Akane eventually convinced a begrudging Kazuya that it was safer to stay on the balcony for the rest of the evening. When the two later parted ways for their respective bedrooms in the castle, Akane felt the fear that was brought by the shooting star fade from her mind. She fell asleep in a much more peaceful mood, and the mysterious feeling of dread never returned.
The kingdom of Windbloom was thrown into chaos when Aswad finally made a full-scale attack. Caught off guard by such a bold move, the Five Columns were eliminated swiftly by the invading force's combination of cyborg warriors and mechanical monsters. After the king activated her GEM, Akane was left to defend Castle Windbloom with only a few Garderobe Pearls and defected Meisters under her charge. The first enemy to reach the throne room was a tall knight in wide black armor. This was Rad, the invading clan's veteran berserker, and Akane was able to defeat him quickly when she proved to be far too fast for the mechanical fighter's slow-moving attacks.
While Akane was recovering from her battle, she received word from the castle guards that the Aswadian leader Midori had suddenly landed on Castle Windbloom's roof on her flying robotic chariot. This was a red steed with a long blade for a snout, which Midori called Gakutenou. When Akane stepped outside of the castle and levitated to the top of her castle, Gakutenou was missing, but the red-haired clan leader was awaiting Akane armed with a great halberd and her REM. This wrist-mounted device functioned similarly to an Otome's GEM earring and allowed her to summon her companion beast, but it didn't change Midori's physical appearance and only augmented her physical strength while she stayed dressed in her typical barbarian clothes.
Akane landed on the opposite end of the castle roof and cautiously summoned Hari to her side. Midori sported a sudden expression of shock upon realizing her opponent had turned Midori's former attack weapon against her, but grasped her halberd in a combat stance. As Akane raised her Robe's tonfa in a similar manner, she made her next plan of attack.
Attack directly: Go to Chapter 36
Send Hari: Go to Chapter 37