Kirika thought she had seen everything. She truly, truly did.

But nothing could prepare her for a horrifying moment like this.

"TSUBASA!" Maria screamed upon seeing her comrade fall to the ground with a gaping injury in her stomach. The attack caught her, and everyone else completely unprepared. Not because it was an attack from behind, and not because it was sudden.

But because it came from a person who they considered a friend.

The silver Symphogear user was at Tsubasa's side instantly, begging her to stay awake. Shirabe immediately joined her, trying to somehow stop the massive of amount of blood leaking from Tsubasa's wound.

Kirika stood still, completely speechless, and her eyes wide with shock and horror at what she just witnessed. Even the sound of screaming coming from her headset was completely drowned out in the chaos.

Only Chris, the only other unoccupied Symphogear, reacted. She glared at Hibiki, who watched them silently and expressionlessly. "What...What the hell did you just do damn it?!" She screamed at the Gungnir user. "Why did you do that you idiot?!"

Hibiki's response was to meet Chris' gaze with her own, and the Ichaival user nearly took a step back in shock as she took in her form.

Gungnir's armor had changed almost completely. Its color had changed, becoming a dark orange all over, the white highlights having completely disappeared. Glowing purple lines ran over the armor erratically, and some of them even began covering parts of Hibiki's naked skin. Her previous plate armor vanished, having become a long cleavage window leading all the way down to her belly button. Her legs were covered up to her thighs in the same dark orange armor, and the whole thing gave Chris a feeling not unlike the Ignite Module style. However, all of that paled in comparison to the one glaring and obvious change that caused Chris to shiver.

It was her eyes. Her eyes, previously an energetic yet warm amber color, were now an otherworldly glowing emerald. However, it was not just her irises that had changed, as even her sclera had a light green shade in them that caused her to give off a very alien vibe.

All in all, a very evil feeling was coming off of the armor in droves.

"She had it coming, Chris-chan." Hibiki suddenly said, still holding the dripping bloody spear in her hand. It was another aspect that caught Chris completely by surprise. She only ever saw Hibiki use her fists in order to fight enemies. She never truly used an Armed Gear in battle, the only instance she remembered was during the final battle with Carol.

But this was different. Much more different.

"What the fuck are you talking about?!" Chris cursed.

Hibiki swung the spear to the side, splashing Tsubasa's blood onto the ground. "She was sinful, so she got what she deserved." The Gungnir user simply added.

"Sinful?! What the hell are you blabbering about?! Where the hell did this attitude come from?!" Chris shouted angrily. "WHY THE FUCK DID YOU KILL SENPAI YOU BITCH?!"

"Chris-kun, please calm down." Genjuro told her.

"Calm down?! You expect me to fucking calm down?! I will calm down when someone explains what the hell is happening damn it!" She yelled into the comm.

Genjuro went silent momentarily. "We don't know."

"You don't know?! What do you mean by you don't know?!" She asked in shock.

"We just don't know. All we know is that Tsubasa is still alive and breathing, if barely. Her life signs are faint, and I've instructed Shirabe-kun to bring her in for treatment immediately." He said. Chris glanced backwards, seeing the pink clad underclassmen riding away with Tsubasa in hand. "But other than that, nothing. We have no idea what happened to Hibiki-kun. Every single calculation we made proved to be completely worthless in the face of this development. Elfnein-kun is wracking her brain trying to even begin to understand what is going on, but even that is giving us very little results. We are completely blind here."

"Completely blind…" Chris whispered to herself, and then looked towards the Gungnir user. Hibiki stayed in the same spot as before, and raised her hand to study her armored arm, looking at it with wonder.

"So this is what she meant…" She said, catching Chris' rapt attention. "This power...is amazing. It really feels good and overwhelming," she added. A huge, disturbing smile suddenly lit up her face. "I can really make a better world with this!"

"Make a better world…" Chris repeated to herself. In her mind, flashbacks of one too many world-ending incidents rose to the surface, each one worse than the last. Memories of Fine filled her brain, and she clenched her teeth, baring them at Hibiki.

Her response was almost instantaneous. Materializing her crossbow in her hand, Chris aimed it at Hibiki, who tilted her head back in response, her smile fading. "You'll raise your weapon against me again, Chris-chan?" Hibiki simply asked.

Chris grit her teeth. "I'll consider lowering it if you explain what the hell you are talking about." She said threateningly.

"It's simple really," Hibiki began. "I am going to get rid of all the sinful people in the world, and then I am going to make it a paradise."

Chris' eyes widened. "Wha-"

"It is because of them that people can't understand each other. It is because of all those who refuse to listen and only care about themselves. It is those people who bring suffering to others." She said, looking away from Chris. "I've had enough of people like them. Time and time again we had to fight and suffer and cry because of people like that. And as long those sinful people exist, I am going to get rid of them. With this new power," she added, clenching her free hand. "I will enact justice."

Chris almost dropped her crossbow in her shock. Everything Hibiki just said sounded completely incomprehensible. Not because of her words, no those she understood perfectly. She heard many versions of the same thing in the past, and had always more or less brushed them off. All those grandiose plans that their enemies had that always fell apart at the seams.

No, it was incomprehensible because out of all the people in the world, Hibiki was the one saying them.

"You can't possibly be serious." Chris answered back.

Hibiki narrowed her eyes at the Ichaival user. "It seems that you don't believe me."

"Of course I don't! How the hell can you spout such nonsense you dumbass! How hard did you hit your head for you to go completely insane?!" Chris yelled back at her.

Hibiki sighed. "In that case…"

The Gungnir user turned to face Chris fully, and in one motion raised her spear, pointing its tip right to Chris' face. "I am going to have to convince you the hard way."

Chris stood motionless, staring at the spear's tip right in front of her. Sweat dripped down her brows as her heart began beating rapidly in her chest.

In an instant, Chris could imagine her own death at her hands. It would take less than a second for her to thrust the spear forward and pierce through her head completely and scatter her brain across the ground.

Hibiki was serious. Dead serious. And that scared Chris all the more.

Moments later, a ball of golden light coalesced at the spear's tip. "This will make you understand." Hibiki added coldly.

And a beam of light erupted from the spear. It streaked through the air, and Chris gasped as the light approached her and…

Missed her head by less than an inch. The Ichaival user could only stare in shock at the weapon raised at her.

BOOM!

A loud explosion tore through the area, sending rubble in all directions. Chris hurriedly looked behind her, her hair buffeted by the wind, and her eyes widened even further.

The row of tanks that had earlier tried to destroy the cocoon Hibiki had emerged from…

Were completely and utterly destroyed. Molten pieces of scrap metal flew in all directions, landing all over the battlefield. Everything about the battalion, including the people inside…

Were gone.

Chris could only turn around very slowly, a look of horror etched on her face. Her eyes met Hibiki's, who still had a cold expression on her face. The Gungnir user lowered her spear, and spoke softly. "I think that was proof enough, right?"

Chris could not answer her. Speechless, the incomprehensible act that just occurred shook her to the bone.

Hibiki just killed people. Hibiki, the overly kind and bubbly girl who always fought to understand and help others…

Just killed innocents.

"You…" The red Symphogear user murmured. "How could you?!"

"I already told you, Chris-chan," Hibiki answered. "I am going to get rid of all the sinful people in the world. They were a part of the problem, so I delivered justice."

"Justice?" Chris muttered shakily. "JUSTICE? What the hell is just about what you just did?! They were innocent damn it! They were only doing their jobs! What the hell is wrong with you?!"

"Then they should have thought about that before they tried to attack me." Hibiki simply responded. "Which reminds me…"

The Gungnir user turned to Chris fully, her eyes locked onto her. "You are also sinful, Chris-chan. So for the sake of the world I will create…" She took a step forward.

"You will have to disappear too."

"I've heard enough!"

Hibiki stopped walking, and the two girls turned to the sound of the sudden voice.

Maria walked forward, her short sword in hand, an expression of fury on her face. "I have no idea what happened to you, Hibiki-san, but you've gone way too far. I cannot stand back and watch you kill more innocents like this. You may be my friend, but I will not let this continue anymore. You crossed the line when you threatened Chris."

Maria brandished her sword, and took a stance before Hibiki, who simply stared at her.

"That's right," Kirika added, going to stand by Maria's side and taking her own stance. "We won't let you do this, Hibiki-san."

"Maria-san, Kirika-chan...You two will turn on me as well?" Hibiki asked.

"If this is what it takes to make you stop this nonsense," Maria responded resolutely. "Then yes, we will."

Her comrades' resolve shook Chris out of her stupor, and she too raised her crossbows at the Gungnir user. "Yes, that's right. We will beat that bullshit out of you real soon, and drag you back home kicking and screaming."

Hibiki looked between the three Symphogear users nonchalantly. "Do you really believe you can beat me?" She asked.

"We won't know…" Maria said, crouching down low. "UNTIL WE TRY!"

And she charged forward towards her once savior, hellbent on saving her this time.


S.O.N.G's headquarters were in pure chaos.

Genjuro tapped on his arm restlessly as they went over the rapidly increasing amounts of information. When Hibiki suddenly mortally wounded Tsubasa, as one they all went into shock at what they were seeing, Elfnein in particular. She was the one who had predicted exactly how their plan would go to the smallest possible detail.

And it all blew up in their faces. Trying to use the Anti-LiNKER trucks now would be nothing short of impossible. They saw and heard Hibiki's animosity, and now they were scurrying to find a solution, any solution that could possibly help them now.

Then everything changed when Hibiki destroyed the battalion of tanks with the soldiers still inside. That was the moment Genjuro knew that there was no going back from this.

Shirabe stood by him in her uniform, still breathing hard after having ridden faster than ever in order to deliver Tsubasa to the medical room as fast as possible. She barely made it in time for them to save her, as thankfully her Symphogear kept her alive just enough. She was still in critical condition, but nothing life-threatening. The last time Tsubasa was injured this badly, she had used her Superb Song and nearly blew up her organs.

The sound of rapid ticking of consoles droned on, and Genjuro found himself becoming even more restless than before. The only thing they knew for sure was that Hibiki had apparently taken in the divine power.

But that did not explain why she was suddenly declaring her intention to cleanse the world of the sinful and proceed to threaten her comrades, not to mention kill a whole battalion of innocent soldiers.

It went against everything they knew about Hibiki, and that is exactly why they were so terrified. What sort of influence changed her so quickly that she essentially became the second coming of Fine?

As they were going over any sort of information they could, a visual display suddenly appeared on the large screen before them, breaking their concentration.

"Gen," Yatsuhiro said somberly, catching Genjuro's attention. The commander stood up as he looked at his brother on-screen.

"Aniki," Genjuro responded. "What is it?"

"The UN council has decided to take attention." Yatsuhiro suddenly declared.

Elfnein raised her head from her console, still in shock from recent events. Yatsuhiro continued. "They have determined that Tachibana Hibiki has become enough of a threat for them to deploy weapons of mass destruction. It is only a matter of time before America takes the role into their own hands."

Genjuro grinded his teeth in frustration. "So they won't even give us the time to try and stop this ourselves?" He asked loudly.

"No, they will not," his brother answered calmly. "Not after seeing her kill their soldiers without a glance. They say that they will not allow this divine power cause the extinction of mankind."

"So they'd kill tens of thousands to eliminate just her?!"

"Yes, they will. It is what they call a 'necessary sacrifice'. They were looking for an excuse to finish this themselves, and unfortunately they got it now. I do not think there is anything we can do to change their minds now. It would be prudent for you to pull out of there as fast as possible, Gen." Yatsuhiro said.

Genjuro fell back to his seat, and Shirabe watched him worriedly. "Is there absolutely nothing we can do? Are we really so helpless?" He asked no one in particular.

"Commander!" Aoi suddenly yelled. "Maria, Kirika-chan, and Chris-chan have entered combat with Hibiki-chan!"

"What?!"

Next to the display showing his brother, a visual of the battlefield lit up, confirming what Aoi had said. They could see clearly the three remaining Symphogear users on the battlefield fighting against the rogue wielder.

And they could also clearly see that it was going south for them very quickly.

Genjuro's eyes widened. "How can she hold them all off on her own?"

"Commander, should I go back and join them?" Shirabe asked him.

He looked towards her. "No, I need you to stay here, just in case. Besides, from what it looks like...I don't think you can help them now."

Shirabe looked towards the ground helplessly, realizing that indeed there was nothing she could do to help. "We were not prepared for the worst case scenario, and now we are paying for it dearly." He added, bringing down the spirits of those on the bridge even further.

But Elfnein was determined to succeed. Not matter what, she will find out the truth behind this madness.

In any way possible.


(Play: GUN BULLET XXX)

Miku had a dream like this once. It was so vivid and scary that she remembered waking up covered in sweat, and taking a while to get a grasp of her surroundings. It was only when she saw Hibiki's sleeping face next to her that she calmed down, and realised it was only a nightmare.

But then her nightmare turned into reality, and she prayed that she would wake up soon.

And so far, her wish was being denied.

The girl could only stare at the fighting figures in despair. "Hibiki...why?" she murmured to herself.

Saint-Germain still stood next to her, her teeth clenched as she watched the battle. This was the last possible scenario she could have imagined taking place. When the cluster of divine power suddenly engulfed Hibiki she did not understand how someone who harbors the Original Sin could possibly become a vessel. Nothing about this situation made an ounce of sense, and it frustrated her to no end. When the girl suddenly declared she will cleanse the world of the sinful, she could only remember her centuries of struggle against oppression and suffering.

Who would have thought that the girl who held out her hand to her would suddenly become the very thing she swore to defeat?

Saint-Germain could somehow understand the plight of the black haired girl next to her. Her best friend has suddenly turned on them and was going on a rampage, and there was seemingly nothing she could do.

Not that there was much Saint-Germain herself could do to help as well. Just watching the battle between the four Symphogear users told her enough.

"HA!" Maria screamed as she swung her blade again. Hibiki merely stood in place and dodged the blow easily, reacting so fast it almost seemed inhuman. She took a step back and swung her spear at Maria's head again, and the Airgetlam user could barely react in time to move out of the way, locks of her hair being cut away due to the powerful swing. As she moved aside, Chris once again shot a volley of arrows at the Gungnir user, but Hibiki simply swung her spear and destroyed all of the projectiles in a single strike.

"In that case!" Chris yelled. The sides of of the armor on her legs opened, revealing loaded missile launchers.

'MEGADETH PARTY'

The launchers fired, and a barrage of twenty fours missiles converged on the rogue wielder's position. She looked up at the projectiles, and merely narrowed her eyes at them.

She twisted in place, and swung powerfully, creating a shockwave that caused the missiles to explode prematurely, leaving her completely unharmed from the blasts. Smoke filled the area, and Kirika capitalized on the opening.

She jumped into the air swung her scythe down, sending green crescent strikes into the veil of smoke.

'KILL JULIET'

There was a sound of something being slashed, and Kirika landed on her feet, a smirk growing on her face due to her assumed victory.

But when the smoke cleared, Hibiki stood completely unharmed and unmoving. "I told you," She said. "You can't beat me."

Chris clicked her tongue, and moved into position along with her teammates to cut off any possible retreat. The three Symphogear users stood around her, their weapons at the ready.

"Why is it we can't do any damage?!" Kirika yelled in frustration. "Everything we do is completely useless!"

None of her comrades could possibly answer her question.

But Hibiki could. "That's because, Kirika-chan, that I am justice, and you are sinful. You can't match me."

Maria snarled in response. "What is this arrogance you suddenly developed. You gain divine power and now you think you are all mighty? Then guess what, you are not! We have been through this a million times, Hibiki-san, and every time we were victorious, especially because you brought them down a peg. How can you possibly start to think like Fine?!"

Hibiki turned to face her fully. "Fine was the one who was arrogant. She thought she could reach God, and caused the Curse of Balal to affect humanity. I am simply fixing her mistakes."

"Are you even listening to yourself?! You always went on how people need to change as people!" Maria yelled back to her.

Hibiki cast her gaze downwards to the ground, and clenched her open hand. "I was wrong, Maria-san. My eyes are finally open. I thought that people could really change on their own, that we should help them make that change. But I realized that such a thing is impossible." She said. She raised her head, and met Maria's gaze. The silver Symphogear user took a step back in shock, still not used to the eerie green glow coming from her eyes. "People will never want to change. That is how it has been since a long time ago. It's about time someone came and finally solved this problem. I will create a world of understanding, where nobody will ever suffer again because of others. A world that will accept you for surviving, that won't declare you a killer just for living."

"Just for living…" Chris murmured. "So this is what this is all about, huh? You said you wouldn't let the past bother you anymore! You said that when you made up with your old man! Are you taking it all back now?!"

Hibiki grit her teeth in anger. "Yes, I am!" She shouted. "I will get my revenge on them! On everyone who ever looked down on me! On everyone who hurt me! They will be the first, and then everyone else! I will make sure no one suffers like I did!"

She remembered those days vividly. The times she suffered in school because she had the gull, in their words, to survive the massacre in the Zwei Wing concert. They called her a murderer, and all she did was ignore them because everything would be fine, right? But no, things were NOT fine, now that she looked back at it. Plenty of times she had to go to the nurse's office because some spiteful girl pushed her down the stairs, or threw a rock at her. Plenty of times she had to stay home because the outside was becoming too dangerous to face. Her mother even had to consider pulling her out of school just so the threats would stop. The government had to declare her legally dead so they would leave her alone.

And then her father left. Her world, at that time, shattered to pieces.

"And all of you are a part of the problem too." She declared. "I'll pay you back for what you did!"

She charged, making a beeline straight for Maria. She moved so fast the Airgetlam user could barely bring up her blade in time to block the crushing blow. Maria felt her bones shake from the force, and she dropped to one knee, the earth around her cracking at her feet. "Tch, what power!" She muttered to herself, struggling to stand back up.

"I won't let you-!" Kirika yelled, and she swung at Hibiki. But the rogue wielder simply brought up her free arm and stopped the blow with nothing but her forearm. The scythe clanged loudly against her gauntlet, and she glared at the Ig-Alima user.

"I just told you, you can't-" She began to say, but her eyes widened when the scythe spontaneously enlarged, and she was forced to jump away to avoid having her head cut off by the scythe's blade. Seeing their opponent now helpless in midair, Chris capitalized on the opportunity. Two giant missiles rose from her back, and she launched them at Hibiki a second later.

'MEGADETH FUGA'

The missiles soared towards the rogue wielder, who twisted in the air to avoid them. However, Maria, having regained her bearings, launched two knives at supersonic speeds, hitting the missiles just as they passed by Hibiki, causing them to explode right next to her.

A shockwave buffeted the area, and the wielders looked on nervously at the rising fireball. "Did...did we get her?" Kirika asked meekly.

Her question was answered with a loud whooshing sound, and out of nowhere Hibiki appeared right behind her. "No."

The blow came like lightning. Moving faster than any of them could possibly see, Hibiki's hand slammed with the force of an explosion into Kirika's back. The girl screamed in pain, and was promptly sent flying through the air, smashing into one of the still standing buildings in the battlefield.

"Kirika!" Maria yelled, and hurriedly turned around to face the rogue wielder, but Hibiki was already upon her again. Moving even faster than before Hibiki swung her spear at full force, intending on slicing Maria in half.

BAM!

Until something slammed into her spear just in time, and the attack's path diverted from its course, smashing hard into the ground. Maria quickly jumped back, and all those on the battlefield looked to see the source of the disturbance.

Saint-Germain walked up to them, her gun raised and its barrel smoking. "Perhaps I've stood aside long enough." She said, her gun pointed at the rogue wielder. "Tachibana Hibiki, I cannot believe one such as you would stray from her path so easily."

Hibiki pulled the spear from the ground, and glared at the alchemist. "You are one to talk, St. Germain-san. I thought you of all people would understand what it is I'm trying to do."

The alchemist smirked. "I indeed do. I very much understand it," She said. Then her expression turned into a frown. "However, in the end my objective was to rid the world of oppression. You cannot achieve that goal by becoming the oppressor yourself. You should also understand that, Tachibana Hibiki. You told me that yourself."

"As if I would listen to someone as sinful as you." Hibiki replied.

"You are still going on about that," Saint-Germain responded. "True, I am indeed sinful. I have claimed over seventy thousand lives over the centuries I have lived, and I regret every single one of them. But I lived until this moment to see a better world be created. I will not allow my ideal to be shattered by the selfish ramblings of a brat drunk on her own power!"

Hibiki's eyes widened in anger, and she walked towards the alchemist. "So that's your decision, isn't it? You will also turn your weapon on me? After everything I've done for you?!"

"Yes, I will. So long as you embody the oppression of the divine with that power you wield, I will stand against you with all my power." She simply said.

"Oi, you can't-"

Saint-Germain raised her hand, stopping Chris in the middle of her sentence. "Tell me one last thing, Tachibana Hibiki." She said. "Will you mark everyone as your enemy indiscriminately? Even your best friend?"

Hibiki stopped in her tracks, and went absolutely silent. Saint-Germain raised an eyebrow at the sudden calmness of the rogue wielder, but said nothing more.

And then a wave of bloodlust rose from the Gungnir user, and she cast her head downwards.

"Are you talking about Miku?" She asked quietly.

The earth around her feet cracked.

"ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT MIKU?!"

Saint-Germain did not even see her coming. One second she was almost fifty meters away from her, and the next she was right in front of her, having closed the distance in less than a second.

'What is this speed?!' The alchemist thought to herself, and tried to jump away from her.

Only for a fist to collide with her stomach, and in an instant her Faust Robe shattered into pieces, and she was launched across the field and slammed into one of the Anti-LiNKER trucks. The vehicle's entire frame caved into itself, and the large canister holding the red liquid cracked, spilling its contents all over the ground.

"Don't you dare talk about her without understanding anything!" Hibiki screamed to the downed alchemist. "YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND A SINGLE THING, SAINT-GERMAIN!"

Chris and Maria could only look on in shock at her outburst. 'What is with this reaction? One moment she is eerily calm and the next she is exploding with rage.' Maria thought to herself.

The Gungnir user turned back to the remaining Symphogears, her expression teeming with fury. "I won't let anyone get in my way." She said. "Everyone will pay."

She trudged towards the two, and with each step the ground around her shattered, the very force around her causing the rubble to rise as she walked. Chris and Maria could only take a step back in fear, realising for the first time that they were truly, truly…

Completely outmatched. Nothing they could do would help them at this point. No unison, no phase of the Ignite Module, and certainly no miracle like the X-drive could possibly be enough to match the juggernaut Hibiki had become. They could only stare at her, and see for the first time the sheer weight of the divine power leaking off of the furious Hibiki.

Saint-Germain touched a nerve she shouldn't have touched, and now that will cost them their lives.

That is, until that very nerve came to help them.

"Hibiki," a soft voice said.

The rogue wielder stopped in her tracks, the flow of power instantly decreasing to nothingness. The two Symphogears looked behind the Gungnir user, and she as well turned around to see the source of the voice.

Miku stood behind her, and for the first time since the battle began their eyes met. The black haired girl was shaking, the disturbing sight of those emerald eyes seeping to her bones, but she stood strong before her best friend. "Hibiki, please stop." She pleaded.

"Miku." The rogue wielder murmured, turning around fully to face her friend. Her expression was one of surprise, not having realized Miku had been on the battlefield with the rest this entire time. "What are you doing here?"

The complete 180 that Hibiki did caught the wielders completely by surprise, but they stayed their hands and listened.

'Perhaps Elfnein's plan could bear fruit after all.' Maria thought hopefully.

"Hibiki, I beg you...please, stop this." Miku pleaded again. "You don't have to do this, please."

"Miku…" Hibiki muttered, and walked towards her best friend. As she walked, she noticed that Miku was reserved, almost withdrawing away from her. She approached her, stopping at arm's length from her. "Are you scared of me, Miku?" She simply asked.

The black haired girl looked up at her, Hibiki standing a bit taller than she remembered. Miku swallowed, but answered confidently. "No."

Her face lit up with a warm smile that caught Miku completely off guard. It almost resembled the smiles she usually had on her face. "That's good, I'm glad. You don't have anything to be scared of, Miku. You can leave everything to me."

The pit in Miku's stomach grew even deeper at her words. "But Hibiki, this isn't right. You can't...you can't hurt everyone like this. I don't want you to hurt our friends for this! Please, come back. You don't have to do this anymore."

"I have to," Hibiki answered, her smile dropping. "I will make things right. No one will have to suffer or be sad any longer. They are a part of the problem. They caused us to suffer again and again, and even used you against me. But you don't have to worry anymore Miku, I can do anything now."

She raised her hand, and very gently caressed Miku's cheek. "Miku, you are my sunshine. Sinless and pure. I will never do anything to hurt you. I'll make us a world where no one will ever bother us, and you could shine brightly like you always do. I only want to see you smile."

Miku touched the hand caressing her cheek. The armor on it felt strange and cold. Tears threatened to fall from her eyes. "Hibiki, happy birthday. Did you remember that it is today? I want to celebrate it with you, like we always did. So please, come home with me. I can't...I can't smile if you aren't there."

There was a tense, yet quiet moment between the two. Miku could see the storm in her best friend's eyes, the complete and utter chaos raging in her mind. She couldn't even begin to think how much Hibiki was suffering right now. How much the decisions she was making were burdening her.

Her body betrayed her, and tears dripped down from her eyes. Hibiki noticed them them, and raised a finger to wipe them away. "I'm sorry Miku. I can't come back just yet. When I am done, I will come back and we can celebrate as much as we want. But today," She said. "Today is the day I am reborn. Today I will fix everything."

Miku's heart shattered in her chest. The tears kept on falling without stopping.

Hibiki lowered her hand and took a step back from her. "You just wait Miku. Everything will be alright."

And just as she said those words, a loud alarm blared through the area. It rose above everything else, and those gathered looked around to try and understand the cause. Only Hibiki stayed unmoving, still looking at Miku.

"What's happening?!" Chris asked loudly into her earpiece.

Maria also raised her hand, listening in.

And in an instant, their eyes widened in horror.

"YOU CAN'T BE SERIOUS!" Chris screamed. "It's on its way here, right now?! There is no way we will make it out in time!"

Miku, who has also been listening in, raised a hand to cover her mouth in shock. Hibiki tilted her head in question. "Miku, what's wrong?" She asked her.

The black haired girl gulped. "They...they are sending a...missile here, right now. It's...already on its way here. If it hits...it will kill everyone! We...we have to get away as fast as possible!" Miku told her, reciting what she heard Genjuro say to them over the comm. "Hibiki, we have to get away right now! Please, help me save everyone!"

Miku begged her, yet Hibiki remained strangely calm and collected. "So they are trying to destroy me, and they don't care about anyone else?" She said, her anger rising. "This is exactly why I have to do this Miku. It is because of their selfishness that people have to suffer. But you don't have to worry."

She took Miku's hand in her own, gripping it tightly momentarily. "I will save everyone."

And then she looked towards the sky. Miku followed her sight, and she could see a tiny blinking spot of light high above them. "That's-"

"Yeah, that's it. I'll take care of it, Miku. With this power, I can do anything." Hibiki added, and the girl looked back to her in awe. The rogue wielder turned to face the missile's path, and glared at it. "This symbol of sin...I will eliminate it along with their ambitions!"

She walked forward, and everyone on the battlefield looked to her. Still staring up at the sky, Hibiki spoke to Miku again. "Miku, you'll never turn on me, will you?"

The black haired girl gasped at the question. "Of course not! I'll never turn my back on you Hibiki! But please, you don't need to make a new world! I am fine with this one! The one you are in!"

The Gungnir user smiled. "Thank you Miku. Your kindness always warms my heart."

And she shot towards the sky. Miku watched as Hibiki soared through the air, carried on her wings, and headed straight for the missile that threatened to kill them all.

The projectile continued its path, and from where she was standing Maria could vaguely see its shape with her naked eye. She looked on in awe at Hibiki flying through the air completely unaided. "What is she trying to do?!"

"I don't know, but I don't like the look of this. We really should get out of here!" Chris responded nervously.

"But we can't leave everyone else here to fend for themselves!" Maria exclaimed.

"Then what the hell do you suggest we do, huh? There is no way we can grab absolutely everyone and get far enough to escape the blast radius!" The Ichaival user shouted back.

"We leave it to Hibiki." Miku said, catching the two Symphogears' attention. "I know she can do it. She promised she will."

Chris walked up to her, her brows furrowed. "Oi, Miku, I don't know if you've noticed, but the idiot hasn't exactly been normal for quite a while now. What makes you so sure she will save us after she kicked our asses and even killed people herself?"

Miku swallowed, and clasped her hands together. "I know it's hard to believe, but I know she will help everyone."

"I can never understand this blind faith of yours." Chris commented, and raised her head up to the sky.

Hibiki flew as high as possible, and upon reaching her desired altitude, floated in the air in the missile's path. She could see it closing in and fast. If she allowed it to hit the ground, the damage will be irreparable.

But right now, something as weak as this will never be able to match her.

She raised her spear, pointing at it the approaching death. The missile flew close, but she was calm. She knew what she had to do.

"Oi, is she gonna tank it with her own body?!" Chris exclaimed.

But Maria narrowed her eyes and looked closer, specifically at the spear's tip. "No, she's-"

The missile was less than ten meters from her now. Power gathered at the spear's tip as a golden orb of light appeared before it.

And Hibiki screamed for the world to hear. "THIS IS MY JUSTICE!"

The missile touched the golden orb of light.

And promptly stopped in its tracks.

"What…" Saint-Germain asked incredulously, having regained consciousness a moment earlier. She had missed the exchange, and could only look up to see Hibiki floating in the sky…

Right in front of a missile encased in a golden bubble.

It floated within the light, its path interrupted by the divine power Hibiki wielded. The rogue wielder glared at it, her teeth clenched in anger. Willing her power into the bubble, the golden orb shrunk around the missile.

Despite being suspended in the air, the projectile was still armed and dangerous. Its inner mechanisms activated, and the uranium atoms within its core rapidly fissioned, creating the desired chain reaction for which it was deployed.

The world filled with light as the nuclear bomb exploded within the bubble, and all those gathered at the battlefield were blinded by the radiance, shining like a second sun in the night. Chris groaned and covered her eyes, unable to look directly at it.

As the resident user of missiles, Chris knew that destroying a bomb like that before it hit would only stop the explosion from consuming everything. However, the real danger was the fallout that follows that could taint the land for decades, and as a result it was one of the few things that Symphogears could not possibly stop on their own.

But the one who had stopped the missile was not a regular Symphogear. No, she was a god-slayer imbued with divine power, and when the bright light died down slightly and she could finally lower her arm, Chris could only stare in shock.

The golden bubble remained completely unchanged, and within it the storms of nuclear reactions raged. The force of the blast tried to break through the barrier, but the power of the gods trumped humanity's technology, and Hibiki willed it to shrink even further. The sphere closed around the blast more, and more, and more, until it was only as big as a ping pong ball.

And finally, with a final burst of will, Hibiki crushed the bubble on itself, and the blast within fizzled out into nothingness, its power and radioactive fallout completely negated.

Golden light fell on the earth, and they could only look up at her in awe.

"What...is...she?"


If S.O.N.G's headquarters were in chaos before, now they were disturbingly quiet.

The members of the organization stopped every single one of their activities to simply stare at the screen before them and what had just occurred. Barely one minute ago they received the report that the Americans had launched one of the nuclear missiles from one of the submarines located in the bay, just as Yatsuhiro had said, and tried to come up with some sort of countermeasure, knowing that the Symphogears would not be able to stop it without causing its radioactive payload to spread all over the land.

But then they watched as Hibiki herself reacted, rising up to the sky and facing the missile head on.

And then she stopped it. LIke it was merely a bug in her way, Hibiki had single handedly erased the threat of total annihilation.

It was the scariest thing Genjuro had ever seen in his life.

"How...how was she able to…" Fujitaka murmured. No one could possibly answer him.

Almost immediately, the visual display lit up again, and Genjuro looked to see his brother's face again.

"Gen…"

"Aniki," Genjuro could only let out. "What do they say to this?"

Yatsuhiro went quiet, a very uncharacteristic thing for him to do at a time like this. It was if he was thinking how to verbalize his response, or more specifically the UN's. "To say they were shocked would be an understatement. The American President is outraged with this result, and he is quick to point fingers for this failure at us. I do not know if he will send out more missiles, now that he knows that his strongest weapon is useless before her."

Genjuro grumbled quietly, and then spoke up. "Do you think they'll deploy ground forces now? And try to kill her the hard way?"

"I don't know, Gen," Yatsuhiro responded. "The only thing I ask is this: What do you think of this?"

It was a question Genjuro did not expect from someone like his brother, but a desperate situation called for desperate questions and answers. His subordinates looked to him, as if his words would be the final nail in the coffin for what they would do.

It was a tough decision for him to make. To declare her an enemy still after she had single handedly saved them all would be hypocritical, and would give her an excuse to turn on them further.

However, their duty was first and foremost to protect the world from any and all supernatural threats, no matter their source. Tachibana Hibiki had made her intentions clear. If they allowed her to continue, she could hurt more people than a million nuclear bombs ever could.

Genjuro hardened his heart, and spoke with finality. "I am afraid we can't allow her to continue. As much as it hurts me to say this, Hibiki-kun still has to be treated as a threat. This is my decision as the commander of S.O.N.G, first and foremost. We will oppose her until we find a way to get her back, that I swear."


Hibiki floated down to the ground, her objective complete. She could feel everyone's eyes on her, but she could care less about that. She turned on the spot and stared at the still standing Symphogear users, who reeled back under her stare.

She advanced on them like a predator, her spear in hand. "No more interruptions. I'll finish this right now."

"Is that what you believe, god-slayer?" A deep voice said from out of nowhere.

Hibiki looked around, trying to find the source of the voice, then looked to the area between her and the Symphogears. It looked as if space itself shattered, and an all too familiar figure walked out from the crack in reality.

"You have taken from me what is rightfully mine, " Adam Weishaupt said. "I'll be taking that power back from you."

Hibiki glared at the Lodgemaster of the Pavarian Illuminati. "Adam Weishaupt. You are the cause of all of this. I'll make sure you pay for this a hundred fold!"

He held his severed arm in his hand like a sword. "Just because you have taken in the divine power does not mean you are all mighty, Tachibana Hibiki. You have no right to use it."

"No, you are the one who has no right to use it. You are a being filled with nothing but sin. Someone like you could never harness it to its full potential." Hibiki responded to him, her eyes narrowed.

"Is that what you believe, little girl?" He said. "In that case, I'll make you understand where you stand in the pecking order. You will rue the day you stood against me, GOD-SLAYER!"