AN: Well everyone, thank you for your patience! The much anticipated 19th chapter of My Sunshine is finally here! I want to take this moment to thank everyone for reading my story until now, and I truly hoped you enjoyed what I had to offer!
Now, as you can see, this chapter is extra long, serving as a milestone chapter for the story! Sit tight and enjoy the ride, cos it's a bumpy one!
On another note ladies and gentlemen, this story now has a cover image! Drawn by the talented Langou of the Symphogear Discord Server, it is now the official cover photo for this story from this point on! A round of applause for the artist for that one!
Also, I would like to thank zeroblackdragon15 for betaing this chapter for me, cos it was one hell of a tough one! Make sure to check out his story "Song of the Heart Redux" too!
On that final note, I would like to thank everyone who gave their feedback and made this story possible. For all you silent lurkers...make your voice known! I want to know what you think, especially about this chapter! Don't worry, I won't bite, and I will take all reviews kindly, even if you loathe this story! (Pretty much saying write reviews like seriously where the hell are you people.)
So, let's not get too sidetracked.
Here is the chapter! Enjoy!
-!-
"Wait, what?!"
That was the first thing Chris said upon hearing from Aoi exactly what caused that incredibly bright light in the western area of the city. With more than half of the invading Noise army suddenly obliterated, the Ichaival wielder found that the force attacking the harbor had also decreased significantly. So much in fact that she didn't even need to keep Megadeth Orchestra active anymore, nor did she have to keep on using her Devastator. Simply switching to her standard firearms seemed to be getting the job done much more easily and cleanly.
Not that there was much left to save of the harbor either way.
It was during that apparent period of grace that Aoi took the time to inform everyone of exactly what Tsubasa had accomplished, with expected results.
"As I said, Tsubasa-san was the cause of that. It was her attempt to subdue Hibiki-chan, and it reduced Western Tokyo to ashes."
"Wait, ATTEMPT? You mean she failed?!"
Aoi's face fell at Chris' blunt and completely accurate summation. "Yes. We believed she had succeeded, but Hibiki-chan suddenly developed the ability to rapidly regenerate, just like we saw with the Divine Weapon."
"The Divine Weapon…" Chris repeated to herself. "Wait, you mean that huge thing she blew to pieces that wouldn't go down no matter what we did to it? And she can do the same thing now too?!"
"Yes, that's what I'm referring to." Aoi confirmed.
"Shit," Chris bit out in between firing her weapon. "What the hell are we supposed to do now?! I thought you said Senpai had this in the bag!"
Aoi sighed in defeat. "I don't know what to tell you. I just...don't. I don't know what we're supposed to do."
And their time was running short too. The storm above was already beginning to drift away, and the moment it disappears completely Tsubasa will surely lose, no matter how well she holds her own against her. If she can't do any damage, what's the point of all that overwhelming power?
Aoi could see it on screen too. The battle had summarily resumed, and it has been at the least ten minutes since Genjuro disappeared from the bridge with Elfnein and Miku in tow.
"The commander stepped out for a bit, and once he comes back he'll tell us what we are going to do. For now, focus on eliminating the Noise. Now that their numbers have reduced it will be much easier to handle. With all of you on the Eastern side you should be able to take them down without too much effort."
That was true as well. Currently, the only two combatants on the Western side were Hibiki and Tsubasa. Even after doing major sweeps over the immediate area, not a single hostile enemy signature could be found anywhere in their vicinity. Aside from the still miraculously standing shelters, the ruins of Western Tokyo were essentially deserted, giving the Ame-no-Habakiri wielder plenty of room to maneuver in without being interrupted by anyone else.
But that still brought them back to the problem that once the storm passes and Tsubasa loses access to her Susano'o persona, she'll be defeated instantly.
And then what are they going to do?
That was the question that went through absolutely everyone's mind. Once Tsubasa falls, who exactly will be able to stop Hibiki in her tracks?
Even the Super Ignite Module turned out to not be enough. It may have allowed Maria to hold her own for a certain period of time, but in the end she was defeated and they were forced to rely on an incredibly coincidental power that will go away in due time.
Chris and the others acknowledged her orders, and the bridge was once again filled with the sounds of explosions, slashes, and fire. The crew member kept her eyes glued to the screen displaying the fight between Hibiki and Tsubasa, making sure to note exactly everything she could, and if there was anything she could do to assist Tsubasa from afar.
It was right at that moment, about two minutes later, that the door to the bridge opened. Aoi looked back and watched as Genjuro and Elfnein walked back in, one right after the other. The small homunculus went back to her seat wordlessly, intensely focused on the numbers running over her console's display.
That was the first red flag in Aoi's mind. Her gaze then fell upon Genjuro, and she realized that his expression was almost completely unreadable. His face was hard, his posture stiff, and he stood at the commander's console with his arms crossed, his eyes narrowed.
"Chris-kun," He commanded. "Your task is to clear the skies above headquarters. A helicopter will be launched from there in a moment, and it must reach its destination as fast as possible. Its path must not be hampered no matter what."
It took a second for the Ichaival wielder to respond, slightly confused by the strange order. "Alright, got it."
There wasn't much for her to do. With the entirety of the Noise army solely focused on the one human in front of them, Chris simply blasted them away from her in a moment and then turned her attention to the few flying Noise above the submarine, reducing them to harmless dust in an instant.
And indeed, a second later large whooshing sounds were heard in the sky as one of S.O.N.G's emergency helicopters lifted off from the top of the submarine and took off, its destination unknown to anyone save for three people.
Genjuro watched the helicopter's marker on the screen intently as it made its way to its target location, and Aoi could not help but speak up again in question. "A helicopter, sir? What exactly are you sending over there?" She asked, noticing that it was going in a straight line directly to the combat zone in Shibuya.
"Our last resort." He simply answered and said nothing more.
Aoi looked at him with a puzzled expression, trying to somehow read or understand anything from his own.
The gears spun in her head, and her mind wandered back to something she heard not too long ago...Something that Kazanari Fudou said, perhaps?
Her concern became visible on her face as she looked behind her commander.
And saw that a person that had been standing there the entire time…
Was no longer there.
It took her exactly one second to put two and two together, and her mouth gaped as her gaze fell back on Genjuro.
"Commander...you can't possibly be referring to-"
"So the time come, I see." Saint-Germain said from out of nowhere, forcing Aoi's head back to the screen.
"Yes." Genjuro answered her, forcing Aoi's head back to him as she realized the two of them were in on what was going on.
Her gaze then fell on Elfnein. The homunculus noticed her stare and immediately turned her head away in shame, making Aoi understand that she too was more than aware of what was happening.
Not a single one of them was trying to deny it or hide it at this point.
For they knew that it was going to be revealed to everyone here as well as the wielders in very short order, and that at this point it was impossible to stop.
"That's...unfortunate. I too wished that this outcome would not come to pass, but we have truly ran out of options. We can only hope that now we shall obtain the desired results."
"Out of options…" Aoi repeated to herself. Her stare flew back to her commander in a hurry, and he did not meet her gaze nor move his eyes even a bit to acknowledge her.
For Kazanari Genjuro had hardened his heart, and set himself on a path he will surely come to regret.
"Commander! That's-that's just too much! We can't make Miku-chan do-"
"We have to, Tomosato," He cut her off before she could continue. "There is absolutely nothing else that we can depend on at this point. If we do not act, then the world is forfeit. In order to save us from certain ruin...I had no choice but to go against my very principles. I do not mind being judged for this, so long as we get Hibiki-kun back."
He clenched his fists hard and his voice became brittle as he finished. "No matter what I have to do."
A heavy atmosphere fell upon the bridge at his words, and silence descended upon them.
Until it was broken by Chris once more a moment later.
"Wait, what is this about Miku?"
-!-
(Play: Fate/Grand Order OST - Epic of Remnant Fatal Battle)
The wind picked up as the clouds began to fly by, the supercharged storm passing over their heads slowly. More and more of the night sky became visible above them, bringing Susano'o's time to a close faster than Tsubasa would have liked.
Fists and sword met once again in a violent clash, and the shockwaves of their impact crushed down any remaining rubble or building that managed to remain standing in their immediate area. The aftermath of Ame-no-Murakumo was absolutely devastating, leaving nothing but charred structures that would blow away in the wind from the most delicate touch. Plenty of the area was also burning as well, left behind by the enhanced fire of the cloud-gathering sword.
It could only be described as hell. A hell brought about by the attempt of a person to reclaim someone they considered family, casting aside any sort of regard to what was around them. Tsubasa knew that going down this path would be nothing short of burdening, but she did not regret it.
Regret was something she could not allow herself to have, for secretly in her heart she harbored a deep sense of guilt. A guilt born of nothing but her own misplaced sorrow and anger directed at the girl she was now fighting.
She had pointed her sword at her due to her own anguish, and in the end the idol believed that this result was something she had a heavy hand in bringing about. Sadness she had not experienced in a very long time filled her to the brim, and that emotion was brought to the forefront by the force of her strikes. Even though her attacks were ferocious, all those watching aside from her own opponent would notice that her sword was crying, lamenting the fact that it had to be pointed at someone so dear to its wielder.
"Tch-!" She let out, parrying aside a hard blow from the corrupted wielder. Not only did she suddenly develop that incredibly frustrating regeneration ability, but it seemed that she got even stronger in that moment as well, a tell-tale sign that the influence of the curses was spreading even further and corroding even more of the divine power by the minute.
This was the only result that her actions here brought about. Caught off guard by something she could not have expected, her reducing half of her home city to ash in the end yielded nothing but more difficulty.
And she knew that at this moment she was the very last line of defense against the menace that Hibiki has become, and that before long she will become a destroyer with nothing left to stand in her way.
With nothing left to lose, Tsubasa fought even harder than before. Her meticulous planning had failed, and her strongest attacks and techniques were now useless against an opponent that knew all about them.
All that was left to beheld was pure force, an attempt to surpass her opponent with nothing but her own strength, born from years of experience and a bloodline connection that went back generations upon generations. The will of Susano'o flared, drawing out Ame-no-Habakiri's full power as it clashed against the spear of Odin and the curses it housed.
"What's wrong, Susano'o?! Ran out of juice?!" Hibiki yelled as her fist once again smashed against the shining haired idol's blade. Forced back by the punch, Tsubasa skidded across the ground, her armored boots throwing up the melted pieces of asphalt into the air. The Gungnir user charged forward with both arms reared back, and blasted her way towards the blue Symphogear wielder.
Tsubasa's response was simple: grasping the handle of her blade with two hands, she pulled, a second blade being recreated in her free hand. Now dual wielding her swords, two fists met two blades in an even more violent clash, cratering the ground below them even more. The Ame-no-Habakiri wielder struggled against the charge, groaning all the while. She let out a yell, and pouring power into her arms forced Hibiki back, causing the rogue wielder to jump back a distance.
And she took the opportunity to strike. Taking a heavy step forward that sent rubble into the air, she slashed the two blades in a cross, launching a X shaped shockwave forward.
'AZURE DIVIDER'
Hibiki's foot touched the ground just as the shockwave was about to strike. However, with her improved reactions she teleported out of the way just in time, the attack continuing onwards and into another burning structure, smashing into it and causing it to crumble as its foundations were slashed apart.
She reappeared right in front of Tsubasa and struck. However, before her fist could land she was once again forced to disengage as lightning almost crashed right on top of her, striking the ground in front of the blue haired wielder. It continued crashing in Hibiki's directions, the bolts following her across the ruined street.
Neither of them noticed through the noise and battle the sound of a helicopter landing a small distance away.
Planting her feet, Hibiki thrust her fist upwards and struck the bolt that came down on her. The lightning attempted to find purchase, but the very force of her strike veered it off course, and it crashed against a pile of rubble at her side.
The skirmish ended, and the two stood on opposite sides of the street. Of the two combatants, Hibiki was the one heaving, her breaths coming up short as exhaustion set in.
It was something that Tsubasa had found to be extremely strange. Ever since the regeneration ability had manifested, the rogue wielder was panting far more than before. Even though she did not have a single scratch on her, she still seemed to be having trouble breathing, acting like she had just run a marathon across the entire world.
It seemed that the regeneration ability acts on its own without her will, and in exchange for healing her wounds it drains her stamina every time it occurs. And that was something Tsubasa believed she could use: by inflicting as much damage as she could on Hibiki, she could perhaps cause that very regeneration to drain her so completely that she truly wouldn't be able to move an inch afterwards.
But Hibiki was not one to give in when tired, and that essentially brought them to a stalemate. Tsubasa could match Hibiki blow for blow, but could not injure her in any significant way, nor would she be able to fell her through abusing that new regeneration she has obtained. Meanwhile, Hibiki had yet to inflict a strong blow against her in any shape or form after that one punch she landed, meaning that Tsubasa was still going very strong and without any sort of impediment to her performance.
So a stalemate. Neither one of them could get the upper hand on the other, and they could end up fighting forever at this rate.
Or until the storm passes completely, automatically resulting in a loss for Tsubasa as Susano'o disappears and leaves her without access to the vast majority of her power.
She knew this.
The crew members in headquarters knew this.
So she had to give this absolutely her all, and go wild without restraint. Fanciful gambits are thrown out the window, and any attempts at subterfuge had to be discarded.
The only thing that remains is nothing but pure force that would clash head on, and only one will come out on top in the battle that follows.
Hibiki wiped her brow with her arm. Meanwhile, Tsubasa threw aside the blade in her left hand, making it disappear into azure sparkles in the wind.
With her remaining blade, she acted out the action of sheathing her sword in a scabbard, lowering her body to take on an Iajitsu stance that was unfamiliar to Hibiki. An electrified aura rose around her, carving up the ground beneath her feet even further.
"Here I come, Hibiki!"
Hibiki braced herself.
The shining haired idol slashed the air in front of her in a wide arc.
And Hibiki looked on in confusion as absolutely nothing happened.
No impressive powerful shockwave exploded out of her opponent's sword, nor did her blade suddenly elongate to close the vast distance between them in an instant. Tsubasa had simply swung her sword, drawing it from its 'sheath'.
"What are you trying to-"
And in that moment, blood spilled from her chest as she was sliced from shoulder to shoulder, a deep and angry cut being etched into her from out of nowhere. Hibiki let out a growl at the sharp pain that accompanied it, looking down at her injury with wide eyes.
"Wha-?!"
Her eyes glanced back to the Ame-no-Habakiri user, who still stood on the other side of the street unmoving.
'How...how did she do that?!'
And then right in front of her eyes, space shattered as everything in her vision crumbled down like glass, the very fabric of reality being torn asunder. Then right in the middle of it all, a cut appeared in the shattered pane; and as the shards fell down to the ground, reality seemed to reassert itself right in that moment.
And Tsubasa was just there, standing right in front of her, her sword at the position where she would've finished her swing as if she had been there the entire time.
'PHANTOM HURRICANE BLADE'
Hibiki grit her teeth and jumped back, putting distance between her and her opponent. Tsubasa rose back to her full height just as she landed, and a second later the regeneration ability kicked in once more as dimensions tore open at the rogue wielder's sides. They collapsed back into her a moment later, leaving her once more without a scratch.
Tsubasa narrowed her eyes, staring at her comrade with a thoughtful gaze. Hibiki's arms fell to her sides as fatigue overtook her once more, and her back hunched forward as she took in short breaths.
"We are surprised, Hibiki, that you have reached such unprecedented levels. It worries me, but my spirit is not yet broken, for I have made a vow that I have sworn to uphold." The sword wielder said with that thunderous voice.
"Keep on talking, Susano'o," Hibiki responded with a huff, straightening her back. "I'll make sure to seal that mouth shut when I kick your ass."
Tsubasa smirked. "Hmph, even as exhausted as you are you can still keep on going. Very well, then it seems we cannot allow strength to be preserved, for this clash will settle everything."
She entered her stance once more, power rising from her from the upteenth time in the battle. In response, Hibiki retook her own stance, as tired as she was from the unexpected use of that instant regeneration.
Lightning crashed once more between them.
"Let us bring this to an end, Hibiki!"
"Fine by me!"
The two of them were already tired of this endless battle. They were far too evenly matched to be able to one up the other.
All that remained was to meet each other head on with their full power, and the consequences be damned.
The street was once again blown apart by the sheer power radiating off of the two of them.
They took a single step forward.
And just as they were about to begin their final charge…
"That's enough, Tsubasa-san."
That a familiar and a completely out of place voice rose up from behind Tsubasa, causing the incredible tension in the air to disperse into nothingness.
It was as if the voice alone managed to instantly dispel the aura of bloodlust. Their fighting spirits dwindled, and the two combatants nearly faltered by the sudden intrusion to their battle.
"What?"
Tsubasa's head turned to the source behind her faster than ever before.
And she froze when she realized exactly who it was.
Standing there behind her, with something she did not recognize under her left arm, was a gentle sunshine. Wearing a simple white skirt and a purple jacket, the black haired girl met the idol's gaze with an even yet determined expression.
"Kohinata?! What are you doing here?!" Tsubasa asked in shock, completely taken aback by the appearance of Hibiki's best friend.
Speaking of Hibiki…
The sword wielder twisted her head to her opponent, and saw exactly what she expected: The Gungnir user was frozen in place, her mouth agape. Not a single sound escaped her mouth as she just stared, her eyes locked on Miku.
Her head turned back to the intruder, concern filling her thunderous voice. "Kohinata, I don't know what possessed you to come here, but you must withdraw. It's not safe here, even for you."
Tsubasa's warning was not one she said lightly. She knew exactly what Hibiki was capable of, and she could not allow Miku to be caught in the crossfire.
Yet the girl did not move, and continued to meet the blue Symphogear user's gaze.
"Please, Tsubasa-san," She pleaded. "Leave this to me."
And once again the idol narrowed her eyes, puzzled by Miku's insistence. "Kohinata?"
Silence fell on the ruined street. The only sound that could be heard was the sizzling fires in the charred remains of the various buildings that surrounded them, and the now very, very distant rumblings of thunder.
That was until Genjuro's voice came in through the comm. "Tsubasa, let her do as she pleases."
Her hand shot up to her earpiece, trying to understand if she heard him right. "What? What is thine meaning?"
"You heard me, Tsubasa. Go and help the others and leave this to Miku-kun." Was his straightforward and commanding answer.
Her hand fell to her side, and her eyes returned to peer at the black haired school girl, studying her thoroughly. With her enhanced perceptions, she tried to comprehend the meaning behind the two's words. There was clearly something here she was not seeing, but what?
The entire time, Hibiki remained silent, as if Miku's appearance had caused her mind to shut down completely. It was a response no one expected out of her, especially now and especially after how she reacted to her presence previously.
What was the change now? What was it she was seeing?
And then she saw it.
It was all Tsubasa needed to make the connection. With 'Susano'o' allowing her to decipher those deep green eyes, she realized in that moment exactly what was in store.
And the crestfallen expression that followed was one that would be forever engraved into Miku's mind.
"Kohinata…" Tsubasa let out sadly. She heaved out a sorrowful sigh. "So...this is what we have been led to."
She glanced back to Hibiki once again, and the rogue wielder remained still. Tsubasa briefly wondered what was going through her mind right now.
And once again sighed as she figured that whatever she was thinking about would pale in comparison to what was to come.
"Then...I shall leave her in your capable hands, Kohinata." She added. And then she walked forward, facing away from Hibiki, who made no motion to try and stop her. The sword wielder passed by Miku, whose own eyes were too locked onto her best friend on the other side of the street.
She stopped by her side, looking towards the ruined crossing, their backs to each other. "And...I'm sorry."
Miku blinked once. "Thank you...Tsubasa-san, Susano'o-sama."
The sword wielder huffed. "So you will refer to us both...you truly are a kind one," She said with a small smile. "Then know that the Heavens stand at your side. May they bless and guide your path in the trials ahead, my friend,"
She took a few steps forward, putting enough of a distance between herself and Miku.
"And may your heart never falter in the face of despair."
And lightning struck her in that moment. The air remained electrified for a fraction of a second, then settled down.
Revealing that Tsubasa had disappeared, leaving only Miku and Hibiki in the ruins of Western Tokyo.
-!-
Airgetlam sliced through the air as Maria cut down more and more of the beasts that were assaulting the Edogawa shelter. Evading the lunge of another opportunistic fake Hibiki, she jumped up onto the rooftop of one of the buildings.
At least a dozen of the beasts followed her up, climbing the side of the structure by digging their claws into the solid concrete, scaling it at breakneck speeds. Their charge was animalistic and wild, and as they reached the top they once again lunged at her from all sides.
Maria brought up her sword, prepared to meet them head on.
And then lightning crashed right next to her, throwing the beasts off of the rooftop.
The pink haired idol yelped in surprise by the sudden bolt of electricity, and backpedaled to gain some distance.
Only for her eyes to widen when the air cleared and she saw Tsubasa appear as it dissipated.
"My apologies for surprising you, Maria. The commander requested that I come reinforce your position."
Maria however barely heard her. Taken aback by her sudden appearance, she was caught off guard by her idol partner's dazzling new form, leaving her gaping at the sight. "Tsu-Tsubasa?!"
The Ame-no-Habakiri user turned to her, tilting her head in confusion. "Yes? It is I, Maria. Is there something amiss?"
"Wh-what? You-I mean...how?" The Airgetlam user stuttered out, her mind still in overdrive, her eyes still staring in awe at the amazing beauty that she was looking at. The shining hair, the glowing eyes, and the incredible aura that she was releasing all worked to make the older idol gulp nervously.
'So this...is what they were talking about when they were referring to Susano'o out of nowhere?'
Tsubasa seemed to catch her meaning, and smiled. "Ah, you seem to be in awe due to my current form. Fear not, Maria, for it is still I."
"Th-that's not what I'm worried about! I-I mean, what…"
Everything she wanted to say was immediately cut off when Tsubasa giggled, and Maria could not help but blush at the sweet yet...impactful sound that escaped the Ame-no-Habakiri user's lips. "It is amusing to see you react this way, Maria," She said with a smile. "It is a sight for sore eyes. You remind us of Kushinada-hime in that regard. She too was one that was easily surprised."
"Wh-wha-"
"Ah, but fear not Maria, we shall endeavor not to transform you into a comb. You are much more dazzling as you are now; and besides, we are certain the situation will not call for it."
Tsubasa's playful teasing worked to make Maria blush fiercely despite the circumstances.
It seemed that Susano'o's mischievous nature was coming up to the forefront due to Maria, and stirred a certain desire within Tsubasa to keep up the pressure.
"Ah, forgive us. It is rude to compare wives, for each one is a magnificent flower in her own right. Although, Kushinada-hime was a goddess of rice; for you to match her in that regard, you must first learn to cook rice yourself."
Maria's stammer was so adorable Tsubasa could not help but laugh.
"Wha-Wha-Wha-Wha-Wha-! That's-that's not funny!" She exclaimed, throwing her head aside to hide the obvious blush on her face. "Geez! What's come over you? The Tsubasa I know would never t-tease me like that!"
"Our apologies. We were simply bedazzled by you on this night, and wished to convey our sincerity before the storm passes and we vanish into the wind along with it." Tsubasa explained, a smile still plastered on her face.
Maria raised her voice in response, her cheeks still many shades of red. "There is a time and place for everything!" She said, crossing her arms. "I thought you were busy dealing with Hibiki-san! What brings you all the way here now?!"
It was then that the beaming expression on Tsubasa's face fell, and she looked in the direction from where she came, far into the horizon. "As I said, the commander requested I come and assist you in your endeavors. And besides, we believe there is now someone much more suitable...for taking on that role than us."
Yes, that was the only description she could use to describe Miku at that moment. 'Someone more suitable' was a severe understatement of what her role was.
And she knew she will never be able to bring herself to forget the fire that was in her eyes. A fire that made Tsubasa wonder whether or not…
It was simply a reflection of the outward flames.
Maria narrowed her eyes. "Someone...more suitable?"
Tsubasa's cryptic words served only to make Maria nervous.
And then Chris' booming voice exploded out of the comm, directed at Genjuro's recent revelation that shook them to the core.
"WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU JUST SAY?!"
-!-
(Play: Fate/Stay Night OST - THIS ILLUSION {piano ver.})
What would one say should they look upon this scene? How would they explain what their eyes lay upon, looking at the ruins of Shibuya?
And how far would their lament reach as they see these two souls, connected by something deeper than blood, facing each other under such terrible circumstances?
Miku stood in her spot, her eyes gazing upon only one other. She stood, a certain precious wrapped object cradled under her left arm, letting out not a single word out of her mouth.
Hibiki's mind had apparently decided on that moment to restart, and she could only stutter out the following words. "M-Miku?! Wh-why? Why are you here now?! Why...Why are you getting in my way now?!"
The sound of the sizzling fires filled the air once more as Miku formulated her answer. "Hibiki...I have to apologize too."
"H-huh?"
Miku took in a deep breath. "I broke a promise I made to you...and I'm sorry," She said painfully. "I promised you...that I would never turn against you...I meant that with every fiber of my being. But now...I have to break that promise."
The miserable expression on Hibiki's face served to break Miku's heart. "M-Miku? What...what are you saying?!"
"I can't watch any longer, Hibiki," She answered, taking small steps forward. Her very presence in this hell was a dissonance, a clash of right and wrong. For the battlefield was not a place for someone like her, who shone like the sun. "I just can't. I can't stand aside anymore and watch you do so much wrong."
Hibiki gasped. Throwing her arms around, her voice rose as she became frantic. "No! You're just saying that because it's just like back then! It's Genjuro this time isn't it?! He did something to you to make you say that! I won't let that happen again!"
Her vehement refusal to accept reality caused Miku's face to fall.
000
"Genjuro-san...what-"
"It's exactly what you think," He said, holding out the pendant to her. "I didn't want to get to this point...but nothing we have will work now. This...is the only thing that we have that will be able to bring her back."
Miku's eyes widened in astonishment.
"I suppose...that it was always meant to lead to this outcome. That maybe everything we have done only served to delay the inevitable," He continued. "I didn't want to burden you with this role...of having to face her like this...but we have completely run out of options. I'm sorry Miku-kun...There is no one we can depend on now except you."
000
"Even now...even now you won't believe that I stand here by my own free will?" The black haired girl asked her friend, stopping her march only a few single meters away, causing the rogue wielder to freeze once more.
"There is no way I will believe it!" Hibiki screamed. "You said you would always support me! You said that you will always stand by my side!"
In contrast to Hibiki's brash and loud responses, Miku was...eerily calm, but melancholic. As if she was holding herself back from reacting similarly. The entire way she made here she had spent deep in thought, and her emotions became a swirling torrent of colors that she could not describe.
Her heart was being pulled in many different directions at once, and it was oh so very slowly starting to tear. "Then please tell me, Hibiki...when did you start believing…"
She swallowed down her own uneasiness, and her voice shook as she spoke. "When did you start believing...that I would ever support something like this?"
Hibiki went rigid, speechless from Miku's question.
"A-ah-"
A gentle breeze picked up, blowing throughout the ruined city.
000
Miku's head tilted downwards, and she clutched the hems of her skirt tightly. "How...how dare you...ask something like this of me...how…"
Genjuro's stare remained hard, his arm still extended forward. "I don't have the right to, I know that," He said. "But there is no one else we can turn to. I tried, Miku-kun...We all tried, to avoid having to come to you for this. We wanted to be able to bring her back to you without you having to be involved...which is what I promised her as well."
Her entire body trembled as tears threatened to fall from her eyes. The combined anger and sorrow were raging within her, nearly causing her to lash out at the man in front of her. "Then...then why...how can you ask this of me...knowing I won't be able to refuse?"
He clenched his other fist tight by his side, his eyes turning away from her as he spoke. "Because...you are the only one who can bring her back. From the very beginning...there was no one else who was destined to do so."
She gulped, forcing everything down. "This is exactly...this is exactly like before. You...you are acting exactly like him…"
"I know," He answered. "I know. And I also know that you have absolutely every right to hate me. That you have absolutely every right to be angry at me. For this, and for many other things."
The man sighed somberly. "I wanted...to keep my promise to Hibiki-kun. I wanted...to help you keep the happy days that you cherish so...but I was not strong enough. No, we as a whole were not strong enough. We were not ready, and now it came back to bite us. And the only thing left for me to do...is to break the vows I made for the sake of those days."
They went silent.
And Miku lost the battle against her sadness, the tears beginning to drip down to the metallic floor of Elfnein's lab.
000
"Hibiki...there is no one else in this world...that knows me better than you do," Miku said softly. "So you of all people should know...that I would never support or stand by such a path. You of all people should know...that I will never be able to accept it."
Hibiki's response came out as a garbled mess, her heart in tatters.
And Miku kept on speaking, laying her own heart out. "Hibiki...you've always, ever since that day, chased after the beautiful ideal of making a happy world for everyone. And I stood by your side, watching as you wholeheartedly believed in it, and entrusted your everything to it. And how ever since you gained the power to fight, you became much happier and you shone much more beautifully."
She tightened her grip on the item held by her left arm. "And I only wanted to support you in your path...even if I didn't believe in it as much as you did."
Hibiki could not voice her shock, Miku's sudden confession coming completely out of left field for her.
It was surreal to all those watching. Before, Hibiki was like an uncaged beast, held down by absolutely nothing.
But now, she was simply a deer in the headlights, stopped in her tracks by the one thing she dared not bare her fangs against.
"I'm sorry, Hibiki, for pretending to understand, and that I can only tell you now," She said regretfully. "I...can't be a hero like you. I can't...bring myself to care about those that I can't see. I can't...try and take the entire world and embrace it."
That's right. In the end, that's just who Miku was.
She was not a hero. She did not wield a weapon and fight in the defense of the many. She could not extend her hand out to others in the same way that Hibiki did.
Kohinata Miku was not a hero.
She was simply a girl, who cared about the things that were important to her.
"I can't...bring myself to care about the world, just like you do,"
It was just like Saint-Germain said:
That the only thing Kohinata Miku looks for…
Is the small share of happiness that belongs to her.
"And that is why...I can never support what you wish for. I cannot stand aside as you twist your own wish, and bring it about in such a horrible manner. I can no longer pretend that I understand your ideal completely...but I know more than anyone that this is not what you wished for."
"Ah-Mi-Miku…"
Hibiki looked at her.
And finally understood who it was she was looking at.
Even with her mind tainted by the many grudges and curses...she could no longer deny it. She could no longer deny and try to delude herself.
For the person in front of her was truly, and undoubtedly Kohinata Miku. The girl who was her gentle sunshine, her warm place to come back to.
And that this was her own will, held down by no other.
It began to rain. Hibiki could feel it, as something washed down her face beyond her control. Her vision began to blur from the sudden wetness, but a single simple question suddenly rang in her mind.
'Why...is Miku not getting wet too?'
"Yes...I can only care about the things that are important to me. The things that I hold close to my heart. And that is why...I will allow it no longer."
And she finally raised the thing she had held all this time, allowing Hibiki to see it.
"What I'm doing...is nothing more than following my own desire. My own selfish desire to get back what is important to me, to finally take back those shining and happy days."
She tugged on the wrapping.
And the cloth fell away, flowing down to the ground like a waterfall, revealing what was hidden.
In that moment, Hibiki's entire being froze. Her heart, her soul, her mind, her absolutely everything became as still as a mountain, and she could only stare ahead, her eyes wide, at what Miku was holding in her hand.
000
"I can't force you to do anything, Miku-kun. I can't order you around and force you to head out there and face her," Genjuro let out sorely. "I can only come to you like this and ask you...no, beg you to do so."
The tears kept on falling. Flowing without end, they were a downpour, dripping down against her will.
"I know...that you can't bring yourself to care about the world. And I'm not asking you to. I know that for you, there is something that stands above everything else," He said. "And that is the only thing I am asking you to care for."
She let out a sob she had held back this entire time.
"That...is the only thing I am begging you to save,"
And in a move that surprised both her and Elfnein, Genjuro went down to his knees, placing the tiny red pendant on the ground before him.
Through the blur, she looked at him, and met his resolute gaze.
The man placed his hands on the ground.
And lowered his head to touch the cold, steel floor.
"Miku-kun...please, save her."
000
Her breaths came up short. No, it was as if she has completely forgotten how to breathe.
For the thing that was in Miku's open hand…
Was a small, blue box.
"W-w-why...Why do y-you have that, Miku?"
The black haired school girl's eyes were rigid, just barely holding her composure together. "I already told you, Hibiki, that I know about this. I know...about everything that has been going through your mind. I know all about the things that you hate, that you fear, that you resent. I know all about...how you try to be happy for everyone's sake...how you give your all so no one else would go through what you have."
A box containing nothing but darkness, the true feelings of a girl who put up a cheerful front for everyone else to marvel at.
So they could not see what lay underneath, just below the surface.
"But even more than I know you, I know myself. And I can tell you wholeheartedly...that this thing is no longer needed."
"E-eh?"
Miku's hold on the box tightened. "No, it's more than that. You never needed such a thing. You never needed these...hideous reminders of a past I wanted you to leave behind more than anything. I invited you to come with me to Lydian for the sake of turning over a new leaf...and not be shackled down by such a wretched thing."
Hibiki finally managed to take in a breath. "A-Ah-aahh-"
Her whimpers were something Miku wished she'd never hear in her life. Never had she wanted her ears to hear such a soul-wrenching sound.
But for the sake of their happy days…
She will steel her heart and her resolve and surge forward regardless.
"And all I did was watch, and look on from the side as this thing kept on being your lifeline. But...I can no longer allow such a thing," She breathed out through clenched teeth, the surface of her anger beginning to bubble.
"I will no longer watch. I will no longer stand aside,"
The muscles in her arms tensed.
"And I will not allow such an abomination to taint our lives any longer!"
And she cast it aside.
Hibiki could only look on, her eyes shaking, as the box she had held onto for years…
Fell into the blaze of a nearby ruined building and began to burn to cinders.
Her entire body trembled, as if an earthquake of the highest magnitude rocked the Earth to its core. Her legs, held up by nothing more than the strength of her will, began to wobble uncontrollably.
Her mouth opened and closed, but no sound came out of it. The rain grew stronger, her vision clouding over. Her shining irises shrunk to an unbelievably small size, her anguished gaze falling upon the one she considered more special than anyone else.
And Miku's gaze was resolute, driven, and strong, her form grander than she had ever been before.
Like a knife had been driven into her heart, Hibiki finally began to form actual words. "W-w-w-w-w-w-why! Miku, WHY!? WHY DID YOU DO THAT?!" She screamed, the very volume shaking the air. "I-I NEEDED IT! WHY! WHY DID YOU THROW IT AWAY?! WHY WON'T YOU LET ME KEEP IT?!"
Her voice was marred by agony and confusion.
Yet Miku looked on, trying to remain unaffected.
"I told you, Hibiki. You never needed it. And that is why I am here now; to remind you of what it is it that you have, what it is that you need...and what is waiting for you back home."
She raised one hand to the zipper on her jacket. She held it tight between a finger and a thumb, and she choked back a sob that rose up her throat.
And the flames burned, the box and its contents turning to ash at their touch. The many newspaper clippings, the pictures of present and past days, and the curses and grudges of the many that stained the walls of Tachibana Hibiki's home disappeared into the fire, purged from the world by the hands of nature.
000
She could only look at his bowing form in shock, her eyes still stained with tears.
The girl clenched her teeth as his head remained glued to the ground. She tried to speak, to formulate some words to say to him.
Only one thing came to mind. "You're...you're horrible," She said.
He did not move an inch, simply remaining low, prostrating himself before her. "You-you are not even giving me a choice...But how can I-how can I possibly hate you when you speak and act like this. How am I supposed to respond...when you know exactly how I feel about such a thing."
Yes, it was no secret to Genjuro. Even if it was nothing more than his own educated guess, formed from many days of watching, seeing, and understanding a mind very similar to his own.
Kohinata Miku loathed the existence of the Symphogears with every fiber of her being. The tiny pendants, the special form they took, and absolutely everything they represented was something she will never be able to agree with. Even though she knew that they are used for the sake of protecting the world, and even though she knew that it was through them that Hibiki had achieved many great things and made many friends, she could never bring herself to have even a tiny bit of love for the creations of a priestess of a bygone age.
For they were exactly the root of the problem. For they were in the end nothing more than ticking time bombs, waiting for the day they can finally explode and bring them all down with them.
For it was they that took Hibiki from her, forcing her to watch as she went farther than she could reach.
"I know," He said, raising his head to look her in the eyes once more. He placed his hands on his lap, straightening his back. "And yet I will still ask you...to take it up for the sake of what you care about. I will do nothing to get in your way. I...no, everyone will stand behind you and assist you. I will not give you orders nor will I let anyone interject on the way you will do things. In the end, what I am doing is simply handing it over to you...and letting you choose your own path from this point on. I can wholeheartedly promise you that."
Her lower lip shook. This man, this unbearably considerate and incorrigible man knew exactly what to say to make her consider things in a manner that she will accept.
And she could only be swept along by his words.
Just like back then.
She went down to one knee, and placed her hand on the pendant on the floor. "I won't ask if you promise, because you already said you will...and I know I can trust your word,"
Her fingers shook against the floor, her fingernails tapping against the cold metal. "I will do things my way. I...this time, my will is my own, and belongs to no other. This time...I'm being true to myself."
And with tears still flowing down her cheeks, her palm closed around the crimson gem.
"I...will take back our happy days."
000
"That is my purpose here, Hibiki. That is what is driving me forward against everything,"
She pulled the zipper down, the jacket's two joined parts giving way. Removing her hand from the zipper, she clenched the cloth covering her shoulder tightly.
"And that is my new promise...no, my vow to you. I will take all of your fears, all of your resentments, and all of your hatreds...and I will wash them all away. I will do everything I can...I will do everything I must, to bring you back home."
And with a single, strong motion, threw the jacket aside.
In that moment, Hibiki's heart shattered to pieces.
For what hung around Miku's neck by a metallic chain…
Was a tiny red pendant.
~Kohinata Miku loathed the Symphogears with every fiber of her being.~
"And for the sake of that goal, I am not afraid to put my life on the line!"
Her hand closed around the jewel.
~Even though she knew that their purpose was to save the world, she could not bring herself to support their existence.~
"That is my oath to you, Hibiki!"
~She could not bring herself to care about the world.~
The rain fell.
~So she did not.~
"I will take back our happy days!"
~And on that day, the power meant for everyone's sake,~
"NO MATTER WHAT!"
~She vowed to use it for a single person.~
And she chanted the holy words that caused the world to vanish in light.
"Rei Shenshoujing rei zizzl!"
-!-
Anything more that Chris wanted to say was summarily drowned out as a tower of purple light rose from the heart of Shibuya ward. There was not a single person on the battlefield or in headquarters that could possibly ignore its existence.
There was only silence on the bridge of S.O.N.G as the beam lit up the night sky, piercing through the clouds.
Tomosato Aoi looked at it with a stupefied expression.
It was only when a familiar beeping rang out from her console that she finally recomposed herself, and together with the rest, stared at the Aufwachen signal that appeared on the large display, a flower of purple stars blooming to life at the side of the twisted and corrupted signal of Gungnir.
"T-that's-"
"Yes," Genjuro answered. "That...is the Shenshoujing. The Symphogear with the power to erase relics,"
High levels of phonic gain were detected as they stared at the form they have seen only once before.
"And the symbol of our salvation."
-!-
There was something Miku had always wondered that she decided to ask Hibiki about.
"I've been meaning to ask you this for a while now, but how do you manage to sing while fighting the Noise?"
It was such a strange and out of nowhere question that Hibiki wasn't sure how to answer her for a moment. She contemplated how to respond, and eventually gave her usual, Hibiki style answer.
"Hmmm, well to put it simply, I guess the Symphogear is like a karaoke machine!" She replied.
"Eh? Karaoke?"
"I don't really understand it myself," She had said, "But when the music starts playing from the Symphogear, the lyrics just come to me from within."
Miku looked confused at her words. "They come to you from within?"
"Well, something like that," Chris interjected suddenly.
Tsubasa joined in as well, and explained a bit more thoroughly. "Dr. Sakurai used to say the lyrics reflect the imagery the user forms in their mind."
It was an answer that made Miku think back to the day Frontier emerged, and to think back to her own song that day.
At the time, the thought of what it implied embarrassed her greatly. Of knowing that Hibiki had access to her most bare self.
But as time passed, she began to take joy in it, fully understanding what it meant. Even though it was a song twisted by someone else, it was still her own in the end.
And it was one she would begin to wield with pride.
For that song, along with all of her others, were dedicated to one, single person.
-!-
(Play: Waikyou - Shenshoujing)
The light died down. Dispersing into motes of violet sparkles, it rained down on the form of the girl within.
There, surrounded by the remains of the city, was Miku, clad in the Symphogear form of the Shenshoujing.
She opened her eyes, feeling the weight and the power coursing through her, now unrestrained.
And she sang, and this time, it was completely her own.
Hibiki could only backpedal in shock and agony, staring at the form she wished she'd never see again.
But the black haired girl held back her own sorrow. There was a ghost of a memory in her mind, akin to remembering something and having it lie just at the tip of her tongue. A small, tiny memory, engraved in her muscles.
There was no mind-bending apparatus connected to her brain that could feed her the necessary knowledge.
Had the members of S.O.N.G tried, they would have been able to replicate it.
But there was no way in hell they were going to.
So all Miku could do was to depend on that engraved memory, and strike forth with all of her power, with the only thing driving her forward being a single, overwhelming desire.
Springing forth into her hand was a fan. A large folding fan, similar to a baton, that served as the Armed Gear of her Symphogear.
And together with the special property that belonged to it, she charged forward, carried on by the wind.
She didn't know how to fight.
So she would go along with her heart tells her to.
Hibiki was taken aback by the sudden charge, and unwilling to raise her hand against Miku, raised her arms in a cross to protect her face.
With a yell, Miku slammed the fan against Hibiki's forearm. The blow lacked any real impact behind it, but shaken by recent events, it did the job to make Hibiki falter, stumbling backwards away from her best friend.
"M-Miku-!"
But the black haired school girl ignored it. She drowned out her pleas and her grief, and thrust the fan forward. And from its tip, a beam of violet light shot out. Taken by surprise once again, the only thing the rogue wielder could do was to raise her arm again to block the blast.
It struck her gauntlet head on.
A burning sensation rose up Hibiki's arm as the Shenshoujing's beam seared through her Symphogear as if it wasn't there in the first place, causing the cursed armor it struck to flake away like snow.
That was the ability that Genjuro depended on. The Shenshoujing was the only Symphogear in existence, and perhaps the only relic in the world that could be used in such a manner.
The ability to erase relics and everything related to them, and vaporize them until nothing remained.
However, it turned out to not be potent enough. Even though the small beam pierced through the corrupted Gear, it was not enough to defeat the curses completely. Like veins, the grudges that took on a visible form reclaimed their territory on Hibiki's arm, reforming the small hole that had been erased. The rogue wielder groaned in pain at the involuntary action, her mind still reeling.
It was not enough.
But Miku didn't expect it to be.
She was no fool. She knew exactly what this Symphogear she had unwittingly obtained was capable of. And something this small was most definitely not going to be enough to bring her victory.
But it still proved that her Gear had the capability to dispel the curses, if only for a moment.
That ability was something that had come into being due to two simple yet vital reasons:
The first was the Shenshoujing's nature. Also known as the Divine Beast Mirror, it found its origin centuries ago in the lands of China. It was originally made of bronze, and was carved with the images of gods and animals from their mythology. And as it was created and passed on, and the technology to reproduce it traveled through the land, it became an object of worship that the people cherished. From then on, the Shenshoujing was known throughout Eastern Asia as a symbol of good luck, and became a charm to ward off evil.
And what were the curses other than a pure concentration of it?
The second reason however was much more personal: Before the emergence of Frontier, Kohinata Miku had sorely wished that Hibiki would be able to live in a world she would not have to fight in. That wish had grown stronger when she had discovered what exactly her fate would be if the fragments of Gungnir inside her body were allowed to spread without limit. And when she was taken hostage by FIS, a certain man known as John Wayne came to her, and presented her with the opportunity to release her friend from the world of fighting. Even if in the end that wish was twisted by his meddling, it was still something born from within herself.
Those two reasons melded together to form the ultimate anti-relic Symphogear, powered both by its own origin and the wishes of the girl that wielded it.
That was all its purpose was going to be.
For Miku knew exactly what her enemy was. With both her initial strike and her beam, she had aimed for exactly one thing.
After all, out of everyone she was the utmost advocate of a very simple mindset: that Hibiki is not the enemy.
She never was. In her mind at least, Hibiki was a victim of the circumstances just like they were. A person held hostage by the true enemy, and the root of the cause of their sorrow.
And that enemy took on the form of a tiny red pendant, hanging freely above her chest.
'Give her back.'
No, it could not even be called a pendant at this point. No, it was a demon, a monster that took Hibiki from her and taunted her, promising suffering to all those who stood in its way.
'Give her back.'
And Miku absolutely refused to surrender to this demon. She absolutely refused to allow it to continue what it has been doing. Even if it was formed from the many grudges and curses of people of ages past, Miku could not bring herself to care about their plight even a little bit.
Because she didn't give a damn about the world.
She only cared about the prisoner that they had taken into their arms and refused to let go of.
And she swore, with the Shenshoujing as her sword, her heart as her shield, and her love as her strength, that she will cut down this demon and take Hibiki back with her!
'GIVE HER BACK, GUNGNIR!'
She charged forward once more, grasping the handle of the fan with both hands. With her target in sight, she yelled a mighty shout and once more swung, a whole lot more force behind her attack.
And all Hibiki could bring herself to do was block once again. She had already understood what Miku was aiming for, and knew she could not allow her to get a good shot at it.
But at the same time, her entire body refused to move, to even try and think of hurting her in any way.
That storm of contradiction raged inside of her, throwing off her focus. So the only thing she could do was block, and dodge, and try to think of what she could do.
The rogue wielder once again took steps back, reaching the end of the street. Miku kept on her assault, striking wildly and clumsily with the fan like it was a sword. Her attacks were light and predictable, a true representation of her complete lack of experience.
But nothing could be done about that. The Shenshoujing would never again be used as it was in the past, and as a result left her at a severe disadvantage. She knew that Hibiki surpassed her in every way possible: power, skill, experience, and familiarity with her Gear.
The only thing she had over her was a concept that could overwhelm any relic, and a certain harmony with her Gear that granted her more power than before.
"Miku-kun!" She heard Genjuro say in her ear. "I'm going to send you data of a few of the techniques we know the Shenshoujing has! We can't feed it directly to your brain, but we can display it on your visor and you can learn it as you go!"
Distracted by his words, one of her strikes missed completely, but rather than counterattack Hibiki jumped back, putting distance between the two of them.
She grimaced. Just the blurry memory she had of that thing was enough to take away every tiny bit of trust she had in it. She knew it was useful, but…
'There's no point in caring about that now.'
That's right. She had absolutely no justifiable reason to not use every tool in her arsenal in order to achieve her objective, even if she was incredibly averse to it.
There was no longer any hesitation to be had.
And with her own will, she forced the jagged visor to close over her eyes. Less than a second later, her vision was filled with red as she looked through it. It was incredibly unnerving, and the girl could feel bile rising up her throat from the woozying glow, but forced it down with all her might.
The data streamed in rapidly right then and there, and she almost found herself lost in all of the numbers and words that filled part of her sight.
'So this is what he meant.'
Intellectually, she could understand why feeding it directly into her mind would be a far better idea.
But the moral ramifications were far too large for them to accept. And besides, unlike Ver they did not alter the Symphogear except for a few modifications to have it be up to par with what everyone else was using.
So her eyes darted through all the streaming data, and with her will forced it to display only what she found was relevant.
Settling on one simple thing, she decided on her next course of action.
She had to keep up the pressure as much as she could. She had to find a hole in Hibiki's defense and strike the vulnerable pendant in exactly the right moment. If what she had seen in the past was true, the moment the converter unit is destroyed the entire thing should collapse, and take the armor and everything that is a part of it with it.
And she charged once more, letting her bare instincts guide her forward. The data he sent unfortunately could not teach her on the go how to move her body or how to strategize her offensive in the best possible manner.
She had to depend on her own heart to give her the answer to that.
She swung, the fan slamming against Hibiki's arm once again. They locked for a moment until the fan suddenly unfolded, opening up into a circle made of its own copies. Light gathered in the mirror, and Hibiki's eyes widened, forcing her back once again.
Right in that moment, several beams of light exploded out of the open mirror, all heading straight to her.
'SHINING FLASH'
Hibiki tried to weave her way through the beams, but her lack of fighting spirit caused her to stumble, and a large number of the beams struck her straight on. Now much more potent than before, the light made far bigger holes in her armor.
But it was not over yet. No, it was far from over. Hibiki's groans almost came out as screams as the holes once again resealed themselves, reforming over her body like a cancerous growth.
Miku clicked her tongue in frustration. 'Not letting go so easily, are you?'
Unlike what Tsubasa had done, the Shenshoujing's light could not inflict true physical wounds. No, the only thing it could truly erase were relics and evil, both of them making up the corrupted Symphogear Hibiki was clad in. It was not using the ability derived from the divine power to restore itself, but rather the all consuming nature of the god-slaying power and the curses themselves to patch up the damage she was doing.
While the effects were different, the outcome was the same: Hibiki left with absolutely no injuries or changes to her form, remaining exactly as she had been the entire time.
'Still not enough.'
She had to give more.
And she charged again, boosting off the ground.
-!-
It was exactly as he had predicted.
"H-Hibiki-san is not responding to her attacks even a little bit?!" Fujitaka mumbled loudly as he studied the battle.
Yes, exactly what Genjuro had believed would happen took place: Hibiki could not bring herself to harm Miku, and as a result was holding back against her. Not only that, they could all breath a sigh of relief as the Shenshoujing proved to have the capability to eliminate the curses, just like they had assumed.
But it needed to be stronger than that. The light needed to be much more potent than just what she was unleashing right now. If the Gear's normal configuration proved to not be enough, then she would probably have to use the Ignite Module.
And quite frankly, he didn't want to think about that. Hurrying out the moment she took the pendant, Miku did not even try and attempt to overcome the darkness it contained first thing first. Not only that, she didn't have experience with the regular Ignite Module either. If she used it as it is now…
He found it strange, how different Hibiki's reactions were to before. It just went to show how volatile her emotions were at the moment, affected by the curses of the Gear. Beforehand she was an unstoppable juggernaut, yet still had a sense of stability to her actions.
Now? She was a wildfire, one moment burning uncontrollably and another acting like a dwindling spark. During the Frontier incident, Hibiki did not hesitate to use force against her friend for the sake of freeing her from Ver's control.
But this time, she was so hesitant and torn she was paralyzed.
And that was definitely not a good sign.
Anything more he wanted to think was cut off when Chris' voice once again called in from the outside.
"Old man," She said very simply, her voice trying to stay even. She had very unfortunately seen and heard everything, and now that the cat was out of the bag, her reaction was more than expected. "You're going to be getting a piece of my mind after this. I'm not letting this slide."
"I don't expect you to." He answered, and she cut off the connection from her end.
She was definitely angry. The very fact that she had held off on screaming her ears off in the comm was already a blessing, but he knew he won't hear the end of it later.
But he couldn't let that stop him. He had made a decision and acted on it, and now he will see it through to the end.
-!-
She attacked.
And attacked.
And attacked.
Following through with the only thing she knew how to do, Miku did not let up even a tiny bit as she struck with her fan from every possible direction she could think off.
'Just like running a marathon.'
Her strikes were stronger now, but still very easy to catch and anticipate. In between, she launched barrages of beams, all intent on striking the pendant hanging above Hibiki's chest. But so far, her efforts did not provide her with any results. Hibiki simply blocked or dodged everything, but did not strike back against her in any way.
So she took advantage of her unwillingness and tried to come up with some sort of plan. How could she get past her guard? What could possibly work in this situation?
Her fan for the millionth time struck against Hibiki's arm. Miku poured power into her hands, struggling against Hibiki's block.
What could she do? What should she do?
And then it came to her.
Disengaging from the lock and before Hibiki could jump away from her, Miku removed one of her hands from the fan's handle…
And grabbed Hibiki's own that was raised to block.
The rogue wielder was so shocked by the maneuver she didn't even respond, and with a strong heave Miku pushed the offending hand away from her path. And in that small open space, thrust the fan forward, the shining mirror at its tip nearly touching the demon's vessel.
'With this-!'
She fired the shot.
Only for Hibiki to smash her fist against the fan at the last possible second, causing the beam to fly off in a completely different direction. Her eyes still wide, and acting purely out of instinct, Hibiki grabbed Miku's arm in response and threw her over her shoulder. The Shenshoujing user was caught by surprise, and she streaked through the air until her back smashed against a ruined building. She cried out in pain, and fell to the ground in a heap.
The Gungnir user instantly turned to her, and took a single step forward. "A-ah-! M-Miku, I-"
Only to stop, a million conflicts taking place in her mind at once. So many screaming at her to finish the job, and many others telling her to stand down. The screams pounded and raged in her ears, drowning out her own mind.
As Hibiki was frozen, unable to decide on what to do, Miku rose back to her feet, groaning all the while. "Miku-kun!" Genjuro yelled.
"This much...is nothing!" She spit back, gritting her teeth. 'Hibiki suffered pain...much greater than this!'
She had to give more. She had to keep going, without stopping, until she got her back.
And Miku charged again, both hands gripping the fan's handle. The rogue wielder was still frozen on the spot, and this time could not respond.
The black haired wielder swung with all her might, and her fan found purchase in Hibiki's side. Using all the force she could muster, it struck true and strong and batted her away, sending Hibiki flying in the other direction of the street. She crashed onto the ground, rolling across it like a ragdoll.
This was the opportunity she needed. Displaying in her visor the next part, Miku got ready for action.
She unsummoned her fan, and floating off the ground slightly joined her legs together, the two bulky knee guards clicking into place. And from within them, a circular ring of mirrors folded open. The cables hanging off her arms connected to their ends, and together they all joined at the top to create a large circular mirror, with Miku at its center.
Spreading her arms to the sides, she locked onto Hibiki's position with her visor.
And the light began to gather.
The rogue wielder rose to her feet unsteadily, barely able to hear anything over the chaos in her mind. Her vision swimming, she looked ahead, and saw as motes of purple light coalesced into the mirror. And before long, it began to shine brightly.
More bright than the moon, more radiant than the sun, Miku held nothing back as she prepared the Shenshoujing's strongest attack. The light of her soul became a beacon, and all those in the night could not help but be awed as it became a star.
Hibiki could only stare at it and stay in place, unable to move.
And then, powered by the origin of its relic and the will of its user, the light of the Shenshoujing shot forth in a magnificent shining brilliance.
'SHOOTING STAR'
A violet beam of light tore through the ruined street. Pure and innocent, and filled with the resolve of its wielder, it closed the distance to her friend almost instantly.
And Hibiki, still exhausted from before and both her heart and mind in tatters, could not move to avoid it in time.
The only thing she had left to do was to try and survive meeting it head on, and she raised her hands in a cross over her chest.
It washed over her. Overflowing over her entire form, her feet dug into the ground as the anti-relic radiance became a tidal wave that threatened to blow her away. And almost immediately, her armor began to boil and warp under the special property laced within every inch of the light as both Gungnir and the curses that lined it began to evaporate together, slowly but surely being purged in their entirety.
But the beam didn't stop just on her. It tore through everything a long distance behind her, smashing through what remained of the buildings in Shibuya crossing, melting the steel and concrete with its heat.
Everyone on the battlefield could see as it flew into the horizon, its full might not dwindling for a moment.
She kept it going. She poured every bit of power she had into it, entrusting her entire being into the light. It became stronger as a result, growing bigger by the second, causing Hibiki to vanish from her sight even through the visor.
And those in headquarters looked with wide eyes as the Aufwachen signal of Gungnir stuttered and glitched and warped, the various forces within it tearing it to shreds and reforming it under its old and new forms at the same time. Next to it, the Shenshoujing's signal was shining, glowing brightly as the phonic gain levels from Miku rose to the sky.
It took over a minute for the light to finally disperse. The beam slowly died down, only smoke and steam being left in its aftermath. With her vision completely clouded, she had no option but to go investigate herself. The cables on her arms disconnected from the mirror, and the two half rings collapsed back into the armor on her knees, sealing shut. She floated back down to the ground, her steps light, staring into the cloud.
'Hibiki…'
She looked on nervously. She wasn't sure if she overdid it or not, but her experience in watching everyone else fighting told her to let the cloud disappear first and then see what was the result. Too many time have they gotten caught off guard because they thought an enemy was defeated when it wasn't. Even with all her desire, Miku knew she could not forgo such a fundamental thing.
Her heart beat rapidly in her chest as she watched the smoke and steam dissipate, and finally Hibiki's form could be seen through the thicket.
The school girl took in a sharp breath in shock.
She was still standing. Somehow, Hibiki was still standing after having taken on the light head on. She was hunched forward, panting heavily, her head downcast. Her knees were buckled inwards, barely keeping her on her feet.
But that was not what was important. No, the biggest change she was that the armor was in absolute tatters. Very large parts of it completely missing, failing to keep her modesty in check. One of her legs was now completely bare, and the other had bits and pieces of black armor dangling off of it. The wings she had growing out of her back had been completely vaporized, restoring her much more human appearance. One of her breasts was too hanging out in the open, making Miku realize that her strike had been true.
But not close enough.
Somehow, the pendant had survived in one piece. Zooming in on the demonic gem, she could see that even though smoke was rising from it, it was still exactly as it has always been.
'It...wasn't enough?!'
That damn Gungnir was being stubborn, she saw.
Fine, then she'll go and finish the job and finally take Hibiki back with her.
But as she took the first step forward, the rogue wielder slowly raised her head to look at her.
And their eyes met, and Miku's heart stopped as just for a moment...just for a tiny, singular moment, she once again saw those amber orbs she cherished stare back at her.
Up until Hibiki threw her head back and screamed. A completely black aura enveloped her, and Miku watched in horror, her gaze locked on the pendant, as tendrils of darkness grew from it in all directions. They writhed over Hibiki's body, and the girl was shrieking, her voice piercing into the ears of everyone listening.
And wherever the tendrils touched, the cursed armor regrew. Truly reminding her of cancer, all of the vaporized parts, save for the wings, bubbled and bulged back to the surface, warping as they returned to their previous form on the Gungnir wielder's body.
Only, it wasn't the same. With Hibiki's mind in pieces due to recent events, the flaring emotions that broiled within her exploded violently outwards. The curses took advantage of this, and drew upon the divine power further, accelerating their corruption of it right before Miku's eyes.
And when the process finally ended, Hibiki did not look anything like before. Barely any of the dark orange parts remained, the vast majority of the armor now colored black by their influence. So many of the glowing purple lines found their root in the pendant, pulsating eerily. Her head leaned forward once again, her eyes hidden.
'No! Hibiki!'
Miku raised her fan once again, prepared to launch another volleys of beams in order to stop the grotesque process she was witnessing from finishing.
But the light did not even have time to start gathering as Hibiki's head straightened suddenly, and Miku had to force herself not to drop the fan.
An otherworldly, eldritch green stared back at her.
And Hibiki reappeared in front of her before she even had time to blink.
The rogue wielder threw an uppercut right at her chin. Miku had no idea how exactly she managed to dodge it in time, but her head moved back just enough to avoid having it be punched off her shoulders completely.
Her visor however was not so lucky. The knuckles on Hibiki's fist smashed into the very bottom of it, and the reinforced relic made steel shattered to pieces right on top of her eyes. Her head flew back, the shards blown in all directions as her regular vision was restored without her planning to.
But it didn't stop just there. All of a sudden Hibiki threw her other hand forward, and grabbed Miku by the face with the entirety of her palm. The girl yelped, and with a single hand was yanked off her feet and thrown across the street to once again smash against another building at the end of it, the force of the throw causing the already fragile structure's foundation to crumble right on top of her, sending rubble and debris in all directions.
Hibiki stood to her full height, her now almost completely black armor radiating a dark aura that was unlike anything that any of them had seen before. What came previously paled in comparison, and the amounts of energy she was radiating reached an unparalleled height. She stared with her shining eyes into the collapsed structure silently, waiting for the one within to climb out of the wreckage.
-!-
The only way Genjuro could voice his frustration was by slamming his fist against the console, the metal beneath buckling. "God damn it! It was not enough!"
It was indeed a total disaster. Very unfortunately Miku's beam was just not potent enough to be able to erase the converter unit, and the power within responded by rapidly reforming.
And it all happened right if front of their eyes too. They watched not only the screen displaying the fight, but also the ever changing Aufwachen signal of Gungnir. When it had began glitching and warping, they had truly believed that Miku had done it, that the signal will once and for all disappear for good and they could finally reclaim Hibiki.
But then the corruption accelerated almost instantly, and now once again the Aufwachen signal was stable...but looked nothing like what it was before. Now, the original orange flower was almost completely covered by the black hole in its center, single digit millimeters remaining of the original underneath. They could count the amount of the blue veins representing the divine power on one hand, and what they were looking at was pretty much a void, lacking any sort of coherence or substance.
"This...is not good," Adam said. "I had expected the corruption to reach this level, but not this quickly. The girl's effort were commendable, but I'm afraid with her failure to destroy the source, she only gave those curses the leeway they needed to spread even further upon Tachibana Hibiki's body. Not only that, I'm afraid that her interference has only made things worse."
Genjuro grit his teeth so hard a crack appeared on one of his molars. He knew what Adam was getting at. He was referring to Hibiki's state of mind before and after; previously, her attitude was one of something they could maybe understand, for her own ego was still in one piece underneath all of that darkness, even though it was fragile.
But Miku's appearance changed that. What was left of the once complete ego shattered to pieces, and with that final attack the curses were beginning to fill in the cracks with their own influence.
This wasn't just the Gungnir housing the curses anymore. Now Hibiki's very being was beginning to be tainted by them.
And that will make their efforts all the more difficult.
"Miku-kun-!"
-!-
Miku groaned painfully as she picked herself off the ground, pushing off the concrete blocks that fell on top of her in the collapse. She coughed, breathing out the dust that entered her lungs, and slowly rose back to her feet, the night sky greeting her above.
"Hibiki…" She muttered. Her face and her back stung even through the armor, but she took in a sharp breath, swallowing the pain down.
For she could not allow it to affect her now.
The moment she rose back to her feet completely, her now bare eyes locked onto her best friend in the middle of the street.
And the corrupted wielder spoke, her voice making Miku shudder.
"MiKu…" She bellowed. "EvEn iF It'S yOu, I cAn'T aLloW yOu tO gEt iN mY wAy."
It was Miku's turn to forget how to breath. Hibiki's voice was so broken and revolting, only sounding like her own at the very edges of it. Everything else about it was pure, unadulterated wrong.
The girl's entire body was screaming how wrong what she heard was, so much that she shuddered involuntarily, the massive difference from before throwing her completely for a loop.
Hibiki spoke again. "I wIlL dO wHaT I mUsT tO mAkE yOu UnDeRsTaNd, eVeN bY fOrCe."
Miku's eyes widened at the straightforward warning, taken aback by what she was hearing. She had intended on coming here to get Hibiki back, not to make her condition far worse than it was.
Uneasily, she climbed out of the wreckage to stand at the foot of the collapsed building's edge, fifty meters or so standing between her and Hibiki. Her fists tightened at her side, contemplating on her next move.
Her visor was gone, and so was her only source of strategy. She did not have enough time to go over everything before it was destroyed, and now she was left with big holes in her knowledge that she could have definitely made use of.
What course of action did she have left? What else could she possibly do now?
The frustration rose to the surface, and her anger, already bubbling beforehand, began to boil just underneath, threatening to overflow.
She couldn't allow this to continue any further, but what did she have left? Those curses, originating from that damned Gungnir, only grew stronger due to her efforts. All she took from that now was that the Shenshoujing only served to accelerate the process they were desperately trying to delay.
What was she supposed to do? How was she supposed to take her back now-
000
"Hibiki...please, stop." She said.
And upon hearing the sound of that name, the black beast stopped, and began to shake, as if it was acknowledging it as its own.
000
'Ah, of course.'
How could she have forgotten about it?
She stared down at her own pendant, taking note of the two extended switches at its sides.
Yes, that was the only option that was left. She had watched, ever since its conception, how the special modification that Elfnein made for the Symphogears worked. She watched the first time the wielders activated it, and how they were nearly consumed by the darkness that emanated from it, threatening to swallow them whole.
She had never experienced it herself, for she did not have a Symphogear at the time.
But now she does, and now...it was her turn to go through the same process.
For the sake of the one she loved, and for the sake of those happy days.
There was no more hesitation to be had. She knew exactly what it was made of and what using it entailed, but she couldn't allow herself to fear it like she had before.
And she briefly wondered if the others went through the same feeling when they had done so.
She grasped the sides of the pendant, placing her fingers on the two switches at its side. Her gaze locked ahead at Hibiki, who was standing still, the blackness still radiating off of her.
And she had noticed what Miku was prepared to do.
"YoU wIlL sTaNd AgAiNsT mE rEgArDlEsS?"
Miku's stare hardened, washing away the terror the voice brought forth.
"I already told you Hibiki, that I will. I already told you that I will take you back with me, and take back our happy days. Even if it means fighting you head on right now...I will not hesitate, and I will not turn back, no matter what!"
Her hold tightened.
"I made an oath. I made a vow,"
Her fingers pressed the switch.
"AND I WILL MAKE MY WISH COME TRUE, WITH MY OWN HANDS!"
There was no point in holding back now. Facing the might of the curses head on, Miku decided to place her entirety on the line to defeat them.
And she will do so with their own power against them!
But she didn't give it one click.
She gave it three.
And having heard the activation a million times in the past, she roared out the words.
"IGNITE MODULE!"
"FULL RELEASE!"
And she tore the pendant off, clutching it tightly in her hand.
The mechanical, glitchy voice followed.
'ddddAiNsLeiFf'
But unlike the others, who let it float before them freely, she did not let it go. The pendant transformed, the previously pressed switches elongating, almost piercing through her palm.
And the crimson blade followed, erupting from the gem's core.
There was a reason one did not keep hold on the pendant as the Ignite Module activated, and now that reason was showing itself in full.
Her hand burned, the searing heat digging into her so deeply she could feel it in her bones. Yet she held onto it, this time fighting against her own instincts to release it.
Her gaze met Hibiki's head own, her eyes teeming with resolve.
And with a single hard motion, plunged the shining sword into her own chest, right into her heart.
The effect was immediate.
Black smoke poured out in gargantuan amounts, covering her form into its entirety. Her eyes disappeared, replaced by glowing red orbs just like the beasts.
And she screamed.
-!-
"NO! MIKU-KUN! THAT'S TOO DANGEROUS!"
It was already too late to stop her now. With the Ignite Module now activated, it is almost completely impossible to stop the process before it was finished.
And the entirety of S.O.N.G could only watch as the darkness rolled over her, drowning her in its hell.
-!-
(Play: Nightwish - Planet Hell [instrumental])
Hell had indeed come for her.
Miku, in all of her rage, sorrow, and determination had chosen to take the hardest path she could possibly take. She forgoed any sort of preparation, tactics, and reasoning, and chose to act out her heart's desire.
Several factors came into play all at once. The very first activation of the Ignite Module AND the Super Ignite Module combined, together with the total, full release of its power and her complete lack of experience with her Symphogear, caused her entire existence to shake and roil. Her very soul quaked, her being swallowed up almost completely by the hell that emerged.
But she pushed through it.
She tore through it.
For she refused to bow down to the hell, to bow down to the demon. Her will flaring stronger than before, she fought against the darkness with all her might.
And the hell followed.
However...it was not like the others'. In fact, it was very, very different.
She did not see an illusionary landscape in her mind. She did not see her own insecurities and fears reflected back at her, just like the others told her they had.
No, the only thing she saw was complete blackness.
Yet in that blackness, something appeared. No, it was more safe to say it was there from the beginning.
It was large. It was menacing. It was everywhere.
And it stared at her from all directions.
This was not like the others.
For the curses inside of the spear of Odin never before faced such an opponent. Never before had they been so challenged, finally meeting what was said to be their match.
So they had to make their presence known.
They had to make sure their nemesis knew exactly what was in store.
The darkness writhed and moved, and Miku stood in the middle of it, besieged on all sides.
Yet she stood strong, unwilling to give into such a thing.
Because there was a desire burning in her heart that drowned out absolutely everything else.
And so, noticing its archenemy's resolve, the demon spoke, its voice echoing in the blackness.
"ThE rOaD tO eTeRnItY LIeS tHrOuGh YoU."
Miku's eyes widened.
'That's...all it has to say?'
She clenched her teeth.
'That's...what it thinks will make me give in?!'
Her soul flared, fighting against everything that threatened to tear it apart.
She had just the answer for it.
She had just the perfect response to its challenge.
"And the road to reclaiming our happiness-"
A light gathered.
"Lies-"
She grabbed hold of it with all her might.
"Through-"
And with the strength of her will, dispelled the darkness in its entirety.
"YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!"
A roar, primal and furious escaped her throat towards the sky. And following it, a blazing aura that pierced through the clouds exploded from her, burning bright in the night.
For Miku had defeated the darkness faster than anyone before her.
And the power it provided began to course through her with all its glory.
Hibiki could only take a step back, shocked by the developments. She had not expected such a response, such a violent and primal reaction to be able to come from the one she considered her sunshine.
But now, she was no longer a simple sunshine.
"UWWWWWWOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
No, now she was an inferno, the heat blazing off of her in such huge amounts it blew away everything around them. The rubble, the ground, and even the bare soil beneath were tossed about like leaves on the wind.
The aura flared higher.
Hibiki braced herself, awaiting the inevitable battle.
But she could not prepare for what came as the form within the blaze exploded in her direction almost as fast as light, slamming into her with such force it blew her off her feet. The force carried her onwards through the ruined street, only to finally smash her back into another building at its other side.
And it, like the many before it, crumbled to dust.
She grabbed something. Holding onto something covered with black fire, she stopped it right before it managed to touch the pendant above her chest. Tiny specks of electricity sprung to life between the two, almost emphasizing their connection.
She looked up, her eyes narrowing, focusing on the flames.
And they widened when she realized that the thing she grabbed was an arm, its color jet black, almost melding with her own.
Her eyes moved upwards, and gazed upon the true form of the being within the flames.
At that moment, a fated meeting occurred. A clash between two sides, each equal in strength, rivaling each other since the dawn of time.
Shining green met shining green, two pairs of similarly colored eyes sparking at each other.
For the form within the flames was none other than Kohinata Miku.
But she was different. Never before had Hibiki believed that she would ever look upon her like this, seeing her best friend in the world wear such a fearsome expression on her face, marring her beautiful features.
There lay something more within, a duality between the two that stemmed from the very origin of the relics they wielded.
The Shenshoujing, in its past, was a simple mirror. A simple, bronze mirror decorated with figures and animals of legend, and many more of it was created and made through the ages. And as it was made, and as it was forged, it became a symbol. The people of the past revered it, worshipping it and what it represented.
And over time, that worship, that prayer, began to coalesce into something much grander. Over two thousands years passed since its original conception, and as the wishes and the prayers of the people poured into it, it too became a vessel of a concept greater than all others.
And that concept was the polar opposite of the one lying within the spear of Odin. The two relics could not be more different from each other, thousands of miles of distance separating them and eons upon eons lay between the two's creation.
Yet, they became adversaries; antitheses of each other.
Two sides of the same coin. The furthest twins, and the closest strangers.
For what lay within Gungnir, coming into creation due to the curses and grudges of the people was-
'All the Evils of this World'
But within the Shenshoujing, the opposite was true; it contained the wishes, the prayers, the worship of the people.
And the name of that concept was-
'All the Hopes of this World'
And the Fates cried, the strands of destiny they weaved wailing in lamentation at the heartbreaking tragedy.
For the two concepts finally came into conflict generations after their conception...and the two that beheld them were two whose hearts sang as one.
The Shenshoujing was not like the other relics in possession of the wielders. It was not a weapon, wielded by a god, nor was it even unique. No, the Shenshoujing was simply a mirror, carrying within it what the people wished for. It held no divinity, no truly holiness within it. It only reflected back what it is it saw.
It only contained the wishes of Man, the hopes of Man, and the endless desire that drove humanity forward.
And all of that weight, all of that simple yet bright radiance finally found the chance to shine with the only person in the world who could bear that burden.
She was clad in it. The girl whose name was synonymous with sunshine wore that burden with pride, taking within her all that it entailed.
And together, combined with the tiny fragments of the curses it fought against, became fury.
Pure, unadulterated, and righteous fury burned within her, and as Hibiki looked into her eyes, she could see a force, as mighty as a supernova, burst forth.
The girl had only one thing she could say.
Her eyes locked on the demon.
And that single thing, outweighing everything else in the world, exploded out of her soul in a sunlike roar.
"YOU WILL GIVE HIBIKI BACK TO MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"
She reached for it.
She reached for it.
Her hand, extended as far as it could go, and struggling against Hibiki's hold, reached for the cursed pendant. Miku bared her teeth savagely, her entire body clad in the pitch black form of the Super Ignited Shenshoujing. And with every inch she got closer, she could hear the demon shriek louder in her ear, in the very depths of her mind.
But she ignored it. She cast aside the screaming voices, all begging for vengeance and spewing nothing but hatred, and only made her way to their source, hellbent on destroying it.
And she would do so with her bare hands if she had to.
Hibiki felt as Miku's hand got too close for comfort to her pendant, and in retaliation smashed her free fist into her stomach. The Shenshoujing wielder was hit with such force she was blown back to the street. But rather than bounce around uselessly, she grit her teeth and skidded across the ground with her feet, throwing up more rubble into the air in her wake.
'I'm not going to let it get away!'
The corrupted wielder dislodged herself from the building, and jumped down to the street to meet Miku head on.
A spear and a fan sprung forth in their hands respectively.
And at the same time, charged towards each other with reckless abandon.
"HIBIKIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!"
"MIKUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!"
The two weapons crashed into each other in the very middle, and gravity itself warped from the sheer might of their clash, causing debris, dust, and even large chunks of the collapsed buildings to rise into the air, suddenly becoming as a light as feathers. Two forces, opposing each other since the dawn of time, raged within the impact.
Only one would remain standing at the end of it all.
They were incompatible with each other. All the Evils and Hopes of this World were forever destined to eventually come into conflict, and now that battle was waged through two girls who cared for each other more than themselves.
Yet even so, Miku pushed on. Her eyes were like stars, glowing brightly within the cosmos, directly contrasting the alien shine coming from Hibiki's.
Violet light covered her fan in its entirety, and the rogue wielder saw as her spear began boiling at the impact point, the curse-killing nature of Shenshoujing starting to overwhelm the god-slaying power that lined it.
She couldn't allow the two to remain locked for too long, lest she would lose her spear just like she did against Tsubasa.
With a yell she smashed the fan to the side, and followed up with a swing to Miku's head. But the black haired girl responded in time, insane amounts of power boosting her abilities to insane heights, and with incredible speed raised the fan to block the strike. The ground shattered once more underneath them, and almost immediately the spear began boiling once more at the point of impact.
Miku screamed.
"GIVE HER BACK!"
And she pushed the spear away, eliciting a surprised reaction from Hibiki. 'How is she able to-'
Miku followed up with her own strike, but this time rather block Hibiki parried it to the side, causing her to stumble. Catching her opponent off guard, the corrupted wielder took the opportunity to strike once more, intent on finishing it once and for all.
Only for Miku to rebalance herself at the last moment and bring up her free hand to stop the spear.
Hibiki's eyes widened in shock when the moment the spear touched her open palm, it stopped. Holding the long weapon back with nothing but her hand, Miku grit her teeth and closed her grip on it as hard as she could.
And the metal beneath began boiling once more, the curse-killing power working its concept on the cursed spear with nothing but her touch. Realizing that she couldn't let her keep her hold on the spear, Hibiki struck out with her leg, hitting Miku's side. The involuntary groan of pain caused her grip to loosen, and Hibiki pulled the spear back, prepared for another blow.
But Miku spun on her heel, and landing with both feet on the ground, thrust the fan forward. It once again unfolded, this time the mirrors within tinted dark by the Ignite Module's effect.
And barely a second later, the concurrent beams shot forth from it. However this time they were not stringlike and thin, bursting forth like tiny lasers. No, this time each one nearly rivaled the Shenshoujing's strongest light, exploding outwards like nuclear blasts.
'DARKNESS-PIERCING FLASH'
The Gungnir user knew that taking it head on this time would be suicidal. Miku's power, enhanced to high heavens by both the Super Ignite Module and whatever else lay within her, was not to be trifled with, even if she lacked the experience to use it to the utmost.
Because at this point, such an advantage was moot. Her will was so overpoweringly strong that experience and skill became meaningless.
But she will face it regardless. If Miku was going to be explosively stubborn, then so was she.
Hibiki brought her spear in front of her, tilting it slightly, its tip towards the ground. She placed her free hand against its flat side, her other grabbing it tightly by the handle. Using the long weapon as an impromptu shield, she charged into the light with a yell.
And like before it washed over her, but this time the spear was struck with the light's full might. Its surface already began to be seared away, peeling away its layers at an incredibly fast rate. But Hibiki did not surrender, pushing forward through the storm with a roar, determined to defeat it.
Miku realized what Hibiki was trying to do, and she increased the output, each beam becoming faster and stronger with every second.
But she reacted just a second too late. Hibiki, already having closed the necessary distance, released her hold on the spear and punched through it. The relic metal shattered from the force, and her hand pierced through, only exposed to the light for less than a second before her fist smashed into the open mirror, cracking its surface and arresting the light's creation.
The Shenshoujing user was taken by surprise once again as her assault was interrupted, and she stumbled back from the force of Hibiki's punch. Taking advantage of the opening, The Gungnir user reformed her weapon in her other hand and swung powerfully, the spear streaking through the air.
Only for Miku to once again balance herself, and quickly folding the mirror back she blocked the impossible blow, right before it managed to slice through her neck.
Both combatants grit their teeth.
And Miku screamed again.
"GIVE HER BACK!"
The light surrounding her fan flared, and the spear was violently repulsed, throwing the rogue wielder off balance. Seeing the opportunity, Miku struck, aiming for the demon.
But the spear was pulled back just in time to block the blow.
Their eyes shone in tandem.
And then came an exchange of blows so ferocious it should have been impossible for the Shenshoujing wielder, but somehow, every blow Hibiki sent her way was parried, or blocked, or dodged. As if her body was moving completely by itself, Miku, the wielder with the least amount of experience out of all of them, matched her opponent blow for blow.
For All the Hopes of this World refused to bow down to their nemesis.
"GIVE HER BACK!"
With every clash, the intensity of their battle increased tenfold. What remained of the wreckage of the buildings in Shibuya were blown to smithereens, the shockwaves tearing through them like paper. The entire area was simply flattened, the horizon visible for the first time in centuries in the very heart of the city.
"GIVE HER BACK!"
She screamed, and screamed, and screamed. Her fury reached the very Heavens above, shaking the few remnants of the storm that raged above.
It was after all, no longer necessary. The might of the Heavens were not required in this battle.
All that remained was the fury of Man, and the unbending will of a single girl determined to reclaim what is hers.
"GIVE HER BACK!"
Like a mantra of madness, she repeated that single, overwhelming desire. And with each repetition, her strength flared even more as her mind clicked together with the curse-killing power.
And as it increased, and as they melded, something within her stirred, rising up to the surface together with her own will.
It was a phoenix. It was a dragon. It was a tiger. Countless representations of divine will and purgers of evil rose up from within.
And they roared, driving away the demon's shrieking.
'DESTROY THE GUNGNIR!'
"GIVE HER BACK!"
She pushed her opponent back, somehow winning an exchange of pure force. She struck for the pendant once more, but Hibiki once again managed to deflect the blow at the last second.
Light exploded in all directions, her fan truly becoming a radiant blade that blazed with the light of humanity.
'ANNIHILATE IT!'
"GIVE HER BACK!"
The shine in her eyes grew tenfold.
Yet despite all of the power, Hibiki still managed to match her. The divine power, corrupted almost absolutely, granted her strength beyond normal conception. Strength that mere mortals would never be able to achieve on their own.
She bared her teeth like a beast, deliberately slamming the spear as hard as she can against the fan. Miku skidded across the street, and Hibiki teleported, appearing behind her in an instant, bringing the spear down on her back at light speed.
Only for a dome of light to erupt from the girl, acting as a barrier that stopped the spear in its tracks. Hibiki's eyes widened as her weapon was violently repulsed, and through the barrier a hand short forward and grabbed her leg.
It was Miku's turn to bare her teeth savagely, and with an impossibly strong heave slammed Hibiki into the concrete, shattering it from the force.
'RESTORE THE LIGHT!'
"GIVE HER BACK!"
Her mind, fused together with All the Hopes of this World, raged like the core of a star. The light on her fan extended, reaching unprecedented heights.
And she brought the blade of light down.
Hibiki managed to roll out of the way barely in time to avoid being bring cut down. She jumped back to her feet, and just as she righted herself Miku planted her feet, and cleaved through the air, the countless meters of light searing their way towards the rogue wielder.
"I WiLl NoT fAlL hErE!"
Black fire exploded from Hibiki, and the spear, enveloped by it as well, rose to meet the blinding fan. The two forces, raging more powerfully due to each other's presence, competed for supremacy in the clash.
Miku roared, pouring all her strength into her hands in order to slice through the cursed spear.
'RECLAIM THE ECHOING SONG!'
"GIVE HER BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK!"
-!-
S.O.N.G was silent. Dead silent.
Looking upon the screen displaying the battle, every single mouth hung open at the incredible display being shown to them.
Only one managed to speak, the one not affiliated with them in any way. "If I had hands, I would tip my hat to you, Kazanari Genjuro," Adam said. "For the first time, you have managed to leave me utterly gobsmacked. I did not even begin to imagine you had something like this hidden up your sleeve."
It was said with half-surprise, Adam had to admit. He knew for a fact that the S.O.N.G commander had absolutely no idea such a thing would happen. His entire 'plan' to get Miku to be more receptive to accepting the Shenshoujing only ended there. He didn't know how to proceed after that.
The absolutely last thing he expected was to bear witness to such a spectacle, as from a girl with a simply strong resolve she had spontaneously evolved into a force of nature, hellbent on taking down its opponent.
And it sent shivers down his spine. He could only stare at what was happening, not even daring to look at the state of the Aufwachen signals. If he did, he would probably be blown off his feet.
Yet look he did, and indeed he was blown off his feet.
It wasn't just the Gungnir now that was flaring insanely, but the Shenshoujing too. Veins of multicolored light bloomed from its center, and at its core was a hole of a color he could not begin to describe. It was white but not white. It was black but not black.
It was a color that had no name in this world, for it could not possibly be explained by humanity.
But that was just one part of it. Looking at the screen displaying the Ignite timers, he could see them all tick down at a steady rate.
All except the Shenshoujing's. No, in Miku's case, it could barely be called a timer at this point. The entire thing glitched and warped, as if it was unable to even come close to understanding exactly what was happening. It was flashing red in warning, but it just wasn't actually changing. The numbers went wild, from low to high to high to low, the actual time completely unknown to them.
And the phonic gain gauge? Gave up a long time ago. It simply displayed a single message on it that summarized everything in a single word.
'Unquantifiable'
The gauge couldn't even begin to measure or understand the amount.
"Yet despite all of this marvel, I am beginning to think she's delving too far," Adam continued. "Her mind is fusing together with whatever is rising from within her relic. It amazes me to say this, but her will is just too strong. She's pushing herself beyond what she should have been able to...no, it's safe to say she has already surpassed that limit a long time ago. I suggest you find a method to bring this to an end before the world is consumed by their conflict. So long as they remain locked in battle, their power will rise until they destroy everything, as they are only focused on destroying each other."
The violent shaking of the submarine was already proof of that.
Adam knew enough about All the Evils of this World to explain it, but he knew nothing about whatever was bursting forth from the Shenshoujing.
It bothered him. It bothered him a lot. He was once again in the dark about something he should have known and have been able to predict, yet he knew absolutely nothing about it.
And due to that, he was once again only getting further from his own ambition. So long as he was not in control, he could not manipulate them as he would like, for every time he believed something would happen according to his vision, something else that he did not know about came in and took its place.
He was pulled from his thoughts as Shirabe suddenly spoke up in the comm. "Commander, what is going on?! Is that...Miku-san and Hibiki-san?!" She asked in a panic.
He didn't answer. He could only look ahead at the display with his mouth open and watch.
"Commander?!"
He didn't answer.
He couldn't answer.
'What...have I done?'
"Commander!" Aoi shouted, finally pulling him back to his senses. He looked around, as he if he was momentarily confused as to where he was. His eyes then landed on Aoi, who gazed at him with worry.
"What the hell does it matter what is going on?!" Chris screamed. "We have to go help! We are almost done with the Noise so we should go there!"
It was then he finally responded, slamming his hands on the console. "No! You must not go there under any circumstances! That is an order!"
"Why the fuck not?! Miku needs our help!"
"Believe me when I say this Chris-kun, but you don't want to go and see what is happening. It is for your own good."
He didn't say anything more than that. He couldn't say anything more than that. How was he supposed to explain what he was seeing? How was he supposed to give anyone an explanation as to what was happening?
But it didn't matter, because it was all out of his control now. He had gambled on something he knew almost nothing about...and now was facing the consequences.
Whether or not there will be anything left to save after this...he didn't know.
He couldn't know.
And at this point, it probably didn't even matter.
-!-
(Play: Fate/Zero OST - The Battle is to the Strong)
The spear of darkness and blade of light continued to clash mightily throughout the now flattened Western Tokyo. Their sphere of destruction had extended well past the small street they had been fighting in, the rest of Shibuya ward having become their main battleground. Not even bacteria dared approach lest even they would be incinerated by the heat of their exchange.
And Miku continued screaming, her voice melding together with the concept that had sprung forth from within the Shenshoujing.
'FOR THE FUTURE!'
"GIVE HER BACK!"
It was monstrous. Like the titans of old, two forces beyond mortal conception crashed against each other, leveling everything in their area.
It was truly not a contest of skill nor a comparison of experience. Bare human minds were discarded, and the two competing in the mortal world were inconceivable except to the two of them.
And yet, under all of that, the will of a girl who wanted her happy days back still shone through. Whether it was through her primal screaming, or through her shining eyes, it was still Kohinata Miku beneath it all.
She was not twisted by darkness and fear like her counterpart was. No, her will and the Shenshoujing's had fused, for they had the same exact goal.
'PURGE ALL THE EVILS OF THIS WORLD!'
And Hibiki, together with her own, met them straight on. Black and white light flew off in all directions, neither one giving an inch to the other. A thrust by the spear became a storm that tore through space, sending forth a tornado of razor wind that caused reality to quake and tear.
But that storm was met with a slash as hot as the surface of the sun, and the two slammed into each other with a colossal clash that lit up the sky. Every single one of the other Symphogear users saw it from afar, their eyes wide at the power casually thrown around that threatened to destroy not just the rest of the city, but the entire country as well.
Yet neither of the two combatants could bring themselves to care about that.
Miku pushed forward. She poured more and more and more and more of herself into the attack, unwilling to budge even an inch. The storm was unfortunately stronger than her own light, pushing her back. Her feet dug into the ground, her fingers gripping the fan's handle so tightly they were turning white.
But she wouldn't fall here.
She had made an oath.
And she was damn well going to keep it.
"GIVE HER BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK!"
Just with her shout the light grew hotter, pushing back against the storm, escalating to match it in power.
And they raged, the Evils and Hopes of this World desperate to overcome the other.
It finally culminated in a humongous explosion. So huge, in fact, that the entire ward was consumed in a fireball that incinerated everything it touched, engulfing the two combatants completely. Like a nuclear bomb went off in the heart of the city, hurricane winds blew through the rest of Tokyo, and the Symphogear wielders had to plant their in order to avoid being blown away.
Only Tsubasa managed to remain standing without assistance, the will of Susano'o still awake within her. She gazed upon the rising fire with a worried expression, her currently divine clairvoyance giving incredible amounts of warning signs in her head.
Not that there was much she could do about it. Even for her, to try and intervene would be akin to suicide, as the clashing forces were beyond anything she would be handle on her own. Having slain the last of the Noise personally, she now stayed and waited for the inevitable outcome...to try and be there to pick up the pieces.
Yet within that fireball, completely unaffected by the heat given off by the titanic clash, were Hibiki and Miku. Having charged towards each other in lightning speeds, the clash resumed, their weapons blurring through the air to smash against the other.
And the force of their clash caused the fireball to dissipate, for even smoke was not allowed to remain in their presence.
"GIVE HER BACK!"
Miku's roar was joined by a swing so powerful the air itself screamed along with her, aiming for the cursed pendant.
But this time, Hibiki one upped her. In an unconventional tactic, she sped into Miku's range, and with her charge used the opportunity to strike at Miku's hand, intent on cutting it off. Caught completely by surprise, the Shenshoujing user was forced to arrest her movements mid swing and drop her weapon, jumping back in order to avoid losing her limb.
With the fan out of her hand, Hibiki stepped on it, shattering it to pieces, leaving Miku without her Armed Gear. The black haired school girl glared at her opponent with teeth bared.
"WhAt WiLl yOu Do NoW, mIKu?" She asked her.
It was such a pointless question to ask she didn't even know why she bothered asking it.
Miku charged, and now like a cornered beast swiped with her hand, her fingers leaving behind trails of light that carved up the street. It didn't matter to her that she lost her weapon. Such a thing wouldn't stop her.
She didn't need it anyway.
Hibiki avoided the blow, but was still surprised by her persistence. However, she still couldn't afford to underestimate her; with just her bare hands she can unmake anything originating from relics as well as the curses, so she couldn't allow herself to be touched even for a second, much less grabbed.
So she dodged. Foregoing blocking Miku's strikes, she sidestepped and backpedalled from Miku's primal slashes. The school girl's attacks were wild, without elegance or technique, yet they contained incredible power within them.
For she could still scream, resolved to truly tearing the Gungnir to pieces with her bare hands if she had to.
'DESTROY IT!'
"GIVE HER BAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaAaaaaAaAaAaAaAaAaAaAaAaAaAaAaAaAaAaCK!"
Until the moment Hibiki realized something was way off, that last scream raising several red flags in her mind. Her eyes narrowed, studying Miku's form as she avoided her attacks. She ducked under a powerful thrust, and spun on her heel, dodging the follow up blow.
But what was it that was wrong?
She would continue to ponder over that strangeness over the next exchange, trying to find any sort of sign that would alert her to it.
And then she saw it. It was so obvious she couldn't believe she missed it; upon looking at Miku's eyes, she noticed it. Right there, at the edges, she could see her shining eyes being overtaken by a glowing redness, covering her sclera completely. Red and green suddenly illuminated her face, wisps of energy escaping from their sides.
Hibiki barely avoided a strong swipe that smashed apart the ground, and that gave her the chance to notice another change: until now, the only pitch black parts she noticed were the ones covered by the Super Ignited Symphogear, or whatever it was that they called it. She didn't know what name they gave it, and quite frankly she couldn't care less as that too failed to match up to her in any meaningful way.
But on Miku, it was not only the armor that was covered. The previously bare skin now had patches of darkness growing over it, flowing over it and melding with the armor itself. And she could see as slowly, but surely, Miku's form was beginning to lose cohesion.
And the entire time, she was still aiming for her.
Or rather, the pendant above her chest.
'This is-!'
"MiKu, YoU hAvE tO sToP!"
Worry she did not expect to feel now suddenly filled her, looking upon the quickly blackening form of her best friend.
But she didn't hear her. No, it was more like she couldn't hear her. Her mind was now melded together with curse-killing power, her will eroding the protections of the Ignite Module from within.
The bloodlust of Dainsleif, combined with the tiny fragments of the curses and the overriding nature of All the Hopes of this World, all wrapped under her one singular desire fused to create a raging beast.
Just like with Hibiki in the past.
'DESTROY THE SYMPHOGEAR!'
"GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"
'ERASE IT UNTIL NOTHING IS LEFT!'
Her head bent back as she roared, an aura of flame surrounding her entirely. Caught by surprise, Hibiki was thrown back, covering her face with hands.
'No, Miku!'
But it was too late. The darkness washed over her completely, and all that was left was a black beast, this time in the form of Kohinata Miku.
Yet this one was different from the ones before it. If the others were just rampaging monsters, this one was a hunter, hellbent on the taking down its target with every last bit of its strength.
And it still screamed, but now it's voice contained none of the kindness that laced it originally. No, now it was a primal and furious roar, the desires of its original mind driving it forward.
"GIIIIIIIIIVEEEEEEEEEEEEE HEEEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRR BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!"
It charged again, closing the distance in an instant, it's hands-no, claws, smashing against the concrete beneath, shattering it to pieces. Its shining red eyes sought its prey again; it swiped, and swiped, and slashed, and thrust, and leaped, and like a wild animal attacked without end.
And through it all, the savage creature that was once Miku repeated its mantra of insanity, holding onto it as its lifeline.
"GIVEHERBACKGIVEHERBACKGIVEHERBACKGIVEHERBACKGIVEHERBACKGIVEHERBACKGIVEHERBACKGIVEHERBACKGIVEHERBACKGIVEHERBACKGIVEHERBACKGIVEHERBACKGIVEHERBACKGIVEHERBACKGIVEHERBACKGIVEHERBACKGIVEHERBACKGIVEHERBACKGIVEHERBACKGIVEHERBACKGIVEHERBACKGIVEHERBACKGIVEHERBACKGIVEHERBACKGIVEHERBACK!"
-!-
The moment they've feared finally arrived.
Looking at the screen with a frown, Adam simply said one thing. "See, what did I tell you?"
It was chaos. The bridge had descended into absolute chaos as they witnessed Miku deteriorate into a berserk state, no longer seeing or hearing anything. The Aufwachen signal of the Shenshoujing was incoherent at this point, the display glitching and stuttering wildly in front of their eyes. The Ignite Timer was also unusable, showing the exact same thing it had last time.
Nothing. None of their instruments worked as they should in these circumstances, and now they had no clue how to react appropriately.
And once again Genjuro slammed his hand onto the console, bending the steel beneath. "Damn it!" He bellowed, his composure shattering to pieces. "What the hell are we supposed to do now?!"
It was then that Tsubasa's voice came in through the comm. "Commander, what is the situation?" She asked.
He raised his head up to stare at the display. He bit his lip, unsure if he should answer.
It took him exactly one second to decide. "Miku-kun has fallen to a berserk state. We are currently brainstorming our plan of action to bring her back."
There was no point in hiding what was going on now. They will figure it out sooner or later, and any withheld information would only work against them in the long run. And besides, Hibiki can't be brought back without Miku. They needed to save her for both her own and Hibiki's sake.
"What about Anti-LiNKER?" Shirabe suddenly asked, the eyes of the crew members lighting up in realization.
"That's it!" Elfnein exclaimed. "That should work!"
"How much do we have?!"
"At least twelve syringes, all ready and waiting!"
He nodded. "Everyone, good job on eliminating the enemy units! Now is the moment of truth! Tsubasa! How fast can you get here?!"
"Immediately." She answered.
"Good! You come here and get the syringes. Everyone else, head to Shibuya ward! Your new mission is to bring back Miku-kun! Don't stop for anything, you hear me?!"
And they answered as one
"ROGER!"
-!-
(Play: Melty Blood Actress Again OST - End of 1000 Years)
Hibiki jumped back again, avoiding another crazed swipe from the berserk Miku. The beast's teeth were bared, and it growled with every attack it threw. It was restless, it was wild, and most of all it had only one target in sight.
The Berserk state, something that was inherent to all Symphogears. A byproduct of the connection to the relic, it is something that was first discovered over a year ago by Sakurai Ryuko, at the time Hibiki had been fused with the Gungnir fragments that had pierced her chest during the fateful Zwei Wing concert.
Since then, S.O.N.G's knowledge of the the state had evolved and increased tremendously, eventually culminating in the creation of the first Ignite Module at Elfnein's hands. It worked by artificially inducing said berserk state, and as a result granted all of the incredible power that came with it. The Super Ignite Module only built upon that, while additionally incorporating the fragments of the god-slaying power, containing the curses that made it up, as well. While it was far more dangerous and had the chance to inflict grievous psychological damage on the users, the power it provided was almost unparalleled.
That's right, in any other situation, it would have been a trump card that all of their previous enemies would cower before.
But now it was just another failed attempt at closing the gap between themselves and Hibiki, as even delving into the primal origin of their relics was not enough to be up to par with Hibiki's divine power enhanced strength.
Its true might shone through only when the wielder had a special connection with the worn relic, and that was expressed through Kazanari Tsubasa, who had managed to access the powers of the will of Susano'o, the original god that had wielded her relic.
Yet even that was not enough in the end. Pure power was simply not what they needed in order to match the corrupted user.
They needed a superior concept.
And they got it now.
Unfortunately, any further attempts to have that concept defeat the curses were thrown out the window as the wielder of said concept had, for lack of a better word, lost her mind completely. Giving into insanity born almost entirely of her own will, she had become a machine focused on one thing only.
And it would annihilate anything that stood in its way without regard to friend or foe.
"GIVEEEEEE HEERRRR BACKKKKKKKKKKKK!"
It roared without stopping. It attacked without end.
And all Hibiki could do was dodge and avoid it, now no longer willing to risk either herself or the girl who had lost herself.
"MiKu-!"
There was no getting through to her. Lightning fast strikes came down like rain, all of them aiming at the pendant. She didn't even try and aim for body parts, her red eyes only seeing the one thing she considered her enemy.
And as long as it existed in this world, she would never stop, even if she destroyed herself in the process.
If any buildings had remained as a result of their battle, now would be the time they would have collapsed. Slashes of violet light exploded from her fingertips every time she slashed, cleaving through the remaining debris, reducing the already broken chunks to dust.
Hibiki ducked under a particularly ferocious thrust, and flipped, the tip of her boot smashing into the extended arm. The blackened limb broke on contact from the force, and as she landed back on her feet, the tip of that same boot now smoking and missing, she watched as the dark arm bent awkwardly in directions it should not have been able to, fixing itself back into place before the berserk Miku attacked again, snarling loudly.
"GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!"
Hibiki didn't know why, but this particular roar caused her to freeze completely, her muscles locking involuntarily, leaving her helpless as Miku charged at her with her claws outstretched.
She wasn't sure what caused her to stop dodging now, but the sight of Miku in that state...stirred something within her. Something she thought was gone. Something that underneath the layers upon layers of curses, still had enough of a pull on her that it managed for just a singular moment to cause her to hesitate.
The strike smashed into her with the force of an explosion, the armor the claws touched smoking just from the tiny bit of contact. She was launched backwards, streaking through the air for hundreds of meters, only to finally crash against the remains of a collapsed building.
She groaned, picking herself up from the ground, pushing the debris off of herself. Rising to her feet, she stared at the black beast Miku had become all the way back in their original location, a slight look of concern on her face.
And Miku screamed yet again, this time for the entire world to hear.
"GGGGGGIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVEEEEEEEEEEEEEE HEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRR BAAAAAAAACCCCKKKKKKKKKK!"
She charged once more, closing the distance in blinding speed.
And just as she was upon her…
Lightning struck the spot between the two combatants, coming from the sole remaining cloud of the storm that had arrived from the southeast.
Immediately, the figure from within the lightning struck, spinning on her heel to deliver a powerful roundhouse kick at the raging berserker.
The Super Ignited Ame-no-Habakiri hit its target in the stomach, catching the beast off guard, sending it flying back to its original starting point.
"Kohinata, that's enough!" Tsubasa declared, shouting in that still thunderous voice. It had lost its great, almost divine like edges, but still held strong, the last bits of the storm still granting it the power necessary. The blue haired Symphogear user glanced back to the corrupted wielder, her eyes narrowed, yet said nothing more. Her eyes darted back to her original target, prepared to take over the battle.
Hibiki could only stare with wide eyes at the sudden intervention, caught completely out of left field, not understanding why any one of them would help her.
Her answer came from her left, in the form of Saint-Germain.
"Whatever it is you're thinking is probably mistaken, as usual," The alchemist said. "We are not helping you. We are merely cleaning up the mess you have made."
Hibiki looked at her incredulously. "tHe MeSs I mAdE? tHiS iS yOuR fAuLt!"
The silver haired woman raised an eyebrow, curious at the changed tone of the girl in front of her, but put it aside to think about later. "As usual, deluding yourself. Open your eyes and see what it is you have wrought. Your insistence in claiming your so called 'vengeance' caused this, nothing else." She continued. She wasn't sure if guilt tripping Hibiki would cause her to back off, but she had to try regardless. "Ever since you have decided to take upon this new goal of yours, she has lived with nothing but her worry, and her anger rose as a result every time you refused her offers. It was only a matter of time until she decided to intervene herself, and still your clouded mind could not understand."
The alchemist narrowed her eyes. "This is your fault, Tachibana Hibiki. The one who caused Kohinata Miku to deteriorate was no one other than yourself."
She turned her back to her, facing towards where the other were heading. She could see small dots of light join the battlefield, each one signifying the approach of the other wielders, circling the berserk Miku.
"Now, think about whether or not this is something you truly desired. If your 'new world' demanded this result, then you have achieved your objective already. You may consider this day your victory, while we lick our wounds and attempt to retrieve your significant other from the depths of madness. Madness that you invoked."
Saint-Germain took steps forward. "Think about that, Tachibana Hibiki."
And in a move mirroring Genjuro, put a stop to any argument Hibiki could possibly raise. The rogue wielder grit her teeth, her shining eyes staring at the alchemist's retreating back.
But she couldn't leave her with the last words. "ThIs IsN'T oVeR, SaInT-gErMaIn! NeXt TiMe-"
Her words faltered, the rest refusing to leave her throat.
Saint-Germain did not heed her half-baked warning. Walking away, she acknowledged a final click of the tongue before she heard a whooshing sound, something shatter, and finally fall silent. Stopping in her tracks, she glanced back, and saw that Hibiki had disappeared, probably returning to the Treasury of Babylon to think up her next step.
Well, they could worry about that later. They still had someone else they needed to save first.
With Hibiki gone from the picture, it was time to focus on the problem at hand: the completely berserk Kohinata Miku.
She was hunched forward, steam escaping her mouth as she stared ahead at Tsubasa. Around her, the other wielders landed on the ground, still clad in their Symphogears.
"Miku-san!" Kirika shouted. "You have to come back! Please!"
Slowly, the beast turned to her, her head twisting eerily in ways that shouldn't be possible for a human being.
Her eyes locked on the pendant above Kirika's chest.
And she let out a ear-piercing shriek.
"GGGGGGIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVEEEEEEEEEEEEEE HEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRR BAAAAAAAACCCCKKKKKKKKKK!"
(Play: Sen no Kiseki III OST - Erosion of Madness)
She charged, closing the distance in a single leap. Unable to differentiate between friend or foe, in her eyes every single relic was the Gungnir.
The very same Gungnir that was laced with All the Evils of this World, and her one and true nemesis.
But in this berserk state, she cannot tell the difference.
She was upon Kirika in an instant, and the Ig-Alima user yelped in surprise at the sudden attack, raising her scythe to block the blow.
"NO! KIRI-CHAN!"
Only to be reminded of a very important fact she had seemingly forgotten. Remembering what it was in the last possible second, she was forced to drop her weapon and jump back, Miku's claws sliced through the still falling weapon like it was made of butter, the relic-erasing properties of the Shenshoujing coursing through every single inch of her body.
"Is this going to be a repeat of what happened in Lydian?" Maria asked in extreme concern, sweat dropping down her brows.
"Like hell it will!" Chris screamed, and charged into the fray.
But Genjuro's voice screamed into the comm, trying to stop her. "Chris-kun! Stick to the plan!"
"I know! That's what I'm doing!"
It was a very hastily made one, but a plan it was. As soon as he said the command, Tsubasa had disappeared from Maria's side and reappeared in headquarters, running towards Elfnein's lab as fast as the wind, arriving there even before the owner of said lab herself. Not giving in to the awe of looking at Tsubasa's form, the homunculus had given the Ame-no-Habakiri user every single syringe filled with Anti-LiNKER she had, totalling at fifteen.
Whether or not they'll need all of it was anyone's guess at this point, but she couldn't be sure if one would do the job or if it broke for some reason or another. Immediately after that, Tsubasa teleported back to meet them all at a designated point, now each one holding at least two syringes, with Tsubasa holding the rest.
And together, they all made their way to the combat zone from different directions, hoping to box her in.
Thankfully they did, and now with Hibiki having retreated, they could focus on the girl in front of them, and do their utmost to subdue her.
However, that was easier said than done. With her natural abilities being able to slice through both their weapons and their armor with but a single finger, it made a head on assault very difficult to pull off.
But that's all they had for now to try. Since they outnumbered her, they could gang up on her and inject her with the Anti-LiNKER while her back was turned, all the while switching her focus between each of them.
Although that depended on whether or not they all remembered what they could do...and what she could do.
"Oi dumbass, I'm right here!" Chris screamed. And somehow it worked, Miku turning around quickly to her new target, ready to pounce on her.
Exposing her back to the wielder she had just attacked. "Now, Kiri-chan!"
"Right!"
And the green Symphogear wielder rushed forward before Miku could begin her assault. With her natural instincts pretty much sealed, the berserk wielder had absolutely no idea what was coming up behind her until it was too late.
Kirika withrew a syringe and touched the black beast's back with it, immediately pressing the trigger. The liquid rushed into her body, and Miku screeched, the air shaking from the sound of her voice.
But then she swiped her arm behind her, and Kirika was forced to jump back again.
"So one wasn't enough, huh?" Maria commented. "Let's keep going everyone, until we succeed!"
And she rushed in as well, following on Chris' lead.
But rather than focus on the two of them, Miku turned her eyes on Shirabe, who had been standing further away.
"GGGGGGIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVEEEEEEEEEEEEEE HEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRR BAAAAAAAACCCCKKKKKKKKKK!"
With her mantra as her battle cry, the berserk wielder charged towards the Shul-Shagana wielder. Caught by surprise by the sudden change of targets, She quickly backpedaled before she could she strike her.
"Shirabe, watch out!"
The girl narrowed her eyes. "Don't worry, I can make it-"
And then something shattered.
Then, all at once, four Symphogears and one Faust Robe exploded out of existence, the Ignite Timer running out just in that moment. The armor flaking away in motes of light off of their bodies, leaving Kirika, Maria, Chris, and Saint-Germain without their power on hand.
And unfortunately, so was Shirabe, who lost her means of escape just when she needed it.
It didn't even matter that the pendants she hated so much disappeared. With her mind completely gone, Miku could no longer truly tell the difference.
She closed the distance to the now defenseless Shirabe in an instant, and in that moment, the twin tailed girl saw death closing in on her in a flash.
"SHIRABEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"
Time slowed. The beats ticked by, every second feeling like a whole century. The entire world seemed to freeze right in that moment, just before the berserk wielder could tear the girl apart.
But then…
Something appeared in the space between them.
"There has been a change of plans."
The only thing Shirabe could see before time ran normally once again was long silver hair fluttering in the wind.
And then blood. Vast amount of life blood poured on the street, accompanied by a vicious sound of flesh being torn into.
"It seems you have forgotten what I told you, Kohinata Miku." The alchemist said. Now in range of the Shenshoujing user, she quickly chanted a strengthening spell on her arm.
The blackened girl could not respond in time. The alchemist's arm seemed to suddenly teleport and close around her neck as Saint-Germain took the opportunity to lock her in place by arresting her movements. Miku thrashed in her hold, yet somehow the alchemist was able to stand still, her hold on the girl stronger than should ever be possible.
Shocked at recent developments, the other wielders stood frozen on the spot at what they just witnessed.
Forcing the alchemist to remind them where they were. "What are you waiting for?! Now is our chance!"
Shaken out of their stupor by her sudden words, the Symphogear wielders each withdrew a syringe, and just before Miku could release herself from the alchemist's hold they injected the Anti-LiNKER into her veins, six of the fifteen used up.
Finally, that turned out to be enough. With the compatibility artificially dropped to previously impossible lows, Miku shrieked one last time.
And the darkness was dispelled. Flaking off of her like snake skin, the black wrapping fell off and disappeared, leaving the original Miku, in her civilian clothes limp in Saint-Germain's arm, now out cold.
Silence fell on the battlefield as the chaos ended. The wielders took steps back, and both Kirika and Chris fell on their backs from exhaustion, completely spent from the very long night.
Just at that moment, as if to signify the end of the battle, two things occurred at once: the storm overhead finally passed, and the final Symphogear amongst the group fell into pieces. Tsubasa stumbled forward, nearly falling on her face, only for Maria to catch her just in time.
"Tsubasa, you alright?" She asked.
The blue haired idol looked up to her face weakly, her eyes no longer shining. "Yes...Thank you, Maria. Susano'o-sama...took a lot out of me."
The Airgetlam user smiled, glad that her idol partner was in good condition, albeit very tired.
But her condition paled in comparison to the alchemist's.
Saint-Germain lowered the black haired girl to the ground gently. Rising back up to her feet, she heard Shirabe run up to her from behind. "St. Germain-san! Your arm-"
"It's nothing," She responded. "Are you well?"
"Never mind me, you're injured! We have to close the wound before-"
"Save it," The alchemist interrupted her. "There's nothing to be done about it now. I can seal it on my own, however her blow shredded whatever remained. It's unsalvageable now."
Everyone could notice she downplayed her own injury. It would have been one thing had her arm simply been cut into, or was bleeding profusely.
No, it was far worse than that. The alchemist's left arm was simply gone; having put herself between the defenseless Shul-Shagana user and the berserk wielder, Saint-Germain deliberately took a calculated risk and chose to lose her limb rather than allow anyone to die this night. Miku's attack completely destroyed everything, leaving nothing but bloody chunks on the floor that would not be able to be reformed into any new limb no matter what they would try.
In the end, she had to blame their own carelessness for this result. They, along with herself, had completely forgotten about the time remaining on the Ignite Module, instead focusing on eliminating the Noise. With their objective complete, they should have remembered, but in the heat of the moment and chaos of the battle even those in headquarters completely forgot about it.
And that threw even their hastily made plan into the gutter.
So she was forced to think on the fly, and this was the result.
"St. Germain-san…"
Nothing could be truly said.
All that remained now was the group of seven: five Symphogear wielders, all in different stages of fatigue, one alchemist missing an arm, and a blacked out school girl who had just been channeling something not one of them had seen before in their lives.
But the alchemist knew about it.
However, that did not matter in the least.
The morning sun rose on the horizon, signaling the start of a new day.
But no celebrations could be had.
For this day...was a day of defeat.
Helicopters sounded in the background, coming in to retrieve the injured fighters.
And all that was left in the ruins of Western Tokyo…
Were the smouldering remains of their hopes.
