When the flash faded, the spectators saw that the two warriors were still closely embraced a few feet above the floor, and Arika's motionless head was slumped over Akane's shoulder. The victorious Meister could feel a few strands of her opponent's silky brown hair drape down her back, and the defeated fighter quietly exhaled her last breath onto Akane's neck. Akane had swung with her right arm at the moment of impact, allowing her to dodge Arika's final jab and plunge the short blade of her tonfa into her enemy's thinly-armored chest.

The spectators of the battle were taken by a wave of complete disbelief as they watched the legendary Blue Sky Sapphire slowly dissolve into a collection of green embers just like any other defeated Otome. They had gained an unexpected admiration for the Pure Heart Malachite.

Akane carefully lowered herself to Castle Windbloom's floor, and the elevated white heels of her Robe clapped softly as they made contact with the stone ground. Her GEM beeped quietly as it began to deactivate, and she was soon wearing her white and gray formal uniform again. She was breathing quickly and could feel her heart slowly returning to its natural rhythm as she came to rest. She had pushed herself well past her nimble body's physical limit and fought with an amazing willpower to compensate for the technological gap between her Robe and Arika's. After she closed her eyes to put a slight dizzy spell to ease, she looked toward the throne room doors where Mashiro was standing. Akane peered toward the doomed queen with an expression of reserved sadness.

Mashiro had watched the whole event with a look of horror frozen on her face. Her Meister had failed, and now it was time to pay her end of the bargain. Akane fought to keep her eyes dry and could only speak a few choice words to try and ease Mashiro's passing.

"Farewell, your Highness."

Akane turned and solemnly began walking back to her station beside King Kazuya's throne. In the next moments, Mashiro clutched her chest in pain as her heart beat its final time. She quickly collapsed to her knees amidst a series of painful groans, then sprawled silently to the floor and joined her Otome as a swarm of sparkling green particles that faded into the air. The queen was dead, and Kazuya's reign over Windbloom would no longer be disputed to any serious extent.

That night, Akane quickly fell into a deep slumber in her specially decorated servant's room as a result of her weariness. Despite succumbing to a slight fever from overexertion, she dreamed of the peace her king would bring, and the new royal bloodline she would bear the country of Windbloom when she finally retired and married him. She hadn't forgotten her obligations as an Otome, however, and was fully determined to remain a warrior as long as the Columns War raged and the country had to be defended.

King Kazuya made sure Akane was tended to by the best physicians in the kingdom during her recovery. When Windbloom's Meister Otome returned to full health, she continued to stand by the king's side and awaited her next orders from the Columns.

At the time of the Blue Sky Sapphire's defeat, a warrior clan calling themselves Aswad had been preparing its own counterattack against the Columns. Aswad was one of the few societies of Earl that defended itself through technologies other than the Otome system, and clan leader Midori Sugiura came to the conclusion that it was imperative to begin their attack when news came of Empress Mashiro's sudden death.

Prior to these events, Aswad's scientists were busy excavating an amazing discovery of fossilized ancient creatures in the Black Valley region of Earl. These findings greatly resembled the trained mechanical beasts they currently used in tandem with cybernetic armor to defend themselves. Samples of the fossils were combined with Aswad's current nanotechnology, allowing them to be gradually revived and studied. When the decision was made to attack Windbloom, one of these cloned robotic beasts was taken out of captivity and trained to make a lone surprise attack for Aswad. It was a large, cat-like beast made of yellow and gray steel, with sword-shaped obsidian spikes growing from the back of its neck. When forced to fend for itself, a large motor emerging from the creature's chest would begin to spin and allow it to bring any target to its claws with a strong pulling wind. It was determined that the monster's surprising speed and agility made it the most suitable weapon to storm Castle Windbloom while avoiding unnecessary causalities, and it was promptly put into service with Midori's approval.

The mechanical tiger relentlessly dashed to Windbloom's borders under its masters' commands to kill Emperor Kazuya and his Otome. Just as anticipated, when it finally entered the country and breached the imperial city, pedestrians and guards alike quickly cleared from the great monster's path in sudden fear for their lives. Having received the initial reports that Aswad had launched one of its weapons toward Windbloom, the Emperor authorized Akane to use her Robe and she was sent to intercept and eliminate the aggressive beast. When she found the creature about to charge the castle gates, it stood in place with its steel claws sinking into the stone road and delivered a mighty metallic roar. A group of standard castle guards huddled back in fear, and Akane protectively placed herself between the creature and her men with her tonfa in hand.

Upon closely observing the cybernetic creature, Akane was taken by a sudden feeling of deja vu, and she was surprised to notice her feline opponent's colors matched those of her own weapons. At the same time, the beast's mechanical growls subsided as it finally made eye contact with its target. Its polished armored tail began waving playfully in the sunlight as if the creature was meeting its true master for the first time in ages. Taken aback by this exchange, Akane wasn't sure what to do next. On one hand, the submitting beast hadn't actually wounded any of the subjects it had passed, and maybe sparing it and capturing it could turn Aswad's efforts to Windbloom's favor. On the other hand, Akane couldn't come to explain the sudden wave of compassion she had for this animal, and it would be a great risk if it was purely her imagination at work and it was allowed to reach the Emperor. After a moment of thought, she made her decision.

Tame the beast: Go to Chapter 30

Attack: Go to Chapter 31