much as Scarlet's Spiegel slumped to the ground, out of energy. "Damn it... If Reinford had finished my templar sword in time, I'd still be the one standing!" The bitter complaints of a sore loser.
"The battle is over. There's no reason to keep fighting! Now get out of Trista, and take the squad by the east exit with you!" Either she did it herself or Rean would be forced to do so with Valimar.
Given how the battle against Scarlet went he wasn't the only one to share in the opinion that he would easily be able to assist their instructors. Valimar was clearly the superior of the machines the Noble Faction was using. Confidence was high among the students of Class VII as they finally saw a possible victory from this crazy day.
"Woah, woah, hold up a sec." A confidence that died a swift and painful death as they all heard a familiar and wholly unwelcome voice. "Aren't you forgetting something?"
"Something's coming!" Knowing what they knew now they all realized that the mysterious blue machine that Crow had escaped from in Vita's vision was actually another Divine Knight, but seeing it land in front of them didn't make it any less of a terrible surprise.
"C! Am I ever glad to see you!" Scarlet was the only one holding that opinion at the moment as everyone else was still trying to process the return of their classmate as an enemy.
"The Azure Knight...? So he was an Awakener all along... Bah. I'll bet she's the one who guided him to it, too..."
Hearing that comment from Emma's cat should have filled Rean with more questions, but right now his brain was stuck trying to process the most pressing one in front of him. "Crow... Crow! Are you really in there?!"
"Sure am. Long time no see, Rean..." Their classmate turned terrorist leader sounded far too relaxed for this situation, at least in the minds of Class VII. "...Well, not too long, I guess, seeing as we just had dinner together last night. But that all feels strangely distant now, y'know? Another lifetime, almost."
"Why...?" Rean thought he had accepted the absurd reality that Crow was actually C during the vision, but seeing one of his closest friends in person standing opposite him on a battlefield made him understand that he still hadn't come close. "Why are you doing this? Are you really the one who shot the chancellor? And where did you even get that thing?!"
"It's thanks to the Imperial Liberation Front's planning that I wound up at the academy in the first place. It was a nice spot to bide my time while we waited for our chance to take out the chancellor." He answered calmly. "Gotta say, though, the whole school thing was a lot more fun than I expected. Almost makes me sad to leave it all behind... But at the end of the day, I'm C. That's the real deal. The Crow Armbrust you've known all this time... he isn't real. He never was."
Hearing that.. just made Rean furious. "Like hell he isn't!" He recalled the events of the past few months and all the moments they shared together. "All the good times we had. Your friendship with Towa and Angelica and George. You seriously want to me to believe that all of that was just a lie?!" That our hanging out, our field studies, even our concert meant nothing to you!?"
"I'm..." For the first time since the start of the conversation the terrorist hesitated. But that moment of hesitation did not last long at all. "...Yeah. I'm afraid so."
It was a miserable feeling for the rest of Class VII, being forced to observe while everything was going down. As much as they desperately wanted to assist their friend... they could not. "Crow... why are you doing this?" Elliot moaned despairingly.
Which went ignored as the Azure Knight reached to its side and grasped Scarlet's sword. For a second Rean thought that Crow was about to attack him with it, but instead the former classmate lazily tossed it in his direction. Even in his own armored war machine he was able to deftly catch it. "Reinford made that for the Soldats units. I know it's not the kind you're used to, but it's the best you're gonna get right now." Unfortunately that was true as the Spiegel's broadsword was a far cry from his tachi. Still, he had enough experience with such a blade that he could fight with it.
"So... what do you say we settle things once and for all?" If the challenge wasn't already blatantly obvious, the former second-year student drawing his own familiar weapon made it more so. A double saber, just as C had used in their battles against him. Any lingering hope that Crow wasn't the one they battled twice over the year died in that moment.
"I take no joy in this, but we can't have that Ashen Knight of yours getting in the way later down the line. So I'm afraid I'm gonna have to bust it up, along with the academy. As for you students and the staff, you'll be under our jurisdiction."
Rean took a deep breath to calm himself for this battle against a friend with everything on the line. "So that's the plan if you win, huh? But what about if I win?"
Crow let out a short laugh. "If you win, I'll pay back the interest I owe you on that fifty mira. Hell, I'll even throw in some advice to help impress your lady friends."
"You've got yourself a deal. But I hope you know what you've just signed up for, because the Bank of Rean has the highest interest rate on the continent. That being said, I'm not sure I trust any advice you have to offer. Still, one way or another, you'll be coming back with us, Crow!"
"Heh... You've got some real stones, I'll give you that. But sure, I'll agree to those terms."
The time for words was passed and the two knights braced themselves for battle. The rest of Class VII could actually see the energy the two were outputting. "Their will to fight is causing an enormous outputting of mana..."
With a war cry Rean was the first to charge, with Crow following suit a fraction of a second later. The force of their initial clash of weapons created enough force to be felt by the others. Ash battled Azure for supremacy, but found their strength to be at a stalemate. Instead Rean leapt back and prepared to try again.
Crow wasn't willing to give him that opening, however, as his knight immediately went on the offensive. The swordsman remembered how difficult it was to handle the double-bladed saber from his encounters with C in Heimdallr and Roer, and that was with his trusty tachi! While his current weapon beat having no weapon at all, it felt slow and cumbersome in his hands and his blocks were awkward and counters were telegraphed. It was plainly apparent to him and everyone else that he was at a disadvantage as long as the fight continued like this.
What he needed more than anything, was a moment to collect his thoughts and assess the situation. Some of his Eight Leaves techniques could still be applicable in this fight, but he didn't want to chance it without a plan. Something which Crow seemed determined not to allow.
Dodge. Block. Dodge. Dodge. Counter. Block. It was all he could do to stay ahead of the terrorist's relentless offense. He winced as Crow's saber scored a glancing blow with one of it's swings. Despite barely touching Valimar it hurt far worse than Scarlet's one hit! Just what was his weapon made of?
Seeing as he was still being pushed back, the Schwarzer decided on something of a reckless course of action. He needed space and Crow was determined not to give it to him, so he would do what was needed to make it for himself. As soon as he saw the Azure Knight wind back for another swing he unleashed his plan.
Foregoing defense, Rean instead lowered Valimar's shoulder and charged forward. At full speed he rammed into Crow's knight with as much force as he could muster. He had been hoping to topple Crow with that move, but his opponent showed his skill with a Divine Knight by maintaining balance even after such an unexpected attack.
Still, it was enough to give Rean the smallest of openings. He didn't have time to swing his blade, so instead he pushed forward with both arms and gave his foe a mighty shove. Again Crow managed to remain standing, but he was pushed back, which gave Valimar and his Awakener the space they so desperately needed.
Initial instincts screamed at him to press his advantage, but he clamped down on that hard as he knew that Crow wasn't nearly as unbalanced as he pretended to be. It was almost certainly a trap. Instead he took the brief respite to think up a plan.
The biggest problem with his Eight Leaves techniques was that Crow was already well versed in seeing them, as he had proven from their battle at the mine. Even if he could use them at full effectiveness, which was something he seriously doubted with the Fourth Form in particular, Crow would almost certainly be prepared to counter them. He needed something to catch his older foe off guard, just long enough for him to score a win...
His eyes widened in realization. His scroll!
He had never stopped training in those intermediate techniques and forms that his master had left him, especially as a way to distract his thoughts after the horrific news at the end of the festival. He had even taken to bringing it with him when he left the dorm, which is why it currently rested comfortably in his pocket. While normally it was an inadvisable idea to rely on unmastered techniques in a live battle, the fact that only Laura and Fie knew he had even been training in them meant it could be enough to give him the opening he needed, and he knew just the way to do it.
"Alright, that's enough playing around. Let's finish this! Criminal Edge!" Crow's declaration came as his saber began to glow an eerie purple. Darting forward the Azure Knight took a swing at his seemingly motionless Ashen counterpart. Rean released his breath as the blow neared.
The fifth form, Morning Moon. A form that focuses on sword drawing techniques for quick unpredictable slashes. It wasn't a form that Rean planned to master for a long while, but it was one that he had been working on for situations like this. One of the primary benefits of the form was that the simple slashes meant the user could focus their attention more on evasion and still get the chance to counter with those instinctive strikes. Something which was perfect in that moment.
Time slowed as Rean's brain processed the speed and trajectory of Crow's powerful attack. What would normally have been an extremely difficult swing to avoid proved simple as the swordsman's body moved on autopilot, taking Valimar with it. His machine simply flowed around the blade as it passed by, before, with almost casual ease, lashing out with a quick swing of his sword, catching his opponent's arm with a stinging hit.
Rean wasn't finished yet. Although his blow hadn't done much real damage, his opponent seemed stunned that it had happened at all and this was just enough of an opening to continue. With his mind already clear from his previous action it was no surprise that his body seamlessly shifted into a stance that relied on such a state of mind, even if Rean would normally consider switching from an unmastered form into another unmastered form pure folly.
The seventh form, Void. Said to be one of the hardest forms to master, but the one his master thought the most well-suited to him, thus one he had been practicing a lot with lately. While far from usable in a real battle, there was one technique he had been working on besides his modified Spirit Unification, and now was as good a time as any to utilize it.
"Enlightened Domination!" He had chosen to study this technique as it shared many similarities with the fourth form, which he already knew well. Like the Autumn Leaf Cutter, this move involved darting forward and unleashing many smaller slashes in that single motion. As empty as his mind was in that moment, however, he certainly felt the impact of many successful hits on his opponent.
The others let out the breaths they had all been holding as Crow's Azure Knight slumped down to one knee. "Yahoooooooo!" Millium cheered loudly at his victory.
"He did it!"
"This can't be happening..." Scarlet didn't seem to share in Alisa's excitement as she remained in her downed Spiegel.
Crow let out a laugh as he watched Valimar approach his downed machine. "You really don't do anything halfway, do you? I thought I knew what you could do with your Eight Leaves training, but you're fighting on a whole 'nother level today."
"Good thing, too, otherwise I'd never have stood a chance against you." He pointed his sword at his downed opponent. "Time to make good on your wager, Crow! You're coming back with us!"
He felt that something was wrong just before he saw it. An enormous outpouring of energy from the downed machine. He just managed to take a step back in shock before Crow's mech rose to its feet and for lack of a better word opened up. "What in the...?"
"You've been piloting a Divine Knight for one day." His classmate replied coldly. "I've been using mine for three years. Did you think I wouldn't have a trump card to play?"
So shocked was Rean that he was slow to react as Crow drew back for another attack with his weapon. By the time he did react he knew it was too late. He just wasn't fast enough to avoid the blow...
And then he was.
He might have been more surprised than Crow that Valimar somehow moved at a speed greater than anything he had done before, and thus was forced to block the follow-up attack from the reverse end of Crow's saber. Given how much faster the Azure Knight was compared to before, it wasn't at all surprising that it was also a lot stronger, and Rean struggled to keep the blade at bay...
Until he found that strength from an unlikely source.
While Rean initially had no idea what was happening, back at ground level the rest of Class VII easily noticed the cause. Or more specifically, the two causes. "Your ARCUS units are glowing!?" Machias's comment might have been stating the obvious, but it was no less true as both Fie and Laura's orbments were glowing a bright blue.
"I see!"As had often been the case throughout that day, it was the class president who put all the pieces together first. "Somehow you've managed to connect with Rean and Valimar and he's drawing strength from those combat links!"
Despite being inside Valimar Rean was able to hear that explanation. Crow was more powerful than him, of that there was no doubt, but with Fie's speed and Laura's strength... With a roar he lunged forward with his most powerful strike. As long as Class VII's bonds remained unbreakable he could win!
Unfortunately for Rean, while those bonds were indeed unbreakable, not everything was built as solid. That harsh fact was proven true as his sword collided with Crow's weapon... and shattered into pieces.
He was so befuddled by this horrible twist of fate that he could only stare at the broken pieces of Scarlet's sword in shock and was thus helpless as C's counter slash carved in Valimar's chest. Even though it was the knight taking the hit the pain Rean felt from the hit was just as bad and his body collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut. "Ugh... My head..."
From her seat right next to him Celine didn't appear all that surprised by the turn of events. "...When a Divine Knight is damaged, the Awakener shares their pain. Just as I feared, it was too early... Or perhaps it may have been too late."
He could only stare helplessly as Crow and his Azure Knight slowly marched up on his downed figure. "No..." Try as he might, his body no longer had the strength to move and he was completely at the mercy of his former friend.
"No, you don't!"
Maybe he should have been delighted that his friends were now standing between him and Crow with the goal of protecting him, but he was gripped by horror. They had to know that they didn't stand a chance! But despite that they all looked so calm as they prepared for that unwinnable battle. "Guys... what are you doing?"
"We're going to but you the time to get away from here!"
Laura quickly followed up Alisa's comment. "Run, while you still have the chance!"
They wanted him to retreat and leave them behind?! "I-I can't... I won't just leave you all here!" There had to be something he could do, but he could barely think through the pain...
"You can, and you must!" Machias didn't hesitate to counter his argument. "Heimdallr's been occupied, and it's only a matter of time before we've got a full-blown civil war on our hands!"
Since it didn't appear that Crow was going to immediately attack them, Fie took the chance to turn her back on the enemy and approach Valimar and Rean. "They might've been caught off guard today, but the Imperial Army's full of elite soldiers. When the war starts, it'll be long and bloody."
"But it doesn't have to be like that!" Elliot supported. "You and the Ashen Knight could change things! You could find a third way, like Prince Olivert was talking about! A way that doesn't bow to either faction!"
"You can become the wind that changes the course of this conflict!"
"You guys, I..." Gaius and the others made valid points, they truly did, but... "...No, I can't! You'll never make it against him by yourselves! Just run! Please...!" He didn't care. There was no chance he was going to abandon his precious classmates to an unwinnable battle.
Sadly for him, Jusis and the others just didn't care. "Hah. Just look at yourself. You're in no position to be worrying about us."
"Yeah! Just leave it to us!" Despite the impossible situation Millium looked just as confident as she always did.
"Once you've escaped, we'll go join the instructors, so don't worry!" At least Emma tried to reassure him, but that would require Crow letting them escape. "Take care of him for us, okay, Celine?"
Said cat scoffed. "Easier said than done..."
"Prolonging current battle poses the risk of sustaining irreparable damage..." Came a familiar robotic voice from inside the machine. "Immediate tactical retreat is advised."
"That voice! Are you... Valimar?" Despite all the pain, confusion, and dread Rean was able to discern that much, at least.
Celine seemed relieved."So you've gathered enough power, have you? Well, we may have lost this battle, but at least we'll live to fight another day. All right. Get us out of here! As far away in Erebonia as you can take us!"
"Command acknowledged. Charting course..."
Only in that instant did the injured swordsman understand what was happening. "Wait... no! That's my call to make!" He was the Awakener! He should be the one to decide when they fought and when they fled!
Reaching the cockpit, Fie looked in as if she could actually see him sitting there. "Back when I was with Zephyr, I couldn't protect them... but it's different now. "I'm going to fight, Rean. For the people I care about." She smiled as she looked down at him. "You and the others are my family now, and I'm not going to let anyone hurt you!"
"Fie...!" He wanted to believe her, he truly did. But what hope did they have?
Laura took the chance to approach her best friend and shared boyfriend. "...Be at ease, Rean." She tried to reassure him. "You will not bear this burden alone. I will stand here and fight as your sword. And I swear to you, this blade shall not be broken! Not before it returns to your side!"
"Laura...!"
There were so many things he wanted to say to them in return, but his brain refused to find the right words to say. That brief moment of indecisiveness cost him dearly, as it was in that moment that Valimar, ignoring his commands, rose up to his feet. He panicked as he realized that he was about to leave them all behind and there was nothing he could do about it. The last thing he saw as his machine lifted itself into the air was the sight of the Azure Knight approaching his friends, weapon at the ready. "No...! They need me! Let me staaaaaay!"
His cries went unheeded as Valimar flew off to the north, leaving everything behind. That proved to be the final straw for the young Schwarzer's body and mind as darkness consumed him.